Metatrone - Afrikaans

April 1, 2025

Metatrone: Die Engel van die Here.

“Maar Jakob het alleen agtergebly, en 'n Man het met hom geworstel tot dagbreek. En toe Hy sien dat Hy hom nie kon oorwin nie, slaan Hy hom op sy heupbeen, sodat die heupbeen van Jakob uit lit geraak het in die worsteling met Hom.

Toe sê Hy: Laat My gaan, want die dag het gebreek. Maar hy antwoord: Ek sal U nie laat gaan nie tensy dat U my seën. En Hy vra hom: Hoe is jou naam? En hy antwoord: Jakob. Toe sê Hy: Jy sal nie meer Jakob genoem word nie, maar Israel; want jy het geworstel met God en met die mense en het oorwin. Daarop vra Jakob en sê: Maak tog u Naam bekend! En Hy antwoord: Waarom vra jy tog na my Naam? En Hy het hom daar geseën. Toe noem Jakob die plek Pniël; want, het hy gesê, ek het God gesien van aangesig tot aangesig, en tog is my lewe gered. En die son het vir hom opgegaan net toe hy Pnuel verby was; en hy was mank aan sy heup.” (Gen. 32:24?31).

Die femur, dybeen is die sterkste been in die menslike liggaam van ‘n volwasse man, dit sal nie breek onder die gewig van ‘n klein motor nie. God deel met Jakob se menslike krag deur om sy femur uit lit uit te plaas en dit het ‘n dubbele betekenis ? dit verduidelik die “Donker nag van die siel” ondervinding, dinge wat met Jakob gebeur en met elke gelowige by ‘n sekere stadium in hulle lewe gebeur. Dit is ook ‘n beeld van die Groot Verdrukking, die tyd van benoudheid van Jakob. Dit was Jakob se benoudheid toe hy ook deur hierdie donker periode tot die einde van die nag gegaan het.

Die Kerk sal uit die Verdrukking weggeneem word terwyl die ongeredde Jode deur dit sal gaan. Jakob sien God van Aangesig tot aangesig by Pniël, wat “kom uit” in Hebreeus beteken”. In ons toere deur die Heilige Land neem ons mense na hierdie spesifieke spruit waar dit plaasgevind het? die Spruit van Jabok? Pniël waar Jakob met die Engel van God geworstel het.

Daar is baie engele van die Here, maar daar is net Een wat “Die Engel” van die Here genoem word? “HaMelach Adonai”? met ‘n bepalende lidwoord. Die rabbi’s het hierdie Man as die Engel geïdentifiseer alhoewel Hy as ‘n mens verskyn het. Op baie plekke word dit gesê dat engele in ‘n menslike gedaante verskyn het soos by Jesus se graf, en die gevalle engele (Nephilim) in Genesis en ook in die Boek Judas? wat in menslike gedaantes verskyn het en wat gemeenskap met vroue gehad het, dit is ook opgeteken in die Apokriewe boek van Henog.

Die Engel van die Here is ‘n vleeslike gedaante van iemand wat Jakob sê die Gestalte van God het. Op geen manier kanselleer dit egter die unieke vleeswording van Jesus in die skoot van die diensmaagd wat die profesie van Jesaja 7:14 vervul het nie. God het ‘n Menslike Gestalte aangeneem en ‘n mens net soos ons geword, sonder sonde, maar in ‘n gedaante van sondige vlees. Daar was iets baie spesiaal en uniek oor die vleeswording en die daaropvolgende geboorte van Jesus. Maar hierdie vleeswording was nie die eerste keer dat God ‘n mens geword het nie alhoewel dit die eerste keer was wat Hy in ‘n embrioniese ontvangenis gekom het. Daar is ook ander vleeswordings van God in die Ou Testament.

Toe Adam en Eva gehoor het hoe God in die tuin gewandel het, is ek oortuig daarvan dat volgens spreuke 8 en Johannes 1 dit Jesus was. Toe Abraham die drie manne gesien het, het hy nie die Drie Eenheid gesien nie, maar meer aanvaarbaar was dit Jesus en die twee engele wat ook by Sy graf gesien was. Ook dit maak nie die unieke vleeswording in Maria se skoot tot niet nie. Dit is toe God ‘n mens soos ons geword het maar dit was nie toe God vir die eerste keer ‘n mens geword het nie.

Wanneer daar vir Jode en Arabiere getuig word is daar twee probleme: Die Drie Eenheid en die vleeswording; Een God in drie, drie in een? en die idee dat God mens geword het. Wanneer aan Moslems getuig word dan is dit nooit ‘n goeie idee om te begin deur om aan hulle te vertel dat Jesus die Seun van God is nie. Vir hulle beteken dit dat God ‘n verhouding gehad het met ‘n bose vrou en vir hulle is dit lasterlik. Dit word gesien as ‘n heidense konsep, soos Herkules wat ‘n nakomeling is van ‘n verhouding tussen Zeus en ‘n mense vrou.

Die Seunskap moet op ‘n ander manier verklaar word as daar aan ‘n Moslem getuig word. Wanneer met Jode gepraat word is die verdediging van die Drie Eenheid en die Godheid van Christus ‘n bietjie anders. Somtyds doen die rabbi’s ons werk vir ons en hulle eie woorde kan aangehaal word om die idee van God wat mens geword het te oorkom.

Toe Rabbi Menachem Schneerson gelewe het? het die rabbi’s altyd gesê: “Wat, het Hy uit die dood opgestaan? is jy siek?” Rabbi Menachem Schneerson ‘n rabbi van die Lubavitch tak wat die hoof was van die Hasidiese beweging.

