SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF THE OMEGA LETTER
Iraq, Israel, and Bible Prophecy
It's almost like dominos falling. One piece of the prophetic
puzzle after another falling into place. And these are not
just hazy trends or vague harbingers of events yet far into
the future.
The major pillars of the prophetic world foretold in the
Word of God are being erected before our very eyes. More has
happened in the past year than in all of the previous ten
years in which I have been writing about and studying the
prophetic Word. The birth pangs are getting closer and
closer together and ever more tense.
The Berlin Wall has come down. The Soviet Empire "seems: to
be collapsing right before our eyes. A European Superstate,
depicted endlessly as the Tower of Babel, is rising. And, now,
as was bound to happen, the world's focus is being firmly
riveted on the Middle East. When Saddam Hussein sent 120,000
of his troops to Kuwait last month he set in motion a series
of events that has at this writing, the world at the brink of
war.
The question that I have been asked over and over again is
obvious: "What is the prophetic significance of these
developments in the Mid East?" Our special coverage beginning
on page 5 of this issue and further expanded upon in our new
video "Israel, The Iraqi War Machine and the Forgotten Bear"
seeks to put the recent events in their proper prophetic
perspective. However, allow me to just list a few
observations here:
1) As already mentioned the world's focus had suddenly
shifted to the Mid East. It has become all to apparent to the
world that in these days of emerging "Peace and Safety" the
Mid East is badly out of step with the times. This will lead
to increasing pressure for a major peace initiative in the
region. There can be no initiative without Israel. Thus the
pressure for "peace at any cost" will be tremendous.
Remember, Israel WILL sign a seven year peace treaty with the
antichrist to mark the beginning of the tribulation period.
2) The antichrist who signs this treaty will be the leader
of the Revived Roman Empire which will be centered in Europe.
Right now, the E.E.C., frustrated with American peace plans,
has sent a high level delegation to Israel to try to advance
its own plan.
3) Arab unity is down the drain. As much as we in the west
seem to want to misunderstand it, much of the Arab rank and
file fully support Hussein. Palastinian leaders including
Yasser Arafat have joined with Lybia and Iran in at least
quietly supporting the Iraqi moves. It is interesting that
Lybia and Persia (Iran\Iraq) are allied with the Soviet Union
when it invades Israel (Ez. 38-39) while the Saudi's and
other Arabs may not be so allied (Ez. 38:13). Thus the
current crisis may well be dividing up the sides for future
the invasion of Israel.
4) Egypt has re-emerged as a major player in preparation
for her role as "King of the South".
5) The Soviet Union is hiding in the bushes. Who would be
expecting her to move to the Mid East? She "seems" to be a
non-player. Perhaps this is why the world is so surprised and
perplexed at the invasion. (Ez. 38:13)
6) One of the questions the world asks of the Soviets is
"Why are you invading? Are you come to take a spoil?"
(Ez. 38:13). It is worth noting that this current move in the
Middle Eat was motivated by exactly that motive.
7) A final thing I'd like to note is an observation that
crossed my mind while watching the news last week. One report
after another listed all of the nations sending ships to the
Persian Gulf. There was France and England and Canada and so
on. As I sat there the scripture came to mind: "And he
gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon" (Rev. 16"16). As I thought on this I realized
that this current crisis is the first time that all nations
of the world have at least figuratively gathered together
against one. But it will happen again:
"And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone
for all people; all that burden themselves with it shall be
cut in pieces, THOUGH ALL THE PEOPLE GATHERED AGAINST IT"
(Zechariah 12-13).
Perhaps the present try at concerted world action will
succeed. If so, it would add fire to a call for a world
authority (read government) and would lay the framework for
yet another concerted world action which we know will one day
be against Israel. However, on that day the nations will face
the Lord Himself.
With all of these things happening we must remember that the
Lord Himself is in control, aligning the nations as He will.
He will draw the nations against Jerusalem so that He may
judge them there. He will draw Russia into Israel so that He
may judge them there. Any failure on our part to understand
this will make it impossible for us to discern the events of
the times in which we live.
On that the Church would understand that it is the spirit of
antichrist which "seems" to be bringing peace to this earth
and the Spirit of God which is preparing the nations for
judgment. Somehow discernment had so failed that we've
actually reversed the two. Let us pray that God will anoint
our eyes that we may see and our ears that we may hear.
In His Love
Peter Lalonde
ANOTHER GOSPEL
Sweden Religiously Revived or Confused
Is secular Sweden experiencing a religious resurgence?
According to recent studies the answer to that question can
be both yes and no. Sweden is now being said to be in "a
period of revival", according to a recent study from the
Institute if Religious Sociology in Sweden cited in the
Christian Century Magazine (May 9). Figures from the
Institute show that in 1988 the number of those attending
church services in Sweden rose by 200,00 to 9.2 million.
Church officials say the upward trend is continuing although
the latest figures are not available.
While Swedish citizens are born into the state Lutheran
church, many of the country's 8.4 million population only
attend services for special occasions such as Christmas.
Stockholm University religious historian Louise Backman says
that the upsurge in religious practice is due to "people's
worry about the economic, political and environmental
future". It is the small denominations in Sweden which are
the fastest growing. Backman cites the Livets Ord (Word of
life) church in Uppsala, which relates gaining "health and
wealth" to Christian beliefs and had grown from 22 members in
1983 to more than 1,000 by the end of last year, as an
example of "what people are looking for today". interest in
the state church is also growing, although not as rapidly, as
an increasing number of younger priests and women priests
bring in "fresh air into the church" she adds.
But another recent study claims that Sweden is still the most
secularized country in Europe and that many Swedes are badly
confused about their own belief's. The West German news
service, idea, (May 11) reports that the study, conducted by
sociologist Eva Hamberg of the University of Uppsala, found
that only nine percent of the population call themselves
"devout" Christians, with 26% stressing the fact that they
were not Christians. Most of the other respondents describe
themselves as "Christians of a sort".
Just what that phrase means (or does not mean) was found out
when Hamberg zeroed in on people's specific beliefs. only 2%
of those people describing themselves as "Christians of a
sort" believed in Jesus Christ. Rather, most of them believed
in a "supernatural being", without describing this "being" in
detail. Some of those questioned in this group believe in
anything.
Hamberg concludes that one cannot speak of a widespread
religiousness among the Swedes, and that most of their
religious views can be summarized as "I believe in something,
but I don't know what it is."
Christian Century (May 9/90)
STUDY DOUBTS SUBLIMINAL TAPES
Subliminal tapes--a multimillion dollar industry--aimed at
improving memory and self-esteem do little to enhance those
traits, according to a study done at the University of
California at Santa Cruz. A researcher found that people who
listened to the tapes believed that they had been helped,
despite a lack of psychological proof. A group of 78 men and
women, aged 16 to 60, listened to tapes of recorded music or
soothing natural sounds that also contained messages--such as
"I like myself and others," or "I have enormous concentration
ability." Messages are broadcast just below the threshold of
awareness and are aimed at the subconscious. Testing before
and after 5 weeks of listening to the tapes showed no change
in memory or self-esteem performance.
Harold Statesman
90/06/16
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS SAID TO AID RECOVERY
Strong religious beliefs can help ward off depression and speed
recovery after traumatic illness, according to a study of elderly
women with broken hips. Researchers report in the June issue of
American Journal of Psychiatry that of 30 women who underwent hip
repair surgery, those who rated highest in religious beliefs
(based on service attendance, perceived religiousness and ranking
religion as a source of strength) were better able to walk and
were less depressed when discharges than those with weaker
religious beliefs.
Harold Statesman
90/06/16
PLANNING COMMISSION AIDS TRANCE CHANNELER CHURCH
M E D F O R D--The Jackson County Planning Commission has granted
a new age channeler a permit to build a meditation center for the
Church of Self-Realization on a ranch outside Eagle Point.
