‘n Ander Jesus (A different Jesus)

March 31, 2025

Vanaf ongeveer 1978 het dinge in die kerk begin gebeur soos die Woensdae bidure en Bybel studie groepe wat begin doodloop het. Dit was nie net as gevolg van sekere veranderinge nie maar ook as gevolg van die Heilige Gees wat besig is om die Kerk voor te berei vir die toekoms waar daar ‘n tyd gaan kom waar kerklike geboue ‘n probleem gaan raak. Dat die kerk weer gaan terug beweeg na ‘n ondergrondse beweging is ’n feit.


Baie mense raak bewus van die agteruitgang van die tradisionele Christen kerke die afgelope 25 jaar, wat ons sien is ’n teologiese, geestelike, morele en Skriftuurlike selfdood, ’n selfvernietiging.


As daar na kerklike verslae gekyk word dan sien jy ‘n algemene agteruitgang van kerk bywoning tot in die tradisionele Bybel streke, en al wat vandag basies oorgebly het is ‘n kulturele evangelisasie. Die Bybel Streek in die Verenigde State word in die algemeen gesien as die Suide. In Groot Brittanje is dit Noordelike Ierland, in Suid Afrika is dit die Oranje Vrystaat, die Afrikaanse mense en die Duits Hervormde Kerk, almal tipes van ‘n Bybel Streek met ‘n kulturele Evangelisasie.


Op papier mag dit wat hulle leer lyk na die Evangelie maar in terme van die Evangelie uit die oogpunt van persoonlike redding is dit iets heel anders, dis net op papier, ‘n kultuurlike evangelie wat die Skriftuurlike Evangelie vervang het. Daar is die algemene agteruitgang van baie dinge soos die veragtelike ketterse verdraagsaamheid teenoor homoseksuele en lesbian aanstellings op die kansels, dit is aan die orde van die dag. Denominasionele Christelikheid is oppad uit.


Die mega kerke is ‘n produk van die Jesus Beweging, die hippies. “Ons is jonk, ons het die getalle, ons het die mag en gesag, ons het die toekoms, ons kan maak wat ons wil.” Dit is wat hulle gedink het. Dit was dinge wat in die kerke ingekom het. “Ons het die getalle ons kan die wêreld verander.” Die hippie geslag het dit egter nie reg gekry nie, maar iets het verander maar nie ten goede nie.  Hulle het die een boosheid met ‘n ander boosheid vervang.


Dinge is besig om mee te gee, dinge kom en gaan maar nou begin ander dinge hulle kleure wys.


Daar is Schuller, (oorlede) met ‘n skuldlas van 55,000,000. Rick Warren het ‘n skuldlas van twee miljoen dollar. Benny Hinn soek dringend groot geld nadat sy vrou hom gelos het en as gevolg van die ekonomie. Dinge is besig om moeilik te raak vir hierdie mense, die krake is daar. Hierdie kerke het probleme.


As jy vermaaklikheid gebruik om mense te trek dan moet jy ook vermaaklikheid gebruik om hulle te behou maar uiteindelik gaan hulle nogtans na die volgende show stroom, na Toronto, Kansas City, van Toronto na Pensacola, na Lakeland, hierdie dinge kom en gaan, die show is verby. Die Jim Baker show is verby. Die Jimmy Swaggart show is verby.


George Barna wys iets wat besig is om te gebeur, mense verlaat kerke maar daar is iets wat Mnr. Barna en Mnr. Brierly nie kan bepaal nie, hulle kan statisties getalle bepaal deur wat mense doen, maar wat  God doen is vir hulle ‘n groot probleem. Mense gaan na huise toe, hulle kom al meer en meer bymekaar in klein sel groepe waar daar ‘n mate van gemeenskap is wat nie in die mega kerke gebeur nie. Hulle het nie probleme met geld, geboue en programme nie. Hulle kan meer geld bydra vir Evangelisasie en vir die behoeftiges onder hulle.


Christelike tuis opvoeding is ‘n volgende stap en so word die huiskerk ‘n gemeemskappie. Dit gaan om opleiding, gemeenskap, aanbidding en so gaan baie mense nie meer kerk toe nie en jy kan hulle nie kwalik neem nie.


Vandag as gevolg van TV evangeliste wat so kragtig deur Satan gebruik word om die geloofbaarheid van die Evangelie in twyfel te trek, wil hulle nie meer hoor nie en dit veroorsaak dat ongelowiges nie tot bekering kan kom nie. Maar jy kan mense na ‘n huis toe nooi, hulle sal nie na ‘n kerk toe wil kom nie, maar miskien na gewone huis toe –


    “Kom Sondag na ons plek toe, ons glo nie aan godsdiens nie, ons verkondig net Jesus.” Hierdie groepe het ‘n evangelisasie potensiaal.


    Oral in die wêreld kom mense bymekaar in huiskerke, en baie van hierdie mense is klaar met denominasie kerke. Hulle soek die Christendom, ware lering en nie mengsels van die waarheid en valsheid nie. Hulle soek nie godsdiens nie, hulle soek Jesus, hulle is deeglik daarvan bewus dat die kerk hulle gaan faal. Hulle soek gemeenskap, hulle soek die Handelinge Kerk. Van hierdie groepe het probleme. Een daarvan is dit word subjektief, hulle sit in kringe en hulle lees die Skrifte en sê: “Dit is wat dit vir my beteken.” Dit word baie subjektief. Die opjektiewe betekenis is nie daar nie omdat daar geen behoorlike be-oefening van die bedienings gawes in die liggaam is nie. Wie het die gawe van lering? Wie het die gawe van Evangelisasie? Wie is ‘n herder? Daar is probleme maar van hierdie groepe doen goed.


