Reality of Halloween. What ARE You Celebrating?

Reality of Halloween. What ARE you Celebrating?

1 Peter 2:11-12 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Your eternal home and allegiance is to God, not to man. While we spend this time on earth we are to honor our Lord, lead others to Him, and prepare for the day when we will finally stand with Him in Heaven. A popular item among Christians today is a little bracelet that had WWJD on it. Well, what would Jesus do? Would He dress up as a goblin or a ghost and go door to door yelling “Trick or Treat”? Would He, as an Orthodox Jew, smile at references of Witches and Familiars? Do you remember Jesus, even once, worshipping the dead? How is the Gospel promoted by the House of Horror? You may not like these questions, but as a Christian you should certainly ask them of yourself, and answer them honestly.  

Romans 13:12-14 “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

There is a spiritual conflict going on all around us, Christians! We should be spreading the Gospel message, encouraging one another in spiritual growth, and not following after the world.The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Remember, too, as Strangers in this world there are many deceivers out there who do not have your welfare in mind. There are many out there that say, “It’s fine, it’s just a little harmless fun”. God’s Word warns us who are His children:

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

Which brings up the point: If the Bible doesn’t support it, how can we condone it? It’s time all believers stopped living on the edge of the old sinful life, and started living the new life that is their birthright in Christ. If the historical presentation of this study differs from what you were told, then are you released from making a Godly choice? Is the Scripture null and void because you disagree with this author? It’s your choice, believer. Be careful what you choose! Now, on with the study.
 

What Is Happy About Halloween?

Halloween originated from the witch and warlock religions of Britain, France, Germany, and the Celtic countries. The practicing witches, called druids, lived 100 years before the incarnation of Christ.

The celebration of “Hallow’s Eve” honored the pagan gods, particularly the lord of the dead. The celebration was held on the last day of October, the Eve of the Celtic New Year. On Hallow’s Eve the lord of the dead was supposed to call all of the wicked dead back from the prison of hell, and place them in lower animal bodies (dogs, cats, wolves, bats, etc.). The Celts felt that if they pleased this god with their worship, then he in turn would protect them from these resurrected demons.

Judaism and Christianity ignored Hallow’s Eve because of it’s Satanic overtones. The worship of Hallow’s Eve nearly died out until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (100 AD). He built a Temple of the Dead to appease the druids. The Temple gave the people a reason to start backing the festival again.

Rome went through a series of battles until Rome itself fell under barbarian conquerors. By 607 AD the Roman emperor Phocas recaptured the city. From the time Rome first fell until 607 AD, the Church of Christ had moved into Catholicism. Phocas wanted to insure the Rome remained a part of the Roman empire, so he gave the city to Pope Boniface IV. Boniface reconsecrated the Temple of the Dead, dedicating it to Mary, the “Mother of God”.

It was a long standing policy of the Catholic Church to avoid making religious waves among the pagans. The Catholics began to wrongly equate physical growth with spiritual growth, so they would modify Church doctrine in an attempt to make it more pleasing to the pagan. “Certainly”, the bishops reasoned, “If the pagan joins the Church, they will be converted to Christ in time”. Actually their tactic had the reverse effect, and the Church doctrine became more and more muddied by pagan influence. When the city of Rome was given to Boniface IV, he decided to allow worship of the lord of the dead to continue as long as the pagans joined the Church. The legacy of Boniface is that many Catholic Christians, even today, light candles and pray for the dead, just as the druids did nearly 1400 years ago. The Catholics, rather than praying to the lord of the dead, pray to Mary, the Mother of God. This practice, fermented out of the religions of the druids, finds no support in the Holy Bible. The druids day of worship, Hallow’s Eve, was modified to be called All Saints Day.

For two centuries the yearly celebration of the dead was called “All Saints Day”, and was held on the last day of October. In 834 AD the celebration was moved to November 1st, though it still retained the name of All Saints Day. As I said before, Catholics still pray to Mary (just as the druids prayed to the lord of the dead) for the souls of the dead. Their reasoning is that, since Mary was Jesus’ mother, surely she’ll convince Jesus to let these unrepentant souls into Heaven. The Bible, however, makes it plain that you can only be saved if you accept Jesus as Savior while you are in this life:

Acts 4:10-12 “Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’”

Why The Children Shout
“Trick or Treat”

The most effective ploy that Satan ever uses is to try and deceive as much of Christianity as is possible using the same trick in different ways. The Catholic Church, by allowing pagan ritual and worship, followed pagan god worship under the guise of All Saints Day. But what about the Reformed Protestant Church?

Ancient druidism had another practice that, up to now, we haven’t discussed. The druids demanded human sacrifice in order to show “proper respect” for the lord of the dead. In order to accomplish this, the druids went from castle to castle and demanded women so that they could be sacrificed.  The women were then taken to sacrificial altars and killed (one of the most prominent areas we know of today for human sacrifice was Stonehenge in England). If the sacrifice was willingly given, the druids left a hollow gourd outside of the castle walls filled with burning human fat. This burning fat was supposed to protect the castle from demonic attack. If the druids were refused the sacrifice, they drew a hexagram on the door or wall of the castle and left. Before dawn someone in the castle would be found dead from fear.

This practice of going “door to door” eventually found it’s way into society as a form of Halloween ritual. The earliest settlers in America encouraged their children to go door to door shouting “Trick or Treat”, little knowing that they were mimicking ritualized murder of days gone by. The children were given fruit, much like the druids were given human sacrifices. If the children were refused a treat, they were allowed to play a little “trick” on the household. Parents put candles inside of pumpkin gourds (just as the druids put human fat inside of hollow gourds) to commemorate Halloween. By making it all seem like harmless fun, Satan drew both Catholic and Protestant, believer and unbeliever into the web of druidic paganism.

What’s Wrong With A Little
Innocent Fun?

Most people, even Christian believers, defend Halloween as only “A little innocent fun for the kids”. It may be innocent, but is it fun to mimic (however unknowingly) devil worship, female sacrifice, and witchcraft? Once the Christian household allows paganism into it’s midst, then how much harder is it for Satan to get us involved in real druidism? The Ouija board, seemingly harmless, is no less than a familiar spirit:

Leviticus 20:6-7 “‘I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people. Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.”

Deuteronomy 18:10-13 “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.”

The question that the Christian must ask his or her self is this: “Do I want to play Satan’s game? Do I want to participate in a festival that originates from human sacrifice and demon worship? What do I want my children to learn?” Take a hard look at these questions and the evidence presented: your spiritual condition (as well as that of your children) may well depend on your answer.

Are there alternatives to Halloween? Absolutely! Many Churches have begun promoting “Fall Festivals” on Halloween night. The festivals are held at Church, children are offered Christian activities and adults have valuable time in which to fellowship with each other. Other Christians use Halloween night as a time to take their children out to eat, to skate, to a clean movie, or just to spend quality time with them. You do not need to deprive your children of fun in order to avoid Satan’s traps. Christians may even use Halloween as an opportunity to witness to the “visitors”. Rather than decorating your yard with ghosts and ghouls, focus on the Christian theme of love and salvation through Jesus. If you feel compelled to give out “treats” to the children, give out salvation tracts as well while telling the children about your Savior. Reclaim the night for Jesus!

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What follows is an article from New Wine magazine. All copyrights belong to New Wine Magazine and the author John Stanko:

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
by John Stanko, New Wine Magazine, 1984

Every October 31, Christian parents face a number of questions about Halloween, such as, “Should we allow our children to be out trick or treating?” and Should we answer the door and give out candy  or tracts? ” Without a sufficient knowledge of Halloween’s history and what the Bible says, it is difficult for a Christian to adequately answer these and other questions about participation in Halloween.

 The celebration of what we know as Halloween dates back to before the time of Christ.  In the Celtic countries of Britain, Germany, and France, the Druids (the priests and teachers of the Celts) set aside October 31 to  honor Samhain, the lord of the dead.  At this time of year the  crops were harvested and it was a  time of general decay. The day honoring Samhain highlighted the gloom and cold of the coming season.  The Celts believed that Samhain assembled all the souls of the dead on October 31, the eve of the Celtic new year. This freed them to return to their homes, where their families were to entertain them. If they didn’t find an acceptable welcome the spirits would cast spells or cause other problems for the living (the first form of trick or treat) To prepare for the arrival of these spirits the Druids built huge bonfires, sacrificing animals, crops, and even humans.  This fire was also used for divinations (they studied the remains of the sacrificed animals). During this ritual, many people wore costumes made of animal heads and skins.  When the Romans conquered the Celts, they combined the festival to Samhain with their own festival honoring Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees, making apples and nuts an important part of the rituals.

Despite the prevalence of Christianity this pagan rite continued. The Irish held parades to honor Muck Olla, one of their gods. A leader wearing a white robe and an animal head marched at the head of the parade. Those who followed him asked for food to help celebrate the October 31 festival, punishing farmers who refused to cooperate (another form of trick or treat).  Bonfires raged throughout Wales, Scotland, England on October 31. In the year 834 Pope Boniface IV moved the church feast of All Saints’ Day (also known as All Hallows’ Day) from May to November 1 to counter this growing pagan rite.  October 31 naturally was called All Hallows’  Evening – eventually abbreviated  Halloween.

In medieval times satanic witches took Halloween as an opportunity to mock the saints of the church commemorated on All Saints’ Day. The witches supposedly flew on broomsticks accompanied by black cats (also believed to be a type of witch).  In later years the poor in England went door to door for food on November 2, All Souls’ Day.  Beggars received “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the dead of  that household. In America however, because of the strong religious convictions of the early settlers, Halloween celebrations were banned. In the early 1800’s,  as more immigrants of Celtic origin arrived, Halloween celebrations were instituted

Despite the contemporary decline in trick or treating (perhaps because of dangers such as poisoned candy) Halloween lives on.  School parties, the media, and peer pressure all serve to make Halloween a fun and necessary time in children’s eyes. Christian parents face extreme difficulty in deciding what their family should do about the annual celebration.

Considering Halloween’s origins, it should not be difficult to establish a Scriptural position on the holiday. Deuteronomy 18.9-12 states:“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.”

As  Christians seek to make a firm decision regarding participation in Halloween, it is important to keep in mind that  believers are called to:

1. “Be separate from the world”:1 Peter 4:1-4 “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.”
2.  Be transformed:Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
3. Be obedient and holy: 1 Peter 1:14-15 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”
4. Be God pleasers:James 4:4 “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
5. Be leaders:Ephesians 5:11 “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

In answering questions about distributing candy on Halloween or allowing children to ‘trick-or-treat’, we must look at the roots of Halloween and what the Bible says, we now have the firm foundation we need to base our decisions on.

 

HALLOWEEN GLORIFIES SATAN AND WITCHCRAFT

Halloween is filled with darkness and paganism, and it is saturated with the influences of Satan. Satan is a very real person. Jesus used personal pronouns when referring to Satan (John 8:44). To accomplish his purposes, Satan uses many “devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). He has his own synagogue (Revelation 2:9); his own gospel (Galatians 1:6-9); his own ministers (2 Corinthians 11:14-15); his own doctrines (1 Timothy 4:1); and his own communion service (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

Halloween is not just a fun day. For witches and worshippers of Satan Halloween is serious business. Halloween is a time when Satan makes light of his own operations. He presents himself as a hoodlum–a kind of cartoon character rather than who he is–the real arch-enemy of God. Witchcraft today embraces dozens of unbiblical beliefs and practices, and has many thousands of adherents. The Old Testament and the New Testament make repeated references to the practice of witchcraft, and God always condemns all such practices. Note the following references:

“Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31). They used divination and augury; and they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord…therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight” (2 Kings 17:17- “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery…those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

The initiation rites for those involved in witchcraft and the worship of Satan are indeed very gruesome. Two girls described their experience. They had to go to a graveyard in the dead of the night, step on and walk across a large wooden cross, and renounce any belief in Christ; and then they had to drink the blood of animals that had been skinned alive. Surely these are gruesome anti-christian activities. Halloween is the chief holiday of Satanists, and those who practice witchcraft. To participate in the celebration of the pagan festival called Halloween, is to give an open invitation to the forces of Satan to gain more influence on our lives.

HALLOWEEN CLEARLY HAS THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL

One of the wholesome principles which God’s people are to carefully observe, is expressed in the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.

All the symbols of Halloween are evil. Note briefly each of the following symbols:

Jack-o’-lanterns–were originally carved images of demonic beings and thus have been in league with Halloween celebrations. The carved out pump-kin was lighted with a candle to scare off ghosts and witches and goblins and other supernatural forces wandering around on “the night of the dead.”

Black cats–have long been associated with witchcraft and miscellaneous superstitions related to sorcery and Satanism. Ancients believed that black cats had once been humans who had changed into animals because of evil deeds which they had committed.

Bats and owls–have been related to Halloween since early times. The pagan Celts believed that bats and owls were able to communicate with the dead.

Skeletons, skulls, and corpses–belong to Halloween because it is really a festival celebrating death.

Trick-or-treating--is nothing less than extortion. The concept of “You either give me a treat, or I’ll play a trick on you” is hardly in keeping with the Integrity and second-mile honesty which Jesus taught. (Historically, food and drink were often left on outside porches in the hope of appeasing the demonic night creatures who were roaming around seeking shelter. Mischievous children capitalized on this practice, and disguised themselves with a costume and mask to scare off the ghosts–and then they themselves would steal the food set out for the spirits. This is the origin of the “trick or treat” custom.)

Halloween has been a time dedicated to ghosts and ghouls and goblins and monsters and senseless vandalism. Malicious people have hidden drugs in candy and rarer blades in apples. Getting involved in Halloween celebrations cannot be consistent with the Brethren peace position. Also, police departments in various parts of the country have warned people to guard their animals on Halloween night, because frequently dogs and cats and other animals are mutilated as a result of the ritualist slaughter of animals in sacrifice to Satan at Halloween time. Actually, Halloween not only has the appearance of evil; it is clearly associated with the wicked practices of the god of this world.

Those who get involved with Halloween celebrations, must remember that what was once the accepted practice of European pagans, has now become the accepted practice of many American church members. Many church-goers despise the vandalism and destructive behavior often associated with Halloween, but they go along with it as a necessary once-a-year evil. What was once modified from the pagan Festival of Samhain to the Christian All Saints Eve has now been further modified to become a semi-pagan ritual honoring ghosts and goblins and witches. Many youth fellowships sponsor Halloween parties in church recreation halls and award prizes for the most outlandish costumes. They usually have some group singing and a short devotional to make the evening seem more sanctimonious.

What’s wrong with Halloween? Everything about it is wrong. It does not have one single redeeming virtue. Halloween is a festival which glorifies the devil. Those who go by the name “Christian” should have nothing to do with Halloween celebrations. It is time that we expose Halloween for what it is–a ritual for the occult.

We should never make fun of Satan’s power. Celebrating Halloween can encourage children to take lightly the forces of darkness (Jude 8-10). God’s people are not to be conformed to the world. We are not expected to Wit in” with the practices of our society (Romans 12:1-2). How seriously do we take the words of Jesus about being “in” the world, but not “of it? (See John 17:14-15).

It is proper for children to have good times. “Having fun” is not what is wrong with Halloween. Parents and church youth leaders should provide plenty of family and group activities for children and youth. If there must be an activity on October 31, you can plan an evening of Bible study on demons and sorcery and death. October 31 is a good time to study the Reformation period of church history (Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517). You can spend an evening reading a youth version of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. You can have a Harvest Festival, gathering foods and grocery items and delivering them to the poor and to those who may have had a variety of misfortunes.

Another alternative, which could be a worthwhile event, is to plan for an “All Saints Eve.” The first weeks after a death in the congregation, the bereaved family receives much attention, but a year or two later, many widows scarcely hear their husband’s name mentioned. People who were once a major part of a congregation’s life are easily forgotten (except by the family of loved ones). Perhaps on an “All Saints Eve” the pastor (or an older member of the church) could give some vignettes of numerous departed saints from the congregation, and point out specific characteristics of that person’s life and faith that are worth remembering.

It is our prayer that Brethren across the land will resolve to stand apart from the crowd, and dare to stand alone for the truth like the young man Daniel did when he was carried into the land of Babylon many years ago (Daniel 1:8-20). Let us decide to no longer participate in a pagan holiday which commemorates the activities of the powers of darkness.

Halloween glorifies Satan.

      When America and the world celebrates the powers of darkness by masquerading as evil creatures or decorating our homes, schools, businesses and churches with occult symbols, Satanic power is glorified. While you may have participated “all in fun”, be assured, Halloween is serious business for Satanists and Witches.

      Anyone familiar with witchcraft would tell you that there are certain rituals and spells that can only be cast on Halloween night. That is the night when the “veil” believed to separate the living from the dead is thought to be the thinnest, and futures are easier and more accurately foretold by diviners.

      Those who oppose Christ are known to organize on Halloween to observe Satanic rituals, to cast spells, to oppose churches and families, to perform sacrilegious acts, and to even offer blood sacrifices to Satan. Last year, Newscasters in numerous cities warned their viewers to guard their animals on Halloween night. Dogs and cats are thought to be the most often sacrificed animals on Halloween, and many S. P. C. A. centers will not allow black cats to be adopted until after Halloween. In rural communities, it is not uncommon for farmers to awake to find the mutilated remains of their farm animals (cows, calves, chickens, even horses) that were ritualistically slaughtered in Satanic sacrifices. The practices that accompany such sacrificial rites are almost too revolting to believe-the drinking of animal (or human) blood and urine, the digestion of entrails and organs, orgiastic rituals, substance abuse, and something becoming more frighteningly common across the U.S.-human sacrifice. The 700 CLUB interviewed several people last Halloween (several of which were teenagers) who actually participated in or witnessed human sacrifices while involved in Satanism. No one scoffs at such stories anymore, as police departments around the country have had to scurry to develop a whole new field of investigation dealing with the gruesome reality of Satanic sacrifices.

      Isn’t it sad that while Satanist, Witches, Occultists and Police are taking Halloween very seriously, many in the church protest our “spoiling all of the fun for the children,” by urging Christians not to participate in it.

It is the Appearance of Evil.

      The Bible says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thess.5:22).

      Who can deny that virtually all of the symbols of Halloween are evil? Witches, monsters, ogres, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, devils and demons all portray evil! On the other hand, Christians are called to be “followers of God” (Eph.5:1), and “lights” to a sin darkened world. How can we justify our masquerading as creatures of darkness in the light of the Scriptures? And if our houses and churches are dedicated to God and are to glorify Christ, how do we justify decorating them with demonic and occult symbols?

      Virtually all of the common Halloween decorations represent something Demonic or Occult. For instance:

      The “Jack-o-lantern” is the ancient symbol of a damned soul.

      The “black cat” has long been associated with Witchcraft and numerous superstitions are still connected to it.

      Witches and Witchcraft are a dominant theme of the holiday, but are an abomination to God (Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:8-14; Leviticus 18:24-30).

      Even the “trick-or-treat” is a threat! It’s nothing less than extortion! “You either give me a treat or I’ll play a trick on you.”

What Should Our Position Be? 

      Clearly, we should have nothing to do with the Halloween celebration whatsoever. If Christians assemble on Halloween it should be to worship, sing, praise, pray, intercede, wage Spiritual warfare and pull down demonic strong-holds. Under no circumstance should we compromise with this celebration or attempt to imitate the world in any manner. It should not be observed as any kind of a festival or “party” (masquerades, apple-bobbing, games, treats, etc.), but rather as a time to wage holy warfare and be separate from the world.

