IN THIS ISSUE

• THE NEW WORLD RELIGION ►►
• THE UNITED RELIGIONS ►►
• THE STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM  ►►
• THE VATICAN AND IRAN TO BUILD ON “COMMON GROUND”  ►►
• POPE JOHN PAUL AND THE ROMAN PATRIARCH EMBRACE  ►►
• CHURCHES AGREE POPE HAS OVERALL AUTHORITY  ►►
• POPE EXPANDS RELIGIOUS INDULGENCES TO CELEBRATE “HOLY YEAR” 2000  ►►
• WORLDWIDE PERSECUTION  ►►
• BHUTAN OPENS UP TO TV AND INTERNET  ►►

THE NEW WORLD RELIGION

PROPHETIC SCRIPTURE

“Come, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who is sitting upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication; indeed those living who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.  Then he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls; and in her hand she had a golden cup full of abominable, repulsive things and the filth of her immorality; and on her forehead there was inscribed a name with a mysterious meaning,

BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Mystery Babylon, "the mother of harlots," in Revelation 17, is a symbolic description of an age-long religious system. It began at the original Babylon (Babel) during the time of Nimrod, the rebellious great-grandson of Noah who built the famous Tower. Nimrod wanted to establish Babel as the capital of the rapidly growing tribes of Noah's grandsons.

Nimrod and his wife, Semiramis, developed a religion that was opposed to the truth revealed to Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah by Yahweh, the Almighty Creator.

The religion of Nimrod was based on astrology and occultism. Semiramis became a high priestess, and later, "the Queen of Heaven." Nimrod became a the Sun-god, and their child, Tammuz was proclaimed to be the promised Seed, the Messiah.

“And they said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth’.”  (Genesis 11:4)

The result was that God destroyed the tower, confused the people's language, and scattered them all over the world. And wherever they went, the tribes took the Babylonian mystery religion with them - the cult of the Queen of Heaven and the Sun-god. The Queen of Heaven became identified with Venus, and was otherwise called Aphrodite, Eostre, Ashtoreth, and other names in various languages. The male-child Tummuz was called by names such as Baal, Horus, and Eros.

As the Revelation 17 passage says, Mystery Babylon sat upon the nations. She controlled them through her occultic powers and religious superstitions. At the end of the age, this Babylonian religion will be very powerful, and will be associated with the Antichrist and his confederation - the 7-headed, 10-horned beast described in this same prophecy.

The NEW WORLD RELIGION that we see developing today, actually, is not new at all. It is the old Mystery Babylon. It is new only in that it will be a unification of all religions that are opposed to, or not loyal to, “the Way, the Truth and the Life” - ie, the Truth of Yahweh, the Great I AM, who has ...

“ ... in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the ages and the universe.”  (Hebrews 1:2)

For years preachers have warned us about the dangers of the ecumenical movement, and of the large organizations that are creating a new world order, including a one-world religion.

We were warned of the dangers of leftist, socialist and communist groups, and of the conspiracies they were a part of. Very few people took much notice of them, as they did not see any immediate danger. They  thought such groups would never gain enough momentum to take over the world. However, the picture has changed. Mystery Babylon is in the saddle of the Beast today, and she is drunk with the blood of believers! (Revelation 17:6). Around the world Christians are being persecuted for their faith, in at least 60 countries, and every year, about 160,000 Christians are killed because they are Christians. They are being slaughtered by Mystery Babylon and her political comrades.

To many well-meaning people, a one-world religion seems to be the answer to the atrocities perpetrated by religions in the name of "God." The way to unite the world is to forge a "spiritual consensus."  Extract the "truth" from each religion, arrive at the "sum total of spiritual truth," and make this the new spirituality for the New Age. In view of this "totality of truth" all people and nations will be expected to sink their differences, and respect the "new planetary consciousness."

Now to get some idea of how all this is progressing, and of the dangers we face, let's look back at a few recent developments.

THE WORLD PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS

At the 1993 World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago, a religious proposal was presented called the “Declaration of Global Ethic,” formulated by a Swiss liberal, one-world theologian, Hans Kung. This “Ethic” embraces the monist theory which says that “the 21st century will bring about the end of the Christian interlude.” The WPR also proposed to establish a One World Religion by the year 2,000. (This of course, was a premature goal, and has not happened.

