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How to  Make Sense of the Stormy Middle East

David Vejil — 2013-05-25T05:00:00+01:00

The seasons have changed in Tunis, Cairo and Tripoli. The turbulent gusts of the “Arab Spring” have blown through northern Africa and continue to roar through the halls of power in Syria, Jordan, Yemen and far beyond.

For just a moment, the revolution inspired a warm glow of anticipation as the Western world looked for the rays of liberal democracy to shine through the clouds onto a region dominated by strongmen.

But we see no blossoming Western-style democracies—only the harsh winter of radicalism. The overthrow of the military dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya is leading not to the birth of new democracies, but rather to a rebirth of Islamic states. As these nations embrace the tenets of radical Islam, one regional power stands to gain the most: Iran.

Governments in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are struggling to prevent contagion on their own soil. On top of these great political upheavals, Iran is shaking the whole region militarily by making steady progress toward acquiring nuclear weapons. Whispers of Israeli airstrikes are loudly broadcast. Even the United Nations reported in November that some of Iran’s nuclear experiments could only be for the purpose of weapons development.

Governments, policymakers, intelligence analysts and pundits are all trying to gauge where these troubling events are heading. Will winter set in, putting the Middle East into the cold clutches of radical Islam and Iranian dominance? Will it reject cooperation with the Christian Western democracies?

With so many nations involved, so many interests to be protected, so much history, and so many cultures and brands of religion converging, the Middle East is the most complicated region in the world.

Yet there is a source that can accurately answer all these questions! That source is biblical prophecy.

Two prophecies in particular make sense of the volatile international relations occurring in this region: Daniel 11 and Psalm 83.

These prophecies show what is in store for those nations involved in the “Arab Spring,” those whose governments have successfully resisted overthrows, and those facing rebellion right now.

Taken together, these two prophecies show us that the region will be conquered and controlled by one major power. Ultimately, it will not be Iran or an Islamic power!

To understand these prophecies, you must know which nations they are talking about.

The Whirlwind Attack

In the prophecy of Daniel 11:40-43, we learn that there is a “king of the south” ruling parts of the Middle East. But Daniel also says a different power will conquer the region: “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind … and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. … [A]nd the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.”

There are two primary powers here: the king of the north and the king of the south. The king of the south can only be Iran. (For an explanation, request our free booklet The King of the South.) It is not this “king,” though, that is prophesied to conquer North Africa and the Middle East. It is the king of the north!

The king of the north is a German-led European combine. To prove why the ancient “king of the north” is modern Europe, request our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

Daniel 11 lists the enemies of the king of the north, Iran’s key allies: Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia, which are still called by their ancient names today. Egypt and Libya are already falling to the control of radical Islamic elements supported by Iran!

This prophecy is why the Trumpet accurately predicted—as far back as July 1993—that these nations would be overtaken by radical Islam! Current events are unfolding exactly according to this prophecy.

However, just as important as who is allied with the king of the south is who isn’t.

Daniel writes that when the king of the north hits the king of the south and its allies with a blitzkrieg, three peoples will escape: “Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon” (verse 41). These three peoples will not be allied with Iran.

This means that ultimately Iran will not succeed—not only in confronting Christian Europe, but also in its efforts control the entire Middle East.

But what will happen to these other nations, such as Edom and Moab? This is explained in a different prophecy of events shortly after the king of the north conquers the king of the south.

An Anti-Israel Alliance

“They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” This prophecy is found in Psalm 83:4. It describes a group of nations forming a confederacy to destroy the modern nations of Israel.

“For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them” (verses 5-8).

Assur is biblical Assyria, the prophetic name for modern-day Germany! (See the October/November 2010 issue for proof of Assyria’s modern identity.)

The Middle Eastern nations listed in this passage will form an alliance with Germany. Their purpose will be to “cut off” the modern descendants of Israel—primarily America, Britain and Judah, the modern Jewish State of Israel.

So, which are these nations that will ally not with Iran, but with Germany?

Edom and Amalek

Edom, also called Esau in the Bible, is listed first in Psalm 83. As we covered in our November/December 2011 issue (“East, West or Neither?”), this is modern-day Turkey.

Also included is a son of Esau, Amalek. Amalek and his children became a prominent people at the time of the Exodus. Moses records in Numbers 24:20 that Amalek “was the first of the nations.” That phrase refers not to chronology, but power: The Amalekites were the first people to attack the Israelites after they escaped from Egypt. They were even powerful enough to enslave Egyptians, according to an account in 1 Samuel 30:11-13. At the height of their power, the Amalekites colonized various areas of the Mediterranean, including the Aegean and western Turkey. In biblical prophecy, Amalek also refers to modern Turkey.

Turkey, like Iran, is a formidable regional power, but it has strong ties to Europe. It is not difficult to foresee how Turkey can and will resist falling into radical Iran’s orbit. In fact, the Psalm 83 prophecy shows that, despite present appearances to the contrary, Turkey will at some point renew its efforts to ally with Europe! Watch for it.

What about the other nations listed in this prophecy?

Moab and Ammon

Remember that the prophecy of Daniel 11 says the king of the north, after conquering the king of the south, will then “enter also into the glorious land”—the nation of Israel, specifically Jerusalem. Then, it says, “Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon” will escape. All three of these names also appear in Psalm 83.

Keeping the Daniel 11 invasion in mind, we can thus conclude that the nations listed in Psalm 83 are geographically near Israel.

Moab and Ammon were the sons of Lot by his daughters. During the time of King David and Solomon, Moab and Ammon created kingdoms in the territory of modern-day Jordan. Even today the name of the capital of Jordan, Amman, can be traced back to Ammon.

The descendants of Moab and Ammon evidently remained in the same area as their ancient kingdoms. They avoided captivity and the population dispersion policies of the Assyrians by paying tribute (Jeremiah 48:11). Considering that Moab and Ammon are in the vicinity of Israel, it becomes clear that Moab and Ammon constitute the modern nation of Jordan.

Gebal and Tyre

The same logic can be applied to the other names on the Psalm 83 list. Gebal is a city in Lebanon, also called Byblos. It is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

This was the most prominent city of the Phoenicians until being replaced by Tyre, also located in modern-day Lebanon and once a powerful trade center of the Mediterranean.

The Phoenicians were an ancient race of people, well known as traders, merchants and colonizers, who established cities all over the Mediterranean. While some of these cities grew very powerful, the Phoenicians never developed into a single empire or nation.

The prophecy focuses only on those major Phoenician cities that are now located in Lebanon. This means that the two cities reference a geographic location, not the people who founded them. It is clear, then, that Gebal and Tyre refer to Lebanon.

Hagarenes

The Hagarenes are also located in the same area. These are the descendants of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, known as Hagarites in the other scriptures. Moses recorded in Genesis 25:18 that Ishmael’s sons dwelt in the land ranging from Egypt to Assyria.

By the seventh century b.c., during the reign of the Assyrian King Sennacherib, the Hagarenes were recorded as living among Aramean tribes off the middle section of the Euphrates. They are among the Aramean tribes invaded and ravaged by Sennacherib, according to George Raw-linson’s The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World. The Arameans settled in what is today known as Syria. Therefore, the Hagarenes, who dwelt among the Arameans, are those who inhabit modern-day Syria.

Ishmaelites

The rest of Hagar’s descendants are known more prominently as the Ishmaelites. The identity of the descendants of Ishmael was once widely known, but today this history is being forgotten. Under the article “Arab” in the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, printed in 1911, we read that Arab “people, according to their own traditions, are derived from two stocks: the pure Arabs, descended from Kahtan or Joktan … and the Mustarab or naturalized Arabs, from Ishmael.”

The descendants of Joktan “are represented at the present day by the inhabitants of Yemen, Hadramut and Oman, in general a settled agricultural population” on the southern Arabian Peninsula, while those Arabs from Ishmael are located in Saudi Arabia in “Hejaz, Nejd, El Hasa, the Syrian desert and Mesopotamia, consisting of the Bedouin or pastoral tribes.”

Though there is much regional variation in the Arabian Peninsula, the distinction between the desert nomads and the town dwellers and agriculturalists remains.

Thus, history, and even the Arabs’ own evidence, reveals that the modern Ishmaelites now dwell in Saudi Arabia.

Philistines

Last are the Philistines. Anciently the Philistines occupied the southern coast of Canaan, dominating five major cities, including Gaza, Askelon and Ashdod. It is from the Philistines that the term Palestine is derived. Geographically this would essentially describe the Palestinian territory known as the Gaza Strip.

When looking at this list of nations, excluding Turkey and Germany, all the nations listed are populated by people now called Arabs. If they are all the same people, why wouldn’t Bible prophecy label them as one people?

The Arabs in Prophecy

Beginning early in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered the entire Middle East and more. Just as the Bible prophesied, Ishmael became a great nation. It was the religion of Islam that inflamed the Arabs with the drive to conquer. As the Encyclopedia Britannica says, Islam “was the religious force that united the desert subsistence nomads—the Bedouins—with the town dwellers of the oases” (online edition).

As the Arabs conquered, they spread Islam around the world. The Arab language was also adopted throughout much of the Middle East and North Africa as Islam dominated the religions of those areas.

Today, the name Arab describes many different people who speak the same language.

No doubt there was a considerable mixing of the Arab people into the local populations as they conquered. Many of the nations outlined in this prophecy have been mixed over thousands of years and multiple invasions. The biblical record shows much intermarrying among these people from the beginning, and many of these Arab people are distantly related.

Genesis 28:9, for example, records a marriage between Ishmael’s daughter and Esau. The Ishmaelites were also shown to intermarry with another Arabian people, the Midianites—so much so that their names are used interchangeably in Genesis 37. The numerous children of the Ishmaelites most likely would have sought wives from the neighboring descendants of Joktan as well.

The Hagarenes are also distantly related to the Ishmaelites through the matriarch Hagar.

The Bible even comments on the Philistines being a mixed race in Zechariah 9, most likely a result of mixing in the neighboring peoples listed in Psalm 83.

Even with populations mixing and moving, though, biblical prophecy still labels modern nations that factor in end-time events by their predecessors. It is a mistake to label them all the same people. While they may share the same language and religion and have had a history of intermarriage, God still calls them by their respective patriarch’s or matriarch’s name.

And while the mixing of so many people in this area may make it difficult to be exact, there is enough information to give us a good picture of which nations will join in this Psalm 83 alliance.

The Future of the ‘Arab Spring’

Given our understanding of these prophecies, then, we return to our original question: Will what is left of the “Arab Spring” produce any Western-style democracies? Not a chance! There will emerge two distinct groups—one radical, Iranian-led alliance, and the other a violently anti-Israel and anti-American coalition.

Will all these nations turn their backs on cooperating with Christian Europe? Believe it or not, the answer is no!

Shocked and awed over the mighty power of the king of the north’s victory over Iran and its allies, and driven by deep hatred of the Israelite nations, certain Muslim nations in the Middle East will actually ally with a Roman Catholic European power!

This is the general outline of future events the Bible gives for this region of the world!

If you believe these prophecies, you can see where the “Arab Spring” is heading. You can understand why Europe was so eager to intervene in Libya! You can know why the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will not succeed and how it will end!

You can know ahead of time what will happen! That is why the Trumpet was able to forecast the Islamic takeover occurring right now in Egypt 18 years ago, and why we foretold events in Libya and Tunisia. But it is only possible if you believe what the Bible says about these nations.

If this is still not enough to convince, just watch! The fulfillment of these prophecies is rapidly springing forth!

The Day of the Lord

Gerald Flurry — 2013-05-25T05:00:00+01:00

The Day of the Lord is one of the most misunderstood prophecies in the Bible. The books of Revelation, Joel and Zephaniah have much to say about this prophecy. What is the Day of the Lord and how will it affect you?

Europe's Precisely  Engineered Disaster

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-24T17:00:00+01:00

Are you watching Europe? Imploding national economies seem to be threatening the entire project of European Union and sending shock waves through financial markets around the globe. This is a moment of extreme significance—for the future of not only Europe but all of us. What is happening? Where is it leading? Such questions are on the lips of observers everywhere.

To the layman, Europe is in the midst of cataclysmic change. Yet the longtime student of European affairs understands that this crisis was both premeditated and planned.

Two principal actors are behind it, and these two will shape the Continent’s future. The first is Germany. This is already patently obvious to anyone watching events there.

The second, believe it or not, is the Vatican.

The Patient Engineers

The European Union is not a product of the people. It is the masterpiece of certain Franco-German Catholic elites. It was built by treaty, without any say in the process by the national electorates. The common people of Europe have had no voice in either accepting or rejecting the acquis communautaire, its main body of regulations. The sheer size of that document, said to currently exceed 100,000 pages, is beyond the capability of any person to absorb.

That is the way of EU elites. So much for democracy—this is a technocracy. Its agenda is pursued not by elected representatives but by unelected technocrats based at its headquarters in Brussels-Berlin—administrators who were appointed to the mushrooming EU bureaucracy for a specific purpose: to ensure that the imperialist vision of Franco-German elites reaches fruition.

In spite of appearances, the EU is no haywire invention destined for the scrap heap. It is a carefully crafted grand design decades in the making. It sprang from a vision shared by Nazi elites, key German industrialists, scientists, bureaucrats and military officers during the closing stages of World War ii. That vision of a powerful Europe controlled by Germany continued quietly in Germany’s first postwar administration under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, which employed many people who held fast to the Nazi spirit. Those elites bided their time—and educated a second generation in the same imperialist strategic concept.

It is this generation of committed Roman Catholic imperialist socialists that has driven the revival of Germany to its present position as the dominant nation in Europe.

Germany has finally gained enough economic and political advantage to pressure the EU into a crisis. The irony of this dire crisis is that its instigator now stands ready with the solution: Impose greater unity and, by default, greater German control.

Berlin’s vision of a resurrected Holy Roman Empire is finally on the verge of becoming reality.

But these elites also had to wait for something else: the German public. They needed signs that the average German was tired of paying penance for Germany’s past sins and was prepared for a new national assertiveness. The great show of national spirit at the soccer World Cup in 2006—with thousands proudly waving German national flags and singing “Deutschland Über Alles” in the grandstands—was proof enough. The national mood was ripe for Germany to declare, unashamedly, that Deutschland was back, and ready to lead Europe—according to an agenda in its own national interest.

That is what Germany has been doing ever since—to the point that it now is deciding who will be in and who will be out of the imperialist Euro club.

In her hour-long speech delivered to the cdu party faithful on November 14, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared her goal for this generation: “to complete the economic and currency union in Europe and, step by step, create a political union. It’s time for a breakthrough to a new Europe .…”

A new Europe. Run by Germany.

Ten Kings

What is next in this empire-manufacturing process?

German pressure to meet that goal of a centralized economic, currency and political union for Europe will inevitably produce a breaking point. Any nation unwilling, unqualified or simply unable to meet German requirements will have to leave. Britain will most certainly be among those nations that depart or are ousted from the EU.

This is deeply significant. Why? Because biblical prophecy shows that Europe is about to be radically transformed! It speaks of a modern European power that will ultimately consolidate into a combine of 10 nations, or groups of nations, led by 10 kings.

