The keywords for today are “Secrecy” and “Transparency.”
There are good secrets and bad secrets. Things to be concealed and things to be revealed. Some people want to know, others want to hide.
Secrecy is an valuable commodity. From universities that want to protect professors’ academic freedom by keeping their controversial viewpoints from public criticism to the Central Intelligence Agency’s protection of international sources, secrecy and confidentiality allows organizations and governments to effectively achieve their goals with a degree of freedom and flexibility.
On the other hand, transparency is also valuable. For instance, without whistle blowers, the American people would never have learned about the torture of Iraqi prisoners of war at Abu Ghraib and the United States would not have recently apologized for purposely infecting 696 Guatemalan prisoners, soldiers, and mental patients with syphilis in the 1940s. (For that story, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/01/us-apology-guatemala-syphilis-tests)
After 9/11 when the United States went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration was roundly criticized for keeping things too private, and when President Obama took office, he promised a different approach the Administration issued a memorandum called “Transparency and Open Government” which is still visible online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/
In the memo, Obama said, “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.
In the age of the Internet, information can be shared on a worldwide basis at the speed of light. The recent Wikileaks revelations of State Department communications, which were dispersed through the established media, have caused a great deal of embarrassment for the United States diplomatic corps, and may in fact harm international relations. In response, we can expect that it will be more difficult for representatives to operate, and we can also expect attempts to curtail freedom of speech.
They have also showed the American people the precarious situation in which we find ourselves by trying to balance between competing national interests. For instance, we are economically tied to China which has been sharing technology with Iran. But we are tied by oil to Saudi Arabia whose leadership wants the U.S. to attack Iran.
Other leaks from other sources have showed us that the Federal Reserve secretly bailed out General Electric and other U.S. companies to the combined tune of trillions of dollars. The Fed had long said that it needed complete secrecy to run the U.S. economy and we can only hope that revelations along these lines will not hurt our international credit rating.
If you remember the old Road Runner cartoons, Wiley Coyote can run over the side of the cliff and will hang in mid-air until he looks down and sees what the situation is. It is then that he falls. Hopefully the same will not happen if China and other major creditor nations look and see that the Fed has printed money beyond its value in order to prop up a perception of credit worthiness. Right now, the Fed’s veil of secrecy is providing the buffer between Wiley and the bottom of the canyon.
So what’s the moral to this story? We can learn that we cannot always trust what is on the surface because other things may be lurking below although you can go crazy trying to figure it out. We can see that secrets can protect good and bad activities, and that when there is harm being committed it is not a bad thing for people to stand up and say so. We can also learn that the path of a whistle blower is fraught with peril as people with multiple interests or fear of association will agree to “shoot the messenger” and for this reason that some secrets, like the Guatemalan experiments, may not be revealed for decades.
On a spiritual angle, the Bible has something to say about both secrecy and transparency. In Luke 8:17 Jesus says that there’s no point in trying to look good in public while doing evil in private. “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
If we want to avoid living life in fear of society’s spotlight, there is a simple standard – live life as if you’re in a fishbowl in the middle of Times Square. When the spotlight hits, people will see good things and criticism of you will be because they can’t handle the brightness of your goodness, not because they find actual fault with you.
“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. and do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”
1 Peter 3:14-17 (NIV).
###
Many people heard about Wikileaks story these days, but not everyone have clues what is all about. It is not my intention do offer a detailed analytical report, but rather to put this landmark of the history into a spiritual context.
The corporate websites of Visa and MasterCard were inaccessible at times Wednesday due to an apparent cyber-attack by supposed Wikileaks backers, in response to recent moves by Visa and Mastercard against Wikileaks, the website that recently released thousands of secret U.S. State Department documents.
A member of the Anonymous group of activist pro-Wikileaks, which has been targeting firms it sees as being anti-Wikileaks has said the campaign, is not over. He told the BBC that “thousands” of people had joined up in what he described as a “war of data”. Never in the history, were people able to polarize themselves around an issue with the demand and speed witnessed by this “Payback Operation”.
