Abraham's Journey

April 3, 2025

Introduction

Open with me, please, to Genesis 12. In Hebrew we call the book of Genesis “B’reshit” – “in the beginning”. This is about 2,166 years before Jesus was born.



Now the Lord said to Abram…

(This time “Abram” – not yet “Abraham”.)

“Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai…

…which means “my princess” in Hebrew…

…his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.

Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.

Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister…

…and in fact she was his half-sister…

…so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.” Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.


It Began Before Haran


There were things known by the ancient Jews that were not written down in the Bible in the Old Testament but were later recorded in the New. In Stephen’s apology before his martyrdom in Acts 7 he tells us something about Abraham’s journey that Genesis doesn’t. In Acts 7:2 he says this…

… The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.

The book of Acts tells us that God called Abraham in Mesopotamia – Ur of the Chaldees. Genesis picks up the story in Haran much later.

Abraham is the father of all who believe – Jews, Arabs, even Muslims look to Abraham. Arabs call him “Ibrahim”, Jews call him “Abba Abraham” – “father Abraham”. The “father of all who believe” means theologically he’s the prototype. His experiences prefigure what would happen to his progeny, his descendants.

The Typology of Egypt


Understand “coming out of Egypt”. In a famine Abraham goes into Egypt; he dwells there. God judges Pharaoh and Abraham comes out of Egypt and goes into Israel. Later on his descendants, the sons of Jacob, in a famine go into Egypt. God’s judgment comes on Pharaoh – a wicked Pharaoh, and Abraham’s descendants do what Abraham did: they come out of Egypt taking the treasures of Egypt with them into Israel. So what happens to Abraham happens to his biological descendants the Jews.

But then we’re told in 1 Corinthians by Paul it happens to us. Egypt is a figure of the world, the Promised Land is a figure of heaven, and as Moses made a covenant of blood sprinkled it on the people, bringing them through the Red Sea into the Promised Land is the way Jesus brings us out of the world through baptism into heaven. (1 Cor 10) We came out of “Egypt”. Pharaoh’s, of course, a figure of the devil, the god of the world but he’s also a major type of the Antichrist who is to come. So Abraham comes out of Egypt, his descendants the Jews come out of Egypt, and our salvation because he’s the father of all who believe – we come out of Egypt.

Now a lot of people would have a problem, particularly liberal theologians in Matthew 2:15 ….

…“Out of Egypt I called My Son”.

…when King Herod dies. Matthew quotes from the prophet Hosea 11:1, only Hosea is talking about the exodus of the Jews. How does Matthew take something that in its context applies to the Jews in the exodus and say it’s about Jesus?

Well because the Hebrew understanding of prophecy is “pattern”. Abraham comes out of Egypt, the Jews come out of Egypt, we come out of Egypt, and Jesus who’s the seed of Abraham therefore must come out of Egypt. He fits the pattern. God again judges a wicked king – Herod – and in the character of Abraham the seed of Abraham, Jesus, comes out of Egypt. Hebrew prophecy is a pattern. Ultimately the coming out of Egypt is the Rapture and resurrection of the church. Those judgments on Egypt in the book of Exodus are replayed in the book of Revelation: the darkness, the blood, etc. And the way that Pharaoh’s counterfeited the miracles of Moses and Aaron is the way the Antichrist and false prophet will counterfeit the miracles of Jesus and his witnesses.

They brought Joseph’s bones with them out of Egypt into the Promised Land because the dead in Christ rise first; we come out together. It’s a picture of the resurrection. That’s theultimate coming out of Egypt. Hebrew prophecy is always a pattern, multiple fulfillments. But each fulfillment is a “type” or a foreshadow of the final fulfillment. That’s Abraham. His experiences are replayed by the Jews and by believers: we come out of Egypt.

The Typology of Egypt


Understand “coming out of Egypt”. In a famine Abraham goes into Egypt; he dwells there. God judges Pharaoh and Abraham comes out of Egypt and goes into Israel. Later on his descendants, the sons of Jacob, in a famine go into Egypt. God’s judgment comes on Pharaoh – a wicked Pharaoh, and Abraham’s descendants do what Abraham did: they come out of Egypt taking the treasures of Egypt with them into Israel. So what happens to Abraham happens to his biological descendants the Jews.

But then we’re told in 1 Corinthians by Paul it happens to us. Egypt is a figure of the world, the Promised Land is a figure of heaven, and as Moses made a covenant of blood sprinkled it on the people, bringing them through the Red Sea into the Promised Land is the way Jesus brings us out of the world through baptism into heaven. (1 Cor 10) We came out of “Egypt”. Pharaoh’s, of course, a figure of the devil, the god of the world but he’s also a major type of the Antichrist who is to come. So Abraham comes out of Egypt, his descendants the Jews come out of Egypt, and our salvation because he’s the father of all who believe – we come out of Egypt.

Now a lot of people would have a problem, particularly liberal theologians in Matthew 2:15….

…“Out of Egypt I called My Son”.

…when King Herod dies. Matthew quotes from the prophet Hosea 11:1, only Hosea is talking about the exodus of the Jews. How does Matthew take something that in its context applies to the Jews in the exodus and say it’s about Jesus?

Well because the Hebrew understanding of prophecy is “pattern”. Abraham comes out of Egypt, the Jews come out of Egypt, we come out of Egypt, and Jesus who’s the seed of Abraham therefore must come out of Egypt. He fits the pattern. God again judges a wicked king – Herod – and in the character of Abraham the seed of Abraham, Jesus, comes out of Egypt. Hebrew prophecy is a pattern. Ultimately the coming out of Egypt is the Rapture and resurrection of the church. Those judgments on Egypt in the book of Exodus are replayed in the book of Revelation: the darkness, the blood, etc. And the way that Pharaoh’s counterfeited the miracles of Moses and Aaron is the way the Antichrist and false prophet will counterfeit the miracles of Jesus and his witnesses.

They brought Joseph’s bones with them out of Egypt into the Promised Land because the dead in Christ rise first; we come out together. It’s a picture of the resurrection. That’s theultimate coming out of Egypt. Hebrew prophecy is always a pattern, multiple fulfillments. But each fulfillment is a “type” or a foreshadow of the final fulfillment. That’s Abraham. His experiences are replayed by the Jews and by believers: we come out of Egypt.

Promises to Abraham


God gives Abraham five promises:

God’s judgment would have fallen on the United States of America a long time ago except for two reasons: three out of every five dollars spent on missions, evangelism, and charity come from North America; the other reason is America has treated the Jews better than other nations. Holland would be the same. The immorality in Holland is unbelievable but they protected the Jews in the Holocaust. I’m convinced that is the only things that has stayed God’s hand. If you’ve ever been to Amsterdam you wouldn’t believe it.

In any event He will bless those who bless the Jews and He’ll curse those who curse the Jews. When the Nazis took over Germany, if you saw the film Schindler’s List, they built walls around the Jewish shtetls, the ghettos. And any Jew climbing over the wall would be machine gunned. Then what happened? Once the Third Reich collapsed a wall was built around Berlin, the great capital of the Reich, and any German climbing over that wall was machine gunned. And that wall didn’t come down until Hess died in Spandau Prison. Not until the last Nazi responsible for what happened in the 30’s and 40’s was dead did that wall come down.

My grandparents were from Britain. Britannia ruled the waves. If you told my grandparents a time would come when the sun would set every 24 hours on the British Empire they would have laughed at you. Britain revoked the Balfour Declaration after promising the Jews the right to return and Jews went to concentration camps. Even after the war when the holocaust was known to have happened the British put the Jews back into detention camps in Cypress to prevent them from coming to Israel so as not to offend the Muslims. Now the sun sets on the British Empire every 24 hours. I know because I live there.

The Spanish Inquisition. You had the Spanish Main. Spain was the big world power, they were the preeminent ones in the New World until the Inquisition. In 1492 Columbus discovered America, right after that under Ferdinand and Isabella at the behest of the Roman Catholic church the inquisitions begin. It didn’t take too long before Francis Drake sunk the Armada then Britannia ruled the waves. “I’ll bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee.”

Abraham's Children


Now this is not anything to do with the Jews – it’s for the sake of God’s promise to Abraham. And you’ll also find this is true of the church because the believers are also Abraham’s children. Nations that have blessed the church have been blessed and prospered and nations that have persecuted the church have come under God’s judgment. Just look what happened to Eastern Europe.

There’s an almost hypostatic relationship between anti-Semitism and persecution of the believing church because born again believers and Jews are the only two kinds of people the Bible calls “God’s chosen”. (Ps 105:6, 2 Thes 2:13) In Genesis 3:15….

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed…

The “woman” being Israel but by extension and cooperation the church. You’ll find that the two kinds of people that Satan has always hated the most are Jews and born again Christians because they’re the two kinds of people who are descendants of Abraham and who are called “God’s people”.

