—The Facts!—By Father DavidGP 96520 January 1981

(Prayer after Reagan's Inauguration & the release of the U.S. Hostages:)

1. THE U.S. NOW HAS ANOTHER PRESIDENT & WE HOPE HE'LL BE BETTER THAN THE LAST ONE, & we trust, Lord‚ that he'll do Thy will, whatever it is. Even if it's to bring destruction on America, it'll be Thy will. We know it's coming sooner or later, & he seems to be the fighting type that's apt to bring it on, so we know we don't have very much longer to work before the war.

2. WE JUST ASK THEE TO KEEP US SAFELY IN THY WILL, in Thy care, wherever we are, & that we will continue to serve Thee, Lord, & continue to obey Thee & accomplish Thy purpose until our work is done, regardless of who's president or what the conditions may be. TYL! PTL!

3. THANK YOU LORD WE HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO SEE THE BEGINNING OF THE END‚ this certainly is it! So, PYL! TYL! Bless & keep us each one safely tonight & give each one a good night's rest, strength for tomorrow‚ & awaken them to serve Thee again on another happy day of Thy service. TYL!

4. THANK YOU LORD FOR ANSWERING PRAYER! We did pray for those hostages, we felt sorry for them, regardless of their sins & mistakes & whatever small hand they might have had in the whole affair. They certainly weren't to blame for all the things that had been done previously in Iran, & therefore were really being held as innocent victims of the vicious, vindictive, vengeful Iranians.

5. THE HOSTAGES WERE VIRTUALLY INNOCENT OF ALL THE PAST SINS OF THE U.S. & their past mistakes there, if they were mistakes, & so we did pray for them, Lord, that You'd comfort them & liberate them soon. We claimed it definitely a few weeks ago, agreed together that somehow You'd answer prayer & free them, & there seemed to be real progress in the negotiations from then on.

6. WE THANK YOU, LORD‚ THAT YOU'VE ANSWERED PRAYER—we're sure many people have been praying—& that they are out of that country now & on their way. They've already landed & refueled in Athens & taken off again for Algiers, so we pray that they may have a happy landing there & a happy reunion with their own people & their own planes & safekeeping, Lord, according to Thy will. Thy will be done.

7. WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW BEST—LORD, YOU KNOW BEST‚ so You just permit to happen whatever You want to happen, whatever You know is best. But for their poor sakes, Lord, we would like to see them be able to be rescued now.

8. THEY'RE STILL PRISONERS, still in the hands of the negotiators, the Algerians, & will not be truly free until they have left the Algerian planes & the custody of the Algerians & released into the custody of the American officials there in Algiers who will load them on those American hospital planes to take them to Germany—if You're willing‚ Lord, if that's Thy will.

9. SO WE ASK THEE IN JESUS' NAME TO HELP THEM, give them the courage & the strength & the faith! And Lord, we did pray that through this trying experience that many of them would find you & many of them would turn to You in prayer who perhaps had not prayed before, & many of them would repent & think of their lives.

10. THEY'VE HAD OVER A YEAR TO MEDITATE & THINK ON THEIR LIVES & what life means & what it's for, & what their purpose should be in living, & they certainly must have been disappointed in their government‚ unable to free them for over a year! One of the most powerful governments on Earth with all of its forces & all of its men, couldn't get the hostages back again! It took literally paying a ransom to these criminals of Iran to release these literally kidnapped children of America.

11. SO WE ASK THEE IN JESUS' NAME, LORD, TO CAUSE THEIR HEARTS TO BE THANKFUL TONIGHT & not forget to thank You for answering their prayers & delivering them, freeing them, & bringing them safely home again. Help them to remember, Lord, that they prayed, & not forget now to thank You for answering their prayers & the millions of people who've also been praying for them.

12. HELP THE WORLD TONIGHT TO BE THANKFUL, because we're sure, Lord, many people probably all over the World have prayed for them & have felt for them. Help us all to be thankful that these who are suffering have been released.