Read it for yourself: “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Revelation 17:12-13).

What we see happening right now is the progressive fracturing of the current 27-nation EU bloc into the future federal Europe prophesied in the Bible. The EU is now set on a course of downsizing to the prophesied core of 10 nations ruled by 10 “kings,” all ruled by “the beast”!

The Heart of the Machine

Now, consider how Germany is positioned geographically to be right at the center of this emerging empire.

Mountains separate Europe’s Iberian, Italian and Balkan peninsula regions in the south from the more accessible north. These barriers restrict, and thus add to the cost of, the free flow of goods between the north and south, and help to form an economic divide as well. This is a major reason why the north has traditionally been richer ever since continental infrastructure development shifted the bulk of trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic routes by the 18th century.

The economic crisis has heightened the economic divergence between the two regions. The superior infrastructure of the north continues to play in its financial favor: Its web of roads and railways, as well as its vast system of waterways, allow for the cheap and easy transit of goods among the core northern European nations.

The resourceful Germans have taken full advantage of their central location in the rich northern region. Germany dominates the very crossroads between east and west. German elites well understand the strategic economic and defensive control this gives their nation.

Crucial to the reconstruction of postwar Germany was the rebuilding of a German transport and distribution infrastructure. Up to 1990, West Germany worked to develop a substantial north-south transit system. But not until Germany unified could it add to this already highly developed north-south system an infrastructure to cope with the increased load of east-west traffic that unification inevitably brought.

Following unification, the German government quickly implemented the German Unity Transport Projects. The vision behind this massive investment in construction was not just to link the former East and West Germany, but also to lay the groundwork for linking Eastern and Western Europe. The German leaders of the early 1990s obviously saw German unification as but the start of a much broader unification of Europe—one that would even incorporate many states of the old Soviet Union. They immediately began preparations to dominate the transit systems that such a united Europe would need for the flow of goods and services, particularly east and west.

A detailed look at the highly developed transport and distribution system of the EU economic colossus reveals one nation at the hub: Germany!

What is particularly intriguing is this: The vision of Germany controlling the transport and distribution system for the movement of goods throughout Europe goes way back to Charlemagne, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire! In the ninth century, he dreamed of building this infrastructure as a means to dominate a united European empire—but he failed to fully realize it.

Yet now we see such systems being developed to support the resurrection of that old dream. The vision that drove Charlemagne is a vision shared by the elites of Rome and Berlin today. It’s just that the sheer scale of the project and the technology at its disposal render it far, far more devastatingly destructive in its potential when ultimately brought to its fruition—which it will be—than Charlemagne’s empire! (Revelation 13:15).

Watch as Germany leverages its position to maximum advantage. Watch as it leads the richer nations of northern Europe to increasingly dominate those in the poorer south. That geographic barrier dividing north and south Europe may well prove significant in determining which European nations or groups of nations will ultimately comprise the prophetically significant “ten kings”!

Plugging Into a Power Source

For all their planning and masterful manipulation of the tools at their disposal, German and European elites presently lack one crucial element of empire: a uniting ideology.

Revelation 17 reveals that these 10 “kings” will yield their political power to one overarching leader under the spiritual influence of a religion called “Babylon.” This is where the Vatican enters the scene.

Rome has not had a high profile in the development of the European Union. That changed last November, however, when two Romans were appointed to key positions within the EU. Romano Draghi—Jesuit-trained, committed Roman Catholic and governor of Italy’s central bank—was appointed president of the European Central Bank, the world’s largest central bank, on November 1. Barely two weeks later, Jesuit-educated Mario Monti, a member of Italy’s elite economic technocracy, received a mandate from President Georgio Napolitano to form a government until scheduled elections in 2013. He is to oversee the highly sensitive restructuring of the hugely indebted Italian economy. Soon after Monti’s appointment, the pope publicly gave his blessing to it.

Add to these two the EU’s most influential president, Herman van Rompuy—also Jesuit-trained—and you have a most influential unelected threesome of elite technocrats now guiding affairs at the top through Europe’s present crisis.

We at the Trumpet have long watched and waited to see how the Romish influence would overlay the rising economic, political and eventual military might of a German-dominated European Union.

Of course, the influence of Rome was there even within the minds of the EU’s founding fathers, since its earliest beginnings. From the federalist manifesto of Austrian Richard Nikolaus von Coudenhove-Kalergi, who cherished the prospect of reviving Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire, to the foundational work of Italian Alcide De Gasperi, Frenchmen Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, and Belgian Paul-Henri Spaak—consummating in the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, followed by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 that founded the European Economic Community—the spirit of “holy” Rome has always guided the minds and actions of its founders.

Yet, the reality is that Rome’s influence on the EU has been largely hidden and unseen—that is, until Van Rompuy, Draghi and Monti suddenly entered the scene, the latter with open papal endorsement. Now, Rome’s men preside over the EU, head the most powerful bank in the world, and lead interim governments in Italy, not to mention Greece.

Ready to Roll Out an Empire

Today we look back and see that the plans were in place from the very beginning for the European Union to ultimately divide between the rich and the poor. The eurozone project has achieved its goal of separating the wealthy, industrial north from the weaker south, and resulted in a major contribution to the coffers of the German export economy. It has literally resulted in Germany becoming the EU paymaster. Germany is at the controls of Europe’s economy, transportation network and foreign policy.

Now we see Rome carefully making its crusading move to provide the spiritual glue that will weld the great European combine together for its brief moment in time.

As we watch interim governance by technocracy successively take over national economies, virtually enslaving the bottom-tier nations within the EU to the diktat of Berlin/Brussels, we see key Roman Catholic operatives precisely inserted into positions of incredible power. Thus Rome emerges as a powerful force within both the nation of which it is capital, and the main central bank to which the whole world currently looks to solve the euro crisis, and indeed over the whole European imperial project.

The timing of Pope Benedict’s 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” could not have been better. It provides the blueprint for Rome’s ultimate project: influencing the coming leader of the 10-nation combine in Europe to dictate trade policy (Revelation 13:16-17). To a cursory observer, that document looks so lamblike, but to the wise it contains the teeth of a dragon (verse 11).

Italian Prime Minister Monti—one of the EU elites who holds to Charlemagne’s vision of resurrecting the Holy Roman Empire—said, “The ‘Caritas in Veritate’ document resembles a technical governing handbook for society in which economy plays a fundamental role, as a natural outcome of ethical reflection, and even has the agreement of those who do not share in the Catholic ethical vision.” That ought to shock the world! The “technical governing handbook” he is talking about was authored by the spiritual head of Rome!

Yet, overarching all that is so suddenly happening in Europe in fulfillment of biblical prophecy today, one great reality stands out. This is the greatest of signs of the closeness of Jesus Christ’s return to this Earth!

As the Savior of mankind declared in Luke 21:28, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

Immigration and Unemployment Fuel Riots in Sweden

Richard Palmer — 2013-05-24T14:33:43+01:00

Young people in Stockholm’s suburbs rioted for their fourth night on May 23, setting fire to schools and burning about 30 cars according to Bloomberg. The unrest started on May 19, several days after police shot and killed a 69-year-old man wielding a knife.

Buildings—including schools, a cultural center, a bank and a police station—have been set on fire or vandalized. Between 300 and 400 cars have been torched since the violence began. Firefighters said they have “never before seen so many fires raging at the same time.” Eyewitnesses reported that many of the rioters appear to be in their 20s.

Stockholm police requested reinforcements to help stop the violence.

While the fifth night of unrest was not as bad as the previous four, signs indicate it may be spreading to other cities across the country.

These riots are yet another social problem directly caused by Europe’s financial crisis.

When times are good, EU nations are able to sustain high levels of immigration with relatively few problems. However, rising unemployment is fueling anger and even hatred among immigrants and natives.

While Sweden’s overall unemployment rate is at 8.2 percent—well below the EU’s average of 10.9—its youth unemployment is high, at 23.5 percent. With unemployment at this level, people begin to blame immigrants: “Our children can’t find work, because the immigrants are taking all the jobs.”

These sentiments support the growth of the nationalist Sweden Democrat Party. In 2006, the party received 2.9 percent of the vote. Four years later, it reached 5.7 percent. Today, it is the third most popular party in Sweden. In February, its approval level reached a peak of 10.2 percent, before falling back to 6.7 percent. These riots may push the party’s approval rating to new heights.

Natives are not the only ones affected by unemployment. The immigrants are also suffering with 16 percent unemployed. The 2011 unemployment figures for immigrants between 19 and 24 came in at 35 percent. This means a lot of potentially hopeless youth, ready to rage against the system. The bbc reported that “local people said the motive of the youths making trouble was anger over joblessness.”

In Husby, one of the suburbs with the worst rioting, 80 percent of the population are from an immigrant background.

“The reason is very simple,” said the editor of the Norra Sidan newspaper, Rouzbeh Djalaie. “Unemployment, the housing situation, disrespect from police. It just takes something to start a riot, and that was the shooting.”

“Rising unemployment and social differences between local and immigrant populations are likely to remain key fixtures of the European crisis,” wrote Stratfor on May 22. “Consequently, the European Union’s more developed countries will be prone to social unrest, increased popularity of nationalistic parties and a widening gap between nationals and foreigners and foreign-born nationals.”

Although Sweden is not in the eurozone, it suffers the same problems of high unemployment and low growth. The riots in Sweden are a foretaste of what is coming to all of Europe.

As unemployment remains high, tension between ethnic groups will increase. This will fuel the rise of right wing, far right and nationalist parties.

Ethnic riots resulting from high unemployment will contribute to dramatic change in Europe.

John Kerry and America's Broken Will

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-24T12:59:09+01:00

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that the United States and its Arab and European allies will step up support for Syrian rebels if the Assad regime refuses to negotiate. Kerry made the statements during a news conference in Amman with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Kerry is in Jordan ahead of a June conference dedicated to ending Syria’s two-year-long civil war.

Kerry and Judeh stressed that their goal is to get both the Syrian government and the opposition into peace talks. Talks could begin as early as next month in Geneva.

[SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry:]

“If Bashar Assad thinks that the gains he’s made in the last few days are going to be determinative of this, then he is miscalculating just as did when he engaged in a struggle against his people. And the fact is support for the opposition is growing, the United States is providing additional support, more support, other countries are providing more support. And I am convinced that support will only grow. So there is no, in the end I do not believe there is a military victory for Assad that is going to somehow justify the gains he has made in the last days. What I do think is that he will ultimately realize, as will those supporting him, that this situation is going to get more dangerous, more destructive, and much more damaging to the prospects of the region, if it continues in its course, and hopefully they will come to the realization that it needs a political settlement.”

Kerry also said Hezbollah forces in Syria are contributing to the ongoing violence. Hezbollah takes its orders from Iran.

[SOUNDBITE: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry:]

“Just last week obviously, Hezbollah intervened very significantly. There are several thousands of Hezbollah militia forces on the ground in Syria who are contributing in this violence, and we condemn that and suggest that those who are encouraging it and support it should retreat from that position and obviously become part of the constructive solution rather than part of the problem.”

Although he declared America’s support for Syrian rebels, Kerry dodged further commitment. He said President Barack Obama will not send American soldiers to Syria. However, the administration has said it hopes to send non-lethal assistance to the Syrian rebels.

As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has pointed out, America does not have the will to confront Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah forces in Syria. To understand where this situation is leading, read Gerald Flurry’s article “How the Syrian Crisis Will End.”

Germany Is Conquering Europe!

Brad Macdonald — 2013-05-24T05:00:00+01:00

The world is fixated on Europe. On bond yields, currency exchanges and bailout packages, on the new governments in Athens and Rome, on the weekly slew of meetings among European leaders, and the tension and bickering they bring. But there is an odd dimension to all the attention Europe is getting.

While many are looking, very few actually understand what they are witnessing.

The number is growing as it becomes more obvious—but still, relatively few truly realize that Germany is conquering Europe!

Victim One

Take the latest round of the Greek crisis. It began October 31, when Prime Minister George Papandreou jeopardized the Greek bailout package and infuriated eurozone leaders by announcing he would allow the Greek populace to actually vote on the austerity conditions ensconced within the bailout package. Papandreou backed down two days later, but he failed to stop the tumultuous chain of events that resulted in his resignation.

As the Greek government convulsed, Brussels and Berlin swooped in. First, rather than leave the decision of who should lead Greece to Greek voters in a national election, European elites—threatening Greece with financial collapse if it refused —commanded Athens to form a national unity government. A few days later news broke that Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice president and tried and tested Europhile, had been installed as Greece’s new prime minister.

Grasp what happened. Greece is a sovereign nation of 11 million people, and—or so we’ve been led to believe—a valued member of the European community. But in a matter of a week, European elites blackmailed Athens into foregoing a democratic election, establishing a unity government and then agreeing to pass into Greek law a series of harsh, transformative rules that were created in Brussels.

Victim Two

Not content with its victory in Athens, Berlin and Brussels that same week brought down Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Mr. Berlusconi resigned November 12 after his partners in government and global financial markets—following the lead of German and European elites—lost faith in his leadership.

What was the political orientation of his replacement? Italy’s new Prime Minister Mario Monti is an experienced economist and politician, and a former European commissioner intimately familiar with the inner workings of the European Union. During his time as a commissioner, Monti authored a report on the establishment of a European single market that included measures by which Brussels could extend its reach into the financial matters of EU member states.

This is incredible: In the space of a week, Germany brought down two sovereign governments, blocked the democratic election of new leaders, and installed its own man on the throne of each nation!

And it still wasn’t done. With Greece and Italy in its pocket, Germany wasted no time in setting its sights on its next victim.

Victim Three

At the November congress of Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union, Volker Kauder, the party’s parliamentary leader, proposed an EU-wide tax on financial transactions.

Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer called the proposal “a bullet aimed at the heart of London.” In an article published in the Evening Standard the day before Kauder’s speech, George Osborne roundly criticized the notion of a financial transaction tax, saying, “Europe certainly shouldn’t be creating new burdens. … The EU should be coming forward with new ideas to promote growth, not undermine it.”

Kauder addressed the criticism directly: “I can understand that the British don’t want that when they generate almost 30 percent of their gross domestic product from financial-market business in the City of London,” he said in his keynote speech. “But Britain also carries responsibility for making Europe a success.”

“Now, all of a sudden, Europe is speaking German,” Mr. Kauder declared.

“Germany and the UK are on a collision course,” said the director of the European center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Jan Techau.

Three days after Kauder’s provocative remarks, Britain’s Telegraph ran a front-page story titled “Germany’s Secret Plans to Derail a British Referendum on the EU.” Citing a memo leaked from the German government, Bruno Waterfield revealed that Germany had drawn up a strategy to prevent the British government from holding a referendum on Britain’s membership in the EU. Waterfield also revealed that the memo “discloses radical plans for an intrusive new European body that will be able to take over the economies of beleaguered eurozone countries” (Nov. 18, 2011).