Who do the Communists hate the most in Russia before the Iron Curtain came down? Jews and born again Christians. Who do the Roman Catholic church persecute the most? Jews and born again Christians. Who do Muslims hate the most? Jews and born again Christians. The Eastern Orthodox Church would be the same. God will bless those who bless Abraham’s descendants, both his biological descendants and his descendants by faith. And He will curse the ones who curse. Those who curse the Jews or who curse the true church touch the apple of God’s eye. (Zech 2:8) But there’s more to it.

A Journey Like Ours


It’s Abraham’s journey. His journey is a journey like ours. The text of Genesis tells us the journey begins here in Haran when his father dies. That’s when he responds to God’s call. But the New Testament tells us that is not when God’s call began. God’s call began here in Ur of the Chaldees.

Ur of the Chaldees was where the tower of Babel had been built, approximately, and it’s where the Babylonian Empire would later arise. Abraham’s father was an idol-monger. We’re told in Jewish tradition, in the Talmudic literature, that his father was an idol-monger. And there’s a story in the Talmud – it’s only a story, that Abraham took a hammer (a “pattiysh”) and smashed all of his father’s statues – idols, except for one, and he put the hammer into the hand of the one remaining idol. And his father came in, Terah, and said, “Who killed all of these gods?” And Abraham said, “That god did, the one holding the hammer.” And his father said, “That’s impossible! It’s only a piece of stone with no life or breath in it!” And Abraham said, “Exactly, father – exactly.” That’s just a story from the Talmud. His father was an idol-monger.

Not until his father dies at a crisis point in his life does he respond to the call God gave him in his youth at a much earlier time in Ur of the Chaldees.

So often that happens to people. God is drawing them, God is calling them always, but not until a crisis point in their life will they respond to His grace and His call. Sometimes it isbereavement, other times it’s financial calamity, a crisis in health, a combination of things. God calls and calls and calls but when people don’t respond He’s out to save people. He’ll even use calamity for them to be saved.

You see, those whom He foreknew. (Rom 8:29) I’m not a Calvinist but God did know us before the creation of the world and He begins drawing us from conception, from childhood. When somebody is born again, when somebody comes to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus, when you’re first saved, not only does your future make sense, not only does your present make sense, but even your past. It all clicks. Once you come to know the Lord you realize why your life was the way it was. Things you can’t really quantify, perhaps the kind of thoughts that went through your head in bed before you fell asleep at night, perhaps experiences you had, or just impressions, none of it made sense. It had some kind of a metaphysical aspect to it, perhaps, but you couldn’t quantify it. Yet when you get saved you realize, “That was God drawing me all along to this point and this time when I came to know Him through His Son”. When somebody’s born again not only does their future make sense, not only does the present make sense, but even the past makes sense. God is drawing us all along.

But just like father Abraham – Abraham our father, so often it takes a crisis for us to respond to His grace, His call. But then the real journey begins.

Leaving family is a difficult thing, but so often that’s what the Gospel requires. This is certainly true among Jewish people. It’s also true among Muslim people. But I’ve known Roman Catholic people, I’ve known people from Communist families, I’ve known people from Greek and Russian Orthodox families – it’s the same principle. Paul says that in 2 Thessalonians that even the Gentiles have the same kind of rejection as the Jews did from their own families. Jesus came to bring division. (Luke 12:51) It’s wonderful when families get saved but the fact is death separates and the only way you can be with your family is if they get saved, too.

So he begins his journey and the first stop on his journey after meeting the Lord is Shechem – “Shakem”. “Shakem” is a kind of word for “shoulder” in Hebrew. Not an anatomical shoulder but the idea of carrying a burden. It’s near the city of Nablus today. And at Shechem Abraham dwells under an oak called, “the oak of Moreh”. It’s the modern Hebrew word for “teacher” but it’s the ancient Hebrew word for “knowledge”, particularly knowledge of God.

The Typology of Trees


You have to understand something from Jewish midrash about dwelling under a tree.

If a Jewish Christian of the 1st Century was reading John’s gospel – John 1, 2, and 3 – he would have said that John’s gospel is a midrash on the creation in Genesis. The new creation in John 1, 2, and 3 is a midrash on the creation in Genesis 1, 2, and 3:

 

  • He would have said God walked the earth in the creation. (Remember Adam heard God walking in the Garden? That was Jesus.) Now God walks the earth in the new creation; the Word becomes flesh. (Jn. 1:1)

 

  • He would have said God comes to separate the light from the dark in creation in Genesis, but now God comes to separate the light from dark in the new creation in John.

 

  • He would have said the Spirit moves on the water and brings forth the creation in Genesis. Born of water and of Spirit, God brings new life from the water in the new creation.

 

  • He would have said in the creation in Genesis you have the small light and the great light, but in the new creation you have “Johannan Hamadvil” – John the Baptist the little light and “Yeshua HaMashiach” – Jesus the great light, one bearing witness to the other, reflecting light of the other.

 

  • He would have said on the third day in the creation in Genesis God does a miracle with water. Lo and behold in John 2:1, the wedding at Cana, it says it was the third day. God does a miracle with water.

 

  • He would have that said God began his plan for the creation of man with a wedding, a marital union between Adam and Eve. Hence now God begins His plan for the new creation for man with a wedding at Cana, Jesus’ first public ministry is at a wedding.

That’s how he would have looked at it that way. The new creation is a midrash on the creation.

But then in John 1 Nathanael asks Jesus, “How did you know?” and Jesus says, “I saw you under the fig tree”. (John 1:48) Whatever literal fig tree Jesus saw Nathanael under, that fig tree in midrash is known as the “peshit” – “the simple meaning”. (This is not Gnosticism now. Gnosticism uses symbolism as a basis for doctrine, in midrash you use symbolism toillustrate doctrine.) The peshit was, “I saw you under the fig tree”. But the “pesshur” – “the deeper meaning”, was “I saw you from the Garden, from the creation of the world”. In Judaism the Tree of Life, the “Ets Chayim”, is represented by a fig tree. So Jesus was saying to him, “Creation or new creation, I know you because I knew you from the Garden, from the foundation of the world. I saw you under the Tree of Life” – the Ets Chayim, the fig tree.

So here Abraham is under an oak tree. “Oak” in Hebrew is called “elon”. It’s a very hard wood; it’s a strong wood; it’s a wood of strength. Whenever you see someone dwelling under a tree in the Bible, typologically it means something in Jewish midrash. Before King Saul was killed he was under the Tamarisk tree. (1 Sam 22:6) When he was in a state of despondency Elisha was under the juniper tree. (1 Kings 19:4) But here Abraham is under the oak of Moreh – he’s in a place of strength due to the knowledge of God.

“Shechem” is where you lay your burden down and you come to your first knowledge of God. And there he builds an altar and sacrifices. At any turning point in our relationship with God He will require us to build an altar. In Hebrew we call an altar “mizbeach” and it has only one purpose, to sacrifice something. No sacrifice, no progress.

From Shechem to Bethel


So far so good – he comes to Shechem. But then he moves on to his next stop. His next stop is called Bethel, in Hebrew “Beyth El” – “the house of God”. After somebody comes to know the Lord the first thing they should normally do is come to church. Now Bethel is on the west, a place called Ai is on the east. “Ai” in Hebrew meant “a heap of ruins”. Abraham builds another altar at Bethel and he turns his back to the east where he came from where the tower of Babel was, where Babylon was. His past, the east, where he came from becomes a heap of ruins and he faces the house of God. It is the same pattern the high priest would have to sacrifice on. He’d have to turn towards the east, towards Babylon, and face the west. There he builds another altar. Once more, sacrifice.

When you come to church it costs you something. I don’t just mean what you put in the collection basket. It means you turn your back on your past. Your old friends become acquaintances who your only interest in having any dealings with is to witness to them. Maybe some of your old interests are things you have to give up, at least for awhile.

For me I couldn’t listen to any kind of music except for traditional hymns because I associated music, especially rock music and classical music, I associated that with taking drugs. I used to listen to the stuff when I was stoned. I couldn’t listen to that music for a couple of years. A few years later as I grew in my faith it didn’t bother me anymore, it didn’t disturb my focus anymore, but it had to go on the altar for awhile because it took my eyes off Jesus. After I grew in my faith it doesn’t matter now. To me it’s just music now. I grew and now it doesn’t matter, it’s just music, but at one time it would have caused me a problem. It’s not the same things that have to go on the altar for everybody but something will have to go on the altar. We turn our back on the past. Now obviously this means turning from sin, but it costs us something.

So far so good. But you know, there are people who never make it to Bethel. I call them “Shechem Dwellers”. They understood the Gospel and maybe made a profession of faith, but that’s as far as they went. They go no further.

