The Burning Bush - Hineni

April 3, 2025
Introduction

“Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, "Why are you striking your companion?" But he said, ‘Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and said, ‘Surely the matter has become known.’

 

“When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. When they came to Reuel their father, he said, ‘Why have you come back so soon today?’ So they said, ‘An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.’ “He said to his daughters, ‘Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.’ Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, ‘I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.’

“Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.”

“Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.’ When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said also, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

“The LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.’

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’ And He said, ‘Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.’ Then Moses said to God, ‘Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, “'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.'” Now they may say to me, “'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?’" God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM,’ and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “'I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 2:11-3:14

Moses as a Type of Christ

So we have this famous story of Moses and the burning bush. The first thing we have to understand is that Moses typifies Christ. According to Deuteronomy 18:18 the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses. Remember, it’s trying to show this. A wicked king was determined to destroy all the Jewish children. Moses was protected through the faith of his parents in Egypt for a season and then he comes out of Egypt and goes to the promised land. So Jesus faced the same prospect. A wicked king was going to destroy all the Jewish male children and Jesus was protected in Egypt for a season through the faith of his parents and then he comes out of Egypt and returns to the promised land. It’s showing Moses as a type of Christ.

But in Hebrew you have a word play: “Moshe” – “to draw out”-- and he lives up to his name. He was drawn out of water and so you see the same word in the Hebrew text. He drew out the water for us and always his name is being played out in the text of Exodus. These things don’t come across well or they don’t come across at all virtually in the translations. Now remember, just like Jesus, the first time he comes to save his Jewish brothers, they reject him. They accept him the second time when their anguish and their suffering has become excruciating and they’re desperate, and so it is with the Jews; the Jews don’t accept Jesus at His first coming, they’ll accept Him at His second coming. Initially they looked upon Moses as an Egyptian, the same as they would look upon Joseph as an Egyptian.

Remember, Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize him at the first coming either, they recognized him at the second and wept bitterly. And so it is with the Jews – they look upon Moses not the first time but the second. The way they saw him was as an Egyptian, while Jews think of Jesus as a Gentile. They think of Him as a Gentile. Moses -- he’s an Egyptian -- that’s how people see him. Similarly, with Jesus, give him blonde hair and blue eyes. They thought Moses was an Egyptian. They thought that Joseph was an Egyptian, a Gentile; well Jews think that Jesus was virtually a Gentile. Now this is not true, they objectively know He’s a Jew, but subjectively they relate to Him as a Gentile. This conditioning was to look upon Him as a non-Jew. It’s the same with Moses, same with Joseph. He looked like an Egyptian, he talked like an Egyptian – you know he was an Egyptian prince – He’s an Egyptian; he’s not one of us.

It’s showing Moses here as a type of Christ. But also with what we see with Moses is what you see with Jesus. He tries to save his own people and they reject him but the Gentiles accept him. Remember? When he tries to stand up for his own people they reject him. So he goes to Midian and to the Midianites and when he stands up for them, they accept him. Then his own people turn to him. And so it is with Jesus. At first they reject Him, the Gentiles accept Him, and then His own people turn to Him. It’s showing Moses as a picture of the Messiah.

An Old Testament Manifestation of Christ

Another feature is “The Angel of the Lord”, the definite article. Not an angel but the Angel as we talk about on the Vow of the Nazarite tape and as we talk about on the Judges 1 & 2 tape. The Angel of the Lord with the definite article, Ha Malak Adonai, is a Christophony, an Old Testament manifestation of the Messiah. It’s not an angel because it is God Himself. The text says that God spoke to Moses from the bush but “the Angel’”spoke as God from the bush to Moses. In Judaism the Angel of the Lord is called the Metatrone, the one who dwells at the center of the throne. Now the Metatrone is here – the Angel of the Lord is here – He’s talking to Moses and He’s identified as being God.

The Hebrew word for angel, like the Greek word “angelos,” means “messenger”. So the Metatrone, the Angel of the Lord, is God’s messenger yet He is God Himself. The idea of God becoming a man is unfathomable in popular Jewish thinking, however Jacob wrestled with the Metatrone, the Angel of the Lord, an embodiment of God. Adam heard God walking in the garden. The incarnation of Jesus, while important, was not in the absolute sense a precedent. God had come in incarnate form before. He walked in the garden with Adam but He was also the Angel of the Lord. Hence we see this is a Christological passage. It talks about the Messiah, God’s messenger who would come and dwell with His people. Even the idea of the bush not being destroyed even though it burned. Remember in Isaiah Jesus was incorruptible: “He will not suffer His Holy Ones flesh to see decay.” His corpse did not rot in the earth.

