Dear Associates, Students and Friends:

A new type of world is about to emerge on the scene and the churches and denominations will not know what to do with it. That civilization will be different than most people imagine. It will certainly surprise most church leaders when they see it happen. The preachers, evangelists and most theologians are totally unaware of what these new developments will bring. What most people in the world do not realize is the fact that the Bible and its teachings are going to come back into prominence. Instead of the secularism that has dominated the social and political scenes for the past 140 years (which began in the year 1859 — some notable events occurred in that year that have affected the thinking of the western world), we will see a return to spiritual values with the Holy Scriptures regaining a considerable amount of respect and honor.

At first, however, organized religion is going to suffer some major setbacks. People will begin to get fed up with the bland and trite teachings that the various churches and denominations have been turning out for the past hundred years. They will be asking (even demanding) that a complete review of what the biblical revelation teaches be inaugurated by the academic professions. People in the world will begin to discover that the churches have in fact been some of the greatest deterrents to the understanding of biblical truths. Churches have principally become social clubs and fellowship groups (and in some cases political lobbyists) without any real substantial teaching of the Bible being given to their members. The vast majority of churches have long ago abandoned teaching the Bible from beginning to end — to find out what it really says. They are set in their ways (most of them erroneous) and have refused to budge in the direction of finding out what the real teachings of the Bible are. They seem to say that what their "fathers" taught is enough for them.

The present complacency of preachers, evangelists and theologians makes most of them completely unprepared to lead their flocks into understanding the new discoveries in biblical matters that are just beginning to appear on earth. The New Testament shows that just before the Second Advent of Christ back to this earth there will be a full restitution (restoration) of divine truth (Acts 3:20,21). Knowledge and comprehension of biblical teaching will come into the world in a prominent way (Daniel 12:4,9). Many of the Jewish people in Israel will begin to re-evaluate the role of Jesus Christ in history and in prophecy and begin to accept him as their Messiah (Zechariah 12). They will soon discover that their "Wailing Wall" that the Jewish authorities have thought is the outer wall of Herod’s Temple is actually that of a Roman fortress called Antonia, named after Mark Antony. All permanent Roman forts had pagan temples in their interior.

We are in for some exciting times just ahead of us. My article on the Internet "The Key to Prophetic Understanding" is a major step in the right direction of proper interpretation of biblical themes. What is wonderful is the fact that all of us who are associated with A.S.K. (and adhere to the philosophical and theological principles by which we are governed) can have a profound role to play in these new developments. Most of us have been through many experiences of life (having to learn what the Scriptures teach through an abundance of hard-knocks and traumatic events in our own lives). Our experiences can be of great benefit to those who will also begin to go through the same things in the years just ahead of us. Believe me, major changes in the belief patterns of people will begin to take place. It won’t be easy for some (as it has not been easy for us), but Christ Jesus knows what he is doing and he is preparing a "firstfruits" of people beforehand to help others going through these alterations in life that are for the better.

Here we are at the beginning of 2002 and we are in the midst of a war in the Middle East. Problems in Israel seem to be getting worse by the day. Rest assured, however, God will soon step in to bring in a relative peace in the area. We need to understand the chronological time periods of the past to know those of the immediate future. God is about to disclose them. Thank you so much for your support of ASK and its functions that are designed to bring the Gospel of Christ to the world. This is no time to be complacent. We need your contributions to carry on the work. We are on the verge of seeing some great and mighty things (Jeremiah 33:3) that God will soon bestow on this earth. Are you ready for them? If you want to share in these glories, then you should be pleasing the Father in your support of the teaching of the Gospel. For those who need receipts for tax purposes for last year (2001), please let the office know.

The new article for February is one of the most interesting (and educational) you will ever read. In it I will quote what eyewitnesses record about the Temple and its environs, and how modern archaeologists state just the opposite in their scholarly writings. I will show you point after point after point! It will reveal how wrong some are in their evaluations. The title is: "My Differences With Some Jerusalem Archaeologists." This article puts into perspective the major problems now facing the historians and theologians regarding the real geography of Jerusalem. You will not want to miss this illuminating research. The time has come to abandon the ridiculousness of past interpretations and begin to accept what the actual eyewitness accounts reveal to us moderns. Thank you, brethren, for your continued support. Until next month,

Ernest L. Martin