Een dag het ek in Tel Aviw by die Ben Gurion lughawe met die Hasidim by hulle vertoon lokaal gepraat, hulle was besig om aansoek vorms uit te deel vir mense wat ‘n Hasid wil word. Oral in Israel is daar foto’s van die afgestorwe Joodse Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, ook geken as die Melech Meshiach – Koning Messias – wat hulle hom genoem het.

Die Hasidim glo dat hulle rabbi, wat die Tsadek of die rebbe genoem word, die re?inkarneerde geestelike seun van die stigter van die Hasidiese beweging is? Rabbi Yosef Yitschok Schneerson, en dit word oorgedra van vader na seun.

Menachem Schneerson word gesê, het net die gees van die “Besch.” Dit is alles Gnostisisme en re? inkarnasie. Hasidiese Jode is vasgevang in die okkulte. Hy was nie ‘n direkte afstammeling van Debeshk self nie maar iemand wat getroud was met ‘n afstammeling van Debeshk en hy het ook nie ‘n seun of ‘n dogter gehad nie, geen erfgenaam nie. Ek sê toe vir hom in Hebreeus: “Jy het ‘n probleem, niemand kan die rabbi wees in sy plek nie.” Hulle antwoord: “hu Yakum M’hametim –Hy gaan uit die dood opstaan.” “So julle sê vir my dat julle glo dat ‘n Joodse Messias uit die dood gaan opstaan?” Dit is al wat ek wou weet!

Hierdie idee dat God in ‘n menslike gestalte kan verskyn word ook met betrekking tot Melchisedek wat ‘n tiende ontvang het en wat geen vader of moeder gehad het nie verbind. Hierdie is sekerlik ‘n tipe van Christus meer ‘n Christophani, ‘n Ou Testamentiese se manifestasie van God in ‘n sekere menslike gestalte. In die mistieke Judaïsme se Kabbala is sy primêre doel geken as die Zohar en dit kan aangehaal word om te demonstreer dat God ‘n menslike gedaante kan aanneem. Maar wat maak ons met die

ortodokse Jode? Hoe oortuig jy hulle met die idee dat God mens geword het en dat dit nie ‘n Christelike konsep is nie maar Joodse konsep? Jy kan sê dat die opstanding van die Messias wat moes kom en sterf en uit die dood opstaan? nie ‘n Christelike uitvindsel is nie omdat hulle dit self glo.

Begin by die Boek Maleagi, wie se naam kan gelykwaardig verklaar word as? “my boodskapper” of “my engel”? Die Griekse woord anglios kom van die Hebreeuse idee van engel. Alle engele in Hebreeus beteken boodskappers. Maar die Messias moes ‘n unieke Boodskapper wees. Maleagi sê: 3:1 “Kyk, Ek stuur my boodskapper wat die weg voor My uit sal baan; dan sal skielik na sy tempel kom die Here na wie julle soek, naamlik die Engel van die verbond, na wie julle 'n begeerte het. Kyk, Hy kom, sê die HERE van die leërskare.” Hierdie “Engel van die verbond”? is die Here wat in die tempel is en wat daarin aanbid word.

In Judaïsme is daar ‘n konsep wat “duval” genoem word, die Aramese ekwivalente was “mamre” en die Griekse ekwivalente is “Logos”. In Johannes se Evangelie in Grieks is dit “enarchae”: In die begin? kai ho logos: was die Woord. Die begin was die Woord, die Woord was? Theon;? dit was God. Dit is Mamre, Duval? beide die Grieke en die Jode het hierdie idee van die Woord van God verstaan en dat God se vleeswording identies was. Die Hebreërs het die duval en mamre verstaan? die vleeswording van die Woord wat God se Skeppings Verteenwoordiger en ook God se Reddings Verteenwoordiger was. Die Grieke kon met hiermee saamstem maar in vers 14 van Johannes waar die Skrif sê: “En die Woord het vlees geword (Sarx in Grieks, Besor in Hebreeus) het hulle ‘n groot probleem gehad omdat hulle gedink het dat God onaantasbaar is.

Die Middel van die Troon.

Die Woord van die Here word ook nie net ‘melech habrit,’ (Die Engel van die Verbond) genoem nie maar ook die Metatrone, uit die Grieks? Meta – middel? van die troon. Daar is twee Griekse konsepte vir die troon: Die troon van oordeel en die troon van beloning. Ongeredde mense verskyn voor die troon van oordeel of die oordeeltroon.

God se mense verskyn voor die bema wat dieselfde woord is wat gebruik word vir die Griekse skeidsregters wanneer hulle op die troon gaan staan om belonings uit te deel aan die wat in die Olimpiese spele suksesvol deel geneem het.

Rabbi Simeon Ben Yochai het geleer dat volgens die Zohar, Volume 3, bladsy 227 van die Amsterdamse uitgawe, dat die middelste pilaar in die Godheid die Metatrone is wat vrede daarbo gebring het volgens die heerlike staat daar. Hulle identifiseer hierdie Engel met wie Jakob geworstel het en wat in Maleagi verskyn het met God Self.

