House of David/House of Saul

April 3, 2025

Introduction

Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name's sake, have said, "Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy." But they will be put to shame (Isaiah 66:5).

 

When your brethren hate you and exclude you for the sake of the Lord's name, your life becomes difficult.

The Worst War

The book of Judges is a book about wars. It is Jews fighting Amalekites, Canaanites, Philistines. It gives all the statistics of how many were killed, how many were captured. The worst of those wars was the last war in Judges. And the worst war, the bloodiest war with the most fatalities, was not against Amalekites, Canaanites or Philistines, it involved Jews fighting other Jews.

What caused Paul the most consternation? Was it being dragged before the Roman authorities, flogged in the synagogue, attacked by mobs in Ephesus? Read his epistles, these things did not cause him the most grief. Persecution is not what distressed him. Rather, it was false brethren, false teachers and false prophets trying to seduce the churches that he planted.

I am not afraid of going against Freemasonry, or Rome, or Orthodox Rabbis, or Islam, or New Age, or the homosexuals. The kind of war I dread is when you have to fight against your brethren. In the last war in Judges, they had no choice. A woman's body was hacked into fragments and divided. And the Body of Christ in the Western world is being hacked to death and divided. We have no choice but to pick up the sword, the body is being hacked to death.

False Teachers, False Prophets

E. W. Kenyon was the patriarch of the "Jesus died spiritually" doctrines that are being taught today. He said that Jesus did not win the victory on the Cross. Jesus said, "It is finished," (John 19:30) but, according to Kenyon, that was not the victory. Jesus died and rose again, but Kenyon says that Jesus descended into hell and became of one nature with Satan. Jesus was born again in hell – that is the “gospel” of Frederick K. Price, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin and Benny Hinn. They believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross, but the victory over sin and death was not accomplished on the Cross.

The Body is being hacked to death. "You don't have to suffer, God wants you rich." By virtue of the fact that you live in a Western democracy, you are rich. You are better off than at least two thirds of the people in the world. The body is being hacked to death by a gospel of mammon which calls itself "Faith Prosperity." But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith. ( Tim 6:9-10).

Hebrews 11, the ‘faith chapter,” talks more about faith than all the rest of the New Testament put together. It does not mention money once, only alluding to wealth to tell you about those who could have had it, but turned their backs on it for the sake of the kingdom (Heb 11:26). 

The body is being hacked to death. It is very difficult when you have to lift your sword against your brother.

A Long War

Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew steadily stronger, but the House of Saul grew weaker continually (2 Sam 3:1).

David and Saul both had a common enemy, the Canaanites and Philistines who were over-running the land. The enemy prevailed because the leadership of Israel had become so corrupt. David could do nothing about it until the leadership was replaced. He could not replace the leadership because Saul was God's anointed. He was stuck in a situation where wickedness was prevailing and God's people were being defeated, just like today. God's people are being defeated and there is going to be a long war between the growing house of David and the failing house of Saul.

Believing a Lie

If you want to, you can have your ears tickled with blab-It-and-grab-it Western consumerism, which is all the “prosperity gospel” is, people trying to redefine the truth of the Bible in light of Western consumerism. The people who subscribe to these errors do so because they want to believe lies.

They did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false (2 Thes 2:10-11).

But there is something much more difficult and much more painful than that here.

The Jonathan Tragedy

We all know the story of King David and how Saul hated him and tried to kill him. The one sticking point was Jonathan. Jonathan loved David. Jonathan knew that Saul had become corrupt and lost God's calling and blessing. Jonathan knew his father was no good. He knew the house of Saul was under the curse of God. He knew David was right. He knew David was an innocent victim who was being persecuted. He knew David was God's chosen. He knew it all, but Jonathan was too cemented to the house of Saul to make the break.

Jesus said, "He who loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me" (Math 10:37).

That alludes to the situation of Jonathan. Are you part of the house of David or the house of Saul? To be part of the house of Saul does not require you to believe false doctrine yourself. It just means that you are committed to established structures, churches and denominations that have gone into this error. Is your denomination more important to you than what God is saying?

Beginning in the Spirit

Then Samuel took the flask of oil, and poured it on his head, kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?" (1 Sam 10:1).

Remember, different liquids represent the Holy Spirit in different aspects. In this case it is oil, which speaks of the anointing. The Holy Spirit really was poured out on the house of Saul. It was authentic, but if something ends in the flesh, it does not matter if it began in the Spirit or if it was always in error to begin with.

I do not doubt for one second that thirty years ago there was a genuine outpouring of God's Spirit.

I know that was true, but I am just as convinced that it went into the flesh a long time ago. Every single Charismatic movement in the history of the church has ended the same way. The Montanists, experiential theology, Muenster Anabaptists and early Pentecostals, crazy doctrines, Quakers, inner light – It is always the Spirit and the Truth. But they said, "Give us the Spirit, we don't want the Truth." The word of God tells us what is flesh and what is Spirit.

Ending in the Flesh

As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 28:18).

Saul lost his anointing. He started out with the calling, with the anointing, but God rejected him.

Go, Strike Amalek

Then Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord.

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey'" (1 Samuel 15:13).

But Saul did not do it.

But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night (1 Samuel 15:9-11).

The Ancient Enemy

Amalek, also known as Agag, was an ancient enemy. The enmity goes back to the time of Moses; it resurfaces in the person of Haman, a descendant of Agag, in the book of Esther. This enmity had persisted over hundreds of years, back to the Babylonian captivity. The old enemy remains the enemy. It does not change. Saul was told what Moses was told, what Joshua was told: These are your ancient enemies, get rid of them.

Who are our ancient enemies? We are told in the New Testament that we struggle not against flesh and blood. (Eph. 6:12) As Christians, we love our enemies.

There is a big difference between loving people in false religions, and loving the false religions. We are to hate idolatry, sin, and superstition. I hate Roman Catholicism because it is leading people to hell by the tens of millions.

Saul tried to keep the parts he thought were acceptable. Saul tried to make peace with the ancient enemy. When you try to make peace with your ancient enemy, the ancient enemy comes back and devours you, just like it did in the book of Esther.

You can look back and see in history that more Bible-believing Christians were killed by Papal Rome than were killed by pagan Rome. John Bunyan called it a "Two Headed Giant" – one called Pagan, and the other called Pope!

