Dear John & Doves: 
 
 I spent a great deal of time praying about the content of this letter,
and after many edits and re-writes, I feel assured that this is the
form that it was intended to take, and I say only what I believe needs
to be said, and I hope it is accepted in the spirit that is intended.
 
  >Ellen Gonzalez (13 Sep 2004)
>"Defending my statement that John Russell asked for scripture support" 
 
 >In reference to this statement I wrote, which John asked me to support
>with scriptures as he could not find this verse in the Bible. Actually,
>there are many which support the entire thought.
 

>>There are those who think that our government, who naturally has the
>>people's best interests at the forefront of their plans, would never conspire
>>to terrorize the populace into willingly giving up their rights, though the
>>Bible tells us otherwise.
 

>OK, I guess I should have phrased this sentence in another manner. The
>Bible tells us that men's hearts will be failing them for fear (Luke 21:26)
 
  That is true. However that passage in Luke was spoken by the Lord in the
context of being one of many signs pointing to His Return, and is not at
all specific in pointing to any earthly government oppressing the people.
 

>and also that when they are saying peace and safety then cometh sudden
>destruction. (I Thess 5:3).
 
  That too is true, yet again - the context of the entire chapter needs to
be considered - in I Thess 5:4, it is written "But ye, brethren, are not
in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief". I Thess 5:3
is clearly directed at the unbelievers. If there is any doubt, consider
the first verse of the chapter which states "But of the times and the
seasons, YE HAVE NO NEED THAT I WRITE UNTO YOU" (emphasis mine).,Which clearly establishes that Christians will not be caught unawares as will
the rest of the unbelieving world.
 
  >The Bible also tells us that the one-world government, which is under
>the authority of Satan, the ruler of this world, and the Antichrist,
>will issue the mark, without which no man will be able to buy or sell,
>( Rev.13:16-17) and  the people will be forced to make a choice between
>accepting it or death.
 
  That one-world government however, has yet to be established. Even at
this late date, the Earth is still divided among the traditional 'Nation
State' schema, and there has yet to be an eradication of nationalistic
fervor among ANY independent nation which would make the citizens of said
nation willing to forego their national identity in exchange for a global
'generic' identity. Despite the recent push for Verichips, enhanced UPC
services (for 'tracking' products), and electronic commerce, there still
is not any effective way of fully integrating independent economies (and
the citizens participating in such economies) into only ONE system which
is capable of monitoring and recording the literally TRILLIONS of monetary
transactions that the Antichristic system will seek to control. I concede
that computer systems and networks have advanced far beyond anything yet
predicted in say, the 1960's and 70's, but those same systems and all of
the networks which interconnect them cannot be considered impervious to
any number of threats, including EMP (electro magnetic pulse), security
breakdowns and compromises, be they internal sabotage and exploitation
or external hacking and breaking in by unauthorized parties. Simply put,
we are not yet at the point where a true digital 'beast' system is able
to fully exert control over the world's population, let alone all of the
financial transactions which take place across the planet.
 
  >The present world governments are under Satan's authority (John 14:30,
>Matt 4: 8-9) even though the Lord is in control and puts rulers in power
>to fulfill His ultimate purpose. (Ex 9:12, 10:1, Job 12: Prov 8:15.)
>Why would the devil allow a true Christian to run the most powerful
>nation on earth?
 
  I believe that you are crediting the devil with way too much. While
Satan may exert influence over the world, he is still limited by the
presence of the Holy Spirit, he is constrained by the Will of God, he
is extremely limited, and I take issue with your suggestion of 'why
would the devil allow....' - in that the devil is not in a position to
'allow' ANYTHING. His freedom of action is still subservient to Almighty
God, and likewise subservient to Christians who stand upon the Word of
God, call upon the Name of Jesus, and are covered with the Redeemer's
Blood. If it were as you suggest, that the devil exercises what must be
complete authority over the world's governments, this planet would have
been utterly ravaged and destroyed already. For the devil is exactly as
described in 1 Peter Chapter 5:8, "your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour". Note the Scripture says
"whom he MAY devour", not "ANYONE he wishes to devour". The devil is not
at all omnipotent and able to conquer as he wishes - not yet. Not until
the devil has manifested himself in the physical body of the Antichrist.
 
  Until that time, the devil MAY "devour" some people, and some governments,
but because Christians, who remain the salt of the Earth, with the Power
of the Holy Spirit, will inhibit and be an unshakable obstacle to the
devil until his time, foretold by and specifically defined by Scripture
has arrived.
 
