Sign of the Times – Part unknown

Voyager Completes 12-year Planetary Mission

In what scientists consider the most successful space probe ever launched, Voyager 2 has completed fly-bys of all the outer planets except Pluto and will soon leave the solar system. Sent aloft in 1977 atop a Titan/Centaur booster, Voyager 2 took advantage of a once-in-176-years alignment of the planets to make the tour in 12 years rather than the 32 years it would otherwise have taken. During its voyage the 1,819 pound spacecraft beamed 5 trillion bits of data to earth, enough to fill 6,000 sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

After travelling 4.43 billion miles, past Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, and Uranus in 1986, the spacecraft passed within 3000 miles of the blue methane surface of the planet Neptune. Distant from the earth by 2.8 billion miles, Neptune can only be seen with high powered telescopes, and, until Voyager 2, little was known about it except that it had at least one moon, Triton. Spectacular photos sent to earth show Neptune to have 5 rings and a total of 8 moons with the largest, Triton, showing characteristics leading to speculation that it may have been a planet itself at one time. Triton also has the distinction of being the coldest body ever measured in the solar system at minus 400 degrees F.

A renewed U.S. commitment to space exploration has led to plans for regular launching’s of unmanned probes over the next several years. The next to send back data if all goes as planned will be the Magellan, launched from the shuttle Atlantis last May. Beginning next summer, it will spend 8 months mapping the surface of the planet Venus using radar to penetrate the planet’s dense carbon dioxide clouds.

As long as the Lord permits man to carry out these celestial investigations, we will, no doubt, continue to marvel at the astonishing information being revealed by space probes. Until planetary exploration began, life on other planets was thought to be a possibility but the information gained from the Viking and Voyager missions has determined that the earth is unique for having conditions anywhere near able to support life as we know it. The increased awareness we now have of the bleakness and hostility of the environment on other planets should lead to a greater appreciation of the wonderful creation that has been provided for our use. The words of the Psalm 33 are indeed appropriate, “the earth is full of the goodness of God.”

Soviet Problems Threaten Gorbachev’s Regime

When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union 4 years ago, he immediately set in motion a program of reforms as a means of solving the economic and political problems that were facing the coun­try. The question that many observers are now asking is whether the national patience will be exhausted before the changes produce the desired effect. Many of the old complaints are still there, such as the chronic shortages of food and consumer goods. Others have been added, including the the Baltic state’s demands for independence, Poland’s move away from communism, increased strikes by workers and new challenges to Soviet authority in Moldavia and central Asia.

Although Gorbachev’s leadership abilities and personal charm have carried him through so far, members of the central committee are now openly criticizing his weakening of communist party authority with constitutional changes that have shifted some authority to the new parliament. Some conservative party members see the crises facing the nation as a result of the loss of party control and are demanding that it be restored. Many Western observers are beginning to wonder how much time Gorbachev has for his reforms to produce results before he suffers the fate of Nikita Khrushchev who tried to reform the Soviet system 25 years ago.

Jews and Catholics Clash over Convent at Auschwitz

In 1984, a Catholic order of nuns known as the Carmelites set up a convent near the site of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. The Carme­lites, whose principal activity is prayer in seclusion, set up this convent to pray for the souls of those slaughtered by the Nazis. Jewish groups opposed the convent at this location. They apparently felt that Auschwitz, the most terrible of the death camps where a majority of those killed were Jews, has a special significance to Jews and that a Catholic convent was out of place.

The matter was brought to a head by a fund-raising letter from Brussels soliciting funds to be used at that and other convents to pray for the conversion of Jews. Most Jews strongly resent any attempt to convert them to Christianity. Christian missionary work is illegal in Israel and the re­sponsibility Christians feel to convert others is vigorously denounced.

In response to Jewish protests, in 1987 the Catholics agreed to move the convent by February of this year. When the date came and went without the move or an explanation for the delay, a group of American Shrewish activists protested by scaling the wall of the convent and were forcibly ejected. The publicity surrounding the event prompted a response from the Polish Cardinal. Jewish leaders denounced the response as anti-Semitic, although the Cardinal claimed it was not meant to be. He told a group of Israeli Knesset members visiting Poland that the publicity surrounding the protest has made it more difficult to move the convent. The Israeli group criticized the American activists for harming the cause of moving the convent.

