Thanksgiving, Sukkot and Christ - Midnight Call · Author: Dr. Wim Malgo Powerful Daily Devotional...

The International Prophetic Voice for the Endtimes

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The Legacy of the ReformationPg. 13

WORLD FOCUS Smartphone Phobia • The Illuminati Conspiracy • Social Security and the American Dream

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

• Global Conspiracy• End Times Missing• Luther’s Anti-SemitismPg. 32

Fools for Christ: What Public SurveysReveal About Christians Pg. 10

Thanksgiving,Sukkot and Christ- Part 1

The Key to RevivalRevival will take place in ourlives, families, churches and the world when we prayhonestly and with acomplete dedication.Chapters include:• Pathway To Revival• What Is Our Calling?• The Importance OfGiving Thanks• And Much More

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Powerful Daily DevotionalSpiritual Strength for Each Day serves as a guideline for believers who seek a deeper andcloser relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord. This book is intended to remind the readerthroughout the year that life as we know it is temporary and the ultimate goal of our livesshould be to prepare for eternity…desiring to hear the words from our Lord. “Well donethou good and faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

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The Simple Messageof SalvationThis small book contains a hugemessage about salvation in JesusChrist. Loaded with questionsand testimonies from thosewho have found Christ, thisbook makes clear why itpays to be a Christian.

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6

Thanksgiving,Sukkot and Christ -Part 1By Thomas Lieth

Thanksgiving, as we celebrate it as Christians,basically has its origins in the Jewish Feast ofTabernacles. All these Old Testament festivals haveexperienced their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, andhave therefore been given a completely newmeaning for us Christians.

10 Money: Ends and Trends

Fools for Christ: What Public Surveys Reveal About Christians By Wilfred Hahn

13 The Legacy of the ReformationBy Dr. Ron J. Bigalke

17 Luther’s View of the End Time –Part 7By René Malgo

20 What Does Martin Luther Have to Say to Us Today?Justification Newly Discovered - Part 2 By Rolf Sons

24 Living in Obedience to Jesus By Norbert Lieth

Midnight CallOCTOBER 2017

4 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By René Malgo

32 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno FroeseGLOBAL CONSPIRACY...END TIMES MISSING...LUTHER’S ANTI-SEMITISM

38 Fellow Laborers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Rebekka Wehner

39 The Ebenezer Home – Haifa, Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Johnny and Shoshana Khoury

40 Action for Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno Froese

Contents

DEPARTMENTS

COVER STORY

27 SCOTLAND

Smartphone Phobia

27WORLD

The Illuminati Conspiracy

29 USA

Social Security and theAmerican Dream

30 CHINA

Military Unveils New Generation Warship

31 JAPAN

AlarmingBirth RateDeclinefor 2016

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MIDNIGHT CALL

Editor’s Note

4 M I D N I G H T C A L L Visit midnightcall.com

“The Reformation was not a mistake, but a necessity”

By René MalgoInternational Editor-in-Chief

Dear friends, we have already called repeat-edly for unity among believers. We shouldnot make our opinion our idol, because

that prevents us from seeing Christ in our re-deemed neighbors. But that does not mean that wecan or should say “yes and amen” to all. It’s aboutspiritual unity, not external or institutional unity.We hold a position in opposition to a misunder-stood unity and call for standing by the truth. Wecannot join the current unification efforts betweenmany Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church.On the occasion of Reformation Day on October

31, this edition will once again be focused on theReformation and proclaim its central concerns:Sola Scriptura—by Scripture alone; Sola Fide—byfaith alone; Solus Christus—by Christ alone; SolaGratia—by grace alone; Soli Deo Gloria—to Godalone be the glory.Thus, our retrospective has targeted 500 years of

the Reformation, especially highlighting MartinLuther. Many, including Protestants, wonder todaywhether the Reformation was not a mistake, even atragedy. Indeed, we should not gloss over the injus-tice that happened on all sides. The Protestantswere also guilty of it. Many rulers turned to Protes-tant or Reformed faith only for reasons of politicalpower. Just think of the Thirty Years’ War.Nevertheless, the Reformation was not a mis-

take, but a necessity. Even the Catholic theologianMatthew Levering admits this in his book, Was

the Reformation a Mistake? The church was in des-perate condition. Levering sees this, however,only in the moral domain, but not in the theologi-cal, and therefore stands by every one of theCatholic dogmas. However, the central point ofthe Reformation was precisely theological under-standing.The more Western society “goes to the dogs” in

our days, the more Protestants will find moralconsensus with the Roman Catholic Church. Oneshould not, however, overlook the fact that the es-sential difference between the two camps is stillthe matter of salvation by grace, faith, and Christalone. Therefore, this begs the question, areProtestants who defend the Reformation on thewrong side? This is the accusation of Catholictheologians. They argue that Luther’s “ideas” hadbeen completely unknown in the centuries be-fore.So, in the end, are we the ones in the wrong?

Have we heaped to ourselves teachers, “havingitching ears,” because we cannot tolerate the doc-trine of salvation (2 Tim 4:3)? This shows how ex-tremely important Sola Scriptura is. The coreconcern of the Reformation was not to bring newdoctrines, but to lead many people to reflect onand return to the original teachings of our Lordand His apostles.Although Paul is pessimistic as far as nominal

Christianity goes, and foresaw a great falling away

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STATEMENT OF FAITHWE BELIEVE in the divine inspiration of the whole Bible and there-with the infallibility of the Holy Scripture, which is God’s Word, andin the eternal Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

WE BELIEVE Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was conceived of theHoly Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and shed Hisblood to save mankind. He died and arose bodily the third day andlater ascended into heaven.

WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ died in the place of eachindividual sinner and that all who believe in Him as their personalSavior are justified through His shed blood and have become children of God.

WE BELIEVE that Israel is God’s chosen people, and that therestoration of the Jews to their own land is the fulfillment of theWord of God.

WE BELIEVE in the pre–tribulational appearance of Jesus Christ forthe Rapture of His Church (all born again believers).

WE BELIEVE in the immortality of our souls and the resurrection of ourbodies, and in the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlastingblessedness of the saved and the everlasting punishment of the lost.

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(2 Tim 3; 2 Thess 2), he is distinctly optimistic about true believerswho are rooted in Christ and part of His body. In Ephesians 4:13 hepronounces a remarkable, often forgotten word of prophecy: Jesus hasgiven the gifts in the church, with the aim that “we all come in theunity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfectman, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Thegoal of all true believers is unity of faith and perfect maturity in Christ.The Reformation contributed to making Biblical faith more accessi-

ble. The knowledge and religious conflicts of our ancestors bore fruit.May the Lord grant us that we, too, can contribute to it. It is not wrongto question traditions. Every generation needs the exhortation to re-turn to the Word of God. This helps to lead the worldwide body ofChrist “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” untilthe fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and the sacred Church that isconsecrated by the Lord is ready for the wedding banquet of theLamb.Maranatha! Amen, come, Lord Jesus! MC

Thanksgiving,Sukkot and Christ- Part 1

6 M I D N I G H T C A L L

The prophetic dimension of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, applied to our life and thechurch of the living God.

Thanksgiving, as we celebrate it as Christians,basically has its origins in the Jewish Feast ofTabernacles. In the same way that Easter has its

origins in Passover, and Pentecost has its origins in theJewish Feast of Weeks, Thanksgiving has a Jewish-Bib-lical background in the true sense. All these Old Testa-ment festivals have experienced their fulfillment inJesus Christ, and have therefore been given a com-pletely new meaning for us Christians. At Easter, Pen-tecost, and also at Thanksgiving, we actually confirmthe Biblical promises and their fulfillment in JesusChrist. Hardly anyone thinks of this as he eats hischocolate bunny at Easter, takes a vacation over Pente-cost [this occurs mainly in Europe], and stuffs himselfat Thanksgiving, but that it is why it is all the more im-portant to show, once again, what we actually cele-brate, and what the importance of these holidays is.In Leviticus 23, seven holy festivals of Israel are

mentioned, which God the Lord gave to Moses andthe people of Israel along the way. Three of these

seven festivals were so-called pilgrimage festivals, dur-ing which all male Jews had to travel to the temple inJerusalem (Ex 23:14-19; Deut 16:16).The first of these pilgrimage festivals was the Feast

of Unleavened Bread, which was celebrated in directconnection with Passover. Therefore, at the time of theLord Jesus, Jerusalem was overflowing with peoplefrom all over Israel and beyond for Passover. And, ofcourse it was no coincidence that the Lord Jesus wascrucified on Passover, at exactly the same time thatthe sacrificial lamb was offered in the temple. Thatwas divine precision. The Pharisees and the scribesdid not at all want to kill the Lord Jesus during thePassover, but rather before or later. John reports onthe scribes and Christ: “Then they sought to take him:but no man laid hands on him, because his hour wasnot yet come” (John 7:30; this was during the Feast ofTabernacles). By the will of God, the seizure andkilling of the Lord had to occur at the time of thePassover sacrifice, although the priests and scribes

Thomas Lieth

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C O V E R S T O R Y

had resolved regarding Passover: “Not on the feastday, lest there be an uproar among the people” (Mt26:5). Nonetheless, it happened that way, preciselyand exactly at the place where God wanted it. InGod’s plan of salvation there are no coincidences,but rather fulfilled prophecy and divine direction.The second pilgrimage festival is the Feast of Pen-

tecost, or the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which is ob-served 50 days after the Feast of Passover. It is alsosomething like a harvest festival, in the spring, afterthe grain has been harvested. And we have yet an-other reference to the New Testament, which is why[European] Christians celebrate Pentecost. This isalso no coincidence, but rather divine precision andfulfilled prophecy. For, the Holy Spirit began its workin the congregation at precisely that time, 50 days af-ter the Passover festival: “And when the day of Pente-cost was fully come, they were all with one accord…

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts2:1ff.). As before, this is no coincidence.The crucifixion and the resurrection occurred dur-

ing the first major pilgrimage festival; the churchcame into being during the second major pilgrimagefestival; and with the third pilgrimage festival, every-thing comes to a triumphant conclusion.But, before we consider the third of these pilgrim-

age festivals, the Feast of Tabernacles, another of Is-rael’s seven holy festivals should certainly bementioned briefly, because its fulfillment in JesusChrist is especially interesting. It is the Feast of First-fruits, which was fulfilled with the resurrection of theLord Jesus, and which occurs between Passover andPentecost. Thus, 1 Corinthians 15:20 speaks of “thefirstfruits of them that slept,” and Colossians 1:18speaks of “the firstborn of the dead,” so that Hewould be the first in everything. Yes, this is a wonder-

“Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell inbooths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel todwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am theLORD your God.”

Booths in Mea She’arim, an Orthodox Jewish quarter of Jerusalem

ful fulfillment of the decree concerning the firstfruits.This festival always fell on the day after the Sabbath,that is, on Sunday. And, when did the Lord Jesus risefrom the dead as the firstborn and the firstfruits of thedeparted? On a Sunday. Coincidence, or divine preci-sion?Now, on to the third pilgrimage festival, namely

Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Leviticus 23:33-34says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speakunto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day ofthis seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles forseven days unto the LORD.”Interestingly, the Feast of Tabernacles is known

among the Jews as “the Festival.” Just as the Bible is“the Book” and the Matterhorn [in the Alps] is “theMountain,” the Feast of Tabernacles is “the Festival.”This means that when someone speaks of “the Festi-val,” it doesn’t mean Passover, Pentecost, or evenPurim, but the Feast of Tabernacles. It is not by chancethat many Christians travel to Jerusalem during thesefeast days to pray, to demonstrate their solidarity withIsrael, or simply to take part in the festivities associ-ated with Sukkot. It is also no coincidence that non-Jews set off for Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast ofTabernacles; it is the only Jewish festival that even in-cludes the Gentiles (non-Jews) a bit. Thus, it says inDeuteronomy 16:14 that the stranger should joyfullycelebrate this festival, too. Even though the accompa-nying sacrifices and the like were a purely Jewish mat-ter, the Gentiles were to be included in these festivities.Sukkot was a folksy and joyous feast, connected withmusic, light spectacles and dances. Therefore, it is stillpopular with Jews to this day, and is still called “theFestival.” It is also why non-Jews like to come to Israel,to watch the activities or even to dance along.We should certainly distinguish between the origi-

nal divine instructions for this festival and the tradi-

tion that has developed from it, but the invitation tobe merry actually issued from God Himself: “…ye shallrejoice before the LORD your God seven days” (Lev23:40).That even the Gentiles, that is, the strangers, should

be included in these festivities, is also found in theJewish festival tradition, in which it is said that the 70bulls sacrificed during the festival represent the 70 na-tions from Genesis 10. This is not a biblical statementbut a Jewish doctrine, which is noteworthy becauseotherwise, the Gentiles are not included in any otherfestival. Further reference to the Gentiles is given inZechariah 14:16. It is said that in the earthly kingdomof God, all believers—those from the Gentile nationsincluded—will go up to Jerusalem every year to cele-brate the Feast of Tabernacles. Consequently, theFeast of Tabernacles also has meaning for the future,since God’s kingdom on earth has not yet appeared.Now let’s discuss the content of the festival. The

Feast of Tabernacles is the last of Israel’s seven holyfestivals, and is celebrated in the autumn after thegrape and fruit harvest (Ex 23:14-17). On the otherhand, the Feast of Tabernacles is also called the Feastof Ingathering, when the last harvest is finished. Thefestival actually has a double meaning. It is not just athanksgiving festival following the last harvest; no, it isalso meant to be in memory of God’s faithful care dur-ing the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, whenthe people could not bring in a harvest and were en-tirely dependent on God. Hence, the tradition of livingin tents or huts, as the people lived in during thedesert wandering. It says in Leviticus 23:42-43, “Yeshall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelitesborn shall dwell in booths: That your generations mayknow that I made the children of Israel to dwell inbooths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt:I am the LORD your God.” And in Deuteronomy 2:7,


Thanksgiving, Sukkot and Christ - Part 1

God has endowed us withtaste buds—not to gobble upthe culinary pleasures, but toenjoy them.


