Christianity – Really Right

Heresy in My Email Box

Last fall, I bought a live album recorded in the 1980’s off the artist’s [Mylon LeFevre] website. Seems he followed his parent’s footsteps and ended up in the ministry. As it turns out, this guy had died about three weeks before I placed my order. Anyway, I ended up on the ministry’s email list. This was my first direct exposure to the Pentecostal end of Christendom in many years.

The artist’s wife is carrying on the ministry and she is palling around with Kenneth Copeland.

Tomorrow, April 5th would have been Mylon’s and my 26th wedding anniversary. It was the day Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, along with my Pastors, George and Terri Pearsons, set me apart and ordained me into full time ministry.

Copeland is a guy I haven’t crossed path with since my second year of college. I had a roommate that played Copeland’s radio show in the dorm room. I’m sure he’s the radio preacher that I heard claim that if you were in prison and gave your life to Christ that not only would God forgive you of your sin, but you would be forgiven in the eyes of man and be released from prison. Apparently, when Jesus makes you free, he really makes you free.

A few days ago, I received a new email update that just blew my mind. I will quote the relevant part below and then we can talk further. I tried to find a URL with the same content but was unable to locate a copy in cyberspace. As a result, I will quote extensively to show that I am responding in context.

God recently instructed me to make a petition for the future of this ministry. We’ve started a new chapter and turned the page. God is writing my story and He’s writing yours too. As we trust Him, it will be a beautiful story. But in order to move forward, we must focus on what we know, NOT on what we don’t know. The Word is always our safe place. God is not a man that He can lie. His Word will never return void. Job 22:28-29 AMPC says we “DECIDE and DECREE a thing, and it shall be established for (us;) and the light [of God’s FAVOR] shall shine upon (our) ways.” Did you get that? We decide, not God. The verse continues to explain when situations arise that tempt us to be discouraged, we SAY, “There is a lifting UP!” So, I declare we’re going UP in this ministry!

Emphasis in the original.

First the biblical passage Job 22: 28 – 29 (KJV)

Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

Who was speaking, to whom, and what was the context?

The book of Job is about a man sorely tested by Satan—with God’s permission—and then three friends of Job try to comfort him by being critical of Job and trying to prove to him that he deserved the punishment.

This chapter of dialogue is spoken by Eliphaz. Eliphaz believed that riches and material blessings were proof of a person following God and being upright. This is a popular myth that many still believe is true to this day. This myth was very evident in the time of Jesus and is seen throughout the Gospels. The belief is that the rich are so because they obey God and are blessed; likewise, the poor are poor for disobedience. Scripture makes it clear that this might be the case but not always. The rich might very well be rich by stealing and being greedy or criminals or obtaining their wealth in immoral ways. A quick read of Psalms or Proverbs makes this abundantly clear. For example, Psalm 73: 12 “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” Clearly prosperity does not equal godliness.

In 1710, Matthew Heny stated this on the passage in Job.

The answer of Eliphaz wrongly implied that Job had hitherto not known God, and that prosperity in this life would follow his sincere conversion. The counsel Eliphaz here gives is good, though, as to Job, it was built upon a false supposition that he was a stranger and enemy to God.
Job Chapter 22 Commentary

OK, so the passage in Job is not spoken by Job or God. The book makes it plain that Job was righteous and did nothing to deserve punishment. Thus, the only righteous characters in Job are Job and God. Every other character in the book is wrong in one way or another. Anyone that understands the book knows that all advice given to Job by his friends was in error. Thus, when you see this passage being brought forth as the way to conduct your life, beware. A yellow or red flag should be waving in your mind.

Let’s go through the paragraph one step at a time.

“God recently instructed me…” Like in an audible voice or via friends or His Word? I grant that God talks more than we listen but …

“We’ve started a new chapter and turned the page.” OK, your husband died, and your life continues.

“God is writing my story and … yours”. We trust Him. We are faithful to Him.

“But…”

Now comes the set-up. There is a sense in which this can be an orthodox Christian thing but not necessarily. She is in essence saying we walk by the light God has given us and we don’t know everything; like maybe the future, but we trust Him.

“The Word is always a safe place.” Really? The Word is a sword. Or if you prefer, “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew 21: 44. The Word shows us our need and God’s remedy. I wouldn’t describe that as “safe.” The use of “safe” here harkens back to Narnia where the question was asked as the whether Aslan was tame.

Then she quotes part of Numbers 23: 19

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

And then Isaiah 55: 11

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

This verse is often understood as God’s Word going forth to either bring men to salvation or hardening their hearts for judgement.

“The special “word” which the prophet has here in mind is the promise, so frequently given, of deliverance from Babylon and return in peace and joy to Palestine. But he carries his teaching beyond the immediate occasion, for the benefit of the people of God in all ages.
Pulpit Commentary

Finally, we arrive at the central thesis of the entire email; namely, the verses from Job which I previously quoted.

Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

Job … says we “DECIDE and DECREE a thing, and it shall be established for (us;) and the light [of God’s FAVOR] shall shine upon (our) ways.” Did you get that? We decide, not God.

Red flag alert.

“We decide, not God.”

Folks, this email is claiming that we can tell God to do something, and He MUST do it? Wow. This is a bold and arrogant statement.

The Pulpit Commentary notes that this verse has “a touch of audacity.” No kidding.

Gill’s Exposition states, “Strictly speaking, this is only true of God, whose decrees are unfrustrable, whose counsel shall stand, and the thoughts of his heart be established to all generations; and frequently so it is, according to an usual saying, man appoints, but God disappoints …”
Gill’s Exposition

Is this what Matthew 21: 22 means? “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

Clearly this author would say “yes” with no caveats or restrictions. Name it and claim it. God must do what we decide. Doesn’t that make us God or at least make God, not be God?

Here again there is the implied condition (as in Matthew 7:7) that what is asked is in harmony with the laws and will of God. If it were not so it would not be asked in faith, and every true prayer involves the submission of what it asks to the divine judgment.
Ellicott’s

Munster’s Hebrew Gospel reads it, “in prayer, and in faith”; and the Arabic version renders it, “in prayer with faith”; both to the same purpose, and aptly express the sense of the words, which design the prayer of faith; or that prayer which is put up in the strength of faith; and is of great avail with God: for whatever is asked in faith, agreeable to the will of God, which is contained in his covenant, word, and promises, and makes for his glory, and the good of his people, shall be given …
Gill’s Exposition

Does God really give us a blank check to give us anything we like? Is He really the giant ATM or Santa Claus in the sky? Must God do what we tell Him?

NOPE

God makes it clear that His ways are not our ways.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. — Isaiah 55:8

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. — Isaiah 55: 9

Jesus said if we ask anything of the Father that we shall receive.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. — Matthew 21: 22

However, it must be in accordance with His will.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. — I John 5: 14 – 15

James, the brother of Jesus, said it this way:

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” — James 4: 3

If you look a little further at the Scriptures, you will see that Eliphaz was wrong. We don’t tell God what to do. He is the Great King. We are to come before him in the name of Jesus and make our request according to his will. Sometimes God will grant our petitions to him, but he is under no obligation to do so. God will do what is best for us and quite often it is the hard way and not the easy one.

