The Last Days - Afrikaans

April 1, 2025

Wat Die Heilige Gees Baie Duidelik Vir Ons Oor Die Laaste Dae Se?

Ons weet uit die Evangelies dat die jaar 2000 N.C. gekom en gegaan het. Ons weet ook uit die historiese tydsberekening van Keiser Augustus dat daar tussen twee en vier jaar verskil is tussen die Joodse Maan Jare en die Gregoriaanse datum stelsel. Met ander woorde, die jaar 2000 is al alreeds verby. Dit was egter 'n groot storie vir die Westerse Wêreld met betrekking tot rekenaarstelsels en al die gedoentes daarom.

 Teologies is daar vir ons wat op die Wederkoms van onse Here Jesus Christus wag, nie 'n afwagting op 'n Wêreldse Millennium nie, maar op die Millennium van onse Here Jesus Christus. So sien ons dan ook die Globalisasie van die wêreld ekonomie, en 'n her?konfederasie van die nasies in die Romeinse ryk en 'n Pouslike Ryk, ook sien ons 'n al swakker wordende demokratiese federale Europa wat verval in 'n ekumeniese stelsel, en ook 'n menigte van omgewings faktore wat strek van seismologiese tot verwarmings besoedeling, en etniese suiwering prosesse by baie nasies wat aan die orde van die dag is. Dan is daar nog die die wêreld se soeke na 'n valse vrede in die Midde Ooste en ook oral in die wêreld. Dan sien ons ook die die misleiding van die Evangeliese kerk, 'n kerk wat al minder voorbereid is vir die Wederkoms van Christus. Al hierdie dinge dui daarop dat ons sekerlik die dag van die Wederkoms van onse Here Jesus Christus nader.

Maar deur die Genade van ons hemelse Vader sien ons ook die gelowige oorblyfsels wat deur die Heilige Gees bymekaar gemaak en voorberei word. Hierdie is die gelowiges wat nie wil betrokke wees met dinge soos die wêreld millennium partytjies en die misleiding in die hipper Charismatiese en Calvinistiese bewegings nie. Hierdie oorblyfsel is die mense wat daarna strewe om saam met Koning Jesus in die Nuwe Millennium te regeer.

Maar 'n baie belangrike aspek van onse Hemelse Vader se voorbereiding van die getroue oorblyfsel, is om hulle voor te berei vir wat ná die Wederkoms van Koning Jesus gaan plaasvind.

Een van die mees duidelike en baie belangrike profesieë wat in die Nuwe Testament opgeteken is, gaan oor wat gaan gebeur net voor die Wederkoms van Koning Jesus Christus, wat vir ons opgeteken in die Brief van Paulus aan Timotheüs. Die toestand in die eerste eeuse kerk verwys in sekere opsigte tipologies na wat die toestand van die laaste eeuse kerk gaan wees.

As ons vandag na al die gebeure rondom kyk dan is natuurlik baie moontlik (Baie sal nie saamstem nie) dat ons nou in hierdie era in beweeg, en dit is met hierdie agtergrond dat Paulus die Brief aan Timotheüs geskrywe het:

1Tim.4:1?16:

  • Maar die Gees sê uitdruklik dat in die laaste tye sommige van die geloof afvallig sal word en verleidende geeste en leringe van duiwels sal aanhang
  • deur die geveinsdheid van leuenaars wat gebrandmerk is in hulle eie gewete,
  • wat verbied om te trou en gebied dat die mense hulle moet onthou van voedsel wat God geskape het om met danksegging gebruik te word deur die gelowiges en die wat die waarheid ken.
  • Want alles wat deur God geskape is, is goed, en niks is verwerplik as dit met danksegging ontvang word nie;
  • want dit word geheilig deur die woord van God en die gebed.
  • As jy hierdie dinge aan die broeders voorhou, sal jy 'n goeie dienaar van Jesus Christus wees terwyl jy jouself voed met die woorde van die geloof en van die goeie leer waarvan jy 'n navolger geword het.
  • Maar verwerp onheilige en oudwyfse fabels, en oefen jou in die godsaligheid.
  • Want die liggaamlike oefening is tot weinig nut, maar die godsaligheid is nuttig vir alles, omdat dit die belofte van die teenwoordige en die toekomende lewe het.
  • Dit is 'n betroubare woord en werd om ten volle aangeneem te word;
  • want hiervoor arbei ons ook en word ons gesmaad, omdat ons gehoop het op die lewende God wat 'n behouder is van alle mense, insonderheid van die gelowiges.
  • Beveel en leer hierdie dinge.
  • Laat niemand jou jonkheid verag nie, maar wees 'n voorbeeld vir die gelowiges in woord, in wandel, in liefde, in gees, in geloof, in reinheid.
  • Totdat ek kom, moet jy aanhou met voorlesing, vermaning en lering.
  • Verwaarloos nie die genadegawe wat in jou is nie, wat jou gegee is deur die profesie met die handoplegging van die ouderlinge.
  • Wees vlytig in hierdie dinge, leef daarin, sodat jou vooruitgang vir almal duidelik kan wees. Hierdie Boodskap deur die Heilige Gees deur Paulus, bevat die Apostoliese Instruksies wat deur die Heilige Gees deur Paulus aan Timotheüs gegee is, om dit aan alle mense te verkondig, (1Tim. 4:6&11) Hierdie Kanon van die Nuwe Testament sluit alle gelowiges van alle tye in, en die woordverband van hierdie Skrif verwys na die eskatalogie? na die Laaste Dae.

