Ezekiel - Chapters 8 & 9

April 3, 2025

Ezekiel, in Hebrew, means “in the strength of God”. His ministry was such that it could only be carried out in the strength of God. The names of the prophets almost always depict or describe the nature of what God is calling them to do as a ministry.

The events in the book of Ezekiel are at the onset of the Babylonian captivity that was first prophesied by Isaiah, then by Jeremiah and began in the days of Ezekiel. God had warned that such a judgment would come if the people did not repent. It began conspicuously; was clearly a fulfillment of God’s prophetic warning, yet people were denying that it was God's judgment. Everything was going down, but they kept claiming to be triumphant. This is similar to what we are seeing today in popular books such as The Unstoppable Church(when a more fitting title would be “The Unstoppable Mosque”), or from another aspect those in the Positive Confession mindset who claim their bodies lie to them when in reality they are very ill. People simply did not face the facts; they would not own up to what Isaiah and Jeremiah had been predicting all along.

Ezekiel began predicting that God's judgment was going to last and would become worse because the people's sin was lasting and worsening. They refused to repent even when they saw God's judgment coming. This is seen again in the book of Revelation: even though the judgments of God become more frequent and intense, it says that men harden their hearts, curse God, and continue to sin. (Rev 9:20-21; 16:9-11) So it was in the days of Ezekiel, and so it will be in the Last Days. The book of Ezekiel has many parallels with the book of Revelation, and replays much of it.

Exekiel 9:4 says this:

"And the Lord said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in their midst.'"

There were people who saw the abominations happening in the city of God and in the house of God, and before judgment began, God said, "Seal those who are truly Mine; seal those who see what's wrong, who know what's wrong, and who grieve over it. Before the judgment comes, seal them."

Revelation 7:2-3 parallels:

"And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads.’"

Prior to the implementation of the mark of the beast in Revelation 13, the seal of the Lord will be put on God’s faithful servants. We know from history and from archaeology that the mark or the seal in Ezekiel was the Hebrew letter tov. Today the Hebrew letter tov is written something like an “H” with a foot; however, in pre-Captivity Israel it was written as a slightly tilted cross, and its origin was probably an upright cross. The mark of the seal of God, as it was in the days of Ezekiel, is actually the mark of a cross.

"And they were told they should not hurt the earth, nor the grass, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads" (Rev 9:4).

Once again, before God's judgment comes His people are sealed. The church enters the Tribulation but is rescued from the worst of it and is sealed by the Lord and somehow protected during the part it endures. The 144,000 who minister eschatologically have the seal of the Lord.

We first see the sealing of the Lord begin, not in Revelation or even in Ezekiel, but in the Torah, in the book of Exodus. The children of Israel went through most of the judgments on Egypt; the same judgments on Egypt recorded in Exodus are replayed eschatologically, and that is a major type of what happens in Revelation. The darkness, the smiting of the waters, and so on; the Hebrews went through part of it, but were delivered from the worst of it. So it shall be in the Last Days; God's people will be sealed.Exodus 13:9 says:

"And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt."

Before the judgment comes, those whose hearts are really God's – who see the abominations and wickedness and grieve over it – are sealed with the mark of a cross. In Revelation, those who see the abominations that are happening and grieve over them are sealed with the mark of a cross.

The judgment was already happening in Ezekiel's time. The captivity was underway, yet people were saying, "Oh, it's only a temporary setback; it's short-lived." In fact, however, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah four separate times, each time with worse results. Just as the waves of evil followed one after the other, each worse than the last, so too do the judgments of God come in these kinds of waves. But His people are sealed; that is, those who are truly His.

The Temple Today


Much of Ezekiel's vision concerned the Temple. The 47th chapter of the book of Ezekiel is a millennial vision in which he saw the background of something we call in Hebrew, “Simchat beit Ha Shoyivah”; the rite or the ritual for the pouring out of the water on the Temple Mount which is celebrated as the Feast of Booths – Hag Succoth. The 7th chapter of the Gospel of John draws on this, but its meaning is always millennial. 

