The Sons of Zadok - Afrikaans

April 1, 2025

Die seuns van Sadok®

Maar die Leviete wat ver van My afgewyk het by die afdwaling van Israel, wat van My af weggedwaal het agter hulle drekgode aan, hulle moet hul ongeregtigheid dra: hulle moet dienaars wees in my heiligdom‐‐ "

Esegiël. 44:1?24: "Toe het hy my teruggebring na die buitenste poort van die heiligdom wat na die ooste kyk; en dit was gesluit. En die HERE het vir my gesê: Hierdie poort moet toegesluit bly, dit mag nie oopgemaak word nie, en niemand mag daardeur ingaan nie, omdat die HERE, die God van Israel, daardeur ingegaan het; daarom moet dit gesluit bly. Wat betref die vors, hy moet as vors daarin sit om brood te eet voor die aangesig van die HERE; van die voorportaal van die poort af moet hy ingaan en op dieselfde weg daar uitgaan.

Daarop het hy my gebring na die noord poort, aan die voorkant van die huis; ek kyk toe en sien dat die heerlikheid van die HERE die huis van die HERE vervul; toe het ek op my aangesig geval. En die HERE het vir my gesê: Mensekind, gee ag daarop en kyk met jou oë en hoor met jou ore alles wat Ek jou sal sê aangaande al die verordeninge van die huis van die HERE en al die wette daarvan; en gee ag op die ingang in die huis deur al die uitgange van die heiligdom.

En sê aan die wederstrewiges, aan die huis van Israel: So spreek die Here HERE: Laat dit genoeg wees met al julle gruwels, o huis van Israel!

Vers 8: En julle het die diens van my heilige gawes nie waargeneem nie, maar het hulle aangestel om my diens in my heiligdom vir julle waar te neem. So sê die Here HERE: Geen uitlander, onbesnede van hart en onbesnede van vlees, mag in my heiligdom ingaan, van al die uitlanders wat onder die kinders van Israel is nie. Maar die Leviete wat ver van My afgewyk het by die afdwaling van Israel, wat van My af weggedwaal het agter hulle drekgode aan, hulle moet hul ongeregtigheid dra: hulle moet dienaars wees in my heiligdom, as wagte by die poorte van die huis en bedienaars van die huis; hulle moet die brandoffer en die slagoffer vir die volk slag en voor hulle staan om hulle te dien. Omdat hulle hul gedien het voor hulle drekgode en vir die huis van Israel 'n struikelblok tot ongeregtigheid was, daarom het Ek my hand teen hulle opgehef, spreek die Here HERE, sodat hulle hul ongeregtigheid moet dra. En hulle mag nie nader kom na My toe om die priesteramp vir My te bedien nie en om nader te kom na al my heilige gawes, na die hoogheilige gawes nie; maar hulle moet hul skande dra en hul gruwels wat hulle bedryf het.

Dus sal Ek hulle aanstel om die diens van die huis waar te neem, vir die hele bediening daarvan en vir alles wat daarin gedoen moet word. Maar die Levitiese priesters, die kinders van Sadok, wat die diens van my heiligdom waargeneem het toe die kinders van Israel van My af weggedwaal het, hulle moet na My toe nader kom om My te dien en voor my aangesig staan om aan My die vet en die bloed te offer, spreek die Here HERE. Hulle moet in my heiligdom ingaan, en hulle moet na my tafel toe nader kom om

My te dien en my diens waarneem. En as hulle na die poorte van die binneste voorhof ingaan, moet hulle linneklere aantrek; maar wol mag op hulle nie kom as hulle dien in die poorte van die binneste voorhof en daar binnekant nie. Linne?hoofversiersels moet op hulle hoof wees en linnebroeke moet aan hulle heupe wees; hulle mag hul nie gord met iets wat laat sweet nie. En as hulle uitgaan na die buitenste voorhof, na die buitenste voorhof na die volk toe, moet hulle hul klere uittrek waar hulle in gedien het, en dit neersit in die heilige kamers, en hulle moet ander klere aantrek, sodat hulle die volk nie heilig maak met hul klere nie. En hulle moet hul hoof nie kaal skeer of die hare lank laat groei nie; behoorlik moet hulle hul hoofde skeer. Ook mag geen priester wyn drink as hy in die binneste voorhof ingaan nie. Ook mag hulle geen weduwee of een wat verstoot is, vir hulle as vrou neem nie; maar jong meisies uit die geslag van die huis van Israel of 'n weduwee wat deur 'n priester as weduwee agtergelaat is, mag hulle neem. En hulle moet my volk die onderskeid leer tussen wat heilig en onheilig is, en hulle bekend maak die onderskeid tussen wat onrein en rein is. En oor 'n regsaak moet hulle optree om reg te spreek, volgens my verordeninge moet hulle dit uitoefen; en hulle moet my wette en my insettinge hou op al my feestye en my sabbatte heilig."

In Hebreeus beteken Esegiël: "In die Sterkte van God", Esegiël was spesifiek 'n profeet oor Juda, en net soos in die geval van al die ander profete van Israel vertel die persoon se naam ons iets oor sy karakter en die doel van sy bediening. Net soos al die Hebreeuse profete profeteer Esegiël oor drie tydperke.

