December 2002 Vol.5, No. 10 Contents Praying More Than Ever, "Thy Kingdom Come" by Roy Holladay Restoration: Will One Good Man Stand Up? by Darris McNeely Bin Laden's Letter Offers Insight Into Islamic Fundamentalism by Melvin Rhodes Troubling Times for Three British Institutions by John Ross Schroeder by Gary Petty by John Ross Schroeder and Jim Tuck This Is the Way...Couldn't Get It Out of My Head by Robin Webber In Brief... World News Review Echoes of an Old German Nightmare: the Weimar Republic Contributors: John Ross Schroeder and Jim Tuck A United States of Europe? According to a recent report, "The European Union could be renamed the United States of Europe...Without suggesting a preference, M. Giscard d'Estaing's report said the union could be called the European Community, the European Union, United Europe or the United States of Europe" (The Daily Telegraph, Oct. 29, 2002). Apparently this suggestion was part of the first draft of a new constitution for the EU. "Christopher Booker's Notebook," a regular column in The Daily Telegraph, headlined a recent article with the provocative titleñ"A Superstate Half a Century in the Making." Mr. Booker pointed out that "this constitution was planned more than 50 years ago, as the concluding move in a secretive process intended to take decades. Only now is it emerging just how carefully planned this project has been; and how deliberately its instigators decided to pretend that it was concerned only with economic co-operation, until their political agenda could be brought into the open. Drawing on thousands of published and unpublished documentary sources, Dr. Richard North, a research director with the European Parliament, has been assembling evidence for a 'secret history' of the European Union" (Nov. 3, 2002). The need for such a constitution was first mentioned by a young Italian Communist in 1944. He believed that "the project would have to be put into place gradually, without the peoples of Europe realising what was afoot until they were presented with a constitution as the end of the process." Christopher Booker concluded his column with the simple statement that "everything is unfolding according to plan." Sources: The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph. Echoes of an Old German Nightmare: the Weimar Republic Niall Ferguson, professor of Political and Financial History at Oxford University, set out a chilling scenario in Britain's Sunday Times (Nov. 24, 2002). His opening words were: "As Chancellor Schröder grapples with a seriously sick economy, he is making the same mistakes which led to the 1930s crisis that opened the door for Hitler." Just how bad are Berlin's economic woes? In the last decade only Switzerland and Japan had poorer performing economies in the developed world. Further, German unemployment is 8.3 percent of the work force and is predicted to reach one in 10. As an overall assessment The World in 2003 said this: "Germany, once the country of the post-war economic miracle, is acquiring a reputation as the sick man of Europe, with low growth, high unemployment and an unwillingness to contemplate the sort of changes that might get it out of its current difficulties" (published by The Economist). Comparisons with Germany's old financially disastrous Weimar Republic are rife in the British and European media. "Hidden jobless takes Germany back to the level of the Weimar era," writes Tony Paterson for The Sunday Telegraph from the German capital city (Nov. 24, 2002). He reported that "public fury has spilled into the streets of Berlin with demonstrations of health workers, teachers, builders and lorry (truck) drivers." Bild (a German newspaper) ran a headline that simply said, "We've Had Enough," expressing the frayed emotions of the unemployed. Part of the problem is high wages. Actually, "Britain's hourly labour costs are 30% lower than they are in Germany" (The World in 2003). The Guardian's correspondent in Berlin reported that the "German tax rise evokes Weimar comparison." Another Guardian headline tells us that "Europe's Most Powerful Banking Sector Is on Red AlertñGerman Money Machine Grinds to a Halt." The Mail on Sunday also calls Germany the "sick man of Europe"ñtalking of "debts, dole queues (lines) and industry in crisis." In reality, conditions are nowhere near as bad as the skyrocketing inflation that plagued the Weimar Republic in the late 1920s and early 1930s when the proverbial wheelbarrow full of marks would not buy so much as a pound of butter. Nonetheless, the Germany economy bears close watching. Hitler's Third Reich emerged out of very grave economic frustrations. Sources: The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The World in 2003, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday (all London). Iran's Latest Long-Range Missiles Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has strongly suggested that after Iraq, the United States should turn its attention to Iran. And since the Iraqi story tends to dominate the news, many are not aware of the activities of Iran, a Mideast state that is clearly a part of the "axis of evil." Philip Sherwell is the foreign affairs correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph. He has not neglected Iranian affairs. His recent feature article tells us that "Iran has been supplied by Russia with powerful new technology and parts for long-range missiles that will put Israel and the whole of the Middle Eastñincluding British and US forces in the regionñwithin its reach." Africa and parts of southern Europe will also be reachable. Successful desert test firings were held this past summer with Russian and North Korean scientists in attendance. Western and Israeli intelligence have also established that China is making a crucial contribution to the Iranian missile program. We don't live in a world of friendly nations. Much of end-time biblical prophecy will find its fulfillment in the Middle East. Predicts Dudley Fishburn, editor of The World in 2003: "With Saddam Hussein gone by the end of 2003, the Middle East will become a sharply better place." Yet in his general assessment, he writes that "the year's (2003) headlines will be dominated by war, the Middle East and recession." Frankly, the Mideast is destined to host Armageddonñan area that will be replete with armies and weapons of the