New-Age “Christian” Patrick Dixon argued for altered states of consciousness. He claimed that every time there was a divine encounter in the Bible, people behaved irrationally and went into altered states of consciousness. This is the basis for his defense of things like The Toronto Blessing as acceptable. As an example, he cited Peter's reaction to the Transfiguration, calling his behavior mindless and ridiculous in wanting to build the booths there. Mr. Dixon called this absurd; I pointed out to him that there was nothing absurd about it, since Peter thought that the Transfiguration was the Messianic fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.  Moses and Elijah were transfigured with the Messiah, so Peter thought – without a trace of absurdity – that this was the arrival of the Millennial Kingdom. Mr. Dixon had apparently never thought of this. Within its context, Peter's behavior was altogether rational. His response was to challenge me with questions such as "How do you know? Were you there? Did you talk to Peter?" To which I responded, "I know what the Messianic symbolism of the Feast of Booths was in the Second Temple Period." To this Mr. Dixon had nothing to say. However, we see that any kind of poison goes into the cauldron these days. (2 Kings 4:38-41)

There are at least seven places in the Bible that contain different Greek and Hebrew words for “temple” – naos, oikos, hieron, beth mishkan, beth migdash, Ha Hekal – and all are used in various contexts as types of the church.  1 Peter 2:5, "You are the living stones of the holy house", for example. In Corinthians the church is called the temple, and in Ephesians chapters 2 and 4 the temple is a picture of the church. Rebuilding the tabernacle of David is mentioned in the book of Acts, with a quote from the prophet Amos that "I (God) will rebuild the tabernacle of David"; (Acts 15:16) the New Testament reveals that the fulfillment of this, at least in part, is the Gentile church.

The Abomination of Desolation being set up in the Holy Place – the Holy of Holies -- spoken of by Daniel was fulfilled in part at several points during history, most significantly by Antiochus Epiphanes. Nevertheless, even though the temple may be rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Abomination set up in it, while a physical event would then be transpiring in a physical temple, it is in fact only a reflection of what is going to be happening spiritually. Always! When Jesus died on the cross, the Temple veil was torn from the ceiling to the ground, meaning that sinful man was no longer separated from a holy God. A physical miracle then happened in the physical temple. But the most important thing was what that miracle represented; that man was no longer separated from God because Yeshua, our high priest, died for our sins. So it will be with the Abomination of Desolation. Although an abomination may somehow be set up in a rebuilt temple – I don't dispute that this may occur – it will only be a reflection of what is happening spiritually; the Antichrist wanting to be worshiped in God's house.

Ezekiel sees abominations in the House of the LORD: 

"And it came about after the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, that I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me. The hand of the Lord fell upon me there; then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man. From his loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his loins and upward, the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. And he stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes the jealousy, was located. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw on the plain.  Then He said to me, 'Son of man, raise your eyes now towards the north,' (trouble always comes from the north) 'so I raised my eyes up to the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was the idol of Jealousy at the entrance" (Ez. 8:1-8)

“Son of man” is an eschatological title. Here Ezekiel, like all the other prophets, prefigures Jesus in some way. Jesus is never called the Son of God eschatologically; whenever we speak of His return, He is always the Son of Man coming down.

"And He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel is committing here, that I should be far from My sanctuary?  But yet you will see still greater abominations than these in My sanctuary; even in My sanctuary you will see greater abominations.'"

Again, this all hints at the ultimate Abomination of Desolation.

"Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole was in the wall.  And He said to me, 'Son of man, now dig through the wall.' So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. And He said to me, 'Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing.' So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping thing and beast and detestable thing with all the idols of the house of Israel were carved on the wall all around. And standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel:"

-- and he names them! –

"with Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, standing among them, each man with his censer in hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. And He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, "The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land."' And He said to me, 'Yet you will see still greater abominations than these which they are committing. You will see greater abominations in the house of the LORD; even in My sanctuary you will see greater abominations, O son of man.' Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate of the LORD's house, which was towards the north. And behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. And He said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Do you see this? Yet you will see still greater abominations than even these.' And He brought me into the inner court"

(Now, the further you go into God's Temple, the more holy it becomes in the Old Testament).