You may say, "They did that five hundred years ago, they did that sixteen hundred years ago, but they would not do that in the 20th century!" Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels were all Catholics, and most of Hitler's deputies were Jesuit educated. Franz von Papen, vice chancellor to Hitler and a privy chamberlain to Pope Pius 12th, said, "The Third Reich was the first power in the world not only to recognize but also to put into practice the high principles of the Roman Catholic Papacy."

Joachim von Ribbentropp, Hitler's advisor in foreign affairs and Papal Envoy, said, "Adolph Hitler is the envoy of God." Some believe that they would not do that in the 20th Century. Saul thought that Agag would not do what they did in the days of Moses. Esther did not think that Haman would have done it either.

The Roman Catholic Church condemns those who say the Church must not use violent force. There are pictures of nuns marching with Gestapo officers to get Jewish children and take them out to be killed.

The simple basic constitutional principle of Roman Catholicism is always the same. Rome has not changed; Agag has not changed.

Come Out of Her, My People

The first mistake of the Charismatic Movement was experiential theology. The second was failing to drive out the enemies of God. When the Charismatic Renewal happened in the Roman Church, the Holy Spirit was calling God's people to come out of false religion.

"Ho there! Flee from the land of the north," declares the Lord, "for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord, "Ho Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon" (Zech 2:67)

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, My people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities (Rev 18:45).

It does not say they are not God's people. But to be His people and stay in a church that says you are going to burn in Purgatory for your own sins, when the Bible says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins, is sin.

The Hebrew word for “to worship” is the same word as “prostrate, genuflect.” It is the same exact word. Praying to the dead and genuflecting before statues (practicing idolatry) is sin. Praying to the dead is contacting a familiar spirit. It is a sin. You cannot practice Roman Catholicism without sinning. Praying to the dead is sin. Idolatry – Mary worship, kissing statues – is sin. The Roman Catholic Church has a history of murdering true Christians and, if they get their chance, they will do it again. Babylon cannot be healed. (Jer 51:9).

You cannot practice Roman Catholicism without sinning

Inventing Doctrine

Saul's second mistake was his failure to go to the Word of God. The Torah showed clearly how to get rid of Amalek. But Saul invented his own doctrine and his own code of practice. As a result, he lost his anointing and calling.

The Charismatic movement has done the same thing. They did not go to the Word of God, but invented their own doctrine and code of practice. Thirty years ago the Charismatic movement happened in the United States and other places around the world. The Charismatic Renewal was supposed to bring spiritual and moral restoration to the British Isles and bring reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. They were going to win the country back for Jesus. The Charismatic Renewal was going to bring spiritual and moral restoration to the USA.

Is there less crime, less divorce, less homosexuality, less substance, less racism now? No, there is more of all of it! The Charismatic movement has not been able to renew the church, let alone the country. It has not moved the church to repentance, let alone the nation.

Thirty years ago you would not have found Anglican Bishops denying the virgin birth or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nor Hindu gods being worshiped in Anglican churches, nor professed homosexuals in a Methodist pulpit. Not only is society worse off than it was before the Charismatic Renewal, but the Church is worse off.

We Are All Priests

Every Christian is a priest. We are all supposed to bring a sacrifice of praise and lay our life down, not loving our life in this world.

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

I have dropped my cross many times. I thank God for Jesus, who helps me pick it up again and keep following him. My old nature and my flesh do not want to. So far, seven bishops and hundreds of clergy have either walked out, or are planning to walk out, of the Church of England over the ordination of women priests. When the virgin birth was denied, no one walked out. When the resurrection of Jesus Christ was denied, no one walked out. When Bishops began laying hands on homosexuals and consecrating them for the ministry, no one walked out. When Hindu gods were worshipped in Canterbury Cathedral, no one walked out.

These people do not care about God's Word or God's Truth. They do not care about God's Son. They only care about their religion.

Self-Preservation

The house of Saul is always bent on one thing, self-preservation.

And he captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night.

And Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal (1 Sam 15:8-12).

Saul set up a monument for himself. The Sauls of the modern church are also busily engaged in setting up monuments for themselves.

And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord." But Samuel said: What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" (1 Sam 15:13-14).

The house of Saul thinks it is in God's grace, God's favor, God's blessing, until the real prophetic voice comes and tells them the truth.

And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed"

"There are good things in the Roman Catholic Church that we can draw from," say some people. But if you knew something was part rotten, would you eat it?

Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!" And Samuel said, "Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee king over Israel.

The people asked for a King. They always want a flesh leader instead of looking to God. "Give us a leader, or give us a king." When people ask for a leader or king, there is always something wrong with their relationship with Jesus.

People refuse to understand that they can only follow a human leader as far as that person has a relationship with God, not one bit further. If that leader has no relationship with God, then you will be in the same confusion and doubt as the leader. What did Paul say? Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ (1 Cor 11:1). Follow me, agree with me, trust me to the exact extent that I am following Jesus. No more.

We have a King; we should not try to make other people into our king.

The Lord sent you on a mission, and said, "Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated." Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord? (1 Sam 15:18-19).

We are showing our treasures to the king of Babylon. When you send converts back to the Roman Catholic Church, as Billy Graham is doing, you are showing your treasures to the king of Babylon (2 Kings 20:12-18). When you do this, it is only a matter of time before the king of Babylon will come and take the treasure.

And Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me." (1 Sam 15:20).

They always defend their actions. They insist they are obeying the Lord, they insist they are following him. But the Word of God says differently!

They say, "Do not talk to us about doctrine, doctrine divides." The New Testament contains twice as much exhortation to right doctrine as it does right conduct. Why? If we do not know right doctrine, we will not know right conduct. Jesus said it would divide. That is exactly the purpose of doctrine!

Bad Leaders Blame the People

 "But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal"

The bad leaders always blame the people. "The people took the spoil. We cannot control the people." Those in leadership were given a job to do and they are responsible. They are supposed to be God's authority in that relationship.

And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king." (1 Sam,15:22 23).

They will bring a sacrifice of praise, but they will not obey the Bible.

Return with Me

Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord."

But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel" (1 Sam 15:24-26).

The basics of fellowship.

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3).

We are talking about basics – salvation, the authority of scripture, the person of Christ.

The Bible says if people predict things that do not happen, get away from them. When people prefer the teachings of Toronto/ Brownsville, despite knowing the contradiction between what the Bible says and what their leaders do, we should get away from them. People who will not listen to truth are in rebellion, and rebellion is as witchcraft. These movements openly defy the clear Word of God.

