PALESTINIAN EDUCATION FOR PEACE | VOL. 40 * NEWSLETTER * JUL./OCT. 2000 |
Dear Friends of Israel and “Or Tzion”,
Blessings, peace, safety, security, health and prosperity be yours this new year, and the joy and favor of G-d and of the Lord, with happiness and contentment in His service. May you be inscribed for a blessed and prosperous New Year.
My apologies for not writing a bi-monthly letter, but Or Tzion’s funds no longer suffice for that service.However, the letter will be sent out quarterly, until such time as the Lord increases Or Tzion’s budget.
I hardly know where to begin, as there is much pertinent news. While I wish to avoid repeating what others have already written you, I desire to provide you with information relevant to our days in the light of Scriptures. As Israel is the divine “time-clock” by which we may know where we are in terms of prophetic timing, it is always necessary to focus on her.
Perhaps I should begin with Jerusalem. Presently Arafat’s “government” (liars and men of lawlessness) is trying with all its might to rewrite Jerusalem’s and all of the Land of Israel’s history, unabashedly assisted by the European Union, Bill Clinton and the men who assured his re-election, and by the Arab League and Moslem World.
The most recent Palestinian strides toward this goal are the PA’s school textbooks and curricula, their brazen claim to the Temple Mount and destruction of any Jewish presence on it, and their forging an alliance with “Christianity” to the utter exclusion of Judaism, pretending that a Jewish people never existed.
When Karam Jamil, a Palestinian first grader in Beituniya, was asked about Jerusalem just a few miles away, he quickly answered: “It’s the capital of Palestine, and it’s where we pray.” Asked about Israel, neither Karam nor the whole first grade knew the answer, because their brand new civics textbooks make no mention of Israel at all, nor can Israel be found on the map on the classroom wall. That’s hardly the “education for peace” outlined in the Oslo peace agreements brokered in 1993.
In its chapter on tolerance, the sixth grade civics textbook used in Beituniya in Jamal Husam’s class shows a Muslim imam and a Catholic priest shaking hands, and includes passages from the New Testament and the Quran. Jews aren’t mentioned! Husam denies that the text or his lessons are anti-Semitic, saying: “The Jews aren’t even mentioned.”
Exactly! Palestinian textbooks render Jews, especially Israeli ones, as non-existent!
WHO’S IS JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT?
page 2 Under the Temple Mount, as Palestinian workers unearth Jewish evidence of the Second Temple, the evidence is immediately destroyed in order to eradicate all proof of the Jewish presence predating the existence of Islam. Yet not one word of protest from the UN, nor one sign of objection from Bill Clinton.What defied all understanding, however, was the indifference and utter passivity of the Barak government in view of the further desecration of the Temple Mount and the destruction of irreplaceable archeological
treasures. When members of Knesset attempted to conduct an investigation of the construction activities on the Temple Mount they were rudely prevented from doing so by their own, Israeli police. However, united efforts of Jews in Israel and from abroad temporarily put a halt to this wanton destruction Adnan Husseini (another relative of Arafat), director of the Islamic Trust, terms a “renovation of Islamic holy sites.”
Leading Moslem religious figures declared during the Camp David II meetings that “No Moslem has the right to give up Jerusalem or the holy places!” The Egyptian Mufti Nasser Vassel, considered the most important religious leader in the Arab world, claims that “Jerusalem and all of Palestine (i.e., Israel) are sacred Moslem property, and any concession on Jerusalem or elsewhere in Palestine is unacceptable under Moslem law and does not obligate the Arab nation.” These Moslem leaders speak of “concessions” on the part of the Arabs as if Jerusalem was already their capital, and not Israel’s. They raise the stakes and call for a show of cards while holding nothing in their own hands, sure that their bluff will once again dupe the Israelis and the nations.
On September 28th, when the Likud leader, Arik Sharon, went to visit the Temple Mount together with a few MK’s, he required massive police protection. Feisal Husseini immediately seized the opportunity of such an outrage to claim: “Sharon thought that this place belongs to the Israelis, but the way he entered, with thousands of police protecting him, was clear proof to all the world that the Israelis have no sovereignty here.”
Perhaps the next thing Feisal Husseini will suggest is that the Bible is an invention, and that Solomon never built
a Temple there according to the divine pattern given to King David his father, and that King Herod did not enlarge the Second Temple in which Yeshua taught.
Yasser Arafat called Arik Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount “a dangerous process conducted by Sharon against Islamic sacred places,” and called upon Arab and Moslem states to take action to protect the site which Moslems call Haram al-Sharif (Holy Sanctuary). Arafat’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudainah, even called the Jewish leader’s visit to the Temple Mount “an incitement to terror, which can lead to religious confrontation.” Palestinians, always ready to vent their hatred against the Israelis, immediately went into rioting with the usual hurling of rocks, injuring 34 of the Israeli policemen.