"And behold, at the entrance to the Temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, (where Zachariah was martyred) were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Temple of the LORD and their faces towards the east. And they were prostrating themselves eastwards, towards the sun. And he said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose.  Therefore, I indeed shall deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity, nor shall I spare. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen.' Then He cried out with a loud voice in my hearing, saying, 'Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand!' (The same as the judgments in Revelation when He dispatches the angels.)

And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand. And among them was a certain man clothed with linen and a writing case at his loins.  And they went in and stood next to the bronze altar" (the bronze altar is a type of the cross) "Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the Temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen, at whose loins was the writing case.  And the LORD said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. But to the others He said, 'Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare. Utterly slay all of them.'" (Ez. 8:6-9:6)

Yet God does not allow them to harm His people; He commands that first His own would be sealed, then the rest would be stricken. He commands in Revelation that the trees not be harmed – "The trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isa 55:12) – representing His people.  That is what happens also in Ezekiel.

The Temple Today


Much of Ezekiel's vision concerned the Temple. The 47th chapter of the book of Ezekiel is a millennial vision in which he saw the background of something we call in Hebrew, “Simchat beit Ha Shoyivah”; the rite or the ritual for the pouring out of the water on the Temple Mount which is celebrated as the Feast of Booths – Hag Succoth. The 7th chapter of the Gospel of John draws on this, but its meaning is always millennial. 

New-Age “Christian” Patrick Dixon argued for altered states of consciousness. He claimed that every time there was a divine encounter in the Bible, people behaved irrationally and went into altered states of consciousness. This is the basis for his defense of things like The Toronto Blessing as acceptable. As an example, he cited Peter's reaction to the Transfiguration, calling his behavior mindless and ridiculous in wanting to build the booths there. Mr. Dixon called this absurd; I pointed out to him that there was nothing absurd about it, since Peter thought that the Transfiguration was the Messianic fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.  Moses and Elijah were transfigured with the Messiah, so Peter thought – without a trace of absurdity – that this was the arrival of the Millennial Kingdom. Mr. Dixon had apparently never thought of this. Within its context, Peter's behavior was altogether rational. His response was to challenge me with questions such as "How do you know? Were you there? Did you talk to Peter?" To which I responded, "I know what the Messianic symbolism of the Feast of Booths was in the Second Temple Period." To this Mr. Dixon had nothing to say. However, we see that any kind of poison goes into the cauldron these days. (2 Kings 4:38-41)

There are at least seven places in the Bible that contain different Greek and Hebrew words for “temple” – naos, oikos, hieron, beth mishkan, beth migdash, Ha Hekal – and all are used in various contexts as types of the church.  1 Peter 2:5, "You are the living stones of the holy house", for example. In Corinthians the church is called the temple, and in Ephesians chapters 2 and 4 the temple is a picture of the church. Rebuilding the tabernacle of David is mentioned in the book of Acts, with a quote from the prophet Amos that "I (God) will rebuild the tabernacle of David"; (Acts 15:16) the New Testament reveals that the fulfillment of this, at least in part, is the Gentile church.

The Abomination of Desolation being set up in the Holy Place – the Holy of Holies -- spoken of by Daniel was fulfilled in part at several points during history, most significantly by Antiochus Epiphanes. Nevertheless, even though the temple may be rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Abomination set up in it, while a physical event would then be transpiring in a physical temple, it is in fact only a reflection of what is going to be happening spiritually. Always! When Jesus died on the cross, the Temple veil was torn from the ceiling to the ground, meaning that sinful man was no longer separated from a holy God. A physical miracle then happened in the physical temple. But the most important thing was what that miracle represented; that man was no longer separated from God because Yeshua, our high priest, died for our sins. So it will be with the Abomination of Desolation. Although an abomination may somehow be set up in a rebuilt temple – I don't dispute that this may occur – it will only be a reflection of what is happening spiritually; the Antichrist wanting to be worshiped in God's house.