Moses is a good picture of anybody who really wants to serve God. In fact, he’s one of the best pictures. The first thing we see about Moses is this: Moses as a prince of Egypt, grandson of Pharaoh, was educated in the wisdom of Egypt before he was educated in the wisdom of God. He had the best education anyone in the world could have had, but when he encountered the God of his fathers he realized what Egypt had amounted to nothing. Somebody can be totally uneducated and once they meet the true and living God, among other repercussions, they will become smarter. Moses was trained in the wisdom of Pharaoh before he was trained in the wisdom of God. Now the Egyptians deified Pharaoh. Pharaoh was a divine being to them. Egypt in the Bible taught in 1 Corinthians is a metaphor for the world and whenever you see a man worshipped as God other than Jesus Himself it typifies the Antichrist who is coming. Pharaoh was worshipped and deified as God. Moses could have been in that family but we are told in Hebrews that he chose the reproach of Christ instead of the pleasures of this world. He was a prince of Egypt, he had the best Egypt had to offer in terms of position, power and education, but he chose the reproach of Christ. Moses already knew about the Messiah, and it was the Angel of the Lord he would meet.

So, he tries to help one of his own people and his own people reject him and he has to flee for his life. He flees to the wilderness and winds up where the law would eventually be given – Mt. Horeb.

So here we have Moses, in figure like Christ. He takes a Gentile bride, the church. He comes to save his own people and he is rejected. He goes into the wilderness and is accepted by the Gentiles, by the non-Jews who think he is an Egyptian. It is an amazing thing that not only Jews look upon Jesus as a non-Jew, but even a lot of so-called Christians look upon Jesus as a non-Jew.

Into the Wilderness

This pattern of being forced into the wilderness as a result of rejection is a recurrent characteristic of those whom God calls. We think of King David. The prophet Samuel anoints him and instead of him assuming the throne he has to leave town in a hurry to the cave of Adullam and then out into the wilderness.

Then there is Rabbi Saul of Tarsus. A Pharisee of the Pharisees from the Rabbinic school of Hillel, disciple of Rabbi Gamaliel, and grandson of Rabbi Hillel. Whereas Moses had the finest education Egypt had to offer, Paul was educated in the best Yeshiva. He was an educated Roman citizen and a Rabbinic well-versed in Greek philosophy, fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin, and had been an enemy of the Gospel. But he spent years in the wilderness just like David and Moses.

As Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights; Jonah gave Nineveh 40 days to repent; it rained 40 days and 40 nights when Noah was in the ark; and the children of Israel sojourned 40 years in the wilderness. It is always 40.

As a new believer, I had a naive idea. I said “Lord I’m educated in science and Lord I make a few thousand a week. And Lord now I’m going to give it all to you.” I wind up in Israel thinking I’m going to be an evangelist to the Jews in Israel in the Last Days. I had a miserable, rotten job filling prescriptions because it was the only thing I knew how to do. I thought when I got saved my days of selling drugs was over. I’m trying to explain to old ladies in Yiddish how many to take because they didn’t know Hebrew but I didn’t know either at the time, not well. I’m out in the middle of nowhere. So I looked out the window and there was sand. Why was there sand? Because I was in the desert. Literally, there were Bedouins with camels. I left New York to live in a wilderness? I gave up a high paid position for this? This is what You brought me here for? The wilderness, this? I thought You brought me here to use me! “Oh no, that comes later. I didn’t bring you here to use you in Israel, I brought you here to use Israel in you!”

Rejection. I discovered that much like the Jews in New York, a lot of the Jews in Israel didn’t want to hear about Jesus either. Only in New York sometimes they would throw rocks. In Israel some of them weren’t beyond throwing hand grenades, at least the Yeshiva boys. We got stoned on the promenade in Haifa. We were actually chased by mobs with rocks. I used to give out tracts for Jews for Jesus in New York and old ladies used to spit on me, and sometimes the JDL, (Jewish Defense League) would come and harass me.

I was on a kibbutz trying to improve my Hebrew and I began teaching evangelistic Bible studies to small groups of Israelis. A lot of people didn’t get saved. What did You bring me here for? I used to be able to write checks and send money away to missions and evangelism. Now I’m broke all the time. I was the prince of Egypt, now I’m nothing. I thought You said You were gonna use me. Nope. Rejection. Wilderness. Moses didn’t know why this happened to him. Alright, You’re the God of my fathers and I tried to stand up for my people and I tried to do what was right and I tried to use my position, my power, my education for You, Lord and I just wound up rejected and exiled to the desert. Something was happening in that wilderness that he didn’t understand at the time. How was he able to lead the children of Israel 40 years through that same wilderness? He was able to lead the children of Israel, a nation of 1.5 million adults plus Egyptian stragglers plus children through that wilderness for 40 years because he had spent 40 years in it himself. Wilderness is a place of death, scorpions, cobras, and vultures swarming overhead. No water -- unless you find an oasis. One here, one there. How do you survive in the wilderness? Well, that’s what you must learn, Moses. 