Eenmaal ‘n maand kan groepe bymekaarkom om te luister na predikers soos Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, of Jacob Prasch, Roger Oakland ens. Dit is ‘n kerk wat nie deur mense gebou word nie maar deur God, dit is ‘n kerk wat sal bly staan in moeilike en sosiale tye. Dit is ‘n kerk wat sal staan gedurende vervolging. Dit is ‘n kerk wat anders is, iets wat deur God gebou word en nie deur mense nie. Tande kry en groei probleme sal daar wees, van hierdie groepe sal van die pad af wees maar van hulle gaan goed wees, ’n gemengde groep, maar wat belangrik is dit gebeur en mense kan dit nie verklaar nie. Dit is wat gebeur het in Handelinge en dit gaan al meer gebeur voor Jesus se koms.


Van hierdie gevestigde kerke pleeg self moord en die ander het probleme. Wat gaan gebeur as daar ‘n wetgeleerde kom wat sê; “Jou gebou is nie meer belasting vry nie omdat jy nie ‘n lesbiese of homoseksuele pastoor erken nie, dit is diskriminasie op die basis van seksuele oriëntasie. Daarom kwalifiseer jy meer om ‘n lid van ‘n belasting vrye organisasie te wees nie.”


Vandag het ons hoë geregshof regters wat dink hulle is goddelike wesens, ons weet wie hulle is en ons weet waarheen hulle oppad is. God spot met hierdie mense. Hulle gaan voor Hom staan. “Julle het my uit die klaskamer gejaag maar God gaan julle uit die Hemel ban.” Hierdie regters en politikusse is arrogant, maar ons wag op Jesus se koms. Hierdie kerke sal of moet toegee of saam met die stroom swem. Hulle sal wettig, sosiaal en finansieel onder druk geplaas word, of hulle verloën dit wat God gesê het boos is, of hulle verloor alles, of hulle gaan ondergronds. Dit is al kans wat hulle het.


Dit beteken nie ons mag nie opstaan vir ons regte nie, om ons te beroep op die Keisers is Bybels, ek glo daaraan, ons moet opstaan vir die waarheid maar ons moet ook besef dat aan die einde van die pad gaan dit op ‘n sekere manier eindig. Gedeeltelik waarom dit op ‘n sekere mense oes gaan eindig is nie wat die regters doen nie of wat militante homoseksuele doen nie, dit gaan terug na die feit dat kerke self besig is om self moord te pleeg. Wie is verantwoordelik vir die agteruitgang van die Metodiste? Die Metodiste. Wie is verantwoordelik vir die agteruitgang in die groot kerke? Hulleself!


Nou, in al hierdie bewegings is daar mense wat gewaarsku het wat in die volgende 10 tot 20 jaar sal gebeur het. 50 tot 60 jaar terug het Tozer dinge gesien wat nou besig s om te gebeur. Daar is dinge wat Charles Spurgeon and J.C. Ryle voorspel het van nou gebeur, ‘n 100 jaar terug. Ons kan nie sê dat ons nie gewaarsku is nie. Nie net wat gebeur nie maar ook die pas waarteen dit gebeur, en die mense wat ons vertrou en gerespekteer het wat saam met die wêreld begin loop het, dis ondenkbaar. Daar gaan ‘n tyd kom wanneer hierdie “ander kerke” nie meer in staat gaan wees om te bly staan nie hulle sal of moet komprimeer of hulle gaan vou.


Maar daar is ‘n ander dimensie, die kerke wat komprimeer is die kerke wat teen die kerke gaan draai wat dit nie wil doen nie. Daar is die geval van ‘n pro Islamitiese “Christen prediker” wat ‘n gevangenis gedagvaar het omdat hulle toegelaat het dat die Evangelie daar gepreek was. So dit is reg om Islam te akkommodeer maar nie die Evangelie nie en hierdie pro- Islamitiese “Christen prediker” sê dit is sy bediening.


    Ons moet die ware gevaar verstaan. Ja, hierdie regters is boos, en net so ook hierdie politikusse, bose mense.


Die Anti- Christen houding wat ons in Hollywood media sien is die werk van die duiwel, hulle is in sy mag, maar die ware kanker, die rot in die spens is die mense binne in die kerk. Nie net die liberale nie, of die mense wat openlik antiteties is teen wat die Woord van God leer, en ook mense wat daarop aanspraak maak dat hulle evangeliste is terwyl hulle in kompromie staan.


Ons moet weet waar ons staan, hoe ons daar gekom het, hoekom God ons daar geplaas het en waarheen ons oppad is. Ons moet verstaan wat die toekoms vir ons gaan inhou, ons is hier vir ‘n rede, ons is onder die wat oorleef het, nie soos in ‘n bunker mentaliteit soos in die geval van Dawid Koresh nie. Ons moet hierdie kerke wat in kompromie gegaan het verstaan, hulle gaan nie oorleef nie, nie in getalle nie, nie ekonomies nie en ook nie wetlik nie, hulle verdien dit ook nie. Hulle is besig om dood te gaan omdat hulle dit oor hulleself gebring het. Maar wat van ons?


