NETANYAHU SAYS VICTORY OVER HAMAS WILL BE THE FULFILLMENT OF ISAIAH 60 (Friday Church News Notes, November 3, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Speaking to his nation on Oct. 25, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to lead Israel to a “crushing victory” over Hamas and to “realize the prophecy of Isaiah.” (Netanyahu Vows,” Christian Headlines, Oct. 27, 2023). He quoted Isaiah 60:18, which in the King James Bible says, “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” It is obvious that this prophecy does not describe Israel today. Consider the words of the prophecy, beginning in verse 1. It describes a time when the glory of the Lord rises upon Israel (Isa. 60:1-2), when God’s house will be rebuilt and glorified and sacrifices offered on the altar (Isa. 60:7, 13), when all nations will serve Israel (Isa. 60:12), when Israel’s officers will be righteous (Isa. 60:17), when violence shall no more be heard in the land (Isa. 60:18), when Israel’s gates will be called Praise (Isa. 60:18), when the glory of the Lord will be Israel’s light (Isa. 60:19), when the days of Israel’s mourning shall be ended (Isa. 60:20), and when Israel’s people will be righteous (Isa. 60:21). This most definitely is not Israel today! Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army cannot bring this prophecy to pass. The marvelous prophecy of Isaiah 60 will be fulfilled when Israel is converted by repenting of piercing her Messiah as described in Zechariah 12 and Christ returns to establish His millennial kingdom as described in Zechariah 14.

THE POPE CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR (Friday Church News Notes, November 3, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Pope Francis is calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas. He said, “Let no one abandon the possibility that the weapons might be silenced--let there be a ceasefire” (“Pope Francis Calls for a Ceasefire,” National Catholic Reporter, Oct. 30, 2023). A ceasefire would only help those who are devoted to Israel’s destruction. For her own security, Israel must pursue the war until Hamas no longer controls Gaza. Israel has tried to live in peace with its vicious neighbor and did not start the war. Unlike its enemy, Israel tries to avoid civilian casualties. Her soldiers operate under law. They are not instructed to rape young women, chop up grandmothers, and behead babies. By Bible prophecy, in God’s grace, we understand the times. Israel is back in the land in an apostate condition to prepare for the final seven years of Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy (Daniel 9:27). Israel is back to welcome the Antichrist. She is unwittingly setting the stage for the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:5-11), during which she will be converted and be right with her God for the first time in more than 2,500 years. Only then will Israel have peace. For now, Israel must survive. She must defeat her enemies. She has every right to do this. It is not the business of popes or presidents or prime ministers of other nations to tell Israel how to fight this war or when to end it.

POPE ENCOURAGES HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS (Friday Church News Notes, November 3, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Pope Francis meets leaders of LGBTQ,” National Catholic Reporter, Oct. 25, 2023: “Pope Francis greeted the leaders of an international association for LGBTQ Catholics at the end of his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 25. The pontiff spoke with the co-chairs of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, a coalition that draws together LGBTQ Catholic organizations from across six continents. Among U.S.-based members are DignityUSA, New Ways Ministry and Fortunate Families. In an interview with National Catholic Reporter shortly after the encounter, co-chair Marianne Duddy-Burke ... called the meeting ‘a big day for LGBTQ Catholics.’ ‘I was in tears,’ she said. ‘We have great hope for what he is trying to do to make the church more inclusive.’ ... Francis has focused on LGBTQ Catholics in an uncommon way over the past few weeks. On Oct. 17, the pope held an historic, 50-minute meeting with Loretto Sr. Jeannine Gramick, a lifelong advocate for LGBTQ ministry who had previously been reprimanded by the Vatican and several U.S. bishops for her work. Francis also met on Sept. 29 with Jesuit Fr. James Martin, editor of the LGBTQ Catholic publication Outreach, and indicated in a letter released on Oct. 2 that he is open to allowing Catholic blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. The pope also recently wrote a note to the executive director of Fortunate Families, a Lexington, Kentucky-based Catholic ministry for the LGBTQ community that is part of the Rainbow Catholics coalition. ‘Thank you for your ministry,’ Francis told Stan ‘JR’ Zerkowski.”