SOVEREIGNTY ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT
page 3 Reuven Rivlin, a Likud MK who had accompanied Sharon, replied: “If there is a provocation here, then so is the very existence of the Jews in the Land of Israel. For Wakf officials, the very presence of Jews in Jerusalem is a provocation. This is an area under Israeli sovereignty, and we do not have to apologize for allowing religious freedom of movement in the capital.”“Every Jewish person has the right to visit Judaism’s holiest site,” Sharon asserted.
Meanwhile, Jordanian Moslem fundamentalists called immediately for a “holy war – jihad” against Israel, condemning Sharon’s visit as “an atrocious act which requires Moslem and Arab leaders to declare jihad to liberate… the shrines in Jerusalem.” They urged the cancellation of all peace accords signed with the “Jewish enemy,” and the shedding of blood of those Jews who plan to implement the “outrageous crime” of establishing their “alleged” temple in the yards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
However, Prime Minister Barak, at a conference during the UN Millennium Assembly, firmly replied the following: “Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are the cornerstones of Jewish identity. I made it very clear that no Israeli Prime Minister will ever sign a document that gives up sovereignty on the Temple Mount… when young Jesus walked around Jerusalem, he did not see mosques or churches, but only the Holy Temple.”
This Muslim “sanctuary” to be built beneath and above the Temple Mount, under the cover of “renovating Islamic holy sites,” will be devoted to jihad, terror, lawlessness and bloodshed, a hiding place for weapons and terrorists in the very heart of Jerusalem! Who would dare attack it? This, and not the third temple, will in all likelihood be the “abomination that shall render the earth desolate,” as prophesied by Daniel, the Lord Yeshua, and the apostle Paul. Daniel 12:11, and likewise 11:31, makes no mention of the Temple. The Hebrew Scriptures merely state that the “continual” will be taken away, and that the abomination that makes desolate
will be set up.
The key to this mystery are the words of our Lord Who speaks of the “Holy Place.” The Greek word for “holy” here is hagiõs, which in its sacredness and holiness is awe-inspiring, pure, blameless, i.e. most holy. The “Place” instead is tõpõs, which is a spot, or place of limited occupancy, i.e. not a large place, but a small one, a specific location.
This IS what the reader is supposed to understand: that anything other than the Temple of the G-d of Israel standing in that most holy spot is an abomination, because it desecrates the place where G-d promised that His heart and eyes would be continually.
In review: Daniel speaks of a sanctuary of strength; the Lord Yeshua of a holy place; and Paul the apostle of a most holy place.
But none of the prophecies mention the Temple proper. The Holy Spirit never indicated a “Third Temple” wherin the “Man of sin” would set himself up. Therefore, let us not keep looking for a wrong “sign” but recognize the one in progress right before our eyes1.
1 Taken from Or Tzion’s web site, “The Electronic Tabernacle.” For more information on the subject go to https://www.ortzion.org/images/abomination.html U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2000
page 4 This year’s Presidentail elections put one truly “between a rock and a hard place”: which of the two men should one vote into the Oval Office? Many who traditionally vote Republican have begun to lean toward the Democratic candidate. Many others find themselves at a total loss. Texas Governor, George Bush Jr., has embarrassed himself with a number of ill-advised, uninformed statements and fails to impress the public as a strong leader, or as a man of vision, genuine and trustworthy. Neither does he appear to be a true ally of Israel. Furthermore, his father proved openly anti-Israel, pro-PLO. It was B.B. (Bush & Baker) who overturned the U.S. policy of no-recognition of the PLO with the “Tunis” talks2. And it was Bush Sr. who declared East Jerusalem “occupied territory,” effectively dividing Israel’s eternal capital once again.On the other hand, Al Gore went into the “Bill Clinton” school, a rather alarming factor that cautions one from considering him as the “lesser of two evils.” He also seems to lack sincerity, strong leadership quality, and a balanced vision for the Middle East. He trailed considerably behind Bush until he chose Joseph Lieberman, a Jew, for running mate. As the whole Jewish community rejoiced, so did I.
But the Holy Spirit quickly “spirited” me back to “earthly” reality. The first alarming sign was the unanimous praise heaped upon Lieberman from every political spectrum. If Lieberman were indeed the kind of man he was lauded to be, the string pullers and power mongers would have heaped mud on him, rather than praise. And Al Gore would never have chosen him.
So, then, why did everybody of power, money, prominence and influence praise Lieberman, the “orthodox” Jew? And why did Al Gore select him as best suitable running mate?
As I was praying the Father about the matter and doing some research, I found the following shocking information, which brought the matter immediately into perspective:
Joseph Lieberman is a member of the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR; as are Dick Cheney – running mate of George Bush Jr., Al Gore, and George Bush Jr. in proxy, whose grandfather Prescott was a CFR pioneer, and Bush Sr. an executive at CFR), whose aim is a one world government – (indeed, echoes of Bush Sr.’s pronouncement during the Gulf war of a “new order”).
CFR boasts only 3,000 members, the elite “illuminati” who furnish the top leadership of the American nation. At the 1996 Presidential elections it was also CFR members who ran for Office, namely Clinton, Gore and Dole.
