Elijah A Man Who Could Make It Rain - Afrikaans

April 1, 2025

Elia, 'n man wat reën gebring het.®

Die opregte gebed van 'n regverdige man kan baie dinge laat gebeur. Elia was 'n mens net soos ons en hy het ernstig tot God gebid dat dit nie moet reën nie, en dit het op die aarde vir drie jaar en ses maande nie gereën nie.

Elia het weer tot God gebid en die Hemel het reën gegee en die aarde het baie vrugte gegee.

“Bely mekaar julle misdade en bid vir mekaar, sodat julle gesond kan word. Die vurige gebed van 'n regverdige het groot krag. Elía was 'n mens net soos ons, en hy het ernstig gebid dat dit nie moes reën nie, en dit het op die aarde drie jaar en ses maande lank nie gereën nie;” (Jak.5:16?18) Elia was 'n mens net soos ek en u, en wat die Heilige Gees vir ons in hierdie Skrifte wil sê is dat as hy dit kon gedoen het dan kan ons dit ook doen. Maar wat beteken dit?

Reën is 'n Tipe van die Uitgestorte Heilige Gees.

In Bybelse tipologie word die Heilige Gees voorgestel deur verskillende vloeistowwe in verskillende omstandighede. Nuwe Wyn stel die Heilige Gees in aanbidding voor. Olie word in verband gebring met die Salwing van die Heilige Gees, maar Lewende Water in die Skrifte is altyd die Uitgestorte Heilige Gees. Die uitgestorte reën val op die aarde en voed die water tafels en so word dit lewende water, die Here Jesus verduidelik soos volg: “Hy wat in My glo, soos die Skrif sê: strome van lewende water sal uit sy binneste vloei. En dit het Hy gesê van die Gees wat dié sou ontvang wat in Hom glo; want die Heilige Gees was daar nog nie, omdat Jesus nog nie verheerlik was nie.” (Joh. 7:38?39).

Die Here Jesus sê vir ons duidelik dat die Lewende Water die Uitgestorte Heilige Gees is: “Want Ek sal water giet op die dorsland en strome op die droë grond; Ek sal my Gees op jou kroos giet en my seën op jou nakomelinge.” (Jes.44:3) Weereens sien ons dat God die Lewende Water sal uitgiet, ??Reën op droë grond is 'n tipologie van die uitstorting van die Heilige Gees.

Dit reën op een plek maar nie ander plekke nie .

“Alhoewel Ék die reën van julle teruggehou het toe dit nog drie maande voor die oestyd was en op die een stad laat reën maar op die ander nie laat reën het nie, die een stuk land reën gekry het, maar die ander waarop geen reën geval het nie, verdor het;” (Amos 4:7).

Hoekom sien ons dat Evangeliste soos Reinhard Bonke in Afrika kan preek en duisende kom tot bekering in een diens maar as hy na Duitsland of Engeland toe gaan gebeur daar niks noemenswaardig nie? Die antwoord is in Amos 4:7: God sal Reën stuur op een plek maar nie op 'n ander plek nie, en die plek waar dit nie reën nie sal daar nie 'n oes wees nie. Daar is 'n soewereine werk van genade in die Uitstorting van die Heilige Gees.

Dit reën in plekke soos Amerika en 'n groot gedeelte van Afrika maar in die Protestantse Westerse lande wat die Bybel al vir 500 jaar het is daar nou 'n droogte. God laat sy Genade nou neerdaal oor die arm volkere en Hy neem dit weg van die ryk lande. Wit Protestantse Christelikheid is in getalle, in 'n morele, finansiële, teologiese en 'n geestelike verval oor die hele wêreld. Die kerk is besig om te groei in Roomse Katolieke, swart en Oosterse lande.

Die Anglikaanse kerk in Engeland is in 'n massiewe verval, maar dieselfde kerk in Afrika toon 'n groot herlewing waar hulle biskoppe uitgesproke is teen die valshede. (Biskop Desmond Tutu is egter 'n uitsondering) Die Afrika Anglikane word op grootskaal deur die Moslems in Algerië vervolg en reg deur Asië is hierdie kerk heel lewendig, maar in Brittanje is die Kerk van Engeland 'n dooie kerk. Dieselfde gebeur hier by ons.

