The International Prophetic Voice for the Endtimes

MARCH 2011$4.75
DidtheEarlyChurch
AffirmPreterism?
PARTI
Pg. 30
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
OldTestament Rebirth?
One-FourthKilled
FigTree
Pg. 40
TheCallingof theTwelve
DisciplesMatthew
Pg. 27
NewlyRevealed:
BibleLeaks
Pg. 15

JYes, I wish to join the Promised Land Prophecy Tour. Please reserve _______seat(s) for me(us).
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JJust send me a complete information package at this time.
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J Check J Visa/Master/Discover/Amex
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Midnight Call Ministries
P.O. BOX 280008
Columbia, SC 29228
MC0311
We will need additional information for each participant. If possible, please use the detailed registration form found on our website:
http://www.midnightcall.com/israel_tours.html in lieu of this coupon.
O
n the 18th of May 2011, we will embark on a 12-day
tour of Israel. This once-in-a-lifetime tour carries the
low price tag of only $1995 plus airfare. To secure
your seat, please send a $400 deposit for each person. We will be
limited to one bus; this means only 45 people will be able to par-
ticipate, so be sure to reserve your seat early.
Your host will be the director of Midnight Call Ministries and
noted Bible prophecy teacher, Arno Froese. He will highlight the
Scriptural significance of sites along the way and regarding the
people and land of Israel in general.
Your tour guide will be Ariel Winkler, the son of the Swiss and
Dutch directors of Beth Shalom: Fredi and Beate Winkler. Beate is
the daughter of Midnight Call founder, Wim Malgo. Fredi is also
the international editor of News FromIsrael.
The price listed includes accommodations, breakfast and dinner
each day, and all entrance fees to sights and parks covered in the
itinerary. Prices are based on double occupancy; if you are com-
ing alone and have not specified a roommate, you will be as-
signed a roommate of the same gender. Alternatively, you may
pay an additional $525 for a single-room.
You will need to make round-trip airline reservations to Tel Aviv
separately. We recommend that you use the services of Travel
Concepts (Toll Free: 1-800-366-4124), but you are free to use
whatever agency or online booking service you like.
OliveTours/Midnight Call Ministries POBox 280008 Columbia SC29228
1-800-845-2420 Fax: 803-755-6002 kathy@midnightcall.com
Latest information: http://www.midnightcall.com/israel_tours.html
Cancellation Policy
For participant-initiated cancellations, a full refund of the land-only portion of the
tour ($1995 per person, plus optional $525 single room supplement) will be made
up to 45 days before departure (4/4/2011), and at a sliding scale down to zero for
no-shows on 19 May 2011. If we need to cancel the tour for any reason, you will re-
ceive an immediate and automatic refund of everything you have paid Midnight
Call for the 2011 tour; this refund will release Midnight Call from any further obliga-
tions. Since you will be making air travel arrangements separately, the airlines can-
cellation/refund policy applies. If you feel it necessary, purchase travel interruption
insuranceeither from our travel agent or another source.
C O N T E N T S
6
TheBest IsYet to
Come
By Roger Liebi
In the third heaven lies the heavenly fatherland, the
goal of all children of God. Let yourself be led into the
heavenlyTemple, theFathers housethrough the last
book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation.
15
Money: Ends and Trends
NewlyRevealed: BibleLeaks
By Wilfred Hahn
Just what is the significance of theWikiLeaks phenomenon?
Actually, there are several aspects to ponder, not the least of
which are its confirmations of several Bible leaks.What we mean by the cryptic ofBible leaksis
simply an acknowledgment of what the Bible already reveals, including prophecy.
20 Daniels SeventyWeeks of Years Part V
By Norbert Leith
The last week of years in the book of Daniel, the seventieth week of 7 years, will be introduced by
the appearing on the scene of the future prince, the Antichrist. Just as the first seventy weeks of
years were introduced by the decision to rebuild Jerusalem, so the last week of years will be
introduced by the making of a covenant.
23 What Does theBibleSayAbout ChurchDiscipline?
By Norbert Lieth
27 TheCallingof theTwelveDisciples Matthew
By Marcel Malgo
30 Didthe Early ChurchAffirmPreterism? Part I
By Dr. Ron J. Bigalke
Midnight Call
MARCH 2011
COVER STORY

DEPARTMENTS

4 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Peter Malgo

40 Letters tothe Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno Froese
OLDTESTAMENT REBIRTH?...ONE-FOURTH KILLED...FIGTREE
35 WORLD
Marriage
to Become
Outdated?
36 CHINA
Money Loaded
Communists on Shopping
Spree
37 USA
Catholic Church
Training More
Priests for Exorcism
38 BRAZIL
An Attractive
Brazilian Model
39 SPAIN
Global Flood to Destroy
Mankind
$
4 M I D N I G H T C A L L
Who may ascend into the hill of the
LORD? And who may stand in
His holy place?
E D I T O R S N O T E
B y P e t e r M a l g o

H
as it happened to you, too,
that you forgot your pass-
word, your identity word? A
colleague returning from a vacation
said: Hey Peter, I cant access the pro-
gram any more, I have forgotten my pass-
word. It is customary today that one must
identity oneself for each and every thing
with a user name and a password in order
to receive access to a certain program or
service.
The Bible also knows such conditions
that must be met in order to receive access
to certain places, or also to be able to be
present as participant at certain occasions.
A very interesting story of this kind can be
read in the Book of Judges, where even a
kind of password, an identity word, is be-
ing used. A quarrel had erupted between
Gilead and Ephraim. Jephthah, the leader
of Gilead, wanted to punish the men of
Ephraim. In order to capture them, the
Gileadites besieged the ford across the Jor-
dan, which the men of Ephraim wanted to
use as their way of escape. However, the
crossing of the Jordan was to continue to
be permitted for people who were not in-
volved in the quarrel. So the Gileadites re-
quired a password to identify the men:
The Gileadites captured the ford of the
Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened
when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said,
Let me cross over, the men of Gilead
would say to him, Are you an
Ephraimite? If he said, No, then they
would say to him, Say now Shibboleth.
But he said Sibboleth, for he could not
pronounce it correctly. Then they seized
him and slew him at the ford of the Jordan
(Judges 12:5-6). Thus, everyone who
wanted to go across had to identify himself
by means of this password and prove in
this way that he was not a fleeing
Ephraimite. Otherwise, he would be killed.
In the New Testament, Jesus shows in a
parable that not everyone has automatic
access to the heavenly marriage feast: But
when the king came in to look over the
dinner guests, he saw a man there who was
not dressed in wedding clothes, and he
said to him, Friend, how did you come in
here without wedding clothes? (Matthew
22:11-12). Subsequently, this uninvited
guest was thrown out. He was denied ad-
MARCH 2011 5
Published 12 times a year by
MIDNIGHT CALL, INC.
PO Box 280008
Columbia, SC 29228
Physical Location:
4694 Platt Springs Road
West Columbia, SC 29170
Founder Dr. Wim Malgo (192292)
Editor Peter Malgo
Executive Director Arno Froese
Contributing Authors Norbert Lieth,
Marcel Malgo, Wilfred Hahn,
Dr. Ron J. Bigalke, Reinhold
Federolf, Samuel Rindlisbacher,
Ernst Kraft and Thomas Lieth
Layout Designers: Michelle Kim and Lisa Dixon Text Typist:
Lynn Jeffcoat Copy Editor: Kimberly Farmer Customer Service:
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OUR TASK
Midnight Call Ministries is a nonprofit missionary organization,
dedicated to proclaiming the entire Bible as the unfailing and eternal
written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the unerring
guide for the Christian faith.
The object of Midnight Call is to call people everywhere to Christ,
to proclaim the Second Coming of Christ, to prepare Christians for
His coming, and to uphold the faith and warn of false doctrines.
Midnight Call magazine is available in twelve languages. All work
done through radio, literature and missionaries is supported entirely
by the gifts and free will offerings of Gods people.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
WE BELIEVE in the divine inspiration of the whole Bible and there-
with the infallibility of the Holy Scripture, which is Gods Word, and
in the eternal Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
WE BELIEVE Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was conceived of the
Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and shed His
blood to save mankind. He died and arose bodily the third day and
later ascended into heaven.
WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ died in the place of each
individual sinner and that all who believe in Him as their personal
Savior are justified through His shed blood and have become
children of God.
WE BELIEVE that Israel is Gods chosen people, and that the
restoration of the Jews to their own land is the fulfillment of the
Word of God.
WE BELIEVE in the pretribulational appearance of Jesus Christ for
the Rapture of His Church (all born again believers).
WE BELIEVE in the immortality of our souls and the resurrection of
our bodies, and in the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the
everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting punishment of
the lost.
The Pr ophet i c Voi ce f or t he Endt i mes PRINTED IN 12 LANGUAGES
ISSN 10948600
mittance to the feast because he did not meet the conditions: he did not
wear wedding clothes.
Already in Psalm 24:3, the question is raised, who has access to God, to
the glory of heaven: Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who
may stand in His holy place? This question is very important for every
one of us. When we became Gods children and were born again to a living
hope, the living God Himself gave us the admission documents. Yes, He
even gave us a totally new identity: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is
a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have
come (2 Corinthians 5:17). He has clothed me with garments of salva-
tion, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jew-
els (Isaiah 61:10).
God has given us a password: Jesus! Several Bible passages confirm
this: through whom also we have obtained our introduction into this
grace (Romans 5:2). Through Him we both have our access in one
Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:18). The uniqueness of the name of Je-
sus is also clearly shown in Acts 4:12: There is no other name under
heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. In-
deed, there are quite a few who have never used this password. Spiritually,
they are in highest danger of death. And otherschildren of Godsome-
times forget the password and look for the solution to their problems
everywhere except with Jesus! I would like to encourage everyone: Use the
password of God, whose name is Jesus! God may not unconditionally
solve the problem, but He will loosen you from the problem! Therefore:
Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
E D I T O R S N O T E