2 Korinte 11:3-4: [Paulus skryf vir die Kerk in Korinte]. “Maar ek vrees dat- [lest]” Die Griekse woord wat hier gebruik word is “lest” wat te doen het met ‘n aangevoegde- gemoed; dit beteken ‘n teoretiese moontlikheid. Dit is iets wat nie sommer gebeur nie en dit sal nie met die getroues gebeur, maar as ons nie aandag gee op wat hy sê nie dan word die teoretiese moontlikheid ‘n praktiese een.


“Maar ek vrees dat…net soos die slang Eva deur sy listigheid bedrieg het, julle sinne so miskien bedorwe kan raak, vervreemd van die opregtheid teenoor Christus.”


Dieselfde Satan wat Eva bedrieg het, wat bestaan as ‘n letterlike persoon maar wat ook ’n metafoor is van Israel of van die Kerk, is ook besig om ons korporaatlik en persoonlik te probeer mislei. Hy probeer dinge in ons denkes plant; Om ons deur sy listigheid te bedrieg sodat ons sinne bedorwe kan raak dat ons verkeerd begin dink.


Wat beteken “dat ons sinne bedorwe kan raak, ‘n verkeerde denke? Dit is om iets te bedink wat nie volgens die leer van die Skrifte, die Woord van God is nie. Wanneer die eenvoudigheid en die reinheid van ons geloof in Jesus aangetas word, dan raak dinge moeilik. Dit is nou nie om te sê dat daar nie komplekse teologiese en leerstellige struikelblokke is nie, maar die verhouding is nie kompleks nie. Daar is mense wat betrokke raak in huweliks probleme en baie ou koeie word opgegrawe maar as mense verlief is dan is dit eenvoudig, hulle is verlief, dit is wanneer mense ophou om mekaar lief te hê wanneer al die ander dinge na vore begin kom. “Sy laat my dink aan my ma.” Of wat ook al.


Paulus gaan verder en hy sê: “Want as iemand kom en 'n ander Jesus verkondig as wat ons verkondig het, of as julle 'n ander gees ontvang as wat julle ontvang het, of 'n ander evangelie as wat julle aangeneem het, laat julle jul dit goed geval.” (2Kor 11:4)


Hier word van drie dinge gepraat: ‘n Ander Jesus, ‘n ander gees en ‘n ander Evangelie.


Wanneer Satan mislei en die Kerk begin dinge onbybels te bedink dan is die eind doel altyd ‘n ander Jesus, ‘n ander gees en ‘n ander evangelie. Paulus praat van: ‘hulle laat dit hulle goed geval’, hulle hou daarvan. Romeine 16:17 sê ons moet ‘n persoon wat faksies veroorsaak merk en vermy. Hier word gepraat van ‘n persoon wat afwyk van die Apostoliese leer van die Nuwe Testament wat skeiding bring. Dit is die mense wat sê jy bring skeiding as jy hulle werke in die lig bring.  ”O jy is teen Toronto, jy glo nie aan die ekumenies beweging nie, jy glo nie aan eenheid nie, jy is die oorsaak van skeiding in die gemeente!” Maar wie is die een wat in God se Oë afwyk van die Bybelse leer? 1 Kor 11:19- praat van partyskappe -faksies : “Want daar moet ook partyskappe onder julle wees, sodat die beproefdes onder julle openbaar kan word.”


Faksies is bedoel om skeiding te bring; ware Bybelse leer verenig ware gelowiges. Dit wat Paulus verkondig bring skeiding tussen ware en valse gelowiges, dit is bedoel om die afvallige Kerk van die ware kerk te skei. Paulus se probleem met Korinte gemeente is, hulle verdra dit en die manier wat hulle dit verdra is normaalweg met hulle godsdienstige dwaasheid, vandag is dit dieselfde, dit is nie ‘n nuwe probleem nie.


     O’ ons moet liefhê, ons moenie kritiseer nie en ook nie oordeel nie…”  En weereens, as die Woord van God sê iets is reg of verkeerd of waar, dan is dit nie ons wat oordeel nie, ons doen maar net wat God sê. Dit is God wat oordeel, nie ons nie. Maar vir hierdie mense gaan dit nie oor wat die Skrifte sê nie.


Jesus sê vir ons iets wat Paulus sê, hy praat van ‘n ander Christus, ‘n ander gees en ‘n ander evangelie. Dit begin by Satan wat kom in die karakter van die slang, die verleier. Paulus praat van misleiers. 2 Kor 11:13: “Want sulke mense is valse apostels, bedrieglike arbeiders wat hulleself verander in apostels van Christus.” Hy praat van mense wat openlike misleiers is, wat dinge leer wat die Bybel sê vals en boos is, hulle kom soos engele van ‘n lig, Paulus se probleem was dat die Christene van Korinte dit hartlik aanvaar het.


Daar kan volgens wat hierdie manne preek en skryf bewys word dat hulle boodskappers van Satan is. Die “Purpose Driven” is van die duiwel, mense soos Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren en Chuck Colson preek deur die duiwel, die god van die wêreld, hulle het ‘n agenda om die uitverkorenes doelbewus of onwetend te mislei; God sal hulle oordeel. Petrus het nie geweet dat Satan deur hom gepraat het nie. Dieselfde met hierdie mense wat sê dit is reg om te glo aan ‘n ander Christus, ‘n ander Evangelie en ‘n ander gees.