Eerstens vir sy eie tyd, dan oor die eerste koms van Christus en derdens oor die Wederkoms van Christus. Net soos al die ander Hebreeuse profete is Esegiël 'n tipe, 'n Ou Testamentiese skaduwee van die Messias. Esegiël is ook die enigste persoon in die Bybel, naas die Here Jesus, wat ook die 'Seun van die Mens', genoem word. (In Afrikaans vertaal as Mensekind)

In die boek Daniël lees ons dat die koning iemand gesien loop het soos die 'Seun van die God' (Godeseun

/ 3:25) en ek is persoonlik daarvan oortuig dat dit 'n Ou Testamentiese manifestasie was van die Here Jesus Christus.

Esegiël is die eskatologiese beeld van Christus, spesifiek in die Millennium. Die laaste Profetiese betekenis van die tweede helfte van Esegiël se boek het grootliks te doen met die Millennium Heerskappy van die Here Jesus.

Al die dinge wat in die Midde Ooste rondom Israel en die Tempel Berg aan die gebeur is, is alles duidelike tekens dat ons al nader kom aan die Wederkoms van die Here Jesus. Sagaria 12 vertel vir ons dat alles gaan oor Jerusalem en die nasies rondom hierdie stad, dit gaan nie oor die Golan Hoogtes, die Wesbank of die Gaza Strook nie, dit gaan oor Jerusalem want dit is hier waar Satan sy grootste nederlaag gekry het en waar hy ook sy finale nederlaag gaan kry, en hy weet dit. Die oorsaak van al die spanning in hierdie streek is die geestelike oorlog wat oor hierdie streek aan die woed is. Esegiël profeteer oor hierdie dinge en hy sien dat Oospoort gesluit word. Hierdie dinge het histories alreeds gedeeltelik in vervulling gekom omdat Hebreeuse profesie 'n patroon is, geboorte pyne, en dit sal weer aan die einde plaasvind gedurende die Millennium Heerskappy van die Here Jesus vanuit die Stad van Dawid, wanneer die 'Shekinah', die Heerlikheid van God, weer deur die Oospoort sal gaan.

Die Jode het volgens Sagaria 9:9 geglo dat die Messias op 'n esel deur die Oospoort sal kom, in Hebreeus word die Poort "Shaar HaRachamin" genoem, wat letterlik "Die Poort van Genade" beteken. Die Oospoort is geleë aan die Weste kant van die Tempelberg teenoor die Olyfberg met die Kidron vallei in die middel, hierdie Poort is vandag verseël en dit het plaasgevind nadat 'n Turkse sultan gedurende die Ottomaanse Ryk Israel verower het, en omdat hy geweet het dat die Messias volgens die Jode deur die Oospoort sou kom, het hy die Oospoort verseël en ook 'n Islamitiese begraafplaas voor die Oospoort opgerig sodat wanneer die Messias kom Hy nie daar sou kon deur deurkom nie omdat hierdie versperrings Hom volgens die ritueel sou verontreinig. Maar wat hy nie geweet het nie is dat hy die profesie met betrekking tot die Oospoort gedeeltelik in vervulling laat kom het.

Toe die tweede Tempel gebou is was die belofte aan die Hebreërs in dae van Esra, Nehemia en Haggai, dat hierdie tempel 'n groter heerlikheid as die eerste tempel sou wees, en alhoewel hierdie tempel nie die argitektuur van die eerste tempel gehad het nie was dit meer belangriker, en ten spyte daarvan dat die Verbonds Ark nie daarin was nie. Die Tweede Tempel was 'n groter heerlikheid en dit was ook so, want God het Self in hierdie Tempel ingegaan, maar nadat die Heerlikheid van God ingegaan het sou die Poort geseël word. Die Jode wat nie aan die Here Jesus glo nie het tot vandag toe nog 'n groot probleem: As die Poort geseël is dan beteken dit dat God alreeds deur die Poort moes gegaan het, en die vraag is dan: Wanneer het God dan deurgegaan, want die Poort is dan gesluit? Die Here Jesus, die Messias het alreeds deur die Poort gegaan maar hulle het Hom nie herken nie! Maar weereens, die uiteindelike vervulling is in die Millennium.

'n Christen geoloog, dr. Jim Fleming, het Herodiaanse stene onder die huidige Oospoort ontdek en so kan ons redelik seker wees dat die huidige poort nog op dieselfde plek is waardeur die Here Jesus in Jerusalem ingekom het.