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In the third heaven lies the heavenly fatherland,
the goal of all children of God.
Let yourself be led into the heavenly Temple,
the Fathers house through the last book of the Bible,
the book of the Revelation.
R O G E R L I E B I
6 M I D N I G H T C A L L
MARCH 2011 7
The sky and space cannot contain God. God is present in the whole of creation, omnipresent, but He is also the one
transcendent God who cannot be contained in earthly things.
H
ave you ever been in the third heaven? The
Bible knows of various heavens, beginning
with the sky, the atmosphere, that we see. The
second heaven is the cosmos, space. At the dedication
of Solomons Temple, the wise king said, But will God
indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and
heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; howmuch less
this house that I have builded (1 Kings 8:27). Here he
differentiates between the sky (Hebrew: shamayim)
and the heaven of heavens (Hebrew: shamayi
hshamayim). The sky and space cannot contain
God. God is present in the whole of creation, om-
nipresent, but He is also the one transcendent God
who cannot be contained in earthly things.
The Bible knows a third heaven. In 2 Corinthians
12:2-4, Paul declares that he was caught up to Par-
adise, which he also calls the third heaven. Many
of us have been up in the sky, probably none of us
into space. This only became possible for man much
later. The Russian astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, was the
first man to enter the second heaven in 1961 with
the spaceship Vostok 1. Upon his return, he re-
ported, I was in heaven, but I did not see God. He
was only in the second heaven. Gods dwelling place
is in the third heaven, and how can a person with an
impure heart see God anyway? The Lord Jesus said
in the Sermon on the Mount, Blessed are the pure
in heart: for they shall see God. This is our prob-
lem, for we all have an impure heart. This is why by
nature we have no right to the third heaven.
The heavenly fatherland. The Bible speaks of a heav-
enly Jerusalem, Mount Zion, and the heavenly fa-
therland: But Jerusalem which is above is free,
which is the mother of us all (Galatians 4:26). This
speaks of a real city in the third heaven. In Hebrews
11:10, it says of Abraham, For he looked for a city
which hath foundations, whose builder and maker
is God. In verse 16, the author says of the patri-
archs, But now they desire a better country, that is,
an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for he hath prepared for them a
city. Here we have the second term: the better, the
heavenly fatherland. In Hebrews 12:22, the author
writes to the believing Jews, But ye are come unto
mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable com-
pany of angels. This heavenly Mount Zion, the
heavenly Jerusalem, has great significance for Chris-
tianity. The letter to the Hebrews is addressed to
Jewish Christians, but the book of the Revelation
also speaks of the new Jerusalem (in chapter 21)
as a symbolic description of the Church of God; it is
explained to the apostle John in Revelation 21:2ff.
that this new Jerusalem is the Bride of the Lamb, the
Church. But the heavenly Jerusalem spoken of in
Galatians and Hebrews is a real city in heaven,
which points symbolically to the Church. Therefore,
the description of the new Jerusalem in the Revela-
tion does not just have an applied significance for
the original Church, as the pattern of the new
Jerusalem is this heavenly city. The symbolic de-
scription in the Revelation has to do with the actual
building of the new Jerusalem.
The Temple in heaven. In Revelation 11:19, the Bible
speaks expressly about a Temple in heaven, And
the temple of God was opened in heaven. The Lord
Jesus called this Temple My Fathers house in His
C O V E R S T O R Y
8 M I D N I G H T C A L L
farewell speech on the eve of
His crucifixion (John 14:2).
This term occurs in the Bible
again in John 2. There the
Lord Jesus was referring to the
Temple in Jerusalem, however.
Yet the same term in John 14
refers to a heavenly reality, the
Temple in heaven as a pattern
of the earthly building. The
Temple in Jerusalem was a
copy of this on earth, and the
Church is ultimately the ful-
fillment of the symbol. This
applies to the Temple, as also
to the city. The Lord Jesus
speaks of this in John 14:2-3,
In my Fathers house are
many mansions: if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and re-
ceive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be
also. These mansions (the
NIV calls them rooms) in
the house of the Father are in
the heavenly Temple, because
they are in a way the quarters of the priests who
dwelt in the Temple in Jerusalem in the House of
the Hearth, directly by the Holy of Holies.
In Revelation 6:9-11, the departed are under the
altar in heaven. We see that the souls of the departed
are in the heavenly Temple, and so we can under-
stand many things more clearly. The Lord Jesus said
to the thief on the cross in Luke 23, Today thou
shalt be with me in paradise (verse 43). Where was
this Paradise? It was in the third heaven, the place of
the heavenly Temple, the heavenly city and the fa-
therland. What book gives us the best information
when we want to learn more about heaven? We do
not receive as much information anywhere as in the
last book of the Bible. Why? The book of the Revela-
tion shows us where we are going. The first book of
the Bible tells us where we
come from, the last where we
are going. We could never find
this out ourselves. There are
no scientific methods that can
help us to know how the
world came into being. We
cannot go back to the begin-
ning. There is no method with
which we can see what is
awaiting us in the future. We
need divine revelation regard-
ing these basic questions.
A visit to the heavenly Temple.
In Revelation 4:1, John first
sees an open door into heaven.
This door did not open then; it
was already open. In Ezekiel
1, the prophet saw how the
heavens opened up before him.
There is a difference. Here the
heavens are already open, be-
cause we are living in the time
after Calvary.
We have an open heaven.
When John goes up into
heaven, he sees the Lamb of
God, And I beheld, and, lo, in
the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and
in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had
been slain (Revelation 5:6). This slain Lamb is
alive, however. It is the Lord Jesus in heaven, and
there we shall see the wounds, in His side, in His
hands and in His feet. The connection is wonder-
fulthe open heaven and the slain Lamb! In the
Babylonian Talmud, tractate Tamid 30b, the morn-
ing opening of the Nikanor gate is spoken of. This
splendid gate, which led from the womens court-
yard into the place of the Shekinah, was so heavy
that it took the combined effort of many priests to
open it. The door opened at the moment the morn-
ing sacrifice was slain, at around 6.00 a.m. The en-
trance into heaven is only possible because the Lord
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain for us. John en-
The Temple in Jerusalem was a copy of this on earth, and the Church is ultimately the fulfillment of the symbol.
Shofar horn
C O V E R S T O R Y
tered into heaven and he heard a voice like a trum-
pet, a Shofar horn, that will also sound at the Rapture
(cf. 1 Thessalonians 4), when the Lord descends
with the trump of God. According to 1 Corinthians
15:51ff., this is the last trump. In Roman military
matters, there were three trumpets. The first meant,
Strike camp! The second trumpet meant for the
soldiers to Stand in file. The third trumpet was
the signal to leave. This voice like a trumpet that
John heard said, Come up here, and it corre-
sponds with the call to the Rapture, the last trump.
This signal to depart has nothing to do with the
seven trumpets of judgment, because these will
only be heard much later.
The altar of burnt offerings. The apostle John entered
immediately into the Holy of Holies, the center of
heaven. On our journey we shall begin, however,
with the inner court, the place of the Shekinah, as
the Rabbinic literature calls the innermost court-
yard. There was the altar of burnt offerings, And
when he (the Lamb of God) had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that
were slain for the word of God, and for the testi-
mony which they held: and they cried with a loud
voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them
that dwell on the earth? And white robes were
given unto every one of them; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little season,
until their fellowservants also and their brethren,
that should be killed as they were, should be ful-
filled (Revelation 6:9-11). John sees in heaven
the Lamb of God who is worthy to open the book
with the seven seals.
We should not lose sight of the fact that the
events in heaven are taking place at the same time
as the terrible judgments on the earth. The book
of Revelation describes a war of the heavenly Tem-
ple against a mankind that is pleased to dwell in
the swamp of sin. This Biblical book describes a
war of God against evil, a war of the heavenly
sanctuary against a mankind that has rejected the
sacrifice of Christ. The Temple in heaven is basi-
cally the place of reconciliation and the substitu-
tionary sacrifice. But if mankind rejects this
sacrifice, judgment will come and everything that
speaks of salvation and reconciliation in heaven
will become a curse for the inhabitants of the
earth.
We have read how John sees the altar in heaven
and the souls under the altar. The blood is the
essence of life, for it says in Leviticus 17, The life
of the flesh is in the blood (verse 11). The blood of
the sacrifices at the time of the second Temple was
poured out at the foot of the altar, into two special
holes that were near the southwest corner. It was at
this very place that John sees the souls of the de-
parted, there where the blood of the sacrifices
flowed. These souls are fully conscious, although
they are martyrs in heaven. They can speak, and
they speak of revenge. It is obvious that we are in
the period after the Rapture here. Today, we are still
living in the age of grace, but after the Rapture the
time of judgment will begin, and then these martyrs
will pray for revenge. John sees them under the al-
tar, and they are given priestly robes because they
have to wait there for a while. These souls are peo-
ple who will be prepared after the Rapture to give
everything for the Lord Jesus, and even to suffer
martyrdom. But what do these heavenly facts teach
us? The altar speaks of the fact that the Lord Jesus
gave everything for us. The souls under the altar are
people who say to themselves, If our Savior could
give everything, we are also prepared to give every-
thing. If we do not want to suffer martyrdom, the
motto in 2 Corinthians 5, at least, should apply to
us, For the love of Christ constraineth us; because
we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all
dead: and that he died for all, that they which live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but
unto him which died for them, and rose again
(verses 14-15). No longer living for ourselves, but
for Christ! The altar in heaven speaks of the fact
that the Lord Jesus was prepared to give everything
as a sacrifice.
MARCH 2011 9
We should not lose sight of the fact that the events in heaven are taking place at the same time as the terrible
judgments on the earth.The book of Revelation describes a war of the heavenly Temple against a mankind that is
pleased to dwell in the swamp of sin.
C O V E R S T O R Y
10 M I D N I G H T C A L L
In the book of Revelation, moreover, there is
mention of seven golden vials or bowls in connec-
tion with the altar. (The KJV calls them vials, the
NIV bowls.) This refers to the sacrifice bowls that
were used in the Temple. These vessels were conical
at the base, because the priest was not allowed to
put them down. He had to catch the blood in a sacri-
ficial bowl, and this blood could not be set down,
which is why they had such a peculiar shape. But
what happens in Revelation 16 in connection with
these seven bowls? And the second angel poured
out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood
of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the
rivers and fountains of waters; and they became
blood (verses 3-4). The bowls, which actually
speak of reconciliation, become a judgment upon
the world. Here again the principle applies: the only
thing remaining for those who do not receive Jesus
as their sacrifice, or even reject Him, is that they
themselves become a sacrifice.
When the Revelation speaks of the seven trum-
pets, this is also connected with the altar, for at the
morning and evening sacrifice, seven trumpets were
blown daily. You can also read this in the Babylonian
Talmud, tractate Sukkah 53b. The seven trumpets
are connected with the subsitutionary sacrifice in
the Temple, but in the Revelation they become a sig-
nal for judgment for those who do not want to ac-
cept this sacrifice. When we read the texts in
Revelation from this point of view, they have a com-
pletely different profile. We see ultimately that the
Revelation is a Temple book, for the Temple char-
acterizes heaven. From this we can also conclude
that heaven is very Jewish. This fact will probably
surprise many Christians when they get to heaven.
We could put it differently, however, and say that Ju-
daism is ultimately very Christian, for its divine
house is a copy of the original in heaven, the home-
land of Christians (Philippians 3:20).
The laver and the Levitical singing. On our journey
through the third heaven, we now come to the
washbasin. And I saw as it were a sea of glass min-
gled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory
over the beast, and over his image, and over his
mark, and over the number of his name, stand on
the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they
sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the
song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are
thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy
ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O
Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy:
for all nations shall come and worship before thee;
for thy judgements are made manifest (Revelation
15:2-4). There is no ocean in the heavenly Temple.
The term sea is the description for the molten
sea in 1 Kings 7:23, the great laver in the forecourt
of the Temple. This term is also used in middle He-
brew for a vessel for collecting flour, for instance.
The sea describes here the laver. But why does it say,
as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire? Already
in the Tabernacle, and later on in Solomons Temple,
the laver was made of bronze, an alloy of copper.
When the bronze was polished, it was like a mirror.
At the time of Moses, the women donated their mir-
rors so that the laver could be made of them (Exo-
dus 38:8). The heavenly pattern of this laver is so
perfect that it looks like glass. Mingled with fire;
what does this mean? When the heavenly light was
reflected in the finely worked bronze of this wash-
basin, there was a changing of light and shadow,
which reminds us of the flickering flames of a fire.
In the laver before the Temple house, John sees
the Conqueror of the beast, i.e. the coming dictator,
The book of the Revelation shows us where we are going.The first book of the Bible tells us where we come
from, the last where we are going.We could never find this out ourselves.
C O V E R S T O R Y
over his image and the num-
ber of his name, the idolatry
into which the Antichrist
will plunge mankind. After
the Rapture, when the An-
tichrist has introduced a
new system of payment, the
inhabitants of the earth will
receive a code on their right
hand or on their forehead.
The number 666 contained
in this is to say, I am pre-
pared to worship this dicta-
tor, the beast out of the sea,
as God. Those who do not
accept this will not receive a
code. But there will be no
money at that time, and peo-
ple will only be able to pay
with the code. What will
happen when people can
neither buy nor sell? What
can they do? Pray! It will be
a precarious situation in which people can only pray,
Give us this day our daily bread! What does it
mean today when we pray this prayer, but in our re-
frigerators we have provisions for the next two
weeks? The situation of the people after the Rapture
has taken place will be so precarious that this prayer
will receive a new significance. The word precari-
ous, by the way, comes from the Latin word precari,
which means, to pray. The people at the laver in
the forecourt of the heavenly Temple will come to
heaven from a precarious situation, through martyr-
dom. They have harps from God, appear on the
scene in heaven as Levitical musicians and singers,
and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. The apos-
tle John knew immediately what that meant. We
find the song of the Lamb in Exodus 15. It is the
song that the Israelites sang after eating the Passover
lamb and their departure from Egypt, at the passing
through the Red Sea. The song of Moses is in
Deuteronomy 32:4, He is the Rock, his work is per-
fect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth
and without iniquity, just and
right is he. This is why those
who overcome sing in
heaven, Great and marvel-
lous are thy works, Lord God
Almighty; just and true are
thy ways, thou King of
saints (Revelation 15:3).
This song of Moses was
heard at the time of the sec-
ond Temple at the bringing of
the evening Sabbath sacrifice,
while the song of the Lamb
was sung at the additional
Sabbath sacrifice in the
morning. This is what it says
in the Babylonian Talmud,
tractate Rosh Hashanah 31a.
John understood immedi-
ately: the Sabbath or Sabbath
rest is in heaven. This should
not surprise us, for we read
in Hebrews 4:9, There re-
maineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Those
who overcome have entered into the heavenly rest.
What is rest in heaven, though? It will not be passiv-
ity, but rest from the pressure of temptation and de-
ception. Those who overcome will not be passive, but
they will play harps. In the Old Testament there are
two different types of harp. The one is called in He-
brew nebel, the other kinnor. The New Testament
knows only one term, and this is the Greek word
kithara, from which guitar comes. These people in
heaven will play harps and sing. We can conclude
from this that there is no passivity in heaven but ac-
tivity, which takes place in the rest of God, however.
Why does John see these singers by the sea of
glass? The water served to wash the hands and feet
of the priests. In Ephesians 5:26, we are told that the
Word of God has a cleansing power, as that of water.
As all believers are also priests, they must be
cleansed daily through the reading of the Bible.
When we look into the laver, then, or into the Bible
today, it is like a mirror, for it shows us everything
MARCH 2011 11
It will be a precarious situation in which people can only pray,Give us this day our daily bread!What does it
mean today when we pray this prayer, but in our refrigerators we have provisions for the next two weeks?
C O V E R S T O R Y C O V E R S T O R Y
12 M I D N I G H T C A L L
that is not right in our lives (James 1:23-25). This is
why Bible readers are in general courageous people,
for they are prepared to look into this mirror of the
Word of God. When we become conscious of the
fact that something is not right in our lives, this
recognition should always lead us to self-judgment,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for-
give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright-
eousness (1 John 1:9). This self-judgment must be
practiced continually (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:28-31),
just as the priests in the Old Testament cleansed
their hands and feet regularly. The hands speak of
what we do, the feet of where we go. If we live in
this daily self-judgment and do not allow unright-
eousness to pile up, this can keep us from falling
into grave sin. We all have a corrupt nature and are
capable of every sin. We can only be kept by daily
putting in order the things which we recognize as
sin before God. Grave sin is usually the result of a
long way, and things should not go so far. We want
to ask ourselves, however, how will those by the sea
of glass who overcome have coped with the pressure
of deception? This is quite simple, for these people
will have carried out self-judgment daily. It is also
noteworthy that we find no bitterness in their song,
in spite of the tribulation that they will have gone
through. This is only possible through the living fel-
lowship with the Lord in our daily lives. We can
learn something quite practical, then, from the sea
of glass for our lives as Christians. If we want to
overcome, our lives must be put in order daily in the
light of the Bible.
In the holy place. On our journey through the third
heaven, we now come to the seven-armed candle-
stick and in spirit into the holy place, the actual
Temple house, And out of the throne proceeded
lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there
were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,
which are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5).
Seven lamps of fire burn before the throne in the
sanctuarythese are the seven flames of the golden
candlestick, the Menorah. Here it is explained that
these flames are the seven Spirits of God. Perhaps
you are thinking, there is only one Spirit of God. In
Ephesians 4, it says, There is... one Spirit. But in
the Revelation, the Holy Spirit, the one Spirit, is por-
trayed in its perfect diversity. The Spirit that will rest
on the Messiah, according to Isaiah 11:2, is de-
scribed as follows, And the spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understand-
ing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. These are
seven names that stand for the one Spirit in the per-
fect diversity of its ministry. The Holy Spirit inspired
this verse in a wonderful way in the original text.
Firstly, a general name is mentioned: the Spirit of
the Lord. Then follow two names, which are linked
by the word and. These correspond with the ap-
pearance of the seven-armed candlestick: there is
one main shaft in the middle, and then two three-
branched arms coming out of it. These arms are rep-
resented in the above-quoted text with the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel
and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord.
When we see the seven flames in the sanctu-
ary, we are reminded of the Spirit of God who
led us on this earth. The Spirit of wisdom: how
often did we have the feeling that we lacked
wisdom, but the Spirit of wisdom gave it to us?
The Spirit of understanding: many people think
that understanding and faith are mutually ex-
clusive, but the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of un-
derstanding! The thoughts of man are darkened
by Satan (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:3ff.), but the Holy
Spirit enlightens our understanding. He does
not switch off our spirit so that we fall over
backwards, as is taking place nowadays in many
churches. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of wis-
dom and understanding, does not do this. The
Spirit of counsel and might: how often we did
not know how to make a decision, but the Spirit
of God advised us. We have felt weak, but the
Spirit of God gave us might. We did not under-
stand the Bible, but the Spirit of knowledge gave us
When we see the seven flames in the sanctuary, we are reminded of the Spirit of God who led us on this
earth. The Spirit of wisdom: how often did we have the feeling that we lacked wisdom, but the Spirit of wis-
dom gave it to us?
understanding. We did not know who God was, but
the Spirit of fear, i.e. the fear of the Lord, gave us a
deep sense of the greatness and majesty of God in
our hearts.
The golden altar of incense. In spirit we now come to
the golden altar of incense, And another angel
came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer;
and there was given unto him much incense, that he
should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne. And the
smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers
of the saints, ascended up before God out of the an-
gels hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled
it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and
there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings,
and an earthquake (Revelation 8:3-5). Here we see
a priest performing his service by the heavenly altar.
In the Revelation, there are four texts in which the
Lord Jesus is described as another angel. The
Greek word angelos means messenger. This can be
a man or an angel, but also the Son of God, the Mes-
senger of the Father, as the angel of the Lord
(malakh adonai), God Himself, the Son of God. The
other angel is mentioned for the first time in Reve-
lation 7, but we do not quite know who it is. In
chapter 8, we find out that it is a priest. In chapter
10, He sets His feet on the earth and on the sea and
therewith makes His claim to the world, for He is ul-
timately the King. In Revelation 18, He announces
the downfall of Babylon, and the whole world is illu-
minated by this Messenger. In this text, He
is a prophet. Jesus is everything to us:
Prophet, Priest and King.
The Lord Jesus stands as our High Priest
at the golden altar of incense. He gives
power to the prayers of the saints on the
earth. Shortly before, the seventh seal has
been opened and the Great Tribulation be-
gins. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 24 to
the believing Jews that they should pray
that their flight would not take place on the
Sabbath. These people will know what
prayer really means, for now they will know
that the time has come. There will be silence in
heaven for half an hour (cf. Revelation 8:1), and
then the high priest will give power to the prayers.
He will take the golden censer with a lid and a ring
on it. In this is the incense, the wonderful mixture
of aromatic botanical substances. In the Old Testa-
ment, the priests at the altar of incense used to take
the incense out of the censer using their thumbs,
and let it fall on the glowing coals of the altar fire.
The smoke which this produced rose in a straight
line. This aromatic incense speaks of the manifold
glory of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He
adds, in a sense, His personal glory to the prayers of
the saints and gives them therewith weight before
God. Only then can we really speak of praying in the
name of Jesus, which has to be in accordance with
the will of the Son of God (John 14:13-14). These
prayers come before God as though His Son would
speak them Himself.
The Lord Jesus gives these prayers that are spo-
ken in accordance with His will the whole glory of
His person, and they are heard of God. If we should
have the impression that our prayers do not get any
farther than the ceiling, we may know that if we
pray in accordance with the will of God, as it is re-
vealed in the Bible, then it should be clear to us that
these prayers will be heard. In Revelation 9:13, the
four horns on the golden altar in heaven are ex-
pressly mentioned. Horns are a picture of power and
might; the four horns at the altar should make it
clear that prayer in the name of Jesus has tremen-
MARCH 2011 13
C O V E R S T O R Y
The first commandment was,Thou shalt have no other gods before me.This is a condemnation of all the reli-
gions of the world.
14 M I D N I G H T C A L L
dous power and effect, and this worldwide. That is
why the four horns also stand for the four direc-
tions. From this scene in heaven, we learn that
prayer really helps. Many people say, God does
what His will is. What good is there in our pray-
ing? In James 4:2, it says, however, Ye have
not, because ye ask not. On the one hand, there
are things which God will not do if His children
do not ask Him. On the other hand, there are
things which God does, whether we humans ask
Him or not. God is ultimately sovereign. But
there are also things that God would not do if
we did not ask Him.
The best is yet to come: in the Holy of Holies. The
ultimate goal of our journey through heaven,
I have left till last. We will now enter in spirit into
the Holy of Holies, therefore, And immediately
I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set
in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that
sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine
stone: and there was a rainbow round about the
throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round
about the throne were four and twenty seats: and
upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sit-
ting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on
their heads crowns of goldAnd before the
throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:
and in the midst of the throne, and round about
the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before
and behind. And the first beast was like a lion,
and the second beast like a calf, and the third
beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast
was like a flying eagle (Revelation 4:2-4 & 6-7).
What is the throne of God made of? According to
Psalm 132:7-8, the Ark of the Covenant is Gods
footstool. In Revelation 11:19, the Ark of the
Covenant in heaven is expressly mentioned. In
the Old Testament, there were two cherubim on
the lid. These beings are described in detail in
Ezekiel 1:8-11. They are angels that have the face
of a lion, a calf, a man and an eagle. In the above-
quoted text from the Revelation, the four living
creatures are cherubim figures in the Holy of
Holies. On the Ark of the Covenant, there were
only two cherubim, but for the temple, Solomon
had an additional two cherubim figures made,
overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:23-28). Thus, there
were a total of four of these living creatures
around the throne of God. The Ark of the
Covenant is the footstool, and God is enthroned
between the cherubim. This is written in Psalm
80:1, Thou that dwellest between the cherubims,
shine forth. The throne of God is mentioned 37
times in the book of Revelation, more than in any
other book of the Bible. In the very book that
shows how the world will be shaken by the great-
est catastrophes, so that we could think God has
relinquished His hold on it, we find that God is
still on the throne, and He will remember His
own! The thought of the throne of God gives us
great assurance that whatever takes place in our
lives, His throne is unshakable. The Ark of the
Covenant is the place of reconciliation. Originally,
the Ark of the Covenant was a place of judgment,
for it contained the Ten Commandments. The
first commandment was, Thou shalt have no
other gods before me. This is a condemnation of
all the religions of the world. The Ark of the
Covenant, as part of the throne of God, condemns
man, but it is also the place where the high priest
sprinkled the blood. Therefore, it also speaks of
reconciliation. When we get to heaven and see the
throne of God, then we will have the assurance
that we are accepted on the grounds of the blood
of Jesus. The veil in heaven has been torn like its
copy on earth (cf. Matthew 27:51), and therefore
the entrance into the Holy of Holies is open. We
are invited in Hebrews 10:19 to enter there. Today
we can only do this in spirit, when we put our-
selves in the presence of God, but the day will
come in which we really do enter into the Holy of
Holies, for there we will be home. Then we may
experience what we have already done in spirit,
for the best is yet to come!
(MR1110/417)
When we get to heaven and see the throne of God, then we will have the assurance that we are accepted on the
grounds of the blood of Jesus.The veil in heaven has been torn like its copy on earth (cf. Matthew 27:51), and
therefore the entrance into the Holy of Holies is open.
MARCH 2011 15
MONEY: ENDS & TRENDS
$
For resources on endtime economics and to subscribe to the free newsletter, Eternal Value Review, visit Wilfreds
website www.eternalvalue.com or contact him at: staff@eternalvalue.com
Newly Revealed: Bible Leaks
A widely covered event of late 2010 was the public release of thousands
of secret diplomatic communications by WikiLeaks. Due to the nature of
the content and its sheer volume, it sparked both praise and criticism from
around the world.
B y W i l f r e d H a h n
J
ust who or what is WikiLeaks?
It is an international virtual
organization, founded in 2006,
allegedly comprised of dissidents,
computer hackers, and anti-au-
thoritarian technical experts. Its
purpose is to gather information
from informants and other anonymous
new sources and publish it on the Inter-
net. Its chief spokesman, Julian Assange,
is an Australian, who initially gained re-
pute as a formidable computer hacker.
WikiLeaks claims that its objective is
to make publicnamely, to leakinfor-
mation that is classified, secret or pri-
vate. On its website, it states:
Our primary interest is in exposing oppres-
sive regimes [] but we also expect to be
of assistance to people of all regions who
wish to reveal unethical behavior in their
governments and corporations. We aim for
maximum political impact. [] We have re-
ceived over 1.2 million documents so far
from dissident communities and anony-
mous sources.
1
In 2010, several major information
exposs were made by WikiLeaks.
First, in April, a compilation of 76,900
documents about the war in Afghanistan
was released for public scrutiny. Later, in
October, the organization released over
400,000 documents relating to the Iraqi
war. Then, as of November, it began re-
leasing thousands of diplomatic cables
from the U.S. State Department. Most
critically, this triggered a retributive re-
sponse by the U.S. government, as most
of these communications involved the
correspondence of its diplomats and
government servants. Mr. Assange
C O V E R S T O R Y
stayed in hiding, fearing arrest or
possible assault. He eventually surfaced
in the UK.
Just what is the significance of the
WikiLeaks phenomenon? Actually, there
are several aspects to ponder, not the
least of which are its confirmations of
several Bible leaks. What we mean by
the cryptic of Bible leaks is simply an
acknowledgment of what the Bible al-
ready reveals, including prophecy.
Significance of Leaks Prophetic?
Julian Assange brags about the signifi-
cance of the impact of his organization,
claiming that world history will now be
defined as the eras of pre- and post-Wik-
iLeaks. While he most certainly is over-
stating the importance of his
organization, there are some aspects to
this saga that should serve as an alert to
Christians.
To begin, it must be realized that it is
not yet clear whether Mr. Assange
and/or WikiLeaks engaged in any illegal
acts. Yet, because of the enraged re-
sponses of various governmentseven
some U.S. politicians calling for Mr. As-
sanges assassinationWikiLeaks was
attacked on a grand scale. By consensus
(rather than through due legal process),
the world suddenly decided that Wik-
iLeaks was an enemy to its established
order. Following the information re-
leases of November, its bank accounts
were frozen and payment organizations
VISA and Paypal disabled its accounts.
In relatively short order, WikiLeaks, a
non-profit organization, was cut off
from funding.
Here we witness an instance of world
consensus arbitrarily deciding to shut
down an organization through financial
means. While such a facility has already
existed for some time, it nevertheless
pointedly reconfirms that world affairs
today are controlled by the horses bit
of financial systems. Just as Revelation
13:17 has prophesied for almost two
thousand years, the world would some-
day be controlled where [] no one
could buy or sell. After some 1900
years, that prophesied world now exists
today.
Please understand that we are not
wishing to praise WikiLeaks as a virtu-
ous force. Far from it. Mr. Assange is no
angel. Yet, its situation clearly shows the
scope and power of the worlds capri-
cious judgments. The systems of
mankinds global community that have
decided to shut down WikiLeaks will
someday be used against Bible-believing,
Spirit-filled Christians.
Today, terrorism is being fought in the
same way. In line with the resolutions of
the United Nations, worldwide money
systems are being controlled in the pur-
suit of illicit monies that might be sup-
porting terrorism or crime. Most
countries today, under the imperatives
of Anti Money Laundering (AML) legis-
lation, strictly monitor money flows.
Employees of financial institutions are
required by law to report any suspicious
money transitions or cash deposits.
Most likely, everyone will agree that
the pursuit of criminal activity through
systemic financial controls is a worthy
16 M I D N I G H T C A L L
MONEY: ENDS & TRENDS
$
Today, terrorism
is being fought in
the same way. In
line with the
resolutions of the
United Nations,
worldwide money
systems are
being controlled
in the pursuit of
illicit monies that
might be
supporting
terrorism or
crime. Most
countries today,
under the
imperatives of
Anti Money
Laundering (AML)
legislation, strictly
monitor money
flows.
Newly Revealed: Bible Leaks
cause. Nevertheless, it represents a fi-
nancial infrastructure that can be em-
ployed against any and all public
enemies. And, someday, people of God
may be declared public enemies. As the
Bible says, there will come the day
where the world will be so twisted
morally that it will deny God and perse-
cute his people. Jesus himself warned
that [] a time is coming when any-
one who kills you will think he is offer-
ing a service to God (John 16:2).
A second Bible leak revealed by the
Wikileak releases of diplomatic corre-
spondence, is the moral character of
world geopolitics. While none of the
documents that were released were of a
top classified nature, they nevertheless
revealed a world of intrigue a world
of lying and stealing. Geopolitics can
be a competitive arena of deceptiona
global contest for influence, power,
wealth and geography. Zechariahs 5th
and 6th visions (chapter 5) reveal just
such an endtime world; a world so cor-
rupted and cursed that its very timbers
and stones (Zechariah 5:4) would be
consumed. What this phrase means is
that the entire structural foundation of
world conditions will someday com-
pletely collapse.
The techniques of lying and stealing
today are highly sophisticated. The
world that Zechariah saw in his visions
was one marked by thieves and those
who swear falsely (Zechariah 5:3). In
other words, that endtime world would
be characterized by geopolitical condi-
tions dependent upon the endorsed
practice of lying and stealing.
No New Revelations
The title of this article also refers to
things newly revealed. Of course, we
know that the 66 books of the Bible in
their original language have remained
virtually unchanged for 2000 years
(and, we trust on the testimony of Jesus,
even much longer). In that sense, there
is nothing newly revealed. But for
most people, including a large number
of Christians, anything from the Bible
may just as well be new revelation.
Why? Few people today are in the habit
of reading the Bible regularly. Many
places of congregation that claim to be
Christian, hardly expound from the
Bible, let alone consider its literal words
the immutable communications to
mankind from God. In fact, many peo-
ple wouldnt recognize a quote from
Scripture if they were not told other-
wise.
Surveys conclude that many people
who call themselves Christians or attend
church regularly read the Bible infre-
quently. One such survey in England es-
tablished that approximately one-third
of regular churchgoers had not read the
Bible at all in the previous year.
2
A sur-
vey conducted in Australia in 2006, the
National Church Life Survey, arrived at
similar conclusions.
3
Over 40% of de-
clared Christians read the Bible infre-
quently or not at all. While evangelicals
read the Bible more frequently, on the
other hand, 59% of Roman Catholics de-
clared that they rarely consult the Book.
While this may be the sad state of ap-
parent and masquerading Christianity
today, the outlook bodes no better. No
amount of Bible leaks will change the
tide of mankind today, according to
$
Surveys
conclude that
many people
who call
themselves
Christians or
attend church
regularly read
the Bible
infrequently. One
such survey in
England
established that
approximately
one-third of
regular
churchgoers had
not read the
Bible at all in the
previous year.
MARCH 2011 17
prophecy. The truth is being rejected
the nations rage against God. As David
prophesied, Why do the nations con-
spire and the peoples plot in vain?
(Psalm 2:1).
The Bibles View on Knowledge
Yet, there is one group of people who
will some day respond to a significant
Bible leak. The Jewish people will
again respond to the knowledge of the
Scriptures. Rather than knowledge of in-
formation, the knowledge spoken of in
the Bible refers to knowledge of eternal
significance. It is the knowledge of God
and His purposes.
While an increase in information
trivia, distractions and cares of this
worldappears to be in alignment with
last day trends and developments, it co-
incides with a soaring boom in igno-
rance of what the Bible calls knowledge.
The explosion of different kinds of me-
dia today, most of it catering to amuse-
ment and promoting non-thinking,
would certainly compete with the quiet
time required for Bible reading.
In the book of Daniel, we read: But
you, Daniel, close up and seal the words
of the scroll until the time of the end.
Many will go here and there to increase
knowledge (Daniel 12:4). A popular in-
terpretation of this verse is that not
only will knowledge (i.e. information
and data) increase in the world, but
also travel. While this may not be a
harmful interpretation, for a number of
reasons, it is not likely that this text
refers to such phenomena at all.
As it was, Daniels prophecies are
concerned with the Jewish people and
their future. Just as Hosea 4:6 (My
people are destroyed from lack of
knowledge) is expressly spoken to the
Jews, so likely is Daniels prophecy of
an increase of knowledge. The word
knowledge here does not refer to tech-
nical and scientific information, but
rather to the knowing of Gods plan and
His laws. The prophets had often casti-
gated the Hebrews for their lack of
knowledge. Israels watchmen are
blind, they all lack knowledge said Isa-
iah (56:10).
Hosea confirms that the knowledge
lacked refers to the ignorance of God
and His Laws. Because you have re-
jected knowledge, I also reject you as
my priests; because you have ignored
the law of your God, I also will ignore
your children (Hosea 4:6). In Biblical
terms, the word knowledge is more
aptly defined as the act of knowing. In
this sense, it is not knowledge that in-
creases, but rather the knowing of it. For
this and other reasons, we are safer to
interpret this passage as referring to an
increase, in understanding of historical
prophecy and Scripture, not an increase
of information.
During the last days, the Jewish peo-
ple will again come to an increasing un-
derstanding of their destiny and
purpose. Finally, at the end of the Great
Tribulation, a remnant will receive a full
understanding. Then I will give you
shepherds after my own heart, who will
lead you with knowledge and under-
standing. In those days, when your
18 M I D N I G H T C A L L
MONEY: ENDS & TRENDS
$
Yet, there is one
group of people
who will some
day respond to a
significant Bible
leak. The Jewish
people will again
respond to the
knowledge of
the Scriptures.
Rather than
knowledge of
information, the
knowledge
spoken of in the
Bible refers to
knowledge of
eternal
significance. It is
the knowledge of
God and His
purposes.
Newly Revealed: Bible Leaks
numbers have increased greatly in the
land, declares the LORD [...] (Jeremiah
3:15-16). The full content and revela-
tion of the Bible will be leaked in
other words, rediscovered and revealed
in the light of truth.
Thoughts to Ponder
Sadly, all of us living in the super-
charged media and commercialized
culture of our time struggle in attain-
ing the type of devotion that Scrip-
ture upholds. Apostle Paul was
already worried about this type of as-
sault upon the minds of Christians
2000 years ago.
But I am afraid that just as Eve
was deceived by the serpents cun-
ning, your minds may somehow be
led astray from your sincere and pure
devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians
11:3). Yes, Paul may not have under-
stood the somehow. But today, we
do recognize the devices and means
that are being employed to lead our
minds astray from the Bible.
The Bible has the first and last
word on knowledge. The heavens
declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands. Day
after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowl-
edge. There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. Their
voice goes out into all the earth, their
words to the ends of the world
(Psalm 19:1-4). Here, we clearly see
that knowledge is the foundational
information that matters for an eter-
nity.
Scriptures allow us no excuse for
lacking this type of knowledge. All of
creation points to God: For since the
creation of the world Gods invisible
qualitieshis eternal power and di-
vine naturehave been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been
made, so that men are
without excuse (Ro-
mans 1:20).
The only thing
that has changed is
mans understanding,
and more importantly,
mankinds willingness to under-
stand. And understanding begins with
the recognition of Gods sovereignty
and truth, says the Bible. The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of knowl-
edge, but fools despise wisdom and
discipline (Proverbs 1:7).
What can we do? We can acknowl-
edge this encouragement: Set your
minds on things above, not on earthly
things. For you died, and your life is
now hidden with Christ in God
(Colossians 3:2-3). But in our time of
a massive, coordinated assault upon
the functions of peoples minds, more
than acknowledgement is required.
We must also willfully act to govern
and guard our minds.
The Bible provides much counsel
on this task. Therefore, prepare your
minds for action; be self-controlled;
set your hope fully on the grace to be
given you when Jesus Christ is re-
vealed. As obedient children, do not
conform to the evil desires you had
when you lived in ignorance. But just
as he who called you is holy, so be
holy in all you do; for it is written: Be
holy, because I am holy (I Peter 1:13-
16).
ENDNOTES
1 http://web.archive.org/web/20080314204422/http:/
/www.WikiLeaks.org/wiki/WikiLeaks:About
Accessed December 27, 2010.
2 http://www.citw.org.uk/research.htm
Accessed December 27, 2010.
3 http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/259865?tp=1
Accessed December 27, 2010.
$
But I am afraid
that just as Eve
was deceived by
the serpents
cunning, your
minds may
somehow be led
astray from your
sincere and pure
devotion to
Christ (2
Corinthians 11:3).
Yes, Paul may
not have
understood the
somehow. But
today, we do
recognize the
devices and
means that are
being employed
to lead our
minds astray
from the Bible.
MARCH 2011 19
MC
T
he last week of years in the book of Daniel,
the seventieth week of 7 years, will be intro-
duced by the appearing on the scene of the
future prince, the Antichrist. Just as the first sev-
enty weeks of years were introduced by the decision
to rebuild Jerusalem, so the last week of years will
be introduced by the making of a covenant, And
he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the
overspreading of abominations he shall make it des-
olate, even until the consummation, and that deter-
mined shall be poured upon the desolate (Daniel
9:27). We must take note here of the fact that this
7-year covenant will only be made, according to
verse 26, after the destruction of Jerusalem. Why is
this important? Because there is a doctrine which
states that these last 7 years were fulfilled at the
time of the Roman siege in 67-73 A.D., and there-
with all the 70 weeks of years have been fulfilled.
The fact is, however,
In spring of the year 67 A.D., the marching of
Vespasian and his son Titus began in Galilee and
the northern territories of Israel.
From the spring of 70 A.D., Jerusalem was be-
sieged by Titus, and in July/August captured and the
temple destroyed.
In the year 73 A.D., with the capture of Masada at
the time of the Passover, the Jewish war came to an end.
The covenant mentioned in Daniel 9:27 was only
made after the destruction of Jerusalem. So, that time
cannot be the time meant here. Moreover, that spe-
cific prince who makes the covenant with Israel will
only appear in the end times (verse 26). The people
of the future prince (Rome) destroyed Jerusalem at
that time, but the prince himself will only appear on
the scene in the end times.
The sequence of events is:
1. The Messiah is killed.
2. Jerusalem is destroyed.
3. Jerusalem is persecuted and warred against
until the end times.
4. At the end, the prince appears and makes a
7-year covenant.
5. This covenant is broken after 3 years.
6. The abomination of desolation will be set up.
7. The Lord will come and destroy the
destroyer.
The revelation of the 70 weeks of years belongs to the soundest proofs for the credibility of the
Bible. Here is Part 5.
BY NORBE RT L I E T H
DanielsSeventyWeeks
of Years