  >The governments are promising peace through the enactment of laws and
>anti-terrorist measures which have eroded our freedoms little by little.
 
  If you are referring to the much-maligned 'Patriot Act', that is quite
frankly, a non-starter. The Patriot Act primarily authorizes the many
law enforcement agencies to share data in the course of investigations,
the same authority which has existed in organized crime probes for many
years, and I have yet to hear ANY individual produce a true, verifiable
example of any of their freedoms being trampled upon.
 
  >Most people are willing to go through the necessary but inconvenient
>security measures at airports these days, subjected to baggage and
>persons being searched, iris scans, voice recognition, etc, all in
>the name of protection.(2 Peter 2:2)
 
  I do not see the relevance of the Scripture you have cited. 2 Peter 2:2
states "And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom
the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." Consider the previous first
verse, which says: "...even as there shall be false prophets among you,
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that
bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction". The theme of
2 Peter is that it is better for Christians to have never known the way
of Righteousness, than to have known Grace, and to then return to their
previous wicked ways, to the ways of the world, and the godly servants
of God will surely be delivered out of the wickedness surrounding them.
 
  >The government has just passed a law that will require mandatory mental
>health screening for all children, and later we wiil see adults screened
>also.
 
  Quite seriously, when I read some of the truly insane conspiracy theories
floating around the Internet, picked up, circulated, massaged, passed on
and on and on, in a pointless whipping up of anxiety, fear and foreboding,
I sometimes think that mandatory mental health screening might not be such
a bad idea. Jim Bramlett's excellent satire "I Took The Mark" demonstrates
just how quickly baseless rumors begin, and how eager people are to throw
all caution to the wind and embrace those rumors, why? Because it is far
easier to blame all of the evils and problems we face today on nameless,
unseen, and dubious 'conspiracies', when the truth is - the evils we see
in the world today are still caused by that original 'root cause', which
is SIN. We are reaping the bitter harvest of humanity's rebellion against
God, and while the devil certainly does roam about the planet, looking for
an easy and cheap meal, we cannot default to the 'Flip Wilson Defense', in
which we say "the devil made 'em do it!" or "the devil made me do it". We
must understand, without doubt - the devil doesn't make ANYone do ANYthing,
WE empower and enable the devil when we fail to trust Christ to keep us
under His Wings, and covered in His Blood, WE incite and agitate the evil
that sweeps the Earth, when we attempt to 'do it our way', thinking that
we are smart enough and wise enough to automatically 'know' the answers.
 
  Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, WE KNOW NOTHING.
 
  >Who will determine what will be considered mentally healthy? Will Christians,
>who are already being prosecuted under "hate crimes" legislation for speaking
>the Bible's position on homosexuality, be determined to require medication, or
>in some cases, re-conditioned thinking? Mind control has been in use for many
>years, and why should we believe that it disappeared with the Nazis?
 
  'Mind control' is a myth. And I say that because IF 'mind control' were truly
possible, it would provide an excuse for any person who has chosen a path of
sin and rebellion to seek a pardon from the Most High God. I happen to believe
that in the case of truly mentally ill people, who are not able to comprehend
the meaning of their thoughts and actions, that God DOES in fact grant them a
'pass', they cannot be held accountable for a condition which is legitimately
affecting their common sense and ability to make proper choices. If there were
truly an effective technique of mind control, we would already see a totally
placated and tranquilized population, with 'peace and safety' everywhere, and
while the Bible states that there will be a brief period of the Tribulation
when 'peace and safety' will temporarily be achieved, 'mind control' will NOT
be the instrument for that period of societal 'bliss', because if it is to be
that your MIND can be 'controlled', then you have no worry about ever being
held responsible for what you do, be it taking the 666-Beast mark, or turning
in Christian rebels to the authorities, or blaspheming the Name of Christ, it
all becomes nothing but a mute pile of minor and meangingless offenses, all
because you did not commit such offenses OF YOUR OWN FREE WILL.
 
  >Heck, our government brought many Nazis here after the war to continue their
>diabolic experiments in mind control, and it might surprise you to know
>exactly how our illustrious leaders have been involved. Do a google search
>and you can read about Cathy O' Brien and many others.
 
  I prefer to place my faith in the Word of God, not in the words of conspiracy
theorists with outlandish claims such as Cathy O'Brien and her ilk. Others may
wish to indulge their fears and spend many a sleepless night worrying about a
pack of Nazi mind-control technicians trying to sneak up on them, but I will
stand on the Authority of Jesus Christ, who grants me a free mind that cannot
be clouded or controlled by the enemy.
 