Rabbi Marvin Antleman, an alert and wary observer of CFR (which he has fought untiringly for three decades), warned the Jewish community that one of CFR’s programs is to wipe out Judaism (undoubtedly, because it presents an obstacle to the establishment of a new one-world religion and one world government). Antleman also warned that “the CFR’s purpose is to promote and arm violent and disruptive national movements in order to upset the world’s status quo and replace it with their alternative world order.”3
CFR’s Middle East Task Force Report of July 1996 leaves no doubt about their position on Israel: Israel is to return to its undefendable 1948 borders and Jerusalem is to be divided into two national capitals4. Consequently this position is also held by either Gore and Lieberman, or Bush and Cheney.
Last year Lieberman welcomed Arafat to America and even prayed for the success of his mission5. Lieberman supports continued Israeli withdrawal from the covenanted land, even the division of Jerusalem; endorses postponement of the United States Embassy’s move to Jerusalem; sanctioned Clinton’s massive pressure on Barak to reneg on the Phalcon AWACS Radar-System sale to China (I reported on this in volume #39); and was contributory in nullifying any chance for Jonathan Pollard to be released from prison. Lieberman is Pro-Choice on abortion, and his party openly supports Gay rights.
All these positions of Joseph Lieberman flout G-d’s commandments and true Judaism. Hence his “Jewish orthodoxy” rings false.
Furthermore, a win for Al Gore will undoubtedly lead to more suicidal concessions for Israel, with the Jewish community bridled from accusing the administration of being anti-Israel. This tactic worked for Nixon, when he named CFR executive Henry Kissinger Secretary of State. The Jewish community could not accuse the Nixon administration of anti-Semitism when it not only remained “neutral” during the Yom Kippur war in 1973, but also pressured Israel to “quit” in order to spare the Arabs a total and humiliating defeat. (Such American interference was repeated after Israel’s superb raid on the PLO in Lebanon, and turned a clean and swift victory into a costly debacle for Israel for more than 20 years.)
It pains me to acknowledge these facts concerning the Presidential and VP choices. But can we hide our heads in the sand like an ostrich, as the German Jews and my family did, and hope for the best?
However, there is one glorious fact, preeminent before all others, that comforts me: that G-d reigns supreme as Almighty Sovereign in righteousness, truth and justice, Who has already set His king, Messiah Yeshua, upon His holy hill6. Let us, whose hope is in G-d and not in man, seek G-d’s guidance and counsel in the assurance that He knows all things in advance. Let us keep abreast of the facts and acquire the necessary discernment, while trusting G-d to help us in electing America’s new chief executives. May the Lord make our prayers come to bear upon the man we choose for President.
2 These negotiations between high American and PLO officials in Tunis – dubbed by the Media “Tunis Talks” – seem to have been tossed into the sea of forgetfulness, for not a single trace of it could be found on the WWW. 07-02-2014 – found some reports which at least mention the “Tunis Talks”: “Negotiating Team”; “Dialogue with the PLO in Tunis” 3 See https://www.ortzion.org/images/Islam.html (Begin with www.ortzion.org/newage.html, page 29). 4 In an interview by The Jerusalem Post, Barak said that “if there is an agreement… there will also be a Palestinian capital that will be called Al-Quds.” Pressed on the Al- Quds suggestion, Barak said: “It will be Jerusalem and Al-Quds, one next to the other, as two capitals.”
Responded Likud leader, Arik Sharon, “This is a major historical mistake. It is the first time that a Jewish leader agreed to divide Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for the last 3,000 years,” Sharon said after his visit to the Temple Mount. “Jerusalem does not belong to us, but to the entire Jewish people. The fact that one man decided to divide Jerusalem is very wrong and we will try to stop this in every democratic way.” This was featured at
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/09/29/News/News.12994.html5 And so did Madeleine Albright, who loves to walk with Arafat hand in hand as with a beloved friend, while she has not “graced” any Israeli leader with such “favor”. 6 Psalm 2:6 FFROM INTERFAITH COLLABORATION TO ONE-WORLD RELIGION
page 5 During the summer, the Lord gave me prophetic dreams, coinciding with the UN Millennium summits. Two of the dreams concerned the UN and a one world government. In the first dream, the UN was shown as a “National Park” kept by UN guardians for the preservation of giant, fierce beasts (the “kings of the earth”). The only way to the entrance of the park was on slippery stones, over a river of deep, turbulent waters. Upon entering the park, the sole protection from these huge, fierce beasts was taking shelter in the Name of the Lord.In the second dream, men ran to and fro building a gigantic structure whose tip reached up into the clouds. It was a modern “tower of Babel”, built of steel and glass like city sky-scrapers, tri-angular in shape, like the pyramids. Suddenly the earth was pierced through by the tip of such a tower, coming from the opposite (Asian) side of the globe. Like a gigantic splitting wedge, it pierced through the earth, sending everyone into a panic. I called out to the people to follow me into the only safe place – the Name of the Lord – but most just mocked and kept running. Suddenly the “tower” they had built, broke off at the ground and fell in such an angle that it, too, pierced through the earth like a wedge toward the other side, splitting the earth in two.