After I taught you how to survive in the wilderness, then I can use you to lead a whole nation through the wilderness.

You see, we’ve come out of the domain of Pharaoh when we got saved, we’ve come out of Egypt but we have yet to enter the promised land that flows with milk and honey. We’ve come out of the world but as 1 Corinthians 10 says we haven’t entered heaven. We are sojourning in the wilderness.

The reason Moses was able to do it was because he spent so many years in that wilderness. There are things that no university, no seminary, no Bible College can ever teach you. The finest theological institutions in the world can teach you about the Bible but its only in the wilderness where you can be taught what the Bible is about. To know about the Bible is good, an academic knowledge of Scripture is helpful, it’s practical. I’m not demeaning learning Greek and Hebrew, literary criticism and Biblical history and archeology. It is good to know about the Bible but it’s not good enough. It is important but it’s not what is most important. Learning about the Bible is necessary but what comes first is learning what the Bible is about. That, no man can teach you. That is something only God can teach you. How can you lead people through wilderness? Let the leaders be tested! How does this person handle this appointment? Crisis in health? Marital struggles? Problems in ministry? Financial setback? How does this person handle those things? Once this person has handled those things in the strength and wisdom of the Lord then and only then is that person equipped to be God’s vehicle to encourage others through that same wilderness. Only then does God say “go” to Pharaoh.

After You've Been Through the Wilderness

Only once we’ve been through the wilderness will an academic education be of any practical value. I’ve seen people with the silly notion that they’re going to go to university or Bible college then they’re going to go into the ministry. It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t even work that way in secular profession. Take a defense contractor in the States like Boeing or Macdonald Douglas. They’ll try and recruit people with Masters Degrees or Doctorate Degrees from the best engineering schools. They’ll go to Imperial College in London or they’ll go to MIT or something like that. They’ll get the best people. And then they’ll say; “Now we’re going to train you to be an engineer!” “But I graduated MIT!” “No, you work for us five years because it will take five years before we get any real use out of you!”

You graduate with a degree in Medicine in the States; you become an intern and then a resident. In Britain you become an assistant Registrar and then a Registrar. “But I’ve already been to medical college!” “No, no, no, no.”

You finished Law School, now you have to do your articles and go clerk. Do Paralegal work. Then you become an assistant Solicitor, then you become a Junior Solicitor. Five years from now you can call yourself a Lawyer. “But I have a degree!”
It doesn’t work that way in Engineering, it doesn’t work that way in Medicine, it doesn’t work that way in Law; much less does it work that way in Ministry. Only after you’ve been through the wilderness will the education do you any good. Now go to Pharaoh. Now you’re qualified.

You can become very disoriented in the desert; everything looks the same. Because of dehydration you become prone to see things like mirages. You don’t know where you’re going! You can see which way the sun rises and the sun sets and that will give you some bearing but the best way to navigate through the wilderness is at night. The Bedouins use the stars. It’s quite a skill to learn how to survive in the wilderness but to see a whole nation survive in the wilderness. Never despise the day of small things. When God calls you, and everyone of us has a ministry, the first thing to expect is rejection because we can only be the Lord’s ministers in the character of Christ. The first thing Christ experienced was rejection.

“Who hath believed our report, to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed, he grew up before him like a tender shoot out of dry ground, he had no form or comeliness that we should look upon him, we esteemed him not.”

That’s what Isaiah said about the Messiah in Isaiah 53:1-2. Before God can use you, you have to experience rejection.
God prepares people for the extraordinary in the ordinary. Only after you are no longer in the wilderness -- only in retrospect -- do you see what God was doing in that wilderness. When Moses was in the wilderness he didn’t know that his own people who rejected him were going to be brought to a place of desperation where they would accept him. His mission field wasn’t ready yet.

Similar Examples

The same can be seen in the life of David after Samuel anointed him to be king. “Well, David you’re gonna be king. Saul is pursuing you, he’s going to kill you.” Rejection -- the outcasts of Israel joined themselves to David. Everyone who was in debt; every loser; every nobody. But we read later on about David’s mighty men -- the commanders of his army; the generals of the Israeli armed forces. Who were these generals in the Israeli armed forces? Who were the commanders of the army of the Lord? 