We started to face not only the rumor of a new kind of war, but last week we found ourselves concerned about this new “cyber war”. The Wikileaks affair proves how vulnerable our society is now that we’ve become a Web-based society. Elaborate computer networks, on which daily life in America depends, can cause devastation on everything when word-wide cyber forces contaminate them. The cyber war is not a conventional war, with horses and spears, or even with tanks or AK-47, but the war is on data.
In fact this type of war reminded me of another war that begun long time ago and still hot and fought in many aspects of human life: the Great Controversy between Light and darkness, between Good and evil, between Christ and Satan.
What are the reasons for war? Even though most of our world wars are fought for greed and foolish pride, wars are also fought for more noble reasons. Some started in order to liberate people from slavery and to save a nation (US Civil War). Other are started to stop a person from committing horrible massacre murders that would continue if not stopped (WW2 Germany). Wars are started to enforce Rule of Law on an area or nation that severely represses the people living there to inhumane levels. (Conflicts in Africa). In spite of the fact that a war is expected to solve the reason it was started, and assuming that was a good reason, unfortunately wars on earth does not determine who is right, but only who is left.
Revelation 12: 7-12 describes the first war… I don’t believed it was fought with swords like in R&H old pictures, but was essentially a mediatic war on data, informational war…
Whatever “accusation” means, this is a very ungodly pattern, and the result of the war in heaven it was to removed the “accuser” from the heavenly places and hurled him down. Among the little information we have regarding the act of “accusation”, we noticed that “the accuser” accused our brothers and sister before God day and night. We are not told anywhere that these were false accusation, but seems that the facts presented were less important then the pattern in itself. Seems that the accuser had access to some “classified information” about humans, and for a specific reason God wanted that information to be not used against His children.
The same patter is in Job 1:6-11. You may ask yourself: What’s wrong with accusing someone for what he/she had done dishonest? Our society is built on a system that will collapse without a DA, a District Attorney who’s primary responsibility is to prosecute those who’ve done wrong. The justice is something that we may run the entire life to find it. The lawbreakers are prosecuted when they disregard the norms and regulations of the society they are living within. Not enforcing the Law creates anarchy in our society. Is God advocating for disorder? Do you sense a level of dichotomy in this godly-related environments?
Let’s go for a minute to the study case we started with, Wikileaks, and see what are the two antagonisms they face into their conflict. One party claims the ethical right of the people to have access to secret documents in order to authenticate the leaders accountability and the other party claims the illegality of the people to have access to classified documents, as long as they remained secret. If you can observe into the two examples we are looking into right now, Wikileaks and The Great Controversy, we can identify a instance that not only will complicate a juridical process, but it will make impossible to solve it into our earthly context. The war is not looking for who is right from legal point of view, and also is not looking for an ethical solution only.
Because we don’t have the entire picture of the Wikileaks case, and also is not the purpose of the church to be involved in politics, it is not my intention to analyze the parties and declare one right or wrong. But we can use some details of this public story for answering some legitimate questions and also to extract some great principle and apply these principles into the context of the Great Controversy Story.
First, who is the consumer of the secrets when they are revealed into the public domain?
Our society faces 3 levels of general public:
1. “The Smart Guys” — the Leaders. (3-5 % of total population)
2. The Independents — this people are taking sides when evidence is provided, and may change their side according with the data and facts. (7-9 % of the total population).
3. The Crowds — the greatest group of curious people, waiting for action, great sensation and why not, blood, to satisfy the great need of entertainment. (84-90% of total population). They don’t care who is wrong and right, and because of ignorance 85% of this group have no idea how to read or what to look for on a scarified document. They demand public execution and they are not waiting for the justice department to bring an objective resolution of the situation. Today they will crown the hero, and tomorrow will cry “crucify Him” — remember Jesus. And the picture from Revelation13 is a dark one – this segment will be rady to receive “the mark of the beast” and help the authorities to reinforce the beast-law…
Second, how Jesus handled the classified information, he always had access at? In fact before this question, it will be appropriate to ask if Jesus really had access to secrets?
– Matt 9:4 “Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?”
