This Generation

April 3, 2025
“Truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all things take place” (Matthew 24:34)

This verse of the Olivet Discourse has led to so much speculation, misunderstanding, prophetic pronouncement and prediction that failed to happen — “this generation.”

It has been assumed that the generation that died in the wilderness as told in the story of the Exodus was forty years, therefore a biblical generation must be forty years. Hal Lindsey popularized this idea in his best-seller “The Late Great Planet Earth,” in which he speculated that something apocalyptic had to happen within a forty-year period of time, give or take a few years, from the birth of the nation of Israel.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

There has been two sources for the misinterpretation of “this generation”. The first had been with those who propagate the deception of post-millennialism, with its modern-day adjuncts. These include Dominion Theology, Kingdom-Now Theology, and Triumphalism (the bogus notion that the Church is going to conquer the world before Christ comes and set up His Kingdom. Only then will He come for a victorious Church.) This is the diametric opposite of what the Word of God teaches. Jesus does not come for a victorious Church, He comes with a victorious Church which has been raptured. It is the seed of the woman who crushes the head of the serpent, not as Kevin Connor teaches in Australia that it is the woman who crushes the serpent’s head. In Romans, the Lord of Glory will trample Satan under your feet; we don’t trample Satan under our own. It is the return of Jesus that turns the final victory into ‘The Final Victory’.

Post-millennialists forget that the early Apostolic church was almost uniformly pre-millennial before the Council of Nicea. There were heretics like Soirthis who were also pre-millennial but there is no indication that the apostolic Church believed anything other than that there would be a literal millennial reign of the Lord Jesus. Post-millennialism was invented by those who had both political and theological motives. Certainly after Constantine “Christianised” the Roman Empire and the Church was Platonized by Augustine of Hippo to accommodate the pseudo-Christianisation of the Roman Empire, they needed a new eschatology; a new doctrinal basis to explain the last days. So while Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world, “Christendom” said “oh yes it is.”

This is the basis and the origin of the foolish thinking of post-millennialism. Indeed the meek shall inherit the earth, but if there is no earth, how shall it be inherited? And as for the idea that the church is going to take it over now, and Satan is bound for a thousand years, one might ask “when did the thousand years begin?” Those who followed Augustine believed not in Y2K but Y1K — the bogus idea that Christ would come back at the end of the first millennium. So in 999 A.D., people began giving their land, money, castles, etc. to the Pope and to the church. But we know in hindsight that Jesus did not show up in 999 A.D. under Pope Sylvester, and nobody got their money back.

The same kind of people, like Gary North in America, began pushing the Y2K idea, with wild, foolish speculation about the return of Christ. There were people such as Brae, in America, and others who tried to tell us the events of the Olivet discourse were totally fulfilled in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem. They said that “this generation” must have included those who were around when Jesus was alive, who saw the destruction of the Temple. It would have been just about forty years later, and it would seem to fit to them. However, in verse 21 Jesus said that there would be a great tribulation such has not occurred since the foundation of the world, nor never shall be.

There have been other tribulations, both for the Jews and for the church, that have been worse than anything that happened in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the temple, so that interpretation fails the test of history. Additionally, the Olivet discourse is not just Matthew 24 but it’s 24 and 25. Jesus did not separate the sheep from the goats or give people their eternal reward based on what they did with their talents in 70 A.D.
Without a doubt those events that happened in 70 A.D. prefigure and foreshadow what will happen in the last days, so it is important to study them. The church at that time was rescued from Jerusalem under the leadership of Simeon, a cousin of Jesus who became the Pastor of Jerusalem after the Apostle James was martyred. They fled to a place called Pella. This is indeed a type or a foreshadow of the rapture, just like what happened on the day of Pentecost is a foreshadow of what will happen in the last days. But neither Joel’s vision, which we read about in Acts 2, nor what we see in Matthew 24:29 — “the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light” —happened in 70 A.D. They are only partially fulfilled, not totally. And there has never been a unique Great Tribulation before or since 70 A.D. These are still coming events foreshadowed by the events of 70 A.D., with their ultimate fulfilment in the return of Jesus.

Understanding the Parable of the Fig Tree and the Other Trees

The other source of misinterpretation of “this generation” are Pre-millennialists who realise that it has a future meaning, but use it as a key for date-setting. They rightly believe there is a future fulfilment of the Olivet discourse, there will be an anti-Christ, a great falling away, a return of the Jews to Israel, and a future 1,000-year rule of Christ on Earth.