Die eerste saak wat in hierdie Brief duidelik na vore kom is dat die Heilige Gees baie duidelik verwys na 'n afvalligheid. Die Griekse woord is 'Apostasontai', die toekomstige term van die woord 'Apostasia', wat

beteken: 'Om weg, of uit te beweeg'. Dit is dieselfde woord wat gebruik word in 2Thess.2:3 wat verwys na die Antichris en die groot afval. (Moriel het by verskeie geleenthede gewaarsku dat die ekumeniese beweging, die hipper Charismatiese en Pinkster bewegings en die Liberale teologie, ens. baie beslis deel is van van 'n wêreld wye aanslag op die kerk) Paulus profeteer dieselfde afval in verband met die antichris in 2Thessalonicense, maar in die Brief aan Timotheüs deel Paulus meer op 'n pastorale vlak met betrekking tot hierdie gebeure. Ons kan sê dat Paulus in 2Thessalonicense baie meer direk met die afval deel, terwyl hy in 1Timotheüs meer deel met die omstandighede in die kerk wat aanleiding gaan gee tot hierdie gebeure. Paulus se optrede is die van 'n senior herder wat baie ernstig by 'n jonger herder daarop aandring dat hy die skape baie ernstig moet waarsku en beskerm, en dit sluit ons in, teen die dinge wat aan die kom is.

Die eerste gevaar hier is dat Christene dink dat hulle nie afvallig kan word nie. (Die denke van eenmaal gered altyd gered) Maar iemand kan nie afdwaal van iets waarin hy nog nooit gewees het om mee te begin nie. Die Bybel waarsku ons uitdruklik en baie duidelik van 'n groot, 'n masiewe afval, en die denke dat dit net ongeredde mense is, is fataal. Hulle kan nie deel wees van 'n afval waarvan hulle nog nooit deel was nie, want Satan het nie 'n saak met die ongereddes nie omdat hy hulle al reeds in sy mag het, hy soek egter die uitverkorenis. Hierdie denke is Teologies en logies absurd. Net so was die Brief aan die Hebreers geskrywe aan die Joodse Gelowiges wat in gevaar gestaan het om van die Geloof afvallig te word en terug te val onder die Wet toe hulle voor 'n vervolging gestaan het. Net so is dit ooreenkomstig ook absurd om voor te stel dat diegene wat die Kennis van die Waarheid ontvang het en 'n offer vir hulle sonde gehad het, en wat nou in gevaar is, dat hulle nie gelowiges is om mee te begin nie, en dat hulle nie afvallig kan word nie, word weerspreek in Hebr.10:26.

Die woord wat hier vir afval gebruik word is 'Parapito' (Wat verwant is aan 'Apostasia) wat afkomstig is van die werkwoord: Om te 'Apostatise'. Hier is ook 'n dubbele onlogiese?? Hoe kan iemand afvallig word van iets waaraan hy nog nooit geglo het nie? Tweedens, om te sê dat 'n ongelowige deel kan hê aan die Werke van die Heilige Gees is ook 'n totale leuen. Dit is die teologie van liberale Christene soos Desmond Tutu wat reken dat die Hindoes ook 'n deel kan hê aan die Heilige Gees, dit is absoluut nie die Teologie van die Woord van die Here nie, en sulke verdraaide redenasies is totaal absurd.

Instede daarvan om 'n Skrifteks in sy woordverband te bestudeer en toe te laat dat die Skrif Homself verklaar, word dit geherdefinieer om by die denke van die spreker aan te pas, dit is misleiding.

In alle redelikheid moet ons erken dat toe Johannes Calvyn sy leerstellings van van volharding geformuleer het, (Eenmaal gered altyd gered) het hy probeer om die ketterse middeleeuse Roomse kerk teen te staan wat mense in gebondenheid geplaas het. Maar oplossings vir 'n dwalings is nie nog groter dwalings of 'n ander dwaling nie, die oplossing is om terug tegaan na die Waarheid.

Ons is natuurklik verewig verseker in Koning Jesus Christus met dien verstande dat ons vrye wil wat deur die kruis herstel is, maar wat deur Wedergeboorte in beslag gelê word om in Koning Jesus Christus, deur die samewerking van die Genade van God, standvastig te bly staan.

Deur die ontkenning dat die vrye wil van die mens, wat die mens verloor het by die sondeval in Eden, herstel is by die Kruis, ontken Calviniste, (Net soos in die geval van die Rooms Katolieke, maar in 'n ander opset) die volle Krag van die Kruis van Koning Jesus. Ironies is dit dat een van die grootste misleidings die misplaasde idee is dat 'n gelowige nie afvallig kan word nie. Hierdie gurusstelling is van die duiwel en hy kry 'n menigte pragtige mense in die Hel met hulle godsdiens.