See also THE 4th PARLIAMENT OF WORLD RELIGIONS  ~ MHG#20

In 1995, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev came to San Francisco, bought a big building near the Golden Gate Bridge, and announced a meeting, called the ...

 THE STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM

Gorbachev sent invitations to 500 elite politicians, economists, and leaders in the leftist culture. Those who attended paid Gorbachev $5,000 each to hear what he had to say. Here is a partial listing of the best known and most influential attendees:

George Bush Sr., Al Gore, Ted Turner, Jane Fonda, Colin Powell, Shimon Peres, Mario Cuomo, Ted Koppel, George Mitchell (former Democrat Senate Majority Leader), Zbigniew Brzezinkski (Trilateral Commission Director), Shirley MacLaine, Tich Nhat Hanh (Buddhist monk), George Schulz (former Secretary of State), David Packard (billionaire), Maurice Strong (New Age leader), Desmond Tutu (Archbishop, Africa), Deepak Chopra (New Age doctor), John Naisbett (futurist).

This list does not include 141 heads of state, and 59 former heads of state.

What was the purpose of this 5-day forum?  In Gorbachev’s words, it was “to launch the Transition to a New Civilization.”

The term “New Civilization” is slowly replacing the old term “New World Order.” The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor summed it up like this: “The main goal of this inaugural event was to work toward a synthesis and merger of the Socialist New Left (and their philosophies) with leaders of Eastern and New Age religions (and their philosophies). Evil politics mixed with a God-free religion.”

A report from the meeting told of the uniting of these ultra-liberal, powerful, well-financed men and women, and the plan for their new civilization which is designed to produce a new people and a global government run by them.

One of the real dangers to Christianity (as called for in this new civilization) will be the outlawing of all religions that do not accept the equal validity of all other religions. Any person in any religion who refuses to accept this new civilization and its philosophies will be “eliminated.” They have not yet said how they plan to do this.

As  well  as  the  destruction  of  non-conformists,  the  "new civilization" program calls for the removal of about nine-tenths of the world's population, on environmental grounds.

Ted Turner was quoted some time back as saying: “Right now there are way too many people on the planet; we need to cut the world’s population from the current 6 billion to no more than 250 to 350 million.”

Radical environmentalist Sam Keen was at the Global Forum, and in a speech said: “The ecological crisis, in short, is the population crisis. Cut the population by 90%, and there aren’t enough people left to do a great deal of harm to the environment.” He drew loud applause, indicating that the big reduction in the population is the goal of the intelligentsia of the New Civilization.

At  the  forum  it  was  suggested  that  Christianity  must  be replaced with a more “inclusive” religion. Coupled with this would be the ending of all national sovereignty. America would become just another unit of the global government.

Speakers described Christian beliefs as “crumbled,” “decayed,” and “exhausted.” Something must be found to replace them. Christianity’s "one-God" concept would have to be given to leaders of Eastern religions.

Al Gore can go along with this. In his book, “Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit,” Gore says: “Our religious heritage is based on a single earth goddess who is assumed to be the fountain of all life.” That “earth goddess” was, of course, GAIA, the ancient Babylonian earth-goddess; and her satanic number, I am told, was 666. Gore totally rejects the Genesis account of creation. He writes: “Creation is god, nature in its fullness is god.” In his book he also says that those who believe in the Second Coming of Jesus are “heretical.”

Now in all this we have the skeleton framework of the coming Antichrist and the False Prophet, the mandatory world religion and obedience to a global, Christless dictatorship.

 THE UNITED RELIGIONS

The prestigious San Francisco Chronicle reported that liberal Stanford University on June 23 1997, hosted one of the most radical gatherings in the history of the U.S.  There were at least two hundred "Christians" and non-Christians assembled, including Catholics, neo-Evangelicals, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, and Bahai’s. And many more.

The purpose of the meeting was to lay the foundation for the establishment of “The United Religions” which they plan to formally open in San Francisco, on June 26, 2000.