Die Eukaristiese Christus is nie die Christus van die Bybel nie. Pouslike onfeilbaarheid is nie die leiding van die Heilige Gees nie, die pous is nie onfeilbaar nie. ‘n Evangelie wat gebaseer word op sakramente, werke en vergunnings, is nie die Bybelse Evangelie nie. Dis altyd ‘n ander Christus, ‘n ander gees en ‘n ander evangelie. Die Bybel praat van werkers wat hulle self vermom as apostels van Christus, mense wat daarop aanspraak maak dat hulle op ‘n manier deur die Here gestuur is.


Jesus het die gemeente van Efese aanbeveel omdat hulle hierdie bose mense verwerp het, hulle het hierdie mense op die proef gestel. Op.2:2: “Ek ken jou werke en jou arbeid en jou lydsaamheid, en dat jy slegte mense nie kan verdra nie; en dat jy dié op die proef gestel het wat sê dat hulle apostels is en dit nie is nie, en hulle leuenaars bevind het;..”


Mense soos Brian McLaren en Benny is bose mense. Hulle is nie net mislei nie, hulle is mense soos wat 2 Timoteus sê (3:13) goddelose mense wat verlei en verlei word en hulle weet hulle is mislei. Hinn het ‘n Eucharis broodjie in die lug opgesteek en gesê dit is Jesus Christus. ‘n Ander Christus, ‘n ander Jesus. Die vrug van die Gees is ‘egkrateia,’-self-beheersing. Hy het mense oorreed om allerhande vreemde dinge te doen—buite beheer, ‘n ander gees, altyd dieselfde drie dinge.


Dit begin met Satan wat deur dwaalleraars werk, false apostels wat aanspraak op ‘n leerstellige gesag wat hulle van God sou ontvang het en hulleself op gelyke voet stel as die Skrifte. Die woord wat Paulus gebruik is hupernium, waar ons die woord hipper vandaan kry, dit is die mense teen wie Paulus gestaan het.


Paulus, Petrus en Johannes het rondgegaan en die waarheid geleer. Hupernia, het  rondgegaan en ‘n valse leer verkondig en aanspraak gemaak op ‘n geestelike gesag, Paulus waarsku ons teen hierdie mense. Wanneer jy vir die dode bid dan sondig jy, dit is towery. Wanneer jy voor of vir ‘n gesnede beeld of ikone bid, kerse brand, is dit afgodery. “O’ ons bid nie eintlik vir beelde nie, dit herinner ons net…”  “Jy mag vir jou geen gesnede beeld van enigiets maak nie.”


In die Hebreeus teks is dit dieselfde woord, hishtachbyon, jy buig voor ‘n afgod, in Grieks is dit dieselfde woord- proscuneo. God noem dit afgodery. Hulle bid nie regtig vir die valse Jesus nie en wat ‘n feit is, van hulle bid nie eers vir die ware Jesus nie, hulle bid vir Maria maar dit is ook nie die Maria van die Bybel nie. Hulle het ‘n ander Jesus ’n ander Maria.  ‘n Ander Christus, ‘n ander gees en ‘n ander Evangelie.


Iemand wat ‘n ander Christus of ‘n ander gees of ‘n ander evangelie het, is altyd uitkenbaar. Die Mormoon Jesus is die geestelike broer van Satan. Mormone het ‘n ander reddings leer en ‘n ander siening van enige iets, dis hoekom hulle ‘n ander Jesus het.


    Die Eucharistiese Christus is heel duidelik ‘n ander Jesus. Die ware Jesus sê Hy sal nie fisies terugkeer as dit nie sal wees soos wat Hy gegaan het nie. Hy sal terug keer via die Berg Seir, sy voete sal op die Olyfberg staan. Maar as enige iemand beweer Hy het al terugkom dan moet jy fisies wegkom van hom af. Hierdie Christus is heel duidelik ‘n ander Jesus. Die ware Christus sê Hy sal nie fisies terugkeer behalwe as dit gebeur soos wat Hy opgevaar het nie.


Die Roomse Katolieke Kerk sê deur die gebruik van die Mis dat Jesus fisies gekom het en daarmee aanbid hulle die brood en die wyn as Jesus wat fisies in die vlees gekom het en hulle verdraai die Skrif Teks in Johannes 6  Vers. 53  “--as julle nie die vlees van die Seun van die mens eet en sy bloed drink nie, het julle geen lewe in julleself nie.-”  Maar ‘n paar verse verder lees ons vers 63: ‘--die vlees is van geen nut nie’--  Maar hiervan word niks gesê nie. Dis ‘n ander Jesus.


Dis duidelik, die Mormone het ‘n ander Jesus, die Roomse Kerk het ‘n Eucharistiese Jesus, ‘n ander Jesus. Die New Age het Maitreya, die kosmiese Christus, dis ‘n ander Jesus. Die JW’s sê Jesus is Migael die Aards Engel en nie God nie- ’n Ander Jesus. Islam het ‘n Jesus wat ‘n profeet is wat onderdanig is aan Mohammad. Al die kultusse en valse godsdienste het ‘n ander Jesus. Maar iets het in die laaste 10 jaar begin gebeur, spesifiek die laaste 5 jaar en nog meer spesifiek die laaste 2 jaar wat verstommend en skrikwekkend is.