Niemand kan ons uit die Hand van ons Vader ruk nie, maar ons kan self ons herstelde vrye wil misbruik om Hom te verlaat of om nooit werklik tot bekering te kom nie. Dit is waarom V16 vir ons baie duidelik sê dat ons self verantwoordelik is vir ons redding: "Let op jouself en op die leer; volhard daarin; want deur dit te doen, sal jy jouself red sowel as die wat jou hoor".

Hierdie Skrifteks vertel vir ons baie duidelik dat dit net diegene is wat vooraf gewaarsku is en wat absoluut daarop agslaan, wat kan seker wees van hulle redding, en dit sluit nie diegene in wat ontken dat gelowiges nie afvallig kan word nie. Die Heilige Gees sê uitdruklik dat dit is wat gaan gebeur! (1Tim.4:16)

Leringe Van Duiwels

Hiervandaan vertel Paulus ons deur die Heilige Gees hoedat die gebeure van die Laaste Dae en die en die gepaardgaande misleiding sal begin, en hy dui aan dat daar geveinsde leunaars in die kerk sal wees wat demoniese lerings sal propageer om die Christene te mislei. Die Heilige Gees Spreek nie deur Paulus met sagte strelende 'verskoon my' woorde, wanneer Hy hierdie misleiers beskrywe nie, en ook maak Hy geen verskoning vir hulle nie. Hierdie is nie goeie mense wat in 'n dwaling beland het nie, maar baie slegte mense wat soos wat Jeremia sê, ons nie eens vir hulle moet bid nie. (Jerm.14:11) Paulus plaas ook nie al die blaam op die duiwel nie. Die leringe kom van duiwels maar hierdie bose leringe word deur bose leiers in die kerke vir die waarheid verkondig. Aanvanklik is die leerstellings in 'n sagte wettiese vorm wat Nomianisme genoem word, wat ingestel is op sekere voedsel wat geëet en nie geëet mag word nie. Dit is ook nie hier die geval dat hierdie mense hulle net onthou van sekere voedsel omrede dit vir hulle 'n getuienis in die gemeenskap is nie, of omdat dit vir hulle 'n persoonlike keuse is nie, nee, hulle verkondig dit as 'n Skriftuurlike voorvereiste. Hierdie is om terug te beweeg na Judaisme, dit is ook nie die Judaisme wat die oorsprong van die Christelike geloof is nie, maar dit is 'n terug beweeg na 'n godsdienstige gebondenheid. Dit is ook nie 'n toeval dat die Sewende dag Adventiste, Mormone en die hipper Messiaanse ekstremiste en ook die Katolieke ens. betrokke is by sulke demoniese praktyke wat mense weer in gebondenheid van die voedsel wette en mense wette wil plaas nie. Ons kan nie pragtig en skoon en heilig probeer lewe op die gebooie van mense nie, die basis is óf die Woord van die Here óf die gebooie van die mense, u moet self kies. Om die wet en die genade te meng is 'n mengsel, en God haat mengsels!

Een groot gevaar wat uit die Post Millennium, en die 'Dominion' Teologie uit vloei is die Oorbeklemtoning van die Eskatalogie wat beter bekend is as die Kingdom Now beweging.

In 'n meer ernstige graad is die gereformeerde herboures, (Dit is die Calvinistiese idee van goddelike heersing waar die kerk al die regering se wettlike instansies oorneem en 'n goddelike regering instel voor die koms van Christus, wat ook gebaseer is op die polisie staat idee van Calvyn , Knox, Zwingli en

die Massachusetts Purityne.) wat nou deur die Charismania bewegings voorgestel word as 'n restorasie van die aarde, soos voor die sonde val van Adam, voor die Koms van Christus.

(Let maar op in nuusberigte hoedat die kerke al meer begin inmeng met staats instellings omrede die goddeloosheid wat al meer aanleiding gee tot 'n globale verval asgevolg van die verrotting wat binne in die huis van die Here begin het)

In Britanje, gedurende die bose uitbreking van die Toronto dwaling, het een van die Anglikaanse kerke wat tot vandag toe nog die dwaalprofete van Kansas City in Sheffield na volg, op die Nasionale TV senders verskyn waar die mense halfnaak en bostukloos in die kerk rondgedans het om sodoende aan die wêreld te toon dat hulle oppad is na die tyd van Adam en Eva soos voor die sonde val. Net soos wat die mens voor die sondeval net vrugte en groente geëet het en geen vleis nie, is natuurlik ook deel van hierdie wettiese voedsel instellings.

Met die besoedeling van die New Age denke in die Evangeliese kerke via die Vineyard bewegings en skrywers soos Clark Pincock, William De Artega, Patrick Dickson en Yongee Cho, is 'n menigte geredde Christene blootgestel en beïnvloed deur alle vorme van New Age denkes.