– Mark 2:8 “Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?”
– John 2:25 “He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
– Luke 9:47 “But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side.”
– Matt 12:25 “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”
– Rev 2:23 “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.”
Definitely Jesus had full access to the secrets and classified information of his time.
What Jesus did with the information he knew?
1. He did not used what He knew against anybody, especially not against his own disciples. He knew everything about them and despite the consequences that may come from a human prospective, he treated them with love and teach them passion for others.
I got this illustration from Morris Venden – a contemporary “background check” requested by Jesus, as he considered his disciples:
TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop, Nazareth
FROM: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.
As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation, and comes without any additional fee.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants
2. John 8: 1-11(v6). He did not revealed the information about the Jews’ leaders evilness, in spite of the fact that they needed a great lesson and the proof of their accountability. He did not satisfy the crowds, telling them what was going on, but he wrote with His finger on the ground? What exactly? We don’t know and nobody knows.
3. Matt 26:6; Mark 14:3 — Jesus used the classified information to teach Simon a very important lesson, but He did it in a way that no one else noticed Simon problem, but he himself. Every time Jesus appealed to the human hearts he intended to melt them with His love. Curiosity and information is dangerous for ignorant people. Example: people of Israel looking inside the Ark of the Covenant. (1 Samuel 6:19).
How important is to know the strategy of your adversary (enemy)? Satan is busy doing a lot of things, and especially he is busy accusing the brethren. This is why is important to read the strategy of the enemy who wants to keep you his forever prisoner. Adolph Hitler wrote his book, Mein Kampf, in 1925-vol 1 and 1926 — vol2, where he told exactly how he would conquer Europe. The world said that he would not do it, but he did it just like he wrote it.
God gave us a Book that tells all about our enemy, our adversary. We are not concerned enough to pick up the Book and read about our adversary or read about our resources or read how they will attack us, or read how he will use us. Unless we stay in the book and read the book, then the Devil really has a hay-day with us.
Lessons from Wikileaks players:
1. We are under attack at any time, and Satan will do the best he can to keep us far from reading the strategy that may defeat him. The battle is to reveal the secrets and the classified documents to everyone being attacked by the enemy. Take you Scripture out of the dusty self and start educating yourself in the war strategy. We don’t have the option to escape the war. The refuse to became proficient, will not make us winners, but victims.
2. The commitment and desire to resist against popular trend is part of the strategy.
3. Always the War put a great risk on the players. You may be arrested, wounded or even killed at any time during the battle. (Assange was arrested on Tuesday)
4. We have nothing to hide and we need to be accountable to others.
5. Christians can be accused and blamed by the crowds, even when we cannot be proved guilty of any charge.
6. You backbone faith and also the lack of fear will motivate people to take sides into the Great Controversy setting. The issue of worship is essential for every person. The question is not if we are going to worship, but whom? Jesus or Satan?
7. The globalization solves the very easy problem of people polarization. In the terms of minutes, people around the world are taking sides pro and cons, regardless their geographical location, language, nation or religion.
8. Hours before Julian Assange was arrested, the financial institution suspended his financial accounts, long before a trial or proved guilty of any inequity. The details of Rev. 13:16-17 are very easy coming to light in this picture.
9. Don’t go to war in your power, but make sure to have the highest level of communication with the general who never lost any battle.
10. Ephesians 6:10-18. Put on the whole armor of God.
May our Lord fulfils His promise of Rev 21:7, he or she who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and they shall be my children, to everyone here today.
Ovidiu Radulescu and Florin Liga
Many people heard about Wikileaks story these days, but not everyone have clues what is all about. It is not my intention do offer a detailed analytical report, but rather to put this landmark of the history into a spiritual context.
The corporate websites of Visa and MasterCard were inaccessible at times Wednesday due to an apparent cyber-attack by supposed Wikileaks backers, in response to recent moves by Visa and Mastercard against Wikileaks, the website that recently released thousands of secret U.S. State Department documents.