Ons het nie net belangrike evangeliese figure nie maar ook belangrike evangeliese geleerdes, akademici, teoloë van verskeie seminariums, mense wat ons sal dink van beter moes geweet het, bekende mense soos Ravi Zacharias, Richard Mouw van die Fuller Seminarium, Craig Hazen van Biola wat voetjie voetjie begin speel met die Mormone. Hulle gee voor dat hulle dieselfde Jesus as ons het terwyl hulle ‘n totale ander Jesus, ander evangelie en ‘n totale ander gees het. Daar is ‘n boek “Ecumenical Jihad” wat deur Chuck Colson en J.I Packer onderskryf en deur Peter Kreeft geskryf is: “Ons het ekumeniese eenheid met Islam nodig om gemeenskappe moreel te bevry.”


Dit is mense wat daarop aanspraak maak dat hulle gered is wat hierdie dinge goedkeur. Hulle heul met mense met ‘n ander Jesus, ander evangelie, wat se gees is dit? Waar kry ons dit? Nou het ons nie net gewone mense maar ook ‘n ander Jesus, mense wat aanspraak maak dat hulle weergebore Christene is wat kragte saam span en hierdie dinge ondersteun, dit is ‘n ander evangelie!


Die outeur van die Shack sê openlik:  “Enige God wat van sy seun verwag om as ‘n soenoffer vir sonde te sterf- bestaan nie.” William Young is nie ‘n Christen nie en hy glo nie aan God nie. Hy glo aan “‘n god” en nie God nie. Hy glo nie aan die God van die Bybel nie, God van die Skrifte bestaan nie. Hy het ‘n mensagtige God volgens sy eie ontwerp wat verpersoonlik word deur ‘n verwagtende swart vrou, dit is in sy boek. Met dit alles is daar baie geredde Christene, of mense wat voorgee dat hulle Christene is, wat hulle geld in die boek belê het.


Ons kla oor Satan, ons weet dit kom van hom af, hy het Eva verlei, hy verander mense se denkes en hy mislei hulle en hulle begin onbybels dink. Dit kom van die duiwel af en dit begin deur om die manier waarop mense dink aan te tas, en dan kry hy mense in kerke wat daarop aanspraak maak dat dit van God afkom, om die Kerk te mislei. Dit is waar, maar waar kom dit werklik vandaan, waar kom die synsleer- verstandelike kennis – ontologie vandaan? Waar kom dit andersins vandaan as van Satan homself af? Ons sal nie hierdie leiers in ons kerke gehad het as daar nie ’n mark vir hulle produk is nie. Paulus waarsku ons oor hierdie dinge. Mense wat hulle ore laat streel en vir hulle ’n menigte leraars bymekaarmaak volgens hulle eie begeertes. Misleiers soos Chuck Colson, Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, and Bill Hybels, as daar nie mark vir hulle produkte was nie. Maar hoekom is daar ’n mark? ’n Ander Jesus, ander evangelie en ’n ander gees?


Om te verstaan wat Paulus vir die Korintiërs, en vir ons sê, kyk na 2 Kor.4:1-3:


“Daarom, aangesien ons hierdie bediening het volgens die barmhartigheid wat ons ontvang het, gee ons nie moed op nie. [Dit is maklik om ontmoedig te word] Maar ons het van die heimlike dinge wat skandelik [oneervol] is,- afstand gedoen, en ons wandel nie in listigheid of vervals die woord van God nie; maar deur die waarheid aan die lig te bring, beveel ons ons by elke menslike gewete voor God aan.”


Dit is die soort oneer wat ‘n dief sal ondervind wanneer hy op heterdaad betrap word.


Ons het afstand gedoen van die geheime skandelike dinge as gevolg van hierdie spesifieke soort oneer. Iemand is verontreinig omdat hy gevang is waar hy iets oneervol gedoen het.


“ons wandel nie in listigheid of vervals die woord van God nie- [Nou, hierdie listigheid in Grieks is dieselfde term wat in die Skrifte gebruik word as die wyse waarop Satan Eva mislei het, Paulus gebruik dieselfde term. Dit wat die god van die wêreld doen kan mense ook doen, hulle doen dinge op ‘n listige wyse. Ons doen dit nie net om ander te mislei nie maar ook onsself, ons kan heel listig te werk gaan om onsself te mislei en sonde self is ‘n misleiding. Sonde self word verpersoonlik, sonde het ‘n ingebore krag om te mislei, sonde self is ‘n misleier.]


“--  of vervals die woord van God nie;--” [Die Griekse woord is doloo, dit beteken om te mishandel, te vervals met ‘n slinkse voorneme. Wanneer mense begin om dinge te doen wat hulle eens op ’n tyd verwerp het, en dit dan weer in die geheim begin doen, dan doen hulle dit omdat hulle eerloos is en hulle kan listig raak. Hulle probeer om met hulleself te onderhandel om ‘n manier te kry om dinge te doen wat hulle nie mag doen nie en dan begin hulle speletjies speel met die Skrifte. Hulle begin om die Woord van God te mishandel om hulle dinge te regverdig. Dit is die gevaar wat onsself in die gesig staar. Wanneer dit wat mense verkondig skipbreuk ly dan is dit omdat hulle moraliteit agteruit gaan. Die een is ‘n simptome van die ander en wanneer mense moreel versleg dan is dit byna onafwendbaar dat hulle leerstellig afvallig gaan raak om dit te probeer regverdig.