Hulle sê dit is deur Hom dat God vrede op aarde sal bring soos wat Hy dit in die Hemel gebring het en hulle sê ook dat God die gebede sal antwoord wat in die Naam van die Metatrone gemaak word. Die Kabbala leer dat God meervoudig is, een God in drie persone, of soos ons in Hebreeus sê: “shma Israel Adonai Elohenu Adonai eched, baruch haShem kvodo u malchuto la’olam v’ed amen.” Wanneer die Jode aan Yeshua vra: Wat is die grootste gebod, dan sê Hy: “Hoor o Israel die Here onse God is ‘n enige God, julle moet die Here julle God liefhê met julle hele hart en met jou hele siel en met al julle krag.” Shema

Israel Adonai Elohenu. Nou sien ons Adonai, in Hebreeus is dit Yahweh, hulle neem aan dat Naam van God onuitspreekbaar is? die Here onse God, nie Elohym nie, daar is nie ‘n Hebreeuse woord vir God nie? net vir gode. Daar is ‘n afgekorte vorm El, maar daar is nie ‘n Hebreeuse woord vir God in enkelvoud nie. Ons het El? Eliyon of El?Shaddai, maar daar is nie ‘n Hebreeuse woord vir God nie? net vir gode. “Shema Israel Adonai Elohenu Adonai echad.” ‘n Ketterse rabbi, ‘n Aristoteliaan in die Middeleeue, ongeveer in die jaar 100, by die naam van Rambam, Moshe ben Maimonides, het die betekenis van die Hebreeuse woord Echad en Yahid verander. Yahid is die Hebreeuse digitale numeriese “een” in Bybelse Hebreeus. In moderne Hebreeus is die woord vir “een”? Echad. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimonides die Rambam het dit verander omdat hy dinge wou weg wys van die Godheid van Jesus af.

As ek die Shema wil translitereer inplaas van vertaal dan sal ek sê: Hoor o Israel, die Here ons God is een in ‘n eenheid.

Die woord Echad is dieselfde woord wat vir Adam en Eva gebruik word, die vrou en man sal een vlees word? Echad, om aan te kleef is “Devic”. Dit is dieselfde woord echad, ‘n meervoudige eenheid. In die Psalms? hoe goed is dit wanneer die broeders saam woon? “hine Ma Tov U’Manaim Shevet Achim Gam Yachad,” is dieselfde idee. Dit is nie die nommer een nie, dit is ‘n meervoudige eenheid soos om een vlees te word, ‘n eenvormigheid soos in “achut.” Die Shema laat nie net toe nie maar ondersteun ook die meervoudigheid van die Godheid ?en Judaïsme self leer dat God ‘n Enige God is met ‘n meervoudig natuur. So die Rabbiniese argument dat die Christelike geloof in Jesus die Messias? God is, en dat dit ‘n Heidense oorsprong het, kan weerlê word. Die Joodse Skrifte word nie verdraai nie, ook is dit nie vreemd aan die Joodse denke soos wat die rabbi’s wil hê mense, Jood en Heiden moet glo nie.

Hulle mag miskien nog die Messiasskap van Jesus verwerp maar hulle kan nie Jesus se Godheid verwerp en dit baseer op ‘n idee dat dit vreemd is aan die Joodse denke, om dit te doen sou beteken dat hulle? hulle eie Joodse wysgere (Sages) moet verwerp.

Sommige rabbi’s is beïnvloed deur skrywers soos Rabbi Samuel Levene wat geskryf het: “Neem jy Jesus, ek sal God neem.” Maar geleerde rabbi’s en Joodse professors in universiteite wat die Nuwe Testament uit ‘n Joodse perspektief bestudeer het? het dit nie afgeskryf as “Goyisha” nie, ‘n heidense verdraaiing van ‘n Joodse denke of Joodse geskrifte. Mense soos Professor Pinkus Lepede en gewese Professor Bavid Fluesler in Israel, of Jacob Neusner van die Verenigde State, en ‘n Joodse geleerde? Gesev Remnesh van die Dooie See rolle Kommissie by Oxford, het almal die Joodsheid daarvan erken. Jacob Moisna het geargumenteer dat dit kern Joodse literatuur is wat ‘n belangrike skakel is in intertestamentiese literatuur soos die Makkabeërs met die apokriewe en die vroeë Midrasjim. Sommige rabbi’s sê ook dit is kern Joodse literatuur en hulle het nie ‘n probleem daarmee nie. Ortodokse Rabbi Pinkus Lepede, Professor in Hebreeus by die Hebreeuse universiteit erken dat die Opstanding van Jesus uit ‘n Joodse perspektief nie uit ‘n akademiese oogpunt ontken kan word nie.

Maar wanneer dit kom by ‘n persoonlike geloof dan het ook die Joodse geleerdes ‘n groot probleem. Hulle systap dit deur om te beweer dat Jesus ‘n Messias vir die Heidene was en nie vir die Jode nie, maar as hulle Christelikheid as nie?Joods verwerp dan moet hulle Judaïsme ook as nie? Joods verwerp.

God word in ‘n meervoudvorm aanbid volgens die Zohar. Die Kabbala praat oor die boom van die lewe; gebede word in die Naam van die Metatrone verhoor; en dit is die Metatrone wat vrede sal bring. In Exodus 24:1 staan: “Daarna het Hy vir Moses gesê: Klim na die HERE toe op,?” Rabbi Verchai leer die volgende: “God sê vir Moses, kom op na die Here, Dit is die Metatrone. Hy is op sy naam Metatrone geroep omdat in hierdie Naam word twee unieke dinge voorgestel wat Sy karakter uitbeeld. Hy is beide God en Boodskapper. Daar word ook ‘n derde idee in die naam Metatrone geimpliseer naamlik ‘n wagter of bewaarder. Want in Chaldeërs (Wat Aramees is) word ‘n wagter ook “Matherot”? genoem, en omdat hy die wagter of bewaarder van die wêreld is word hy ook geken as die bewaarder van Israel.”

