Police Encourage Citizens To Report People Who Drive Nice Cars

Those who can afford to buy expensive items and live a nice lifestyle are probably criminals, according to UK authorities

 

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet.com

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Police in the UK are encouraging citizens to report people who drive nice cars or buy expensive items to the authorities in a new campaign entitled, ‘Too Much Bling? Give Us a Ring’.

“The Gloucestershire force is encouraging members of the public to report people wearing too much ‘bling’ during the recession. They are also urging people to shop anyone who drives flash cars or buys expensive items without the apparent means to afford them during the credit crunch,” reports the Daily Mail.

Posters for the campaign indicate that the targets of the stasi-like crackdown are well-dressed people who own expensive cars, boats and smoke cigars. Apparently, police in the UK think that actually being middle class and able to afford a nice lifestyle is a sign of probable criminal behavior.

Gloucestershire’s Chief constable Dr Timothy Brain said, “In the current time of financial uncertainty, those who live a lavish lifestyle with no discernable, legitimate income become even more apparent.”

Former Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe responded, “Is this a joke? If the police spent half as much time tackling crime and getting out on the beat as they do coming out with this ridiculous stuff, we’d all be better off….How are you meant to judge if someone buying a piece of jewellery can afford it?”

As we have previously covered in-depth, UK police authorities routinely launch expensive PR campaigns encouraging citizens to report on each other for the most mundane activities.

Examples of suspicious behavior and potential terrorist activity worthy of being reported to police includes looking at CCTV cameras, owning a mobile phone, a van, a computer or a camera, living in an apartment, getting a refund on an item bought in a store, throwing away chemical and pharmaceutical products, or taking photographs.

Around 60,000 citizens are currently being trained by the domestic security service MI5 as “terrorist spotters” who case the streets looking out for such activities.

Prison Planet

You Tube Free Speech Purge Accelerates, Infowarrior Channel Banned

You Tube accelerated its aggressive purge against free speech today after the video networking website suspended the Infowarrior Channel, which was the replacement for the previously censored Alex Jones Channel.

When attempting to visit the Infowarrior Channel this morning, one is met with the message, “This account is suspended.”

Just as before, no credible reason has been provided for the suspension of channel. The original Alex Jones Channel was suspended because You Tube claimed that showing a computer print out of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette news article on camera constituted “copyright violation,” despite the fact that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette denied ever making a copyright complaint.

The real reason for the censorship is of course You Tube’s move towards becoming nothing more than a corporate shell for big studio production companies. The company is hemmoraging money because its current format is not a sustainable business model. However, despite doing what any normal company would do in such a situation and accepting advertising, You Tube has decided to just hand over the direction of its whole content to corporate interests.

According to communication we have had with You Tube employees, You Tube has abandoned any pretense of copyright claims and is now embarking on a blanket campaign to ban all Alex Jones videos from their website.

However, You Tube’s decision to ban both the Infowarrior and the Alex Jones Channel has seemingly backfired, with more Alex Jones videos appearing on You Tube than ever before.

A general video search by date of the term “alex jones” on the You Tube website shows that You Tube users have met our challenge to fight back against Internet censorship, not by admitting defeat and abandoning You Tube, but by bombarding the website with more Alex Jones video uploads than ever before.

Not only are there multiple times more Alex Jones videos being added to You Tube on an hourly basis, but they are being uploaded from numerous different user accounts, making it difficult for You Tube to target individual accounts for suspension.

At time of writing, the first two pages of Alex Jones related videos, when one searches by “recently added,” have been uploaded by no less than 14 different user accounts.

Screenshot shows different Alex Jones videos being uploaded by numerous different user accounts.

The London Daily News has now picked up on the story, reporting on its website, “Radio and internet journalist Alex Jones has been censored by the internet giant Youtube with the removal of the “Alex Jones Channel” from the site, causing revulsion across the United States and Europe, in what is increasingly being seen as another example of a “Big Brother” intervention in the democratic process.”

“Increasingly YouTube has been scorned for its move away from its foundation of “free speech video” to being seen as part of the establishment it tried to redefine when it was first established,” states the report.

In a related development, Google Video has now suspended all new content from being uploaded and is re-directing users to You Tube, where full videos longer than 10 minutes cannot be uploaded without a special “director” account.