Daar is geen Skriftuurlike regverdiging vir Jimmy Swaggart om voort te gaan in die bediening nie. As hy werklik tot bekering gekom het dan kon hy by ‘n gemeenskap inskakel maar hy kan nie terugkeer na ‘n bediening nie, maar hy het in die bediening gebly. Wel, wat het hy gedoen? Hy het listig geraak, hy het begin om dinge te rasionaliseer, hoe hy iets kan doen om dinge te laat werk. Hy was gevang om iets te doen wat oneervol was.


Nou, sy seksuele sonde was nie sy oneer nie. Almal het ‘n probleem met seksuele sonde. Is dit verkeerd? Is dit is ernstig? Natuurlik is dit verkeerd en ernstig, maar die eintlike probleem is, hy het ander mense in die openbaar gehang vir iets wat hyself gedoen het. Ek is absoluut seker daarvan dat God hom oorwinning kon gee oor sy seksuele dinge, maar om ander mense soos Gorman en Jim Baker in die media te hang vir dinge wat hyself gedoen het, dit is te ver. Glo vir my, daar is baie ander dinge verkeerd met Jim Baker, maar waarom het hy hom spesifiek oor dinge aangevat wat hy self besig was om te doen? Dit is te ver, dit is oneervol.


Om iemand te hang vir iets wat jy ook besig is om te doen is te ver. Seksuele sonde is verkeerd maar om iemand te hang vir dinge wat jy ook besig is om te doen is absoluut verregaande. Romeine sê jy doen dieselfde dinge. Maar jy word al slimmer en om dit te laat lyk asof dit Bybels en Skriftuurlik is begin jy dinge doen wat geken word as “doloo”. Jy hanteer die Skrifte met minagting.


Maar daar word gepraat van vervalsing, "doloo" van die Woord van God, Logos. Jesus is die Logos. Hy is die Woord wat Vlees geword het. Ons begin nie net om die Skrifte dinge te laat sê wat die Skrifte nie sê of beteken nie maar ons raak ook besig om ‘n ander Jesus op te rig.


“Maar deur die waarheid aan die lig te bring,” (sunistem) wat beteken om dinge aan ander voor te stel met ‘n aanbeveling. “-beveel ons ons by elke menslike gewete voor God aan. (suneidesis’-morele gewete) Wanneer iemand begin om die Woord van God te vervals deur om ‘n valse Skriftelike argument te vind wat hulle kunstig saamgeflans het, dan mislei hulle hulle self en hulle eindig met ‘n ander Jesus.


     As jy eindig met ‘n ander Logos, dan eindig jy met ‘n ander Jesus. Jy skep vir jouself ‘n ander Jesus. Jy doen dinge wat die outeur van die Shack gedoen het. In plaas van ‘n theopomorfiese man en vrou- eindig ons met ‘n theopomorfiese God en nie ‘n antropomorfiese God nie. In plaas daarvan dat ons na die Beeld en gelykenis van God geskape is skep ons Hom na ons beeld gelykenis. Ons doen presies dieselfde wat die Mormone, Katolieke die Moslems en die New Agers doen, ons skep vir ons ‘n ander Christus volgens ons eie idees.


Wanneer jy begin om vir jou ‘n ander Christus volgens jou eie idees te skep en iemand begin om so ‘n Christus te preek, een wat jy wil glo en wil hoor, dan word jy een van hulle. Dit is waarom hierdie soort boeke die soort aan trekkings krag het wat hulle het. Dit is waarom mense dinge soos die Godchasers, die Shack, en die gebed van Jabez lees. Hulle het alreeds begin om in hulle eie denke af te wyk van die waarheid af.


Daar moet ‘n mark wees vir die produk anders sal dit nie verkoop nie. As die mark nie daar was nie sou die produk nie verkoop het nie. As iemand iets wil hê, kyk wat bied die mark. Dit maak nie saak wat dit is nie, al is dit iets onwettig, immoreel of iets gevaarlik. As iemand iets wil koop dan sal daar altyd iemand wees wat gewillig is om te verkoop, daar is ‘n mark.


Ja ek kan sekerlik die duiwel blameer, ons almal blameer hom, sy skuldigheid kan nie onderskat word nie. Dit is eindeloos. Ja ons kan die valse apostels blameer, en ons moet die doen, die Skrifte doen dit, God ook. Maar eerstens moet ons onsself blameer, ons almal. Kom ek begin by myself.


Wat gebeur wanneer die Heilige Gees ons aankla- “Dit is verkeerd, hou op om so te dink, stop dit.” Maar wat gebeur as die Heilige Gees ons aankla en ons luister nie, wat gebeur dan? Wel dan ontvang ons ‘n ander gees, ons kry ‘n ander Jesus. So hulle ontvang ‘n ander gees. Weereens, die vrug van die Gees is selfbeheersing.


Wat in Lakeland, Toronto, en Pensacola gebeur het kon sekerlik nie die gees van Jesus gewees het nie. Die gees van Jesus is die Gees van profesie en nie van valse profesie nie. Met ander woorde mense soos Rick Joyner en ander met al hulle valse profesie het ‘n ander gees wat nie die Gees van Jesus is nie.


So wanneer jy ‘n valse Jesus ontvang het dan ontvang jy ook ‘n valse Vikaris van Christus. Die ware Vicar van Christus is die Heilige Gees. En daar is nog een, die Pous. “O hy spreek uit die hemel en is onfeilbaar.” Hy het ‘n ander gees.