Rejecting the Word of Truth

There have been a number of predictions made by people like John Wimber, Paul Cain and Gerald Coates, predictions that did not happen. Their false predictions were published in newspapers and on secular television, resulting in brutal mocking of Christians when they failed to happen.

When Gerald Coates was challenged over his false prophecy, he refused to take any responsibility for his actions. Both Rick Joyner and John Kilpatrick have made major predictions that failed to happen and people still follow them. This is rebellion, the same sin as witchcraft. The people who follow Coates, Joyner and Kilpatrick cannot dispute that their leaders have predicted things that did not come to pass. They cannot dispute that the Word of God says we should not follow them. But they do not want to obey the Word of God. They prefer rebellion, witchcraft. Once they reject the Word of the Lord, there is no basis for Truth, no fellowship to be had with them.

Bible teaching in the Charismatic Movement has been so shallow that most of these people are doing it out of ignorance rather than willful rebellion. But it is different with the leaders. They should all be called to repentance. They should not be allowed any form of ministry. They have deceived and mislead so many people.

A Faithful Shepherd

So Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind (1 Sam 15:28).

And He has still not changed his mind.

When the house of Saul goes wrong, God begins to build the house of David. God began teaching David from the time he was a little boy. God trains people for the extraordinary in the ordinary. How was David able to kill Goliath? When he was a shepherd boy, he went around with his slingshot killing wolves that attacked the sheep. A faithful shepherd (the same word in Hebrew as “pastor”), will be given more responsibility by God. For some of these men today, the sheep merely represent stepping stones for advancement on the speaking circuit.

The first lesson David learned was not to wear Saul's armor. Those who will be in the house of David have to learn the same lesson. You cannot wear Saul's armor, it is too cumbersome.

Hearing from God

Now it came about in those days that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, "Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men." And David said to Achish, "Very well, you shall know what your servant can do." So Achish said to David, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."

Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists. So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in Gilboa. When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim nor by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said, "Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor" (1 Sam 28:1-7).

Listening to Witches

Saul stopped hearing from the Lord. Today the Charismatic leaders are really afraid. Why were Wimber, Paul Cain and Gerald Coates wrong? They talk big, but they are afraid. They know their own track record. They know they have been around thirty years and things have gone from bad to worse, and from worse to worse yet. That is why they need one gimmick after another like the “laughing revival” to keep people unknowing as to what is really going on.

These people stopped hearing from the Lord a long time ago. Benny Hinn said that he goes to the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California, to commune with the dead. He gets his “anointing” off the dead bodies of Aimee McPherson and Kathryn Kuhlman.

When you do not hear from the Lord, you go to witches. That is what happened then, and that is what is happening today.

The House of David

But the house of David grows stronger and stronger. How does it begin? “David’s” are shepherd boys.

He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much (Luke 16:10).

Christians who are already faithfully taking care of those God has already given them – good husbands, good fathers, good pastors, good house group leaders – are the kinds of people God is going to use to take care of the whole flock.

God trains people for the extraordinary in the ordinary. The last thing Goliath would have expected was a teenage boy who was a dead aim with a slingshot – the one thing that could have stopped him. The kinds of people God is going to raise up will be people that Islam, New Age, Rome, homosexuals and Free masons will never expect. These are going to be people God has been training for a long time. Dead shots with a sling. And then God will begin to build his house.

One gets stronger while one gets weaker. He takes his calling from the house of Saul, but it runs on inertia. It has lost the anointing, but God leaves it to run on for a time until the house of David is built.

When you see the present spiritual seduction taking place, you can be sure of three things:

  • God will raise up prophetic voices against it. They might not be listened to, but they will be heard, the same as with Samuel.
  • There will be a faithful remnant. The remnant will hear, they will listen and 
  • God will build a new house.

 

The Outcasts of Israel

And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. (1 Sam 22:2).

The outcasts of Israel gathered to David.

I do not expect the pastors of the bigger churches or the members of Executives to join the house of David. Very few of them will join. At best, they will be Jonathans. It will be people like us – losers, outcasts, nobodies, the unfashionable. We are nothings now, but what were we before? We have nothing that is not the result of Jesus having saved us.

The Mighty Men of David

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Joshebbasshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite; because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the Lord bought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.

Now after him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory (1 Sam 23:8-12).

So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate, and took it and brought it to David (1 Sam 23:16).

The so-called mighty men of Israel today, the great Christian leaders, run away from homosexuals, run away from New Age, run away from Roman Catholicism; they run away from everything. They do not have the necessary courage to fight. God is going to raise up little boys with slingshots. God is going to gather the mighty men.

But who are these mighty men of David; who are these commanders? They are the same ones mentioned in 1 Sam 22:2 – those who were in distress, who were in debt, who were discontent, the nothings and the nobodies. God takes the losers and makes them winners. He takes the nobodies and makes them commanders.

Where did He do it? Where did He teach them how to become the great men? Where did they learn how to become generals.

In the Wilderness

Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph, at Horesh (1 Sam 23:15).

There are two kinds of trials in the Bible: the valley and the wilderness. The valley is a short trial, but the wilderness is a long series of trials, like the Jews wandering in the wilderness for forty years. The wilderness, by nature, is a place of death. That is why the second generation entered the holy land. The first generation died in the wilderness.

Only the new creation could go to heaven and to the promised land, not the old one. God uses the wilderness to destroy the flesh, to burn off the old creation. It was a long war, David became stronger, Saul became weaker. But God did not remove the house of Saul altogether, until David was ready.

Those who are to be made into the mighty ones of Israel, whom God will use to rebuild the Body of Christ in this country, are already going through a long sojourn in the wilderness.

The Lord's Anointed?

"And the Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord'sanointed”. (1 Sam 26:23).

So what that Benny Hinn communes with the dead? “Don't touch God's anointed!”

So what that Oral Roberts said God would kill him if he didn't raise seven or eight million? “Don't touch God's anointed!”

David did not touch Saul because he was God's anointed, but did God ever stopped Samuel or David from telling the truth about Saul? The verse is not even concerned with what they are talking about.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him [Jesus] both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36).

“Christ” in Greek is ho christos, in Hebrew is hamashiach, and in both languages means literally “the anointed one”. There is only ONE “anointed one” in Scripture and that is Jesus.