PartV
20 M I D N I G H T C A L L
The prince and his covenant with Israel: this prince
is the antichristian world ruler, who only appears on
the scene in the last days, yet whose people destroyed
Jerusalem at that time, however. As the Romans were
his people at that time, he must of a necessity also
come from this territory (the EU?), because he is
united with this people. He will make a covenant
with manythe Jewish people, as it is sometimes
translatedfor seven years, or at least confirm an ex-
isting covenant. Probably, this is a peace or security
treaty with Israel. This covenant can only be made
when the masses of the Jewish people are living in the
Jewish land again, and this is the case today.
The covenant could also be a peace covenant be-
tween the antichristian world ruler and the Jewish
antichrist in Israel, the false prophet (Revelation
13:11ff), who then has the Jewish people under his
control. The covenant would be directed, then,
against the enemies of Israel (the Arab League?). In
the midst of the week of years, after three and a half
years, he will break the covenant, shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease. This presup-
poses that there will be a functioning temple again.
This will probably be built in the first half of the
seventh year. The abomination of desolation is ei-
ther the image which the false prophet (the Jewish
antichrist) will erect according to Revelation 13:14
(whereby it does not say that he will set up this
abomination in the temple), or he himself sitting in
the temple and pretending to be God (2 Thessaloni-
ans 2:4). According to my knowledge, this applies
rather to the latter. These three and a half covenant
years are also described in Daniel 12:7, as well as in
Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6 & 14 and 13:5.
The end of the 70th week of years (the last 7
years) will be introduced by the return of Jesus and
the destruction of the destroyer, and for the
overspreading of abominations he shall make it des-
olate, even until the consummation, and that deter-
mined shall be poured upon the desolate (Daniel
9:27). A few parallel texts to this are:
And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
But with righteousness shall he judge the
poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of
his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he
slay the wicked (Isaiah 11:4).
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords,
and King of kings: and they that are with him are
called, and chosen, and faithful (Revelation
17:14).
And the beast was taken, and with him the
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived them that had received the mark
of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with
the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls
were filled with their flesh (Revelation 19:20-21).
There are Bible translations (for instance, the Ger-
man Lutheran Bible of 1984) that say in verse 27 of
Daniel 9 instead of confirm the covenant, make
And the beast was taken, and with himthe false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived themthat had received the mark of the beast, and themthat worshipped his im-
age. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were
slain with the sword of himthat sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all
the fowls were filled with their flesh (Revelation 19:20-21).
MARCH 2011 21
22 M I D N I G H T C A L L
the covenant difficult, which gives this a com-
pletely different meaning. The question arises,
therefore, whether the coming prince makes an al-
ready existing covenant difficult and opposes it (for
instance, the Mosaic covenant), or whether the
covenant is a sort of peace treaty which he makes.
Bible translations use various words here. Here are a
few examples:
New International Version: He will confirm a
covenant with many for one seven but in the mid-
dle of that seven he will put an end to sacrifice and
offering.
Amplified Bible: And he shall enter into a strong
and firm covenant with the many for one week
(seven years).
Living Bible: This king will make a seven-year
treaty with the people, but after half that time, he
will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all
their sacrifices and their offerings.
According to this, it is about the conclusion of a
covenant for seven years. Also, in connection with
Daniel 11:36-45, a covenant seems more logical.
There, it is about Israel being attacked by the king
of the north, as also the king of the south. The an-
tichristian ruler will at first intervene on Israels be-
half, but then take possession of it. The question is,
why does he intervene? The reason could be an ex-
isting covenant with Israel.
In Psalm 55, we have a further example. There
the betrayal of David by Ahithophel is described.
This betrayal can be applied prophetically to Judas,
who betrayed the Lord, and further to the an-
tichrist, who will most probably be a Jew and ulti-
mately betray Israel. It says in this Psalm, For it
was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could
have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that
did magnify himself against me; then I would have
hid myself from him: but it was thou, a man mine
equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took
sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house
of God in company (verses 12-14; cf. also Matthew
26:50). This continues, He hath put forth his
hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath
broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were
smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his
words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn
swords (verses 20-21).
Judas is called the son of perdition in John
17:12. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the antichrist is de-
scribed with the same words. Also, the text in Isaiah
28:15 is generally read in connection with the an-
tichristian ruler, Because ye have said, We have
made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at
agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, it shall not come unto us: for we have
made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we
hid ourselves. How do we know that this verse has
prophetic significance? Because in verse 5 of the
same chapter, it says, In that day shall the Lord of
hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of
beauty, unto the residue of his people. This con-
cerns the end-times remnant of Israel who believes
in the Messiah (cf. Isaiah 10:21-25 and Romans
9:27).
In verse 16 of Isaiah 28, it says, Therefore thus
saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foun-
dation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner
stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not
make haste. We know that this corner stone is Je-
sus Christ (Ephesians 2:20). The apostate Jews, in
contrast to the believing remnant, will make a
covenant with the antichrist instead of turning in
faith to Jesus the Messiah. The believing remnant,
however, will stand firm and not join up with the
apostate people and the antichrist. The covenant is
called in Isaiah 28:15 a covenant with death and
with hell. It is a satanic covenant. The way of the
antichrist is described in the same way in 2 Thessa-
lonians, Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders (2:9). And two verses later, it says, And
for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie (verse 11).
(MR0610/398)
Daniels SeventyWeeks of YearsPart V
In verse 16 of Isaiah 28, it says, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foun-
dation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not
make haste. We knowthat this corner stone is Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20).
T
he basis of church discipline is laid by Jesus
Himself, Moreover if thy brother shall trespass
against thee, go and tell him his fault between
thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast
gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then
take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of
two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the
church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be
unto thee as an heathen man and a publican
(Matthew 18:15-17).
Church discipline is for the members (believers) and
not the outsiders (unbelievers). Every church member
bears part of the responsibility for this. It is not just the
job of the elders. A fourfold way is shown us:
1. The individual church member is to go and speak
with the sinner.
2. If the latter will not listen to him, a second church
member should be involved.
3. If he will not listen to himeither, the matter must be
brought before the whole church.
4. Only then is his exclusion to follow.
All further statements in the New Testament are
built on this foundation.
I. Church discipline is for church members, Yet
not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or
with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters;
for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now
I have written unto you not to keep company, if any
man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or cov-
etous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what
have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do
not ye judge them that are within? But them that are
without God judgeth. Therefore put away from
among yourselves that wicked person (1 Corinthi-
Many churches attach great importance to church discipline, while in other churches it is not
practiced at all. What does the Bible say on this subject?
BY NORBE RT L I E T H
What Does the Bible
Say About Church
Discipline?
MARCH 2011 23
24 M I D N I G H T C A L L
ans 5:10-13). Brethren, if a man
be overtaken in a fault, ye which
are spiritual, restore such an one in
the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Bear ye one anothers burdens, and
so fulfil the law of Christ (Gala-
tians 6:1-2). This is obviously
about a carnally minded brother
within the church who should be
restored.
Only those who belong to a
family can be excluded from it, not
a stranger.
Only those who belong to a club can be excluded
from it, not a visitor.
Only those who belong to a church can be ex-
cluded from it, not an unbelieving visitor.
Jude also writes that we should differentiate, And
of some have compassion, making a difference: and
others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hat-
ing even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 22-
23). We must differentiate between church members
and unbelievers or deceivers.
II. The whole congregation of the church must
bear the responsibility and is called in the Bible
to collective action. Thus, the entire body helps
share the burden, and the elders are relieved and a
false or deliberate manipulation of church discipline
is avoided (cf. Matthew 18:17).
I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who
loveth to have the preeminence among them, re-
ceiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember
his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with ma-
licious words: and not content therewith, neither
doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth
them that would, and casteth them out of the church
(3 John 1:9-10). Here, the deliberate actions of a
church leader (Diotrephes), who wanted to rule with-
out the other elders, are refused, and the responsibil-
ity of the whole church is emphasized, I wrote unto
the church (cf. 1 Peter 5:2-3).
III. The way to exclusion: Jesus prescribed in
Matthew 18:15-17, firstly individual counseling,
then group counseling, church counseling, and only
as a last resort exclusion by the church. This is found
also in the doctrinal epistles:
Individual counseling: Brethren, if any of you
do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him
know, that he which converteth the sinner from the
error of his way shall save a soul from death, and
shall hide a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20).
Group counseling: Brethren, if a man be over-
taken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such
an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one anothers bur-
dens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1-
2).
Church counseling: And of some have compas-
sion, making a difference (Jude 22).
Exclusion: Now we command you, brethren, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw
yourselves from every brother that walketh disor-
derly, and not after the tradition which he received of
usAnd if any man obey not our word by this epis-
tle, note that man, and have no company with him,
that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an en-
Jude also writes that we should differentiate, And of some have compassion, making a differ-
ence: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted
by the flesh (Jude 22-23). We must differentiate between church members and unbelievers or
deceivers.
emy, but admonish him as a brother (2 Thessaloni-
ans 3:6 & 14-15).
The exclusion must take place when there is no
repentance and the life of the church is endangered
through tolerated sin (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1ff. and
1 Timothy 1:20). In 1 Corinthians 5, six sins are
mentioned: But now I have written unto you not to
keep company, if any man this is called a brother be a
fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not
to eat (verse 11).
Exclusion from the church must also be practiced
when the truth of the Word of God is attacked and
there is danger of seduction by false teachers creep-
ing in: Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them
which cause divisions and offences contrary to the
doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them
(Romans 16:17, cf. also 2 John 10-11 and 2 Thessalo-
nians 3:6 & 14-15).
As far as unbelievers are concerned, no concrete
instructions are given us. They are treated differently
from believing church members. Paul emphasizes
this difference, and we should also do this, For what
have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do
not ye judge them that are within? But them that are
without God judgeth. Therefore put away from
among yourselves that wicked person (1 Corinthi-
ans 5:12-13). According to this, church discipline is
for the wicked person among us, who calls himself
a brother (verse 11)a believer within the church.
The others, who are outside the church, are not sub-
ject to church discipline (verse 10). With these, we
have to have contact or we would not win them for
the Gospel. And when they come into the church,
should we exclude them? No, because it is these very
people who need to be reached with the message of
the Bible.
It is clear from 1 Corinthians 14 that there are also
unbelievers within the church, Wherefore tongues
are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them
that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for
them that believe not, but for them which believe. If
therefore the whole church be come together into
one place, and all speak with tongues, and there
come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will
they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and
there come in one that believeth not, or one un-
learned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and
thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and
so falling down on his face he will worship God, and
report that God is in you of a truth (verses 22-25). It
is the task of the church to reach the unbelievers also
and to lead them to conversion. This is not possible,
however, if they are excluded.
The task of the elders (church leaders) is to pre-
side over the church, to represent it and to act ac-
cordingly. The church should be included in this (cf.
1 Timothy 1:3-4 & 5:20, Titus 1:5 & 13, l Corinthi-
ans 14:40, 1 Peter 5:2-3 and James 5:14-15). Obey
them that have the rule over you, and submit your-
selves: for they watch for your souls, as they that
must give account, that they may do it with joy, and
not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you (He-
brews 13:17). The eldersI exhortFeed the flock
of God which is among you, taking the oversight
thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy
lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over
Gods heritage, but being ensamples to the flock
(1 Peter 5:1-3). (MR0610/400)
What Does the Bible Say About Church Discipline?
The task of the elders (church leaders) is to preside over the church, to represent it and to act ac-
cordingly. The church should be included in this. Obey them that have the rule over you, and sub-
mit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it
with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you (Hebrews 13:17).
MARCH 2011 25
We are living in an increasingly insecure world. The news media continues
tobombardus withreports, mainly negative, andwe can barely digest it
all. But the above Scripture gives us the answer: its about the inhabitants
of Jerusalem andthe spirit of grace. Israels salvation is at stake. The
Gentiles are mentionedin the previous verse: Andit shall come topass in
that day, that I will seek todestroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (verse 9).
That sums upthe conviction of our worldtoday.
This years Atlantic Coast Prophecy Conference will be targetedtowardIsrael, the
Church, andthe Gentile world. What it all means andwhat the Bible has tosay about it
will be presentedby our speakers during the 2
1
/2 day prophecy conference. So, dont miss
this important event!
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AndI will pour uponthe house of David, anduponthe inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace andof supplications: andthey shall look uponme whomthey have
pierced, andthey shall mournfor him, as one mournethfor his only son, andshall be
inbitterness for him, as one that is inbitterness for his firstborn (Zechariah12:10).
2 0 1 1 A T L A N T I C C O A S T P R O P H E C Y C O N F E R E N C E
26 M I D N I G H T C A L L
M
atthew was a publican
and was also called
Levi (cf. Matthew 9:9
and Luke 5:27-28). He says this
himself in an addition to his list
of the apostles in Matthew 10:3.
We also know of connections
between some of the other disci-
ples and their occupations, just
as Matthew is also named with
his occupation. What did
Matthew want to say with this?
Taxes and customs at the time of the New
Testament were not collected by the Romans, but
by men who were employed by them. These men
employed other men who were called publicans.
They usually came from the native population.
Matthew was such a publican (cf. Matthew 9:9,
Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27). These publicans at-
tempted to make money by charging more than
the official tariff. For this reason, the representa-
tives of this occupation were hated among the
population. They were looked upon as traitors and
excluded from the synagogues. A very religious Is-
raelite could not accept that a Jew would be em-
ployed as a Roman tax collector
and in this way continually cont-
aminate himself through his
dealings with Gentiles. A publi-
can was the epitome of sin, But
their scribes and Pharisees mur-
mured against his disciples, say-
ing, Why do ye eat and drink
with publicans and sinners?
(Luke 5:30). When people spoke
about sinners, the publicans au-
tomatically belonged to them.
And strangely enough, even Jesus
Himself seemed to see the publicans in this way.
When he once spoke of unrepentant people, He
compared them with publicans, And if he shall
neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if
he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee
as an heathen man and a publican (Matthew
18:17).
Considered in this light, it is not difficult to
guess what Matthew wanted to say with the stat-
ing of his occupation. When Jesus called him to
follow Him, a publican, who was the epitome of
sin, was called directly from the tax booth to be a
disciple. Jesus Christ chose an apostle from the
The Calling of the Twelve Disciples
Matthew
B Y M A R C E L M A L G O
MARCH 2011 27
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits,
to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the
twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son
of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James
the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas
Iscariot, who also betrayed him (Matthew 10:1-4).
28 M I D N I G H T C A L L
group of the most despised people of that time. In
this wonderful way, the redeeming love of our Sav-
ior was revealed. With the mention of his scorned
occupation, Matthew wanted to say, Even for a
publican it is possible to become a disciple of Je-
sus. Even for such a sinner there is a way to this
Savior!
Our Lord said in Luke 15:7 & 10, I say unto
you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and
nine just persons, which need no repen-
tanceLikewise I say unto you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth. When Matthew heard the call
to follow Jesus from his tax booth, the an-
gels must have rejoiced, This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin-
ners (1 Timothy 1:15).
The consequences of the election of
Matthew the publican to be an apostle were
enormous. He not only belonged to the
twelve disciples, but also later on, he wrote
one of the four Gospels. Matthew the publi-
can was given the task of writing a book on
the life and death of the Lord Jesus, under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
We may all be living witnesses for Jesus
Christ on this earth. Nobody need feel too
bad or too sinful. Every Christian can be a
legible epistle of Jesus Christ if he really
wants to, Forasmuch as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christwritten
not with ink, but with the Spirit of the liv-
ing God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
tables of the heart (2 Corinthians 3:3).
The calling of Matthew took place as fol-
lows, And after these things he went forth,
and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the re-
ceipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
And he left all, rose up, and followed him (Luke
5:27-28). Jesus did not seek Matthew in his home,
but in the environment that had brought him the
reputation of a sinner: in the tax booth. Therefore,
right from the beginning, what was sin in the life
of Matthew was uncovered ruthlessly. In this way,
the best foundation was created for him to be a
true disciple of Jesus.
Whoever does not surrender all the spheres of
his life to Jesus cannot be a true disciple or a legi-
ble epistle of the Lord. Matthew left his tax booth
The Calling of the Twelve Disciples
Matthew
The consequences of the election of Matthew the publican
to be an apostle were enormous. He not only belonged to the twelve
disciples, but also later on, he wrote one of the four Gospels. Matthew the publican was
given the task of writing a book on the life and death of the Lord Jesus, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Rembrandt's "The
Evangelist Matthew
Inspired by an Angel"
MARCH 2011 29
There is something in the life of Christians that is of utmost importance, namely,
renewal. We can only be converted once; we are born again once and
for all. But renewal must take place continually, daily.
Through renewal, we remain on fire for Jesus.
and followed Jesus with all his
heart (cf. Luke 5:27-28). We
must let Jesus into our lives
and show Him all our unclean-
ness and misery. Only then can
we really let go of it all. Jesus
Christ said Himself quite
clearly, If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed (John 8:36).
Matthew let Jesus come into
the center of his sinful life and
did not hold anything back. He
let go and was prepared to fol-
low the Lord.
After Matthew had become
an apostle of Jesus Christ,
he invited Jesus into his house and prepared a
meal for Him (Luke 5:29). Many publicans and
others sat with Him at the table. Matthew be-
came active straight after his calling and proved
himself to be a fervent evangelist and disciple of
the Lord. I do not want to dwell on this truth,
however, but rather more emphasize the fact that
this invitation was issued when Matthew had al-
ready become a disciple of Jesus, when he be-
longed to the circle of the twelve apostles.
There is something in the life of Christians
that is of utmost importance, namely, renewal.
We can only be converted once; we are born
again once and for all. But renewal must take
place continually, daily. Through renewal, we re-
main on fire for Jesus. This takes place in that we
continually make more room in our hearts for the
Lord Jesus. He does not leave our hearts when we
fail. But sin and the enemy can make the
dwelling of the Lord inhospitable and uncomfort-
able. What would we do if chunks would fall
from the ceiling in our houses and the walls
would develop great cracks in them so that peo-
ple could see in from outside? We would have
our houses repaired immediately. This is the is-
sue. The dwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ, our
hearts, in which He resides through the Holy
Spirit, is so damaged sometimes through sin that
the Lord cannot feel at home until a thorough
cleansing takes place. Paul wrote, Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which temple ye are
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Let us cleanse and renovate the dwelling of
the Lord, the temple of God, daily. Let us imagine
how Matthew swept his house from top to bot-
tom, to make it clean and to prepare it for the
coming of the Lord. He was already a disciple,
but he confirmed His union with the Lord by
inviting Him into his house. This should be an
encouraging example for us to follow.
(MR0909/354)
Did the
Early Church
AffirmPreterism?
PARTI
By Dr. Ron J. Bigalke
Preterism (Latin for past in regard to time) is the view that the majority (sometimes all) of Bible
prophecy has already been fulfilled. The preterist viewpoint affirms that Titus and the Roman armies
already fulfilled major prophetic events, such as the Olivet Discourse and Book of Revelation, when
they destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. If the preterist view is correct that most, if not all, of the Book of
Revelation was fulfilled in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem, there should be substantial evidence
in the views of the early church to support this interpretation. The evidence, however, is contrary to
such an assertion.
30 M I D N I G H T C A L L
Roman Triumphal arch panel copy fromBeth Hatefutsoth, showing spoils of the Jerusalemtemple.
MARCH 2011 31
PRETERIST INTERPRETATION
Preterists believe they are adequately interpreting
the historical background by relating the fulfillment
of major prophetic events to the time of the original
audience. For instance, the preterist viewpoint is
thought to best interpret Christs words in Matthew
24:34 (Verily I say unto you, This generation shall
not pass, till all these things be fulfilled), and other
references to the coming of Christ as quickly or
at hand (Matt 4:17; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 21:30-
31; Rev 2:5, 16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20).
1
Since the
events of the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Rev-
elation parallel each other, then these passages are
understood to refer only to events that occurred in
the first century. The following chart indicates the
different types of preterism.
Mild preterism interprets the Book of Revela-
tion as fulfilled in both the first century with the
fall of Jerusalem and the fifth century with the fall
of Rome. The first half of Revelation refers to AD
70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, and
the second half refers to the judgment upon Rome.
Therefore, the majority of Bible prophecy was ful-
filled when God brought His wrath upon Isreal
and Rome. Partial preterists understand the
greater part of Bible prophecy as being fulfilled in
the destruction of Jerusalem, but they still antici-
pate a future second coming and resurrec-
tion/judgment. Full preterism believes that all
eschatological prophecies were fulfilled in AD 70,
and that there will only be a spiritual resurrection
rather than a bodily resurrection. Consequently,
full preterism is heretical. The preterist view
teaches that the destruction of Gods enemy, Israel,
is indisputable proof for the divine establish-
ment of Christianity.
HISTORYIS EVIDENCETHAT PRETERISMIS FALSE
Preterists Bahnsen and Gentry wrote, Eusebius . . .
details the woes that befell Jerusalem in A.D. 70,
mostly by reference to Josephus. . . . He then cites
Matthew 24:19-21 as his lead-in reference and later
refers to Luke 21:20, 23, 24!
2
If true, this claim
would be the most substantial (due to Eusebius
recognition as a standard reference with regard to
the early church). Prior to the rise of preterism late
in the past century, J. Oliver Buswell had already
devoted a section to the distorted emphasis of
preterism.
Since the time of Eusebius . . . there have been those
who have thought that Christs prophecy of the abom-
ination of desolation was somehow fulfilled when Ti-
tus destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and that the words
referring to Jerusalem surrounded
with armies are just another way
of saying the abomination of des-
olation standing in the holy place.
It can be shown, however, that
nothing which took place at the
fall of Jerusalem fulfilled the prophecy of Christ in re-
gard to the abomination of desolation spoken of by
Daniel. Attention has been called to the fact that Euse-
bius, in his Canons, lists Lukes reference to Jerusalem
surrounded with armies as a verse peculiar to Luke,
not parallel to anything in Matthew or Mark. Neverthe-
less, Eusebius Church History is a chief source for the
erroneous identification.
The case for the theory that the prediction of Christ
as to the abomination of desolation was fulfilled in the
destruction of Jerusalem is well summarized in
Schaffs Church History, Vol. 1, pp. 390-404. Schaff
draws almost entirely from Eusebius Church History,
Book III, Chapters V-VIII and from Josephus Jewish
Wars, Books V and VI. Eusebius, in turn, is dependent
almost entirely upon Josephus. The removal of Chris-
tians to Pella in Perea before the fall of Jerusalem is
cited as the fulfillment of the command to flee at the
sign of the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15
ff.; Mark 13:14 ff.).
3
Did the Early Church Affirm Preterism? PART I
Full preterism believes that all eschatological prophecies were fulfilled in AD 70,
and that there will only be a spiritual resurrection rather than a bodily resurrec-
tion. Consequently, full preterism is heretical. The preterist view teaches that the
destruction of Gods enemy, Israel, is indisputable proof for the divine establish-
ment of Christianity.
Mild Preterism Partial Preterism Full Preterism
Prophetic Timing AD 70 Future AD 70 Future AD 70-400 Future
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
No Yes No Yes Yes No
Yes No Yes No Yes No
Coming of Christ
Resurrection
Last Days
32 M I D N I G H T C A L L
Philip Schaff wrote, Eusebius puts the flight to
Pella before the war (npo +oo` no/:oo), or four
years before the destruction of Jerusalem
(1.VI.39).
4
It is assumed that Schaffs comments
concerning the Effects of the Destruction of
Jerusalem on the Christian Church were based
upon Eusebius use of the phrase npo +oo` no/:-
oo.
The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem,
having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to
men of approved piety there before the war [npo +oo`
no/:oo], removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain
town beyond the Jordan, called Pella. Here, those that be-
lieved in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if
holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and
the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their
crimes against Christ and his apostles, finally overtook
them, totally destroying the whole generation of those
evildoers from the earth [Book III, Chapter V].
5
Buswell commented, One of our a-millennial
friends . . . points out that the comma after, before
the war, shows that the warning, not the flight,
took place before the war. Thus, this friend argues,
the flight may have taken place after the abomina-
tion of desolation.
6
Schaffs understanding of npo
+oo no/:oo would have been consistent with the
subsequent statement of Eusebius in the previous
quote. In other words, Eusebius stated, the divine
justice was after those that believed in Christ
[were] removed from Jerusalem.
Yet it may be proper to mention, also, what things oc-
curred that show the benignity of that all-gracious Provi-
dence that had deferred their destruction for forty years
after their crimes against Christ. During which time the
greater part of the apostle and disciples, James himself, the
first bishop there, usually called the brother of our Lord,
still surviving, and still remaining in Jerusalem, continued
the strongest bulwark of the place (Book III, Chapter VII).
7
According to Eusebius, the church at Jerusalem
departed to an area beyond the Jordan, called
Pella, before the destruction of the Temple oc-
curred in AD 70. It is possible, as Buswell con-
curred, that the departure from Jerusalem could
have occured when the church witnessed the begin-
ning stage of the siege of Jerusalem by Titus and his
armies. However, there is no historical account that
would substantiate the fact that the departure to
Pella was due to any understanding that the abomi-
nation of desolation (Matt 24:15) had just occurred
and the subsequent reaction was to flee the city ac-
cording to Matthew 24:16-21. The departure of the
church to Pella does correlate well with Luke 21:20-
23, but there is no basis to allow correlation with
Matthew 24:15 or Mark 13:14. The abomination of
desolation prophesied in Daniel 9:27 cannot be
equated with the events that occurred in the AD 70
destruction of Jerusalem.
THE BIBLICALTEACHINGAGAINST PRETERISM
Daniel prophesied that after Messiah is crucified, the
Romans, that is, the people of the prince who is to come,
The prophecy does not end with the AD 70 destruction; rather, its end will come
with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. In
other words, the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and his armies in the first cen-
tury was not the final destruction of the holy city.
Excavated stones fromthe Western Wall of the Tem-
ple Mount (Jerusalem), knocked onto the street be-
lowby Roman battering rams in 70 C.E.
MARCH 2011 33
would destroy Jerusalem
and the second Temple.
The prince who is to come
is the eschatological An-
tichrist. However, the de-
struction of Jerusalem
would occur due to the
national rejection of the
Messiah (Matt 24:1-2;
Luke 19:41-44). The
prophecy does not end with the AD 70 destruction;
rather, its end will come with a flood; even to the end
there will be war; desolations are determined. In other
words, the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and his
armies in the first century was not the final destruc-
tion of the holy city. The reference to the end ex-
tends the prophecy to the seventieth week. A time
interval, the dispensation of the church, will occur
between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks.
The interval in the current dispensation of the
church of the fulfillment of the messianic program
for Israel is derived from the Greek verb apotelw,
meaning, to complete or to be perfected. Ran-
dall Price explained, The apotelesmatic interpreta-
tion recognizes in Old Testament texts that present
the messianic program as a single event, a near and
far historical fulfillment is intended, separated by
an indeterminate period of time. It is this period
of time that is known as an intercalation or a
gap; however, the term prophetic postpone-
ment is more preferable. Since the Old Testament
prophets did not have the current dispensation as a
great parenthesis revealed to them, God would re-
veal the mystery of the church in the New Testa-
ment. Postponement is an intercalation (gap) in
fulfillment, concluding that the delay is only tem-
porary, and hence prophetic since there is a pur-
poseful and preordained work in the divine
program. God implied a parenthesis in His mes-
sianic program in the Old Testament with refer-
ences of Israels hardening (Isa 6:9-13; Zech
7:11-12) and judicial exile (Deut 4:27-30; 28:36-
37, 49-50, 64-68); however, this postponement in
the divine program was not fully revealed until the
New Testament (John 12:37-40; Acts 28:25-28;
Rom 11:25-26).
8
It can be said that a false covenant, the same
covenant prophesied by the prophet Isaiah (28:14-
22), is made with Israel by the Antichrist. The sev-
entieth week is the false covenant that lasts for one
week of years;
9
that is, a period of seven years com-
monly understood as the tribulation, or time of
Gods wrath. The passage also teaches that the
tribulation is divided by the abomination of desola-
tion into two three and one half year periods (cf. 2
Thess 2:3-4).
According to the eschatological chronology of
Daniel 9 and 2 Thessalonians 2, the tribulation will
follow the rapture of the church, which is yet fu-
ture and will terminate the present prophetic post-
ponement of the church age between the
sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. Shortly after the
rapture, the tribulation will begin with the signing
of the false covenant between Israel and the An-
tichrist. It is this event that will inaugurate the fi-
nal events of Daniel 9:24-27.
The nature of the tribulation will focus upon Is-
rael. Jeremiah 30:7 refers to the tribulation period
as a time of Jacobs distress. During this period, God
will prepare Israel for restoration and conversion
(Deut 4:29-30; Jer 30:3-11; Zech 12:10). God will
also judge an unbelieving world during this time
All nations and communities will be affected by this judgment. However, for those
who trust in the Messiah, there will be salvation. This time of wrath will also result
in worldwide evangelization and mass conversions (Matt 24:14; Rev 7:1-17). The
tribulation will end with the return of Christ to this earth. He will descend upon the
Mount of Olives, cross the Kidron Valley, and enter the Eastern Gate (Zech 14:4;
cf. Matt 2425).
Did the Early Church Affirm Preterism? PART I
for its sins against Him (Isa 13:9; 24:19-20; Rev
419). All nations and communities will be af-
fected by this judgment. However, for those who
trust in the Messiah, there will be salvation. This
time of wrath will also result in worldwide evange-
lization and mass conversions (Matt 24:14; Rev
7:1-17). The tribulation will end with the return of
Christ to this earth. He will descend upon the
Mount of Olives, cross the Kidron Valley, and enter
the Eastern Gate (Zech 14:4; cf. Matt 2425).
Clearly, there is not a single event that occurred at
the destruction of Jerusalem which can be said to
fulfill Daniels description and Christs reference of
Daniel in Matthew 24:15. (423)
ENDNOTES
1 Matthew 24:34, and the Revelation passages, are indicatingthe
manner in which tribulational events will occur, and not their tim-
ing. Ron J. Bigalke Jr.,The Olivet Discourse: A Resolution of Time,
Chafer Theological Seminary Journal 9 (Spring 2003): 125-26.
2 Greg L. Bahnsen and Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., House Divided: The Break-
Up of Dispensational Theology (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Eco-
nomics, 1989), 277-78.
3 J. Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, 2 vols.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962; reprint, 10th printing, 1976), 2:401-
02.
4 Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (Charles Scribners Sons,
1858; reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 1:402.
5 Eusebius Pamphilus, Ecclesiastical History, trans. Christian Frederick
Cruse (reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 86.
6 Buswell, Systematic Theology, 2:402.
7 Eusebius, History, 94.
8 Randall Price,Prophetic Postponement in Daniel 9:24-27, in Pro-
gressive Dispensationalism: An Analysis of the Movement and Defense
of Traditional Dispensationalism, gen. ed. Ron J. Bigalke Jr. (Lanham,
MD: University Press of America, 2005), 218-9.
9 The Hebrewword for week is sh`B|u'<, which means a unit of seven.
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34 M I D N I G H T C A L L
MARCH 2011 35
According to Church teachings, mar-
riage and love in marriage lay the foun-
dation of family relations. All other forms of
family love spring from this foundation: the love
of parents to their child, the love of a child to
their parents and the love between siblings. If
there is no marriage, then there is no family.
Christian marriage commits husband and
wife to pure Christian love, which is more than
just a feeling. It is a deep union, and two people
in the union have to take efforts to keep it alive.
French philosopher and author Gabriel Mar-
cel once said: To say I love you is to say For
me, you will never die. For Christians, marriage
is not a piece of social structure. It is a state
when two become onenot just for some time,
but for good. According to Christian teaching,
marriage cannot be terminated because it is
God himself who ties husband and wife to-
gether.
These days, people tend to simply live with
each other without contracting marriage. From
the Christian point of view, this trend jeopardizes
the existence of the institute of family and con-
tributes to the universal degradation of the soci-
ety. Living in sin is considered absolutely normal
and acceptable in many countries today.
Those, who choose to live together without
marriage, prefer not to restrict their freedom and
independence. It gives rise to instability of family
life and affects the relationship between partners
and their children.
Outside marital unions, children may often
be born incidentally, by mistake. Many of such
children suffer from the lack of parental affection
throughout their lives. Moreover, pregnancy of-
ten leads to abortion with unmarried couples.
For married couples, the birth of a child is a fruit
of their love.
The growing number of unlegalized unions
means that more and more people share a neg-
ative attitude to marriage nowadays. Many think
of marriage as something old-fashioned, a bur-
den that deprives them of their freedom. In addi-
tion, modern-day people tend to share a positive
attitude towards the freedom of sexual commu-
nication outside marriage.
However, despite the above-mentioned situ-
ation, one has to admit that it is only marriage
that pushes the development of morally healthy
relations in the union of two people. Marriage
and family make the foundation of healthy soci-
ety. Those who do not understand the meaning
of marriage, risk both their own happiness and
the future of their nation.
-english.pravda.ru, 1 November 2010
The above article, authored by Orthodox
Priest Miladin Mitrovich, reveals a painful
truth regarding the God-ordained institu-
tion of marriage, which has largely been
ignored by the Church.
Unfortunately, the United States holds
the sad title as divorce champion of the
world. Marriage has become a thing of
convenience or inconvenience. One of the
most shocking revelations was made by
the respected Barna Report, showing that
divorce is practiced more frequently
among evangelical Christians than others.
Globally speaking, marriage is on the de-
cline and cohabitation on the increase.
What does the Bible say? Proverbs
18:22 reads, Whoso findeth a wife find-
eth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of
the LORD. But regarding the endtimes,
we read in 1 Timothy 4:1-3, Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doc-
trines of devils; Speaking lies in
hypocrisy; having their conscience seared
with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and
commanding to abstain from meats, which
God hath created to be received with
thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth. 3946