“If current videos will remain online, and for how long is anyone’s guess. The move to suspend all new content from being uploaded adds another attempt to the growing list of methods used to remove viral content from the Internet that is damaging to the Establishment and the New World Order,” writes Mark Dice of the Resistance Manifesto.

We would normally encourage people to subscribe to the new official Alex Jones channel on You Tube, The Infowarrior, but since that has now also been banned we can only reiterate our challenge for You Tube users to continue to upload Alex Jones videos in large quantities in order to break down the electronic Berlin Wall that You Tube and other large video sharing websites are apparently trying to erect at the behest of their corporate masters.

You Tube’s disdain for free speech is rivaled only by their unsurpassed stupidity. Don’t they realize that the more Alex Jones channels they ban, the more resentment they will create amongst You Tube users? This will only lead to more Alex Jones related videos being posted on You Tube. In engaging in this wanton censorship, You Tube is only making a rod for its own back.

While allowing all kinds of x-rated trash to appear on a website that is frequented by millions of children, You Tube is waging a war on free speech and the alternative media by consistently banning our video channels under phony pretexts invented as a way to hide the real reason behind the purge - You Tube’s transformation from a much-loved and popular user-driven video website to a hollow shell that puts the interests of its corporate sponsors above those of the people who helped make it one of the biggest websites in the world today.

Perhaps You Tube should be renamed “Corporate Tube,” because the “You” is certainly being taken out of the equation altogether.

Democrats were routinely briefed on Bush ‘torture’ techniques, document shows

The CIA has released a devastating document detailing the dates and explicit details of secret Congressional briefings in which members of Congress were told of the Bush administration’s torture techniques and when they had been used.

The document is explicit (PDF here). Most damning, perhaps, is its description of a meeting held between CIA staff and then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss and now-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which shows that Pelosi was briefed on the Bush Administration’s torture techniques in 2002 — even though she’s publicly said she was never told about the use of waterboarding.

Equally striking, however, is the volume of the briefings that have been conducted on the CIA’s interrogation practices since 2002. The document runs ten pages, with up to four briefings a page.

Briefings given to Democrats are of particular significance because the party has been the most vocal about the Bush Administration’s torture practices. Apparently, however, they had known about the practices for years. At least 19 Democrats were briefed about the techniques in detail  by end of 2006.

Those briefed earliest on the so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” included Pelosi, Goss, Rep. Jane Harman, then-Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), Sen. John Rockefeller (D), Sen Patrick Roberts (R-KN) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).

On Sept. 6, 2006, the CIA briefed the full Senate Intelligence Committee, excluding Sen. Ron Wyden (D-WA), who did not attend. According to the document, “Significant details of EITs were provided in this briefing to include mentions of waterboarding, diet manipulation, nudity, walling, and stomach slap.” EIT is shorthand for “Enhanced Interrogation Technique.”

The Committee’s composition then included:

	Pat Roberts,KansasChairman		John D. Rockefeller IV, West VirginiaVice Chairman
	Orrin G. Hatch, Utah		Carl Levin, Michigan
	Mike DeWine, Ohio		Dianne Feinstein, California
	Christopher S. Bond, Missouri		Ron Wyden, Oregon
	Trent Lott, Mississippi		Evan Bayh, Indiana
	Olympia J. Snowe, Maine		Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland
	Chuck Hagel, Nebraska		Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin
	Saxby Chambliss, Georgia

The CIA director also briefed the House Intelligence Committee that day (all of whom attended except Mike Rogers [R-MI]). “The Director briefed on specific EITs, provided detailed descriptions and answered numerous questions on the specific techniques,” the report says.

Members of theHouse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,109th Congress
Democrats:	Republicans:
Jane Harman (Calif.) Alcee L. Hastings (Fla.) Silvestre Reyes (Texas) Leonard L. Boswell(Iowa) Bud Cramer (Ala.) Anna G. Eshoo (Calif.) Rush D. Holt (N.J.) Dutch Ruppersberger(Md.) John Tierney (Mass.)	Peter Hoekstra (Mich.),Chairman Ray LaHood (Ill.) Terry Everett (Ala.) Elton Gallegly (Calif.) Heather Wilson (N.M.) Jo Ann Davis (Va.) Mac Thornberry (Texas) John McHugh (N.Y.) Todd Tiahrt (Kan.) Mike Rogers (Mich.) Rick Renzi (Ariz.) Darrell Issa (Calif.)