Prophets, Priests, and Kings - Types of Christ

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. (Psalm 133:1-2)

Aaron, the high priest, was an Old Testament type of Jesus. He was anointed – the oil was poured on his head, then it ran off onto his body.

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church (Ephesians :23).
We are the Body of Christ. To be “anointed”, we must be attached to the body and under the head. Jesus is the anointed one. We have no anointing, except under his headship, as members of the body. These people proclaiming themselves to be “anointed” are not attached to the body and they are not under the headship of Christ.

Before Jesus was anointed for power, for dominion, for victory, Jesus was anointed for burial. Before anyone is anointed for ministry, they are first anointed for burial. Paul said the proof of his anointing was not that he did miracles, signs and wonders, or that he planted churches or that he wrote half the New Testament.

Rather, I bear on my body the brandmarks of Jesus (Gal :17)

Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body (2 Cori. 4:10).

Because he was anointed for burial, God could anoint Paul for power.

Demonic Deception

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. (1 Sam 16:13-14).

At best, much of the hyper-Charismatic phenomena you see today is soulish; some of it is demonic, evil. Healings claimed to be by Mary are not from God, who will not give His glory to another. There is no doubt that Saul came under some demonic deception and I am sure it is working again today.

Envy, Hatred, Murder

And David was prospering in all his ways for the Lord was with him. When Saul saw that he was prospering greatly, he dreaded him (1 Sam 18:14-15).

A time will come when the house of David will begin to emerge from the wilderness, and the house of Saul will become envious. They are going to despise you, hate you, and want to kill you. By that time you will be dealing with something openly Satanic, an evil spirit. Remember, the house of Saul is only concerned with one thing, self-preservation.

Then David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Wilt Thou give them into my hand?" And the Lord said to David, "Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand" (2 Sam 5:19).

There will come a time when the house of David will do the things that Charismatics and Pentecostals cannot do. They cannot attack New Age, ecumenism, homosexuality, or Islam; they do not have the courage. They only care about preserving their positions, their little empires. When the house of David is built, there will be people that know how to slay eight hundred. They will know how to go up against New Age, homosexuals, Rome, Islam, and the Lord will give them the victory.

The Place of Fellowship

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron [place of fellowship] and said, "Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Previously, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who lead Israel out and in. And the Lord said to you, 'You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel.'" So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before the Lord at Hebron; then they anointed David king over Israel (2 Sam 5:1-3).

There will come a time that these people will arrive as refugees to the new house. They will come to the place of fellowship because the house of Saul will have been destroyed. The ones that have remained faithful are going to join themselves to the new house when the time comes.

The Jonathans

With one unfortunate and tragic exception. This will be the most difficult thing to come to pass in the next few years. They are the Jonathans.

And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua the sons of Saul (1 Sam 31:2).

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathon and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword (2 Sam 1:11-120.

This will be the most difficult aspect – the Jonathans. Jonathan knew David was right. He knew David was commissioned by God, that he was innocent and righteous. Jonathan knew his father's house had gone wrong. He knew his father was corrupt. He knew the land was being overrun and they were losing everything because of his father's house. But Jonathan could not break with his father.

There are people out there today that know things are wrong, but they cannot leave. Those people who attach themselves to Saul and cannot leave will die on Mount Gilboa. That will be the most difficult thing to face.

There are people whom you know and love, who are fed up with what is going on, who can see all this error for what it is. But they do not have the courage of their convictions.

Which House Will You Join?

Which house are you going to join? You will be of the house of Saul or the house of David.

  • You will have to come into the wilderness, where God is building it. 
  • You have to expect that the house of Saul is going to hate you and persecute you. You have to understand that you cannot wear Saul's armor. 
  • You will have to understand that these people are still our brethren, for better or worse. 
  • Touch not God's anointed. You can tell the truth about them, but only God can remove them.

We have to endure the pain and anguish that David experienced over Jonathan. A time will come when the house of Saul will fall. How much longer can it keep going? It lurches from one gimmick to another, one trend to another, one line of hype to another.

 

David's house will stand. It will stand at Hebron, the place of fellowship, and then others will join themselves to it. When that day comes, the Lord will give the victory over the Philistines, the Amalekites, the Canaanites, Islam, New Age, Freemasonry, Rome, and homosexual lobbying.

The house of David or the house of Saul? There is plenty of room in both. The choice is yours.

If you want to join the house of David, now is your opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

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How AI is transforming defensive capabilities against drones

October 12, 2026
Written by - Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Examples abound in history of how the responses to innovations in technology that disrupted and transformed the nature of warfare have taken a delayed time to be adapted. Chain mail and armour had to be altered and bolstered to repel arrows from the English Longbow in Medieval Europe, but this didn't occur in time to the dismay of the French at Agincourt. It took the Spanish decades to redesign their cumbersome Galleons that lay prey to the swifter English ships. Napoleonic era field tactics were still being employed during the American Civil War, with mass charges mowed down by the Gatling barrel machine gun. Trench warfare was only later embraced during WWI. With the cheap manufacture of drones and the advances in AI a new chapter has opened in how war is waged in our own time. The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have demonstrated how asymmetric warfare has become as much an economic calculation as a game of cat and mouse. Drones (and relatively cheaply manufactured ballistic missiles by Iran) are being shot down at great expense. AI which has been extensively deployed for target identification in Gaza is also proving to be a vital tool in hunting incoming drones. But as in the delayed development of military countermeasures historically, drones are ahead of AI in the battlefield. This is reflected in the enormity of Russian military casualties that have fallen victim to Ukrainian drones. AI is able to cut through the 'background noise' of distracting projectiles, birds and other debris to home in efforts to eliminate the actual drone target. The magic formula is speed and precision. Humans can detect and assess a threat, but AI can process radar, cameras and other sensors almost instantly, and with increasing accuracy predict where a drone intends to strike. When swamped with a wave drone attack, AI acts to identify and track the multiple threats. AI can also help decide how to respond. Depending on the system, the response could involve electronic warfare, an interceptor drone, a missile or a gun-based system. Ukraine has installed automated machine gun turrets instructed by AI to protect Kiev. In some cases, humans still make the final decision to engage, while AI handles the calculations and tracking required to make that decision quickly. More broadly, drone warfare is becoming a contest between autonomous systems. The challenge is no longer simply building a better missile or a better drone. It is building a system that can see the threat first, understand it quickly and respond before the drone reaches its target. In that sense, AI is becoming a critical part of air defence. The advantage may increasingly belong to whoever can make the fastest and most accurate decisions—not necessarily whoever manufactures the most expensive weapons. AI's pace of progress is exponential. It is beyond comprehension what capacity could be realized in even the next 2-3 years. The combination of drones, robotics and AI may render the traditional military hardware of tanks, frigates and fighter jets almost functionally obsolete. The development of AI's course of military application will be largely directed by the conflicts where it is deployed. In the pre-AI world of 1987, the black Friday market crash during the Reagan Administration saw a dangerous drop in the Dow, where computer analysis issued sell orders against a background of Reagan's massive budget deficits. Amidst Reagan's budget deficits this created an environment where social security was looted to fund defence spending. A supposed conservative President ran a fiscal policy with simultaneous increases in the Pentagon budget, coupled with tax cuts. The computer generated sell off was beyond the functional control of brokers and market makers, while the Soviets attempted to engineer market irregularities affecting the American economy which had further global ramifications due to massive American trade deficits with Japan under Reagan. The current Securities exchange environment is at best no less complex now. Given the spectre of what transpired in 1987 with computerised over control of stock exchange trading, and a shadow hanging over the bond market we are left to ponder could another such scenario be triggered in the age of AI? And even more illuminous prospect over shadows us now with the question can AI gain a decision-making operational capacity over command-and-control decisions. Certainly, for tactical weapons systems or even a doomsday scenario with Russia, China, India or Pakistan placing nuclear launch control in the hands of AI that could result in an exchange that either the US, Britain, France or Israel would be forced to react to. Without scaremongering it is necessary for strategic planners to prevent the nuclear powers that be from arriving at the precipice of such an abyss.