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Moses remembered: “For the LORD thy God hathblessed thee in all the works of thy hand: heknoweth thy walking through this great wilderness:these forty years the LORD thy God hath been withthee; thou hast lacked nothing.”When we consider the wandering in the wilder-

ness, then we see that Israel really has every reasonto thank the Lord for His enduring faithfulness.God would indeed have had every reason to destroyHis people in the wilderness, because they turnedtheir backs on God, their liberator and savior, andinstead preferred to worship a golden calf. Or alsobecause they refused to take possession of thePromised Land out of fear. Ultimately, this was thereason why the wandering in the wilderness took solong. It didn’t happen because of highway construc-tion work, but because of Israel’s disbelief and dis-obedience. Yet God is faithful, so He tended to Hispeople in a caring manner, even when they had be-come unfaithful to Him. God cares for the essentials;He cares for the daily needs, and that even applies toyou and me today. As our Lord Jesus Christ empha-sizes: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought foryour life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is notthe life more than meat, and the body more than rai-ment? …Therefore take no thought, saying, Whatshall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Where-withal shall we be clothed? (For after all these thingsdo the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Fatherknoweth that ye have need of all these things. Butseek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteous-ness; and all these things shall be added unto you”(Mt 6:25, 31-33).This is wonderful! And if we are honest, most of

us have even more than we need every day. That is,God cares even for abundance. He doesn’t just carefor our survival, but also that we will be satisfied andenjoy the food. Why else would God have endowedus with a sense of taste? This is the great thing, thatGod has created us so that we can and should re-joice. We have eyes to see beauty; we have ears tohear sweet words, music, or even birdsong. We havea sense of touch and feeling to enjoy a loving hug,and God has endowed us with taste buds—not togobble up the culinary pleasures, but to enjoy them.

Back to the wandering in the wilderness andGod’s faithful care of His people Israel. Numbers1:46-47 speaks of over 600,000 men who weretraveling in the desert. Extrapolating from this fig-ure, interpreters speak of over 2 million people,since their wives and children were also with thesemen on the road. In order to preserve this enor-mous number in the desert and to provide for theirnecessities, Moses would have had to procure upto 1,500 tons of food every day. At least one smartperson has estimated the quantity in this way. Butstill further: for drinking and washing, 45 millionliters [close to 12 million gallons] of water wereneeded every day, and that in the desert. It’s impos-sible to imagine. Here, I can understand anyonewho says, “That cannot be. So many people…thatisn’t possible. Forty years definitely can’t be right,either, and the desert might never have existed.This entire exodus from Egypt…it’s surely all a fairytale.”In fact, it is not humanly understandable, any

more than a talking donkey or the virgin birth(Num 22:28; Mt 1:23; Lk 2:7). But, we are not talk-ing about some good read; we’re not speaking hereof human work, but we are reading from the Wordof God, and dealing with the personal interventionof God. This fact alone makes me believe what iswritten in the Bible, and lets me know that God isacting here; God is speaking here. It deals herewith God’s plan of salvation for Israel and the na-tions. These tons of food and millions of liters ofwater concerned God—every day, for over 40 years.What a faithful God!The culmination of all of this is testified to in

Deuteronomy 8:4, where it says, “Thy raimentwaxed not old upon thee, neither did thy footswell, these forty years.” If people like us were to bejust ten days in the desert, then I’d like to see ourshoes, clothing and feet…and we would stink like amountain goat. Oh, yes, the people of Israel trulyhad and have every reason to thank God, for a timein which they themselves sowed nothing, and con-sequently could reap nothing. And then I ask us:are we still thankful, and do we appreciate the dailymiracles of God in our lives?

(MR1016/830)


For resources on “endtime economics” and to subscribe to the free newsletter, Eternal Value

Review, visit Wilfred’s website www.eternalvalue.com or contact him at: [email protected]

As Jesus established (likely the very reason thatHe requested the survey evidence), the generalpopulation was quite confused and unin-

formed. They had no clue as to Christ’s identity. Re-sponding to His question, the disciples replied:“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and stillothers, one of the prophets” (Mark 8:28). There wasno public consensus on this question.We see here that surveys cannot be used to deter-

mine any truths … only malleable opinions. That isalso the case in modern times: Polls cannot be trustedto confirm facts or wisdom. They can only reveal the“opinions” of a sample group of people, whetherright or wrong.As the case may be, public surveys are prized in

commercial and political spheres today. For example,businesses will want to remain abreast of the latestconsumer wants and preferences. Government statis-ticians may wish to gauge future economic growthprospects by inquiring about “consumer confidence”;and politicians will attempt to run ahead of new andevolving changes in the beliefs of their constituents,to ensure the popularity of their policies.However, public surveys are not reliable. In recent

years, political polls have at times proven to be spectacu-larly wrong. We recall here the Brexit vote in the UK in2016, and the recent U.S. presidential election. Pollstersdiscovered that traditional surveying techniques—

such as the practice of calling residential phone num-bers—were prone to be unreliable.

Public Polling HistoryPolling has a long history. However, it is only relatively re-cently that public survey techniques have become a sci-entific field of study. George Gallup is widely consideredto have been the modern-day founder of public pollingback in the 1930s. The Gallup organization still exists to-day and is indeed employing scientists.Another polling pioneer was Albert Sindlinger

(who at one point briefly worked for the Gallup com-pany). He is considered to be the father of “consumerconfidence” surveys. He formed Sindlinger CompanyInc. in 1948, which became an innovative and influ-ential gatherer of “confidence” data. If this writer may be allowed a bit of personal his-

tory, years later—in 1988, when Albert was alreadywell into his 80s—we became friendly acquaintances,visiting each other several times. I recall him recount-ing his earlier relationship with President HerbertHoover (31st President of the United States, from1929 to 1933, during the Great Depression).President Hoover had complained to him that he was

unable to make good polices without understanding the“mind of the consumer.” This inspired Sindlinger to de-velop innovative surveying techniques of measuring“consumer confidence,” as well as being a master inter-

Money:Ends&Trends

FOOLS FOR CHRIST: WHAT PUBLIC SURVEYSREVEAL ABOUT CHRISTIANS

By Wilfred Hahn


Christ asked: “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27). We may viewthis as a request for a public survey. For example, to inquire about whatpeople are saying about Christ generally … and/or, what is the range ofopinion as to who He is? Surveys can be useful. They can reveal theopinions, desires and attitudes of peoples.


OCTOBER 2017 11

preter of the data results. Herbert Hoover was both aninstigator and an investor of the Sindlinger company. With many polling organizations existing today,

politicians are constantly—even frenetically—striving toalign their policies with the latest public sentiment shifts… even fads. However, as may be surmised, there is aflaw in this approach. Public opinion is fickle and un-grounded. Opinions and moods can change veryquickly. Moreover, public opinion can be perverse andridiculous. Holding an opinion that agrees with the“majority” provides little safety.Surveys, therefore, do not provide any anchor to

timeless values nor morality. They are built on thesand of “humanism” and capricious human lusts. Ef-fectively, policymakers are “bending their ears” totheir constituents.This is not a Biblically-endorsed approach. This

view might be surprising, given the popular “sur-vey” techniques employed today by “growthchurches.” Some go so far as to counter the words ofApostle Paul, “[…] do I seek to please men? For if Istill pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ”(Galatians 1:10).Consider the situation of Jeremiah. He had com-

plained that he was having a difficult time prophesy-ing to the Hebrews. However, the Lord Jehovah hadno pity and said to Jeremiah: “If you repent, I will re-store you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy,not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Letthis people turn to you, but you must not turn tothem” (Jeremiah 15:19) … much less consult surveys.Jeremiah was expressly not to cater to the wants

of the Hebrews, nor their preferred views. He wasnot to “turn to them.” To the contrary, he was calledto unpopularly warn them about their deviant prac-tices and beliefs.Ezekiel, too, was counseled to maintain an indepen-

dence from the popular viewpoints of the Israelites. “[…]The people of Israel are not willing to listen to you

because they are not willing to listen to me, for allthe Israelites are hardened and obstinate. But I willmake you as unyielding and hardened as they are. Iwill make your forehead like the hardest stone,harder than flint” (Ezekiel 3:7-9).Anyone who has fought or countered strong pop-

ular opinion in our days will surely wish to have aforehead of flint, as did Ezekiel.In fact, all the prophets were constrained from pan-

dering to the “itching ears” of the Hebrews. Incredi-bly, Balaam, though intending to pronounce falseprophecies, could only utter the true words of God.Prophets were to speak the immutable words of God.

Surveys About ChristiansWe mention two recent surveys about Christiansthat recently caught this writer’s attention. Givenour rabidly materialistic world, it is no wonder thatChristians are degraded as simpletons and as a peo-ple with misplaced heavenly hopes.

Firstly, we refer to a recent presentation of theAmerican Time Use Survey, which is produced bythe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It showsthat the audience for religious television program-ming is mostly comprised of the poorest demo-graphic groups. The most-wealthy, on the otherhand, are the least likely to watch religious program-ming, according to the survey.Admittedly, it is difficult to arrive at any concrete

conclusions based on this particular information.However, the implications (i.e. that Christians are“dummies” and “poor in this world”) are also sug-gested by the Religious Landscape Study of the PewSurvey of Religion and Public Life. Certain Christiansects are shown to be the poorest and least edu-cated.Its most recent edition continues to show Chris-

tians as a group to be much less prosperous than(the average of) Muslims, Hindus and Jews. Pente-

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The audience for religious televisionprogramming is mostly comprised of the poorestdemographic groups. The most-wealthy, on theother hand, are the least likely to watch religiousprogramming.

Fools for Christ: What Public Surveys Reveal About Christians

costals were specifically centered out as beingamong the least wealthy.What does this really all mean? James addressed this

by stating, “[…] Has not God chosen those who are poorin the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inheritthe kingdom he promised to those who love him?”(James 2:5). It is not the first time that Christians havebeen ridiculed on the basis of being non-materialists. InNew Testament times, Christians were called Ebyonites(meaning the poor ones).

Popular ChristiansAs we learned at the outset, a survey of what peoplethought about Christ Himself several millennia ago waswrong and confused. It would then be no surprise thatmodern-day surveys of His true followers would also beunreliable and misinterpreted today. For one, it is unfortunate that the people of the world

like to take popular “culturally relevant” Christians astheir preferred examples. These people will tend to befamous and/or controversial leaders … even apostates.As the case may be, any surveys about Christians

are bound to be flawed. To start with, we have noconsensus today on what the word “Christian” actu-ally means. The brand identity of the word “Christ-ian” is highly contested today. What does “Christian”really signify to the world?After all, this term can now adapt to just about every-

thing. All kinds of movements, causes, religions andapostate viewpoints brazenly masquerade behind theword “Christian.” The fact that the word “Christian” hasbecome so misused is itself a sign of the times.We wrote the article, “Last-day Prophecy—Hot

Comfort, Cold Faith” (August 2006) in response toanother question posed by Christ: “[…] when the Sonof Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke18:8). We presented a decisive case as to why theword “Christian” is the most falsified and imitatedbrand name of all time. If it were a consumer brandname, it would represent everything and nothing.

Points to PonderAs we highlighted earlier, a survey revealed that theworld’s perception of Jesus was incorrect. Eventhough He was distinct, the world was not aware ofHis “distinctiveness.”

Likewise, Christians should be seen to be “dis-tinct” in this world. Just what does the word “dis-tinct” really mean? We quote from Dictionary.com:“[…] distinguished as not being the same; not iden-

tical; separate; different in nature or quality; dissimi-lar (sometimes followed by from); clear to the sensesor intellect; plain; unmistakable; distinguishing orperceiving clearly.”In short, it means to be readily distinguishable …

that there can be no doubt as to who you are. Is that really the case? We live in a time where

many declared Christians are not distinct from thegeneral, non-believing populace.In the case of the Jews, God chose to make them a

separate and distinct people. How so? They were required to have dietary restrictions,

and to practice the Sabbath and circumcision(among a host of other laws). That made them dis-tinct to this day … to be noted as such all around theworld. As a consequence, they continue to be belea-guered, hated and persecuted … and increasingly so.Though modern-days public surveys may do no

justice to the distinctions and identity of a trueChristian, the Bible does state what should be thecharacteristics of a Christian. For example, Eph-esians 2:19 says that “[…] you are no longer foreign-ers and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’speople and also members of his household.”“Strangers” are not likely to score favorably in aworldly survey.Indeed, the last-days church is weak and poor.

Said Jesus, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed be-fore you an open door that no one can shut. I knowthat you have little strength, yet you have kept myword and have not denied my name” (Revelation3:8).It is the materialistic church of Laodicea that is ac-

tually poor, blind and naked—poor in faith, blind asto the true state of things, and vulnerable to the lossof genuine faith and power. They fell for the error ofBalaam, by sacrificing lukewarm faith for the pri-macy of materialistic warm comfort.Paul clearly differentiates the true Christian from

the “brand-name” Christian today: “We are fools forChrist […]! We are weak, but you are strong! You arehonored, we are dishonored!” (1 Corinthians 4:10).

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Dr. Ron J. Bigalke

The month of October commemorates the 500th anniversary of the ProtestantReformation. The 31st of October, in particular, is the birthday for evangelical churches.On that day, in 1517, Martin Luther took a bold and courageous stance, when he nailedhis “95 Theses” on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, and protested against theunbiblical teachings and practices that were prevalent in his day. He called for the returnof an obstinate church to the essential truth of the gospel, that sinners are justified bygrace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide), on the Word alone (solaScriptura), because of Christ alone (solus Christus), to the glory of God alone (soli Deogloria).

ReformationThe Legacy of the

Even though it was obviously not the best text, Erasmus’ Greek New Testamentwas the standard text for nearly four hundred years, and was circulatedextensively and popularly as a consequence of it being published first, andthe fact that it had the advantage of being a cheaper, more portable work.


The Legacy of the Reformation

ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus (ca. 1466 – 1536) isoften considered the intellectual father ofthe Protestant Reformation, even thoughhe eventually disapproved of Luther andthe Reformers. Erasmus labored to makeinternal reforms within the medieval Ro-man Catholic Church (the same as the ini-tial motivation of the Reformers). Hisunique experiences influenced him toabandon the scholastic method and tostudy Scripture thoroughly (in addition tothe ancient classics that enamored him).As a devoted scholar of Greek and Latin, hewas certainly a forerunner of the Reforma-tion. His contemporaries proclaimed,“Erasmus laid the egg that Lutherhatched.”In 1516 (a year prior to the Protestant

Reformation), he published his Greek edi-tion of the New Testament. Even though itwas obviously not the best text, Erasmus’Greek New Testament was the standardtext for nearly four hundred years, andwas circulated extensively and popularlyas a consequence of it being publishedfirst, and the fact that it had the advantageof being a cheaper, more portable work. Inthe preface to the Novum Testamentum, hewrote, “I wish that the Scriptures might betranslated into all languages, so that notonly the Scots and the Irish, but also theTurk and the Saracen [Muslims] mightread and understand them. I long that thefarm-labourer might sing them as he fol-lows his plough, the weaver hum them tothe tune of his shuttle, the traveller beguilethe weariness of his journey with their sto-ries.” Erasmus’ sentiment was repeated byTyndale, who also remarked, “If God sparemy life, ere many years pass, I will cause a

boy that driveth the plough shall knowmore of the Scriptures than thou [thePope] dost.”

