why are christians so often divided ?– part i · this expectation also encouraged wim malgo to...

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• Healing• Heavenly Signs

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WORLD FOCUSThe End of Christian America? • Christian Arabs Increase Integration into Israeli Society

Why Are Christians So Often Divided?– Part I

Checklist: Why the RaptureIs Not a New DeliriumPg. 16

To Live Is ChristPg. 23

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6

Why Are ChristiansSo Often Divided? – Part IBy René Malgo

People are complicated, feeling and thinking beings.Christians are no exception. Conversion has notmade us into robots that all perform alike.

11 Death, the Last Stage (Stations of Life – Last Part)By Norbert Lieth

14 Is It All About Love?By Thomas Lieth

16 Money: Ends and TrendsChecklist: Why the Rapture Is Not a New DeliriumBy Wilfred Hahn

22 What Does It Mean? – Revelation 7:4-8By Samuel Rindlisbacher

23 To Live Is Christ By Dr. Ron J. Bigalke

27 Bombs and Firestorm ContinuedBy Friedrich Hilliges

Midnight CallMAY 2016

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

35 Fellow Laborers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By André and Ingrid Beitze

37 Action for Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno Froese

39 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno FroeseHEALING...HEAVENLY SIGNS...SAVED BY CHILDBEARING

Contents

DEPARTMENTS

COVER STORY

29 USAThe End of

ChristianAmerica?

30GERMANYGovernment Estimates3.6 Million Refugees by2020

31 ISRAELChristian Arabs IncreaseIntegration into IsraeliSociety

33 ITALYRoman Citizenship Privileges and Duties

34 CHINANew Global Rules in theWorks

MIDNIGHT CALL

Editor’s Note

Perhaps Today

By René MalgoInternational Editor-in-Chief

“He is coming in the clouds withthe sound of the trumpet,” itsays in a Christian song

about the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.Does this mean that the Lord can onlycome for the rapture when the sky iscloudy, as a Brazilian pastor once sug-gested? Of course not! The reference to theclouds in connection with the return of theLord Jesus, is ultimately about the great-ness and glory of our incomparable God.

Yes, our Lord is coming soon. He cancome at any time, independent of the skyover the respective continents. This shouldbe clear, but we need to be reminded of itcontinually. Our Lord could come today,now, at this moment, while you are readingthis. This expectation in our daily livesdoes not paralyze us, as some critics accusethose who are waiting for the coming of theLord Jesus. On the contrary.

An American historian, for instance, hasexamined the evangelical scene in the USAand written a book about it: AmericanApocalypse: A History of Modern Evangeli-calism. In it he proves that the strong ex-pectation of Jesus’ return and relatedactivity of American evangelicals, has sig-nificantly influenced and thoroughly revo-lutionized politics and social activity in theUSA. The author does not necessarily seethis as a positive thing, but he emphasizesthat the accusation is absurd that believingin the imminent return of the Lord Jesus

makes people lethargic. It is rather the casethat those who really believe that JesusChrist is coming soon, are torn out of theirlethargy and become active.

This expectation also encouraged WimMalgo to found the Midnight Call Ministryand to evangelize wherever he could. Over61 years later, among evangelicals this ex-pectation has lost some of its fervor. Somepeople are disillusioned because the Lordstill has not come. Others ridicule thosewho had or have such a burning longingfor the Lord. Yet, it is this very longing thatencourages us!

It is not in the first place about certaindates, complicated end-times schemata, orelaborate time calculations; it is about aperson: Jesus Christ. Paul uses the Raptureas a chance to say to us, “So shall we everbe with the Lord. Wherefore comfort oneanother with these words” (1 Thessaloni-ans 4:17-18).

We will see our wonderful Lord Jesus.Perhaps today. It could happen. Nothingstands in the way of His return. As Hebrews9 says, “once in the end of the world” Hehas “put away sin” through His preciousblood. Now we can await His appearing“unto salvation” of our mortal body, fromthe constraints of a sinful world, from thelimitations of our mortal life (verses 23-28).

So many of our fathers in the faith havelongingly waited for this and were encour-

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aged to live an uncompromising life for the Lord Jesus. Should we not alsodo so? Should we not be like the five wise virgins in Matthew 25? Shouldwe not become true messengers, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go yeout to meet him”?

Perhaps today; either in that we die unexpectedly, or that the Lord re-turns unexpectedly. Both are 100% possible at any moment of our lives.

It is worth living for the Lord, as our Lord Himself said, “Behold, I comequickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as hiswork shall be” (Revelation 22:12). “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus”(verse 20). Maranatha!

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Why AreChristians So Often Divided? – Part I

C O V E R S T O R Y

The fragmentation of Christianity into countlessdenominations, free churches and sects is unmistakable.Divisions belong to the order of the day, it seems.Midnight Call Ministry has not been spared many acontroversy and bitter conflict in its 61-year history. Thiswill also be the case in the future, probably. Why is this?

RENÉ MALGO

Iwould like to give you four reasons. The first oneis simple but probably the most difficult to toler-ate. The discord among Christians lies in the na-

ture of man. “The heart is deceitful above all things,”said Jeremiah, “and beyond cure. Who can under-stand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV). Believers can arguethat through Jesus they have received a new heart(Romans 6). Rightly so! And yet even Christians haveto battle with sin in their old body (Romans 7). Aslong as we are in this body that is tainted by sin, it isimpossible for us to see everything rightly. “Now wesee only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall seeface to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Only when weare resurrected and transformed, and see our Lordface to face will we understand everything (1 John3:2).

Christians have different personalities; they havevarious strengths and weaknesses, preferences, sinswith which they have to battle. Our education, ourmaturity, our spiritual gifts, our relationship with theLord, our perception is different. No wonder we areoften so divided! People are complicated, feeling andthinking beings. Christians are no exception. Conver-sion has not made us into robots that all performalike. “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep wa-ters, but one who has insight draws them out”(Proverbs 20:5).

God’s Word is objective truth, but it is subjectivelyviewed by man. James, the leader of the Jerusalem

mother church, said concerning doctrine, “We allstumble in many ways” (James 3:2). For this reasonChristians should not be too hasty to becometeachers of the Word, “…because you know that wewho teach will be judged more strictly” (James3:1).

James 3:2 is a “royal verse” in connection withour question. If a half-brother of Jesus and a “pil-lar” of the early church (Galatians 1:9), says that“we all” stumble and includes himself, how muchmore does this statement apply today, seeing we are2,000 years and culturally speaking light yearsaway from the apostles!

Today, we have various competitive theologicalsystems and premises, which have an influence onhow we read our Bibles. We may not realize thisconsciously, but through the churches that we at-tend, the Bible schools we have been to, or theChristian literature that we read, we are all influ-enced differently. On the Protestant side we havecovenant theologians, replacement theologians,dispensationalists, ultra-dispensationalists, progres-sive dispensationalists, Baptists, Calvinists, Luther-ans, open and closed brethren, universalists,Armenians, amillennialists, post-millennialists, pre-millennialists, mid-tribulationalists, post-tribula-tionalists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists,Anglicans, Pentecostals, etc. …and almost all ofthem can rightly say that they only believe in the


Why Are Christians So Often Divided? – Part I

Bible, but they are all influenced by different inter-preters and systematic theologians. The Christianculture in which we live inevitably colors the glasseswith which we read the Bible.

Do not interpret me wrongly. Everyone has suchglasses, and this is fine. The art is to find the rightglasses. Paul expected us to read the Word of God “bysound doctrine” (Titus 1:9). The sound apostolic doc-trine should be our filter. Anyone who says they readthe Bible without glasses deceives himself. Rightly, forinstance, no normal Christian applies the Sinaicovenant to stone rebellious sons unfiltered on hisdaily life (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

We must acknowledge that we all—even the wisestand most pious Bible teachers—are fallible creatures.None of us would excel above James in any way. Weare people who can even deceive ourselves. The Bibleknows this (Jeremiah 17:9). Secular psychologistshave already discovered this. By nature we tend toperceive the reality as it fits in our schema and oursubjective view of the world. This is why we oftenspeak at cross purposes and get nowhere. We are al-ways in danger of applying words and sentences inthe Bible according to our personal views.

For example, there is a person who is very tidy andsystematic in his thoughts. Everything in his lifeneeds clear structures and explanations. He is ratio-nal, logical, and does not like ambiguity. Where willhe lean with respect to Bible interpretation? He mayhave a liking for a sound system of exegesis, whichorders the doctrines of the Bible completely into dif-ferent watertight and clear dispensations. It would beimportant for him to have everything explained in de-tail, and he would see that no errors found their wayinto it.

Then there is another person who is a so-calledartistic type. His motto is, only stupid people need or-der; the genius overlooks the chaos. He believes thathe himself is a genius. What others would find to becontradictions are for him the spice of life. He strivescontinually after a higher spiritual level. He is never

tired of life. He would have a dislike for systematic,exegetical systems, and maintain that we must notput God in a box. He would desire more of a mystical,“holistic” approach to the Bible that has the big pic-ture in mind. Paradoxes are welcome, and there isroom for ambiguities.

Both believe the same. In this example, there is nota good man and an evil man. Both love Jesus Christ,accept the trinity of God, uphold the Word of God,and believe the Gospel. And yet the theologies thatthey have formed around the core of their faith aresomewhat fundamentally different.

In a way, we all want a theological house in whichwe can feel comfortable; and because we have verydifferent personalities, our theological houses maylook quite different. As a Bible teacher once ex-plained, however, every theological house has itsskeletons in the closet! Because we err, because weare sinful, because we have our preferences, and be-cause we have our limitations, in our inner convic-tions there will always be points that others do notunderstand, and—are wrong! And here we come tothe second point.

We Christians are so often divided because we areliving here on earth and not in heaven. Are we alwaysaware of what we are actually talking about and dis-cussing? Ultimately, we are talking about God theAlmighty, about the One who “the highest heavens”could not contain (1 Kings 8:27), and whosethoughts are so much higher than our thoughts as“the heavens are higher than the earth” (Isaiah 55:9).Certainly, this God reveals Himself to us in His Wordand is visible in Jesus Christ. And yet He is still theEternal God, “who lives in an unapproachable light”(1 Timothy 6:16).

What does this have to do with skeletons in thecloset? It is quite simple. We can never comprehendGod with our systems and human thoughts. Therewill always be parts of God’s Word and in theologythat we ultimately cannot completely fathom. We areconcerned with the Almighty God and the inex-

MAY 2016 9

3Christians have different personalities; they have variousstrengths and weaknesses, preferences, sins with which they haveto battle.

C O V E R S T O R Y

haustible riches of His immeasurable, manifold wis-dom. We are concerned with the knowledge of Hisplan of salvation, which exceeds our understandingand which angels longed to look into (1 Peter 1:12).

We often discuss and argue with Christians aboutthe things we cannot completely understand: the sov-ereignty and being of the triune God, His plan for thefuture and eternity. It is completely normal that we fi-nite people are stretched to our limits when we thinkof and meditate on the Eternal God, and thereforereach different conclusions.

“Our God is a consuming fire,” it says in Hebrews12:29. Every meeting with Him, the infinite One, willcause us finite creatures to tremble and, according toour nature, affect us differently. “Taste and see thatthe Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refugein him” (Psalm 34:9). Everyone can and may experi-ence the goodness of the Lord, but because He is sodifferent in His nature, so infinite, every person willtaste and see His goodness differently.

Be careful! This is no excuse for the greatest of allfalse doctrines, that somehow all religions lead toGod. The Bible says unmistakably, “Salvation is foundin no one else, for there is no other name underheaven given to men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12). Only those who believe in Jesus Christalone and recognize Him as the Lord of their lives(Acts 16:31) will be redeemed, and no one else. But,because they are different and finite, these Christianswill attempt to explain the inexhaustible fullness oftheir God differently.