      The Christian should not fear Halloween or any of the powers of darkness, for we have authority over them (Mk.16:15; Lu.10:19), and “God has not given us the spirit of fear…” (2 Tim.l:7). But at the same time, “We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices” (2 Cor.2:11)

      Some may call me “legalistic” for doing so, but I have forsaken this pagan celebration altogether. Perhaps its time you considered doing the same.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” (Eph.5:8).

  

 

Verses depicting God’s opinion on participating with evil:

 

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 Detestable Practices  9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The Prophet  14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

Exodus 7:11-1211 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Exodus 22:18 18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live.”

Leviticus 19:26 26 ” ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or sorcery.”

Leviticus 19:31 31 ” ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.'”

Leviticus 20:6 6 ” ‘I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.

Leviticus 20:27 27 ” ‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’ “

1 Chronicles 10:13-14 13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

2 Kings 21:5-6  In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts.  He sacrificed his own son in  the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

Isaiah 2:6 The Day of the Lord 6 You have abandoned your people,        the house of Jacob.        They are full of superstitions from the East;        they practice divination like the Philistines        and clasp hands with pagans.

Jeremiah 27:9-10 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.

Zechariah 10:2 2 The idols speak deceit,        diviners see visions that lie;        they tell dreams that are false,        they give comfort in vain.        Therefore the people wander like sheep        oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

Malachi 3:5  5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.

Acts 8:9 Simon the Sorcerer  9Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,

Acts 16:16 Paul and Silas in Prison  16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

Acts 19:19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.

Galatians 1  1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,       To the churches in Galatia:  3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. No Other Gospel  6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!  10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Paul Called by God  11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.  13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.  18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24And they praised God because of me.

Galatians 5:16-21 Life by the Spirit  16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.  19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 3:88Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.

Revelation 21:88But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 22:1515Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Exodus 7:11-1211 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Exodus 22:18 18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live.

Leviticus 19:2626 ” ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.       ” ‘Do not practice divination or sorcery.

Leviticus 19:31 31 ” ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

As believers, we are calledto “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. [1 Thessalonians 5:21-22] Who can deny that virtually all of the symbols of Halloween are evil? Witches, monsters, ogres, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, devils and demons all portray evil. Christians are to “… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” [Ephesians 5:11]  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” [Romans 12:2] “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” [2 Corinthians 6:14, 15] Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. [1 Peter 5:8]

Originally published 30 Oct., 2009 at www.justinlessard.wordpress.com.

Love Vs. Sex- A brief story of encouragement

A teenage girl about 17 had gone to visit some friends one evening and time passed quickly as each share theirvarious experiences of the past year.

She ended up staying longer than planned, and had to walk home alone. She wasn’t afraid because it was a small town and she lived only a few blocks away.

As she walked along under the tall elm trees, Diane asked God to keep her safe from harm and danger.

When she reached the alley, which was a short cut to her house, she decided to take it.

However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the end as though he were waiting for her.

She became uneasy and began to pray, asking for God’s protection.

Instantly a comforting feeling of quietness and security wrapped round her, she felt as though someone was walking with her.

When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man and arrived home safely.

The following day, she read in the newspaper that a young girl had been raped in the same alley just twenty minutes after she had been there.

Feeling overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began to weep.

Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she decided to go to the police station.

She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story.

The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a lineup to see if she could identify him.

She agreed and immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the alley the night before.

When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately broke down and confessed.

The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was anything they could do for her.

She asked if they would ask the man one question.

Diane was curious as to why he had not attacked her.

When the policeman asked him, he answered, “Because she wasn’t alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her.”

Amazingly, whether you believe or not, you’re never alone. Did you know that 98% of teenagers will not stand up for God?

PS: God is always there in your heart and loves you no matter what…..and if you stand up for Jesus, He will stand for you.

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. “ –Matthew 10:32-33

“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” -1 Timothy 1:5

Javier Solana – Candidate for Antichrist

Are you American or Canadian? Ever here of Javier Solana? If not, its not surprising, there seems almost a coordinated effort to not mention him on this side of the Atlantic.

There was so much good info floating around on this man, but what seems to be almost a news blackout of his coming and goings, I thought it deserved its own topic.

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27 New America Standard Bible).

It is commonly believed the passage above foretells the rise of a strong leader from out of a revived Roman Empire who will make, or confirm, a covenant with the many for seven years. Israel will be included in this covenant. As far as Israel is concerned, he will violate his covenant 3 1/2 years later. In other passages from Daniel, we learn this leader will rise from among a 10-nation alliance (Daniel 7:7-8 ) and subdue three of the 10 kings (Daniel 7:24). In the New Testament book of Revelation, we learn that this leader will somehow be identified with the number 666 (Revelation 13: 18 ).

In December of 1998, at their Vienna summit, the EU’s heads created the new Office of High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy for the European Union. The holder of this Office would direct their common foreign policy toward Russia, Ukraine and the Mediterranean. Out of over 1150 documents they generated at the summit, the document that created this Office happened to be numbered 666.

On June 5, 2000, the WEU adopted its Assembly Recommendation 666. This document recommended keeping the 10 Brussels Treaty Powers together as the EU’s new military wing and giving the EU’s High Representative emergency powers over the whole EU, putting the office holder over the EU presidency.

In March of 2005, one year after the Madrid train bombings, world leaders met in Madrid to discuss the EU’s and the international community’s war against terror. The EU decided the U.S. war was going nowhere, nothing much had been accomplished over that last year. It was noted that the EU member states were reluctant to give Solana what he needed to get the job done. What this really meant was, the EU “big three” — France, Germany and the UK — were still standing in Solana’s way. In other words, in order for Solana to do his job leading the EU’s foreign and security policy, the EU “big three” must somehow be subdued. (See Bible quote above) Interestingly, the EU “big three” leaders were all on the scene in 1999 when the Office of High Representative was first occupied by Solana. And, they were all members of the 10-nation alliance. Could these three super countries be the three kings who are destined to be subdued according to Daniel 7:24?

Since the start of his 7 year period peace and safety initiative, we should see him make some big strides in bringing peace to the middle east very soon. The 3 1/2 year, or halfway point, checkup is scheduled in 2010. I also wonder about some of the other things that seem to be sparked by this same belief of middle-east peace and prophetic fulfillment. The Catholic church for one seems to have come to the conclusion that the start of the Tribulations are just ahead and that the church must now work out its battle plan. You see it in how this latest global war seems to methodically be ramping up with no real way to end it. You see this in how fundamental freedoms we all grew up with, are being locked away for our “safety”.

Please see my previous articles, ‘The Job Title for the Antichrist”  https://justinlessard.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/the-job-title-for-the-antichrist/

and “Who Is the Antichrist? How Will We Know Him?” https://justinlessard.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/who-is-the-antichrist/

For more on possible ‘Marks of the Beast’, see “Mark of the Beast Part 1- Barcode 666”  https://justinlessard.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/mark-of-the-beast-part-1-barcode-666/ and “Mark of the Beast- Part 2- RFID Chip” https://justinlessard.wordpress.com/2008/10/05/mark-of-the-beast-part-2-rfid-chip/ 

For info on signs of the end, to know how things will be and when to expect them, see “The End? Let’s Review” https://justinlessard.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/the-end-lets-review/

Original Source for bulk of article: “Wassabi; a member of AboveTopSecret.com” in form of message thread called: Javier Solana – candidate for Antichrist or setting the stage for the Beast; http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread183503/pg1#pid1836234.

Links from articles on https://justinlessard.wordpress.com

Parking the Problem

I just wanted to randomly rant for a moment. I made an interesting connection, and wanted to share it. There is a point to this, so try to stick with me.

I had this thought as I was driving home last night. While at the coffee shop downtown, I struck up a discussion with one of the employees who knows me well by now. We talked about parking downtown, about the high cost of tickets and the lack of spaces. I mentioned how it’s a very detrimental pain to have to go through.

First of all, there is a strict limit to when you can park, and the rules of parking and times and lengths vary from block to block. Then, if you don’t move your car, you get a $20 ticket (but it goes up after a few days).

If you are mindful of the time, you have to stop what you’re doing, no matter what it is, to go do one of two things (depending on the time). 1. Put more money in the meter, or the new machine at the other end of the block (but at least it gives a receipt). 2. Move your car.

So let’s say you’re shopping downtown. You have two hours to spend your money. Now, my wife can take two hours in a store, let alone the entire mall. Or maybe you work downtown. Then you spend your break looking for a new spot or putting your paycheck into the meter. Or you could be like me, enjoying a coffee shop, researching online, and writing blogs. No matter who you are, you have to stop what you’re doing to move a car. What if there’s not a spot? Too bad. That means that every two hours (the time limit for most areas of downtown Milwaukee) I have to pack up my laptop, wrap the cords, bundle up and look for a new parking spot. If I find one, guess what happens to my table at the coffee place? Gone; and I can’t risk leaving my stuff there in case I don’t get a spot. Shopping? You only have two hours, then you can’t spend any more (or spend $20 and stay put).

Here’s what I realized: There are meetings and meetings and all kinds of public and official agendas to find out why downtown is suffering and what they can do to improve it. Here’s a thought: “Stop making it such a pain to be there!”

It seems like they want your business, but they don’t want you to be there. They put it on the news, they report it in the paper, and they send mass emails and newsletters inviting the public and a ton of agencies to rallies and conferences. They ask how they can improve the downtown economy, improve businesses, and be more inviting. They put money into painting and decorating and street repair and give businesses a start-up advantage. The solution always seems to be this: Pay for it with more parking tickets. Send out the checkers and “generate some income.” This isn’t the solution. It’s the problem.

Downtowns are suffering. Not just in Milwaukee, but all over. If you want people to be there, you have to welcome them. Why make it so difficult? Why tell someone, “You only have two hours to spend your money in our district,” and then wonder why they aren’t spending more? The mall has come very close to closing in recent years. Many businesses have gone under, and others are struggling. There is nothing wrong with the business, just the streets around them. There isn’t too much crime (although, any crime is too much). The stores are nice, the jobs are good, and the restaurants are superb. But, I don’t want to go down there.

As I dwelt on this conversation, I thought, “What if we applied that principal to the country?” America has changed. Dramatically. We have a wild generation behind us. We have higher crime, greater risk of terrorism, rampant diseases, a housing crisis, crashing stocks, massive layoffs, and an economic crisis that some are calling “unparalleled”. And what is our countries attitude? “This is America. You can do whatever you want.”

It’s true that we started out as a Christian nation. Early settlers were trying to escape religious dictatorship. Thomas Jefferson said that we should have a separation of church and state, meaning that the government should not be allowed to control religious beliefs. Of course, most of America took that the other direction, saying that we can’t mix the two. The intention was that neither would control the other.

In our country’s youth, we encouraged church, faith, family values, and a solid moral standard. We built schools for the sole purpose of teaching Scripture, using the Bible as a tool to learn to read, write, and the mathematical practices implied therein. Harvard, Yale, Notre Dame. All started as Christian schools. Now they’re liberal.

As a young, Christian country, we were blessed with farming, industry, economic stability, and an increase in population, advances in science, medicine, and technology. It didn’t take long for us to screw that up. We took the Bible out of schools, the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms, and faith off the grid. President-elect Obama once said in a public speech, “We are no longer a Christian nation.” What a shame. In the land of “freedom”, there is one group who’s being silenced- the Christians.

As we said everyone could do what they want in our wonderful free land, some said, “I want to be atheist,” and we said that it was okay. They said, “I want to be gay,” and we said that it was okay. They said, “I want to kill my unborn child because I’m not ready to have responsibility,” and we said it was okay. Then they all got together and said, “Those Christians are telling me I’m wrong.” And what did America, the land of freedom, tell the Christians? “You can’t do that. It’s not okay.” No more Bibles; no more preaching; no more commandments; no more talking about abortion; no more talking about homosexuals; no more campaigning from the public pulpit; no more evangelism anywhere; no more praying in public. In fact, you have to accept them and support them or you’ll get a fine and go to jail.”

Then September 11^th happened. And the hurricanes in the gulf. And the wildfires in California. And all the people said, “Where was God?” God said, “I’m not allowed here.”

New York. Known for being liberal. A large homosexual population, widespread drug usage, gangs and violence. New York barely survived the eighties.

New Orleans. Known for the sanctified orgy called Mardi Gras, where hundreds of thousands expose themselves in shameful ways, get drunk, do drugs and brag about it with pride, often on video.

California. Known for gay marriage and bikinis. They’ve outlawed homeschooling, almost intentionally to attack Christian values. They won’t teach them in schools, and won’t allow you to teach them at home. They allow gay couples all the legal rights straight couples have. In fact, they encourage them to sue anyone who disagrees with their practices.

In every instance, people wonder why God doesn’t heed their call. If I were God, and I thank Him I’m not, I would most certainly be fed up with it. “You kick Me out and then ask Me to protect you?” Perhaps the problem with the country is the same as my parking issue: The solution is the problem.

America has taken so much pride in being “free”, that we’ve given ourselves away. We have sacrificed everything that made us great in the first place. If we don’t have a president, governors, mayors, councilmen, aldermen, representatives, and every other member of public office get down on their knees and repent, we are in for some SERIOUS trouble! They must repent of the raping of this land, the beheading of our blessing, the utter destruction of all forms of holiness, or we will see more deaths, more destruction, and we will be handed over to our enemies, both known and unseen. God promises blessing for those that follow Him. Right now, America is so far behind God, that she can’t even see His shadow. I believe that the only reason this country hasn’t been utterly obliterated is due the millions that remain faithful to Christ.

If you want this country to have a dramatic turn around to the positive, write, email and call your elected officials, all of them, and tell them that they need to repent. They need to reach out to God, ask for forgiveness, and walk uprightly according to God’s principals, and no longer their own. Then have everyone you know do the same. Should enough people ask of this, some might actually respond. Some publically, some in their own homes, out of sight. Whatever their response, we cannot sit idly by and watch our nation be handed over to darkness and evil at our leaders’ hands. Pray for your officials, contact them, and tell them how our solution might just be our problem.

7 Deep Things of God

7 Deep things of God – 1 Cor. 2: 7-12

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory…But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:7-10)

Part I. 7 DEEP THINGS THAT GOD WILL REVEAL TO THE CHURCH

1. Deep love and affection –

That you may be able to comprehend….what is the width and length and depth and height– to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge… (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

2. Deep displeasure – because of His deep love unto deep judgment

Then He shall…distress them in His deep displeasure (Psalm 2:5)

My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury… (Isaiah 63:5-6)

3. Deep judgments – complex in purpose and nature

Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD (Psalm 36:6)

How unsearchable are His judgments…(Romans 11:33)

4. Deep thoughts – hidden plans of the mystery of God

How great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. (Ps 92:5)

His ways are past finding out! (Romans 11:33)

We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory… (1 Corinthians 2:7-8 )

Also see Eph 3:9; Col 1:26; Luke 19:42

5. Deep wisdom – administration of His plans

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)

…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3)

6. Deep knowledge – possesses vast info

Oh, the depth of the riches of …the knowledge of God… (Romans 11:33)

7. Deep secrets – hidden manna

He reveals deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. (Daniel 2:22)

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him… (Psalm 25:14)

His secret counsel is with the upright. (Proverbs 3:32)

Part II. ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK

Called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” of whom we have much to say and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (Hebrews 5:10-11)

Order of Melchizedek – Holy Spirit merger with perfect harmony of kingly and priestly dimension of kingdom.

1. Warring with worship .2. Outreach with gazing 3. Working with loving 4. Ruling with adoring – NOTE: ruling that is in the flesh is “me” focused however, adoring is “God” focused.

Dull of hearing makes a false distinction between the kingly and priestly heart and function. This false distinction exists within the heart of the dull.

 

Source: Friends of the Bridegroom www.FOTB.com

 

The Job Title for the Antichrist?

According to certain “sources”, there has already been signed a 7 year peace treaty with Israel.

The WEU (Western European Union) was formed in 1995 as a 10 nation military alliance. In Dec 1999, they created a position called the ‘High Representative for Common Foreign and Secure Policy’, which directs the Union’s affairs toward the rest of the world, including the Middle East. Of the 1,150 documents generated at that summit, this one, creating this position, was number 666. The man given the position (so far, first and only) is Javier Solana.

Why is that number important? The Bible warns, “ If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast [a.k.a. Antichrist], for it is man’s number. His number is 666.” (Revelation 13:18 )

He also became the Secretary General of the Council of Europe- a true seat of power in Europe. He was also made Secretary General of the 10 nation WEU military alliance. The importance of this is also prophesied in the Bible:  “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast…” (Revelation 17:12)

On June 5, 2000 (I’ll bet you know that date- the anniversary of Israel’s 6-day war) the WEU granted the High Representative (Javier) “emergency powers”. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that gives Javier Solana complete authority over the militaries in the event of an emergency, as well as the authority and discretion to declare an emergency. Who wrote the recommendation? –Javier Solana. Now guess what it was called? –“WEU: Assembly Recommendation 666”. Is this actually true? You bet. Here’s the link to the official page with that document:

http://www.assembly-weu.org/en/documents/sessions_ordinaires/txt/2000/jun00_txts_adopted.php#P51_3072

The following month, the “Solana Decision” was implemented. That hides from public view any EU documents or reports that are deemed “sensitive” by Javier Solana.

Supposedly, in November of 1995, Solana successfully negotiated the “Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Peace”, which includes the EU member states & countries around the Med- including Israel and the Palestinian Authority. When that failed to get the desired results, it was revived by Solana as the “European Neighborhood Policy”. The first nation to sign it was Israel, giving economic incentives if they all behave themselves. “Peace and Safety” (ring any bells?)

“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27 note: one ‘seven’ equals a seven year period)

This confirmation, along with many nations of previous peace treaty, took effect on January 1, 2007. It runs for SEVEN years! It is supposed to have a built-in “Check up” at the half-way mark to evaluate everyone’s compliance. That would be 3 ½ years, at Summer of 2010.

Again, that’s a seven year peace treaty with Israel and a re-built Roman empire, with a man who was twice associated with the number 666. I don’t know his middle name, but his first and last both have 6 letters.

Also, I’d appreciate if any of you have any information on Solana’s support of something called the “Alliance of Civilizations”, which is supposedly goaled at ridding the world of “religious fundamentalism” by “whatever means necessary:, and to institute a common faith whereupon all can agree and accept. Anyone who claims to have a lock on Truth would be deemed a threat to “peace”.

Coincidentally, the North American Union is scheduled for 2010 (but that might not happen. It will depend largely on our new president), as is the removal of the phrases “One Nation Under God” and “In God We Trust” from all currency and public/government items, documentation and places.

Allow me to be clear: I am not predicting or prophesying that Javier Solana is the Antichrist. I am merely pointing out that all the statistics are lining up according to Biblical prophecy. For all we know, it may just be this position, but a successor of Mr. Solana who takes up the mantle of the son of perdition. I am not saying that this particular treaty of peace is the covenant with Israel, for there could be another, or several. We do know that the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem will be a largely obvious sign. For a more complete list of signs of the Antichrist, visit Who is the antichrist? How will we know him? 

As far as the information here, these sites will offer more insight:

 

Here is a source of much information. http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/workspace/upload/images/rec_666.pdf

Javier’s acceptance of position: http://www.unaoc.org/content/view/168/199/lang,english/ also http://www.unaoc.org/images/articles/solana_on_HR.pdf

Related Article of religious “extremism threatening the world“ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=39008&sectionid=3510212

Article on the religious spiral of hatred and obfuscation that, in itself, constitutes a threat   http://www.unaoc.org/content/view/236/200/lang,english/

Recommended “Peaceful groups” reading- http://www.unaoc.org/content/view/72/105/lang,english/

From one site: “…the veiled Muslim woman appears to symbolise the perceived Islamic threat, as nuns once epitomised the evils of popery. She seems a barbaric affront to hard-won … ” [the misspellings of  both “symbolize” and “epitomized” are as written on their web page.]