The meeting was called and presided over by a leftist Episcopalian priest, William Swing of San Francisco.  Swing started his groundwork for the United Religions (UR) in 1993 when he undertook a world tour to confer with leaders of all faiths, non-Christian and otherwise - the same thing as the Pope has been doing for many years.

Swing told the Chronicle that his conversations with all those groups “... provided me with new spiritual insights. I feel I have been enormously enriched inwardly by spending a lot of time praying with Brahmins, meditating with Hindus, or being silent or chanting with Buddhists. I’ve gone back and read our own scriptures, and it’s amazing how they begin to read differently when you’re exposed to more truth from more people in other parts of the world.”

"But the (Holy) Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared as with a hot branding iron."  (1 Timothy 4:1, 2)

THE TEMPLE OF UNDERSTANDING

The United Nations has an organization called “The Temple of Understanding,” a group sailing under the guise of “religion,” and conducting what they call “Spiritual Summit Conferences” in conjunction with the U.N.’s political summits.

The U.N. will eventually develop into the one-world government under the power of the Antichrist. A part of the New World Order will be a one-world religion.

A spokeswoman for the UR told the prestigious magazine, The New American, that Bishop Swing and his assistants have held “regional conferences” across the world in conjunction with U.N.’s “Temple of Understanding.”

Antichrist will Co-operate with all Religions

The Antichrist will be what the title implies - anti-God. However, in the beginning he will not be anti-religion, because the majority of the world belongs to a major religion, or has connections to one. If at his appearance he were to ban all religions, there would be such an uprising that he would not be able to carry out his satanic agenda. Therefore, he will go hand-in-hand with the United Religions to get their religious and financial backing. Once he has that, and his program is totally solidified, he will turn on the united world religion, and destroy it. (Revelation 17:16)

Former UN Assistant Secretary-General, Robert Muller, (now chancellor of the University of Peace in Costa Rica), is quoted as saying:  “If Christ came back to earth, his first visit would be to the United Nations to see if his dream of human oneness and brotherhood had come true.”

Muller advised the United Religions, “Peace will be impossible without the taming of fundamentalism through a United Religions that professes faithfulness only to the global spirituality and to the health of the planet.”  - from The Christian Beacon

Hans Kung's "Global Ethic," as well as Gorbachev’s proposed “Earth Charter,” and Swing’s “United Religions” all provide an illustration of “monism,” the world view that says the cosmos itself is divine and so are we. If they had a golden text it would be, “All is one and one is all, and we are all a part of a pantheistic collective.” Monism is exactly the opposite of the Christian “theist” view which declares that God is the Creator of all things and that He alone is divine, as is not the case of that which He created.

These men - Gorbachev,  Swing, and the betrayers of the Reformation - are, by their ecumenical endeavors, laying the groundwork for a world religion that God will soon destroy, casting it all into the Lake of Fire, along with the Antichrist and his partner, the False Prophet.  See Revelation 20:10 ...

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast (Antichrist) and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

CATHOLICISM AND ISLAM

Both Catholicism and Islam want the upper hand in world religious affairs, and neither are willing to yield to the other. Neither can succeed in conquering the world while opposing the other - as they have been for more than 1,000 years. But now, a new united strategy could give them a chance of gaining hegemony over most of the religions, and nations, of the world.

 THE VATICAN AND IRAN TO BUILD ON "COMMON GROUND"

Last March (1999), the President of Iran, (Mohammed Khatami), went to the Vatican for a special meeting with the Pope. The two have for some time been seeking better relations between Islam and Christianity. After the secret talks, the Iranian president said he had hopes for what he called “the final victory of monotheism (the belief that there is only one God), morality, peace and rec­onciliation.  He stated, “There is enough common ground among all the world’s divine religions to build on.”

Yes, it is necessary to believe in one God. But is that all that is necessary?  All must believe that God sent His son to be the Saviour of the world, that He was crucified for the sins of the world, and rose again from the dead. And now God commands all men to repent, confess and to believe in His Son, to be born again.

The ground is level at the foot of the cross. All, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics, Christians and ALL others, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, king and subject, must come into the kingdom of God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sure, all religions have some good points and common grounds here and there. But “common grounds” will not suffice alone. There is a vast difference between “unity” and “union.” We may, in some cases, agree with some religions on common grounds of moral beliefs, etc., but the focal point must be Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross.

