Maria
May 5, 2003
By MariaMaria #536 CM/FM 3295 4/00
Dear Family,
1. God bless you! In this latest issue of World Currents we'll be covering quite a variety of topics, with answers from the Lord on all sorts of earthly and Heavenly affairs. We'll start with a question about time and how the Lord sees it, and why we can say the year 2000 is the start of a new century and millennium. Then we'll examine the Y2K prophecies to see why some didn't seem to come to pass. Next the Lord explains the significance of the sect suicides and murders in Uganda. That's followed by the Lord's insight on Europe in the matter of corporal punishment, and finally a message of counsel from the Lord to our Family in Greece, with lessons for all. We pray you'll find these Heavenly messages and viewpoints helpful, feeding, and inspiring!
A New Century and
A New Millennium?
2. We've received messages from some of you who wondered how the Lord could say the year 2000 marks the beginning of a new century and a new millennium. As you know, in the Year 2000 tract, the Lord said, "As the twentieth century draws to a close, there is much speculation about what the new millennium will bring." How could He say that, and how could we title one of our Letters "End of a Millennium" and freely use these terms ourselves, when technically the century doesn't end and the millennium doesn't begin until the end of the year 2000?
3. Well‚ apparently the Lord sees time and years a lot differently than we do, as He explains in the following message:
4. (Jesus speaking: ) My dear ones, what is time? When I created the heaven and the Earth, I created lights in the firmament to divide the night from the day‚ and established them for seasons, for days, and for years. This is time as I have created it—first the cycle of day and night, which is unchangeable, making what you call a day. Then there is the cycle of seasons—spring, summer, fall and winter. As I said in My Word, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease as long as the Earth endures.
5. There is also the cycle of years, when the Earth rotates around the sun, going through the cycle of the four seasons, but man measures these years differently than I do. In My Kingdom, a thousand years is as a day, and a day is as a thousand years. I am not bound by day and night and the rotation of the Earth about the sun, and time shall soon pass away and be no more even for you‚ when the seventh angel issues his proclamation.
6. Man does not see time as I see time‚ nor do men agree upon time even among themselves. I have ordained the days and the seasons, but men do not group them into years in the same way. Some say the years are shorter and others say they're longer, and they've changed their starting and ending points throughout history. Nor do men agree on when the beginning of time was. Some say one thing and some say another, setting different dates. So man has a variety of calendars to measure his count of the years.
7. What is the correct time, the correct year? It is now, the now which will be eternal for all you who know Me and will dwell with Me. It is a day or night which I have created, the time and season in which you live right now. The number of the year is an arbitrary number, calculated and set by man, not by Me.
8. Nevertheless, I relate to man through his calendars and pour out My messages to My servants the prophets accordingly. Since the great majority of men in the western world believe this is the end of one century and the beginning of another, even of a whole new millennium, I gave you a message which would speak to those who believe in such a manner. It was an opportunity for the proclaiming of My Word and the spreading of salvation, the gathering of souls into My Kingdom now.
9. You may become as a Greek to win the Greeks, as a Roman to win the Romans, and as those who believe it is the end of a century and a millennium to win them, that you might win as many as possible. This is why I gave the message about one century drawing to a close and a new millennium beginning. It was a good time to cause men to examine their hearts and lives, and I knocked at the hearts' door of many during that period, seeking admittance, so I could accompany them into this new era.
10. I am unconventional to win souls to My Kingdom‚ for once they have accepted Me‚ they are Mine forever, and no man may pluck them out of My hand. (End of message from Jesus.)
11. (Mama:) As the Lord said, man's calendars are arbitrary measurements of time, and He's not bound by them, especially if it involves the winning of souls to His Kingdom! So if men want to call it the end of a century and the beginning of a new millennium, He relates to them on their terms so that He can accompany them into the new millennium.
12. Here's an interesting news article that came out late last year, detailing the number and types of calendars in use around the world:
n Different drumbeats: marking time around the world
Agence France-Presse
The triple-zero rollover that will trigger much millennium hoopla is a largely western phenomenon of only marginal interest to the many non-Christian cultures which advance through time to a different drumbeat.
Next year has been designated 2000 as a result of calculations—faulty‚ as it happens—by a sixth century monk called Dennis the Short. His work formed the basis of first the Julian calendar‚ named after Julius Caesar, then the Gregorian calendar‚ named after Pope Gregory XIII, who in 1582 reformed the system to make it conform more closely with astronomical data.
There are still about 40 non-Christian calendars in use around the world‚ all beginning at different epochs and with the start of the year occurring at different times.
Thus on January 1, 2000, it will be 5760 by the Jewish calendar, 1420 by the Islamic, 4636 by the Chinese and 1921 by the Indian (Saka) calendars. Other calendars still in use around the world include the Byzantine, by which reckoning 2000 will count as 7508, the Baha'i calendar, based on a 19-month cycle of 19 days each, with four intercalary days, introduced in 1844 A.D., and numerous Buddhist calendars, which have a wide variety of starting years and new year's days.
Y2K Disruptions?
13. (Mama:) Since we've been talking about the year 2000 and the new millennium, let's touch on the Y2K problem again for a moment. We recently received a message from a Family member who commented:
14. "I find that I have to fight big doubts because nothing happened as a result of Y2K. The GN said that so many things would happen, that we should prepare, etc. But nothing happened with the telecommunication system, post office system‚ banks or riots. There were no disruptions and problems. My trial is that Jesus said all of this, and it's not possible for Him to be wrong. Yet these prophecies seem to be wrong, as none of the things mentioned there happened. I believe in prophecy. I hear from the Lord too. I just don't know what to think about these prophecies."
15. (Mama: ) That's a good question and one that certainly deserves an answer. Why weren't there more Y2K disruptions? Let's start by reviewing the different messages the Lord and Dad gave on this subject in the GN.