The warnings of both dreams were clear, as evidenced by the five UN Millennium Summits.
During the time of the five UN Millennium Summits (August 28-Sept. 18)8, New York City resembled more than ever the image of the “harlot” of Revelation 17 and 18. For in her the “kings of the earth” – the giant, fierce beasts of the dream – were assembled, 130 in all.7
1) The marathon of meetings started with the Millennium WORLD PEACE SUMMIT 9 (August 28th at the UN headquarters [UNHQ]). Religious leaders in Hinduism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism and from indigenous religions were invited. 10 Their intention was to establish an “International Advisory Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders” to serve eventually as an advisory group to the UN General Secretary and the General Assembly.
A key organizer of this WORLD PEACE SUMMIT, was the United Religions Initiative (URI).11 This organization put out a document entitled “Religious Declaration in Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing”. The declaration supports homosexual marriage, artificial conception and abortion. The URI is dedicated to “promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation (not to be confused with religious ecumenism whose main goal is to further the unity and unification of the Christian churches), ending religiously motivated violence, and creating cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings”.
The journalist who followed the development of the URI from the start in 1995 states that this is an effort to create a(nother) new-world religion. URI believes that one of the major stumbling blocks to their efforts is the presence of “fundamentalists”. Significantly, there have already been interfaith services in New York, initiated by the ORGANIZERS of the Millennium WORLD PEACE SUMMIT (held at the UN head quarters).
Another significant interfaith gathering took place at the Vatican, convened by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 12. Entitled “On the Eve of the Millennium: Collaboration Between the Different Religions,” it was a gathering of over 200 religious leaders from around the world, representing more than 20 world religions13.
Instantly Revelations 13:11 appeared before my eyes, the image of the “beast” seemingly representing “the Lamb”, yet speaking with the mouth of the dragon. Let us test in whom we put our trust, and by what and whom our mind is influenced and stabilized: the Word and Spirit of G-d, or the “opinon” of man and the Media?
Let us beware: an international body of great power with global aspirations (the UN) is making an alliance with religious bodies of great power with global aspirations (the Vatican and the URI).
7 Quotations taken from an e-mail service of ISAIAH 54 MINISTRIES, by Gary DeVeau, Long Island S.H.O.R.E.; 8 Millennium related events calendar: http://www.un.org/millennium/2000cal.htm 9 The WORLD PEACE SUMMIT has its roots in the World Parliament of Religions, which met in 1999 in Cape Town, South Africa, see: http://www.cpwr.org 10 For those interested I placed a separate list of the religious leaders in attendance on my website, linked to https://www.ortzion.org/images/news40_list.html 11 URI: http://www.uri.org/ 12 Led by H.E. Cardinal Francis Arinze and H.E. Cardinal Roger Etchegary, respectively (their names are on the list of the religious leaders who attended the WORLD PEACE SUMMIT) http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000; http://www.cin.org/jp2/jubilee.html; 13 The report of Rabbi Ronald Kronish, writer, educator, and director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, at http://info.jpost.com/2000/Supplements/Millennium/index.html, shows how easy it is to be deceived into believing that this is the greatest thing that ever happened. Yet only ONE faith delivers from sin and death and leads into everlasting life, that in Messiah Yeshua. Religious fanaticism brings bloodshed, faith in the only Son of G-d brings salvation and peace.
Cardinal Murphy O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, London, is a member of this “illustrous” group of global interfaith folks as became clear with his message “We can be moral without religion.”The UN Millennium 2000 Summits
page 6 2) Simultaneous with the WORLD PEACE SUMMIT was the meeting of the PRESIDING OFFICES OF NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS, (also at the UNHQ), whose purpose is to provide legislative power to the UN and the UN-Millennium events.
Part II 3) The third meeting was the Millennium Summit of the United Nations (from 6th-8th September). The purpose of this summit was to discuss Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Millennium Report: “We the Peoples: The role of the United Nations in the 21st century.”14However, the hidden agenda (as of the last 25 years) was the pursuit of a world-religion and the development of a one-world government. The meetings discussed the “necessity” and possibilities of such a government, under the disguise of global problems that need to be solved.4) The fourth meeting was Russian Ex-president Gorbachev’s annual “STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM”15 – (traditionally held in San Francisco, but this year in New York), coinciding with the Millennium Summit of the UN. In Gorbachev’s FORUM, some 400 to 500 leaders from all corners of society – ex-heads of state, top business and industrial leaders, media, religious and scientific leaders – (“merchants of the earth who trade by land and sea, including with drugs, weapons and ‘souls’, because the market for human sex-slaves flourishes”)16 met to discuss the state of the world. Last year they debated a one-world government. This Forum is mentioned on the UN-website as a Summit-related event.