I knew one “Shechem Dweller” in London, England in Speaker’s Corner where I will sometimes still preach the Gospel on a Sunday afternoon and get heckled by the Muslims, etc. This one guy’s name was Robert – a nice guy, he has a big board front and back they call a “sandwich board” in England. And it says, “Christ died for our sins” on the front and the back and he goes around Speaker’s Corner. And the Christian preachers there all know each other so I said to him, “I have to go now, Robert, it’s time for the evening service in my church”. And he asked me what church I went to and I told him what church – it was a Baptist church in London at the time, and I said, “I have to go”. And I said, “What church do you go to?” And he said, “I go to a High Anglo-Catholic church”. I said, “Why don’t you go to an Evangelical church?” He said, “Well, I went to an Evangelical church once but everybody was already born again. There was nobody to preach to. “ He was totally sincere; he meant it. He knew the Gospel, but that’s about all he seemed to know. He never came to Bethel.

Well, Abraham makes it to Bethel and he builds that altar and he turns his back on his past. But then something goes wrong.

Going to Egypt


Matthew 13 tells about the seeds falling on different kinds of soil. If the devil cannot get somebody to backslide or fall away with the passions of the flesh or the lusts of youth or something like that, if he can’t get you to fall away for those reasons he’ll try something else: crisis – calamity. He’ll make you think you have to take your destiny in your own hands, or that God has somehow abandoned you when things become difficult. And you have to begin making your own decisions. And it’s easy for a young Christian to be dissuaded.

You see, when people are first saved they have their first love and they think they’re going to be Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the first day and go out and do miracles. They think they can do everything. They have their first love, they have a lot of zeal, but they don’t have a any experience, a lot of knowledge, and they don’t know anything although they think they know everything. But after they’ve had their first trials a few months later they realize they know very little. They have their first love – we have to give them that, that’s something we tend to lose, but they don’t have any wisdom or experience or knowledge. And that’s when they get in trouble.

So what does Abraham do? He goes to Egypt. What is Egypt a picture of? The world.

Look at Isaiah 30, what Isaiah says about going to Egypt. King Hezekiah was a good king but he was being badly advised. He was in a strategic crisis. He had the Assyrians infringing on one side on his east and he had Egypt on the other. He was caught in the middle between two superpowers. And he was being advised to go to Egypt for help. And the prophet Isaiah warns against these people who were telling him to do that, to act in a crisis by his own wisdom by going to Egypt. Look at Isaiah 30:1…

“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,

Again, when you see people into things like Ecumenism, they’re making alliances that are not of God’s Spirit. They’re going to Egypt, the religions of the world.

In order to add sin to sin; Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

Notice it’s not that they go to Egypt but they go without consulting the Lord. Whenever you get involved with the world you must have the Lord’s wisdom and guidance in it. You get involved in the world’s legal system? You must have the Lord’s guidance in it. You get involved with the world’s financial system, the world’s health system, it’s school system – whenever you get involved with the world you need to consult the Lord. I wouldn’t advise so much as swallowing an aspirin without praying first. Whenever you get involved with the world you need to consult the Lord. But he didn’t. In a crisis the flesh will tend to gravitate to what the flesh considers strong: the world.

Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.

Whenever somebody goes to the world they wind up in a state of humiliation. Backsliders always do. They wind up in a state of ultimate humiliation. Look what happened to Abraham. He went so low he was actually willing to give his wife over sexually to another man and apparently it happened.

You Can Never Be the Same


You see, you can never meet Jesus and be the same. Once you’ve come to know Him you’re either going to be better or you’re going to be worse, but you can’t be the same. If you go back to the world you will sink to a level of moral depravity that was worse than anything you did before you were first saved. You can’t meet Christ and be the same; you’re either going to be better or you’re going to be worse. If you go back to the world you’ll become more depraved than you were before you first came to know Him. You’ll sink to a level.

Not only that but you’ll wind up in a state of humiliation. Look at Isaiah 31:1… 

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the help of the workers of iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So the Lord will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together.

There’s no help in Egypt! The strength of horses were flesh not Spirit. The old creation will always look to the flesh; it will always look to the things the world considers strong: money, political power, influence, prestige. Whenever you get involved with the world, if God is going to use the things of the world, it will be on His terms, never on the world’s terms. Whenever you get involved with the world you need the mind of the Lord. But the flesh wants to trust the things of the world; the flesh wants to trust what the world considers strong.

Abraham finds out the hard way it doesn’t work. And there he goes. He goes all the way in what ancient times was known as the Wilderness of Shur. The Wilderness of Shur, roughly speaking, was the eastern area of the Sinai Desert and the western area of the Negev. It is a long, hot journey all the way down to “Mitstrayim” – Egypt. (In Hebrew we call Egypt “Mistrayim”.) And then all the way back to Bethel in Genesis 13:1.

Resuming the Original Journey


You see, you pick up where you left off. He could have been further on his journey to where God wanted him to be but instead he wasted his time. Backsliders waste their time, they waste their life. Compared to eternity what’s 10 years or 20 years? Nothing. But compared to the 80 or 90 years at the most probably you have in this world, 10-20 years is a long time to waste. Backsliders are wasting their time, they’re certainly wasting their youth. And it will all come to nothing. They’ll wind up in a state of humiliation. They’ll either get out of Egypt or they’ll die there, and you pick up where you left off. All that time wasted for nothing. Back to Bethel.

Then he resumes the journey he should have came on to begin with. From Bethel he proceeds further south. He goes through the hills of Judah, from the mountains of Samaria to the hills of Judah. It is a long, arduous journey from Bethel to Hebron, but not nearly as difficult as going all the way to Egypt and all the way back. He comes to Hebron. “Hebron” derives from the Hebrew word for “fellowship” – “heet ha brut”. The Hebrew word “heet ha brut” for fellowship means “bricks held together”. Now Peter draws on this in 1 Peter 2:5: we are the stones of the temple, the church being the temple. We’re the “living stones”.

On Palm Sunday when Jesus comes into the Temple Mount from the East Gate and the people are singing the Hallel Rabbah to Him (Ps. 113-118) – “Hosannah to the Son of David”, the Sanhedrin says to Jesus tell the people to be quiet. And Jesus says, “If these remain silent the stones will cry out”.(Luke 19:40) What He was saying in Jewish midrash is that if the Jews don’t proclaim Me as Messiah the Christians will. John the Baptist said God could raise up Abraham’s children out of the stones (Math 3:9) – Christians as the children of Abraham.

Hebron is the place of fellowship – stones cemented together.

Suppose I came into a building and I said to the pastor, “This is a nice church you have – quite a building, but there’s a lot of bricks missing in the wall. Where are all these missing bricks?” Well there they are – they’re stacked up in the middle of the floor. What good are the bricks stacked up in the middle of the floor? For the bricks to be any good they have to be placed into the wall, fastened to the other bricks. It is one thing to come to church; it is another thing to come to fellowship.

Hebron was a long, arduous journey through the mountains, and upon getting to Hebron Abraham had to build an altar. If you want to come to fellowship it’s going to cost you something. Anybody can come to church, sing the hymn, pay a tithe, bring their offerings – “Hello, brother, how are you? See you next week.” Anybody can do that.

Now it’s not wrong to do that. When you’re a new Christian you come to Bethel but it’s wrong to stay in Bethel. You have to come to Hebron, you have to come to fellowship. Because at the place of fellowship Abraham dwells under some other oaks, the oaks of Mamre. (This is near the place today called Kirath-Arba on the West Bank, a very troubled area. It has the cave of Machpela where the Patriarchs are buried.) “Mamre” in Hebrew means “firmness” or “vigor”. The “oaks of strength”. And it’s only when he gets to Hebron, dwelling under the oaks of Mamre, that he’s in a strategically strong position to rescue his kinsman Lot. He couldn’t rescue his kinsman Lot if he’s up in Bethel, he had to be down in Hebron close to where Lot was.

From a Church to a Fellowship


You see, we want to see our families saved, our neighbors saved, our friends saved, we want to see our countrymen saved from the pagans – the Canaanite in the land. From New Age, from Islam, from occults, from false Christianity, but you’re never going to do that by going to church.

I was a missionary in the Middle East for years – listen to me. There is not a church in the world – I don’t mean in the Greek sense of “eklesia” but in the sense of “congregation” – there’s not a church in the world that can take on a mosque and win. You hear what I said? There is not a church in the world that can take on a mosque and win. If you want to take on a mosque you better be a fellowship. If you’re going to take on Islam you better be in the place of firmness, vigor, real strength.

There’s not a church in the world that can take on the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses – they’re too committed. They’re more zealous for a lie than most Christians are for the truth. No church can take on a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall or a Mormon temple. None. Not a church in the world can take on those places; a fellowship can – not a church.

Bethel Will Come to Trouble


Do you dwell in Bethel or do you dwell in Hebron? Well if you’re dwelling in Bethel you’re going to have a problem. Turn with me to Amos 4:4… 

“Enter Bethel and transgress; In Gilgal multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days. Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,

…(sin, false doctrine)…

And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known.