Brimming with confidence after what it had achieved in Greece and Italy, Germany was sending the message to Britain that it would be next!

Meanwhile, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and even France are on the edge of the financial precipice—and only Germany has the economic strength to pull them back.

Don’t be naive about what is happening here. Berlin is reshaping Europe into a distinctly Germanic edifice.

“It is time for a breakthrough to a new Europe,” stated German Chancellor Angela Merkel in November at a conference in Berlin. Just to make sure there was no ambiguity about what this “new Europe” would look like, Merkel stated that this will “mean more Europe, not less Europe.”

Economic Colonization!

One cannot overstate the significance of these events. We are “witnessing … the economic colonization of Europe by stealth by the Germans,” wrote Simon Heffer in the Daily Mail. In the past, it would have “taken an invading military force to topple the leadership of a European nation. Today, it can be done through sheer economic pressure,” he wrote (Nov. 8, 2011; emphasis added throughout).

Such alarming statements are becoming more and more common. In a separate editorial, the Daily Mail warned, “Increasingly, it appears we are witnessing the death of democracy and the right of sovereign nations inside the eurozone to govern their own affairs” (ibid). After Germany conquered Greece and Italy, British politician and European parliamentarian Nigel Farage gave a blistering speech before the European Parliament decrying the EU’s blatantly undemocratic, German-dominated agenda.

“We are now living in a German-dominated Europe—something that the European project was actually supposed to stop—something that those that went before us actually paid a heavy price in blood to prevent. I don’t want to live in a German-dominated Europe,” Farage told the assembly.

Germany’s ambitions have been made plain, wrote Peter Mullen in the Telegraph: “What is being envisaged in Mrs. Angela Merkel’s mind is a unified Europe, a superstate, in which the most powerful, and therefore dominating, nation would be Germany.” His conclusion was even more chilling: “We were promised by the Eurocrats a continent-wide democratic defense against fascist dictatorship, but what we are heading for at great speed is precisely that dictatorship.”

After decades of this project in motion, the ruthless ambitions of the elites guiding the EU are finally being exposed. We are seeing that the EU has no interest in protecting the rights of European states and defending those of the European people. Rather, as the Trumpet has repeatedly warned, the EU is an undemocratic, German-led powerhouse engaged in a strategy to conquer, then subjugate, the sovereign states of Europe.

In fact, it’s all that and much, much more!

In an article November 4, one of the most popular conservative thinkers in Britain, who blogs under the pseudonym Archbishop Cranmer, got close to the truth of the matter. The German-led “European Union is essentially the re-creation of the old empire of Charlemagne,” he wrote. The EU today, he explained, has picked up the mantle of Charlemagne, just like Otto the Great did in the 10th century, then the Habsburg kings in the Middle Ages and then Napoleon in the early 19th century.

If you know your European history, you know that’s a terrifying comparison!

“The spirit of Charlemagne still broods,” he wrote. There is more to come, he warned, as the “same fate will befall Portugal, Italy and Spain, for the powerfully federalist character of this project has yet to be appreciated.”

What about you? Can you appreciate what we are witnessing? While the world is fixated on the currency exchanges, on the bond yields and bailout packages, on the effect of Europe’s financial crisis on global stock markets and hedge funds, what are you seeing in Europe? Do you see a continent being systematically conquered by an invigorated, empowered German nation?

The spirit of Charlemagne is brooding. Whether you see it later or now is a matter of life and death. It is that serious!

London Terror Attack Reveals Britain's Weakness

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-23T21:42:22+01:00

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday that the brutal murder of a soldier on the streets of London the day previous would bring the UK together and make Britons stronger.

Cameron made his statements outside Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee. The meeting focused on the potential security implications of the attack. The soldier was murdered in broad daylight just a few blocks from the Royal Artillery Barracks in the Woolwich neighborhood.

On Wednesday, police responded to a call about the attack. When they arrived, two Muslims holding bloodied meat cleavers and kitchen knives were waiting for them. Bystanders recorded one of the men shouting, “We swear by almighty Allah that we will never stop fighting you.” The suspects were arrested and remain under armed guard in separate London hospitals.

Cameron said Britons would stand strong and resolute against “violent extremism and terror.”

[SOUNDBITE: British Prime Minister David Cameron:]

“This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life, it was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country. There is nothing in Islam that justifies this truly dreadful act. Britain works with our international partners to make the world safe from terrorism. Terrorism that has taken more Muslim lives than any other religion. It is an utter perversion of the truth to pretend anything different. That is why there is absolutely no justification for these acts. And the fault for them lies solely and purely with the sickening individuals who carried out this appalling attack. But one of the best ways of defeating terrorism is to go about our normal lives. And that is what we shall all do. Thank you.”

Unfortunately, going about their normal lives didn’t prevent Thursday’s attack.

In 2009, theTrumpet.com quoted a young British Muslim who explained that terrorism was growing in Britain because of the “toxic combination of politically correct policy, denial and fear.” On Wednesday, some of that hate exploded on a London street. Yet leaders in Britain refuse to deal with the problem.

To understand the cause of Britain’s weakness and where it is leading, read “UK: Giving in to Islamic Extremism” and “The Sickness in Britain’s Heart.”

Steve Jobs and His Burning Passion to Be Perfect

Gerald Flurry — 2013-05-23T21:30:14+01:00

At the time of his death last October, Steve Jobs was overseeing the most valuable corporation on Earth. He was the primary author of the spectacular success of Apple Inc., which is why many say he was the greatest ceo ever.

There is a lot we can learn from Mr. Jobs. In fact, many of his most exceptional traits are endorsed in God’s Word.

Perhaps his most distinctive and empowering quality, as well as his most important, was that he was a perfectionist. In a world that tolerates and even exalts imperfection, the success Mr. Jobs achieved because of his quest for perfection is worth pondering.

The Case of the Imperfect Case

In every detail of creating computers and gadgets—even in building the Apple empire and its distinct, almost mesmerizing culture—Steve Jobs wanted everything to be perfect. This desire for the perfect gadget, the perfect product launch, the perfect Apple store, propelled him to unrivaled success more than anything else.

Just six weeks before the iPod was scheduled to be unveiled in 2001, it had a plastic screen. Suddenly Jobs became convinced that plastic would scratch too easily and that the screen should be glass. His decision to make the change sent shock waves through the company: Designers, engineers and technicians were sent scrambling to redesign the casing. “No other ceo on Earth would have made that call,” wrote Time magazine (Oct. 17, 2011).

Steve Jobs didn’t care about the added cost or how the media would react. His primary focus was on releasing the most perfect product possible!

During the creation of the Apple ii computer in the late 1970s, Jobs had to choose the color of the casing and was given 2,000 shades of beige to choose from. Not one was good enough for Jobs. He wanted to create his own perfect shade of beige.

Even as a boy watching his father work on cars, Steve, writes Walter Isaacson in his book Steve Jobs, was “fascinated by the need for perfection.”

Jobs demanded the highest-quality screws be used on components inside the computer. He even insisted on beautiful finishes inside, even though only repairmen would ever see it. “Jobs … always indulged his obsession that the unseen parts of a product should be crafted as beautifully as its facade, just as his father had taught him when they were building a fence,” Isaacson writes.

What a unique way of thinking: creating a product that is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. No wonder Apple products are in such high demand!

The determination to reach perfection is a remarkable quality. In a very real sense, it points us to God! In Matthew 5:48, Jesus Christ commands His followers, “Be [or become] ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” This is a profound scripture. It really encapsulates the gospel of God! It is all about human beings actually becoming like God Himself! God is a perfectionist!

Being a perfectionist is a godly quality—which is why it works.

Steve Jobs embodied this quality in his pursuit of the perfect gadget, and look at the success he attained in that arena. Christ challenges us to apply it in the areas of our life that really matter most!

How much of a perfectionist are you? Do you strive for the perfect marriage, the perfect children? Do you labor to produce the most perfect product possible at work? If we do this, good things will happen. God tells us to develop that quest for perfection in everything we do!

Vision

Proverbs 29:18 says that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” Whether we apply this spiritually or even to our physical life—our job, our marriage, our family—it remains true: People need vision. In order to truly succeed, we need to have our mind fixed on the goal—something big, something important to pursue and aspire to.

Steve Jobs was always fixated on his ultimate vision.

In 1983, Jobs was searching for a ceo to run Apple. He approached John Scully, who was working at Pepsi-Cola at the time and seemed uninterested in the position. Finally, after months of unsuccessfully petitioning Scully to join the Apple team, Jobs told him flatly: “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water? Or do you want a chance to change the world?”

This man wasn’t in the computer business simply to create gadgets, or build a global corporation, or even to transform the computer industry. His ultimate ambition was to “change the world.”

Jobs has often been quoted as telling his co-workers, “We’re here to put a dent in the universe.” That was his goal for Apple, and he did his best to make it the goal of every employee working at Apple.

How far-reaching is your vision? God has given human beings a potential that will stretch your imagination to its limits! He wants that vision to propel us onward and upward, to motivate us to seek greatness! You can learn about that vision in our book The Incredible Human Potential. We will send you a copy for free.

Steve Jobs had a novel way of recruiting employees in 1981. During the interview process he would bring the candidate into a room where a prototype of the Mac was covered by a cloth. Then, with great drama, he would rip the veil from his creation—and then watch their reaction. “If their eyes lit up, if they went right for the mouse and started pointing and clicking,” recalled Andrea Cunningham, “Steve would smile and hire them.”

Jobs surrounded himself with people who loved Apple. He only wanted to work with people who had the same vision, the same hopes and dreams for Apple’s products and services. When asked what he looked for when hiring a senior executive, Jobs responded, “They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, are they going to fall in love with Apple?”

This too is a biblical principle. God is building a team of people who are united in their enthusiasm for His plans and His way of life. Above all He wants men and women “after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will” (Acts 13:22). He tells us, through the Apostle Paul, to “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God,” and to “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

One of the greatest challenges in creating an Apple product was striking the balance between aesthetic appeal and engineering. Steve Jobs didn’t just want the best product technologically: He also wanted it to be visually appealing, as simple and pure as possible.

From an engineering standpoint, this was never easy. Often, the engineers or manufacturers would tell Jobs that he was demanding the impossible, and style would simply have to be compromised. Jobs would always fire back, We are going to do it! An employee who continued to fail to believe would be fired.

Jobs couldn’t stand to work with naysayers, people who were negative and hadn’t fully bought into his vision. He knew that such people would drain him and the rest of his team of optimism and energy.

Even this principle has a biblical corollary. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” the Prophet Amos wrote. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul wrote: “Make no mistake: ‘Bad company is the ruin of a good character’” (New English Bible).

Focus

Steve Jobs’s clear vision of what he wanted enabled him to have a laser-like focus on what he wanted to accomplish. He often told his executives that deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.

Though he had co-founded Apple in 1976, Jobs was fired in 1985. When he returned to the company in 1997, it was a mess. Jobs immediately undertook a survey of the company, its employees and its products—and what he discovered infuriated him. There were too many products, too many versions of software, too many competing visions for the company.

He spent months working to sort through the morass. Finally, in a product strategy session, Jobs yelled “Stop!” This is crazy, he said. He went to the whiteboard and drew a horizontal line and a vertical line to make a four-squared chart. Here’s what we’re going to do, he explained: Apple is going to make one product for each quadrant. Instead of developing multiple different products and even expanding into other industries, he wanted Apple to focus on one industry, and on three or four products.

Within months of his return, Apple had cut 70 percent of its models and products, and was devoting all its resources to a handful of projects. This new, acutely focused strategy paid off, and soon the company was growing again.

According to Isaacson, Steve Jobs’s ability to focus—and to force those around him to focus—“saved Apple.”

Once again, Jobs was employing a spiritual principle. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus told His followers, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” God knows that if our lives are scattered in too many directions, we will fail at everything. The truly important things will get crowded out by trivialities. “When thine eye is single,” Jesus said, “thy whole body is also full of light” (Luke 11:34). God demands that we maintain our focus on what really matters.

The Missing Component

Like all men, Steve Jobs had his share of flaws. Steve Wozniack, his partner at Apple and the man largely responsible for the engineering behind the empire, said he could “never trust his [Jobs’s] integrity.”

This great computer magnate was self-centered, highly combustible and often brutally honest with his criticisms. Early in his career he had a child out of wedlock. Although he was a millionaire and powerful man at the time, he rejected his daughter and humiliated her mother in the national press.

Despite all his material success, Steve Jobs was constantly searching for spiritual enlightenment. As a young man, this search led him to some pretty intensive drug use. He went to college for six months, where he became interested in Zen Buddhism. He grew close to prominent spiritual gurus and would regularly participate in bizarre rituals.

In 1974, Jobs told his bosses at Atari that he was quitting his job and going to India in search of a religious guru who could help him find himself. About his jaunt to India, Jobs later said: “For me it was a serious search. I’d been turned on to the idea of enlightenment and trying to figure out who I was and how I fit into things.” Daniel Kottke, a friend of Jobs at the time, recalled that “there was a hole in him, and he was trying to fill it.”

That hole stayed with Jobs his whole life. After returning from India, he continued his search for enlightenment. Despite his intellectual and creative brilliance, spiritually he was a deeply confused man. “I think different religions are different doors to the same house,” he said once. “Sometimes I think the house exists, and sometimes I don’t. It’s the great mystery.”

A few months before he died, Jobs was talking with Isaacson about the meaning of life and the existence of God. “I’m about 50-50 on believing in God,” he said. “For most of my life, I’ve felt that there must be more to our existence than meets the eye.”

Isn’t that sad? This man had spent a lifetime searching the planet for a Higher Authority, and the best conclusion he could draw was there is “more to our existence than meets the eye.”

This brilliant, highly educated man transformed the world with his dazzling gadgets. He was rich and powerful. He could pick up the phone and talk to presidents and prime ministers, to ceos and scientists. He received private concerts from world-class artists. He could go anywhere and do anything, no matter the expense. He had everything!

Everything, that is, except what he wanted most: spiritual enlightenment.

Jobs revolutionized the computer industry, the movie industry, the cell phone industry, the music industry—and really the world—with his technology. Yet he never discovered the answers to life’s most basic and important questions. During one of his last conversations with Isaacson, Jobs mused about how he’d like to believe something great was in store for humans after they die. Then again, he stated, “perhaps [life] is like an on-off switch. Click! And you’re gone.”

He even joked that “maybe this was why I never liked to put on-off switches on Apple devices.”

Sad, isn’t it? Steve Jobs transformed human existence with his technology, but he never figured out why humans exist. He never figured out whether there is a God. Or if man was put on Earth for a specific reason. Or if there is life after death. This brilliant man died ignorant. Even Steve Jobs himself knew there was a missing component to his extraordinarily successful life.

What was it?

Put simply, this man lacked a relationship with the one omnipotent, all-powerful, living God!

What about you? Do you have a vibrant, active, productive relationship with God? You can!

The moment God created man is recorded in Genesis 1:26. Notice, God says “let us make man in our image, after our likeness .…” Have you ever wondered why God would create man after the image and likeness of God? In The Incredible Human Potential, Herbert Armstrong explains this stunning little verse: “But man was made in the form and shape of God, to have a special relationship with God—to have the potential of being born into the Family of God.”