5) The 5th and final meeting began on September 14th with the 55th General Assembly of the UN, this time called MILLENNIUM ASSEMBLY. At this assembly certain proposals were introduced, three of which relate to the thickening “plot” of a one-world religion and one-world government.Likewise, a document called the EARTH CHARTER, has been in the making to change our perception of the earth’s species’ relationship with one another. This perception could drastically change the present ethical and moral outlook on human cloning, “inter-cloning” and organ farming.
In addition, the following statement could have far reaching effects: “The common concern of humanity transcends the RIGHTS of individual States and ALL strictly human concerns.” This sentence alone may in the future be used to pass over the Jewish people’s inalienable RIGHT to Jerusalem and her land as a sovereign nation. AND — it may even serve as justification for yet another genocide of the Jews under the auspices of the “common concern of humanity.”
Among the proponents of this EARTH CHARTER is Maurice Strong17, Chairman of the Earth Council and former secretary-general of the Earth Summit, and once again – Mikhail Gorbachev,
as president of Green Cross International18 . Like a spider weaving its web, so Gorbachev is quietly weaving his way across the earth, engaging people of power, wealth, and knowledge for the supreme goal: a one-world government! Will Gorbachev aspire to its supreme leader?
The EARTH CHARTER – described by some as the “New Ten Commandments” – lauds “Mother Earth”, who is more recently personified as the “Queen of Heaven”19 after whom Israel and Judah had gone astray, provoking G-d to hot jealousy and indignation.
A second document submitted to the Millennium Assembly was the “Charter 99”, in which several Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) are calling for the expansion of the mandate of the UN in order to make it a World Government20.
A third document was the “We the Peoples: Millennium Forum Declaration and Agenda for ACTION“21 . This Declaration – drafted by Kofi Anan’s secretariat – pleads for the strengthening of the UN and the extension of its mandate.
This Declaration urges the MILLENNIUM (General) ASSEMBLY to create a new UN parliamentary body related to the UN General Assembly. “Elected” members would be mostly representatives of the NGO’s. Such an “election process” would necessarily represent interest groups, and thereby nullify democratic representation.
These summits are no coincidence but the result of a clear and clever strategy designed by influential people in and around the UN to advance their scheme of a “Global Village” under the disguise of discussing issues that have become global in scope. It is not a coincidence either that we can read the same names in different networks organizing these events!
But — there was yet one more summit — a PRAYER SUMMIT near the UNHQ, organized by some local churches, with national and international intercessors taking part. They felt it was important to come together as a representation of the trans-national Body of Messiah to worship and glorify Him at a time that worldly leaders glorify each other.
14 Former Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Biography: http://www.un.org/sg/annan.shtml 15 Russian Ex-president Gorbachev’s annual “STATE OF THE WORLD FORUM”: http://worldforum.org 16 Revelation 18:11-19 17Maurice Strong was instrumental in the reorganization of the UN, as well as involved with the World Peace Summit; chairmanof Earth Council; secretary-general of Earth Summit; 18Mikhail Gorbachev <http://www.historyguide.org/europe/gorbachev.html>, President of GREEN CROSS INTERNATIONAL:
“The Ten Commandments” in the Bible are in the Ark of G-d. The subscribers to “The New World Order” have created their own ark, called “The Ark of Hope.”19 Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19, 25; see also “Queen of heaven” in catholicism 20Charter 99; www.oneworldtrust.org/pages/download3.cfm?did=97; www.oneworld.org; www.oneworldtrust.org/?display=project&pid=18; www.oneworld.net/contact/company/view/1497 Black Holes, Wizard Kids and Hell’s Power
page 7 Other “signs of the times” that prove we are living in “the time of the signs”:Astronomers have pinpointed with unprecedented accuracy an immense black hole with a mass of more than 2 million suns at the center of the spiral of stars that is the Milky Way galaxy22.
“This has always been a major goal – to try to figure out exactly where the center of our galaxy is,” said Wallace Tucker at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.
In addition to providing proof for the massive black hole, the discovery gives astronomers a chance to actually see the galaxy rotate about its center, and watch how it distorts and bends the orbits of nearby stars.
“We’re used to looking at galaxies that change on times scales of millions and billions of years, but we never
see them change because they change too slowly,” said Kormendy, an astronomer at the University of Texas in Austin.
“Now we can see so close to the center of our galaxy that things are actually happening on a human time scale. If things go OK, we’re going to live to see this piece of the galaxy rotate right in front of our eyes, and that’s very nice,” he said.
Black holes are so dense they create gravity so strong that even light cannot escape their surface, making them nearly impossible to see. Kormendy said the black hole at the center of the galaxy is not pulling in other stars23.
Might this be the “outer darkness” our Lord mentioned, into which some of His unfaithful servants, and the hypocrites, will be cast?24 It most amazingly is at the center of our galaxy, with a gravity so dense one can picture it sucking up our Milky Way with a terrible roar25.
Children across China are being primed for a revolution, this time through the bewitching world of boy wizzard, Harry Potter26. The globally popular Harry Potter books will be released as a boxed set in a first-run of 600,000 volumes – the largest first printing for a commercial release ever in China.Harry Potter books are also the # 1 selling children’s books in the United States today. Barns & Noble, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com and others feature the books prominently with lauding reviews. Educators, even Christian teachers tout about how “It’s great to see the youth so eagerly embracing the reading experience!”