If all Christians of all time were in agreement onevery detail of the contents of the Bible, one couldrightly say that we have a very superficial book in ourhands. Because the opposite is the case, however, and

there is so much controversy concerning the Bible;because the words of the Bible speak to and divideour hearts and families, churches and even countries;and because we never see the end of arguing over it,we know and recognize that God is God and HisWord is His Word.

Certainly, a Muslim could say the same about thedivisive Koran, but—and here we come to the thirdpoint—demons are profound. This is not exactly po-litically correct, but false religions are, from the view-point of the apostles, demonically inspired (1Timothy 4:1). And this is something that we Chris-tians often forget. We are dealing with rulers, authori-ties, the powers of this dark world, and spiritualforces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

A Bible teacher once pointed out that the idols thatIsrael worshipped in the Old Testament were real.The statues made of stone and wood, which served asobjects of worship, had no life and no content, butthe gods of the nations themselves were real, for be-hind them were real demonic powers. It would besilly to say of God that He is greater than the gods ifthese did not exist (cf. Deuteronomy 4:7; 10:17; Isa-iah 36:20). That would be like the Lord saying, “I amgreater than Santa Claus!”

The gods were and are real. They are demons thatinspire false doctrines and religions, and war againstthe only true God and His Church. We are concernedwith the “devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11), an oppo-nent who can disguise himself as an “angel of light”(2 Corinthians 11:14), and “like a roaring lion prowlsaround looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Do we really believe that this real enemy, withthousands of years’ experience and a network ofdemons similar to God’s angels, has not managed todo damage to the Church of the living God? If we arenot watchful and not wearing the whole armor ofGod, we are a target for beings that are much morepowerful that we are.

(We continue with Part II in the next issue.)


Why Are Christians So Often Divided? – Part I

3The Christian culture in whichwe live inevitably colors theglasses with which we read theBible.

MAY 2016 11

Death, the LastStage(Stations of Life – Last Part)

No r b e r t L i e t h

Numbers 33 lists 40 places between the exodus from Rameses and the arrival inthe plain of Moab 40 years later. In this series, we are comparing a few stations ofthe wandering of Israel in the wilderness with our own lives. The Bible says of thetime of the wandering in the wilderness, “Now all these things happened unto themfor examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of theworld are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Numbers 33:37-39: “And they re-moved from Kadesh, andpitched in mount Hor, in the

edge of the land of Edom. And Aaron thepriest went up into mount Hor at thecommandment of the Lord, and diedthere, in the fortieth year after the chil-dren of Israel were come out of the landof Egypt, in the first day of the fifthmonth. And Aaron was an hundred andtwenty and three years old when he diedin mount Hor.”

Death inevitably belongs to the stagesof our life, should the Lord not returnbefore. We are surrounded by death and

must concern ourselves with it if wewant to be wise (Psalm 90:12). Death issomething that we are appointed to andhappens at the Lord’s command. We arenot left to our own devices, but theLord’s.

Aaron looked back on a long life. Hehad experienced the liberation and exo-dus from Egypt. He had been anointed asa high priest and worked as such. Heknew the heights and depths, victoriesand defeats. Sometimes Aaron had failed(the golden calf, the complaining againstMoses, together with Miriam); at othertimes he had experienced wonderful vic-

tories (the prayer with Hur and Moseson the mountain against Amalek). But hewas denied entrance into the PromisedLand. He was taken away beforehandthrough the door of death leading toheaven.

Many of our fathers and mothers inthe faith, went with the Lord throughthick and thin and waited for thepromise of the Rapture. In spite of this,they did not experience it because theywere taken to heaven through death.What will happen to us? Will we experi-ence the Rapture here on earth, or willwe have to go through death? Becausewe have no answer to this question, weshould act like Moses and Aaron did.

God ordered, “And strip Aaron of hisgarments, and put them upon Eleazar hisson: and Aaron shall be gathered untohis people, and shall die there” (Num-bers 20:26). Aaron’s office should bepassed on. He would die, but not hiswork. Eleazar had been prepared for thisvery early, and now he could take overthe task of his father. Moses acted in thesame way. He had taken Joshua to be athis side very early (Exodus 17:14; 24:13;33:11; Numbers 11:28; Deuteronomy

1:38). And when Moses asked the Lordlater on who he should appoint as hissuccessor, God showed him Joshua(Numbers 27:15-23; Deuteronomy31:14; 34:9).

Think of the prophets Elijah and El-isha. Elijah was given the command byGod to make Elisha his successor (1Kings 19:16, 19-21). Thereupon Elishabecame Elijah’s servant (2 Kings 3:11).Later, they were walking together whenElijah was taken to heaven (2 Kings 2:1-14). We read in 2 Kings 2:9, “And itcame to pass, when they were gone over,that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what Ishall do for thee, before I be taken awayfrom thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee,let a double portion of thy spirit be uponme.”

Was that not a shameless request?Certainly not, for two reasons. Firstly, wemust understand this request from thebackground of Old Testament law. Thefirstborn of a family received a doubleportion of the heritage and the right tobecome the head of the family(Deuteronomy 21:17). Elisha wanted nomore than to become the legitimate suc-cessor of Elijah and to carry on his work.


We mustlearn earlyto take carethat wepass onwhat theLord hasgiven us.We shouldteach others ingood timeto take overthe workand carry iton.

Death, the Last Stage (Stations of Life – Last Part)

God confirmed this. Elisha was conse-quently the leader of all the otherprophets (2 Kings 4:38). Secondly, Elishaliterally wanted a double share of thespirit of Elijah; not to be better, morepowerful or more famous, but to do morefor God. It was not just to go on; it was tobe better. Someone once said, “An effec-tive successor not only learns from hispredecessor, but also builds on theachievements of his predecessor.” Cer-tainly, God performed almost double thewonders through Elisha than through Eli-jah. If we sincerely want to serve the Lordand we are not being selfish, we may askGod for great things, for a mighty work-ing of His Holy Spirit. We may ask Himtoo that our successors in the faith will re-ceive even more grace for the tasks in theChurch, and that the Lord will extend thelimits of that which they receive from us.We must learn early to take care that wepass on what the Lord has given us. Weshould teach others in good time to takeover the work and carry it on.

What are we doing today for thosewho will follow us? This is what Aaronasked himself with Eleazar, and Moseswith Joshua, and Elijah with Elisha. OurLord Jesus Christ did it also with His dis-ciples, and they with their coworkers (2Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5). In a commen-tary on Numbers 27:15-23, it says, “Oneof the greatest tasks for leaders is to re-place themselves, in that they teach oth-ers to be leaders…Death is the finalculmination of leadership. One of thebest proofs of our leadership is our readi-ness and capability to train others for ourwork. Moses made a very wise decisionwhen he made Joshua his assistant. Thischoice was later confirmed by God Him-self, when He told Moses to make Joshuahis successor” (“Encounter for Life”).

After Aaron died, it says, “And theydeparted from mount Hor, and pitched

in Zalmonah” (Numbers 33:41). Thestages of Christianity run their course,until we as the whole Church havereached the goal and are all with theLord in His kingdom. It basically de-pends on only one thing: to go the wayof the Lord, to carry out the task, and tosee that it continues.

Some time ago, I read a confession ofPaul which made a profound impressionon me. We all want to live for as long aspossible—there is nothing wrong withthis if the Lord grants it—but it is muchmore important to bear something elsein mind: “But none of these things moveme, neither count I my life dear untomyself, so that I might finish my coursewith joy, and the ministry, which I havereceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify thegospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

We are often absorbed in prolongingour lives for as long as possible. We con-cern ourselves extensively with ourhealth and spend much time readingbooks, devouring internet articles, swal-lowing vitamins, and exercising till wecollapse. As someone once said, “One’swhole life is an attempt to keep it.” Butthe Bible has a completely different viewconcerning this. In the Word of God,there are far more important things.Paul said, “Neither count I my life dearunto myself.” In other words, it is all thesame to me how long I live, how old Ibecome. Something else is much moreimportant; namely, that I finish mycourse, live with Jesus, fulfill my task,hold fast to the faith, fight to the end,stay with Jesus, do what He has commis-sioned me to do—yes, live for HisGospel!

The stations in the history of Israelshow us what matters (Romans 15:4).May we draw the right conclusions fromit.

(MR0415/685)

MAY 2016 13


The word “love” sounds so good that it is almosttaboo to question some of the more popularmeanings of it. We do not have to be surprised,

therefore, when the word is abused. Rhetorical ques-tions are asked, which already contain an answer, andnothing contradictory is tolerated, like: “Can a lovingGod send people to hell?” Consequently, there is nosuch place as hell and, if so, it is only for people likeHitler. Or, what can a loving God have against same-sex relationships? Thus, everything is allowed.

Should I deal someone a blow, and apologize after-wards? But, I ask freely and provocatively, is not pureselfishness behind all human love? Or, in otherwords, I believe the only love that really comes fromthe heart is self-love. Oh, I shouldn’t have said that,but I didn’t mean you but the neighbor of your neigh-bor, the husband of your wife, the mother of yourdaughter, and the many other people in your mirror.

Love? Another form of self-gratification where youdon’t have to do anything yourself. Love? A justifica-tion for lack of restraint. Love? Sheer pleasure seek-ing. Love? A form of therapy for lust, loneliness, aninferiority complex or a sad childhood…I must stop

here, because I am not writing a column for a dailynewspaper.

What am I aiming at? I would like to show you thatnot everything which is practiced under the term “love”is about love. What is even more important is the factthat human love, even if it is well meant and sincere, ulti-mately does not satisfy. We only need look at the ex-tremely high rate of abortions. Ultimately, all these babiesthat are being killed are a product of human love. It couldnot be more contradictory or disgusting that all thesechildren are being killed because two people made love!

The consequences, the abortions as well as the di-vorces and broken marriages, are mental disorders, de-pression, sexually transmitted diseases, pitiful children ofdivorcees, and even suicide. What does this have to dowith love?

Sayings such as, “My body belongs to me” are nothelpful, but selfish and irresponsible. And where is thesocial benefit of same-sex “love”? Two people indulge intheir self-love, and the state and the church should sup-port them and bless them. That is a slap in the face forevery family. Family, what is that? Skill shortages, a de-clining birth rate and insecure retirement are all founded

When we speak about love, it is avery loose term. What is love any-way?

Is It All About

Love?T h oma s L i e t h

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in this, that love and the “classic” concept of the family(mother, father and children) are being eroded and de-stroyed, and all this on account of selfishness and god-lessness. This is not progress but a relapse into thedecadence of long since extinct peoples. But back to loveand away from this human love, i.e. what our politiciansand society have made of it, namely a yawning abyss.

I want to speak now about a love that is so different. Itis a love that really satisfies, a love that endures foreverand ever, a love that gives pleasure in this life already andimmeasurable joy, but will also fill our hearts and refreshus beyond our present age. Let us hear what the Bible hasto say on the subject. “Whoever does not love does notknow God, because God is love. This is how God showedhis love among us; He sent his one and only Son into theworld that we might live through him. This is love: notthat we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Sonas an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:8-10, NIV).

Just as God is holy, just as God is eternal, just asGod is omnipotent, and just as God is God, God islove. The love of God is quite different from humanlove. Why? Because man can be loving, but he is notlove. The love of God is free of all selfishness and alllust. God does not love to His own advantage. Thelove of God is of a completely different quality. It is alove that requires nothing in return and is proved outof free will. It is a heartfelt affection that does not de-pend on reciprocity. It is a love that gives and does notdemand. And the most amazing thing of all is thatGod did not love us first after we had improved—no,we were already loved when we were at enmity withGod and Christ (Romans 5:8). This is true love.

