Midrash Garden 2 - Japanese
April 3, 2025
ミドラッシュ 園の中のイエス（２）
ジェイコブ・プラッシュ
反キリストも同じことをします。彼は貧しい人を気遣っているように装い、素晴らしい人道主義者だと思わせるのです。もし、あなたがマザー・テレサ――偉大な神の聖徒――についての、真実を言おうとするなら、ほとんどのクリスチャンが怒り出すでしょう。あなたはただ、引用するだけであるかもしれないのですが、彼らにとっては非の打ちどころのない人なのです。しかし反キリストと比べたら、マザー・テレサでさえイゼベルほど悪そうに見えることでしょう。
もう一度、ゲツセマネでは、欺く者としてのサタンがいます。その他にだれがいるのでしょうか？共観福音書をさっと見てみましょう。マルコ１４章５１節、『ある青年が、素はだに亜麻布を一枚まとったままで、イエスについて行ったところ、人々は彼を捕らえようとした。』彼らがイエスを捕らえようとした時、裸で逃げた男がいます。彼は迫害の時に信仰を失ってしまう人々の象徴です。彼らは自分のいのちを救うために、救いの衣を着ずに逃げ去ってしまうのです。またそのとき、大ぜいの人がつまずきます。
迫害に関して問題なのは、迫害される必要の無い者が初めに、最も酷く受けるということです。しかし、他の人はそれが来たときには、背教してしまいます。
イエスが『人々が大ぜいつまずき、互いに裏切り、憎み合います。』(マタイ 24：10)と言ったことを思い出してください。明日にでもつまずき、あなたを裏切るクリスチャンとは、今日ベニー・ヒン（Benny Hinn）、コープランド （Copeland）やヘーゲン （Hagen）に聞き従っている者です。
また、登場人物に目を向けると、園には、神さま、サタン、裸の男がいます。『「だれを捜すのか。」と彼らに言われた。「それはわたしです。」』そしてもう一度、『「だれを捜すのか。」「ナザレ人イエスを。」「それはわたしだと、あなたがたに言ったでしょう。」』三回、イエスは「それはわたしだ」と言いました。『もしわたしを捜しているのなら、この人たちはこのままで去らせなさい。』これは「集団共有」です。「集団共有（corporate
solidarity）」という言葉は神学用語で、多くの人のためにひとりの人が代表するときに用いられます。ヨハネの福音書ではこの集団共有が多く見られます。
それでは集団共有の例をふたつ示しましょう。バラバ（Bar Abbas）とはアラム語で「父
の子」という意味です。彼は今日のテロリストと同じような者でした。私はイギリスに住
んでいるので、IRA（アイルランド共和国軍）や UVF（民兵組織）がいる北アイルランドに頻繁に行きます。彼らはプロテスタントやカトリックのテロリストです。基本的には彼らは、政治的な宗教の名によって、組織的な犯罪のようなものを行っているギャングなのです。プロテスタントとカトリックの双方が行っています。彼らは基本的にはギャングであり、最も凶悪な種類の宗教的な偽善者なのです。バラバによく似ています。
「だれを望むのか？」ピラトは言いました。「このテロリストか、それともラビ・イェシュアか？」あなたがたはこの人殺しを望むか、それとも、少女にいのちを与えたラビを望むのか？目の見えない者の目を開き、足なえを歩かせ、耳の聞えない者の耳を開き、人々に愛、平安や真理を教えたこの者を？
「バラバだ」と彼らは言いました。バラバは私たちすべての状況です。正しくない者た ちのために正しい者が苦しんだのです。バラバ（Bar Abbas）は“父の子”という意味です。 私たちが御父の子どもとなるために、イエスは私たちの代わりに十字架に向かったのです。四福音書のすべてが法律の手続きをする法廷の中に、福音を位置しています。イエスは私 たちの身代わりに裁判にかけられました。バラバのためにです。四福音書すべてが、法廷 の中に福音を位置しています。御父を正しい裁判官として知らないかぎり、彼を愛の神と して知ることは出来ません。
今日、多くのクリスチャンがキリスト教を本来の“法律的な”背景から引き離そうとしています。“エマージング・チャーチ”の中にいる人たちは、キリストが私たちの罪の代価を支払ったということや、そのような用語には無縁です。その人たちは福音を贖いというより、ひとつの霊的探究として扱おうとしています。
もうひとつの集団共有は使徒のひとりに見出されます。私たちは英語においても、
「Doubting Thomas（疑い深い人）」という表現を持っています。トマスだけが疑ったのではありませんが、彼は「釘の跡を見なければ信じません」と言いました。ゼカリヤ１２章
