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Following are selected articles
from "Watch and Pray" #27 dated
May and June 1991
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DOES FLUORIDE CAUSE CANCER?
An article appeared in "The
Spotlight" dated April 8, 1991 entitled "Truth Can't Be Hidden;
Fluoride Causes Cancer." This was exclusive to "The Spotlight"
and was written by William Carmichael. In the article Mr. Carmichael alleges
that "For more than 13 years various agencies of the U.S. government, in
collusion with the American Dental Association (ADA) and aluminum producers,
have been working to prevent the results of a study linking fluoride and cancer
from becoming public knowledge."
The author goes on to say,
"For decades, concerned scientists and lay people who tried to warn the
public about the dangers of fluoride were derided as kooks and nuts, right
wingers who saw a communist conspiracy in a simple public health measure --
fluoridation of the nation's drinking water."
According to the article, Dr. John
Yiamouyiannis, a biochemist and president of the Safe Water Foundation (SWF)
and Dr. Dean Burk, former head of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's cell
chemistry section showed in 1977 (13 years ago) that fluoridation is linked to
about 10,000 cancer deaths yearly. Because of these studies, congress mandated
that studies be conducted to find out if fluoride is carcinogenic.
According to the article, these
studies were conducted and the results were positive. "But they were
hidden," said Yiamouyiannis. "Over 120 million Americans are being
chronically poisoned by fluoridation," he told the Spotlight.
But according to the article,
that's not all. "In addition" he said, "fluoridation is
responsible for 40 million cases of arthritis, dental deformity in 8 million
children, allergic reactions in 2 million people and overall 10,000 unnecessary
cancer deaths every year."
The article gave both the address
and phone number of Dr. Yiamouyiannis, president of the Safe Water Foundation
and featured his picture as well. The picture in the first column is a copy of
the picture in "The Spotlight."
[Editor's Note]: Realizing there
is nothing to be done about the fluoride in drinking water, we wondered if we
could buy a toothpaste without fluoride. We searched two grocery stores and one
drug store without success. So we phoned two leading manufacturers of
tooth-paste to inquire if they had or knew of a brand without fluoride. One
representative was rude but the other was nice. Both seemed happy that they
were in establishment conformity proudly displaying the ADA seal of approval.
We did learn that both brands contained about the same amount (.22%) of the
poison sodium fluoride. Determined to avoid as much sodium fluoride as
possible, we decided to drink distilled water whenever possible and brush our
teeth with baking soda and salt, rinsing out the bad twang with some good
tasting mouthwash that doesn't contain any of the poison sodium fluoride.
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REPORTS FROM WATCHERS
An article appearing in the
[Commercial Appeal] on April 30th 1991 was entitled "Bloody Bread Declared
Miracle." It seems it happened in Amman, Jordan. According to the article,
"One of the Greek Orthodox church's highest officials declared a miracle
after priests said communion bread began spouting blood at a Jordanian church
last week."
"There is no other
explanation -- it's a miracle," the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Diodoros I,
said.
The article continued, "The
patriarch said a priest was preparing communion in Zarka April 21st, when blood
appeared to pour from the bread. The priest's screams prompted a rush of
worshipers. The mother superior of a convent school said, `They started daubing
it on their faces and eating it.'"
[Editor's Note]: We believe all
prophecy will be fulfilled. Maybe this has to do with "great signs and
wonders" (Matt. 24:24) that might even deceive the elect if it were
possible. We feel we should watch for more and more of this kind of thing in
the days, weeks, and months ahead.
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DEATH NOT NECESSARILY FOREVER
Quite often one will see a message
on a church billboard which quotes the words of Jesus, "And whosoever
lives and believes on me shall never die." John 11:26.
The graveyards are full of people
who lived, believed on Jesus and are now dead. How do we explain the words of
Jesus since it looks like a contradiction? The Catholic Douay Bible translates
that scripture as follows: "And everyone that lives and believes in me
shall not die forever."
This appears to be the correct
translation. Jesus was not telling them that they would never die but was
saying that their death would not be permanent. One would not die forever. The
difficulty comes with the Greek phrase [eis ton aiona] which literally means
"unto the age", which is mistranslated "never". John 11:26.
The Expanded Vines "Expository Dictionary" of New Testament words
says that "eis ton aiona" should always be translated
"forever".
The conversation that led up to
Jesus' words included Martha's statement: "I know that he will arise again
in the resurrection at the last day." The words of Jesus were in harmony
with Martha's statement.
William Kearney
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THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
Reprinted from "The Bible Study Monthly"
"Can two walk together, except
they be agreed?" (Amos. 3,3).
Efforts for organic denominational
union are still in the forefront. Since in such schemes there is always a
dissident minority which secedes to form an independent body, the net result of
a successful merger appears generally to be one "official"
denomination plus two seceding ones, so that where two formerly existed there
now are three. Not quite what the sponsors of unity intended!