W O R L D
MarriagetoBecomeOutdated?
It is anopensecret that theChurchrecognizes onlyoneformof closerelationshipbetweenamanand
awomanlegal marriage. Agrowingnumber of peoplebelieves nowadays that tyingtheknot is not a
necessityat all, becausetwopeoplecanloveeachother andlivetogether without paper formalities.
Will marriagebecomeaprerogativeof religious couples onlysometimeinthefuture?
These days, people tend to simply
live with each other without
contracting marriage.
By 10 a.m., the crowds
of people jamming into
the first Gap store on Chinese
soil in Shanghai had grown thick.
In a building down the street, the
German consumer electronics
chain Media Markt had also re-
cently opened its first retail outlet
in the Peoples Republic. The ex-
pansion plans of its parent com-
pany Metro include more than
100 additional stores by the end
of 2015.
The arrival of Western chain
stores symbolizes the beginning
of Chinas next revolution. The
countrys rising middle class has
embarked on a collective spend-
ing spree, at least in the affluent
belt along the countrys east
coast, from Beijing to Shanghai
and down to Shenzhen in the
south.
Chinas party leadership is
setting an examplealbeit on a
much larger scale. Recently, Vice
Premier Li Keqiang, seen as a
rising star among Beijings power
elite, made a trip to Europe dur-
ing which he praised German in-
dustriousness and discipline as
well as the quality of Made in Germany goods.
Li spent three days in Germany alone, and Eco-
nomics Minister Rainer Brderle was undoubt-
edly pleased with the outcome: orders worth a
total of 8.7 billion ($11.4 billion) for Volkswa-
gen, Daimler and other corporations.
A top-ranking communist on a shopping
spree. Shortly before his visit to Germany, Li
promised the Spaniards that Beijing would buy
6 billion worth of the troubled countrys govern-
ment bonds. He also met with Chancellor An-
gela Merkel for a meet and greet.
The more than $2.6 trillion in foreign currency
reserves held by China are just waiting to be in-
vested. And Li, acting in Europe as the countrys
de facto shopper-in-chief, hopes to transform
China into a nation of consumers.
The shift is a delight to Western brand-name
companies. Now is precisely the right time for
us to enter the Chinese market, says Redmond
Yeung, the head of the Gaps op-
erations in China. Yeung plans
to open another store in Shang-
hai and two in Beijing almost si-
multaneously. Competitors, such
as the apparel retailers H&M
and C&A, already have outlets in
China.
Meanwhile, the roughly 700
million residents of Chinas rural
areas face completely different
problems. Traditionally, they
have saved much of their income
for times of illness and old age.
But now the party has launched
campaigns to turn frugal farmers
into consumers by encouraging
them to buy television sets, re-
frigerators and computers.
Officials throughout the coun-
try are promoting the construc-
tion of giant, amusement
park-like shopping centers to
serve as temples of the new
consumer religion. Wuhan, a city
of 9 million, also aspires to win
global fame from its malls. The
most upscale of these com-
plexes is the Wuhan Interna-
tional Plaza, andlike a promise
of things to comeit rises up out
of the smog that envelopes this iron-and-steel-pro-
ducing city almost year-round.
-spiegel.de, 14 January 2011
During the last decade, many economic
and financial experts warned that commu-
nist China would experience a burnout.
Such prognoses have not come true, at least
not yet. China has replaced Germany as the
worlds number one exporter (as of Febru-