16. In the first GN discussing the Y2K bug ("Y2K Calamities?" ML #3227, GN 829), we discussed several things that could happen and how we as a Family could be prepared, but the Lord Himself wasn't very specific that calamity was definitely going to occur. He said:
17. "The Evil One has the power of choice, even as you have the power of choice. He may choose to work his evil works now, or may withhold a little, until later‚ just as you may move from one side to the other within the tunnel of My will. The year 2000 bug is yet another opportunity where Satan could step in and proclaim himself as God—and if he chooses to do so, let it be, for then sooner will the End come. Those behind the scenes could pull the strings. They could magnify the disaster to horrific proportions and then herald in the Beast who will save the world with his knowledge, solutions‚ wisdom, and economic and social order. Those behind the scenes also have the power to prevent full-blown chaos if Satan is not ready to enter center stage" (ML #3227:21,22,28, 29).
18. (Mama:) The next message we published on Y2K was in the tract "Your Best Preparation for Y2K." In this message the Lord was a little more definite that there would be problems, but He didn't say exactly what they'd be, and He also left open the possibility that there wouldn't be any. The Lord said:
19. "The countdown is on to the 'launch' of the millennium bug—that 'insignificant' computer programming shortcut that now threatens to thrust mankind into its worst technological disaster ever. But the big question is, how bad will it be? At midnight December 31st, 1999, when the twelfth stroke of the clock ushers in the year 2000, will we barely notice it, or will the fears of many come true? Will the lights go out? Will global electronic systems fail? What about banks, telecommunications systems, stock markets and government agencies, not to mention private businesses and individual computer operators? Will technologically-dependent societies cease to function properly, and if so, for how long? Will it just be a 'hiccup'—a few days or weeks of minor inconveniences—or will the world be thrown into mass confusion?
20. "There is much speculation about what will happen when computer systems around the world click over to the year 2000. Opinions on the possible effects of what is known as the 'millennium bug' or 'Y2K bug,' and how widespread and devastating they portend to be, vary widely. But there's one thing that just about everyone agrees on: Nobody really knows what's going to happen.
21. "When the fireworks and celebrations usher in the next millennium, the lights might not go out where you are. Depending on where you live, the Y2K bug may or may not appear to immediately affect your life‚ and your community may not be thrown into turmoil. You may even go back to work after the New Year's holidays to find things at your job running relatively smoothly. But one way or another, the systems that do fail are bound to affect your life. And they could cause you a lot of trouble if you are not prepared.
22. "If your faith rests in this world's electronic systems and the wisdom and ability of society to work out its own salvation, then brace yourself for some rough times ahead. But if you choose to trust in Me, I am able to keep you through whatever hard times may come. There may be shortages and power–outages, computer systems and equipment may fail, turmoil and confusion may come—but I will be with you."
23. (Mama: ) Here the Lord indicated there could be problems, and it turned out that there were scattered problems‚ both before and after New Year's Day. Some of the worst occurred before New Year's Day while people were testing the chips in their computers and equipment. Monitoring equipment in some nuclear power plants shut down and malfunctioned, credit card systems wouldn't accept some transactions, military early-warning systems froze up when tested, etc. There were also some glitches after January 1, as the following articles explain:
n Y2K bug causes intelligence losses
By John McWethy, ABC NEWS
Defense Department officials now acknowledge that there was an intelligence blackout on New Year's Eve—and that the Y2K glitch was a big deal.
"It was a significant source of information in our national intelligence capabilities," Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre said. "It was not an unimportant dimension. It was a significant dimension."
Sources tell ABC NEWS that for two hours, the United States lost all information from spy satellites that take pictures over places like the Middle East and Russia.
The data was beamed back to Earth, officials say, but computers at Fort Belvoir, Va., could not translate the information, and it was lost forever.
Temporary repairs were begun quickly, but it took two days to complete the job. Officials in the government say that at the time, they did not know what they were dealing with. It was, they say‚ a very bad night.
n Remember Y2K?
By Edward Tenner, The New York Times
Did we overspend in our estimated $100 billion outlay on Y2K? Of course. We're Americans. We're overfed and overarmed. Our mattresses are so thick they need stepladders. We buffed our code‚ we re-engineered, we tested and tested again.
But Y2K is not over. Computing has another, less dramatic side that consumers don't always see directly: the inevitable incidence of small and annoying, though manageable, errors introduced by human beings as programs are written and updated. New code always has bugs, and Y2K repairs have sometimes interfered with other computer functions.
As these errors show themselves‚ technical people fix them and move on, issuing no press releases. So I'll volunteer one instance of the unexpected small and annoying problem: Since Jan. 1, my copy of Word Perfect 5.1‚ said to be compliant, can't delete the last file I've saved to a directory.
Directly and indirectly, the Y2K work has been multiplying small malfunctions. "It's astounding how many little glitches there are," Peter G. Neumann, a computer reliability specialist at SRI International, says of computer users' experience in the past few weeks.
Many Y2K-related problems yet to come won't have any apparent links to the date. They will be the inevitable product of bigger programs written by larger and larger teams with less and less grasp of the program as a whole—a trend that paradoxically results from making computers so much easier to use. We avoided the big crash, but we may have more little dents to hammer out.
24. (Mama:) Although these glitches were problems, they didn't affect a lot of people‚ unlike telecommunications failures, bank failures‚ food shortages or riots, for example. So let's continue reviewing the Y2K messages to see what they say and examine them in light of what actually happened. In the second GN we published on the Y2K bug ("Y2K Preparation‚" ML #3252, GN 855), the Lord again left open the possibility that nothing might happen. In three of the first prophecies He said:
25. "Whether the Y2K bug brings immediate devastating effects or it appears that all things continue on as usual, all things are not as they appear‚ for the Y2K problem marks the day of sorrows" (ML #3252:5).