Martin LutherIn 1510, Luther’s superior, Johann vonStaupitz commissioned him to visit Romeon behalf of several Augustinian monaster-ies. When he did, Luther was appalled bythe corruption of the papacy that he en-countered there. Luther was incensed thatthe Roman Catholic clergy were selling in-dulgences (either a partial or complete re-mission of temporal punishment for sin,which could be obtained for either some-one living who confesses and receives ab-solution, or for one deceased and believedto be in purgatory), hence his “95 Theses.”Luther’s opposition to many of the teach-ings of Roman Catholicism culminated ina 1519 debate in Leipzig with therenowned theologian John Eck. On 3 Jan-uary 1521, when he refused to recant hisposition, Pope Leo X excommunicatedLuther from the Roman Catholic Church.Four months later (April 1521), Lutherwas summoned to appear at the Diet ofWorms before Emperor Charles V, wherehe stated, “I stand convicted by the Scrip-tures to which I have appealed, and myconscience is taken captive by God’sWord. I cannot and will not recant any-thing. For to act against our conscience isneither safe for us nor open to us. On thisI take my stand. I can do no other. Godhelp me. Amen.” Three beliefs character-ized Luther’s teachings: (1) the supremeauthority of God’s Word; (2) salvation isreceived by grace alone, as a free and un-merited gift of Christ; and, (3) all believers


Although the Protestant Reformation began officially on 31 October 1517,Calvin was the systematic theologian of the Reformation. Calvinism is atheological system of thought developed from the work of John Calvin(1509-64).

OCTOBER 2017 15

are priests, thus there is one status beforeGod: “the priesthood of all believers.”

John CalvinAlthough the Protestant Reformation beganofficially on 31 October 1517, Calvin was thesystematic theologian of the Reformation.Calvinism is a theological system of thoughtdeveloped from the work of John Calvin(1509-64). Calvin’s thought was articulatedmost clearly in his Institutes of the ChristianReligion (1536), which was dedicated to hisking, Francis I (his Institutes formed the basisof the historical development of Calvinism).Arminianism is a theological system of

thought developed from the work of JacobusArminius (1560-1609). Arminianism wasprimarily a response to Lutheranism and theCalvinist doctrine of predestination. Calvin-ists and Lutherans taught that predestina-tion was God’s eternal decree before thecreation of the world, to elect uncondition-ally some individuals to salvation; and, thisaction was solely by the grace of God and ac-cording to His sovereign good pleasure.Arminius argued in a contrary manner thatpredestination was based upon God’s fore-knowledge in seeing (through the corridorsof time) those individuals who would eitheraccept or reject the free offer of salvation inChrist Jesus, which was possible because theimputation (transfer) of sin was regarded asaffecting humanity only partially (as op-posed to entirely as Calvinism affirmed).Arminian teaching also asserted that sal-

vation freely accepted could be freely lost,which was contrary to Calvinist andLutheran teachings. The followers ofArminius outlined their perspective in 1610,which was issued as five doctrinal articlescollectively called the “Remonstrance.” In-

tense controversy arose among the churchesin the Netherlands. The Synod of Dort (Dor-drecht) convened in 1618-19 to resolve thecontroversy, and formulated the standardsummary of the essential elements of Calvin-ism. Arminianism (i.e. the Remonstrants)was condemned point-by-point in a fivefoldset of decrees (canons). Theological studentshave used the acronym TULIP as amnemonic device for the doctrines of Totaldepravity, Unconditional election, Limited(particular) atonement, Irresistible grace,and Perseverance of the saints. Midnight Callreaders should recognize that (soteriologi-cally) one of the genuine threats to thegospel message is semi-pelagianism (andpelagianism, of course, was condemned in418 by the Council of Carthage as heresy, forteaching that sin is not imputed to all hu-manity, and thus salvation through humaneffort and merit was possible without thegrace of God), which affirms that the impu-tation of sin has only weakened humanity;and hyper-Calvinism, which declares thatGod’s sovereignty negates the need for theevangelization of the lost (in addition toteaching that God is the Author of sin andevil, and that God’s grace can be a license tosin, because those who have once sincerelyprofessed belief are saved regardless of sub-sequent lifestyles).Western civilization has enjoyed the great-

est of freedoms, productivity, and prosperityever known throughout history. In additionto the standards of creativity and justice, theliberty enjoyed in Western civilization is a di-rect result of the Protestant Reformation. Forinstance, Calvinism was the doctrinal foun-dation for Western civil liberties and rights.The deeply respected Harvard historianGeorge Bancroft esteemed Calvin as one of

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the foremost republican pioneers. “He thatwill not honor the memory, and respect theinfluence of Calvin, knows but little of theorigin of American liberty.” The profoundGerman historian Leopold von Ranke as-serted boldly: “John Calvin was the virtualfounder of America.” The second presidentof the United States, John Adams, even es-teemed Geneva as the “first Puritan state.”At the time of the American Revolution,Adams exhorted, “Let not Geneva be forgot-ten or despised. Religious liberty owes itmost respect.” Whether one approves of itsdoctrines or not, Calvinism indeed was thesocial and political ethic for the early Ameri-can colonies.When German sociologist Max Weber

(1864-1920) wrote The Protestant Ethic andthe Spirit of Capitalism in 1905, he articulatedthe Protestant ethic as a moral standard em-phasizing asceticism, hard work, and servingGod as the logical organization of one’s life.Weber demonstrated free enterprise as anhistorical development in Protestant coun-tries, because they instilled virtues within thepeople that ultimately encouraged it. Bothcolonial virtues and belief in predestinationcontributed to the end of serfdom and the es-tablishment of a free economy and politic.The Protestant revival of biblical theologyand virtues in the sixteenth century washighly regarded as a major factor in the devel-opment and growth of Western civilization,even though it was not the intent of the Re-formers, who strived only to preach justifica-tion before God in Jesus Christ alone.

Celebrating the ReformationAs for my family and me, we will not be cele-brating Halloween this month. Not becausewe believe the Bible condemns its obser-vance; rather, we will be much too active andexcited celebrating a day of far more signifi-cance. We will, however, as with every day, re-gard the demonic realm seriously, for itopposes the glory of God. The Bible does not

condemn the observance of Halloween per se,but Scripture does condemn occult practicesas rebellion against God. Necromancy andwitchcraft were crimes punishable by death inthe Old Testament; and in the New Testa-ment, such practices are identified as works ofthe flesh of those who will not inherit thekingdom of God. Revelation 9:21 refers to themorally decadent who, among other things,will not repent of sorcery (occult power bymeans of magic, secret knowledge, or spells).The demonic realm is nothing trite; it is ratherdeadly serious, and no Christian should begiven to flirtation with practices that God con-demns. With the pounding of Luther’s ham-mer, All Hallows’ Eve (a day dedicated to fear,myths, spirits, and superstition) now remindsBible-believing Christians that God’s grace isreceived by faith in Christ alone, on the basisof Scripture alone, and to the glory of God.Our family will not be celebrating a harvest

(fall) festival or encouraging our children todress as Bible heroes, which may be a worsechoice, as we would only be mimicking thesenselessness of the world, as much of Ameri-can “churchianity” already does throughoutthe year. Halloween is nothing but a celebra-tion of the dead and demonic. In celebratingthe Protestant Reformation, believers rejoicein eternal life. We will be celebrating instead agenuine time of revival that is not some “bap-tized” alternative of Halloween. We will bepraising God for the historical event of the re-covery of the gospel of grace through faith inthe finished work of our Lord and Savior Je-sus Christ. We have far too much to celebrateduring the Reformation season, for the recov-ery of Scripture alone as the supreme author-ity in all matters of faith and practice, than towaste on Christianized alternatives. PraiseGod for those faithful to the proclamation ofthe true gospel, and who declare it joyfullyand boldly, as witness to a world wanderingin darkness and displaying its wicked defi-ance of the God we love and worship in allthings. (889)

The Legacy of the Reformation


René Malgo

What We Can Learn about the End of the Worldfrom the Reformer

Luther’s View of the End Time – Part 7

Remain steadfast, for the hope is certain!

Christ Must ComeThe hope of the Lord Jesus’ return is a strong an-chor for the souls of believers (Heb 6:18-19). Never-theless, there is the danger for us Christians to loseheart when end-time events do not take place as wehave wished for and imagined. In a way, this is whathappened to Luther, whose early friendliness to-ward Jews changed to bitter anti-Semitism, when herealized that things were not happening the way hehad thought. Yes, our convictions about the endtime determine how we live in the here and now.

The Countdown Has BegunMartin Luther knew that the countdown to the endtime had started long before his day. Already in thebeginning of his Reformation, he had come to be-lieve that “the papacy was the seat of the real andpersonified Antichrist,” because the pope wanted“to have God and His Word subordinate to him,with himself in a superior position.” Luther defi-nitely did not point to a specific pope as the An-tichrist. For him, Antichrist was a “collective termfor an institution which corrupts the truth ofChrist,” as explained by Roland Bainton, a Lutherbiographer. That is why Luther could say that thedevil “in these last days is empowering the An-tichrist and his anti-Christian realm, and this for thepast few centuries.” According to Luther’s under-

standing, the 1000-year kingdom had come to anend already at the time of Pope Gregory VII—thus,more than 400 years earlier, seen from Luther’s van-tage point. With the power hungry Gregory VII, thepapacy had become anti-Christian in Luther’s eyes,Satan had been loosed, and the last age of the end-time persecution had begun.Luther felt confirmed in his view by the words of

the renowned Roman theologian Sylvester Prierias,who wrote a rejoinder to Luther’s Theses. Prieriasbluntly stated that the pope acknowledged no judgeover him and that he could not be removed even ifhe were “to lead a multitude of nations to the deviland hell.” Such a brazen assertion was a clear indica-tion for Luther: Antichrist, “the son of perdition,”had long ago established himself in the divine tem-ple of the Church. For that reason, “Christ had tocome with his judgment,” in fact soon…

The Realm of the SpiritLuther’s ideas fell on fertile ground. He was not thefirst one to think that the pope might be the An-tichrist. Before his time, medieval church critics andnonconformists had also picked up on the teachingof an Antichrist at the end of time and applied it tothe pope.Various anti-papacy trends contributed to a

heightened hope for a thousand-year reign on earth,

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in Luther’s day and even earlier. However, this timeideas about the thousand-year reign were focusedon a time period before the return of the Lord Jesus.The basis for this was laid by the pro-papacy AbbotJoachim of Fiore, about 300 years before Luther. Heinterpreted Revelation to mean that the thousand-year reign would come before the end time. Joachimenvisioned three consecutive kingdoms of God: 1)The age of the Father, dispensation of the law, andfear of God in the Old Testament; 2) The age of theSon, dispensation of grace, and establishment ofthe Church; followed by 3) A 1000 year period ofministry by the Holy Spirit and contemplativemonasticism. The third kingdom would come tofull fruition after the final persecutions by An-tichrist. Joachim believed the Antichrist to be alivein his day, and thus, that he was living “at the dawnof this new age.”These thoughts, in somewhat altered form, were

later adopted particularly by mendicant orders criti-cal of the pope, monks, itinerant preachers andother sectarian groups. In this way, the idea that a1000-year reign of peace would eventually replacethe corrupt papacy gained influence in variousways among critics of the Church and Rome duringthe medieval era. Heiko Oberman writes: “The sup-posed kingdom of the spirit would be accompaniedby violent birth pangs, and like a sudden catastro-phe overcome powerful opposition.”And then the catastrophe of the Black Death

erupted across Europe, a pestilence that leftaround 25 million dead. A few decades later, twopopes were wreaking havoc for a time by pro-nouncing anathema over one another, and caus-ing much confusion. It appeared that the endtime had commenced. Due to charismatic itiner-ant preachers calling for penance, the expectationof a thousand-year reign on earth found great fa-vor among the populace, especially when yet athird pope arose to make claims. This end-timeawareness in the early Reformation was then in-tensified by “the seemingly unstoppable advance”

of the Ottoman Empire from Islamic Turkey intoChristian Europe.End-time anticipation was particularly promi-

nent in Germany. A few years before Luther’s ap-pearance in the public arena, the GermanFranciscan monk Johann Hilton even prophesiedthat the papacy would soon collapse and a Refor-mation occur, “so that Christians would later beable to withstand the Antichrist.” Added to this were medieval astrological predic-

tions and folklore, that “at times were strangely ex-act” concerning the timeframe in which Luther’sReformation actually did take place, as GerhardMaier relates. Small wonder then that the adherentsof a thousand-year reign on earth would have beenvery positive about Martin Luther. But Luther wasnot interested in changing society by force, as manyproponents of the “third kingdom” would haveliked to see happen.Luther said: “I will not strive for the gospel with

violence and murder.” He knew that a golden agewas impossible without the return of the Lord Je-sus. He saw the Reformation merely as an improve-ment of end-time conditions, nothing more. Thus,he definitely was in opposition to certain pious en-thusiasts of his time, who mistakenly took the Bookof Revelation as a call to change society by force.