１０節では、イエスが再臨した時、ユダヤ人が『自分たちが突き刺した者、わたしを仰ぎ 見、ひとり子を失って嘆くように、その者のために嘆き、初子を失って激しく泣くように、その者のために激しく泣く。』とあります。これが不信仰なイスラエルが信じる時です。 彼らは釘の跡を見るからです。トマスは集団共有の一例です。彼は同胞のユダヤ人を表わ しています。
もうひとつの集団共有はこれです。「だれを捜すのか。」「イエスを」「それはわたしだ。この人たちを去らせなさい。」この人たちとは誰のことでしょうか？ペテロ、ヤコブやヨ
ハネは、あなたや私を表わしています。「だれを捜すのか」「イエスを」「それはわたしだ。
この人たちを去らせなさい」「それなら、ジェイコブ・プラッシュはどうなのですか？彼はコカインを売り、それで大学生活を支えていたじゃないですか？」「彼を去らせなさい。わたしを捜しているのでしょう。わたしを連れて行きなさい」「でも、彼はパトカーに火炎瓶を投げたような、キャンパスの過激派だったじゃありませんか？」「はい、わたしは彼がどのようであったか、何をしたかを知っています。わたしは彼をいちじくの木の下で見ました。彼を去らせなさい。」「同性愛者はどうなのですか？」「去らせなさい。わたしを捜しているのでしょう。わたしを連れて行きなさい。」「売春業者はどうなのですか？」「去らせなさい。わたしを捜しているのでしょう。」「売春婦はどうなのですか？」「去らせなさい。わたしを捜しているのでしょう。その人たちを去らせなさい」「去らせなさいだって？彼らは犯罪者じゃないですか！」「わたしは彼らを知っています。しかし、わたしを捜しているのでしょう。その人たちを去らせなさい。わたしを連れて行きなさい。そして、その人たちを去らせなさい」「あなたは誰ですか？」「わたしはあるという者だ。これが私の作った計画だ。わたしが園を歩いている者である。わたしがルールを定めた。そのルールによってすべてを行っているのだ。この人たちを去らせなさい。わたしを連れて行きなさい」
これが福音です。彼らは言った通りにしました。すべてが園で起こったのです。
園を続けて見てみましょう。ヨハネ１９章を開いてください。もう一度、３９節は園の場面です。『前に、夜イエスのところに来たニコデモも、没薬とアロエを混ぜ合わせたものをおよそ三十キログラムばかり持って、やって来た。』聖書の中で、没薬の使い方はひとつ、埋葬のために死体に塗ることです。イエスが誕生した時、黄金が贈られました。彼が王になるためです。乳香が贈られました。なぜなら、彼は祭司になられるからです。没薬も贈られました。なぜなら、彼が死ぬからです。スミルナにある教会にイエスが言ったことを思い出してください。「サタンはあなたがたを十日の間、牢に入れ、何人かを殺すでしょう」スミルナ（Smurna）とはギリシア語で没薬（smurna）から派生した名前です。
『そこで、彼らはイエスのからだを取り、ユダヤ人の埋葬の習慣に従って、それを香料と いっしょに亜麻布で巻いた。イエスが十字架につけられた場所に園があって、そこには、 まだだれも葬られたことのない新しい墓があった。』創世記、またゲツセマネと同じく、 そこは園でなければなりませんでした。『イエスが十字架につけられた場所に園があって、そこには、まだだれも葬られたことのない新しい墓があった。その日がユダヤ人の備え日 であったため、墓が近かったので、彼らはイエスをそこに納めた。』イエスは園の中に葬 られました。前日の土曜日、彼らはハ・シュル・ハシュリム（Ha Shir Hashirim）を読ん でいました。今日までシナゴーグ（会堂）では、そのハ・マヅォート（Ha Matzot）の土曜 日、過越しの週、雅歌（ソロモンの歌）として知られているメギラ（Megilla）が読まれま
す。雅歌４章６節を開いてください。多くの場合、福音書の出来事とイエスのいろいろな
話は、その週シナゴーグで朗読されていた箇所と直接関係があります。（例‥マタイ２１章・２５章、ヨハネ８章）
『そよ風が吹き始め、影が消え去るころまでに、私は没薬の山、乳香の丘に行こう。』花婿は埋葬のために油塗られています。花嫁のために死ぬため、受け入れられる供え物をささげるためです。ソロモンのシュラムの女との恋愛は、キリストの教会との恋愛の比喩です。彼は埋葬のため、彼の花嫁のために死ぬため、油塗られているのです。これがシナゴーグで読まれていた箇所です。
雅歌の５章を見てみると、『私の妹、花嫁よ。私は、私の庭（園）に入り、没薬と香料を集め』とあります。別の言い方をするならば、「庭（園）に入って来なさい。庭に入ってきなさい」と言っているのです。これがその土曜日に、シナゴーグで読まれていた箇所です。