MoneyLoadedCommunists onShoppingSpree
Exports fueledtheinitial stages of Chinas ongoingeconomic boom. Now, however, thegovernment in
Beijingis placingagreater emphasis ondomestic consumption. TheChinesemiddleclass, it would
seem, aremorethanhappytotoetheline.
36 M I D N I G H T C A L L
The Chinese middle class
is growing rapidly and
the government has
begun focusing on
domestic consumption
as a motor of economic
growth. The result has
been a boomin the
construction of shopping
malls in China, like this
one in Beijing.
(Photo: REUTERS)
The number of super-
wealthy in China has
likewise ballooned,
with the country
already home to four
times more billionaires
than in neighboring
Japan. Here, a man
looks at gold necklaces
on display in a shop in
Beijing.
(Photo: REUTERS)
China holds more than
$2.6 trillion in foreign
currency reserves. The
country's government
has also gone on an
overseas shopping trip
and has invested
significant sums in
troubled European
bonds.
(Photo: REUTERS)
(continued next page)
C H I N A
ary 2010). Domestic consumption is the
next stage of the communist guided eco-
nomic miracle. With virtually breathtaking
speed, China is outperforming all the major
industrial nations in the world. Further-
more, less than half of the Chinese popula-
tion is participating in the economic
miracle. Some 700 million are waiting their
turn to be part of the red revolution.
The potential of Chinese growth is noth-
ing short of mind-boggling. Europe, the rich-
est continent on earth, is limited when it
comes to economic growth by having a well-
compensated workforce. The United States
is faced with stagnation due to a workforce
virtually exhausted. Americans are the hard-
est workers in the industrial world, and in
most cases with the least benefits.
How does this relate to Bible prophecy?
Answer: Its the development of the last
stages in order to create a truly global
world. America has continued to lose
power for the last four decades. Europe, in
particular the Eurozone, is experiencing a
financial crisis. China, Russia, India,
Brazil, South Africa, and other emerging
nations, will now demand that they play an
equal part with equal rights and authority
when it comes to world dominance. Where
will it lead? To a global family insisting on
self-reliance and, subsequently, rejecting
the authority of the God of Israel. The
prophet Jeremiah wrote of the coming
calamity, Therefore prophesy thou against
them all these words, and say unto them,
The LORD shall roar from on high, and ut-
ter his voice from his holy habitation; he
shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he
shall give a shout, as they that tread the
grapes, against all the inhabitants of the
earth. A noise shall come even to the ends
of the earth; for the LORD hath a contro-
versy with the nations, he will plead with
all flesh; he will give them that are wicked
to the sword, saith the LORD (Jeremiah
25:30-31). 3980
(continued from page 36) ShoppingSpree
There are only a handful of priests in
the country trained as exorcists, but
they say they are overwhelmed with requests
from people who fear they are possessed by
the devil.
American bishops held a closed-door confer-
ence in Baltimore to prepare more priests and
bishops to respond to the demand. The purpose
is not necessarily to revive the practice, organiz-
ers say, but to help Catholic clergy members
learn how to distinguish who really needs an ex-
orcism from who really needs a psychiatrist or
perhaps some pastoral care.
Not everyone who thinks they need an exor-
cism actually does need one, said Bishop
Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., who orga-
nized the two-day conference. Its only used in
those cases where the devil is involved in an ex-
traordinary sort of way in terms of actually being
in possession of the person.
Most exorcisms are not as dramatic as the
bloody scenes in films. The ritual is based on a
prayer in which the priest invokes the name of
Jesus. The priest also uses holy water and a
cross, and can alter the prayer depending on the
reaction he gets from the possessed person,
said Matt Baglio, a journalist in Rome who wrote
the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Ex-
orcist.
Paprocki said he was surprised at the turnout
for the conference: 66 priests and 56 bishops.
The goal is for each diocese to have someone
who can at least screen requests for exorcisms.
Some of the classis signs of possession by a
demon, Paprocki said, include speaking in a lan-
guage the person has never learned; extraordi-
nary shows of strength; a sudden aversion to
spiritual things like holy water or the name of
God; and severe sleeplessness, lack of appetite
and cutting, scratching and biting the skin.
A person who claims to be possessed must
be evaluated by doctors to rule out a mental or
physical illness, according to Vatican guidelines
issued in 1999, which superseded the previous
guidelines, issued in 1614.
-The Kansas City Star, 14 November 2010
Exorcism is based primarily on Mark 16:17-
18, And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In my name shall they cast out dev-
ils; they shall speak with new tongues; They
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall re-
cover. We notice that five signs are given.
If taken literally for our days, one must
practice these five signs. This issue has
caused division between many churches and
denominations. Some teach that the time of
such supernatural signs has passed with the
apostles. Others insist that these are valid
for our days. What is our understanding?
We believe that these signs were fulfilled
during the times of the apostles, as clearly
documented in Scripture. However, that
does not prevent God from using His ser-
vants to demonstrate supernatural miracles.
Praying for the sick, for example, is prac-
ticed in virtually all churches. But we must
insist that any demonstration of fulfillment
in our days is not to be taken as these signs
shall follow them that believe. 3947
US A
Catholic ChurchTrainingMorePriests for
Exorcism
The rite of exorcism, renderedgory by Hollywoodandridiculedby
many modernbelievers, has largely fallenout of favor inthe Ro-
manCatholic Churchinthe UnitedStates.
MARCH 2011 37