Die herlewings wat plaasgevind het in die verlede soos die Sunshine in Australië, Azusa straat in Kalifornië, die Sunderland in Engeland met Smith Wigglesworth, is die soort herlewings wat nou plaasvind in plekke soos Ekwador, Chili, die Fillipyne, Indoniesië en Kenia. God stuur reën op die een plek terwyl ander plekke uitdroog en tot niet gaan.

Vandag kry ons mense met herlewings formules om kerk groei te stimuleer, maar dit is 'n groot klug en dit beteken absoluut niks en dit sal nie werk nie, want daar is ‘n baie vername bestanddeel wat vermis word: Die Soewereine Genade van God: Die Uitgestorte Heilige Gees. God se Woord keer nooit leeg terug nie.

Hier en daar sal mense tot redding kom, maar as daar gepraat word van 'n groot oes insameling, dan beteken geen reën, geen oes nie! Maar Elia was 'n man wat dit kon laat reën, hy was 'n mens net soos ons, met ander woorde, wat hy kon gedoen het kan ons ook doen.

Vir die ontwil van ons Vaders en die Naam van die Here.

Ek is seker daarvan dat ons Hemelse Vader die Westerse Protestantse demokrasieë nog een kans gaan gee om tot bekering te kom voor die Wederkoms van die Here Jesus. God wil hulle nog 'n kans gee, nie vir ons ontwil nie, maar om Sy Naam ontwil. Nie omdat ons dit verdien nie, ons verdien niks nie want ons kerke is totaal vervalle,??maar dit is om ons vaders se ontwil.

Soos wat die Skrif in Romeine 11 lees: God wil vir die Jode nog 'n kans aan die einde gee, voor die Wederkoms van die Here. Hoekom? Omdat wanneer God na Israel kyk, dan sien Hy nie net die sonde van Israel nie, Hy sien ook nie hulle blywende verwerping van hulle Messias nie, nee, God sien nog steeds vir Jeremia in die tronk. Hy sien vir Jesaja wat middeldeur gesaag word deur koning Manasse. Hy sien hoedat Sagaria in die tempel gemartel word, Hy sien hoedat Johannes die Doper onthoof word, en God sê: "Vir die ontwil van die vaders wil ek die nasies nog een kans gee om tot bekering te kom."

Brittanje is dieselfde. Wanneer God na Brittanje of Suid Afrika kyk dan sien Hy nie die Brittanje wat ons sien nie, Hy sien nie 'n sogenaamde Christen land waar Hindu gode aanbid word in die Canterbury Katedraal en ook waar biskoppe die Opstanding en die Maagdelike geboorte van Christus verwerp nie. Wanneer God na die Brittanje van vandag kyk dan sien Hy die hede, verlede en die toekoms. God sien

steeds John Bunyan wat vir twaalf jaar in die tronk van Bedford aan 'n muur vasgeketting was, en ook die skrywe van die 'Pilgrimm Progress'. God sien steeds vir John Wesley waar hy gestenig word deur mense wat opgesteek is deur die Kerk van Engeland omdat hy die Evangelie verkondig het.

God sien nog vir Tynedale wat lewendig verbrand is deur die toedoen van die Kerk van Rome sodat ons die Bybel in Engels kon ontvang. God sien nog steeds die Engelse martelare soos Charles Haddon Spurgeon; Ridley, Latimer en Hooper. En God sê: "Vir die ontwil van die vaders en vir My Naam ontwil,?? vir die ontwil van die vaders en vir My Naam Ontwil wil ek die nasies nog een kans gee." Dit is ook net so waar vir Amerika!. God sien nog vir Jonathon Edwards en D. L. Moody en Harry Ironsides. God sien nog steeds hierdie getroue Christene.

God sien nie hierdie voorspoed en Mammon predikers van vandag nie.