In die tyd van Esegiël was dinge besig om te gebeur, dinge wat deur Jesaja, Jeremia en Joël geprofeteer is. Die noordelike stamme was in 720 vC. alreeds in ballingskap, en nou het God se oordeel oor die suidelike stamme begin kom, oor Juda. Jesaja en Joël het gewaarsku dat hierdie dinge gaan gebeur maar die mense het hierdie waarskuwings verwerp. Jeremia was vervolg oor die Woord van die Here wat hy gebring het, terwyl die valse profete al die eer gekry het, ons sien in die tyd van Esegiël, dat dit wat Jeremia geprofeteer het net so gebeur het, terwyl die gewilde profete van die dag, vals en verkeerd bewys is. Maar terwyl die Jode deur Nebukadnésar in ballingskap geneem was, wat al vier keer die stede binnegeval het, en terwyl Esegiël self uit die ballingskap periode geprofeteer het, het die mense met dit alles nog nie tot bekering gekom nie. Die bannelinge het seker dinge gesê soos: "Dinge is nie te sleg nie, dit sal beter word, dit sal nie lank duur nie dan is ons weer terug in ons land."?? terwyl dinge besig was om baie vinnig slegter te word! Wat hier gebeur het is verstommend: Die valse profete wat vals bewys is, het nie tot bekering gekom nie, en hulle volgelinge het vergeet dat hulle leiers vals geprofeteer het en hulle ook nie tot bekering gekom nie, terwyl die Ware profete nog steeds vervolg en verwerp was. Hulle het Esegiël net so verwerp as vir Jeremia voor hom.

Esegiël vestig ons aandag op die kontras tussen twee soorte geestelike leiers: Die seuns van Sadok en die gewone Leviete. Nie alle Leviete was Sadokiete nie, maar al die Sadokiete was Leviete! Die naam Sadok kom van die Hebreeuse woord 'Tsodek", wat beteken: Om reg, of opreg te wees, dit is ook die

Hebreeuse woord vir 'korrek' of 'suiwer' wat ook verband hou met die Hebreeuse woord vir regverdigheid. Die Hebreeuse woord vir regverdig is 'Tsadek',??iemand wat regverdig is. Die Hebreeuse woord vir regverdigheid is ook dieselfde woord in Hebreeus vir liefdadigheid, 'Tsadaka'

In die Hebreeuse denke beteken seunskap meer as net 'n stamboom, dit beteken ook om in die karakter van iemand te wees. Byvoorbeeld: In die Joodse geloof is daar twee beelde van die Messias: "Ha Moshiach ben Yosef", en "ha Moshiach ben David"; Messiah die Seun van Josef, die Lydende Messias, en Messiah, die Seun van Dawid, die Triomferende Koning.

Met die eerste koms was die Here Jesus in die karakter van Josef maar wanneer Hy weer kom sal Hy kom in die karakter van Dawid om Sy Koninkryk op te rig. In Mattheus 16 bestraf Jesus vir Petrus, maar net voor dit noem Hy Petrus: "Simon bar Jona". In Aramees beteken dit: Simon seun van Jona. Hoekom? Dit kan beteken dat een van Petrus se vader se name Jona kon gewees het, maar in die Bybelse tye van die Jode het die Jode altyd hulle kinders vernoem na die Israeliese helde omdat hulle daardeur gehoop het dat hulle kinders eendag in hierdie persoon se karakter sou wees.

Jona was iemand wat met God by Joppe getwis het, dieselfde gebeur met Petrus, ook by Joppe, (Hand.10). Jona wou nie na die Heidene toe gaan nie, en net so ook Petrus nie. Simon bar Jona??hy was in die karakter van Jona. Jesus die Seun van Dawid??Jesus in die karakter van Dawid; die Here Jesus se biologiese vader was nie Dawid nie, alhoewel Dawid een van die Here se voorvaders was. Net so is die Sadokiete in die karakter van Sadok. Sadok was 'n Ou Testamentiese regverdige priester wat deur al die rebellies van Absalom en Sheba getrou gebly het aan Dawid, die koning. Nou, getrouheid aan Dawid was 'n Ou Testamentiese beeld van Getrouheid aan Christus, die Seun van Dawid, die Goeie Herder. Sadok se seuns het in hierdie karakter gestaan, en hulle was nie net biologiese nakomelinge van Sadok nie maar hulle het ook getrou gebly in die daad toe die res van die Levitiese geestelikes korrup geraak het. Hulle het geslagte lank, en vir baie eeue lank getrou gebly en tot en met die Makkabeërs en Hasmoniese tydperk was daar nog Sadokiete totdat hulle ook korrup geraak het. In Hebreeus word hulle "Tzadukim" genoem.

Wat Esegiël begin doen het is dit: Hy het die regverdige geestelike leiers, wat by verre in die minderheid was, en wat nakomelinge uit die lyn van Sadok was, vergelyk met die ander Leviete, die onregverdige, oneerlike en omkoopbare gewilde leiers van die dag.

Hy begin om die verskille tussen die Leviete en die Sadokiete uit te wys. Die Leviete was die seuns en nakomelinge van Levi. In Bybelse denke, in die Hebreeuse taal, probeer Paulus iets aan die Grieke verduidelik. Iemand kan nie eerlik en opreg, of regverdig wees, as sy geloof verkeerd is nie. As iemand nie 'Tsodek'? opreg is nie, kan hy ook nie 'Tzadek'? regverdig wees nie. Met ander woorde, as dit wat ons glo verkeerd is dan het ons ook geen kans om voor God geregverdig te word nie, maar dit wat iemand glo is ook geen versekering vir regverdiging nie. Iemand se geloof kan reg wees maar hy kan nog steeds onregverdig wees, dit is wat Paulus vir ons in 1Korinthe 13 vertel.