“Naming and claiming” or commanding God to do something just because we want it, is the clay spitting in the potter’s face. It’s more than a spiritual tantrum, its open rebellion against God. You can ask God for a million dollars or a new house or a cure for your cancer, but He is under no obligation to give it to you. The Scriptures are clear that we are to depend on Him. If anything, the trails of this life show us just how shallow and superficial such “stuff” is.

In a heartbeat, I’d trade everything I have, just to have my son back. I’d gladly give up my material possessions and my very life to see my son returned, but the truth is I have no control over such things. My wife and I pray daily and weep often that he is lost. His loss is a daily burden on both of us.

God doesn’t promise us a life of easy and prosperity; instead, he asks us to take up our cross and follow him. None of us is promised tomorrow. We certainly don’t have the right to expect anything from God, but he gives us generously as he sees fit.

Lastly, you will find that a form of judgement from God is giving us what we want.

His judgment, at least on this side of eternity, is to give sinners exactly what they want in preparation for the final day of judgment. And this is manifestly just, for sinners not only sin, but they take the extra step of justifying their sin and the sin of others. They approve of sin—calling evil good and good evil—and they encourage others to do so as well [Romans 1] (v. 32).
The Sins of the Gentiles

Prosperity, as the world defines it, is often just a way for God to turn up the heat on folks when judgement day rolls around. Anyone claiming that God must do anything we tell him to do is preaching “another gospel” and not the one delivered once and for all to the saints.

Happy Easter

Christ is King

Megan Rapinoe is the worst kind of person

Megan Rapinoe; aka the purple haired girl formerly on the women’s (can I use that term Megan?) soccer team; aka the girl who in her last game tore her ACL and claimed there was no God, is shooting off her mouth again. This time her vile stink was slung at a fellow women’s (again, is this offensive to you Megan?) national team player. Check this out.

U.S. Women’s National Team midfielder Korbin Albert issued an apology on social media after she liked and shared posts mocking soccer star Megan Rapinoe and the LGBTQ+ community.

Fans on social media noticed Albert, 20, had liked and shared several videos on TikTok and Instagram that included anti-LGBTQ+ messaging, including one post making fun of Rapinoe’s injury in the final game of her career.
U.S. Soccer’s Korbin Albert Apologizes for Her ‘Disrespectful’ Posts Mocking Megan Rapinoe and LGBTQ+ Community

Albert, it should be noted, wears Megan’s former number 15. Rapinoe skewered her and put her on blast….

“For people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs’ I would just ask one question, are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone?” Rapinoe wrote in her Instagram story.

The message continued, “Because if you aren’t, all you believe in is hate. And kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake, TF up! Yours truly, #15.”

Rapinoe concluded her story by writing, “For all my trans homie enduring this horrific treatment day in and day out I see you and hear you and I am WITH YOU.”

Wow. This is coming from the tolerant left? No surprise. Albert I will note attends Notre Dame University and was likely raised in a Roman Catholic (oh my, bad Megan…. hateful right-wing cult) family. Megan, being the nasty vile person she is, has now sic’d her hateful followers on Albert. Her followers have one goal, to seek and destroy anyone who dares speak out or have an opinion that isn’t Group Think. I would love to see the DM’s (direct messages) Albert has received, I bet it’s full of hate.

Congrats Megan. You won. You aren’t even Transgender, but you feel you must lead a small army of folks who have massive mental health issues like yours, to destroy any opposition or contrary opinions. At my business, thanks to your soldiers, we no longer have a men’s and women’s bathrooms, they are “restrooms.” The building is populated almost entirely females, as some offices have private bathrooms for their staff. The female employees (oh wait…ummm persons with a vagina) have been complaining that the toilet seats have urine on them, or the floor has urine on it. Congrats Megan… you won! At my favorite Mexican Restaurant, we have a women’s restroom, and something called a family restroom. I guess a family that pee’s together, stays together? Which restroom does the biological male choose Megan?

As far as hate goes? How about stop inflicting hate on groups you do not like? It’s obvious you hate white men and women; however, allow me to point out, the only, and I mean only group who supports trans folks, are older white men and women. Check the polling data out. You want to know what groups hate you, Megan? Black, Hispanic and Asians. Big Time. Again, check it out. Want to know what other groups hate your LBGTQ lifestyle? Middle Eastern folks. Again, check it out, coming out and being discovered as a member of the alphabet soup can lead to death. Yup. Afghanistan? They are going to bring back public stoning. Oh, check out how their judicial system works. They think you committed a crime… you are guilty, it’s a sham trial. But hey, the USA is terrible right?

Hate religion? Ok, then religious holidays no longer apply to you! No time and a half pay because you do not believe in a God. You are required to report to work and work you will on that day. It shouldn’t be a big deal working on Christmas, right? BTW should we cancel Christmas altogether? Last I checked it’s a Mr. and Mrs. Claus not trans/gay/lesbian couple. So, let’s get rid of it right?

Megan…may I make a suggestion; you won’t listen but let me try. It’s called “live and let live”. You should understand some folks will not support your lifestyle (you are married to another woman, so I call it a lesbian “marriage”) however since it is the law of the land (at least for now), I am happy for you and your partner. I attend church services once a week… how about we agree to a cease fire? As far as trans folks go, if you are over 18 by all means you do you. I just want folks to understand the consequences down the road, as I feel this isn’t discussed at all. If a bakery won’t do a wedding cake etc. for LBGTQ folks, find another one? Why try to destroy that business? The logic is simple, an LBGTQ friendly store likely won’t make a GOP/Nazi/KKK etc. cake. Just find a different store. Some people believe in God, others don’t. The believers go to church or watch it… the non-believers do not attend. Frankly it doesn’t bother me. But why not live and let live?

Finally, I want to run a scenario by you Megan. Say its 4 years ago, you are still playing professionally. I join your team. I am a 27-year-old white male biologically, but since I started puberty blockers and doing estrogen injections, as far as your sport is concerned, I’m cleared to partake. I make the team since I possess a body and skill set superior to your teammates. Of course, I have your support and likely some of your teammates, right? I’m trans so you better support me, right? It doesn’t matter if I start, come off the bench, or seldom play because I made the team. The game/practice ends, and we go back to the locker room. It’s time to dress down, shower etc. I have long hair, and have shaved everywhere else on my body, but I have all my male parts still. You going to be completely naked around me? You ok with me being naked around you? Would your teammates care? Carli Lloyd seemed fairly outspoken that she wouldn’t accept me. What would your reaction be Megan?

Best part Megan is you don’t have to react. You have retired. Your safe space is the 5-million-dollar apartment you and your partner Sue Bird own. It’s likely one of many properties you call your own. The biggest decision you have to make is what Michelin Star restaurant to eat at. You likely attend an exclusive gym for only the super wealthy. You have zero interaction with the unwashed masses you claim to care about. You are the worst kind of person. You’re just another limousine liberal trying to tell the rest of us how to live. Be better. Start a support group for trans people. Share what trans people want/need to feel included. Quit glorifying countries that hate folks like you. Need I remind you Britney Griner was arrested, jailed, and convicted in Russia likely because she is a girl, black, and a lesbian. Be an agent of change. Stop your hate.

Jake the Snake

Editor’s Comment: I think Korbin Albert should have stuck to her original comments. Megan’s real problem is God not Albert. Megan doesn’t like being reminded that she is wrong. (See Romans 1:21-32) She resorts to blustering and bullying and tries to cancel those that disagree with her. Too bad. It’s curious that often the loudest voice is the one that’s in the wrong. They hope their volume will drown out the rest of us.