13. AND WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE PUNISHING IRAN ACCORDING TO ITS WORKS, having attacked these innocent ones & imprisoned the guiltless, not the ones who really were the ones who they feel have hurt their nation, but merely their children.

14. WE KNOW THAT YOUR JUDGMENT UPON IRAN HAS ALREADY COME as we prayed it would in this horrible war that's going on there tonight. While they held American's children there, guiltless & innocent & afflicted them‚ Lord, You made them pay a price far more by the slaughter of hundreds upon hundreds of their own sons & their own children & their own people. So Lord, we reap what we sow, & the Iranians attacked the innocent & the guiltless & those who certainly did not bear the greatest responsibility for whatever grievance the Iranians had.

15. SO YOU CERTAINLY ARE PUNISHING THAT VERY WICKED, SELF-RIGHTEOUS, HYPOCRITICAL NATION & its wicked‚ cruel, anti-Christ leader Khomeini, for their wickedness & their sins—not only against these hostages, these innocent children of America, but for their wicked sins against their own people, the slaughter of their own people‚ so many of them cruelly tortured & slaughtered in a much worse way even than had the tyrant before them, with all their grievances against him. Their people seem to have fallen into worse hands now than they had before.

16. AT LEAST THERE WAS SOME FREEDOM THERE BEFORE, some liberty, some freedom of religion & speech, & our children, Lord, were there for several years saturating that country with Thy Message & Thy Gospel & were received well by the Royal Family & encouraged & for a long time, Lord.

17. THEY PROSPERED THERE & WERE RECEIVED & WELCOME & BLESSED BY THE GOVERNMENT, until finally religionists there apparently turned the government against us & caused us to be driven out by the Shah & his government, & You rewarded him accordingly. Soon his government toppled & he lost his throne & finally his life.

18. LORD, HELP US TO SEE THY MARVELLOUS HAND WORKING‚ how that You will not permit Your prophets to be touched without recompense & judgement & vengeance! Your said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay! Stand back & see Me fight!" (Ro.12:19; 2Ch.20:17.) "For this is not thy battle but Mine!"

19. SO LORD, WE JUST LEFT THE COUNTRY & LEFT THEM TO THEIR OWN JUDGMENT & THY JUSTICE, & You toppled his throne & brought him down, & his whole family & his whole government. And yet the government that has taken the place of it seems even worse, much more militantly & viciously anti-Christ, anti any other religion, anti everything, it seems, except themselves, & they can't even agree amongst themselves. So they're in a worse condition than before.

20. BUT LORD‚ WE ARE FREE OF THEIR BLOOD, their blood is not upon our hands, neither is the guilt of their judgement upon our conscience, because we delivered our souls there, Lord, with Thy Gospel for many many months‚ & gave them Thy good news in thy Word, & then You brought judgement & are still bringing judgment upon them.

21. SO LORD, WE ASK THEE TO HAVE THY WAY IN IRAN ACCORDING TO THEIR SINS. Reward them according to their wickedness, but spare the innocent‚ Lord, who often suffer with the guilty. Spare the women & the children & the aged & those who were not responsible for this violence & this cruelty & this slaughter & torture.

22. WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOW PUNISHING THE SAME YOUNG MEN—the revolutionaries that were so violent & slaughtered so many!—You're now slaughtering them by the sword of another enemy, as You have often promised in Thy Word that you would. You often use enemies as Thy own sword to punish a country. You use the sword of the enemy as Thy sword to punish another country for its sins & its wickedness.

23. SO ANYHOW, LORD, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING PRAYER THAT THE HOSTAGES ARE BEING FREED & in the process of being liberated. We ask Thee to give them a safe journey to Algiers, if it be thy will, & a happy landing & happy reunion with their people, & if it be Thy will, a safe journey on to Wiesbaden, Germany to be debriefed & finally returned home.

24. THANK YOU THAT THIS CLOSES A VERY UNHAPPY CHAPTER OF AMERICAN HISTORY & WORLD HISTORY, Lord, that a little country like that caused so much trouble & so much grief & was so stubborn & self-righteous to resist the whole World & entire World opinion in this matter.