End-time Conversion of the JewsThe concepts of an Antichrist and the expectationof a godly kingdom on earth actually have Jewishroots. That is not surprising: The Old Testament ofthe Christians is the Bible of the Jews. Yet Jews andChristians have never warmed to each other. Whilein the beginning, religious Jews had persecuted theChristians, later the tables were turned rather read-ily, especially after Christianity had come to be thedominant culture in Europe.During the Middle Ages, anti-Semitism was quite the

norm. The Jews served as scapegoats for the fears ofChristians. England, France, Spain and Portugal ex-pelled the Jews from their countries. From a legal per-

Luther’s View of the End Time – Part 7

Luther said: “I will not strive for the gospel with violence and mur-der.” He knew that a golden age was impossible without the returnof the Lord Jesus.


spective, Jews were living in perpetual subjugation, “be-cause of their unforgivable guilt in the death of Jesus.” Jews were barred from many professions and trades,

and thus found themselves relegated to the money-lending business, since the Church had forbiddenChristians to profit from loan interest. Jewish banksgrew to be indispensable for society. However, if these fi-nancial dealings brought them wealth, it incurred thewrath of the people, who suspected the Jews of being“in league with demonic powers,” in the words ofchurch historian Thomas Kaufmann. The hatred for Jews had cultural as well as religious

motivations. Despite regional rivalries, medieval soci-ety was not held together by ethnic origin but by reli-gion, coupled with various superstitions aboutwitches, goblins, saints and ritual murders, the lattershockingly attributed to the Jews. It is amazing that“the Jewish foreign element” was never completelystamped out. And that in turn was thanks to Augus-tine…Christianity was facing a problem: If the Church was

supposed to be the new and true Israel, why thenwould there still be an ethnic Israel, a Jewish people?Augustine presented a remarkable solution: The Jewsremain to confirm the truth of Christianity. Their exis-tence and their Holy Scriptures prove that the prophe-cies about the Messiah Jesus had not been Christianfabrications. Thus, Augustine assured at least a mod-icum of tolerance for the Jews within Christian soci-eties. Augustine also believed that at the end time,during “the persecution by Antichrist,” many Jewswould be converted; and then, Jesus Christ would re-turn, bringing the eternal glory of heaven as well as theend of the old world.Thomas Aquinas, the most influential theologian of

the Middle Ages after Augustine, also believed in “a fu-ture conversion of the Jewish people.” Bernard of Clair-vaux and Joachim of Fiore were of the same opinion.That is why Luther said that with the advent of the Re-formation, “a new and final age had begun for theJews.” In an exposition of one of the Psalms, he re-marked that God would convert the Jews when “thefullness of Gentiles had come to salvation”—and thiswas to happen in the end time. Thus, it is not surprisingthat at the beginning of the Reformation, Luther wrote,full of optimism: “Truly, since just now the golden lightof the gospel is rising and shining forth, there is hope

that many Jews will be converted in a conscientious andfaithful manner and be earnestly drawn to Christ…”The friendliness which Luther initially showed

toward the Jews was closely related to his new refor-mative realizations and his end-time expectation.Antecedent to his discovery of the gospel, one canfind formulations of medieval, anti-Semitic charac-ter in the writings of the then Roman Catholic Bibleprofessor Martin Luther. But at about the same timein which he thought the pope to be the Antichristand the last days to have commenced, he showed afriendly attitude toward the Jews.But, this posture changed when the anticipated end-

time conversion of the Jews did not come about, andwhen a few rabbis made denigrating remarks aboutChrist following an encounter with Luther. Many timesthereafter Martin Luther recalled this painful event.Ironically, many Jews saw the radical changes of the Re-formation as a sign of the soon appearing of their Mes-siah, not the true Messiah Jesus. The physical brothersof the Lord turned a cold shoulder to the evangelicalReformation.Resistance of the Jewish people toward his rediscov-

ered gospel led to Luther’s bitterness. His very last ser-mon ended in a harsh warning against those Jews whowould not be converted, and were “intent on nothingbut to exploit and, when possible, to kill Christians.” Inregard to the Jews, Luther did not follow his own admo-nition: “Remain steadfast: for the hope is certain!”Our hopes and convictions determine how we

think and act. It is not by accident that Paul, in viewof the Lord Jesus’ return, said we should “be sober,putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and foran helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thess 5:8). We,the Christians of today, are confronted with the twoquestions: What do we really believe about the endtime? And, are we in danger of growing bitter, disap-pointed or even fanatical when things do not hap-pen the way we had thought? It is paramounttherefore to take to heart the apostle’s exhortationin every detail: “Wherefore gird up the loins of yourmind, be sober, and hope to the end for the gracethat is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Je-sus Christ” (1 Pet 1:13).

(858)

Note: The original contains footnotes from German sources, which are

not included here.

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By Rolf Sons

What Does MartinLuther Have to Sayto Us Today?Justification Newly Discovered - Part 2

The following text belongs to the most important instructions on faith. Luther wrote itfor the Small Catechism, a textbook for instruction in the family. Some people may findthis text familiar from their own confirmation classes.

“Ibelieve that God created me with all otherpeople, gave me a body and soul, eyes, earsand limbs, understanding and all my

senses, and preserved them; also clothes and shoes,food and water, a house, wife and child, fields, ani-mals and all my goods, with everything necessaryfor my body and life richly and daily. He keeps mein all dangers and above all protects me from all evil,and this out of divine kindness and compassion,without my deserving it. For all this I must thankHim and praise Him, and I owe it to Him to serveHim and obey Him. This is surely true.”Whoever believes in the Lord sees things differ-

ently. Through faith in God the Creator, Luther sawhimself and the whole world in a new light. Yet, cre-ation is not an event that took place in prehistorictimes. In creation God’s dealings are present andperceptible in our own lives. Whoever sees himself as a person created by God

knows that he was wanted and is no coincidence. Atthe beginning of a life, it is not my own decision tobe or become something. We cannot decide overour existence, the color of our eyes, gender, heightor the color of our skin. Man does not come fromnature or from himself. He comes from God, andthus from love. Out of this gift of life grows ulti-mately the task of accepting ourselves.

Luther describes the life he received as clearly aspossible. Nothing is too insignificant or too smallthat he cannot give thanks for it: eyes, ears, under-standing, and all his senses. Further, the daily provi-sion of clothes, shoes, food and drink. Finally, thesocial relationships within the family, as well as pos-sessions and protection from danger. God gives usall this, not once but daily, not meagerly but inabundance.Faith sees further, sees deeper and more exactly.

For faith, nothing is to be taken for granted. Inevery detail, one is able to see the goodness of God.Seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling and thinking; allthese are gifts that God provides daily, and no onecan guarantee the life he has received. Luther’s listcan be continued. Have we already discovered whatGod has given us today?It is ingenious how Luther continues, “And all

this out of sheer fatherly, divine goodness andmercy, without my deserving it or being worthy ofit.” Luther considers the whole fullness of life, andknows that it has its origin in the fatherly love ofGod. Just as parents care for, tend and provide fortheir children from the beginning of their lives, Goddoes the same. He gives freely and does not expectanything in return. At this point, Luther lets us seeinto the heart of his theology. Justification throughfaith alone is known and experienced within cre-


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Why does a betrayed wife seek comfort in theimmoderate consumption of sweets? Why does asad teenager become anorexic? As complex as thebackground of the questions may be, and as littleas we can bring the causes to a commondenominator, deep down it is about the question,“What am I worth?”

ation. In creation, man experiences God’s good-ness. He only needs to open his eyes to it. The question of self-esteem is one of the most

central themes in counseling. Man is concernedabout pleasing others. If he achieves this, he is inharmony with himself. If this self-esteem is lacking,he finds himself in a crisis. Yet he is dependent onothers who also esteem him, take pleasure in him.A self-sufficient person, i.e. a person who is inde-pendent of his environment and its recognition,does not exist. If he is respected by others, his self-esteem increases. If he is denied this esteem, hecannot have a positive picture of himself. Self-es-teem and self-confidence are always formedthrough others. In counseling, self-esteem crops up in very dif-

ferent connections. Why does an employer find itso difficult to encourage his coworkers throughpraise? Why does a father show so little esteem tohis children? Why does a pastor constantly have tocompare himself with his colleagues? Why does astudent strive to keep up a mask of perfection andblamelessness, and yet feel so helpless in hisheart? Why does a betrayed wife seek comfort inthe immoderate consumption of sweets? Whydoes a sad teenager become anorexic? As complexas the background of the questions may be, and aslittle as we can bring the causes to a common de-nominator, deep down it is about the question,“What am I worth?” The question of justification isnot a side question, but a central question inChristian counseling.Luther describes in his booklet, “To the Christ-

ian Nobility of the German Nation,” which hewrote in 1520, a “happy change” that takes placethrough the Gospel. He writes roughly that

through faith, an exchange of goods takes place.What belongs to Christ now belongs to the Christ-ian, and what man possesses now belongs toChrist. Christ takes the sin, weakness and past,which by nature belong to man, and He gives himwhat he cannot by nature call his own: forgiveness,love, righteousness and eternal life. “Is this not ahappy exchange, that the rich, noble, devoutBridegroom Christ, takes the poor, despised, evilharlot in marriage, takes away all evil and bestowson her all His goods?”With the words “despised” and “poor,” Luther

hints at how man is by nature. In his self- percep-tion he remains poor, in his self-evaluation low. Inlight of the Gospel, however, an upgrading takesplace. The believer becomes the recipient. In thefellowship with Christ, man is by no means smalland ugly, but rich and beautiful. The system of val-ues is turned completely upside down. Counselingwith this horizon means to show people theirvalue in light of the Gospel. God loves us in JesusChrist more than we love ourselves. The dark sideof our nature is also loved by Him.Justification means an upgrading of man. The

man who sees himself as a loser is upgraded in hisrelationship with Christ.Luther’s counseling was counseling of the con-

science. A letter of Luther from the year 1543, to awoman who was the wife of a mayor, shows whatwe understand by this.Luther spoke to her conscience after she had

spoken an evil curse. She had said, “May the devilcome for all those who voted for my husband tobecome mayor.” She had a guilty conscience on ac-count of these words. She turned to Luther, andhe answered her in a letter as follows:


What Does Martin Luther Have to Say to Us Today? - Part 2

“The grace of God and peace in the Lord! Mydear Mrs. M., Your brother Johannes showed mehow the evil spirit is burdening your heart thatsuch evil words came from your mouth. ‘I wish thedevil would come for all those who elected myhusband as mayor.’ He is tormenting you with thisand suggests you must remain his in eternity.“Oh, my dear M., because you feel and confess

that it is the evil spirit that made you speak suchwords and they were his initiative, that you shouldremain his in eternity, you should know that every-thing he inspires is a lie. He is a liar. It is surely notinspired by Jesus Christ that you should belong tothe devil, because He died so that those who be-long to the devil should be liberated. Do the fol-lowing: spit at the devil and say to him, ‘Have Isinned? Yes, I have sinned and I am sorry. Christtook away the sins of the whole world if they con-fess them, so my sins are also taken away. Go away,devil! I am absolved; I owe it to Him to believethat.’”Luther revealed to her again what had taken

place. The wife of the mayor had expressed acurse. Her conscience was burdened on account ofthis. She feared she would belong to the devil for-ever. It is interesting how Luther sought to weakenthese negative feelings. He first argued using circu-lar reasoning. When the devil makes her have aguilty conscience, then it is guaranteed to be a lie,

seeing the devil is known to be a liar. When shethinks she is being oppressed by the devil, there-fore, she should not believe him.For this reason, he advised the woman a second

thing: do not stop at your guilty conscience, butlook to Him who can give you a good conscience.Luther did not leave the woman to her moods andthoughts, but he set her feet on this rock: Christtook away the sins of the whole world, also herown. Luther did not try to appease the conscienceof the oppressed woman, or try to talk her out of it.He knows how short-lived and weak our own self-comfort is. He portrayed greater things. He boundher to Christ.How can I have a good conscience? By compar-

ing my good and evil deeds? This usually ends in adeficiency. Instead, I should look to Him who car-ried away my guilt.Luther’s great burden in counseling was to as-

sure people of the forgiveness, faithfulness andlove of God. The devil makes people stumble, butGod stabilizes them. The devil shakes the founda-tions of people, but God puts them on a rock.Such assuring pastoral care comes not by pointingpeople to their own strength or feelings, their con-science or their works, but to that which is outsideof himself; namely, the promise of God, which can-not fail.

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QIn one sentence, why is the evangelistic doctrine of justi-fication solely through grace so important?

AMan cannot redeem himself, and so he is completely de-pendent on God’s dealings with him.

QWhat part does Luther’s expectation of the imminent re-turn of the Lord Jesus play?

ALuther saw himself as a prophet in an apocalyptic time.He believed that the end of the world was near. This is

why his concern was that people before the throne of God

Luther Saw Himself as a Prophet in Apocalyptic Times

An interview withpastor and counselorDr. Rolf Sons aboutLuther as a prophet,counselor and Biblical theologian.

OCTOBER 2017 23 % 1-800-845-2420

the Judge fled to Christ, who would exoneratethem and liberate them. Luther was aware of thegrave nature of the judgment, but he knew alsothat man can be saved through the Gospel. So forLuther, the Gospel was nothing other than theglad tidings that man can experience salvation inthe face of the approaching judgment. TheGospel was not a fellowship of “good men,” butconnected to the truth that the judgment willcome, and that only God can save us from thisjudgment.

QLuther is often perceived as a kind of reli-gious freedom fighter. How did he see him-

self?

ALuther saw himself as a signpost to Christ. Hedid not even want to be a Reformer. He said

also, “Not Luther died for man, but Christ.” Thisis why it is so important to point to Christ alone.When we emphasize the socio-political signifi-cance, we are missing the mark. He was not thefirst enlightened man or a revolutionist, but a wit-ness for Christ. He can indeed be compared withthe prophets who proclaimed the Word of God inolden days. This was the most important thingfor him, and so we should let it stand.

QWhat is the most widespread false picture ofLuther which exists today?

ASometimes, the impression arises that manyevangelicals find Luther embarrassing. People

are afraid of quoting him. Many see in Luthersimply a Protestant who rose against the rulers,but Luther was in the first place neither a politi-cian nor a protester, but in his heart he was a Bib-lical theologian. We must proceed from here.Luther worked in his time on the grounds of hisknowledge of the Bible. If we only make a pro-tester out of him, this is too little. Ultimately, hewas a man who got people talking about theBible.

QWhat value did the Bible have in Luther’scounseling?

AHis counseling was above all in letters. In hisletters, he frequently quoted the Bible and ex-

pounded on it, often very vividly. Luther’s lettersalways contained Bible verses, and he alwaysmanaged to bring Scripture and life together forthe reader. He not only described the Scripturesas the truth, but also always applied them to lifeand the daily situations of the people.

QLuther was known as a theologian of thecross. What does this mean, particularly

where counseling is concerned?

AThe cross is the center of his theology. ForLuther, in the cross lies strength, comfort and

forgiveness of sin. At the cross man is lifted up,and in the cross the love of God for man isfounded. As Luther explains, we can only see thelove of God at the cross. That is why the cross isthe place where we ultimately end up. So, Lutheris above all a theologian of the cross. In the Hei-delberg Disputation, he made it clear that Godcannot be fathomed through reason—also in cre-ation He is only recognizable indirectly. It isabove all at the cross that we meet God. Thus,Luther took a stand against the theology of theMiddle Ages, which wanted to grasp God withreason. God hides Himself in His opposite; onlyin this can He be recognized.

QHow does the sensitive counselor MartinLuther relate to the Reformer who ranted

against the rebellious peasants, those who werefaithful to the pope, partly the Anabaptists andthe Jews?