But what else can be expected? In
every Christian group there are those who hold the principles upon which the
group was founded as vital to their faith and fellowship and will not accept
the compromising of those principles for the sake of an enlarged communion.
Throughout the centuries the Christian community has divided and sub-divided and
sub-divided into more and more sections, and although on the one hand such
schisms are to be deplored, yet on the other hand it is doubtful if the
progress that has been made in the development and understanding of the
Christian faith would have been made had those sections never existed.
Every secession and every
reformation has had the effect of illuminating more brightly some one or other
aspect of the Faith and has led to greater spirituality and awareness of God.
The error into which so many fall is that of supposing that the organic unity
of the visible Church under the aegis of some great controlling synod is
synonymous with that unity of the Spirit between Christians which is the
hall-mark of the members of Christ's Church, when in fact it is nothing of the
kind.
The New Testament tells us very
plainly that the names of those who are Christ's are written in heaven, not on
the membership roll of a denomination; that the Head of the Church is Christ,
not an impressive array of dignitaries sitting in session in some imposing
building. True, order in the Church is necessary, and St. Paul, again, tells us
that God has set apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers, in the Church, for
the work of the ministry and the edifying of the Body of Christ, till we come,
in the unity of the faith, and knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity in
Christ.
There is plenty therefore for
these dignitaries to do, but it does not necessarily have to be done under the
banner of what the world, looking on, sees as something suspiciously like the
mergers and take-ever operations so familiar in the commercial world of today.
Many of the most momentous
happenings, the greatest and most far-reaching movements, in Christian history
have been initiated and led by humble and obscure men, working on a shoe-string
as the saying goes, but inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. And
it is always true that "except the Lord build the house, they labour in
vain that build it."
The only unity worth striving for
is that which our Lord had in mind when He prayed "that they may be one,
as we are." That unity has always existed between all who are indeed
Christ's, irrespective of denominational affiliation; these alone will be
recognized when He gathers His own.
[Editor's Note]: This article in
its entirety has been copied from the "Bible Study Monthly" -
March/April 1991 issue - page 26. We found the thoughts outstanding and indeed
thought provoking for all Christians regardless of present affiliation. We are
confident Brother Hudson, the editor and publisher, does not object to such
republication. Those wishing a regular subscription to the "Bible Study
Monthly" can write: Bible Fellowship Union - 11 Lyncroft Gardens -
Hounslow, Middlesex, England.
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LOOKING FOR WHAT?
Perhaps every child of God is
looking for certain things to happen in order to signal better times. Down
through the gospel age, each generation has felt that Christ would return
during his lifetime. They felt that way in Paul's day and many, including this
editor, feel that way today.
Curiosity, logic and reason have
led us to ask ourselves, "Is it better, yes or no, for each generation to
live in expectation of Christ's return during his lifetime?" Our
conclusion is "YES." Personally, if I did not live in expectation of
His return during my lifetime then I probably would not be writing this
article. I believe I might be inclined to a lukewarm Christian attitude.
Perhaps I would become a procrastinator, spiritually speaking.
For example, 100 years ago
there were those who believed Christ had been secretly present for a number of
years. This led them to believe that the end of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus, the binding of Satan, and everything else including Armageddon
would all be fulfilled by the year 1914. This belief excited those Christians
and they lived in constant expectation of a glorious millennium with Christ and
the Church starting to clean up this present evil world. Had they not had this
expectation, they may have become lukewarm.
Our view is that it does no harm
to "Watch and Pray", living in expectation of the return of our Lord.
But to live without this hope may cause problems for some. The Christian living
without these expectations may develop a lackadaisical attitude toward Spiritual
things. These would be in no hurry for they would envision plenty of time.
These would have no expectation of "two grinding at the mill, one taken
and the other left."
So our opinion is that it is a
blessing to live in anticipation of His return and to watch for it on a daily
basis. What are we saying? We're saying that in the past the expectation of
Christ's return has been based on hope and desire more so than fact. But
prophecy, unlike anytime in past history, has never pointed to a time that
meets present day conditions so perfectly.
Today's facts are: Israel
was made a nation in 1948. There have been two world wars, many smaller wars,
the discovery of atomic energy, television and radio, jet air travel,
computers, space exploration, the reunification of Germany, formation of the
EEC, and now the beginning of a one world system to be known as the "New
World Order." Those are just the highlights. For more details keep
reading.
We are experiencing a complete
world-wide shift away from Christianity. Today a common belief is, "It's
OK to talk about God, because God can be anything man wants Him to be. Some
believe Christ is the exact equivalent of God the Father. But Christ said,
"My Father is greater than I. Even some devout Christians fall for this by
praying to the Father, and saying "In thy name AMEN." These may feel
they have asked in Jesus name. But, unless one mentions Jesus by name, has he?
Far too many are trying to be politically correct by NOT mentioning the only
name under heaven whereby men can be saved.