Meanwhile, the Pope, who him­self is Polish, has drawn criticism for his position that gentiles, too, were victims of Nazi genocide. Although only about 5,000 Jews remain in Poland (down from 3.5 million who were there before World War II), its traditional anti-Semitism is still being felt and appears to be growing as the nation’s economic problems seem to call for someone to blame. This treatment of the disbursed nation of Israel demonstrates the continuing Truth of the word of the Lord.

France Celebrates Revolution with Pomp and Pageantry

With scant relevance to the historic meaning of the event, the French celebrated the 200th anniversary of Bastille day in typical late 20th century fashion by employing an advertising impresario to stage a $67 million extravaganza featuring a parade with bands from all over the world, a million tourists dancing in the streets, and state dinners for visiting heads of state. Many tourists were reported to be wearing trinkets in the form of emblematic guillotines, a trivialization of the dread symbol of the reign of terror.

Although the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 is considered the beginning of the French Revolution, ironically, it actually began two years before among the aristocracy when King Louis XVI, strapped for cash, tried to impose a tax on their hitherto tax exempt estates. The social and political upheaval that followed involved all of Europe for ten years and has had a profound effect ever since, even in such mundane matters as on which side of the street we drive.

The first involvement of the common people was at the storming of the Bastille. The event was more symbolic than practical, however, since that old fortress which was converted to a political prison, had only seven inmates when the mobs overran it and eventually tore it down. The discovery by the common people that they had power in their numbers laid to rest once and for all the principle known as “the divine right of kings” by which the clergy and the nobility kept the masses in subjection.

During the reign of terror that followed, execution by guillotine was the fate of great numbers of the aristocracy and clergy, and eventually many of the original leaders of the revolution who opposed the excesses of new leaders who replaced them. After-shocks of this “great earthquake” rocked the kingdoms of Europe and paved the way for a re­turn to despotism under Napoleon Bonaparte.

For those with an interest in his­tory, Dr. John Thomas gives a detailed account of these dramatic events which he relates to Bible prophecy as the pouring out of the first vial of Rev. 16:2, the great earthquake of Rev. 11:13, and the third woe of Rev. 11:14. His account is in the third volume of Eureka.

The ferment begun two centuries ago and epitomized in the revolutionary slogan “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” is still convulsing the world, most recently as the masses in Asia and Africa rise up to challenge the established social order. To the believer in the promises of God, however, these historical events herald the coming day when an immortal king will extend divine rule over all the earth.

Soviets Consider Increased Trade with Israel

To a nation with unemployment at a 20-year high, the prospect of new markets for its industries was good news. These may be possible in the near future if discussions between Soviet and Israeli trade officials take place as planned.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Soviet Union has expressed an interest in opening up trade with Is­rael in many areas, including importation of Israeli fruit and vegetables and the employment of Israeli technological assistance in the fields of agriculture, desert reclamation and solar energy.

In the past, trade between the two nations has been hampered by Israeli trade restrictions which the Soviets, short of foreign currency, have been unable to overcome. The high-level discussions being proposed are seen as leading to easing these difficulties as well as improving overall relations.

Hungary Changes Policy on Religion

The Hungarian Communist Party has made a major policy change concerning religion, according to an Associated Press report. Atheism will no longer be a requirement for membership in the party and the party will no longer concern itself with church affairs.

After a meeting of the Hungarian Socialist Worker’s Party central committee, a spokesman for the committee told the press the party will now be open to people of religious conviction as long as they are committed to the cause of social progress. The party is pledged to ensure the continuation of the sepa­ration of church and state.

Court Rules on “Who is a Jew”

Israel’s High Court of Justice has made a long-awaited ruling in the so-called “who is a Jew” controversy. In its ruling, the court ordered the Interior Ministry to accept non-Orthodox converts to Judaism as immigrants according to the Law of Return and register them as Jews. The ruling, in effect, upholds the status quo and rejects the requirement being sought by the Orthodox branch of Judaism that all conversion certificates be validated by the local rabbinical courts, which are run by the Orthodox branch.

The issue has been a matter of controversy since 1958, when the interior minister instructed ministry officials to register any person as Jewish who sincerely declared him­self to be Jewish. In 1970 the Law of Return was amended to define a Jew as “a person born of a Jewish mother who has been converted to Judaism and does not profess another religion.”

Since then the religious parties have tried many times to get the Knesset to impose further restrictions. The court case came about when the present interior minister, an Orthodox Jew himself, not only declined to register non-Orthodox converts as Jews, but even as immigrants. The High Court’s ruling declared the practice illegal. Under the Law of Return, it said, the interior had no discretion to question the propriety of an immigrant’s conversion.