Also briefed  were Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).

“The Director [of National Intelligence] ‘provided significant details, naming all EITs and providing a verbal description of most EITs,’ the report says. “There was also a specific description of waterboarding.”

It’s important to note that all of the briefings were held in secret, and that lawmakers could have faced criminal prosecution if they spoke out. However, at least two Democrats did lodge complaints: Sen. Rockefeller, expressed his disapproval of items he learned during the briefings in a personal, hand-written letter to Vice President Dick Cheney; while, as the Washington Post revealed in December of 2007that in 2003 Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) “filed a classified letter to the CIA…as an official protest about the interrogation program.”

“The report, submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee and other Capitol Hill officials Wednesday, appears to contradict Pelosi’s statement last month that she was never told about the use of waterboarding or other special interrogation tactics,” ABC’s Rick Klein writes. “Instead, she has said, she was told only that the Bush administration had legal opinions that would have supported the use of such techniques.”

On Sept. 4, 2002, US intelligence officials met with Pelosi, then-House intelligence committee chairman Porter Goss (who later became CIA director) and two aides. Pelosi was, at the time, the ranking member on the intelligence committee.

“The meeting is described as a “Briefing on EITs including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities, and a description of particular EITs that had been employed.”

Last month, Pelosi denied having been told of the techniques or waterboarding.

“In that or any other briefing,” she said, “we were not, and I repeat, were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation techniques were used,” Pelosi said at a news conference in April. “What they did tell us is that they had some legislative counsel . . . opinions that they could be used, but not that they would.”

Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said Pelosi didn’t remember the meeting as it was described in the report.w

“The briefers described these techniques, said they were legal, but said that waterboarding had not yet been used,” Daly told ABC. He said “the report backs up Pelosi’s contention that she was briefed only once on “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

“As this document shows, the speaker was briefed only once, in September 2002,” Daly said.

Raw Story

Police Investigate Man With Civil Liberties Sticker As Possible “Extremist”

Louisiana police pulled over and detained a man for half an hour, believing him to be a possible “extremist” because of a bumper sticker on his car that read “Don’t Tread On Me”.

The man, who’s identity is undisclosed for privacy reasons, was reportedly subjected to a thorough background check after he purchased the iconic sticker fromThe Patriot Depot.

The details were related to Conservative website americanvision.org by the man’s sister-in-law Rosemarie, a resident of Ball, Louisiana.

The deplorable irony of this incident is almost too much to stomach given the origins of the image seen above.

The coiled rattlesnake and the defiant “Don’t Tread on Me” motto are taken from the Gadsden flag, named after American patriot Colonel Christopher Gadsden. The flag dates from around 1775 and was used by The United States Marine Corps as an early motto flag.

The rattlesnake was used to signify the fact that it only strikes after giving warning and if it feels under threat of attack.

The image of the rattlesnake even pre-dates the flag, and was regularly used as a symbol for the American colonies after Benjamin Franklin sketched a picture of a dismembered snake tosymbolize the need for unity in defending the colonies during the French and Indian War.

Today the flag has been embraced by civil liberties movements, and is even still used by the US Navy.

The image is supposed to represent a symbol of shared American values, in particular the highest common value of freedom.

Of course, none of this matters to police forces that are specifically trained to look for bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitution, Libertarianism and freedom, and treat those who display them as possible “extremists”.

The Department of Homeland Security’s definition of an “extremist” is now someone who isconcerned about the erosion of U.S. sovereignty or someone who questions the mainstream media.

It is now to be expected that you will be pulled over by police if you display Ron Paul bumper stickers, you may even be visited by the secret service for exercising your first amendment right.

Prison Planet

Police Terror Stops Occur Every Three Minutes In London

London Police stop and search a member of the public every three minutes under anti-terrorism laws, new figures have revealed.

Potential terrorists clearly lurk around every corner as statistics released to the BBC show that the Metropolitan Police used section 44 of the Terrorism Act more than 170,000 times in 2008 to stop people in the capital.

The figures represent a more than 140% increase on 2007 numbers.

Of all the stops last year, only 65 led to arrests for terror offences, a success rate of just 0.035%, the article notes.