25. VIRTUALLY EVERY NATION ON EARTH CONDEMNED THEIR SEIZURE OF THE HOSTAGES‚ & yet they stubbornly refused & held out until now, only willing to give up for money, billions of dollars in gold & silver, showing where their heart is really at & where this religion is really at, that this man, this evil devil Khomeini apparently heads: That they're just doing it for money as any robbers or brigands or thieves or gangsters would do!

26. MAY THEY GET WHAT THEY DESERVE, LORD, & RECEIVE RECOMPENSE ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. And we don't doubt that Reagan may be the man who will mete it out, along with Thy other swords of judgements & justice from their other enemies, because we don't see how long that government can stand when it's so wicked!

27. AMEN‚ THANK YOU LORD FOR LETTING US BE ABLE TO VIEW THE EVENTS OF THE DAY, two great historical events all in one great day—the inauguration of the man who probably will be the last president of the united States, & the release of the hostages, which may be their last victory. Thy will be done, Lord, in Jesus' name. TYL!

28. THANK YOU THAT YOU'VE USED US TO KEEP ON DOING WHAT YOU WANT US TO DO, LORD‚ & SERVE THEE regardless of the winds of politics & war & famine & recession & all. We go right on keepin' on keepin' on, Lord, rolling along, Thy great forces, Lord, of Thy children! The Truth goes marching on! TYJ! Hallelujah! In spite of all World events & all war & politics & future famine, Lord, Thy Truth is marching on! TYL!

29. BLESS THE NEW BOOKS THAT ARE BEING MAILED OUT NOW, THE DAILY MIGHTS, & the coming Magazines that we're finishing now. Bless the Units that are handling them, each of them‚ Lord, & help them to get the job done. And bless the mail, the post, Lord‚ that these shall arrive safely to their destinations, in Jesus' name we ask for Thy glory.

30. PROTECT THESE BOOKS AS THEY GO, LORD‚ that are being mailed out now. Protect each of them & help them to arrive in the proper hands, the ones You want to get them, those who deserve them, Lord. Those who are giving their tithes & doing their duty, Lord, we ask Thee to help them to receive their recompense of reward of Thy Word safely in their hands for their own encouragement & inspiration in the coming days.

31. HELP US & CONTINUE TO KEEP US, LORD. We thank You for how you have supernaturally miraculously kept us safely so long. We ask Thee to continue to do so as long as it be Thy will, Lord.

32. WE KNOW THAT THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD SITUATION & we don't doubt that Reagan's going to get tough. He's not going to put up with anything more without a fight, & it could be his last one & America's last one, & perhaps even the World's last one for awhile.

33. SO WE ASK THEE TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT THY CHILDREN, LORD, AROUND THE WORLD WHEREVER THEY ARE‚ our little Family as well, Lord. We're not many but we are thousands & we are many places, Lord, all over the World, trying to go into all the World to preach Thy Gospel to every creature‚ trying to obey You, Jesus, so we know You're going to take care of us. It's Thy work, Thy business, & You will have to take care of us, Thy workers, & Thy work, in Jesus' name. TYL!—Including us, Lord. PTL! TYJ! Hallelujah!

34. THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD REST WE'VE HAD & THY HEALING HAND, Lord, Thy touch in healing us from all our diseases & forgiving all our iniquities & restoring our health & our rest & giving us so much time to get so much accomplished these past few weeks‚ doing virtually two Magazines at once. So help them, Lord, to get out soon with the instruction, information & inspiration that Thy children need, Lord. Keep us all safely so we can get the job done, in Jesus' name.

35. LEAD & GUIDE US ALL, LORD, AS TO WHERE WE'RE GOING TO GO NEXT & WHEN. We're sure You will tell us when it's time to go, & show us how to go, Lord, & where to go, to continue Thy service & follow You wherever You lead‚ in Jesus' name we ask for Thy glory. As we pray, Lord, together, the prayer You taught us to pray: (Prays the Lord's Prayer.) Amen!