Ons kan nie sonder meer aanvaar dat as iemand se leerstellings reg is dat hy ook reg is nie!. Dit mag miskien 'n indikasie van regverdiging wees, en die feit is dit is, alhoewel dit nie geregtigheid bewys nie, maar as dit wat iemand glo verkeerd is, dan kan so 'n persoon glad en geheel nie regverdig wees nie.

Filp.1:9 "En dit bid ek dat julle liefde nog meer en meer oorvloedig mag word in kennis en alle ervaring, om die dinge waar dit op aankom, te onderskei"?? ("And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment.") Let op dat ware en opregte liefde, 'agapé' liefde, afhanklik is van Bybelse kennis en onderskeiding. As daar geen Bybel kennis en ook geen onderskeiding bestaan nie, dan kan daar ook nie opregte ware liefde wees nie. Die politiek korrekte denke van die wêreld het 'n pad in die kerk gebaan waardeur die Waarheid van die Liefde geskei word, terwyl die Woord van die Here vir ons baie duidelik sê dat die Waarheid en opregte Liefde onafskeidbaar is. "Daarom, neem die volle wapenrusting van God op, sodat julle weerstand kan bied in die dag van onheil en, nadat julle alles volbring het, staande kan bly. Staan dan vas, julle lendene met die waarheid omgord, met die bors wapen van die geregtigheid aan,??"(Efes.6:13) Let op dat Waarheid vóór geregtigheid kom. As ons na die Romeinse geveg mondering kyk, dan sien ons dat hierdie harnas op 'n sekere manier aangetrek moes word, dit is na hierdie orde wat Paulus verwys. Die gord was opgetrek tot bokant die middel waar dit die swaarder gedeeltes van die mondering in plek gehou het, en as die gordel nie eerste aangetrek was nie dan kon die borsplaat nie in plek gehou word nie. Dit is dieselfde met die Waarheid en Geregtigheid, die Waarheid kom altyd eerste. As dit wat u glo vals is, dan is daar ook geen geregtigheid nie.

Vandag is daar baie mense wat 'n groot klomp snert verkondig, soos onder andere: "Ja, ek weet daardie man se geloof en leerstellings is verkeerd, maar hy is 'n pragtige broer" "Ek weet Pensacola en Toronto het nie herlewing gebring nie maar hierdie leiers is sulke pragtige liefdevolle mense." Maar hulle het nie die kennis van die Woord van God nie, en ook nie onderskeidings vermoëns nie, hulle het nie die Ware Liefde nie! Daar kan net ware Liefde wees waar daar Kennis en onderskeiding bestaan! 'n Baie goeie liefdevolle mens sonder onderskeiding en liefde vir die Waarheid is vals! Dit wat hy glo is vals! As iemand nie die Waarheid ken nie, dan sal hy ook nie weet wat geregtigheid is nie! Niemand kan die verskil tussen reg en verkeerd ken voordat hy nie eers weet wat die Waarheid is nie! Maar nog protesteer mense teen die waarheid.: "O' hy is tog so 'n pragtige mens! Hy gee om vir sy mede mens en vir die armes. Ons kerk doen so baie vir die armes en ons predikant is 'n pragtige mens, almal is wonderlike mense, pragtige broers en susters!" Nee, nee!! Moeder Teresa was 'n liefdevolle en 'n barmhartige vrou, maar maande voordat sy gesterf het, het sy dit duidelik gemaak dat sy Hindus en Moslems net verander het na beter Moslems en Hindus, sy het hierdie mense Hel toe gestuur sonder Christus! Sy het hulle Hel toe gestuur in die naam van liefdadigheid! Ware liefde kan net bestaan waar daar Onderskeiding en Kennis van die Waarheid is. Die Bybel sê dat alle ander gode duiwels is, Hindu gode is demonies, moeder Teresa het geen onderskeidings vermoëns gehad nie, ook het sy geen kennis van die Woord van God gehad nie, daarom kon sy ook geen ware Liefde gehad het nie. Wat is die nut daarvan om mense uit die vuilis op te tel en hulle skoon te maak en dan vir hulle plek te gee om eerbaar sonder Jesus Christus te sterwe? Dit beteken niks! Ware liefdadigheid is afhanklik van die Waarheid en onderskeiding.