Die uniekheid van die hierdie naam word in Psalm 121:4 genoem waar ons leer dat Hy God is oor die hele wêreld omdat alle dinge aan Sy mag onderworpe is. Hierdie Metatrone, die Engel van die Here, wat mens geword het volgens Judaïsme, wat vrede op die aarde gebring het soos wat Hy vrede in die hemel gebring het, in wie se Naam ons bid, aan Hom behoort alle mag en gesag in die hemele en op aarde. Hy wat die Bewaarder is van Israel sluimer of slaap nie. Die Rabbi’s sê dit is die Metatrone: “Hine Lo Yanum Veh Lo Yshon Shomer Israel” – “Die bewaarder van Israel sluimer of slaap nie.”

So sien ons in Exodus 21:4 dat die God wat verhoog is ook die God is wat met Moses gepraat het en gesê het: “Sê vir hom dat hy moet opkom na Jehovah, Adonai, Yahweh wat die Metatrone is.” Die Metatrone is dus die Boodskapper van Yahweh. Die Engel van die Here is Yahweh wat somtyds verbind word aan die Naam van God wat ook verwys na die Shekinah, die Heerlikheid van die Here. God is in die Shekinah? die Heilige Gees? Ruach HaKodesh. Op ‘n manier is die Metatrone God en die Shekinah dieselfde. Hulle is almal Jehovah maar ook verskillende Persone. Die Shekinah, die Metatrone is Yahweh, hulle is Een? Echad, nie yachid nie? maar Echad, maar ook Drie. Is dit Christelik? Dit is Judaïsme!

Die Verlosser.

Wanneer Hy sê: “Kom op,” dan is dit asof Hy sê? “kom op na die plek van heerlikheid” waar die Engel is, die Verlosser.

Onthou, niemand kan na die Grote God toe kom nie omdat dit in Ex. 33:20 geskrywe staan: ?“??Want geen mens kan My sien en bly lewe nie.” Ons as Jode glo dat Moses in alle goddelike kennis deur niemand anders as die Metatrone opgevoed is nie. (Haraba Dalet? uit die Mentuah uitgawe.) En die Metatrone is nie net God nie maar ook die Verlosser? en Jakob sien hierdie Metatrone en bly lewe, dit is die enigste manier hoe ons God kan sien en bly lewe en om daaroor te kan praat. Dink aan die Nuwe Testament. Johannes die Apostel was ‘n fisiese bloedverwant van Jesus en hy het Jesus geken en Hom gevolg, hy was ‘n dissipel van Jesus, hy het Hom persoonlik geken maar toe hy Jesus in Sy Goddelike heerlikheid op Patmos gesien het was hy vreesbevange. Jy kan nie dit aanskou nie. Toe sê God: “Kom op hierheen, en Ek sal jou toon wat ná hierdie dinge moet gebeur.” Johannes moes verander word, weggeraap word en opgeneem word om dit te aanskou. Hy kon dit nie in sy mensheid sien en bly lewe nie. Hy kon Jesus sien, God wat mens geword het maar hy kon nie Jesus as God aanskou nie sonder om ‘n sekere bonatuurlike verandering te ondergaan om dit moontlik te maak nie.

In die Metatrone is die goyel, die Verlosser. ‘n “Goel” in Hebreeus beteken letterlik? “een wat terugkoop.” In die Zohar lees ons: “Rabbi Simeon Ben Zoccai het my na die geheime binnekamers van mistieke Judaïsme geneem, dit is die reddende huwelik van God, en aan my getoon dat die Metatrone van ewigheid af bestaan. Dit is nie net ‘n gewone mistieke kamer nie, maar ‘n verborgenheid van die reddende kennis van God, die verborgenheid van God se redding, en hy het aan my getoon dat die Metatrone die Verlosser is, en nog meer, Hy bestaan van ewigheid af.” So, volgens die Zohar Breshiet (Bladsy 126) Midrash K’olam, bestaan die Metatrone van ewigheid af.

In Miga 5:2 lees ons: “En jy, Betlehem Éfrata, klein om te wees onder die geslagte van Juda, uit jou sal daar vir My uitgaan een wat 'n Heerser in Israel sal wees; en sy uitgange is uit die voortyd, uit die dae van die ewigheid.”

Letop sy uitgang is van ewigheid af. Die Messias sal gebore word in Betlehem wat ewig bestaan. Wel, sommige mense sal argumenteer en sê: “Is dit ‘n Christelike interpretasie, of ‘n Christelike verdraaiing van ons Hebreeuse Skrifte?” Nee, dit is Rabbi Simeon Ben Zoccai wat die Zohar geskryf het en nie Christene nie.

Ingeligte Jode moet Judaïsme verwerp as hulle Christelikheid verwerp. Om Jesus te verwerp moet jy die Tora ook verwerp. Die probleem vir ongeredde Jode is nie dat hulle Jesus verwerp nie, dit is die gevolg van hulle probleem, hulle probleem is hulle verwerp Moses en die Tora. Jesus sê: “As julle Moses geglo het dan sal julle My ook geglo het.”

Die probleem is ‘n verwerping van Judaïsme, die ware Judaïsme en die Tora, hulle glo aan ‘n ander Judaïsme wat deur die Rabbi’s uitgevind is na die vernietiging van die tweede tempel wat begin by die Raad van Yagim deur Rabbi Yocanin Ben Voccai, dit is wat hulle glo, hulle glo nie aan die Tora nie.