God wil die Westerse Protestante nasies nog een kans gee om tot bekering te kom, maar vir hulle om hierdie kans te kan kry moet dit eers reën.

Eerstens moet ons die werklikheid begryp, ons moet tot die besef kom en erken dat ons midde in 'n groot droogte is, ons moet besef dat al hierdie slim planne en foefies wat gebruik word om skyn herlewings in die kerke aan te blaas niks beteken nie, dit is geen en sal geen herlewing in enige kerk denominasie bring nie.

Dit sal moet reën, want as dit nie reën nie sal daar geen graan oes wees nie. Daarom kyk God of daar nie dalk iewers manne en vroue is wat dit kan laat reën nie.

“En Elía, die Tisbiet, uit Tisbe in Gílead, het vir Agab gesê: So waar as die HERE, die God van Israel, leef, voor wie se aangesig ek staan, daar sal geen dou of reën in hierdie jare wees nie, behalwe op my woord! Toe kom die woord van die HERE tot hom en sê: Gaan hiervandaan weg en draai jou na die ooste toe en steek jou weg by die spruit Krit wat oos van die Jordaan is; en jy moet uit die spruit drink, en Ek het aan die kraaie bevel gegee om jou daar te onderhou. En hy het gegaan en gehandel volgens die woord van die HERE: hy het gaan bly by die spruit Krit wat oos van die Jordaan is. En die kraaie het vir hom smôrens brood en vleis gebring, en saans brood en vleis, en hy het uit die spruit gedrink. Maar ná verloop van tyd het die spruit opgedroog, want daar was geen reën in die land nie. Toe kom die woord van die HERE tot hom en sê: Maak jou klaar, gaan na Sarfat wat by Sidon is, en bly daar; kyk, daar het Ek aan 'n weduwee bevel gegee om jou te onderhou. Daarop het hy hom gereedgemaak en na Sarfat gegaan; en toe hy by die ingang van die stad kom, was 'n weduwee juis besig om daar houtjies bymekaar te maak. ???

“En hy roep haar en sê: Gaan haal tog vir my 'n bietjie water in die kan, dat ek kan drink. Terwyl sy loop om dit te gaan haal, roep hy na haar en sê: Bring tog vir my 'n stukkie brood saam. Maar sy antwoord: So waar as die HERE u God leef, ek het nie 'n broodkoek nie, net maar 'n handvol meel in die pot en 'n bietjie olie in die kruik; en hier maak ek nou 'n paar houtjies bymekaar; dan gaan ek en maak dit vir my en my seun klaar, dat ons dit kan eet en sterwe. En Elía sê vir haar: Wees nie bevrees nie, gaan heen, doen volgens jou woord; maar maak eers daarvan vir my 'n broodkoekie en bring dit uit vir my; daarna kan jy vir jóu en jou seun iets klaarmaak. Want so sê die HERE, die God van Israel: Die meel in die pot sal nie opraak en die olie in die kruik sal nie minder word nie, tot op die dag dat die HERE reën op die aarde

sal gee. En sy het gegaan en gehandel volgens die woord van Elía; en sy het geëet??sy en hy en haar gesin dae lank: die meel in die pot het nie opgeraak en die olie in die kruik nie minder geword nie, volgens die woord van die HERE wat Hy deur die diens van Elía gespreek het. Ná hierdie dinge het die seun van die vrou, die eienares van die huis, siek geword; en sy siekte was baie ernstig, totdat daar geen asem meer in hom oorgebly het nie. Toe sê sy vir Elía: Wat het ek met u te doen, man van God! U het na my gekom om my ongeregtigheid in gedagtenis te bring en my seun dood te maak! Maar hy antwoord haar: Gee jou seun vir my. En hy het hom van haar skoot af geneem en hom opgedra na die bo?kamer waar hy self gewoon het, en hom op sy bed neergelê; en hy het die HERE aangeroep en gesê: HERE my God, het U selfs oor die weduwee by wie ek as vreemdeling vertoef, 'n onheil gebring deur haar seun te laat sterwe? Daarop het hy hom drie maal uitgestrek oor die kind en die HERE aangeroep en gesê: HERE my God, laat die siel van hierdie kind tog in hom terugkeer. En die HERE het Elía verhoor; en die siel van die kind het in hom teruggekeer, sodat hy weer lewendig geword het. Daarop neem Elía die kind en bring hom af uit die bo?kamer in die huis en gee hom aan sy moeder; en Elía sê: Kyk, jou seun lewe! En die vrou sê vir Elía: Nou weet ek dit dat u 'n man van God is en dat die woord van die HERE in u mond waarheid is.