  >Where do the ideas for films such as "The Manchurian Candidate" come from?
 
  Generally, from Hollywood. Now I am fully aware that the Communists in North
Korea (and other Soviet client states) have engaged in psychological torture
of POWs, and have produced mostly robotic responses from the individuals who
have 'cracked' under the strain, but the quest for a 'mind control' silver
bullet remains unsolved.
 
 

>The populace has been terrorized into believing  peace and safety will
>only come about through government intervention. We know there will be no
>world peace until Jesus returns, and we have only seen the beginnings of these
>security measures. Are you aware of the provisions that the government can
>enact when martial law is declared?
 
  Any government, if faced with such an extreme attack by it's enemies which
threaten the survival of the citizens, and the survival of their form of
government, would be reckless and totally irresponsible NOT to declare a
state of martial law and/or a state of unlimited national emergency. And
contrary to the assertion that the 'populace has been terrorized', I see
no haunted looks of fear upon the faces of my fellow citizens, I see them
getting up each morning, going to work, doing their jobs, and doing them
well. Are Americans concerned and worried about terroristic threats? Of
course. Are we a nation of chicken littles running around in horror and
looking for a safe hidey-hole to jump into? Not from what I see every day.
 
  >You can do a google search, but here is just one of many that describe
>what the govt can and will do when the time comes:
>http://www.disastercenter.com/laworder/laworder.htm
 
  If the Nation is suddenly confronted with a crisis which mandates such
measures, the alternative is to either surrender or watch the country
be destroyed, if one thinks that such measures are unwarranted. As for
the illustrious late Senator Frank Church, it was Church who was more
responsible than any other legislator of the 1970's who restricted and
hamstrung our intelligence gathering agencies, crippling them all in the
name of political partisanship.
 
 

>Here is a link to a video , "911 in Plane Sight", that I have viewed that
>uses slow motion of actual government and news footage of that day to give
>one reason to disbelieve the official version of 911 events:
>http://newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive34.htm
 
  I went to the website. It is quite frankly, nonsense. "Newswithviews" is
run by an individual named 'Paul Walter', who in 2002 became associated
with a self-described 'Living Christ' named Raymond Karczewski, and if
you're looking for a website that supports the concept of mandatory
mental health screening, Karczewski's site will not disappoint you:
 
  http://www.arkenterprises.com/dialch23.htm#Time
 
 

>It is well worth viewing, and allows the viewer to form his own opinions.
>As to the question this will raise, "Where are the passengers of the real
>planes?", that is not important. What is important is why have we been
>deceived? They could easily dispose of the actual passengers in numerous
>ways. Nothing is beyond their evil intentions.
 
  I'm sorry, but these conspiracy theories fly in the face of reality. The
planes were hijacked. Air traffic controllers identified those planes. The
planes were used as guided projectiles into the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon, and a fourth plane failed to reach it's target when passengers
fought the terrorists for control of the plane. It crashed in Pennsylvania.
 
  This continued, persistent clap trap about dark sinister conspiracies, does
a disservice and dishonors the memories of every victim of 9/11. If there was
ONE, just ONE iota of evidence which suggested that those airliners were NOT
the projectiles that caused such carnage, do you not think that the legions
of Bush-hating liberals and leftists of every persuasion, be they domestic
or foreign, would have failed to have challenged the established and proven
chain of events?
 
 

>If you will address the questions as you said, that would be nice. Things
>are NOT what they want us to believe. But as most people get their news from
>regular TV and radio, and we know who controls the airwaves, in fact he is
>even called the prince of the power of the air( Eph 2:2),
 
  In that case, the devil is slacking because there are still many, many
Christian broadcasters who are spreading the Word of God by radio and TV.
 
  >it is not surprising they believe the lies, which God also allows
>(2 Thess 2:11).
 
  Did it occur to anyone that the lies God is allowing certain people to
believe just might be some of these outlandish conspiracy theories? It
takes their mind off the Truth of Jesus Christ, and re-directs them to
a message of fear and trepidation. That only serves the cause of the
devil and does not Glorify Christ.
 
  >Wake up people!
>Time is short!
>Regards,
>Ellen G
 
  Indeed it is. Which is why we need to keep our eyes on Christ, and not
dwell upon the fearmongers, their dark and sinister warnings, which all
have one consistent message of doom and impending disasters, but they
all fail to point to Jesus Christ, Who is Our Saviour and Redeemer, Who
will prevail over ALL those who oppose the Kingdom of God Almighty.
 
  Regards,
 
  John Russell