In Genesis 24:2 lees ons: “Toe sê Abraham aan sy dienaar, die oudste van sy huis…” Wie is die dienaar wat hier na verwys word? Rabbi Nehori sê dit kan nie anders verstaan word as dat die uitdrukking deur die woord “avdo” uit die Hebreeus “dienskneg” beteken nie. Sy dienskneg, die dienskneg van God, die naaste aan sy diens—Metatrone. Hy is aangestel om die liggame wat in die grafte is te verheerlik. Dit is die betekenis van die woorde, Abraham sê vir sy dienskneg, aan die dienskneg van God. Hierdie dienskneg is die Metatrone, die oudste van God se Huis, Hy was die eersgeborene van God se Skepping wat die regeerder is van alles wat God het omdat God alles in Sy mag gegee het en Hom ook aangestel oor al Sy “savaot”? dit is oor Sy leërmag. Dit is wat Judaïsme leer oor die Metatrone. Hy is aangestel om die liggame wat in die grafte is te verheerlik. Wat sê Job? 19:26: “En nadat hulle so my vel afgeskeur het, sal ek nogtans uit my vlees God aanskou;?” Judaïsme leer dat die enigste manier waardeur Job God met sy eie oë sou kon sien en nie ‘n ander een na die vlees wat in die graf kan vergaan nie, was dat hy die Metatrone sal sien.

So, ons het hierdie unieke Boodskapper van God wat die middelste pilaar is van die Godheid, wat van ewigheid af bestaan, in wie se Naam gebede geantwoord word, wat vrede op aarde kan bring soos in die hemele. Hy is die Verlosser. Hy is in die Shekinah en die Shekinah is in Hom. Hy is God se

Verteenwoordiger van redding. Hy word geïdentifiseer met Devar (Ook geken as Mamre). En nou sal Hy op ‘n sekere wyse die liggame van die wat dood is in die grafte verheerlik.

Dit is wat Judaïsme leer na die tyd van die Makkabeërs gedurende die tweede tempel tydperk toe daar ‘n diepere kennis van die Woord van God deur die outydse wysgere ontstaan het, en die Nuwe Testament stem hiermee saam. Daar was ‘n groeiende verwagting van dinge wat alreeds in die Skrifte was soos die opstanding, ewige oordeel en die redding van die Heidene. Jesus het gekom en hierdie konsepte verder ontwikkel, met ander woorde die ontdekking van hierdie diepere dinge in die Skrifte het die pad oopgemaak vir die Messias om te kom. Idees soos dat alle nasies aan ‘n Joodse God sal glo was algemeen bekend en ook die konsep van die koms van ‘n Messias soos gesien in die Ou Testament, maar nooit op die wyse wat die Nuwe Testament praat van die Christus nie. Dit was iets wat daar is maar wat nie verstaan was in die tyd van Christus nie. Die Christendom leer dat hierdie verwagting oorgegaan het op die Apostels.

Jesus sê dat die sleutels van die Joodse leiers weggeneem sal word en aan ander gegee sal word? die Apostels? Ha Schlechim. Wat die Zohar doen, doen die Kabbala en mistieke Judaïsme? hulle probeer om die verlore kennis van die outydse rabbi’s te neem en dit terug te gee deur die mistieke en die okkulte. Die rabbi’s erken dat hulle die sleutels verloor het. Onthou? Jesus het gesê dat die sleutels van hulle weggeneem sal word en vir ander gegee sal word.

In Judaïsme erken die rabbi’s dat hulle die diepere kennis van die Bybel, en hoe om dit te interpreteer? verloor het. Ten spyte van die Midrasjim erken hulle dat hulle dit verloor het. Ons weet dat Jesus dit vir Sy Apostels gegee het wat ook Jode was. Wat die Kabbala probeer doen is om die verlore geheime te herstel. Die Kabbala bevat egter baie verkeerde dinge? astrologie, numerologie? en dit is meer Hellenisties as Hebreërs.

Maar ten spyte van alles wat die rabbi’s probeer doen het om die verlore kennis weer te herstel toe die tempel vernietig is, het hulle tog tot die slotsom gekom dat alle dinge afhanklik is van die Metatrone. Die ewige bestaan van God, wat ook die Verlosser is, die Een wat vrede bring, die Een op wie se skouers alle heerskappy is, en die Een in wie se Naam God gebede beantwoord. Hulle leer altyd, maar kom nooit tot kennis van die Waarheid nie.

Koning van die konings.

Rabbi Akiva, ‘n baie ou en belangrike rabbi na Rambam wat die mees belangrike rabbi in die in die geskiedenis van Judaïsme is, vertel vir ons oor die tittel van die Metatrone waar sy natuur geopenbaar word in Mennachi, Bladsy 37, kolom 2. Hy sê: “Die Metatrone is die engel van die prins van God se Aangesig; die Engel, die Prins van die Wet, die Engel van die Prins van die Lewe, die Engel van die Prins van Heerlikheid, die Engel van die Prins van die tempel, die Engel van die Prins van konings, die Engel van die Prins van Heersers, die Engel van die Prins van die Hoog Verhewe magtige prinse in die hemele en op aarde.” Dit gaan verder en sê dat die Metatrone ‘n Heerser oor al die heersers is, oor alle magtige konings, daarom noem die Kabbala, die chasidic Kabbala, en die Zohar hom die Metatrone, “Mer Yasis”.