“En geruime tyd daarna het die woord van die HERE in die derde jaar tot Elía gekom en gesê: Gaan heen, vertoon jou aan Agab, dan wil Ek reën gee op die aarde. En Elía het gegaan om hom aan Agab te vertoon. En die hongersnood was swaar in Samaría.” (1Kon.17:1?18:2)

“En net toe Agab Elía sien, vra Agab vir hom: Is dit jy, jou beroerder van Israel?” (1Kon.18:17)

“Toe sê Elía vir Agab: Trek op, eet en drink, want hoor, die gedruis van die reën! En Agab het opgetrek om te eet en te drink; maar Elía het op die top van die Karmel geklim en hom op die grond neergebuig en sy aangesig tussen sy knieë gesteek. Daarop sê hy vir sy dienaar: Klim tog op, kyk uit na die see. En hy het opgeklim en uitgekyk en geroep: Daar is niks nie. Toe sê hy: Gaan weer??sewe maal. En die sewende maal roep hy: Daar gaan 'n wolkie soos 'n man se hand op uit die see. Toe sê hy: Gaan op, sê vir Agab: Span in en trek af, dat die reën jou nie terughou nie. En in 'n oogwink was die hemel swart van wolke en wind, en 'n groot reën het gekom; en Agab het op die wa geklim en weggetrek na Jísreël; maar die hand van die HERE was oor Elía, sodat hy sy heupe omgord en voor Agab uit geloop het in die rigting na Jísreël. (1Kon.8:40?46)

En dit het gereën en gereën!

Kort agtergrond.

Die drie en 'n halwe jaar wat dit nie gereën het nie is 'n tipe van die drie en 'n halwe jaar waarna Daniël en Openbaring verwys, dit is wanneer die Heilige Gees nie uitgestort sal word by die einde van die wêreld nie. Dit is 'n eskatologiese tipe gebeurtenis waar die gees van Elia op 'n sekere manier weer na vore sal begin kom soos wat dit deur die Profeet Maleági geprofeteer is. Net soos wat Elia die heidense vrou en haar seun gered het, leer dit vir ons op 'n manier hoedat God die gees van Elia op 'n manier gaan gebruik om om te sien na die heidense kerk aan die einde van die tye.

Elia, Elisa en Johannes die Doper, almal het dieselfde gees gehad. [Die Here sê vir Moses: “Dan sal Ek neerdaal en daar met jou spreek; en van die Gees wat op jou is, sal Ek afsonder en op hulle lê; en hulle sal jou help om die las van die volk te dra, sodat jy dit nie alleen hoef te dra nie. (Num.11:17)]

Wanneer ons dinge in die Bybel geografies op sekere plekke sien gebeur dan moet ons weet dat daar 'n geestelike en 'n Teologiese verbintenis bestaan. Elia se bediening eindig op die vlaktes van Jerigo, dit is waar Elisa sy mantel ontvang het. ('n Teken van gesag.) Dit is ook waar Johannes die Doper se bediening plaasgevind het, almal op dieselfde plek.

Die bose vrou, Isébel, wat ook 'n teëbeeld van die bose Isébel in die Boek Openbaring is ??[Die gees van alle valse godsdienste.] dit is sy wat die koning, die politieke mag, manipuleer, en op aandrang van Agab het sy Nabot se wingerd ingepalm wat Agab begeer het.