Let op dat die eerste verskil wat Esegiël uitwys tussen Sadok en die Leviete is dit: "Omdat julle uitlanders ingebring het, onbesnedenes van hart en onbesnedenes van vlees, om in my heiligdom te wees, om dit, my huis, te ontheilig;??En julle het die diens van my heilige gawes nie waargeneem nie, maar het hulle aangestel om my diens in my heiligdom vir julle waar te neem." (Eseg.44:8?9)

Dit was nog altyd so dat wanneer daar 'n ware beweging van God se Hand plaasgevind het, dan word die "Uitlanders" uitgeskop, die Leviete het plek gemaak vir die Sadokiete, hulle was altyd iewers op die agtergrond aanwesig. Om te sien hoedat hierdie dinge in 'n ware beweging van God se Hand werk kan ons kyk na Nehemia 13. Die gebeure hier is na die ballingskap en die Jode het hulle les op die harde manier geleer, nou verlang hulle terug na die ou beproefde weë van God. Hier sien ons ook dat Satan se misleiding nie wou werk nie. Nehemia 13:1: "Op dié dag is daar voor die ore van die volk voorgelees uit die boek van Moses,??" Let op, hier sien ons 'n ware beweging van God se Hand, die her toewyding van die Tempel en die stad, die mure wat herbou word, en die klem wat op die Skrifte gelê word, daar was Herlewing! In Nehemia 8 was daar elke dag Bybel studie en alles wat die mense gedoen het was met die oë gevestig op die Skrifte. Wat leer ons hieruit? Die oomblik wanneer u sien dat mense in 'n opwekkings of 'n subjektiewe ondervindings manifestasies in beweeg, soos openbarings en profesie, dan moet u weet dit is nie van die Here nie, of as daar wel 'n ware beweging van God is dan moet u weet hierdie dinge is korrup, want 'n ware beweging van God sal 110% gebaseer word op die Skrifte.

Ware profesie is altyd gebaseer op die Bybel, dit is nooit 'n vervanging of in die plek van die Skrifte nie, en dit is wat ons vandag sien gebeur is "Nuwe Openbaringe en byvoegsels. Mense vervang dit wat in die Skrifte staan met "Persoonlike Woorde", dit is mense wat duidelik valse profete is soos Kim Clement en Rick Joyner. "??en daarin het geskrywe gestaan dat geen Ammoniet of Moabiet tot in ewigheid in die vergadering van God mag kom nie, omdat hulle die kinders van Israel nie teëgekom het met brood en water nie, en Bíleam teen hulle gehuur het om hulle te vervloek; maar onse God het die vloek in 'n seën verander. En toe hulle die wet hoor, het hulle al die mense van gemengde bloed uit Israel afgesonder." (Neh.1:1?8)

Let op dat die vreemdelinge wat probeer het om met Israel te meng 'n agenda gehad het om alles oor te neem. Sanbállat en sy mense was vyande wat voorgegee het dat hulle vriende was: "Ons God is julle God, en ons is een van julle! Daar was 'n valse basis vir eenheid en 'n verskuilde agenda. Neh.13:4?5: "Maar tevore het Éljasib, (Eliakim) die priester wat oor die kamers van die huis van onse God aangestel was, 'n verwant van Tobía, [Die woord wat hier gebruik word vir verwantskap het 'n dubbelsinnige betekenis, dit kan 'n fisiese verwantskap wees of eenvoudig net 'n kennis.] vir hom 'n groot kamer ingerig waar hulle vroeër die spysoffer, die wierook en die gereedskap en die tiendes van koring, mos en olie, die wettige aandeel van die Leviete en die sangers en die poortwagters, en die offergawe aan die priesters neergesit het." Let op, die ingesmokkelde vreemdeling met 'n verskuilde agenda. Die graan, die wyn en die olie het opgehou, die Graan, die Woord van God, die Olie??Ware Salwing en die Wyn, opregte Aanbidding. Die sangers, opregte lering, alles het opgehou toe die vreemdelinge, mense met vreemde bloed, 'n ander Evangelie, ingekom het.

Die vreemdeling was Tobia, en sy naam beteken in Hebreeus: "In die goedheid van Yahweh." 'n Slegte man met 'n baie goeie naam! Baie van die slegte mense in die Bybel het goeie name gehad, soos

byvoorbeeld Absalom en Abimeleg. Dit is die beeld van die Antichris, die engel van die lig! Hier het ons 'n slegte mens met 'n goeie naam wat ook naby aan die hoë priester was, en hy het ander planne, 'n ander evangelie gehad, 'n geheime agenda, en hy het ook die regte kontakte gehad: Die hoë priester! Die Pous het deur Billy Graham'n goeie naam, maar hy is 'n vreemdeling! Wat sê die pous? "Die Roomse kerk is die enigste ware kerk!"

In Mexico het hy die mense aangehits teen die protestante met die gevolg dat verskeie kerke daar afgebrand en Christene vermoor is. Die pous is 'n bose man, "Alles vir jou Maria" staan op sy ‘konings kleed’ geskrywe, dit is sy persoonlike geloof!

Die man is 'n geeste besweerder en 'n afgode dienaar, maar hy het 'n goeie naam! Chuck Colson dink die pous is 'n wonderlike mens! Robert Shuller sê die pous is 'n heilige vader! Maar let op, 'n Leviet sal altyd plek gee aan 'n geheime vyandige vreemdeling, maar die regverdige opregte geestelike leier sal hom uitskop. Ekumenisme is die eerste stap na 'n een wêreld godsdiens. Baie mense in die kerk wêreld sê die pous is groot Christen leier. Die pous sê die Dalai Lama is 'n groot geestelike leier, 'n man wat sê daar is geen God nie maar wat toelaat dat mense hom as 'n god aanbid!