Dit beteken Hy regeer met mag en oorheersing omdat Hy die begin is van die wee van God soos in Spreuke 8:22?36:

“Die HERE het my berei as eersteling van sy weg, voor sy werke, van ouds af. Van ewigheid af is ek geformeer, van die begin af, van die voortyd van die aarde af. Toe daar nog geen wêreldvloede was nie, is ek gebore; toe fonteine, swaar van water, nog nie daar was nie; voordat die berge ingesink het, voor die heuwels is ek gebore; toe Hy die aarde en die velde en al die stoffies van die wêreld nog nie gemaak het nie. Toe Hy die hemele berei het, was ek daar; toe Hy 'n kring afgetrek het op die oppervlakte van die wêreldvloed; toe Hy die wolke daarbo bevestig het, toe die bronne van die wêreldvloed sterk geword het; toe Hy vir die see sy grens gestel het, dat die waters sy bevel nie sou oortree nie; toe Hy die fondamente van die aarde vasgelê het?? toe was ek 'n kunstenaar naas Hom, en ek was dag vir dag vol verlustiging en het gespeel voor sy aangesig altyd, en het gespeel op sy wêreldrond, en my verlustiginge was met die mensekinders. Luister dan nou na my, seuns; want gelukkig is hulle wat my weë bewaar.

Luister na tug en word wys, en verwerp dit nie. Gelukkig is die mens wat na my luister, om dag vir dag te waak aan my deure, by die syposte van my poorte die wag te hou. Want hy wat my vind, het die lewe gevind en verkry 'n welbehae van die HERE. Maar hy wat my mis, benadeel sy eie lewe; almal wat my haat, het die dood lief.”

Die rabbi’s leer dat dit die Metatrone is. Wat sê dit? Wat sê die Nuwe Testament? Die begin was die Woord en die Woord was God. Alle dinge het deur Hom ontstaan en sonder Hom is niks gemaak nie, in Hom was die lewe en die lewe is die Lig van die mense. Hy wat My vind, vind die Metatrone. Die rabbi’s sê jy moet die Metatrone vind om die lewe te verkry. En as jy teen die Metatrone gesondig het en Hom ander lelike name noem soos Yeshua in plaas van Sy regte Naam Yeshua, sal jy die dood vind. Maar Exodus 20: 19 sê: “En hulle het vir Moshe Rabbeinu gesê: Spreek u met ons, dat ons kan luister; maar laat God nie met ons spreek nie, anders sterwe ons.”

Met die lees van hierdie gedeelte en met die wete dat my volk? die kinders van Israel? nooit God nader sonder die middelaars werk van ‘n priester of ‘n hoë priester nie, het ek na Rabbi Simeon Ben Voccai gegaan om uit te vind of enige sterweling en sondige mens dit kan waag om tot God te gaan sonder ‘n middelaar. Ek het die volgende antwoord gekry: Dit is ‘n uittreksel uit die Kabbala, die Zohar volume 2? oor Eksodus bladsy 51 van die Amsterdamse uitgawe.

“Om die weg van die boom van die lewe te hou is daar maar een middelaar tussen God en die mens en dit is die Metatrone.” Maar tog is die hoë priester ‘n middelaar maar op ‘n manier is hy nie ‘n baie goeie middelaar nie.

Wat sê die Boek Hebreërs? Ons het ‘n meer volmaakte Hoë Priester uit ‘n ander orde. Dit was Melgisedek, die Metatrone? die Enigste Middelaar tussen God en die mens, die Middelste Pilaar van die Godheid wat van ewigheid af bestaan, deur wie God die Wêreld geskape het en deur Wie dit onderhou word, en dat God net gebede in Sy Naam sal beantwoord. Alle heerskappy behoort aan Hom en die

verborgenheid van saligheid is in Hom. Hy is die Verlosser en die Enigste Middelaar tussen God en die mens. Die Jode vra waar kry ons as Christene dit? In die Zohar!

Sentraal tot die Kabbala is die boom van die lewe. ‘n Joodse Christen, ‘n Messiaanse Jood of ‘n Joodse gelowige in Jesus Christus wat die Evangelie van Johannes aan die einde van die eerste eeu gelees het sou baie duidelik gesien het dat dit ‘n Midrasj is oor die skepping in Genesis of “Berashith”. Joh. 1,2 en 3 is ‘n Midrasj oor Genesis 1, 2&3.

Hy sou gesien dat God in Genesis in die ou Skepping gewandel het en nou in Johannes wandel God in die nuwe Skepping. God se Gees het oor die waters beweeg en die ou skepping in Genesis voortgebring, in Johannes beweeg God se Gees oor die waters en bring die nuwe skepping voort, een van water en Gees.

Daar is ‘n klein liggie en ‘n groot lig in die ou skepping in Genesis en in die Evangelie is Johannes die Doper die klein liggie en Jesus die Messias die groot Lig. Hy sou gesê het? God het die lig van die duisternis geskei in die ou Skepping en in die nuwe skepping het God ook die lig van die duisternis geskei. Gebore uit water en gees, God het mens geword. Die bruilof in Kana is dieselfde, op die derde dag Jesus verander die water in wyn en op die derde dag van die Skepping in Genesis het God ook ‘n wonderwerk met water gedoen.