Ezekiel sees abominations in the House of the LORD: 

"And it came about after the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, that I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me. The hand of the Lord fell upon me there; then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man. From his loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his loins and upward, the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. And he stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes the jealousy, was located. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw on the plain.  Then He said to me, 'Son of man, raise your eyes now towards the north,' (trouble always comes from the north) 'so I raised my eyes up to the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was the idol of Jealousy at the entrance" (Ez. 8:1-8)

“Son of man” is an eschatological title. Here Ezekiel, like all the other prophets, prefigures Jesus in some way. Jesus is never called the Son of God eschatologically; whenever we speak of His return, He is always the Son of Man coming down.

"And He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel is committing here, that I should be far from My sanctuary?  But yet you will see still greater abominations than these in My sanctuary; even in My sanctuary you will see greater abominations.'"

Again, this all hints at the ultimate Abomination of Desolation.

"Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole was in the wall.  And He said to me, 'Son of man, now dig through the wall.' So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. And He said to me, 'Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing.' So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping thing and beast and detestable thing with all the idols of the house of Israel were carved on the wall all around. And standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel:"

-- and he names them! –

"with Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, standing among them, each man with his censer in hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. And He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, "The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land."' And He said to me, 'Yet you will see still greater abominations than these which they are committing. You will see greater abominations in the house of the LORD; even in My sanctuary you will see greater abominations, O son of man.' Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate of the LORD's house, which was towards the north. And behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. And He said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Do you see this? Yet you will see still greater abominations than even these.' And He brought me into the inner court"

(Now, the further you go into God's Temple, the more holy it becomes in the Old Testament).

"And behold, at the entrance to the Temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, (where Zachariah was martyred) were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Temple of the LORD and their faces towards the east. And they were prostrating themselves eastwards, towards the sun. And he said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose.  Therefore, I indeed shall deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity, nor shall I spare. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen.' Then He cried out with a loud voice in my hearing, saying, 'Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand!' (The same as the judgments in Revelation when He dispatches the angels.)

And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand. And among them was a certain man clothed with linen and a writing case at his loins.  And they went in and stood next to the bronze altar" (the bronze altar is a type of the cross) "Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the Temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen, at whose loins was the writing case.  And the LORD said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. But to the others He said, 'Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare. Utterly slay all of them.'" (Ez. 8:6-9:6)

Yet God does not allow them to harm His people; He commands that first His own would be sealed, then the rest would be stricken. He commands in Revelation that the trees not be harmed – "The trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isa 55:12) – representing His people.  That is what happens also in Ezekiel.

Abominations in the Lord's House


God takes Ezekiel and shows him one abomination after another. It grows worse and worse and worse. The first abomination he sees is the Idol of Jealousy: idolatry in the house of the Lord. The Hebrew word for “to worship” is “hishtakvya”, the infinitive, “La Histachavot”; “to bow down”. When you see somebody prostrating or bowing down before a statue or a graven image, a common practice in Roman Catholicism, this is an act of idolatry.

It begins this way: God takes Ezekiel between heaven and earth and says, "Look. Now you're seeing how I see, from heaven. Do you see what they're doing in My house, in My sanctuary, where I'm supposed to meet with them?" Ezekiel looks and he is shocked. But God says to Ezekiel, "That's idolatry in My house, in My sanctuary. Yet greater abominations than these will you see, O son of man; even greater abominations than these will you see in My house," says the LORD.

Then God brings him and shows him further and further into the temple compound; every creeping thing, every crawling beast and detestable thing, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. The Hebrew term is “shektzim”, where you get the derogatory word shiksa for a Gentile woman. You've heard me say, perhaps, that in the book of Revelation Satan has two modes of attack: the serpent and the dragon.  The dragon is Satan the persecutor; the serpent is Satan the deceiver. These creeping things are called shektzim, which means “slimy reptiles”. They are pictures of demons from the snake cults of the ancient near East, but they have them as far west as India where there is snake worship and other such things. The Abomination of Desolation draws from that.  Demons are in the house of the Lord; so now it goes from mere idolatry to open demon-worship. 