Dit is waarteen Openbaring ons waarsku! Maar die pous het 'n goeie naam en hy word in die Huis van die Here toegelaat! Vandag is daar baie mense soos Éljasib, (Eliakim) en Chuck Colson is een van hulle, hy is 'n gevaarlike man en hy is gevaarliker vir die werk van Christus as enige homoseksueel of vrymesselaar. Met die vyand daar buite kan gedeel word, maar met kanker wat in die liggaam versprei, pasop! Colson se vrou is 'n belydende Katoliek wat sê dat Christene nie aan Katolieke mag getuig nie. Die Katolieke leerstellings vertel dat as iemand die Roomse kerk, die "Enigste Ware Kerk" verlaat, dan is hy oppad Hel toe! So word mense deur Chuck Colsons uitverkoop!

Wat is die tweede kontrasterende karaktertrekke in Esegiël, kyk na vers 10: "Maar die Leviete wat ver van My afgewyk het by die afdwaling van Israel, wat van My af weggedwaal het??" Jesaja begin deur om die geestelike leiers van Israel aan te vat omdat hulle die volk mislei, en Jeremia doen dieselfde. Vroeër in Esegiël se bediening het hy ook die voorbeeld van sy voorgangers, Jesaja en Jeremia gevolg, hy het die leiers al die skuld gegee, maar in die tweede helfte van sy Boek verander dinge, hier sê hy nie dit is die leiers wat die mense mislei nie maar die volk wat die leiers mislei! Met ander woorde, die blaam wat op die leiers afkom is nie dat hùlle die volk mislei nie maar omdat hulle gefaal het om leiers te wees! Leiers wat toelaat dat gewone mense aan hulle dikteer wat gedoen moet word. 'n Leviet sal altyd aan die mense gee wat hulle wil hê, maar die Sadokiete sal aan mense gee wat God sê hulle nodig het!

Die filosofie in die kerke van vandag draai om kerk groei, getalle: Vind uit wat die mense nodig het en gee dit vir hulle! Dit kom van Bill Hybels in Willow Creek af. Daar is ook baie ander on?Skriftuurlike kerk groei programme beskikbaar op die 'mark' wat van mense soos byvoorbeeld Paul Wagner en vele ander kom.

As enige menslike bestuur strukture en denkes in die kerk gebruik word, dan moet dit te alle tye onderdanig wees aan die voorskrifte van die Woord van God. Die denke vandag is dit: "Die lokaas wat gebruik word om iemand te vang, moet die voedsel wees wat mense nodig het om hulle te behou." Die

kerk word al meer en meer soos die wêreld! "My gemeente wil Christian rock musiek en rook masjiene hê!??Gee dit vir hulle!!" So, in plaas van 'n aanbiddings diens, is daar basies 'n ruk en rol konsert in die kerk! Dit is nie aanbidding van die Ware God nie, dit is afgodediens in die Gebedshuis!

In die Ou Testamentiese geskiedenis van Israel, was God se oordeel besig om oor hierdie volk te kom omrede hulle kindertjies aan afgode, Molog begin offer het. God kan baie dinge vergewe, maar wanneer mense babas op 'n wreedaardige wyse begin aborteer, offers aan afgode, die geldgod, dan kom God se oordeel sekerlik en gewis, en al is daar herlewing, sal dit miskien uitgestel word, maar dit gaan verseker kom, dit gaan nie gekeer word nie. Ons sien dit met Josia, die herlewing het net die onafwendbare vertraag omrede die bloed van die kindertjies wat deur Manasseh vergiet is. God se oordeel is verseker aan die kom oor die Protestantse demokrasieë en die Verenigde State waar 35 miljoen ongebore kindertjies jaarliks deur aborsies vermoor word, dieselfde dinge gebeur hier by ons! Minder as een persent van alle aborsies is asgevolg van kliniese redes. Hierdie is dinge wat deur regerings geondersteun word, dit is 'n gruwel voor God! Wat het Amos, Jesaja en Jeremia openlik aan die nasionale leiers gesê oor die immoraliteit wat die oordeel van God gaan bring? Hulle het die koning openlik gekonfronteer oor hierdie dinge en hulle het geweet dat hulle vervolg gaan word.

'n Tyd gelede het honderde pastore en predikers in Willow Creek saam met Bill Hybels en President Clinton vergader. Wat het Bill Hybills gesê oor die aborsies en die homoseksuele en lesbiese verhoudings, dinge wat deur Bill Clinton en sy vrou geondersteun word? Nie 'n woord nie! Hy was polities korrek en baie mense kyk op na hom. Wat het die geestelike leiers gesê oor aborsies waar ongebore babas wreedaardig vermoor word soos waar hulle breins uitgesuig word? Nie 'n woord nie! "Gee vir die mense wat hulle wil hê!" Maar die regverdige Geestelike leiers het aan die mense gegee wat God sê hulle nodig het, en hulle was by verre in die minderheid. Hoe werk dit, wat gebeur met hierdie leiers? In Esegiël 44:10?11 lees ons: "Maar die Leviete wat ver van My afgewyk het by die afdwaling van Israel, wat van My af weggedwaal het agter hulle drekgode aan, hulle moet hul ongeregtigheid dra: hulle moet dienaars wees in my heiligdom, as wagte by die poorte van die huis en bedienaars van die huis; hulle moet die brandoffer en die slagoffer vir die volk slag en voor hulle staan om hulle te dien." God laat hulle toe om aan te gaan met hulle bediening, maar hulle gaan nie wegkom nie, hulle gaan hulle ongeregtighede dra!. In vers 11 sien ons hulle moet mense bedien; maar in vers 15 sien ons dat die Sadokiete in beheer van die heiligdom gebly het toe God se mense weggedwaal het. "??hulle moet na My toe nader kom om My te dien en voor my aangesig staan??" 'n Leviet sal altyd mense bedien terwyl 'n Sadokiet altyd die Here sal bedien.

