Greetings from Charlotte,
Winter weather has arrived here in the South. We had an ice storm last night and this morning, which made travel to work a bit challenging for many people in the Charlotte region. Mr. Meredith finished taping two powerful television programs on Wednesday. Mr. Ames has moved his taping sessions to early next week. I spent two days in the Midwest looking at a potential future Feast site. Thankfully, the travel there and back did not include an encounter with any winter storms. Mr. Rod McNair is settling into his office and getting oriented to his new responsibilities here at Headquarters.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Position available at HQ: Executive Administrative Assistant. Applicant should have a college degree and/or equivalent work experience. Responsibilities will include coordinating administrator's schedule and making appointments, greeting scheduled visitors, making travel plans and reservations, conducting research using the Internet and library resources, composing and typing routine correspondence, sending faxes and e-mails, transcribing minutes of meetings, arranging conference calls, data entry, assisting with details of planning meetings, organizing and maintaining filing system, etc. Applicants should send resume and names of ministerial references to Mr. Davy Crockett, 2301 Crown Centre Drive, Charlotte, NC 28227 or email Mr. Crockett at: [email protected].
To Pastors (not to be announced): The weekly Headquarters sermons are being transcribed (typed) for a limited distribution to hearing impaired members of LCG. If you have anyone in your pastorate who is in need of this service, please contact Deborah Lincoln-Strange in CAD ([email protected]) to add someone to the mailing list.
COMMENTS
Murmurings: One of the unique characteristics of human beings is to complain—especially about their leaders. Most animals I have been around don't appear to indulge in this activity with their peers. Today the media is filled with grumblings and criticism of leaders in government—and we periodically hear murmurings about leaders in the Church. In light of this human pastime, it might be worth reviewing how God views griping and complaining about those He has set in various positions. When the children of Israel began to murmur against Moses and Aaron, the Bible reveals that their murmurings were actually against God (see Exodus 16:1-8). The Scriptures show that God does not look lightly on this and that He dealt with such situations in dramatic and sobering ways (see Numbers 14). The apostle Paul states these examples "were written for our admonition" today (I Corinthians 10:8-11). Paul also advised the Church to "do all things without murmuring and disputing" and focus instead on what is positive and uplifting (Philippians 2:14; 4:8-9). Jude makes an interesting observation that those who gripe and complain and plant seeds of division and doubt do not have (or are not using or led by) God's Holy Spirit (Jude 16-19). Hopefully, we will remember these admonitions when we are tempted to participate in this human activity.
Have a nice Sabbath,
Douglas Winnail
NEWS & PROPHECY
Building the Beast: Belgian leader proposes "United States of Europe." Belgium Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, has issued a call for a federal "United States of Europe" in a recently published book by the same title. He feels the people of Europe "do not want less Europe, but a different Europe" with fewer unnecessary regulations and more clout in foreign affairs. Mr. Vorhofstadt envisions an inner core of 12 nations that have adopted the euro as the "United States of Europe" and an outer circle of closely affiliated states as the "Organization of European States." By proposing a "concrete architecture" for a different Europe the prime minister wants "a more deeply integrated Europe, which could make a fist in the globalized world, boost the European economy…and fight organized crime." Mr. Vorhofstadt sees the move towards a United States of Europe following a path similar to the emergence of the United States of America and "that the direction indicated by history is crystal clear" (euobserver.com, December 5, 2005). This proposal is very similar to the direction indicated by Bible prophecy—that 10 nations will surrender their sovereignty to a strong leader in Europe and form a "beast power" just before the return of Jesus Christ (see Revelation 17:12-14; Daniel 2:40-44).
Consolidating Power in Europe: Brussel's Laws and Data Bases. EU officials in Brussels have unveiled detailed plans to create criminal laws that would force member states to punish anyone who breaks those laws. Member states would lose their right to decide what constitutes a crime in their own country. The European Commission also wants to create a "pan-European finger data base, a European DNA data base, and registers of all EU citizens and of all EU travel documents, to which law enforcement agencies would be given access" (The Times, November 24 & 24, 2005). This spreading power of government in Europe has been feared by many as one aspect of the "mark of the beast" that will shock the world as it emerges at the end of this age (Revelation 13:16-18).
Stirring up the Middle East: Iran President says Put Israel in Europe. Iran's hard-liner president, who has called for Israel's destruction, said Thursday that the Jewish state should be moved to Europe if the West wants to make up for the Holocaust. The remarks drew an angry reaction from Israeli officials, Jewish leaders and the United States" (The Charlotte Observer, December 9, 2005). This is the same man who has charged on several occasions that the Holocaust is a "myth" that has been used for creating a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world. These inflammatory charges have angered many Europeans. Biblical prophecies have long warned that Jerusalem and its environs will be a bone of contention in the last days—which will eventually lead to armed intervention in the Middle East by a European power (see Zechariah 12:3; Daniel 11:40-44).
—Scott Winnail, Daniel Bennett