Enter Bethel and transgress? Oh, you bring your tithe and your offerings, but you bring a sin offering from that which is leavened.

For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,” Declares the Lord God.

For so you love to do, you Plymouth Brethren! For so you love to do, you Pentecostals! For so you love to do, you Presbyterians! For so you love to do, you Baptists!

“Oh, I come to church! I pay my tithe!” It is leavened. Spiritual pride, sin, false doctrine. “Oh, I come to church, alright! I do my bit! I pay my tithe! I’m alright!” The flesh loves religion. The old creation will always try to justify itself by rule-keeping, by going back under the Law. Look at Amos 5:5…

“But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba;

(All these things mean things in Hebrew.)

For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble.

You see that? “Bethel will come to trouble”. The church will let you down. If it hasn’t happened already, sooner or later I absolutely guarantee – I promise you, the church will let you down. The reason the church will let you down is because the church is made up of people who are just like you and just like me. The church will let you down. A church can’t stand. “Bethel will come to trouble”. It’s a fellowship that will stand.

We have some believers here who were Christians under the Communists in Romania. Churches meant nothing. The Communist police would get rid of any church; it’s fellowship that stood. People who have a sense of commitment, community, family; people willing to stick their neck out for each other, those are the things that stood under the persecution. And persecution will return before Jesus comes even to countries we consider to be democracies. “Bethel will come to trouble”.

There’ s no security in the church; there’s security in Hebron – that’s where the strength is. That’s where the oaks of Mamre grow.

Bethel Dwellers


What is a “Bethel Dweller”? There’s a lot of ways to pick them out. One way, of course, is people who come to church Sunday morning but they won’t come to the evening service. Not for any good reason like work or sick children or something like that. Just because they’d rather watch the football instead of video recording it and watching it when they get home. That’s the “Bethel Dweller”. Today you can video tape the game if you like sports, but those people have a problem. Or people who will come on Sunday and do their bit but they won’t come to the mid-week meetings, people who consistently do that. Not for valid reasons like sick children or responsibilities of work or things like that, I just mean people who make excuses not to be there. Those people have a problem. Their priorities are wrong.

But there’s a sure way to tell a “Bethel Dweller”. I’ll tell you how to pick out a “Bethel Dweller”: they’ve been saved 5 years, they’ve been saved 10 years, they’ve been saved 60 years or more and they don’t know if they are an “eye”, a “foot”, or a “hand”. They don’t know what their gifts are, they don’t know what their ministry is, they don’t know if they have the gift of teaching, they don’ t know if they have the gift of evangelism, if they have the gift of helps – they don’t know what their gifts are. They don’t know where they fit into the wall so they just stay a brick on the floor. They come to church, they pay the tithe, they sing the hymn, and say, “I’ll see you next week”. That is a “Bethel Dweller”.

Most Christians in the Western world are “Bethel Dwellers”. In most of the churches I go to in the Western world it is 15% of the people who do 85% of the praying. Call a prayer meeting, see how many people come. It is 15% of the people who do 85% of the ministry. It is 15% of the people who do 85% of the giving. I don’t mean in terms of the amounts, I mean in terms of ability – portion. It’s 15% of the people who are in fellowship; the others go to church.

“Bethel will come to trouble”. I shouldn’t be laughing about it. But “Bethel will come to trouble”. I’m telling you the church will let you down. And in the Last Days it will let us all down.

You never get anything just coming to church. A young Christian? Fine, come to church, but then you have to come to fellowship and build that altar. It will cost you something to come to fellowship. It costs: time, finance, spiritual attack – there will be a price. No altar, no sacrifice; no sacrifice, no progress.

We're All Somewhere On This Map


Take a look at a map of Abraham’s journey. Everyone is somewhere on that map. Even those little children out there in the nursery or Sunday School – they don’t know it yet but they’re in Ur of the Chaldees. Through the faith of believing parents they are already being drawn by the Lord to the way of salvation. God is already calling them. We don’t baptize babies but God does see the children of Christians different than He sees the children of the world.

Maybe you’re in Haran, you’re at that crisis point. If you’re reading this and you have not been born again and have not accepted Jesus, you’re reading this for a reason. Not your own reasons, God’s reasons. Your life doesn’t make sense, but if you turn to Jesus it will because becoming a Christian is very easy. Perhaps the things you’ve read today are complicated, but when you’re born a baby doesn’t know too much – he learns. When you’re born again it’s the same thing: you learn more as you go on. But being born is easy and so is being born again.

I’m not talking about the hype or nonsense you see with the con artistry like you see in the preachers from America or on TV, that’s not born again, that’s con artistry. I’m talking about the Gospel. The Gospel is simple. The same kind of love you have for your own baby, if you have a baby, God created that kind of love to teach how much He loves you. And the same as you would give your life willingly to save the life of your baby, that’s what Jesus did when He went to the cross for your sin. That’s what He did. You see, we’ve all rebelled against God’s love and rejected His authority. We’ve gone under the influence of someone called the devil, the god of this world. That’s why none of man’s political or economic systems will ever work, that’s why we destroy the environment, that’s why marriages fail, that’s why we want to be good and do good but we all do things we know are wrong because we have a fallen nature and the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one.

To God one man without sin is worth more than all the men with sin. That’s how Jesus could die for everybody because one without sin is worth more than all with sin. God becomes a man and He takes our sin. All the wrong things I did, all the wrong things you did, God puts them on Jesus. And then God takes His righteousness and gives it to us. And as He rose from the dead He will raise us from the dead unto eternal life. That’s the Gospel.

You have to turn from sin. Ask God for the power to turn from sin and He will give you that power. He delivered me from cocaine addiction when I was in University, a terrible addiction. The devil had a grip on my life but Jesus was more powerful than the devil, He was more powerful than the cocaine. What He did for me He can do for anybody. He’ll do it for you. He’ll give you the power to turn from sin if you ask Him. He’ll take your sin and give you His life.

If you don’t know Him you’re in Haran, you’re at the point of crisis. You can go from death to life today. You don’t have to go to hell, you don’t have to go to judgment, you can become a child of Abraham today.

Perhaps you are in Bethel where you come to church. The devil comes to church every Sunday. He’s very religious. The devil gets more people into hell with religion than he does with all the dope, all the substance abuse, all the compulsive gambling put together. Religion’s a drug.

You know, the two most influential people in history were both Jews: Karl Marx and Jesus Christ. There’s one thing they agreed on: religion is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on humanity. Religion will get you nowhere; it’s Jesus Christ that will get you someplace. Religion is not the solution to the world’s problem. Look at Northern Ireland – that’s religion. Religion is not the solution to the world’s problem, religion is the world’s problem, Jesus is the solution.

But perhaps things went wrong. Perhaps it was the law of the world, the things the old nature liked, passions of the flesh, sexual immorality, ungodly relationships, drugs – whatever it is – love of money or perhaps things just went wrong. You felt God abandoned you. He didn’t, but you felt like He did and you began to wander and assume the management of your own existence no longer as the junior partner but as the senior one and you went to Egypt. You’re back in the world.

There’s no hope for you there; you’re only going to wind up in a state of humiliation. You’re either going to come out of there or you’re going to die in there. There’s no such thing as a “successful” backslider. It’s a theological impossibility. You are wasting your life, you are wasting your youth – just wasting it. You’ve got to come back to Bethel, come back to the Lord and His house and pick up where you left off.

That’s where most people are – Bethel, but that’s not where God wants us to be. He wants us to be in Hebron. He does not want us to be bricks in the floor, He wants us to be bricks cemented into the wall. He wants you to know your place in the body, He wants you to be in the place of firmness and vigor so you can rescue your kinsmen from the kings of darkness. That’s where He wants you to be.

Where are you? The little kids are in Ur of the Chaldees – that we can agree on, but are you in Haran where you’ve never accepted Jesus? Are you at that crisis point? You could begin your journey today. The Bible says, “Boast not about tomorrow for you know not what tomorrow may bring”. (Pr. 27:1) Now is the appointed time, today is the day of salvation. If you don’t know the Lord, you contact us. Don’t continue without coming to know Him.

Maybe you’re in Egypt. Please – God doesn’t love you any less, this life is too short, stop wasting it. Youth flees; don’t waste it. We’re told in Ecclesiastes, “Youth flees”. (Ecclesiastes 12:1) Don’t waste it.

But most of you are where most Christians are – at least in the Western world, most of you are in church. Most Christians are in Bethel. I have one hope and one prayer for your church. This is my hope and my prayer for your church: that soon it will no longer be a church. My prayer for you is that your church will become a fellowship.