“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”                                   (Acts 4:12)

You will note that the neo-evangelicals, along with the leaders of all anti-Christian religions, as well as the liberal and leftist politi­cians, keep the road hot running to the Vatican. The Pope is the world’s most powerful religious leader, both in wealth and subtlety.   - The Voice in the Wilderness / Dallas / June 99

It can be expected that John Paul II, or his successor, will become the head of the united world religion.

Some prophecy commentators believe the Pope will become the Antichrist, but that is not likely, as the Antichrist (the Beast) destroys the world church.  Others identify the Pope - the head of Mystery Babylon, the world religion - as the False Prophet. In this case, he would need to join the Beast and the 10- kingdom confederation in destroying Mystery Babylon (Rev 17:16). But the False Prophet will not be destroyed by the Antichrist. He will be destroyed along with the Antichrist at the end of the Tribulation. (Rev. 19:20)

It is more accurate, I believe, to see three characters here.

1. The First Beast - Antichrist - arises "out of the sea" - the sea of gentile nations. He becomes Head of the 10-nation Roman Confederation,  and then,  from the middle of the Tribulation, becomes the world dictator.

2. The False Prophet, is the "second beast."  He rises "out of the earth" (that is, Israel, according to many prophecy scholars.) He becomes the accomplice of the Antichrist from the middle of the Tribulation.

Both of these "beasts" are destroyed after Armageddon, when Christ returns in power and great glory.

3. The Head of the World Mystery Babylon Religion. He will be destroyed along with the composite religion, to make way for the one world state religion of the Antichrist - Satanism.

"And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’      (Revelation 13:3-4)

 POPE JOHN PAUL AND THE ROMANIAN PATRIARCH EMBRACE

In May 1999, Pope John Paul II and Romania’s Orthodox patriarch embraced and prayed together, seeking to put centuries of mistrust and suspicion between their churches behind them.

Some 100,000 people filled Union Square in the heart of Bucharest for the Orthodox service. Later in the day, Patriarch Teoctist attended a Roman Catholic Mass before John Paul returned to Rome.

John Paul’s trip was the first by a Roman pontiff to a mainly Orthodox country since the Eastern church definitively broke from Rome in the Great Schism of 1054.

The 84-year-old patriarch, wearing white robes and a Byzantine miter, presided, while John Paul followed the liturgy standing by the altar. The 78-year-old John Paul leaned on his silver staff for support during the service, but otherwise appeared to be bearing up well.

It  was  only  the  second  time  that  John  Paul  attended  an Orthodox service as Pope.  The first was during a visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul in 1979.  - Intl. Herald Tribune / 10 May 99

And so the ecumenical bandwagon rolls on!

Following is another important report, concerning the Pope's acknowledged supremacy. Here is a wonderful compromise!!

 The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission.

“The Gift of Authority” -  A Controversial Document

“CHURCHES AGREE POPE HAS OVERALL AUTHORITY”

The  Pope  was  recognised  as  the  overall  authority  in  the Christian world, by an Anglican and Roman Catholic commission in May which described him as a “gift to be received by all the Churches.”

Disagreement about the extent of the Pope’s authority was one of the main causes of the English Reformation in the 16th century, and has been a constant stumbling block to the two Churches reuniting. However, the recent statement, released at Lambeth Palace - which is not binding - accepted that if a new united Church was created, it would be the Bishop of Rome who would exercise a universal primacy.

Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, admitted that the text would be controversial, but called for a debate in both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches on its findings. He said: “In a world torn apart by violence and division, Christians need urgently to be able to speak with a common voice, confident of the authority of the gospel of peace.”

The 43-page document, “The Gift of Authority,” has been produced by the 18-member  Anglican-Roman  Catholic International Commission, after five years of debate. The commission concluded that the Bishop of Rome had a “specific ministry concerning the discernment of truth,” and accepted that only the Pope had the moral authority to unite the various Christian denominations.

However, it did not go as far as to confirm the Pope’s infallibility. Instead, it said: “This form of authoritative teaching has no stronger guarantee from the Holy Spirit than have the solemn definitions of ecumenical councils.” The document does not specifically address the issues that divide the two Churches, such as the place of the Virgin Mary and women’s ministry.