Dit is dan ook nie 'n toeval dat in baie plekke die idees van Hollistiese medisynes en vegetaristiese idees 'n weg begin vind het na 'n verhewe geestelikheid wat 'n ander bedekking ontvang het en nou genoem word die 'Evangelie tot Heiligmaking' wat natuurlik deur duisende Christene, wat die Skrifte verontagsaam aanvaar word. (verstommend)

Hiervandaan beweeg Paulus na die lering wat mense sal verbied om te trou, 'n lering van duiwels wat tot vandag toe nog deur die Roomse Katolieke Kerk as wet onderhou word, en hierdeur word die verordening van die natuurlike huweliksinstelling verwerp.

Die uitwerking van hierdie dwaling word duidelik in die Roomse kerk geopenbaar deur die plaag van homoseksualisme en kindermolesteerders onder hulle leiers omdat hulle ook afgewyk het van konvensionele owerspel tegnieke.

Vanaf die klooster hoerhuise (godsdienstige bordele) in die Donker Eeue en in die Herlewings tydperk tot en met dieselfde skandale in die tye van vandag (Kyk maar na die nuusberigte) wat tot regerings tot 'n val gebring het, en die seksuele skandale wat deur 'n Roomse priester gepleeg is met klein seuntjies wat aan die lig gekom het,?? Dit alles is die resultaat van hierdie leringe van duiwels!. Wanneer die natuurlike en die morele standaarde vernietig word, dan kom die onnatuurlike en die immorele standaarde as 'n plaag in die plek daarvan. (1Kor.7:9)

Die oorsprong van hierdie duiwelse leerstellings kan by Augustyn van Hippo gevind word wat onder die invloed van die Mancheanisme sekte was waarvan hy 'n lid was voordat hy hom tot die Christendom bekeer het onder die toesig van sy leermeester Ambrose van Milaan. Die Mancheane het 'n gnostieke leerstelling gehad wat leer dat alle dinge wat fisies is, verkeerd is omdat dit deur 'n 'minderwaardige god' beheer word. Augustyn het hierdie denke in sy godsdiens beginsels ingebou deur te sê dat die enigste goeie ding van 'n huwelik is om kinders te hê wat selibaat is. (Hulle kinders is met ander woorde

www.Moriel.org

nie gebonde aan hierdie huwelik nie) Terwyl Augustyn sekere eer verdien omdat hy die Palagietiese dwaling verwerp het, wat die oorspronklike sonde van die mens nie erken nie, het die bose dade wat deur die eeue in die naam van Christus gepleeg is soos die kruistogte en die vervolging van die 'Afvalliges', (Inkwisisie) deur die invloed van Augustyn ontstaan wat die idee gehad het dat die kerk brute vervolging kon toepas om mense tot bekering te dwing. Dit is ook Augustyn wat verantwoordelik is vir die dwaalleer van die Post Millennialisme idee wat weg beweeg het van Pre Millennianisme van die vroeë Apostoliese Kerk. Dit was ook Augustyn wat Christelikheid geherskryf het as 'n Platoniese godsdiens en met die idee van die Sigbare en die Onsigbare kerk na vore gekom het wat 'n voetstoel vir Konstantyn was waardeur die Christendom as 'n godsdienstige instelling van die Romeinse Ryk onderskrywe is.

Tragies is dit dat toe Johannes Calvyn met die Hervorming van die Kerk betrokke geraak het, het hy nie terug beweeg na die Bybelse riglyne soos wat die Ana Babtiste gedoen het nie, maar het hy terug beweeg na die leerstelling van Augustyn, en net soos in die geval van Augustyn was sy einde ook 'n Mengsel tussen die Waarheid en die valsheid.

Dit is ook ironies om te weet dat beide die Roomse Katolieke en die Hervormde Protestante afkomstig is van Augustyn, albei beklemtoon verskillende aspekte van dieselfde man se leerstellings en geloof terwyl hulle sekere aspekte deel. Die staat van die Huwelik was een van die dinge wat die Hervormers korek gehanteer het toe hulle die verwronge idees verwerp het as 'n demoniese leerstellings Maar die Heilige Gees sê uitdruklik dat hierdie denke weer na vore gaan kom aan die einde van die tyd.

In Amerika is 'n kerk: 'The Churh of Bible Understanding', 'n kultus wat gelei word deur Stuart Trail, wat uit die 'Jesus beweging' uitgegroei het, maar net soos wat die 'Children of God' beweging ontaard het in 'n demoniese kultus, het een van hierdie beweging se evangeliese groepering 'n beleid van eerbare kuishuid aanvaar. (Hulle leer om nie te trou nie)

Kommerwekkend is dit ook om op te let dat Bill Gotthard in sy seminare dieselfde rigting begin inslaan, en die potensiële gevaar is al reeds baie groot.

Gotthard ontmoedig huwelike tot op die ouderdom van 30 jaar, maar dit is 'n ginakologiese feit dat vroue wat nog nie by die ouderdom van 30 jaar 'n kind gehad het nie, 'n hoë kliniese risiko loop van onvrugbaarheid en miskrame en ook 'n hele aantal geboorte probleme en afwykings by hulle babas. Problematies is dit sekerlik dat Gotthart geensins enige mediese óf Teologiese kwalifikasies het nie.

