This Week's 66/40 Radio Broadcast

Articles and Commentary

• In Eminent Danger - (Read)
• Unraveling the Mystery of the Federal Reserve - (Read)
• The Book of Revelation - (Read)

Important News Headlines

Memory Verse of the Week

IN EMINENT DANGER - (Print)

In June of 2005 the Supreme Court shocked and frightened land owners across America by ruling that private property can be seized by the government and sold to private developers in order to generate tax revenue and spur economic growth. That case, Kelo v. City of New London, opened the floodgates for local governments to use eminent domain for private gain. The Supreme Court's decision triggered an immediate response, and the following year the issue of eminent domain appeared on 12 state ballots – making it the single biggest ballot issue of the 2006 election. The ballot initiatives were successful in 10 states, giving residents in those states varying degrees of protection from eminent domain abuse. Other states have followed suit and passed similar laws. However the problem has not gone away.

In Baldwin Park, California city officials plan to use their eminent domain power to seize more than 500 homes and small businesses. The land will then be sold to the Bisno Development Company – a wealthy and politically connected private developer. The developer will use the 125 acres for projects that will generate more tax revenue. The Baldwin Park proposal is perhaps one of the worst examples of eminent domain abuse in the country (unfortunately it is not the only example).

In Kelo v. City of New London the Supreme Court changed its interpretation of the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution provides that private property shall not be taken for public use, without just compensation. Historically, the government's right of eminent domain has been invoked when land is needed for a distinct public purpose – such as a highway, public school, hospital or military base. The words "for public use" and "without just compensation" in the Fifth Amendment were meant to provide safeguards against excessive, unpredictable, or unfair use of the government's eminent domain power. As a result of the court's decision in the case of Kelo v.City of New London, however, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue. The Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that the general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified such redevelopment plans as a permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

What happened in the city of New London, Connecticut was not an isolated incident. Similar scenarios have played out in communities all around the country. The city of New London was looking for ways to improve its economy. In 2000, the city approved a development plan that would put in office buildings, a hotel, and a health club near the waterfront. When they approved the plan, however, the city gave the developers power to condemn houses whose owners remained unwilling to sell. The city argued that it would be for public good to develop the city and encourage tourism and create jobs, and for that reason, those homes could be seized - and the Supreme Court agreed.

In her dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor criticized the court's decision to expand eminent domain to include such takings. She wrote that, "under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded." Such a broad interpretation, she argued, could include just about anything.

The Supreme Court has given local governments the green light to confiscate private property for profit. Private homes and small businesses can now be bulldozed and replaced by upscale retail and housing developments, office buildings, hotels, casinos and other redevelopment projects that are owned, not by the public, but by private individuals and corporations. Such abuse of power cannot be what the founding father's had in mind when they drafted the constitution.

[Editor's Note: It is important to point out that the Bible clearly establishes the importance of private property. In fact, God instituted the concept of private property in the Ten Commandments. Are we not told "thou shalt not steal"? Also, in several of Jesus' parables he indicated his respect for personal property and private gain. Likewise, there is nothing in the epistles that contradicts the right of private ownership and profit.]

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UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE - (Print)

With talk of a recession hanging in the air it seems the Federal Reserve may once again cut interest rates. While this news caused stock prices to rebound, it most likely went unnoticed by most Americans. The reality is that few people outside the world of finance take a keen interest in such matters. If TV ratings are any indication, the American public in general is more interested in hearing about Britney Spears' custody battle than the news that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke cut the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

The actions of the Federal Reserve have a significant effect on our daily lives. However it remains something of a mystery to most Americans. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve is perhaps the most powerful non-elected official in the world, whose decisions affect every aspect of our economy, from interest rates to the cost of groceries. So what is the Federal Reserve and how did it come into existence? The answer might surprise you.

The Meeting on Jekyll Island

In November of 1910, after having consulted with Rothschild banks in England, France, and Germany, Senator Nelson Aldrich boarded a private train in Hoboken, New Jersey. His destination was Jekyll Island, Georgia, and a private hunting club owned by J.P. Morgan.

Aboard the train were six other men: Benjamin Strong, President of Morgan's Bankers Trust Company; Charles Norton, President of Morgan's First National Bank of New York; Henry Davidson, senior partner of J. P. Morgan; Frank Vanderlip, President of Kuhn Loeb's National City Bank of New York; A. Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of Treasury; and Paul Warburg. The secret meeting, as described by one its architects, Frank Vanderlip, went as follows:

"There was an occasion near the close of 1910 when I was as secretive, indeed as furtive, as any conspirator. I do not feel it is any exaggeration to speak of our secret expedition to Jekyll Island as the occasion of the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System.