Staying the course amidst isolation

By David Passmore • May 30, 2026
Staying The Course Amidst Isolation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Living in Israel one gets the feeling that the metaphorical walls are closing in. Israel's reputation is being tarnished all over social media and the mainstream media, and this is reflected in massive public disdain towards this country. We are constantly told that there is near consensus amongst academics and commentators that a genocide was committed in Gaza. The very legitimacy of the state is brought into question. The majority of Americans are now hostile towards Israel. There is real fear that the next U.S. administration will turn against Israel. Even if this were to happen passively, by the U.S. refraining from exercising its veto power towards Security Council Resolutions condemning Israeli actions this could be catastrophic. Internally it is a fractured society leaning increasingly right wing which further alienates Israel from world opinion. An example in point is how Ben Gvir mocked the most recent participants of a global aid flotilla to Gaza. Such conduct further agitates outrage at Israel. The left-wing media presents the ruins of Gaza as a mortal wound in Israel's side. When the world observes this level of carnage no degree of public relations can ameliorate the sense of indignation towards Israel. We can liken the situation of Israel to that of a depressed person. All he sees is hopelessness and gloom. But this isn't the first time that the Jewish nation has been faced with such darkness. Things change and we don't know how the geo-political map will reconfigure in the future. We need to ride out this storm and keep going. On a historical note, the situation is reminiscent of what our ancestors faced when we returned from the Babylonian exile to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was faced with constant lies and conspiracies designed to entrap him by hostile actors: Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab. They employed deception, slander and ridicule in order to maintain their political eminence. There was also a certain sense of abandonment amongst the Jews in Israel then as in our own day. We read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah about the anguish of the leadership in Israel concerning the lack of assistance from the Babylonian diaspora towards the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple. Only 20% of the exiles returned to the land. It was largely the poor who returned. Most of the affluent, established Jews remained in Exile. This is a continuing theme in Jewish history. It is also important to observe that from its very beginnings there were bible believing Christians who spearheaded the return of the Jews to their land. The idea of organizing a return of the Jews to Israel began as a Protestant Restorationist objective that can be traced to 17th century Puritan England. The protagonists of the Cromwellian Republic viewed themselves as the new Israel fighting the Papist forces of Satan. Alongside this, interest grew in the notion that biblical prophecies pertaining to the return of the Jews to Israel were a necessary precursor for the return of Christ. The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century lent political clout to Christian Restorationism with specific missions to the Jews established. Although there had been a longing to return to Israel as written in the thrice daily Amidah prayer, Jewish Zionism arose in the midst of mid nineteenth century nationalism and was further fermented by European antisemitism. It was an altogether secular enterprise. Although Israel's situation appears rather stark, we can draw strength from the Providence afforded to our ancestors in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when they too were faced with defamation. This is also an opportunity to grow closer to our natural allies in the evangelical world who from the beginning of Zionism were steadfast supporters of the project to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