EUTHANASIA IN CANADA MAKES UP 4% OF ALL DEATHS (Friday Church News Notes, November 3, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Canadian government reports,” Fox News, Oct. 26, 2023: “The government of Canada published its fourth annual report on ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ (MAID) this month, a document revealing that the number of MAID deaths--commonly referred to as euthanasia or assisted suicide--in the country last year was 13,241 accounting for 4.1% of all deaths in Canada. It noted that this represented a ‘growth rate of 31.2%’ for the procedure compared to the previous year. The report added the total number of euthanasia deaths in Canada since MAID was legalized in 2016 amounts to 44,958 deaths. ... This month, Conservative MP Ed Fast told The Toronto Star he worried that the procedures--now that it could potentially be implemented on those suffering mental illness--could contribute to a ‘culture of death’ in the country.” At least 463 of the people who died by assisted suicide in 2022 “were individuals whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable.”

EUTHANASIA’S SLIPPERY SLOPE IN THE NETHERLANDS (Friday Church News Notes, November 10, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “The Netherlands is euthanizing children,” The Bridgehead, Apr. 11, 2023: “[In] the Netherlands, which on April 1, 2002, became the first Western country to legalize euthanasia since Nazi Germany, euthanasia deaths continue to rise. According to Dutch News: ‘Euthanasia killings rose by nearly 14.1 percent in 2022, totaling 8,720 deaths. That’s 5.1 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands. Since about half of deaths come from things such as accidents or sudden heart attacks, that means around 10 percent of deaths in which a patient was under medical care were from lethal jabs. The same percentage of USA deaths would be about 170,000 annually. (The USA totals about 3,400,000 deaths per year.) 115 mentally ill people were euthanized in the Netherlands (sometimes conjoined with consensual organ harvesting). 379 elderly couples received joint euthanasia. ... 288 people with dementia were euthanized. In the Netherlands, killing can be ordered ahead of time by filling out an advance directive.’ The Netherlands and Canada are now on the cutting edge of medical killing, with the Dutch Ministry of Health recommending back in 2019 that the government legalize euthanasia for terminally ill children between the ages of one and 12, with a majority of 72 doctors polled for the report stating that it is morally acceptable to euthanize preteen children who are suffering without prospect of improvement (a deliberately vague framing) if their parents request it.”

FREE VIDEO ON CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP AS A BRIDGE TO DANGEROUS WATERS (Friday Church News Notes, November 10, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The video “CCM: A Bridge to Dangerous Waters” answers a commonly asked question, which is this: what harm is it to selectively use some contemporary worship music if the words are biblical and the music is not rock & roll? There are multiple aspects to the answer, but a chief thing is that contemporary worship music--any of it, all of it--is a bridge to very dangerous things. In the age of the internet, it is impossible to limit the influence. If you selectively use some of the Getty’s music, for example, you will build bridges to all of their music (including the out-and-out rock & roll) and to their friends and associates, including Roman Catholics. “CCM: A Bridge to Dangerous Waters” is a three-part video series. It identifies these “waters” as the Pentecostal/charismatic movement, the ecumenical movement, theological liberalism, New Evangelicalism, the emerging church, modern Bible versions, contemplative prayer, cultural liberalism, the encyclopedic view of the Bible, the New Reformed Calvinism, the Jesus People, theistic evolution, homosexual Christianity, the downgrade in hell, secular rock, Matt Maher the Roman Catholic apostle of unity, Hillsong, Rick Warren, The Shack, C.S. Lewis, and Chuck Swindoll’s heretical doctrine of grace. We show that these things are not “out there” somewhere; they are a very near danger to every church, and contemporary worship music is most definitely a bridge to these things. This is a clear biblical issue of separation. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
https://www.wayoflife.org/s3/satanic_attack/

THE LOVING CROCODILE (Friday Church News Notes, November 3, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, October 18, 2023: “You might not think of the crocodile as a particularly loving creature. In reality, the crocodile is among the most gentle and loving of parents. Mama crocodile lays between 40 and 80 eggs in a large nest. For the 90 days they take to hatch, she will keep close watch over them, even foregoing food so as not to leave the nest unattended. Even the father stays close to guard the eggs that are a delicacy to many animals. At the end of this three-month watch the babies begin to chirp from within their eggs. Before long there may be dozens of babies chirping from the nest of buried eggs. This brings the mother who carefully uncovers the eggs, one by one. The young are only nine inches long and weigh just four ounces. Yet the gentle and loving mother picks up each one and with a flip of her head places them in a special pouch in her mouth. When some of the young have trouble breaking out of their shell, mama picks up the eggs and delicately works the eggs inside her mouth with her tongue, freeing the imprisoned baby. Once collected, all the young are taken to a special protected nursery where they will be just as carefully tended for months. Most amazing is that, should the mother not be present to tend to the hatchling chores, the father offers the hatchlings the very same help and care! God loves even the crocodile! And his acceptance of you and me, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, is an even greater wonder than the loving crocodile!”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).