The Book of Revelation: Jesus’ End-Time Battle Plan for the Church

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER KC – MIKE BICKLE

FORERUNNER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

The Book of Revelation: Jesus’ End-Time Battle Plan for the Church

 
I.    THE BOOK OF REVELATION: JESUS’ END-TIME BATTLE PLAN FOR THE CHURCH
 

A.    The Book of Revelation reveals the glory of Jesus (Rev. 1:1) and His dramatic plan to transition the earth to the age-to-come. There will be unique dynamics in the generation Jesus returns that are absolutely necessary in preparing the nations for His return. These events require our deep involvement. Thus, Jesus gives us the details which are essential to equip us to fully participate.
 
B.    There are 4 parts in the structure of Revelation. The 4th part has 5 chronological sections in which the events occur in sequential order. There are 7 main symbols in the Book.
 
C.    The main theme of Revelation is Jesus’ return to earth to rule all the nations. His End-Time battle plan is to physically destroy all the evil governments on earth by releasing His judgments on them during the Great Tribulation as described in Rev. 6-19.
 
D.    As the Book of Acts describes the power of the Holy Spirit that was released through the early Church so the Book of Revelation describes the power of the Holy Spirit that will be released through the End-Time Church. I refer to Revelation as the “End-Time Book of Acts”. It is a “canonized prayer manual” that informs us of the ways in which Jesus will manifest His power.
 
E.    As Moses released God’s judgments on Pharaoh by prayer (Exodus 7-12), so the Church will release the Great Tribulation judgments on the Antichrist by prayer. The miracles and judgments in Exodus and Acts will be multiplied and released worldwide through prayer. The greatest demonstrations of power in history will be openly manifest by Jesus and Satan (Rev. 12:9; 13:2).
 
18 I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades (authority of hell) shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mt. 16:18-19)
 
F.    Revelation is Jesus’ battle plan to allow the sin in man’s heart to fully come to the surface and then to drive evil off the planet through the praying Church. These judgment events do not happen to us as helpless victims of Satan but are released through us as participants with Jesus. Jesus’ judgments are released to remove all that hinders love. He is at war to have His wedding.
 
G.    The 7 main symbols: all events and numbers in Revelation are to be taken in their plain meaning (literal) unless specifically indicated not to (Rev. 1:20; 5:6; 11:8; 12:1, 3, 9; 17:7, 9, 15-18, etc.)
 
1) Dragon: is symbolic of Satan (Rev. 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4; 16:13; 20:2)
 
2) First Beast: is symbolic of the Antichrist (Rev. 13; 14:9-11; 17:3-17; 19:19-21; 20:4, 10)
 
3) Another Beast: is symbolic of the False Prophet called “another Beast” just once (Rev. 13:11)
 
4) Seven Heads: are 7 empires from history that persecuted Israel (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
     Persia, Greece, Rome, revived Roman Empire of Dan. 2:41-42; 7:7; Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3-16)
 
5) Ten Horns: represents a 10-nation confederation that serves the Antichrist (Rev. 17:12-13)
 
6) Harlot Babylon: will be a worldwide demonically inspired religious and economic system
     based in the re-built city of Babylon, near Baghdad in Iraq (Rev. 17-18; Jer. 50-51)
 
7) Woman and Male-child (Jesus): is the faithful remnant of Israel throughout history (Rev. 12)
 

II.    STRUCTURE OF REVELATION: 4 PARTS AND 5 SECTIONS (IN THE 4TH PART)
 

Rev. 1      Pt. 1 John’s CALLING to prophesy about the End-Times: John gave 18 truths about Jesus’ majesty that formed the way he prophesied about the End-Times, which are meant to equip us.
 
Rev. 2-3    Pt. 2 Jesus gave 7 LETTERS to 7 churches: the instructions Jesus gave to these 7 churches about overcoming sin give us practical insight into what we must also overcome today.
 
Rev. 4-5   Pt. 3 Jesus takes the SCROLL: contains the earth’s title deed and His battle plan to cleanse it.
 
Rev. 6-22   Pt. 4 Jesus’ BATTLE PLAN: includes Great Tribulation judgments against the Antichrist. Jesus reveals His main storyline of love to cleanse the earth of evil. His battle plan here is seen in 5 Chronological sections that describe events that unfold in sequential order.
                          Each section is followed by an Angelic explanation to help us understand that section.

 
The 5 Chronological Sections: tell us what happens to the Antichrist’s followers in 21 judgment events (7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 bowls). These intensify in severity as they unfold.
 
The 5 Angelic Explanations: function as a parenthesis, putting the storyline on “pause”. They answer questions arising from the chronological sections: Why is God’s wrath so severe? What will happen to us? Angels explain to John what happens to God’s people including what Jesus will do to help us and what the Antichrist will do to persecute us.
 

Rev. 6            Chronological section #1: the SEAL JUDGMENTS against the kingdom of darkness.
Rev. 7           Angelic Explanation #1: we receive PROTECTION from judgments and falling away.
 
Rev. 8-9       Chronological section #2: the TRUMPET JUDGMENTS against the Antichrist’s empire.
Rev. 10-11   Angelic Explanation #2: we receive DIRECTION by great increase of prophetic ministry.
 
Rev. 11:15-19 Chronological section #3: the SECOND COMING PROCESSION and the Rapture.
                         The 7th and Last Trumpet (1 Cor. 15:52; Rev. 10:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16): Jesus replaces all governmental leaders on earth in a hostile takeover. In His Procession, Jesus first travels across the sky to rapture the saints (every eye sees Him; Rev. 1:7), then through the land of Edom (modern day Jordan; Isa. 63:1-6) then into Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. 

Rev. 12-14    Angelic Explanation #3: the CONFRONTATION against the saints by the Antichrist’s system and persecutions requires that all his governments be taken over. Satan is on earth.
 
Rev. 15-16   Chronological section #4: the BOWL JUDGMENTS destroy evil infrastructures in society
Rev. 17-18   Angelic Explanation #4: the SEDUCTION of Babylon’s evil religion will permeate and infiltrate all the structures of society, requiring that Babylon be totally destroyed. 
 
Rev. 19-20   Chronological section #5: Jesus’ TRIUMPHAL ENTRY to Jerusalem (Rev. 19:11-21:8 )
Rev. 21-22   Angelic Explanation #5: the RESTORATION of all things Acts 3:21 (Rev. 21:9-22:5)

 

 

Learn more at: http://www.ihop.org

The Origin of The BIBLE

ORIGINS of the BIBLE

 

All right, I know! Someone is going to say that I haven’t recorded everything about every book. Then I’ll hear that there are all these secret societies that chose these writings and altered them for just their own causes. Phooey! There are too many people watching these hell-ywood movies like DaVinci Code and, although it was a great adventure story, National Treasure. Sorry, but as cool as it would be that there are hidden secrets and the one guy who no one would suspect as a hero is about to discover them all as he brazenly escapes certain doom!- That’s all for the movies. In the Bible, many did not escape their doom. Disciples were killed for what they preached. If they were going to take out the things that made the church look bad, they missed a few things. The truth is, the Bible is a history book, and its events actually happened.

 

Moses is believed to have written Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (although there is some question to his authorship of Deuteronomy). These were written approx. 1500 years before Jesus.

David wrote 500 years later, or 1000 years before Jesus (approx).

The written Hebrew alphabet is proven to be at the very least 3000 years old.

(More on Biblical authors below.)

 

One of the greatest confusions stems from the fast that, in the days of the Old Testament, authors didn’t write chronologically. They would instead tell story by story, not in a “day by day” arrangement. That’s why it seems to be out of order sometimes. Let me give an example. I’m Justin, my dad is Tom and my grandpa is Dave. Back then, they would tell Dave’s entire story, from beginning to end, possibly including the birth of Tom. Then they would tell Tom’s story. After writing about Tom from birth to death (or current), they would go back and write about Justin’s birth and life. Since I’m still alive, the story would bring us up to the end of the point the author wants to make. So if you just read along line by line, you’d think quite often that you missed something, like the fact that Adam and Eve had other kids than Cain and Abel. Genesis 3 is about Adam and Eve’s life. Genesis 4 is about Cain and Abel. Then in chapter 5, we learn (verse 4) that they had “other sons and daughters”. Later in the Old Testament, it gets even more confusing if you don’t know how to look at it.

 

 

 By Jesus’ day, the Old Testament was translated into Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. In the Hebrew, there were no vowels. You would have had to know what to put where. For example, “Shlm” would be the way to write “Shalom”. The writings were copied carefully, and were put into the area’s common language. As a result, the one copying would often take notes. Quite often these notes or commentaries would accompany the actual letter or scroll. These commentaries are believed to be responsible for the few typographical errors or slights when someone from the New Testament quoted the Old Testament. The New Testament writers and speakers often had to go by the four different common languages/ dialects in which the scrolls were written. In each respective language, they were VERY careful to write l-e-t-t-e-r by l-e-t-t-e-r.

 

In 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. One of them was the entire book of Isaiah. This was an opportune time to test what so many critics had claimed. Was the Bible changed over the years? Had we bent the stories to suit the church’s desire? Was there a massive conspiracy to cover up a secret religion? When comparing the newly discovered treasure to the Holy Bible in every church pew, there were only 11 differences. Seven of them were a different way to spell a word. The other four were minor typographical errors that didn’t change the meaning of a single thing. All the years of accusation would be put to rest. (At least until the next generation of blind-hearted deceived unbelievers.)

 

Joshua is traditionally, thought by many scholors, believed to have authored his own book. There are, however, other possibilities. Considering that the book describes Joshua’s death at the end, and includes in the middle (specifically Joshua 15:13-19; cf. Judges 1:1, 9-15) an incident the occurred after Joshua’s death, we need to explore other options. There are references to “we” and “us” in Joshua 5:1 and 5:6 perhaps suggests an eyewitness to the events was the author of the book, such as a close companion or scribe- something to that effect. The book would thus date to either the 15th or 13th century BC, depending, again, upon exactly when the Exodus from Egypt occurred. Either someone close to Joshua wrote for him, thereby they would know the events of his death, or Joshua was co-authored, and someone else filled in the pieces after Joshua’s death. The only other possibility is that Joshua prophecied, or was shown, the events of his demise prior to their occurrence.

The following are widely debated or simply unknown:

Judges (c. 10th century BC)

Ruth (c. 10th century BC)

1-2 Samuel (8th-6th century BC)

1-2 Kings (6th-5th century BC)

1-2 Chronicles (400 BC would be the earliest possible date for composition)

Esther (5th century BC)

Job (c. 10th century BC at the earliest)

Lamentations traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah the prophet. There is, however, little in the book itself suggesting who the author might be, other than that he is obviously an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (c. 586 BC).

Psalms, the longest “book” of the Bible, is actually a compilation of many authors’ work. A conglomerate written by numerous people, the authorship of individual psalms, as attributed by their titles, breaks down as follows (of the 150 psalms, 116 are provided with a title):

Moses – Psalm 90

Heman the Ezrahite – Psalm 88

Ethan the Ezrahite – Psalm 89

Solomon – Psalm 72, 127

David (73 times) – Psalms 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-145

Asaph (12 times) – Psalms 50, 73-83

Sons of Korah (9 times) Psalm 42, 44-45, 47-49, 84-85, 87

Author unknown – (49 times) the remainder

The Septuagint (an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from around 200 BC) gives some additional authorship identification, as follows:

Jeremiah – Psalm 137

Haggai and Zechariah – Psalms 146-147

Ezra – Psalm 119

Hezekiah (15 times) Psalms 120-134

Though the titles prefaced to the Psalms clearly date back before 200 BC (since they appear in the Septuagint, along with the extras that translation gives), how authoritative they are is subject to much debate.

The psalms, based on the authorship attributions, would then date between the 15th century (or 13th, depending on the time of the Exodus) and the 5th century, by which time the book probably took the form it currently has.

Proverbs- Again, the book is a composite, so far as authorship is concerned.

1:1-24:22 is attributed to Solomon (thus dating to the 900’s BC)

24:23-34 are attributed to “the wise”

25:1-29:27 are attributed to Solomon, but were collected and recorded by “Hezekiah’s men”.

30:1-33 is attributed to Agur

31:1-31 is attributed to Lemuel

Ecclesiastes is attributed to Solomon by some. If that is the case, the book dates to the 900’s BC. Others would argue for an unknown author, and put the date of composition around 390 BC.

Ezra-Nehemiah. They are treated as a single book in the Talmud, Josephus, and the Canon of Melito (AD 171). They are also treated as a single book in the Masoretic Text (traditional Hebrew Bible).

The author of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah is unknown, though Ezra’s chapters 7-9 apparently were written by Ezra, since they are in the first person. The account in chapters 1-6 is compiled from records, including decrees (1:2-4; 6:3-12), genealogies and name lists (2), and letters (4:7-22; 5:6-17). There are two sections that have been preserved in Aramaic (4:8-6:18 and 7:12-26). Aramaic was the diplomatic language during this period. Sources for the section labeled “Nehemiah” in our text include what appear to be memoirs of Nehemiah, written in the first person: Nehemiah 1:1-7:73a; 11:1-2; 12:31-43: 13:4-31. The date of the final composition of the book is generally accepted as being sometime during the 4th century BC.

Song of Songs is attributed to Solomon, which would place its date of composition in the 900’s BC.

 

The following are attributed to the person from whom they are named:

Isaiah; it consists several oracles given by him over several years (740-690 BC). Its final form as we have it (assuming a single, unitary authorship to the book) would thus be sometime during the 7th century BC.

Jeremiah, who lived from about 627 to 580 BC.

Ezekiel, who was born around 622 BC. Based on internal dating, the book covers the time from about 593 through about 570 BC.

Daniel, and thus would have been written sometime between 605 BC and about 530 BC.

Hosea. His prophesies cover the period from 753-715 BC.

Joel. The date of the book is uncertain, with dates ranging from the early pre-exilic (800’s BC) to late post-exilic period (500-400 BC).

Amos. Dates between 767 and 753 BC.

Obadiah. Dates between 847 and 841 BC.

Jonah. Dates to the 700’s BC.

Micah. Dates between 740 and 695 BC.

Nahum. Two different dates are generally accepted as possibilities for Nahum’s ministry: 661-612 BC or 722-701 BC.

Habakkuk. Dates to sometime between 612 and 587 BC.

Zephaniah. Dates sometime during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC)

Haggai. It is possible to date his prophesies very exactly (since he gave us the precise day he uttered his prophesies):

1:1 August 29, 520 BC

1:15 September 21, 520 BC

2:19-20 December 18, 520 BC

Zechariah. Chapters 1-8 are attributed to Zechariah and can be dated precisely.

1:1 October, 520 BC

1:7 February 15, 519 BC

7:1 December 7, 518 BC

Chapters 9-14 were not written by Zechariah and cannot be easily dated. That they were not written by Zechariah is clear from both internal and external evidence. 9-11 were written by Jeremiah, according to Matthew 27:9-10, which quotes Zechariah 11:12-13 and attributes it to Jeremiah. The date would then be sometime between 627 and 580 BC. Chapters 12-14 are titled “an oracle” and are attributed to no one.

Malachi. Based on Mark 1:2-3, the book called “Malachi” was apparently actually written by Isaiah, since there the author of Mark quotes from “Malachi” but attributes it to Isaiah. The title “Malachi”, taken from 1:1 is simply the Hebrew phrase “my messenger”, and the word is so translated in 3:1. The date of the book would then be sometime between 740 and 690 BC.

 

 

The New Testament:

All four gospels were written by the person whose name they bear.

Matthew was originally written in Hebrew, not Greek as much of the rest of the New Testament. Also by Jewish tradition, the vowels were still excluded from Lord or God, and still today many orthodox Jews write those words as “L-rd” and “G-d”. This practiced was continued so as not to desecrate His name. Jesus died by 32 (possibly 33) A.D. By 50 A.D., Matthew had been translated at least three times, into three different languages.

Mark’s gospel was written and copied so much that it was often included in non-Christian collections, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. This all happened within 18 years.

Luke was the author of his gospel and the book of Acts. Since the book of Acts was written afterward, and since Acts was apparently written before Paul’s execution during the reign of Nero, the book of Luke is apparently relatively early, perhaps before AD 60. Luke does refer to his gospel account in the book of Acts.

John- Attributed to John, the apostle of Jesus. Probably composed between AD 85 and 90, though some scholars have suggested dates as early as AD 66 and as late as AD 110. John’s gospel, along with his 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd letters, as well as the book of Revelation (all attributed to him), are probably the only books of the Bible not written by 66 A.D.

Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy. Titus, Philemon all written by Paul between 50 and 67 A.D.

Hebrews – Traditionally Paul has been given credit for the book, though there is little in the book to suggest that he is the author, since it was written anonymously. Written as early as AD 60, but certainly written before the destruction of Jerusalem AD 70.

James, Peter and Jude all wrote the books that contain their names.

 

Notice how many of these writing recount first-hand knowledge. These aren’t campfire legends that someone’s great-great-grandkids decided would be “neat” to have in writing. These were testimonies from the hands of the people who experienced it. So many overlooked facts could only have been recounted by those who were present. For example, in John 12:3 “Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” John was obviously present when this occurred, or how would he know the strength of the perfume’s fragrance?

 

Many historians hold to the belief that it was the Christians who first used books. They had many writings from different sources. Some, like the letters o John and Jude, are very short and would only contain a small page, not enough for an entire scroll. Christians bound the paper together on one side, using yarn or string or some kind of lacing. Thus was born the book.

 

Before 100 A.D., all churches shared the attitude to what was considered Scripture. There were four gospels. This is the earth number (see my post, Numbers in the Bible- What do they mean? ) There are four “corners” of the earth, four seasons, four winds (north, south, east, west), four faces on the creature in Ezekiel. It made sense that there should be four gospels.

 

In the terror of a book-made-movie, The DaVinci Code, the characters mention a meeting between church officials, who decided what the Bible would or wouldn’t say. That’s half true. The meetings that took place, there were actually several, were usually to discuss doctrinal interpretations. How do we define the gift of tongues? Baptism of water, or of Spirit, or both? Can we eat pork or has that law been eradicated? True, the discussion of books to be included was at first an important part of the dialogue. When it did come up, there were rules in place to determine that no false information was entered into Holy writings.

To be considered a part of the Bible, the writing had to be from either 1.) A direct disciple of Jesus, or 2.) A direct disciple of a direct disciple of Jesus. This way, the author would always be able to honestly say, “I saw it,” or “My teacher saw it.” No one would be able to say, “My neighbor’s cousin heard from a friend that Jesus could fly.” That wouldn’t be good enough. It HAD to be a 1^st hand experience, or learned from the one who had the 1^st hand experience. That is why so many other books were not included in the Bible. No conspiracy, just an issue of credibility.

 

The only books not accepted into the collection by 100 A.D. were Hebrew, 2^nd Peter, 2^nd & 3^rd John, and Jude. All but Hebrews because they were so little. The church leaders wondered, “Why would God say so little at once?” They were all ultimately accepted, despite their sizes, because God can deliver a message of any size He wants. Hebrews was accepted because they believed it to be from Paul.

 

There are 14 books called Apocrypha. These are books accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. These are not in the Christian Bible, only in Catholic editions. None of these books were referenced or quoted by Jews, apostles, or any other early church leaders before their induction. They are considered by most to be extra-Biblical, and therefore not considered as Holy Scripture.