26. "The millennium bug is more than a computer problem or technical bug; it's a sign of the times. It marks a time when new things are set in motion, a heralding of things coming to pass that I have said were going to come to pass. You may not see a lot of signs right away at the end of 1999 or the beginning of the new year, or even much of a difference, but in the spirit world there's a great change, and the effects of those changes are slower to be evidenced in the physical. When there are great changes in the spirit, they don't always show up immediately in the physical; it takes time for them to be manifested. And although a lot of people will not think much has happened with the millennium bug or that Y2K has much significance, I tell you that in the spirit it represents a great change. It is an unleashing of more of the Devil's power and control over the Earth" (ML #3252:10,11).
27. "Whether the days are shortened as the Enemy seizes more power as a result of Y2K disruptions or I allow you more time, it is My will that you preach the Gospel fervently. Redeem the time, for the days are evil, and there are many more of My children to be reaped. Work now, witness now, win now during these days of relative peace, for they will not continue long, whatever the choice of the Enemy. What is to be must be, and what is to come must come, for I have decreed it" (ML #3252:21).
28. (Mama: ) A little later in this Letter, however‚ the Lord was definite that there would be problems, and He and Dad even listed some of the difficulties that we should be prepared for. This is probably what the brother who wrote us was wondering about.
29. (Jesus speaking:) "One change which you must prepare for is a breakdown in communications. The effects will vary from country to country, in duration as well as in severity, but all will feel this to some extent. Some computer networks may be down for a time, affecting the flow of e-mail. Telephones and telecommunications will be affected from country to country. Even the postal system will be affected in those countries which depend heavily upon computers rather than upon people to sort the mail. This is a time when you will be able to lead many to Me, for people will see how their god of technology in which they trusted has let them down. The crash will not have come through some great and complex matter which only their eminent men of science are able to understand and decipher, but through simple failure to use enough digits in the date field of their computer code. Through such a tiny failure and mistake, their technological wizardry has come to naught" (ML #3252:35, 37).
30. (Dad speaking: ) Things will be disrupted—communications, supplies, finances—but only for a short while. How big a disruption will vary from country to country and even city to city. But in most countries the basic services will be restored very quickly. Even though the AC will use the Y2K bug to his advantage, he doesn't want things to slide into complete chaos or civil disorder, but rather just enough to further his plan of making people more dependent on the government, more willing to follow and obey his one world order when it comes. Some banks will collapse as well. You should be prepared for a break in some services like electricity, water, telephone, etc. Electricity should be restored quickly in most cities, though‚ as it is the backbone of society. Without electricity, modern society cannot survive and nothing can operate. Governments know this, and will therefore try to act to restore it as quickly as possible. Power cuts should not last too long in most cases, so it would not be necessary to make expensive preparations for long-term power outages, but just enough to run the most essential services in the short term" (ML #3252:48,51,53).
31. (Mama:) Since there were no communications breakdowns or major problems with utilities, what should we think about these prophecies? Some people might wonder about them, as did the brother who wrote us above. Knowing that others might also have questions, I asked one of our staff members to pray about this, because the Lord always has answers to our questions. The message which he received follows.
32. First, however, let's note that even though the Lord and Dad said there would be some problems‚ they also qualified their comments in the same message.
33. The Lord said: "The millennium bug will be many things to many people, and its effects and impact will depend upon their choices‚ as well as the choice of the Evil One‚ the Enemy of your souls" (ML #3252:26). Dad said: "As the old saying goes, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Though making some of these preparations for the Y2K bug may seem unnecessary, it's better to be safe than sorry. Since the Lord hasn't revealed to you exactly what will occur, it's best to be prepared" (ML #3252:47).
34. (Mama:) Here's what the Lord had to say about why the predictions He'd made didn't seem to be fulfilled:
35. (Jesus speaking: ) Be not weak in faith, dear ones, for there are reasons that these predictions did not come to pass. For one, as I said in the beginning and repeated throughout My messages to you, much depended on the choices of the Enemy and whether he was ready to bring great confusion on the world so that he might prepare the way for his Man of Sin.
36. The Enemy decided the time was not yet ripe for these things to come to pass, so they did not. Chaos was withheld and destruction was averted, though it could have easily happened. Even if there had not been technological problems, there could have been panic in the U.S. and in other developed nations before New Year's Day. There could have been runs on banks and the collapse of the banking system, as people desperate to preserve their funds sought to take them out of the bank or to remove them from the stock market. There could have been runs on the stores, with people stocking up on essential foods and supplies, leading to the stores rationing their goods‚ a breakdown of the supply chain‚ and looting and confusion. But such chaos and conflict did not come to pass because it was not its time.
37. Much also rested upon the choices of man in this matter of Y2K, just as it did in the days of Jonah and Nineveh, and as it has down throughout history. I asked Jonah to warn Nineveh of its destruction, and he did, preaching that Nineveh would be destroyed. There was no ambiguity in his message, the message that I delivered to him to deliver to Nineveh. It was definite—a message of woe and destruction.
38. But Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes and its people turned to Me with all their hearts, so I turned from the destruction which I would have unleashed upon them, and it did not come to pass. Was the Word of the Lord unfulfilled? In this case it was, because there was a higher fulfillment and purpose—the people made the choice to repent, and so I stayed the destruction that I had planned. They were saved by their choices‚ which moved My heart and stopped My hand. So My Word did not return unto Me void, but accomplished the purpose for which I sent it. The evil of Nineveh had been destroyed because it had ceased.
39. My messages and promises to you are often dependent upon the choices you make. If you make the correct choices—you choose to obey‚ to yield, to follow, to seek Me and commit yourself and your ways to Me—then you see the fulfillment of My messages to you and the granting of the promises that are made. If you make the wrong choices—you choose to disobey, to rebel, to be unyielded, to neglect to seek Me and to instead follow your own paths—then you will not see the fulfillment of My messages to you.