Interconnected Conflicts: The Risk of a New Thirty Years' War. By Rubin Rothler - LLB, MLB

September 21, 2026
The interlinked nature of third-party involvement in the ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine has increasingly come to the fore in recent weeks. It emerged that China has not only been providing Iran with radar systems, navigation tools, and electronic warfare technology, but also high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial data to direct its rockets. The same great-power relationships that are shaping the Middle East are affecting the conduct and constraints of the war in Ukraine. It is apparent that a reciprocation in kind is dictating Russia's conduct towards the US in Iran. Intelligence and targeting support mirror similar U.S. assistance to Ukraine. But this picture becomes murkier when considering the backroom accommodations Trump is willing to give Putin. Recently, Trump pressured Zelensky to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure, saying the attacks were causing a shortage of the fuel that is "hurting the world." The U.S. national average price for diesel, which is used by trucks, trains, ships, and farm equipment, rose above six dollars a gallon for the first time last Thursday. Such interventions demonstrate how developments on the battlefield in Ukraine can no longer be considered independently of wider economic and geopolitical calculations. China has been using tankers that are already at sea, when that runs out the American blockade will create shortage problems for the Chinese economy, as China no longer gets Venezuelan oil and is reliant on Iran and international spot market prices. The war with Iran is now spreading to Yemen, with the Houthis attempting to replicate the Iranian chokehold model perfected in the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic importance of controlling or threatening critical maritime chokepoints is central to the wider contest. What happens in the Gulf can therefore have consequences for shipping, energy markets, and military calculations far beyond the immediate theatre. So far, the US has declined Saudi requests to slow the Houthi advance. Neither Turkey nor Egypt seems inclined to come to Saudi Arabia's aid. This is despite the signing of a very recent mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. More developments can happen in these conflicts on an average day than can be afforded mention, but they should be increasingly understood as interconnected parts of a wider geopolitical confrontation. Assistance in one theatre triggers reciprocal action in another. Consequently, these cease to be discrete, containable conflicts and are extending into prolonged multinational conflicts. There is a distinct possibility that these may become frozen conflicts over time. A more terrifying eventuality is something more akin to the Thirty Years' War, which was fought in the first half of the 17th century in Europe. It is important to remember that this calamity, which ravaged Europe, began as a localized rebellion that gradually drew in more and more powers. The initial religious nature of the fighting gave way to political struggles. The mechanism by which a localized conflict becomes a multinational struggle offers a historical warning worth considering. The danger today is that a collection of individually distinct conflicts could become sufficiently interconnected that containing any one of them becomes increasingly difficult. Iran, Ukraine, Russia, China, the United States, and the conflict involving the Houthis are already linked by military assistance, intelligence, energy, trade, and strategic competition. The question, therefore, is no longer simply how any one of these conflicts ends. It is whether they can remain separate conflicts at all.  (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

By David Passmore • September 12, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for our sister in Jesus - Wendy Blomkamp, widow of Brother Fred Blomkamp (now with The Lord), the founder of Moriel South Africa Branch (not to be confused with Moriel's Ebyown Aids Children's Mission in South Africa founded by David Royle). Wendy, (an equestrian rider of all things) is originally from West Yorkshire, England but has lived most of her life in South Africa and is currently in retirement in the USA. Unfortunately, Wendy is diagnosed with inoperable pre terminal cancer with cardio pullmonary complications. The Lord will either intervene supernaturally or call her home. We request prayer for Wendy and her beloved family and wisdom for her physicians. In Christ, All at Moriel

What would happen to Israel if the House is controlled by Democrats, and if the Republicans lose control of the Senate?