 

Jude and James are the only exceptions to the “1^st hand apostle” rule. James was a leader of the Jerusalem church. He is actually mentioned earlier, in Acts 15:13, which says, “After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, ‘Brethren, listen to me.’” And in verse 20, James even suggests to his fellow council that, instead of troubling Gentiles who turn Christian, they write to the Gentiles about the things of God to encourage them. Thus, he was familiar to both Paul and Barnabas, and had already been mentioned in other Scripture.

Jude, a form of the Hebrew name for Judah or Judas, was quite a common Jewish name. There are generally two possibilities considered as author of the short letter. They are 1.) Judas the apostle (not Judas Iscariot; See Luke 6:16). 2.) Judas, the brother of the Lord. (See Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3) The latter is more likely. So, while Jude was not a disciple of Jesus Christ, he was probably his brother, born of Mary and Joseph.

 

By AD 500, the Bible was translated into over 500 languages. By 600, only 1 was allowed by the “official” Catholic church, and that was the Latin Bible. Anyone caught using any other translation, not ordained by the Roman Catholic church, was subject to death.

 

Needless to say, but there were many who did not follow the Catholic Church’s teaching, and so went their own ways. They continued to use other Bibles, but it remained that the Latin was by far the most common. It wasn’t until the 1500’s that the first official English Bible was translated. Whatever translation, whatever language, the Bible had remained in tact for centuries. Its text endured for at least 2,500 years. Sadly, there are many “newer religions” that have translated the Bible for their own purposes, agendas and doctrines. This is one thing I beg you to beware of. Do not take the words of Holy Scripture lightly, but instead meditate on their meaning and prayerfully endeavor to understand what the Lord is speaking to you.

Happy reading. Be blessed.

 

Numbers in the Bible- What do they mean?

With all the buzz about the “Mark of the Beast”, and his number, 666, many have been getting curious about numerology. Make no mistake, though. The Antichrist will not be so easy to find that we just count the letters in his name. We won’t go, “Oh, three names, six letters each. Must be the Antichrist!” Not so. The number 666 will most likely be the numerical value of the total of the Hebrew letters to his name, or his names’ meanings.

I’d like to take this opportunity to explain briefly the meaning and significance of certain numbers in Scripture. This isn’t the popular number crunching nonsense that says you can add up numbers and find your true love or your winning lottery ticket combo or your fortune. That type of belief is actually sin. But God has given a specific meaning to certain numbers, and used those numbers at precise times. God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Many believe He was foreshadowing the world’s time-line. The Bible tells us that one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years as one day to the Lord. So the model of Creation is a prophecy toward the 6000 years, or 6 “days”, earth has, with the 7th “day”, or last 1000 years being the reign of Christ on earth. This is just a detail of one example of the use God has for numbers. Here, now, is a list of numbers, their significance, a few examples and other verses where they are used. There are MANY more than I have listed, but this is a good sample to give you the idea.

1= Primary number, signifying, absolute singleness.

    One God, One Creator, One Way (Jesus), “there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:5-7) “There is only One who is good.”(Matthew 19:17) “since there is only one God, who will justify…”(Romans 3:30) “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy…”(James 4:12)

The word “ONE” shows up 2207 times in the NIV Bible, 2369 in NASB, and 2304 in the NKJV Bible.

 

2= The number of witnesses and support. 

    Two angels at Sodom, 2 cherubim on the Ark of Covenant, 2 tablets for 10 commandments, 2 witnesses during tribulation, see Gen 1:16; 19:1; Exod 25:22; 31:18; Deut 17:6; Matt 26:60; Num 14:6; Josh 2:1; Eccl 4:9; Luke 10:1; 24:4; Acts 1:10; Heb 6:18; Rev 11:3

 

3= The number of unity, accomplishment and the universe.

     Noah’s 3 sons, Israel’s 3 yearly feasts, Jonah in the fish for 3 days, Christ dead for 3 days, 3 areas to the tabernacle (inner and outer court, Holy of Holies),

Gen 6:10; Josh 1:11; Exod 23:14, 17; Judges 7:22; Ezra 10:9; Neh 2:11; Esther 4:16; Jonah 1:17; Luke 13:7; 22:61; John 2:19; Acts 9:9; 10:13; 1 Cor 13:13; 1 John 5:7-8; Rev. 21:13;

 

4= An earth-related number.

     4 directions- north, south, east, west; 4 seasons- summer, winter, fall, spring; 4 gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; 4 earthly kingdoms (Dan7:3), 4 kinds of spiritual soil (Matt 13), 4 horsemen of the Tribulation (Rev 6)

 

5= The number of grace.

     Benjamin’s portion 5 times larger (Gen 43:34), 5 Levitical offerings (Lev 1-5), 5 Israelites to chase 100 enemies (Lev 26:8), David took 5 stones to slay Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40), 5 wise and 5 unwise virgins (Matt 25:2), 1 Kings 7:39, 49; 2 Kings 25:19; 1 Chron 2:4,6; Isaiah 19:18; Matt 14:13, 17, 19, 21; Matt 25:20; John 4:18;

 

6= The number of man.

     Six days of creation (Gen 1:31), Six cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6), Israel marched around Jericho 6 times (Josh6:3), Goliath 6 cubits tall (1 Sam 17:4), Nebuchadnezzar’s statue was 60 cubits by 6 cubits (Dan 3:1), The number of the Antichrist is 666 (Rev 13:18), Jeremiah 34:14; Ezekiel 4:11; 9:2; Matthew 17:1; 27:45; Luke 11:37-52; John 2:6; Acts 11:12; Rev 4:8

 

7= The number of God, of divine perfection.

      God rested on the 7^th day (Gen 2:2), God’s Word is as silver purified 7 times (Psalm 12:6), Jesus taught to forgive 70 times 7 (Matt 18:22),  Seven miracles in the Gospel of John, Seven branches on the candlesticks, John wrote to seven churches (Rev1:4), Dan 9:24;  Rev 1:12,16; 5:1; 8:2

 

8= The new beginning number.

      8 saved from the flood (Gen 7:13, 23), Circumcision on the 8^th day (Gen 17:12), Thomas saw Jesus 8 days after the resurrection (John 20:26), Judges 12:14; 1 Samuel 17:12; 2 Kings 22:1; 1 Chronicles 27:11; 2 Chronicles 21:5; Ezekiel 40:8-9, 31, 34, 37, 41; Luke 9:28;

 

9= means the fullness of blessing.

     The fruit of the Spirit is ninefold (Gal 5:22-23), Sarah was 90 at the birth of Isaac (Gen 17:17), and there are 18 [9×2]gifts of the Spirit (Rom 12:1; 1 Cor 12; Eph 4)

 

10= Human government number.

      10 commands given to men at Mt. Sinai (Exod 20), The revived Roman empire will have 10 nations (Dan 7:24; Rev 17:12), The northern kingdom had 10 tribes (1 Kings 11:31-35), the local government of 10 men decided Ruth’s fate (Ruth 4:2), Josh 15:57; 21:26; Judges 12:11; 17:10; Ruth 4:2; 1 Kings 6:23-26; 11:35; Job 19:3; Jeremiah 42:7; Daniel 1:12-15; Matthew 25:1; Luke 17:11-12; Rev 17:12

 

12= The divine government number.

      There were 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation 7), There were 12 apostles (Matthew 10), There will be 12 gates at New Jerusalem (Rev 21), Gen 25:16; 35:22; 49:28; Numbers 1:44; 7:84, 87; 2 Kings 21:1; Ezekiel 43:16; Luke 2:42;

 

30= Associated with sorrow and mourning.

       Israel mourned 30 days after Aaron’s death (Numbers 20:29), Israel mourned Moses 30 days (Deut 34:8), Prayer prohibited for 30 days (Daniel 6:7, 12), Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15; 27:3), Gen 41:46; Numbers 4; Judges 10:4; 12:9; 14:19; 1 Samuel 13:1; 2 Kings 18:14; Esther 4:11; Proverbs 22:20; Jeremiah 38:10; Zechariah 5:2; Luke 3:23; John 2:6

 

40= The number for testing and trial.

      It rained for 40 days and 40 nights during the Flood (Gen 7:4), Moses spent 40 years in the desert (Exodus 3), Israel spied out the land for 40 days (Numbers 13:25), Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:18), Israel wandered the desert for 40 years (Numbers 14:33), Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days (1 Samuel 17:16), Jonah preached to Nineveh for 40 days (Jonah 3:4), Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert (Matthew 4:2), There were 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension of Christ (Acts 1:3), Genesis 25:20; 26:24; Exodus 16:25; Joshua 4:13; Judges 8:28; 1 Samuel 4:18; 1 Kings 11:42; 19:18; 2 Kings 8:9; 2 Chronicles 24:1; Psalm 95:10; Ezekiel 29:11-13; Acts 23:12-13, 21

 

50= Associated with celebration and ceremony.

      The Feast of Weeks was 50 days after Passover (Lev 23:15-16), The 50^th year was to be a jubilee for Israel (Lev 25:10), Absalom appointed 50 men to run before him(2 Sam 15:1), Pentecost occurred 50 days after Christ’s resurrection (Acts 2), Gen 7:24; Numbers 4; 8:25; 1 Kings 1:5; 18:4; 2 Kings 1:9-13; 2 Chron 3:9; Nehemiah 5:17; Luke 9:14-15; Acts 19:19

 

70= Associated with human committees and judgment.

      The Sanhedrin was made up of 70 men. Moses appointed 70 elders (Numbers 11:16), Tyre judged for 70 years (Isaiah 23:15), Israel spent 70 years in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:20), the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years (Daniel 9:2), Jesus appointed 70 disciples (Luke 10:1, 17), Numbers 11:16, 24-25; Deut 10:22; Judges 8:30; 9:5; 2 Kings 10:1; Ezekiel 8:11; Daniel 9:20, 24; Zechariah 1:2; 7:5; Matthew 18:22; Acts 23:23

The Bible and Racism: A few points on race and origin

The church, the Bible, and racism.

 

Is the church a help or hindrance when it comes to fighting racism?

The “church” can be defined as:

1.      one particular congregation

2.      one particular or a group of denomination(s)

3.      the body of Christ as a collective fellowship of believers

That makes a HUGE difference in answering our question. Every believer and non-believer alike can and will form their own opinions when it comes to race, color, creed, ethnicity, etc. Similarly, so will each congregation, each denomination, and each region.

 

The question, when it comes to Christianity, is always, “What does the Bible say?” Since we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, this is how we know what God feels on the issue. The first item to understand in this discussion is that there is only one race – the human race. Caucasians, Africans, Asians, Indians, Arabs, Jews, etc., are not different races. Rather, they are different ethnicities of the human race. All human beings have the same physical characteristics (with minor variations, of course). More importantly, all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God.

           

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. –Genesis 1:26-27

 

We must also realize that God loves everyone. (John 3:16) and laid down His life for all (1 John 2:2).

 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. –John 3:16

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. -1 John 2:2

 

God is impartial to all (Deuteronomy 10:17), and shows absolutely no favoritism (Acts 10:34) (Romans 2:11).

 

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. –Deut. 10:17

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism. –Acts 10:34

For God does not show favoritism. –Romans 2:11

 

James 2:4 describes those who show discrimination as “judges with evil thoughts”.

 

have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? –James 2:4

 

Instead, James reminds us again of Jesus’ teaching; that we must “love one another”.

 

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. –James 2:8 (See John 13:34)

 

In the Old Testament, God divided humanity into two “racial” groups: Jew and Gentile. God’s intent was for the Jews to be a kingdom of priests, ministering to the Gentile nations. Instead, for the most part, the Jews became proud of their status and despised the Gentiles. Jesus Christ put an end to this, destroying the dividing wall of hostility.

 

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, -Ephesians 2:14

 

Therefore, any form of racism, prejudice, or discrimination is an affront to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Since God loves us impartially, we should love one another in a similar fashion. If we, as sinners, can be loved so by a prefect God, it shouldn’t be too much for Him to expect that we keep the same high standard and love others. Jesus teaches at the end of Matthew 25 that whatever we do to the least of His brothers, we do to Him. If we treat a person with contempt, we are mistreating a person created in God’s image; we are hurting somebody that God loves and Jesus died for.

 

Racism, in varying forms and to various degrees, has been a plague on humanity for thousands of years. Brothers and sisters of all ethnicities, this should not be! To victims of racism, prejudice, and discrimination – you need to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” No, racists do not deserve your forgiveness, but we deserved God’s forgiveness far less! To perpetrators of racism, prejudice, and discrimination – you need to repent and “present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13).

 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. –Galatians 3:28

 

God created this universe, this world and everyone in it. People exist in their variety because God designed it that way. Put simply, racism is a criticism of His handiwork.

 

 

Where did race originate? Generally, from camps, though eventually through the families of Noah’s sons spreading out over the earth. Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Of Ham:

The youngest son of Noah, from whom sprang the western and southwestern nations known to the Hebrews. His name first occurs in Genesis 5:32, where, as in 6:10 and elsewhere, it occupies the second place. In Genesis 9:18 Ham is described as “the father of Canaan”.

The name given, in Psalms 105:23,17; 106:22 (compare 78:51), to Egypt as a descendant of Ham, son of Noah. As Shem means “dusky,” or the like, and Japheth “fair,” it has been supposed that Ham meant, as is not improbable, “black.” This is supported by the evidence of Hebrew and Arabic, in which the word chamam means “to be hot” and “to be black,” the latter signification being derived from the former. 

Four Sons of Ham (see map below):
    1. Mizraim (Egypt)
   2. Cush (Sudan, Ethiopia)
   3. Put (Lybia)
   4. Canaan (Hivites, Jebusites, Arvadites, Girgashites, Amorites, Arkites, Sinites, Hittites, 
                  Sidonians, Perizzites, Zemarites)

CURSE OF CANAAN
   1. Canaan was cursed, not Ham. (Gen. 9:25, “…cursed be Canaan…”
   2. Genesis 9:25-27 “…servitude to his brothers…”
   3. Exodus 20:5 –” A curse lasts three to four generations…”
   4. Canaan does not exist as a nation today. Other three nations exist — Egypt, Ethiopia 
       and Lybia.

 Of Shem:

The eldest son of Noah, from whom the Jews, as well as the Semitic (“Shemitic”) nations in general have descended. When giving the names of Noah’s three sons, Shem is always mentioned first (Genesis 9:18; 10:1, etc.); and though “the elder” in “Shem the brother of Japheth the elder” (Genesis 10:21 margin) is explained as referring to Shem, this is not the rendering of Onkelos. 

His five sons peopled the greater part of West Asia’s finest tracts, from Elam on the East to the Mediterranean on the West. Though generally regarded as meaning “dusky” (compare the Assyr-Babylonian samu–also Ham–possibly = “black,” Japheth, “fair”), it is considered possible that Shem may be the usual Hebrew word for “name” (shem), given him because he was the firstborn–a parallel to the Assyr-Babylonian usage, in which “son,” “name” (sumu) are synonyms (W. A. Inscriptions, V, plural 23, 11,29-32abc).

Five Sons of Shem (see map below):
    1. Elam (Arabia)
   2. Asshur (Assyria)
   3. Lud (Lydians)
   4. Aram (Aramaic, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria)
   5. Arphaxad (From which Abraham descended)

 

Of Japheth:

This name, in Genesis 9:27, seems to be explained by the phrase “may God make wide (yapht, the American Standard Revised Version “enlarge”) for Japheth,” where yapht and Japheth are represented by the same consonants, but with different vowel-points. The root of yapht is pathach, “to make wide.” 

This etymology, however, is not universally accepted, as the word-play is so obvious, and the association of Japheth with Shem (“dark”) and Ham (“black”) suggests a name on similar lines–either gentilic, or descriptive of race. Japheth has therefore been explained as meaning “fair,” from yaphah, the non-Sem and non-Hamitic races known to the Jews being all more or less white-skinned. The Targum of Onkelos agrees with the English Versions of the Bible, but that of Jonathan has “God shall beautify Japheth,” as though from yaphah.

Seven Sons of Japheth (see map below):
    1. Javan (Greece, Romans, Romance — French, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese)
   2. Magog (Scythians, Slavs, Russians, Bulgarians, Bohemians, Poles, Slovaks, Croatians)
   3. Madai (Indians & Iranic: Medes, Persians, Afghans, Kurds)
   4. Tubal (South of Black Sea)
   5. Tiras (Thracians, Teutons, Germans, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Jutes)
   6. Meshech (Russia)
   7. Gomer (Celtic)

 

 

Sources: http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGham.htm

http://www.gotquestions.org/racism-Bible.html

http://www.biblestudy.org/question/racism.html

This is a GREAT video on YouTube. Its 28 min long, but well worth the time. The guy in the video is Ken Ham. He’s a very well studied creation-based scientist, and pretty well knows what he’s talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez_eRihgmJ8 He points out the connection between the induction of Darwinism and acceptance of racist-based theology.

 

 

The Right to Vote

Each of us has one vote, but each of us can mobilize hundreds, even thousands of votes. That’s the secret to helping the right people win elections: you simply need to get more people to vote for them. Remember that many people are not paying nearly as much attention to the elections as you are, and even less attention to the candidates and their positions. Many who trust you will accept your guidance about the importance of voting for a particular candidate.
Don’t be afraid to use that influence!

 

As Election Day draws near, focus on the “low-hanging fruit.” Remember, the numbers are what counts. You have a limited amount of time to try to garner as many votes as possible. It’s like going into an orange grove to gather as many oranges as you can in a limited amount of time. It doesn’t make sense to expend time and energy climbing to the top of the trees to get the oranges there when you can get many more that are within arm’s reach with much less time and energy.
Reach for the low-hanging fruit!

 

So it is with elections. Rather than spend hours trying to convince one person to vote the right way, spend that time and energy reminding dozens of people – who are already in agreement with you on the issues – to get out and cast their vote. Don’t go looking for the personal victory of catching the “hard to get” voter.
Go catch the easier ones and bring the candidate to victory!

 

If you can take the day off on Election Day, do so. Spend the day contacting people by phone and email, reminding them to vote. Maybe a friend needs a ride to the polls or someone to watch the children while they go to vote.
If you call a friend in the morning to remind him to vote, call him again later to verify that he did so!

 

And if your state has early voting, and the polls are open now, get people to the polls before Election Day!

 

Voting for the right candidate should be the culmination of a whole list of things you do to help get him or her into office. These things include donating to the campaign, volunteering for the campaign, handing out literature for the candidate, making phone calls and visits on the candidate’s behalf, sending emails, using yard signs and bumper stickers, and praying for the candidate.

 

If you have a website, or a You Tube channel, or are active on MySpace or Facebook, use all those avenues as well to speak up for the candidate of your choice!

 

Elections, after all, are not contests between two candidates. They are contests between two teams. And it is the team that has more active members doing all these things that, in the end, will bring in the most votes.

 

Having done all this, rejoice in a clear conscience, and trust the Lord to bring about the victory for a Culture of Life!

Politics. Stand for someting.

Politics. So many of us are just sick of it. Neither candidate has been telling the whole truth. Neither of them has a perfect voting record. Both of them love to sling mud. Its part of the job. One has to wonder, though, if being in the position of a presidential candidate requires such, let call it cruelty, and a heartlessness that you can publically attack another in front of millions, what else must that person have done to be in that position? Did they have to lie? Cheat? Break IRS tax codes and commit mass corporate deceptions? I’m sure that they did. You can’t get all the way to the top without stepping on a few toes.

 

He taxes too much. If you vote for him you’ll be homeless. If you vote for the other one, your children will starve. But if you vote for the first guy, they’ll lose all their education and become stupid rejects, begging for day-old scraps behind the ghetto bakery. But the other guy will take your job. And the other one will tax your new raise so you actually come home with $5 less every week. One of them will date your mom. The other will shut down her nursing home. One will have dinner with terrorists at Arby’s while the other just sends him a check at Christmas, even though they don’t celebrate Christmas.