God gave us His only begotten Son as proof of Hislove. “Greater love has no one than this, that he laydown his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Can we provelove more than with Calvary? Hardly! Can we imaginewhat a token of love was shown us on the cross, whenGod tore out of His heart the dearest He held there? Forwhom? For the lost, for sinners, for criminals, for mock-ers, for liars and hypocrites, for murderers and adulter-ers, for you and me, for all the egoists I spoke ofbefore—those who were and perhaps still are.

Many accuse God, “How can God be so cruel as to sac-rifice His Son?” Those who say this have not understoodthe message of the cross and have not grasped Calvary. Doyou think it was fun for God to see how His beloved Sonwas mocked, beaten and nailed to the cross? Do you seri-

ously think we have a cynical God? No, certainly not! Hesuffered when His beloved Son cried out on the cross, “MyGod, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Indeed, inthat terrible moment the Father forsook the Son when Je-sus took the guilt of man upon Himself. From this we seehow severe our guilt is before God. God cannot have fel-lowship with a sinner. Without exception! How hard itmust have been for God to see this misery. But He did, outof love! He sacrificed His Son so that we could live. Godstill suffers today on account of every person who doesnot repent, but refuses His offer of salvation. That is crueland brutal, to tread underfoot the death of the Lord Jesus.

I want to testify here and now: for me Jesus did nothave to go to the cross, but He did it voluntarily and Iam infinitely thankful to Him for doing it. You can diewithout being saved if you reject the message of thecross, but you will not die without ever being loved.As hard as it was for Jesus to bear the sins of the world,at the end He could say, “It is finished!” This is why Herejoices still today over every person who repents andentrusts his life to Jesus Christ. This is love, becauseJesus went to the cross for everyone (John 3:16).

This is how God loves, and this is how we who arechildren of God should love, “A new command I giveyou: Love one another. As I have loved you, so youmust love one another. By this all men will know thatyou are my disciples, if you love one another” (John13:34). We cannot love in this way, with complete de-votion and without selfishness. Divine love and hu-man love are completely different. Only through thenew birth—through the new life in Jesus Christ—arewe capable of loving as Jesus did. Through our lovefor one another, which we are commanded to have,we testify to the love of God in Jesus.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,that we should be called children of God! And that iswhat we are! The reason the world does not know us isthat it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are chil-dren of God, and what we will be has not yet been madeknown. But we know that when he appears, we shall belike him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2).What a promise, what a future lies founded in the love ofGod! What a difference between that and human love,which often ends in frustration and disappointment. Thelove of God is alive, valid and consistent in good timesand in bad. Thanks be to God the Lord in His Son, JesusChrist! (MR1015/754)

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Is It All About Love?

16 M I D N I G H T C A L L16 M I D N I G H T C A L L

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

These “nay” respondents will usu-ally agree that any differences inperspectives are nothing over

which to lose fellowship (as long as bothparties are pre-millennial), and that it isnot a salvation issue. Yet, “nay Rapture”proponents seem to adamantly want toconvert Rapture believers … even to “de-liver” them to a post- or mid-tribula-tional perspective.

We wonder why there is such an op-position to the Rapture view. Just what

spirit—or irritation—is behind these at-tacks? The range of counter argumentsand viewpoints range from the thought-ful to pure vitriol.

Conversely, those who hold the Rap-ture view do not feel it an imperative toexpunge the world of Rapture naysayers.As mentioned, it is not a salvation issue.The Rapture believer knows that thenon-Rapture-believing Christian is givensalvation through grace as anyone else,and moreover, will be taken up in the

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CHECKLIST: WHY THERAPTURE IS NOT ANEW DELIRIUMB y W i l f r e d H a h n

Whenever we mention that we are pre-millennial, pre-tribulational, and—absurdity of all absurdities—believersin the doctrine of the Rapture, we receive responses. Ap-parently, to believe that a Rapture will occur brands one as“low brow,” “gullible,” and “escapist.” But, even as a

spirit of derisiveness and smugness is becoming more prevalent amongthe Rapture naysayers, the reality is that their arguments have generallybeen invalidated as perhaps never before.

MAY 2016 17

Rapture even while they remaindoubters.

So, why “proselytize” them to theRapture view, other than to gain theblessing of a full Biblical alignment ofone’s views? While not every variant ofdoctrine threatens one’s salvation, everydeviation from Biblical truth does haveits price.

It would be fine to debate the Rapturedoctrine based upon Biblical exegesis.However, increasingly, Rapture-deniershave resorted to mostly unfounded andunbalanced allegations. They have notcome to their opinion by way of “schol-arly” study, but rather shallow, anti-Rap-ture propaganda. We will cite evidenceto support our position.

Shallow or not, some Christians dosuccumb nevertheless to the notions ofthe naysayers.

Recently, a friend (with an evangelicalbackground and who was raised withthe Rapture expectation) rather sud-denly changed his mind, announcingthat he no longer believed in the Rap-ture. This writer was curious about whatwas behind this “conversion.” Appar-ently, my friend had swallowed the argu-

ment that the Rapture was a “new” doc-trine, supposedly popularized by a delu-sional young woman named MargaretMacDonald in the 1800s.

This couldn’t be further from thetruth in many respects. To fall for such ashallow falsehood is to ignore Scriptureand the full history of the Christianchurch. Anyone expounding on theRapture, pro or con, must have a per-spective on these and, as well, must de-cide for themselves on a number of keyfoundational points. And, the goodnews is that there has been much re-search done in recent years that shedsadditional light on the unfounded alle-gations of the naysayers.

Dear reader, what is your view on theRapture, and can you support it in theface of mockery and derision?

We present here a short “checklist” offive points that will be helpful in coun-tering doctrinal error in the matter ofthe Rapture.

1. Back to the Source. Firstly, we must be-gin with the document that is claimed tobe all sufficient for teaching, rebukingand admonishing (2 Timothy 3:16). Itstruth towers far above that of all otherdocuments in the world. The Rapturedoctrine finds its source in Scripture—nowhere else. Not only is it spoken ofspecifically, it is also foreshadowed anddeductive based on the character of GodHimself.

The doctrine of the Rapture muststand on the Bible “full stop.” The viewof any later church father, pope, or en-tranced young girl cannot add any cre-dence nor pedigree to what Scripture

Checklist: Why the Rapture Is Not a New Delirium

Conversely, those who hold the Rapture view do not feel it animperative to expunge the world of Rapture naysayers. Asmentioned, it is not a salvation issue.


has said. As it is, a so-called church fa-ther can be found and quoted to supportalmost any theological view. We mayhave our favorites, but quoting themadds nothing proof-worthy to this mainpoint: the Rapture is a scriptural doc-trine.

2. Since When New? Rapture doubters of-ten claim that a teaching cannot be trueif it is “new” … i.e. a view that is popu-larized in recent centuries or times. Thisargument is not valid for a number ofreasons. For one, just because a scrip-tural doctrine has been rediscovered re-cently says nothing of its veracity orhistory. If it is scriptural, it is thereforecorrect, whether it is a recent under-standing or not.

At the same time, Rapture doubtersoften claim arbitrary dates to their ownliking for the pedigree of Christianity.They may say that the “church has his-

torically not taught the Rapture.” But,we ask, what church and during whatera? Was it the founding church thatwas inspired by the Holy Spirit to writethe New Testament? Or, a later churchthat preached a different Bible and a dif-ferent gospel? If the latter, then there isno foundation for any of their theology,including the Rapture.

3. Context: The History of the Church. Rap-ture naysayers like to sweep away therecord of Christian history, and whiledoing so, ignore the warnings of theNew Testament from its outset. Earlyon—nearly 2,000 years ago—Christianswere already warned about the infiltra-tion of false doctrines, and that de-ceivers would creep in unawares. Sadly,this was clearly an issue already duringthe time of the apostles themselves (See2 Timothy 3:8; 4:3; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Once the apostles had passed on, thedilution of the gospel happened quickly.Over the course of a few centuries,many false doctrines (surely, driven bymany “antichrists”) became embeddedin various teachings. In time, a pagan-infused empire of the Holy RomanChurch took dominance. It became afull-fledged apostate religious system.As the 1,000 pound religious and state-sponsored gorilla, it oppressed any andall that would differ with its doctrines ordisrespect its authority.

Once Constantine (the 4th centuryRoman emperor) adopted Christianityas the state religion, the Roman Catholic

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Once the apostles had passed on, the dilution of the gospelhappened quickly. Over the course of a few centuries, many falsedoctrines (surely, driven by many “antichrists”) became embeddedin various teachings.

MAY 2016 19

Church eventually became a regalearthly power, arrogating to itself evensovereignty and the role of the vicari-ous presence of Christ upon earth. Fal-laciously claiming that Apostle Peterwas its founder, it nevertheless chosenot to heed even one statement of Pe-ter’s found in the Bible. (See Mike Gen-dron’s article “Catholics Should BelieveTheir First Pope” at this link:http://www.raptureforums.com/FeaturedCommentary/catholicsshouldbelievetheirfirstpope.cfm

Throughout the centuries of RomanCatholic dominance (these being theDark Ages for the greater part), nocontrary opinion upon any matter wasallowed other than that of the ostensi-bly infallible popes (no matter how de-spicable and ungodly some of themmay have been.) Those believers andpreachers who stood up for Biblicaltruth, contrary to the “revelations”and pronouncements of the RomanCatholic Magisterium, were sup-pressed, jailed, tortured and mur-dered. The Roman Church’sCongregation for the Doctrine of theFaith was a feared institution. To bebranded a heretic was a dangerousthing, punishable by incarceration ortorture, even in Protestant circles.

Is it any wonder that so little of thebiblical doctrines and views of theNew Testament Church survivedthrough the Middle Ages? Instead,many were obliterated. Those who at-tempted to revive or restore them

were persecuted. Relatively few writ-ings or records survive of the churchoutside the Holy Roman Church, any-where from the period of the 6th toearly 16th centuries.

History records that millions ofAnabaptists and other groups (Protes-tants of various sects—Waldensians,Huguenots, claimed heretics such asthe Albigenses, etc.) were slaughteredunder the edict of the popes (andcountless Jews were annihilated aswell). These are documentable facts.

Only later, as the Middle Agesended, did England repudiate the ruleof the popes; the Reformation oc-curred; and Martin Luther, JohnWycliffe and William Tyndale openedthe Bible to the public. Then Biblicalteachings again began to see the lightof day.


Throughout the centuries of Roman Catholic dominance (these beingthe Dark Ages for the greater part), no contrary opinion upon anymatter was allowed other than that of the ostensibly infallible popes(no matter how despicable and ungodly some of them may havebeen.)


However, crucially, these were not“new” teachings. Rather, they werelargely restored teachings that were orig-inally based on Scripture. According to re-cent studies, found among theseabandoned and restored doctrines is theRapture.

4. Solid Scholarship and Proofs. Today, wehave the benefit of much scholarship onthe origins of Christian doctrines. Withinthis record are the teachings of variouspreachers and theologians of the 16th to19th centuries (outside the RomanCatholic Church), which have beenfound and uncovered. Plain to see inthese records is the dominance of pre-mil-lennial interpretations of the Bible.

Moreover, there is much proof of theRapture being taught once the systematicoppression of Christians (or those withmerely opposing scriptural views) beganto be lifted. The Rapture view was held bysome clergy centuries before the alleged“trance revelations” of Margaret MacDon-ald. John Nelson Darby is shown to be in-fluenced by these teachings of more than200 years before his time (and not deliri-ums).