By David Passmore • September 7, 2026
The US midterm elections are around the corner and the results could have profound effects on US foreign policy concerning Israel. Much has been said about this vote being a referendum on Trump's unpopular war with Iran. But it can equally be said to be about Trump's other foreign policy engagements that are viewed rather more favourably like the overthrow of Maduro in Venezuela and his replacement with a pro-American regime. With Israel the picture is less clear. It used to be a given that Israel enjoyed bipartisan support on the Hill. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of politicians opposed to supporting Israel - the occasional fringe Democrat representing a singular Michigan constituency with a high Arab origin demographic, or a rare odd ball Republican preaching strict isolationism. This dynamic has shifted quickly in the last decade. The Democrats have all but abandoned any inclination of a pro-Israel position. Even establishment figures like Chuck Schumer have been pressured to side with the Party's radical left wing. With 60-80% of Democrats now anti-Israel, Israel can no longer rely on Jewish Democrats to oppose anti-Zionism or antisemitism. The most outspoken Democratic member of the Senate advocating a pro-Israel position, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is being pressured to resign and leave the party even by Pennsylvania's Jewish Governor Shapiro and Soros sponsored Philadelphia Prosecutor Krasner. This is happening concurrently with mass endorsement from 170 leading Hollywood Jewish actors writing a letter of support for Mark Ruffallo - despite his antisemitic comments naming Jewish investors supporting a Hollywood studio mega merger as being associated with apartheid genocide. However most shocking, were the comments by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel who stood before an audience of Jewish Democrats last weekend telling them they may need to sacrifice the safety, and even the future, of their own people in exchange for saving the rest of humanity. Such rhetoric is contrary to basic human instincts of survival and self-preservation. If any other nation were suggested this course of action, I wonder what their response would be? On the Republican side the foreboding sense of an altering course towards Israel no longer seems so distant. The anti-Israel faction in the Republican party led by Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes are now being supported by Vice President Vance. Jewish kingpins in the Trump Administration such as Witkoff and Kushner have been tied to business dealings in N.Y. with the Muslim Brotherhood controlled Qatari government through its business holdings. Should Republicans lose control of the Senate while Democrats take the House, Israel could find itself having to drastically re-access its relationship with Washington. We wouldn't see an immediate break in ties. American military, intelligence, technological and strategic cooperation with Israel is too integrated into the core of US institutions and corporations that would take a protracted period to dismantle. However, the power of Congress is in no way feeble. Congress controls funding, foreign-assistance legislation, sanctions, arms-related legislation and, perhaps most importantly, the political milieu in which an administration operates. A Democratic House combined with a Senate no longer controlled by Republicans could place enormous pressure on Trump to alter his attitude towards Israel. Practically this could entail demanding further accountability from Israel over military operations in Gaza, and the West Bank Settlers causing civilian casualties and property damage. Military aid could face more conditions or restrictions, but an immediate cutoff is unlikely. Israel has historically depended upon the presumption that regardless of who was President, there would be a robust enough bipartisan coalition in Congress to prevent a major deterioration in the relationship. Now the opposite appears true. Israel is taking the gamble of solely relying on a friendly President like Trump getting elected to maintain cordial relations. With the erosion of even much of Jewish American support for Israel and the hijacking of the Democratic party by a pro Islamist socialist left seen in Mamdani and others, Israel is forced to confront the inescapable reality that the last strong bastion of support for it is the Republican Party's evangelical base. But even younger voters in this key demographic are beginning to question support for Israel. The hostility displayed by the Haredim in Jerusalem and elsewhere against Christians including evangelicals, is to say the least counter-productive to the national interest. To attack the one friend Israel has left with a proven track record of loyalty and is vital to pro-Zionism internationally, is particularly detrimental to the national interest. It is Iran with its Mahdiist interpretations of jihad and sharia as a religious ideology that drives its hatred of Israel and the USA, and The West, to the detriment of the interests of the majority of the Iranian populace who want non hostile co-existence.  Such religious fanaticism and ideologically fuelled hatred ought not be given place in Israeli Judaism. It too, will generate adverse consequences for the majority of Israelis, including religious moderates, who desire an ongoing friendship with Evangelical Christians whose theology is not one of anti Semitism, but of proven Philo-Semitism and pro Zionism.

Don't bit ethe hand that feeds you - Irish hypocrisy towards Israel

By David Passmore • August 21, 2026
Don't bite the hand that feeds you - Irish hypocrisy towards Israel Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Amongst European nations, Ireland in recent years has gained the reputation as being the leading anti-Zionist country. The Irish Republic has never been favourably inclined to Israel. It only established an Embassy in Tel Aviv in 1996. In poll after poll the vast majority of the Irish public have indicated hostility towards Zionism and strong support for Palestinian Statehood. The curious aberration to this is that in British Ruled Northern Ireland support is demarcated along sectarian lines. Catholic Republican areas predictably tend to ardently support the Palestinian cause, while Protestant Unionist communities are overwhelmingly pro-Israel. Perhaps some credence can be given to sentiments of traditional Catholic antisemitism hardwired into the Irish psyche as contributing towards this disposition. It was certainly odd that the Irish government promptly sent a delegation to the Nazi German Ambassador in Dublin to convey condolences after news of Hitler's suicide broke at the end of WW2. But more concretely if you were to ask the average Irish protester on a pro-Palestine march the basis of their empathy for the Palestinian cause, they would point to the ostensible parallels between the Irish experience of fighting for independence from British colonial oppression to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Further remonstrations on a diplomatic level concern the actions of the IDF interreacting with Irish Peace Keepers in Southern Lebanon that have caused the deaths of several Irish Peace Keepers over the decades in friendly fire incidents. Ireland has contributed the most peace keepers to this mission per capita and the government has condemned Israel for these deaths that they view as avoidable. This animosity towards Israel is unbalanced. There are reasons to consider that Ireland and Israel have a shared experience of national liberation. Both countries fought the British in the pursuit of independence. Both countries made great efforts to resurrect their ancient languages for modern wide scale use. Both the Irish and Jews form major diaspora communities in New York. Despite all this Ireland ranks as Israel's second largest export market after the US. The preponderance of Israeli exports to Ireland comprises electronic integrated circuits, micro-assemblies, and tech manufacturing components. American multinational colossal tech corporations like Intel are substantially engrossed in this trade through the chain of supply. Ireland and Israel are hubs for design and manufacture of high-tech hardware components for US corporations. So, due to the nature of the most prosperous and competitive sectors of their respective economies, Israel and Ireland are inextricably bound in bilateral trade ties. Resolutions from the Irish government to impose sanctions on West Bank originating produce is merely perfunctory rhetoric. Such actions amount to a drop in the bucket in terms of impact to overall trade. The stark reliance of Ireland on advanced Israeli aviation equipment recently caused a spectacle when Ireland's new government jet struggled to land in heavy fog due to it being ordered without an advanced Israeli made navigation system. This was directly due to a short-sighted government decision not to buy Israeli military technology. There is a marked disparity between the official position of the Irish government designed for domestic public consumption and the economic policies that it actually pursues towards Israel. The government is acutely aware that the US is massively invested in the Irish economy and they don't want to do anything to jeopardise this. Washington demands that their enterprises in Dublin are intertwined with operations in Israel. The Irish government dare not even prevent US military supply flights refuelling at Shannon Airport on their way to Tel Aviv. The Irish government knows that times change and now the gripping social issue is the anti-immigrant/anti-Islam popular street protests. Soon the anti-Israel protests could become a mere side show only really promoted by Sinn Fein given the pressing ramifications of mass migration. So, in the meantime certain politicians will rile against the occupation, purported genocide and pass paltry sanctions against insignificant produce from the West Bank. All the while making hand over fist in money with the Israelis where it really matters in tech.  (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).