その次の日は、週の初めの日、日曜日でした。ヘブライ語ではヨム・リション（ yom
Rishon）といいます。その日はユダヤのカレンダーでは、特別なヨム・リションでした。ヘブライ人の初穂の祭りだったのです。
１コリント１５章２０節を開いてください。ここは復活の章です。何と書いてあるでしょうか。『しかし、今やキリストは、眠った者の初穂として死者の中からよみがえられました。』そうです、眠っているのです。『彼は、おまえの頭を踏み砕き、 [おまえは、ただ彼のかかとにかみつくだけだ。] 』眠っているのなら、いつか目を覚まします。いつも指摘してきたように、聖書では信者の「死」は死ではなく、眠りだと教えられています。ラザロは眠っていたとあります。少女もそうです。「タリタ クミ（Talitha Tekumi）」彼女は眠っていたのです。パウロは「眠った兄弟たちについて、深く悲しんではならない」と言っています。救われていない人たちは死にますが、信者は眠りにつくのです。これについては言うべきことがたくさんあります。聖書が、信者の「死」を眠りと表現するのには二つの理由があります。もちろん、一つ目は復活のためです。再び目を覚ますからです。眠りにおちた時、次に気付くのは自分が起きた時です。眠った信者たちはやがて復活の時に気付くのです。しかし、眠りにおちた時にはある事が起きます。意識が違う領域に入ってしまいます。そこでは起きている間に意味を成さないことが意味を成します。夢を見ている時には、死んだ人が生き返って、話しをすることもあるでしょう。夢の中では、過去の出来事を今、未来の出来事を今、見ることが出来ます。過去、現在、未来が同じなのです。出来事の起こった順序はあるのですが、時間という概念はありません。ギリシア語ではクロノス（chronos）と カイロス（cairos）という時間を表す言葉が、二つあります。永遠で
はクロノスはあるのですが、カイロスはありません。言い換えれば、永遠では時計が動く
ことはなく、もはや時計すら無いのです。年代順配列（chronology）であるクロノスはありますが、そこに時間は無いのです。
夢の中では、過去の出来事がもう一度起こったりします。ジョージ・ワシントンがデラウェアを渡っているのも見ることが出来るでしょう。何でも見ることが出来ます。将来起ころうとしていることも見れます。カリフォルニアへの旅行のようなものも見れるでしょう。未だ見たことが無いことも見ます。黙示録のように、死んだ人が生きているのを見るかもしれません。子羊は世のもといが置かれる前から、ほふられていました。彼は座についている２４人の長老を見ました。彼は未だ起こっていない未来の出来事を、そこでその時、見ていたのです。眠りにおちると夢を見ます。生理学者は、私たちすべてが夢を見ていることを知っています。脳造影図や脳のアルファ波などによってです。皆が夢を見ているのです。
あなたの意識は違う領域に入り、そこは起きている間には意味を成さないことが意味を 持ちます。死んでしまったときはそのような状態です。そこで出てくる問題は、私たちの たましいは眠りにおちるのでしょうか？それとも主のもとに行くのでしょうか？というこ とです。私たちに関していえば、墓の中にいるのです。永遠に関していうと、それはすで に起こっています。エペソ人への手紙にあるように、私たちは天上において、キリストと 共に座についているのです。永遠に対して時間を適用することは出来ません。その点から カルヴァン主義は間違えています。永遠の保障とはあるのでしょうか？はい。永遠の中な ので、それはすでに起こりました。しかし、聖書の中で永遠の保障とは、一度救われたら、ずっと救われているということではありません。私たちにとっては、それは変わりえるも のです。永遠の保障はありますが、それはカルヴァン主義者の考えているようなものでは ありません。彼らはそのことに関して全て混同しているのです。
彼らは眠りにおちました。キリストは眠った者の初穂です。これはヘブライ人の初穂の祭りの、メシアによる成就です。その初穂の祭りである日曜日、ヨム・リションには何があったのでしょうか？それは過越の週の日曜日でもあります。その日曜日に、シナゴーグでは雅歌（ソロモンの歌）が、今日まで読まれています。日曜日のまだ暗く、夜明け前に、神殿から遣わされた大祭司が、ケデロンの谷へと降りて行きます。彼はケデロンの谷で、オリーブ山の後ろから射し込んでくる、最初の光を暗闇の中、待ちます。彼がその太陽の光を見ると、ケデロンの谷から生え出た最初の穀物を、儀式的に収穫します。それが初穂と呼ばれる物です。
すべての福音書には、イエスは日の出の時に復活したとあります。私がしばしば示して