Furthermore, when you take into account how many of those arrests have translated into convictions, according to the Home Office, you come up with a round figure of 0.0%.

“The new Metropolitan Police commissioner should look at London again from the viewpoint of section 44,” commented Lord Carlile, the Government’s independent reviewer of terrorism laws.

“It catches no or almost no terrorism material, it has never caught a terrorist and therefore it should be used conservatively.”

The new figures follow on from recent revelations that the use of the ’stop and search’ power has increased exponentially by over ten times in less than ten years.

In addition, Ministry of Justice statistics, published last summer, revealed that from 2006-2007 police used their anti-terror powers to stop (but not search) nearly two million members of the public and demand they account for their behavior or actions, a figure that translates to around 3.5% of the entire British population.

Stop and search powers, which were initially conceived only to be used in emergency situations, have proved controversial since their introduction in section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The government has consistently backed the powers as an important tool in the fight against terrorism.

Since then, the powers, while not leading directly to the prevention of any terrorism, have been most notably used against: Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton for protesting outside Europe’s biggest arms fair in London; the 82-year-old Walter Wolfgang for heckling Jack Straw at the Labour Conference; Sally Cameron for walking on a cycle-path in Dundee; the 80-year-old John Catt for being caught on CCTV passing a demonstration in Brighton; the 11-year-old Isabelle Ellis-Cockcroft for accompanying her parents to an anti-nuclear protest; and a cricketer on his way to a match over his possession of a bat.

More recently, Scotland Yard admitted that its officers have been photographing children who are stopped and searched, even after they have been found to be innocent, and keeping the pictures on a database for “intelligence-gathering purposes”.

In the past we have reported on instances where police have admitted stop and search records are permanently retained.

The Home Office guide to stop and search states that “if they don’t find anything, your details will berecorded for monitoring purposes, and you’ll be allowed to go.”

The government has continued topush for greater stop and search powers for police.

Section 44 of the Terrorism Act bestows exceptional powers on the police to stop and search at random, once a particular geographical area has been designated by a chief officer as one that might be targeted by terrorists and authorised as such by the Home Secretary. The government has since extended this power to stop and search WITHOUT REASONABLE SUSPICION to include “troubled areas”.

As of February 17 2009, Section 76 of the Counter Terrorism Act also prohibits photographing police and permits the arrest of anyone found “eliciting, publishing or communicating information” relating to members of the armed forces, intelligence services and police officers, which is “likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”.

Essentially, under anti-terror laws, anyone caught photographing police could face a fine or a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

As we have recently reported, this section of the act is being used primarily to target journalists covering protests, who say they are being targeted by police surveillance officers more so than the actual protesters. The law has also been used against tourists snapping pictures of landmarks and members of the public documenting police misconduct.

A recent report by the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights confirmed that journalists and protesters were the primary targets of increased police misuse of anti-terror laws.

Anti-terror laws are intended for use on the general public, they always have been, and now we are seeing the rotten fruits of continued blind acceptance contaminate every section of society in this country.

Our government is paralytic with power. It continues unabated in its attempts to force vastly unpopular mass biometric ID databases down our throats, and has no qualms announcing the fact that it wants the authority to monitor all our phone calls, text messages and emails, all in the name of “fighting terrorism”.

Meanwhile, the primary concern of swathes of the voting public in this country remains whether or not Simon Cowell will still come on their television every Saturday night and demoralize a deluded housewife for their entertainment pleasure.

Britain has become a literal realisation of George Orwell’s Airstrip One. Of course, if you don’t like that or disagree with any of our government’s laws you will either be deported, or if you hold a different nationality, you may simply be banned from entering the country as well as publicly shamed.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a positive note to end on, however, I do believe that more and more people are waking up to the control grid that has been constructed around them in this country. The question is will enough people wake up quickly enough to put a stop to this onslaught on our liberties before they are completely wiped out?

Prison Planet

050909: Steps to Life: The Impending Judgment

Memory Texts:

"Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you." Jeremiah 26:13.

"God does not send judgments upon His people without first warning them to repent. He uses every means to bring them back to obedience and does not visit their iniquity with judgments until He has given them ample opportunity to repent." Testimonies, vol. 4, 179.