The tide has Changed

By David Passmore • July 31, 2026
The Tide Has Changed Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The America that Netanyahu touched down on is a changed America. The death of Lindsey Graham represents a changing of the guard. Graham was a staunch Israeli ally who will most probably become an increasingly rare breed in Washington. Sixty percent of Americans now hold a unfavourable view of Israel which politicians are finding difficult to ignore. It was once unthinkable to believe that New York City with such a strong Jewish electoral base and influence on all sectors of economic and cultural life would have a mayor that is so hostile to Israel to such an extent that he is calling for the arrest of its Prime Minister. From all accounts Netanyahu was cordially welcomed at the White House. The official press release stated that the talks were constructive. What is more telling is what was left unsaid particularly concerning the proposed sale of F35's to Israel's new regional adversary -Turkey. Trump is keen to find a swift resolution to the Iran War, while Netanyahu is opposed to a premature departure. When the US and Israel initiated their attacks on Iran over five months ago, Trump and Netanyahu appeared united in the War's goals and purpose. But as the protracted conflict has staggered to topple the Iranian regime fractures have emerged. Much has been said about the imminent political realities both leaders face. The Republicans could take a big hit in the November midterm elections should the war continue and global energy markets be negatively impacted. Netanyahu is anxious to demonstrate a big win to the Israeli public with the upcoming October election. In Israel, the Iran War is not viewed in isolation, but rather as an extension of the response to the colossal disaster of the October 7th massacre. Netanyahu must rehabilitate his reputation as a competent steward of national security having had the greatest loss of civilian life in an attack happening under his watch. Aside from the Iran issue, Trump is being pressured by Erdogan to insist upon Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory pre-emptively seized by Israel following the toppling of Assad. Trump has also indicated disapproval of the extent of continuing Israeli measures against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, questioning the proportionality employed. Netanyahu is not in an envious position. Throughout his tenure and political career, he lauded his ability to engage successfully with the American public by zealously advocating Israel's position. Yet under his government Israel's reputation has plummeted in the US. Trump may be the last US President to extend such overwhelming bilateral support to Israel. The days of politicians like Lindsey Graham are fast ending. While John Fetteman and Marco Rubio appear to be remaining more solid, even some of the most warmly inclined leading Republican and Democrat voices like Donald Trump and Rahm Emanuel have nuanced their support for Israel. The tide has shifted and will at best level off if not continuing to shift further.  (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).

The Saudi Nuclear Deal: An attempt to alter the Regional Balance of Power

By David Passmore • July 24, 2026
The Saudi Nuclear Deal: An attempt to alter the Regional Balance of Power Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The initiative to develop a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia with US assistance isn't new. There were concrete plans discussed towards these ends during the first Trump Administration. The recent announcement to actualize this deal follows the geo-political regional tumult in the wake of the Iran War. Several dimensions of motivation underlie the US decision. An overarching US strategic agenda is to keep the Saudis firmly in the American sphere of influence. Washington knows all too well that the Chinese and Russians are eager to offer their nuclear technical assistance to the Saudis in order to draw them closer to their camp. On a personal note, the nuclear agreement is a significant achievement for Bin Salaman. The Saudis have long had designs to diversify their energy supplies. Having a civilian nuclear program also adds prestige to Saudi Arabia as an emerging market economy. For the US, a monopoly on contracting companies for the requisite construction offers lucrative economic opportunities. Although the Civilian Nuclear deal does not allow the enrichment of Uranium, the Saudis will be in a position to do so if Washington gives the green light. This will act as a counterbalanced threat hanging over the Iranians. After the recent flare up of renewed fighting with Iran due to their lack of adherence to the moratorium of understanding, something had to budge in Trump's estimation. A reconfiguration of the power balance in the Gulf by introducing the potential of Saudi Arabia to be able to acquire nuclear weapons shifts the dynamic and places further pressure on Iran to strictly abstain from nuclear proliferation. Despite Israeli concerns about the agreement, Trump sought to assuage their alarm by making it contingent upon Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with them. Given the inherently unstable nature of an autocratic Saudi regime Israel views a diplomatic relationship with the Saudis as being on precarious footing in the long term. Israel is already forced to contend with the implications of one nuclear armed Muslim state - Pakistan and it will further weaken its own deterrent capability if another similarly capable hostile neighbour were to emerge in the future. The roles of Turkey and Qatar in all this foray are a wild card. Officially Turkey is served under the NATO nuclear umbrella for defence that is subject to US control. However, its civilian nuclear program remains in its infancy. Now with the Saudi deal, Erdogan may be inclined to exert pressure on the US to help accelerate his own nuclear program. Just as Erdogan's efforts to acquire F35 fighter jets from the US greatly disturbed Israeli military planners, a heightened Turkish nuclear ability will intensify this fear. Qatar views itself as pursuing its own independent foreign policy that has managed to remain rather neutral during the current war, thereby escaping the ire of Iran's strikes on US regional assets. Overall, the Qatari government has grown closer to the Turkish vision for the region and so likely isn't particularly amiable to the Saudi agreement. Ultimately the Saudi deal is a gamble. Many will see it as throwing more fuel on the fire which will further imperil the tinder box region and heighten tensions. But Trump finds himself at a continuing impasse with a stubborn regime in Tehran that is leveraging their geographic hold on the straits of Hormuz to inflict damage on the global energy markets. Iranian strikes upon US Arab regional allies have underscored the de facto alliance between Israel and the Arabs against Iran and its Shia proxies. The US hopes to use the Saudi nuclear deal as a means of making this alliance official by having Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords as a pre-condition.  (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).