Who are David’s mighty men? The same losers! The same outcasts! The same down and out people who joined him at the cave of Adullam. God took these losers and made them into David’s mighty men. God took these nobodies and made them into the commanders of the armies of the Lord in the wilderness. First they learned how to outfox Saul, then they learned how to outfox the Philistines. Then they conquered the Philistines. Where did they learn it? David taught them.

David’s a type of Christ, the Son of David, Ben David Yeshua. The Lord himself, the Son of David will teach you things in the wilderness you’re never going to learn anywhere else -- how to outsmart the enemy. But it wasn’t pleasant out there. Just think of Moses -- “I was a prince of Egypt, I had all this money, power, position, privilege, I’m an educated man and I’m out in the wilderness. ‘God, you said you called me, I was drawn out of the water for this?’”

Rabbi Saul of Tarsus: “I’m going to be an apostle to the Gentiles, I have to sneak out of town in a basket at the wall?” Something happened to Paul though in Arabia. Paul was actually able to write about the last supper in 1 Corinthians 7 in a way that’s almost mysterious. He said, “I received from the Lord that which I also delivered unto you”. He wasn’t at the last supper. How did he receive it from the Lord if he wasn’t there? Where did he get it? He got it out in the wilderness! He got it out in the desert. It may have been in the desert where he was caught up into the third heaven in 2 Corinthians whether in body or in spirit he didn’t know but he saw things that he couldn’t tell you about because they were too unspeakable, too amazing, too incredible. So it is with Rabbi Saul of Tarsus. So it was with King David; so it was with Moses. So it is with anybody who really wants to serve the Lord.

The Purpose of the Wilderness

But after a long time, almost out of the blue, something happens to Moses in that wilderness. At some point, David came in from the cold. He returned from the wilderness he’s in, at some point Paul came back from Arabia. At some point God is going to call you back in from the wilderness, after he’s taught you everything you need to know to be prepared for what lies ahead. In this fallen world there is no other place and no other way to learn it and those things are essential.

When God has you in the wilderness, not only is He preparing you for your mission, he’s preparing your mission for you. Things are going to be tough but now we begin to understand what God is really doing. And out of nowhere God speaks to him from a burning bush and says, “Here is the sign. When you lead these people out, you’re going to come right to the same mountain. This is where I’m going to give you the covenant, the Law, the Torah.”

In other words, in the ministry you can never lead someone to a place where you haven’t already been yourself. After you’ve been there, after you know what it’s like to encounter the living God then He can use you to bring somebody else there. But unless you’ve been there yourself, you’re not bringing anybody else.

Moses was eighty years old when he encountered God in the burning bush. One of the lies of the world is the idea of retirement. The only thing retirement should mean for a Christian, if their health permits, is now you are able to serve God full-time instead of part-time. The world says your prime is when you are middle-aged. But God says your prime is when you are old-aged. It’s just the opposite of what the world says. Somehow the church has allowed the world to put its perverse model on us. God however, doesn’t see it that way. God sees all the other stuff as preparation for old age. He doesn’t see it the way the world does.
Unfortunately, the church listens to the mentality of the world, more than it does the mentality of the Lord. Your secular career in business is over now. You no longer have to hustle to make a living and put the kids through University because that’s done. The testosterone and estrogen levels have depleted. The lusts of the flesh are not going to wax as heavily against you. The world says youth, middle age. God says, no youth/middle age, that’s preparation for old age. The Hebrew word for “elder” means somebody who’s older. Do not allow the world’s idea to come into your thinking as a Christian. The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation when he was in his 90s, an incredible age in his time in history.

The Result of the Wilderness

The man or the woman who God brings into the wilderness will be entirely different than the man or the woman who God brings out. The one who goes in know their strengths, the one who comes out knows their weakness. Then they know God’s strength! His strength is always magnified in our weakness. The man or woman who God brings into the wilderness is one person, the man or the woman who God brings out although itss the same person are completely different in character, in perspective, in demeanor.

When he goes in, he knows all about his abilities, when he goes in he’s confident. When he goes out he has no confidence in himself. Then God can use his background. Once we learn not to trust our education, our cleverness, our background, our position, once we learn not to trust those things, once we learn our insufficiency, then God will use those things. Our strength has to be in Him. The person who goes into the wilderness knows their strength, the one who comes out only knows their weakness that they may experience God’s strength.