Penny Torres Rubin, who speaks for what she says is a New Age
spiritual entity known as Mafu, said the approval granted to her
came in answer to her prayers.
"I'm very happy with the planning department, and our spiritual
beliefs have been approved by the board,' Rubin said.
Associated Press
90/05/17
ARE SUBLIMINAL TAPES EVIL?
By Tex Marrs
"Prosperity, deliverance, healing, word confessions!" "It's all
available in our subliminal scripture tapes," says an ad in
Chrisma Magazine.
The company making this unbiblical claim is Rapha Ranch (not
connected with Rapha hospitals and clinics) whose tapes, books,
and videos are offered for sale by Life Distributors of Florida.
However, Rapha Ranch is not the only company putting out such
tapes. Also in Chrisma (Sept. 1989), a group named Renew
Ministries advertises: RENEW YOUR MIND EFFORTLESSLY--BIBLE BASED
RENEWAL CASSETTES. FEAR, FAILURE, ADDICTIONS will fade away
promises the ad of you use their "Subliminal mind renewal
cassettes."
The rapha Ranch ads also offer "Transformation Tapes." Billed as
not suitable for sensitive "subjects" (I suppose they mean
people), "these tapes," says Rapha, are "recorded solely on the
subconscious level" and are not heard by the conscious ear.
Instead "the person will feast their subconscious mind on nature
sounds such as waterfalls, rain and lovel....music." Moreover,
these tapes are perfect, says the Chrisma ad, for individuals who
"may not have an interest in sitting under the Word of God for
long periods."
The New Age loves subliminal message tapes. Now suppose"Christian"
ministries offer them for sale. But how do we know that these so-
called "Christian" subliminal message tapes don't contain unholy
secret messages? Well, Rapha Ranch assures us that only the Word
of God is used in their tapes. Still, who really knows--after all,
the messages supposedly are imbedded into the tapes and cannot be
heard and understood by the conscious ear.
Scientifically, the only reliable research study conducted has
shown that subliminal message audiotapes are totally ineffective.
But nevertheless, their attempted use by supposed Christian
ministries is a sad commentary.
What does the Bible have to say about this? The Bible tells us to
be of a "sound mind". God's Word does not come to man by bypassing
the rational mind. The Word comes by hearing, the Bible says. It
is Satan who tries to crawl into our minds through the back door,
speaking sweet-sounding but dark words directly into our brains
and projecting evil, adulterous thoughts into unwary minds.
The Rapha Ranch organization and the others who offer subliminal
messages may sincerely believe that what they're selling is good
for you. But it's not. We should pity those who seek the easy
path--the effortless path to sanctificaiton and wisdom. God wants
us to make a commitment, to exercise our minds and fill them with
His Word.
How glorious are the scriptures! What a privilege to read the
Bible, to consciously hear the Word preached and, while wide awake
and alert, consider and meditate on the scriptures. Subliminal
message tapes are simply a thinly-veiled attempt by demonic forces
to keep us from the Word and to shut out the mighty, awe-
inspiring power that flows from the scriptures. They are just one
more example of the many dangers of the New Age.
FLASHPOINT (June 1990)
UK THE CENTER FOR SATANISM
Experts in culstism believe that Britian is now firmly established
as Europe's center for satanic worship. Recent events at a Bristol
school have only confirmed their suspicions. Eight teenagers
claimed "a group of adults forced them to dress in cloaks for
candle-lit sacrifices at mid-night" on hillside forts outside the
city.
Within a few hours, details of their claims were being stored on a
computer 6,000 miles away in California at the world's first
agency which keeps details of satanic abuse around the world.
The Prophetic Alert (May 1990)
WARNING LABEL ON BIBLE
Evansville--Gideon Bibles placed in state owned inns should
contain warning labels, a nationwide organization of atheists and
agnostics says. The Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc. has
asked the state to place warning labels on the Bibles. The
request follows Gov. Bayh's decision to let the Gideon Society put
Bibles back in the inns, where they had been removed last summer
after another group had objected to them.
Bayh spokesman David Dawson said he doubted whether Bayh would
approve putting warning labels on the Bibles.
Wire Dispatcher (90/07/08)
GROWING LIBERAL RELIGION
MILWAUKEE - The Unitarian Universalist Association reports last
that its membership last year increased 1.4% for adults and 4.8%
for children.
"It is clear from our record of continued growth throughout the
denomination that people are reaching out to embrace the liberal
religious tradition", says the Rev. William F. Schultz, president
of the 190,000-member denomination.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRAQI - THE WAR MACHINE AND THE FORGOTTEN BEAR
He compares himself to Stalin and Nebuchadnezzar. The Arab massses
see him as a Middle Eastern Robin Hood. The industrialized world
sees him as the Hitler of the 90's. He is Iraqi's leader, Saddam
Hussein. Regardless of one's perspective, by the actions of this
man, the fuse on the powder-keg of the Middle East has been lit
once again.
In the dead of night on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein marched
120,000 of his crack Iraqi combat troops into the tiny Arab
Emirate of Kuwait. By mid-afternoon, the Emir was in exile, the
country had fallen and Hussein was in control of 20-25% of the
world's known oil reserves. The Iraqi forces plundered Kuwait. It
is estimated that they seized between $3 and $4 billion in gold
bullion, currency and goods. And the world feared that their
appetite for spoil was not yet sated. Hussein's forces were
massing ominously close to the Saudi Arabian border.
The world was outraged. In a rare moment of unanimity, the U.N.
Security Council voted to block trade with Iraqi, but there were
no teeth to this threat. The day after the vote, on August 7, the
United States determined that the Iraqi troops assembled at the
Saudi Arabian border constituted an imminent threat to the
nation's security. At Saudi's request, the U.S. began sending
military forces to the area. In response, Iraq "eternally" annexed
Kuwait. This action was subsequently declared null and void by the
United Nations.
The neighboring Arab nations had been asking for a delay in troop
build-up so that an "Arab solution" could be reached. But the call
for an Arab Summit was late in coming and trouble was encountered
organizing it. Finally, on Aug. 10 when the time for a diplomatic
solution had run out, 12 members of the 21 member Arab League
voted for an Egyptian drafted resolution. Those nations voting in
favor of the resolution subsequently began sending token numbers
of troops to defend their sister nations.
Since that time, the conflict has been escalating by degrees. On
August 16, Iraq finalized an agreement with Iran to cease
hostilities and in exchange, Iraq would return the land it had
seized in a war that lasted for almost a decade. This war was less
motivated by a spirit of peace than by the inability of the Iraqi
government to fight wars on two major fronts concurrently. The
troops previously stationed on the Iranian border are now being
moved to the Saudi Arabian border to square off against the United
States led forces.
Threats against the foreign nationals within Kuwait and Iraq
escalate daily as well. The treatment of these "guests" of the
Iraqi government may well be the circumstance which plagues the
world over the precipice into open warfare.
This still developing crisis is precipitating three significant
developments on the world stage. Firstly, world focus has
officially shifted from East-West tensions to the Middle East.
Tremendous pressure will now be exerted to formulate and finalize
a comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East. US State
Department spokeswoman, Margaret Tutwiler, indicated that "the
invasion 'underscores' the need for all countries in the Middle
East to achieve peace." [The Jewish Press, 8/10/90] Secondly, the
need for world leadership at this moment of crisis is coupled with
the inability of the European Community to respond to that call
will accelerate the restructuring and unification of Europe. And
thirdly, this crisis has forced a realignment of the Arab world.
COUNTDOWN TO MID EAST PEACE
The increasing volatility of the Middle East and its impact on the
industrialized world will continue to sharpen world focus on the
need for Middle East peace. Even before the current crisis in the
Persian Gulf, peace in that region was high on the world's agenda.
Until recently, the U.S. alone has sought to broker peace.
However, with the American effort stalled, the UN Security Council
and the European Community are each considering floating their own
plans for the area.