36. THE LORD BLESS YOU & KEEP YOU, the Lord make His face to shine upon you & be gracious unto you! The Lord lift up His countenance upon you & give you peace & a good night's rest! (Num.6:24-26.) Keep the children safely, Lord, in Jesus' name. Thank you for how you have, Lord. Amen. Hallelujah! TYL! PYL! Amen, amen!

21 January 1981:

37. I DON'T THINK REAGAN WILL EVER BE HAPPY UNTIL HE HAS AVENGED THAT INJURY & THAT INSULT! He's an honour man, glory of country, & I don't think he'll ever be satisfied till he wreaks vengeance on the guilty! The U.S. has no obligation whatsoever to see that through & pay that money & they ought to stop it right now! Who knows? Maybe Reagan already has.

38. THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD PREVENT HIM FROM STOPPING IT RIGHT NOW is if they still have some Americans in Iran who are in danger. They were supposed to have closed up their representation there completely & I don't think they have any more diplomatic personnel there at all, but there may be some American businessmen—money, money, money—who are still there because they're so greedy for that money, who would then be in danger.

39. WHAT THEY OUGHT TO DO IS JUST LIKE IN TIME OF WAR‚ DECLARE WAR ON THAT COUNTRY—they've declared war on the U.S.—& remove all U.S. citizens immediately & stop the whole works! They have no obligation, & if anything‚ Iran owes the U.S.! They're a bunch of criminals‚ gunmen & gangsters, total anarchists defying the whole World community & all international law & all morality & everything, to do what they did, & the U.S. doesn't owe them a damn thing!

40. IF ANYTHING‚ IRAN OWES THE U.S. A LOT OF COMPENSATION for those hostages & a whole lot of compensation for the damages & the injuries they received & the things they suffered—over a year's imprisonment & all the rest—so that Iran ought to be made to pay, & pay through the nose!

41. I'M SURE THAT'S PROBABLY THE WAY REAGAN FEELS, & I'm sure as soon as he's got things figured out the way he can do it, that's what he'll do. Because there's lots of slips twixt cup & lip, & the only money that's possible that the U.S. might lose is what they already actually put in cash into the Algerian bank accounts, which I understand was only about 2 1/2 billion in actual cash. The other is in escrow in London banks & actually under the control of the British.

42. OF COURSE WE DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS YET & JUST HOW MUCH JIMMY CARTER HANDED OVER, but they're not bound in this case to pay criminals anything for kidnapping! It's like a ransom, & in the case of a criminal ransom, if they manage to rescue those who were kidnapped & at the same time defeat paying the ransom money, they'll do it. The police of course will stop the payment or ransom money if they can, right?

43. IN THE FIRST PLACE THEY DON'T OWE IT TO THEM. If anything, Iran owes it to the U.S. in damages & as recompense to the hostages for what they suffered. And in the second place, whatever Carter promised them is not binding on Reagan at all. His promises aren't worth two cents right now unless he in any way already released the money in such a way that the Algerians or Iranians can get it.

44. I THINK IF REAGAN HAS ANY WAY TO STOP IT, I THINK HE OUGHT TO STOP ANY KIND OF PAYMENT TO THEM. They have inflicted enough suffering, enough humiliation, & I would say have punished the U.S. enough. They have gotten enough vengeance & revenge on the U.S. for whatever it was the U.S. many have been to blame for in Iran over the past years.

45. THE IRANIANS HAVE HUMILIATED ONE OF THE GREATEST POWERS ON EARTH & have caused their citizens to suffer, not just the hostages but the whole country. The Iranians ought to be jumping up & down with glee, which they are‚ that they put America to shame & humiliated her & absolutely made her really eat dust just by what they've already done. They don't deserve any more, they certainly don't deserve the money!