And so it happens, the pattern gets clearer. You want God to use you? The first thing to anticipate is rejection. You will be rejected by your own brothers, your own sisters, and your own people. That’s the rejection that hurts. Jesus was rejected by His fellow Hebrews, Moses was rejected by his fellow Hebrews and Joseph was rejected by his fellow Hebrews. Joseph, Moses, Jesus, Paul, you, me get rejected by their own people. All that education, all that experience, all that money, power, position, prestige goes into the wilderness with you where it means nothing. It means absolutely nothing until God speaks from the burning bush. And speak He will. “How can I go?” Because, I’m sending you! “Who are you?” I am who I am! You see when Moses was a prince of Egypt Moses knew who he was. What he needed to find out was who God is.

You never find out who God is until you meet Him in the wilderness. Anybody can be spiritual when things are good. Something will happen to you in the wilderness. You won’t know what it is; in the beginning it will intrigue you. Let me get a closer look at this. For then you’ll quickly realize you’re standing on holy ground. It is on holy ground where God wants to use you to bring others to Him. Bring them to the holy ground. “Lord that’s why you brought me out here?” Yeah! “But they rejected me.” They weren’t ready and you weren’t either. Now they’re ready and so are you. “But how can I do it, I can’t talk there, I can’t do this.” Oh yes you can, you could always do it; if you couldn’t have done it you wouldn’t have been here, I wouldn’t have wasted my time bringing you to the wilderness if you didn’t have the capacity to do it. Then, you thought you had the capacity to do it, now you realize you only have the capacity to do it in My strength. Go do it, go do it. From the burning bush he hears the voice of Jesus and he responds with “Hineni,” (Here I am, what would you have me to do?)

There is not one of us that God doesn’t have a calling in our life for some ministry. I don’t know what it is. It may be something to do with leadership; it may be in a mission field or evangelism. If God has really called you to something, step one will be rejection; step two will be a wilderness; step three will be a burning bush.

And I promise you, that man or that woman who comes out of that wilderness is going to be very, very different than the one who first went in. 

(1) It is usually believed that the Tetragrammaton Yahweh, YHWH is He who was, He who is and He who is to come, I am who I am. And in Simcha Torah and in John Chapter 8, they picked up stones to stone Jesus because He said “before Abraham was in Greek Ego Ami, I am!” Jesus identifying Himself as God.

 

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
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Pray for South Africa!

By Mea Fredrickson • June 23, 2026
New Paragraph

Disclosure - A Christian response

By David Passmore • June 22, 2026
THE CAPTION AT THE HEAD OF THE POSTER IMAGE FOR THE MOVIE ‘DISCLOSURE DAY’ BOLDLY DECLARES ‘WE DESERVE TO KNOW’ Indeed, we do need to know the truth. But will we find it in Stephen Spielberg’s new movie ‘Disclosure Day’? Could it just as well be entitled ‘DECEPTION DAY’? In an interview with USA Today Spielberg says that evidence of non-human contact has become “overwhelming” to him. He has suggested that his film could raise significant theological questions for Christians. But will it? For us Christians - No, not on our watch! The movie raises no questions for those who accept the proven accuracy of God’s Word, the Bible. The film, which is capturing the imagination of the public, only confirms exactly what scripture tells us about what are in fact extra-dimensional beings. ALIENS OR FALLEN ANGELS? God inhabits the heavenly realm along with a vast array of angels. Because Lucifer, a created angel, wanted to usurp God as ruler of the universe, he was expelled to another realm outside of our time and space, along with one third of the angels who rebelled with him. These fallen angels manifest themselves as demons who can appear on earth and disappear at will. Spiritual hosts of wickedness exist in heavenly places, wherever this realm is, it is not the place where God dwells. ARE ALIENS BENEVOLENT? In the movie, the ‘aliens’ are portrayed as friendly beings who want to help mankind in a time of crisis. If the aliens are really demons, not visitors from outer space, this is a dangerous delusion. Whitley Striber in his book ‘Communion’ writes on encountering ‘aliens’; ‘I felt an indescribable sense of menace. Whatever was there seemed so monstrously ugly, so filthy, so dark and sinister. Of course they were demons. They have to be.’ Many others have reported similar malevolent experiences. During the movie, Daniel claims to have had an encounter with extra-terrestrials during which he received a special gift of empathy, which is regarded by him as the ultimate superpower. However, there is only One who completely understands our human frailty. We read this concerning Jesus: ‘For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.’ (Hebrews 4 v 15). Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11 v 28) END TIMES DECEPTION Before he was crucified, Jesus warned his disciples about these last days in which we are living. The first words he used in this context were: “Watch no one deceives you. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Deception was top of the list! Later, the Apostle Paul wrote about these days: ‘The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.’ (2 Thessalonians 2 v 9) Have you received the love of the truth? Have you received Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life? If not, you are in great danger. Perilous times are here and they are only going to get worse as man turns more and more away from his maker. Things will only change when Jesus returns soon to establish his own Kingdom on earth, where justice and peace will rule. JESUS, OUR ONLY HOPE! The Bible says all human beings are sinners. The message of Jesus is simple; repent and believe the good news, that God wants humanity, his highest creation, to be reestablished in relationship with him. His plan was simple: to give his life in unconditional love for every human being that has and ever will live, by shedding his blood on a Roman cross. In doing this, we can receive forgiveness of sins. Our old life will then be buried with him, giving us new life with the hope of an eternal future of true peace, love and joy, with freedom from pain and tears. Why ignore such a great gift of salvation? If you do, your fate will be sealed for eternity in hell, which is a real place without God, and thus without love, to face only eternal consequences of punishment. We condemn ourselves to such a fate. REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! Jesus loves you and asks that you repent and believe in him. It would be the best and safest decision of your life! If you commit your life to him, he will give you a new heart, you will be a new person inside. You will also gain a new desire for all that is right and true. And his Holy Spirit will give you an ability to discern the lies of the age we are living in. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave us his only son, that whosoever believes in him, will not perish, but have eternal life.’ (John 3:16) FINALLY, A RECOMMENDATION  All that is described in this leaflet has been open, in the light for millennia. On the other hand, the theory of extra-terrestrial life has been hidden in darkness, awaiting ‘Disclosure Day’. Which would you prefer to believe, the Word of God, or the word of Stephen Spielberg? I made my choice years ago, and have never regretted it! If this message has spoken to you, just call upon Jesus in a short prayer. Confess to him that you are a sinner in need of salvation. Ask him in sincerity to forgive you and to fill you with his Holy Spirit. You will then become what the Bible describes as being ‘born again’. (John 3 v 7) Then you need to seek a Bible believing church where you can be baptised and become part of a group of believers who can help you get to know Jesus more and more fully. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8 v 32)