In the new united Church, decisions would be made by consensus through councils, not based solely on the opinion of one man. The document remained ambiguous about what would happen when no agreement could be reached. The document will be discussed when the Primates of the Anglican Communion meet the Presidents of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for the first time in Toronto in May 2000.

The proposals are expected to shock many Anglicans, particularly in the evangelical wing of the Church, which remains wary of an extension of the Bishop of Rome’s authority.

Mark Birchall, a member of the Church of England Evangelical Council, said: “It speaks as if the Bishop of Rome has always been on the side of the angels, while it is well known that for several centuries past, the Bishop of Rome was certainly not.”

Catholic traditionalists have also expressed concern about the new emphasis on the authority exercised by the entire Church at the expense of the Pope’s infallibility. However, the authors of the document called on people to study the work in its entirety before judging it.  The Rt. Rev Mark Santer, the Bishop of Birmingham and co-chairman of the body, said: “This is a serious piece of theological work and to understand our conclusions you have to follow how we got there. One faith was given by Christ and His apostles and what we are trying to do is rediscover that one common faith.”

The Rt Rev Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and the other co-chairman, added: “The primacy of the Pope is a gift to be shared.”                 - Oliver Poole / Daily Telegraph (UK) / 13 May 99

No thank you, Mr Bishop. No way!  The only primacy we will accept, is that of the Lord Jesus Christ!  

“For the husband is the head of the wife, as the Messiah is the Head of the Ekklesia, the Body of which He is the Saviour.” (Ephesians 5:23)

(EKKLESIA is the Greek word which is usually translated as “church”. It means: the Body of Called-out Ones; the Assembly - local and universal, comprised of all who have been redeemed and brought into union with the Messiah. It is also called the Bride of the Messiah (Christ).

 MULTI-FAITH CENTRE LAUNCHED IN GRIFFITH,  AUSTRALIA

MEMBERS of seven religious faiths have joined forces to establish a multi-faith centre at Griffith University which they hope will be an example of peace and solidarity throughout the world.

Leaders from the Buddhist, Bahai, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths, and indigenous elders, launched the project last May, with a ground-breaking ceremony at the University’s Nathan campus, where the centre will be built.

Money is currently being raised for the $2 million centre with a $150,000 boost from Buddhist Master Hsing Ting yesterday.

The donation, added to a previous donation of $100,000 from the Amitabha Buddhist Association, should see the centre well on its way.

Project chairman Uri Thermal said the importance of the centre has already been recognised in Australia and overseas.

“Religion is often divisive and the cause of conflict, not just in history, but right now - we need look no further than the situation in Yugoslavia or in Timor,” he said. “Here is a chance to bring all the religions together to discover, through dialogue and learning, a common ground in order to address the issues of out time.”

The centre will have areas dedicated to prayer, worship, education and cultural activities as well as a common area for interfaith dialogue and social interaction.   - The Courier-Mail / 18 May 99

  Pope Expands Religious Indulgence to

       Celebrate “Holy Year” 2000 Holy Year” 2000"

For Roman Catholics, the year 2000 offers early salvation!

Pope John Paul II announced that throughout the Millennium celebration, penitents who do a charitable deed or give up cigarettes or alcohol for a day can earn an “indulgence” that will eliminate time in purgatory.

Indulgences are an ancient form of church-granted amnesty that releases penitents from certain forms of punish­ment in this life or the next.

The medieval church sold indul­gences, a practice that drove Martin Luther to rebel, leading to the Reforma­tion. They remain a source of theological debate between Protestants and Catholics, and since Vatican II, the Ro­man Catholic Church has played down their importance.

Some liberal Catholics are embar­rassed by a practice that seems to offer such a simplistic shortcut to salvation. But church officials emphasize that indul­gences are linked to a sincere repen­tance and are not a one-day expedient.

By restoring indulgences to so prominent a position, the Pope is mak­ing penitence a theme of the Millen­nium celebration. He is also reassuring conservatives in the church, but by broadening the ways believers can earn an indulgence, the Pope is also trying to imbue indulgences with some of the ecumenical spirit he wants to give the celebrations.