Introductory Readings

"God stands toward His people in the relation of a father, and He has a father's claim to our faithful service. Consider the life of Christ. Standing at the head of humanity, serving His Father, He is an example of what every son should and may be. The obedience that Christ rendered God requires from human beings today. He served His Father with love, in willingness and freedom. 'I delight to do Thy will, O My God,' He declared; 'yea, Thy law is within My heart.' Psalm 40:8. Christ counted no sacrifice too great, no toil too hard, in order to accomplish the work which He came to do. At the age of twelve He said, 'Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?' Luke 2:49. He had heard the call, and had taken up the work. 'My meat,' He said, 'is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.' John 4:34.

"Thus we are to serve God. He only serves who acts up to the highest standard of obedience. All who would be sons and daughters of God must prove themselves co-workers with God and Christ and the heavenly angels. This is the test for every soul. Of those who faithfully serve Him the Lord says, 'They shall be Mine, … in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.' Malachi. 3:17.

"God's great object in the working out of His providences is to try men, to give them opportunity to develop character. Thus He proves whether they are obedient or disobedient to His commands. Good works do not purchase the love of God, but they reveal that we possess that love. If we surrender the will to God, we shall not work in order to earn God's love. His love as a free gift will be received into the soul, and from love to Him we shall delight to obey His commandments.

"There are only two classes in the world today, and only two classes will be recognized in the judgment—those who violate God's law and those who obey it. Christ gives the test by which to prove our loyalty or disloyalty. 'If ye love Me,' He says, 'keep My commandments. … He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. … He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings; and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me.' 'If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.' John 14:15-24; 15:10." Christ's Object Lessons, 282, 283.

This week's readings is from:

Our High Calling, 349; The Review and Herald, March 22, 1887.

First from: Our High Calling:

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Rev. 3:17. {OHC 349.1}

How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the Word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives. The fervor of the love of God is wanting in their hearts. {OHC 349.2}

Many are Laodiceans, living in a spiritual self-deception. They clothe themselves in the garments of their own righteousness, imagining themselves to be rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, when they need daily to learn of Jesus, His meekness and lowliness. {OHC 349.3}

What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness, of those who feel rich and increased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ's righteousness. . . . They may be crying, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we," while their hearts are filled with unholy traffic and unrighteous barter. The courts of the soul temple may be the haunt of envy, pride, passion, evil surmising, bitterness, and hollow formalism. Christ looks mournfully upon His professed people who feel rich and increased in the knowledge of the truth, and who are yet destitute of the truth in life and character. {OHC 349.4}

Jesus says, "I, your Redeemer, know your works. I am familiar with the motives that prompt you to declare boastingly in regard to your spiritual condition, 'I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.' Thou 'knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.'" . . . What a position to be in! They stand in their own light. {OHC 349.5}

But notwithstanding their willful ignorance, they are not left by the Lord without added warning and counsel. {OHC 349.6}

Now From The Review and Herald:

A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow his blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. Our Heavenly Father is more willing to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. But it is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer, to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us his blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer. While the people are so destitute of God's Holy Spirit, they cannot appreciate the preaching of the word; but when the Spirit's power touches their hearts, then the discourses given will not be without effect. Guided by the teachings of God's word, with the manifestation of his Spirit, in the exercise of sound discretion, those who attend our meetings will gain a precious experience, and returning home will be prepared to exert a healthful influence. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 1}

The old standard-bearers knew what it was to wrestle with God in prayer, and to enjoy the out-pouring of his Spirit. But these are passing off from the stage of action; and who are coming up to fill their places? How is it with the rising generation? are they converted to God? Are we awake to the work that is going on in the heavenly Sanctuary, or are we waiting for some compelling power to come upon the church before we shall arouse? Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will never come. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 2}

There are persons in the church who are not converted, and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter upon the work individually. We must pray more, and talk less. Iniquity abounds, and the people must be taught not to be satisfied with a form of godliness without the spirit and power. If we are intent upon searching our own hearts, putting away our sins, and correcting our evil tendencies, our souls will not be lifted up unto vanity; we shall be distrustful of ourselves, having an abiding sense that our sufficiency is of God. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 3}

We have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world. Unbelievers have a right to expect that those who profess to be keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will do more than any other class to promote and honor, by their consistent lives, by their godly example and their active influence, the cause which they represent. But how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greatest obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan's devices. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 4}