Bishop Thomas
Paprocki of
Springfield, Ill., in
Baltimore at a con-
ference on exorcism.
He organized the
two-day event.
38 M I D N I G H T C A L L
BRAZI L
AnAttractive
BrazilianModel
Betweennowand2050 the
worlds populationwill rise from
7 billionto9 billion. Its income
is likely torise by more thanthat
andthe total urbanpopulation
will roughly double, changing
diets as well as overall demand
because city dwellers tendtoeat
more meat.
The UNs Food and Agriculture Organi-
zation (FAO) reckons grain output will
have to rise by around half but meat output will
have to double by 2050. This will be hard to
achieve because, in the past decade, the growth
in agricultural yields has stalled and water has
become a greater constraint. By one estimate,
only 40% of the increase in world grain output
now comes from rises in yield and 60% comes
from taking more land under cultivation. In the
1960s just a quarter came from more land and
three-quarters came from higher yields.
Brazil has more spare farmland than any
other country. The FAO puts its total potential
arable land at over 400m hectares; only 50m is
being used. Brazilian official figures put the
available land somewhat lower, at 300m
hectares. Either way, it is a vast amount. On the
FAOs figures, Brazil has as much spare farm-
land as the next two countries together (Russia
and America). It is often accused of leveling the
rainforest to create its farms, but hardly any of
this new land lies in Amazonia; most is cerrado
[savannah].
Brazil also has more water. According to the
UNs World Water Assessment Report of 2009,
Brazil has more than 8,000 billion cubic kilome-
ters of renewable water each year, easily more
than any other country. Brazil alone (population:
190m) has as much renewable water as the
whole of Asia (population: 4 billion). And again,
this is not mainly because of the Amazon. Piaui
is one of the countrys driest areas but still gets
a third more water than Americas corn belt.
Since 1996 Brazilian farmers have in-
creased the amount of land under cultivation
by a third, mostly in the cerrado. That is quite
different from other big farm producers, whose
amount of land under the plough has either
been flat or (in Europe) falling. And it has in-
creased production by ten times that amount.
Like almost every large farming country,
Brazil is divided between productive giant op-
erations and inefficient hobby farms. From the
point of view of the rest of the world, however,
these faults in Brazilian agriculture do not mat-
ter much. The bigger question for them is: can
the miracle of the cerrado be exported, espe-
cially to Africa, where the good intentions of
outsiders have so often shriveled and died?
There are several reasons to think it can.
Brazilian land is like Africas: tropical and nutri-
ent-poor. The big difference is that the cerrado
gets a decent amount of rain and most of
Africas savannah does not (the exception is
the swathe of southern Africa between Angola
and Mozambique).
Brazil imported some of its raw material
from other tropical countries in the first place.
Brachiaria grass came from Africa. The zebu
that formed the basis of Brazils nelore cattle
herd came from India. In both cases, Em-
brapas [Embrapa is short for Empresa
Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuria, or the
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation]
know-how improved them dramatically. Could
they be taken back and improved again? Em-
brapa has started to do that, though it is early
days and so far it is unclear whether the tech-
nology retransfer will work.
Systems are much harder to export than a
simple fix. We went to the US and brought
back the whole package [of cutting-edge agri-
culture in the 1970s], says Dr. Silvio
Crestana, a former head of Embrapa. That
didnt work and it took us 30 years to create
our own. Perhaps Africans will come to Brazil
and take back the package from us. Africa is
changing. Perhaps it wont take them so long.
Well see. If we see anything like what hap-
pened in Brazil itself, feeding the world in 2050
will not look like the uphill struggle it appears
to be now.
-The Economist, 28 August 2010, pgs. 58-60
Based on the available information, Brazil
has more agriculturally suitable land than
any other country in the world. With the
constant increase in the worlds popula-
tion, Brazils future looks bright.
Financially, Brazil has done rather
well. While most of the world was forced
into some type of recession due to the fi-
nancial chaos originating in the U.S.A.,
Brazil has barely been scratched. The
Brazilian Real has significantly in-
creased in value compared to the US dol-
lar. That is allowing Brazilian citizens to
travel the world more than ever before.
Where energy is concerned, Brazil
leads the world in agriculturally based
fuel production. Plus, the recently discov-
ered oil field on Brazils continental shelf
is said to be the largest in the world.
During the last few years, we noticed
that Midnight Call tour groups to Israel
from Brazil, far outpaced the ones from
the U.S.A. Most important, however, is
that Brazilians are spiritually hungry; this
is evidenced by the yearly increasing au-
dience at Brazils annual prophecy con-
ference.
The nation that only a few decades ago
was considered third world, is now grow-
ing into one of the worlds leaders. Thus,
we see the world changing. Facts and fig-
ures of the past no longer count; the new
world is presenting new realities, and that
can only lead to a unified world. 3955