46. I THINK IF REAGAN IS AS SMART & TOUGH AS HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE, he's probably working right now, or has been already, on how to defeat the whole process, & if he doesn't, I will be disappointed in Reagan. He's not as tough a guy as he's supposed to be. If he has to declare war on Iran, that wouldn't hurt anything, he doesn't have to do anything about it, whatever it is to make it legal.

47. BECAUSE WHAT CAN IRAN DO TO THE U.S.? They can't do anything! There's been a state of war between the two countries actually anyhow, & he ought to declare it & let it be known that Iran is our enemy & they are a criminal outlaw government who have committed a crime against our nation & our citizens & they ought to have to pay for it! Well, God's already making them pay for it with their war with Iraq.

48. IF REAGAN DOESN'T GET TOUGH WITH IRAN, I WILL BE BOTH SURPRISED & DISAPPOINTED, if he doesn't try to take out some kind or form of vengeance against Iran for what they did to the hostages. The idea of doing what they did to the hostages! That's pay enough, if they wanted to get revenge on the U.S. for what the U.S. was supposed to have done to them through the Shah. They've done it! They've humiliated a great country for over a year.

49. I CERTAINLY AGREE WITH THE WALL STREET PEOPLE THAT WERE BACKING REAGAN FOR PRESIDENT. I think maybe he figures he's going to have to take just a little time to soften the American public up to the facts of life that he's not going to go through with Carter's deal, & he's got every right to back out on it because it wasn't his promise. I think that's why he deliberately stayed out of the negotiations & away from the whole deal. They tried to involve him & he refused to be involved.

50. THAT'S PRETTY BOLD OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TO COME OUT WITH A HEADLINE saying that these agreements to return the money are not binding at all because they're dealing with a nation of criminals who engaged in a criminal act & this is nothing but ransom! I think the whole World would applaud Reagan if he would somehow put a stop to that ransom payment. I think they'd all give him a big hand!

51. THE U.S. LET A LOT OF AMBASSADORS BE FINALLY SHOT TO DEATH BY TERRORISTS RATHER THAN PAY THE RANSOM that the terrorists asked. They have flatly refused. It's a standard American policy to flatly refuse to negotiate with terrorists at all or pay any kind of ransom whatsoever.

52. I THOUGH THAT WAS A STUPID THING FOR CARTER TO GO BACK TO PLAINS, GEORGIA FIRST! If Carter was so concerned about the hostages, what did he do that for? Wasn't that kind of crazy when this whole thing is up the air? He's more concerned about getting home than he is about going to greet the hostages he's supposed to be so concerned about? He wasn't even there when they landed, he wasn't even there to greet them!

53. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE EXPECTED IF YOU WERE A HOSTAGE & if the president was supposed to be so concerned about you & getting you out? That sort of thing would convince you that this has been his attitude all along, he wasn't that damned concerned about it! You'd think of all people, he'd be one of the first ones that would want to be there to greet them when they arrived!

54. WHAT WAS HIS EXCUSE FOR GOING TO GEORGIA? (Alf: They had a party & a welcoming committee to welcome him home.) What were they celebrating?—His defeat? Well, even if his hometown people had scheduled a party in his honour, he sure had a very good excuse to postpone it! He could have told them, "Well, I've got to go see the hostages, I'll be there later‚ have it tomorrow!" He really is an odd duck! Sometimes I really wonder about him! (Dad taps head with finger.)

55. WELL, AT LEAST THEY'VE GOT A TOUGH EGG IN THERE NOW WHO ISN'T GOING TO TAKE IT, & I wouldn't blame him! I think if I were President, I wouldn't take it! I think I'd sock it to'm! If you're going to be President‚ be President & do a good job of it! If you're going to have to lead this World & run one of its countries, you've got to really hop to it! So I wouldn't feel bound by any of those agreements or to give them one penny!

56. THE U.S. OUGHT TO MAKE THEM WAIT FOR THEIR MONEY & SWEAT IT OUT LIKE WE WAITED FOR THE HOSTAGES! Let it go through the courts & everything else & see what happens. There's oodles of people of companies that have got cases against Iran for broken contracts & default of payments & debts & borrowed money & all kinds of things. How can you just go give them ransom like that? It's ridiculous!