Signs of the Times - Tony Pearce

By David Passmore • May 25, 2026
Signs of the Times Tony Pearce ‍ ‍ Left, right or center – is our democracy in danger “Things fall apart, the center does not hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.” W.B Yeats ‘The Second Coming. ’ ‍ ‍ Labour’s losses in the council elections and the battle for succession to their unpopular leader Kier Starmer have raised the possibility that we may soon have our seventh Prime Minister in ten years. Local elections saw Reform and the Greens make sweeping gains, leading Green Party leader, Zack Polanski to say that we are seeing ‘the end of the old two party system’. Maybe we are. In which case what comes next? Will we head to the far left, the far right or will the center hold on to power? Or will it end with ungovernable chaos as unqualified people take control of local and national government? Behind all this there are fundamental questions, ‘What is government for? Who does it represent and where is it going?’ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ According to the Bible (Romans 13) the purpose of government is to promote good and restrain evil. The government has the right to raise taxes for the common good of society and people should pay them. In 1 Timothy 2 Paul encourages us to pray for the government that ‘we may live a godly and peaceable life’. In other words, pray that the government will create an orderly and peaceful society and not interfere with our right to set up communities that teach and preach the Word of God. The situation becomes more difficult when we see government promoting things which are harmful and restraining things which are good and clamping down on freedom of speech with a threat to our ability to live a ‘godly and peaceable life’ ‍ Since becoming a Christian in my early twenties, I have wrestled with the question of how our faith applies to contemporary political issues. I started this quest on the left politically after leaving university and working as an English teacher with sympathies for Marxism. I then became a born again Christian in 1970, and joined my late wife Nikki in evangelizing the radical left, by handing out leaflets at their marches and demonstrations in London and attending their meetings to discuss matters of faith and politics with them. ‍ ‍‍ ‍ We had some good discussions with people and hope we made some consider the Christian alternative. However as we looked at Marxism from a Christian point of view and its practice in Communist countries, we understood that behind this ideology there is a strong anti-christian spirit. It denies the existence of God and promotes the idea of human perfectibility by our own effort. This is exemplified in the words of the Internationale, the socialist battle hymn, ‘No saviour from on high delivers, no faith have we in prince or peer, our own right hand the chains will shiver, chains of hatred, greed and fear.’ This Antichrist spirit led to the persecution of Christians in the Communist countries of eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and China. Far from creating the socialist paradise on earth that Lenin wrote about in ‘Socialism and Religion’, it created a society ruled by hatred, greed and fear, controlled by secret police, prison camps and responsible for the death of millions. ‍ ‍ In western society we have witnessed the growth of ‘cultural Marxism’ a movement aimed at infiltrating and changing society from within, rather than fomenting the workers’ revolution. Labour’s Fabian Society, with its (now discarded) logo of the wolf in sheep’s clothing, has been engaged in this process since the beginning of the 20th century. Social change really took off with the permissive society in the 1960s, which succeeded in changing traditional values, especially in the area of sex and the family. It replaced biblical values with a new ‘morality’ that is fundamentally anti Christian. These ideas have permeated large swathes of our society including the education system, the judiciary, the Civil Service, much of the media, mainstream political parties (including even the Conservative ‘wets’ and parts of the established church). ‍ ‍ Melanie Phillips describes the results of this in her book, ‘The Builder’s Stone.’ ‘Having decided that the West was rotten to the core, western elites set out to create a new culture that would usher in the brotherhood of man and eradicate hatred, prejudice, and war. Their Brave New World junked biblical religion with all its constraints on behaviour and revolved instead around self gratification. Everybody had the right to live as they wanted; nobody could say that their way of life was better or worse than anyone else’s; no one had the right to say that their culture was better than any other culture. That was ‘racism.’ At the heart of all this was the doctrine that there was no such thing as objective truth. Everything was relative; everything was a matter of opinion. Because there was no truth feelings became more important than facts. So the West abandoned the codes of morality, conscience, truth and lies, personal responsibility, and duty to others in favour of a culture of the self. In the process it junked its inherited traditions and biblical codes on which western culture was based.’ ‍ Britain changed from being a society that respected values based on the 10 Commandments and the teaching of Jesus Christ to one that discarded them for relative values. Ideas of ‘diversity, inclusion and equity’ became the norm, together with and a form of ‘tolerance’, that is really very intolerant if you oppose it. This ‘tolerance’ means accepting the virtues of multiculturalism and humanism and believing that all gods are equally valid or true (or none are). We must also accept that all lifestyles and family arrangements including homosexual and transsexual ones are just as valid as traditional two parent heterosexual families, with a father and mother committed to each other in lifelong matrimony looking after their own children. ‍ As society accepts this radical change in how we view culture, morality and religion, we are told not to criticize other cultures and world views or imply that they are anything less than equal to the culture, morality and faith derived from the Bible. ‍ All this has not improved society. Instead we have a collapse of values with no central idea to hold it together, just a group of competing ‘communities’ which are often only united in opposition to the traditional values and culture of Great Britain. A good example of this is the ‘red – green alliance’ of radical leftists and Islamists who come together to denounce Israel and campaign to ‘globalise the Intifada’. In practice this means a world wide war against Israel and Judaeo-Christian society and a desire to replace it with their version of either Islamism or Communism. However if one of them were to come to power, you can be sure that the Islamist’s would get rid of the leftists or vice versa. In fact that happened in Iran’s 1979 revolution, when Islamist supporters of Khomeini and Communists came together to get rid of the Shah. Then the Islamists seized power, turned on the Communists and wiped them out. ‍ Alisteir Heath wrote in the Daily Telegraph: ‘Ruined by decades of political vandalism, the Britain we knew and loved, a land of stability, pragmatism, and ancient freedoms, is no more. Today’s UK is uglier, impoverished, volatile and disorderly. We’ve lost our level-headedness. Anger and frustration have become our defining emotions. Our institutions have wasted away, and we have been taught to despise our history. The decline of family, community and faith have led to alienation, dependence on welfare and the rise of novel ideologies, mostly secular but also sectarian, turbocharged by social media. While the state becomes unnervingly authoritarian, the air reeks of insurrection and every variety of extremism. The British public’s sense of betrayal is as well-founded as it is dangerous. The machinery of state is incompetent and self-serving, a vehicle for social engineering in the global interest.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ Criticism of this process now risks being classed as ‘hate crime’ with a growing authoritarian society monitoring social media posts and public teaching of alternative ideas in ways which risk shutting down free speech in our society. A Christian teacher Enoch Burke is currently in prison in Dublin after he was suspended from his job and jailed after refusing to accept and teach transgenderism in the school. ‍ ‍ ‍ Nick Timothy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, got into trouble when he questioned mass Muslim prayer in Trafalgar Square. He wrote: ‘Mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination. The adhan – which declares there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination. The domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook.” He is right in this. Allah hu Akhbar actually means Allah is greater, greater than your God, Muhammad is greater than Jesus and the Koran is greater than the Bible. ‍ ‍ ‍ Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern for our Nation wrote: “The fact that we have mass Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square at all is indicative of the massive culture change that we have seen in the last few decades. A culture change that was not voted for or ever agreed to by the British people. And, a culture change that can hardly be described as having been entirely beneficial to our culture as a whole. I only need to mention grooming gangs involving mostly Pakistani Muslim men , sharia courts, honour crimes, terror attacks, the assassination of an MP, an attempt to blockade Parliament, mass antisemitic marches through London, a convicted terrorist standing for local elections, sectarianism, and many other examples to make the point. Earlier this month, the Government gave Muslims special protection with the adoption of an official definition of anti-Muslim hostility .” ‍ ‍ ‍ You are not really supposed to question this in public life today. A message circulating on social media is an apt commentary on all this. ‘First they overlook evil, then they permit evil, then they legalise evil, then they promote evil, then celebrate evil, then persecute those who call it evil.’ Soviet dissident Solzhenitsyn wrote: ‘A Communist system can be recognised by how it spares criminals and criminalises its opponents.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ The root cause of all this is the rejection of God and biblical values. The 18th-century French philosopher Joseph de Maistre coined the phrase "people get the government they deserve." David Pawson followed up on this idea, arguing that in democratic societies like ours, the moral and spiritual condition of a nation's citizens is directly reflected in the leaders they elect. If the general public abandons moral truths, they will inevitably vote for governments that reflect those same compromises. David Pawson taught that God may use governmental leadership to judge or bless a nation, depending on the people's obedience. He noted that Hebrew prophets saw wicked rulers as a form of divine judgement on a society that has strayed from God's laws. Therefore a nation's ultimate hope rests on repentance rather than just political change. His conclusion is that Christians should actively stand for moral truth in society. He believed that the church is meant to influence culture upward, and that a decline in national morality inevitably leads to deteriorating governance. ‍ ‍ ‍ Sadly much of the church today has become the ‘salt that has lost its savour’ through compromise with antichristian forces in society and government. It may be too late to save our country and western democracy as social and economic pressures create a collapse of democracy and push us either towards anarchy or dictatorship. ‍ ‍ ‍ Yeats’ poem quoted at the beginning of this article ends with the enigmatic line ‘Some rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.’ Most likely he is referring to the coming anti-Messiah who is labelled the Beast in the book of Revelation. Many believe his is now waiting in the wings to replace the true Messiah (born in Bethlehem) and bring in the dictatorship prophesied in Revelation 13. The Bible indicates that the Beast or Antichrist will have power for a moment, but it will be short lived and doomed to destruction at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Messiah and He shall reign forever and ever (Revelation 11.15) and the ‘government shall be on His shoulder’ (Isaiah 9.6). ‍ ‍ ‍ Maranatha come Lord Jesus. ‍ ‍ ‍ Water, water nowhere and not a drop to drink. (Apologies to the Ancient Mariner) ‍ ‍‍ ‍ While nations worry about supply of oil and gas as a result of the war in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a much more vital commodity for human survival is water. And it is in short supply in a growing number of nations. ‍ ‍ As of 2026, over 25 countries face extremely high water stress, with the most severe crises located in the Middle East and North Africa. This region is home to the world's most water-stressed nations, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, and Libya. India and Pakistan face critical water scarcity due to overexploitation of aquifers and population density. Much of Africa , Somalia and Ethiopia in particular are facing severe shortages due to drought and climate change. Mexico and parts of the United States (particularly Texas and the west coast) are experiencing significant water shortages and declining groundwater levels. ‍ ‍ ‍ Iran is facing a severe, multi-year water crisis as of May 2026, with major cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj approaching the point where taps could run dry due to depleted reservoirs. Groundwater is depleted across most of the country, and nineteen provinces are experiencing severe drought. The crisis is driven by a combination of climate change and decades of poor water management, including excessive dam construction and inefficient, water-intensive agriculture. China is facing a severe, multi-faceted water crisis defined by extreme scarcity in the north, widespread pollution, and mismanagement, threatening its food supply and economic growth. ‍ ‍ ‍ Several countries are significantly affected by upstream dam construction that reduces downstream water flow, causing, environmental, and diplomatic crises. These countries include Iraq, heavily impacted by dams built on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by Turkey and Iran, leading to reduced water for agriculture, destruction of forests, and increased sandstorms. Egypt and Sudanface significant water security risks due to the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laosare affected of dams built by China on the upper Mekong River ‍ ‍ One country which bucks this trend is Israel. Israel manages its water resources by transforming a chronic shortage into a surplus through large-scale desalination, extensive wastewater recycling, and a centralised national water carrier system. The agriculture sector has shifted away from freshwater, using treated effluent instead. Advanced drip irrigation technologies are widely used to minimise waste. Israel has exported its water technologies to countries around the world, particularly Africa where it has given advice on how to use limited water resources to great effect. ‍ ‍ ‍ Without water no society on earth can survive. Bible prophecies indicate that water shortage and pollution will be a global problem in the last days. Most obviously no water equals no food, so famine is an inevitable result of water shortages. Jesus warned of this as a sign of the last days in Matthew 24.7. Revelation 8.10-11 speaks of something called ‘Wormwood’ falling on rivers and springs of water causing it to become bitter and many to die from drinking it. ‍ ‍ Prophecy speaks of the two great rivers of the ancient world, the Nile and the Euphrates, being affected by a crisis causing the Euphrates to dry up (Revelation 16.12) and the Nile to become contaminated and its waters turn foul (Isaiah 19.5-11). Isaiah 24 speaks of a curse devouring the earth in the last days causing the earth to be ‘defiled (or polluted) under its inhabitants.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ According to the New Scientist, there are massive amounts of water hidden deep beneath the Earth's surface. Scientists have found evidence of a reservoir of water three times the volume of all surface oceans combined, located roughly 250–400 miles underground within the mantle. ‍ ‍ ‍ It may be that the Lord will release this water to replenish and clean up the earth in the Millennial kingdom when ‘waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.’ Isaiah 35. Zechariah 14.8-9 says, ‘In that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.’ Zechariah 14.8-9. See also Ezekiel 47. ‍ Rethinking Russia ‍ Things are not going well for Vladimir Putin in his ‘special military operation’. Four years after invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia is not making advances and actually losing ground. Russia is losing as many as 25,000- 35,000 casualties a month and over 1.2 million have been killed and wounded since the war began. Ukrainian skills in drone warfare have destroyed large quantities of Russian equipment, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and rocket systems, helicopters, and naval vessels. ‍ ‍ Russia is spending an estimated 40% of the entire federal budget on the war effort. As a result of this and western sanctions, Russia is increasingly unable to fix chronic infrastructure problems at home. During the bitter Russian winter thousands of people were left without heat, light, or even water. All forms of transport, trains, trucks and planes, are facing logistical problems, making it difficult to transport goods and people across the vast Russian regions. Russia is on the way to an infrastructure collapse that will likely take decades to recover. ‍ ‍ Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov warned the State Duma that Russia's faltering economy risks stoking a 1917-style revolution. He demanded urgent financial and economic measures by autumn to avert a potential economic collapse. This raises the danger of the Russian Federation fracturing. The Caucuses are restive, the far east is looking to China and Siberia is facing an acute problem as a result of melting permafrost, causing buildings, bridges and pipelines to collapse. ‍ ‍ In the present circumstances it is hard to see how Russia could lead the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). Some have said that it is more likely that Turkey is the lead power in the War of Gog and Magog. They say that Meshech and Tubal are not Moscow and Tobolsk, but regions of modern Turkey. Erdogan’s Turkey is backed by an Islamist world view hostile to Israel, seeking the recovery of its Ottoman Empire. He has his eyes on taking control of Jerusalem. Turkey is possession of a large land army already stationed in the region, some of it occupying part of Syria. ‍ ‍ The alternative is that the War of Gog and Magog is some way off, possibly part of Armageddon, giving time for Russia to recover from its present distress. We wait and see, but meanwhile spare a thought and a prayer for the people of Ukraine and Russia, suffering as a result of Putin’s futile war, oppressed by his corrupt dictatorship and facing an economic and social collapse caused by his failed policies. ‍ ‍