A member of the Anonymous group of activist pro-Wikileaks, which has been targeting firms it sees as being anti-Wikileaks has said the campaign, is not over. He told the BBC that “thousands” of people had joined up in what he described as a “war of data”. Never in the history, were people able to polarize themselves around an issue with the demand and speed witnessed by this “Payback Operation”.
We started to face not only the rumor of a new kind of war, but last week we found ourselves concerned about this new “cyber war”. The Wikileaks affair proves how vulnerable our society is now that we’ve become a Web-based society. Elaborate computer networks, on which daily life in America depends, can cause devastation on everything when word-wide cyber forces contaminate them. The cyber war is not a conventional war, with horses and spears, or even with tanks or AK-47, but the war is on data.
In fact this type of war reminded me of another war that begun long time ago and still hot and fought in many aspects of human life: the Great Controversy between Light and darkness, between Good and evil, between Christ and Satan.
What are the reasons for war? Even though most of our world wars are fought for greed and foolish pride, wars are also fought for more noble reasons. Some started in order to liberate people from slavery and to save a nation (US Civil War). Other are started to stop a person from committing horrible massacre murders that would continue if not stopped (WW2 Germany). Wars are started to enforce Rule of Law on an area or nation that severely represses the people living there to inhumane levels. (Conflicts in Africa). In spite of the fact that a war is expected to solve the reason it was started, and assuming that was a good reason, unfortunately wars on earth does not determine who is right, but only who is left.
Revelation 12: 7-12 describes the first war… I don’t believed it was fought with swords like in R&H old pictures, but was essentially a mediatic war on data, informational war…
Whatever “accusation” means, this is a very ungodly pattern, and the result of the war in heaven it was to removed the “accuser” from the heavenly places and hurled him down. Among the little information we have regarding the act of “accusation”, we noticed that “the accuser” accused our brothers and sister before God day and night. We are not told anywhere that these were false accusation, but seems that the facts presented were less important then the pattern in itself. Seems that the accuser had access to some “classified information” about humans, and for a specific reason God wanted that information to be not used against His children.
The same patter is in Job 1:6-11. You may ask yourself: What’s wrong with accusing someone for what he/she had done dishonest? Our society is built on a system that will collapse without a DA, a District Attorney who’s primary responsibility is to prosecute those who’ve done wrong. The justice is something that we may run the entire life to find it. The lawbreakers are prosecuted when they disregard the norms and regulations of the society they are living within. Not enforcing the Law creates anarchy in our society. Is God advocating for disorder? Do you sense a level of dichotomy in this godly-related environments?
Let’s go for a minute to the study case we started with, Wikileaks, and see what are the two antagonisms they face into their conflict. One party claims the ethical right of the people to have access to secret documents in order to authenticate the leaders accountability and the other party claims the illegality of the people to have access to classified documents, as long as they remained secret. If you can observe into the two examples we are looking into right now, Wikileaks and The Great Controversy, we can identify a instance that not only will complicate a juridical process, but it will make impossible to solve it into our earthly context. The war is not looking for who is right from legal point of view, and also is not looking for an ethical solution only.
Because we don’t have the entire picture of the Wikileaks case, and also is not the purpose of the church to be involved in politics, it is not my intention to analyze the parties and declare one right or wrong. But we can use some details of this public story for answering some legitimate questions and also to extract some great principle and apply these principles into the context of the Great Controversy Story.
First, who is the consumer of the secrets when they are revealed into the public domain?
Our society faces 3 levels of general public:
1. “The Smart Guys” — the Leaders. (3-5 % of total population)
2. The Independents — this people are taking sides when evidence is provided, and may change their side according with the data and facts. (7-9 % of the total population).
3. The Crowds — the greatest group of curious people, waiting for action, great sensation and why not, blood, to satisfy the great need of entertainment. (84-90% of total population). They don’t care who is wrong and right, and because of ignorance 85% of this group have no idea how to read or what to look for on a scarified document. They demand public execution and they are not waiting for the justice department to bring an objective resolution of the situation. Today they will crown the hero, and tomorrow will cry “crucify Him” — remember Jesus. And the picture from Revelation13 is a dark one – this segment will be rady to receive “the mark of the beast” and help the authorities to reinforce the beast-law…
Second, how Jesus handled the classified information, he always had access at? In fact before this question, it will be appropriate to ask if Jesus really had access to secrets?