In die Skrifte is die beeld van die wingerd Israel en by wyse van inenting ook die kerk, die bose vrou probeer die wingerd vir die koning in die hande kry. Dit bring haar in konflik met Elia en sy probeer die koning oorreed om Elia dood te maak. Dit is ook presies die beeld en die verhaal wat Herodias gedoen het. (Matt.14:3?12) Die bose vrou stel die koning teen Elia (Johannes die Doper) op. Alle bose vroue in die Bybel is 'n beeld en in die karakter van die bose vrou in Openbaring, en dit is waarom die konflik wat Elia gehad het weer navore kom in die Laaste Dae.

Hoekom het dit opgehou Reën?

Die eerste ding wat ons hier sien is dat God 'n man soos Elia neem en van hom iemand maak wat dit kon laat reën, en ook kon laat ophou reën. Hoekom het die reën opgehou? Dit het opgehou reën omrede die sonde van God se mense. Die werke van die Heilige Gees het opgehou in die Westerse Protestantse wêreld omrede hulle sondes identies is aan die sondes van Israel in die dae van Elia. Aborsie kom ooreen met die offer van kindertjies aan duiwels wat ons in die geledere van Israel en Juda in die Ou Testament sien.

Aanbidding van ander gode.

Die Baal priesters was nie buitelanders nie, hulle was almal Jode. Vandag is dit dieselfde. Reg oor die Westerse Protestantse wêreld sien ons 'n dramatiese vermeerdering van afgode aanbidding soos: Islam, die New Age en Hinduisme. Die New Age denke is oral vandag te vinde in Evangeliese en Pinkster kerke, mense meng Christelikheid met heidense praktyke, en dit is waar die Roomse Katolieke kerk vandaan kom, en dit is presies wat vandag in baie Pinkster kerke aan die gebeur is.

Materialisme:

Die kerk is lou warm en materialisties en vol van ligsinnige leerstellings.

Ons sien 'n geloof denke wat nie in die Bybel is nie, 'n tipe Mammon aanbidding, 'n maskerade van hebsug onder die waan van Christelikheid. Dit is Laodicéa, dit is waarom dit opgehou Reën het. Maar wie is die mense wat die meeste verantwoordelik vir die groot afval in die Westerse beskawings? Is dit die sekulêre, wêreldse, gemeenskap? Nee, dit is ons, dit is as gevolg van die sondes van God se mense, dit is waarom dit opgehou reën het. Probleme wat in gemeenskappe na vore kom is dinge soos: Dwelm

misbruik, aborsies, egskeidings, roof en moord, alles dinge wat daarop wys dat die kerk gefaal het. God se mense gaan ooreenkomste aan en uiteindelik het Israel geëindig met die Baal priesters. Dit is wat in Elia se tyd gebeur het en dit gebeur vandag weer. Op verskeie plekke reën dit nie en daar is groot droogtes as gevolg van die sondes van God se mense.

Die Spruit Krit.

Die eerste ding wat God aan Elia gesê het was om na die spruit Krit toe te gaan wat Oos van die Jordaan lê. (1Kon.17:3) Dit is waar die kraaie vir hom voedsel gebring het.

Krit was aan die anderkant van die Jordaan, en toe God vir Elia gesê het om sy land te verlaat, het God aan hom gesê om sy nasionale en kulturele identiteit, en die rustigheid van sy eie huis te verlaat. En bo dit alles het die onreine kraaie hom ook nog gevoed. Kraaie is onrein voëls, en God het aan Elia dinge voorsien wat hy nooit verwag het nie.

Die droogtes is vandag so krities in die Westerse wêreld dat mense wat dit kan laat reën sal moet kans sien om na die spruit Krit toe te gaan.

Dit sal in sommige gevalle beteken dat kerke hulle tradisionele denominasie, wat so ver van die Woord van God afgedwaal het en gesondig het en nie sonde belydenis wil doen nie, sal moet prysgee, wat sal beteken dat hulle vir alles wat daarna gaan gebeur, uit en uit op God sal moet vertrou en dat God hulle sal te gemoed kom op maniere wat hulle sal dink onheilig is, soos die kraaie wat Elia gevoed het. Elia was gewillig om God eerste in sy lewe te plaas in plaas van sy aardse skatte, volk en vaderland. Vandag egter sien ons dat die materialistiese dinge absoluut eerste in die lewens van mense gekom het. Kultuur, identiteit, en denominasies is eerste, en getrouheid en geloof in God is tweede. Maar mense wat dit sal kan laat reën sal mense wees wat nie bang sal wees om na die spruit Krit toe te gaan, en daar met alles op God te vertrou nie.