As such, the allegation that the Rapturedoctrine is grounded on the murmuringsof a mentally unstable person is a shame-ful and mendacious “hatchet job.”

Today, we can say with confidence thatthe trance allegations of the “anti-Rap-ture” crowd, have been thoroughly de-bunked and invalidated, based onscholarship and hard evidence.

We can recommend sound scholarlyworks proving the views expressed here.

A recent “light bearer” work is the bookentitled Dispensationalism Before Darby byDr. William C. Watson (published byLampion Press). This book is full ofquotes of the dispensationalist perspec-tives of many pastors, theologians andchurchmen from the 16th to 19th cen-turies.

Also, a very readable and compellingresponse to the Rapture “expungers” waspublished in the January/February 2016issue of the Lamplighter magazine (pub-lished by Lamb & Lion Ministries). Youcan access this excellent magazine at thislink: http://christinprophecy.org/lamplighter/

5. Logic and Apologetics. There are many ex-cellent books available on the doctrine ofthe Rapture. Hence, as already men-tioned, we can hardly do credit to thisbody of work … especially so in such ashort article. Students of the entire Bible(Old and New Testaments) can sense intheir spirit God’s divine plan behind theRapture. It is in alignment with the en-tirety of the Bible.

God always called out and preservedthe believing remnant before He un-leashed His wrath (the family of Noah,Lot). Why then, would the Church (whatHe calls His Bride) be allowed to be ut-terly slaughtered under the justice of Hiswrath? As pointed out in the recent articleseries here (“Anxiety Merchants and FalseProphets”), ALL Christians will be killedin the Tribulation period.

None who refuse to take the markand worship the beast (Revelation 20:4)will survive. Contrary to the Bible, if one

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As such, the allegation that the Rapture doctrine is grounded on themurmurings of a mentally unstable person is a shameful andmendacious “hatchet job.”

MAY 2016 21

presumes that Christians will not be“[…] caught up together […] in theclouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1Thessalonians 4:17), then what “blessedhope” is there (Titus 2:13)?

To the contrary, says Jesus Christ tothe Philadelphian church, “[…] I willalso keep you from the hour of trial thatis going to come on the whole world totest the inhabitants of the earth” (Reve-lation 3:10).

Indeed, God disciplines and reprovesthose whom He loves. As Peter says:“For it is time for judgment to beginwith God’s household” (1 Peter 4:17).But, he also says in this same passage:“[…] if it begins with us, what will bethe outcome for those who do not obey

the gospel of God?”Clearly, the treatmentof the Church andthose who “do notobey” are not oneand the same. Disci-pline is different fromwrath.

But, do we not alldeserve wrath? Yes.As such, the PartialRapture Theory (thatonly some Christianswill be raptured andnot all) can appearlogical. Why? To thehuman it just doesn’tseem just that JesusChrist would rapture

all Christians, though hardly any of themare as worthy as perhaps Elijah andEnoch of the Old Testament, who werealso raptured.

But, if the Lord saves us “while wewere yet sinners” (Romans 5:8) throughgrace, then the Rapture is equally likelyand equally undeserved for last-dayChristians.

In conclusion, today, the attacksagainst the Rapture (excepting on the ba-sis of scriptural evidence) can be ignored.Our short, five-point checklist shows thatmost arguments against the Rapture arefallacious, and sometimes nothing morethan mean-spirited “hatchet jobs.”

ALL last-day Christians are bothsaved and raptured by grace!


God always called out and preserved the believing remnant before Heunleashed His wrath (the family of Noah, Lot). Why then, would theChurch (what He calls His Bride) be allowed to be utterly slaughteredunder the justice of His wrath? As pointed out in the recent articleseries here (“Anxiety Merchants and False Prophets”), ALL Christianswill be killed in the Tribulation period.

MC


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In Revelation 7, we find our-selves in the time after theRapture. While the Church

is in heaven, on the earth theAntichrist reveals his lord-ship. The people will wel-come him at first (Daniel 9:27), butthen (similar to the time of the Third Re-ich) his lordship will turn into an un-precedented tyrant. The sin andrebellion against God will reach a mea-sure that will leave God no alternative tojudgment, as it is described in the bookof Revelation. It will be the darkest andmost terrible hour in human history(Matthew 24:22).

Before the judgments that God hadforetold would come upon the earth,God will seal 144,000 people out of the12 tribes of Israel as His messengers inthe midst of a dark world. In this list thetribe of Dan is missing for some reason.From the Bible we know that Dan wasone of the tribes that was particularly in-volved in idolatry.

In Leviticus 24:11, a Danite made thefirst blasphemous statement. In Judges18, the Danites introduced idolatry into

their new domicile in thenorth. In 1 Kings 12, King Jer-

oboam instated in Dan (and alsoin Bethel) the idolatry of thecalf he had made.

It is interesting in the con-text of the prophecy of the old man Ja-

cob concerning Dan, “Dan shall be aserpent by the way, an adder in the path,that biteth the horse heels, so that hisrider shall fall backward” (Genesis49:17). For this reason, some inter-preters believe that the Antichrist couldcome from the tribe of Dan. This wouldbe a further reason why the tribe of Danis not mentioned in the 144,000 sealed.

And yet, God’s promise will be ful-filled (Dan means judge). In the millen-nium of peace (the visible reign of Godon earth; cf. Isaiah 60—61; Ezekiel 40—48), Dan is promised his part in the her-itage of the land, even in first place(Ezekiel 48). Yes, “Dan shall judge hispeople, as one of the tribes of Israel”(Genesis 49:16)!

(MR1015/726)

Revelation 7:4-8 lists the sealed 144,000 out of all the tribes of Israel(Genesis 29:31-30:24). Interestingly, the tribe of Dan is not included,but Manasseh, who is not a son of Jacob but of Joseph. Why?

What Does It Mean?– Revelation 7:4-8By Samuel Rindlisbacher

“Dan shall bea serpent bythe way, anadder in thepath, thatbiteth thehorse heels,so that hisrider shall fallbackward”(Genesis49:17).

MAY 2016 23

To Live IsChrist

Although his circumstances werenot the most desirable (to say theleast), the Apostle Paul was not

envious, jealous, resentful, or self-ori-ented. The reason he did not respond tohis circumstances in his own will is thathe had another focus of attention:Christ.

The Lord Jesus permeated his life,and thus the climax of his concern wasfor Christ to be proclaimed. God electri-fied his life! “To live is Christ,” becausethe Lord Jesus is the positive charge.The result of Christ’s work is a circuitthat nothing can disengage, and thus acurrent that is unstoppable. The victo-rious life is found in Christ.

Christ Is JoyThe Apostle Paul already articulatedseveral biblical ministry goals as hepetitioned God on behalf of thechurch (Phil 1:9-11). He was thankfulfor their Christian life, fellowship inthe gospel, and confidence in the sov-ereign work of God in their lives. Hethen prayed that that their love wouldabound “still more and more in realknowledge and all discernment,” sothe church would approve the bestthings in life. The purpose was to be“sincere and blameless until the day ofChrist.” They were also to be fruitfulin righteousness “to the glory andpraise of God.”

Dr. Ron J. Bigalke

Similar to how electricity works, the victorious life of faith has two kinds ofcharges: a negative and a positive. The negative charge is self-negation. “For tome, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21).


As the word is used thirteen times inPhilippians, the theme of this epistle is“joy.” Moreover, since Christ is men-tioned thirty-eight times, the content forsuch joy is evident: “rejoicing in theLord.” The epistle even contains an ex-ample of Jesus, “who for the joy set be-fore Him endured the cross, despisingthe shame, and has sat down at the righthand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2).Verses 12-30 are the second part of thesection that teaches how to rejoice in ex-treme situations, which is directly applic-able to all God’s people.

Many of God’s people know the pres-sure to make loving and necessary deci-sions with “real knowledge and alldiscernment” (to quote the words ofPhil 1:9). As Philippians 1:12 beginswith the Apostle’s description of his owncircumstances and how the sovereignLord God used it for the advancement ofHis will and purpose, may this month’sMidnight Call article be an encourage-ment to all whose assurance is in theprovidence of God.

Christ Is Most Important(Phil 1:12-20) Following his statement oftrust in God, the Apostle Paul expressedhis knowledge that his imprisonmentwas “in the cause of Christ.” By compar-ing his meetings with Felix, Festus, andAgrippa (Acts 23:24; 25:1-27; 26:1-32),it is apparent that Paul’s imprisonmentin Rome was unfair and unjust. Paul wasin prison for two years, waiting for hiscase to be considered. Moreover, somewere “preaching Christ even from envyand strife, but some also from good will”(Phil 1:15).

Unfortunately, there will always be in-dividuals who take the opportunity toexploit someone else in the midst oftrouble. Indeed, since we live in a fallenworld, such actions are not unique andshould be expected. Even the ApostlePaul was subjected to such mistreat-ment, which can be to our encourage-ment. Knowing that others haveexperienced the same or similar trials

To Live Is Christ

MAY 2016 25

Believers may experience similar situations as the Apostle Paul. A pro-motion may be deserved but not received. A necessity of life shouldhave been obtained, but it is not. Life is not always fair and just, but Godis always sovereignly at work to accomplish His will.

can help us to endure. “No temptationhas overtaken you but such as is com-mon to man; and God is faithful, whowill not allow you to be tempted be-yond what you are able, but with thetemptation will provide the way of es-cape also, so that you will be able to en-dure it” (1 Cor 10:13).

Believers may experience similar sit-uations as the Apostle Paul. A promo-tion may be deserved but not received.A necessity of life should have been ob-tained, but it is not. Life is not alwaysfair and just, but God is always sover-eignly at work to accomplish His will.Consequently, it is crucial to know thatGod often advances His purposesthrough difficulty. As opposed to anxi-ety, bitterness, or complaining, the be-liever should seek opportunities to exaltGod in the midst of troubles. Chal-lenges in life are not meaningless, butpurposeful. While the outworking ofevil and bad motivations may obscureunderstanding the will of God, the be-liever may always be confident that God

intends the troubles of life to be for ourgood.

Victory in the believer’s life necessi-tates that one never lose faith or confi-dence in God, but know that the Lord(according to His timing) will revealwhat He is accomplishing through diffi-culties. In the present, seek whateversmall or great opportunities exist to glo-rify God. Even though some were moti-vated by selfish ambition, Paul couldrejoice that Christ was proclaimed. Godcan use individuals such as Balaam(Numb 22) and Caiaphas (John 11:49-52) to advance the proclamation of HisWord.

The first priority in life is Godward.The message is, do not complain re-garding unfair and unjust situations,but live for the glory and praise ofGod—even at your own expense.Through prayers and the provision ofthe Holy Spirit (1:19), maintain “allboldness” to honor and not disgraceGod. The best end result is always theoutcome from honoring the Lord.


Christ Is Life(Phil 1:21-30) With “earnest expecta-tion,” Paul desired release from wrong-ful imprisonment. He confessed thatdespite the outcome, living was in theperson and work of Christ, whether hewould be with Him in heaven (“to die isgain”) or remain on earth “in the flesh.”Although the former is “very much bet-ter” for him (1:21, 23), the latter “willmean fruitful labor” for others, which ismore necessary for their sake (1:22,24). The welfare of others above one’sown is the corollary to such a perspec-tive, and therefore what is exalting toGod.

As a consequence of his current ex-perience, Paul was able to exhort thePhilippians to be confident (1:25-26),stand “firm in one spirit” (1:27-28), andbe willing to endure suffering for thesake of the Lord (1:29-30). The reasonfor these exhortations is to assure thechurch of their salvation “from God.”