Prayer request for Teerth Sond

By David Passmore • June 20, 2026
Prayer request for Teerth Sond Petitioned Prayer-Supplication/Personal Prayer/ Collective Prayer/Thanks Giving Prayer Our Dear brethren in Yeshua, my family & myself Teerth request your prayers in The Spirit that the latest drugs Ramicirumab & Pacilitaxel will destroy the cancer cell in the Authority Of The Lord Yeshua in The Power of The Holy Spirit. Targeted Petition: Please stand with us in prayer & fasting; The Lord will target the 2cm legion & that it will be cast out of my Liver in the love (agape), compassion, kindness, grace, mercy of God. I do not deserve it because of me- but By His Stripes we are healed for His Glory. This will allow the main operation to go ahead (which should have been done 18 months ago). Step by Step in the leading of The Holy Spirit and the in the Lord Step by Step, as our beautiful sister Beryl said, has worked on my Spiritual man- thank you Lord for waking me up. Lord raise me up for your glory forever because of your love to me, the family & fellowship- an unworthy sinner saved by your grace & love. Email sent to my Oncologist & my Local MP: Greetings Natasha & Dr Mano Joseph Hope All Is Well Thank you for our meeting today. At our meeting we discussed my MRI & CT scans which were done in May 2026. We discussed the operation on my oesophagus which I believe is the best option. (This should have been done 18 months ago). My Kidney operation will be done- non evasive- Lord willing within the next month. Will you be talking to Mr Chacravaty about this? The liver must be targeted first- this is wisdom and the latest radiotherapy treatments available- proton therapy-radiotherapy atezolizumab and bevacizumab sorafenib lenvatinib regorafenib cabozantinib durvalumab and tremelimumab At the meeting we discussed the next CT & MRI scans to be held end off July. Wouldn't it be to better to have them in August so by then I've had 4 full treatments on the latest medication. Also we have Zolbetuximab on compassionate usage- all glory to The Lord. After all the past wrongs I have no doubt now Dr Joseph you will pursue the best for me and family. Dear brethren- King Manasseh, David, Hannah, The Church For Peter, James, The Lord Jesus Christ for example made petitions onto the Lord. We pray as one body to cast off the illness in the Power of The Holy & The Authority Of Yeshua. The Great Physician who came for the ill. To lay out raised hands 🙌🏽 upon the head of our Lord. ABBA/Daddy/Lord in your mercy have mercy on us. Love you all in Yeshua our Lord & God. Teerth, Family & Fellowship

The End of an Extended Honeymoon – Are Trump and Netanyahu Parting Ways?