In Hoofstuk 47 van die Esegiël word die boom van die lewe in ‘n Millennium konteks beskryf soos wat dit in die Boek Openbaring voorkom. Dit is in die Tuin van Eden soos in die begin van Genesis. Die rabbi’s sê vir ons dat die boom van die lewe voorgestel word deur ‘n vye boom. Toe Jesus vir Nataniël gesê het dat Hy hom onder vye boom gesien het, het Hy na baie meer verwys as net ‘n letterlike vye boom. In Midrasj, Joodse metafoor het Jesus vir hom gesê:

“ Ek het jou in die Tuin gesien, van die begin van die skepping af, van die grondlegging van die wêreld af.” Midrasj bring net uit die teks wat nie gesien kan word sonder ‘n begrip van die Hebreeuse perspektief nie. Die Bybel leer duidelik dat diegene wat uit verkies is nuut gebore is voor die fondasie van die wêreld. Die Midrasj verduidelik die leer wat alreeds direk in die Skrifte geleer is. Die rabbi’s van die Kabbala praat ook van die boom van die lewe, hulle sê die volgende: “Wie is die weg tot die boom van die lewe? Dit is die groot Metatrone, Hy is die weg na die groot boom van die lewe.”

In Ex. 14:19 lees ons : “En die Engel van God wat voor die leër van Israel uit getrek het, het daar weggegaan en agter hulle aan getrek.?” Metatrone is ‘n ander naam vir die Engel van die Here. Die Joodse kabbaliste sê dus dat om van die boom van die lewe te eet moet jy in die wee van die Metatrone wandel? Dieselfde openbaring word deur Jesus gespreek wat gesê het: “Hy wat na My toe kom aan hom sal ek die reg gee om te eet van die boom van die lewe.”

Rabbi Simeon sê: “Kom kyk, die Heilige, geseënd is hy wat vir hom ‘n heilige tempel bo in die hemel berei het, ‘n heilige stad, ‘n stad in die hemele, ‘n hemelse Jerusalem, die heilige stad waar elke smeekskrif aan die koning deur die Metatrone gestuur moet word. Jy kan nie na die heilige stad gaan nie, die hemelse Jerusalem? as die Metatrone jou nie daarheen neem nie. Elke boodskap van ‘n smeekskrif moet eers na die Metatrone toe gaan en daarvandaan na die koning. Metatrone is die Middelaar van almal wat van die hemel af kom na die aarde en van die aarde na die hemel.”

Die rabbi’s sê dus as iets nie deur die Metatrone gaan nie dan mors jy jou asem, dit sal nie gebeur nie, en omdat Hy die Middelaar is van almal, staan dit geskrywe in Ex. 14:19: “En die Engel van God wat voor die leër van Israel uit getrek het, het daar weggegaan en agter hulle aan getrek.”

Hierdie Engel van God is dieselfde van Wie geskrywe word in Ex. 13:21: “En die HERE het voor hulle uitgetrek, bedags in 'n wolkkolom om hulle op die pad te lei, en snags in 'n vuurkolom om hulle voor te lig, sodat hulle dag en nag kon trek.” Wat word hier gesê? In die Shekinah, God Self is in die Shekinah wat voor hulle uitgaan. Maar hoe was God in die Shekinah? Die Metatrone! God, die Metatrone, Shekinah?? Is daar Een God in Drie? Die idee van ‘n Drie Eenheid is nie net ‘n Christelike beginsel van die Nuwe Testament nie. Dit word gesien in die Ou Testament en ook in die mistieke Joodse skrifte in die Kabbala, ‘n feit wat die rabbi’s vandag nie meer rekening hou nie.

Dit is geskrywe in Psalm 121:4 dat die Almagtige Homself in niemand anders as die Metatrone geopenbaar het nie. God gaan Homself aan Israel en die mensdom openbaar deur Een? Die Metatrone. Maar die Metatrone is ook die ongeskape ewig bestaande memre in Aramees, wat ook geken word as die Melech Habrit wat ook die Metatrone is.

Hy is die Almagtige, El Shaddai wat Homself geopenbaar in die Metatrone, nie twee Metatron(e) nie, maar God? El Shaddai? wat homself geopenbaar het in die Metatrone wat ook die ongeskape ewig bestaande Woord wat was en is van die begin af. In die begin was die Woord, die Woord was met God en die Woord was God. Die Kleed van die Almagtige is die Metatrone. Dit word gesien in 2 Korinte en ook in 1 Tim. 3:16. Ek dink die Kabbaliste het sekerlik die Nuwe Testament gelees omdat die Nuwe Testament ouer is as die Kabbala, ten minste in sy geskrewe vorm.

Geheime Vereniging.

Die Kabbala leer dat die Metatrone die Seun van God is. “ Ek kan nie baie geheimenisse bekend maak in verband met die Metatrone waarin my onderwyser my opgelei het nie.” Jy sien, die Kabbala is gebaseer op geheimhouding, byna dieselfde as in die geval van die “Christelike” eweknie, die Vrymesselaars. Daar is geheime inisiasie rites om hierdie dinge te verstaan en dit neem jare voordat die Yeshiva seuns opgelei is in hierdie geheimenisse, miskien net ‘n week voordat hulle afsterwe in sekere gevalle omdat hulle aan niemand wil vertel dat die Almagtige Homself geopenbaar het in die Metatrone nie.

In die kommentaar van Rabbi Moses Moishe Butalri oor die boek van Sefra Yitzirah is hierdie woorde: “Die Kabbaliste noem die tweede Sephira Metatrone? die besitter? wat ‘n minderwaardige naam is van die Seun van God.