Wanneer Leviete aan die mense gee wat hulle wil hê dan vind daar nagemaakte herlewings plaas [En hulle sal die leuen glo! 2Thes.2:11] Waaragtige herlewings is waar alles in die omgewing radikaal verander. Moord, roof, onluste, egskeidings, alles verminder. Mense kom waaragtig tot bekering, dit is die Waaragtige beweging van God se Hand! Kerke word vol van sondaars wat tot bekering kom en nie van mense wat van die een kerk na die ander kerk toe verplaas word nie. Met die Pensacola en Toronto 'herlewings' het alles net slegter geword. Dit is mense wat in hulle ore gestreel wil word, wat kry wat hulle wil hê. As ek geld van my linker sak na my regter sak toe verskuif, is ek finansieel beter daaraan toe? Watter besigheid man, of enige persoon, sal so iets doen en homself ryk dink? Dit is net Pinkster

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predikers wat met sulke dinge kan wegkom. Dit is verontrustend om te sien dat die Pinkster kerke 'n rommel hoop geword het vir mense wat niks anders kan doen nie. Gewig optellers, passers, onderwyser vat hierdie pad omdat hulle onsuksesvol was in hulle beroepe. Die bediening veld het vir hulle 'n kaartjie na sukses gekoop en dit is maklik om 'n lisensie te kry. Ek sê nie almal is van hierdie kaliber nie, maar daar is vandag baie akteurs wat mense sielkundig manipuleer om hulle geld in die hande te kry. Maar hulle gee aan die mense wat hulle wil hê, dit is 'n goeie mark, mense hou daarvan, dit is nie meer 'n kerk nie maar ondernemende besigheid. Hulle bedien nie die Here nie, hulle bedien mense!

'n Sadokiet aan die anderkant, is 'n regverdige Godvresende man, hy sal eerder die Waarheid aan 50 mense bedien as wat hy 'n leuen aan 50,000 sal verkoop, want hy bedien die Here en nie mense nie. Dit is idioties, "idiotae" dit is nie 'n mooi woord nie maar Paulus gebruik dit in Korinte. Mense moet padgee uit hierdie slegte kerke en na beter soek, en dit sal 'n soektog wees weet dit verseker. Een gevaar van 'n goeie kerk wat opstaan vir Waarheid is dat dit 'n hospitaal sal word vir beseerde Christene en so kan die kerk sy Evangeliese doelwit verloor, dit mag nie toegelaat word nie, daar moet 'n balans behou word.

Wat is volgende: Eseg.44:18?18: "En as hulle na die poorte van die binneste voorhof ingaan, moet hulle linneklere aantrek; maar wol mag op hulle nie kom as hulle dien in die poorte van die binneste voorhof en daar binnekant nie. Linne hoof versiersels moet op hulle hoof wees en linnebroeke moet aan hulle heupe wees; hulle mag hul nie gord met iets wat laat sweet nie."

Hierdie gedeelte verwys na 'n noukeurige Hebreeuse ritueel wat verwys na die Dag van Versoening, wat "Mustafa" genoem word.

Ons lees hiervan in die ou Rabbiniese skrifte wat 'Yoma' genoem word, die Dag van Versoening in die tyd van die Here Jesus word beskrywe. Wanneer u die Boek Hebreërs in die lig van sy Hebreeuse agtergrond lees, dan sal u ook die Boek baie beter verstaan. In hierdie ritueel is die hoë priester 'n beeld van Christus soos wat ons dit in Hebreërs lees.