Do you have a “special relationship with God”?

There are literally hundreds of verses in the Bible like Genesis 1:26. Short verses with profound, life-changing meaning. Verses that prove God exists, that explain why man was put on Earth, that explain God’s plan for man, that explain if there is life after death. Verses that provide riveting, practical knowledge that will transform your life.

If you would like to learn the answers to these questions, to find out why you were put on Earth, and how you can have a fresh, sincere relationship with God, then you need to study these Bible passages. To help you with that, we’d like to send you a free copy of Herbert Armstrong’s book The Incredible Human Potential.

Steve Jobs pursued the knowledge contained in this book all his life. Now you can have it free.

The Mourning After

Joel Hilliker — 2013-05-23T05:00:00+01:00

Spare a thought for 24 million of our fellow human beings, made in God’s image, living in North Korea, mourning the death of their Dear Leader. Their suffering has a lot to teach us.

For over six decades, the rule of Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, is all these people have known. Before that was decades of harsh, exploitative rule by the imperialist Japanese.

Kim Il Sung institutionalized a grotesque combination of oppression and cult of personality. He enacted Communist policies that isolated his country and impoverished his people. He outlawed dissent. He condemned his enemies and political opponents and their families to prison camps, without trial, for life. Meanwhile, he erected monuments to himself by the tens of thousands and enshrined himself in the constitution as the nation’s “Eternal President.” He suppressed all religion outside the worship of himself.

The unsettling result of this propagandism was on display when Kim Il Sung died in 1994 at age 82. His son declared a 10-day grieving period, and hundreds of thousands attended his funeral, outdoing one another with their weeping and gnashing of teeth. The crowds were so intense that some mourners actually died in the crush.

What can explain it? How can a people so tyrannized grieve so much at the loss of the tyrant?

Kim’s body was preserved and embalmed in a glass coffin for viewing—where it bizarrely remains. To this day, this corpse is legally the president of North Korea.

Kim Jong Il ruthlessly perpetuated his father’s failed totalitarian policies. He funneled much of the poor country’s money into building a massive army and weapons of mass destruction. His government’s economic mismanagement has made life miserable for millions. His people suffer from chronic malnutrition; hunger and famine are rife.

Such failure is carefully preserved through crushing authoritarianism. The government controls information, stamps out freedom of speech and the right to privacy, censors all radio, tv and news organizations, blocks outside media, and strictly monitors its citizens’ correspondence. North Koreans have no right to privacy, and no freedom of assembly or religion except to worship the Dear Leader or his father, the Great Leader.

Those who break the rules pay terrifying penalties. Korea’s gulags are chambers of horrors: arbitrary imprisonment in terrible conditions, hard labor, torture, forced abortions, infanticide, deliberate starvation, public executions by hanging or firing squad, cannibalism. The percentage of his people who have starved or wasted away in his concentration camps puts Kim Jong Il among the bloodiest dictators of the 20th century.

Yet when he died in December, we became witness to the same unearthly story: uncontrollable crying and anguish on display by a nation of mourners. “Father!” they cried—speaking not of God, but of Kim—beating their chests, convulsing, losing their balance between sobs.

It is sincere sorrow; genuine agony felt by people programmed every day of their lives to worship this man. Even as he trampled and ruined them.

This is a disturbing example of how vulnerable human minds are to deception. An intelligent adult can become conditioned to accept the perverse as normal—especially when he has no accurate gauge of measurement and propaganda colors his thinking. He can actually embrace circumstances that are beneath the God-given dignity of human beings.

The noble, longsuffering North Koreans are an extreme example. But such deception is not nearly as isolated as you might think.

The Bible reveals that all nations are under a deadly deception foisted on them by a tyrant worse than Kim Jong Il (Revelation 12:9). Satan is the deceiver of this whole world.

Herbert W. Armstrong explained this remarkable truth in A World Held Captive. He wrote of Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped and brainwashed into preferring the criminal life of her captors. “But most astonishing,” he wrote, “is the actual fact of the colossal kidnapping of all time—in which the captive for 6,000 years has willed to pursue the life and evil philosophy of the archkidnapper—Satan the devil. The willing victim in this case is the world that inhabits this planet Earth! Yet this world has been so completely deceived that it cannot realize what actually has happened to it.”

The devil’s way of life causes nothing but misery. Yet from our earliest days in life, Satan bombards us with propaganda to the contrary. He is “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,” encouraging people to satisfy their lusts (Ephesians 2:2-3). Sin is bondage. When we fall into its snare, we become captive slaves (2 Peter 2:19; 2 Timothy 2:26). Yet the vast majority are duped, blinded to their plight. In their deception they are convinced of the inherent rightness and goodness of the very things that are destroying them.

People are so deceived, in fact, that when God brings this beastly, oppressive dictator to justice, Scripture prophesies a scene uncannily similar to what happened in North Korea. As much suffering as Satan’s beast power has caused, when it falls, people will “bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning” (see Revelation 18:9-11).

The story in North Korea is one of a queer and tragic type of unrequited love: people deceived into loving the cruel dictator who did not love them back. It typifies a greater tragedy enveloping our whole world. But soon—very soon—God will permanently dethrone “the god of this world” and free North Koreans and all other peoples from their captivity. He will establish a new world, a world free of deception. Jesus Christ will rule as King of kings, and as He promised, “[Y]e shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

China Expands Its Sphere in the South Pacific

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-23T05:00:00+01:00

China is once again working to expand its reach in the South China Sea. Its latest target is the Philippines. Recently China sailed a warship, two surveillance vessels and fishing boats into an area occupied by the Philippines’ military, causing an outcry from Philippine officials on Tuesday. While this small conglomerate of ships may pose little immediate threat, this is just the latest step in China’s expansion in the Pacific.

The controversial area these vessels entered was the Ayungin Shoal in the province of Palawan, a shoal that is part of the heavily contested Spratly Islands. According to the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, the shoal is part of Philippine territory as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (unclos). However, these islands are also claimed by China, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia.

While this intrusion prompted Filipino President Benigno Aquino iii to announce plans to upgrade the country’s aging navy, China isn’t planning to wait around for that; it has already been busy making its presence felt in the island region. China is said to have recently been constructing military structures in the Union Bank, a group of islands that are also within the territorial boundaries of the Philippines as defined by unclos. China has also established itself on a number of other islands in the region, including Mischief Reef and Subi Reef.

While the Spratly Islands have been contested for decades, this is the second time in less than a year that China has made headlines over territorial disputes. Late last year, China and Japan butted heads over the Diaoyu islands (called Senkaku in Japan), a dispute that is still ongoing.

The implications of these advances go far beyond just territorial acquisition. This is yet another move to expose America’s unwillingness to face Chinese expansion.

Sounds extreme?

The United States has an agreement with both Japan and the Philippines that says it will come to their aid should they be attacked. But right now, the U.S. has no desire to commit to another war, especially against such a power as China. The Philippines can talk big as much as it wants, but without the backing of the U.S., it knows it doesn’t stand a chance in a conflict with China.

But why should America care about a nation like the Philippines? Should America even be concerned with the Pacific?

The Philippines is America’s first line of defense against an attack from Asia. After the Philippines, all there is are small, inconsequential island chains, followed by Hawaii. Beyond that, it’s a straight shot to the American coast.

The Philippines is vital to controlling the Pacific. World War ii proves that. Back then, the U.S. didn’t see the importance of defending the Philippines, but Gen. Douglas MacArthur was there, calling for America to intervene against Japan. You can see this history and the importance of the Philippines in the recent Key of David Web Exclusive “Japan Wants Military—U.S. Yawns, Ignores History.” Sadly, nothing has changed since World War ii. Just as America did not realize the strategic importance of the Philippines back then, it doesn’t fully appreciate it today. Only now, America doesn’t have a General MacArthur to wake us from our stupor.

Don’t expect the Chinese to back down from any of these disputes. Who’s going to stop them? For a more in-depth look at the situation, read “Will China Call America’s Military Bluff?”

The Ayatollah's Presidential Election

Callum Wood — 2013-05-23T05:00:00+01:00

As the June 14 Iranian presidential election draws closer, speculation remains over who will take the seat that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has filled for the past eight years. Those who would hope the Iranian people will rally to bring change to Iran may be disappointed. The truth is, the decision doesn’t rest with the Iranian people. It rests with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

When outgoing President Ahmadinejad steps down, he will leave office on less than favorable terms with the ayatollah. The relationship has soured slowly for a number of years, beginning with the president’s reelection in 2009. Constitutional law prevents a president from running for a third term in office. Mr. Ahmadinejad’s second term in office has seen him step out from under the guiding hand of the ayatollah as he has no longer needed to worry about public opinion. There have been a number of instances when the president has defied the ayatollah in recent months. In February, the ayatollah warned that anyone bickering publicly about the election would be guilty of treason. President Ahmadinejad defied the order by getting into a heated debate with parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani.

Now the system being guided by the ayatollah will attempt to establish a new puppet president who will be more inclined to do as he is told, much like Ahmadinejad was in his first term.

It is certainly within the ayatollah’s means to elect the president of his choice. That might seem unlikely, considering there were over 680 contenders for the office. However, that enormous conglomerate of contenders has been pared down to just a few. The responsibility of selecting the few contenders fell to the Guardian Council. This group is comprised of 12 clerics. Six of them have been directly appointed by the ayatollah himself; the other six were appointed by the judiciary and approved by parliament, both of which are heavily influenced by the ayatollah.

The Guardian Council is the most influential body within Iran. It approves all bills that go through parliament and has the ability to bar candidates from running in elections for parliament. More importantly for the upcoming election, it can veto candidates for the presidency.

The Iranian-owned Press tv quoted Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei as saying the council “does not work based on numbers, but based on criteria.” So if council members believe a candidate suits them—or suits the ayatollah—then they will allow him to run for office. Those who are pro-ayatollah have a significant advantage over the rest. From hundreds of candidates, only eight will run for office.

For President Ahmadinejad, getting his own candidate into office was a long shot from the start. The man widely alleged to be Mr. Ahmedinejad’s choice was Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. A close ally of the president, Mr. Mashaei was slated to be one of two controversial candidates. Unfortunately for the president and Mr. Mashaei, the Guardian Council blocked him from entering the race. He is widely known for his controversial religious views, which have drawn him a lot of rebuke from clerics. He is subsequently barred, and Mr. Ahmedinejad’s best chance of choosing a successor is gone.

The other man who looked to be a good contender was former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The 78-year-old announced his candidacy late in the race and received plenty of public support. As a remnant of the revolutionary days and the fourth president of Iran, Mr. Rafsanjani seemed to be a fan of the people. However, he too was not so popular with the ayatollah and the Guardian Council. He was barred after the council ruled he was too old to run for office.

Critics of the elderly contender also accused him of fueling the riots in Tehran following the 2009 election. Because Mr. Rafsanjani didn’t condemn the rioters, he is now accused of being a part of their movement.

Mr. Mashaei and Mr. Rafsanjani were widely considered the best chance for change within the regime. With both men removed, the ayatollah will pick who will be the next puppet president.

Even if the influence of the Guardian Council isn’t enough to swing the votes, the ayatollah also has the Central Election Board, which will oversee the election. It too is under the sway of the ayatollah.

With the election over three weeks away, there is still time for plenty of debate over who will take office. However, there is one contender that stands out at the moment: Saeed Jalili. He is currently Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator with the international community. Mr. Jalili has refused to make any concessions in nuclear talks, drawing condemnation from nations such as the United States for his stalling. He has allowed Iran’s nuclear program to continue forward.

If Jalili is elected into office, he will face tough economic problems. Sanctions are crippling the economy, but are not stopping the nuclear program. If Jalili does take office, there is unlikely to be considerable change. Under Ahmadinejad, the nuclear program couldn’t have gone ahead without the support of the ayatollah. With a newly appointed president who is more tightly connected to the ayatollah’s political circle, things will be unlikely to change.

Jalili aside, with all opposition removed, one might expect Iran to return to its 2009 state, when protesters took to the streets to contest the reelection of President Ahmadinejad. After a brief moment in the world headlines, the movement was crushed by the Iranian government. Dozens of activists were killed and hundreds were arrested.

Rioting on this scale is unlikely to happen again. Many of the leaders of opposition groups that united after the last elections, such as the Green Movement, were arrested and are still under house arrest today. The government isn’t taking any chances. Authorities have moved to lock down the youth headquarters of Rafsanjani’s youth supporters. Lessons were learned from the 2009 rioting, and the government won’t be so easily caught unawares this time around.

The ayatollah has so far steered the election with a typical iron grip. Dissent is rarely tolerated for long in Iran. The barring of outspoken presidential candidates, the arrest of protesters, the steering of elections in order to obtain a puppet president—all of it boils down to the fact that things are not about to get better with the election of a new president.

Whoever the new president is, he will remain firmly under the control of Ayatollah Khamenei. And for those who might still hope for change, look at what the ayatollah has called on the voters to do (keeping in mind that he holds powerful sway over much of the population). In one speech leading up to the selection of candidates, he told voters to choose a candidate who will “move the country forward in a pace similar to the current one or even faster.”

That means the same policies, the same belligerence, the same radical ideals and the same destructive goals. Looking at the way the election race is playing out, it would appear Iran is heading down the same course as under Ahmadinejad.

This prospect is backed up by Bible prophecy. Iran is the head of the prophesied king of the south (Daniel 11:40). With Iran at the head, this bloc will “push” at the king of the north, a unified Europe. One way that Iran may push is through its attempt to gain nuclear weapons. The longer Iran works to obtain the bomb, the more of a threat it becomes to Europe and the world. With the situation remaining the way it is in Iran, that time could be on us very soon. The election of another puppet president, one even more in line with the radical ayatollah, will be one more step toward that eventuality.

If you want to understand the dramatic events that will center around Iran, read The King of the South. It is free and will help you to understand the catastrophes to come.

Seven Keys to Answered Prayer

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-22T17:00:00+01:00

God has literally hundreds of promises written down for you in His Word saying that under certain terms and conditions, He will cause things to happen for you if you will ask Him. He promises supernatural intervention. He promises to deliver you from trouble, to supply your every necessity, to fight your personal battles for you, to heal you when you are sick and even to prosper you financially!

Why then, do the prayers of most people go unanswered? The vast majority simply do not know how to pray. The Bible reveals seven basic conditions you should fulfill to be certain your prayers will be answered. Let’s learn what they are.

1. Know God’s Will

1. To get answers to our prayers, what example did Jesus set that we should follow? John 5:30, last part. Are we also to understand God’s will? Ephesians 5:17. How can we get to know His will? 2 Timothy 2:15.

Comment: By studying God’s will, which is revealed in the Bible, you will begin to think more as God thinks. You will come to know that God is love and that His will is for our good.