Harry Potter is the creation of a former UK English teacher, JK Rowling, who promotes witchcraft and Satanism. Harry is a 13 year old ‘wizard’ who openly blasphemes Jesus and G-d and promotes sorcery, seeking revenge upon anyone who upsets him by giving examples (even the sources with authors and titles) of spells, rituals, and demonic powers. Tragically, parents have not reviewed the material, since the name seems harmless enough… Harry Potter27.
It makes one shudder!!! Where are the parents? While they are too busy with their “careers” and “money-making,” the children become easy prey for those who know how to infiltrate their young minds.
And now the first three of the four books, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone;” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets;” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” will be let loose also upon young Chinese minds. All that talk about spells, incantations, wizardry school, sorcerers and “Muggles” have caused concern among the government censors about the books promoting the occult in the midst of their campaign against superstition.
One wonders if indeed Communist China’s minds and morals are as corrupted and twisted as years of propaganda would have us believe? Meanwhile the United States is sending no warning signal going up, nor do the churches.
22 From Info-Beat News: 09/20/2000 23 Nature magazine: http://www.nature.com; UCLA astronomy: http://www.astro.ucla.edu
University of Texas Department of Astronomy: http://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/24 Mtt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 2 Pe 2:17 25 2 Pe 3:10; Isa. 34:4; Rev. 6:14 26 Source: Info-Beat News: listed story can’t be found anymore; http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569961553-5bc: 09/20/2000 27 An e-mail about the evil effects of the Harry Potter books, purportedly written by one Pentecostal pastor to another, Roger Lynn to Pastor Nelsen, has been spread across the Net. This e-mail is a HOAX , perpetrated by a New York based publication called, “ONION”. The quotes of what children have said and the author K. Rowling, are FALSE! However, the books DO promote witchcraft, incantations, curses, wizardy, etc. Since the appearance of these books, wizardy schools have sprung up like mushrooms. Selection of Preeminent Religious Leaders Attending the Millennium World Peace Summit
page 8 1) His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze, President of the Pontifical Council forLIST OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS
AT THE MILLENNIUM WORLD PEACE SUMMIT
Inter-Religious Dialogue at the VaticanCardinal Francis Arinze was born in Eziowelle, Nigeria, on November 1, 1932, and ordained on 23 November 1958. He taught at the Bigard Memorial Seminary and then served as Regional Secretary for Catholic Education for Eastern Nigeria. Later he was named Auxiliary Bishop of the Onitsha Archdiocese. In 1979, Arinze was elected President of the Nigerian Bishops’ Conference, and on April 8 of the same year, John Paul II called him to head the Vatican’s Secretariat for Non-Christians. He was made a cardinal by John Paul II on May 25, 1985. On June 28, 1988, the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus renamed the Secretariat for Non- Christians the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. Arinze stayed on as President. His duties are to promote and regularize relations with non-Christian individuals and groups, and with those who, in any way, are inclined toward religious belief. Francis Cardinal Arinze is one of those rare persons who can communicate with others by simply looking at them. The first thing that impresses one about him is the smile in his eyes, a concrete sign of a life that is dedicated to sharing the love of Christ with people. Such a gift for communication serves the cardinal well in his work as President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, a post he has held since 1985—the same year in which he was named cardinal by Pope John Paul II.
2) Reverend Konrad Raiser, Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches
Reverend Raiser is the fifth General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), founded in 1948. The WCC has approximately 400 million Christian members represented through more than 330 churches, denominations and fellowships in 100 countries and territories throughout the world. Founded in 1948, WCC works toward the universal calling: “one human family in justice and peace.” Reverend Raiser’s publications include To Be the Church, Challenges and Hope for a New Millenium (1997), and Ecumenism in Transition (1991). He earned his Ph.D. in Theology from the Protestant Theological Faculty in Tübingen and has also studied sociology and social psychology at Harvard University.
3) Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson
The son of impoverished parents living in South Carolina, Jesse Jackson graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1965 and was ordained a Baptist minister in 1968. During the early years of his ministry he was a close associate of Rev. Martin Luther King, and following Dr. King’s assassination, became one of the leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The Executive Director of Operation Breadbasket, Rev. Jackson founded and led Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity). Jesse Jackson was the organizer of the Rainbow Coalition and has been a prominent figure in American politics for many years.
4) Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau was born in 1937 in Pyotrekov, Poland. A survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp, he lost both of his parents in the Holocaust. In 1946 he immigrated to Israel, where he lived with his uncle and studied at a state religious school in Kiryat Shmuel. He then studied at three yeshivas: Kol Torah in Jerusalem, Knesset Hizkiya in Zichron Ya’akov and Ponovitz in Bnei Brak. In 1971 he was ordained a rabbi. In 1993 he was elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. Rabbi Lau’s publications include Yahadut—Halacha Le’maase (1975) on the practice of Judaism, and Yachel Israel (1993), two volumes on medicine, ethics and Jewish customs.