Sarfat.

Dit is die donkerste voor Sonop. Dinge gaan baie slegter word voordat dit sal begin beter gaan. Die spruit Krit gaan opdroog! In vers 9 sien ons dat Elia na 'n plek toe gaan wat genoem word Sarfat. Die woord Sarfat kom van 'n Hebreeuse wortel wat: 'Reiniging deur vuur' beteken.' As God iemand soos myself met 'n sondige ongelowige natuur moet neem en my so vorm dat ek dit kan laat reën, dan moet Hy my eers deur vuur reinig. Daar gaan 'n baie moeilike tyd kom, nie net 'n tand pyn en toets nie, nie net 'n droogte nie, nie net vervolging nie, maar al hierdie dinge terselfdertyd. Dit sal op 'n punt kom waar mense wat u sal wil help sal dink dat u hulle verraai het, soos met die weduwee by Sarfat. Maar dit maak nie saak hoe sleg, of hoe donker dinge sal wees nie, of hoe groot die droogte sal wees nie, daar is 'n belofte van twee dinge: Daar sal altyd Meel in die Pot, en Olie in die Kruik wees vir hulle wat gereinig wil word. Dinge gaan baie slegter word voordat dit sal begin beter gaan, maar daar sal altyd Meel en Olie wees: U sal die Woord van God, en die Salwing van die Heilige Gees ontvang, al gebeur wat.

Die ou Wynsakke sal sterf

Toe sê sy vir Elía: Wat het ek met u te doen, man van God! U het na my gekom om my ongeregtigheid in gedagtenis te bring en my seun dood te maak, (1Kon.17:18)

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Haar seun sterf en sy gee Elia die skuld. Die mense wat gaan swaarkry en die wat u wil help gaan u daarvoor verantwoordelik hou. Dinge wat so lank al sleg gaan, gaan veroorsaak dat die dinge wat ons die meeste liefhet eers sal moet sterf voordat hulle opgewek kan word.

Baie mense in die Westerse kerke van vandag sal eers moet sterf voordat hulle opgewek kan word. Nuwe wyn kan nie in ou wyn sakke gegooi word nie. Dit is een van die groot probleme van die Charismatiese bewegings, hulle probeer nuwe wyn in ou wyn sakke stoor. Die dinge waarvoor ons die meeste lief is sal moet sterf voordat ons opgewek kan word.

Die beroerders van Israel.

“Is dit jy, jou beroerder van Israel?” (1Kon.18:17).

Is dit jy jou moeilikheid maker van die kerk? Is dit jy wat opstaan teen die ekumeniese beweging, die Kingdom Now, Voorspoed predikers, New Wave, New Age, Name it, claim it? Is dit jy wat opstaan teen die valse profete en valse leraars en hulle leuens? Dit is wat die mense met Elia gedoen het, en as u iemand is wat die reën wil sien dan is dit wat hulle van u gaan sê.

Die konflik.

Vervolgens gaan hulle na die Berg Karmel. Dit is hier waar die konflik kom met Isébel??die konflik met die gees van valse godsdienste: Roomse Katolieke, Ekumeniese beweging, Vry Messelaars, aborsies en die New Age bewegings. Daar gaan 'n konflik wees en diegene wat hierdie konflik wen sal diegene wees wat by Sarfat gereinig is.

So baie van die sogenaamde Charismatiese aanbidding van vandag, die geraas, 'Rave' Toronto en al hierdie vervalsings lyk alte veel meer en meer na die Baal priesters op die Berg Karmel, as na die Profeet Elia. U moet oplet dat hierdie Baal priesters gedink het dat dit waarmee hulle besig is, regtig gaan werk! Net so sien ons dat ons broers en susters wat gevang is deur hierdie valse profete van vandag, soos die Kingdom Now, New Wave, Toronto, Pesacola, ens.