AIn my opinion, this can only be explained bythe fact that Luther saw himself as an end-

times prophet. He saw the Antichrist in the rageof the peasants, in the pope-faithful, and in every-thing that in his opinion rebelled against Christ.He also had a coarse character. Spiritually speak-ing, he saw the end-times working of the devil,and he reacted too sharply to this. He was also achild of his time, a man who was sensitive, whotended to be depressed, and at the same timecould be unbelievably coarse and blunt. He wasnot a perfect man, and this makes him all themore believable.

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I N T E R V I E W


Philippians 2:12-16 begins, “Wherefore,my beloved…” With these words, Paulis referring to the humble mind of Je-

sus in verses 5-11. The encouragement thatPaul gives the Philippians lies in having themind of Jesus. He is and will remain ourgreatest example. He is our point of orienta-tion. We are encouraged by Him to have Hismind. Just by looking at Him, we become in-dependent of other people. When we lookat Jesus, the desire to be like Him increasesin us. This is why He said, “I am meek andlowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). We do notlook at ourselves in the shadow of thosearound us, but we see ourselves in the lightof the One who humbled Himself on thecross, the eternal God who is exalted aboveall measure.Just imagine if we all had the mind of

Christ and we would orient ourselves alone

by Him. The margin of the King James Biblegives the following parallel verses, “For I havegiven you an example, that ye should do as Ihave done to you” (John 13:15). “And walk inlove, as Christ also hath loved us, and hathgiven himself for us…” (Ephesians 5:2). “Foreven hereunto were ye called: because Christalso suffered for us, leaving us an example,that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).“He that saith he abideth in him ought him-self also so to walk, even as he walked” (1John 2:6).This is the picture that the apostle gives to

the Philippians, “Wherefore, my beloved, asye have always obeyed, not as in my presenceonly, but now much more in my absence”(Philippians 2:12). When I am out later than usual with my

wife, we often received a call from our chil-dren with the question, “When are you com-

A continuing study of the letter to the Philippians, by various authors for MidnightCall Ministry. Part 15. Philippians 2:12-16.


Living in Obedience to Jesus

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ing home?” They usually asked this question,not out of concern for us or because theymissed us, but because they could do whatthey were not allowed to do when we werehome for a little longer—like stay up later orplay longer. Every married couple that takes their task

seriously will always be a little concerned andask themselves, “What are our children doingnow that we are not there?” And this is whyparents call home sometimes and ask, “Whatare you doing now? Are you being good? Areyou not quarreling? At 8:30 you have to go tobed.” Some children live a Christian life aslong as they are in their parents’ house, butwhen they leave it they go their own way.What a blessing it is when a young Christianleaves his parents’ home, goes abroad and be-comes independent from his parents, butdoes not cease to be a Christian. This is howit was for the apostle Paul. His beloved, whowere his spiritual children, did not let them-selves be deceived in his absence. The factthat Paul was not there did not result in lessobedience among the Philippians, but theylived an independent life; they made room forthe urging of the Holy Spirit, who was inthem.If a person is obedient in the presence of

his boss, this is praiseworthy; but when theone concerned is as obedient in his absence,this is a clear sign of truthfulness.Further, Paul writes, “Work out your own

salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippi-ans 2:12b). After the encouragement, Paul ad-monishes the Philippians to carry onworking in this way. The word for “work out”actually means “complete” or “accomplish.” Itis also used in farming, in the sense of tend-ing and cultivating; like the tearing out ofweeds, explains Jean Köchlin.It is not about salvation through works or

being afraid of losing one’s salvation, but tak-

ing care of the salvation we have received andworking on it constantly. In our lives thisshould be continual, with all seriousness(with fear and trembling), realizing what wehave already received. Our lives should looklike a well-cared for field of flowers, fromwhich the weeds are continually removed. We must note that Paul is addressing a

whole church. The church should work inharmony on salvation; she must not tolerateweeds. Even complaining and negativethoughts should be stopped. “Do all thingswithout murmurings and disputings” (Philip-pians 2:14). “For it is God which worketh inyou both to will and to do of his good plea-sure” (verse 13).And yet it is strange. The apostle praises the

church; he challenges her to work out the sal-vation she has received, in practice with totalcommitment, with fear and trembling. Andnow he takes the wind out of her sails andsays that it is God which works in us to willand to accomplish according to His goodpleasure. It is as though you would say to apuppet, “Move, get up,” and yet simultane-ously, “You can only get up if I pull the strings;you are only a puppet.” Are we God’s pup-pets? No!Paul says this in connection with his ab-

sence. He is expressing his wish that the zealthat they have, the obedience, even in his ab-sence, is worked by God because He is alwayspresent. It is not Paul who through his con-tinual presence brings them to obedience;God does it, who is also there when Paul isabsent. The Philippians are born-again children of

God; the Holy Spirit urges them to do whatpleases God, and God will stand by them.Could they still be disobedient if God worksin them according to His will and good plea-sure? Of course! Just as the Philippians couldbe disobedient in the presence of Paul, the

3We are to be guiding lights to the world, but we can only be this if we holdfast to spiritual principles.


believer can also be disobedient in spite of thepresent working of God. God basically worksin every believer the will. If the Christian re-sponds, then God also works in him “to willand to do of his good pleasure.” David, for in-stance, prayed for his son Solomon in 1 Chron-icles 29:19, “And give unto Solomon my son aperfect heart.” God heard David’s prayer.Let us take a practical example. We have a

lot of time in the evening, and maybe a movieis on TV which interests us. And yet we feel theurge to use our time differently; perhaps topray, to study the Bible, or to visit someone inneed. This wish is from the Holy Spirit, and wewill receive joy and blessing if we followthrough on it. If we do not give in to this urge—and this is possible—then we have in disobedi-ence given in to the flesh and not the urging ofthe Spirit of God. Then our conscience willpunish us. That is why it says we should notgrieve the Holy Spirit.We all have the fervent desire to be obedient

to God, and it is God that works this in usthrough the Holy Spirit. It is about doing thewill that God works in us through the HolySpirit, and then to experience that God standsby us.Next, Paul writes, “Do all things without

murmurings and disputings” (Philippians2:14), challenging us to cooperate when mak-ing decisions. What is it like in our church?Matters are often discussed with complaints,doubts and murmuring. The result of this isthe opposite of what Paul describes in the nextverse, “That ye may be blameless and harm-less, the sons of God, without rebuke, in themidst of a crooked and perverse nation,among whom ye shine as lights in the world”(Philippians 2:15). When our actions are without murmuring

and disputing, then the result will of necessitybe the opposite: as soon as we murmur and ar-gue, as soon as discontent, doubt and com-plaining rule us, then we commit a crimeagainst our spiritual stand and become vulner-able and open to criticism; we become guiltyand lose our ability to shine.

Why is the world twisted and upside-down?Because it has no orientation; because it doesnot know the way; because it has no light andgropes in the dark. We are to be guiding lightsto the world, but we can only be this if we holdfast to these spiritual principles. How will weshow the world the way, if we are discontentedwith our own way? How will we teach theworld faith, if we ourselves doubt? How will weteach it spiritual unity, if we are not united?And so Paul writes, “Holding forth the word

of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,that I have not run in vain, neither laboured invain” (Philippians 2:16). When we live accord-ing to spiritual principles, we can hold forththe word of life, and on the “day of Christ” weshall receive a reward. This would be a proof ofthe successful work of the apostle Paul, and aconfirmation that his labor had not been invain. Hence, the Lord will praise him for it.Paul was working for this praise. There is sucha thing as a healthy pride and a joyful expecta-tion, which encourages our service. In 2Corinthians chapter 1, we find a suitable paral-lel:“For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of

our conscience, that in simplicity and godlysincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by thegrace of God, we have had our conversation inthe world, and more abundantly to you-ward…As also ye have acknowledged us in part, thatwe are your rejoicing, even as ye also are oursin the day of the Lord Jesus” (verses 12, 14). The expectation of the return of Jesus is our

encouragement to lead a Bible-oriented life.Paul says this in Philippians 2:12-16:1. Jesus is our example, by whom we orient

ourselves. 2. We should live an independentChristian life, even without the constant guid-ance of others. 3. We are requested to work outour salvation and to take care of it. 4. God willhelp us, because He is omnipresent. 5. Weshould do everything without murmuring. 6.This results in our being light to a lost world. 7.And this once again will be our praise on theday of the return of Jesus.

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S C O T L A N D

Smartphone PhobiaFor many people, posting abouttheir actions on social media hasbecome a key part of their experi-ence of an event and, in turn, theway they remember them, thestudy finds.

And being without a smartphonemeans you can’t be posting about your

current activities, researchers say.“As smartphones evoke more personal

memories, users extend more of their identityonto them,” said Dr. Ki Joon Kim, of the CityUniversity of Hong Kong.

“When users perceive smartphones astheir extended selves, they are more likely tobecome attached to the devices, which, inturn, leads to nomophobia by heightening thephone proximity-seeking tendency,” headded.

Dr. Kim is concerned that nomophobiacould become even stronger in the future astechnology becomes increasingly personal-ized—and warns people not to become toodependent on their smartphones.

“Recent smartphone and app developmentseems to inevitably increase users’ attach-ment, as the technology and related servicesbecome increasingly personalized and cus-tomizable.

“This suggests that users should be con-scious not to become overly dependent onsmartphones while benefitting from thesmartness of the technology,” he said.

-www.scotsman.com, 15 August 2017

Commentary:This research and subsequentwarning will fall on deaf ears. The elderlywill recall the beginning of television, whenmany warned that it will break up the family.

The founder of this ministry, Wim Malgo,actually wrote a tract titled “Television: Toolof the Antichrist” (now out of print). In to-day’s world, there is virtually no householdwithout a TV, and that is multiple times truerwith smartphones. Man will continue to beincreasingly dependent on his own inven-tions, until he is ready to accept the greatest

invention: the falsechrist, Antichrist andhis false prophet.

6569(For more on this subject, read

Who Is the Antichrist?, Item

2254.)

W O R L D

The Illuminati ConspiracyIt’s the conspiracy theory to dwarfall conspiracy theories. A smorgas-bord of every other intrigue underthe sun, the Illuminati are the sup-posed overlords controlling theworld’s affairs, operating secretlyas they seek to establish a NewWorld Order.

When most people try to look into thesecret society’s history, they find them-

selves in Germany with the Enlightenment-eraOrder of the Illuminati. It was a Bavarian secretsociety, founded in 1776, for intellectuals to pri-vately group together and oppose the religiousand elitist influence over daily life. It includedseveral well-known progressives at the timebut, along with the Freemasons, they foundthemselves gradually outlawed by conservativeand Christian critics and the group faded out ofexistence.

That is, until the 1960s. The Illuminati thatwe’ve come to hear about today is hardly influ-

enced by the Bavarians at all, as I learned fromauthor and broadcaster David Bramwell, a manwho has dedicated himself to documenting theorigins of the myth. Instead, an era of counter-culture mania, LSD and interest in Eastern phi-losophy is largely responsible for the group’s(totally unsubstantiated) modern incarnation. Itall began somewhere amid the Summer of Loveand the hippie phenomenon, when a small,printed text emerged: Principia Discordia.

According to Bramwell, Robert Anton Wilsonand one of the authors of the Principia Discor-dia, Kerry Thornley, “decided that the world wasbecoming too authoritarian, too tight, tooclosed, too controlled.” They wanted to bringchaos back into society to shake things up, and“the way to do that was to spread disinforma-tion. To disseminate misinformation through allportals—through counter culture, through themainstream media, through whatever means.And they decided they would do that initially bytelling stories about the Illuminati.”

“So, the concept behind this was that if yougive enough contrary points of view on a story,in theory—idealistically—the population atlarge start looking at these things and think,‘hang on a minute,’” says Bramwell. “They askthemselves, ‘Can I trust how the information ispresented to me?’ It’s an idealistic means of get-

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Conspiracy theorists believe signs on theUS dollar bill point to Illuminati influence(Credit: Alamy)


I S R A E L

Chinese CommunistsStudy in IsraelThe influx of Chinese students atIsraeli universities has been grow-ing steadily in recent years.

On the forefront of this enrollmentboom is the University of Haifa, which

currently boasts some 200 Chinese studentsamong its student body, compared to 20 in2013, representing a 1,000% increase.

A majority of these students come from theUniversity of East China Normal University inShanghai, which is a sister city of Haifa.

University of Haifa president Ron Robin wel-comes the addition. “The cooperation withstrategic partners from Chinese industry andacademia serves the strategic goals of the uni-versity,” said Robin. “We have positioned our-selves as a leading international institution. Assuch, we welcome all the Chinese students toIsrael, and intend to continue to deepen the tiesand cooperation with the Chinese academy.”

These ties can result in profitable researchand development in which millions of dollars

are currently being invested in the hopes tofurther strengthen the bonds between the twocountries.

Across town, the Technion-Israel Institute ofTechnology has also seen an influx of Chinesestudents in recent years. During the 2016-2017 academic year, the school had 117 full-time Chinese students, and 177 Chinesestudents enrolled in its summer school of en-gineering.

The Technion has been intensifying its aca-demic cooperation with Chinese universitiesand students, and in 2013, together withShantou University (STU), received a $130m.grant from the Li Ka Shing Foundation to es-

tablish a branch of the Technion in the Guang-dong Province.

The Technion hailed the partnership as “anew era of research and innovation in science,engineering and life sciences, an unprece-dented cooperation between the People’s Gov-ernment of Guangdong Province and ShantouMunicipal Government, Technion, and STU.”

-www.jpost.com, 14 August 2017

Commentary: Israel welcoming foreigners,in this case university students, lines upwith their preparation and aspiration forglobal leadership on many levels of higheracademics. Liberalism goes hand-in-handwith Israel’s fundamental philosophy,namely adaptability to change. This is par-ticularly significant as doors to the US arebeing narrowed. Israel, along with Europe,has become the open door to the world andfor the world.

From Biblical perspectives, this devel-opment goes in the right direction: to createa more truly global world. 6570(For more on this subject, read Miracle of Israel, Item 2303.)

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ting people to wake up to the suggested reali-ties that they inhabit—which of course didn’thappen quite in the way they were hoping.”

We live in a world that is full of conspiracytheories and, more importantly, conspiracytheory believers; in 2015, political scientistsdiscovered that about half of the general pub-lic in the USA endorse at least one conspiracytheory. These include anything from the Illumi-nati to the Obama ‘birther’ conspiracy, or thewidely held belief that 9/11 was an inside jobcarried out by US intelligence services.

“People could become disengaged withmainstream politics if they believe in conspir-acy theories,” said Viren Swami, professor ofsocial psychology at Anglia Ruskin University.“They’re much more likely to engage withfringe politics. They’re also much more likelyto engage with racist, xenophobic and extrem-ist views.”