Trump Throws Unnecessary Grenade into Abortion Debate

Democrats are livid that their Sacrament of Abortion suffered a major setback when Roe v Wade was undone by the Supreme Court. This threw the issue back to the states. Each state has different laws on the subject. Some like California have enshrined not only abortion but infanticide as the law of the land while others have essentially eliminated the abominable practice all together.

Donald Trump is responsible for putting justices on the Court that had the principles to do the right thing. Now, Trump is trying a dangerous gambit that has little upside. He again, and I say again because he floated some similar rhetoric many months ago, is trying to get a national agreement on abortion limitations. We just got the issue sent back to the states and now Trump wants it Federalized via Congressional action. Whiskey Tango Orange Man?

Trump wants four things in the federal abortion law, a limit to 16 weeks (which we concede is a major improvement on California, New York, and many other states) and he wants the exception clause of rape, incest, and life of the mother.

First, why does Trump expect candidates for Constitutional office–the House and Senate–to take campaign positions on a clearly state issue? If the Supreme Court couldn’t find abortion in the Constitution, then why should Congress claim they have the power to add it unilaterally?

Second, at 16 weeks, all we are doing is trying to reinstate abortion as a form of birth control. Less than one percent of abortions when it was legal under Roe were for such situations as rape, incest, or life of the mother. The few have always been the grounds for slaughtering the many.

If Trump is simply trying to illustrate that Democrats are hellbent on abortion being legal everywhere, for all nine months of pregnancy, and daring them to defend this extreme position, maybe he makes a political point, but I see weak-kneed Republicans as terrified that Roe is gone. Like many other issues in politics, it was safe to fundraise on an issue that they have never been willing to correct via the legislative process. Repeal and replace Obamacare being the other example on the Republican side of the ledger, immigration on the Democrat side. As stated before, politicians would rather campaign on an issue than actually try to fix it.

Oh, 16 weeks is on the edge of viability under current medical knowledge and about the time folks begin noticing the “baby bump” on pregnant women.

When Roe was legal, Planned Parenthood would never report cases of rape and incest to law enforcement so what makes you think they will now? They will just call it that in order to kill the baby, but no police reports will be generated. They will hide behind HIPAA, and other privacy laws and it will be back to business as usual.

The only potentially moral reason for abortion is an argument of self-defense in the rare case of the mother’s life being balanced with her child’s. The reality is that the life of the mother is the only time a decision is made between a woman and her doctor.

Trump is wrong to float this idea even if it is just to flush-out the extreme views of the Democrats. Abortion is wrong be it 16 hours, weeks, or in the case of California 16 months. Abortion is wrong in cases or rape and incest. Better to punish the offenders and place the baby up for adoption if mom can’t care for the child.

Lastly, Trump just galls me when he uses the Disney lie of following your heart when dealing with abortion.

But I tell people, No. 1, you have to go with your heart. You have to go with your heart.
Trump promotes abortion compromise as Democrats push issue in 2024 race

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? — Jeremiah 17:9

Sorry Donald but you can’t be a child of God and offer your children to Moloch. Furthermore, asking God to Bless America when we serve other gods is using God’s name in vain. Abortion is a violation of several of the Ten Commandments in one act. Any nation supporting such abominations is on the chopping block of divine judgement.

Disciple

Last Thursday I did something that I haven’t done in a long time, I went to a concert. The location was in nearby Troy Montana. The Community Baptist Church there was sponsoring a free concert by a Christian rock band called “Disciple.”

I looked the group up on the Internet and found that the band was similar to ‘Seventh Day Slumber.” If this doesn’t help, then “Stryper” will get you close. The band is on the fringes of what I can handle on the rock/metal spectrum. I have heard “Wolves at the Gate,” and that group is beyond what I’m comfortable listening to. In my mind there is still a difference between singing and screaming.

Playable Concert Sample

My first challenge was finding the venue of the concert. I went to said Baptist church and found literally two people on the property. They were in a room that was visible from the parking lot. I looked around the church and found no one else. I decided to ask the fellows about the concert but as I approached the door, I heard them praying the pray about “Lord let me accept the things I cannot change…” In my mind I knew I had stumbled upon a 12-step meeting. Instead of asking for help, I opted to head for the exit. On the wall near the exit door was a Disciple poster and an autographed guitar.

I figured that the venue must be elsewhere in this town of 800 souls. I looked up the concert on Disciple’s website and found that the venue was not the church but a community building. I went to the listed address and found an empty building with no lights on. Then I looked up the venue by name and found yet a third address. This was the multipurpose/basketball arena for the local high school. I knew by the number of cars in and around the building that after three tries, I had finally found the correct location.

Booked with Disciple was a character named Ryan Ries. I’m not sure what Ryan was all about because by the time I found the location, his part was over. Per the Internet, Ryan has a group called the Whosoevers that works with youth.

From what I have heard, some folks have issues with Ryan’s approach to the gospel and whether he is orthodox in his theology. I was hoping to hear what he had to say but alas I was too late. I have seen one or two cars in my area with stickers about this group, so I know some of my neighbors support him.

Oh, in the midst of trying to find the third location, I got a call phone from one of our crack staff members in California filling me in on the results of California’s Super Tuesday vote. I had to end the call prematurely because I was entering the venue.

I found a very different set-up from what you might expect for a concert. I entered the building from the north side. On my left was the basketball backboard and net. Under them was a merchandise table selling t-shirts and CDs. On the right, were bleachers. The bleachers were pulled out so that folks count sit on them. Towards the front, just past center court, was an area with a computer and mixing board. This area was roped off.

The stage was erected under the opposite basketball backboard. A rope was stretched across the front of the stage about four feet back. Thus, people had the option to sit in the bleachers on one side of the arena with the band on their right or they could be standing on the basketball floor in any area not roped off. This allowed me to be about eight feet from the guitarist on the left side of the stage. I would estimate at least 450 were in attendance but it may have been as many as 600. Not bad for a town of 800 people.

Prior to the concert’s beginning, a multimedia presentation about the band was displayed. The multimedia presentation continued thru the concert. It made the concert seem like an immersive music video with many images flashed on the screen. Also, on the screen were most of the words of the songs as they were being sung. I found this helpful, especially since I had only heard one of their songs one time prior to this performance.

The band sang about eight songs and then the lead singer gave a talk about giving yourself to God. He was especially concerned with turning the hearts of the Prodigal Son. As the father of a Prodigal Son, I get this need as well as the emptiness you feel because one that you love has been snatched by the enemy. The difference of course is that God can turn the heart of the Prodigal, but I cannot.

He also spoke of the recent loss of his dad and the reality that once we’re gone, someone else gets to go thru all our stuff. Most of what we accumulate in our life has no value to anyone else. Stuff mostly gets trashed or donated and only a few things may be of interest to anyone else. This story was a challenge to store treasure in heaven and not trash on earth.

The band then played a few more songs and left the stage. As is often the case, they then returned for an encore of about four more songs.

When the band feigned the end on the concert, they went behind the stage. One of the band members found the Trojan head (the high school mascot) behind the stage and return for the encore wearing it for the first song.

The concert was really free, not even a “love offering” was taken. The only cost to me was the $32 that I spent on 3 CDs that I have yet to listen to.

