Greetings from Charlotte,
We held an hour-and-a-half online meeting for ministers worldwide on Wednesday. Mr. Rod McNair addressed several procedural subjects for our ministry. Dr. Douglas Winnail addressed what it means to be a “Pastor Emeritus,” whether or not we can use gluten-free bread for Passover, and circumcision. I spoke about how to deal with remote GOTOs and the use of electronic Bibles in preaching.
On that subject, I acknowledged that electronic Bibles are powerful tools we can use in studying the Bible, and there are situations where it may be necessary to use them from the pulpit, such as when one has bad eyesight or is preaching in a congregation with poor lighting. But there are likely to be unintended consequences. Those of us who have studied the Bible for decades have a foundation that we may not fully appreciate when it comes to how the Bible is laid out and fits together. Those cutting their teeth on electronic Bibles most likely do not have the same overview. They may be able to jump back and forth from one translation to another—and this can be a wonderful study tool—but are they building a firm foundation on a recommended translation? Only now, after “the cows are out of the barn,” have we learned the dangers of social media—even from some of the executives behind it. We need to consider potential unintended consequences before it is too late to “get the cows back in the barn.” That is why I have asked our ministry to use a hard-copy Bible from the pulpit except in those cases that present rare and legitimate exceptions.
—Gerald E. Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week, we held six Tomorrow’s World Presentations, and these drew a total of 62 guests. This week, we will hold two presentations in Canada—one in Calgary, Alberta, and another in Toronto, Ontario. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Comments
The Importance of Earnest Prayer: Jesus urged His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). David and Daniel prayed three times a day (Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10). Jesus prayed all night before choosing the Twelve Apostles (Luke 6:12–13) and prayed so earnestly that “His sweat became like great drops of blood” (Luke 22:44). Jesus gave His disciples an outline for prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. In this model, the focus at the beginning and the end is on God and His coming Kingdom. This helps us keep our personal concerns in proper perspective. We can certainly ask God for help and guidance, but we need to keep the big picture in mind. As we see major prophesied events coming to pass, we need to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). The New Testament records that when Church members prayed earnestly, God answered those prayers dramatically (Acts 4:24–31).
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy – May 22, 2025
Can Tattoos Give You Cancer? Today, tattoos are seen everywhere—nearly a third of American adults have at least one—and people spend vast sums of money for these artistic decorations. Currently, people spend $2.2 billion annually on the tattoo fad, and this number is expected to rise to $4 billion by 2032 (New York Times, August 16, 2024).
Tattoos are often considered a harmless form of self-expression. But are they really safe? Several recent studies suggest otherwise. According to a study published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, “The tattooing process invokes an immunologic response that causes translocation of tattoo ink from the injection site” (June 2024). The body some of this ink in lymph nodes. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden conducted a case-control study of nearly 12,000 people and, after controlling for other factors, found that those with tattoos were 20 percent more likely to develop a cancerous lymphoma than those without tattoos. The risk was greatest among those who had been tattooed recently. Another large Danish study indicates that those with tattoos are more likely to develop both lymphomas and skin cancer (University of Colorado, May 12, 2025). While these studies cannot definitively say that tattoos cause cancer, these two large, well-designed studies have the same findings. Together, they suggest that tattoos are a risky choice and may cause lymphoma or skin cancer.
Few people today are aware that the God of the Bible commanded His people not to put tattoos on their bodies (Leviticus 19:28). God created the beautiful human body in His own image (Genesis 1:26), and it is not ours to deface (1 Corinthians 6:19). But His laws are also for our good (Deuteronomy 10:13), and these studies illustrate that we ignore His commands at our peril. To learn more about what God thinks about the growing fad of so-called “body art,” read or listen to “Marks of Regret.”
Big Surprises Inside Our Tiny Cells: Although the microscope was invented in the late 1500s, it was not until the invention of the electron microscope in the 1930s that scientists could finally look within the cell. To Charles Darwin, the cell appeared to be a tiny, simple blob of gelatin. Today however, the cell is called “the inner universe” by some microbiologists due to its incredible complexity (Physics-Astronomy.com, April 9, 2023). Some of the most important and complex structures within the cell are the mitochondria—long thought to serve only as the cell’s “energy factories.” Recent discoveries have shown this view to be extremely limited, and scientists now realize that mitochondria are involved in “regulating cellular metabolism, cancer, the immune system, maintenance of tissue homeostasis, mitochondrial quality control, wound healing and adipose tissue function” (Nature, November 8, 2023). More recently, they have discovered that these remarkable structures are not confined to one cell but instead travel between different cells in a few different ways (Nature, April 8, 2025). But what has not been discovered is why they do this. Scientists surmise that they may be assisting other damaged cells or tissues, but, as of the year 2025, “We don’t have the technology yet to witness this happening.”
When evolutionists claim that the rich variety of life on Earth in all its complexity could have mindlessly evolved, they are continuing stale speculations originally based on Darwin’s simplistic and outdated understanding of life. As we come to understand the vast complexity present in even the “simplest” of microscopic cells and the incredibly diverse capabilities of their subcellular machinery, such fantasies are revealed as impossible. How could something formed by chance and blind, mindless forces, as Darwinian evolutionists posit, craft such well-planned and complex microscopic apparatuses that even our most advanced technology still cannot reveal its secrets? To learn more, watch “Three Dangerous Lies of Evolution.” —Scott Winnail, William Williams, and Adrian Käfer