40. My messages are often like contracts. Though there are times when they are unconditional and definite, in most cases there are conditions attached, whether they are spoken or not. The condition is that you must do your part so that I can do My part. For example: "If any man be in Me‚ he is a new creature." So you are new creatures—if you are in Me. "If thou canst believe, all things are possible unto you." So all things are possible unto you—if you believe, and are within My will, and do not ask these things to consume them upon your lusts. You must weigh My Word by My Word. It may be likened to the clauses in a worldly contract. These clauses may be specific‚ but they rest upon earlier clauses in the same contract‚ and depend upon the contract as a whole being fulfilled.
41. In the case of these specific messages regarding Y2K, not only did the Enemy make the choice to withhold destruction and chaos, but I did also‚ because of the choices of man. Man chose to treat this problem with great seriousness. The voices of My children who work in the industries of the world rang out, warning of impending doom, and their voices were heard and heeded. The world turned to fix this problem with a will, with a decisiveness that they had not possessed before, and they fixed the problems that would have happened had they not intervened. They made the choice to avert destruction.
42. Although these who warned of destruction were not known as My prophets, I used them to disseminate My message and accomplish My purpose. They nevertheless acted as My prophets, for they were moved by a message that was My message and were faithful to proclaim it. So think it not strange that I used them. I fit the messenger to the situation, and I even used Balaam's ass to warn of impending evil. So I used these of the world to speak to the world, because the world will listen more readily to those who are among it.
43. In deferring chaos, the Enemy has still furthered his plan‚ as I explained before. He has changed people's attitudes and actions‚ making them more dependent on their technology and less dependent on Me. And at the same time he has made them less open to warnings of impending doom and those who preach it.
44. Yet I have furthered My plans too, and they are far greater than those of the Enemy! For in withholding this chaos and destruction, I've given My children around the world more time to distribute My Word, to win the multitudes, to feed and nurture the believers, to reach all nations. So great good has come of this, and this extra time will be a great blessing to you, My children, as you spread your books‚ tapes, posters, videos and tools far and wide.
45. Does it surprise you that I would not fulfill specific predictions which I have made, despite My explanations? Don't forget, dear ones, that My ways are not your ways‚ and My thoughts are not your thoughts; they are high above them. I have accomplished a higher purpose in not fulfilling these words I spoke before.
46. And yet another purpose do I use these words for—to test the faith of My children in the Family: Will they doubt and say "all things continue as they were, every man to his own tent"? Or will they trust Me nevertheless, believing that I am a faithful God? Will they be as My servants listed in Hebrews 11, your compatriots, who did many things by faith‚ but who did not live to see the fulfillment of My promises? Will they be as My servant Job of old, who said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him"? The choice is up to them—to you. The majesty of choice remains yours, My Family. I love you. (End of message from Jesus)
47. (Mama: ) The Lord's predictions didn't come to pass in this case‚ just like they didn't at Nineveh in the days of Jonah, but His purposes were fulfilled nevertheless, and I'm certainly thankful for the extra time He's given us! We couldn't be doing all we're doing now if the different societies we live and work in were undergoing varying degrees of chaos.
48. I'm also very thankful that the Lord used this Y2K warning to get us prepared for the future, because as He emphasized in the last Currents, we'll definitely need our survival supplies sooner or later. (See "World Currents No.97," ML #3278:34–43, GN 881.)
49. Many governments and businesses around the world are also thankful that disaster was averted, and they don't consider their preparations in vain, as the following article explains:
n Y2K investment was worth it, global coordinator says
Compiled from articles by Reuters, Associated Press, Washington Post
The head of the global Y2K coordination drive said the full cost of upgrading computers for Year 2000 would never be known because it was impossible to reckon. "I don't think anybody knows—or will ever know," said Bruce McConnell, director of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, which worked with about 170 national Y2K coordinators.
On Jan. 1‚ as the new century dawned surprisingly devoid of serious glitches, President Clinton's Y2K coordinator, John Koskinen, cited $200 billion for the worldwide repair.
"I think $200 billion for the world based on what we have spent would be a ballpark estimate," Koskinen said in reply to a reporter's question at a briefing.
Gartner Group, a frequently cited technology consulting firm, has estimated the bill at $300 to $600 billion worldwide. Other analysts have put the figure as high as $850 billion.
The Commerce Department estimated that U.S. businesses and government Y2K upgrades would cost about $100 billion by 2001, or about $365 for every man, woman and child in the United States.
U.S. officials have a stock answer to the question of whether it was really necessary to spend so much.
Repeating a line that Koskinen has used, presidential spokesman Joe Lockhart said, "Business in this country doesn't go ahead and spend money on problems that they don't think exist. They addressed this problem."
As the most technologically dependent nation on Earth, the United States spent roughly half the world's total Y2K repair and readiness costs. Koskinen challenged the idea that some nations spent little or nothing and got by unscathed.
"A lot more work was going on than people could see," Koskinen said. "The biggest difference really was that once you get beyond about 10 or 12 developed countries, there's significantly less reliance on information technology than here," Koskinen said.
"But, also, the image that people have from afar is, 'Well there are a lot of countries that didn't do anything‚"' Koskinen said. "And I can tell you I don't know of any country that didn't spend ... appropriate funding‚ and spend a lot of time throughout 1999 on this."
"Everybody did something," he said. "There is nobody I know who didn't do something. And I think everybody did appropriate work."
Even so, the United States evacuated some embassy personnel and dependents from four countries—Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus—because of concerns about possible power problems in winter.
Most Americans seem to believe the expense was worth it. A CBS News poll taken in early January found that 98 percent of those polled experienced no problems from the Y2K bug. Almost two-thirds thought there were no problems because of the time and energy spent fixing it.
"I don't know of any bank, financial institution, power company, telephone company or federal agency that worked through this problem that thought either, (a) it wasn't a major challenge or (b) that they should have spent less," Koskinen said.
The money spent on updating computers [drew] popular outrage in nations outside Europe and North America. "So, what was all the fuss about?" asked David Higgins, the Sydney Morning Herald's BIZ.COM editor. He added, "Can we get a refund?"