きたように、太陽（sun）が昇るということは、御子（Son）がよみがえるということの、聖書文献学上の比喩です。旧約のイザヤ書でさえも、起き上がれそうすれば照らされると書かれています。しかし、よみがえった主の栄光は太陽よりも輝かしいものです。すべての福音書は、復活はまだうす暗いころ、日の出のちょうどその時だと書いています。その年、その日、その時に大祭司は初穂を収穫し、神殿に持って行きました。イエスはその復活の初穂としてよみがえられました。
それは園の中のことでした。では、園で何が起こったかを見ていきましょう。人は園において堕落し、園においてのろいを受けました。しかし、園において、神さまはわたしたちの罪を取り去り、そのために捕らえられました。また園において、彼は十字架にかけられ、そのつけられた場所には園がありました。彼は園において、私たちの代わりに十字架にかけられました。しかし、また他のことが園の中で起こりました。
ヨハネ２０章１節、週の初めの日、ヨム・リションであるヘブライ人の初穂の祭りの時、ガリラヤのマグドル（その場所に塔があったという意味）出身の、マグダラのマリヤがま だ暗いうちに墓に来ました。大祭司がまだ暗いうちに、園に行かなければならなかったの と同じように。彼女は墓から石が転がしてあるのに気付いて、シモン・ペテロとイエスが 愛されたもうひとりの弟子とのところに来て、言いました。「だれかが墓から主を取って 行きました。主をどこに置いたのか、私たちにはわかりません。」そうです、悪い知らせ は女に最初にやって来たので、良い知らせは女に最初に来なければならなかったのです。 なぜであるか分かりますか？男ではありません。女でなくてはならなかったのです。のろ いは最初に女に来たので、良い知らせが最初に、女に来なくてはなりませんでした。悪い 知らせが最初だったので、良い知らせも最初だったのです。
『そこでペテロともうひとりの弟子は外に出て来て、墓のほうへ行った。ふたりはいっしょに走ったが、もうひとりの弟子がペテロよりも速かったので、先に墓に着いた。そして、からだをかがめてのぞき込み、亜麻布が置いてあるのを見たが、中に入らなかった。シモン・ペテロも彼に続いて来て、墓に入り、亜麻布が置いてあって、イエスの頭に巻かれていた布切れは、亜麻布といっしょにはなく、離れた所に巻かれたままになっているのを見た。』これはその文化で特徴的なことです。古代中近東において聖書の時代、大工は何かを建築する依頼を受けた時や仕上げる時、着物を吊り下げます。そして、一日の終わりにそれで汗を拭き取るのです。しかし、一日の終わりに仕事が終わると、着物やタオルをたたんで、そこに残します。
『そのとき、先に墓に着いたもうひとりの弟子も入って来た。そして、見て、信じた。彼らは、イエスが死人の中からよみがえらなければならないという聖書を、まだ理解して
いなかったのである。それで、弟子たちはまた自分のところに帰って行った。しかし、マ
リヤは外で墓のところにたたずんで泣いていた。そして、泣きながら、からだをかがめて墓の中をのぞき込んだ。すると、ふたりの御使いが、イエスのからだが置かれていた場所に、ひとりは頭のところに、ひとりは足のところに、白い衣をまとってすわっているのが見えた。』また、このふたりの御使いは、契約の箱の上のふたつのケルビムと関連しています。『彼らは彼女に言った。「なぜ泣いているのですか。」彼女は言った。「だれかが私の主を取って行きました。どこに置いたのか、私にはわからないのです。」彼女はこう言ってから、うしろを振り向いた。すると、イエスが立っておられるのを見た。しかし、彼女にはイエスであることがわからなかった。イエスは彼女に言われた。「なぜ泣いているのですか。だれを捜しているのですか。」』彼女は、それを園の管理人だと思っていました。その前の日の雅歌の中で、園の管理人は何と言っていたでしょうか？「愛する人よ、私の庭（園）に入りなさい」です。創世記では、御使いは「ここを出ていけ」と言いました。「園から出ていけ、もう入ってはならない」しかし、イエスが園において私たちの罪を取り去って、死者の中から復活されたので、今、御使いは「入ってきなさい。彼はよみがえったのですから。入ってきなさい。」と言うのです。