Dit is dat ook nie verbasend dat Gotthard se broer betrokke was by 'n seks skandaal wat sy Illinois basis guruk het nie. Maar nog steeds is daar baie pastore en predikante wat hulle jeug gemeentelede aanmoedig om sy seminare by te woon! Nog meer verontrustend is egter die hande vattery met die Roomse Katolieke kerk om hulle te aanvaar as 'n Christelike beweging, nie teenstande die feit dat hulle leerstellings van duiwels aanhang!

Goeie Voeding En Nie Fabels Nie

In Vers 6 deur 'n Griekse woordespel, speel Paulus die dwaalleer van die verbod om voedsel te eet, of deur die slegte voedsel te vergelyk met opregte Leerstellings wat as Goeie Voeding verklaar word.

(Entraphomenos, wat goeie voeding beteken) Paulus neem dit verder deur om die valse leertellings te vergelyk met fabels, (Versinsels) of soos dit in die Grieks weergegee word as 'Muthos' wat Mites of godeverhale beteken, iets wat onheilig is. Hierdie onheilige versinsels is aan die orde van die dag in baie Charismatiese en Pinkster bewegings as dit getoets word teen die Charismata van die vroeë kerk en die Woord van die Here.

Dit is uit versinsels soos hierdie dat die Mancheanisme dualistiese mitise geloof wat Augustyn aangehang het, geleer het dat seks innerlik onbegeerlik is omdat dit 'n fisiese handeling is, en soos hierdie sekte se denkes was/is, is alles sleg wat fisies ingebore is. [Hierdie valse lering van duiwels word direk teengestaan deur die Skrif in 1Joh.}Want die Woord (Logos) het Vlees geword.]

Uit hierdie leerstelling kom daar die volgende: Die eerste is demoniese leerstellings (In hierdie geval, die verbod teen die huwelik) Die tweede is hierdie leuenaars, wat Paulus hulle noem, wat hierdie demoniese dwalings verkondig.

In Vers 2 noem Paulus hierdie leuenaars in Grieks 'Psuedologon' wat 'n valse 'Logos' beteken, en meer korrek is dit 'n demoniese vervalsing van die Woord wat Vlees geword het,??Koning Jesus wat Homself in die Vlees, deur die Heilige Gees geopenbaar het as die Lewende Woord in die Skrifte.

Onthou dat die tema van 2Thess.2 en 1Tim.4 albei die afval van die laaste dae aanhaal, en in albei kan die verhouding tussen die komende antichris en die afval gesien word. In 2Thess is hy die seun van verderf, 'n valse christus, (In plek van) In 1Timotheüs word die term 'Psuedo?logon' gebruik wat 'n valse logos (In plek van die Ware Woord) beteken. Daarom sien ons in 1Tim.4 dan instede daarvan dat die Ware Logos in die vlees openbaar word, gaan daar 'n valse Logos kom wat sal sê dat alles wat vlees, sleg is. (Dit is ook een van die hoof kenmerke van die antichris in 1Joh.4:1?3) Instede daarvan dat die Ware Logos Homself deur die Persoon van die Heilige Gees, in die Lewende Woord openbaar, word die valse logos deur 'n bonatuurlike wyse in 'n fabel geopenbaar. (Soos hierdie goudstof en goue tande wat so ophef maak) Instede daarvan dat die Ware Logos gepreek word deur die getroue diensknegte van die Here, soos Paulus en Timotheüs, word die logos nou gepreek deur 'n valse teruggevalde leuenaar wat alles die resultaat is van 'n godslasterlike valse kennis.

Dit, soos wat die Woord van die Here dit in hoofstuk 4 vir ons vooruit gesê het, het presies so gebeur, en dit gebeur vandag weer, maar die heel laaste keer, wanneer die laaste geboorte pyne die geboorte voorafgaan, dan gaan daar 'n totale afval wees, soos wat die Woord van die Here, deur die Heilige Gees deur Paulus en Timotheüs dit vooruit aan hulle gemeentelede en aan ons gesê het.

Die Redder Van Alle Mense

Hiervandaan gaan Paulus verder met 'n lys van persoonlike vermanings en aanbevelings aan Timotheüs en ook aanmoediging soos wat die Here Jeremia gesê het dat hy nie moet toelaat dat hy deur sy jonkheid ontmoedig word nie. (Jerm.1).

Ons hemelse Vader meet die ouderdom van 'n mens deur hoe lank 'n persoon Hom ken en ook aan 'n persoon se geestelike rypheid, en nie deur mense kennis en die biologiese aardse ouderdoms jare nie.