Between internet forums, nods in popularculture and humankind’s generally uninhibitedcapacity for imagination, today’s truth-findersand fact checkers might debunk the Illuminatimyth for good.

-www.bbc.com, 9 August 2017

Commentary:Freemasons, the Illuminati, theBilderbergers, the Club of Rome, Skull andBones, and innumerable other so-called se-cret societies, have proven to be primarilybased on men’s lucid imagination. Onequestion: if the Freemasons are to take overthe world, why haven’t they? That questionapplies to all the so-called secret societies.

The deeper message of this abbreviatedarticle we publish here, is simply thatmankind continues to search for the un-known; particularly for a power greaterthan any visible government. That power is

real; it is dictated by the god of this world.He has innumerable demonic entities at hisdisposal. He rules planet earth, and his con-spiracy is exposed in Holy Scripture. Henow desires to unite the world with one spe-cific purpose: to reveal his Antichrist as godand have all the world worship the image ofthe beast. Is this at all possible? Our answeris an unqualified yes, because humankindcontinues to improve planet earth, to pro-duce an abundance of food, and more luxu-

ries than ever beforein history. Thus, ulti-mately man will wor-ship the image of hisown creation. 6571(For more on this subject,

read How Democracy Will

Elect the Antichrist, Item

1064.)

Illuminati (continued from page 27)

Chinese students visiting Haifa University.(photo credit:HAIFA UNIVERSITY)


U S A

Social Security and theAmerican Dream“With informed discussion, cre-ative thinking, and timely legisla-tive action, Social Security cancontinue to protect future genera-tions.”

That boilerplate language has beenfeatured more or less verbatim in the

yearly status report from the trustees of theSocial Security and Medicare funds since2001, through presidents George W. Bush,Barack Obama and now, Donald Trump.

It’s the numbers that have changed dramat-ically, as the U.S. population ages. The 2003report noted that “Social Security plays a crit-ical role in the lives of over 46 million benefi-ciaries, and over 150 million covered workersand their families.” The report cites 61 millionbeneficiaries and 171 million covered workersand their families. That’s an increase of morethan 32 percent and 14 percent, respectively,over 13 years.

While Washington fiddles, income inequal-ity has risen to dizzying heights. Since 1980,there has been “a sharp divergence in the [in-come] growth experienced by the bottom50% versus the rest of the economy,” accord-ing to a December 2016 paper by economistsThomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and GabrielZucman. The average pre-tax income of thebottom half of adults—117 million people—has been stuck at $16,200, adjusted for infla-tion, for more than three decades. Theaverage pre-tax income of the top 1 percentwas $1.3 million as of 2014, more than threetimes what it was in 1980.

At the center of this storm, Social Securityremains one of the few havens available tomost Americans, one that is free from the va-garies of the financial markets and, to someextent, inflation. Without it, many elderlyAmericans would be living in poverty. U.S.Census data for 2016 show that more than 22million people in the U.S. would have slippedinto poverty without Social Security benefits.

And it’s not just theelderly who rely on Social Security

checks. That 22 million figure includes 1.1million children.

All this is shrinking the definition of theAmerican dream. Millennials, in particular,seem disillusioned. Over 50 years, “children’sprospects of earning more than their parentshave fallen from 90 percent to 50 percent,”according to the home page of the Equality ofOpportunity Project, a research effort that an-alyzes income mobility. The project is citingfigures from a 2016 study, “The Fading Amer-ican Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mo-bility Since 1940.”

Fifty-one percent of the 18- to 29-year-oldswho took part in a national poll released byHarvard’s Institute of Politics in late 2016 saidthey were “fearful” about the future of Amer-ica. Those fears centered on the attainabilityof the American Dream, with every demo-graphic within the 2,150 people polling asmore fearful than hopeful.

-www.bloomberg.com, 18 July 2017

Commentary: This is a national issue, buthas potential repercussions globally. Ac-cording to the experts, there are sufficientreasons to be worried. Poverty is not a the-ory but reality.

Years ago, when this writer used totravel extensively, upon his returnthe often-repeated question was:“Was it a rich or poor country?” Myanswer: all countries are rich; thedifference is how many poor theyhave.

The USA has done a remarkablejob and contributed greatly to the de-

mocratization of much of the world, andsubsequently its prosperity. Now, however,the ugly head of poverty is arising, and thatcalls for new leadership.

What does it mean prophetically speak-ing? The old power structure, the fourthone mentioned in the book of Daniel—theIron Kingdom—will take control and ulti-mately usher in Satan’s masterpiece: An-tichrist, with his false prophet. Danielwrites: “And in the days of these kingsshall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,which shall never be destroyed: and thekingdom shall not be left to other people,but it shall break in pieces and consume allthese kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stonewas cut out of the mountain without hands,and that it brake in pieces the iron, thebrass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; thegreat God hath made known to the kingwhat shall come to pass hereafter: and thedream is certain, and the interpretationthereof sure” (Daniel 2:44-45).

One question arises: who is the clay?The God of Israel has this to say: “O houseof Israel, cannot I do with you as this pot-ter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is inthe potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, Ohouse of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6). Israelconfesses: “But now, O Lord, thou art ourfather; we are the clay, and thou our potter;and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah64:8).

The Jews, who have kept their identityfor the last 2,000 years, despite being undersevere persecution, now have their ownhomeland. They are extremely successful,but a poll some years ago stated that 70%

of Israelis would favor joiningthe European Union. In otherwords, Israel will be part ofthis new Roman Empire,howbeit temporarily. 6563(For more on this subject, read

Daniel’s Prophecies Made Easy,

Item 1057.)

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OCTOBER 2017 29 % 1-800-845-2420

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G E R M A N Y

Too Many Are SpeakingEnglishA popular German politician saystoo many people are speaking Eng-lish in everyday life in the country.

Jens Spahn, who some people thinkcould replace current Chancellor Angela

Merkel, is the junior finance minister.“It drives me up the wall the way waiters in

Berlin restaurants only speak English,” he told aGerman newspaper.

He says Germans are too relaxed on the issueand that it would never happen in Paris.

Mr. Spahn thinks “co-existence can only workin Germany if we all speak German” and wantsall immigrants to learn the language.

Areas in Berlin like Mitte and Prenzlauer Bergare home to lots of American expats and theyhave restaurants and bars with staff recruitedfrom across Europe.

That means it’s not unusual to find Englishmenus and waiters with limited German.

The government in Germany has made itcompulsory for asylum seekers to learn Germanand those who don’t can lose their benefits andright to live there permanently.

The rule doesn’t apply to EU residents though,with many people coming to Germany to lookfor work.

The EU has also warned that English could bedropped as an official language after Brexit as itis “losing importance.”

-www.bbc.co.uk, 14 August 2017

Commentary: The English language will re-main the dominant one throughout the world,particularly for business and finance. One ofthe reasons is simplicity; English is the easiestlanguage to learn for Europeans. That, how-ever, will not change the fact that the localpopulation will always speak their own lan-guage. That is also true for all of the some 50different countries on the European continent.

We learn from the building of the tower ofBabel that the whole world spoke one lan-guage. God interfered supernaturally, and

that’s where the different languages of theworld have their origins. In the end, however,regardless of language, there will not be a lan-guage problem, as we can read in Revelation16:14: “For they are the spirits of devils,working miracles, which go forth unto thekings of the earth and of the whole world, togather them to the battle of that great day ofGod Almighty.” 6567(For more on this subject, read One World, Item 2203.)

C H I N A

Military Unveils New Generation WarshipChina’s military launched a newtype of domestically-built de-stroyer, state media said, the latestaddition to the country’s rapidlyexpanding navy.

The 10,000-ton warship was launchedat the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai,

the official Xinhua news agency said, making itthe first of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s“new generation” destroyers.

“It is equipped with new air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarineweapons,” Xinhua said, without giving furtherdetails.

China is producing warships at a rapid clipas it modernizes its navy, which has been tak-ing an increasingly prominent role among thecountry’s armed forces.

In April, China launched its first domesticallybuilt aircraft carrier, a conventionally poweredship that likely won’t enter service until 2020.

China’s naval build-up, and its in-creasingly assertive stance over dis-puted territory in the South China, hasunnerved its neighbors.

China claims almost all the SouthChina Sea, believed to have huge de-posits of oil and gas, through whichabout $5 trillion in ship-borne tradepasses every year, and has been build-ing up military facilities like runways onthe islands it controls.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwanand Vietnam also have claims.

-finance.yahoo.com, 28 June 2017

Commentary: It is but natural for commu-nist China to assert itself as a militarypower to be reckoned with.

While the South China Sea issue maybe debatable, China has kept away fromthe world’s hotspots, with the CommunistCongress following a non-interventionpolicy. At this point in time, two thingsare noticeable in the world: communistChina is buying more high-tech firms andcompanies the world over; and, at thesame time, they are investing more inpoorer countries, particularly in Africa,where roads, railways, power stations,schools, and other infrastructure are sup-ported by China.

How does this fit into the end-timesscenario? Here again, the answer is equal-ity. China no longer permits itself to bedictated to by foreign powers, but assertsitself on virtually all levels of industry,whether in earthmoving, aeronautics, orhi-tech computing. This development willforce the European world (West) to ac-

commodate Chinaeven more, and thusbecome a greaterglobal family.

6555(For more on this subject,

read Revelation 13: Satan’s

Last Victory, Item 1067.)


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I R A N

‘Death to Israel’ RallyHundreds of thousands of Iranianschanted “Death to Israel” in nation-wide rallies at which they alsoburned flags of the Islamic State mili-tant group which claimed responsi-bility for attacks in Tehran, state TVreported.

Iranian state media said millions of peo-ple turned out for the rallies to mark Al-

Quds Day that was declared by Iran’s 1979Islamic Revolution founder Ayatollah RuhollahKhomeini and which is held on the last Friday ofthe Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Opposition to Israel is a touchstone of belieffor Shi’ite-led Iran, which backs Palestinian andLebanese Islamic militant groups opposed topeace with the Jewish state, which Tehran re-fuses to recognize.

Israel, the United States and its chief SunniArab ally Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of fomentingtension in the Middle East and of sponsoringterrorism. This is denied by Tehran.

Tensions have risen sharply in the Gulf be-tween Qatar and four Arab states, includingSaudi Arabia, in part over Doha’s links with Iran.

“This year’s rally ... shows people want ourregion to be cleaned up from terrorists, backedby the Zionist regime (Israel),” President Has-san Rouhani told state TV.

Marchers included soldiers, students andclerics. Black-clad women with small childrenwere among those flocking the streets of centralTehran, many carrying portraits of Khomeiniand his successor Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei.

-jpost.com, 23 June 2017

Commentary: Israel is surrounded by Sunni-majority Muslim countries. Iran and Iraq areShiite. This serves Israel well; reliable re-ports indicate that Israel has secret relation-ships with a number of Sunni Muslimcountries. Also, Israel is used to the threatfrom many different organizations and coun-tries. There is nothing new under the sun for

Israel. We read in Leviticus 26:8: “And fiveof you shall chase an hundred, and an hun-dred of you shall put ten thousand to flight:and your enemies shall fall before you by thesword.” That’s still true almost 3500 yearslater. 6568(For more on this subject, read Iran and Israel, Item 2283.)

J A PA N

Alarming Birth RateDecline for 2016The number of babies born in Japanfell below 1 million in 2016 for thefirst time since records began in the19th century, underscoring the de-mographic challenges facing the na-tion with an aging and decliningpopulation.

The declining birth rate and agingpopulation combine to reduce the na-

tion’s possible labor force and pushes up wel-fare costs. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’sadministration is aiming to lift the birth rateper woman to 1.8 in a bid to ease the shrink-ing population, from the 2016 level of 1.44.

“The report demonstrates afresh that Japan’sdemographic problems are extremely serious,”said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Ya-suda Life Insurance Co. in Tokyo. “There’s a highchance that the population declines will continuein a sustained manner. Japan needs to seriouslydeal with social security and fiscal issues andfind a way to improve the nation’s growth rate.”

-www.bloomberg.com, 2 June 2017

Commentary: Japan belongs to the groupof nations considered super-rich. Life ex-pectancy in Japan stands at 85 years. Ac-cording to the CIA Factbook, the countryis 100% developed, with 0% underdevel-oped. Infant mortality stands at 2 per100,000 births (the US is 5.8 per 100,000births).

One would think that the luxury-lovingJapanese have it made, but as this abbre-viated article shows, a danger is lurkingaround the corner: not enough newborns.This, incidentally, is also vividly ex-pressed in numbers in other industrializednations, particularly in Europe.

Another negative aspect for Japan isthe intolerance of foreigners; in plainwords, very limited immigration and ad-mittance of refugees.

The CIA reports that in 2004, morethan 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese ori-gin migrated to Japan in the 1990s. Manyhave returned to Brazil. Under religion, itsays Shintoism 79.2%, Buddhism 66.8%,Christianity 1.5% (Note: total adherentsexceed 100% because many people be-long to both Shintoism and Buddhism).

In view of this dangerous tendency, wecan state: blessed is the country which ac-cepts immigrants and refugees. That isone thing Japan does extremely reluc-tantly.

What is Japan’s future? The same as allother nations in the world. They all, moreor less, are worshipers of merchandise, butthe end will be as recorded in Revelation18:11: “And the merchants of the earthshall weep and mourn over her; for no manbuyeth their merchandise any more.” The

next two verses list28 commodities, in-cluding “slaves andsouls of men.”

6518(For more on this subject,

read Global Financial Apoca-

lypse Prophesied, Item 1068.)

OCTOBER 2017 31 % 1-800-845-2420

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There were 976,979 babies born last year inJapan, the fewest since the governmentstarted tracking the data in 1899, accordingto labor ministry data (Reuters)

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Address letters for publication to: Letters to the Editor, Midnight Call, P.O. Box 84309, Lexington, SC

29073. Include full name, address, and daytime phone number. Without name and address, letters will

be discarded unread. All material is subject to editing. Midnight Call assumes all publishing rights on

letters sent to the Editor.

Note: All letters will be answered by the Executive Editor, Arno Froese.