U.S. PEACE INITIATIVES
Since coming to office, American President Bush and his Secretary
of State, James Baker, have been pressing in the Israelis and the
Palestinians (read PLO) to sit down at the peace table. This
effort seems doomed to failure, for it is impossible to
successfully broker a peace when there is no recognition of the
major issues that are at stake. Although it may be hard to
imagine, the U.S. is very naive in its perception of international
conflicts.
One of the reasons that the Administration was caught off-guard by
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, was that they viewed Hussein's threats
as mere "rhetoric" and "posturing" and did not take his threats
seriously. It is extremely naive to imagine that all nations will
operate according to the U.S. "code of ethics" and view all
situations from a U.S. perspective.
The Administration has historically taken a very simplistic view
of the Middle East. they ignore that this is a regional conflict.
Rather, they have treated the Middle East tension as simply a
territorial dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians. Mr.
Baker has voiced his annoyance with Israelis refusal to negotiate
by his rules and timetables. unfortunately, his "rules" and
premises ignore the fact that Israel is surrounded by numerous,
heavily armed, hostile nations with whom they are at a state of
war. The stated aim of those nations is to eliminate the state of
Israel and "push them into the sea". Six wars in the last 40 years
have proven that this is no idle threat. Mr. Baker and his family
do not spend their entire nights sleeping in the equivalent of a
bank vault, but the Israelis who live near the boarder do.
Given a choice between living with the threat of war, or
negotiating their own suicide with US assistance, the Israelis
have chosen life. The failure of the US to extract a peace
agreement from their Israeli "allies" has left a vacuum in the
negotiating process that the European Community is willing and
anxious to fill.
EC IN THE WINGS
The EC has been sitting back in quiet preparation, while the U.S.
exhausts its options in the Mid-East. That period seems to be
drawing to a close. In late July, the EC fielded a team of three
European foreign ministers to conduct a "fact find" mission in the
region. A writer for the Jewish Press notes the contradiction of
sending this team while stating their commitment to the US
efforts: "...it was significant that the visit of the so-called
'trokia' ministers occurs after US and European leaders quietly
coordinated their positions on the Middle East at the Houston
summit last week, when the Europeans promised to fully back U.S.
peace efforts for an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue led by Secretary
of State James Baker. [Jewish Press 7/20/90]
Now that the Middle East is home to an international crisis, all
bets may be off. And the EC is ready. "DeMichelis, speaking of the
need to take urgent steps for peace, said: "We are ready to take
an initiative. We are here as a fact-finding mission...for
studying some form of European initiative in the near future."
DeMichelis (Italian Foreign Minister) said the EC was not
considering imposing economic sanctions. The European ministers
said they would hopefully formulate a peace initiative by
September..." [The Jerusalem Post 8/4/90]
"Western Europe now wants to play the role of mediator, as an
important as that of the U.S.," now in the Middle East. But its
policies over the past two decades hardly provide the credentials
of an honest broker...Natan Sharansky [a prominent Soviet Jew]
appeared before leaders if the European Community in 1987 and
implored then to join the U.S. in linking trade relations with the
USSR to the latter country's emigration policies. The Europeans
voiced their horror at the plea, insisting "We do not link
economic measure with political goals."
[The Jerusalem Post 8/4/90]
But now the EC wants to force the Israelis into peace agreement,
the rules of the game have changed. The EC now has no problem
threatening Israel with trade sanctions to achieve its political
goals relative to the Palestinians. In early July the EC issued a
communique following a two day summit in Dublin in which the
leaders were excoriating Israel for the "lamentable position
concerning the observance of human rights in the territories" and
raising the possibility of imposing economic sanctions in
Israel...The 12 EC leaders also pledged to double aid to
Palestinians in the territories by 1992 and to speedily open a
permanent EC office there. [Jewish Press 7/6/90
Those initial threats of sanctions are no longer being expressed,
but the greater threat of locking Israel out of the united Europe
of 1992 has been raised: "The Community has not imposed formal
sanctions in Israel, and the three ministers have now promised
that it would not do so. But it can exert pressure by refusing
Israel's request to upgrade its relations with the EC
in preparation for the 1992 European economic union. There was an
implicit threat in Italian Foreign Minister GIanni de Michelis'
remark that if there is tension in the Middle East, cooperation
will become more and more difficult with countries outside the
European Community. There is also an unmentioned embargo on arms
to Israel, though there is no restraint in selling vast quantities
of sophisticated arms to Arab countries in a state of war with
Israel. Indeed, neither Gaddfi's chemical warfare plants not
Iraq's manufacture of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons
would have been possible without West European cooperation."
[Jerusalem Post 8/4/90] The Europeans are hardly dealing from a
high moral ground, but they are dealing from a position of
strength.
Currently the EC is Israel's largest trading partner bringing in
$10 billion worth of business. Therefore, economic threats made by
this growing colossus are serious. To economically survive, it is
important for Israel to secure a berth in the united Europe.
"Israel senior officials have said that the government's ultimate
goal is to achieve many of the same economic privileges awarded to
many non--EC countries in Europe in 1991 which are called the
European Free Trade Area and which together with the EC are
expected to form the European Economic Space in two years
time....The European Community is not likely to honor Israel's
request for enhancing economic cooperation with an integrated
Europe in 1992 without progress in the peace process. [Jewish
Press 7/27/90] With the chips now on the table, serious
negotiations will now begin. To that end,"...EC ministers invited
Israel for Cooperation Council talks in Brussells in mid-September
to discuss Israel's economic ties with the Community."
THE PROPHETIC VIEW
The prophet Daniel gives is a vision of end times events. He shows
us a world government that is a reborn Roman {European) Empire.
This government will eventually be headed by "the prince who is to
come", the AntiChrist. "Once the Antichrist arises, he will make a
covenant with Israel, guaranteeing their protection for seven
years. This "Covenant with Hell" will mark the beginning of the
seven year tribulation period which, I believe, coincides with the
rapture of the church." [Omega Letter 4/90]. An article in the May
'90 Omega-Letter entitled "The Covenants of Peace" anticipates the
potential provisions of that covenant based upon the assumption
that the Antichrist may offer a "cheap substitute that closely
resembles God's original promises."
The negotiations that are beginning with the EC may be a
forerunner of that covenant, if not the very covenant itself.
ARABIAN SEATS OF POWER
The crisis in the Persian Gulf is precipitating a realignment of
power in the Arab world. "This is the end of the Arab world as we
and they have known it," said Judith Kipper, a Middle East analyst
at the Brokkings Institution. [NY Times 8/12/90] Gone is the myth
of Arab unity. The Middle East is once again polarizing around the
ancient adversaries of Media-Persia [Iran/Iraq] and Egypt.
Saddan Hussein is seen as the redeemer of the radical Arab masses.
As such, around him have gathered the Iranians, the Lybians, the
Jordanian populace and the far-flung Palestinians. "Iraq's
invasion of Kuwait ushers in a new realignment in which Iraqis,
Iranian and Palestinian hard-liners appear to share an interest in
subduing the oil-rich monarchies of the region and challenging
United States influence in the Arab world...Iran officially
condemned the Iraqi move, but the suspicion remained that it had
at the very least not discouraged Baghdad's action...Iraqi and
Iranian officials confirmed in interviews at the OPEC meetings
last month in Geneva that their officials had met secretly as
recently as late July, days before the OPEC session had opened. IN
a half-day meeting, the official said, Iran and Iraq crafted their
common strategy of squeezing Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates
to stop violating their quota ceilings on oil production...Arab
officials from Persian Gulf countries said they believed that some
Palestinians from among the 400,000 Palestinians who lived in
Kuwait had lent active support to Iraq, gathering information and
giving other assistance to Iraqi troops. [NY Times 3/30/90]
Egypt has been the Arab champion of the West. It has been the
organizer of Iraqi opposition. To its side have come the Syrians,
the Saudi Arabians, the oil emirates and Morocco. "Egypt is going
to come out in a strong position. It will not be the strong
position of 20 years ago based on military power, but based on a
conviction and persuasion." ..Egypt, only recently emerging from a
decade of isolation brought on by its peace treaty with Israel,
has again become a center of the Arab world with President Hosni
Mubarak's handling of the crisis."[NY TIMES 8/3/90] The Persian
Gulf crisis has demonstrated that Egypt has emerged from Arab
exile and has become a formidable seat of power in the Middle
East.