Met ander woorde 'n Wedergebore Christen se ouderdom word bepaal van die dag van sy / haar se geestelike wedergeboorte

Baie van Paulus se vermaning in verse 4?8 kan net so toegepas word op baie opregte gelowiges van vandag, maar in vers 10 openbaar die Heilige Gees deur Paulus dat 'God Die Redder van alle mense is', en baie belangrik: 'Die wat waarlik en opreg Glo'. Hierdie is beide 'n Christologiese en 'n Soteriologiese verklaring met betrekking tot ons redding, waardeur die Heilige Gees Paulus inspireer om die twee Skriftuurlike dwalings en misleidings baie duidelik moet aanhef, want die Here onse God het deur Sy alomteenwoordigheid dit vir ons vooruit gesê wat in die tyd na die apostels gaan gebeur en ook in die tye van vandag. Die eerste is dat daar mense gaan wees wat gaan ontken dat ons Redder, Koning Jesus Christus, ook God is, en die tweede is die Calvinistiese denke dat Koning Jesus net gesterf het vir die sondes die uitverkorenis en nie vir die sondes van die wêreld nie. In hierdie selfde Brief verklaar die Heilige Gees deur Paulus dat dit die Wil van God is dat ALLE mense tot redding moet kom (1Tim.2:4) Petrus skrywe ook : 2Pet.3:9: "Die Here vertraag nie die belofte soos sommige dit vertraging ag nie, maar Hy is lankmoedig oor ons en wil nie hê dat sommige moet vergaan nie, maar dat almal tot bekering moet kom".

Die HERE ons God is Ewig, en is nie aan tyd gebonde nie. (Dit is waarom die verlede, die hede en die toekomstige dinge terselfdertyd in die Boek Openbaring plaasvind) Dit is waarom tyd relatief tot die ewigheid nie bestaan nie en dit is waarom die getal mense wat gered is / word voor die fondasie van die wêreld verordeneer is, maar met die vleeswording van die mens het God 'n TYD tafel ingestel en so tyd van die Ewigheid afgeskei om sodoende Redding tot alle mense te bring wat sal agslaan op God se onverdienstelike Groot Genade. Relatief tot die sfeer van tyd verklaar die Here dat Hy geen behae in die benarde toestand van die afvalliges het nie, maar dat Hy begeer dat almal tot bekering moet kom.?? Eseg.18:4: "Kyk, al die siele is myne; soos die siel van die vader, so die siel van die seun??hulle is myne; die siel wat sondig, dié moet sterwe".

Petrus wat in sy Rede Joël aanhaal sê: Hand. 2:21: "En elkeen wat die Naam van die Here aanroep, sal gered word". Met ander woorde die mens wat na Jesus Christus toe kom, wat antwoord op die Roepstem van die Heilige Gees, wat Christus leer ken het deur die Woord van God, dit is die persoon wat gered sal word, en niemand anders kan hier vir jou instaan nie. Die Heilige Gees het geweet dat misleiding en valse leerstellings gaan kom wat die Pragtige Waarheid gaan vervals en wat die Soewereine Genade van die Here aan enige iemand beskikbaar gaan stel deur misleiers wat eendag Sy Kerk gaan infiltreer, mense wat goedkoop handel dryf met die Genade van onse Here, mense word vertel dat hulle gered is wat nooit die geval is nie en hier maak die Here in die Skrifte voorsiening daarvoor. Die dwaling van die Hervormers in hulle denke oor die Soewereiniteit en die uitverkiesing van onse Here het deur die eeue baie groot skade aan die kerk aangerig. Dit is egter nie al die Calviniste wat so radikaal opgetree en sover gegaan as om 1Tim.4:10 effektief uit die Kanon van die Skrifte te vertaal nie.

Die vertaling was daarop gemik om te leer dat Koning Jesus NIE die redder van alle mense is nie. [1Tim.4:10: Afrk.83: Met hierdie vooruitsig span ons ons kragte in en stry ons, want ons het ons hoop op die lewende God gevestig, wat die Verlosser is van alle mense, van almal wat glo] Dit is die hipper

Calvinistiese ekstremiste wat leer dat God sekere mense geformeer het om ewig in die Hel te brand, terwyl die Woord van die Here duidelik sê dat dit die Wil van God is dat alle mense tot bekering moet kom.

As daar na die Calvynse komentaar: "Seneca's De Clementia" gekyk word dan sal gesien word dat die oorsprong van die Hervormers se Skrif eksegese afkomstig is van die Humaniste en nie uit die Bybel nie. 'n Oorsig van die Calvinistiese Post Millennium denke en Erastianisme, ('n Staats kerk) en die kinderdoop, openbaar dat hulle kerkleer van die Roomse Katolieke kerk afkomstig is. As die Skrifte geondersoek word vir die Calvynse Hervormers denke van 'n Verbond Teologie, waar God net twee verbonde gesluit het, een met Adam en een met Abraham, (Waaruit die Vervangings Teologie ontstaan het) dan kan dit nie gevind word nie. Bo en behalwe dit is die Calvinistiese denke oor die uitverkiesing verbind aan die filosofiese basis van die fatalistiese stellings van die Inja Allah van Islam, en nie aan Christelike leerstelling nie.

1Timotheüs 4:10 spreek duidelik sy misnoë uit teen die Calvinistiese denkes wat God se Genade beperk en wat die Bloed van Koning Jesus beperk om vir alle mense Redding te bring.