How believers respond to adverse sit-uations is evidence of the reality of theirsalvation (cf. Luke 1:74; 1 John 4:18).The same Greek word, endeixis (“sign”),is applied to both the opponents and be-lievers. “Standing firm in one spirit,

with one mind striving together for thefaith of the gospel” (Phil 1:27) was asign against the opponents and thatthose in unity were recipients of eter-nal “salvation” (1:28). Moreover, theunity against opposition strengthensthose in such unity, and such an atti-tude is an indication of the salvationexperience.

How we respond to difficulty matterstremendously. “In every case the idea isof an undeniable manifestation of real-ity. It is not possible for a Christian tostand firm under persecution and forthe world to dismiss it as nothing. It isevidence of a supernatural power. Con-sequently, it is a token of salvation tothe Christian and of destruction tothose who will not believe” [JamesMontgomery Boice, Philippians (GrandRapids: Baker, 2000) 93].

Opposition can overwhelm humancharacter. The believer, however, has ex-perienced a supernatural work—by theplan of God through the cross of Christand the agency of the Holy Spirit—inhis or her life to overcome the chal-lenges of life, as evidence to both otherbelievers and even to those who do notbelieve the gospel of grace. (759)

To Live Is Christ


The believer, however, has experienceda supernatural work—by the plan ofGod through the cross of Christ and theagency of the Holy Spirit—in his or herlife to overcome the challenges of life,as evidence to both other believers andeven to those who do not believe thegospel of grace.

MAY 2016 27

The bombing became more andmore intensive and severe. Our fa-ther’s occupation made business

trips necessary (he was a self-employedbusinessman) to a firm he represented inWerdohl and Siegen. Thus, in February1945, he came back to Berlin one Fridayevening after a long train ride, with aconsiderable amount of work which heneeded to do in the offices of the Ritter-strasse. This should be completed by thenext day, on Saturday. Saturdays were atthat time regular working days.

Late in the evening on this Friday, at22:00, suddenly the telephone rang. Hissecretary and only coworker, Helene Fis-cher, asked unexpectedly whether shecould have the following day off. Shehad something important to do, shesaid, but she did not say what it was. Myfather appreciated her modesty, but be-cause of the urgency of the planned of-fice work, he turned her request down.

The matter gave him no peace, how-ever. As Fräulein Fischer had not saidanything about what was so important,and because in all the years she hadworked for him she had never asked foran unscheduled day off work, my fatherdecided that it must be something veryprivate and important, which he did notquestion her about out of a feeling oftact.

In quiet contemplation concerningthe situation, which for him was ratherunclear, he finally decided to postponethe planned office work until the follow-ing Monday. Shortly after midnight hecalled Fräulein Fischer on the phoneand said the work could be done onMonday. She could stay home on Satur-day, and he also would not go to work.

On this Saturday, there was an exten-sive attack on the business district ofRitterstrasse and around it. It began withexplosive bombs which shattered the

Seventy-one years ago the Second World War, and with it the terri-ble Holocaust, came to an end. Memories of the time before, duringand after the war. By Friedrich Hilliges. Part 4.

Firestorm ContinuedBombs and

windows of the house fronts, and phos-phorus canister incendiary devices,which exploded in the courtyards of thebuildings, thus spraying them from topto bottom with self-igniting phospho-rus. The buildings were suddenly inflames. The staff of the various firms inthe street, where our father also had hisoffices, fled to the air raid shelter of theneighboring house, as they had madewall openings as escape routes.

Two SS soldiers, who happened tohave something to do in that house, re-alized the catastrophic, almost hopelesssituation: that the street, the housefronts and the courtyards of the build-ings were suddenly in flames. Used towar, they ran indiscriminately in a direc-tion along the street. To run away wasthe only chance of survival. There washardly air to breathe. They were the onlyones who made it and were eyewitnessesof the terrible events in the courtyardand on the street in front of the businessquarters of our father. All 34 staff mem-bers who worked in this area and hadcrawled into the air raid shelter of theneighboring house, were later recoveredfrom the ruins as charred and burnedbodies.

From Tempelhof (Berlin airport area),immense clouds of smoke could be seenfrom the business district. Late on thisSaturday evening, my father went onfoot (as the public transport was at astandstill) in the direction of the Ritter-strasse, to see what was remaining of it.He was able to climb through Linden-strasse, but the Ritterstrasse was com-pletely impassable from the smokingruins of collapsed houses. It was obvi-ous that for him, an escape from this in-ferno would have been completelyimpossible.

The business was ruined but our liveswere saved. Our father recognized anewthe merciful leading of our graciousGod. (MR0815/751)

Bombs and Firestorm Continued


He was able to climb through Lindenstrasse, but the Ritterstrasse wascompletely impassable from the smoking ruins of collapsed houses. Itwas obvious that for him, an escape from this inferno would have beencompletely impossible. The business was ruined but our lives were saved.Our father recognized anew the merciful leading of our gracious God.

Ritterstrasse (above)in central Berlin,1945. Ritterstrassetoday (below) © REUTERS

Political leaders feel the need toappear Christian, say Christian-

sounding things, show up at Christian in-stitutions, and end their speeches with“God bless America!” American moneyproclaims “In God we trust.” What couldbe more Christian than that?

Though voters may speak piously andrather vaguely about Christian values andideals, polls and election results commu-nicate clearly that this is a nation con-sumed by fear, anger and suspicion,none of which are Christian vir tues.

Of course, Americans and their leaderswill continue to speak in the name ofGod, even profess grand things aboutGod, as they make their case for Ameri-can Exceptionalism and the righteous-ness of the American Way. But from ascriptural point of view, it is all rubbish.What matters is not what you say buthow you live. And from a Christian pointof view, nothing matters more than livinga life that is inspired by God’s love foreveryone.

Love or noise? Love or nothing? Chris-tianity hinges on how people choose be-tween them. If Americans were serious

about being a Christian country, theywould call for th and elect leaders whoare patient and kind, and never boastfulor rude. They would demand a politicalprocess much less characterized by vit-riol and noise.

In calling for an end to the rhetoric of a“Christian America,” I am not calling foran end to Christianity in America. The vi-olence and hate, and the greed and thelack of sympathy for those deemed dan-gerously other, indicate that now is pre-cisely the time for a sustained infusion ofGod’s love in our political deliberation.

But for that love to be genuinely Christ-ian, and not a projection of our own fear,anxiety or arrogance, citizens are goingto have to separate once and for all thefalse identification of American andChristian ideals. They may overlap fromtime to time, but they are not the same.

-www.washingtonpost.com, 25 February 2016

Commentary: Thismay not be a pleasantarticle to read, particu-larly realizing that thewriter comes fromCanada. But some important points needto be emphasized, because “ChristianAmerica” never wasand never will be.Why not? Scripturesimply makes no pro-vision for a Christianpolitical identity onearth. However, gen-uine Christians inAmerica make up animportant voice for

true Christianity. This is evidenced by themultiple churches, missionary organiza-tions, Bible colleges and seminaries, plusan eminent volume of solidly-basedChristian literature.

May our Lord grant that many morewould break through to a living faith inJesus Christ and become part of the truenation, the Church of Jesus Christ asdescribed by the apostle Peter, “But yeare a chosen generation, a royal priest-hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;that ye should show forth the praises ofhim who hath called you out of dark-ness into his marvel-lous light” (1Peter 2:9).6234(For more on the

Christian life, read

Prayer and Revival, Item

1002.)

The End of Christian America?When I first moved from Canada tothe United States 30 years ago, I wastold repeatedly that America is aChristian nation. It isn’t simply thatAmerica has many self-professingChristians living within its borders.The identity of America as a whole,its history and its destiny, are some-how tied to Christianity.

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U S A

A demonstrator dressed as the Bible stands outside theSupreme Court building awaiting the court’s decision onthe Hobby Lobby case in Washington in 2014. Pablo Martinez Monsivais AP



G E R M A N Y

Government Estimates 3.6Million Refugees by 2020The German government is expect-ing an average of half a millionrefugees to arrive in the countryevery year for the next five years, anewspaper report says. More than amillion have already been taken in.

The figure of 3.6 million was calcu-lated on the basis that 2.5 million

more refugees would arrive in Germanyfrom 2016 to 2020 in addition to the 1.1million that came to the country in 2015,the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote in itsrepor t. It said it was citing internal prog-noses drawn up by the Ministry of Eco-nomic Affairs and Energy.

Another German paper repor ted thatAfghan asylum-seekers who were recentlyflown back to their home country had re-ceived 700 euros ($771) in financial sup-por t.

The money for the Afghans, who returnedhome voluntarily, consisted of 200 eurosfor travel costs and 500 euros to help themre-establish themselves, according to therepor t in the Bild newspaper.

Also, EU interior ministers were to meetin Brussels to discuss a coordinated ap-proach to the refugee crisis. Deputy TurkishInterior Minister Sebahattin Öztürk will at-tend par t of the talks, reflecting Turkey’skey role in finding a resolution to the currentsituation, which has seen millions of

refugees and migrants, mostly from theMiddle East and Africa, flee from conflictand pover ty in their home countries to Eu-rope.

Turkey has taken in some 2 millionrefugees in recent years, most of them flee-ing the conflict in neighboring Syria.

-www.dw.com, 25 February 2016

Commentary: The floodof refugees will con-tinue as long as warrages in countries suchas Afghanistan, Iraq,Syria, and Libya, toname a few. Europe’sopen border policies arebeing challenged as thestream of people seek-ing security does notseem to abate. But Eu-

rope has experience dealing with these peo-ple in a civilized manner and, as the richestcontinent on Earth, money is available. Ofcourse, there are extreme views on bothsides of the issue, but extremism will al-ways lead down the wrong path.

Our interest lies exclusively in theGospel of Jesus Christ. We see many ofthese refugees turning to Jesus Christ andbecoming believers. It is for that reason weunderstand this to be the hand of God, wholeads these people away from countrieswhere Christians are discriminated againstand sometimes persecuted. Thus, ourprayer is that many more will heed the glo-rious invitation: “All that the Father giveth

me shall come tome; and him thatcometh to me Iwill in no wisecast out” (John6:37). 6235(For more on this sub-

ject, read The Coming

Muslim Invasion? Item

1071.)

R U S S I A

Why Moscow Championedthe Creation of IsraelThe UN General Assembly vote on29 November 1947 in favor of thepartition of Palestine, which led tothe creation of the state of Israel,would have never happened withoutstrong Soviet advocacy.

Moscow’s shift from blatant antago-nism to Zionism as a national liberation

movement to effusive support has puzzled his-torians for decades. The initial, significant en-counter of the Zionist leadership with theRussians, which drew Soviet attention to the po-tential asset of the Zionist movement, took placebefore Germany’s invasion of Russia—paradox-ically at the height of Soviet Russia’s collabora-tion with Nazi Germany under the aegis of theMolotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Joseph Stalin,wrongly assuming the end of the war was immi-nent following the fall of France, was eager toimprove his political standing in a peace confer-ence—which he expected to be convened in1942—to readdress the European balance ofpower. The future of the British Empire, whichhad been entrusted with the mandate overPalestine, assumed a special significance.

Chaim Weizmann, an astute observer of inter-national politics and president of the World Zion-ist Organization, seems to have perceivedStalin’s objectives.

“Soviet Jews will gradually merge with thegeneral current of Russian life, as an inalienablepart of it. I may not like this, but I’m ready to ac-cept it: at least Soviet Jews are on firm ground,and their fate does not make me shudder. But Icannot think without horror about the fate of the6-7 million Jews who live in central or south-eastern Europe—in Germany, Austria, Czecho-slovakia, the Balkans and especially Poland.What’s going to happen to them? Where willthey go?”