Rom. 8:13-15: “--want as julle na die vlees lewe, sal julle sterwe, maar as julle deur die Gees die werke van die liggaam doodmaak, sal julle lewe. Want almal wat deur die Gees van God gelei word, dié is kinders van God. Want julle het nie ontvang 'n gees van slawerny om weer te vrees nie, maar julle het ontvang die Gees van aanneming tot kinders, deur wie ons roep: Abba, Vader!”


Sal jy jou kind seermaak? Sal jy hom of haar onterf as hy iets verkeerd doen? Nee! Jy sal hom teregwys maar jy sal hom nie onterf nie. Dit is die soort familie verhoudings wat God skep om vir ons te wys hoe Hy verwant is aan ons. Maar as daar in jou ou mens iets goeds is dan sal hy doen wat nodig is om jou te bewaar van wat sleg is. Maar as jy nie jou ou mens se gesag erken nie dan het jy ‘n probleem. As jy nie bang is dat jou vader ‘n lyn gaan trek nie dan het jy probleem. Maar as jy in die Gees wandel dan het jy nie ‘n probleem nie, maar as jy ophou om in die Gees te wandel dan is daar net twee oplossings; kom tot bekering of kry vir jou ‘n ander gees en dan ‘n ander evangelie.


Gal. 6:7-8:  “Ek verwonder my dat julle so gou afvallig word van hom wat julle deur die genade van Christus geroep het, na 'n ander evangelie toe,-- [Let op wanneer jy die Bybelse evangelie verwerp dan verwerp jy ook die ware Christus. ‘n Ander Christus en ‘n ander evangelie gaan hand aan hand, hulle is twee aspekte van dieselfde ding] --terwyl daar geen ander is nie; behalwe dat daar sommige mense is wat julle in die war bring en die evangelie van Christus wil verdraai.”


    [Met ander woorde wanneer jy die mense wat in hierdie dinge gevang is vra: “Glo jy dat Jesus Christus vir jou sonde gesterf het en dat Hy uit die dood opgestaan het om vir jou die ewige lewe te gee?” Dan is die antwoord: “O ja ons glo in dit.” Hulle sal nie ontken dat hulle dit altyd geglo het nie terwyl dit wat hulle glo so verdraai is dat dit ‘n ander evangelie geword het. Hulle kan dit net nie sien nie. Dit gaan verder, hulle moet ‘n ander evangelie kry terwyl hulle nie besef dat as jy ‘n ander evangelie ontvang het dan is jy deur God vervloek.]


2Kor. 5: 5: “Maar Hy wat ons juis hiervoor toeberei het, is God, wat ons ook die Gees as onderpand gegee het.”


2Kor 3:17: “Die Here is die Gees, en waar die Gees van die Here is, daar is vryheid.”


Let op vers 17 bevestig eerstens die Godheid van die Heilige Gees. Maar ‘waar die Gees van God is daar is vrede,’ - wat beteken dit? Beteken dit vryheid van ‘n godsdienstige en wettiese gebondenheid? Ja. Maar dit beteken ook vryheid van die Wet, watter wet? Die wet van sonde en dood.  Jy is nie langer ‘n slaaf van sonde nie.


Hierdie kerk het begin omdat ‘n pastoor en sy vrou, belydende Christene, geskei het omdat dit nie gegaan het oor onbelyde hoerery nie, hulle het getrou en gedink dit was heel aanvaarbaar om aan te gaan in die bediening terwyl die Nuwe Testament, Jesus sê so ‘n huwelik is ‘n hoerery. “Wel ek kan haar nie nou verlaat nie”- hulle is in ‘n gebondenheid. Hulle het hulself in ‘n gebondenheid gebring waaruit hulle nie kan kom nie; ons het kinders, ’n familie, ja maar as hulle deur die Gees van die Here gely was sou hulle nie in hierdie gebondenheid beland het nie. Wel jy het ‘n ander gees en die Evangelie vra van jou om sonde belydenis te doen. Jy het ‘n ander evangelie, en so beland ons in die moeilikheid. Die volgende wat gebeur is die kerk beweeg met die lyn af na die volgende program.


2Kor. 5:10:”Want ons moet almal voor die regterstoel van Christus verskyn, sodat elkeen kan ontvang wat hy deur die liggaam verrig het, volgens wat hy gedoen het, of dit goed is of kwaad.”


As ‘n kind iets baie verkeerd doen dan beteken dit nie sy ou mens gaan hom laat vrykom nie, hy moet nog steeds verantwoording doen. Dit beteken sy vader is nog steeds sy vader en hy sal nie ophou om hom lief te hê nie, maar as gevolg van dat die ou mens nog lief is vir die kind, gaan die ou mens sekere toepaslike aksie neem. Nou, God gaan nie in die wêreld wat kom met ons sonde deel nie, Hy deel nou met ons sonde. God oordeel die sonde van die ongelowiges in die wêreld wat kom. Nietemin, daar sal ‘n dag van oordeel wees wat gaan bepaal wat ons ewige loon gaan wees, of nie gaan wees nie. Daar is mense wat ons vertel dat ons hemel toe gaan as gevolg van wat Jesus gedoen het, maar hulle werke gaan verbrand; dit wat hulle in die vlees doen, die slegte dinge wat hulle gedoen het is in die vlees, tensy hierdie dinge bely is anders gaan dit teen hulle tel in die dag van oordeel.