But Victor Guerrero‚ technical secretary of the National Commission for Y2K Information Conversion in Mexico, looked at the expenditure of $6.5 billion by his country's public and private sectors in a different light. A report from the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem predicted last summer that a third of Mexico's computer systems would crash, but in fact the first days of the year have been largely glitch-free—making the expense well worth it in Guerrero's eyes.
Apocalypse Now in Uganda
50. (Mama: ) Some of you are probably wondering about the mass suicide or mass murder of the sect in Uganda, where more than 1,000 people are estimated to have died. That's a greater death toll than that of Jonestown.
51. When Jonestown happened back in 1978‚ it affected our Family outreach for quite a while. Though the Lord (through Dad) gave a few messages about this tragedy in Uganda in a recent END (See END 29, pages 7 and 10), we wanted to know more about how this new tragedy might affect the Family today. So we asked Him, and He explained the significance of these events in relation to us. First‚ here's a news article to provide some background on the situation, followed by the message we received.
n Toll mounts for a Ugandan sect
Compiled from articles by the Associated Press; Agence France-Presse; Ian Fisher, NY Times News Service; Dean E. Murphy, Los Angeles Times
More than a thousand people, mostly women and children, were killed by a sect which had promised them a better world.
Uganda's vice president Specioza Kazibwe announced the latest toll, which makes the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God the most deadly sect in recorded history, topping the 1978 Jonestown deaths of 913 people.
"The official figure reached 1,000 dead people. I believe there will be more than that," Kazibwe told reporters as she arrived in Kanungu, the small southwestern town where the "Ten Commandments" sect had its headquarters and where up to 530 members died when their church‚ its windows and doors nailed shut, was torched on March 17. Since then, hundreds more bodies have been unearthed on the property of senior sect members.
It remains unclear exactly why the members were killed, although some have suggested the deaths may be linked to the failure of leaders' predictions of the end of the world on January 1. The world did not end‚ so the Ugandan police speculate that some members, who were required to sell their belongings and hand over the profits to the group, rebelled and asked for money back.
Another doomsday date was set for March. And it certainly arrived for many on March 17, when the church exploded in fire.
No sect members appear to have survived, though the police believe that some of the leaders—including Joseph Kibwetere, 64, and Credonia Mwerinde, 48, who claimed direct contact with the Virgin Mary—may yet be alive, somewhere.
At the moment, the police are working on the theory that sect members may have been poisoned, because most of the bodies show no sign of violence. There was also, apparently, little struggle, which may indicate that some members did go willingly to their deaths.
Indeed, several former sect members said in interviews that part of the indoctrination concerned martyrdom, and from its earliest days the sect preached a gospel of doom and dire consequences from an angry God against people who had long forgotten His Word.
Uganda‚ a former British protectorate, has a history of martyrdom: The anniversary of the deaths of 22 Christian converts in 1886‚ ordered burned by the king of Buganda, the leader of the region's largest tribe, is still observed here.
The more recent past has also been scarred by violence: in the 1970's, Idi Amin organized rampages that claimed up to 300,000 lives in a country of 22 million.
Religion and violence have long coexisted in Uganda. In the 1980's, a self-described priestess named Alice Lakwena led a rebel group called the Holy Spirit Movement against President Museveni's young government. Her cousin Joseph Kony now leads another rebel group in the north called the Lord's Resistance Army.
The sect seems to have had its earliest roots in Rwanda‚ and particularly in the town of Kibeho‚ where from the late 1970's until 1994, children claimed visions of the Virgin Mary on a soccer field. A sect of the Virgin spread to southwest Uganda—and Ms. Mwerinde, a former store owner and brewer of banana beer, claimed that the Virgin Mary spoke to her for the first time in 1984. In 1989‚ along with two other female members, she met Mr. Kibwetere‚ who was active in the Roman Catholic Church and local causes.
The women claimed that the Virgin directed them to him to spread her message: that people needed to follow the Ten Commandments to escape damnation at the end of the world. Sect members were mainly disaffected Roman Catholics in Uganda.
From the start, the group made demands that the church did not. Members were not allowed to talk, and communicated mostly in sign language. They were required to fast regularly and eat only one meal a day on Fridays and Mondays. Sex was forbidden. So was soap. They had to work hard in fields, growing potatoes, cassava, beans, bananas or sugar cane. But the requirement that rankled most was that members sell off their property and give the proceeds to the church.
Yet none of the leaders appeared to live much differently from ordinary members. One former leader left the sect in 1994, taking with him about 70 members, but did not mention as a reason any disparity between the leaders and followers.
The structure of the sect's leadership was not completely clear, members said. While Mr. Kibwetere was nominally in charge, he appeared to many to be a weak, if charismatic‚ man who reportedly suffered from manic depression. The real power, most everyone said, was Ms. Mwerinde. She translated her visions from the Virgin into the rules—the "program," as sect members referred to them. Much of the program was published in a red book called, "A Timely Message From Heaven: The End of the Present Times‚" published first in 1991.
Starting in early March, the sect started liquidating its assets. Neighbors say movement members sold at least 100 head of cattle and communal furniture and held sales at two of the sect's local shops. At 11 p.m. the night before the fire, the sect's farm manager walked into the Kanungu police station and left the title to the compound's land and a cryptic goodbye note, according to local constable Willy Abiku.
The next morning, white-and-green-robed sect members filed into the church. Within minutes, the narrow, brick–and-tin-roofed building was engulfed in flames.
52. (Dad speaking: ) These murders and suicides in Uganda have a lot of significance for the Family in Africa as well as for the Family in other areas, and even for other Christian groups like the Family.