 

Here’s what I’m saying: There are bigger issues than whose face is on the front page. Every day 6000 kids are killed by mid-term or later abortion. They refuse to allow Bibles in schools, so Christian parents teach home school, allowing their children to learn math and moral values at the same time. While the schools are taking a massive dump when it comes to value and ethics and crime and teaching self-worth, the state of California just outlawed Christians from their God-given right to teach their own kids. Now they have to send them to the cesspool of a school that will teach anti-creation science, thereby infringing on the rights of students to practice their own religion freely (but don’t worry, they won’t attack Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, pagans, wiccans, Scientologists, etc. Just the Christians.)

 

Let’s see, what else? Lets talk about gay marriage. I’m all for gays to have the right to choose their lifestyle- its their choice. (Just like my kids schooling used to be.) But I’m not for the whole gay-marriage thing. Sure, they can practice it, but that doesn’t really make it a marriage. I know, I know, they’ve redefined what “marriage” is, but it used to be a union before God between a man and a woman. Since most homosexuals don’t believe in or care for God, they can’t really have a union before Him that He will honor. But, what they hey, they ignored my right to practice my faith (only if it’s from the Christian Bible) by ignoring the 1^st amendment, why not ignore the other principals too.

 

So who is going to do what to help me out? Am I personally going to benefit from either party being elected? Maybe, but probably not. There aren’t a whole lot of things that are going to actually make a difference in the way I daily live my life. I could be wrong, but here’s how I look at it:

If one side is accused of overtaxing and the other of allowing abortions, I will sacrifice a couple bucks, even a couple hundred, per year to vote for the sanctity of life.

If one side is accused of sending jobs overseas and the other of limiting free speech, I’m probably going to have to go for free speech. There will always be a need for jobs on the US. They may not be the best, but we have too many people not to need a ton of jobs. We also have a lot of politicians going after free speech, even though the ones attacked are the churches and the right. Hmm.

If one side wants to build a thousand mile fence at the borders and the other wants to let gays marry, I will go for the fence. Those guys are great climbers and if they can get in through, over or under a military fence, then they deserve to stay. For those that can’t, they can still come here, but have to go through the legal process. Meanwhile, I stand up for what I believe regarding gay marriage. I’m not anti-gay, but I’m not pro-gay. I’m just ok-gay; they can do their thing, but I don’t want tax dollars going toward something I find immoral.

Bottom line, I can’t do anything about the politicians. But, then again, I will probably never have to answer to them. I will, however, have to answer to God. I will stand before Him and be able to say that I voted for the things and the principles that are on His side, His Law, and His eternal purpose. I will say that I stood up for hundreds of thousands of innocent children and supported their right to life. I will say that I voted against the activity that led to His destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, the activities that He calls an abomination. I will be able to say that I stood up for His Word, His teaching, for the right to exhibit by faith, to speak freely the gospel. I will say, “Jesus, I stood up for you.”

What do you stand for?

Reporter falsely held due to info on Barack & Odinga ties

The Kenyan government on October 7, 2008, essentially kidnapped a reporter. The reporter is World Net Daily senior staff writer Jerome “Jerry” Corsi. Corsi was scheduled to deliver damning evidence on both US presidential hopeful Barack Obama and his cousin, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

At nearly 10 a.m. Corsi was entering his hotel, the Grand Regency Hotel in Nairobi, Kenyan, where the press conference was to take place, when he was ambushed by immigration officers.

“He was walking in and then some immigration officers who were following him snatched him. It happened so fast, they just vanished with him,” said one hotel employee.

In late December 2007 Kenya held a presidential election, of which the winner was announced as Mwai Kibaki. Immediately following the announcement, Odinga called foul. He accused election fraud and there was soon fighting in the streets and slums of Kenya. Over 1,000 were killed and 500,000 displaced from their homes. Hundreds and hundreds of churches were burned to the ground, destroyed or had to be abandoned. One Assemblies of God pastor reported that over 400 of their churches were affected similarly. Most of those killed were part of Kibaki’s party, Christians, or both. Coincidentally, no reports of any mosque damage were reported from that wave of violence.

Corsi was about to disclose evidence that Barack Hussein Obama had not only remained in close contact with his cousin Odinga, but that the contact was in reference to Obama coaching Odinga on campaign strategy and in raising U.S. funds for Odinga’s race to the presidency.

 

Even worse, Corsi was to reveal evidence that Odinga’s campaign strategy called for the exploitation of Kikuyu tribal settlements, claiming victory and charging voter fraud even if the campaign knew the election had been legitimately lost, and that Obama was aware of it. That is exactly what he ended up doing. Odinga was also willing to encourage the ethnic tribal violence against the Kikuyu, which is Kibaki’s tribe. The plan was to then provoke the Electoral Commission of Kenya to declare him the winner. Currently, there is a power-sharing arrangement between Odinga and Kibaki.

 

Of concern to many is the series of promises that Odinga made to the Kenyan Muslim community. He has yet to fulfill his promises, or to declare a position on Shariah law. Corsi said that Obama remained in active phone contact with his cousin through the New Hampshire Democratic Party primary in January. Obama has continually turned a blind eye to an agreement that Odinga signed with Muslims as well as the post-election violence that was initiated by Odinga’s political party.

 

Some reports that came out of the fighting stated that the price for a home or church to be burned was as little as $8 (USD) and a life could be taken for $16 (USD).

 

It is unclear who is behind the detaining of Corsi, or why. What is known is that many powerful political leaders would not want this information to be made public. Who had immigration capture Corsi and stop the press conference? Who has the most to lose? Obama? Odinga? One can conclude that perhaps it’s all in the family.

 

For more on this, please visit: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77268

When a Candidate Lies…

In this first video, Barack’s brother says that Barack will be a good Muslim leader and that Jews needn’t worry. There is a picture of Barack Hussein Obama in Muslim dress.

Here in the second video clip, Barack Hussein Obama slips up and, quite comfortably, says, “my Muslim faith.” Only when the guy interviewing Barack corrects him, does Mr. H. Obama try to salvage the slip.

In this third video, it starts off with Barack Hussein Obama’s admition that his Christian church is ok. Then his pastor says “God damn America” There are a lot of YouTube videos about his pastor’s racist & anti-America comments. feel free to search. Then Barack Hussein Obama says he’s been to 57 states, (with 1 to go, Alaska & Hawaii). Theres only 50 US states, but there ARE 57 Islamic states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Hmmm….. There are a lot of pictures that would seem to suggest nothhing but the fact that Barack Hussein Obama has a Muslim background. Whether or not he is now a Muslim is not the issue. The issue is lying to the US people. Also, he lied on the state bar exam in Chicago, saying he’d never been know by any other names, but he was registered at his Indonesian School (as a Muslim) by the name of Barry Soetoro. The lady in the video doesn’t quite read along with the words well, but thats why there’s a pause button.

To the Unbeliever

Christians. Bible-Huggers. Born-Agains. Religious Nuts. Holy-Rollers. I’ve been called them all. And, yeah. I’m one of ‘em. I am a Christian. With that statement is usually followed, by non-believers and self-described heathens, with a list of my shortcomings.

            “Well, if you’re a Christian, then how come you….?”

How come I what? Smoked? Drank? Fornicated? Had a porno when I was 18? Screwed a girl who’s last name I didn’t know? If I’m a Christian, WHAT??

Since we’re on it, you do the same and claim no moral basis whatsoever. You do it and you’re proud of it. So then, why are you judging me? I’m the one with the, as you put it, impossible standard. I should be judging, shouldn’t I? But then, I never claimed to be perfect, or to have it all together. But the fact is, I’m trying. And when I make a mistake, I have what’s called “remorse” for what I’ve done. I am genuinely sorry when I screw up or have a lapse in judgment. So what do I do? I pick myself up and try again.

Either way, yeah, I’m a Christian and I’m into the whole “God thing”. Yes, I’m reading the Bible, and I sure will quote it to you. Yes, I quit doing a few of the things I used to do, then a few more.

Why is it that you, a non-believer, non-Christian (or atheist, Satanist, pagan, wiccan, agnostic, etc.) are so concerned with my new life?

Is it that you don’t want me to have godly standards? Is it that you like me better when I’m a drunk? Or when I’m high? Do you like when I steal things?  Swear? Listen to music about sex, and grinding hot, sweaty body parts against total strangers? The music about “tappin’ hoes” and getting stoned? You like when I’m like that?

Or maybe, JUST MAYBE, you feel that, when I quote the Bible, or display an act of Christianity, could it be that YOU feel convicted? Maybe it is that way. Maybe it should be. Maybe, when I take on a lifestyle of complete peace, feeling the love that no person can ever give, when I decide its not good to get wasted, trashed, high, screwed, or chance being busted- maybe that’s good for ME. I like feeling good. Not “good” like a crack binge, or temporary buzz that goes away leaving me feel like human waste, but good in the sense that there is actually a bigger purpose to life, a God out there who actually loves me as though I was perfect. I like feeling like I’m doing the right thing, not just my thing. And maybe my God, who I know is real, wants you to feel that way too. Whatever your argument is, He already sent me and every other Bible-toting, cross-wearing, Scripture-quoting Christian your way. There’s a Bible in almost every book store, a church on almost every corner. The little flyer you found on the counter in the public bathroom, the billboards, the TV channel that EVERYONE gets with preacher after preacher telling you that Jesus loves you.

You know what I hear? “If God loved me, He’d…”

You know something? He already has. You know how? Everything I’ve just mentioned is getting to you. That’s the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You will either fight it and become even more embittered, or you will accept it.

If you can say that I, and the millions of others who have GENUINELY felt the very presence and love of God are wrong, then quit here. If you can push past your pride and selfishness, keep going. If you feel that I might be right in some way, carry on.

 

Jesus lived. That’s a fact. Some 2000 years ago, He walked the earth and taught great things. It didn’t end there.

Secret Agendas- Articles that read ‘between the lines’

Source: http://www.infowars.com/?p=4771

 

Army Awards Contract for “High Speed Portable Portal Iris Capture Solution”

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

September 23, 2008

Sarnoff Corporation today announced it has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to develop and demonstrate a high speed biometric capture technology solution for iris-based identification. The system will be designed to be ruggedized for field use and quickly deployable.

The new iris recognition system will leverage Sarnoff’s patent-pending Iris on the Move(R) (IOM) technology for fast and reliable identification. IOM is a proven biometric identification system that quickly captures the iris image of a person in motion. The technology is ideally suited for force protection, civil-military operations, and combat situations.

Other iris scanning technologies require users to stop, line up their eye properly, and stare directly into a scanner for a period of time. IOM technology verifies identities at speeds of up to thirty people per minute, allowing subjects to walk through the system at a standard pace, without stopping. In addition, Sarnoff’s design will automatically adjust for subjects’ height without slowing throughput.

“Current biometric ID systems take too long to identify people in high traffic areas and cause long lines to form at checkpoints,” said Dr. Don Newsome, President and CEO of Sarnoff Corporation. “This is inconvenient and poses a security risk. The IOM technology makes it easy to set up iris scanning checkpoints that are as reliable as other biometric-based options but quick enough to keep lines moving rapidly.”

The IOM system delivers accurate identification regardless of whether the subject is wearing prescription glasses, most sunglasses, or contact lenses. In addition, IOM technology can capture iris images from farther distances than any other commercial iris scanning technology.

Sarnoff has delivered IOM technology to several secure government facilities and private corporations. The technology can be used for a broader range of applications including banking ID verification, border crossing initiatives, event security, payment systems, and employee access.

Video clip example of iris scan in ‘Minority Reeport’. Gov’t embedded idea into movies to “get people ready”.

Article URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6607757.stm

   

 

 

US and EU agree ‘single market’

The United States and the European Union have signed up to a new transatlantic economic partnership at a summit in Washington.

The pact is designed to boost trade and investment by harmonizing regulatory standards, laying the basis for a US-EU single market.

The two sides also signed an Open Skies deal, designed to reduce fares and boost traffic on transatlantic flights.

But little of substance was agreed on climate change.

However, EU leaders were pleased that the US acknowledged human activity was a major cause.

Richest regions

Economics rather than the environment or politics was the focus of the summit, says the BBC’s Europe correspondent, Jonny Dymond, from Washington.

The two sides agreed to set up an “economic council” to push ahead with regulatory convergence in nearly 40 areas, including intellectual property, financial services, business takeovers and the motor industry.

            Without the US there can’t be any success in coping with a globalised world

European diplomat

 

The aim is to increase trade and lower costs.

Some reports suggest that incompatible regulations in the world’s two richest regions add 10% to the cost of developing and producing new cars.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said last month that if the US and EU could set business norms today, they would “secure the markets of tomorrow”.

Since she came to office 18 months ago, she has made repairing damaged relations with the US a top priority.

Emission cuts

The Europeans said they were pleased that the US now officially acknowledged that climate change was happening and that human activity was a major cause of it.

“We agree there’s a threat, there’s a very serious global threat,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

“We agree that there is a need to reduce emissions. We agree that we should work together.”

But behind the scenes, says our Europe correspondent, officials were saying that not much had changed.

Ms Merkel will try to nudge the US towards a global approach to climate change before a G8 summit Germany is chairing in six weeks’ time, says our correspondent.

But the US has consistently rejected the European approach of imposing national limits on greenhouse gas emissions, saying they would harm the international economy.

Visa hope

The Open Skies agreement will take effect on 30 March 2008 and will allow EU carriers to fly to anywhere in the US and vice versa.

The deal promises to lower airfares and widen choice for passengers on both sides of the Atlantic.

The EU hopes to go further and create an “Open Aviation Area” between the two sides “in which investment can flow freely and in which European and US airlines can provide air services without any restriction,” said a EU statement.

The EU is also hoping that the US will agree to withdraw its visa requirement for travellers from a number of EU states.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6607757.stm

Published: 2007/04/30 23:21:16 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

Secret Bilderberg Agenda To Microchip Americans Leaked

Elitists want to microchip Americans in name of fighting terrorism, Europeans universally opposed to attack on Iran, Globalists fear oil prices rising too quickly

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Sources from inside the 2008 Bilderberg meeting have leaked the details of what elitists were discussing in Chantilly Virginia last week and the talking points were ominous – a plan to microchip Americans under the pretext of fighting terrorist groups which will be identified as blonde haired, blue eyed westerners.

Veteran Bilderberg sleuth Jim Tucker relies on sources who regularly attend Bilderberg as aides and assistants but who are not Bilderberg members themselves. The information they provided this year is bone-chilling for those who have tracked the development of the plan to make the general public consider implanted microchips as a convenience as routine as credit cards.

“Under the heading of resisting terrorism there were points made about how the terrorist organizations are recruiting people who do not look like terrorists – blonde, blue eyed boys – they’re searching hard for those types to become the new mad bombers,” said Tucker.

As we have documented, the blue eyed blonde haired Al-Qaeda line is a familiar talking point that has been pushed on Fox News and within other Neo-Con circles in an attempt to turn the anti-terror apparatus around to target dissidents, protesters and the American people in general.

Ominously, Tucker’s source also told him that Bilderberg were discussing the microchipping of humans on a mass scale, which would be introduced under the pretext of fighting terrorism whereby the “good guys” would be allowed to travel freely from airports so long as their microchip could be scanned and the information stored in a database.

Tucker said the idea was also sold on the basis that it would help hospital staff treat a patient in an emergency situation because a scan of the chip would provide instantaneous access to health details.

Tucker underscored that Bilderberg were talking about subdermally implanted chips and not merely RFID chips contained in clothing. The discussion took place in a main conference hall and was part of the agenda, not an off-hand remark in the hotel bar.

Such a bizarre concept may seem unbelievable to some, but over the last ten years there have been dozens of examples of people accepting implanted chips for a variety of different reasons.

In 2004, Mexico’s attorney general and 160 of his office staff were implanted with tracker chips to control access to secure areas of their headquarters.

The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona and other nightclubs around the world are already offering implantable chips to customers who want to pay for drinks with the wave of a hand and also get access to VIP areas of the club lounge.

Bilderberg skeptical of attack on Iran

Tucker’s source told him that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates did attend Bilderberg despite him not appearing on the official list.

Tucker said that his sources told him Gates was in attendance to present his case for war with Iran, but that the majority of Bilderberg members were against an attack at this time.

“The Europeans were generally opposed to an invasion of Iran – Gates made the regular war propaganda drill about how Iran is a nuclear threat to everybody,” said Tucker, adding that European Bilderbergers made snide comments about where such nuclear weapons actually were being kept and at one point joking that they were possibly “in Saddam Hussein’s tomb”.

Despite Bilderberg opposition, Tucker said that the administration was still considering an attack before Bush leaves office in January.

“At least 90 per cent of the Europeans oppose a war, probably closer to 100 per cent,” said Tucker, adding, “most of the Americans were passive and deferential to the Secretary of Defense and Condoleezza Rice’s pitch in so far as Iran is concerned”.

Tucker said that most Americans present at the meeting were opposed to attacking Iran but dare not be as visible and loud in their opposition as the Europeans.

Energy and oil prices

“One of the Bilderberg boys raised this question – should we put a lid on the rise in oil prices, are we reaching the point of diminishing returns,” said Tucker, adding that Bilderberg noted how Americans were trading in their SUV’s in record numbers for small and more fuel efficient cars and using more public transport to combat high gas prices.

Tucker’s source said that Bilderberg were predicting $5 for a gallon of gas by the end of this summer and oil over $150 dollars a barrel, but that this was a ceiling and oil prices would probably begin to decline thereafter because they thought the acceleration had happened too quickly.

As we previously reported, Bilderberg called for oil prices to soar in 2005 when oil was a mere $40 a barrel.

During the conference in Germany, Henry Kissinger told his fellow attendees that the elite had resolved to ensure that oil prices would double over the course of the next 12-24 months, which is exactly what happened.

During their 2006 meeting in Ottawa Canada, Bilderberg agreed to push for $105 a barrel before the end of 2008. With that target having been smashed months ago, the acceleration towards $150 is outstripping even Bilderberg’s goal, which is why the elitists expressed a desire to cool prices at least in the short term.

Just two days after he left Bilderberg, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, George W. Bush and others expressed support for a strong dollar and Bernanke hinted that interest rates could rise, which immediately caused oil prices to drop in line with Bilderberg’s consensus.

 

Masons are chipping their kids at a local fair!!!! They do a retinal scan, voice recording and they put an RFID chip in the kids as a carnival attraction.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7octwsoi4HM

 Videos:

Concentration Camps in US:

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqi123hBw2A

Concentration Camps in Texas

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxYxTly-yo8

Apparently, there are a number of buildings throughout the US that are supposedly “abandoned” warehouses and large factory-style businesses. These buildings have unique additions, such as military personnel, US Army & Air force vehicles, wind socks and other markers for helicopters,  the addition of barbed wire- pointing inwards (to keep people in, not out) and added heating systems (for buildings deemed “not in use”).  This is one piece of the puzzle.

 

Bill Clinton was asked about these and basically said, “We need to get along with other agencies and cooperate in our inter-dependant world” He DID say, “We’re better off with NATO. We’re better off with the United Nations.” Hand over our control? Live under the dictatorship of a one world government?

Here’s that link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFPsHPKY0y8

 

The world’s government is planning on mass world depopulation. Many cases of witnesses have seen and taped the piles and piles of caskets. This is for those who die in the depopulation and those who disobey the martial law. Hundreds of thousands of caskets in scarcely populated rural areas. About 1 ½ min into this video is a close-up. Second video even better.

  URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYp85QMJd1Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGa_sdyRS7Q

 

 

FEMA has already built underground caves and tunnels and is ready for a nuclear attack or “plague” to strike. We already know that the governments are working together (google “Builerberg” for more) and that they will more than likely intentionally release the pestilence and/ or weapons to annialate up to 80% of the world’s population. In this video, the FEMA agent becomes suddenly quiet when asked about the underground facilities, even though it is supposedly for “security in the event of an attack”.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S2J3i34XW8

 

A massive conspiracy to create a new one world order?

Watch these, and see the evidence. Then make your decision. (2nd half of this video is of the concentration camp, above)

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXlEfUGEzl4

 

 

This last video is VERY LONG. Its over 2 hours, so watch it as you have time. This is an exclusive documentary about the secret Bilderberg meetings and the plans that the governments have for martial law, with piles of proof and evidence. Here’s the video, followed by Wikipedia’s definition and explanation of the Bilderberg group, and a list of attendees:

 

 URL: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1070329053600562261&ei=kPPWSOX1NqXGrQK_iOnZAg&q=alex+jones+endgame&hl=en

 

Origin and purpose

 Hotel de Bilderberg

The original Bilderberg conference was held at the Hotel de Bilderberg, near Arnhem in The Netherlands, from May 29 to May 31, 1954. The meeting was initiated by several people, including Joseph Retinger, concerned about the growth of anti-Americanism in Western Europe, who proposed an international conference at which leaders from European countries and the United States would be brought together with the aim of promoting understanding between the cultures of United States of America and Western Europe.[5]

Retinger approached Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who agreed to promote the idea, together with Belgian Prime Minister Paul Van Zeeland, and the head of Unilever at that time, the Dutchman Paul Rijkens. Bernhard in turn contacted Walter Bedell Smith, then head of the CIA, who asked Eisenhower adviser C. D. Jackson to deal with the suggestion.[6] The guest list was to be drawn up by inviting two attendees from each nation, one each to represent conservative and liberal (both terms used in the American sense) points of view.[5]

The success of the meeting led the organizers to arrange an annual conference. A permanent Steering Committee was established, with Retinger appointed as permanent secretary. As well as organizing the conference, the steering committee also maintained a register of attendee names and contact details, with the aim of creating an informal network of individuals who could call upon one another in a private capacity. Conferences were held in France, Germany, and Denmark over the following three years. In 1957, the first U.S. conference was held in St. Simons, Georgia, with $30,000 from the Ford Foundation. The foundation supplied additional funding of $48,000 in 1959, and $60,000 in 1963.[6]

Dutch economist Ernst van der Beugel took over as permanent secretary in 1960, upon the death of Retinger. Prince Bernhard continued to serve as the meeting’s chairman until 1976, the year of his involvement in the Lockheed affair. There was no conference that year, but meetings resumed in 1977 under Alec Douglas-Home, the former British Prime Minister. He was followed in turn by Walter Scheel, ex-President of West Germany, Eric Roll, former head of SG Warburg and Lord Carrington, former Secretary-General of NATO.[7]

Attendees

Main article: List of Bilderberg attendees

Attendees of Bilderberg include central bankers, defense experts, mass media press barons, government ministers, prime ministers, royalty, international financiers and political leaders from Europe and North America.

Some of the Western world’s leading financiers and foreign policy strategists attend Bilderberg. Donald Rumsfeld is an active Bilderberger, as is Peter Sutherland from Ireland, a former European Union commissioner and chairman of Goldman Sachs and of British Petroleum. Rumsfeld and Sutherland served together in 2000 on the board of the Swedish/Swiss engineering company ABB. Former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary and former World Bank head Paul Wolfowitz is also a member. The group’s current chairman is Etienne Davignon, the Belgian businessman and politician.

Mainstream criticism

Critics claim the Bilderberg Group promotes the careers of politicians whose views are representative of the interests of multinational corporations, at the expense of democracy.[8] Journalists who have been invited to attend the Bilderberg Conference as observers have discounted these claims, calling the conference “not much different from a seminar or a conference organized by an upscale NGO”[9] with “nothing different except for the influence of the participants.”[10]

 Conspiracy theories

The group’s secrecy and its connections to power elites encourages speculation and mistrust by such groups or individuals who believe that the group is part of a conspiracy to create a New World Order. This is further encouraged by the frequent use of the term ‘New World Order’ by its members when referring to their ultimate goal of world integration. The group is frequently accused of secretive and nefarious world plots by groups such as the John Birch Society.[11] This thinking has progressively found acceptance within both elements of the populist movement and fringe politics. [12] According to investigative journalist Chip Berlet, the prominent origins of Bilderberger conspiracy theories can be traced to activist Phyllis Schlafly. [13]

Radio host Alex Jones claims the group intends to dissolve the sovereignty of the United States and other countries into a supra-national structure similar to the European Union. This accusation is also linked with others claiming plans for a merger of Canada with United States, hoping Canadian influence will be calming to American society and foreign policy.

From “The Hunt for Red Menace:” “The views on intractable godless communism expressed by [Fred] Schwarz were central themes in three other bestselling books which were used to mobilize support for the 1964 Goldwater campaign. The best known was Phyllis Schlafly’s A Choice, Not an Echo which suggested a conspiracy theory in which the Republican Party was secretly controlled by elitist intellectuals dominated by members of the Bilderberger group, whose policies would pave the way for global communist conquest. Schlafly’s husband Fred had been a lecturer at Schwartz’s local Christian anti-communism Crusade conferences.” [14]

Jonathan Duffy, writing in BBC News Online Magazine states “In the void created by such aloofness, an extraordinary conspiracy theory has grown up around the group that alleges the fate of the world is largely decided by Bilderberg.”[15]

Denis Healey, a Bilderberg founder and former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, decries such theories. He was quoted by BBC News as saying “There’s absolutely nothing in it. We never sought to reach a consensus on the big issues at Bilderberg. It’s simply a place for discussion.”[15]

Some popular media references to the group are in Fredrick Forsyth’s novel “The Icon” where the group decides to undermine a nationalist Russian leader loosely modeled on Vladimir Putin (among others).

 

LIST OF ATTENDEES:

Royalty

•               Prince Philip (1965, 1966, 1967), Duke of Edinburgh

•               Prince Charles (1986), Prince of Wales

•               Prince Bernhard (Chairman of Bilderberg Meetings 1954-1976), father of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

•               Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands[3]

•               Claus von Amsberg (1967, 1968, 1971, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986-1989), husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

•               Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange (1990, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2008), Crown Prince of the Netherlands

•               Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (1989)

•               Queen Sofia of Spain, wife of Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996)

•               Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, younger daughter of Juan Carlos I, King of Spain

•               Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant (1992, 1993, 1996, 2008), Crown Prince of Belgium

•               Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King of Sweden (1995)

•               Harald V of Norway, King of Norway (1984)

•               Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1985, 1986, 1987)

•               Prince Axel of Denmark (1955, 1957)

Politics

United States

•               David L. Aaron (1977), former Deputy National Security Advisor

•               Dean Acheson (1957, 1958, 1964, 1966), former United States Secretary of State

•               Keith B. Alexander (2008), current Director, National Security Agency

•               Roger Altman (2008), former United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

•               John B. Anderson (1977), former US Congressman

•               Michael Armacost (1997), President, Brookings Institution

•               Nancy Kassebaum Baker (1988), former US Senator

•               George W. Ball (1954-1992),[4] former U.S. diplomat

•               Evan Bayh (1999), current US Senator, former Democratic Leadership Council Chairman, also attended the Renaissance Weekend. Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Member of the Alfalfa Club

•               Lloyd Bentsen (1989, 1992, 1995 – 1997), former United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               Sandy Berger (1997), former National Security Advisor (United States)

•               James H. Billington (1992), former Librarian of Congress

•               Eugene R. Black, Sr. (1957, 1966), former President of the World Bank

•               John Bolton (2003)

•               John Brademas (1966), former US Congressman

•               Bill Bradley (1985), former US Senator

•               Nicholas F. Brady (1984, 1986, 1988, 1991), former United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               Edward Brooke (1968), former US Senator

•               Zbigniew Brzezinski (Guest, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1985), President Carter’s National Security Advisor

•               McGeorge Bundy (1956, 1957, 1964, 1966, 1980), former National Security Advisor (United States)

•               William Bundy (1977)

•               Clifford P. Case (1958), former US Senator

•               John Chafee (1979, 1986, 1991, 1992), former US Senator

•               Frank Church, former US Senator

•               Hillary Clinton (1997), current US Senator, also attended the World Economic Forum, the Munich Conference on Security Policy, the Salzburg Global Seminar and the Renaissance Weekend. Member of the Democratic Leadership Council

•               Bill Clinton (1991),[5] former US President, 1993 – 2001

•               Carlos M. Collazo (2003)

•               Barber Conable, former President of the World Bank

•               Richard Cooper (1975, 1977), former United States Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs

•               Jon Corzine (1995 – 1997[3], 1999, 2003, 2004), current Governor of New Jersey

•               Kenneth W. Dam (1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989-1997), former United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

•               Richard Darman (1987), former United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

•               Thomas A. Daschle (2008), former US Senator

•               Lynn Davis (1995)

•               John M. Deutch (1998), former CIA Director, former United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

•               Thomas E. Dewey (1956, 1957, 1966), former Governor of New York

•               C. Douglas Dillon (1968), former United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               Christopher Dodd (1999 – 2001), current US Senator

•               John Edwards (2004), former US Senator

•               Stuart Eizenstat (2002), former United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

•               Mike Espy (1994), former United States Secretary of Agriculture

•               Daniel J. Evans (1986, 1988), former US Senator, former Governor of Washington

•               Dianne Feinstein (1991), current US Senator

•               Douglas Feith (2004)

•               James Florio (1994), former Governor of New Jersey

•               Tom Foley (1988, 1990, 1995, 2002), former Speaker of the US House of Representatives

•               Gerald R. Ford (1964, 1966), former US President, 1974 – 1977

•               Harold Ford, Jr. (2008), current Chairman, Democratic Leadership Council, former US Congressman, Vice Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

•               Donald M. Fraser (1971), former US Congressman

•               Peter Hood Ballantine Frelinghuysen, Jr. (1964, 1966, 1971), former US Congressman

•               J. William Fulbright (1956, 1957, 1964), former US Senator

•               Cornelius Edward Gallagher (1963, 1966), former US Congressman

•               Melinda Gates (2004), wife of Bill Gates

•               David Gergen (1992, 1995), political consultant and presidential adviser during the Republican administrations of Nixon, Ford, and Reagan, campaign staffer for George H.W. Bush and adviser to Democratic President Bill Clinton

•               Dan Glickman (2001), former US Congressman

•               Andrew Goodpaster (1968, 1974), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

•               Donald Gregg (1985), former United States Ambassador

•               Marc Grossman (2007), former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

•               Alfred Gruenther (1955, 1957, 1966), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

•               Richard N. Haass (1991, 2003, 2004)[6], president, Council on Foreign Relations

•               Philip C. Habib (1992)

•               Chuck Hagel (1999 – 2001), current US Senator

•               Alexander Haig (1978), former United States Secretary of State

•               Lee H. Hamilton (1997)[3], former US Congressman

•               Fred R. Harris (1966), former US Senator

•               H. John Heinz III (1978), former US Senator

•               Christian Herter (1961, 1963, 1964, 1966),[7] former Secretary of State

•               Carla Anderson Hills (2002), former United States Trade Representative

•               Richard Holbrooke (1995 – 1999, 2004 – 2006, 2008), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

•               Kay Bailey Hutchison (2000, 2002), current US Senator

•               Henry M. Jackson (1964, 1966-1968), former US Senator

•               Jacob Javits (1964, 1966), former US Senator

•               Joseph E. Johnson (1954)[8], former President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

•               Bennett Johnston Jr. (1991), former US Senator

•               James Robert Jones (1985), former US Congressman

•               Vernon Jordan (1979-1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2005, 2006, 2008 )

•               Robert Kagan (2004)

•               Thomas Kean (1989), former Governor of New Jersey

•               Robert M. Kimmitt (1995), current United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

•               Lane Kirkland (1977), former President, AFL-CIO

•               Jeane Kirkpatrick (1981), former United States Ambassador to the United Nations

•               Henry Kissinger (1957, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977-2003, 2004,[6] 2005-2008), Secretary of State, 1973 – 1977

•               John LaFalce (2002), former US Congressman

•               Michael Ledeen (2005)

•               Lyman L. Lemnitzer (1957, 1963, 1966), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

•               Winston Lord (1974, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1996), former United States Ambassador to China

•               William J. Luti (2004), Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy for the National Security Council

•               Terry McAuliffe (2002), former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee

•               John J. McCloy (1958, 1964, 1966), former President of the World Bank

•               Donald F. McHenry (1986, 1996), former United States Ambassador to the United Nations

•               Robert S. McNamara (1968, 1975), former US Secretary of Defense, former President of the World Bank

•               Charles Mathias, Jr. (1967, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1984-1993), former US Senator

•               Ken Mehlman (2005), former Chairman of the Republican National Committee

•               Cord Meyer (1957), CIA official

•               George J. Mitchell, former US Senator

•               Walter F. Mondale (1974, 1981), former US Vice President, 1977 – 1981

•               Lauris Norstad (1967), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

•               Sam Nunn (1996, 1997[3]), former US Senator

•               William Odom (1993), former National Security Agency Director

•               Dan Quayle (1990, 1991), former US Vice President, 1989 – 1993

•               George Pataki (2006), former Governor of New York

•               Henry M. Paulson, Jr. (2008), current United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               Claiborne Pell (1992), former US Senator

•               Richard Perle (1983, 1985, 2003, 2006, 2008), assistant Secretary of Defense, 1981 – 1987

•               Rick Perry (2007), current Governor of Texas

•               William J. Perry (1996), former United States Secretary of Defense

•               Peter George Peterson (1978), former United States Secretary of Commerce

•               Colin L. Powell (1997), former United States Secretary of State

•               Larry Pressler (1993), former US Senator

•               Lewis Thompson Preston, former President of the World Bank

•               Joel Pritchard (1975), former US Congressman

•               Marc Racicot (2002), former Chairman, Republican National Committee

•               Ralph E. Reed, Jr. (2004), former first executive director of the Christian Coalition

•               William K. Reilly (1989), former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator

•               Condoleezza Rice (2008), current United States Secretary of State

•               Bill Richardson (1999, 2000), current Governor of New Mexico

•               Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (1971), former US Senator

•               Alice Rivlin (1984)

•               David Rockefeller, original U.S. founding member, life member, and member of the Steering Committee (1954-

•               David Rockefeller, Jr. (1989)

•               Jay Rockefeller (1971), current US Senator

•               Nelson A. Rockefeller (1957, 1974), former US Vice President, 1974 – 1977, former Governor of New York, 1959 – 1973

•               Dennis Ross (2004, 2006, 2008 )

•               Walt Whitman Rostow, former National Security Advisor (United States)

•               Donald Rumsfeld (1975, 2002), Secretary of Defense, 2001 – 2006

•               Dean Rusk (1955, 1957, 1966), former United States Secretary of State

•               Mark Sanford (2008), current Governor of South Carolina, also attended the Renaissance Weekend

•               Hugh Scott (1961, 1966), former US Senator

•               Brent Scowcroft (1985, 1988, 1994), former National Security Advisor (United States)

•               Kathleen Sebelius (2007, 2008), current Governor of Kansas

•               George P. Shultz (2008), former United States Secretary of State, former United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               Kristen Silverberg (2007), Bureau of International Organization Affairs, part of the State Department

•               William E. Simon (1982), former United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               Walter Bedell Smith, former CIA Director

•               Nancy Soderberg (1995)

•               John Sparkman (1955, 1966), former US Senator

•               James Steinberg (1994, 2000), former Deputy National Security Advisor

•               Adlai Stevenson III (1971), former US Senator

•               Robert Schwarz Strauss (1982, 1989, 1990, 1992), former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee

•               Lawrence Summers (1998, 2002, 2008), former United States Secretary of the Treasury

•               John H. Sununu (1990), former Governor of New Hampshire

•               Shirley Temple (1982), former United States Ambassador, former child actress

•               Laura D’Andrea Tyson (1999)

•               Cyrus Vance (1971), former United States Secretary of State

•               Mark Warner (2005), former Governor of Virginia

•               Vin Weber (2007, 2008), former US Congressman

•               John C. Whitehead (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989-1997), former United States Deputy Secretary of State

•               Christine Todd Whitman (1998), former Governor of New Jersey

•               L. Douglas Wilder (1991), former Governor of Virginia, current Mayor of Richmond, Virginia

•               Ross Wilson (ambassador) (2007), current United States Ambassador to Turkey

•               Paul Wolfowitz (1990, 1994-1998, 2008), former President of the World Bank

•               George David Woods (1966), former President of the World Bank

•               Philip D. Zelikow (2007), executive director of the 9/11 Commission and Counselor of the United States Department of State

•               Robert Zoellick (1991, 2003, 2006, 2008), former Deputy Secretary of State and current President of the World Bank

Canada

•               Lester B. Pearson (1964, 1966, 1968), former Prime Minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968

•               Pierre Trudeau (1983, 1985), former Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979, 1980 to 1984

•               Jean Chrétien (1982, 1996), Canadian Prime Minister, 1993 – 2003

•               Paul Martin (1996), Canadian Prime Minister, 2003 – 2006

•               Stephen Harper (2003), Canadian Prime Minister, 2006 – Present

•               Bernard Lord (2001), former Premier of New Brunswick

•               Robert L. Stanfield (1968), former Premier of Nova Scotia

•               Jason Kenney (2007), Canadian Member of Parliament

•               Preston Manning (1998), former leader and founder of the Reform Party of Canada

•               Lloyd Axworthy (1996), former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)

•               Kevin G. Lynch (2004), Canadian civil servant

•               Frank McKenna (1994, 2006, 2008), former Canadian Ambassador to the United States, former Premier of New Brunswick, current Deputy Chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank

•               Michael Wilson (politician) (1991), current Canadian Ambassador to the United States, former Minister of Finance (Canada), former Minister of International Trade (Canada)

•               Marc Lalonde (1977), former Minister of Finance (Canada)

•               Jacques Parizeau (1968), former Premier of Quebec

•               Robert Bourassa (1971), former Premier of Quebec

•               Jean Lesage (1966), former Premier of Quebec

•               Mike Harris (1996), former Premier of Ontario

•               David Peterson (1990), former Premier of Ontario

•               Ralph Klein (1995), former Premier of Alberta

•               Peter Lougheed (1973), former Premier of Alberta

•               Gerald Regan (1977), former Premier of Nova Scotia

•               Paul Joseph James Martin (1957, 1966-1968), former Canadian Senator, former Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada), former Minister of National Health and Welfare (Canada), former Secretary of State for External Affairs (Canada), father of former Prime Minister of Canada,Paul Martin

•               Jeanne Sauvé (1974, 1986, 1989), former Governor General of Canada

•               Donald S. Macdonald (1971, 1973, 1979-1986, 1988, 1993), former Minister of Finance (Canada), former Minister of National Defence (Canada)

•               Allan MacEachen (1983), former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

•               Heather Reisman (2006, 2007, 2008), Canadian businesswoman

•               Andre Desmarais, Power Corporation of Canada

United Kingdom

•               Gordon Brown (1991), current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               Tony Blair (1993),[5] former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom[9]

•               John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               Margaret Thatcher (1975),[10] former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               James Callaghan (1963, 1966), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               Edward Heath (1963, 1966, 1967), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               Alec Douglas-Home (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1986), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               Harold Wilson (1966), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