2Kor. 6:14-16: “Moenie in dieselfde juk trek saam met ongelowiges nie, want watter deelgenootskap het die geregtigheid met die ongeregtigheid, en watter gemeenskap het die lig met die duisternis? En watter ooreenstemming het Christus met Bélial, of watter aandeel het die gelowige met die ongelowige?  Of watter ooreenkoms het die tempel van God met die afgode? Want julle is die tempel van die lewende God,-”


Roomse Katolisisme is afgodery, hoe kan jy pro- ekumenies wees? Hoe kan jy deel wees van ‘n denominasie wat beide gelowige en ongelowige leiers het? “O’ ons vikaris is weergebore, hy is waarlik gered.” “Ja maar die vikaris in die ander gemeente is ‘n homoseksueel, hoekom is jy deel van hulle?” Hoe werk jy dit uit?


Wel hulle kan dit nie Bybels uitwerk nie, so hulle werk dit listig uit.


Eers kom die duiwel om te mislei maar dan mislei hulle hulleself. Hulle verdraai die Woord van God en hul eindig met ‘n ander Jesus. Wanneer jy die Woord van God, die Logos verdraai “Doloo” dan eindig jy met ‘n ander Jesus, en wanneer jy vir jou ‘n ander Jesus opgestel het dan kry jy ‘n ander gees van Jesus, en dan moet jy ook ‘n ander evangelie kry. Die JW’s het ‘n ander Jesus, die Mormone het ‘n ander Jesus, die Katolieke het ‘n ander Jesus.


     Daar mense wat sê hulle is weergebore maar hulle spring in die bed saam met Mormone of Katolieke en tot met Moslems wat ook ‘n ander Jesus het. Wat se gemeenskap het die lig met die duisternis?


Hulle kan in die bed spring met mense wat ‘n ander Jesus het omdat hulle self ‘n ander Jesus het.


Ek is net so in staat om ‘n ander Jesus te ontvang en al wat ek moet doen is om listig te werk te gaan met dit, en wanneer listigheid intree dan begin ek die Woord van God verdraai om dinge te regverdig, en as ek die Woord van God, Jesus is die Woord, verdraai het dan het ek ‘n ander Jesus en dan kom die ander gees en ‘n ander evangelie. Alles is baie eenvoudig, dit klink ondenkbaar maar dit gebeur. Prediker na prediker, leier na leier het al in die bed gespring met mense wat heel duidelik ‘n ander Christus het.


Maar wat van ons? Wat van my? Het ek altyd die ware Christus of het ek somtyds my eie Jesus? My eie Jesus kan baie soos die ware Jesus lyk, behalwe dat my eie Jesus vir my knik as ek sondig.


Omdat die oordeel van God nie altyd dadelik val vir dinge wat verkeerd is nie word my eie Jesus ‘n Jesus wat my laat wegkom met sonde wat dan die idee skep dat daar geen nagevolge gaan wees nie. Die nagevolge egter is Hy het aan die kruis gehang om te betaal vir wat ek gedoen het. Jy kan nie voordeel trek nie maar jy is baie goed om ‘n voordeel daaruit te trek. Ons skep ons eie Jesus en ons trek voordeel uit hom. Wanneer dit gebeur, dan kry ons ons eie Heilige Gees. Hy is nie langer meer die Heilige Gees wat jou aankla oor jou sonde nie, hy is die Heilige Gees wat ons net laat goed voel oor onsself. Of soos in  2Korinte, Paulus sê die Heilige Gees laat ons sleg voel oor onsself sodat Hy miskien ons kan laat goed voel oor onsself. En dan ‘n ander evangelie.


Elke keer wanneer ek of jy te ver gaan dan moet ons net die spyker onthou wat in Jesus se gewrig in geslaan was. Jy dink dit kom sonder ‘n prys? Kom ek wys jou wat het dit gekos. Dit is die ware Jesus, dit is hoe ernstig dit is wat jy nou net gedoen het. Moenie jou eie Jesus skep nie, kom ek wys jou die ware Jesus.


Daar is Hy aan die kruis, sien jy Hom? Hy het nie net vir ons almal gesterf nie, Hy het vir elkeen van ons gesterf. O’ ek kan my eie Jesus skep, ek kan listig te werk gaan met my eie Jesus. Wel ek het gesien wat gebeur wanneer mense hulle eie Jesus skep. Of hulle bekeer hulle en maak dit reg of hulle eindig in die afvallige kerk, of hulle eindig in die bed saam met die Mormone of met Rome, of met Belial. Dit is wat gebeur as ons ‘n ander Jesus skep.


‘n Duidelike ander Jesus is die Katolieke een, of die Mormone of die Moslem een, maar dit is nie die ander Jesus wat my pla nie, die ander Jesus wat my die meeste pla is die een wat ek uitgevind het. Dink daaraan-- daardie listigheid van Satan is besig om in almal van ons te werk. Ons kan net so listig wees soos hy.


Dit is ‘n goed dat jou gemeente die afvalligheid van die kerk insien vir wat dit is. Dit is ‘n goeie ding dat jou gemeente vir Mormone, Jode en Katolieke getuig. Almal van hulle het ‘n ander Evangelie, of ‘n ander wat ook al, ons weet dit. Ons sien hulle probleme, hulle ander gees en hulle ander Jesus, en ons sien hulle ander Evangelie. Ek wens net ek kan my eie sien.


Jacob Prasch / Moriel / vertaal--A different Jesus.


Groete in 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