2. If we pray according to God’s will, can we know that God will answer our prayers? 1 John 5:14-15.

3. After God led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, they rebelled to the extent that His wrath was stirred! Consequently, what did God tell Moses He would do? Exodus 32:9-10. Did Moses immediately intercede on behalf of Israel and ask God to spare the nation? Verses 11-13. Did God listen to Moses? Verse 14.

Comment: Notice how Moses pleaded with God. He recalled the promises God had made to Abraham, Isaac and Israel, which revealed God’s will to multiply and bless their descendants. It was Moses’s faith in those promises—and his assurance that God would abide by them—that gave him such boldness in talking to his Creator!

4. Are we to approach God’s glorious throne with boldness? Hebrews 4:16.

Comment: When Moses prayed for Israel, he was able to pray boldly and courageously because he knew God’s will. To pray with real faith and confidence, you too must first know God’s will. You must come to know how God thinks and acts. You must understand the purpose He is working out on Earth and the promises He has made in His Word.

2. Believe God

1. According to Jesus Christ, is it essential to believe God before we can receive what we ask of Him? Mark 11:24.

Comment: Most people do not realize that a disbelief that God will keep His promises or back up His Word is simply a lack of faith.

2. Does the Apostle James, the brother of Jesus, confirm that faith is an absolute prerequisite to receiving answers to our prayers? James 1:5-7.

Comment: The person who “wavers,” or doubts God, will not receive an answer to his prayers. If you lack the faith to trust God, ask God to give it to you. After all, faith is one of the “fruits” of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), which is a gift from God.

3. A stunning example of answered prayer is recorded in 1 Kings 18:20-39, where you read about the Prophet Elijah confronting the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Was there any doubt in Elijah’s mind that God would perform a miraculous feat?  1 Kings 18:36-37. Did Elijah get the results he prayed for? Verses 38-39.

Comment: Notice that Elijah, like Moses, knew God’s will and gave it as a reason for God to intervene (verse 36)—never doubting that He would!

3. Obey God

To get results from your prayers, you must not only know God’s will and believe Him, you must also be willing to act on His Word.

1. What does God label the person who says he “knows God,” and yet does not keep His commandments? 1 John 2:4.

Comment: If you haven’t yet learned to accept God’s Word as the authority in your life, then you can’t really get to know God through prayer.

2. Can those who persistently refuse to keep God’s commandments really expect Him to answer their prayers? 1 Peter 3:12. What is “doing evil”—what is sin? 1 John 3:4. Does sin cut you off from God? Isaiah 59:1-2.

Comment: Here is one of the major reasons why so many prayers are not answered. God will not listen to a person who rebels and persistently disobeys His Word.

However, in certain instances, God does sometimes hear and answer the prayers of those who, in ignorance of the full intent of His law, are not conscious of their sins, but obey Him as far as they know. The lepers and cripples who came to Jesus to be healed didn’t know all of God’s truth, but they did realize that Jesus was sent from God and could heal; and they acted on what they knew.

So it is a matter of your heart or attitude. If you come to God in a humble, repentant spirit and are determined to obey Him to the best of your knowledge and ability, He will hear your prayers. But for anyone who knows the truth, there is no excuse to disobey God.

3. Can true Christians have a special confidence that God will answer their prayers if they are obedient? 1 John 3:22.

4. Fear and Humility

Too many have a self-sufficient attitude and think they can get along fine without God. They neither fear God, nor respect His Word as the authority in their lives. If people with that mindset pray, does God respond? Let’s understand.

1. What is the first prerequisite to be able to understand God and His ways? Psalms 111:10; 112:1.

Comment: To “fear” God means to revere Him—to stand in awe of Him, His law, His government and His will for us. It means we are apprehensive to disobey Him. The fear of God is not dread or terror. Rather, it springs from love. When we approach our Creator in that attitude—deeply respecting His power and authority over our lives—He will hear our prayers.

2. What kind of person does God relate to? Isaiah 66:2.

Comment: The word poor refers to humility, not poverty. God regards those who are truly humble—void of pride, arrogance and self-righteousness. He esteems those who tremble at, or very carefully observe, His words; and those who are of a contrite spirit—deeply affected by and repentant of disobeying His instructions and commandments.

On the other hand, God resists the proud (James 4:6).

The attitude of godly fear and humility is vital in prayer and at all other times.

5. Be Fervent

1. How is fervent prayer described in the Bible?  2 Chronicles 32:20; Psalm 62:8.

Comment: Notice the words “prayed and cried” (figuratively crying out, and at times literally crying) and “pour out your heart.”

It is common today among many to recite brief, memorized prayers, word for word. God is not moved by prayers of rote because they are not from the heart.

2. How fervent was Jesus in His prayers? Hebrews 5:7.

Comment: When Jesus prayed to the Father, He meant it. His prayers had deep meaning. He felt them. He was deeply moved on many occasions when He communed with God.

3. What can you expect if you pray fervently? James 5:16.

Comment: This kind of prayer “avails much”—it achieves great results! Energetic, heartfelt prayers are well-pleasing to God. When you wholeheartedly call upon God, you can expect real answers to your prayers.

6. Be Persistent

Some people, if God doesn’t answer right away, begin to lose faith and give up praying. They forget that although God promises to answer when we ask according to His will, He nowhere promises to answer right away. God does not tell us exactly how or precisely when the answer will come.

1. Is this why Jesus gave the parable of the persistent widow? Luke 18:1-8.

Comment: The New International Version correctly renders the words “not to faint” as “not give up”! Jesus gave this parable to show that even an unrighteous judge would finally hear the pleas of a widow who kept coming to him. So we should keep praying to God, even though He sometimes doesn’t answer right away.

2. Is God building patient faith into our character if we have to wait on Him to answer a prayer? James 1:3-4.

Comment: We must be persistent in prayer until God answers. If He doesn’t answer your prayers immediately, exercise patience and keep praying until He does answer.

However, don’t nag at God! He has supreme wisdom to know when and how to best answer your prayers. Occasionally remind God about your problems or afflictions; don’t cease praying about them.

God always keeps His promises—He cannot lie (Titus 1:2)—so He is bound to perform His part in His own time.

7. Use Christ’s Name

The seventh condition of answered prayer is the correct use of Christ’s name. This is a greatly misunderstood subject, and Christ’s name is often abused.

1. Is it possible to have access to the Father apart from Jesus Christ? Ephesians 2:13, 18.

2. After Jesus had been with His disciples for over three years and had taught them God’s will and how to obey it, how did He say they could petition the Father directly, for His help? John 14:13-14; 16:23-24.

Comment: These verses give us the privilege of employing Christ’s name—asking by His authority—when we pray to God the Father.

Most people misunderstand how we can ask “in Jesus’s name.” When a government sends an ambassador—its chosen representative—to another country, he is given authority to carry out certain business in the name of, or on behalf of, that government. His authority is limited to do only what the government has specifically authorized him to do. Likewise, God’s children can rightfully ask the Father for things “in Jesus’s name” when they know it is His will—that His authority stands behind it. Just rattling off the words “in Jesus’s name” to a prayer that is contrary to His will is of no avail! You need to study the Bible to know more about the principles of Christ’s will, in order that you may ask by His authority.

God wants to hear from you, but He will not force you to do anything. You must choose to rely on Him—to humble yourself, recognize your weaknesses, and depend on Him. When you do, your prayers will accomplish a miraculous change in your life. So pray to God every day—continually, regularly, fervently—and expect God to answer!

A Bloody Week in Iraq

Callum Wood — 2013-05-22T05:00:00+01:00

Iraq has seen yet another week of carnage. What started as peaceful protests between Sunni and Shiite Arabs has led to bloody reprisal attacks, similar to those that nearly led to civil war in 2006 and 2007.

To grasp the magnitude of the destruction since Wednesday last week, let’s look first at the Boston bombing on April 15. The horrific attack on American soil shocked the nation, waking many up to the dangers that we face from terrorism. It claimed the lives of three spectators, and a police officer was killed during a gunfight with the terrorist brothers on April 18.

Now look at the events in Iraq from Wednesday May 15, to Monday, May 20.

On Wednesday, a series of car bombs ripped through a number of Shiite districts in Baghdad, claiming the lives of 22 people. The same day, 10 people were killed when two car bombs exploded in the city of Kirkuk. On the outskirts of the city, two policemen were killed by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle, and a roadside bomb detonated near Mosul, killing another policeman.

That was one day.

Thursday was relatively quiet. Twelve people were killed at a local mosque as they paid condolences to those murdered the day before. This year there have been 45 attacks on mosques. Ten of those attacks were in April.

On Friday, 13 people, including at least eight police officers, were taken hostage. The Shiite government suspected Sunni insurgents were responsible.

Bombs went off in Sunni areas in and around Baghdad, killing at least 76 people. It was the bloodiest day of violence in Iraq in more than eight months. The majority of the attacks were against Sunni groups, one of which was a funeral procession. Eight people died in that attack. The body count since Wednesday was hovering around 130.

On Saturday, 14 Shiites were killed in Basra. In retaliation, a Sunni cleric was gunned down later that same day. The police taken hostage on Friday were found in the Anbar province. They had been executed and dumped in the desert.

On Sunday, more police were killed at checkpoints in the Anbar province when Sunni insurgents conducted a series of drive-by shootings.

On Monday, 10 explosions rocked Baghdad. Sixty-four people were killed and 170 were injured. Fourteen people were killed in Basra and three in Samarra. Eight police officers were murdered while out on patrol near the town of Haditha.

That brings the death toll to roughly 200 since Wednesday, with exact numbers still speculative due to the type and frequency of attacks. At this rate, May might catch up to April, which saw 700 deaths in such attacks across the nation.

In one week Iraq saw a death toll almost 67 times greater than that of the Boston bombings. As tragic as the Boston bombing was, the numbers pale in comparison to the violence engulfing Iraq.

This latest round of violence in war-torn Iraq stemmed from a clash between Sunni protesters and government forces on April 23. The protesters were in a camp called al-Hawijah. The government had told them to hand over militants that were suspected of killing a government soldier earlier that month. When the protesters refused, the situation turned violent and led to the deaths of 25 protesters and three soldiers.

Since then, Sunni versus Shiite conflict has been tearing the country apart. Of course, this sort of Islamic infighting is nothing new: Sunnis and Shiites have been at each other’s throats in Iraq for years. And just to the west in Syria, the Sunni majority are attempting to overthrow the Shiite minority that rules under President Bashar Assad. The difference in Iraq is that the Sunnis are the minority. With the fighting in Syria going so well for the Sunnis, it has undoubtedly emboldened and empowered the Sunnis in Iraq.

Back in 2006 and 2007, Iraq came close to civil war. Thousands died as the Sunnis and Shiites turned on each other. The violence was eventually quelled, largely due to the strong American military presence in the country.

Today, the situation could prove far more dangerous. U.S. influence has become barely tangible. While there was no conflict on the western border in 2006, civil war now rages between the Sunnis and Shiites in Syria. Though it may be politically rather than religiously driven, the war in Syria can still provoke conflict in Iraq, where political and religious tensions are becoming more and more intertwined. Without a U.S. mediator, and with increasing violence in Syria, Iraq might descend into the civil war that was narrowly avoided in 2006 and 2007.

With so much bloodshed, violence and chaos, it can be easy to fail to see the broader picture of what is happening in the Middle East. It’s important to note how the situation will eventually play out, because it will affect you. The bombing in Boston shocked America because it occurred domestically. We should also pay heed to the violence in the Middle East, because it is a sign of things to come.

With the aid of Bible prophecy, we can know that Iraq will remain aligned with Iran. They will be a part of what the Bible describes as the king of the south. They will ally together against the king of the north, a unified European power.

As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the June 2003 Trumpet print edition,

Daniel 11:40 through Daniel 12:13 happens during the “time of the end.” Oil and money give the king of the south power to “push” and trigger a world catastrophe! …

All of these events are tied together. They are horrifying to contemplate! The Bible says we are about to see a religious clash that will stagger this world!

Bible prophecy is being fulfilled as you read this article. These prophecies are exploding on the world scene right now at a dizzying pace. This world is about to be plunged into its greatest suffering ever .… It will all begin in the Middle East.

As you read about the terrible tragedies occurring in the Middle East—Iraq or elsewhere—remember that they are tied directly to Bible prophecy, and will affect each and every one of us. Read Mr. Flurry’s article “Is Iraq About to Fall to Iran?” to further grasp the magnitude of where these terrible events are leading in the Middle East.

Muslims and Assimilation in Germany

Callum Wood — 2013-05-22T05:00:00+01:00

The German Islam Conference, widely believed to be one of the best hopes for Muslim integration in Germany, ended its annual conference in failure. The meeting, held in Berlin on May 7, revolved around three main issues that involve the Muslim community. They were, “institutional cooperation between Muslims and the German state; gender equality as a common value; and prevention of extremism, radicalization and social polarization.”

There are currently an estimated 4.3 million Muslims living in Germany. They make up 5 percent of the population. The reason for the large number of Muslims living in Germany can be traced back to the signing of a labor recruitment agreement between West Germany and Turkey on Oct 30, 1961. The treaty allowed “guest workers” to come in from Turkey and work. They were originally supposed to stay for only two years, but the treaty was altered in 1964, removing the “rotation clause,” which meant that the workers could stay. Turks are now the largest ethnic minority in the country and play an increasingly important role in the German workplace.

With an aging population, Germany needs a younger workforce. If Germany isn’t careful, it will put itself in a position similar to that which the U.S. is starting to find itself in. The ability to pay all the pensioners is becoming less viable as retiree numbers swell. As time goes on, Germany is becoming more dependent on immigrants. For instance, the birth rate of the Turkish immigrants in Germany is nearly double that of the native German population. This ensures the availability of young, skilled workers—and the continual growth of the Muslim population.

The German Islam Conference takes in a conglomeration of representatives from all the Muslim sects within Germany and attempts to deal with current issues and gain input from the Muslim minority within the German population. The German government failed to make significant inroads through the use of the conference this year. The failure is partially because the Muslim representatives are refusing to take any blame for the problems being brought up.

Of the three issues the conference tried to deal with, the last was by far the most controversial. The Muslim representatives were outraged at the notion that the government was concerned about risks posed by radical Islam. German members of the conference brought up the subject of “prevention of extremism,” due to a growing concern from within the governments of European nations, primarily Germany.

In 2012, German Intelligence Chief Gerhard Schindler issued a warning that Europe is at “great risk” of terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists. The threat stems from homegrown terrorists. These terrorists are European Muslims that travel to war zones such as Yemen or Afghanistan to obtain training as terrorists. The warning from Schindler came at a time when three terrorists were captured by Spanish authorities. The men were arrested on charges of planning to bomb a shopping mall in Gibraltar, the British island to the south of Spain.

Europe has plenty of reason to be suspicious of radical Islam. On July 19, 2012, a bomb ripped apart a bus in Bulgaria, killing five Israeli tourists. The attack was linked to the terrorist group Hezbollah, which is based out of Lebanon. Despite overwhelming evidence of the threat posed by radical Islam, the Muslim representatives at the German Islam Conference refused to see it.