Circling the Wagons

By David Passmore • July 14, 2026
Circling the wagons Ruben Rothler LLB, LLM Israel is a society riddled with tension and division. It is sociologically, if not politically miraculous that a country drawing Jews from all over the world is able to exist at all. The army affords a degree of integration as a melting pot. But this is only a marginal source of national unity in the overall scheme of things. More so are the myriads of external threats that face this small country. In the former generation the Ashkenazi (Jews of European descent) - Sephardic (Jews of Oriental descent) divide was far more pronounced. The dominant Ashkenazi establishment held the reins of political and economic power which was resented by the Sephardim. However, due to a combination of inter-marriage and political accommodation much of the chasm that separated these distinct groups was forged. Menachem Begin (an Ashkenazi politician) in 1970 successfully ran on the Likud Party ticket with a campaign that brought Sephardic Jews under his conservative political umbrella. Later the immigration of Russian Jews following the end of Communism would add a whole new dimension to the Israeli demographic milieu. The younger generation of these immigrants tended to adapt well to Israeli society and contributed much to the economy. The wider division in Israeli society that crosses ethnic lines concerns that between religious and secular Jews. This can be further bifurcated to the clash between the secular and specifically ultra-orthodox Jews (Haredim) as distinguished from the national religious Jews (Dati Leumi). The Secular and the Religious generally part on what they envisage a Jewish State to entail. Religious Jews desire the State to strictly adhere to the stipulations of Jewish Law (Halacha), while at present Halakhic influence is largely limited to certain areas of Family Law concerning Jewish citizens. Wider considerations of promoting a socially conservative political agenda would also be forefront amongst the religious mindset broadly. Secular Jews view the imposition of such proposed measures as a serious infringement of their civil rights. With regard to the Haredim, the bone of contention looms larger, in that this group is fundamentally opposed to participating in society at large. This is acutely manifested in diminished contribution to the work force and a refusal to be conscripted into the army. The 2023 judicial reform protests posed a significant threat to social civil order. The nation appeared to be bitterly divided into two opposing camps. This split reflected broader divisions concerning visions of how the country should be governed. The judicial reforms would have weakened the Supreme Court's ability to render the Executive branch accountable. However, the Supreme Court was also accused of using its considerable powers to promote a socially liberal agenda. Left wing secular Israelis tended to oppose the proposed reforms while those on the right (which included the majority of Religious Jews) supported the reforms. Every weekend droves of protesters were brought onto the streets causing major disturbances to traffic. The polarising nature of this impasse threatened the future of Israeli democracy. It was the October 7th attack that brought a swift end to this public debate and civil strife. The nation instinctually united in response to this common existential threat. The judicial reforms were shelved for a future point when the urgent security threats subsided. However, as the war dragged on the enduring issue of Haredi refusal to conscript into the army became more pronounced. Mounting casualties combined with ever increasing manpower demands to field troops on the multiple theatres of action on which the IDF is engaged has depleted the ranks, and the army is now in much need of fresh conscripts. Haredi belligerent refusal to participate in the pressing national defence has escalated from being a political debate to a matter of very practical vital importance. Overall we can observe that the challenges to national unity in successive generations since the establishment of Israel has recurrently been ameliorated by the common necessity of defence towards outside threats. Most recently we can see this happening with regard to the global anti Semitism and anti-Zionism that has been raging since the October 7th atrocities. These hostile attitudes have paradoxically acted as a force which promotes nationalism and a sense of national cohesion in Israel that otherwise might not functionally exist.  (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).

A Divided Nation

By David Passmore • July 8, 2026
A Divided Nation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The Haredi community has had a complicated, paradoxical relationship with the State since its founding. Rooted in a Talmudic precept that the Jews are forbidden to resettle the land of Israel en masse by force before the coming of the Messiah, the secular democratic State of Israel presents itself as blasphemous by its mere existence. Yet due to practical considerations such as the need to obtain funding for its religious academies the Haredi leadership reached a settlement with the State's founders that exempted Haredi men from being conscripted for military service. This was at a time when the Haredi population in Israel was relatively small. Over the past decades this demographic ballooned until the point that soon the majority of Jewish children in Israel will be born into Haredi families. Such a situation is clearly unsustainable. Recently the Knesset's (Parliament's) Haredi parties have pressured their coalition partners in government to codify Torah Study as part of the Country's Basic Laws. This was purposefully done to elevate the status of their institutions to be on parity with service in the IDF. Israel is yet to promulgate a written Constitution, so legislation classed as a Basic Law holds Constitutional status for all intents and purposes. These moves by the religious parties represent a back door power grab to enshrine in law very significant hurdles to prevent the enlistment of Haredi men. The burden of Israel's defence is comparatively massive for a country its size and it is vastly disproportionately shouldered by the secular population. Until now there have been political initiatives to conscript the Haredim. But given the huge manpower shortages emerging in the wake of near continual conflict on multiple fronts since the events of October 7th this matter has become urgent and not merely a theoretical discussion of what is fair and equitable. It is important to draw a distinction between the Haredim and national religious Jews (Dati Leumi). The Haredim adhere to a lifestyle entirely committed to observance of Jewish Law and Talmudic study. This is embraced to the exclusion of gainful employment and participation in wider society. They are either outrightly opposed to Zionism or consider themselves non-Zionist. Conversely, followers of the national religious movement in Israel although being observant of Jewish law and learning would alongside this pursue secular professions. Furthermore, they are ardently Zionist and disproportionately serve in IDF combat units. This is often done within the framework of a program called Hesder Yeshiva that combines religious learning with military service. Efforts to cater a similar model for accommodating Haredi participation in the IDF have so far failed to make substantial gains. Such measures designed to override Haredi objections to service based upon modesty concerns by strict segregation of the sexes in these specially formed units have failed to appease the Haredi leadership. For them, any form of military service is considered a dereliction of their duty to fully devote themselves to a Torah lifestyle. They argue that their Talmudic learning and prayers are in itself a form of national service and act to protect the Jewish people spiritually from enemy attack. It is as if two parallel societies exist within Israel. And the trajectory of separation between the two is only growing. The Haredim are cloistered away in their Yeshivas, immersed in lives devoted to adhering to the stipulations of Jewish law. While the particulars of actually running the State is left to the Secular. The Haredim desire all the benefits of subsidizing their lifestyle without contributing to society. What we really have going on here at source is two profoundly different and opposing ideological visions of what is important in life and what is the purpose of a Jewish State. At the State's founding these divergent perspectives were more manageable. Ben Gurion only had to contend with one religious party –the National Religious Party. Later in 1970 Begin aligned with the NRP to form a coalition government that also brought Sephardic Jews under the Likud umbrella which had the effect of bringing unity to the country by bridging the Ashkenazi-Sephardi divide. However, over time Israeli politics has seen a proliferation of religious parties, gaining further leverage as king brokers in forming governments due to the proportionate representation voting system which secular Israelis not uncommonly view as political blackmail. (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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