5) His Excellency Abdullah Salaih Al-Obaid, Secretary-General of the Muslim World
LeagueAbdullah Al-Obaid is Secretary General of the Muslim World League (WML). The WML was founded in 1962 to promote Islamic unity, and to safeguard and advance the Islamic cultural and political world. His Excellency Abdullah Al-Obaid has been especially vocal and active in identifying and publicizing tragedies that have struck the world’s Muslim population. Under his guidance, the WML has effectively mobilized the Islamic community as well as the broader international community into action.
6) Most Reverend Kuniaki Kuni, The Jingu Daiguji of the Grand Shrine of Ise
According to Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, the sacred is concentrated in select places and environments. There are more than 100,000 Shinto sanctuaries in Japan, which are at the center of spiritual life. Historically, the Grand Shrine at Ise (simply called Jingu) has held the most honored place among all Shinto sanctuaries. It is considered to be the spiritual home of the Japanese people, most of whom wish to make a pilgrimage to Jingu at least once during their lifetime. In fact, more than six million pilgrims and worshipers come to Jingu every year.
7) His Eminence Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro, Grand Mufti of the Syrian Arab Republic
His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed Kuftaro, the Grand Mufti of Syria, Head of the Supreme Council of Fatwa, was born in Damascus in 1915, son of Muhammad Amin Kuftaro (1875-1938), a great scholar of his day. Since 1938, at the death of his father, he has been the head of the Naqsha- bandi order, preaching and calling for the pursuit of the universal knowledge, freedom of religion, moral rearmament among the Muslims of the world, interfaith cooperation, and more recently, protection of the global environment and American moral leadership in the world. The major commitment of Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro throughout his life has been to interfaith understanding and cooperation in pursuit of peace – even at times when this commitment was not clearly understood or appreciated. In 1987, His Eminence Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro held a summit meeting with Pope John Paul II in Malta and gave a lecture entitled “Co-Existence in the Mediterranean.” In 1981 he addressed the Academy of Science in Moscow on “Islam and Peace,” and at the Inter- Religious Conference in May 1992 in Moscow he delivered an address on “The Principles of Peace in the World Religions.” The goal of this address was to increase awareness among the professional clergy of their unique responsibility in helping to avoid potential conflicts that can lead to war.
8) Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Leading Talmudic Scholar
An original thinker, Rabbi Steinsaltz was born in Jerusalem and has written various works that have been translated into a number of languages. He is a leading scholar in the world of Talmud, having worked for the past decade on an edition of that classic work which is intended for the contemporary student. Dr. Steinsaltz has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and has been involved in interfaith activities for the realization of world peace.
9) His Grace Njongonkulu Ndungane, The Archbishop of Cape Town
In 1960, Njongonkulu Ndungane was involved in anti-apartheid demonstrations while a student at the University of Cape Town. In 1963, he began a three-year sentence on Robben Island as a political prisoner. “We have emerged from a crucible of fire where many people have been wounded and scarred,” the Bishop said. “An urgent task for the church is the transformation of agents of brokenness into angels of healing.” It is in this spirit that the Archbishop continues the work of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
10) His Holiness Karekin II, Patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church
His Holiness Karekin II is the 132nd Catholicos of all Armenians. In 1965 he entered the Theological Seminary of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and successfully graduated from the Seminary in 1971. On October 23, 1983, he was ordained a bishop in the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. In November 1992, he was granted the rank of Archbishop. On November 30, 1998, upon the Pontifical order of His Holiness Karekin I, Karekin II was appointed the Vicar General of the Catholicos and served as the Vicar General till July 4, 1999. His Eminence is a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council.
11) Venerable Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda, Buddhist Nobel Prize Nominee
The Supreme Patriarch of Buddhism for the Kingdom of Cambodia has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. He is famous for leading peace marches throughout Cambodia and former Khmer Rouge territory (where 17 of his brothers and sisters were killed), as a form of active reconciliation. He has been a scholar at Nalanda Buddhist University in India, and speaks fifteen languages. Maha Ghosananda is widely recognized for his efforts to safely remove the land mines which plague Southeast Asia.
12) The Venerable Master Sheng-yen
Ven. Sheng-yen is widely recognized as one of the foremost teachers in contemporary Buddhism. The impact of his teachings, social engagement, writings and personal example has been felt throughout the Far East and increasingly in the West. Born in Shanghai, Ven Sheng-yen was ordained at 13, and at 28 he had a deep spiritual experience after which he completed a six-year solitary retreat. Master Sheng-yen has received Dharma transmission in the two major branches of Ch’an Buddhism, the Lin-Chi (Japanese Rinzai), and the Ts’ao-Tung (Japanese Soto). In Zen genealogical terms, Master Sheng-Yen is a seventy-second generation descendant of Bodhidharma (ca. 530), the First Patriarch of Ch’an, and the sixty-seventh generation descendant of Hui-Neng (638—713), the Sixth Patriarch of Ch’an. Within the Lin-Chi lineage, Master Sheng-yen is a sixty-second generation descendant of Master Lin-Chi (ca. 866), and a third-generation descendant of Master Hsu-Yun (1840—1959). Master Sheng-yen is also the founder of the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies in Taipei, Taiwan.