In a papal bull titled “Incarnationis Mysterium,” (The Mystery of the Incarnation), John Paul formally proclaimed 2000 a Holy Year, and issued edicts that in many ways serve as a practical guide to spiritual sal­vation during the period. He decreed that the jubilee would begin on Christmas Day 1999 and end on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2001.

In Catholic theology, souls in purgatory are purifying themselves before their entry into heaven.

The Pope said sinners would be granted “plenary indulgences,” a full par­don for sins as opposed to a shortening of the time spent in purgatory. He included personal acts of penitence or local charity work as ways of earning an indulgence.

Throughout the period, believers will be offered a wider selection of ways to re­ceive a plenary indulgence. They may fol­low tradition and attend a mass in one of several designated churches, and perform such devotions as the rosary or the sta­tions of the cross. Or, an appendix to the Pope’s letter explains, they may visit the sick, the imprisoned or the handicapped, or give to the poor.

Or they may choose an act of private sacrifice. As the appendix, signed by Car­dinal William Baum, a top Vatican official, explained, “This would include abstaining for at least one whole day from unneces­sary consumption” (e.g. from smoking, or alcohol, or fasting). The text points out that sinners also must fulfil the “usual spiritual and sacramental conditions” and say the “usual prayers.”       

                                                                                            -  Roanoke Times / 28 Nov 98

What outrageous, unscriptural edicts!  This is Pope John Paul II, dear friends - the very same Pope they want us to recognize and accept as the universal, supreme head of the church.

And notice, according to these edicts, indulgences will shorten a Catholic's time in purgatory!  But there is no such place as purgatory!  When a person dies he goes to either heaven or hell.

To go to heaven a person must be "born again"; and he can born again by simply asking and trusting the Lord Jesus to be his personal Saviour. 

If he has not received Christ as his personal Saviour, a person is lost and on the way to hell.  It's as simply as that!

That's the truth, my friends.  But this simple Gospel truth is not being preached by much of the so-called church today.  Many church leaders, Catholic and Protestant, want us to reverse the Reformation, and return to the "mother church." They want us to accept "the gift of papal primacy."

NO!   I will accept the John Paul as a true Christian leader  ...

1   when he carries a Bible with him and preaches the Gospel of the grace of God from it. (Titus 2:11-14)

2   when he cancels the dispensing of indulgences, and rejects the false teaching about purgatory. (Daniel 12:2)

3   when he accepts that Christ died for our sins, once and for all at Calvary, and quits trying to "offer up Christ" in the practice of the Mass.  (Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-28)

4   when he stops calling my sister, Mary, by the abominable title of "Queen of Heaven."  (see Jeremiah 44:17-26)

5   when he stops kissing the feet of statues, and restores the second command-ment to the Decalogue. (Exodus 20:4-5)

6   when he acknowledges that Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the church. (Ephesians 5:23)

7   when he acknowledges that all true believers in Christ are "priests unto God."  (Revelation 5:10)

INDULGENCES CAN NEVER SAVE !

How contrary papal indulgences are to the plain words of the Holy Scriptures: Why; even God does not offer indulgences to us for works that we do!!  He forgives completely on the basis of what the Lord Jesus has done for us.  The Bible says:

“For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”     (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Titus 3:5 emphasizes the exclusiveness of His grace, even rejecting 'works of righteousness'  . . . 

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renew­ing of the Holy Spirit.”

If we received forgiveness through our own good works, then Christ has not truly saved us; our salvation would be dependent upon our own “help.”  Such teaching is “another gospel.”

MAY GOD RAISE UP MANY ELIJAHS

TO CHALLENGE THE PROPHETS OF BAAL TODAY !

"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. Then he prayed again and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its fruit." (James 5:17-18)

"If Yahweh the LORD is God, follow

Him; but if Baal, follow him!" 

(1 Kings 18:21)

My reader, we are living in the days of the Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Christian leaders are compromising, and many are selling out to Mystery Babylon.

While so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and their little ones are starving, and being persecuted and butchered, many of us who call ourselves believers, have become comfortable, careless and carnal !