– Matt 9:4 “Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?”
– Mark 2:8 “Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?”
– John 2:25 “He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
– Luke 9:47 “But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side.”
– Matt 12:25 “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”
– Rev 2:23 “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.”
Definitely Jesus had full access to the secrets and classified information of his time.
What Jesus did with the information he knew?
1. He did not used what He knew against anybody, especially not against his own disciples. He knew everything about them and despite the consequences that may come from a human prospective, he treated them with love and teach them passion for others.
I got this illustration from Morris Venden – a contemporary “background check” requested by Jesus, as he considered his disciples:
TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop, Nazareth
FROM: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.
As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation, and comes without any additional fee.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants
2. John 8: 1-11(v6). He did not revealed the information about the Jews’ leaders evilness, in spite of the fact that they needed a great lesson and the proof of their accountability. He did not satisfy the crowds, telling them what was going on, but he wrote with His finger on the ground? What exactly? We don’t know and nobody knows.
3. Matt 26:6; Mark 14:3 — Jesus used the classified information to teach Simon a very important lesson, but He did it in a way that no one else noticed Simon problem, but he himself. Every time Jesus appealed to the human hearts he intended to melt them with His love. Curiosity and information is dangerous for ignorant people. Example: people of Israel looking inside the Ark of the Covenant. (1 Samuel 6:19).
How important is to know the strategy of your adversary (enemy)? Satan is busy doing a lot of things, and especially he is busy accusing the brethren. This is why is important to read the strategy of the enemy who wants to keep you his forever prisoner. Adolph Hitler wrote his book, Mein Kampf, in 1925-vol 1 and 1926 — vol2, where he told exactly how he would conquer Europe. The world said that he would not do it, but he did it just like he wrote it.
God gave us a Book that tells all about our enemy, our adversary. We are not concerned enough to pick up the Book and read about our adversary or read about our resources or read how they will attack us, or read how he will use us. Unless we stay in the book and read the book, then the Devil really has a hay-day with us.
Lessons from Wikileaks players:
1. We are under attack at any time, and Satan will do the best he can to keep us far from reading the strategy that may defeat him. The battle is to reveal the secrets and the classified documents to everyone being attacked by the enemy. Take you Scripture out of the dusty self and start educating yourself in the war strategy. We don’t have the option to escape the war. The refuse to became proficient, will not make us winners, but victims.
2. The commitment and desire to resist against popular trend is part of the strategy.
3. Always the War put a great risk on the players. You may be arrested, wounded or even killed at any time during the battle. (Assange was arrested on Tuesday)
4. We have nothing to hide and we need to be accountable to others.
5. Christians can be accused and blamed by the crowds, even when we cannot be proved guilty of any charge.
6. You backbone faith and also the lack of fear will motivate people to take sides into the Great Controversy setting. The issue of worship is essential for every person. The question is not if we are going to worship, but whom? Jesus or Satan?
7. The globalization solves the very easy problem of people polarization. In the terms of minutes, people around the world are taking sides pro and cons, regardless their geographical location, language, nation or religion.
8. Hours before Julian Assange was arrested, the financial institution suspended his financial accounts, long before a trial or proved guilty of any inequity. The details of Rev. 13:16-17 are very easy coming to light in this picture.
9. Don’t go to war in your power, but make sure to have the highest level of communication with the general who never lost any battle.
10. Ephesians 6:10-18. Put on the whole armor of God.
May our Lord fulfils His promise of Rev 21:7, he or she who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and they shall be my children, to everyone here today.
Ovidiu Radulescu and Florin Liga
Many people heard about Wikileaks story these days, but not everyone have clues what is all about. It is not my intention do offer a detailed analytical report, but rather to put this landmark of the history into a spiritual context.