GLOBAL CONSPIRACY...END TIMES MISSING...LUTHER’S ANTI-SEMITISM

Global ConspiracyDear Midnight Call,I served in the Army in Germany in 1953-

54, right after WWII ended. I was in a heavyweapons company in Heilbronn, Germany. After my discharge in ’54, I began an ex-

tensive investigation into politics, banking,commerce, the pharmaceutical and medicalindustry, and religion. I’ve been at this up tothe present time, and have a lot of data onall of the above, collected over a lifetime.That’s because of my gut instinct, which toldme that corruption was rampant in these en-tities. I have much evidence to substantiatemy distrust of these groups and how veryclose we are to our Lord’s 2nd Coming.Our corrupt banking system is the reason

for our soaring debts and is leading us intoArmageddon eventually.I’ve been deep into study of the Scriptures

with friends for years. God tells us to prayfor the peace of Jerusalem. We see His cho-sen people, now scattered throughout theworld, being drawn to their ancient home-land, Israel.

Our mainstream TV news networks are abig part of our present-day problems. Foryears, they have been run and controlled byfar-to-the-left secret society elitists. We getnothing but the runaround from them.

-R. Carlage, CT

Answer: Doubtless, there is much corruption in the

banking system, pharmaceutical industry, politics,

medical system, etc. That is true for all nations. But I am

convinced that this is not a conspiracy by the leftists,

the right, or the middle of the road. What is really go-

ing on is a simple Biblical fact: the world is subject to

the god of this world, the devil. He will one day pro-

duce his masterpiece, the Antichrist, which will lead to

a one-world government under his authority. He will

create a new religion, and whoever opposes it will be

killed. This process of conspiracy to be like God will

continue until the fulfillment.

I think it is a mistake to pinpoint certain industries

or financial systems and place the blame on them, be-

cause the Bible says the entire world is full of evil and

darkness, and all will be destroyed one day during the

Great Tribulation. Whether they are socialists or capital-

ists, communists or atheists, it makes no difference; the

Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory

Letters to the Editor


OCTOBER 2017 33

of God. But there is an escape, and you

know about it: faith in the already ac-

complished work of Jesus Christ on

Calvary’s cross. That means eternal life.

What political leaders—whether

Trump, Kim Jong Un, Merkel, May or

others—do or don’t do is of little to no

significance to us who believe in Jesus

Christ, for we belong to a very special

nation described in 1 Peter 2:9.

End Times MissingDear Mr. Froese,Having read Midnight Call

for some time, I noticed thatyou no longer talk about theend times as you used to. Thisis troubling to me, since theend is so near. What hascaused this change?

-C. Stevens, MI

Answer: I have before me the July

2017 issue of Midnight Call, and I note

that the Editor’s Note ends with

“Amen; come, Lord Jesus.” On page 12,

Wilfred Hahn discusses earthquakes,

also referring to the end times. It says,

“…but also they occur in separate

stages of the last days.” On page 15,

Ron Bigalke places emphasis on the

last days in his article, “Satanism: The

Allure of the Dark Side.” On page 19,

we have the article, “Luther’s View of

the End Times.” Pages 27-31 highlight

end-time events in relation to Bible

prophecy. Frankly, I’m puzzled as to

your statement that we are not talking

about the end times.

Luther’s Anti-SemitismDear Arno Froese, Because you do such a won-

derful job of encouraging me tocarry on Paul’s exhortation inRomans 12:9-21, I am indeedappreciative and thank youvery much.Now pertaining to Martin

Luther, I am a non-denomina-tional who wouldn’t know aLutheran brother if he wrote 95Theses on my forehead. Yet, Ifind that to talk of MartinLuther’s tirades against theJewish people without bringingit into context would be doinga disservice to the man. True,he probably should haveprayed a little harder andlonger before he wrote—evenexerted a little more of theninth fruit of the Spirit first—but to those of my friends theJewish people, that like to takethose writings and ascribesuch evil and accusation tothem on top of the biting criti-cism (and in some cases—do Inot detect the appearance ofnot very well cloaked hateful-ness?) in their speech towardhim; aren’t what they them-selves are saying and doing

very similar to the things theyaccuse him of?Had Luther known the obvi-

ously unforeseen reverbera-tions it was going to engender,a man such as he was wouldprobably have thought twice orthree times about writingthem, no matter how muchanger he felt. I understand froman earlier issue of MidnightCall, Hitler had a “specialBible” full of anti-Semitic (so-called) verses underlined—which I’m sure are used toundermine the Bible (entirely)in some circles (January 2016issue, p. 20). And in cruelirony, even segments of theCatholic Church helped (asother churches) in Hitler’s “Fi-nal Solution” (Midnight Call,August 2015 issue, p. 9). Fi-nally, ponder this: had Lutherlived during the Nazi occupa-tion, his churches and sanctu-aries would no doubt havebeen full to the brim with res-cued Jews—even at the loss ofhis own life, being a man of thecaliber that Luther seemed tobe—based on the full body ofhis writings.

-D. Donnelly, VA

Answer: Jews were segregated

throughout Europe and the world.

They did not associate themselves

% 1-800-845-2420

What should I do in getting rid of the old Bible properly?Throw it out in the garbage, since we only worship the writtentruth of the Bible, and not the physical book itself? Or, give itto a local church to do whatever with it? Please respond.

-R. CANDLER, NJ

with the locals in most cases. I

knew a number of elderly people

(since passed away) who were ser-

vants in Jewish households, and

apparently enjoyed good relation-

ships with them.

Regarding Luther, he was used

mightily by the Lord in building His

Church, in spite of his anti-Semi-

tism, which was prevalent through-

out the entire world at that time.

Today, it’s more hidden, but the

whole world is still against the

Jews; for example, opposing their

taking possession of the Promised

Land.

Fulfilled in 2018?Dear Arno,Is there an answer to ter-

rorism? Yes, repent of yoursins and get this countryback on track with the LordJesus Christ. That means getrid of these filthy bills thathave been passed, send thehomo’s down the road, andmake abortion a thing of thepast. Make this countryChristian like it was in thebeginning, as the Founderswanted it. This is a Republic,not a Democracy; I am tiredof living in this filthy, rottencountry of sin. I am a fol-lower of Jesus Christ and al-ways have been. And if thatis a bad thing, then I guess Iam a bad guy. But stronger isHe that is in me than he thatis in the world. 1948 plus 70years equals the final genera-tion—2018—and all thesethings will be fulfilled, sweetmusic to my ears.

-D. Wilds, PA

Answer: This country or any other

country was never “on track with

the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is con-

trary to Holy Scripture. There never

was and there never will be a

Christian country. We may have

“Christian” principals, because the

majority of us are European

descendants, and Europe is a

“Christian continent”; but only by

tradition, and not true faith.

Incidentally, the word Republic

means “power with the people.”

Democracy means “people power.”

It’s the same meaning.

You seem to make a prophecy

with your last sentence, which I can

guarantee is false. You are naming a

date, and that is contrary to Scrip-

ture. We do not know when Jesus

comes. He could come today. To the

Jews in Israel, Jesus said, “For in

such an hour as ye THINK NOT, the

Son of man cometh.”

The Church in RuinsDear Mr. Froese,The most recent historical

example of a church that en-deavored to recover the origi-nal church order and politywas the Plymouth Brethren.Two centuries ago! Of course,Satan attacked the Brethrenwith all his might, and divisionand controversy followed. Nev-ertheless, the Brethren standas a shining example of agroup of believers who tried,for a time, to recover thechurch polity actually foundin the New Testament. I citethe Brethren

in order to make the case thatI am not “inventing thewheel”; but, instead, Chris-tians throughout the world, invarious times and places, havecome to the very same conclu-sions as I, simply by readingthe same Book and believingit. However, these believersare mostly “gone unto Him[outside] the camp,” and arenot a part of “the-churches-in-buildings.” A difference isthat, whereas formerly anti-clericalism was associatedwith criticism of the licen-tiousness of the clergy, I amcritical of their office. It sim-ply doesn’t exist.I believe Darby’s doctrine of

“the church in ruins,” much derided by triumphalists and replacement theologians—butalso by myriad dispensational-ists, who remain confident thattheir churches are rich and inneed of nothing—squares withthe Lord’s teaching on the king-dom of heaven in Matthew 13. Iam dispensational like Darby,and like Darby believe “theruin” occurred early. Thechurch was largely RomanCatholic for over a thousandyears; then it added Protes-tantism; then it added evangeli-cal and fundamentalChristianity. The Protestantshave long been on the road toRome, and evangelicals arehopping on the highway aswell. Meanwhile the funda-mentalists, retaining at leastthe hope of the Rapture, are


Letters to the Editor


beset by formalism and legal-ism and, most of all, clericalism.In the midst of all this, He is

building His church. We are tocontend for the faith until theRapture, and this is my part inthe work.

-G. Maske, IA

Answer: Indeed, we are living in a very

dangerous time. I emphasize “danger-

ous” because we never had it so good.

Today’s global economy is making it

possible for millions of people to be-

come millionaires every year. Traveling

the globe is virtually unrestricted. Su-

permarkets and stores are filled to the

brim with products and luxuries previ-

ously unheard of. That very fact, I feel, is

the greatest danger for Christians. In-

dulging in these things will lead to in-

dependence from the Creator. That is

evident in the book of Revelation, as

humanity cries, weeps and laments

about their lost businesses and mer-

chandise.

Old, Used BibleDear Midnight Call,I have an older Bible that I

used for many years, that is stillin fairly good shape, but has alot of verses marked in it withink.I’m replacing it now with a

new Bible. What should I do ingetting rid of the old Bible prop-erly? Throw it out in thegarbage, since we only worshipthe written truth of the Bible,

and not the physical book it-self? Or, give it to a local churchto do whatever with it? Pleaserespond.

-R. Candler, NJ

Answer: My wife, who passed away

26 July 2015, left her Bible where she

last read it, and that’s where that Bible

still is today. I personally would not

dare throw a Bible in the trash, nor

burn it. Are there any instructions in

Scripture regarding this? No, there are

none. We do know that Jews actually

bury Bibles that are damaged. Since a

Bible is not a very large object, I see

no reason for disposing of it and as-

sume that my children, after I pass,

will keep my personal Bible some-

where.

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1-2 October 2017 Sands Resorts • Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The Word of God is the Gospel. It

begins with Genesis and ends

with Revelation. The Word of

God will endure forever. Jesus guaran-

tees: “Heaven and earth shall pass

away, but my words shall not pass

away” (Matthew 24:35). That chapter is the great end

time prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us

what shall be, and the word “shall” appears 59 times.

“What shall be” is definitely a reason why you

should attend this year’s Atlantic Coast Prophecy Con-

gress in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While our theme

is “Unfulfilled Prophecy,” the comprised message of

the five speakers will always be the complete Word of

God. What does the Bible say? What has been fulfilled?

What is being fulfilled? And what will be fulfilled in

the future?

I cannot urge you enough to come and join us for

these two days of important study and fellowship

with like-minded believers—you don’t want to miss it.

Remember, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that

hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those

things which are written therein: for the time is at

hand” (Revelation 1:3).

Note: In case you come unregistered, you can still do

so upon arrival at the Sands Resorts. Just stop by our

registration table at the conference center. Also, you

may cancel your registration at any time, for any rea-

son, for a full refund. But, we do hope to welcome you

at the 2017 Atlantic Coast Prophecy Congress. You will

be refreshed, informed, and encouraged, for the things

that are yet to come.

“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the wordwhich by the gospel is preached unto you”

(1 Peter 1:25).


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Randall Price is the Founder and President of Worldof the Bible Ministries, Inc. and is Distinguished Re-search Professor and Executive Director of the Centerfor Judaic Studies at Liberty University (Lynchburg,Virginia). He is also Adjunct Professor of Apologeticsat Veritas Evangelical Seminary in California. He hastaught at the University of Texas (Austin), The Inter-

national School of Theology, Trinity Southwest University, and CriswellCollege. He has done post-graduate work at the Hebrew University inJerusalem and has served as Director of Excavations on the QumranPlateau in Israel since 2002. He and his wife Beverlee have four daugh-ters and one son, and seven grandchildren.

Ron Bigalke is the Georgia State Minister with Capi-tol Commission, and missionary with Biblical Min-istries Worldwide. Dr. Bigalke has more than twentyyears of experience in numerous discipleship andevangelistic ministries. He has instructed courses forMoody Bible Institute and Tyndale Theological Semi-nary. His church and leadership experience includes

conference speaking, pastoral ministry, pulpit ministry, and youth min-istry. Dr. Bigalke is an ordained minister, and partner of apologeticsevangelism (on the topic of New Age) with the North American MissionBoard, SBC. He and his wife Kristin have two children.

Thomas Ice is Executive Director of The Pre-Trib Re-search Center in Justin, Texas that he founded in 1994with Dr. Tim LaHaye to research, teach, and defendthe pretribulational rapture and related Bibleprophecy doctrines. Ice has authored and co-au-thored over 30 books, written hundreds of articles,and is a frequent speaker at churches and confer-

ences. He has served as a pastor for 17 years. Dr. Ice has a B.A. fromHoward Payne University, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, aPh.D. from Tyndale Theological Seminary and done doctoral studies atthe University of Wales in Lampeter. He lives with his wife Janice inJustin, Texas and they have three grown sons and six grandchildren.

Wilfred Hahn comes from Canada. He is known for hiswritings and insights on present-day world economicand money trends, viewed from a Biblical perspec-tive. He has global investment industry experiencespanning three decades, having held various execu-tive positions from Director of Research for a majorWall Street firm, to Chairman of Canada’s largest

global investment group.

Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight CallMinistries U.S.A. and editor-in-chief of the critically-acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call andNews from Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecyconferences in the U.S., Canada and Israel.

MEET THE SPEAKERS

OCTOBER 2017 37


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“To the only wise Godour Saviour, be gloryand majesty, dominionand power, both nowand ever” (Jude 25).

Mail to: Midnight Call Ministries, PO Box 84309, Lexington, SC 29073

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Since February, the boarding school has beenopen. When I wanted to pray on the firstevening, one of the new girls that I am re-

sponsible for said in desperation, “But I don’tknow how to pray.” In the next weeks, she and hersister often told me stories about demons, zombiesand the like and that their home was haunted. Re-cently, the older one said, “We can never sleep athome, but here in the boarding school we sleepwonderfully.” The younger one said, “That is be-cause this place is blessed.” What could we say tothat? There is always a lot to do with sponsoring.