Lastly, since crossing from Montana to Idaho moves me from Mountain to Pacific Time, I got home 20 minutes before I left Troy, driving the speed limit all the way.

Please note lyrics on screen in the background

Disciple seems like a decent group of guys trying to reach people with the Gospel as they understand it. I would go see them again but there’s no chance my wife will go with me. Oh, they do have a website that has acoustic versions of many of their songs available. Perhaps a mellower take on their music would at least let me share it with my bride.

The closest they get to the old California HQ in Elk Grove is Vacaville on March 16^th.

Two Wildest Conspiracy Theories on Israel Hamas War

Folks, frankly I’m tired of all the nonsense about this conflict. However, the two articles that I will dive into in mere moments are worth a look, if nothing else but to see that our way of looking at the world is very different from that of the people propelling this conflict. Our categories of thinking and reasoning in the West are not capable of understanding this conflict. We should abandon all hope of a rational understanding of this conflict and embrace the craziness as a foreign worldview.

Theory One

The first story is from World Net Daily. If you don’t understand the theological presuppositions of this website, then you might miss the point of what you are about to read. These guys are all-in on Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth—except for the part about it happening 40 years after Israel became a nation—which clearly never happened. They are Premillennial and Dispensational. As a result, they are very pro-Zionist. On occasion, these assumptions have a way of making them look foolish.

(Please note that just because these guys believe this stuff doesn’t mean that it can be found in the Bible because it can’t, but it is entertaining.)

Anyway…

While political experts worldwide pontificate on the war in Gaza, most have overlooked Hamas’ explicitly stated reason for its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, revealed on Day 100 of the war.

Incredibly, according to the terror group’s military spokesman, it has to do with attempting to prevent the “ceremony of the Red Heifer” – a mysterious event of great meaning to both Jews and Christians.
Hamas reveals hidden reason for Oct. 7 attacks on Israel

“We look back 100 days to remember the educated, the complicit, and the incapacitated among the world powers governed by the law of the jungle, reminding them of an aggression that reached its peak against our path (Al-Quds) and Al-Aqsa, with the start of its actual temporal and spatial division, and the “bringing of red cows as an application of a detestable religious myth designed for aggression against the feelings of an entire nation in the heart of its Arab identity, and the path of its prophet (the Night Journey) and Ascension to heaven.
Resistance Strikes Will Increase in Coming Days – Abu Obeida’s Speech on the 100th Day of War

Ok so what are the “red cows?”

Nope, nothing to do with Chick-fil-A.

The red cows or heifer is related to the establishment of the mythical third temple in Jerusalem.

The “red cows” referred to by the Hamas leader were five red female calves brought to Israel in September 2022 by Boneh Israel, an organization that connects Christian lovers of Israel to the Holy Land, working under the auspices of the Temple Institute, an organization in Israel focusing on establishing the Third Temple.
Hamas reveals hidden reason for Oct. 7 attacks on Israel

Yep, some Jews and Christian folks like those at World Net Daily want to see the Jews build a new temple in Jerusalem and reestablish animal sacrifices. Talk about bringing on the old-time religion!

Obeida continued, focusing his ire on Israel for aspiring to build the prophesied Third Temple:

“We will not tire or falter in calling all the free people of the nation to rise to support their Aqsa and the path of their prophet, which the criminal Zionists are practically advancing towards destroying and establishing their temple. This is what we have chosen with our blood in Gaza for 100 days and for which the epic of October 7th was about.”

Zionists of both Jewish and Christian persuasions believe the mosque on the Temple Mount must be leveled and that it will be replaced with a Third Temple. Once this is constructed, they believe that animal sacrifices of the Old Testament will again commence.

Christians support this idea because they believe that a third Temple is necessary to usure in the return of Jesus and institute Armageddon. Oh, these Christians believe that most Jews living in Israel will be killed as a result of all this and then somehow those remaining will acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah.

Here is more …

Islamists do indeed perceive the five red cows from Texas as a dire threat. Arab-language media covered Obeida’s speech extensively, focusing on the red heifers. Both Cairo24 and Al Jazeera reported on the speech, emphasizing that the heifers had been acquired and brought to Israel by evangelical Christians.

After the announcement of the arrival of the cows last year, Hamas reacted almost immediately, warning that the potential Jewish ritual posed a threat to Al Aqsa. This warning came during the Jewish high holidays. Arab-language media, including the “Al Manar” channel, which is closely associated with Hezbollah, are reporting on the intention of the Temple organizations to make a sacrifice on the Temple Mount. The Hamas journal Al–Rassala published an article claiming that the slogan “Al Aqsa is in Danger” is no longer sufficient because the Israelis are already working on manifesting the Temple rituals that would “Judaize the holy mosques.”

For Christians holding to a premillennial view of eschatology, even just one red heifer arriving in Jerusalem means the Rapture is imminent. They believe a Third Temple will be built during the End Times, at which point all the other prophesied events will follow.

The fact that Israel is a clearly secular nation and not one established on the basis of the Old Testament’s Laws doesn’t move the needle in this discussion.

Theory 2

Theory Two is one based on the idea that Israel is not bound to uphold the Ten Commandments.

Theory Two is a mixture of things unrelated to Theory One but interesting in its own right.

In a startling reappraisal of the situation in Israel, former U.S. Ambassador Chas Freeman described the official narrative of the October 7 attacks on Israel as a “cover story for genocide” – backed by “hard line pro-Israel American leaders.”

Speaking on December 26 to behavior analyst Thomas Karat of SaltCube Analytics, he described the Israeli reaction to the October 7 assault which triggered the Gaza invasion. Speaking of the assault which triggered the Gaza invasion, he said:

The Israeli response is essentially to conduct a genocide in Gaza. They are attempting to expel or murder all the Palestinians there. This is a crime against humanity under international law, but Israel justifies it with a cover story, which is that it is going after Hamas.
US support for Israel is destroying America’s power and prestige around the world

The mainstream media tells us that the war in Gaza was triggered by the slaughter of Israeli citizens attending a music festival, by the Islamic militia Hamas. Instead, it appears many Israelis were killed by their own army, following a secretive government doctrine known as “The Hannibal Directive.”

Freeman points out how Israel’s war in Gaza began with a lie.

Reflecting extensive research by independent journalist Max Blumenthal, Freeman refers to the “outlandish music festival… taking place beside a concentration camp” at which over a thousand Israelis lost their lives.

“The people who were killed there were largely killed, it appears, by hellfire missiles and by other undisciplined fire by Israeli forces”

Citing extensive Israeli sources, Blumenthal was accused by an Israeli journalist from Ha’Aretz of spreading a “conspiracy theory” – about the fact that the Israeli army bombed Israeli houses and even its own military base with tank shells and missiles fired from Apache helicopters.

Whilst Hamas did indeed kill Israeli civilians during its military action, a month later, Ha’aretz confirmed the Grayzone report as true, admitting that it was Israeli action which killed many of its own people. It should also be understood that most Israelis of fighting age, in civilian clothes or not, were considered by Hamas to be combatants because they are almost all reservists or otherwise in the Israeli military as required by law.

The reason for this action is said to be the secretive “Hannibal Directive,” which dictates that Israelis taken captive should be killed by the military rather than left in the hands of Palestinian militants.