The corporate websites of Visa and MasterCard were inaccessible at times Wednesday due to an apparent cyber-attack by supposed Wikileaks backers, in response to recent moves by Visa and Mastercard against Wikileaks, the website that recently released thousands of secret U.S. State Department documents.
A member of the Anonymous group of activist pro-Wikileaks, which has been targeting firms it sees as being anti-Wikileaks has said the campaign, is not over. He told the BBC that “thousands” of people had joined up in what he described as a “war of data”. Never in the history, were people able to polarize themselves around an issue with the demand and speed witnessed by this “Payback Operation”.
We started to face not only the rumor of a new kind of war, but last week we found ourselves concerned about this new “cyber war”. The Wikileaks affair proves how vulnerable our society is now that we’ve become a Web-based society. Elaborate computer networks, on which daily life in America depends, can cause devastation on everything when word-wide cyber forces contaminate them. The cyber war is not a conventional war, with horses and spears, or even with tanks or AK-47, but the war is on data.
In fact this type of war reminded me of another war that begun long time ago and still hot and fought in many aspects of human life: the Great Controversy between Light and darkness, between Good and evil, between Christ and Satan.
What are the reasons for war? Even though most of our world wars are fought for greed and foolish pride, wars are also fought for more noble reasons. Some started in order to liberate people from slavery and to save a nation (US Civil War). Other are started to stop a person from committing horrible massacre murders that would continue if not stopped (WW2 Germany). Wars are started to enforce Rule of Law on an area or nation that severely represses the people living there to inhumane levels. (Conflicts in Africa). In spite of the fact that a war is expected to solve the reason it was started, and assuming that was a good reason, unfortunately wars on earth does not determine who is right, but only who is left.
Revelation 12: 7-12 describes the first war… I don’t believed it was fought with swords like in R&H old pictures, but was essentially a mediatic war on data, informational war…
Whatever “accusation” means, this is a very ungodly pattern, and the result of the war in heaven it was to removed the “accuser” from the heavenly places and hurled him down. Among the little information we have regarding the act of “accusation”, we noticed that “the accuser” accused our brothers and sister before God day and night. We are not told anywhere that these were false accusation, but seems that the facts presented were less important then the pattern in itself. Seems that the accuser had access to some “classified information” about humans, and for a specific reason God wanted that information to be not used against His children.
The same patter is in Job 1:6-11. You may ask yourself: What’s wrong with accusing someone for what he/she had done dishonest? Our society is built on a system that will collapse without a DA, a District Attorney who’s primary responsibility is to prosecute those who’ve done wrong. The justice is something that we may run the entire life to find it. The lawbreakers are prosecuted when they disregard the norms and regulations of the society they are living within. Not enforcing the Law creates anarchy in our society. Is God advocating for disorder? Do you sense a level of dichotomy in this godly-related environments?
Let’s go for a minute to the study case we started with, Wikileaks, and see what are the two antagonisms they face into their conflict. One party claims the ethical right of the people to have access to secret documents in order to authenticate the leaders accountability and the other party claims the illegality of the people to have access to classified documents, as long as they remained secret. If you can observe into the two examples we are looking into right now, Wikileaks and The Great Controversy, we can identify a instance that not only will complicate a juridical process, but it will make impossible to solve it into our earthly context. The war is not looking for who is right from legal point of view, and also is not looking for an ethical solution only.
Because we don’t have the entire picture of the Wikileaks case, and also is not the purpose of the church to be involved in politics, it is not my intention to analyze the parties and declare one right or wrong. But we can use some details of this public story for answering some legitimate questions and also to extract some great principle and apply these principles into the context of the Great Controversy Story.
First, who is the consumer of the secrets when they are revealed into the public domain?
Our society faces 3 levels of general public:
1. “The Smart Guys” — the Leaders. (3-5 % of total population)
2. The Independents — this people are taking sides when evidence is provided, and may change their side according with the data and facts. (7-9 % of the total population).