Prophetically, there are three significant issues in this new
alignment:
First, the present alignment places Lybia [Put], and Iran/Iraq
[Persia] in an aggressive, anti-Zionist alliance. This coincides
with their political position in Ez. 38, which documents a future
Russian lead invasion of Israel.
Secondly, when Russia and the renegade Arabs begin their invasion,
Ez. 38 speaks of "Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish."
This groups asks the Russian horde of they have come to seize
plunder. Sheba and Dedan are cities in Saudi Arabia. It is
interesting to note that "Tarshish" is the sea-faring Phoenicians
word for "refinery". Could this be an ancient reference to today's
sea-faring refined oil merchants? If so, we have an ancient
reference to Saudi Arabia and the oil emirates. And this group is
questioning the motives for the invasion of Israel, wondering
whether the motives are the same as those which precipitated the
August invasion of Kuwait.
Lastly, Egypt has emerged as a major player once again in Middle
Eastern affairs. This is consistent with a block of power in
Daniel 11 identified as "The King of the South". Scriptural
interpretation commonly identifies this kingdom as "Egypt."
EUROPEAN IDENTITY CRISIS
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait has brought on an identity crisis in
Europe. The European Community to date has been purely an
economical alliance. They have grown very used to flexing their
economical muscle and watching non-member nations recoil in
anguish. However, they do not yet have an effectual political or
military dimension. When it became clear that Hussein had to be
strongly dealt with, this economic powerhouse found itself
helpless. "The Iraq crisis has been a sobering experience,' a
European official at NATO said. "It has demonstrated the limits of
European power, and it has shown that only the United States can
play the role of global policeman.'" [New York Times 8/12/90]
The Europeans and the U.S. have smugly relied on NATO for their
common defense. Unfortunately for the present crisis, the NATO
charter expressly forbids military operations outside of North
America or Europe. Further, expanding the charter to include such
"out-of-area" conflicts has been a strongly contested issue.
Without an official body to organize a swift, coordinated,
military response, the Europeans were unable to take the lead in
dealing with the crisis. By default, the U.S. stepped into that
leadership role. This has lead to a high level of discomfort.
Europe was just beginning to feel that it had freed itself from
the shadow of the United States, and was very proud that it could
operate as an independent and equal power. The Europeans are now
acting on a national basis. Forced to chose whether or not to "tag
along" with the US, they once again have the repulsive self-
perception that they are the U.S.'s "today's".
This repulsion will undoubtedly result in action. Prior to the
Persian Gulf crisis, the signatory nations of the Treaty of Rome
were scheduled to meet in Dec. of this year to discuss
institutional reform and expansion of the EC purview. Recent
events will certainly add urgency to those discussions and perhaps
bring unanimity where there was none before.
The Europeans appear to have two options. They can develop their
own security dimension which excludes the U.S. However, "For the
European Community, which was considering developing a "security
dimension" outside NATO as part of its moves toward economic and
political union, the crisis has raised fresh doubts about the
viability of a new military organization that excludes the Unites
States. The Western European Union [WEU], a security body
composing nine European NATO members, has so far ignored the
Iraqi conflict...it [WEU] is not viewed as an alternative to NATO.
A European official said Europe would need "time, hardware and
organization" to build an integrated military structure. "This
would effect the American stake in Europe," he said, "and I don't
think anyone wants to see the Americans leaving now." [NY Times
8/12/90]. As stated here, U.S. expulsion from long term
involvement in European security would undoubtedly result in an
udesireable short-term pullout. Alternatively, the Europeans could
decide to welcome the U.S. as a member on some level. That could
mean integration into one or more of the economic, political and
military aspects of the emerging United Europe.
In any case, institutional reconstructuring will be high on the
agenda in Rome, this December. There the groundwork will be laid
for the United Europe of the foreseeable future. Like birth pangs,
the peace if European integration is quickening and the kingdom of
the AntiChrist is about to be fully defined.
NUMEROUS PLAGUES HARDEN SOVIET HEARTS
Reports coming from the Soviet Union are increasingly grim. They
characterize a country that is on the verge of complete
governmental, economic, and social collapse. The Herald Statesman
reported on 7/30/90, "Time is catasrophically short,' [said]
Nikoli P. Shemlev, one of the economists..and [he] warned that
growing shortages of food and consumer products of all types was
'socially dangerous' and must not be prolonged." This evaluation
echoed a statement in the 7/30/90 NY Times made by Soviet Prime
Minister Nikoli I. Ryzhkov," 'At the rate things are going, we
cannot expect an improvement of food supplies,' he said, 'and
social tensions will grow even more."
Governmental Plagues
The USSR is a union of 15 republics. "The 15 republics are not the
only divisions within the Soviet Union. There are also 20
autononomous republics', eight autononomous regions, and ten
autononoumous areas. These are inhibited by smaller ethnic
minorities, such as that Tartars in Russia, the Abkhazians in
Georgia, and most explosively, the Armenians in the Nagorno-
Kakabakh autononomous region of Azerbaijan. Autononomous republics
have their own parliaments and laws." [The Economist, 7/28/90]
When the USSR was ruled by a central iron fist, dissent was beyond
thought. However, with the introduction of 'glastnost', the
republics and other nationalist movements have been seeking
greater autonomy from the central government. Eight of the fifteen
have even been so bold as to declare their sovereignty or
independence. A chart on "States of Independence" was produced by
The Economist and neatly summarizes the powers which these
republics have claimed as their own.
Tensions between these republics and their tribal groups have
frequently erupted into violence in the past year. The
unpredictability and violence of these nationalist movements have
been a source of great consternation for the Kremlin. Newsweek
reported on 4/4/90 that "Moscow's worried enough during the recent
turmoil in Azerbaijan to send regular army units to reinforce KGB
guards at nuclear sites there." Subsequent reports have indicated
that the central government has been moving much of its nuclear
arsenal back into the Russian republic for fear that these arms
could fall into militant nationalist hands.
To stem this tide of governmental disintegration, President
Gorbachev has called for the drafting of a "new union treaty" by
Dec. 1990. This new treaty would redefine the powers of the
Kremlin and the republics. "The republics could be something
more like sovereign states, while remaining in the Soviet Union.
The grip of the central planners in Moscow would be broken, and
the Kremlin left with power only over such things as defense and
monetary policy.
And, because the republics would choose whether or not to sign the
treaty, Mr. Gorbachev hopes that the country, held together by
choice rather than coercion, would not merely survive, but emerge
the stronger." [The Economist 7/28/90] Having had a taste of
freedom from an oppressive central government, this would appear
unlikely.
Economic Plagues
The economic distress in the Soviet Union is almost unimaginable.
The people are faced with severe shortages of food, fuel, consumer
goods and housing.
Despite a bumper crop in the fields, Soviet farmers lack the fuel,
machinery, parts and labor to harvest their own grain. The farmers
have threatened that "unless the city people help in the
vegetable fields, they will not get a single gram of food."