女性はより敏感です。女性は最初に理解します。しかし、男性は少し頭が鈍いところがあります。話を続けると、彼女は使徒たちに伝えようとしました。『彼女は、それを園の管理人だと思って言った。「あなたが、あの方を運んだのでしたら、どこに置いたのか言ってください。そうすれば私が引き取ります。」イエスは彼女に言われた。「マリヤ。」彼女は振り向いて、ヘブル語で（本当はアラム語のヘブライ方言ですが）、「ラボニ（すなわち、先生）」とイエスに言った。イエスは彼女に言われた。「わたしにすがりついていてはいけません。わたしはまだ父のもとに上っていないからです。わたしの兄弟たちのところに行って、彼らに『わたしは、わたしの父またあなたがたの父、わたしの神またあなたがたの神のもとに上る』と告げなさい。」』ヨハネの福音書では以前に、イエスは御父をわたしの父と呼び、それは個人的な所有格でした。しかし、いったん彼が私たちの罪を取り去り、死者の中からよみがえったので、今、神は私たちの父なのです。
マグダラのマリヤは使徒たちに知らせに行きました。――女性は最初に理解します。私 はこの問題について確信しています。夫と妻が救われる十中八つの場合に、妻が最初に救 われます。マグダラのマリヤは使徒たちに知らせに行きました。『「私は主にお目にかかり ました」と言い、また、主が彼女にこれらのことを話されたと弟子たちに告げた。その日、すなわち週の初めの日の夕方（ユダヤ人は一日を日没から日没までと考える）のことであ った。弟子たちがいた所では、ユダヤ人を恐れて戸がしめてあったが、イエスが来られ、 彼らの中に立って言われた。「平安があなたがたにあるように。（シャローム アレヘム shalom alechem）」』これは人々がユダヤ人であったことを、示しているのではありません。
彼らは皆ユダヤ人で、イエスもユダヤ人でした。皆がユダヤ人でした。マリヤもユダヤ人
でしたし、使徒たちもユダヤ人でした。これは、ギリシア語でユダヤの人を意味するユデイオイ（yudeioi）の翻訳の問題です。そのユダヤ人とはエルサレム周辺の宗教組織やそれを支配していた人々のことです。皆がユダヤ人だったので、ユダヤ民族を指していたのではありません。エルサレム周辺の宗教組織、サンヘドリンやそれを支配していた人々のことです。イエスは平安があなたがたにあるようにと言いました。
サミュエル・ジョンソン博士は皮肉的に、実際その通りですが、その辞書で平和を「二つの戦争の間の、準備と欺きの期間である」と定義しています。私たちは平和を、ギリシア語の女の子の名前、イレネ（Irene）、争いの無いことであると考えがちです。それはこの世が与える平和です。神さまの平和はシャローム（shalom）です。最終的には、その平和は争いの無いことを含んでいます。再臨の時、国々は剣をかまに打ち直します。最終的には、シャロームは争いの無いことを含んでいるのです。しかし、争いの無いことはシャロームではありません。シャロームはヘブライ語のレシャレム（leshalem）という言葉の不定詞から来ています。レシャレムとは「払う」ということです。これは聖書の中のヘブライ語のレ・マロット（le malot）と同義語です。それは「満たす」という意味です。これは現代ヘブライ語ではなく、聖書のヘブライ語です。「満たす」ということです。そして、
「成就する」という意味もあります。シャロームという言葉はレ・シャレムから来ました。
それは「払う（pay）」「満たす（fill）」「成就する（fulfill）」という意味です。私たちはシャ ロームを持っています。なぜなら、イエスが私たちの罪の代価を払い、私たちを御霊で満 たし、律法（トーラー）を成就したからです。シャロームを持っているのです。なぜなら、 メシアがレシャレムを行いにきました。つまり私たちの罪の代価を払い、私たちを御霊で 満たし、律法を成就したのです。なので、人生で大きな争いに巻き込まれていても、シャ ロームを持つことが出来るのです。または、完全に静かな状況にいても、それを欠いてい るかもしれないのです。イェシュアは『わたしは、あなたがたにわたしの平安を与えます。わたしがあなたがたに与えるのは、世が与えるのとは違います。』と言いました。『わた しの平安』それが彼の言ったことです。
しかし、明らかな疑問が残ります。園において、私たちはそれを台無しにしたのです。園で自分自身にのろいを招きました。けれども、園において、神さまが贖いを約束してくださいました。あなたが信じるか信じないかは問題ではありません。人は一度死ぬことが定められており、その後は裁きなのです。今日私が言っていることを信じなくても、あなたが信じる時が来ることを知っています。しかし、それでは遅すぎるのです。大事なのはこのことが真実か嘘かということです。私はこれが真実であることを保障しましょう。あなたはいつか信じるのです。しかし、それではもう手遅れです。今が定められた時です。今日が救いの日なのですから。
アダムとエバと同じように、あなたは聖い完全な神さまの前に、裸で立っています。そ