53. For starters, it will make many educated Africans a lot more leery of people like us, because we're outside the mainstream church system, just like this Ugandan group was. So they'll be more suspicious of our message and motives and less receptive to salvation, which must make the Enemy happy. You see‚ Christianity is booming in Africa right now, with multitudes of new believers being added every year. These new souls are often won by people like us and other little independent missionaries and evangelists, or by people whom they've led to the Lord in the past. So if the Enemy can slow down this onslaught on his dark kingdom, he's real happy about it! He'll use anything he can to hinder the winning of souls, including murder and massacre.
54. Africa, you must remember, is still home to some of the most horrific savagery and brutality known to man, and it extends all the way from the north to the south of the continent. In the north you have Muslim extremists and fanatics of various stripes slitting the throats of innocent people in Algeria, or bombing them in Sudan. In the center you have atrocities in the Congo and Nigeria, amputations of arms and legs by rebels in Sierra Leone, and the Hutus and Tutsis who've taken machetes and machine guns to each other by the hundreds of thousands. In the south you've got tribal rivalries in places like South Africa and vigilantes taking the law into their own hands, bombing and shooting people like crazy.
55. So savagery isn't new to Africa‚ and in this case the Enemy was able to instigate it among the leaders of this group of what were mostly former Catholics, the "Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God." These leaders and some of their murderous accomplices led their sheep far astray, down the path of death and destruction. In doing so‚ they not only ended their own ministry but hindered ours, and fulfilled the Enemy's purposes.
56. Like I said‚ this will make the African people more leery of us and our message, which is the Lord's message, and it will cause more intense scrutiny of us by governments as well. African governments will certainly be more inclined to keep an eye on us, and governments around the world may do so as well. They'll want to know what we're doing, where we're doing it, how we're doing it, why we're doing it, etc. The Ugandan government has been lamenting the fact that they didn't keep a closer eye on this group and check out complaints about it more thoroughly, and you can bet that other governments have taken note of that.
57. And of course you'll have every anti-cultist crawling out of the woodwork or slithering out from under the stones‚ or wherever they lurk, eager to "help" these governments. They'll want to tell officials and governments which groups are the most dangerous and deviant‚ and if they can get paid or subsidized for doing so and even enjoy some sort of semi-official status as consultants and advisors, then they'll be happy too.
58. Boy, the Enemy sure knew what he was doing in having this particular group in Uganda go haywire! While they were totally unlike us in most ways, they were very similar to us in some of the ways the media is publicizing right now. For one thing, they believed the world is coming to an end and Jesus is returning soon. Well, that's not so unusual, because the Bible itself says that, and millions of other Christians around the world believe it as well. But having a bunch of folks like that kill themselves or be killed by their leaders certainly is a testimony against other believers in the Endtime!
59. And these folks not only believed in the Endtime, but they were big on visions and prophecies. No doubt some were from the Lord, but some were certainly not from Him. They supposedly received some specific predictions as to the exact date when Jesus was going to return and when the world as we know it was going to come to an end. Well, I'm sorry. Those were false prophecies either cooked up by their leaders or inspired by the Devil and his demons‚ transformed into "angels of light" to deceive these poor folks, who were apparently deceived pretty easily. In His Word the Lord laid down some very clear and explicit signs as to when and how He would return, and these dear sheep didn't know them and their leaders sure didn't teach them!
60. This group also believed in forsaking all to live in their own communities, and that's another thing the media is trumpeting. They're saying these poor people were duped into signing all their belongings over to the group, and especially to their "evil leaders." What a way to get people to distrust and dislike forsaking all, which is based on the Lord's Word and has been a mainstay of His church down through history. "All that believed were together, and had all things in common. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to every man as he had need" (Acts 2:44-45, 4:34-35).
61. So here you have a group who believed in the Endtime, prophecy, forsaking all and living communally, and who else does that remind you of? Those are some of our distinguishing characteristics too. That's why the demise of this Ugandan group could have significance for the Family as well, because our enemies will play up the similarities. Anyone who knows us will know we'd never go the way this other group did, but most people don't know us well, and some officials and governments don't like us very much anyway.
62. They'll also be playing up the number of children from this group who perished, because there were a lot of them. That's another similarity to us, and another thing you can bet our enemies will harp on: "It's dangerous for children in groups like the Family! Look what happened to the poor little kids in Uganda!"
63. To sum it all up, the Enemy would like to use this incident in Africa to hinder our ministry there or even in other parts of the world, through making people, officials, and governments leery of us. He'll point out all the similarities to this Ugandan group and try to convince people that we're a danger to ourselves or others, or even to our own kids.
64. Of course‚ the Lord is on our side, and if He's for us, who can stand against us? Thank You Jesus! So you can claim His promises of protection and safekeeping, and you won't have to worry—or you shouldn't, at least. Just trust the Lord, and calmly go about your business of winning the world for Him! That's your best protection, along with continued obedience to the Lord and His Word.
65. We have nothing to hide or to be ashamed of, so there's no need to cower or be intimidated by this tragedy. Continue witnessing, winning, working, helping, teaching, training‚ and being a blessing to many, just as you are right now! Our honest‚ open, godly way of life is a great testimony that we're not like this Ugandan group‚ and glorifies the Lord. "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God" (1Pet.2:12).
66. What marvelous foresight the Lord had in leading us to open up our lives and Homes to scholars and academics who've lived with us and studied us. They know us and our way of life and love for the Lord and others, and can testify that we're good people. And even many governments which have investigated us in the past can testify of the same thing‚ if they'd be honest about it.
67. I think we're good people too—the best! We may not be perfect, but we're the best the Lord has for this job and are doing our best to fulfill the commission He's given us, thank the Lord! Keep going for Him! He loves you and has reserved the very best for you! Love, Dad. (End of message from Dad)
Children and Chastisement
In Europe
68. (Mama: ) As those of you in Europe know, spanking is banned in some European nations and corporal punishment of children is restricted in others. We have restrictions upon the discipline of our children as well, clearly set down in the Charter, that limit corporal punishment and set loving, godly guidelines for that which is allowed.