[International Herald Tribune 7/29/90]. The situation is
increasingly desperate. "Over the pat months food supplies have
dwindled steadily throughout the country, leaving many store
shelves bare and increasing popular dissatisfaction...the main
agricultural daily Selskaya Zhizn, said that the state was not
buying enough grain to ensure steady bread supplies to the
population. The newspaper said that the state had to acquire 85.3
million tons of grain, but that only 76 million had been
contracted." [International Herald Tribune 7/23/90]
With farm production down, the Soviets have historically looked
abroad to supplement their own harvest. However, this year a
severe shortage of hard currency has hampered foreign grain and
agricultural equipment purchases. In addition, they have fallen
behind in their bill payments thus ruining their own credit with
western banks. In a move of desperation, the government is now
selling off "the family jewels" just to make it through another
day. There have been reports that the Soviet government had sold
$1 billion worth of gold, platinum, palladium, diamonds, and other
metals. On July 26 it was reported that the government made a deal
with one of the world's leading diamond traders, DeBeers of South
Africa. In this five year agreement, the Soviets will sell off $5
billion worth of uncut diamonds, and DeBeers will immediately
advance the Soviets $1 billion.
Then there is the cigarette crisis. At a recent demonstration, one
banner outside the Perm city hall read, "Hey, you up there, your
people have nothing to smoke as well as nothing to eat." "Along
with other ills, the Soviet Union is now in the throes of a
nicotine fit, brought on by a painful and puzzling withdrawal of
cigarettes from a nation of heavy smokers. IN many parts of the
country, the cigarette shortage--caused by a series of typical
economic lapses--has galvanized the patient, line-suffering Soviet
consumer into action..In Kuibyshev, smokers at one aircraft plant
threatened a strike...Warning strikers have also been reported in
Ulyanovsk and Ufa, while in Voroenzh and Orel, angry smokers have
smashed the windows of tobacco kiosks. This month, at the height
of the harvest in the Krasnador region, combine operators brought
their machines to a stop with a non-negotiable demand: "No
tobacco, no work!" Such public vehemence has been absent during
other shortages" when cheese, onions,lemons, or sausages disappear
from the stores, Soviet shoppers simply shift their queues from
one empty counter to another." [NY Times 8/30/90] And perhaps the
greatest irony of it all, Cuban cigarettes exports have been
curtailed because the Soviet Union has not been able to provide
them with the cardboard they need for packaging.
Societal Plagues
With such great unrest and economic pressure, is it any wonder
that Soviet society is collapsing under the weight? The Soviet's
divorce rate is among the highest in the world. The birth rate in
the cities is plummeting. Jobs are being threatened and lost.
Many are homeless or cramped in unheated apartments. hungry people
are waiting in long lines for food and consumer goods only to find
empty shelves. With fuel already in short supply, it promises to
be a cold, dark winter. These people, most of whom cut their on
the theology of godlessness, are growing increasingly desperate
and hostile. What or whom will be the object of their hostility
when it finally erupts?
Consider the following report from the Jewish Press, 8/30/90]:
"Newspapers in the Soviet Union are hardly independent of
governmental and party controls. It is therefore very important
that Pravda now admits that anti-Semitism had spread far beyond
the usual sphere of right-wing nationalists and governmental
officials. As a result of a process that was vastly accelerated by
Stalin, Kruschev and Gorbachev, the violent anti-Semitism that was
a heritage from the Czars and the Russian Orthodox church has
reached down to the masses of the Russian people. Within the
Soviet Union today, there is such intense anti-Semitism that many
of the worst proponents of this hatred have adopted the most
extreme definitions of Jewry and Judaism that could be borrowed
from the Nazi villians...Russian anti-Semites are now talking
about persecuting all individuals who have married Jews or who can
be shown to have had any discernable Jewish ancestors. It is not
unlikely that such definitions would include perhaps in excess of
10 million innocent people on a massive scale...It will be the
duty of the nations of the world to provide homes for them."
So far, the Soviet Union has issued visas to approximately 1
million Jews who are voluntarily seeking to immigrate. Of those,
Israel is expecting to ultimately receive 500,000. Israel is
having great difficulty housing the flood of approximately 10,000
Soviet Jews that arrive each month in what they term "Operation
Exodus". **A book was written a few years ago called "The Second
Exodus". As a result of this great influx of people, many Israelis
are now living in tents. The report cited above would indicate
that the current voluntary immigration may soon become a forced
expulsion. This would somewhat relieve Soviet shortages and surely
put additional pressure on Israel.
SOVIET UNION: New Age Egypt
For the past 70 years the Soviet Union has been a godless nation,
spreading her ideology and terror throughout the nations of the
world. For the past 70 years the American Christian right seems to
have demonstrated a greater fear of the Soviet Union than faith
that her godlessness would bring her judgement. The fall of the
Soviet Union should come as no surprise to Bible students.
Just as the ancient Egyptians were afflicted by plagues that
their hearts might be hardened, so the Soviet Union appears to be
afflicted today. Just at the ancient Egyptians devised an evil
plan to expel the Jews and then follow after them to destroy them,
so the Soviet Union appears to be following in the same path. Just
as God brought about the destruction of Pharaoh's army so that the
Egyptians would "know that I AM the Lord", so we are told in Ez.
38 that the armies of the Soviet Union and their allies will be
destroyed by Him to "make Myself known in the sight of many
nations; and they will know that I Am the Lord."
The Exodus account idicates the active part that God took in
hardening Pharaoh's heart in order to reveal to Himself. Ez.
account of the future invasion of Israel lead by the Prince of
Rosh also describes God's vert active role in executing His
judgement and revealing Himself. Ez. 38 speaks of a HOOK being set
in the Soviet jaw. It speaks of TURNING them about and BRINGING
them out. Ez. 39 speaks of DRIVING them on, TAKING them up and
BRINGING them against the mountains of Israel. God, Himself, will
be carefully orchestrating Soviet Judgement.
It is possible that the privation currently being experienced by
the Soviet Union is the very tool that God will use to bring that
nation and her allies to their appointment with judgement on the
mountains of Israel. Can this be discerned from Ez.'s prophecy?
Consider these verses:
"Thus says the Lord God, It will come about on that day, that
thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil
plan and you will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled
villages, I will go up against those who are at rest, that live
securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or
gates. TO CAPTURE SPOIL AND TO SEIZE PLUNDER, to turn your hand
against the waste places which are now inhabited, and AGAINST THE
PEOPLE WHO ARE GATHERED from the nations, who have acquired CATTLE
AND GOODS, who live at the center of the world. Sheba, and Dedan,
and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its villages, will say to
you, Have you come to CAPTURE SPOIL? Have you assembled your
company to SEIZE PLUNDER, TO CARRY AWAY SLIVER AND GOLD, TO TAKE
AWAY CATTLE AND GOODS, TO CAPTURE GREAT SPOIL?
EZ. 38:10-13
Will Soviet need, greed and jealousy drive her on after the Jews
she has just released and to her judgement? We may soon find out.
Winter approaches.
FALLING AWAY
Patriarch Attempts To Heal Wounds Between Eastern and Western
Christians
Within 24 hours of arriving in New York City, Ecumenical Patriarch
Dimitrios I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the world's
Eastern Orthodox Christians, presided over two services aimed at
healing centuries-old divisions in his own flock.
The Patriarch joined with leaders of the National Council of
Churches, an organization linking 32 Protestant and Orthodox
Christian Churches, in prayers at its Mahattan headquarters. John
Cardianl O'Conner, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, opened
the service, and the choir of the Eastward Missionary Baptist
Church Sanctuary graced the ritual with a distinctly un-Orthodox
beat.
The Patriarch pointed out that the last 1000 years has been a era
of division within Christianity, and he hoped that the next
millennium would be "a time of healing from these wounds."
Before the service, Cardinal O'Conner said, "there is no question"
that greater unity within Orthodoxy itself would make it easier to
bridge the differences between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman
Catholicism and Protestantism.
NY Times (7/15/90)
Vatican Warns Catholic Theologians Over Public Dissent
In its strongest and most comprehensive statement on the topic,
the Vatican told Roman Catholic Theologians in June that they had
no right to dissent publicly from official church teachings, even
those not considered infallible or explicitly based on divine
revelation.