They look to the parable of the Fig Tree in Matthew 24:32-34 “…when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Using the same 40-year generation from the Exodus account as their guide, they follow this logic: Israel became a nation in May, 1948. So they count, 1948 to ‘58 to ‘68 to ‘78 to 1988, and arrive at the year of the Lord’s return. There was a man named Edgar Whisenant who actually put out a book entitled “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988.” In 1987 on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, there was a fundamentalist Baptist preacher from America standing in Speakers Corner in London telling the Muslims that he would be gone within 48 hours, but of course he was still there. He made a public fool of himself, and wound up leaving the country in humiliation. The very next year that same man and others like him said “We got the year wrong. It was not 1987, it is 1988.” These were not hyper-charismatics; they were fundamentalist Baptists. They made fools of themselves speculating about dates for the return of Christ, which they based on their misinterpretation of “this generation” and they made a mockery of Bible prophecy, discrediting it in the eyes of the world.

People often assume that the rebirth of Israel is the fig tree budding forth its leaves, but is it? There is no doubt that the re-gathering of the Jews to the nation of Israel is of prophetic significance; the stage is being set for the Great Tribulation — ha tekufot tsorat Yacov — as Jeremiah the prophet called it “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” There is no doubt Israel will be deceived by the Anti-Christ. There is no doubt they are being re-gathered for what Daniel called the 70 th week. There is no doubt these things are happening. But are these things the primary meaning of the fig tree? Does the image of the fig tree have other meaning? When the Holy Spirit gives us multiple accounts of something, it must be examined carefully, prayerfully, and read in light of comparing all accounts. In this case we have not just Matthew 24 and 25, but also Luke 17, Luke 21, and Mark 13. Jesus did not say “when you see the fig tree full, stop. Period. End of story.” He shows us “Learn the parable of the fig tree and the other trees”-- not just the fig tree.

Now the parable of the fig tree and the other trees comes from the book of Judges chapters 8 and 9. The sons of Gideon, 70 of them, were destroyed by Abimelech. Only Jotham, who knew the parable of the fig tree and the other trees, recognised the deceiver. They said to the bramble, “come reign over us.” The bramble would because the olive tree wouldn’t, because the vine wouldn’t, because the fig tree wouldn’t. The infidelity of God’s people makes a way for the Anti-Christ to come to power in the end. This is the ultimate meaning of the fig tree. Understand the fig tree. In Judaism; the fig tree is a metaphor for the tree of life — the Eytz Hayim — that we see in a millennial context in Ezekiel 47, and in the creation narrative in Genesis, and that we see in the book of Revelation at the end. And the leaves in Revelation are for the healing of the nations. Fig leaves are metaphors for good works in the Bible. Unsaved people will always try to justify themselves with good works.
Every “religion” is established on a works-based righteousness. The righteousness of the Gospel is not based on works. Christians do not do good works to get saved, they do good works because they have been saved. There is more to the fig tree than the nation of Israel, but the main aspect of Israel concerning the fig tree is that Jesus cursed the fig tree. Why? Because it had leaves with no fruit. Israel had works, but not the fruit of the Spirit. The leaves normally occur at the same time as the fruit. The sun in the Middle East will burn up the fruit unless the leaves are covering them. Faith without works is dead. But it was not yet the season for figs when Jesus came. The Son of Man comes at an hour you do not expect.

But of the Day and the Hour No One Knows…

You cannot calculate the day of His return on the basis of a generation being forty years, nor estimate that day based on the date of the rebirth of Israel. Neither can you speculate that it only means Jerusalem and count down from the time it is no longer trampled down by the feet of the Gentiles. In 1967 the Jews had control of the Temple Mount, therefore ‘67 to ‘77, to ‘87, to ’97 -- therefore by 2007, they speculate, Jesus will be back since Jerusalem is no longer trampled under the feet of the Gentiles. Yet Jesus said until the time of the Gentiles is completed, but Jerusalem is still under the feet of the Gentiles. The Israeli General Moshe Dayan gave unilateral control of the Temple Mount to the Moslems. The Mosque of Omar, with an inscription from the Koran “God has no son,” is on the Temple Mount as is the Mosque of Al-Aqsa. It is still under the feet of the Gentiles. The time of the Gentiles is closing, but it is not yet over.

After Their Kind…

It is never wise to speculate about dates for the return of Christ. The right understanding of “this generation” has complications. We have Hebrew words Dor and Min Dor la Dor — “from generation to generation.” Dor is a biological generation; min is “of a kind” as referred to in the book of Genesis. God made the species according to their kind, hence the impossibility of Darwinism. There is absolutely no evidence that recombinant DNA transmutates across the genus barrier in the natural environment and now that Man is beginning to engage in biogenetic engineering, and the transfer of DNA across the genus barrier we are in danger of creating monsters. Things can very easily get out of control. Anything fallen man can use for evil he will. Can nuclear energy be used for good? Yes, but fallen man will use it for evil. Can biogenetic engineering be used for good? Fallen man will use it for evil. The world is in the power of the wicked one. If they clone species or invent new ones based on combining the DNA of different species, we can no longer be sure that when we look at some of the monsters that appear in the Book of Revelation, that they are only symbols, and not literal as well. God made them according to their kind or “min” in the Hebrew text, not hybrids.