Instead, the Muslim representatives wanted to focus more on the first issue. The “institutional cooperation between Muslims and the German state” was intended to cover a number of points such as “promoting the introduction of comprehensive Islamic religious introduction in public schools.” The German government has made headway in this area in the past, but the Muslim representatives said they wanted to remove German authorities “meddling” in the process of choosing teachers.

Germany has reason for being selective in whom they allow to teach Islam. Many of the Muslims in Germany are not considered radical, but through indoctrination or improper teaching by extremist groups, there is always the risk of radicalizing by hard-line clerics. Extremist groups do operate within Germany. On March 13, 2013, three Islamist groups were banned from Germany following a series of police raids. No arrests were made, but large sums of cash, as well as German and Arabic propaganda material were discovered.

There was no progress made on “institutional cooperation between Muslims and the German State.” There wasn’t any progress on the second issue either. The German government officials went in with the hope of tackling the issue of violence against women in the Muslim community, forced marriage, and overall gender equality. Instead, the Muslims just wanted to put the focus on the issue of women wearing burkas. They demanded that German employers promise not to discriminate against Muslim women who want to wear burkas to work.

All three of the issues that the German authorities focused on in the conference were bluntly rebutted by the German Muslims. The first, the assimilation issue between Muslims and the government, was dulled by the Muslims just calling on the German government to make more concessions and accusing it of “interfering” with Islamic teaching. The second issue, gender equality, was denied as even being a problem by the Muslims, and instead, they minimized the issue to the point where it was just about getting concessions for burka-wearing women. The third and final issue, dealing with the threat from radical Islam, simply enraged the Muslims. They refused to see the dangers posed by extremists conducting terrorist acts within the nation, and on the broader European continent.

The conference was a failure.

Federal Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich came away from the conference as one of the few who thought it was a positive meeting. His political opponents had other ideas. Social Democratic Party (spd) parliamentary leader Thomas Oppermann said that Friedrich “is only interested in security and terrorism” and has led the [German Islam Conference] to a “dead end.”

The Muslims wanted the conference to end with more concessions and religious freedoms, whereas the Germans were hoping to come away with a stronger sense of security. Neither got what they wanted. Full Muslim integration into German society is not something that is going to happen.

Butting heads with the government is not the only blockade on the path to Muslim integration. The majority of native German people are also opposed to Muslim assimilation.

According to a study by the spd-affiliated Friedrich Ebert Foundation, “Europeans are largely united in their rejection of Muslims and Islam. The significantly most widespread anti-Muslim attitudes are found in Germany, Hungary, Italy and Poland, closely followed by France, Great Britain and the Netherlands.” A case study by the Migration Policy Institute said “Almost half of all Germans said that there are too many Muslims living in the country—even though they make up only 5 percent of the population; that they are too demanding, and that their religion is intolerant.”

Germans are unwilling to accept Muslims if they won’t conform to the German way of life, and the Muslims don’t want to give up their own religion in exchange for living in Germany. That is why the German Islam Conference cannot work. That is why Germany and Islam will continue to clash. Right now, that clash is domestic. Yet prophecy reveals that very soon the clash will take on a much broader application.

The Bible prophesies of a clash between the king of the north—a unified Europe led by Germany—and the king of the south—a league of Islamic nations led by Iran. The Trumpet is offering you two free booklets that cover this subject in vivid detail. They are Germany and the Holy Roman Empire and The King of the South. Order and read these booklets. They will give you insight into why the assimilation of Muslims into Germany will never work.

You Can Conquer Spiritual Lethargy!

Stephen Flurry — 2013-05-22T05:00:00+01:00

The kingdom of Judah hadn’t seen this kind of courageous leadership since the days of King David. Asa was only a teenager when he became king, but he wouldn’t let youthful inexperience stop him from taking bold steps to purge Judah of its widespread idolatry and lawlessness.

Asa put God first, above his own personal wants and desires—even ahead of his own parents. He abolished all the idols “his fathers had made,” and he kicked his evil mother off her throne. The Bible describes the early days of Asa’s reign as 10 years of quiet (2 Chronicles 14:1). What peace God provides when we diligently work to remove idolatry and sexual perversion from our environment!

King Asa wisely used these peaceful, prosperous years to plan for the future. He worked doubly hard fortifying Judah’s cities (verses 6-7) and was careful not to forget God.

Then, when trouble finally did come—an incomprehensibly large, million-man army—Asa trusted in God, crying out for deliverance. “Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power,” he prayed. “Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee” (verse 11). If we do our part to build spiritual strength during times of peace and quiet, we can still experience rest in the Lord during periods of trial and test.

God smote the Ethiopian army before all of Judah. He then sent the Prophet Azariah to deliver a message of hope—and warning. The prophet declared, “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2).

Asa heeded God’s loving instruction, and just as God had promised, blessings poured into the land. These blessings were so visibly obvious that many Israelites to the north started to move to Judah. They wanted to experience what it was like to be ruled by a righteous king! King Baasha of Israel was so alarmed by the exodus of his own people that he fortified Israel’s southern border, turning the city of Ramah, just six miles from Jerusalem, into a military stronghold.

Asa was distressed by this provocative act. Israel’s army was right at Judah’s doorstep. In his mind, this was an act of war. How would this righteous king respond?

Incredibly, after a long history of walking by faith and trusting God, King Asa gathered a large store of treasure from God’s house in order to finance a shady military alliance with Syria. Instead of looking to God, he paid a Gentile king to get rid of the problem!

At first, this unholy alliance seemed to work out: Syria invaded Israel, overthrew numerous cities, and forced Israel to evacuate its military stronghold. Ramah fell back into Judah’s hands. But these seemingly fortuitous events actually marked the beginning of a tragic end for a king who had devoted most of his life to faithfully serving God.

God immediately sent the Prophet Hanani to correct His wayward king: “Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars,” he said (2 Chronicles 16:9). Sadly, this loving correction from God only infuriated the aging king. He locked God’s prophet in prison and then unleashed a violent persecution against his own people (verse 10).

Soon after, Asa was stricken with a deadly disease. He refused to seek God’s miraculous intervention, turning instead to the feeble assistance provided by men. Within two years, he died, bringing an ignominious end to the short second act of a kingly reign that had been noted for legendary works.

“And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (verse 11). Yes, both acts are recorded—the first and the last.

In the first act, Asa was on fire for God. He brought Judah out of religious confusion and purged its cities of lawlessness. He cleaned house in Judah—and it prospered and grew. When the Ethiopians came to conquer, Asa cried out to God, who delivered Judah.

But toward the end of his life, in the second act, Asa had drifted far from God. This didn’t happen overnight. Over the course of many months, perhaps years, Asa steadily lost contact with God. His faith weakened. And when pressures intensified, when personal trials increased, he turned to men for help rather than God.

King Asa is no different than many of God’s own people in these latter days—brethren of God who are characterized as being spiritually lukewarm (Revelation 3:14-17). They no longer have the burning zeal and unshakable faith they had at the start of their conversion. They don’t pour out their hearts to God in effectual fervent prayer like they used to. Their deep and enduring love for digging into the fascinating truth that is buried in God’s Word has waxed icy cold. Fasting, fellowship, meditation—these all have fallen by the wayside.

Has any of this happened to you? Have you neglected God and allowed the disease of spiritual laxness to spread into your life? Have you, perhaps after getting off to a strong start, slowed way down—or maybe come to a complete stop?

If so, then take heed and learn from the unhappy lesson of a Jewish king whose first works were much greater than the last. For Asa, it didn’t have to end that way—and neither does it for you. Like Asa—who could have repented, but didn’t—you can turn back to God, even at the very end of your life, and finish the race the way you started.

You can go back and “do the first works” while there is still time (Revelation 2:5). But you had better hurry. Jesus Christ is coming quickly.

The Mystery of Human Creativity Explained

Dennis Leap — 2013-05-21T17:11:21+01:00

Human creative genius has left its mark on our world. It has advanced civilization by improving human living conditions. Think about the creative inventions that have drastically altered and improved our lives: airplanes, cars, light bulbs, telephones and television, just to name a very few. Man is virtually defined by creativity—in manufacturing, art, literature, music, humor, and virtually every other field of activity.

Every human is a creator. The photographer John Loori wrote: “Creativity is our birthright. It is an integral part of being human, as basic as walking, talking and thinking.” The playwright Julia Cameron writes: “Creativity is the natural order of life.” The historian Paul Johnson writes: “Creativity, I believe, is inherent in all of us.” Creativity expert Michael Michalko writes: “We were all born as spontaneous, creative thinkers.” Tom Wujec, creative director of Digital Media Services at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, writes: “We experience creativity every time a fresh idea pops into our minds. And we can summon creativity when we need it.”

In November 2011, Time published a special edition titled “The Invention Issue.” This issue featured 50 of the latest ideas being developed into new products. Here are some examples: a 3-D transistor that will use half the power and be about 37 percent more effective; an artificial leaf that will convert the sun’s rays into storable chemical energy; a tiny rectangular camera that captures an entire light field, allowing the photographer to refocus a picture after it is taken; an led light bulb to replace the incandescent and fluorescent; and a surveillance device that looks like and flies like a hummingbird. Truly amazing.

These creations are a reflection of the human imagination at work. Man has an almost limitless imagination. Humans use creativity so frequently, we miss what a miracle it is to be creative. Creativity didn’t begin in our technological age. Human creativity helped bring about the technological age.

Only man has the ability to create pictures in the mind and then manipulate materials from the earth to bring into reality what was imagined. Imagination ignites creativity and gives the human mind its uniqueness.

It is imagination that opens the door for us to meditate on our origins and our destiny.

Where Does Creativity Come From?

One theory of human origins postulates that millions of years ago, life began on Earth from a mathematically impossible chemical reaction—maybe caused by a lightning strike to a slimy pond of chemicals—that over eons of time, through incredible non-intelligent processes, first formed into a microscopic acid, then to an amoeba, then to a slug, eventually to an ape, and finally to a man who can sit down, be still and think back historically, asking himself: How did I come to be here?

Yet chemical soup can never ponder how it got to be chemical soup. Though man is made from the elements, he is far more than a bowl full of chemicals. So at what point did chemicals and lightning and the passage of time supposedly create the inimitable human mind?

Intelligent, sincere scientists have devoted lifetimes full of imagination and creative thinking to discovering man’s origins. Yet they are fighting a losing battle. No matter how much men dissect, investigate and postulate, the knowledge of origins has to be revealed by an Originator. The real truth of origins and why man is on Earth is known, is extremely well documented, and is so much more inspiring, rational and satisfying than the wild imaginations of evolutionary theory.

Education, religion and science could get a lot further down the path to understanding human origins and purpose if the people studying origins simply took a fresh look at the abilities of their own minds.

Man a Creator

We tend to overlook the fact that men, women and children are highly creative creatures. In fact, humans are the only creatures on Earth that are truly creative. Don’t be fooled by discussions of spiders’ webs or song thrush nests. Man is the only being that can imagine and then bring into existence what he imagines, whether architecture, art, literature, mechanical inventions, music or sculpture.

Creativity is a highly advanced mental process that involves dreaming or imagination, development and innovation. Let’s be honest: No other creature—ape, chimp, bird, dog or dolphin—can create.

So, shouldn’t this tell us something? Where did we get such power?

Experts studying creativity have uncovered that creative talents and traits are passed on from previous generations. Most great artists, musicians or writers were children or grandchildren of artists, musicians and writers. It is so simple. If we use our imagination and go back a multitude of generations and ask where humans got their ability to be creative, it is not so difficult to understand the answer to that question.

The gifted historian Paul Johnson gives us his insight on this question. In his book Creators, he writes: “We are the progeny of Almighty God. God is defined in many ways: all-powerful, all-wise, and all-seeing; everlasting; the lawgiver; the ultimate source of love, beauty, justice and happiness. Most of all, He is the creator.” Read that quote again. It is from a historian. Could humans be creative because we obtained our proclivity for creativity from our most distant ancestor—God?

To fully understand our origins, the fact that we do create should point us in the direction of God—not an ape. Human imagination and creativity is a key that unlocks the mystery of our true origins and our future.

Let Us Make

If you think about it, even the scientists hypothesizing about man’s origins use imagination and creative thinking. They just use it in a wrong way. Human imagination has to be governed by revealed truth and law, or it becomes fiction—either fruitless or extremely dangerous.

God, who is the Creator of all, is also the Educator. He has made it plain that man is not an animal—did not come from animals—and has a future far greater than animals and angels.

Our all-wise God tells us how we came to be: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

Here is fantastic truth that should fire our imaginations. Here is the sought-after truth of origins so simple to grasp. Man is not made after the ameba, ape, cat, chimp, dog, horse or zebra kind. Man is made after the God kind! In Luke 3, the genealogy of Jesus Christ states specifically that Adam was the son of God. Literally, God is the Father of the human race.

In this age (now coming to a close) we are created physical sons. However, in the soon-coming World Tomorrow man will be given the opportunity to become Spirit-born sons.

In his book The Incredible Human Potential, Herbert Armstrong explained, “Man, to be born ultimately into the very God Family, was designed to have godly-type mind—ability to think, to reason, to make choices and decisions, capable of forming ethical, moral and spiritual attitudes.” Feel free to request a free copy of this amazing book.

Man was created with a mind like God’s, only much inferior. In a limited way, man has the ability to create things from material substances using his mind and hands, just like God. This is the only viable explanation as to why man is so highly creative.

God intended man to use his creativity to subdue and rule over the Earth and its creatures (Genesis 1:28). God put Adam’s creative mind to work immediately by having him give names to the animals (Genesis 2:19). Coming up with a proper name to describe unique traits in each individual animal required a finely tuned process of creative thinking. Eve was also created with incredible creative ability.

Cause of Trouble

Our first parents rejected God and His revealed knowledge and the code of law that would produce all happiness. As a result, Adam and Eve’s creative ability became a source of tragic trouble for them and the family that came from them. Genesis 3 shows that Adam and Eve fell under the control of Satan the devil. Jealous of such a marvelous human mind and its potential, this once-righteous being began to influence men to use their minds for evil purposes. Moses tells us: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). As mankind turned further and further away from God, men, women and children used their imaginations to create evil. Verse 11 in this same chapter says the Earth was full of violence.

God did not create man to make a violent world. Yet, things got so bad on the Earth that God grieved over the creation of mankind. Man had become so evil in his imagination and actions that God decided to teach man a painful lesson about the destructiveness of sin. He brought about a worldwide flood, destroying all breathing life, including man. However, God spared Noah, his family and enough animals to start over. Did man learn the lesson?

Unfortunately, it was not long until man again degenerated in his thinking. Moses explains, “And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city” (Genesis 11:6-8). Prior to this scene at the tower of Babel, mankind had only one language. Communication flowed easily, and men used their imaginations collectively to rebel against God. Essentially, they decided to build a tower tall enough so God could not drown them again for their disobedience. They put their imaginations to work. They developed engineering skill. They brought their mental pictures into reality. They fashioned building materials from the earth. They built.