Over 100 letters of children addressed to theirsponsors in Europe need to be translated. Here aresome examples: “I don’t like to get dirty, don’t likesalad or chicken. When I grow up I would like tobe a doctor…I have a brother and a cat and my fa-ther…when I grow up I want to be an engineer, doc-

tor or lawyer…I don’t like it when people make anoise, but I like horses…When I am big I want towash clothes, make my bed and study…I like ap-ples, cows’ milk and football [soccer] matches.” Youcan’t help but smile when you translate some ofthese letters. A particular joy was the statement ofan 11-year-old girl, “When I grow up I want to be adentist and go to the mission field, read God’sWord and spread it.”Not long ago, a 10-year-old in my group received

money from her sponsor for a gift. To the questionof what she would like, she immediately said, “Ten-nis shoes!” I replied, “But, you should already havethose.” She looked at the floor and said she onlyhad flip-flops. I was moved. At the market, we thenbought her her first tennis shoes. How her eyessparkled! And I was ashamed that as a Swiss per-son it was a matter of course to have them.

(MR0717)

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MC1017

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Fellow Laborers

The Joy of the ChildrenRebekka Wehner, Riberalta, Bolivia


OCTOBER 2017 39 % 1-800-845-2420

Shalom Dear Friends,A couple of months ago, we had two surprise visitsfrom the Ministry of Welfare: one of them was in theevening and was held in all the nursing homes in thecountry, due to severe abuse that was exposed in oneof the homes in Haifa. In their report, they underlinedthat the Home is very clean and welcoming, the atmos-phere is calm, and the residents look neatly and cleanlydressed and well cared for. The unbelieving daughter ofone of our residents happened to be visiting hermother at that time. She spoke to the inspectors andsaid that she was very pleased with the Home, and thatEbenezer would be the only place she would agree tolive in herself. Later on, the sister of another residentcame to visit from abroad and told us that she is veryhappy with the way her sister is treated at Ebenezer.This kind of feedback is very encouraging to us!Until we have a license to operate a Nursing Ward,

technically, we are only allowed to have 10% of our res-idents needing nursing care. For each resident that be-comes a nursing case, we must apply to an appealscommittee for permission to continue caring for themin the Home. At present, there are 30 residents in theHome, with four of them requiring nursing care.In our last appeal, the committee agreed to approve

an additional nursing case, emphasizing in their report

that their approval was given because of the highquality of care and the unique atmosphere in theHome. But, they did add that because we are nowexceeding the 10% allowed for nursing cases, theywill be inspecting more frequently and imposingmore requirements. This confirms all the more ourneed for a Nursing Ward!Besides pursuing the building aspect of the Nurs-

ing Ward, we are also working on administrationand nursing care for the future residents of theWard. We’ve already started regular training for ourmedical staff in this regard.We thank all of you for your faithful support of

the Home—for travailing with us in prayer and forsending your gifts of love to support our vision andour goals in working with the elderly believers in Is-rael. Also, in providing a worthy standard of livingand spiritual environment for those who them-selves served the Lord for many years. Please keepus in your prayers during this trying period and indealing with so many important issues. We send allof you our love, and pray that the Lord will blessyou, keep you and watch over you!

Johnny and Shoshana KhouryManagement


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ebenezer

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N U R S I N G W A R D P R O J E C T

The Ebenezer Home – Haifa, Israel

We must realize that this end-timeprophecy Jesus uttered is directed to-ward His disciples and the people of Is-

rael in the first place. We know from history,particularly church history, that Christians havebeen persecuted and killed for their faith.Even today, there is Christian persecution in

some places. While it is difficult to determinewhether it speaks of Christians by tradition or trueChristians by faith, there is little doubt that in manyIslamic countries—where Christians are a small mi-nority—it is somewhat difficult to practice their faith.Take Saudi Arabia, for example; it is strictly for-

bidden to bring a Bible into the country.Are there Christians in Saudi Arabia? Here is

what Wikipedia has to say:Accurate religious demographics are difficult to obtain in

Saudi Arabia but while all citizens are considered Mus-

lims by the state, there are believed to be at least 1.5–2

million Christians living in the country.

While Muslims in the European world (West) canpractice their religion freely, even build mosques

and other religious and cultural centers, that is notthe case for non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia allows Christians to enter the country as for-

eign workers for temporary work, but does not allow

them to practice their faith openly. Because of that Chris-

tians generally only worship within private homes. Items

and articles belonging to religions other than Islam are

prohibited. These include Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carv-

ings, items with religious symbols, and others.

The article goes further to say:International Christian Concern (ICC) protested what it re-

ported as the 2001 detention of 11 Christians in Saudi

Arabia, for practicing their religion in their homes. In June

2004, at least 46 Christians were arrested in what the ICC

described as a “pogrom-like” action by Saudi police. The

arrests took place shortly after the media reported that a

Quran had been desecrated in the Guantanamo Bay de-

tention camp.

Christians and other non-Muslims are prohibited from

entering the cities of Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest

cities.

-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Saudi_Arabia

“And ye shall be hated of all men for myname’s sake: but he that endureth to theend shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22).

Israel

MIDNIGHT CALL


r After prayerful consideration, I/we have decided to supportthe project “Action for Israel.”

r monthly r one time $_______

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afi

MC1017

“I will bless them thatbless thee...” (Genesis 12:3).

Israel

MIDNIGHT CALL


BY ARNO FROESE

OCTOBER 2017 41

Persecution of JewsIn the opposite direction are the Jews who don’t be-lieve in Jesus. It was often for that reason they wereseverely persecuted during the last 2,000 years, cli-maxing in the most horrific mass murder of six mil-lion Jews under the Nazi regime of Germany.Contrary to Christian persecution, which often haslittle to no relationship to real Christianity, the Jewswere persecuted for being Jews. An explanation maybe necessary. There are Christians and Christians byreligion. For example, the Thirty Years’ War in Eu-rope was fought between the Catholics and theProtestants, but these Protestants were fighting flesh-and-blood and cannot be considered Christians inthe truest Biblical sense.There is no other group of people in the world

that have as much documentation regarding perse-cution as the Jews.

Christian Persecution of JewsWe received a German newspaper titled Christ &Welt, 24 May 2017. The newspaper article was head-lined “In Aller Freundschaft” (“In All Friendship” inEnglish). The article concerned itself with the 500-year anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 The-ses on the church door in Wittenberg. Fourteenimportant issues were dealt with. What caught oureye was article 9, titled “For Peace.” Here is the trans-lation:

Nowhere is ecumenism as developed as in peace work.

Since the emergence of the association “Living Without

Arms” in 1978, the basic pacifist movements “Pax Christi”

and Protestant peace groups have transformed society.

One cannot imagine the church today without it. Their

concord, however, is also based on a common opponent:

Israel. The ecumenical theme “50 years of Israeli occupa-

tion—We must not be silent” by the “Kairos Palestine Soli-

darity Network” cannot be held at the Catholic Academy

in Berlin, but will be moved to Marzahn.

-German Evangelical Church Congress (Kirchentag)

Unity between the various groups of evangelicalsand the Catholic Church is based on “a common op-ponent: Israel.” How horrendous; Israel is actuallythe only nation that should be wholeheartedly sup-ported by Christians. Why? Because the Bible, ourultimate authority for the Christian life, comes fromIsrael. The writers were Jews. Jesus Christ our Lordwas, is, and always will be a Jew. Yet, the EvangelicalCongress in Germany does not mention even ex-tremely anti-Christian countries such as Saudi Ara-bia, but singled out Israel, the only functioningdemocracy in the Middle East. They are the mostsuccessful country in that area, and doubtless in thefuture will be the greatest. A church organization,presumably to teach Holy Scripture, has no enemiesexcept one: Israel.The actions of the Evangelical Church Congress in

Germany, confirm the prophecies of Balaam, whowas paid by Balak to curse the people of Israel. Hesaid: “How shall I curse, whom God hath notcursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath notdefied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, andfrom the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwellalone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations”(Numbers 23:8-9).That is just another reason why we, the Church of

Jesus Christ, support Israel unconditionally. MC

THE REMARKABLE RECORD OF JOB ITEM #2273 144 pgs. • Paperback

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The Ancient Wisdom, Scientific Accuracy,& Life-Changing Message of an AmazingBookPerhaps the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job touches on manysubjects of science and history. This commentary on the controversialBook of Job is very different from most of the seminary and Churchteachings so prevalent today, for it attests to the historicity of a mannamed Job who understood at the end of his life that God cannot be“figured out,” but He can most certainly be trusted.

A Verse-by-Verse Exposition of His Amazing RecordA Raging storm, a rebellious prophet, and somewhere out there, a greatfish?

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THE REMARKABLE WISDOM OF SOLOMON ITEM #2223 256 pgs. • Paperback

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THE GREAT HALLELUJAHITEM #1079 • Booklet • 40 pgs.

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A Remarkable TrueStory of One Man’sSearch for TruthDEATH OF A GURUITEM #2149208 pgs. • Paperback

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Rediscover the Foundational Principles of Our FaithAfter years as believers, we can come to find the Christian life too complicated, our zealdiminished, and our relationship with Jesus grown cold and predictable. Award-winningauthor and respected pastor John MacArthur reminds readers that what's been lost can befound again. This practical tool will help Christians restore the fire and conviction of theirfirst love for Christ by helping them better understand His character, His glory, and His lovefor them. MacArthur counsels all who want more love for Christ to pursue Him by makingChrist their focus each day, in every activity, in every contact, and in every thought.

A SIMPLE CHRISTIANITY ITEM #2324 • 192 pgs. • Paperback

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A Creative Journey With the MessiahAn Adult Coloring BookEach time you turn the page, you'll find a hand-drawn illustration, a keyHebrew word with its English translation, and Scripture passages. The firstBible text is a key prophecy, followed by its New Testament fulfillment in theMessiah. Together they present a beautiful expression of Bible truths andreassurance of God's faithfulness. As you color and create, open your heart tomeditate on these prophecies—and their completion in Jesus. You'll discoverthe glory of the Messiah anew.

THE GLORY OF THE MESSIAH ITEM #232348 pgs. • Paperback

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TARGET ISRAEL ITEM #2293 224 pgs. • Paperback

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Is the Holy Spirit Active in Your Life?Many people look to extraordinary experiences as evidence of the Holy Spirit. But whathappens when the experience ends? How can we be filled with the Spirit every day in theordinary things we do? In never-before-published material taken from A.W. Tozer'ssermons, Alive in the Spirit answers these questions and, in a balanced perspective,explores what the Spirit's involvement in your life should look like. Many talk about beingfilled with the Holy Spirit, but few accept God's conditions. Tozer lays down theserequirements in his trademark bold and wise way. Though every Christian has the Spirit,not every Christian is filled with the Spirit. Knowing the difference will change your life.

ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT ITEM #2325192 pgs. • Paperback

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From the lies of evolution to genetic engi-neering, this powerful team of apologists will inspire you, and give you answers about:

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Many have walked away from their faith be-cause they sought answers for what seemed acontradiction in Christian belief and scientificteaching. For those who desire a deeper walkand a thriving faith in the face of growing cul-tural adversity, here is a book to spur the heartand mind to give glory to God.

The New Answers Books 1,2 and 3 will complete yourAnswers Series collection. They hold over ninety faith-affirming answers to some of the most challengingquestions about faith, science, and the Bible!

THE NEW ANSWERS BOOK 1ITEM #2232 • 384 pgs.Paperback

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Heartwarming Southern Gospel MusicIf you like Southern Gospel music, this CD is well worth theprice. Ghighi Iovin sings with his rich, soft voice, well-knowngospel songs. A captivating CD, which you will listen to withenthusiasm, again and again. Songs include “I Stand Amazedin the Presence,” “Bringing in the Sheaves,” “Burdens AreLifted at Calvary” and more!

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SHALOM CHAVERIM ITEM #9084 • 50 min. Voice

WITH LOVE TO ISRAELITEM #9085 • 50 min.Instrumental

The guitarist Attila Rontó,born 1969 in Miskolc,Hungary, started his musicaleducation at a local academywhen he was nine years old.Rontó’s musical style is a

vivid expression of a closeness to the Jewish people. One of themajor guidelines for his music is contained in the words ofPsalm 137:5: “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right handforget its skill.” This is the main reason why he iswholeheartedly singing and playing for Israel and Jerusalem.

CD $15 Sale $10Shalom Chaverim or“Peace Be With You” is acollection of popularIsraeli songs, somebased on Scripture,others originating withwell-known composers;

plus, three are by Peter van Woerden, nephew of Corrieten Boom.

Govert Roos, a “natural musical talent,” is just apleasure to listen to. The music was recorded live by ourRomanian coworkers. Ghighi Iovin teams up withGovert Roos on tracks 7 and 10.

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$14.95Sale $10Come Into His Presence byMichael Shull will lead youthrough 28 of the most belovedChristian hymns, starting with

Sweet Hour of Prayer and concluding withGod Be With You. This instrumental presentation(dulcimer) will touch your heart and lead you to worshipHim who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

CDCD


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REJOICE! ITEM #1085Booklet • 40 pgs.

$3.50 NewAuthor: Norbert Lieth

When Bible-believing Christians celebrate theremembrance of Christ’s birth, we read theWord of God from Luke 2:10-11: “And the angel

said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you goodtidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Forunto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,which is Christ the Lord.”

No true Christian would think to see something dif-ferent in Christmas than the celebration of the birth ofJesus Christ. On the contrary, in the celebration ofChristmas we hear about Jesus’ great victory over pa-gan cults, which He has displaced. For instance, theChristmas celebration has led to the displacementof the Roman pagan “Solstice.” The coming of Je-sus reminds us that He broke the power of Satanand paganism. Whereas in earlier times idols andpagan altars were worshiped, Christ will be re-membered today.

NEW!

Midnight Call PO Box 84309 Lexington, SC 29073

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage PaidColumbia, SCPermit No. 185

We read the heavenly declaration, “And one of the elders saith untome, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root ofDavid, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven

seals thereof” (Revelation 5:5). Way back in Genesis, Jacob prophesiesregarding Judah, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiverfrom between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering ofthe people be” (Genesis 49:10). That should suffice to determine that thedefinition “Jew” means descendants of the tribe of Judah; hence, they arecalled “Jews.” Joel concludes his prophecy, “For I will cleanse their blood that Ihave not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion” (Joel 3:21). Zephaniahcrowns the promises for Judah with these words, “At that time will I bring youagain, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and apraise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity beforeyour eyes, saith the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:20).

However, the twelve Minor Prophets include all of humanity for all times, andclimax in the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who Himself declared,“Salvation is of the Jews.”

NEW

PROPHECY FOR JUDAH ITEM #1084384 pgs. • Paperback

$17.50 New Author: Arno Froese

The Glorious Future of Jewish Israel

Thanksgiving, Sukkot and Christ - Midnight Call · Author: Dr. Wim Malgo Powerful Daily Devotional...

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Transcript of Thanksgiving, Sukkot and Christ - Midnight Call · Author: Dr. Wim Malgo Powerful Daily Devotional...