して、世にあるすべてのいちじくの葉は、十分ではありません。どんなに多くのいちじくの葉も、あなたを神さまの怒りから救うことは出来ません。もしかしたら、あなたは善い行いや、社会から善い人と呼ばれることに、頼っているかもしれませんが、あなたがどんなに善くても、天国に行くのに十分ではありません。どんなに善くても、地獄に行かないでいることは出来ません。しかし、あなたがどんなに悪くても、神さまが愛さず、あなたを救いたくなくなるようなことはありません。
私は有利だったと言えるでしょう。私はプロテスタントの文化の中で育ちもしなかった し、新生したクリスチャンがどのようなものかも知りませんでした。１７才になったころ、私はヘロインに浸っていました。なので、誰かに自分が罪人だということを、特に教えて もらう必要はありませんでした。すでに分かっていたからです。悪魔は麻薬、不品行、ギ ャンブルやそれらをまとめた罪を用いるよりも、宗教を用いて人々を地獄に送ります。い ちじくの葉です。いちじくの葉は地獄の住民を増やすのです。そのように、あなたは裸で 造り主の前に立っており、いちじくの葉をつづり合わせているかもしれません。宗教に頼 っているのです。血が注がれることがなければ、罪の赦しはありません。
しかし、あなたの代わりに園に入って来た人がいます。ちょうど、裁判官、検事や弁護人のいる裁判を考えてみてください。裁判官、検事も弁護人もあなたに賛成しているか、反対しているかのどちらかです。裁判官があなたの弁護人だということを想像してみてください。もし、裁判官があなたの弁護人なら、検事がサタンだとしても負けることはありません。反対に、裁判官が弁護人でなく、検事なら、あなたは勝てません。しかし、あなたは勝てます。どのようにしてでしょうか？彼があなたの罪を取り去ってくださることによってです。園において、彼はすでにそれを取り去りました。あなたはそのことを受け入れるだけです。これが福音です。彼がすでに罪を取り去ったので、あなたは受け入れるだけなのです。
いちじくの葉に何の良いこともありません。秘跡、勤行や宗教などに良い点はありませ ん。それはいちじくの葉なのです。私は善い行いに反対しているわけではありません。私 たちは善い行いをします。それは救われたからであって、救われるためにではありません。それは園で起こりました。選択はあなたのものです。彼はあなたの罪を取り去りました。 罪から立ち返って、神に赦しを乞うことも出来るのです。神さまがあなたの人生に入って くださるように、新しいいのちを与えてくださるように願ってください。神さまはあなた をバラバのようにします。あの人はこれをした、この人はあれをしたと言うかもしれませ んが、しかし、今、御父の子がいます。「わたしを連れて行きなさい。」彼はあなたをい
ちじくの木の下で見たのです。彼は使徒に言ったことをあなたにも言いたいのです。彼は
言いました。「平安があなたがたにあるように。」シャローム・アレヘム。シャロームがほしいですか？何も問題はありません。それを持つことが出来ます。なぜなら、それは払われた（レシャレム）からです。園において、罪の代価は払われたのです。あなたを御霊で満たし、あなたが守ることの出来ない神の律法を成就したのです。これがイエスがマグダラのマリヤ、ペテロ、ヤコブやヨハネに伝えたことです。そして、これが私にも告げられたことです。もし、あなたが新しく生まれていなければ、今日、イエスがあなたに伝えたいことです。シャローム・アレヘム。
ジェイコブ・プラッシュ
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 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.
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).
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.”
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? 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 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 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).
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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).