…Taking all these circumstances into ac-count, Weizmann anxiously asks himself: “Whathas a British victory to offer the Jews?” Thequestion leads him to some uncomfortable con-

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MAY 2016 31 Visit www.midnightcall.com

clusions. For the only “plan” which Weizmanncan think of to save central European Jewry (andin the first place Polish Jewry) is this: to move amillion Arabs now living in Palestine to Iraq, andto settle four or five million Jews from Polandand other countries on the land which the Arabshad been occupying. The British are hardly likelyto agree to this. And if theydon’t agree, what will hap-pen?

Most of Ivan Maisky’s [So-viet ambassador to Britain]interlocutors spoke fluentRussian, displayed confi-dence in the efficacy of theZionist movement as a politi-cal force once the British leftPalestine, and embraced gen-uine socialist ideas.

For the first time the SovietUnion made a clear stand onthe political future of Palestineand the Jewish question, towhich it hoped to harness thesupport of the United Statesand perhaps Britain. The initialguideline advocated the cre-ation of “a single, independent and democraticPalestine” where the Jews, who would be a mi-nority, would “enjoy equal national and democ-ratic rights.” The memorandum was adoptedverbatim as the Kremlin’s policy, but its dayswere numbered.

The crucial vote of 29 November might havetaken a completely different turn had the Rus-sians not made their dramatic volte-face in thespring. Moscow’s immediate, and prime, incen-tive was an immediate end to the Mandate andpresence of British troops. Yet there are manysigns that the switch was designed to herald along-term association with the new Jewishstate. “Jewish opinion must be consulted on allimportant questions concerning Palestine,” theSoviet delegation in New York were told. “In par-ticular, this must be done on the matter ofJerusalem.”

-mondediplo.com, 20 February 2016

Commentary: We have only published afew excerpts from the 6-page article by LeMonde Diplomatique. It suffices to showthe nations of the world being involved insetting the boundaries of the PromisedLand. Then President Truman of the USA,maneuvered everything in his power to

avoid Soviet domina-tion of that part of theMiddle East. In the end,however, everythingturned out differently.The Jews, of whom themajority came from theSoviet Union, unilater-ally declared their stateon 14 May 1948. Inter-estingly, it was the So-viet Union which firstrecognized the state ofIsrael on 17 May 1948,followed by Poland,Czechoslovakia, Yu-goslavia, Ireland, andSouth Africa. US recog-nition came on 31 Janu-ary 1949.

The State of Israel was established onthe basis of the UN General Assemblyvote on 29 November 1947. Of the thirty-three nations voting, 72% voted for thepartition, while 28% voted against. Virtu-ally all Muslim nations voted against par-tition.

As for Israel, the Word of God has this tosay: “And I will plant them upon their land,and they shall nomore be pulled up outof their land which Ihave given them,saith the LORD thyGod” (Amos 9:15).

6236(For more on Israel’s found-

ing, read Are We Really Liv-

ing in the Last Days? Item

2277.)

I S R A E L

Christian Arabs IncreaseIntegration into IsraeliSocietyThe Christian community in Israeljust received great news: 40 ArabChristian male and female collegestudents, all of whom have com-pleted military or national service,have won year-long scholarships.

According to the Central Bureau of Sta-tistics, 166,000 Christians currentlylive in Israel, comprising 2% of the

population.As of December 2014, 79.1% of Israeli

Christians were of Arab descent, while therest were mostly relatives of Jews who madealiya in the 1990s under the Law of Returnfrom the former Soviet Union, and their chil-dren.

A historic change occurred in the IsraeliChristian Arab community in August 2012,when the Christian Community MobilizationForum was created to encourage all streamsof Christian Arabs to enlist in the IDF. TheChristian Arab community in Israel is verypro-Israel and they advocate full integrationinto Israeli society, as well as returning to theirChristian Aramean roots.

For Christian Israelis, carrying out full ser-vice in the IDF is an integral part of their lives,and until the late 1990s about 30 Christian

Mobilization Forum is working to makeit easier for population to join the IDF Father Gabriel Nadaf(photo credit: FACEBOOK)

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(continued next page)

I R A N

‘Israel Is Not a Threat; It IsNot a State’The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, hasdismissed Israel as a threat to the Islamic Republic, saying Tehran’slack of recognition of the Jewish staterenders its warnings as “emptythreats.”

“We essentially do not see [Israel] as astate, therefore it’s not a threat to Iran,”

London-based news outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeedquoted him as saying in an interview.

Salehi made the remarks in response to aquestion about his estimates on the chance ofan Israeli-Iranian war in the wake of the nucleardeal reached last year with world powers.

Irrespective of the global deal over the Iran-ian nuclear program, the Israel Air Force hascontinued building its long-range capabilities,and maintaining its readiness for any potentialfuture scenario that may develop between Is-rael and the Islamic Republic.

Last August, an Iranian official denied thathis government’s policy towards Israel has

changed and said that the Zionist regimeshould be annihilated.

“Our positions against the usurper Zionistregime have not changed at all; Israel shouldbe annihilated and this is our ultimate slogan,”the Iranian Parliament Speaker’s Adviser forInternational Affairs Hossein Sheikholeslamwas quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars newsagency.

-www.jpost.com, 1 March 2016

Commentary: Iran does not border Israel;the countries are separated by Jordan andIraq. So, why does Iran consider Israel an

enemy? The answer is simple: becausethey are Jews. That fact confirms that theJews are the only people where real ex-ceptionalism applies. If Israel does not ex-ist, why make the statement, “Israelshould be annihilated and this is our ulti-mate slogan.” That is a contradiction ofterms.

Will Israel be annihilated? Not accord-ing to the Word of God. There is no othernation in the world that has a future, ex-cept Israel. Israel indeed has become adesolate nation, as we read in Zechariah7:14, “But I scattered them with a whirl-wind among all the nations whom theyknew not. Thus the land was desolate afterthem, that no man passed through nor re-turned: for they laid the pleasant land des-olate.” But we read the promise in chapter12, verse 3, “And in that day will I makeJerusalem a burdensome stone for all peo-ple: all that burden themselves with itshall be cut in pieces, though all the peo-ple of the earth be gathered togetheragainst it.” 6231 (For more on this subject, read Iran and Israel, Item 2283.)


Iran's head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi.(photo credit:REUTERS) L

Arabs volunteered to serve in the IDF eachyear.

But the moment three Christian Arab priestsfrom the forum joined forces with the DefenseMinistry in an effort to promote the enlistmentof Christians in national service, the numbersskyrocketed. In 2013, over 130 ChristianArabs enlisted in the IDF, and in both 2014 and2015, 110 Christians volunteered to serve.

-www.jpost.com, 17 January 2016

Commentary: This report seems encourag-ing, although the majority of ChristianArabs with Israeli citizenship are not join-ing this movement. We must also mentionhere that the definition “Christian” simplymeans they are neither Jews nor Muslims.Most belong to the Catholic and Greek Or-

thodox churches. Nevertheless, from reliablesources we hear that the Church—consisting oftruly born-again Christians—in Israel contin-ues to grow. Yet caution must be taken due tosome elements of Jewish extremism in Israel.

What will be the end? All Israel will oneday recognize the Messiah, the King of theJews and Savior of the world. What is hin-dering that day from arriving? Romans11:25b-26a tells us: “…blindness in part is

happened to Israel,until the fulness ofthe Gentiles be comein. And so all Israelshall be saved…”

6237(For more on Israel’s future,

read Messianic Psalms, Item

1074.)

Christian Arabs (continued from page 31)


I S R A E L

Traditional Family StillMajorityThe nuclear family composed ofa married couple and their chil-dren still accounts for the major-ity of Israeli families, the CentralBureau of Statistics said.

In its annual compendium of sta-tistics issued ahead of Family Day,

the government agency reported that, in2014, approximately 95 percent of all Is-raeli couples were married.

The remaining 88,000 pairs were de-scribed as “cohabiting”—a “low rate”compared to countries such as Italy at 7%and Norway at 27%.

-www.jpost.com, 8 February 2016

No Commentary 6238

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I T A L Y

Roman Citizenship Privileges and DutiesCitizenship in ancient Rome (Latin:civitas) was a privileged political andlegal status afforded to free individu-als with respect to laws, property,and governance.

In the Roman Republic and later in theRoman Empire, people residing within

the Roman state could roughly be divided intoseveral classes:

A male Roman citizen enjoyed a wide rangeof privileges and protections defined in detail bythe Roman state. A citizen could, under certainexceptional circumstances, be deprived of hiscitizenship.

Roman women had a limited form of citizen-ship. Though held in high regard they were notallowed to vote or stand for civil or public office.The rich might participate in public life by fund-ing building projects or sponsoring religiousceremonies and other events. Women had theright to own property, to engage in business,and to obtain a divorce, but their legal rights var-ied over time. Marriages were an importantform of political alliance during the Republic.

Client state citizens and allies (socii) of Romecould receive a limited form of Roman citizen-ship such as the Latin Right. Such citizenscould not vote or be elected in Roman elections.

Ius migrationis: The right to preserve one’slevel of citizenship upon relocation to a polis ofcomparable status.

The right of immunity from some taxes andother legal obligations, especially local rulesand regulations.

The right to sue in the courts and the right tobe sued.

The right to have a legal trial (to appear be-fore a proper court and to defend oneself).

The right to appeal from the decisions ofmagistrates and to appeal the lower court deci-sions.

Following the early 2nd-century BC PorcianLaws, a Roman citizen could not be tortured or

whipped and could commute sentences ofdeath to voluntary exile, unless he was foundguilty of treason.

If accused of treason, a Roman citizen hadthe right to be tried in Rome, and even if sen-tenced to death, no Roman citizen could besentenced to die on the cross.

-en.wikipedia.org

Commentary: Rome is not limited to the city,nor to the nation of Italy, but Rome is alsoEurope. From Europe the law went forth tothe rest of the world. The basic principles,laws, duties and responsibilities are still thefoundation of the Gentile world, and willcontinue to be until the new government isestablished in the millennium.

We note for example that Roman womenhad the right to own property: in the UnitedStates, it was only in 1839 when Mississippibecame the first state to grant women theright to own property. However, this wasonly with a note attached, “With permissionfrom husband.”

Also of interest is that, “No Roman citi-zen could be sentenced to die on the cross.”Here we are reminded of the crucifixion ofJesus Christ our Lord. Although Roman sol-ders did the work, the guilt was placed uponthe entire world, “For of a truth against thyholy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed,both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with theGentiles, and the people of Israel, were gath-ered together” (Acts 4:27). We may con-sider Herod a half-Jew, Pontius Pilate aRoman, and the Gentiles the rest of theworld. Israel is mentioned last. What anamazing prophecy: the world collectivelyrejects Jesus, the crucified One. Salvationis offered to all people anytime, anywherein the world, “He that believeth on the Sonhath everlasting life: and he that believethnot the Son shall not see life; but the wrathof God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

6243(For more on salvation, read Why It Pays to Be a Christian,

Item 1054.)

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C A N A D A

Parliament Passes Anti-BDS MotionCanada’s Parliament passed amotion formally condemning theBoycott, Divestment and Sanc-tions movement against Israel.

It calls on the Canadian governmentto “condemn any and all attempts by

Canadian organizations, groups or individu-als to promote the BDS movement, bothhere at home and abroad.”

In addition, the motion notes Canada andIsrael’s “long history of friendship as well aseconomic and diplomatic relations.” Themotion says the BDS movement “promotesthe demonization and delegitimization of theState of Israel.”

Speaking in favor of the motion, ForeignAffairs Minister Stephane Dion said “theworld will win nothing for boycotting Israelbut depriving itself of the talents of its inven-tiveness.”