Maar dit is ook waar dat die Here van die begin af weet wie aan Hom gaan behoort, dit is diegene wat gaan agslaan op Sy Roepstem en hulle tot Hom bekeer. Ons kan ons nie self red nie, ook kan ons nie tot bekering kom as die Here ons nie self uit die doderyk uit roep nie. Maar God het geen mens geformeer vir die Hel nie! Die Hel is gemaak vir Satan en sy engele. (Matt.25:41) Onse Here is 'n God van Liefde en wil dat ALMAL tot redding kom.

Maar almal sal Hom nie aanneem nie, en onse Here weet wie hulle is wat Hom gaan aanneem en wie nie. Koning Jesus is God en Redder van alle mense, en baie duidelik is dit die Gelowiges. Ons glo, óf wat Paulus deur die Heilige Gees opgteken het, óf ons glo Calvyn!

Goddelike Balans

Gee ag aan die Woord van die Here en verwaarloos nie Gawe wat jy ontvang het nie.

In Vers 13 vermaan Paulus dat aandag gegee moet word aan die lees van die Skrifte, DEUR VOORLESING, VERMANING EN LERING. As hierdie drie belangrike riglyne nie in 'n bediening teenwoordig is nie sal so 'n bediening in 'n afval beland. Vandag kan ons dit baie duidelik waarneem deur die drastiese daling van gemeente lede getalle van die Verenigde Gereformeerde, Metodiste, Prebiteriaanse en baie ander kerke. Die BBC in Engeland het in 'n statistiek getoon dat gemeente lede getalle in hierdie kerke met 36,000 gedaal het. Daar word egter 'n groot groei in ledetalle van Oosterse gelowe en ander kultusse waargeneem, alles dui daarop dat die vermaning van Paulus absoluut verontagsaam is.

Dit is opmerksaam dat eerste doelwit wat Paulus aanhaal die: 'LEES VAN DIE SKRIFTE' is. Die eerste kerk was afhanklik van Skrifte wat op perkament of boekrolle aangeteken is en wat dus assulks voorgelees moes word, nie almal het boekrolle gehad nie, maar vandag is dit merkwaardig hoeveel mense kerk toe kom sonder 'n Bybel en wat sit en luister na 'n seremonie sonder om enigsins belang te stel wat in die Woord van die Here staan. Geloof kom deur die Woord van God, en die klem val hier op die lees van die Skrifte. Vandag egter, in plaas daarvan om 'n skrif gedeelte te lees en dit te bespreek en te verklaar

volgens die Skrifte, word net hier en daar 'n paar verse aangehaal en dan volg dit met 'n bespreking wat totaal buite konteks van die gegewe Skrifteks is en wat dan as 'n preek bedien word. Ons moet Skrif met Skrif vergelyk en nie Skrif met mense denke nie! Dit is waarom die Here ons waarsku om nie baie leermeesters te wees nie, want diegene wat leer sal 'n groter oordeel ontvang. (Jak.3:1)

Tweedens beveel Paulus dat die SKRIFTE gebruik moet word in Bybelse onderrig. Soos wat Watchman Nee gesê het: Daar is 'n groot verskil tussen Ware Kennis en gewone inligting.

Die Bybel is nooit vir ons gegee om ons kennis te verryk vir die doel van kennis nie, maar die Woord van die Here is aan ons gegee om ons lewens te verander. Paulus gebruik die Griekse woord 'Paraklesio'?? wat beteken om af te smeek soos in 'n vermaning met die oog op vertroosting, en is direk verwant aan die Griekse woord 'Parakletos' (Paraclete) wat 'n beskrywendte titel van die Heilige Gees is wat ons tegemoet kom as ons Trooster, maar die Heilige Gees se hoofdoel is om Jesus Christus, die Woord wat vlees geword het, te openbaar en te verheerlik.

Die Gees en die Waarheid is gemeenskaplik afhanklik van mekaar en nie gemeenskaplik eksklusief nie. Die Heilige Gees handel volgens die Geskrewe Woord want Hy is Geïnspireer.

Dit bring ons by die derde bespreking van Paulus.

Lering, in Grieks is 'Didasklia' wat in die Nuwe Testament 'Skrifuitleg' beteken. Hierdie woord kom direk van die Griekse woord 'Didaskein' wat die 'Geskrewe Woord' van die Here is. Die Heilige Gees noem dit die Lering van Koning Jesus, en om die Skrifte te verwerp is om Jesus Christus self te verwerp. In Skriftuurlik Woordverband is die Lering van die Heilige Gees absoluut gefondeer op die Skrifte en die Skrifte alleen, en om te probeer om met mense denke die Here te verheerlik is 'n dwaling wat aanleiding gee tot misleiding.

Paulus se rede is absoluut eerstens gefondeer op die Skrifte waardeur hy vir Timotheüs aanmoedig om nie die Geestelike Gawe wat hy ontvang het te verwaarloos nie.

Die woord vir gawe hier is 'Charismatos', 'n Genade Gawe wat aan 'n induvidu geskenk is om die Liggaam te bedien, dit om 'n persoon toe te rus vir die bediening wat in hierdie geval verbind word met die gawe van 'n profetiese bediening.