•               Kenneth Clarke (1993, 1998,[11] 2006[12] & 2007[13]), former Chancellor of the Exchequer

•               George Osborne (2006)[14] Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer 2004-Present; member of the opposition 2001-Present

•               Denis Healey, former Secretary of State for Defence 1963-1970, former Chancellor of the Exchequer 1974-1979 (founding member of Bilderberg)

•               Ed Balls (2001-2003), Economic Secretary to the Treasury 2006 – 2007

•               Paddy Ashdown (1989), former leader of the UK Liberal Democrats

•               Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington (1978, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989-1998), former Secretary-General of NATO

•               David Owen (1973, 1982, 1993), former British Foreign Secretary

•               Norman Lamont (1995), former Chancellor of the Exchequer

•               Nigel Lawson (1982, 1990), former Chancellor of the Exchequer

•               William Hague (1998), former leader of the Conservative Party (UK), current Shadow Foreign Secretary

•               Sir Malcolm Rifkind (1986, 1996), former British Foreign Secretary

•               Douglas Hurd (1980, 1981), former British Foreign Secretary

•               Cecil Parkinson (1989), former Chairman of the Conservative Party

•               Michael Heseltine (1984), former Secretary of State for Defence

•               Roy Jenkins, former President of the European Commission

•               Reginald Maudling (1955, 1957, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1978), former Chancellor of the Exchequer

•               Hugh Gaitskell (1954, 1955, 1958), former leader of the Labour Party (UK)

•               William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill (1987, 1988, 1990, 1995)

•               John Smith (UK politician) (1986, 1989, 1991), former leader of the British Labour Party

•               William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank (1974)

•               Clement Davies (1954, 1955, 1957), former leader of the Liberal Party (UK)

•               Jo Grimond (1958, 1966), former leader of the Liberal Party (UK)

•               Jeremy Thorpe, former leader of the Liberal Party (UK)

•               David Steel (1986), former leader of the Liberal Party (UK)

•               David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick (1995, 1998 )

•               Geoffrey Rippon (1974)

•               David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech (1958, 1966), former British Ambassador to the United States

•               Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1965, 1966)

•               Christopher Price (UK politician), former Labour Party (UK) Member of Parliament, former member of the European Parliament

•               Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury (1997)

•               Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham (1964, 1966)

•               George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1971)

•               Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone (1967)

•               George Brown, Baron George-Brown (1966, 1978 )

•               Enoch Powell (1968 )

•               Kenneth Younger (1966)

•               John Horam (1975)

•               John Nott (1977), former Secretary of State for Defence

•               Edmund Dell (1978 )

•               Keith Joseph (1977)

•               Rodric Braithwaite (1993)

•               Frederic Bennett (1963, 1964, 1966-1968, 1971, 1973-1975, 1977-1980, 1984)

•               John Keegan (1988), British military historian

•               John Monks (1996) , former General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress

•               Charles Forte, Baron Forte (1977)

•               Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations (1985, 1986, 1993)

•               Giles Radice, Baron Radice (1995)

•               Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood (2003)

•               Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn (2002, 2003)

•               Pauline Neville-Jones, Baroness Neville-Jones (2004)

•               Rodney Elton, 2nd Baron Elton (1977)

•               Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester (1977, 1985), former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

•               John Baring, 7th Baron Ashburton (1980, 1984, 1986), former Chairman of British Petroleum

•               David Young, Baron Young of Graffham (1985, 1986)

•               John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986)

•               William Rees-Mogg (1993)

•               George Weidenfeld (1992)

•               Roy Hattersley (1985)

•               Norman Tebbit (1985)

•               Richard Dearlove (2007), former head of MI6

•               Eric Roll (1964, 1966, 1967, 1973-1975, 1977-1999) (Bilderberg Steering Committee),[15] Department of Economic Affairs, 1964, later Bilderberg Group Chairman

•               John Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard (2004, 2008), member of the House of Lords, Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell

•               Antony Acland (1988), former British Ambassador to the United States

•               Lawrence Freedman (1991), Professor, Oxford University

Ireland

•               Garret FitzGerald (1975, 1977, 1984, 1985, 1987), former Prime Minister of Ireland

•               John Bruton (1998), former Prime Minister of Ireland

•               Michael McDowell (1992, 2007), founding member of the Progressive Democrats of Ireland

•               Paul Gallagher (2008), Attorney General of Ireland

Germany

•               Egon Bahr (1968, 1971, 1982, 1987), German Minister, creator of the Ostpolitik

•               Rainer Barzel (1966), former German opposition leader

•               Kurt Biedenkopf (1992), former Prime Minister of Saxony

•               Max Brauer (1954, 1955, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966), former Mayor of Hamburg

•               Birgit Breuel (1973, 1979, 1980, 1991, 1992, 1994), chairwoman of Treuhandanstalt

•               Andreas von Bülow (1978), former Minister of Research of Germany

•               Karl Carstens (1971), former President of Germany

•               Klaus von Dohnanyi (1975, 1977), former Mayor of Hamburg

•               Ursula Engelen-Kefer (1998), former chairwoman of the German Confederation of Trade Unions

•               Björn Engholm (1991), former Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein

•               Ludwig Erhard (1966), former Chancellor of Germany

•               Fritz Erler (1955, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966), Socialist Member of Parliament

•               Joschka Fischer (2008), former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Germany)

•               Herbert Giersch (1975), Director, Institut fur Weltwirtschaft an der Universitat Kiel

•               Helmut Haussmann (1979, 1980, 1990, 1996), former Minister of Economics of Germany

•               Wolfgang Ischinger (1998, 2002, 2008), former German Ambassador to Washington

•               Helmut Kohl (1980, 1982, 1988), former Chancellor of Germany

•               Walter Leisler Kiep (1974, 1975, 1977, 1980), former Treasurer of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

•               Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1955, 1957, 1966), former Chancellor of Germany

•               Hans Klein (1986), Member of German Bundestag

•               Otto Graf Lambsdorff (1980, 1983, 1984), former Minister of Economics of Germany

•               Karl Lamers (1995), Member of the German Bundestag

•               Angela Merkel (2005), current Chancellor of Germany

•               Alois Mertes (1983, 1985)

•               Siegmar Mosdorf (2001), Secretary of State for Economics in Germany

•               Alfred Müller-Armack (1966), Secretary of State for Economics in Germany

•               Volker Perthes (2008), Director, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

•               Friedbert Pflüger (2005, 2006), Member of the German Bundestag

•               Ruprecht Polenz (2002)

•               Volker Rühe (1983, 1991-1994), former Defense Minister of Germany

•               Rudolf Scharping, former Defense Minister of Germany

•               Wolfgang Schäuble (2003), current Minister of Internal Affairs of Germany

•               Walter Scheel (1981-84, 1986), former President of Germany

•               Karl Schiller (1966), former Finance Minister of Germany

•               Otto Schily (2003-2006), former Minister of Internal Affairs of Germany

•               Carlo Schmid (1955, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966), former Vice President of the Federal Parliament

•               Helmut Schmidt (1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1986), former Chancellor of Germany

•               Gerhard Schröder (CDU) (1971, 1974), former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Germany), former Minister of Defence (Germany)

•               Gerhard Stoltenberg (1966, 1968), former Minister of Germany and Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein

•               Franz Josef Strauß (1963, 1966), former Minister of Germany and Prime Minister of Bavaria

•               Lothar Späth (1993), former Prime Minister of Baden-Wurttemberg

•               Erwin Teufel (1991), former Prime Minister of Baden-Wurttemberg

•               Henning Voscherau (1996), former Mayor of Hamburg

•               Richard von Weizsäcker (1978), former President of Germany

•               Guido Westerwelle (2007), leader of the Free Democratic Party of Germany

•               Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski (1971, 1973, 1974, 1978), former Secretary of State in the Chancellor’s Office of Germany

•               Matthias Wissmann (1998, 2004, 2005), former Minister of Research of Germany

Austria

•               Otto von Habsburg, Archduke and Crown Prince of Austria

•               Alfred Gusenbauer (2002, 2006), current Chancellor of Austria

•               Wolfgang Schussel (1984), former Chancellor of Austria

•               Franz Vranitzky (1975, 1979, 1986-1991, 1993, 1995-1999), former Austrian Chancellor

•               Bruno Kreisky (1979), former Austrian Chancellor

•               Thomas Klestil (1988), former President of Austria

•               Martin Bartenstein (2006), Austrian Minister for Economy and Labour

•               Josef Krainer (1989), former Governor of Styria

Switzerland

•               Flavio Cotti (1994-1997), former President of the Swiss Confederation

•               Pascal Couchepin (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005), current President of the Swiss Confederation

•               Jean-Pascal Delamuraz (1995), former President of the Swiss Confederation

•               Max Petitpierre (1963, 1966), former President of the Swiss Confederation

•               Jacob Kellenberger (1993), former Swiss State Secretary of Foreign Affairs

•               Sigmund Widmer (1975), former Mayor of Zürich

•               Denis de Rougemont (1954, 1955, 1966)

France

•               Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (1968, 2003), former President of the French Republic

•               Lionel Jospin (1996), former Prime Minister of France

•               Georges Pompidou (1966), former President of the French Republic

•               Dominique de Villepin (2003), former Prime Minister of France

•               Laurent Fabius (1994), former Prime Minister of France

•               Michel Rocard (1986), former Prime Minister of France

•               Pierre Bérégovoy (1992), former Prime Minister of France

•               Edouard Balladur (1987), former Prime Minister of France

•               Raymond Barre (1983), former Prime Minister of France

•               Edgar Faure (1974), former Prime Minister of France

•               René Pleven (1963, 1966), former Prime Minister of France

•               Pierre Mendes-France (1968), former Prime Minister of France

•               Antoine Pinay (1954, 1955, 1963, 1964, 1966), former Prime Minister of France

•               Jean-Bernard Raimond (1994), former French Foreign Minister

•               Jean Francois-Poncet (1982, 1985, 1988), former French Foreign Minister

•               Michel Barnier (2007), former French Foreign Minister

•               Hubert Védrine (1987, 1992, 2008), former French Foreign Minister

•               Bernard Kouchner (2005), current Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)

•               Manuel Valls (2008), French Member of Parliament

•               Jean-Pierre Jouyet (2008), French Minister of European Affairs

•               Jean-Pierre Chevenement (1984, 1990), former Minister of Defense (France)

•               Jacques Attali (1975), French economist and scholar and former presidential adviser of France’s socialist government

•               Gaston Defferre (1964, 1966), former Mayor of Marseille

•               Maurice Herzog (1974), former Mayor of Chamonix

•               Philippe Seguin (1990), former Mayor of Epinal

•               Jean-Pierre Cot (1977), French politician, former Mayor of Coise

•               Olivier Guichard (1966, 1977), French politician, former French Minister of Justice

•               Guy Mollet (1954, 1955, 1957, 1963, 1966), former Socialist Prime Minister of France

•               Maurice Faure (1955, 1963, 1966)

•               Jacques Rueff (1966)

Belgium

•               Paul Van Zeeland (1955-1958, 1966), former Prime Minister of Belgium

•               Leo Tindemans (1980), former Prime Minister of Belgium

•               Wilfried Martens (1989-1991, 1993), former Prime Minister of Belgium

•               Jean-Luc Dehaene (2004), former Prime Minister of Belgium

•               Philippe Maystadt (1996), former Belgian Minister of Finance

Netherlands

•               Jan-Peter Balkenende (2008), current Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 2002 – present

•               Ruud Lubbers (1983, 1991, 1992, 1994), former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1982 – 1994

•               Wim Kok (1993, 2003), former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1994 – 2002

•               Barend Biesheuvel (1968), former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1971 – 1973

•               Jelle Zijlstra (1966, 1975), former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1966 – 1967

•               Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst (1974, 1981), former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs

•               Max van der Stoel (1980), former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1973 – 1977, 1981 – 1982

•               Jozias van Aartsen (2005), former Dutch Minister of Agriculture, 1994 – 1998, former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1998 – 2002

•               Maxime Verhagen (2006, 2008), current Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2007 – present

•               Frank Heemskerk (2007), Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade

•               Frans Timmermans (2008), Dutch Minister of European Affairs

•               Klaas de Vries (2003), Dutch Member of Parliament

•               Ivo Samkalden (1963, 1966), former Mayor of Amsterdam

•               Harold Goddijn (2008), CEO of TomTom

Italy

•               Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1987), former President of the Italian Republic, former Governor of the Banca d’Italia

•               Francesco Cossiga (1977), former President of the Italian Republic

•               Amintore Fanfani (1955, 1956, 1966), former Italian Prime Minister

•               Alcide de Gasperi (1954), former Italian Prime Minister

•               Claudio Martelli, former Italian Minister of Justice

•               Gianni De Michelis (1991), former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs

•               Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa (1986, 1998, 1999, 2008), former Italian Minister of Economy and Finance

•               Romano Prodi (Steering Committee Member of Bilderberg in the 1980s), former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission

•               Virginio Rognoni (1982, 1991), former Italian Minister of Defense

•               Mariano Rumor (1966), former Italian Prime Minister

•               Domenico Siniscalco (1998), former Italian Minister of Economy and Finance

•               Giulio Tremonti (2000), current Italian Minister of Economy and Finance

•               Walter Veltroni (1996), former Mayor of Rome

Spain

•               Esperanza Aguirre Gil de Biedma (1999, 2000), president of Madrid

•               Joaquin Almunia (1998, 2008), European Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs

•               Enrique Barón (1988), politician

•               Jaime de Carvajal y Urquijo (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998), CEO, Ford Spain, Ericsson Spain and Banco Urquijo.

•               Juan Luis Cebrián (1988, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005), former director of newspaper El País, CEO, Grupo Prisa

•               Guillermo de la Dehesa (1989, 1993), CEO, Banco Pastor

•               Carlos Ferret Salat (1993), banker

•               Manuel Fraga Iribarne (1977), politician, former Secretary General, Alianza Popular

•               Felipe Gonzalez (1989), former Prime Minister of Spain

•               Loyola de Palacio (2005), politician

•               Jesús de Polanco (1989), CEO, media group PRISA

•               Jordi Pujol (1991), politician

•               Rodrigo Rato (1992, 1994), politician and former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

•               Matías Rodríguez Inciarte (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001-2008), Deputy CEO, Grupo Santander

•               Miguel Boyer Salvador (1989), former Finance Minister of Spain

•               Miguel Sebastián Gascón (2005), former Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister and Minister of Industry (2008-…)

•               Narcís Serra (1990, 1991, 1992), politician

•               Javier Solana (1985, 1998, 2000), Secretary-General of the Council of the EU, former Secretary-General of NATO

•               Pedro Solbes Mira (1999), Second Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance

•               Federico Trillo-Figueroa Martínez-Conde (1995), politician

•               Juan Antonio Yañez-Barnuevo (1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996), Spanish Permanent Representatives to the United Nations

•               Emilio de Ybarra y Clurruca (1988, 1989), former CEO, BBVA

Portugal

•               Francisco Pinto Balsemão (1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995-2007) ,[16] former Prime Minister of Portugal, 1981 – 1983 and CEO of Impresa media group

•               António Guterres (1990, 2005), former Prime Minister of Portugal, currently the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

•               Pedro Santana Lopes (2004), former Prime Minister of Portugal

•               José Sócrates (2004), current Prime Minister of Portugal

•               Jorge Sampaio (1989, 1999), former President of Portugal

•               Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues (2003), former Leader of the Socialist Party

•               António Costa (2008), current Mayor of Lisbon

•               Rui Rio (2008), current Mayor of Porto

•               Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco (2006),[16] Member of Parliament (PSD)

•               Augusto Santos Silva (2006),[16] Minister for Parliamentary Affairs

•               Rui Machete (1989), former Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal

•               Joaquim do Amaral (1999), Member of Parliament

•               Manuel Sarmento Rodrigues (1966)

Greece

•               Kostas Karamanlis (1998), current Prime Minister of Greece

•               Constantine Mitsotakis (1993), former Prime Minister of Greece

•               Georgios Alogoskoufis (2008), current Minister for Economy and Finance (Greece)

•               Dora Bakoyannis (2003), current Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece), former Mayor of Athens

•               Anna Diamantopoulou (2008), Member of Parliament in Greece and former EU Commissioner

•               George Andreas Papandreou (1998), former Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece), President of the Socialist International

•               Gerasimos Arsenis (1994), former Minister of Defense of Greece

•               Stefanos Manos (1986, 1993, 2001), Greek politician

•               Andreas Andrianopoulos (1988), former Mayor of Piraeus

Turkey

•               Süleyman Demirel (1975), former Prime Minister of Turkey

•               Bülent Ecevit (1975), former Prime Minister of Turkey

•               Adnan Menderes (1956), former Prime Minister of Turkey

•               Mesut Yilmaz (1990), former Prime Minister of Turkey

•               Selim Sarper (1966), former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey

•               İsmail Cem (1989, 1998), former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey

•               Hikmet Çetin (1995, 2007), former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP)

•               Emre Gönensay (1992, 1996, 2007), former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey

•               Ali Babacan (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008), current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey

Sweden

•               Fredrik Reinfeldt (2006), Prime Minister of Sweden, 2006 – present

•               Carl Bildt[3] (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2006-2008), former Prime Minister of Sweden and current Minister for Foreign Affairs

•               Olof Palme (1962, 1966, 1973, 1975, 1984), former Prime Minister of Sweden

•               Percy Barnevik (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001), Businessman

•               Mona Sahlin (1996), Chairman of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, (Invited by Percy Barnevik)

•               Thorbjörn Fälldin (1978), former Prime Minister of Sweden

•               Tage Erlander (1962, 1966), former Prime Minister of Sweden

•               Leif Pagrotsky (2001), former Swedish Minister for Education, Research and Culture [1];

•               Anders Borg (2007), current Minister for Finance of Sweden

•               Herbert Tingsten (1954, 1955, 1966), former Chief Editor, Dagens Nyheter

•               Martin Waldenström (1955), Industrialist

•               Björn Lundvall (1968, 1975, 1977-1980) (LM Ericsson)

•               Anna Lindh (2003), former Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)

•               Göran Persson (2001), former Prime Minister of Sweden

•               Gunnar Sträng (1973), former Minister for Finance of Sweden

•               Krister Wickman (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977), former Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)

•               Hans Blix (1989), former Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)

•               Maud Olofsson (2008), Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden

Norway

•               Gro Harlem Brundtland (1982, 1983), former Prime Minister of Norway

•               Kåre Willoch (1966, 1968, 1982, 1987), former Prime Minister of Norway

•               Trygve Bratteli (1977), former Prime Minister of Norway

•               Jens Stoltenberg, (2002), current Prime Minister of Norway

•               Siv Jensen (2006), Chairman Fremskrittspartiet

•               Johann Olav Koss (2006)

•               Halvard Lange (1964), former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Norway)

•               Ole Myrvoll (1974), former Minister of Finance (Norway), former Mayor of Bergen

•               Svein Gjedrem (2003), Chairman of Norges Bank 1999 – present

Denmark

•               Anders Fogh Rasmussen (2000), current Prime Minister of Denmark

•               Mogens Lykketoft (1998), former leader of the Social Democrats of Denmark

•               Tøger Seidenfaden (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999), editor-in-chief of Danish newspaper “Politiken”

•               Ritt Bjerregaard (1991, 1995), former Danish Secretary of Education, EU Commissioner and currently Mayor of Copenhagen

•               Anders Eldrup (2001-2007, 2008), CEO, Danish Oil and Gas Corporation (DONG)[citation needed]