An Israeli helicopter pilot quoted by Ha’aretz supported the charge Israelis had been murdered by their own army according to this Israeli government doctrine.

Freeman claims the Hannibal Directive led to most of the deaths on the day, as it dictates, “rather than get into bargaining over a hostage exchange, you should just kill the Israeli hostages along with their captors. And that was also a factor here.”

Freeman recalls earlier remarks of now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying

“I think his exact statement was he hoped for a war which would provide an excuse for the final removal of all Palestinians from the land of Israel as claimed by Israel.”

Freeman reminds listeners that Israel is unique for two reasons: “It has no borders” – a startling claim evidenced in the Israeli press here – and it is led by Netanyahu’s Likud Party whose “charter calls for Israel to extend from the river to the sea.”

This phrase, which is now mistakenly charged as some sort of Palestinian endorsement of genocide, was in fact quite the opposite. It is a Zionist endorsement of genocide against Palestinians.

Conclusion

Folks, I find it interesting that both of these theories or explanations of the current war are probably true but likely incomplete reasons for what we are seeing.

Yes, I personally know Jews that are all-in on a Third Temple and believe it will happen someday. That Christian Zionists are supporting this too is not surprising. However, this has nothing to do with Biblical prophecy or the Return of Christ.

On October 7^th, did Israeli forces fire on their own so they would not be taken as hostages? I think this is possible. That Israel would negotiate with Hamas on the issue of hostages is unusual and not how their government used to operate. Israel has been provoking Palestinian people for many years and systematically pushing them out of areas that they once occupied.

That Benjamin Netanyahu’s political party slogan is “from the river to the sea” is hysterical to me when said slogan is widely reported in the United States as being anti-Semitic. Guess Jews can say it with impunity but not anybody else.

Michael Brown v Candice Owens

I really hadn’t planned on getting into this fray until I read an article by Michael Brown. Brown gets it so wrong that I felt compelled to chime in. Below are quotes from Brown’s article on World Net Daily unless otherwise noted.

What did commentator Candace Owens mean when she posted that “Christ is King” in the midst of a very public dispute with her Daily Wire employer Ben Shapiro? I’m not going to enter into the details of that dispute, other than to say I agree with Shapiro’s concerns.

Here, I want to focus on Owens posting the words “Christ is King” on X (formerly Twitter).

In a previous post, she quoted the words of Jesus that “you cannot serve both God and money,” causing many to wonder if this was a dig on Jewish people, who are allegedly money hungry.

I was going to block quote Mr. Brown but decided to take this one section at a time.

OK so here is the first break with my position, Brown agrees with Ben Shapiro. Shapiro is all in on Israel’s war with Hamas and has even defended Israel’s use of nuclear weapons and genocide in the name of self-defense.

Mr. Brown’s article is on a website run by Christians that hold to a Premillennial view of eschatology. Their view is that the current nation of Israel is a rebirth of the Old Testament nation by that name and that modern-day Israel is prophetically necessary to usher in the Return of Jesus Christ. This is hooey. The biblical nation of Israel ceased to exist in 70 AD. The Jews of today (with few exceptions) are not ethnically related to the Jews of 2,000 years ago. Furthermore, Jews need to come to God just the way the rest of us do, through His son, Jesus the Christ.

For those wondering what could be wrong with proclaiming “Christ is King,” the unfortunate reality is that this beautiful, biblically based truth has been hijacked by elements of the extreme religious right, often with antisemitic implications.

Apparently for Brown, when a person says, “Jesus is Lord” or “Christ is King,” they are being antisemitic. Brown seems to believe the Dispensational view that Jews can come to God without believe in Jesus. Sorry dude but that is not in accord with Scripture. If there is any way to God without going through Jesus, then Jesus died in vain and thus our faith is null and void.

“That chant is now a calling card of Nick Fuentes and America First – a podcast, conference and community within the broader white Christian nationalist movement. It also happens to be a core proclamation of Christians through the centuries.

This paragraph is a train wreck of mashed-up stuff. I will try to unpack this a little bit.

First, who cares about this Nick Fuentes guy. I looked him up on the Internet and the first hits I got were websites attacking Nick Fuentes such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). These guys hate Christians and anyone on the right side of the political aisle. As a high-profile Christian on social media, if you’re not on their bad list then I doubt you stand for the right things.

Fuentes once had dinner with Donald Trump and Kanye West. Fuentes has a group called America First Foundation. It was founded in 2020. Four years after Trump was elected on a platform of America First.

America First Foundation’s purpose is:

Our country is having a crisis of faith. We’ve lost faith in God, in our institutions, and in our destiny as a people. This absence has left the foundational pillars of America in ruins. Immigration has spiraled into a mass invasion, eroding our identity as Americans. Our cities, once shining achievements of our prosperous civilization, are now symbols of decline and decay. Our people have been taught to hate themselves and their ancestors, all the while being encouraged to embrace degeneracy and sin.

Our forefathers created this nation with their blood, sweat, and tears. Their struggle produced a country rooted in Christ, family, and virtue. Following in their footsteps, we aim to restore those lost values while building a happy, healthy, and prosperous future. Much like our ancestors, we strive to create a home with dignity and reverence for God.

While we take inspiration from the past, our movement is focused on the future as we plot a new course for America in the decades and even centuries to come. We are tapping into the creativity of our nation’s young Christian men, born and raised in a technologically rich, but spiritually poor era. It is these visionaries who will remake the American character, grounding it in Christian virtue and societal excellence. America First is carving a path forward that is truly revolutionary. With your continued help and support, this movement can actualize its vision for the future, forging a new version of America, worthy of our posterity.
About America First Foundation

We live in an era of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). These are direct attacks on Christianity, Christian Culture (Western Culture), and American Values. Was America ever a perfect country? Nope. But the Left is openly tearing down the last vestiges of what America once was in the names of socialism, communism, and a bunch of other _isms. Mr. Brown thinks pushing back against the Liberal onslaught of evil by me or Fuentes or Candice Owens or whoever is wrong. Why? I guess things are supposed to get worse and worse until Jesus returns. Many in his camp hold to this perverse view that to oppose evil is to delay the return of Christ.

Also, where and how did Fuentes get ownership of the slogan “America First”? I thought to love one’s country was called patriotism. If God put you in a particular country, then to love your country is to agree with God that His purpose in placing you in a particular place and time is good.

Brown then starts in with rhetoric about the white Christian nationalist movement. What a loaded term. I guess white people can’t have a voice in today’s America? At least that is what Mr. Brown seems to imply. The Liberal message is clear, if you are white, you have no voice. Shut-up because all that is wrong is your fault. If you’re a Christian, ditto. It’s all your fault so shut up. If you’re for America, then you are racist so shut up. However, being for war in Ukraine or Israel at the expense of the US is OK? Supporting marriage as between a man and woman is racist and hateful but gay or trans whatever is honorable? These messages in our culture today are symptoms of great evil and rot in our nation.

Oh, my other thought is when did Fuentes become a name for a white guy? Thought that was a Hispanic name. Then again, the “Proud Boys” were led by a Hispanic guy but somehow, they are white supremacists anyway. Seems like white is a very malleable category. Mr. Brown seems to think the best position for white folks is grabbing their ankles and says, “Please sir, may I have some more.”