Trumps visit with Xi

By David Passmore • May 25, 2026
Trump's Visit with Xi Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The tempest path of Sino-U.S. tensions came to a head during Trump's first term in office with the outbreak of Covid. Many commentators believed that the deterioration in relations was in terminal decline and that a major confrontation in the straits of Taiwan was fast looming. Trump held China responsible for the spread of Covid, insisting that he would pursue reparations. The election of Biden halted this commitment. Biden sought a non-confrontational policy towards Beijing. In the aftermath of the disastrous premature withdrawal from Afghanistan handing that country over to the Taliban and the Russian invasion of Ukraine under his watch, Biden became too preoccupied to assertively engage with China. Chinese State media portrayed Trump's visit as being rather unremarkable in the context of other foreign dignitaries lining up to meet Xi, pointing out that just a week later Putin would arrive in Beijing. China manifests that it is winning the trade war that Trump began in 2018, beating America at its own game of capitalism. They frame the U.S. as being in a position of weakness because China is able to source whatever products they buy from the U.S. elsewhere like oil from Canada, and soybeans from Brazil. The oil, soybeans and 200 Boeing's Xi agreed to purchase from Trump were presented as a mere gesture to placate Trump as China has already bought 350 Air Buses in the last year. China would have the world believe that it is only semi-conductors where America has the edge. Here China hints that it is not likely to buy H200 Invidia Chips because it would mean that China will always lag behind the U.S. in building their AI tech. China's major contention and concern is that the U.S. may impose export controls to contain China. China's strategy instead is to invest massively on indigenous innovation. China wants to become an innovation powerhouse that will export its own Chips to the Global South. China is fast catching up with America's lead in AI with the launch of Deep Seek and they claim similar progress with Chip making. China is now ostensibly only eight months behind the U.S. on Large Language Models. Running contrary to this narrative Trump insists that China is desperate to trade with America. China's economy has now peaked. Emblematic of this stagnating growth is rising youth unemployment. China is no longer America's biggest trading partner. Trump has shifted manufacturing back to the U.S. and Trump believes that China can't revive its economy without America. Lined up to meet Xi with Trump were the heads of some of America's biggest Tech Corporations. Corporations like nvidia seek a relaxing of export controls for Chips as they want short term profits, ignoring the risk that China will reverse engineer this technology. More broadly, China and the U.S. are playing a geopolitical chess game spanning the globe. Trump outmaneuvered China in Latin America with the removal of Maduro from power in Venezuela. China is exploiting its influence on Iran in order to get Trump to refrain from taking more active steps towards the defense of Taiwan. Indeed, Trump didn't say anything about Taiwan during his visit. Trump's instincts are of a transactional approach towards alliances, where he is only willing to underwrite defense assistance if allies pay up as an insurer would. It is also important to note that saber rattling the Taiwan card also serves the CCP agenda to distract internal dissent concerning the state of the Chinese economy. Most imminently Trump needs China to pressure Iran to open the Straits of Hormuz and get oil prices down before the midterm elections. China has largely insulated itself from the Gulf energy impact due to stockpiles. Trump would also like China to stop providing Iran with GPS for its missiles. Other Chinese weapons systems and technology sold to Iran have failed to perform well against U.S. and Israeli military hardware. Matters boil down to a leverage between whatever Trump can do on Taiwan, China can do on the strait of Hormouz with Iran. Human Rights concerns, espionage and the alarming rate of Chinese acquisition of U.S. land have been placed on the back burner for the time being.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

Prayer request for Phil Malone

By David Passmore • May 17, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for Phil Malone and family “Please keep me and my family in prayer. My mum passed away on 13th May at the age of 93. It's a time of mourning, but may it be a time for the Gospel of Christ to be preached to my unbelieving family, especially my brother.”

Please Pray for Joanne Rizzetto, Pastor Dave Rizzetto's wife

By Mea Fredrickson • May 13, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for Sister Joanne Rizzetto, wife of Pastor Dave Rizzetto of Church of The Open Door in New York City. Joanne has developed painful complications and adverse side effects from medications following knee surgery. May The Lord intervene for healing and give guidance to her physicians. Lord, we humbly ask you to intervene in the life of our dear sister. We know you can do all things and that you hear our prayers and consider your servants. Please put a stop to the adverse reaction. Restrain and reverse its effects and restore our sister so that she can continue to serve you in the ministry that you have called them to. We do glorify Your Name. We don't ask as those who treat you as our debtor, but as those who have tasted your goodness and found such mercy and compassion at your feet. Grace and peace and mercy be with Joanne and Pastor Dave.

Will Lebanon miss its golden opportunity?

By David Passmore • May 5, 2026
Will Lebanon miss its golden opportunity? Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Converging new facts on the ground have transformed the political landscape in Lebanon. With Assad removed from power in Syria, a vital lifeline of arms supplies for Hezbollah originating in Iran has diminished. Hezbollah suffered considerable losses in its last round of fighting with Israel. The decapitation of its leadership with the targeted pager attack inflicted a severe blow. Hezbollah's new leader Naim Qassem is a weak substitute for the charismatic Nasrallah who was assassinated by Israel in 2024. Hezbollah in its frail state foolishly fell into line with Iran's instruction to join the fighting against Israel following the recent American-Israeli war with Iran. This was contrary to the wishes of the Lebanese government which was fearful of the inevitable destruction that would be wreaked by the Israeli response. The differing attitudes to Israel amongst Lebanon's population is reflective of its ethnic composition. The predominant groups in order of plurality are Christians, Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims with a smaller minority of Druze. The major concern of most Christians in Lebanon is the dire state of their economy. They have no appetite to further their plight by invoking Israel's rage. During the colonial inter war period the French envisaged the demarcation between Lebanon and Syria as carving out enclaves for Christian and Druze control. Within Lebanon there would be a shared government that by convention would have the Executive power split between a Christian President, a Sunni Prime Minister and Shia Speaker of Parliament. The Christians in southern Lebanon (particularly Maronite Catholics) saw themselves as being anthropologically descendants of ancient Phoenicians as opposed to an Arab identity where the Arab Christians were largely Eastern Orthodox. The schism between the Maronites and the Arab Eastern Orthodox dates back to the time of the Crusades. The Maronites were culturally French, speaking French as their main language and held precedence in much of the Lebanese economy. The first threat to Lebanese stability and cohesion was settled by the U.S. Eisenhower administration in 1958 which landed Marines in an amphibious operation. A repeated attempt at this by the Reagan administration in 1983 ended in a military disaster for the U.S. due to suicide bombings by Iranian controlled terrorists. Israeli efforts to bring in stability during the Lebanese Civil War in conjunction with its Lebanese Christian allies led by Major Saad Haddad likewise came to calamity when the Sabra and Shatila revenge attacks took place following the assassination of Lebanese leader Bashir Gemayel. The ''Good Fence'' policy of an Israeli friendly free Lebanon zone in Southern Lebanon eventually ended badly following Menachem Begin's second incursion into Lebanon called ''Shalom HaGalil'' aimed at stopping the PLO rocket attacks on Israeli border communities like Metulla, Kiryat Shmona, Naharya, Rosh Hanikra, Tzfat and Carmiel. The proxy Israeli occupation from the Israeli border to the Litani river became an imbroglio that many in Israel viewed as Israel's Vietnam with widespread domestic protest and a collapse of morale within the IDF. Eventually Israel absorbed Christian war refugees from Lebanon, while the Vatican and most of the Christian world turned their backs on the Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was then saddled with two states within a state. The first was in the aftermath of Black September in 1970 when King Hussein of Jordan defended his Hashemite throne and government from Yasser Arafat's attempt to take over Jordan due to Jordan having a 70% Palestinian Arab demographic majority. The Jordanian legion drove tens of thousands of its pro Arafat Jordanian citizens into Lebanon, creating a population base for the first state within a state under Arafat. However the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other factions had their niche interests. Courtesy of the Israeli Air Force Arafat relocated what he saw as his government in exile to Tunisia. This was a missed opportunity by the Lebanese government to assert its autonomy and full territorial control by making a Camp David type peace with Israel inclusive of economic and mutual security provisions. Instead an Iranian backed Syrian intervention replaced Arafat's state within a state with a new one that morphed into Hezbollah. The fall of the Assad regime and the Israeli counter-offensive against Hezbollah re-presents Lebanon with the opportunity that it once lost. The predominantly Christian controlled Lebanese military could and should operationally coordinate with the IDF, to obliterate and remove Hezbollah as the Israelis relieved Lebanon of Arafat's state within a state. Such a rapprochement would likely have strong American and possibly French and British support, allowing Lebanon to be at a non-combative peace with Israel along the lines of Egypt and Jordan, and now some of the Emirates. The natural comradery of the Lebanese Druze community with the Israeli Druze and the pro-Israeli Druze of Syria would additionally re-enforce a regional harmony, as would the Maronite Christian community in Israel with their co-coreligionists in Lebanon.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