From there, however, God says to Ezekiel, “Yet shall you see worse! Yet greater abominations than these shall you see in My house, O son of man!” And God shows him the religious leaders – their “pastors”, as it were, the Levites or cohenim – and he names them personally here and in other places. He describes Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, standing among them; people who shouldn't be there, people you wouldn't have expected to be there, are there with their censers. Incense represents the prayers of the saints, but these prayers are not being offered to the true God. These people are not worshiping the true God. Jeremiah, Paul in 1 and 2 Timothy, and John in 3 John, all named publicly the leaders who persisted in leading the people astray. The apostles and prophets revealed them by name without hesitation.

So we see here in Ezekiel the idolatry happening, the openly demonic things going on, and now God's leaders are leading the people into it. God declares it to be a worse abomination than anything before and that the leaders are going along with it in the house of the Lord.

"'Yet greater abominations than these shall you see in My house,' says the LORD!" And the next thing He shows Ezekiel is the worship of Tammuz. Tammuz is the infant god, held by his mother the Madonna. The Roman Catholic Madonna with Child is a Catholicization of Tammuz-worship; that's all it is. Jeremiah 44 speaks of the women making cakes for the Queen of Heaven: this parallels with Catholic Mary-worship. Tammuz; Jesus is pictured as a helpless little baby, while His mother is portrayed as the strong, capable adult. This is the origin of the Catholic claims that Mary co-redeemed us, that she is the co-mediator, the co-savior. In reality, Mary herself said that she needed a Savior (Luke 14;7) but the lie of Tammuz says she is the savior.

"Yet greater abominations than these will you see in My house", God tells Ezekiel. "O son of man, do you see what they're doing now?" First it was the Idol of Jealousy, then demons. Next, the leaders going along with it – even leaders who should know better, leading the people astray – and then Tammuz-worship. What will be next?

"'Yet even greater abominations than these will you see in my house' , says the LORD." God brings Ezekiel into the inner court, between the porch and the altar. There he sees them openly worshiping the sun – openly praying to other gods. These Babylonian religions involved things other than simple worship; things such as immorality. Immorality and idolatry go together. In ancient Greece it was cult prostitutes, but this goes back before Greece; the corruption of sex in worship. All the initiation rites in Satanism involve some kind of sexually connotative ritual.

It gets worse, worse, and worse still. The judgments that God was warning about all along through Isaiah and Jeremiah were coming to pass, yet the people were ignoring them. They denied that it was the promised judgment, and continued in their sin. The leaders, meanwhile, stood there and said, "The LORD doesn't really care about this stuff anymore; it's all a game. It's just our job." There are so many people today in full-time ministry in the clergy – some of them Evangelicals – for whom it is no more than a career. Being in ministry is a job; it's not a calling, not a passion, not something God has given them as a vocation; it's just what they do to make a living.

Finally, God says, "Seal those who are truly Mine." There is no hope anymore; God will not pity nor spare anyone or anything except those who see this and grieve. God brings Ezekiel up to heaven and says, "Look down at My sanctuary," and Ezekiel is shocked. And God says, "There are other people down there who see what you see, and are shocked. They grieve over the abominations being committed in My house.  They grieve over the idolatry, they grieve over the immorality, and they grieve over the fact that their own leaders are leading them into it. Those will be sealed; but now My judgment is coming. Yet greater abominations than these will you see," says the LORD. "O son of man, do you see what they are doing?  Yet greater abominations than these will you see in the house of the LORD."