Then there are those who believe
God is Mohammed, and in their minds that's OK. If one wants to believe he
himself is god or someone else is god, that's OK too. Since god can be anything
man can conceive of, that's OK but what is not OK in our day is to mention
Christ or Jesus or Christians or Christianity. These will have to `GO' in any
new order of things." Christians are waking up to the fact that Christ is
rapidly becoming a NO NO in today's world.
Somehow we find ourselves watching
for the big religions to roll together as a scroll. We know our readers are
aware of the various Christian religions and Judaism, but few of us are
familiar with Islam.
In the February 1991 issue of
"The Bible Standard" there is an excellent article with "News,
comments, and observations on the conflict between Moslems, Christians, and
Jews." It was very enlightening to learn more about Mohammedanism and in
order to share a portion of this with our readers, we will be quote portions of
the article from this issue of "The Bible Standard." (to subscribe
write Laymen's Home Missionary -- Box 679 -- Chester Springs, PA 19425 -- $1
per year)
It all started with Abraham's
first son Ishmael. "The prophecy that `Ishmael should be a wild man' (Gen.
16:12) has been wonderfully verified in the history of the Arabs.... They have
never been driven from their territory, but have maintained their independence
and peculiar manners and customs up to the present day.
"Arabia was a wild, lawless
land where most people worshipped many gods and prayed to idols and spirits.
Poverty was great in Mecca (a city in southwest Arabia). Here Mohammed began to
preach in the 600's, leading his countrymen to unite in a great religious
movement that covered the Middle East and spilled over into North Africa, Europe
and Asia -- until there were hundreds of millions of Moslems! In 1989 they
numbered 930 million, with about 5 million in the USA....
"The name Mohammed means
`praised one'... He was supposed to have received divine revelations...."
The article says concerning Mohammed, "Gabriel called him to be a prophet
of God.... Today some Moslem countries such as Pakistan and Egypt have almost
too
many people for the land."
Again from the article we would
like to quote the five articles of faith that Moslems are required to believe:
"(a) There is only one true
God, whose name is Allah, who is all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful.
(b) There are good angels, with
Gabriel as chief, who appeared to Mohammed, and the djinn (fallen angels), with
the Shaitan as the chief.
(c) There are four God-inspired
books: the Torah (the five books of Moses), the Psalms of David, the Gospel of
Jesus and the Koran. The Koran is the most important, because they regard it as
Allah's final word to mankind.
(d) The prophets are Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, Jesus and about twenty others. But the last and
greatest, the sum and seal of all, is Mohammed.
(e) On the `last day' the dead
will be awakened and guardian angels sent by Allah will witness to men's deeds,
and judge each one as worthy of entering Paradise (with all the sensual
pleasures), or else condemned to a hell of eternal torment. Allah had
determined what he pleases and no one can change what he has decreed.
Note that many teachings are
similar to the Jewish and true Christian doctrines; the Moslems consider theirs
as extensions from the others."
As we said at the beginning,
everyone is looking for something different in order to signal better times. In
our case we are wondering if there might not be some sort of a peace conference
to actually take place in old Palestine with agreements made that would allow
the Jews to rebuild the temple in its original place. If the Jews do in fact
build a third temple, then "The Temple" would share the Holy Place
with "The Dome of the Rock" (Islam) and "The Church of the Holy
Sepulcher" (Catholic). Thus all three dominant religions of the world
today would be represented.
And because of the similarities of
these beliefs, it might be possible for the Antichrist to "stand in the
Holy Place" claiming to be the Messiah for all.
In order to be acceptable to the
Catholics, he could claim to be either Christ or God. Either term would be OK
for them. For the Jews he could claim to be their long awaited Messiah. They
might reason, "It doesn't matter if we were wrong the first time, but
we're not gonna miss it this time. No way. This has to be He. `We have waited
for him.'" And Antichrist could claim to be either Allah or Mohammed for
the Arabs. Either term should be acceptable to them.
But Antichrist can't leave out the
atheists and agnostics. He has to please them too. Our thought is that he could
use humanism and say that each person on earth is a god, but that he is the
leader for all people. In other words, since god is becoming a universal term,
he could be all things to all people. This kind of thing should fool a lot of
people, but the elect would not be fooled. Such as this would have to be an
abomination that makes desolate.
Could something like this
happen? Of course it could. But will it happen? We don't know, but we have
tried to think of the most abominable thing imaginable. And to add one more
dimension, our imagination culminated in the thought that if this Antichrist
who claimed to be the world's Messiah turned out to be Satan himself in a body
of flesh with world wide acclaim and a one-world government worshipping the
adversary of both God and man...then that's the pinnacle of abomination. If
this happened it should bring on the day of wrath of God Almighty. (see
"Watch and Pray" #8 "Expecting a Personal Anti-Christ" by
B.H. Barton written in 1916).
What are we to looking for? We
answer: "EVERYTHING." Christians all over the world are searching for
answers. We believe that additional light is due and will be given if we will
just "Watch and Pray."
Charles Aldridge
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