Responding to the vote in a news release,the National Council on Canada Arab Rela-tions said the anti-BDS motion goes “againstthe spirit of the Freedom of Speech, a rightenshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights andFreedoms.”

The group described BDS as a “nonvio-lent campaign that supports proven meth-ods of conscientious objection to encourageIsrael to respect international law.”

-www.jpost.com, 23 February 2016

A pedestrian walks in the rain onParliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada.(photo credit:REUTERS)

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Commentary: Foreign Minister StephaneDion hit the nail on the head, “the worldwill win nothing for boycotting Israel butdepriving itself of the talents of its inven-tiveness.”

People and governments all over theworld realize Israel’s preeminent positionwhen it comes to high-tech, particularly inthe defense industry. The Canadian gov-ernment is to be commended for their de-cision to formally condemn the Boycott,Divestment and Sanctions movementagainst Israel.

Arab countries in particular, couldgreatly benefit by developing better rela-

tions and making fulluse of Israel’s talentsand inventiveness.

6223(For more on anti-Semitism,

read Judgment Day! Item

2211.)

C H I N A

New Global Rules in theWorksThe International Monetary Fund’sexecutive board announced on 30November that the Chinese cur-rency, the renminbi (RMB) or yuan,would soon be included in the bas-ket of currencies that make up itsSpecial Drawing Rights (SDR), be-side the US dollar, the euro, theBritish pound and the yen.

The decision recognized the growingrole of the Chinese currency in inter-

national trade settlements. Since the launchin 2009 of a pilot program for cross-borderRMB trade settlements in Asia, the share ofChinese trade settled in RMB has risen from3.2% to 25%, and should, according to theFinancial Times, soon reach 46%.

“Great powers have great currencies,”says Robert Mundell. Like the gradual rise

of the dollar to reserve status in the early20th century, the internationalization of theRMB is part of the larger story of China’s re-emergence as a semi-autonomous core ofthe world economy, and as the primary dri-ver of the movement of East-West andNorth-South rebalancing that is a key fea-ture of current world politics. China’s shareof world GDP, in purchasing power parity(PPP), has risen in 40 years from less than2% to over 16%, ahead of the U.S.

China’s re-emergence has begun to alterthe vertical North-South relations of the ageof western empire and industry. This gener-ates new dependencies: when Chinasneezes, emerging country partners catchcolds—as with the current downturns forexporters of primary goods because ofChina’s slowing growth. The impact of theglobal crisis on China evincesthe need for a sustainable de-velopment strategy focusedon domestic improve-ments rather than exportgrowth. Even so, we arewitnessing a structuralchange in the global eco-nomic and political hierarchy.

Recognizing the challenge,the US intensively lobbied al-lied states in Asia and Europeto stay out of the Asian Infra-structure Investment Bank

(AIIB), arguing that itwould not meet IMF andWorld Bank standards oftransparency, environ-mental and social respon-sibility, and democraticgovernance.

China, with other post-colonial states, is now ina position to co-authorthe rules. Power will haveto be shared. The interna-tionalization of the RMB isjust part of this story.

-mondediplo.com, 8 February 2016

Commentary: As often mentioned in thiscolumn, China drives, surprises, and im-presses the rest of the world. When itcomes to international economic growth,China is second to none. But there is onehindrance: the dominance of the U.S. dol-lar. Will Communist China succeed? Timewill tell. One thing we do know is that the

world will becomemore and more in-terdependent.

6213(For more on this sub-

ject, read Revelation 13:

Satan’s Last Victory, Item

1067


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Anti-BDS (continued from page 33)

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Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images

MAY 2016 35

Corruption, Catastrophesand a Time of Grace

Many people have heard whathappened last year inGuatemala. The corruption of

the government was so obvious that thepopulation demonstrated almost everyweek on the square in front of the gov-ernment building. As a result of this,the vice president had to resign, appearin court and go to prison. The presidentfollowed her although both of them had

declared their innocence. A whole lineof government officials who were in-volved in shady business landed behindbars. This is only the tip of the iceberg,however.

At the same time, the election of 14different parties began for the new gov-ernment, which would hold their officefrom January. They were turbulentweeks. Finally, Jimmy Morales was

BY ANDRÉ AND INGRID BEITZE, GUATEMALA CITY

MIDNIGHT CALL

Fellow Laborers

General view ofthe village of ElCambray II, inSanta CatarinaPinula municipalityafter a landslidePhoto: AP

With credit cardready, call:

800-845-2420 or fax:

803-755-6002

MC0516

MIDNIGHT CALL

“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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elected for the next four years. He is abarely known person, a man without apolitical career. He comes from aChristian home and studied for threeyears in the Baptist Seminary ofGuatemala. He knows the Word ofGod and what God expects of him. Itwill not be easy, however, to lead thegovernment, as the traditional partieshave the majority in the congress. Ourprayer is that the Lord will give himcompetent people at his side, who arewilling to seek the best for the landand not their own enrichment.

The land itself suffered from lack ofrain in 2015, so that many crops weredestroyed. Afterwards, it suffered fromtoo much water, which did a lot ofdamage. In the landslide of CambrayII, for instance, 200 houses were sweptaway or covered. There were over 280dead and numerous people missing.

May the Lord send this land a time ofgrace, for much blood and the cries ofidolatry went up daily to heaven.

It is by grace that in Guatemala wecan distribute the Word of God so plen-tifully. In the bookstore, we often havethe opportunity of helping people intheir troubles. A father came to us, forinstance, whose 14 year old daughterwas keeping company with the wrongpeople. He was looking for a helpfulbook. We were able to provide him withthe right literature and give him advice.We also have the possibility of beingpresent at many conferences and semi-nars, with the Midnight Call book table.So, there are continual opportunities ofreaching other people with literatureabout the Gospel, Christian disciple-ship and the return of Jesus. We arevery grateful for this.

(MR0216)


MIDNIGHT CALL

Fellow Laborers

“A father came to us, for instance, whose 14 year old daughterwas keeping company with the wrong people. He was lookingfor a helpful book. We were able to provide him with the rightliterature and give him advice.”

Bible readers are familiar with the contents of Reve-lation 11. It begins with the measuring of theTemple in Jerusalem, and the separating from the

Gentiles, “But the court which is without [outside] thetemple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given untothe Gentiles….”

These two witnesses are endued with supernaturalpowers; they are able to shut off rain and turn water intoblood. This reminds us of Elijah the prophet, whoprayed and said, “…As the LORD God of Israel liveth,before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rainthese years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).

Of Moses we read, “And Moses and Aaron did so, asthe LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, andsmote the waters that were in the river, in the sight ofPharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the wa-ters that were in the river were turned to blood” (Exo-dus 7:20).

These two witnesses, also called “the two olive trees,”are two Jewish men who will appear in Jerusalem at thetime when Jerusalem, “spiritually is called Sodom andEgypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” From thisverse, we realize this is not a spiritual event transpiringin another world, but is physically and literally inJerusalem, the city where our Lord was crucified.

The great question is, what are these two witnessesprophesying during these 1,260 days (3 ½ years)? Obvi-ously, truth. God’s prophets will only speak truth.

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, makes thisstatement in Luke 1:17, 71, “And he shall go before himin the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of thefathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wis-dom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for theLord…That we should be saved from our enemies, andfrom the hand of all that hate us.” That prophecy hasnot been fully fulfilled. Israel is definitely not “saved

from [her] enemies,” and hate against Israel is actuallyincreasing.

So, what is the message of these two witnesses? Theywill expose the lies and hypocrisy of the nations of theworld with their leaders.

Do we have any evidence that Israel is singled out? Is adouble standard applied when political statements aremade, and when judgment is passed about alleged humanrights abuses in Israel? Indeed, Israel is singled out.Wikipedia, under the title, “List of the UN resolutionsconcerning Israel and Palestine,” says the following:

As of 2013, Israel had been condemned in 45 resolutions by

United Nations Human Rights Council since its creation in

2006—the Council had resolved almost more resolutions

condemning Israel than on the rest of the world combined.

The 45 resolutions comprised almost half (45.9%) of all coun-

try-specific resolutions passed by the Council, not counting

those under Agenda Item 10 (countries requiring technical as-

sistance). From 1967 to 1989 the UN Security Council adopted

131 resolutions directly addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Interestingly, little to nothing is being said, muchless is there condemnation regarding the horrificslaughter taking place in Arab countries, and extend-edly in the Islamic world.

Why do the nations always condemn Israel? Wefind the answer in Holy Scripture. The Jews are differ-ent from all nations upon the face of the earth. Theyare the only people God has a special relationshipwith, “You only have I known of all the families of theearth” (Amos 3:2).

Since Israel’s reemergence on the world scene, wehave visible proof that the prophets of old spoke thetruth and nothing but the truth.

When the beast ascends out of the bottomless pit andkills the two witnesses, we read in Revelation 11:10 about

MIDNIGHT CALL

“And I will give power unto my two wit-nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousandtwo hundred and threescore days, clothed insackcloth” (Revelation 11:3).

MAY 2016 37

BY ARNO FROESE

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

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

r yearly r monthly r one time $_______

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a global party, “And they that dwell upon the earth shallrejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send giftsone to another; because these two prophets tormentedthem that dwelt on the earth.”

The whole world will celebrate a “Christmas party.”They will be jubilant and glad to have gotten rid of truth.Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and Churchianity will allparticipate in this truly global party. Why? “Because thetwo prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”Note carefully this speaks of the entire world. The ques-tion is, how did these two witnesses torment the wholeworld? The answer again is with simple truth.

‘Musicians Won’t Dare Criticize Israel’An article in the Jerusalem Post, dated 22 February 2016,had this to say:

Roger Waters, the bassist and co-founder of legendary progres-

sive rock group Pink Floyd, told a British newspaper that musi-

cians are afraid of denouncing Israel over its policies as they

relate to the Palestinians because they see the backlash that he

has absorbed over his support for the Boycott, Divestment, and

Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“My industry has been particularly recalcitrant in even rais-

ing a voice [against Israel]. There’s me and Elvis Costello, Brian

Eno, Manic Street Preachers, one or two others, but there’s no-

body in the United States where I live. I’ve talked to a lot of them,

and they are scared.”

“If they say something in public they will no longer have a ca-

reer. They will be destroyed.

We need them desperately in this conversation in the same

way we needed musicians to join protesters over Vietnam.”

Here we see just a light shadow of the “torment” in-flicted upon musicians that dare to criticize Israel. In this

case, Israel has an advantage because a large percent-age of Jews are in the entertainment industry; subse-quently, led by the United States, they are able toeffectively throttle anti-Israel propaganda.

At the time when the two witnesses appear inJerusalem, they will expose the political, economic, fi-nancial, and social practices that are incoherent andcontrary to plain, simple truth.

Later in the book of Revelation, we read of the de-struction of the world economic/financial system andthe great lamentation of the people on earth becauseof the loss.

Interesting, however, is the fact that the world atlarge finds no room for repentance. For example, inchapter 6, verses 15-16, we read of the people of theworld hiding themselves, “from the face of him thatsitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of theLamb.”

In chapter 9, it says in the last verse, “Neither re-pented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”

In chapter 16, we read of the horrible judgmentthat comes upon earth, yet verses 9 and 11 read, “…and they repented not to give him glory...and repentednot of their deeds.”

However, when Jerusalem comes under judgment,it says, “And the same hour was there a great earth-quake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in theearthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and theremnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God ofheaven” (verse 13).

Yes, Israel is unique; Israel is the visible manifesta-tion of God’s work on earth, and Israel is the only in-destructible nation on planet Earth.

MAY 2016 39

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.