The Condition of the End Times Church


A white witch has become the first-ever pagan chaplain at a British university. “Susan Ladourne has taken over the post at Leeds University as chaplain in order to counsel students who believe in the occult. The 29-year old witch will guide students in magic, in pagan rituals and worship.” But then, greater abominations than these will we see. What's greater? The priests – those who should have known better – went along with the immorality, with the witchcraft. “The University's senior Anglican chaplain, Rev. Simon Robinson, affirms that the witch has a role to play. He states: ‘We already have chaplains from different religions.’” The priests stand with their censers while the abomination and idolatry goes on; their own leaders say it's all right, that God doesn't see it. That is exactly what happened here in Ezekiel; “God doesn't see it,” said the cohenim; “God doesn't see it,” said the Levites. And that is precisely what the Church of England's clergy are saying today.

"'Yet greater abominations than these will you see in My house,' says the LORD." "Living Together is No Longer a Sin", according to the Yorkshire Evening Post. "The Church of England changes attitude on family values; 'Living in sin is no longer a sin,' the Church of England announced today." I telephoned Lambert Palace, the official London residence of Archbishop George Carey, who I am told is a fellow Charismatic Evangelical. I called him up and left a message asking him to call me back. They wanted to know what I wanted, so I told them that I was reading in the New Testament, “Keep the marriage bed undefiled”; can the Archbishop tell me how I can keep the marriage bed undefiled when there is no marriage? They never called me back.

"'Yet greater abominations than these will you see in my house,' says the LORD." The Greek word “demonoi”, the Hebrew word “shedim”, is used in Deuteronomy and 1 Corinthians to state that other gods are demons. Both Testaments tell us that. Ezekiel saw shedim – creeping things, demons – being venerated in the house of the Lord, in God's sanctuary. Go to Canterbury Cathedral and watch the interfaith worship yourself. Visit Anselm Chapel – Buddhist, Moslem, Hindu, Sikh – all these worship there, and the "Christians" go along with it.

'Yet greater abominations than these will you see . "

Recently thirty-six bishops of the Anglican Church met to consider their stance on homosexuality. In a pastoral letter, issued after the week-long meeting in Windsor, they said that homosexuals living together in stable relationships could live lives of genuine Christian character despite it being at variance with conventional Christian morality.

A Baptist minister from Lister Hill Baptist Church in Leeds walked into our tape office in Leeds and said he came to me on the basis of Matthew chapter 18 because I objected to the fact that they had a transsexual transvestite who wore women’s clothes to church and had his children grow up with two mothers, the real one and the castrated one. This objection offended the church because this individual bakes the bread for Holy Communion in an Evangelical Baptist Church and they consider him a sister in the faith.

And this minister says that I am guilty of an abomination before the Lord because I opposed it. I showed him in Deuteronomy where God said it is an abomination and he said that that’s the Old Testament. That was his argument. What about the effeminate being cast into a lake of fire in Revelation? (Rev 21:8) That’s the New Testament but he didn’t want to know. He walked out very angry. He came to me on the basis of Matthew 18 and I didn’t repent so that’s it. I’m accursed.

The Bishops say it’s okay, but God says it’s an abomination. The Bishop openly says “I know some gay men are bitches” (that’s the term he used) but most of us make better priests because we are more sensitive. A pastoral letter from bishops was distributed saying it’s alright. “Yet greater abominations than these you will see,” saith the Lord. “Yet greater abominations than these.”

The world sees charismania, not gifts, not charismata. I’m a Charismatic. I’m a Pentecostal but I disagree with the excesses and extremism. In 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul warns that our testimony will be destroyed. The antics of the Toronto Blessing movement brought scorn to the Church of God in the secular but publications like the Assemblies of God magazine Joy promoted it. John Arnott defended imitating an animal. The only place in the Bible where we see someone imitating an animal was when God’s judgment came on Nebuchadnezzar. I can show you one article after another promoting this very thing that led to the desecration and destruction of any credibility and testimony to this nation.

“Yet greater abominations than these will you see.” saith the Lord. “You see what they are doing in My house? But I’ll show you even greater abominations than these.” What was next? Tammuz worship; in other words, the god was made small and his mother was made big – the Madonna.

George Carey, an Evangelical Archbishop, wrote the book Call to Ecumenical Unity with Rome: The Meeting of Waters. He’s an Evangelical. He marched in the procession to Mary in Walsingham along with the Roman Catholic Cardinal Basil. This is modern-day Tammuz worship.