The adversary of souls is not permitted to read the thoughts of men; but he is a keen observer, and he marks the words; he takes account of actions, and skillfully adapts his temptations to meet the cases of those who place themselves in his power. If we would labor to repress sinful thoughts and feelings, giving them no expression in words or actions, Satan would be defeated; for he could not prepare his specious temptations to meet the case. But how often do professed Christians, by their lack of self-control, open the door to the adversary of souls! Divisions, and even bitter dissensions which would disgrace any worldly community, are common in the churches, because there is so little effort to control wrong feelings, and to repress every word that Satan can take advantage of. As soon as an alienation of feeling arises, the matter is spread before Satan for his inspection, and the opportunity given for him to use his serpent-like wisdom and skill in dividing and destroying the church. There is great loss in every dissension. Personal friends of both parties take sides with their respective favorites, and thus the breach is widened. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Criminations and recriminations are engendered and multiplied. Satan and his angels are actively at work to secure a harvest from seed thus sown. Worldlings look on, and jeeringly exclaim, "Behold how these Christians hate one another! If this is religion, we do not want it." And they look upon themselves and their irreligious characters with great satisfaction. Thus they are confirmed in their impenitence, and Satan exults at his success. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 5}

The great deceiver has prepared his wiles for every soul that is not braced for trial and guarded by constant prayer and living faith. As ministers, as Christians, we must work to take the stumbling-blocks out of the way. We must remove every obstacle. Let us confess and forsake every sin, that the way of the Lord may be prepared, that he may come into our assemblies and impart his rich grace. The world, the flesh, and the Devil must be overcome. We cannot prepare the way by gaining the friendship of the world, which is enmity with God; but by his help we can break its seductive influence upon ourselves and upon others. We cannot individually or as a body secure ourselves from the constant temptations of a relentless and determined foe; but in the strength of Jesus we can resist them. From every member of the church a steady light may shine forth before the world, so that they shall not be led to inquire, What do these people more than others? There can be and must be a withdrawal from conformity to the world, a shunning of all appearance of evil, so that no occasion shall be given for gainsayers. We cannot escape reproach; it will come; but we should be very careful that we are not reproached for our own sins or follies, but for Christ's sake. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 6}

There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out his Spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation. If Satan had his way, there would never be another awakening, great or small, to the end of time. But we are not ignorant of his devices. It is possible to resist his power. When the way is prepared for the Spirit of God, the blessing will come. Satan can no more hinder a shower of blessing from descending upon God's people than he can close the windows of heaven that rain cannot come upon the earth. Wicked men and devils cannot hinder the work of God, or shut out his presence from the assemblies of his people, if they will, with subdued, contrite hearts, confess and put away their sins, and in faith claim his promises. Every temptation, every opposing influence, whether open or secret, may be successfully resisted, "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 7}

We are in the great day of atonement, when our sins are, by confession and repentance, to go beforehand to Judgment. God does not now accept a tame, spiritless testimony from his ministers. Such a testimony would not be present truth. The message for this time must be meat in due season to feed the church of God. But Satan has been seeking gradually to rob this message of its power, that the people may not be prepared to stand in the day of the Lord. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 8}

In 1844 our great High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly Sanctuary, to begin the work of the investigative Judgment. The cases of the righteous dead have been passing in review before God. When that work shall be completed, judgment is to be pronounced upon the living. How precious, how important are these solemn moments! Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven. We are individually to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. In the typical service, when the work of atonement was performed by the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, the people were required to afflict their souls before God, and confess their sins, that they might be atoned for and blotted out. Will any less be required of us in this antitypical day of atonement, when Christ in the Sanctuary above is pleading in behalf of his people, and the final, irrevocable decision is to be pronounced upon every case? {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 9}

What is our condition in this fearful and solemn time? Alas, what pride is prevailing in the church, what hypocrisy, what deception, what love of dress, frivolity, and amusement, what desire for the supremacy! All these sins have clouded the mind, so that eternal things have not been discerned. Shall we not search the Scripture, that we may know where we are in this world's history? Shall we not become intelligent in regard to the work that is being accomplished for us at this time, and the position that we as sinners should occupy while this work of atonement is going forward? If we have any regard for our souls' salvation, we must make a decided change. We must seek the Lord with true penitence; we must with deep contrition of soul confess our sins, that they may be blotted out. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 10}