There are now rats that have 1% human brain due to biogenetic engineering. Can you imagine rats with human minds? The theoretical possibility cannot be ruled out. Min is “of a kind,” and is the root of the Hebrew term for sex and sexual reproduction — minee. However, generation — dor —is another Hebrew word entirely. The complication happens when we put these Hebrew terms into the Greek language. The word gennao in Greek closely approximates min Jesus is the monogenes —the only begotten. Gennao means “begotten.” This is also the root of the word “genesis.” The word used in Matthew 24, however is gennea notgennao.

This is a more complicated term because it is ambiguous. The context and its connectives determine what is meant. It can have two possible meanings. Think of the word “blue.” This cup is blue. That is clear; it is referring to its color. But blue is also a metaphor for being sad in English. There is a form of music invented by Black Americans called “The Blues.” There is a music which combines jovial upbeat major chords with sad minor chords, or that plays minor chords in a fast rhythmic pattern called Rhythm & Blues. Rhythm & Blues is sort of like Jewish music; it is both happy and sad at the same time, using minor chords in a vivacious way. So what does blue mean? Does blue mean a colour, or is blue a metaphor for being sad? Well, the context tells you, and the other words to which it is connected to tell you what blue means. So it is with gennea. Gennea can almost be a synonym for gennao, meaning of the same kind because of common ancestry.
Being begotten of the same source it can almost be a synonym for gennao, or it could mean that which is in a circle of time, that is a multitude of contemporaries, or it could be a metaphor like blue.

For example, there are airplanes called 747s. They have been built since the 1960s, and some forty years later they are still coming off the assembly lines in Seattle, Washington. The next generation will be the 787, an airplane that you can get on and fly non-stop from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, or from London to Melbourne. It is an airplane that can go non-stop from anywhere in the world to anywhere else in the world without landing. That is the next generation. If you can have a 747 that was built in 1968 that was junked twenty years ago, and you can have one built in 1995 that is still in operation, they are still the same generation because they are of the same design. They are “of the same kind.” It is the 787 that is the next generation. In the same sense one can determine the meaning of gennae — by the context. Does it mean “of a kind?” Or does it mean “a multitude of contemporaries within a circle of time?” Or does it mean both? The context will clarify the meaning.

In Matthew 24:34, it means “of a kind” because we are the generation of Jesus. He is the monogenes — the only begotten of the Father, and the church is made up of those who are born again. We are begotten in a spiritual sense; we are begotten from the same source, born again of the Spirit, and we are of the same kind. What Matthew 24 is telling us is that the church will not pass away. Those of this kind, those who have been begotten from Jesus, will not pass away until all these events happen. Now these events will recapitulate, will replay, on a much broader, larger scale than that which happened in 70 A.D. This is what pre-millenialists have always understood, but post-millenialists have never grasped. The judgments on Egypt and events that took place in the book of Exodus are a microcosm of what will happen to the entire planet in the last days. It will replay, but it does not mean the forty-year generation. What it means is those “of the kind” gennao or begotten — have the same ancestry in the new birth; we come from the same source.

Who Has Believed Our Message?

This has led to so much confusion, so much misunderstanding, that it has caused Christians — true believers — to be discredited. They wind up looking like “the boy who cried wolf.” In this tale from Aesop’s Fables, the boy cries wolf too many times when the wolf is not there, so when the wolf actually shows up, nobody pays attention to the boy. Likewise, if Satan can deceive Christians into speculating about nonsense like Y2K, or the rapture in 1988, or that He has to come by 2007 since that is 40 years from Jerusalem being captured in the Six-Day War -- the more Satan can have the church sounding a false alarm. So when it comes time to sound the real alarm, who is going to listen; who is going to believe it?

These things are not necessarily perpetrated by people with wrong motives; the people who do these things are largely sincere Christians wanting to do the right thing. But instead of sounding a distinctive note, they are blowing a cacophony as Paul warns against in Corinthians. It’s something indiscernible; they are sending false signals, so when it comes time to sound the true alarm, the church will have been so discredited nobody will listen. We have reached a point now where the ridiculous has happened. In a media-driven society the world is looking to Hollywood instead of the church. There is a movie called “End of Days” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and people are getting their eschatology from that movie! “Well this cannot be the Anti-Christ.” “That cannot be of prophetic significance; the movie did not happen that way.” Don’t think people don’t think this way; there are those who do think this way.