No compromise is offered to disaffected Anglican ministers and others who seek to join the Roman church. Those who are seeking to enter full communion with the Roman Catholic Church will be fully integrated into the life of the Roman Catholic community. They have to adapt the whole Roman Catholic menu as is outlined in the Roman Catholic catechism that bears the seal of the Vatican. Included in the menu is the teaching that the souls in purgatory must suffer for their own sins. How long? Until they have atoned for their sins. You must burn in purgatory and suffer for your own sins. That’s their menu.

But the Word of God says that blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. No! Take the whole menu. Praying for or to the dead; the Word of God calls it invoking familiar spirits. It’s an abomination. No! It’s on the menu. You have to take it. Praying for the dead, transubstantiation that bread and wine becomes Christ incarnate; you take the bread and wine and worship it and then you eat it. That’s idolatry and cannibalism. No! It’s on the menu and you have to take it. Teaching doctrines of demons by forbidding marriage, requiring celibacy. No! It’s on the menu. You have to take it. The Holy Spirit it the Spirit of Truth not error. You can’t have unity of the Spirit based on error -- only the truth, but Rome is a lie. The Bible is the truth.

“Yet greater abominations than these will you see in My house,” saith the Lord. “Yet greater abominations than these. Come, I’ll show you. You want to see? Come son of man. I’ll show you greater abominations than these in My house.” God told Ezekiel. And that is what He is telling us. “Yet greater abominations than these you will see.”

The hymn Onward Christian Soldiers is too militaristic for the new, politically correct hymn book approved by the thirty-fourth general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada. Hymns that refer to God in the male gender are also out. God is now considered to be both male and female; same as the pagan cult of mother earth; as in the following hymn:

 

Revival of Simony


The sin called “simony” was named after a character from the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, Simon Magus. Eusebius tells us a lot about this. He had a massive following all over the ancient Near East and in Asia Minor. He tried to persuade the Apostles to sell for money the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter called down the curse of God on him. He was filled with wickedness. Repent! God will strike you.

Last year it was twenty-five pound Holy Ghost miracle handkerchiefs that could take away all debt. And then there’s Morris Cerullo’s latest fund raising scheme. Send twenty-five pounds to Morris Cerullo who will be teaching daily in the school of the Holy Spirit on a vital prophetic end time revelation and he’ll be personally praying for each candidate. Here you’ll see the very special prophetic anointing, just send in your twenty-five pounds. But that’s nothing. Confirm your attendance by returning the attached coupon with the special registration fee of just twenty-five pounds and you will be assured of your part in the great move of God that is increasing the fame of the church. You’ll see the fresh anointing of God for just twenty-five pounds. The Holy Ghost is on sale. The Holy Ghost for sale; just send in your twenty-five pounds and you will be assured of the great move and anointing.

The magazine of the charismatic denomination Elim promotes this sin of simony. What did Ezekiel see? He saw their leaders; he saw the High Priest and he named them, Jaazaniah. Today it is not Jaazaniah, it is Kensington Temple; abominations in the Temple of the Lord. As usual, Kensington Temple is committed to supplying a large number of counselors, some of whom have been saved for as little as a few months who are going to be counselors for the twenty-five pound mighty move of God. “Send your money now. Don’t delay.” That’s what Elim’s magazine says.

These scams do not escape the attention of the secular press. In a recent Sunday Times, there is a photograph on the cover of Morris Cerullo with the caption; “Would you buy a miracle from this man?” A man who has been indicted in America for tax evasion? Do you know how many people read the Sunday Times in this country? I wouldn’t buy a used toothbrush from this man. The world sees it. The world knows what he is. The world gets a hold of this stuff and uses it to discredit the Gospel in this nation and others. Yet many big names in the Evangelical church have joined with him on the platform, including Jerry Falwell, Charles Stanley, Hal Lindsay, and singer Sandi Patty. That’s just what Ezekiel saw; the leaders were promoting this abomination in the House of the Lord; the sin of simony.