deadliest kindñculminating in a great battle that will bring Jesus Christ back to this earth before we destroy ourselves (see Revelation 16:14-16; Matthew 24:21-22). The United Church of God has published several booklets about what the Bible says concerning these future events. Why not write for our free brochures, The Book of Revelation Unveiled and Are We Living in the Time of the End? Sources: The Sunday Telegraph, The World in 2003. Famine Stalks Africa Clearly world hunger is rising again, much of it afflicting the African continent, especially the sub-Saharan area. But more generally, according to the Los Angeles Times, "Every year about six million children under the age of 5 die as a result of hunger and malnutrition, says a UN study released Tuesday. That's as if all of California's children in that age groupñmore than twice overñstarved to death" (Oct. 16, 2002). This increase in world hunger is due primarily to a combination of wars, droughts, floods and shortfall in donations from the developed nations. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) "puts the number of undernourished people at 840 millionñroughly 15% of the world's people. After some progress in the 1990s, the rate has returned to levels of a decade ago" (Los Angeles Times). The Independent on Sunday's environment editor, Geoffrey Lean, further explained that "this year's total world harvest will fall for the fifth year in succession, while the global population continues to grow" (Oct. 27, 2002). More specifically, famine has returned to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Nearly six million people are in desperate need of emergency food supplies in order to avert starvation. Perhaps another million require immediate help in Eritrea. Also Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and other African nations are experiencing severe food shortages. Lesotho is another case in point. Too much rain devastated crops and people are dying. Poor mountainous roads are a difficult barrier to getting aid supplies through to the population. A Times (London) feature article stated that "crop production has declined sharply over the past three decades and is expected to cease altogether over large swaths of arable land because of soil erosion and declining soil fertility" (Nov. 9, 2002.). Also, a 31 percent HIV-AIDS infection rate complicates matters even further. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled. The book of Revelation clearly reveals the identity of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The black horse symbolizes hunger and famine (Revelation 6:5-6). It is already riding in Africa. Sources: The Independent on Sunday, The Times (both London), Los Angeles Times. Affairs Becoming More Commonplace Sarah Womack, social affairs correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, stated that "divorce rates (in England and Wales) rose last year for the first time in five years, leaving an additional 147,000 children with a single parent" (Nov. 6, 2002). Selfish adults often don't think of them. Let's face it. Although there can be many reasons for divorce, the main one is and has always been infidelityñunfaithfulness to a marriage partner. Current Western attitudes toward adultery are not that encouraging. A major feature article in The Sunday Times revealed that "up to 55% of people have an affair at some time in their lives...One in 10 men admit to an affair in the past five years...For men in London the average number of sexual partners over a lifetime has jumped from 12.2 in 1990 to 15.5 in 2000." Statistics about women showed a similar increase. Of course, affairs don't always result in divorce. The article stated, "New research suggests people are becoming more tolerant of straying spouses and brief affairs. What matters more they say, is 'emotional infidelity.'" Genuine repentance by the offender followed by true forgiveness on the part of the offended is commendable. But in the long run, so-called tolerance (mutual or otherwise) of adulterous behavior can only lead to more misery and unhappiness. Perhaps the most disturbing statement in the entire article was: "American studies have shown that religious people disapprove of affairs more strongly than othersñbut have just as many of them." Talk about shame and embarrassment! The apostle Paul wrote, "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame" (1Corinthians 15:34). Please write for our free booklet, The Ten Commandments. Sources: The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph. Australia Now a "Prime Target" Australia is a key target in a new wave of attacks being planned by al Qaeda, with Australian intelligence agencies warning that the Bali investigation had caught only the "footsoldiers" in a global terror network. An Australian official said that key people are still out there and they are dangerous. Recent intelligence reports suggest that al Qaeda has advanced plans for strikes that involve a series of linked attacks in Australia, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Based on the new information, the Australian government made its dramatic revelation about credible evidence of a possible terrorist attack within the next few months. It indicates that Australia and its interests abroad are now primary targetsñalong with the United States and Israelñof al Qaeda and its regional subsidiary, Jemaah Islamiah. The alert is believed to have been based on information from regional telecommunications surveillance and supporting intelligence by the United States and Britain. That warning has been strengthened by the most recent audiotape, attributed to Osama bin Laden, which declared: "We had warned Australia about its participation in Afghanistan. It ignored the warning until it woke up to the sound of explosions in Bali." "The information is generic but it is sufficiently credible to give us real concerns," a senior regional security official said. "There are even time frames being talked about. "There is significant activity being monitored internationally and there is a possibility of groups and individuals linking up. It's not just a regional thing." Source: The Sydney Morning Herald. wnp Send any comments / changes regarding this page to webmaster@churchofgodtwincities.org © 2002-2022 United Church of God, an International Association