HEALING...HEAVENLY SIGNS...SAVED BY CHILDBEARING

HealingDear Mr. Arno Froese,

I have been a Christian sinceI was in my early 20s. I wasraised in the Methodist church.After I got married, we at-tended a Methodist church,then a Baptist church and anAssembly of God church. In theAssembly of God church, wewere taught healing, gifts of theSpirit, miracles, etc. My ques-tion is mainly about healingand miracles. In your opinion,do they really happen today asthey did in the book of Acts? Ihave a friend who just died ofcancer. She was prayed formany times, and went to ahealing service and was prayedfor with laying on of hands.Nothing happened and shedied. I have back problems andhave asked God many times forhealing. It hasn’t happened. Ibelieve the Bible is the Word ofGod, but don’t understand

when things like this happen.Thank you.

-D. Haler, GA

Answer: A sick believer is instructed

in James 5:14-15 to call the elders of

the church. The safest way is always to

follow the instruction of Scripture. The

Apostle Paul tells us, “…Trophimus

have I left at Miletum sick” (2 Timothy

4:20). He himself prayed about his

physical infirmity. What was the an-

swer? “My grace is sufficient.” Does

God heal today? Yes, but the counter

question must also be asked: why

should He? His Word makes it clear

that it is appointed unto man once to

die. When we get up in age, our physi-

cal infirmities increase until we finally

give up the spirit.

While we thank God for medical

science and the often miraculous re-

sults, we must not confuse it with di-

vine healing. Years ago, a reader of

Midnight Call, a surgeon who special-

ized in restructuring deformed ba-

bies, made a profound statement, “I

have yet to see a missing limb being

replaced instantaneously.” Therefore,

my brother, be of good courage; your

back problem will most likely get

worse, and so do my various infirmi-

ties. But for us, it is just part of the

preparation for going home.

Heavenly SignsFolks:

The Four Blood Moons:Right or wrong, God does sayHe will show wonders in theheavens. Plural, meaning morethan one heaven.

God’s sign/signal has beenshown to us all after the flood.That sign/signal is the rainbow.God says, “I have set my rain-bow in the clouds, and it willbe the sign of the covenant be-tween me and the earth” (Gen-esis 9:13).

As for me, the heaven aboveproclaims God’s creation. Re-member, the Star of David pro-claimed Jesus’ birth: a

Letters to the Editor


sign/signal to proclaim God’slove for mankind.

Matthew 2:9, “…The Starwhich they had seen in the Eastwent before them, till it cameand stood over where theyoung Child was.” Did every-one on earth see the Star?Maybe not but to me, it was asign/signal proclaiming God’sgift to mankind.

We can debate all day long,but I’m reminded constantly ofone of my favorite Bible versesin the Bible, “Blessed is he whoreads and those who hear thewords of this prophecy, andkeep those things which arewritten in it: for the time isnear” (Revelation 1:3).

-R. Tanciar, NC

Answer: Revelation 1:3 does not ad-

monish us to watch for signs. Paul

writes, “…We look not at the things

which are seen, but at the things

which are not seen” (2 Corinthians

4:18). We have the full counsel of God

in our Bible from Genesis to Revela-

tion. I outright reject the Blood

Moons, the Harbinger, the Tetrad, etc.

because these things hinder us from

the real goal, and that is watching for

Jesus alone. We do not need signs and

wonders; we need faith in the already

accomplished work of the Lord.

Saved by ChildbearingDear Brother Arno Froese:

Thanks for your letters alongwith the Midnight Call maga-zine; since I was a child back inBrazil, I read the MidnightCall’s literature and it is solidfood; may the Lord bless youand your team.

Several years ago, the mailcarrier told my mom the mag-azine’s name intrigued himquite a bit, which soon ledhim to go to church. He endedup giving his life to Christ.The Lord’s Word is powerfulin so many ways, and His peo-ple are being gathered all overthe world.

I was wondering if youmight help to clarify somethingin the Bible, please: it is verse15 in 1 Timothy chapter 2,where it says the woman willbe saved in childbearing…I amscratching my head about itand do not know what to makeof it. I cannot help but thinkabout women that have nochildren.

-A. Trajano, WV

Answer: Salvation comes ONLY

through Jesus Christ, who said, “I am

the way, the truth, and the life: no man

cometh unto the Father, but by me”

(John 14:6).

In 1 Timothy 2, it speaks of our po-

sition in this world and the church,

concluding with the position of the

woman. This is emphasized in verse

12, “…nor to usurp authority over the

man.” Verse 14 says, “And Adam was

not deceived, but the woman being

deceived was in the transgression.”

It’s speaking of the position of the

woman.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee made a fitting

statement, “Don’t ever say that the

woman brought sin into the world,

unless you are prepared to add that

the woman also brought the Savior

into the world. My friend, no man pro-

vided a Savior; a woman did.” This

speaks of women regarding salva-

tion—it comes from the seed of a

woman.

CatholicLetter to the Editor:

My ex-wife married me inthe Catholic Church, but soonhad enough of some Catholicsasking Mary’s help rather thanprayers directly to Jesus only.She added that God shows nopartiality, therefore Mary is inher grave until resurrectiontime like the rest of us humans.What about Elijah and Moses,who were apparently presentwith Jesus at the Transfigura-tion? And not that advanceblessing for Mother Mary?What of Lourdes, Fatima,Guadalupe, and so on?

Likewise, there is disagree-ment regarding Holy Commu-nion in our Catholic Mass.When God said, “Let there belight,” I trust we agree that ithappened! When Jesus at theLast Supper said, as He distrib-uted the bread and wine, “Thisis my body…this is my blood…take and eat and drink, all ofyou,” what happened? And inother Holy Scripture, “Unlessyou do, you will not have lifein you.” Pretty clear and heavy,wouldn’t you agree? So whenour priest at Mass asks theHoly Spirit to repeat thatchange for the ongoing spiri-tual food of each current gener-ation, what happens?

Your thoughts on these divi-sive issues are appreciated,while we await His full revela-tion.

-L. Conrad, WI

Letters to the Editor

Answer: “For there is one God, and

one mediator between God and men,

the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

That eliminates all others.

Moses and Elijah appeared in their

spiritual identity. That’s why Peter rec-

ognized them, although he had never

seen them.

Regarding the Lord’s resurrection,

we read in Matthew 27:52, “…the

graves were opened; and many bod-

ies of the saints which slept arose.”

Where did these saints go? Ephesians

4:8 answers, “…When he ascended up

on high, he led captivity captive, and

gave gifts unto men.” That means

some of the saints arose physically

and literally, and when Jesus as-

cended to heaven, He took them with

Him.

Regarding Lourdes, Fatima,

Guadalupe, etc., they are based on vi-

sions of certain people and have no

relationship to Holy Scripture.

Jesus said, “He that eateth my flesh,

and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in

me, and I in him” (John 6:56). He ex-

plains it in verse 63, “It is the spirit that

quickeneth; the flesh profiteth noth-

ing: the words that I speak unto you,

they are spirit and they are life.”

The rebirth, the result of real faith,

makes me part of His body spiritually.

Physically, however, my flesh and

blood remains sinful; subsequently, it

will die as written in Hebrews 9:27.

Rightly DividingDear Mr. Froese,

You stated that 2 Timothy3:16 says, “All Scripture isgiven by inspiration of God,and is profitable for doctrine,for reproof, for correction, forinstruction in righteousness.”But it is not to us necessarily!

Even the laziest Bible studentrecognizes that the dietary laws(not suggestions for betterhealth!) in Leviticus, didn’t applyto Noah and his family (Genesis9:1-3) after the Flood, and theydo not apply to us, the Church.Most Christians intuitively knowthat while God is indeed thesame as always (Hebrew 13:8),His dealings have not alwaysbeen the same. And Abrahamknew no Law but was called “AFriend of God.” Etc.

The Old and New Testamentsare common divisions we Chris-tians cite. But to the serious Biblestudent, there is a treasure troveof blessings to find if we “rightlydivide” (2 Timothy 2:15) theScriptures! The Apostle Paulstates in Ephesians 3:8, “Untome, who am less than the least ofall saints, is this grace given, thatI should preach among the Gen-tiles the unsearchable riches ofChrist.”

One cannot search out theriches of Christ in the fourGospels or the Old Testament,without recognizing Paul’sunique Gospel, given to him per-sonally by the risen Lord.

-D. Wesson, CA

Answer: There is definitely merit to em-

phasizing Paul’s unique ministry, but

that is applicable to Peter, James, and all

others. Every writer is unique, just as

every person on planet Earth. The apos-

tle Paul himself states that the Church is

built “upon the foundation of the apos-

tles and prophets.” Note the plural. He

actually warns against the gospel of

Paul when he writes to the Corinthi-

ans, “Now this I say, that every one of

you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos;

and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is

Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for

you? Or were ye baptized in the name

of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13). There is

onlyone gospel, and that starts in Gene-

sis and ends in Revelation. Second Timo-

thy 3:16 is to and for me. I suggest

reading “rightly dividing the word of

truth” in various translations and, if pos-

sible, in different languages.

PredestinationDear Sir,

I just read an article, “TheRight Rules of Conduct” byNorbert Lieth. Near the end ofthe article, he says the redemp-tion of Jesus was accomplishedfor all men. Nobody is excludedor specially elected. This is mybelief. I have been a SouthernBaptist for 70 years. All of asudden in the last two years,they have tried to jam downour throats predestination andelection, which I disagree on.What are your thoughts on thissubject?

-D. Cunningham, GA

Answer: Predestination from God’s per-

spective is supported in Holy Scripture.

For example, God knows if a child born

today will accept Jesus as his or her per-

sonal Savior. For God, there is no past,

present, or future; it’s all eternally one.

If we take a one-sided view about

predestination, we may lay down our

work and say God has predestined

everything. Yet Scripture admonishes us

repeatedly to work while it is day, to be

salt and light, to witness, to be a servant

worthy of one’s calling. If free will is

supplanted by predestination, then it

is actually a false teaching.

MAY 2016 41

MC



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You can understandBible prophecy!

This book by bestselling author Tim LaHaye is a popular prophecyresource, with nearly 140,000 copies sold. It’s a great starting point foranyone who wants to build a strong and foundational understanding of

what Bible prophecy is all about.In this guide, originally titled Understanding Bible Prophecy for Yourself,

you’ll find all the essential building blocks for understanding prophecy andmore:

• step-by-step examples of how to interpret Bible passages on the rapture,second coming, and millennial kingdom

• charts that present a clear outline of the future• exercises to help you get a precise understanding of key Bible prophecies• a comprehensive overview of God’s plan for the future

With world events guiding us ever closer to the Lord’s return, this vitalresource will help you navigate the exciting and challenging days to come.

BIBLE PROPHECY FOR EVERYONE ITEM #2305248 pgs. • Paperback

$14.99 Author: Tim LaHaye

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Interact personallywith the vital truthsof DANIEL

Midnight Call PO Box 84309 Lexington, SC 29073

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

The book of Daniel holds the distinction of beingone of the most important prophetic books in theBible—and one of the most challenging to

understand. Now you can unearth its inspiring lessonsand enduring truths in just 40 daily readings. You’ll beamazed to see how prophecies from the sixth centuryBC are unfolding today.

To help you personally interact with the vital truthsof Daniel, trusted Bible teacher Ron Rhodes provides…

• short passages of Daniel with easy-to-understandnotes on each verse

• brief summaries of the most important ideas• helpful cross-references on relevant topics• practical applications to everyday life• thought-provoking conversation starters for

group discussions or personal journaling

As you see God’s faithfulness on display in thelions’ den, in the fiery furnace, and in the rise and fallof world empires, you’ll gain a deep sense that God isin control.

40 DAYS THROUGH DANIEL ITEM #2304300 pgs. • Paperback

$14.99 Author: Ron Rhodes

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