“When I say ‘Christ is King,’ I mean something very different from what Fuentes means. While there is a long history of Christian support for violent racism – even using that very same language – a proper theological understanding of ‘Christ is King’ ought to compel us to live at peace with our neighbors.”

Mr. Brown, who doesn’t want to live at peace with their neighbor?

Last I checked, Kanye West was a black guy that loved Jesus. He was with Fuentes who claims to love Jesus at the dinner with Trump who also claims to love Jesus. If he was as racist as you imply, why would he choose to hang out with a black guy?

Oh, by-the-way, loving Jesus is the way to racial harmony and the solution in the Middle East wars.

I didn’t see anywhere that Fuentes is advocating for armed conflict or violence or race wars. To say Christians, have a long history of racism and violence is very provocative and demonstrably untrue, at least in terms of a body count.

More people died in the 20^th Century as a result of beliefs underpinned by Darwin and his survival of the fittest than in all the religious wars in the history of the world. Darwin is the basis of humanism, eugenics, communism, and socialism. The body counts of abortion, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and others could be close to a billion souls lost in the last century. It is estimated that 3.5 million people died as a result of all religious wars in the history of the planet. Clearly, no comparison.

Furthermore, more people are in slavery today than ever in the history of the planet but because we can get electric cars and iPhones cheaper, we look the other way. Fuentes is opposed to tyranny and slavery, but Mr. Brown says Fuentes is a bad guy? Seems like Brown is setting up a Fuentes as a strawman so he can beat him like a pinata? Then Brown is challenging Candice Owens to agree with him or else. Oh, yea. Candice Owens is black, or at least looks to be nonwhite to me, so how is she throwing in with white Christian nationalists? I think Mr. Brown is very confused.

This last part is most instructive.

But without a doubt, there is a growing minority that connects “America first” with the proclamation of “Christ is King” in a way that perverts the very meaning of those Jesus-exalting words.

Yes, Jesus is King and will always be King. He was born a King, died a King, reigns in heaven as King, and will return as King – in fact, as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). For myself, as Jewish follower of Jesus, I unashamedly proclaim Him as the Messianic King and the Savior and Lord of all. And yes, in His name and authority we are called to go and make disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

But to use “Christ is King” as a political slogan, especially one with racist and antisemitic overtones, is to bring disgrace on that holy and beautiful name.

At the end of his article, Brown finally exposes the defect of his theology. Jesus is just the Savior of your soul. For him, all this Jesus stuff is just spiritual. It has no earthly application. Brown cherry picks the Great Commission as the totality of the mission of the Christian Church because Jesus reigns only in Heaven.

Brown is the one denying Scripture. Clearly, he doesn’t understand the meaning of the Ascension of Christ or His Kingdom. Jesus is sitting on the Right hand of the Father ruling the nations now. Jesus will continue to rule until all nations submit to His Lordship. Brown is blinded by the Dispensational presuppositions that he is trying to impose on the Bible. Sorry Mr. Brown but they aren’t there.

Christian Nationalists want biblical values to be the values of our country, not secular humanism or socialism or communism. God has blessed us as a nation to the extent that we honor and obey His Law. We are currently under God’s judgement for disobeying Him. Christians, including Christian nationalists, want limited government and the freedom to worship God. They want God welcome into the public square not cancelled from it along with His followers. The basis of our Republic was once the Ten Commandments and needs to be again.

Some folks believe that they should actively work to oppose evil in our society and make our laws and values a reflection of God’s Revelation. In short, transform the culture. Some of us are having a healthy discussion as to whether we should use the model of St. Patrick or St. Boniface. We are working to answer the question of Francis Schaeffer, “How should we then live?”

Meanwhile Mr. Brown wants to sit it out and hope the Rapture happens, so we won’t reap what we’ve sewn. Sorry but Jesus ain’t coming back in your lifetime or that of your grandchildren so what now? If all you want to do is wait around for a third temple or some other nonsense, wake up. Scofield was wrong. Hal Lindsey was wrong. You are wrong. Matthew 24 was fulfilled 2,000 years ago.

Some of us hope to leave the world a better and more righteous place than we found it. We must try but the results are God’s not ours.

Ben Shapiro demands that Israel’s interests supersede those of the United States. If you dare to disagree then he starts calling folks racists. Sorry but I and many others dissent. I think the US should stay out of this war.

Meanwhile, Brown only wants us to be involved due to heretical theology. Brown wants us all in for Israel because he thinks we need to bless Israel to be blessed. (Zionism is a part of his dispensational/premillennial theology.) Sorry, but the New Testament Church is true Israel not the folks using that name today that live in Palestine or whatever you want to call Judea in this day and age.

Candice Owens is right that Christ is King. The problem is that our fellow Americans no longer believe that. This is not a race issue, it’s a heart issue. Until Christians live as Christ commanded seven days a week, don’t expect things to get any better. For Mr. Brown to essentially call Candice Owens a white Christian nationalist is beyond laughable.

Pope’s Damnable Lies of Transgender Acceptance

2,000 years ago, Nero played the fiddle as Rome burned. Yesterday, the Pope set Rome ablaze again. The difference is that this time the blaze was set by the fires of hell as the Pope scrapped the Scriptures and replaced them with the doctrine of demons.

No, I’m not exaggerating.

Having an atheist for a Pope is an offense, in and of itself, but when he doesn’t even fake a belief in cultural Christianity, all that’s left is balls-to-the-wall humanism. This guy is into Liberation Theology which is just baptized communism. He uses the vocabulary of the Church but only as a disguise for his secular agenda.

Let’s recap the Pope’s actions since this summer.

First, the Pope made belief in global warming (climate change) an official doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis pulled no punches in his latest papal proclamation, calling out world leaders — who for decades have failed to protect the planet and its most vulnerable people — and spurring the world’s most powerful to take decisive action on climate change.
Ahead of COP28, pope spurs policymakers, faith leaders to push climate action

“Our responses have not been adequate,” Francis wrote in Laudate Deum, published Oct. 4. As a result, he warned, “The impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many. … We will feel its effects in … healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations.”

He lambasted, too, the capitalistic appeal of unproven technology — easy fixes to the climate crisis — that fail to address the hard work of phasing out fossil fuels and ending global deforestation: “To suppose that all problems in the future will be solved by new technical interventions is a form of homicidal pragmatism,” he wrote bluntly.

Last time I checked, God was in charge of the creation, including our planet. It is more than hubris to say man can control the climate. Such an assertion is to remove God from the throne and elevate man as his own “god”. This goes way beyond the Dominion Mandate or mankind being made stewards of God.

Second, he has allowed “gay marriage” in the Church.

Using weasel words, the Pope has not condemned German priests from conducting same sex marriages. He has said it is up to individual priests whether they wish to do this. Jesus said a house divided cannot stand, either Truth is universal, or it ceases to be true.

The Vatican holds that marriage is an indissoluble union between man and woman. As a result, it has long opposed gay marriage. But Francis has voiced support for civil laws extending legal benefits to same-sex spouses, and Catholic priests in parts of Europe have been blessing same-sex unions without Vatican censure.

Francis’ response to the cardinals, however, marks a reversal from the Vatican’s current official position. In an explanatory note in 2021, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said that the church could not bless gay unions because “God cannot bless sin”.