•               Flemming Rose (2008), editor, Jyllands-Posten

Finland

•               Jaakko Iloniemi (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990-1997)

•               Ilkka Suominen (1988 )

•               Aatos Erkko (1991)

•               Jarl Köhler (1992-1994)

•               Ulf L. Sundqvist (1992)

•               Johannes Koroma (1993)

•               Jorma Ollila (1994, 1997-2008), former CEO of Nokia

•               Krister Ahlström (1994)

•               Georg Ehrnrooth (1994)

•               Sirkka Hämäläinen (1994)

•               Jaakko Ihamuotila (1994)

•               Max Jakobson (1975, 1994)

•               Gerhard M. H. Wendt (1994)

•               Jukka Harmaja (1995)

•               Björn Mattsson (1995)

•               Pertti Voutilainen (1995)

•               Janne Virkkunen (1998, 2001)

•               Olli-Pekka Heinonen (2001)

•               Christoffer Taxell (2002)

•               Teija H. Tiilikainen (2002-2007)

•               Olli Kivinen (2003)

•               Björn Whalroos (2003)

•               Paula Lehtomäki (2004)

•               Erkki Liikanen (1999, 2005)

•               Matti Vanhala (1999)

•               Pentti Vartia (1999)

•               Mikael Pentikäinen (2005)

•               Eero Heinäluoma (2006)

•               Sixten Korkman (2006)

•               Atte Jääskeläinen (2007)

•               Kalevi Sorsa (1990), former Prime Minister of Finland

•               Esko Aho (1994), former Prime Minister of Finland

•               Paavo Lipponen (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), former Prime Minister of Finland

•               Matti Vanhanen, current Prime Minister of Finland

•               Martti Ahtisaari (1994, 1995, 1996), former President of Finland

•               Sauli Niinistö (1997)[3], former Minister of Finance (Finland), Speaker of Parliament

•               Jyrki Katainen (2007), current Minister of Finance (Finland)

Iceland

•               Davíð Oddsson (1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999), former Prime Minister of Iceland, 1991-2004

•               Geir Hallgrímsson (1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984-1988, 1990), former Prime Minister of Iceland

•               Björn Bjarnason (1977, 1978, 1982-1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995), vice editor of Morgunblaðið (1984 – 1991), Icelandic Minister of Education (1995 – 2002), current Minister for Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs (since 2003)

Russia

•               Anatoly Chubais (1998), Russian politician

•               Grigory Alexeyevich Yavlinsky (2004), Russian politician

Slovakia

•               Ivan Mikloš (2005), former Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia

Czech Republic

•               Karel Schwarzenberg (2008), Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs

•               Jiří Pehe (2001), Director, New York University in Prague; former advisor to President Václav Havel

•               Michael Žantovský (1999), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security, Czech Senate, presently Czech Ambassador in Israel

•               Karel Kovanda (1998), Head of Mission of the Czech Republic to NATO and the WEU, presently Deputy Director General responsible for CFSP, Multilateral Relations and North America, East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, EEA, EFTA

Poland

•               Joseph Retinger (1954-1960), founder of Bilderberg Group

•               Hanna Suchocka (1998), first woman Prime Minister of Poland

•               Andrzej Olechowski (1994-1999, 2003), Leader, Civic Platform

•               Aleksander Kwaśniewski (2008), former President of Poland

Hungary

•               János Martonyi (2008), former Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor of International Trade Law, Partner, Baker & McKenzie

•               Gyorgy Suranyi (1996, 1997, 1999), former President, Hungarian National Bank

Israel

•               Natan Sharansky (2005)

Iran

•               Mahmood Sariolghalam (2006)

Iraq

•               Ahmed Chalabi (2006)

New Zealand

•               Thomas Clifton Webb (1955)

EU Commissioners

European Union Commissioners who have attended include:

•               Joaquin Almunia (1998, 2008), European Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs

•               José Manuel Barroso (1994, 2003), current President of the European Commission

•               Ritt Bjerregaard (1991, 1995), Lord Mayor of Copenhagen and former European Commissioner for Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection[9]

•               Frederik Bolkestein (1996, 2003),[17] former European Commissioner

•               Emma Bonino (1998 )

•               Leon Brittan (1992, 1998 )

•               Hans van den Broek (1986, 1988, 1991, 1995),[9] former European Commissioner

•               David Byrne (politician) (2005), former European Commissioner

•               Henning Christophersen (1979, 1982, 1983)

•               Étienne Davignon (1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994-2008), Bilderberg conference chairman in 2005

•               Jacques Delors (1992), former President of the European Commission

•               Franz Fischler (2001), former European Commissioner

•               Walter Hallstein (1955, 1958, 1966), former President of the European Commission

•               Neelie Kroes (2005 – 2008), present Commissioner for Competition

•               Pascal Lamy (2003)[17]

•               Erkki Liikanen (1999, 2005)

•               Franco Maria Malfatti (1964, 1966, 1974), former President of the European Commission

•               Peter Mandelson (1999[18])

•               Sicco Mansholt (1963, 1964, 1966), former President of the European Commission

•               Robert Marjolin (1966), former European Commissioner

•               Charlie McCreevy (2008), European Commissioner

•               Karel Van Miert (1993), former European Commissioner

•               Mario Monti (1983-1994, 1996, 1999, 2003[17]) ,former and/or present member of the Bilderberg Steering Committee[9]

•               Francois-Xavier Ortoli (1977), former President of the European Commission

•               Filippo Pandolfi (1989)

•               Lord Patten of Barnes (2007)

•               Andris Piebalgs (2006), European Commissioner for Energy

•               Romano Prodi, Steering Committee Member of Bilderberg in the 1980s

•               Olli Rehn (2007), European Commissioner for Enlargement

•               Jean Rey (1966), former President of the European Commission

•               Jacques Santer (1991), former President of the European Commission

•               Henri Simonet (1971, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982), former Vice Chairman of the European Commission

•               Javier Solana (1985, 1998, 2000), High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU)

•               Pedro Solbes (1999)

•               Günter Verheugen (1995)

•               António Vitorino (1996)

UN, WTO, NATO and other International Organizations

•               Josette Sheeran (2007), Executive Director of United Nations World Food Programme

•               Kurt Waldheim, former United Nations Secretary-General

•               Kemal Derviş (2002), current United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator

•               Ad Melkert (1996), current UNDP Associate Administrator

•               Thorvald Stoltenberg (1973, 1982, 1994, 1995), former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

•               Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (1955, 1966), Pakistani politician, diplomat and international jurist

•               Knut Vollebæk (2008), OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

•               Eric Wyndham White (1964, 1966), former Director-General of the World Trade Organization

•               Arthur Dunkel (1991), former Director-General of the World Trade Organization

•               Mike Moore (2000), former Director-General of the World Trade Organization

•               Renato Ruggiero (1986, 1987, 1990-1996), former Director-General of the World Trade Organization

•               Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (2003, 2008), current Secretary General of NATO

•               George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen (1998), former Secretary General of NATO[9]

•               Willy Claes (1994, 1995, 2003), former Secretary General of NATO

•               Manfred Wörner (1982, 1985, 1990-1993), former Secretary General of NATO

•               Joseph Luns (1964, 1966-1968, 1971, 1973-1975, 1977, 1978-1984), former Secretary General of NATO

•               Manlio Brosio (1965-1967), former Secretary General of NATO

•               Dirk Stikker (1964, 1966), former Secretary General of NATO

•               Paul-Henri Spaak (1963, 1966), former Secretary General of NATO

•               Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay (1955), former Secretary General of NATO

Military

•               Terence Airey (1955, 1966), Military Governor of Trieste

•               Colin Gubbins (1955, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966), head of the British SOE[19]

•               Hans Speidel (1964, 1966), former World War II and Cold War general

Corporate

Financial institutions

•               Hermann Josef Abs (1958, 1966), former Chairman of Deutsche Bank

•               Josef Ackermann (2005, 2008), CEO of Deutsche Bank

•               Ben S. Bernanke (2008), current Chairman of the Federal Reserve

•               Michel Camdessus, former IMF Managing Director

•               Guido Carli (1958, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1977, 1987), former Governor of the Banca d’Italia

•               Tim Collins (financier) (2003, 2008), founder, Chief Executive Officer of Ripplewood Holdings LLC

•               E. Gerald Corrigan (1994), former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, current Goldman Sachs Managing Director

•               Mario Draghi (1994, 1995, 2004, 2008), current Governor of the Banca d’Italia

•               Wim Duisenberg (1977, 1978-1983, 1986), former President of the European Central Bank

•               Otmar Emminger (1966), former President of the Deutsche Bundesbank

•               Timothy F. Geithner (2004, 2008), current President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

•               Dermot Gleeson (1995, 2008), Chairman of Allied Irish Banks

•               Alan Greenspan (2002), former Chairman of the Federal Reserve

•               Alfred Herrhausen (1978-1985, 1987, 1988), German banker, former Chairman of Deutsche Bank

•               Kenneth Jacobs (2007, 2008), Deputy Chairman, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC

•               Per Jacobsson (1957), former IMF Managing Director

•               James A. Johnson (businessman) (1998, 2008), Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC

•               Mervyn A. King (2003), current Governor of the Bank Of England

•               Hilmar Kopper (1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998-2003, 2005), former CEO of Deutsche Bank

•               Alexandre Lamfalussy (1983, 1986, 1988, 1992), former General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements

•               Thomas S. Lamont (1957), former Vice Chairman, Morgan Guaranty Trust

•               Jacques de Larosière (1982), former Governor of the Banque de France

•               William J McDonough (1997)[3], former President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

•               Tom McKillop (2008), Chairman, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group

•               Karl Otto Pöhl (1982, 1991), former President of the Deutsche Bundesbank

•               Jürgen Ponto (1975), German banker, former Chairman of Dresdner Bank

•               John Francis Prideaux (1974), former Chairman, National Westminster Bank

•               Louis Rasminsky (1968), former Governor of the Bank of Canada

•               Rodrigo Rato (1992, 1994), former IMF Managing Director

•               Gordon Richardson (1966, 1975),[20] former Governor of the Bank of England

•               David Rockefeller, CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank

•               Emma Rothschild (1995)

•               Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (1983, 1998 )

•               Guy de Rothschild (1974)

•               Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild

•               Lynn Forester de Rothschild (1998 )

•               Rudolf Scholten (1992, 1999-2001, 2003-2008), CEO of Oesterreichische Kontrollbank

•               Pierre-Paul Schweitzer (1964, 1966), former IMF Managing Director

•               George Soros (1990, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002)

•               Dominique Strauss-Kahn (2000), Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and member of the social-democrat Socialist Party of France

•               Jean-Claude Trichet (1995, 1999, 2008), current President of the European Central Bank

•               Anthony Tuke (1974), former President, Barclays Bank

•               Alfons Verplaetse (1990), former Governor of the National Bank of Belgium

•               Paul Volcker (1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1997)[3], former Chairman of the Federal Reserve

•               Marcus Wallenberg (1996, 1997), current Chairman of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, former CEO of Investor AB

•               Jacob Wallenberg (1998, 2008), current Chairman of Investor AB, former Chairman of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken

•               Siegmund Warburg (1966, 1977), founder of S. G. Warburg & Co.

•               Eric Warburg (1957), founder of Warburg Pincus

•               James Wolfensohn (1985, 1987, 1988, 1989-1999, 2004, 2008), former President of the World Bank Group

Major corporations

•               Giovanni Agnelli (1958, 1963, 1964, 1966-1968, 1973-1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987-1998, 2000), former CEO of Fiat

•               Otto Wolff von Amerongen (1955, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966-1968, 1971, 1973-1975, 1977-1980, 1982-2001), CEO of Otto Wolff Group (today: Part of ThyssenKrupp)

•               Dwayne Andreas (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987-1996), Chairman and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland

•               Percy Barnevik (1992-1996, 1997,[3] 2001), former CEO of ASEA

•               Anders Björgerd (1973, 1982), former deputy CEO of Sydkraft AB

•               Lloyd Blankfein (2007), CEO of Goldman Sachs

•               Ian Bremmer (2007), President of Eurasia Group

•               Lord Browne of Madingley (1995, 1997,[3] 2004), Chief Executive BP

•               Gerhard Cromme (2000), former CEO and Chairman of ThyssenKrupp

•               Paul Desmarais (1982)

•               Paul Desmarais, Jr. (2006, 2008), Chairman and co-CEO of Power Corporation of Canada

•               John Elkann (2008), vice chairman of Fiat and the Agnelli Group investment company IFIL

•               Louis V. Gerstner (1994, 1997), former Chairman of IBM, current Chairman of The Carlyle Group

•               Maurice R. Greenberg (1989-1991), former Chairman and CEO of American International Group

•               H. J. Heinz II (1954)[8], CEO of H. J. Heinz Company

•               Paul Hermelin (2007), CEO of Capgemini

•               Daniel Janssen (1971, 1973-1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1995), former Chairman of the Executive Committee, Solvay (company), former vice president of the board, Union Chimique Belge, member of the European Round Table of Industrialists, member of Trilateral Commission executive committee

•               James Kimsey (2006), co-founder, CEO, and first chairman of America Online (AOL)

•               Andrew Knight (1978, 1980-1985, 1987-1996), Director of News Corporation, 1991-present, CEO of News International, 1900-1994, CEO and Editor-in-Chief The Daily Telegraph Group, Editor of The Economist, 1974-1984

•               Klaus Kleinfeld (2008), CEO of Siemens AG

•               Rahmi Koç (1994), Turkish business tycoon

•               Idar Kreutzer (2007), CEO of Storebrand

•               Craig Mundie (2008), chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft

•               Egil Myklebust (1997, 2006, 2008), Chairman of the Board of SAS Group

•               Stavros Niarchos (1967, 1968), Greek shipping tycoon

•               Harald Norvik (2006), former CEO of Statoil

•               Jorma Ollila (1997,[3] 2005, 2008), Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell and Nokia Corporation

•               Eivind Reiten (2000), former CEO of Norsk Hydro

•               Eric E. Schmidt (2007, 2008), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Google

•               Jürgen E. Schrempp (1994-1996, 1997,[3] 1998, 1999, 2001-2005, 2006, 2007), former CEO of DaimlerChrysler

•               Ekkehard Schulz (2002, 2005, 2006), CEO of ThyssenKrupp

•               Peter Sutherland (1989-1996, 1997,[3] 2005), former Chairman of BP

•               Sidney Taurel (2007), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly

•               Martin Taylor (1993-1996, 1997),[3] former CEO, Barclays

•               Peter A. Thiel (2007, 2008), Co-Founder, PayPal

•               Daniel Vasella (1998, 1999, 2005, 2008), Chairman and CEO of Novartis

•               Jürgen Weber (2004), Chairman of Lufthansa Airline

•               Klaus Zumwinkel (2002-2006), former CEO of Deutsche Post AG

University, institute and other academic

•               Heather Munroe-Blum (1997), Principal and Vice-Chancellor, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

•               Marie-Josée Kravis (1998, 1999, 2008), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

•               C. Fred Bergsten (1971, 1974, 1984, 1997)[3], President, Peterson Institute

•               Walter Isaacson (2004), President, Aspen Institute

•               Bruce MacLaury (1977), former President, Brookings Institution

•               Victor Halberstadt (1975, 1977, 1978-1999, 2008), Professor of Economics, Leiden University, Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings, Netherlands

•               Klaus Schwab (1995-1997), founder of the World Economic Forum

•               Laurence Parisot (2007), Head of French MEDEF

•               Marshall McLuhan, Canadian Professor of English literature, literary critic, and communications theorist

•               Michael Boskin (1991), Professor of Economics and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution

•               William Kristol (1995), co-founder of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), member of the American Enterprise Institute, the Manhattan Institute and the Ethics and Public Policy Center

•               Graham Allison (1970, 1971, 1974, 2007), Harvard political scientist and leading analyst of U.S. national security and defense policy with a special interest in nuclear weapons and terrorism

•               Eberhard Sandschneider (2004), political scientist, Director of the Research Institute of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik, expert on China

•               Fouad Ajami (2006, 2008), Director, Middle East Studies Program, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

•               Barnett Rubin (2008), Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center for International Cooperation, New York University

•               Chester A. Crocker (2008), James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies

•               Martha Farah (2008), Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience; Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences, University of Pennsylvania

•               Roger Martin (2008), Dean, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

•               Jeffrey Sachs (1990), Professor, Harvard University

•               John Polanyi (1991), Professor of Chemistry, University of Toronto

•               Gerald L. Curtis (1990), Professor of Political Science, Columbia University

•               Aurelio Peccei (1963, 1964, 1966-1968), founder of the Club of Rome

•               Lester Thurow (1977), Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School, former Dean, MIT Sloan School of Management

•               Paul Samuelson (1966, 1970), American Economist, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

•               Andrew W. Cordier (1966, 1970), former President of Columbia University

•               Theodore M. Hesburgh (1975), former President, Notre Dame University

Media

•               Michael Barone (pundit) (2007), journalist

•               John G. Bernander (2002), former head of the Norwegian national broadcaster NRK

•               Lord Black of Crossharbour (1981, 1983, 1985-1996, 1997)[3],Telegraph Chairman

•               Oscar Bronner (2005-2007, 2008), Editor of the Austrian newspaper Der Standard

•               William F. Buckley, Jr. (1975, 1996), founder of National Review and former host of Firing Line

•               Hubert Burda (1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005-2007), Owner and CEO of Hubert Burda Media

•               Phillip Crawley (2006), Globe and Mail Publisher

•               Mathias Döpfner (2005-2007), CEO of Axel Springer AG, editing amongst others Die Welt and Bild

•               Esther Dyson (2007), commentator on emerging digital technology

•               Paul Finney (1977), former Managing Editor, Business Week

•               Donald E. Graham (1999, 2008), Chairman of the Board of The Washington Post Company

•               Josef Joffe (1993, 2006), Publisher of Die Zeit

•               Rupert Murdoch (1982, 1988 )

•               Christine Ockrent (1984, 2007, 2008), former first anchor of the 8pm news on the Antenne 2 French TV channel

•               Anthony O’Reilly (1983), Irish media tycoon

•               Norman Podhoretz (1996), Editor, Commentary

•               George Stephanopoulos (1996, 1997[3]), ABC News’s Chief Washington Correspondent, host of ABC’s This Week, senior political adviser to the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and former communications director for Clinton.

•               Arthur Hays Sulzberger (1956, 1957, 1966)

•               Arthur Taylor (1977), former President, CBS

•               Ben J. Wattenberg (1982)

•               Mortimer Zuckerman (1994), publisher/owner of the New York Daily News, current Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report

Journalists

•               Alexandre Adler (2003), French conservative journalist

•               Paul Gigot (1996, 2008), Editor of the Editorial Page of The Wall Street Journal 2003- present

•               Martin Wolf (1999-2001, 2003-2006), Financial Times columnist

•               Juan Luis Cebrián (1983, 1985, 1987-1990, 1993, 2008), Ex-director of El País Spanish daily newspaper and CEO of PRISA Group

•               Will Hutton (1997)[5]

•               Peter Jennings (1995)

•               George Will (1978, 1981)

•               Charlie Rose (2002, 2008 )

•               Fareed Zakaria (2002, 2005)

•               Andrea Mitchell (2002)

•               Lesley Stahl (1989, 1997)

•               Thomas L. Friedman (1995, 2003)

•               Bill D. Moyers (1967, 1968, 1971, 1973)

•               Jim Hoagland (1993, 1998, 1999, 2002)

•               Vendeline A. H. von Bredow (2006-2008), Business Correspondent for The Economist

•               Adrian D. Wooldridge (2004-2008), Foreign Correspondent for The Economist