3. The Crowds — the greatest group of curious people, waiting for action, great sensation and why not, blood, to satisfy the great need of entertainment. (84-90% of total population). They don’t care who is wrong and right, and because of ignorance 85% of this group have no idea how to read or what to look for on a scarified document. They demand public execution and they are not waiting for the justice department to bring an objective resolution of the situation. Today they will crown the hero, and tomorrow will cry “crucify Him” — remember Jesus. And the picture from Revelation13 is a dark one – this segment will be rady to receive “the mark of the beast” and help the authorities to reinforce the beast-law…
Second, how Jesus handled the classified information, he always had access at? In fact before this question, it will be appropriate to ask if Jesus really had access to secrets?
– Matt 9:4 “Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?”
– Mark 2:8 “Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?”
– John 2:25 “He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
– Luke 9:47 “But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side.”
– Matt 12:25 “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”
– Rev 2:23 “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.”
Definitely Jesus had full access to the secrets and classified information of his time.
What Jesus did with the information he knew?
1. He did not used what He knew against anybody, especially not against his own disciples. He knew everything about them and despite the consequences that may come from a human prospective, he treated them with love and teach them passion for others.
I got this illustration from Morris Venden – a contemporary “background check” requested by Jesus, as he considered his disciples:
TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop, Nazareth
FROM: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem
Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.
As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation, and comes without any additional fee.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants
2. John 8: 1-11(v6). He did not revealed the information about the Jews’ leaders evilness, in spite of the fact that they needed a great lesson and the proof of their accountability. He did not satisfy the crowds, telling them what was going on, but he wrote with His finger on the ground? What exactly? We don’t know and nobody knows.
3. Matt 26:6; Mark 14:3 — Jesus used the classified information to teach Simon a very important lesson, but He did it in a way that no one else noticed Simon problem, but he himself. Every time Jesus appealed to the human hearts he intended to melt them with His love. Curiosity and information is dangerous for ignorant people. Example: people of Israel looking inside the Ark of the Covenant. (1 Samuel 6:19).
How important is to know the strategy of your adversary (enemy)? Satan is busy doing a lot of things, and especially he is busy accusing the brethren. This is why is important to read the strategy of the enemy who wants to keep you his forever prisoner. Adolph Hitler wrote his book, Mein Kampf, in 1925-vol 1 and 1926 — vol2, where he told exactly how he would conquer Europe. The world said that he would not do it, but he did it just like he wrote it.
God gave us a Book that tells all about our enemy, our adversary. We are not concerned enough to pick up the Book and read about our adversary or read about our resources or read how they will attack us, or read how he will use us. Unless we stay in the book and read the book, then the Devil really has a hay-day with us.
Lessons from Wikileaks players:
1. We are under attack at any time, and Satan will do the best he can to keep us far from reading the strategy that may defeat him. The battle is to reveal the secrets and the classified documents to everyone being attacked by the enemy. Take you Scripture out of the dusty self and start educating yourself in the war strategy. We don’t have the option to escape the war. The refuse to became proficient, will not make us winners, but victims.
2. The commitment and desire to resist against popular trend is part of the strategy.
3. Always the War put a great risk on the players. You may be arrested, wounded or even killed at any time during the battle. (Assange was arrested on Tuesday)
4. We have nothing to hide and we need to be accountable to others.
5. Christians can be accused and blamed by the crowds, even when we cannot be proved guilty of any charge.
6. You backbone faith and also the lack of fear will motivate people to take sides into the Great Controversy setting. The issue of worship is essential for every person. The question is not if we are going to worship, but whom? Jesus or Satan?
7. The globalization solves the very easy problem of people polarization. In the terms of minutes, people around the world are taking sides pro and cons, regardless their geographical location, language, nation or religion.
8. Hours before Julian Assange was arrested, the financial institution suspended his financial accounts, long before a trial or proved guilty of any inequity. The details of Rev. 13:16-17 are very easy coming to light in this picture.
9. Don’t go to war in your power, but make sure to have the highest level of communication with the general who never lost any battle.
10. Ephesians 6:10-18. Put on the whole armor of God.
May our Lord fulfils His promise of Rev 21:7, he or she who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and they shall be my children, to everyone here today.
Ovidiu Radulescu and Florin Liga