In his new letter, Francis reiterated that matrimony is a union between a man and a woman. But responding to the cardinals’ question about homosexual unions and blessings, he said “pastoral charity” required patience and understanding, and priests could not become judges “who only deny, reject and exclude”.
Pope Francis suggests gay couples could be blessed in Vatican reversal

In other words, the pope does not call for a full embrace of Germany’s approach to blessing same-sex unions. He instead talks about how such blessings might sometimes be an appropriate expression of pastoral charity.
The pope’s latest comments on same-sex marriage, explained

The position that Francis has taken on same-sex “blessings” is the exact same that the Archbishop of Berlin, Heiner Koch, has expressed recently. Koch left it to any individual priest to decide whether they want to “bless” homosexual couples, citing statements by Francis and his new doctrine chief, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, as justification.
Pope Francis allowing same-sex ‘blessings’ shows he wants the German Synodal Way for the whole Church

Francis surely knows that he cannot change immutable Church doctrine and still be recognized as a legitimate Catholic pope. Instead, with his toleration (and promotion) of sinful acts, like the reception of Communion for unrepentant adulterers (“divorced and civilly remarried”) and same-sex “blessings,” he is changing the practice, preventing many who live in a state of objective mortal sin to see their errors and repent.

Third, yesterday the Pope opened the Roman Church to transsexuals.

This action again is couched in weasel words, but the doors are wide open for unrepentant people to join the Church. In essence, the Roman Church has abolished sin and nullified the death of Christ as a cruel and meaningless cosmic joke.

The Vatican released a document Wednesday affirming that individuals suffering from gender-identity disorders are allowed to be baptized or be named as godparents under specific circumstances.

The document is an official response to a dubia submitted by Brazilian Bishop Giuseppe Negri of Santo Amaro seeking guidance on the issue. It was propagated by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by Pope Francis.

However, in a somewhat ambiguous clarification, the guidance specifies that in order for individuals with gender-identity afflictions to be baptized, it must not cause “scandal” or “disorientation.”

This same stipulation applied to their eligibility to act as godparents or witness marriages, according to the Vatican.
Vatican approves transgender people receiving baptism, becoming godparents

Father Brian Graebe, a priest with the Archdiocese of New York … told Fox News Digital that the Vatican’s guidance is not contradictory to church teaching, but possibly “deficient.”

“There’s nothing in the document that contradicts church teachings. My reaction to it when I read it yesterday was that it’s deficient. The problem isn’t so much in what it says as in what it leaves unsaid,” Graebe said.

He continued, “What I was disappointed not to see in the document was affirmation that in the right of baptism itself, whatever name the person has, we call it a Christian name [or] their baptismal name […] what we must affirm is that the correct biological pronouns are to be used.”

Roman Catholic Cardinal Cardinal Müller responded to the Pope’s declaration this way:

It is confusing and harmful when the Magisterium relies on the terminology of a nihilistic and atheistic anthropology and thus seems to lend its untruthful content the status of a legitimate theological opinion in the Church.
Cardinal Müller responds to Pope Francis’ dubia on ‘transsexual’ godparents, baptisms

Transhumanism in all its variations is a diabolical fiction and a sin against the personal dignity of human beings, even if in the form of transsexualism and terminologically spruced up as “self-determined gender reassignment.” The doctrine and practice of the Roman Church clearly prescribes: “The harlot, the fornicating man, the one who mutilates himself, and anyone else who does something that is not spoken of (1 Cor 6:6-20) should be rejected [from the catechumenate and baptism]” (Traditio Apostolica 16).

The pastoral motive that urges us to treat those who sin against the Sixth and Ninth Commandment of the Decalogue as “gently and compassionately” as possible is praiseworthy only as long as the pastor does not, like a bad doctor, deceive his patient about the seriousness of his illness …

Summary

Sorry but the Pope’s declarations are a bunch of verbal diarrhea. Either trans folks are in or out. Biblically, they can only be welcome into the Church following repentance. Please note that, concerning homosexuals and transgender people, that the Pope requires NO repentance. People dead in their trespasses and sin are being allowed into the Church without repentance and regeneration. This relegates the Church from being a hospital for sinners into just another club for the unregenerate.

Biblically we should welcome all people to our services but only upon repentance of sin and an expression of faith in Christ (followed by baptism or confirmation) should people be allowed membership into the Body of Christ.

The Roman Catholic Church has many doctrinal things that I disagree with, but the Roman Church has maintained more fidelity to some parts of the faith than their Protestant brethren. For instance, there would be no Pro-life movement anywhere without faithful Catholics leading the charge. The Roman Church has been a voice on issues of human sexuality and preserving the meaning of what it means to be created in God’s image better than any other part of the Church. By and large, Protestant Church bodies have either been silent on such issues or embraced the Satanic spirit of our age, repudiating the faith once delivered to the saints.

This Pope is nullifying the Genesis model of God creating male and female and taking his flock outside the boundaries of the historic Creeds. Thus, the leadership of the Roman Church has discarded the last vestiges of orthodoxy and instead is now preaching another gospel.

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4

The Roman Church is faced with something not seen since the beginning of the Reformation, should the faithful part from its Roman leaders or stay in spite of the false teaching. This Pope is betting that tradition wins over doctrine. Sadly, he is likely to win that bet.

Another Red Wave that Never Happened

Last night was allegedly a bad night for Republicans as the status quo was maintained in most elections held yesterday. Today a plethora of folks on Fox News are blaming Donald Trump for these losses. Sorry but I don’t get that at all.

First the Fox article:

MIAMI – A dismal night for Republicans on Election Day 2023 is giving some of former President Donald Trump’s rivals fresh ammunition to target the commanding front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination.

The disappointing results — which included Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear winning re-election in red-state Kentucky; Democrats winning total control of the state legislature in Virginia, expanding their legislative majorities in New Jersey and winning a state Supreme Court seat in battleground Pennsylvania; and the convincing victory in Ohio of a referendum that enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution — follow similar results in the 2022 midterm elections, when an expected red wave never materialized.

“Last night was a sweeping loss for republicans. It was eerily similar to last November, when the anticipated ‘red wave’ never came,” James Uthmeier, who manages Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, said in a social media post.
2023 Election Fallout: 2024 rivals DeSantis, Haley, Christie blame Trump for GOP’s rough night

I don’t know why there would be a “red wave” in the first place. Folks may be dissatisfied with Democrats and their lack of leadership, but can anybody tell me what the Republican alternative is?

Truth is that there isn’t one.

Instead, the typical Republican campaign is, “vote for me ‘cause I’m not a Democrat”.

Per Fox News, Donald Trump is somehow to blame for this? Why? Trump, as far as I can tell, is staying out of most of these contests. Oh, he might hand out a few endorsements but actively campaigning and spending money for state races is not his thing. Frankly I wish Trump would spend lots of money on candidates that say they agree with him but so far that has not happened. Trump seems to be the living embodiment of the motto “an army of one”.

On the Internet, I did see one guy in Pennsylvania say he didn’t vote because it doesn’t fix anything and there was also an article that electronic voting machines in that state were changing votes cast for Republicans in yesterday’s election. No surprise there.

I do get that people don’t trust that we have fair elections, and we also know that to challenge that reality is to be cancelled both online and in real life.

If Republicans want to fix anything, tackling fair elections would be something. But since the Country Club, Establishment, and Swamp Creatures Elites would then have to be on the same side as Trump, this will never happen. Again, it is a demographic reality that Trump was/is/will be the last Republican President in the history of this Republic. What do you think all the unfettered immigration across the Southern border is about? They want millions of dependent people in the country that will vote the right way.