69. But we were interested to note in the news that Europe seems to be setting ever stricter limits upon the discipline of children. Following is a recent news clip, followed by a message the Lord gave when we asked Him about it.
n Brits mull spanking restrictions
Associated Press
LONDON — It was a case that captured headlines: A man who had repeatedly beaten his 9-year-old stepson with a cane walked free by employing the Victorian-era defense of "reasonable chastisement."
The British government has now moved to tighten the 1861 law, unveiling proposals that would bar parents from spanking their offspring with anything but their hands or smacking a child's head, eyes or ears.
The measures—ordained by a 1998 European Court of Human Rights ruling that the beaten boy's rights had been violated—mirror a European trend of placing limits on corporal punishment.
Spanking is banned in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and Germany's parliament is considering a bill that entitles children to a "violence-free upbringing."
Under the current law governing parental discipline, any [British] parent or guardian may claim "reasonable chastisement" if accused in court of physically harming a child.
Children's rights groups immediately hailed the recommendations‚ but many called for the government to go further and ban all forms of physical punishment. "A ban would send a clear message that the law should protect children from assault as it does adults," said Mary Crowley, chief executive of the Parenting Advice and Support Forum.
"Children Are Unbeatable," an alliance of more than 250 organizations and prominent individuals, also said all forms of physical discipline should be outlawed. "It is both wrong and impracticable to try to define acceptable forms of corporal punishment of children," the alliance said in a statement.
70. (Jesus speaking: ) I would not have My little ones hurt or punished excessively or out of anger, which is why I have helped you to set guidelines in the Charter on the discipline of your children. It is both for their good and your good, that you neither hurt your children with excessive discipline nor provoke them to anger against you and My service by using too heavy a hand.
71. Yet at the same time, whom I love, I chasten, whether big or small. If you don't receive correction, you stray from the path of righteousness; so do your children if they don't receive correction‚ and in some cases, corporal punishment. This is why I mentioned it in My Word, emphasizing the importance of bringing up your children in the way which they should go, neglecting them not, lest they bring you to shame.
72. I would have you be gentle and loving‚ merciful and understanding, yet at the same time you must correct your children. Withhold not correction from them, lest they go astray and cause grief and harm. Chasten your children while there is hope for them, and let not your soul spare for their crying. He that loves his children chastens them when they have done wrong. Many such guidelines have I given in My Word.
73. Yet the nations of Europe have turned from My Word to their own ideas of rightness and righteousness‚ and now seek even to nullify the teachings of My Word and make it illegal to discipline children as I have advised in My Word. This they do because they reject My Word even as they have rejected Me‚ thinking that they know better than I do. They see themselves as enlightened, modern, progressive, and My Word as ancient, outdated, and primitive.
74. So they have sown the wind in their children, and they shall reap the whirlwind. They have sown seeds of doubt‚ skepticism, evolution, unbelief, humanism, and a great desire for carnal‚ worldly knowledge among their children, as opposed to the pure truth and knowledge of My Word, and the fruits which they reap shall be bitter indeed. Their children have gone further astray than their parents, and the Earth is filled with all manner of ungodliness and violence as a result.
75. It has not been a quick process in the past. Slow and subtle has been the working of the Evil One, as he has sought to remove My Word from the schools and replace it with worldly wisdom, to remove discipline from the home and replace it with overly permissive "understanding," allowing children to do as they feel, teaching them that there are no absolute standards of right and wrong anymore.
76. Yet now in these Last Days the Evil One steps up his assault on godly values in this part of the world where he has had great success in years past. Europe becomes more and more corrupted in many of her nations, and in the end the final ten kings will not hesitate to give their power to the Beast, for they have given their thoughts or hearts to him long ago.
77. Yet they see not the deception of the Beast, for they are blinded by their own self–righteousness and believe that they only do that which is right, as many Jews of My Own day did. Some knew that they were crucifying their Messiah, for they were of their father the Devil and hated Me. Others were filled with strong delusion, for they had rejected Me in favor of keeping the Law; their righteousness came only through their own works and their own arm of flesh, and they wanted no part of My love and grace.
78. So it is with many in the world today. They would be greatly offended if you told them that they were deceived and were doing the Evil One's bidding. They only do that which seems right in their own eyes‚ that which is good and moral from their own standpoint—but the end of that path is often death and destruction.
79. So be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, My dear children, in the midst of this iniquitous generation, among whom you shine as lights. Do good, preach My Gospel, seek My face, love and discipline your children. Seek to agree with your adversaries while you are in the way with them. Live peaceably with all men, as much as lieth in you. And obey My Word above all, and I will keep you.
80. If persecution should arise because of your obedience to Me, I will keep you and make you a testimony if I show you to stand and fight the evil accusations. Or if I show you to depart elsewhere to preach the Gospel, leaving the rejecters and persecutors to their fate, I will lead and guide you, directing your path. There are yet many places that need My Word, and you will not have gone over the entire Earth even when I return. I love you, My dear ones. (End of message from Jesus.)
God's Guidance
For Our Family in Greece
81. (Mama: ) To end this GN, we thought we'd share with you a message the Lord gave for our Family missionaries in Greece last year when we asked Him if He had any counsel on their ministries and witnessing. It's an inspiring example of how the Lord can give personalized counsel and tips on a specific nation or ethnic group.
82. There are Greeks spread around the world in Australia, the Mideast‚ the U.S., etc., and we hope you'll find some of these tips helpful in witnessing to them and meeting their spiritual needs. Some of this counsel is helpful in witnessing to anyone, Greek or not! God bless you in all your witnessing and outreach! Don't forget your address cards so you can sign sheep up for the Activated program! I love you and am praying for you‚
Mama
83. (Jesus speaking: ) This is a land of ancient culture and many ancient spirits. Some were wise and some were foolish, but many were earnest seekers of truth. To this day there are many sincere seekers of truth and enlightenment, many who are on a quest for knowledge of the things of the spirit. They are a spiritual as well as an intellectual people, wanting to know of, discuss, and understand the deep things of life.