Worse than the world looking to Hollywood, born-again, evangelical Christians embraced an unbiblical, historically-inaccurate film called “The Passion of the Christ.” This movie was made by a man who is a self-professed Traditional Catholic who states that he based the movie not just on the Gospels, but on the visions of Roman Catholic mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich. In the movie Mel Gibson’s own hand drive the nails into the metacarpus instead of the radius, supportive of the Roman Catholic superstition of stigmata. (In fact palaeo-archaeology tells us that the nails went through the radius.) Mel does not even think it is necessary to believe in Jesus for salvation. Based on the following excerpt from the Monday, February 18, 2004 program with Diane Sawyer, one can only assume that he is not even saved.

DIANE SAWYER (ABC NEWS) -- “... when we talked with Gibson and his actors, we wondered, does his traditionalist view bar the door to Heaven for Jews, Protestants, Muslims?

MEL GIBSON—“That’s not the case at all. Absolutely not. It is possible for people who are not even Christian to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s just easier for - and I have to say that because that’s what I believe.”

DIANE SAWYER—“You have the non-stop ticket?”

MEL GIBSON—“Well, yeah, I’m saying it’s an easier ride where I am because it’s like -I have to believe that.”

In August of 2004, an Australian newspaper asked what impact making the film “The Passion” has had on his life. He responded “I have a hell of a lot more money than I used to have, I don’t have to answer questions like this anymore.” He implied he made it for money -- a biblically and historically inaccurate film. And he doesn’t even believe one must trust in Jesus to go to Heaven. The Gospel says “unless you believe I am He, you will perish in your sins. Unless a man is born again he cannot enter the Kingdom.” Yet there are people who claim to be born-again, Evangelical pastors and leaders saying this is still an evangelistic tool. If the Church is going to Hollywood for its Gospel, why shouldn’t unsaved people go to Hollywood for their eschatology?

When the real thing happens, who will believe it? Signs of the times and world events point to the soon coming of Christ. Apostasy and deception in the church point to the soon coming of Christ. It is amazing the speed at which the ecumenical movement, pioneered by agents of Lucifer such as Chuck Colson, have swept born-again Christians into thinking the Roman church is biblical. My mother’s family is Catholic, but you must be born again; salvation is not by sacraments, not by an ex opera operato ritual. Praying to the dead is the sin of necromancy, transubstantiation is cannibalistic and idolatrous. The apostles forbade the consumption of blood, but if saved Christians cannot see through a Chuck Colson, what is going to happen when real deception comes? If saved Christians cannot see through con-artist, money preachers on television preaching mammon worship, calling covetousness a virtue, what is going to happen when real deception comes?

When saved Christians run around with unbiblical ideas of what “this generation” means, speculating about dates for the return of Christ, scare-mongering about Y2K, when the real thing happens who is going to listen? They will be like the boy crying wolf.

The Hebrew prophets tell us in the last days one of the things we are called to do is set a trumpet to your mouth; blow a trumpet in Zion. As you read in Joel Chapter 2, “blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain.” In its Sitz im Leben (in its historical setting) it is a warning about the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, the armies of Babylon, and the locusts which are illustrations of the Babylonian invasion. In the ninth chapter of the book of Revelation there are the demon cohort armies of Anti-Christ. Yet people in the Vineyard movement and those in churches like Holy Trinity Brompton in London sing, “They run on the city, they run on the walls, great is the army who carries His Word.” They are singing about the armies of Babylon; they are singing about the demon cohorts of Anti-Christ, and they think they are singing about themselves — the Church Triumphant. It is ridiculous. These are the inventions of men under the inspiration of Satan.

For by One Spirit We Were All Baptized into One Body

This Generation, this generation, this generation. It is true, this generation will not pass away until these things happen. Well these things are happening. You are this generation. What does that mean? Does it mean that you’re guaranteed to be alive when Jesus comes? No -- maybe you will; maybe I will; maybe we won’t; but it is to say that those who are born of God, those who are reborn — the gennao — those “of that kind,” will have to be here when it happens, when He comes, and He is coming. If He was not coming soon, Satan would not be so determined to spread so much confusion, false information, raising up so many false prophets, so many deceivers, so many false teachers, in this generation — indeed, this generation.

Y2K had no more biblical or logical basis than Y1K. Likewise, saying that Jesus must return by 2007 has no more biblical or factual basis than for those who said He must return by 1988. Saved Christians should leave the ignorant folly of such speculation to those cult leaders, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who deserve to make public fools of themselves with their bogus, date-setting nonsense. The only thing we can know for sure at this point is that He is indeed coming soon.

Maranatha — Come Quickly Lord Jesus!

 

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).

Why Is It Always Israel? | Zechariah 12 Is Happening Before Our Eyes

By David Passmore • June 29, 2026