57. WELL, I REALLY DON'T THINK REAGAN WILL DO IT. If he does‚ I will really consider he's a softy, he's not as tough as they say, if he doesn't try to do everything he can to keep from giving them any more money at all that isn't already paid & out of his control. If there's any way he can stop the money, I think he ought to, & that's not enough either.

58. IRAN'S RULERS OUGHT TO PAY FOR THE SUFFERING THEY CAUSED & all the trouble they caused. And talk about expense!—The U.S. ought to charge Iran up with that attempted rescue Carter did, which cost millions!—And the people that got killed & all the trouble Iran's caused!

59. THAT KHOMEINI IS A NUT! He is an absolute religious fanatic, & he doesn't seem to mind how many people get killed or anything. They're just not civilised, they're going back to being barbarians again, where they came from. They have no respect for international law, no respect for international agreements, no consideration for others or any human rights!

60. A GREAT COUNTRY WITH A PRESIDENT LIKE REAGAN OUGHT TO GET TOUGH ABOUT IT & do something about it instead of being such a chicken like Carter was! My God, after he got that rescue attempt as far as he did, he should have gone right on with it! They'd done the best they could, but then he went & called it off when it had already gone that far. For it was when the called–off attempt was taken off that they had the accident.

61. BETTER TO HAVE GONE AHEAD & TRIED! The American people would have at least praised him for trying. But that's just the way he was—wishy–washy! He's a typical Libra that could never make up his mind. One day he's one way & one day the other. To call it off when he got that far was ridiculous! That was their last chance‚ when they knew the hostages were still at the Embassy.

62. SO WHAT IF HE KILLED A FEW PEOPLE? For God's sake, they've killed hundreds & thousands now in this war! The minute they took those hostages against international law, they were declaring war on the U.S.! It was war, so they should have been prepared to pay the consequences, whatever it was‚ for their rescue.

63. BUT THE LORD DIDN'T LET IT HAPPEN, probably because God knows that dear Jimmy Carter couldn't have handled a war, he wouldn't have known what to do: "Oh, you mean if we invade, somebody's going to get killed? Oh no, we can't have that! Somebody might get killed!"

64. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A GREAT POWER LIKE THAT, YOU'VE GOT TO BE PREPARED TO FIGHT & DEFEND IT! That's just the way this World is, that's all.—Unless you're Christians like us & pacifists & just willing to surrender. you've got to do one of two things, you can't muddle along in between like Carter did: You've either got to surrender & make peace with your enemy, or you've got to fight. But he piddles along pretending like he's going to fight, & all the time he never gets around to it, & finally surrenders!

65. THE IRANIANS CALLED HIS PAYING THEM THE MONEY: "THE U.S. SURRENDERED TO US!—WE'VE WON! The U.S. has surrendered!"—And that's really what it amounts to! The hostages are probably wondering, "Well, my God, why didn't you surrender a year ago instead of waiting so damned long?" I don't suppose some of those hostages were too happy to see Carter.—That is probably why he wasn't too enthusiastic about seeing them. After all, they spent 14 months in the cooler while he was President, & he did very little to get them out!

66. APPARENTLY CARTER JUST SORT OF GAVE UP! When he didn't get to bask in the sunshine of the glory of being the one to be able to announce it officially & brag that he had done the job‚ he obviously lost interest, & I'm surprised that he went at all! Just to go over there & spend one hour with them, that was ridiculous! I wonder if we'll ever get the news of what he said to them & what they thought about his visit. He must've been ashamed to face'm!

67. IT USED TO BE IN THE OLD DAYS when people were released like those hostages, they got to tell their stories immediately to the press. But now the U.S. Government takes them in as prisoners of the Government & tells them what to say. They're going to be examined by probably as many CIA men as doctors to find out what their position is & where they're at.