We were told to leave our last names behind us. We were told further that we should avoid dining together on the night of our departure. We were instructed to come one at a time...where Senator Aldrich's private car would be in readiness, attached to the rear end of the train for the South.

Once aboard the private car, we began to observe the taboo that had been fixed on last names. Discovery, we knew, simply must not happen, or else all our time and effort would be wasted..."

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THE BOOK OF REVELATION - (Print)

The Book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises a special blessing to the reader. (Many verses in the Bible encourage reading God's Word in general, but only one book has the "audacity" to claim, in effect, "Read me, I'm special.") What is surprising is that, even for many avid Bible readers, this book is overlooked or neglected. One would expect just the opposite.

There are many reasons why this book invariably results in a special blessing to the diligent inquirer. Perhaps the most basic blessing accrues from the fact that in order to understand the back ground of the many idioms and allusions, one will have to trace back into virtually every book of the Bible. The Book of Revelation consists of 404 verses which contain over 800 allusions to the Old Testament alone! One reason the book appears so strange to the uninitiated is that most of us haven't developed enough familiarity with the Old Testament.

The Book of Revelation is the only book I know which also has a divinely inspired outline included! Jesus Himself has provided the key to the structure of the book: He told John to write:

1. the things which thou hast seen, and
2. the things which are, and
3. the things which shall be hereafter.

The "things which thou hast seen" refers to the vision of our risen Lord just experienced previously in Chapter 1. The "things which are" refers to the seven churches which were existing at that time in Chapters 2 and 3. Interestingly, the Lord's letters to the churches in these two chapters are the most relevant part of the book for you and me today. The "things which shall be hereafter (meta tauta)" refers to the remainder of the book.

It is interesting to notice the parallels in design between the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation. Joshua's name is in Hebrew; in Greek it could be rendered "Jesus." Joshua's mission is to dispossess the usurpers from the Land on behalf of God's people; in Revelation, Jesus' mission is to dispossess the Planet Earth of the usurpers. Joshua initially sends ahead two witnesses. (We call them spies, but all they accomplished was getting a Gentile woman saved.) The two witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11 are a prominent element. Also we observe that in the initial attack on the Amorite capital of Jericho in the book of Joshua every rule of the Torah was violated: the Levites were exempt from military duties, yet they lead the procession. They were to do no work on Sabbath Day, yet here they march around Jericho once a day for six days, and then seven times on the seventh day! They are to keep silent until the final trumpet blast, etc. It is interesting that the Seven Trumpets in Revelation are introduced after a strange silence. It seems that in Revelation we have the final "Joshua," dispossessing the Planet Earth of its usurpers on behalf of God's people in a manner that is remarkably parallel.

One of the keys to understanding the book is also to take it seriously, not to get distracted with fanciful allegories or speculations but to read it with care and diligence as part of the whole Word of God. The Bible consists of 66 books, penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, and yet we now discover that it is an integrated message: every detail, every word, every number, every place name is there by supernatural engineering. And no study makes this clearer than the study of the Book of Revelation.

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Bush Embarks on Middle East Visit - January 09, 2008
US President George W Bush is due in Jerusalem on a landmark visit to the region to help kick-start peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. It is the President's first visit to Israel and the West Bank since taking office. BBC

Marriage Amendments May Be on Ballot in Four States - January 09, 2008
Constitutional amendments protecting traditional marriage as the union of one man, and one woman may soon be poised to go on the ballot in at least four states in this year's election. Voters in Florida, California, Indiana, and Arizona may have the chance to vote on marriage amendments for their state constitutions. LifeSite

Cyprus and Malta Adopt the Euro - January 09, 2008
Two Mediterranean island states, Cyprus and Malta, have begun using the euro. The euro is already used by 13 other nations in the EU. The euro was first introduced in 1999. BBC

Russia Sells S-300 Anti-Aircraft Missile Defense System to Iran - January 09, 2008
Iran announced Wednesday that Russia will provide Iran with the sophisticated and powerful S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system, vastly improving the Islamic Republic's ability to protect its nuclear development facilities. INN

US Releases Iran Stand-Off Video - January 08, 2008
The US military has released video and audio recordings of Iranian boats that it says threatened to blow up US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. BBC

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Psalms 51:6 KJV

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

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