And while so many of our countrymen are on a roller-coaster ride to eternal hell, many of us "believers" glibly reply, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Where is our earlier commitment to follow in the steps of the Master?  Where's our discipleship today, dear friends? Where is our obedience? Where's our consuming love and loyalty for the Name of our Master?  It is the last hour; Antichrist and the Abomination of the Earth is coming!  And our Master asks us ...

"Can you not watch with me for one hour?" 

(1 John 2:18.  Matthew 26:40)

"When the Son of Man comes, will He find faithfulness on the earth?"           

 (Luke 18:8)

   WORLDWIDE PERSECUTION

It is estimated that every year,

160,000 Christians are martyred for their faith,

In more than 60 countries, Christians are harassed,

abused, arrested, tortured, or executed

specifically because of their faith.

200,000,000 Christians throughout the world

live in daily fear of secret police, vigilantes,

or state repression and discrimination.

Persecutions of Christians around the world are escalating, as is religious strife among non-Christian religions. At the turn of the century, the Christian popula­tion of Turkey was 32%. Today it is only 2%. This is due to the restrictions of the Muslim dominated government which has now rescinded the fight of Turkish Christians to free religious practices. The distribution of Bibles is punishable, churches may not be renovated and many have been seized far use as theatres, police stations etc.           

BHUTAN OPENS UP TO TV  AND  INTERNET

1999. BHUTAN is a devoutly Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas, situated between Assam and Tibet. Few outsiders ever see this land. Foreign tourists were banned until 1974, and still they are allowed in sparingly; 6,000 last year was a record.

For centuries, Bhutan has resisted the outside world. Every other Himalayan Buddhist kingdom - Tibet, Sikkim, Ladakh - has been absorbed into China or India, but Bhutan has refused to let the world in, as a means of national survival. Both world wars passed virtually unnoticed by its farmers, monks and yak herders. But as the new millennium approaches, one of the last places on Earth virtually untouched by the Information Age, is wiring up.

The government has now allowed television for the first time, and it will launch its own Internet server, connecting the Land of the Thunder Dragon to the Cyber world. “The whole world is getting smaller, and we need to be part of the global village,” said Foreign Minister Jigmi Thinley, the head of the Bhutanese government. “But how to do it while main­taining our traditions is a challenge.”

Change has always been greeted sceptically here. Television was outlawed in order to ward off foreign influences and to insulate Bhutan’s ancient customs and deeply religious way of life. But changes are suddenly coming, and fast.

In the past two months, hundreds of satellite dishes have sprouted on roofs and in backyards. Living rooms across the nation are being re­arranged to face the new family television set. Bhutan is preparing for a social and cultural revolution. “If we were to record the language pattern, interests, sense of humour, values, fashions and behaviour of our children now and repeat it six months later, we will see a dramatic difference,” noted a recent editorial in Kuensel, Bhutan’s only newspaper.

Officials note that only one of Bhutan’s 600,000 people has died from AIDS, and there is almost no crime here. The military is made up of 5,000 lightly armed soldiers with almost nothing to do.

But many worry that all this will change now that the television sets are plugging in. “Our culture, our religion, our distinctive-ness may all suffer,” says Dodo Tshering, 48, who runs a guest house in Punakha, central Bhutan. “Having all these television sets will change people.”

The introduction of television and the Internet are the latest steps in a long-term program to modernize Bhutan that began in the early 1960s with the current king’s father. At that time, Bhutan had no hospitals, electricity, running water, roads, schools, telephones, national currency or postal system.

Today, Bhutan is still poor, but developing steadily: per capita gross domestic product is $520 - twice what it was a decade ago - and the literacy rate has risen with most children attend­ing school. Meanwhile, foreign aid has helped build hospitals, roads and a $48 million digital phone system.

Much of the development has been pushed by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, 43, a British-educated National Basketball Asso­ciation fanatic who assumed the throne when his father died.

His Majesty, as he is known to all here, has promoted democ­racy, largely by giving away his power. Last year the king turned over day-to-day control of government to an elected council. More remarkably, he also gave the National Assembly the right to dethrone him with a no-confidence vote.

The king, who has four wives, all sisters, also has dispensed with many of the traditional court rules: His subjects are now allowed to look him directly in the eye, and they no longer have to bow nine times upon Seeing him. - Thimphu / Washington Post Service

Pray that Bhutan will open up to the Gospel!

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