GE RMANY
Greatest Danger:
Natural Catastrophes
Approximately two-thirds of Germans (64
percent) have expressed their fear that
natural catastrophes will increase. This is an all-
time record high. The research was conducted by
R + V Versicherung, published in Berlin on 9 Sep-
tember 2010. The fear of coming natural catastro-
phes in comparison to the past year has
increased by 8 percent. Reasons given, among
other things, are volcanic eruptions on some of
the islands and the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of
Mexico. Fear among the general population,
compared with the previous year, continues to in-
crease significantly.
-Topic, October 2010
Why fear? Germany is doing rather well. Even
after the financial disaster, unemployment has
been reduced from 9.4 to 7.5 percent of the
workforce. Germany leads the world when it
comes to trade balance. The Economist (18
December 2010 issue) lists Germanys posi-
tive trade balance as $211.6 billion, closely fol-
lowed by China with 189.9 billion, and Russia
in third place with 149.3 billion. The United
States is listed in the red, leading the world
with a 639.6 billion deficit. Germanys work-
force is the highest paid in the world, with gen-
erous benefits such as 6-8 weeks paid vacation
with healthcare included. So why fear? It is the
fear of things to come. Jesus made this
prophecy in Luke 21:26: Mens hearts failing
themfor fear, and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth: for the powers
of heaven shall be shaken. That prophecy is
yet to be fulfilled, but the preparation is in full
swing. Not only in Germany, but also in most
of the progressive rich countries, the same
symptom is demonstratedfear. Thus, the
waiting rooms of psychologists and psychia-
trists are full of people, all looking for an an-
swer. But what is the real remedy? It is the
personal knowledge of Him who is our peace,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who guaranteed it in
John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, my peace
I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nei-
ther let it be afraid. 3970

MARCH 2011 39
S PAI N
Global Floodto
DestroyMankind
Scientists continue toscare the
worldpopulationwithimmi-
nent disasters. This time, the
role of the force of nature that
will destroy the planet was
giventothe Global Flood.
Spanish hydrologists believe that it can oc-
cur in the beginning of this century due to
the melting of the glaciers. Will their predictions
come true?
Modeling of changes in the Atlantic currents
that took place in the past allowed the interna-
tional team of scientists to calculate the speed at
which the level of the World Ocean is rising. Hy-
drologists believe that in this century the water can
claimthe territory of the largest sea powers. Tradi-
tionally, scientists blame this on the notorious
global warming, whose existence has not been
proved.
The researchers fromSeville University believe
that as the global warming progresses, the under-
water currents in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans
grow stronger. Yet, they cannot answer the ques-
tion why this happens (logically, the effect should
be the opposite because warming reduces the dif-
ference between the temperature of water at the
equator and the poles that creates global oceanic
currents similar to the Gulf Stream).
Hydrologists think that additional redistribution
of water that occurs due to these phenomena
speeds up the approaching of the ocean. This
statement seems doubtful because it violates the
law of mass preservation, because stronger cur-
rents cannot create an additional volume of water
out of nothing. Yet, according to the forecast of
the Spanish specialists, this will happen in the
middle of the 21st century. As a result, the
larger part of Iceland, nearly entire Scotland
and many northern islands will be covered
with water. Denmark and the Netherlands are
also threatened with floods.
The cooling of the Gulf Stream will destroy the
temperature balance in the north. The world popu-
lation will not be able to live on the remaining terri-
tories of Great Britain, Ireland and partially
Canada. The melting of the southern glaciers
threatens nearly all the rest of island countries in
the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as Australia
and SouthAmerica.
It looks like they suggested the following
scheme of the catastrophe. First, global warming
will cause mass melting of the glaciers, which will
result in a temporary rise of the level of the world
ocean and some inhibited territories will be
flooded. Significant masses of cold water that
formed as a result of glaciers melting will cause
the Gulf Stream to stop, and the climate in the
Northern hemisphere will get colder. It will stop the
glaciers melting and a part of water that caused
the Global Flood will freeze again.
The level of the world ocean will drop again, the
flooded lands will be out of the water, but will be so
cold that life on them will be impossible. This the-
ory looks most logical since in this interpretation it,
at the very least, does not contradict itself.
-english.pravda.ru, 11 December 2010
The theories by these unnamed scientists are
based on speculation and not on scientific
facts. Again, we need to cite what the Bible
has to say about the existence of planet Earth:
And the LORDsmelled a sweet savour; and
the LORD said in his heart, I will not again
curse the ground any more for mans sake;
for the imagination of mans heart is evil
fromhis youth; neither will I again smite any
more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and har-
vest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease
(Genesis 8:21-22). 3959

Old Testament Rebirth?...

One-Fourth Killed...
Fig Tree
LETTERS TO THE EDI TOR

Address letters for publication to: Letters to the Editor, Midnight Call, P.O. Box 280008,
Columbia, SC 29228. 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.
Old Testament Rebirth?
Dear Brother Froese,
My eye just happened to catch
your answer in the December issue
of Midnight Call, under Old Testa-
ment Salvation. You said, Salva-
tion based on the rebirth was not
available until the day of Pentecost.
I simply cant let this statement pass.
I also once believed that way in my
early ministry, until one day an
older brother who heard me make a
similar statement, took me aside
and instructed me more thoroughly
on the subject.
And now I want to assure you,
Brother Froese, that the new birth is
common to all the ages. We may not
think it is spoken of in the Hebrew
Scriptures, but it is clearly indicated
many times.
1) First of all, we should remem-
ber that Christs conversation with
Nicodemus, as recorded for us in
John 3, was long before Pentecost,
and Christ was telling him about the
salvation of his soul right then and
there on the spot. Christ never told
him he had to wait until Pentecost to
get born again. In fact, in verse
eight Christ speaks of the evidence
of the new birth using the past tense
in the Greek: The wind blows where
it wishes and you hear the sound of
it, but you do not know where it
comes from or where it is going; so
is everyone HAVING BEEN born
again.
2) In addition, when Nicodemus
asked how this could be, Christ re-
sponded by scolding himAre you
a teacher of Israel, and do not
KNOW THESE THINGS? In other
words, this is something that
Nicodemus himself should have
known from the Hebrew Scriptures.
Obviously, if this truth were some-
thing new, then there were no
grounds for Christ making this re-
buke to Nicodemus. How could
40 M I D N I G H T C A L L

MARCH 2011 41
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Nicodemus have known about it
if this was something new? I will
turn to the Hebrew Scriptures in
a moment.
3) Now in the very first chap-
ter of John, in verses 12 & 13, it
says very plainly concerning all
those who received Christ
during His earthly ministry
(again, in the Greek this is in
the past tense), that they were
born of GodBut as many as
received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of
God, even to those who believe
in His name, who were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
4) In addition, since Christ
very plainly stated twice in John
3 that Unless a man is born
again, he cannot see the King-
dom of God, we therefore con-
clude that the only way a
person could see the Kingdom
of God was by the new birth.
Later, Christ says to those rulers
who had rejected Him, There
shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth, when you see ABRA-
HAM, and ISAAC, and JACOB,
and all the PROPHETS, IN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD, and you
yourselves thrust out (Luke
13:28). This must mean that all
the saints of the Hebrew Scrip-
tures were, in fact, born
again.
5) Of course, we must under-
stand that this was true of all
the Apostles and believers who
were saved under the ministry
of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ
and those ministering the
gospel before Pentecost. The
only thing the believers had to
wait until Pentecost for was the
promised baptism of the Holy
Spirit, not the new birth! First
John 5:1 & 5 says, One who
believes that Jesus is the Christ
IS born of God, and, One
who believes that Jesus is the
Son of God IS born of God.
The Apostles believe both of
these things long before Pente-
costMatthew 16:16.
6) Now here are a few of the
Hebrew Scriptures themselves
that clearly indicated a new
birth had transpired among the
believers of past agesthey are
repeatedly regarded as Gods
own children, even His sons
and daughters. (On the other
hand, and in contrast, the
wicked were often regarded as
children, sons or daughters of
Belial.)
Deuteronomy 32:5Note,
His (Jehovahs) children.
Deuteronomy 32:6Note, is
not He (Jehovah) thy Father?
Deuteronomy 32:18Note,
the Rock (Jehovah) that begat
thee.
Deuteronomy 32:19Note,
the provoking of His (Jeho-
vahs) sons and daughters.
Deuteronomy 32:20Note,
Children in whom is no
faith.
Psalm 82:6Note, You are
children of the most High.
Psalm 103:13Note, As a fa-
ther pitieth his children.
Proverbs 3:11, 12Note,
even as a father the son in
whom he delights.
Isaiah 1:2Note, I (Jehovah)
have brought up children.
Isaiah 43:6Note, My sons,
My daughters.
Isaiah 63:8Note, Children
that will not lie.
Isaiah 63:16Note, Doubt-
less, Thou art our Father.
Jeremiah 3:4Note, cry unto
Me, My Father.
Jeremiah 3:19Note, Thou
shalt call Me, My Father.
Hosea 1:10Note, Ye are the
sons of the living God.
Malachi 2:10Note, Have we
notone Father?
7) Please keep in mind that
all these passages which state
the sonship of the saints of
old, must of necessity imply
their new birth into Gods fam-
ily: But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right
to become children of God,
even to them who believe in His
name, which were born
(John 1:12-13).
-J. Langford, TX
Answer: In your excellent argument
about the rebirth being available be-
fore Pentecost, you have neglected to
take prophecy into account. For exam-
ple, we were chosen before the foun-
dation of the world in Jesus Christ. It
was a done deal, an eternal fact, but it
had to transpire in time. When Jere-
miah speaks of the future, I will make
a new covenant, he explained the re-
sult, they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of
them. Part of this was fulfilled at the
time of Pentecost, but the final fulfill-
ment is yet to come, they shall all
knowme.
At Pentecost, Peter proclaims, This
is that which was spoken of by the
prophet Joel, and concludes,The sun
shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood. Verses 17-18 were
LETTERS TO THE EDI TOR

