Greetings from Charlotte,
At the time of this writing, Mr. Richard Ames has been moved from the ICU into end-of-life hospice care; even in hospice, he has asked about various aspects of the Work during his time in the hospital. The El Mundo de Mañana Spanish YouTube channel has surpassed 68.5 million views and garnered nearly 444,000 subscribers. Mr. Richard Ames’ telecast, “Who Changed the Sabbath to Sunday?”, that was voiced over in Spanish has added 22,600 new subscribers. Members in South Africa look forward to the Tomorrow’s World telecast airing on E-TV, one of the country’s top three channels, beginning July 21. The Texas teen camp begins this coming week. Staff is to arrive Sunday for orientation and set-up—campers are to arrive on Tuesday afternoon. Many people will be traveling in the next few days and your prayers for everyone’s safety will be greatly appreciated. In addition, please keep our brethren in the Caribbean in your prayers as Hurricane Beryl roars through that region. So far, they appear to be OK. —Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week we held four follow-up presentations and one initial presentation that drew a total of 23 guests. This concludes the first half of the year. In this time, we have held 72 campaigns that include 137 presentations. These presentations have drawn a total of 1,450 guests. This week we will hold initial presentations in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand; and Brimingham, England, United Kingdom, as well as two follow-up presentations in Georgia and California. Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Feast of Tabernacles
Booking Church-Negotiated Housing for the Feast
If you are using Church-negotiated housing for the Feast, please be sure to use the correct method for doing so. There may be a website link, a booking code, or a phone number for you to call. Using the incorrect method for booking Church-negotiated housing can cause several problems, not least of which can be overspending on Feast housing. If you are unsure of the correct method for booking your housing, contact the Feast coordinator or your local festival advisor.
Comments
Modern Misguided Leaders: Some of the strongest condemnations in the Bible are directed at the leaders of Israel who “cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness” (Jeremiah 23:32; Isaiah 3:12; Matthew 23). Many do not realize these warnings are dual and apply to our modern Israelite nations today. It is not only atheists and agnostics who deride belief in God and the Bible; modern leaders in schools, churches, governments and the media also broadly claim that biblical-based values are outdated and repressive and that behaviors condemned in the Bible are OK to believe in and practice. However, the Bible consistently warns that breaking the laws of God will bring serious consequences (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28) and that we will reap what we sow (Jeremiah 2:17–19). The mission of God’s Church is to be a “voice… crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3), warning the modern nations of Israel of the trouble ahead—if we forget God. Let’s stay focused on that mission.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—July 3, 2024
Is Super AI Coming? Is there anyone who has not heard of AI at this point? AI, or artificial intelligence, is growing to dominate tech. It seems like every company is jumping on the AI bandwagon—even your smart phone has AI built in, even when you don’t realize it. AI is used for writing reports and news articles, and some students are even using AI to write their term papers. Futurists speculate that AI will lead to a myriad of advances in many fields, and investors have already made billions of dollars on AI companies. Where will it end?
Recently the Japan-based company SoftBank held its annual meeting. Its CEO, Masayoshi Son, laid out his vision for what he called “artificial super intelligence,” or ASI (CNBC, June 21, 2024). The CEO observed that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, may be achieved within the next three years and could be one to ten times “smarter” than humans. However, he predicted that within ten years we could see ASI, which could be 10,000 times more intelligent that humans! But what would that portend for the future of humanity and civilization as we know it? It is interesting that Mr. Son commented in his address that he had recently discovered the purpose for his own life: developing such a computer super intelligence.
The Bible warns that in the last days, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). Mathematics, science, and computers have allowed mankind to breach the progress-barrier anciently established by God through the creation of different languages at Babel (Genesis 11:6–7). On one hand, the future is exciting, but super intelligence in the hands of people with no moral compass is frightening! What does the future hold and how will it impact our understanding of humanity and the purpose of life? To learn more about this fascinating subject, read our article on the spiritual implications of artificial general intelligence, “In Our Own Image,” and our free resource What Is the Meaning of Life?
New Archaeology Supports Bible Narrative: According to critics, the Bible is supposedly full of myths and far-fetched stories. Yet, over time, evidence continues to emerge that substantiates biblical narratives. One such account is recorded in 2 Kings 19 where Jerusalem was surrounded by the massive army of Assyrian king Sennacherib. The king’s commander sent a letter to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, threatening him to surrender peacefully. But, instead of surrendering, Hezekiah prayed and laid the threatening letter before God. According to the biblical account, that night an angel of the Lord went through the camp of the Assyrians and killed 185,000 soldiers. The next day Sennacherib, and what was left of his army, departed.
What seems like a far-fetched story to some is now more believable due to new archaeological evidence. Archaeology News reports that an independent Near East archaeologist, Stephen Compton, using “modern mapping techniques,” believes he has located remnants of “the Assyrian military base described in these Biblical stories” (June 19, 2024). This base was located about 40 miles south of Jerusalem. He also located other ancient Assyrian fortifications closer to Jerusalem. As the article notes, “While the archaeological evidence discovered by Compton does not confirm the supernatural aspects of the Biblical narrative, it does provide compelling support for the historical presence of Assyrian military forces near Jerusalem during Sennacherib’s reign.”
It is interesting how quickly critics will dismiss historical records in the Bible if there is no current evidence to support them. However, as time passes, more and more seemingly implausible Bible stories gain support from new discoveries in history and archaeology. To learn more watch our telecast “Proofs of the Bible” and read our free booklet The Bible: Fact or Fiction? —Scott Winnail, Craig Marley, Annette Wright, Olaf Eklund, and Francine Prater