Theologians who find themselves unable to accept certain teachings
should raise their objections only in private and not turn to the
mass media, said the document, which was approved by Pope John
Paul II. The Vatican's statement defended the right of church
authorities to bar dissenting theologians from teaching in the
name of the church or to silence them.
The Rev. Richard A. McCormick, a professor of theology at the
University of Notre Dame said, "The first reaction of many if not
most theologians will be to dissent from that document on
dissent."
"I think that Vatican officials have the attitude that the ability
to dissent is somehow a grant from ecclesial authority when in
fact it is rooted very deeply in the contingency and imperfection
of human knowing," Father McCormmick said.
NY Times 6/27/90
Canadian Reconstruction
The Reconstructionist movement had spread rapidly, claim "tens of
thousands" of adherents throughout North America, and plans
congregations for Calgary and Vancouver.
The appeal of Reconstructionism is growing, "Alberta" according to
Reg Barrow, a Reconstructionist publisher and member of the sole
Reconstructionist congregation in Edmonton, is "fast becoming the
Reconstructionist capital of Canada, at least in per capita
terms."
On the political level many Recontructionists find a home with the
Christian Heritage Party CHP.
Western Report 8/13/90
BE YE SEPARATE
True revival will be identified by a recognition of the horror of
sin and the necessity of a Christian's separation from the present
age.
When Moses demanded the Israelites's release from Egypt, one of
Pharaoh's compromises was that they no go , 'very far away'--an
offer Moses quickly rejected Ex 8:28. A person can be religious
and still retain the world's favor as long as he doesn't "go very
far away'--does not put to much distance between his lifestyle and
the world's. But such an individual cannot enjoy real fellowship
with Christ.
The history of revival shows the influence they had on the
Christian's relationship with the world system. A healthy
separation from the contamination of that system became apparent
during those moves of God. Such commitment to holiness is missing
today in a disappointing large segment of the church world.
Pentecostal Testimony Aug. 1990
ENVIRONMENT
Children Proclaim: "We are the world"
In 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrishchev stood before the
United Nations General Assembly and pounded the podium with his
shoe during a debate on Soviet colonialism in Eastern Europe. Two
years before, he vowed that he would bury the United States.
Yesterday, the assembly floor witnessed an entirely different
display, as a group of children walked to the front of the
cavernous hall and began to sing.
Theirs was a different message, one that met with resounding
applause. "I'm in favor of friendship," the lyrics went. "I'd love
to be friends with the world."
Here was a new kind of power.
The 33 children who make up the Harmonaries, an award-winning
choral group from Springhurst Schools in Dobbs Ferry, were among
2,000 from 11 states and 12 countries who participated in the 1990
Youth Environment Forum.
Sponsored by the U.N. Environment Program, the forum included
a day long series of concerts, student exhibits and workshops
directed at raising awareness of environmental issues.
"The bottom line is networking," said the U.N.E.P.
Coordinator Delucie Montagnac. "What has emerged is a definite
structure for organizing youth on an international level to take
action to resolve environmental problems."
A conviction long held by many of the forum's chief
supporter's is that children have the capacity to move the world
to change.
"This is the changing of the world," said Richie Havens, one
of the leading folk singers of the 1960s and chairman of the
Natural Guard, an environmental youth organization. "It's kids
saving the planet from adults. We need to employ their energy to
get results. This is the empowerment of youth. They're going to
change the planet, even if they have to do it on their own."
Herold Stateman 05/12/90
Faithful Observe Environmental Sabbath
Shortly after 2 p.m. June 3, the rain-portending clouds
thinned and the sun shone as if to mark the beginning of the
Environmental Sabbath celebration at Wainwright House in Rye.
Almost 100 people gathered on the rear lawn of the former
estate on Long Island Sound shore to celebrate what Daniel Martin
hoped would become "an Earth holy day.:
"We're trying to create a sense of the Earth as a religious
feast," said Martin, director of the Institute on Global Issues
and religious advisor to the United Nations' Environment
Program. "It has to do with who we are and how we relate to the
rest of creation."
Throughout the nation and in several other countries,
including the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia and Ireland, people
met over the weekend to spark awareness of the environment and
encourage religious groups to play an active role.
Martin said that if people would consider the environment a
religious issue, it would affect how they do business, enact laws,
and educate children.
Those who met in Rye carried brightly colored ribbons as they
walked what they called, "a cosmic journey" around a spiral of
stones laid out on the lawn, symbolizing the creation and
development of the universe.
Representatives of the Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian,
Islamic and Baha'i faiths spoke. Participants could meditate
indoors or enjoy music on the grounds.
Herold Statesman 06/04/90
"The United States of Europe to be a Peaceful Core"
In remarks prepared for the 339th commencement exercises at
Harvard University, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said June
7th that the U.S. and Europe need to develop more intense
political connections in what he called a "peaceful enterprise."
"The United States of Europe will..form the core of a
peaceful order," said the 60-year old German leader.
In its citation, Harvard claimed that Kohl, "called to a
mighty task in a time of miracles, can help to heal the last
wounds of war, to build a just peace, and to renew on this good
earth hope for the aged prophesies of old, when all shall dwell
secure and none shall make them afraid."
Associated Press 06/08/90
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Church Shifts
While support for the PLO has been expressed by religious
radicals since the organization's founding in 1964, support for a
separate Palestinian state has more recently emerged as a major
cause to celebrate in official church policy. The current emphasis
reveals an undoubtedly genuine concern for the rights of
Palestinians.
The United Methodists, for example, in their May 1988 General
Conference, passed a resolution by 816-76 calling for an end to
all United States military and security aid to Israel, "until
Israel ceases their repression of Palestinians in the occupied
territory." Their call was based on a sweeping condemnation:
"Israel's current iron-fist policy is totally unacceptable a
civilized behavior."
A U.S. Catholic bishop policy statement in Nov. 1989, called
for "Palestinian territorial and political sovereignty" (a
euphemism for statehood), yet in a limited form which accounts for
the need to protect the security of Israel. While Pope John Paul
II has not himself endorsed a Palestinian state, he had met three
times with Arafat, most recently in April.
Evangelicals and fundamentalists have traditionally given
special attention to the Middle East. This is particularly true of
those who interpret biblical prophecy to require an unequivocal
and uncritical support of Israel or who look to Middle Eastern
events for special signs of the Apocalypse.
Indeed, "Christian Zionism" retains strong appeal. However,
in 2989 both the mainstream and evangelical Christianity Today and
the radical evangelical journal Sojourners reported on the crisis
sympathetically to the Palestinians. Sojourners was unabashedly
supportive of Palestinian statehood, and condemned Israel for its
actions by invoking an analogy now common among Israel's critics:
"Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is, in its
most basic form, the Middle Eastern incarnation of apartheid."
Such analogies, with implications of racism and organized
repression, are not uncommon in recent church analysis.
The shifts in the Episcopal Church, the Evangelican Lutheran
Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are
clearly in a pro-Palestinian direction. A July 1988, Episcopal
General Convention resolution, for example: (1) affirmed Israel's
right to exist and to security; (2) affirmed the rights of
Palestinians to self-determination, including their own state and
representatives; (3) called for an international committee under
U.N. auspices; and (4) committed the Church to prayer.
This policy was proclaimed in the context of "the importance
of the Church in the exercise of its prophetic role by standing on
the side of the oppressed in their struggle for justice, and by
promoting justice, peace and reconciliation for all peoples in the
region."
Recent church analysis and education calls little attention
to any Palestinian responsibility for current tensions. The
initfada is now treated by many in the churches as a legitimate
cry against demonstrated injustice, with little suggestion it
could be used as a means to destabilize or inflict harm on Israeli
society.
The PLO's history of terrorism and violence is rarely
mentioned. Often quoted is the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, Samir
Kafity, who declared at the May 1989, World Council of Churches'
Conference on Mission and Evangelism that the intifada has
"biblical roots" and is aimed at achieving peace.