The goal is to make all of the United States into California. (Governor Gavin Newsom has turned all of California into San Francisco and now wants all the other states to be like San Francisco too.) Democrats want to destroy the United States and make it into a socialist, multicultural, humanistic, cesspool. Sadly, they are emboldened by seeing their goal within sight.

Meanwhile, depending on the specific issue, Republicans vacillate between being “Democrat Lite” or looking the other way in fear of yet another circular firing squad. They have a bad habit of avoiding doing anything that will actually benefit our country or doing “the right thing”. Frankly, as a group, Republicans are a pathetic lot.

The words of Ed Hernandez keep coming to mind. He used to say something like, “There’s the stupid party and the evil party. Which are you?” That saying may not be originally from him, but it continues to rattle around in my head when I think about partisan politics.

The real cure to what ails us is spiritual not political. I just wish the Republicans would buy us enough time for the spiritual part to kick in. Right now, it’s the wrath of God 24/7. Sadly, too many frogs are enjoying the sauna as they boil and enjoy the “new normal”. Meanwhile, we get to watch the West burn to the ground. Somehow though we don’t care as long as we have our version of bread and circuses.

On Evangelicals, Israel, and The Bible

Some say that God has approved of their mob

Esteeming their purposes alone

Choosing sides with a definite pride

And taking their cause for His own

Everybody loves a holy war

Draw the line and claim divine assistance

Slay the ones who show the most resistance

Everybody loves a holy war

Oh yeah

Many’s the man with the iron hand

Supposing his own thoughts to be divine

He will break any bond ’cause the other man’s always wrong

It’s a handy excuse for his crimes
from “Everybody Loves a Holy War”
Mark Heard (1982)

There are two million more Evangelical Christians in the United States supporting Israel than there are Jews in the USA.

Whether folks support Israel or not, is not my point. Instead, I wish to dwell on the reasons why. The short version is these Christians are wanting the Jews to go to Israel so most of them can be killed! This is disgusting but true.

Many Jews know this but keep quiet about it because if they say something then they will be cancelled. Please note that such cancelling occurred before “Cancel Culture” was even a thing. Case in point:

At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Mark Alan Siegel, who served as the chairman of Florida’s Palm Beach County Democratic Party, told an interviewer the following about what he thought of Christian and Jewish relationships:

The Christians just want us to be there so we can be slaughtered and converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ. The worst possible allies for the Jewish state are the fundamentalist Christians who want Jews to die and convert so they can bring on the second coming of their Lord. It is a false friendship. They are seeking their own ends and not ours. I don’t believe the fundamentalists urging a greater Israel are friends of the Jewish state.

It wasn’t too long before the video of the interview went viral and Mr. Siegel was forced out of his position. Where did Mr. Siegel get such crazy ideas? It’s a prevalent view among dispensational prophecy writers.
What’s Next for Israel (According to Popular Prophecy)

Gary DeMar does a good job ripping this strange brand of theology apart on his blogs and podcasts, but like a monster in a B-movie, this heresy just won’t die. In fact, people that promote it, and are constantly wrong in their predictions, make lots of money off promoting these views.

In part they base their nonsense on twisting verses like this passage in Zechariah.

And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Zechariah 13:8-9

Based on passages like the verses above, Evangelicals that believe this passage speaks of a future event want Jews to go to Israel so 2/3 will die and the remainder will believe in Jesus. Evangelicals believe this will usher in the Return of Christ and that Jesus will then reign on earth for a thousand years. This view of the Bible’s end times was first popularized in the 1820’s and ‘30s. On the basis of this teaching, Christians were calling for a Zionist movement long before the Jews ever did so.

(Zionism is related to Jewish people returning to the biblical lands of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and reconstituting a Jewish State.)

Since A.D. 70, only one guy got close to killing 2/3 of the Jews and setting up a thousand-year kingdom on earth. He was an obscure dude in 1930’s Germany. Funny that this never moved the needle on people rethinking this idea.

On a recent blog post, Gary DeMar, quoted Dwight Wilson’s Armageddon Now! (1977) when Wilson wrote on page 94:

Another comment regarding the general European anti-Semitism depicted these developments as part of the on-going plan of God for the nation; they were “Foregleams of Israel’s Tribulation.” Premillennialists were anticipating the Great Tribulation, “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” Therefore, they predicted, “The next scene in Israel’s history may be summed up in three words: purification through tribulation.” It was clear that although this purification was part of the curse, God did not intend that Christians should participate in it. Clear, also, was the implication that He did intend for the Germans to participate in it (in spite of the fact that it would bring them punishment) . . . and that any moral outcry against Germany would have been in opposition to God’s will. In such a fatalistic system, to oppose Hitler was to oppose God.

In the aftermath of World War II, a Jewish state was setup in Palestine. Yep, that was the name of the place prior to 1948. Evangelicals see the modern state of Israel as the fulfillment or potential fulfillment of biblical prophecy. In order to arrive at this conclusion, they just have to ignore about 2,600 years of history. Evangelicals skip the Babylonian Captivity, the return to the Land, the Roman Empire, the destruction of Jerusalem and a number of other events. This allows them to cherry pick passages that are fulfilled and recast them as future events. Instead of letting the Bible interpret the Bible, they end up with prophecies about Cobra helicopters, rocket launchers, nuclear weapons, Marks of the Beast, SkyNet, and other stuff that somehow can only exist in modern times.

It is a logical fallacy to equate of the modern nation calling itself Israel with the ancient one. This confusion muddies up the water. Modern Israel is a secular state, not one governed by the Law given to Moses.

Modern Jews are not governed by the Old Testament, they are governed by the traditions handed down from the Pharisees, the Talmud. You know, the rules created by the hypocrites that Jesus repeatedly savaged and called dens of vipers, whitewashed sepulchers, and the Synagogue of Satan.

Per the New Testament, the promises to Israel are found in the Christian Church. As Gary DeMar notes elsewhere, the original Christian Church was exclusively Jewish for at least a decade. It is only because of the unfruitful branches being cut from the vine that believing Gentiles could be grafted into the body of Christ.

Are we to believe that one last-days generation will be grafted into the olive tree mentioned by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11 after 2000 years, and that’s what Paul means when he wrote that “all Israel will be saved”? Is that what Paul was describing in Romans 11:26? Absolutely not.
Are We Witnessing the Final Prophetic Generation?

Israelites were being grafted into the body of Christ in Paul’s day, by the tens of thousands! It’s called “the remnant”: “There has also come to be AT THE PRESENT TIME [Paul’s time] a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” Consider the TIMING and the CONTEXT:

I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.” But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.
Romans 11: 1-6 (NASB)

DeMar is not alone in his views of biblical prophecy being fulfilled as past events.

Concerning Zionism, I found an interesting article chronicling Zionism and the relationship between Evangelicals and the Jews. I highly recommend that you read it.

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHRISTIAN ZIONISM’S RISE TO POWER IN THE UNITED STATES

Most Jews in America vote for Democrats so why do Republicans in such large numbers stand with Israel? This article will answer this question and many others. The article was written in 2019 but still holds up well in its presentation.

If we get involved in the current war in Israel, it will be because of bad theology.