We must no longer remain upon the enchanted ground. We are fast approaching the close of our probation. Let every soul inquire, How do I stand before God? We know not how soon our names may be taken into the lips of Christ, and our cases be finally decided. What, oh, what will these decisions be! Shall we be counted with the righteous, or shall we be numbered with the wicked? {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 11}

Let the church arise, and repent of her back-slidings before God. Let the watchmen awake, and give the trumpet a certain sound. It is a definite warning that we have to proclaim. God commands his servants, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." The attention of the people must be gained; unless this can be done, all effort is useless; though an angel from heaven should come down and speak to them, his words would do no more good than if he were speaking into the cold ear of death. The church must arouse to action. The Spirit of God can never come in until she prepares the way. There should be earnest searching of heart. There should be united, persevering prayer, and through faith a claiming of the promises of God. There should be, not a clothing of the body with sackcloth, as in ancient times, but a deep humiliation of soul. We have not the first reason for self-congratulation and self exaltation. We should humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. He will appear to comfort and bless the true seekers. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 12}

The work is before us; will we engage in it? We must work fast, we must go steadily forward. We must be preparing for the great day of the Lord. We have no time to lose, no time to be engaged in selfish purposes. The world is to be warned. What are we doing as individuals to bring the light before others? God has left to every man his work; every one has a part to act, and we cannot neglect this work except at the peril of our souls. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 13}

O my brethren, will you grieve the Holy Spirit, and cause it to depart? Will you shut out the blessed Saviour, because you are unprepared for his presence? Will you leave souls to perish without the knowledge of the truth, because you love your ease too well to bear the burden that Jesus bore for you? Let us awake out of sleep. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 14}

Bible Study Questions

What calamity was predicted to come upon Judah? Jeremiah 4:5-8. What nation was identified as being the lion of verse 7? Jeremiah 50:43, 44.

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. (Jeremiah 4:5-8 KJV)

The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? (Jeremiah 50:43-44 KJV)

Note: "All unexpectedly a new world power, the Babylonian Empire, was rising to the eastward and swiftly overshadowing all other nations.

"Within a few short years the king of Babylon was to be used as the instrument of God's wrath upon impenitent Judah. Again and again Jerusalem was to be invested and entered by the besieging armies of Nebuchadnezzar." Prophets and Kings, 422.

What prophecy, applicable to the time of the end, was given to Isaiah, Joel, and Jeremiah? Isaiah 24:1-8; Joel 1:15-18; Jeremiah 4:19, 20, 23-27.

Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. (Isaiah 24:1-8 KJV)

Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. (Joel 1:15-18 KJV)

My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. (Jeremiah 4:19-20 KJV)

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. (Jeremiah 4:23-27 KJV)

Note: "That the expression 'bottomless pit' represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth 'in the beginning,' the Bible record says that it 'was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.' … Genesis 1:2. Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially at least, to this condition." The Great Controversy, 658, 659.

"In visions of the great judgment day the inspired messengers of Jehovah were given glimpses of the consternation of those unprepared to meet their Lord in peace. …

" 'I am pained at my very heart,' Jeremiah exclaims as he beholds the desolations wrought during the closing scenes of earth's history." Prophets and Kings, 726, 727.

What promise is given to the faithful people of God living in the time of universal calamity? Jeremiah 30:5-7; Isaiah 26:20, 21.

For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:5-7 KJV)

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. (Isaiah 26:20-21 KJV)

Note: "The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob's trouble. …

"Jacob's night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau (Genesis 32:24-30), represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble." The Great Controversy, 616.

What must we do to be among those who will be saved from destruction? Isaiah 55:6, 7.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7 KJV)

Note: "Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. … Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. He had kept His Father's commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.

"It is in this life that we are to separate sin from us, through faith in the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Saviour invites us to join ourselves to Him, to unite our weakness to His strength, our ignorance to His wisdom, our unworthiness to His merits. God's providence is the school in which we are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us, not the way we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies which Heaven employs in the work of conforming our characters to the divine model. None can neglect or defer this work but at the most fearful peril to their souls." The Great Controversy, 623.

Why were the appeals of God through Jeremiah unable to save the people of Judah? Jeremiah 5:3, 23; 6:16, 17.