68. ONE OF THE BIG CONCERNS THE U.S. HAS RIGHT NOW IS, DID THE IRANIANS BRAINWASH'M? Did they convert'm, & have any of them become anti-American? Well, I'll tell you, after 14 months in prison & my country doing nothing to get me out, I think I'd become pretty anti-American myself!—With apparently almost no attempts being made, only a very pitiful attempt one time!

69. SO I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF SOME OF THOSE GUYS AREN'T PRETTY REBELLIOUS & PRETTY MAD & PRETTY ANTI-AMERICAN! Some of the guys were pretty mad when they were given a chance to phone home, & on television one or two guys kind of steamed off a little. But I think we're going to hear more like we have already.

70. AND I'LL TELL YOU, IF THEIR STORIES ARE TRUE‚ if they were mistreated & in any way tortured or teased like it seems they were, especially those girls, I think the Americans are going to get up a little steam, & I think the country's going to be pretty disappointed in Reagan if he doesn't stop those payments! He doesn't owe anything to the agreement at all! He had nothing to do with it, he didn't give his word. That was an entirely different administration & he's not bound in any way by any kind of agreement Carter signed whatever.

71. NAPOLEON OR SOMEBODY SAID ONCE THAT TREATIES ARE MADE TO BE TORN UP‚ they're only scraps of paper!—But especially when you're making an agreement with criminals! They're nothing but gangsters & kidnappers, a totally irresponsible illegal government, totally ignoring international World opinion, World law, World practice & World morality, whatever it may be. Bad as it may be, it's not usually that bad.

72. SO I DON'T THINK HE HAS ANY BINDING OBLIGATION TO KEEP ANY KIND OF AGREEMENTS with them when Iran were the criminals, or to give them any money if it's not already gone! The only thing that would be a deterrent is if there are still any American citizens in Iran, because the Iranians would undoubtedly retaliate by grabbing every American in Iran & have a whole new batch of hostages!

73. WHAT HE OUGHT TO DO IS CLEAR ALL THE AMERICAN CITIZENS OUT OF THERE as fast as he can so that Iran can't retaliate against any Americans, & stop all the stupid repayment! Iran owes the money to the U.S. for all the trouble Iran caused! Iran ought to be paying the U.S. instead of the U.S. paying those gangsters!

74. HOWEVER, WE OUGHT TO ALSO LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: No doubt the Lord let it happen to try to humble America & humiliate her & give her a little spanking for her sins, for the things the U.S. probably did do in backing the Shah's government. But I would say they've been pretty well spanked & have suffered maybe enough for whatever they may have been responsible for. I don't know all of it, of course‚ but that's the way it looks to me.

75. SO WE'LL SEE HOW THE LORD WORKS IT OUT. We'll see how tough Ronald Reagan is now. I'm sure there's one thing for sure: The Americans are not going to be satisfied just with getting the hostages back, if they've got any guts at all & if he's got any guts at all!

76. HE'S ALREADY CALLED THEM EVERYTHING FROM CRIMINALS TO BARBARIANS! Tonight he said they weren't hostages, they were prisoners of war! Well, that's a pretty strong statement to show how he looks at it. In other words, "We're at war with that country & they were prisoners of war!" So I wouldn't be a bit surprised he'll look around for some way to punish Iran for it & stop the money if he can. But he'd better be sure he's got all of his Americans out of there before he does, or they'll certainly take'm! Iran wouldn't hesitate to do it again!

77. WELL, THY WILL BE DONE‚ LORD, YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST, have Thy way. Thank You for answering prayer & releasing those poor folks who are virtually innocent victims of a system for which they worked, & victims of its enemies. So thank You that at least that's settled now & they're safely home, or at least in the custody of the U.S.—still prisoners‚ but prisoners of their own country until they find out where their heads & hearts are at!—God help them!

78. —WHERE ARE YOU AT?—For the U.S. or Iran?—Or on the Lord's side! "As for me & my house, we will serve the Lord!" (Jos.24:15.)—Amen?

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family