Cover Letter for August FFI
Date: 08/01/2016
Issue No. 337 - Cover Letter
Tabernacles Conference 2016
DoubleTree Hotel – Minneapolis, MN
1500 Park Place Blvd.
September 16-18, 2016
We will be holding our Tabernacles Conference from Friday morning to Sunday evening, September 16-18, 2016. We have 50 rooms reserved from Thursday through Saturday nights, and 40 rooms for Sunday night.
Shuttle Service: The hotel has shuttle service but only for a five-mile radius. Unfortunately, the airport is more than five miles away. You may take the train from the airport to the downtown area, where the hotel shuttle can meet you; or just take a taxi to the hotel.
Speakers: Ron Oja, James Bruggeman, Mark Eaton, Rob Corry, Stephen Jones, and Kevin Hanke. Few of you will recognize the last name on the list, but I have known him for many years. (He came to many Bible studies in Hudson which I taught for a few years, and this is also how he learned about the Restoration of All Things.) Kevin is a chaplain at a truck stop in Hudson, Wisconsin for Transport For Christ ministries. He knows Hebrew and has been of help to me on a number of occasions throughout the years. He always has very good insights into the Scriptures and is very practical and “down-to earth.”
Reservations: Our negotiated rate is $125/night for the hotel rooms. You may choose either a king-size bed or two doubles. Suites will cost more. You may call them at: 952-542-8600 or book online at:
I had an incorrect web address in my June cover letter. This is the correct one. We have put the above reservation link at the top of our own website’s home page at: www.gods-kingdom-ministries.net.
The hotel will create our own web site link so that you can make reservations online at the negotiated price of $125/night. It is a little expensive, but this is because there is a big Vikings-Packers football home game that week end in Minneapolis, and hotels will soon be packed out. Virtually all of the hotel chains raise their prices to close to $200/night on such occasions, so they are reluctant to give cheaper reservations to anyone. Then, too, it is also a very nice hotel in a good location with shops and restaurants nearby, as many of you already know from being there before.
How to make reservations for the Tabernacles Conference
We have received a personalized web site for you to make reservations for the Tabernacles conference in October.
The site allows you to make up to 5 reservations at a time, but it is not likely that any of you will need that many separate room reservations.
Our Group Code is “GKK”. It is already filled out in the box on the web page where you are making reservations.
If you do not have a computer and want to make reservations directly with the hotel, call them at: 952-542-8600 and be sure to give them our Group Code: GKK. (Once again, last June’s cover letter said that the code was GKM, but since that code was already used last year, the hotel was unable to use the same code again. That is why it is GKK now.)
Economic News
Much has happened in the past few weeks. Of course, there are the presidential elections in the USA, which are polarizing the people in greater ways than any other year in the past. The stock market is into record territory, not because the economy is doing so well, but because the corporations are doing “better than expected.” So even though profits are down from last year, they are not losing as much money as was first thought, so stocks are being pushed into record highs. Try to make sense out of that!
Of course, much of the gains in the stock market are due to the free money being loaned to them by the Fed. The corporations get those loans and buy back their own stock in order to raise their value. So the record-high stock market is not really a reflection on how good the economy is doing, but is a result of the Fed’s low-interest rates, which only they can get.
Turkey’s Failed Coup
Turkey’s president says that the attempted military coup on July 15 was masterminded by an Islamic cleric who is currently living in Pennsylvania. He funds Islamic schools around the world, designed to subvert existing governments. He has had a lengthy relationship with the CIA and also with the Clinton Foundation. Putin closed down his schools in Russia some years ago and expelled their teachers for their subversive activities.
Whether or not the charges are true, Turkey’s president is acting upon this belief, shutting down the cleric’s schools throughout Turkey and arresting all of his followers in a nationwide purge. The big story, however, is that Turkey is now shifting toward an alliance with Russia. If this continues, it will not be long before Turkey leaves NATO and ceases its attempt to join the European Union.
Last November 24, Turkey shot down a Russian bomber on a mission against ISIS. This caused a crisis, but Putin kept cool and eventually worked out a deal with Turkey. The Turkish president finally sent an official letter of apology in late June 2016 and financial compensation for the pilot that was killed. It appears that the US government’s attempt to drive a wedge between Turkey and Russia failed at that point, and this may be the real reason behind the attempted coup on July 15.
Now the huge Incirlik air base may be lost to the US. Turkey has cut off power and supplies to the base and seems to be holding the US personnel hostage to pressure Obama to extradite the cleric in Pennsylvania. By the time you receive this letter, this problem should be resolved one way or another.
The situation is still developing, but Turkey’s shift toward Russia is a very important development. Reports say that Russian special forces protected the Turkish president during the coup and moved him to a safe location before he could be captured. That report indicates that Turkey and Russia had already come to terms with last November’s incident, and now Turkey’s president surely is indebted to Putin for saving him from being overthrown.
Turkey is one of the most strategic nations in the world, sitting on the crossroad between Europe and Asia and more broadly between East and West. Turkey sits on the southern border with Russia, and the US government stores dozens of nuclear bombs at the Incirlik base in case they want to use them in a war against Russia or even Iran. If they lose Incirlik, this will be a huge blow to the US government’s ability to start World War III, which they have been trying to do for some years now. This is huge.
God bless.