O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. (Jeremiah 5:3 KJV)

But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. (Jeremiah 5:23 KJV)

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. (Jeremiah 6:16-17 KJV)

Note: "Israel's experience from the days of the Exodus was briefly reviewed. God's covenant with them had been, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.' Shamelessly and repeatedly had this covenant been broken. The chosen nation had 'walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.' Jeremiah 7:23, 24.

"'Why,' the Lord inquired, 'is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding?' Jeremiah 8:5. In the language of the prophet it was because they had obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God and had refused to be corrected." Prophets and Kings, 414.

Summarize the description of the predicted doom and its cause. Jeremiah 6:10-13; 15:1-4.

To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. (Jeremiah 6:10-13 KJV)

Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 15:1-4 KJV)

Note: "The time had come for deep heart searching. While Josiah had been their ruler, the people had had some ground for hope. But no longer could he intercede in their behalf, for he had fallen in battle. The sins of the nation were such that the time for intercession had all but passed by." Prophets and Kings, 415.

What appeal did the Lord direct the prophet to make to the people? Jeremiah 3:22. What should this appeal cause us to consider in our day?

Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. (Jeremiah 3:22 KJV)

Note: "By the great mass of the people the call to repentance and reformation was unheeded. Since the death of good King Josiah, those who ruled the nation had been proving untrue to their trust and had been leading many astray. Jehoahaz, deposed by the interference of the king of Egypt, had been followed by Jehoiakim, an older son of Josiah. From the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, Jeremiah had little hope of saving his beloved land from destruction and the people from captivity. Yet he was not permitted to remain silent while utter ruin threatened the kingdom." Prophets and Kings, 412.

"The Lord has often spoken to His people in warning and reproof. He has revealed Himself in mercy, love, and kindness. He has not left His backsliding people to the will of the enemy, but has borne long with them, even during obdurate apostasy. But after appeals have been made in vain, He prepares the rod for punishment." "Ellen G. White Comments," The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1132.

How did God make it clear that even His patience has its limits? Jeremiah 9:25; 11:14.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; (Jeremiah 9:25 KJV)

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. (Jeremiah 11:14 KJV)

Note: "Jesus is about to leave the mercy seat of the heavenly sanctuary to put on garments of vengeance and pour out His wrath in judgments upon those who have not responded to the light God has given them. 'Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.' Instead of being softened by the patience and long forbearance that the Lord has exercised toward them, those who fear not God and love not the truth strengthen their hearts in their evil course. But there are limits even to the forbearance of God, and many are exceeding these boundaries. They have overrun the limits of grace, and therefore God must interfere and vindicate His own honor." Testimonies, vol. 5, 207, 208.

What very important work must men in responsible positions perform when wrongs exist among God's people? Titus 2:15; Matthew 18:15-17.

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. (Titus 2:15 KJV)

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. (Matthew 18:15-17 KJV)

Note: "We are certainly living in the closing days of this earth's history. We need to devote much time to our spiritual interests, if we would experience the spiritual growth that is essential in this age. We are to make decided reforms. The Voice said: The watchmen need to awake, and give the trumpet a certain sound. The morning cometh; and also the night. Wake up, My watchmen. Voices that should now be heard presenting the truth are silent. Souls are perishing in their sins, and ministers and physicians and teachers are asleep. Wake up the watchmen!" Pacific Union Recorder, February 20, 1908.

How should we respond when admonished by God's servants? Hebrews 12:13; 13:17.

And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. (Hebrews 12:13 KJV)

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17 KJV)

Note: "Let none who claim to be the depositaries of God's law flatter themselves that the regard they may outwardly show toward the commandments will preserve them from the exercise of divine justice. Let none refuse to be reproved for evil, nor charge the servants of God with being too zealous in endeavoring to cleanse the camp from evil-doing. A sin-hating God calls upon those who claim to keep His law to depart from all iniquity. A neglect to repent and to render willing obedience will bring upon men and women today as serious consequences as came upon ancient Israel. There is a limit beyond which the judgments of Jehovah can no longer be delayed. The desolation of Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah is a solemn warning to modern Israel, that the counsels and admonitions given them through chosen instrumentalities cannot be disregarded with impunity." Prophets and Kings, 416, 417.