Almal glo dit is dinge wat herlewing gaan bring, maar wanneer die werklike konflik kom dan gaan ons sien wie die opregte Profete van die Here is.

Die Reënwolk.

Dit begin by 'n klein wolkie, dit wil voorkom asof enige ding kan begin gebeur, waar is dit? Met die Baal priesters is dit grootpratery, arrogansie en 'n hoop valshede, maar God werk nie so nie, dit begin klein, soos 'n klein handjie wat uit die see uit kom. Dit begin altyd klein, maar dit word al groter en groter totdat die hele hemel gevul is met swaar reënwolke. Dan, Weerlig, en God se Gees val, en dit Reën en Reën.

Dit is my fout.

Daar is nie 'n maklike manier om die agteruitgang in die Westerse Christen wêreld te stuit nie want dit het te ver gegaan en ons almal is deur ons leiers uitverkoop. Al hierdie namaaksels en valshede sal nie 'n Siele Oes inbring nie, dit gaan Reën vat om dit te weeg te bring, maar dit het opgehou reën. Dit het opgehou reën, gedeeltelik asgevolg van die sonde van die samelewing maar grootliks asgevolg van die

sonde van die kerk, van God se mense. en totdat die kerk nie hulle bekeer en hulle sondes bely nie gaan daar nie 'n bekering van die wêreld plaasvind nie.

Die reën het opgehou omdat ek wat die waarheid ken dit verruil het vir die genot en wellus van die oë en die wêreld, dit reën nie omrede ons sondes.

Diegene wat dit kan laat reën.

Diegene wat reën gaan bring is diegene wat nie bang sal wees om na die spruit Krit toe te gaan nie, diegene wat nie gebonde is aan tradisies en organisasies nie. Dit sal diegene wees wat nie Nuwe Wyn in ou wyn sakke sal wil gooi nie, hulle sal mense wees wat doen wat God hulle beveel om te doen en wat uit en uit op Hom sal vertrou op maniere wat hulle nie verwag nie. Hulle sal mense wees wat nie bang sal wees om deur vuur gereinig te word nie maar wat bereid sal wees om na Sarfat te gaan. Mense wat bereid sal wees om te sien dat die dinge waarvoor hulle lief is sal moet sterwe sodat hulle in Reinheid opgewek kan word. Dit gaan moeilik wees, maar dit maak nie saak hoe moeilik dit sal gaan nie, God het belowe dat daar altyd Olie in die Kruik, en Meel in die Pot sal wees.

Die mense wat gereinig is sal na die Berg Karmel toe gaan en hulle sal voor Isébel staan, die valse godsdienste van die Wêreld, hulle sal voor die Baal profete, diegene wat hulle self profete en predikers noem, vervalsers van die Evangelie, en hulle sal in 'n konflik wees, maar die beroerders van Israel, die Elias, gaan oorwin.. †††



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. ‍ ‍
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).
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.”
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.
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).
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
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).
By David Passmore April 23, 2026
Please click this link:https://mailchi.mp/christianconcern.com/action-alert-street-preaching-22-04-26?e=f1df30be3f
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).
By David Passmore April 9, 2026
Please keep brother Malcolm Betts from the New Life Pentecostal Church, Winsford in prayer. He is suffering from heart failure, valve problems and spinal stenosis. Your prayers for healing and intervention are coveted. Also, Malcom’s daughter Laura-Louisa is having complications with her pregnancy. Her baby boy is due on the 22nd of April and was in a breach position, however he is now moved to an oblique position which carries serious risk and possible surgical intervention. Laura is also at risk of postpartum haemorrhage. Please pray for the midwives and obstetricians skill and wisdom. Please also pray for Malcolm’s sister Susan who has sepsis in her leg. And please pray also for Sheila Carlisle. She is undergoing knee replacement surgery.