Pastor John Angliss

By David Passmore • May 5, 2026
PASTOR JOHN ANGLISS It is with profound sadness that we learned of the temporary separation from our friend and brother Pastor John Angliss. We look forward to being reunited with John in the millennial reign of Christ and indeed in God's Eternal Kingdom. Jacob Prasch visited John a few weeks ago in the UK while John was in hospice care having been diagnosed preterminal in his illness. While medically correct, it was of course a misdiagnosis. John is now cancer free and is alive and well in the presence of Jesus awaiting us in glory while his mortal body is being renewed for resurrection and immortality. In the meanwhile, during this temporary season of bereavement we do request prayer for his beloved wife Mary and for his congregation, The Ark Fellowship in England near Reading, England. Because he has recently arrived in the USA and is scheduled to address the Moriel Canada branch conference in Winnipeg, Jacob Prasch will regrettably not be able to attend the memorial service in Britain. Our condolences however are very much with Mary and our brethren in the UK who like us knew and loved Pastor Angliss. John was one of a minority of faithful voices who upheld a traditional biblically based Pentecostalism in the era of counterfeit revivals and apostasy that overtook most of British Pentecostalism. John was a faithful friend of Israel & The Jews standing on the prophetic purposes of God for Israel and the salvation of the Jews. John was a loyal friend to Moriel and Jacob Prasch and a colleague of David Pawson and Derek Prince, both of whom likewise stood by God's promises to Israel. John was also a founding leader of CMFI - the Christian Ministerial Fellowship International, former pastor of Three Mile Cross fellowship , and former board member of Focus On Israel (a Pentecostal Ministry to the Jews). While this separation is temporary, John's eternal gain will be our temporary loss. O GRAVE - WHERE IS THEY VICTORY, O DEATH WHERE IS THY STING ? Hosea 13:14 / 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57

We made it this far: Israel at 78

By David Passmore • April 28, 2026
We made it this far: Israel at 78 Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Since the last anniversary milestone of Israel at 75, we have been embroiled in relentless wars. Citizens had little respite to enjoy this year's festivities, coming on the heels of a lull in fighting on the Iranian and Lebanese fronts. We are constantly waiting for a breakthrough on the horizon that will normalize our relations with our neighbors and secure our position on the world stage. It is acutely exhausting to be the focus of the world's attention. But also there is a sense of inevitability accompanying the Zionist project. Specifically that Israel is destined to be central in the wider region and global affairs. Why is this? Is it due to it being a western transplant? Being geographically positioned on the crossroads of three continents? Religious believers would point to prophetic fulfillment. It is short sighted to only look at how our problems are rooted in today’s' reality. Greater forces are at work that will dictate the direction that Israel is heading. The Jewish diaspora will likely find itself in a growing precarious position that will lead to increasing Aliyah (immigration to Israel) and will perhaps ferment the emergence of a second Jewish commonwealth that will not need to heed international pressure in the same way that todays' polity finds itself doing. In this light it is interesting to ponder how our posterity would view our predicament and gains. And I frame matters in these terms with intentionality. We are enmeshed in a seemingly intractable conflict with the Palestinians, and yet Israel has made great gains particularly in the technological fields. There is a current of thinking that perceives Israel's way out of its quagmire is by making itself indispensable to technological advancements. We don't know how tomorrows' world will be shaped by the rapidly advancing AI revolution but so far Israel has proven to be uniquely adaptable and innovative to technological change. This has proved to be a boon to Israel's economy, as have offshore natural gas discoveries being developed in concert with Greece, Greek Cypriot and American energy interests that are geographically and strategically removed from any Straits of Hormuz shipping impediments that strangle the Persian Gulf deposits shared by Qatar and Iran. On another note we should contextualize the situation. How different are Israel's challenges from other nations? Is Israel any less stable than other countries (particularly in the region)? Israel doesn't find itself uniquely challenged to define its identity (most European countries do also, particularly in light of immigration). Nor does the government experience any more volatility than other comparable democracies. Israel's real problems lay in the nature of how its Jewish citizens desire to govern themselves. It is arguable whether the judicial reform protests that occupied public discourse in pre-October 7th Israel would have led to serious civil strife. But it is without doubt that this impasse was allayed by the external attack. The underlying tensions remain unresolved and there are many ways that they could play out. It has been framed as a battle for Israel's soul. Israel's enemies predict that Zionism is imploding and that the State won't survive another 5-10 years. Supporting this claim, they point to Israel's increasing alienation and growing pariah status on the international stage. Our Prime Minister has been indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Even public opinion in our staunchest ally the U.S. has turned sharply against Israel. With 80% of the Democratic Party being anti-Israel in a growing climate of anti-semitism we have even witnessed the shift of Alan Dershowitz to the Republican Party which must be seen as emblematic of a trend. There is apprehension in Israel of a post-Trump America dominated by the Democrats. However, these seeming incontrovertible facts may be offset by other measures of fortitude. This may be partially countered by the high investment by Silicon Valley in the Israeli Hi-tech sector, making Israel an asset for purposes of Research and Development in America's AI race against China. New opportunities for economic relations have also been opened with Arab nations through the Abraham Accords and with the powerhouse India. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine a world in which Israel's technological prowess will not carry the sway of western decision makers in the long run. Israel's 78th anniversary is a moment to take pause and not catastrophize what the future may behold. The entire world is currently in a state of transformation and Israel is not an outlier in this context.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

Council attempts to shut down and censor local church’s evangelism efforts.

By David Passmore • April 23, 2026
Please click this link:https://mailchi.mp/christianconcern.com/action-alert-street-preaching-22-04-26?e=f1df30be3f

A critical juncture in NATO's future

By David Passmore • April 14, 2026
A critical juncture in NATO'S future Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM NATO was originally established in 1949 to keep the Russian hordes at bay from toppling those European countries not forked over to the Soviet sphere of influence at the Potsdam conference. Europe lay in ruins. Britain had passed on the torch of global hegemony to the U.S. by tacitly acquiescing to the decolonization of its Empire when Churchill and Roosevelt agreed terms of the Atlantic Charter for the post-war new world order in 1941. So from its start NATO was very much an American driven endeavor. American money with the Marshall plan was propping up western European economies and its military might was forming the bulk of their defensive capabilities. The lopsided nature of this dynamic has informed how tensions have persisted and recently erupted in the Alliance. During the Cold War the U.S. felt obligated to shoulder the costs of underwriting Europe's security in light of the broader interests to keep the Soviet's in check. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain European complacency became a sticking point with the 'peace dividend' further exploiting American largesse. European NATO allies spent ever smaller percentages of their GDP on defense expenditure at U.S. expense. Now in a multi-polar world U.S. and European perceived threats are less aligned. This was first tested in the aftermath of September 11th when for the first time NATO elected to trigger its article 5 collective defense protocol. And since then the U.S. has sought to continue to expand the traditional theatre of operations beyond Europe's borders. No longer is Russia perceived by America as being a proximate existential threat to its interests, but rather containing Chinese expansion in the Pacific arena. Parallel to NATO a discrete 'five eyes' intelligence sharing alliance comprising the Anglo-sphere (the U.S., U.K., Canada and New Zealand) emerged. This stands at the center of the U.S. – U.K. 'special relationship'. A relevant question would be can this signals intelligence (NSA-GCHQ) partnership persist should the U.S. withdraw from NATO? Conventional thinking would have led one to believe that with Brexit the U.K. would naturally pivot towards closer U.S. relations but under Starmer the U.K. is distancing itself. European powers misrepresent the present conflict as an aggressive, rather than defensive U.S. adventure while they themselves are more likely to be at risk. In this the Starmer government resembles the Labor party led committee for nuclear disarmament in the 1980's. It opposed the Thatcher supported deployment of U.S. cruise missiles in response to the Soviet SS20's pointed at Britain's cities. The British left branded their response to Soviet strategic escalation to U.S. aggression. This time however there is for the moment no Thatcher to bring common sense into an equation dominated by emotionally driven ideologies in the face of an aggressor with definite aims. In terms of the Russian-Ukraine conflict we are reverting to the old question dating back to the Napoleonic war era: to what extent is London happy with the European nations fighting it out alone for dominance of the continent. Britain was never willing to accept a single power in control. Many variables will dictate what kind of world emerges from the current conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. How will power be extracted from potential gains? What will be the strategic impact of this? What is sure, in the age of Trump this pattern of reliance on U.S. muscle is becoming quickly exhausted. Dating back to the Roman Empire, a factor in the decline of major powers has always been astronomical military spending, a budgetary demand that the U.S. under Trump is no longer willing to shoulder alone. (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).