Religion and Democracy June 1990
SLIDING TOWARD THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE
The Spring of 1990 saw a new emphasis by churches across the
theological and political spectrum on the Middle East. Nearly
complete is a major shift in the ecumenical and Catholic churches-
-from what one rabbi called the post-Holocaust "ecumenical deal"
with the Jewish community, which led to unqualified support for
Israel, to favorable views of Arab states and Palestinian
independence.
On May 13-15, an ecumenical coalition called Churches for
Middle East Peace sponsored its third in a series of "Washington
Advocacy Days" held in the last year. During these days, advocates
are taught lobbying techniques and set loose upon congress to work
in favor of the creation of a Palestinian state (with the proviso
that Israeli security needs be recognized), in opposition to
Israeli settlements in occupied territories, and for restrictions
on aid to Israel.
A March World Council of Churches convocation in Seoul fully
endorsed Palestinian statehood.
Religion and Democracy 6/90
MARK OF THE BEAST
Interactive Computers: Third Wave of the Future
In the future you will walk up to your bank's automatic
teller machine and look into a camera which reads the pattern of
the retina in your eye. Only after confirmation of your identity
is registered does the computer voice ask you what transaction you
would like to conduct.
Fantasy? Hardly. today government labs are experimenting with
computers which can recognize a person's fingerprint, voice
pattern, read their lips or even the retina in their eye. And that
is only the beginning of a third wave of computers which will be
more interactive with our everyday lives.
Also in the future is technology involving photons and fiber
optics that will allow computers to transmit information at least
1,000 times faster than today. All this is waiting in the wings
just as Americans are getting used to the second wave computers
which allow tracing of individuals, usually by social security
number, from cradle to grave by various agencies.
Cedar Rapids Gazette 6/17/90
Nationwide Computer Link
NEW YORK--IBM, MCI Communications Corp. and officials at a
group of Michigan universities have quietly begun discussions with
the federal government about creating a non-profit company that
would operate a high-speed computer network that could one day
reach every American home. The network would function as the
nations interstate highway system, carrying not just computer data
but television images, telephones conversations and other forms of
communication.
International Herold Tribune 7/17/90
Bar Code Dynamics
The nurse delivering medication to a groggy patient at Rush-
Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago waves an
electronic scanner past the bar code on the drug label, then scans
the code on the patient's wrist ID bracelet. A red light on her
portable computer lets her to check the patient's records, which
tells her he is allergic to the medicine.
In Navistar International Corp.'s Melrose Park, Ill., engine
plant across town, a robotic welding machine scans a diesel engine
bar code to identify its model, then welds the engine's seams and
reports the work to its supervising computer.
This is bar code technology, the same kind that prices potato
chips at the supermarket check-out counter. It is being called on
for new duties that are recasting the way several industries do
business, reports the Chicago Tribune. Patented nearly 40 years
ago, the bar code langusihed until expansions of computer capacity
and adoption in the mid 70's of universal codes by the supermarket
industry. Other industries are now following the supermarket's
lead. The Atlanta Journal 7/5/90
Thought Police a Reality?
Technologies initially developed by the military and sounding
like they were lifted from a James Bond movies will increasingly
make their way into police departments, predicts Gene Stephens, a
professor in the College of Criminal Justice at the University of
South Carolina.
"Bionic ears will enable them to hear through walls. Police
pilots will telepathically control aircraft by learning how to
harness brain waves. And by 2025 the thought police may be a
reality. The ability to tap into people's thoughts may be so
highly developed that it may be illegal to even think about
committing a crime!"
OMNI August 1990
Overseas ATMs More Accessible
If you need pounds in Picadilly or yen in Yokohama, your ATM
card might be the best way to go.
Since 1986, it's been possible for a traveler to tap his/her
hometown back account using an automated teller machine abroad.
What's new is that there are now enough ATMs providing the service
abroad to make it a practical convenience for travelers.
You can now use an ATM card in eight foreign countries plus
Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong--provided your
bank is part of the Plus or Cirrus ATM networks. Between them they
have about 11,000 ATMs abroad. Cirrus, the nations largest
network, plans to add 1,200 machines in 40 countries this year.
Here's how Plus works: You insert your ATM card and puch in
the amount you want in U.S. dollars. The machine instantly
translates that into foreign currency. Via satellite, the request
is beamed to your bank, which then clears the transaction. Your
bank's response is returned to the overseas ATM. Elasped time: 10
seconds.
USA Today
BABYLON BECOMES ONE
Poll Shows a Positive Attitude For a Unified Europe
"The design of the new European architecture..consists of three
concentric circles. The first is E.C. itself, the most homogeneous
circle, moving toward political union...The second circle consists
of the Community, EFTA countires, and the Central and Eastern
European countires. All of these countries will be developing
economic associations according to the models designed by the E.C.
Commission. The last concentric circle embraces Europe in the
political sense, the Europe that stretches from San Francisco to
Vladivostok. This includes the United States and Canada, on the
one hand, and the Soviet Union, including its Asian dimensions, on
the other."
Excerpted from "Foreign Policy" Summer 1990: No. 79
The Community Welcomes Schengenland
The dream of a border-free Europe took a step toward reality last
week. Aboard a cruiser sailing down the Moselle River past the
village of Schengenland, representatives of France, West Germany,
Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed an agreement to
abolish border checks for travelers and their luggage. The accord
will go into affect in 1992. When it does, the internal frontiers
shared by the five countires, including a newly unified Germany,
will be partly dissolved, creating a 373,766-sq.-mi. passport-free
territory infomrally dubbed Schengenland.
The agreement is regarded as an important preliminary to full
intergration of the twelve-member European Community, scheduled
for Jan. 1, 1993. Within the new five-nation zone, passport
controls for citizens will be lifted, police will share
information, and extradiction and political asylum measures will
be harmonized. But to combat a possible increase in illicit drug
trafficking, terroist activities and illegal immigration, controls
on the external borders of Schengenland will be tightened.
TIME 7/2/90
Malta Applies for E.C. Membership
The ruling party of Malta has unanimously endorsed the Maltese
Government's decision to apply for E.C. membership. The formal
application process began in July.
Maltese Prime Minister Eddie Fenec Adami expressed confidence in
his country's ability to face the challenges of membership. "The
E.C. we want to join is the Europe of Christian values, of
liberty, of spirituality," he said. The leader of the opposition
[arty, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, opposed membership, however,
claiming it would mean a surrender of Malta's sovereignty.
The vice president of the European Union of Christian Democrats,
Kai-Uwe von Hassel, welcomed the decision and said that all E.C.
member states would support Malta's application, although he did
recognize the difficult process of Malta's intergration into the
Community. EUROPE (July/Aug. 1990)
EMU Is Launched
The first stage of European Monetary Union (EMU), as agreed at the
European Summit in Madrid in June 1989, brgan on July 1, 1990. A
newly reconstructed central banking committee, which is seen as an
embryo for the future, "Eurofed," has been charged with
coordinating the policies of the 12 member countries and
assisting the central bank chiefs in drawing up a blueprint for
the treaty on monetary and economic union.
According to the Delors Report on economic and monetary union, an
institutional framework, for example a politically independent
central bank system, would be set up during the second stage. This
would prepare for the final stage of EMU, for which exchange rates
would be irrevocably locked together and eventually replaced by a
common European currency.
At the June summitin Dublin, the European leaders agreed to speed
up this process by calling a common European currency by 1993. An
intergovernmental conference has been called for this December "to
lay down the subsequent stages," to negotiate a treaty for
Economic and Monetary Union.
EUROPE (July/Aug. 1990)
E.C. Talks With EFTA
The E.C. and its six neighbors in the European Free Trade
Association (EFTA)--Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland,
and Iceland--are gearing up for crucial negotiations that could
well determine whether EFTA countries stay together or seek E.C.
membership.
Going in to the talks, the E.C. Commission was expected to agree
on what the Community should offer EFTA in negotiations to
integrate their economies, covering 370 million people from the
Arctic to the Mediterranean.