LETTERS TO THE EDI TOR

42 M I D N I G H T C A L L
fulfilled, but verses 19-20 are yet to be
fulfilled.
Jesus prayed, I have finished the
work which thou gavest me to do. He
did this prior to Gethsemane, before
His arrest, torture, crucifixion, death,
burial, and resurrection. Before His
work on earth was actually finished,
He prayed that prayer. From prophetic
perspectives, it was settled eternally in
heaven.
The rebirth could not occur while
Jesus was on earth, because He stated,
It is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter will
not come unto you. Thus, the Com-
forter, with all those who are born
again of the Spirit of God, must be re-
moved from planet Earth before Jesus
can come back literally and physically
on the Mount of Olives.
In John 14:16, Jesus speaks
prophetically of Pentecost: And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide
with you for ever.Then in verse 17, He
explains, but ye know him (Holy
Spirit); for he dwelleth with you (thats
not the rebirth), and shall be in you
thats the rebirth.
If you apply these prophetic princi-
ples to your seven-point answer, I think
you will agree that the rebirth was not
available before Pentecost.
One-Fourth Killed
Dear Brother Froese:
We read in the Holy Word,
So I looked, and behold, a pale
horse. And the name of him
who sat on it was Death, and
Hades followed with him. And
power was given to them over a
fourth of the earth, to kill with
sword, with hunger, with death,
and by the beasts of the earth
(Revelation 6:8, NKJV).
The Holman Christian Stan-
dard Bible reads: And I looked,
and there was a pale green
horse. The horseman on it was
named Death, and Hades was
following after him. Authority
was given to them over a fourth
of the earth, to kill by the
sword, by famine, by plague,
and by the wild animals of the
earth.
It doesnt look to me as
though the verse is saying that a
fourth of the people on earth
will be killed. Only that power
or authority was given them.
Anyway, it looks like one-fourth
of the people on earth will be
involved.
My question is: Will a fourth
of the earth die during this
time, or will they be given
power to kill? Also, do you be-
lieve that this is one way God is
bringing people to repentance?
-W. Knight, OK
Answer: Note that his name is
Death, and death does not keep life.
In verses 15-16, we see the people not
repenting but attempting to hide
themselves from the wrath of the
Lamb. In chapter 9, verse 18, it says,
By these three was the third part of
men killed. Then in verse 20, those
who were not killed, repented not of
[their] works. Lets take the figure 6
billion. One-fourth means 1 billion,
leaving 4 . Chapter nine speaks of
one-third; thats again 1 billion. Be-
tween these two Scriptures, half of hu-
manity will die.
Fig Tree
Dear Midnight Call Ministries,
I love receiving the magazine.
I read it cover to cover. I also
love my own rainbow study
Bible.
My question: In Matthew 24
and 25, Jesus gave us some clues
about the end times. I think the
story of the fig tree and the
leaves suggests the restoration
of Israel as a renewed state in
their land. I have been studying
this since 1995, and I feel that
Harry Truman (President) was
being prepared by God, even as
a boy who lived next door to a
Jewish family in Independence,
Missouri. Mr. Truman played a
large part in Israels indepen-
dence on May 14, 1948.
Am I correct in thinking that
the budding of the leaves on
that day (5-14-48) is a clue to
our Lords soon Second Com-
ing?
He said that this generation
will not pass until all these
things be fulfilled.
Do you agree with me that
the budding of the leaves on
the fig tree is a sign of His soon
coming? It has been 62 years
since this prophecy of Jesus was
fulfilled.
Thank you for your consider-
ation of my question. Best re-
gards to all the staff at MCM.
-E. Crispell, AL
Answer: We remember that Jesus
cursed the fig tree, Let no fruit grow
on thee henceforward for ever. That
means no spiritual fruitunder the old
covenant. But the leaves indicate the
resurrection of the fruit tree. The Jews,
primarily from the communist Soviet
Union, declared official independence
on 14 May 1948, but the return of the
Jews had already begun in the late
1800s, with the bulk coming from Rus-

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 2011 43
sia, Poland, and a smaller number from
Germany between 1933 and 1939. We
need to be cautious with identifying a
certain date so we may mathemati-
cally figure out the end of one genera-
tion. We are admonished to wait all
the time, day-after-day, just as the
church did at its very first beginning in
Jerusalem.
Unfortunately, the assumption that
President Harry Truman had anything
to do with the founding of the State of
Israel is built on misconception. The
whole world, except the Soviet Union,
believed that Israel would not exist
but for a few weeks. For that reason,
America did not recognize the State of
Israel until 31 January 1949. The Soviet
Union, however, was first in recogniz-
ing Israel on 17 May 1948, followed by
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
Ireland and South Africa. Communist
Czechoslovakia, under the authority of
the Kremlin, supplied the fledgling
state Israel with the weapons to de-
fend themselves.
While all of that is history, the eter-
nal Word of God is perfectly accurate,
just as it was 2,000 years ago, There-
fore be ye also ready: for in such an
hour as ye think not the Son of man
cometh(Matthew24:44).
Christian Nation
Dear Mr. Froese,
Thank you for answering my
letter and for sending the book
on yoga. I have never cared for
yoga, but have a daughter who
does yoga exercises. The author
of the book made it sound
worse than just a bad idea, but
potentially dangerous!
This letter is to comment on
your article in the October is-
sue entitled, Christian Nation
Founded by Masons and
Deists. Ive always believed as
you do and thought myself
alone in thinking so. George
Washington may have called
himself Christian, but not at a
Masonic meeting.
My first encounter with
anything Mason happened
when I was 14 years old and
asked to play the piano for a
funeral in church for a man
who was a Mason. Whoever
asked me wanted me to find
two hymns for a quartet to
sing that must not mention
the word Christ! That sur-
prised me. After much search-
ing, I found a hymn called
My Task. This left me with a
very bad impression of Ma-
sons.
Besides, to be Christian, the
name of Christ must be in-
volved, and I havent seen it in
any documents of our country.
That is, In God We Trust is
not Christian. What god?
Every culture has a god; the
Sioux Indians call their god
grandfather; Japanese have
Buddha, etc. I love my country,
but dont regard it as Christian
or that it ever has been. Steal-
ing Africans from their coun-
try to make slaves of them and
treat them terribly is not
Christian. Nor is the way Na-
tive Americans are treated.
And any nation that legalizes
murdering babies before birth
and allowing homosexuals to
marry isnt Christian either, in
my opinion. Still, though the
U.S. isnt Christian, there are
Christians in it. My opinion is
not popular, so I dont express
it often.
In my last letter, I told you
Im reading the Bible again,
cover-to-cover, now ready for
1 Peter.
I would appreciate your com-
ments on Melchizedek, a fasci-
nating character. He could be a
mortal man whose origin was
unknownpeople may not
have kept records in those days.
So Melchizedek was thought to
have no mother or father, be-
ginning or end. And he really
was a priest and king of Salem
(Jerusalem). I have wondered if
he could have been Jesus, visit-
ing Abraham disguised as a
man. Abraham must have been
very much impressed, at any
rate, to have tithed his goods to
this priest.
Ive read many references in the
Bible concerning Melchizedek,
and I suppose thats all any of us
can know.
-S. Kolberg, CO
Answer: The Christian country con-
cept comes from the Catholic Church.
The Vatican believes that the political
government and church should be
united, preferably, with the church
having the upper hand. The founding
fathers of America, who were mainly
Deists and Freemasons, insisted on the
separation of church and state. Yet lit-
erally, it cannot be accomplished
100% because each church, including
Midnight Call Ministries, is a semi-gov-
ernment subsidized institution; thus,
we are responsible to the government
to be purely religious and not political.
We are accountable for money re-
ceived and money spent.
Melchizedek is indeed a mysterious
figure in the Bible, with little explana-
tion. In the book of Hebrews, he is
LETTERS TO THE EDI TOR

LETTERS TO THE EDI TOR

44 M I D N I G H T C A L L
mentioned nine times (chapters 5, 6
and 7). Some have identified him as a
pre-appearance of Jesus the Son of
God, but that interpretation seems to
be contradicted by the statement,
made like unto the Son of God, in
chapter 7, verse 3. So he is like the Son
of God, but not the Son of God.
New Jerusalem
Dear Mr. Froese,
I ordered the book, The Un-
veiling by Keith Harris. No
doubt, you are acquainted with
it. On the topic of the new
Heaven and the new Earth, it
refers to them being purified by
fire. The new Jerusalem comes
down from Heaven and settles
on the new Earth. God comes to
dwell with His people on the
new Earth permanently. In a re-
cent adult Sunday School class
I was leading, I stated that the
new Jerusalem had no need of
the sun as God and the Lord
Jesus were the light of it. How-
ever, the new Earth still
needed the sun and the moon
for lighting. Another class
teacher challenged me and
maintained I was wrong. He
said even the gates of the city
were wide open to let the light
out. I replied, the gates served
as a passageway in and out of
the city allowing Earth
dwellers to come and go as
they pleased. I understand the
Earth will still be the original
size and require the sun and
moon. Will the people on the
new Earth be only redeemed
Israelites, or are they also the
nations and kings of the earth
(Revelation 21:24)?
-H. Wiebe, MB, CANADA
Answer: We should use caution in us-
ing earthly imagery when reading the
prophetic Word. In Revelation 21, it
says, There was no more sea. With-
out sea, life cannot exist on Earth; that
means something new is being cre-
ated, which is literally out of this
world. Remember, the Lord said, Be-
hold, I make all things new.That goes
for the new Jerusalem too. This city is
a cubicle of 12,000 furlongs; thats
about 2,500 kilometers. Passenger jets
that fly overseas reach the heights of
about 10 or 11 kilometers. When we
imagine in our minds such a gigantic
cubicle, then virtually a million ques-
tions arise. So, what is the answer?Be-
hold, I make all things new.It will take
much more than this letter to answer
only the very fundamental questions
about the new Heaven, the new Earth,
and the new Jerusalem. While we
grasp some of these glorious, unimag-
inable and out of this world things
with our spirit, we have to keep in
mind that the Bible says, Eye hath
seen, nor ear heard, neither have en-
tered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them
that love him.
Not Running Out of Oil
Dear Mr. Froese,
I encountered a book several
years ago written by Jerome R.
Corsi, Ph.D., called, Black Gold
Stranglehold: The Myth of Scar-
ity and the Politics of Oil, which
exposes the fraudulent science
that has been sold to the world
in order to enslave them: the
belief that oil is a fossil fuel and
a finite resource.
The book goes into great detail
on howthe oil producing nations
manipulate world economies,
use rogue terrorist regimes like
Libya for their own ends, and act
as our friend while we buy their
oil, and then work behind our
back to destroy our way of life.
The situation that is currently de-
veloping could cause the collapse
of the U.S. economy if the oil
producing states accept only the
Euro and gold-backed currencies
such as the Gold Dinar instead of
the U.S. dollar as the standard
currency for oil.
Simply stated, there is grow-
ing evidence that we, in fact,
are not running out of oil. If we
are not, then there should not
be any mad dash to drill for
new oil to quench the global
appetite. At this point in his-
tory, there are more proven oil
reserves than ever, despite
many decades of increased con-
sumption. So, if we are using
more because of the thousands
of cars being built in China, In-
dia, Indonesia, etc., but in fact,
oil is not being decreased in
any capacity, then perhaps we
are being hoodwinked into be-
lieving exactly what the envi-
ronmental extremists want us
to believe.
With this scenario in tow, it
is high time we come to our
senses and go after these envi-
ronmental extremists that
hold our country hostage with
its own laws. Lets get away
from oil and start using alter-
native methods that will scale
back any power our Middle
East foes have over us. If we
use the water of our oceans
for energy power because we
have the technology to do it,
why not shut down these oil
spigots from countries that

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

MARCH 2011 45
are using oil as a weapon
against us?
-G. Boyd, IL
Answer: This scenario assumes that
the super rich, highly intelligent ex-
ecutives who run oil corporations
are not very smart. It is relatively
easy to set up an oil rig anywhere on
land, but extremely difficult, danger-
ous, and very expensive to do the
same in the ocean. British Petroleum,
known as BP, almost went bankrupt
when one of its towers blew up in
the Gulf of Mexicoand there is
more to come regarding final settle-
ments. The reason that these oil
companies drill in such awkward
places is proof that there is not
enough to be found on land.
Regardless of the source of en-
ergy, it will continue to become
scarce because tens of millions (not
thousands as you write) of motor ve-
hicles are being added to the roads
annually, particularly in Asia, and
they will need energy. Conspiracy
theories, voiced by popular radio
talk show hosts, blame everyone else
but self; they insist that we have
plenty of energy, but fail to realize
that we have to borrow exorbitant
amounts of money from rich com-
munist China and socialist Europe to
buy the energy. What will happen
when they say enough is enough
no more money to the United States
of America?
How does this relate to us Chris-
tians? My answer is, not at all. We are
in the world, but not of the world.
The nations, all of them, are under
the authority of Lucifer, who has a
very definite plan; namely, to unite
the world. But our plan is found in
Holy Scripture: we are to concern
ourselves exclusively with the build-
ing of His spiritual holy habitation,
the Church of Jesus Christ. For the
world, unimaginable catastrophes
are all they can expect, but for the
believers who have staked their se-
curity in the Savior, the best is yet to
come.
Apostasy or Rapture?
Dear Mr. Froese,
Im thankful for Midnight
Call and its contributors. I anx-
iously await its arrival each
month.
I suppose that Ive, since my
teens, always believed in the
Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the
Church. Thirty-some years ago,
I was approached by a salesman
who was trying to interest my
wife and me in purchasing
cemetery lots. I told the gentle-
man that we didnt believe that
we would need them and why.
I thank Dr. Bigalke for his
writings on the Rapture of the
Church; they serve to strengthen
my beliefs. I have a longtime
friend who believes that the tem-
ple must be built first. He also
believes the whole Bible is
summed up in Revelation. Im
trying to list the times that the
Bible tells us that even Jesus
doesnt know when His return
will be, and we should be joy-
fully awaiting His return for
the Church. Matthew 24,
Mark 13 and Luke 21 are trou-
bling to me because of all the
tribulations mentioned. Dr.
Bigalkes studies of Thessalo-
nians are very good, especially
in the October Midnight Call,
pages 30 and 31, where he
pointed out that most versions
of the Bible read: For that day
shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and
that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition. Dr. Bigalke
showed where that is the re-
moval of the Church.
Im hoping you can edit and
decipher this note so that I can
better explain it to my friend.
God bless you.
-M. Zurwell, FL
Answer: The possibility exists that
you and many others will not need a
cemetery lot. The Apostle Paul ex-
pressed this in 2 Corinthians 5:4.
When it comes to understanding
prophecy, we must confess with the
Bible that we only know in part. Also,
we have different opinions on things
that are not clear to us. My under-
standing is that the falling away, the
apostasy, is today in full swing. Even
in Christian circles, communication,
transportation, and technology con-
tinue to substitute true faith and re-
liance upon the living God. No
wonder Jesus asked, When the Son
of man cometh, shall he find faith on
the earth? (Luke 18:8).
When reading the Gospels, re-
member, its a Jewish book ad-
dressed to the Jewish people in the
land of Israel. That should help you to
accommodate for the word tribula-
tion, which has come upon the
Jews, not just recently, but for the last
2,600 years. Jesus did say, I am not
sent but unto the lost sheep of the
house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). He
instructed them:Go not into the way
of the Gentiles. However, we find
many pointers and prophetic refer-
ences about the Church in the
Gospels, such as, And in his name
shall the Gentiles trust (Matthew
12:21).
MC
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