84. In your witnessing, be deep; be always ready to discuss the heavy things of My Spirit. Many will be open and receptive. There are shallow ones, those who've been deceived by the deceitfulness of riches or the materialism of the Whore, but there are still many that seek in their hearts for more. The true sheep will hear My voice and will follow. When you preach the full counsel of God, when you give out the meat of the Word, you will find those who will grasp at it, who will reach out and seek it desperately and earnestly, who will come to you wanting to know more. They will sense that you have the truth, that you have a special knowledge of the divine and a link with the realm of the spirit.
85. They want to communicate with someone and something greater than themselves. They know there's something above the carnal plane, as their ancestors did. Thus did their ancestors worship gods and goddesses, creatures and mythical characters belonging to another realm. There was much truth in these teachings, yet because they stopped short of the full truth —the knowledge of salvation—it did not bring truth and enlightenment.
86. To teach them about communicating with God, hearing My voice, and the voice of My Father and Our holy spirits in prophecy, will not be a strange thing to many. They will relate and it will make sense to them‚ for the beings of the spirit are as the gods and goddesses that they esteemed in the past. Yet unlike the idols of stone and paintings on the walls of their temples, My Holy Spirit and My ministering spirits are alive, moving, speaking, working. My miracle–working power is alive and well, and I'm willing to show it even through signs and wonders to those who believe. You can have a ministry of healing—spiritual, mental, and even physical healing. Word of your gift will spread, and those in need will seek you out.
87. They may want to question and debate, even as the Greeks of old did, to whom I sent My servant Paul, yet this is not always because they are unbelieving. They are, however, skeptical, and some will want to prove Me and put Me to the test. Hook them by telling them they can do just that! They have nothing to lose by trying. In asking Me to come into their heart and life, in asking Me to save them and change them, in asking Me to help them with their problems and sorrows, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. All the debating and arguing and philosophizing in the world can never convince them as much as the touch of My Spirit can convince them if you will just lead them to try. Once they touch Me, they'll know that I am God, and that there is no other like Me.
88. Seek out the poor and the hungry, the stranger and the fatherless, the homeless and the widowed. Seek out those who are broken, for in this state they are more receptive and needy of the words of life, love, and comfort that you have to give. Those who are rich and full are more self-satisfied. Yet don't neglect these either, for there will be some among them who have found, after tasting of every fount of pleasure and of knowledge‚ that they are still empty, still so unsatisfied. Some need time to learn this. When they're newly rich or have just gotten involved in the worldliness and materialism of this day, they may seem cold and hard. Yet always be faithful to give My message, for in due time it will sprout seed and bear fruit. When they have filled themselves with the husks of this world and seen them for what they are, they will be ready for the truth.
89. Many think that truth can be found in art and beauty. They are worshippers of the creation‚ without acknowledging the Creator. Teach them of Me through the works of My hands, for the Heavens declare My glory and show My handiwork. Anyone who loves and adores the works of My hands, unless he is a fool, will realize that there is a God of love to be thanked for these things, and there is no other way they could have come into being.
90. There are many open doors and opportunities before you among all classes and levels, through many different approaches. I will guide you step by step. I will counsel and teach you day by day. There are special people for you to meet—both among the meek and lowly, and among the powerful and influential. In every case, I want you to teach them of Me—and not only in simple terms, but of the deep things of My Spirit.
91. Teach them about prayer, about prophecy, about My power to save, transform, and deliver. Many need deliverance from the sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. Many feel condemned for their "wickedness" through their excesses or their deviant behavior. Many feel they have not upheld the high moral standards that they ought. Yet these things are of little consequence in My sight. For what I desire is the heart, the love, the life. If they will give Me their heart and life, I will mend the broken pieces. I have forgiveness for all who will seek it, and no one is too bad or too low, nor too high and mighty for My Spirit to reach out and touch and restore and make whole. (End of message from Jesus.)
Thank God for Our Y2K Prep!
"Deadlines are our lifelines."—A reaction from Gabe
Dear Mama,
After reading over an advance copy of this GN, I wanted to comment that I am extremely happy for Y2K, even if nothing of significance happened. For the first time in our long history, we are completely prepared in every aspect of our emergency survival. It has always been a concern of mine that we have everything we need to survive an emergency, but we never seemed to have time‚ money and energy to invest in getting prepared. But that's one thing the Y2K deadline did for us.
As Dad said, deadlines are our lifelines, and that provided the deadline to be completely prepared. We organized meetings, we set up committees for the various aspects of our emergency survival preparation, and we got stocked up in every aspect of survival. Even though nothing happened or appeared to have happened in our situation, it's provided us as shepherds and our whole Family with the peace of mind that we're ready for any emergency, any calamity, rather than constantly wondering if our survival food is up to date‚ if we have enough water, if we have candles, flashlights, and all the other things we need.
Of course, we're going to have to continue rotating our survival food, but it's worth it to have had that deadline to get completely prepared. It reminds me of the 40–day warning years ago. Although it didn't appear that anything happened as a result of the 40-day warning‚ I remember very clearly how many missionaries went to the field as a result of that warning. We had the deadline of December 31st, 1973, to get everybody out of the U.S. who didn't feel called to be there. Even if nothing appeared to happen as far as the destruction of America or whatever we misinterpreted the prophecy to mean, the Lord really used it nevertheless and accomplished His purpose of getting a mass migration of missionaries to the field with that deadline.
Though it's a test of some people's faith when these time deadlines don't come to pass, if we look at the overall situation and see the fruit that is borne as a result, it's very beneficial. It shows how wise the Lord is in accomplishing His purpose in getting us to do what we need to do.
Lord help us not to be like the scoffers which it talks about in 2Peter 3:3–4: "Knowing this first‚ that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep‚ all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
Lord help us not to be asleep spiritually, but to be prepared for whatever the Lord has for us! God bless you. I love you!
Gabe