By David Passmore • June 19, 2026
The End of an Extended Honeymoon – Are Trump and Netanyahu Parting Ways? Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM  The Israeli public had high hopes for Trump. Unlike his predecessors, he consistently endorsed Israeli measures of self-defence in the different theatres of conflict in which it had to contend. Further to these ends Trump shared in Netanyahu’s determined agenda of preventing the Iranians from pursuing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. During Trump's first term he tore up Obama's negotiated settlement with the Iranians concerning enriched Uranium, echoing Netanyahu’s position that it didn't go far enough. Now in his second term Trump partnered with Israel in a war with Iran that turned out to lack clearly defined goals. The campaign required resolve on the part of America that it wasn't willing to commit. After an initial lightning blitzkrieg that decapitated the Iranian leadership, the Persians dug in and the conflict became a protracted war of attrition hinging on Iran's stranglehold on the straits of Hormuz that could only be realistically lifted by placing boots on the ground or an intensified air war directed against Iranian coastal positions and the destruction of Kharg island, or at least the viable threat to obliterate Kharg island if Iran did not acquiesce. It transpired that Trump and Netanyahu underestimated the resilience of the Iranian regime, thinking that it had already received a near mortal blow during the prior popular demonstrations. So now we are left with a situation where Trump is exasperated with this protracted endeavour and appears to be aiming his frustration towards Netenyahu. A sticking point is Israel's continued occupation of Southern Lebanon. Iran is insistent that Israel withdraw its forces from there as a precursor to fully committing itself to a final status agreement with the U.S. to put an end to its nuclear aspirations. With the midterm elections looming Trump seems to be desperate for an exit strategy from this war. From Israel's perspective the fight against Hizbollah is an inextricable part of the Iranian equation. The IDF has invested massive resources and personnel in the hopes of quashing the Iranian proxy once and for all. Netanyahu is determined to build on the momentum achieved after the spectacular pager attack in 2024. After the catastrophic Hamas massacres of October 7th, the majority of the Israeli public is unwilling to tolerate a capable hostile force on its borders. Trump's proposed solution to this dilemma unrealistically suggests that Syria should take on the role of disarming and removing Hizbollah from Lebanon. In the ultimate reckoning of international relations, America doesn't have iron clad allies, but rather interests like any other nation. If, (as appears to be occurring now) U.S. and Israeli interests fail to align the two countries will cease to act in unison and there may be a rupture in relations on the not-too-distant horizon. Trump has indicated that Israel owes him big time. He has asserted that were it not for his decisive actions they would have been obliterated by Iran's missiles. This is nothing to say of the robust diplomatic support Trump has lent Israel in such forums as the United Nations Security Council and sanctioning officials of the International Criminal Court. Netanyahu is acutely aware of what may be next after Trump. The way public opinion is turning against Israel it is unlikely that the next administration is going to be any way near as friendly as Trump has been thus far to Israel. Trump too of course is mindful of this turning tide opposing Israel. The Iran war has been unpopular to his domestic audience, and the President has been caricatured as Netanyahu’s stooge doing Israel's bidding. Another major consideration for Trump is the colossal impact that the war has had on his other major regional allies: the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. They have received the brunt of the Iranian backlash that has effectively targeted their energy infrastructure and trading routes. They, along with the Europeans have been exerting pressure on Trump to end the conflict and reopen the Straits of Hormuz regardless of whether the most favourable terms of Iranian capitulation are achieved. Israel, however important a strategic asset and technological powerhouse will not override these broader concerns that are endangering global energy markets. An unspoken factor is Trump's propensity for a belligerent severing of his relationship with allies in the political sphere. His public displays of hostility with former political allies such Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Ron Santos and Elon Musk demonstrate a temperament that the same kind of falling out could invoke with strategic allies as well as those political. Both Trump and Netanyahu are approaching the sunset of their political careers and are naturally inclined to deeply consider the legacies they will leave behind. In the international sphere Trump projected himself as a peacemaker from a position of strength. But as many commentators have pointed out, the war with Iran demonstrated the limits of U.S. power. Trump appraised Iran as low hanging fruit that could be swiftly toppled like Venezuela. However, when push came to shove and the only prospect of landing a decisive blow demanded a massive ground offensive on the scale of the Iraq war, he bottled out and sued for a premature peace that will leave Netanyahu in the cold. Netanyahu is anxious to rehabilitate the injury inflicted on his reputation of the greatest disaster to have occurred in Israel's history having happened on his watch. Eliminating Iran as the great regional adversary pulling the strings of its proxies would have done much in this regard. Neither leader is able to craft their legacies as they would have wanted. Trump is choosing the perceived option of mitigating the damage done to his legacy in foreign affairs. He is trying hard to sell his Iran deal as being more than what Obama bargained in terms of guaranteeing a nuclear free Iran. But as further details of his proposal are leaked this is becoming a tall order. Netanyahu is faced with October elections and he may decide to stay the course in Lebanon as otherwise he will seem weak to most voters. Should this happen, we will be in uncharted waters as it will thwart Trump's designs for an immediate end to this affair.