Toe Josua gesê het: “Is U vir ons of vir ons vyande, het hy gesê: nee? as ‘n prins van die Leërskare van God het ek gekom.”

Die Metatrone het aan Josua verskyn: Jos. 5:13?14: “En terwyl Josua by Jérigo was, slaan hy sy oë op en kyk, en daar staan 'n man teenoor hom met 'n ontblote swaard in sy hand; en Josua het na hom gegaan

en hom gevra: Behoort U by ons of by ons vyande? En Hy sê: Nee, maar Ek is die leërowerste van die HERE; (shevaot) Ek het nou gekom. Toe val Josua met sy aangesig op die grond en buig hom neer??”

Nou, wanneer die Hebreërs in aanbidding kom (histachavot) dan het hulle neergebuig. Die Roomse Katolieke praktyk om voor standbeelde neer te buig is afgodery, presies wat ons nie mag doen nie. Vers 14?15: “Wat wil my Here aan sy dienskneg sê? Toe sê die leërowerste van die HERE vir Josua: Trek jou skoene van jou voete af, want die plek waar jy op staan, is heilig. En Josua het so gedoen.” Die was die Metatrone voor wie Josua gebuig het.

Rabbi Moses sê verder: “Die middelste pilaar in die Godheid het Homself geopenbaar as die Seun van God, en deur om tot sover in die verborgenheid van die natuur van God in te dring en te aanskou wat die geloof van my vaders was in die tyd toe lamp in heerlikheid in die heiligdom gebrand het en ek na die tweede Psalm gekyk wat duidelik van niemand anders as die Metatrone? die Seun van God praat nie.”

Kyk na die 7de en die 12de verse van Psalm 2? Vers 7: “Ek wil vertel van die besluit: Die HERE het aan My gesê: U is my Seun, vandag het Ek self U gegenereer.”— Vers 12 “Kus die Seun, dat Hy nie toornig word en julle op die weg vergaan nie; want gou kan sy toorn ontvlam. Welgeluksalig is almal wat by Hom skuil!”

Maar tog sê baie Jode dat God nie ‘n Seun het nie en tog sê die Psalms dat God ‘n Seun het, en meer nog die rabbi’s sê self dat die Metatrone die Seun van God is. Ons lees in die Boek Spreuke 30:4: “Wie het na die hemel opgeklim en neergedaal? Wie het die wind (Rauch in Hebreeus, Gees) in sy vuiste versamel? Wie het die waters in 'n kleed saamgebind? Wie het al die eindes van die aarde vasgestel? Hoe is sy Naam? En hoe is die Naam van sy Seun??as jy dit weet?” Metatrone!

Ps 2:7: “Ek wil vertel van die besluit: Die HERE het aan My gesê: U is my Seun, vandag het Ek self U gegenereer.

Ps 2:12: “Kus die Seun, dat Hy nie toornig word en julle op die weg vergaan nie; want gou kan sy toorn ontvlam. Welgeluksalig is almal wat by Hom skuil!” Skuil by Wie? By die Metatrone!

Ek het die agtergrond waarin die woord “Hayom” wat deur geestelike skrywer gebruik word nagevors en gevind dat dit somtyds die ewigheid beskryf soos in Jesaja 43: 3 “Ook van vandag af is Ek dit,?” (Yea, before the day was I am he;)

Dit is van ewigheid af soos wat Yonatan Ben Uziel dit vertaal: “Ek is ook uit die ewigheid”, dus word die woord hayom in Psalm 2 gebruik as ‘n dag van ewigheid. Die Griekse woord hier is “hemera aniones”? dag van ewigheid? sodat hy wat hier is wat deur God My Seun genoem word, van ewigheid af is, dit is die Metatrone.

Jakob het met die Metatrone geworstel, God in ‘n Menslike Gestalte.

Josua het voor Hom op sy aangesig geval voor hulle die Beloofde Land ingegaan het? die Metatrone. Die Metatrone is die Middelste Pilaar van die Godheid.

Die Metatrone is Jehovah.

Die Metatrone is in die Shekinah; die Shekinah is in die Metatrone. Jehovah is God, Metatrone, Shekinah, Drie in Een en Een in Drie.

Die Metatrone is die Verlosser.

Die Metatrone is die enigste weg na God.

Die Metatrone is die Enigste Een in wie se Naam Hy ons gebede sal beantwoord. Die Metatrone is die Enigste in wie se hande God die toekoms van Israel sal plaas. Die Metatrone is die Enigste Verteenwoordiger van God se Redding.

Die Metatrone is die Enigste Een wat die reg het om die weg na die Boom van die Lewe aan te wys. Die Metatrone is die Enigste Een by wie jy skuiling en redding kan vind.

Wie is die Metatrone? Yeshua HaMashiach? Jesus die Messias. Die Nuwe Testament? Ja! Is dit wat ek dink? Dit is wat ek weet! As jy my nie wil glo nie, glo jou eie rabbi’s.

My liewe Joodse vriende, as jy hierdie lees, die Metatrone is die Messias; Die Metatrone is God wat Mens geword het.

Die Metatrone is die Enigste Een wat vir jou redding kan gee. Die Metatrone is die Enigste Een wat jou na die Nuwe Jerusalem daarbo kan bring waarvan jou rabbi’s jou geleer het. Die Metatrone is die Enigste Een, die enigste Weg, die Enigste toekoms wat jy het. Omhels die Seun, geseënd is hy wat skuiling soek in die Metatrone? Yeshua HaMaschiach, Jesus, die Joodse Messias. †††

Moriel / 08/07

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).