God recorded for our education, now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. This is an astounding verse. It reveals that man, given enough time and the right resources, can create what he imagines—both good and evil. At the tower of Babel, God saw clearly that man, under the influence of Satan, would develop the technology to destroy himself and the entire Earth. So God put a time delay on what man could accomplish by introducing a multitude of human languages. The confusion created short-circuited man’s creative advance to self-destruction.

Created to Create

When we take an honest look at our world today, we can see that God’s time delay on man’s creative accomplishment has been lifted (Revelation 10:6). Our world is full of marvelous inventions that have made human life so much easier. Yet, on the dark side, man’s creative genius has developed horrific inventions, including weapons of mass destruction that can wipe all life off this planet.

Jesus Christ prophesied that just prior to His Second Coming, our world would be just like Noah’s world (Matthew 24:37-39). Men’s imaginations would be set on doing evil continually (Genesis 6:5). There is no better way to describe the shape our world is in. Men, women and children imagine evil, and then do what they imagine. Thus, we have a world ready to choke on its own filth and blood. Who is to blame? Certainly not God. We have done this to ourselves—with Satan’s help, of course.

Current news and Bible prophecy show us that our world today is just like Noah’s time. We can expect to see unparalleled world upheaval and violence. For a short time, our generation will suffer as no other (Matthew 24:21-22). Much of this suffering will come as the result of the wrong use of our imaginations.

Yet there is great hope: God is not going to let us destroy ourselves. He does plan to step in when we are at the brink of total destruction; when we are ready to fully learn the lesson that rebellion against God can never bring about goodness and happiness.

There is an incredible future just ahead for all mankind. What does that future hold? Men will finally be properly educated about God and His purpose for creating man. Brought to his knees, man will finally be willing to learn and admit that God is not only the Creator but also the great Lawgiver. To learn about God and His purpose for man, human beings will study creation, including the universe.

Discussing God with the Romans, Paul said, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20; English Standard Version). Much of what man wants to know about God and himself has been right before our eyes all along. Instead of looking down and digging in the earth for his origins, man should have been looking around him and up into the heavens for answers. This incredible Earth and the universe could never have come into existence as a result of chance or happenstance.

By studying the Earth and the universe without prejudice, we can gain awesome knowledge. Request our booklet Our Awesome Universe Potential. This free, full-color publication will give you breathtaking details on what we have learned about the Earth and universe from one of man’s most incredible inventions—the Hubble telescope. Combining this knowledge with what is revealed in the Bible, this booklet will show you how the Earth and the universe reveal that a Being of incredible power, intelligence and creativity, with skilled talent for design and engineering, brought into existence a wonderful planet, nestled in just the right place of a vast, expanding universe, made perfect to support microscopic, plant, animal and human life.

Is there a connection between man and the universe? The Bible reveals that there is a surprisingly stupendous tie between man and the countless numbers of stars and galaxies stretched across the vastness of space. Paul revealed, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21; esv). There is a stunning history behind these verses. Even more, there is extraordinary promise and a future as vast and limitless as the universe.

Our Awesome Universe Potential fully explains the history and the promise. This booklet will prove to you that man is destined to take responsibility for finishing the creation of the universe now suffering from decay. It is our awesome destiny to be born into the God Family and bring life to myriads of lifeless planets scattered into the deep blackness of space. What a truth! Man was created to create! And as God’s own sons, we will use that creativity forever.

Does Your Résumé Demand Attention?

Jesse Frederick — 2013-05-21T05:00:00+01:00

There’s no hiding from it: The job market is pretty ugly. The sluggish economy is forcing companies nationwide, even worldwide, to lay off staff members spanning a wide range of technical and professional backgrounds. It’s a hirer’s market, and job seekers are finding it hard to nab a specific job position even when it aligns with their experience and skills.

Nonetheless, there are a few essential steps you can take to get ahead in your job search—and get to the table for that job interview.

First, what is the purpose of a résumé? Here’s a hint: Its purpose is not to get you a job. Nor is it to catalog your career history, job duties and education—or to document your skills, qualifications and proficiencies.

Its real goal is to get your foot in the door. Your résumé is an introductory sales letter that shows the hirer that you warrant a person-to-person discussion about this job position.

1. Target Your Position

Many seeking a job in today’s economy are bordering on desperation. When they sit down to write a résumé too many think, I just want a job—any job—so I’ll make the résumé general enough to cover a wide range of positions in my field. Some get frantic and ditch even limiting their résumé to a specific industry—randomly aiming their résumé like a sawed-off shotgun toward a vague, wide range of fields.

This is not the tactic to take when you write your résumé—no matter how desperate your job search may be. In fact, the more desperate you actually are, the better off you will be if you apply this key.

It is a challenge to get a job interview in today’s glum job market. However, if you take a rifle approach (instead of that sawed-off shotgun approach)—your hunt will be much more effective—guaranteed.

Pick your goal first. Do some detailed, involved, diligent research. Choose your industry, then narrow it down even more and select your position within that industry. Then, narrow it down to even the specific company (or companies) you want to work for the most that has openings for the job you have selected.

Never forget, you are in charge of your job search. Take charge and be proactive. Once you’ve pinpointed the industry, position and companies you would most enjoy (and be skilled and beneficial) working within, target your résumé specifically toward that position. Make the language and verbiage of the résumé identify and relate well with the language that company uses on its website or in its literature. Include industry- and position-related keywords throughout. Also, submit a cover letter with the résumé that addresses the company and hiring decision-maker even more directly.

Scour job advertisements on the Internet, in newspapers or on job boards—and tailor your résumé toward any specific position that interests you directly. With each different position, company and/or advertisement, tweak your résumé and cover letter accordingly.

Remember, the general rule when effectively applying this point of picking your position is get as specific and detailed as possible in your résumé.

2. Focus on Achievements

The ammo for your résumé is your achievements: your accomplishments and highlights on the job. Achievements are actions you took or results you created which were positive for your company. These career successes you and/or your employer(s) are confident and proud of can include:

• Customer satisfaction scores

• Company awards and recognitions

• Sales revenue growth

• Process efficiency improvements

• Company savings plans and implementations

• Business expansion strategies

• Vendor/client negotiations

• Client testimonials

Did you save your company thousands of dollars by finding a new supplier? Did you work five years without a work-related accident? Did you exceed your sales targets five quarters in a row? These are facts that will help you sell your skills to the hiring decision-maker.

As you highlight these achievements on your résumé, include metrics if at all possible: exact dollar figures, quantities, percentages, etc. Eyes are often drawn to numbers, dollar signs and percentages. They add details, proof and “beef” to your highlights, making them more objective and less subjective. Here are some examples of highlights that may be included on various résumés, with metrics included:

• Improved production efficiencies by 25% within a high-pressure factory environment.

• Negotiated a lucrative business deal between company and client worth $1.5 million.

• Increased sales within department by 110%.

• Cut labor costs by $25,000.

• Lowered production costs by $200,000.

• Reduced product turnover by 15,000 units per month.

• Recipient of Salesman of the Quarter company award for closing the most sales accounts in the first quarter of 2010.

The most common rebuttal I hear about including job achievements on a résumé is, I don’t have any. But in almost all cases, that simply is not true. Having written and edited thousands of résumés covering a wide range of industries, backgrounds, skills and experience, I can say that the vast majority of people who have applied themselves diligently have had a number of accomplishments and career highlights. From recent high school graduates to elementary school teachers, lawyers to medical doctors, office managers to administrative assistants, engineers to construction workers—it isn’t a matter of not having achievements, it’s a matter of recognizing them.

For example, a recent high school graduate may have been involved in a school fundraiser for a few years. If he or she is applying for anything related to sales, customer service or marketing, there should be at least a couple achievements to draw from (example: “Expanded fundraising sales by 22% between 2009 and 2010″).

A medical doctor who has written medical journal publications, an administrative assistant who could have completed 100 percent of his or her office projects within both quality and deadline parameters, a construction worker who has met his deadlines—all of these workers have had numerous achievements. Feel free to think outside the box when determining and including achievements within your résumé.

Also, be sure to set your achievements apart from the rest of the text in your résumé (with spacing, bullet points, or other formatting). Although the metrics will stand out, you want to draw attention to these achievements even more. Secondly, only include your top career highlights (a maximum of two to three per job position, as a rule). They are highlights after all.

3. Two Sets of Eyes Are Better Than One

The final key to résumé success cannot be overemphasized. As often as I hear job seekers explain that they have read over their résumés before distributing them, I hear just as many hirers and employers complain about constantly finding résumés that have multiple grammatical, spelling or various other language usage errors. In fact, in a survey I took a few years ago, scores of hirers, HR managers, employers and recruiters unanimously proclaimed that—even with automatic spell-check embedded in our word processors—this was still the most common problem they had with résumés! And every one of them dismally said they never have hired anyone with such a résumé.

So do yourself a favor before sending out your résumé to your potential employer: Review it. And then ask someone who knows the English language and writing rules even better than you do to review it as well. This point alone—if applied—will in most cases bring an interview or two!

The next time you find your job-search door seemingly slammed and locked shut—and when your résumé just doesn’t seem to be doing its job of getting you phone calls or e-mails from employers—apply these keys, and watch the door swing open with interview opportunities galore waiting on the other side.

Germany to Store Europe's Energy

Gareth Fraser — 2013-05-21T05:00:00+01:00

Whether it’s storing money, gold, armaments or sustainable energy, 2013 has seen Europe’s largest country rapidly gobble up key assets, positioning it as continental chief operating officer.

Recently Germany’s government approved €150 million of new investment capital to maintain its Energy Transition policy, or Energiewende. The program is managed by the Ministries of Economics, Environment, Education and Research.

This phase of stimulus is dubbed “sustainable power grids” and comes as part of the government’s sixth stage of energy research. Once created, these power grids will act as smart distribution centers managing supply and demand. The research has established an “Internet of Energy,” which forecasts a 10 percent reduction in domestic utility costs and a 20 percent reduction for commercial businesses.

With memories of Chernobyl and Fukashima nuclear power plant catastrophes fresh in mind, the Energiewende goal is to draw down nuclear, along with gas, and transition to more sustainable, renewable energy.

“The policy has progressed well, and the increase of fluctuating renewable capacities is now causing the need for storage and smart grid expansion,” said Tobias Rothacher, senior manager of Renewable Energies at Germany Trade and Invest.

The Fraunhofer Institute says production of solar-powered batteries and panels will save an average home power bill 60 percent. This will also enable future use of other stored power sources and/or distribution into the revamped smart power grid.

“Such batteries not only make customers more independent from the energy price fluctuations, but the technological advances bring Germany closer to immunity from the energy and fuel merry-go-round,” continued Rothacher.

So ambitious is Germany’s Energiewende objective that its goal is to be 60 percent reliant on sustainable renewable smart energies within the next four decades. These advancements are significant, with wind, hydro, bio and photovoltaic sources providing 23 percent of its national electricity usage last year, with various sectors already self-sustaining.

In addition, government officials have attended a bevy of industry trade shows and conventions within and without Europe, offering low-interest incentives in an effort to attract investment in the energy storage program.

“Germany exported more energy in 2012 than at any time over the previous five years,” claims Germany Trade and Invest. “That’s eyebrow-raising enough, but the real head-turner was that Europe’s powerhouse had managed to do this despite the ongoing shutdown of all its nuclear energy-producing facilities. This was because of the ever increasing share contributed by Germany’s renewable energy industry, which in 2012 accounted for 23 percent of Germany’s power usage and produced 9.3 percent more energy than in 2011.”

The result of these advancements in an environment where the European Union’s leading nation is managing energy creation, storage and supply will position it at the forefront of power storage, distribution and management overseen by the smart grids.

In January of this year we drew readers’ attention to Germany’s construction of the largest battery factory on the Continent, and its dominance of renewable energy. Germany sees itself as lead actor of what it claims to be the energy revolution. Even the chancellor, speaking at an energy summit, assured enhanced cooperation regarding renewable initiatives in an effort to maintain the country’s elite status for ongoing advancements in renewable energies.

“Although all wealth comes from the ground, prosperity and affluence on a national scale always have come also by industry and commerce,” wrote Herbert W. Armstrong in his acclaimed book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

It is such “prosperity and affluence on a national scale” that Germany continues to procure through its policy, led by its corporate elites, of leadership through domination of industry and commerce as the fiscal gatekeeper of EU fortunes.

The Holy Bible, prophesies of these very events, identifying Europe’s economic powerhouse as most venerated by the “merchants of the earth” (Nahum 3:16; Revelation 18:3, 11, 15, 23).

The Trumpet’s editor in chief has drawn particular attention to the domineering of Europe by Germany, from domestic to foreign policy, finance, trade, religion and military expansionism. On the surface, the ever increasing overt actions of German elites may appear to be just another business plan. However, to the non-ignorant of recent geopolitical past, such aggressiveness, exploitation, regional expansionism and blatant Euromart domineering reveal the scale and impact of an aggressive continental and globally unchallenged economic policy whose designed scope will have disturbing, far-reaching, historic implications.

For more understanding on where the developments of Saxony’s world-leading technology is leading, request your free copy of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. This publication has been assembled by the Trumpet’s editorial staff and features acute historical and prophetic analysis by editor in chief Gerald Flurry recounting the final rise of a church-state combine that will impact global economics, religion and security (Daniel 8; Revelation 13, 17, 18, 19). It’s a warning you simply can’t afford to ignore.

Support for Syrian Rebels Reveals New Alliance

Richard Palmer — 2013-05-21T05:00:00+01:00

One of the most prophetic articles the Trumpet has ever produced was probably our editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “Is Iraq About to Fall to Iran?” all the way back in 1994. That fall has now happened—thanks to America’s invasion of Iraq.

But that article contained a second prophecy that is now being fulfilled in a striking way. Mr. Flurry pointed to an obscure prophecy in Psalm 83 that listed a group of Arab nations that would ally with Germany. He said the modern identity of those nations was Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Elsewhere he included the Gulf states—Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, etc.—in this list.

The Trumpet uses world events and history as well as Bible prophecy to forecast the future. But back in 1994, outside of the Bible, there was no reason to expect such an alliance. There was simply no evidence for it. No one else predicted it.

But now you can read about that alliance in your newspaper.

Last week, the Financial Times published the results of an in-depth investigation into those supporting Syria’s rebels. Here’s what it concluded: “The West’s reluctance to intervene more forcefully in Syria has all but left Bashar al-Assad’s opponents reliant for support on Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, though since late last year, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have joined the rebels’ backers as junior partners” (emphasis added). There it is. The Arabic part of the Psalm 83 alliance. Other sources also point to organizations in Lebanon as a key supporter of the opposition.

The FT found that Qatar has spent up to $3 billion in support of Syria’s rebels, citing “sources close to the Qatari government.” It describes how Saudi Arabia, not wanting to allow Qatar to take the lead in Syria, has dramatically stepped up its support for the rebels.

“A supply route across Jordan’s border to southern Syria has opened up in recent months,” it writes. “The Jordanian government, which is terrified of jihadis getting the upper hand in its neighbor, has been reluctantly allowing Saudi deliveries.”