13) Her Holiness Sri Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
A renowned Indian holy Woman, “Amma” or “Ammachi” is known for her healing embrace. She is considered to be a “living Saint” (Washington Post) in her homeland. Amma has made a reputation as a “Mother Teresa-like” figure (ABC News) as a result of her personal compassion and the extensive charity institutions she has inspired to alleviate suffering and poverty. She was a featured speaker at the United Nations 50th Anniversary Commemoration, and was chosen to represent Hinduism at the Centenary Parliament of World Religions.
14) His Excellency Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia
Dr. Mustafa Ceric has been a strong voice for both the recognition of and forgiveness for the crimes against humanity that have occurred in the Balkans. He is also deeply concerned with creating a stronger, peaceful relationship between Islam and the West. In his words, “The threat is not in Islam but in our spiritual disability to meet the universal moral demands; the evil is not in the West, but in our cultural insecurity. It is time that Islam be seen as a spiritual blessing in the West and the West be seen as a call for an intellectual awakening in the Muslim East.”
15) Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation
Chief Oren Lyons is Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, or the Haudeenosaunee. He is also Professor of American Studies at SUNY Buffalo. Lyons is an internationally recognized advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples. He has worked with the UN on indigenous peoples issues since the 1960’s, and is a principal figure in the Traditional Circle of the American Indian Elders and Youth. A graduate of Syracuse University, Chief Lyons was an All-American in lacrosse, and is also a well-known artist.
16) His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Swami Dayananda Saraswati is a traditional teacher of Vedanta and an eminent scholar of Sanskrit. He was born into a traditional family in 1930 in a village in Thanjavur District, the cultural hub of Tamil Nadu. Swamiji has established three institutions of learning and culture: two in India and one in the USA. Swamiji’s teaching and scholarship have generated for him international recognition as one of the foremost authorities of Vedanta. Swamiji has conducted many courses and delivered countless public lectures throughout the world since 1976. It is through these media that he has made the wisdom of the Upanishads available to the modern world.
17) Honorable Coretta Scott King
Born in Alabama in 1927, Coretta Scott is the widow of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.. Following his death she assumed a critical role in the leadership of the civil rights movement, and has been at the forefront of the campaign to deal with issues of poverty and race in America.
18) His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Swami Maharaj is the fifth spiritual successor of Lord Swaminarayan, the principal deity and spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Swaminarayan Sanstha (BSS). Even at the age of 78, he continuously travels, having personally counseled over 500,000 people and read and replied to 435,000 letters. Swamiji has also visited over 12,000 villages and 250,000 homes. His compassion for humanity, deep concern for its problems and conscious efforts to alleviate them have given rise to numerous international moral, social, educational, cultural and spiritual projects. Swamiji leads the austere life of a brahmacharya—celibacy, without personal wealth or comfort.
19) Venerable Eshin Watanabe
On 20 January 1997, the Most Venerable Watanabe became the 225th Tendai Zasu, the Supreme Priest of the Tendai School of Buddhism, and the Head Priest of Enryakuji Temple of Mount Hiei, which is the head temple of the Tendai Buddhist Denomination. He also serves as President of the Tendai Association for Religious Cooperation toward World Peace, President of the Tendai Association for Japan-China Friendship, and Governor of the “Brighten Your Corner” Movement. On 3 August, he took the initiative to hold the Tenth Anniversary of the Religious Summit Meeting on Mt. Hiei, “The Interreligious Gathering of Prayer for World Peace.”
20) Dada Jashan P. Vaswani
Dada Jashan P. Vaswani is the spiritual head of Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Pune, India. Dada Jashan is endowed with the gift of oratory and eloquence. He was invited to speak at U.N.O. on universal peace and at the House of Commons, London, on world without wars. He spoke at the World Hindu Conferences in Sri Lanka and the United States. He was the keynote speaker at the Centennial Celebrations of the World Parliament of Religions in New York. His fiery, thought-provoking speeches have aroused a great deal of interest in Indian religion and culture.
21) Hans Kung
Hans Kung was born in Switzerland in 1928. After studying philosophy and theology, he was ordained as a priest in 1954. His doctoral thesis, Justification: The Doctrine of Karl Barth with a Catholic Reflection (1964), illustrates the similarities in the beliefs on justification held by the Protestant theologian Karl Barth and Roman Catholic doctrine. The work was widely acclaimed by both Roman Catholic and Protestant ecumenists. Hans Kung has published numerous articles and books, and holds honorary doctorates from over a dozen prestigious universities, including Loyola, the University of Glasgow and the University of Michigan. Hans Kung’s call for reform in both the Catholic and Protestant churches has sparked controversy as well as much needed dialogue.
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