The aims are twofold:
"To extend as far as possible to EFTA nations, the free movement
of goods, services, capital, and people that the 12-member E.C.
aims to achieve by the end of 1992:
"To step up cooperation in other areas such as social welfare,
environmental protection, and research and development. EFTA
members are pushing for a quick accord. But the key problem facing
negotiators is a fundamental rift over how much influence EFTA
should get in shaping and making E.C. decisions.
Reeuters
COMMISSION RECOMMENDED TO HEAD UN REFORM
Following are excerpts from an International Herald Tribune
article 6/16/90 written by Ramses Nassif. Mr. Nassif was press
spokesman for Secretary-General U Thant:
"GENEVA--Are the historic changes transforming the world making
the United Nations irrelevant? To many of those who know it best,
the answer is yes..
"How then, could the United Naitons be reformed and modernized? I
think a group or a commission of eminent persons is needed...Jimmy
Carter would make an able chairman for such a commission.
"Its members might include people like Oscar Arias Sanchez, the
Nobel laureate who forged the peace plan for Central America;
Alexander Dubcek, president of the Parliment in Prague; Leopold
Senghor, the former president of Senegal; Abba Eban, the former
Israeli foreign minister, who has long advocated a just peace in
the Mideast; and Butros Butros Ghali, Egypt's minister of state
for foreign affairs, an expert on UN issues and international law.
"Also, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former prime minister of Norway;
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, coordinator of UN humanitarian
activities in Afghanistan; and Sir Brian Urquhart, the former UN
under-secretary general.
WHAT GOSPEL IS BEING SPREAD
Dr. Bill Bright
President
Campus Crusade for Christ
P.O. Box 2483
San Bernadino, CA. 92406-2483
Atten: Executive Seminar
Dear Dr. Bright:
I appreciated receiving your invitation to the Executive Semniar
in Tarpon Springs, Fl.; it appears that my wife and I will be
unable to attend this year, but I would probably be interested in
any future meetings.
The reason for the letter in addition to the above is that I have
been doing research on the numerous evangelism 2000 programs being
presented to the world at this time and am seeing a subtle and
ominous movement to consolidate all of the movements into one
concept. When I say ominous, I do not mean that the pooling of
resources to spread the gospel to the wolrd is, in it self,
anything but good. However, quesitons arise when working with all
"Christian" denominations to spread this gospel, what, exactly, is
the gospel being spread?
I was born and raised Roman Catholic; I know what bondage to a
works theology is. I believe that Jesus Christ was God, adn Lord,
and loved Him with all my heart; however, I was not saved because
the concept of salvation by grac through faith was never presented
to in the Catholic Church. I was so busy trying to work my way
into heaven; when I heard it was free, it took me 14 months to
surrender and accept that gift of salvation.
From a meeting with Bill O'Brien of the Baptist Foreign Mission
BOard in the recent past, he explained the Baptist perspective of
working with all denominations and a fashion similar to your
editorial in Worldwide Challenge for the November and December
1989 issue. I asked Mr. O'Brien at this meeting about this
definition of "Gospel" and further questioned the fact that if, as
most of us believe, that the imminent return of Jesus Christ
will usher in a 7 year tribulation centering around the Anti-
Christ's setting up of a world government, world religion, and
world currency, that all efforts made by "Christian" denominations
in spreading the gospel will be carried forward under the Anti-
Christ's authority after we, as the true church, are removed in
the Rapture.
When I discussed these matters with him, I discovered that he came
from an amillenial perspective and did not foresee the return of
Jesus in the near future. It is my understanding that your
perspective and that of Campus Crusade is somewhat more imminent.
In light of the above, would you please explain to me what
criteria are being established to determine which gospel will be
preached to all the world under the various evangelism 2000
programs and if, as you propose in your Worldwide Challenge will
be working together as a movement with millions of Christians and
thousands of Chruches of all denominations and other
organizations, just who is going to make the decision as to what
gospel is being preached?
If we study Galations, we see in the first chapter that Paul
becomes extremely upset whenever the gospel of salvation by grace
through faith is changed in any respect whatsoever to the point of
repeating twice that those who change such a gospel are to be
accursed. In light of Revelation, Chapter 17, should Campus
Crusade become involved with other denominations preaching a
gospel that might enlighten souls to who Jesus Christ is, but do
not tell people how this knowledge must be coupled with faith in a
blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins thereby gaining
them eternal security? Any organization which works together with
other organizations preaching a false gospel will not only give
approval to such a false gospel, but will assist in setting up an
organization that will lead to the World Church of Revelation 17,
after we are removed in the Rapture.
Therefore, please seriously consider my concern and respond at
your earliest convenience as to what safe gurads you have in place
to protect the Campus Crusade from watering down its effectiveness
and the true gospel...
H.K. Attorney at Law
ROBERTSON PROMOTES CATHOLIC-PROTESTANT UNITY FOR POLITICAL ACTION
Televangelist and former hopeful Pat Robertson is apparently
spearheading a new Religious Right group that seeks to "mobilize
and train Christians for effective political action."
The Christian Coalition, headquarted in Chesapeake, VA. not far
from Robertson's Virgina Beach broadcasting empire, lists five
goals in its promotional literature: representing Christians
before local councils, state legislatures and Congress; speaking
out in the media and in the public arena; training Christian
leaders for effective social and political action; informing
Christians about timely issues and pending legislation and
protesting anti-Christian bias and defending the legal rights of
Christians.
"At long last," observed one brochure, "a grass roots coalition of
Evangelicals, conservative Catholics, and their allies has formed
to make government and the media responsible to our concerns. It's
high time we realize the strength that comes from our unity."
The group, which plans to operate primarily at the grass roots
level through a series of local chapters, says its primary
political goals are criminalizing abortion, passing a school
prayer amendment, protesting "films and TV programs that defame
our Lord and cariacture His servants" and increasing the presence
of religious symbols on government property.
Familiar Religious Right leaders Beverly LaHaye, D. James Kennedy,
Charles Stanley and Michael Scanlan, a Roman Catholic priest, have
endorsed the effort.
In a related story, The Washington Post reported in February that
Robertson is working to expand his radio broadcasting network.
Last summer Robertson bought WNTR, a small radio station in Silver
Spring, MD. The Post reported that Robertson is seeking to
purchase land in the area to erect an antenna to boost the
station's 1,000-watt signal.
Robertson recently purchased radio stations in Oaklahoma City and
Charlotte, N.C. and plans to make WNTR the flagship of a
conservative cross-country network.
Church and State April 1990
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
The Tuned-Out Generation
A sobering new study titled "The Age of Indifference", released
recently by the Times Mirror Center for the People & The Press,
reveals that young Americans are barely paying attention. The
under-30 generation it reports, "knows less, cares less, and reads
less" than any generation in the past five decades.
The sharp drop in newspaper readership is the survey's most
dramatic if least startling, revelation. Only 30% of Americans
under 35 said they had "read a newspaper yesterday." That compares
with 67% of the young people who answered the question
affirmatively in a 1965 Gallop Poll. More surprisingly, TV has not
affected the gap: only 41% of young people said they had watched a
TV newscast the day before, down from 52% in 1965.
When it comes to major news events, young people are less
interested and informed than their elders. Respondents between the
ages of 18 and 29 were 20% less likely to say they had followed
important news stories and 40% less likely to be able to identify
a newsmaker like German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Two exceptions:
they showed high interest in sports and issues that affected them
directly, such as abortion.
The generation gap has widened drastically in recent years.
Surveys conducted in the 1940s, '50s and '60s showed that young
people were just as interested as their elders in major stories
like the McCarthy hearings and the Viet Nam war. But since the
mid '70s the under-30 group has been tuning out. The result is a
generation that votes less and is less critical of government and
business. They are thus an "easy target of opportunity for those
seeking to manipulate public opinion," the study warns.
Times 7/9/90../