“Yet greater abominations than these will you see”; idolatry, demon worship, Tammuz worship, sexual immorality, homosexual immorality, corrupt clergy. “ Yes, greater abominations than these will you see. Greater abominations than these will you see in My house Ezekiel. Greater abominations than these, in My sanctuary, I’m going to show you.”

Witchcraft’s role over Anglican priests and pagan sex rites; a holy communion service involving symbolic sex, no mention of Christ, is to be celebrated by a pagan priestess and a Church of England vicar today as part of an interfaith forum for witches and Christians meeting together. A “Holy Communion” service with witches and a symbolic act of sex. A sex rite in a Holy Communion service with witches, with Satan worshipers. “In My house,” saith the Lord.

Did God let Israel get away with it? Did God let Judah get away with it? No! He is not going to let England and America get away with it either. He is not going to let Elim get away with it. He is not going to let the Assemblies of God get away with it and He is not going to let the Church of England get away with it. He is just as angry today as He was in the 8th and 9th chapters of Ezekiel. His judgment is coming and His judgment is coming on His Church. The cup of iniquity is almost full. Why did God show Ezekiel the Temple? Because judgment begins in the House of God. God’s judgment is not coming on pimps. It’s not coming on prostitutes. It’s not coming on drug dealers. It’s not coming on crooked politicians in Westminster or cooked business men in the city, until it comes on the House of God.

Those Who Sigh and Groan


But before it comes God says “I’m going to send my servant and he is going to find those whose hearts are Mine.” And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, even through the midst of London, of Liverpool, of Manchester, of Birmingham, even through the midst of New York and Los Angeles and Chicago and Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand and Johannesburg in South Africa, go through the midst, where the people say they call on My name and put a mark on their foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over the abominations. Put My mark on the heads of those who sigh and groan over these abominations.”

I sigh and groan over witchcraft, joint communion services with witches and sex rites in God’s house. I sigh and groan. Homosexual bishops; I sigh and groan. Tammuz worship; I sigh and groan. Rodney Howard-Browne laughing at people burning in hell forever; I sigh and groan. Living together is no longer sin; I sigh and groan. The chaplain of the university in a Christian country is now a witch. If these things don’t make people sigh and groan, there is no hope. But you know what? They don’t sigh and groan. The only thing they are going to sigh and groan about is my audacity to stand up and tell you the truth. That’s the only thing they are going to sigh and groan about. They are going to sigh and groan about the Moriel Newsletter for telling you the truth. They are going to sigh and groan about Roger Oakland speaking frankly. That’s what they are going to sigh and groan about, but they won’t sigh and groan about the abominations in the House of the Lord.

What’s coming next now that Toronto has died down? Keep an eye on the Emerging Church and the Purpose Driven movements for even greater abominations leading up to the joining of Christian denominations with Rome. “Yet greater abominations will I show you,” saith the Lord. But I’ll tell you this, right now, that same Lord has His angel going through His churches. His angel is going through Baptist churches, His angel is going through Elim churches, His angel is going through Methodist churches, His angel is going through Assemblies of God churches, His angel is going through Brethren churches, and he’s saying that he sighs, he groans, he weeps, he mourns, and he’s saying she sighs, she groans she mourns, she weeps; mark him, mark her, mark that one, mark this one for My judgment will not tarry.

Friends, if it’s the last thing you do, if it’s the last thing you do before you finish readin this, make sure you have that mark on your head. That’s reality. The picture is not pretty, but for those who have the mark, you have nothing to worry about.

Paul says:

“Nevertheless the firm foundation of God stands having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His. Let everyone who names the name of the Lord, abstain from wickedness.” (2 Tim 2:19).

And Paul writes something very important about those who will be sealed by the Lord:

“Who also sealed us and gave us His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge”. (2 Cor 1:22)

If the Holy Spirit dwells in your hearts you have nothing to fear. That’s the earnest pledge of God, your seal and those of us who are sealed; the proof of that is in our abstaining from wickedness.

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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