Several months ago, Stratfor reached a similar conclusion. Foreign weapons were turning up “well beyond the point where they could be considered coincidental,” it wrote. “This means that the current level of external intervention in Syria is similar to the level exercised against the Soviet Union and its Communist proxies following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. The external supporters are providing not only training, intelligence and assistance, but also weapons—exogenous weapons that make the external provision of weapons obvious to the world.”

It identified the Syrian rebels’ supporters as the United States, Saudi Arabia and “regional powers such as Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.” It’s the Arab part of the Psalm 83 alliance again.

Germany’s Role

What about Germany? Has it joined its Psalm 83 allies in supplying arms to the rebels? It’s certainly possible. Germany’s intelligence service was caught smuggling weapons during the Balkan wars. It helped deliver tanks, artillery and even mig-21 airplanes to the Croats. At the time, Britain’s Telegraph wrote, “For many German politicians, however, the nub of the problem may not be the bnd’s operations at all—rather that it appears to have been caught out” (April 20, 1997).

Reuters reported that one of the main sources of light arms for the Syrian rebels is the Black Sea region—with its large stockpiles of ex-Soviet weaponry. Another source is probably Croatia. Germany’s smuggling in the Balkans proves that it has the connections and experience necessary to be behind the smuggling.

It is possible, but definitely not certain. Germany is one of the EU’s biggest opponents to arming the rebels. While it could be playing a murky game, there’s no evidence to support that.

But it certainly is arming those who are arming the rebels. Here, the Psalm 83 alliance is also building before our eyes. Between 2002 and 2011, Germany sold roughly $350 million worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the uae. Over the next decade, it’s projected to sell $26.5 billion to those three countries. That’s 75 times more—75,000 percent. In addition, Turkey has been a longstanding recipient of German arms.

As Saudi Arabia and Qatar pass small arms on to the rebels, they’re buying them from Germany. From 2008 to 2011, Germany sold roughly $150 million worth of small arms and ammunition to Saudi Arabia. In contrast, America sold around $70 million over the same period of time. This is in addition to the Heckler and Koch assault rifle plant that Germany has allowed Saudi Arabia to build.

Saudi Arabia doesn’t appear to be passing these new weapons on to the rebels. But rebels are often reported to have some Austrian Steyr aug rifles. Saudi Arabia is one of the only nations in the region to use the Steyr aug. The rebels seem to be receiving Saudi Arabia’s hand-me-downs, as the Saudis buy (and build) new German guns.

Germany’s military support of these nations has been one of the most important changes to its foreign policy in the past decade. It’s actively cultivating an alliance in the Middle East—an alliance made up of exactly the nations Mr. Flurry listed in 1994.

We’re just a few steps away from seeing the Psalm 83 alliance fully set up. The chapter lists Syria as a member of the alliance. This seems to imply that the rebels will win, perhaps with German support, though there are other ways this could work out.

But Psalm 83 contains an important warning. Verse four of that chapter shows that the goal of this alliance is to destroy Israel. We’ve long warned that Germany will double cross Israel, catching the world completely by surprise.

The rebels in Syria include Islamists who hate Israel. In the grip of huge unemployment, Europe is undergoing massive social changes that will bring dangerous leaders into power. These leaders wouldn’t be afraid to ally themselves with some radical Islamists in pursuit of their common goal.

A German-led surprise attack on Israel may sound unlikely now. But an alliance that included Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Germany sounded unlikely in 1994. That’s quite a large number of specific states. But you can see that alliance coming together right now. The Bible has once again proven itself uncannily accurate in forecasting world events. For more of what it forecasts for the Middle East, read our free booklet The King of the South.

Monster Tornado Strikes Oklahoma City Suburbs

Jeremiah Jacques — 2013-05-21T03:57:15+01:00

Rescue workers in Moore, Oklahoma, were scrambling Monday evening to pull survivors and victims from rubble while daylight lasted, after an EF5 tornado devastated some 30 square miles of the area. The state medical examiner’s office has confirmed that 24 are dead, and the death toll is expected to rise.

“This is no longer a search and rescue operation. It is now a recovery mission,” said kfor-tv correspondent Lance West after reporting that “up to two dozen” children were dead at Plaza Towers Elementary School.

The tornado swelled to a 2.25-mile width at its largest, and the National Weather Service confirmed winds of well over 200 miles an hour tearing through the area during the height of the storm. Among the buildings destroyed were two schools, a hospital, a theater and at least 500 homes.

kfor-tv reports on Monday evening said some locals were beginning to loot computers and other valuables from severely damaged homes. Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said open gas lines and downed power lines posed additional risks to the community in the aftermath of the storm.

The same Oklahoma City suburb was hit by a decimating tornado in May of 1999, which spawned the highest winds ever recorded near Earth’s surface. It killed 36 people, injured 295 and displaced 10,000. But Monday’s tornado is estimated to have been three times more destructive than its forerunner. kfor-tv meteorologist Mike Morgan called its destruction “the worst tornado damage in the history of the world.”

In May 2011, an F5 tornado swept through Joplin, Missouri, demolishing the southern part of the city and killing over 150. Hurricane Sandy ravaged much of the eastern United States in October, killing nearly 300. Just last week, tornadoes in North Texas killed six, and left almost 250 homeless.

Why is so much violent weather assailing the United States? Those personally affected by the incomprehensible carnage need answers. You need answers. These answers can be found in our free booklet Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?

UPDATE: On Tuesday morning, the state medical examiner’s office revised the death toll to 24 people, including nine children. Spokeswoman Amy Elliott said she believes some of the victims were counted twice in the early tumult of the storm.

Why Don't Americans Get Real News?

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-20T22:00:00+01:00

To understand the true condition of the United States, you have to go beyond mainstream news sources. The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine and Trumpet Weekly newsletter can help. Both are absolutely free and will keep you up to date on the most pressing issues facing America and this world. The information provided by the Trumpet and Trumpet Weekly is vital in an age where shallow reporting dominates our news sources.

Associated Press CEO: Government Seizure 'Unconstitutional'

theTrumpet.com — 2013-05-20T20:17:23+01:00

On Sunday, Associated Press ceo and president Gary Pruitt called the government confiscation of AP phone records “unconstitutional.” The Justice Department (doj) disclosed that it had seized AP journalists’ phone records in a letter received on May 10. The grab involved more than 20 phone lines used by at least 100 journalists in April and May 2012.

Pruitt made the comments on cbs’s Face the Nation: “We don’t question their right to conduct these sort of investigations, we just think they went about it the wrong way, so sweeping, so secretively, so abusively and harassingly and overboard, that it constitutes—that it is an unconstitutional act.”

doj prosecutors said they were investigating a potential leak that informed the AP about a Yemen bomb plot around the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. Pruitt said the AP story contradicted the U.S. government’s claim at the time that there was no plot.

Gary Pruitt: “So they were misleading the American public. I don’t know if they were doing it intentionally or the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, but we felt the American public deserved to know this story.”

Pruitt said the AP held the bomb plot information for nearly a week, at the government’s request, until it was told the story no longer posed a national security risk.

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder defended the Justice Department’s actions: “This is among, if not the most serious, within the top two or three most serious leaks that I’ve ever seen.”

However, at least one leader on Capitol Hill wants a congressional investigation.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn: “We want to get them in front of the Judiciary Committee. Put them under oath and get to the bottom of it. I think we have to do that to regain the public’s confidence.”

Pruitt said he was worried that the government’s actions have already affected the AP’s news gathering: “When we talk to officials and sources, just in the normal course of news gathering, recently, they cite this Justice Department subpoena and say, ‘We don’t necessarily want to talk to you, we don’t want our phone records monitored by the U.S. government.’”

America’s freedoms are rapidly being taken away. To understand what is happening to the U.S. government, request Gerald Flurry’s free booklets America Under Attack and No Freedom Without Law.

Web Exclusive: Japan Wants Military--U.S. Yawns, Ignores History

Gerald Flurry — 2013-05-20T17:59:13+01:00

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Will the Taiwan-Philippines Dispute Unite Taiwan With China?

Jeremiah Jacques — 2013-05-20T17:58:36+01:00

The Philippine Coast Guard shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman on May 9 in waters claimed by both nations, setting off a chain of events that could mend the breech between Beijing and Taipei.

Both Taiwan and the Philippines are allies of the United States, but Washington’s ties with Manila run deeper than those it has with Taipei. However, there’s one factor of much greater importance than which side the war-weary U.S. may choose.

Enter China

Beijing is actively courting Taiwan in the dispute. In the days after the fatal shooting, China’s Global Times published articles urging the Philippines to apologize, and Taiwan recalled its envoy to the Philippines and froze all hiring of Philippine workers. Philippine President Benigno Aquino responded by sending a personal representative to Taiwan to convey “his and the Filipino people’s deep regret” to the fisherman’s family and the people of Taiwan.

Taiwan and China stood together in rejecting Manila’s apology as “insincere.”

With the rejection came several more sanctions from Taiwan against the Philippines, including a travel alert and an announcement of plans to hold military exercises in the waters where the incident went down.

China’s Global Times applauded Taiwan’s punitive measures as a “second front” for China to stand up to neighbors in territorial disputes. The paper reminded readers that, in China’s eyes, Taiwan remains a province-in-waiting, and deserves China’s protection. “China has reiterated over time that Taiwan is an integral part of China. Now is a good opportunity to show that China will not tolerate the shooting of our fishermen, whether they are from the mainland or Taiwan, and that our government is determined to protect the life of its people,” one article said.

Since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May 2008, Taipei and Beijing have taken many steps toward greater cooperation. And now the two governments are banding together in common aggression toward the Philippines, and by proxy, toward the United States. The two sides have some opposing interests in the dispute, but by the time Taiwan realizes this—and sees that China views the ordeal primarily as a chance to pry the Island nation out of Washington’s sphere of influence and into Beijing’s—it may be too late.

For several decades the close relationship between Taiwan and the U.S. has deterred China from using military force to accomplish its goal of bringing Taiwan officially under Beijing’s rule. But the current skirmish could persuade Taiwan to sacrifice its relationship with the Manila-friendly U.S., and to instead rely on China.

“Taiwan finds itself potentially crosswise with a U.S. treaty ally at the same time that it is being actively courted by Beijing,” said Scott Harold of the rand Corp. think tank. “This is in fact a far greater threat to Taipei than any dispute with Manila over fishing rights could ever possibly be.”

The China-Taiwan relationship has been moving closer for several years. This territorial dispute offers these Asian neighbors common ground that could be exploited for the unification project.

“How could anyone fail to see that Taiwan is destined to become a part of mainland China?” wrote Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry back in 1998. Herbert W. Armstrong, editor in chief of the Trumpet’s predecessor, the Plain Truth, predicted Taiwan’s fate over 50 years ago. In a letter dated Sept. 19, 1958, he wrote, “Will Red China invade and capture [Taiwan]? In all probability, yes .… The Red Chinese ‘save face,’ and the United States, with many American troops now on Taiwan, will again lose face!”

The simmering Taiwan-Philippine territorial dispute may become a key step toward fulfillment of those geopolitical predictions. Such an outcome would bolster China’s ability to push in the Pacific, and persuade other Asian states to rally behind Beijing. To understand the significance of China’s rise, read “The Collapsing ‘China Fantasy.’”

What Did Jesus Say About 'Natural' Disasters?

Stephen Flurry — 2013-05-20T17:00:00+01:00

Mark 2011 down as yet another record-breaking year for “natural” disasters. Over those 12 months, the United States was smashed by the deadliest tornado season in decades, an unprecedented wave of triple-digit heat, devastating droughts and billion-dollar blizzards, hurricanes and floods.

All totaled, 12 billion-dollar disasters pounded the United States in 2011—three more than the previous record set in 2008. These catastrophic events were responsible for killing 1,000 Americans and causing $52 billion in damages.

As the Associated Press reported on December 7, “With an almost biblical onslaught of twisters, floods, snow, drought, heat and wildfire, the U.S. in 2011 has seen more weather catastrophes that caused at least $1 billion in damage than it did in all of the 1980s, even after the dollar figures from back then are adjusted for inflation.”

Breaking it down further, ap revealed this alarming trend: During the 1980s, the United States averaged just one billion-dollar disaster per year. In the 1990s, it jumped to 3.8 per year—then 4.6 during the first decade of the new millennium.

So far in this decade, we have averaged seven billion-dollar disasters per year.

Something is frighteningly wrong with the weather.

What Is the Cause?

Some experts say we’ve just had a run of bad luck—that it’s purely a matter of happenstance. Others attribute the cause to “global warming.”

God, however, says it is a sign that we are living in the very last days. Weather disasters, as they increase in frequency and intensity, are actually fulfilling Bible prophecy. They are among the signs that Christ gave pointing to the end of this present evil age.

In His Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24, Jesus Christ gave His disciples a chronological overview of events to occur in the lead-up to His return. In verses 21-22, Christ said there is a time coming when no flesh would be saved alive if He didn’t return and prevent it. This is speaking of World War iii—a 3½-year bloodbath that will culminate in the “battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

But before the battle of mankind against Christ—before the European beast power and the Asiatic kings of the east square off—before Europe lashes out at the modern-day descendants of Israel—before it surrounds Jerusalem with armies—before the European king of the north comes against the Islamic king of the south like a whirlwind—before radical Islam captures East Jerusalem—just before all of this happens, Jesus said weather patterns and other natural phenomena would take a violent turn for the worse!

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in [different] places” (verse 7). The return of Jesus Christ, in other words, will be preceded by a sharp upsurge in “natural” disasters.

Jesus also said that famine—a shortage of food and water—and then pestilences (or disease epidemics) would accompany these weather-related disasters.

In May of last year, in a television program, the Trumpet’s editor in chief told Key of David viewers that the word famines needs to be seen not only in the context of war—which certainly causes famine—but also in the context of extreme weather. These epic disasters, in other words, are prophesied to have a profoundly negative impact on food production—a reality that is now making headlines nearly every day.

In like manner, Christ’s reference to pestilences can also refer to the diseases that often follow in the wake of such disasters. And if you examine how the Greek word is used in Acts 24:5, another dimension is added to Christ’s prophecy—the social breakdown that comes as a result of famine and pestilence.

The Beginning of Sorrows

These are the days we are living in right now! Weather disasters, as they increase in frequency and intensity, are actually fulfilling Bible prophecy. We are experiencing the outer edge of a storm that is about to inflict the worst suffering mankind has ever known.

Jesus Himself said it: “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (verse 8). This is where we are right now in Bible prophecy! Sad to say, the ever intensifying disasters we are seeing right now are only the beginning. It is prophesied to get much worse.

But Jesus did not leave us without hope! The Anchor Bible compares the “beginning of sorrows” to the beginning of birth pangs: “It’s almost a technical term for the sufferings which would immediately precede a new age, the age of the Messiah’s reign.”

What a beautiful picture! Right now, this world is being violently shaken by a rapid succession of agonizing birth pangs. But Jesus tells us that these catastrophic events will soon “give birth” to a new age of world peace and prosperity—a utopian paradise that will be totally free of weather extremities and other unnatural phenomena!