As daar nie in 'n bediening 'n ferme Bybelse Skriftuurlike basis bestaan nie, dan kan daar nie 'n Bybelse Charismatiese basis bestaan nie, en alles sal gebonde wees aan 'n on?Bybelse Charismatiese bediening. (Wonders en tekens) Bybelse Charismatiese, en Bedienings Gawes is tot stigting van die gemeente en dit is gereedskap wat ons nodig het om die taak wat ons opgedra is te kan uitvoer. (1Kor. 12:4?5) Hierdie is die 'Talente' waarna Koning Jesus verwys het, en ons sal geoordeel word navolgens hoe ons dit belê het tot eer en verheerliking van onse Here Jesus Christus. (Matt.2514?26)

Een van die redes waarom die duiwel vervalsde charismatiese gawes gebruik is om dit onaanvaarbaar vir mense te maak en daardeur die mens ongewapen in 'n geveg in te stuur. (1Kor.14:23) Dit is ook waarom Satan mense gebruik om die Genade Gawes af te skryf as iets wat net in die apostels se tyd gebeur het

en dat dit nie meer vandag bestaan nie. Satan gebruik ongeredde mense om te sê dat mense sielsiek is wat deur die Heilige Gees gelei word in 'n openbaring van Charismatiese Gawes.

Romeine 11 deel met die Profetiese Doelwit van ons Hemelse Vader vir die Jode, en Romeine 12 begin waar Paulus leer oor die verbintenis tussen die Charismatiese en die Bedienings Gawes. Daar is nie hoofstuk skeidings in die oorspronklike Griekse Teks nie, en so is dit vir 'n baie goeie rede dat Paulus die uitverkiesing van Israel verbind met die Charismatiese Gawes in Rom. 11:29, (Die woord wat hier gebruik word is ook Charismata) wat dit duidelik maak dat die Jode én die Charismatiese Gawes nie opgehou bestaan het nie.

As enige mens of instelling vir u vertel dat daar 'n verskil is tussen Eerste Kerk en wat die Kerk van vandag behoort te wees, dan moet u weet dit is 'n misleiding, want die Woord van die Here het nog nooit verander nie, die Here gaan nie terug op Sy Heilige Woord nie. Die rede waarom Paulus die Roeping Gawes en die Charismatiese Gawes verbind met Romeine 11:29, is omrede die dwalings wat sê dat God die Gawes in die vroeë Kerk be?eindig het, en ook die dwaling wat leer dat God klaar is met die Jode. Paulus noem diegene wat onkundig in die Charismatiese Gawes is 'Idiotai' wat idiote, swaksinnig beteken! (1Kor.14:23) .

In 1Korinte 13 sien ons dat die Gawes sal aangaan todat die 'volmaakte' gekom het, wat in die woordverband van hierdie Skrifteks verwys na die 'Perousia' : Die Wederkoms van Koning Jesus Christus en nie na die Kanon van die Nuwe Testament nie. 1Korinte 1:7?8 sê baie duidelik dat die Charismatiese Gawes sal aangaan tot met die Wederkoms van Koning Jesus Christus.

Paulus lê baie klem op die waarheid van 1Tim. 4:15 wat hy opdra aan Timotheüs waardeur hy hom aanspoor om die pyn te verdra wat sal volg as hy hierdie Waarheid aan alle mense bring, (Gered en ongered) as 'n getuienis vir die wat verlore gaan, maar ook as 'n voorbeeld en 'n regverdiging van sy bediening aan die Kerk. (Ook diegene wat op hom neergekyk het asgevolg van sy jeugdigheid) Paulus sluit sy Rede af deur baie ernstig by Timotheüs, en by ons, aan te dring om baie versigtig op ons bediening en lerings te let, want dit is nie net genoeg om die Regte Lerings te leer nie as ons gerdrag nie daarby pas nie. Daar is mense wat dink dat as hulle reg lewe dan kan hulle maar sekere dwalings ignoreer, maar die Heilige Gees wat deur Paulus spreek sê nie so nie. Verkeerde leerstelling sal sekerlik lei to verkeerde optredes, en as ons gedrag en ons leerstelling reg is, dan is daar nie 'n rede vir ons om vir so 'n afval te vrees waarteen die Heilige Gees ons uitdruklik waarsku nie, maar ons sal wees soos in vers 16: "Let op jouself en op die leer; volhard daarin; want deur dit te doen, sal jy jouself red sowel as die wat jou hoor".

Spreuke 2:1?5: MY SEUN AS JY MY WOORDE AANNEEM EN MY GEBOOIE BY JOU BEWAAR, SODAT JY JOU OOR LAAT LUISTER NA DIE WYSHEID, JOU HART NEIG TOT VERSTAND; JA, AS JY NA DIE INSIG ROEP, NA DIE VERSTAND JOU STEM VERHEF, AS JY DAARNA SOEK SOOS NA SILWER EN DIT NASPEUR SOOS VERBORGE SKATTE, DAN SAL JY DIE VREES VAN DIE HERE VERSTAAN EN DIE KENNIS VAN GOD VIND. †††



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.
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).
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
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.
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).