The Battle for Israel's Reputation

By David Passmore • June 17, 2026
The Battlefield for Israel's Reputation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Israel has enjoyed strong U.S. support since its founding. Within eleven minutes of Israel's Declaration of Independence Truman recognized the Jewish State. Under the Kennedy administration the Pentagon sold advanced missile systems to Israel. However, it was the 1970 attempted PLO takeover of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan that demonstrated to the U.S. Israel's regional prowess and indispensability for implementing Washington's agenda. During Arafat's attempted Coup Syria mobilized its forces on the Jordanian border in support of the PLO's bid to dislodge the ruling Hashemite dynasty. Upon Washington's direction the IDF also mobilized its army upon its border with Jordan, thereby deterring the Syrians from taking further action. From then, the Pentagon and U.S. military planners invested heavily in promoting Israel's defence. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War disaster Nixon's massive air lift came to Israel's aid. For decades U.S. diplomatic and military support for Israel was a non-partisan issue. Both Democrat and Republican members of Congress voted nearly unanimously in support of measures concerning Israel. However, in the mid 2010's this began to change. To the extent that now 80% of Democrats hold views in opposition to Israel and this is reflected in how their representatives are acting. It is difficult to praise an exact moment when this turning point occurred. For years Democrat grassroots activist groups across the nation were lobbying their local representatives about their attitudes to Palestine and the mass student protest movements following the Gaza war built upon this momentum. The dual standards by the academic establishment were riddled with hypocrisy as if by the same criteria Israel is condemned for its responsive self-defence counter attacks in Lebanon and Gaza, Britain and America would be similarly indicted for what they did to Dresden, Hamburg and Berlin in response to Hitler. This is facilitated by the funding of Western Universities by Qatar and other Islamic interests associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. There is alienation between Israelis and the traditional left-centre Jewish Diaspora in the U.S. with a third of New York Jews voting for Mandani a vehement anti-Zionist in the New York Mayoral election. This is counterbalanced by a growing Jewish Right in America led by Ben Shapiro, David Ruben, Dennis Prager, Mark Levin and Trump advisor Steven Miller who are in political harmony with the Evangelical Right. The Republicans are also approaching a crossroads. Just as the Democrats have been hijacked by the Woke Left there has emerged a virulently anti-Zionist Woke Right led by Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and Candace Owen who are also attempting to hijack the Republicans. What is alarming here, is the fact that the majority of young Republicans under forty now hold an unfavourable view of Israel. So, it is very much a matter of fighting for the future of the Republican Party. The growing populist movements in Britain and Europe may counter the anti-Zionist and anti- Semitic political activities of the Muslim vote and their left-wing allies. In any eventuality, even if the least favourable trajectory of U.S. public opinion were to further materialize it is unlikely to dismantle the massive military and intelligence sharing cooperation between the U.S. and Israel. The Pentagon views Israel as far too big of a strategic asset in a volatile region to cut ties with. (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).

Urgent prayer request - India

By David Passmore • June 10, 2026
MAJOR PRAYER REQUEST - STEVE MITCHELL MORIEL ORPHANAGE (Andar Pradesh, INDIA) Please read the enclosed missions report from Moriel Missions Branch India: Our children need us and we put a lot of money into buying and then expanding the Moriel orphanage to take in more children. These precious orphan children are coming to Christ and the devil is angry. Until now we had opposition from radical Sheikhs at the Moriel Horeb church we built in Punjab, but the Hindu Authorities in Andar Pradesh have largely until now left us alone. The BJP government is however as wicked as Hamas or Hezbollah - only Hindu (I was in India when radical Hindus burned the Australian missionary family alive in their car; these are the ones who wanted to murder Steve Mitchell when Moriel helped to quickly get him out of the country some years ago). Some pastors have been murdered again in West Bengal. (Samuel, who oversees the Moriel orphanage went to Bible College with one of them). Because our orphan children are Dalet (treated as subhuman 'out casts' by the Hindu caste system), or from Muslim backgrounds, we have largely been been left alone and some of the local officials liked us. This is obviously not a good situation. Prayer is urgently requested. Please pray for Mark Masih particularly that they will not cancel his visa. They are now forbidding us from bringing any more bibles into the country. What would happen if Britain, Australia, or America outlawed Hindus from bringing the Bhagavad Gita into England, Oz, or the USA? MARANATHA Come Quickly Lord Jesus  "You Will Be Hated By Men For My Name's Sake" Matthew 10:22