Wanneer die hoë priester een maal 'n jaar in die Aller Heiligste ingegaan het dan het hy ander klere aangetrek wat die mense nie kon sien nie, dit was 'n wit linne kleed. Hy het heeltemal anders gelyk as wat hy normaalweg gelyk het. Dit is ook 'n beeld van Christus toe Hy voor ons Vader verskyn het om vir ons versoening te doen vir ons sondes. Wat agter die gordyn met die hoë priester gebeur het was 'n verborgenheid. Toe hy voor die Vader verskyn was hy anders as wat hy voor die mense verskyn het. Die apostels het net 'n vlugtige blik oor hierdie gebeurtenis gekry; Die Verheerliking op die berg en later met Johannes toe hy die Here Jesus in Sy Heerlikheid gesien het. Maar te spyte daarvan dat Johannes die Here as Mens geken persoonlik het, was hy baie geskok toe hy die Here weer in Sy Heilige Majesteit en Heerlikheid gesien het. (Opb.1) Hulle het een Jesus gesien; maar toe Hy agter die gordyn ingegaan het om versoening te bring, het hulle Hom nie gesien nie. Net so moes die hoë priester een maal 'n jaar linne klere aantrek sodat hy nie die mense met sy klere kon heilig maak nie. Na die laaste offer op die dag van Versoening moes hy weer sy normale klere aantrek en met die trappe aan die suide kant van die Tempel Berg af beweeg na die stad van Dawid en dan moes hy regs draai na die weste toe en die trappe uitklim na die boonste gedeelte van die stad waar die hoë priester gebly het. Soos wat die hoë priester met die trappe op en af beweeg het na die boonste en onderste gedeelte van die stad was daar mense

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wat om hom saamgedrom het en hom gegryp en gesê het: "Moet ons nie verlaat nie" Dit was 'n geveg om weg te kom. Nadat die Here Jesus vir ons versoening gedoen het vir ons sondes het Hy gesê: "Ek vaar op na my Vader" en die mense wou Hom nie laat gaan nie, terwyl die Here gesê het dit is vir hulle (ons) goed dat Hy gaan. Let op dat die hoë priester nie toegelaat was om 'n mengsel van klere aan te trek nie. Die Leviete het 'n mengsel gehad, maar die Sadokiete glad nie, hulle mag nie klere aangetrek het wat hulle laat sweet nie. Hoekom nie ? Kom ons kyk daarna: Hulle mag nie klere van wol en linne aangetrek het nie, want God haat mengsels.

2Pet.2:1 "Maar daar was ook valse profete onder die volk, net soos daar onder julle valse leraars sal wees??" Petrus maak geen onderskeiding tussen valse profete en valse leraars nie want as iemand se leerstellings verkeerd is dan is sy profesie ook verkeerd, dit is hulle: "??wat verderflike ketterye heimlik sal invoer, en ook die Here wat hulle gekoop het, verloën en 'n vinnige verderf oor hulleself bring; en baie sal hulle verderflikhede navolg, en om hulle ontwil sal die weg van die waarheid gelaster word;?" Dit is hoekom valse profete soos Kim Clement, Paul Cain, Rick Joyner, en Gerald Coates se profesie nooit waar is nie.

Joyce Meyer sê in haar boek dat as iemand nie glo dat Die Here Jesus Hel toe gegaan het nie dan kan so 'n persoon ook nie hemel toe gaan nie. Hierdie mense verloën die Here wat hulle gekoop het. Dit is die karakter van mense wat verderflike ketterye heimlik invoer. Wat doen hulle? Hulle plaas die Waarheid teenoor dit wat vals is, die Griekse woord wat gebruik word is "parasaxousin" 'Para' is die voorwoord vir teenoor, in plek van. Hulle gebruik 'n waarheid om hulle valse leerstellings weg te steek. Daar is altyd regte kaas in 'n muisval. Wat het Satan gedoen toe hy Adam en Eva mislei het, toe hy die vrou bedrieg het???Dit is ook 'n beeld van die misleiding van die Kerk en Israel. Satan het dit wat die Here gesê het buite woordverband aangehaal. Dit is ook wat hy in Matt. 4 met die Here Jesus probeer doen het. Die hele argument was uit Deuteronomium, Satan plaas die waarheid teenoor die valsheid, maar die Here antwoord hom uit Deuteronomium binne Woord verband. Pasop wanneer mense sulke dinge doen, dit is nie van die Here nie, dit is die handtekening van Satan, Lucifer wat homself manifesteer as die engel van lig. Petrus noem hierdie dinge, verderflike dinge. "Ja, maar daar is ook baie goeie dinge, en waarhede in Pensacola en in baie kerke.

Mense word gesond verklaar sonder enige mediese verslag, daar is ook baie mense wat gesond verklaar word, en wat dit bely, wat kort daarna gesterf het,??leuens in die Naam van die Here! Here het ons nie wonderwerke in U Naam gedoen nie???Gaan weg Ek ken julle nie. (Matt.7:22) Daar is vandag vername kerk leiers wat pragtige mense leer om die vis met grate en al te eet, maar God haat en verfoei mengsels.

Hierdie is mense wat die Waarheid verloën met verderflike mengsels. Dink aan 'n eier omelet met drie eiers, twee is goeie eiers en een is vrot, as jy voedsel vergiftiging wil hê, geniet dit! Bon appetit. God haat mengsels en God se priesters word verbied om iets te doen te hê met enige mengsels. Vergelyk vandag se valse profete met Paulus, Timotheüs en Silvanus: 1Thess.2:3?6: "Want ons vermaning was nie uit dwaling of uit onsuiwerheid of uit bedrog nie; maar soos ons deur God waardig geag is dat die evangelie aan ons toevertrou sou word, so spreek ons, nie om mense te behaag nie, maar God wat ons harte beproef. Want ons het, soos julle weet, ons nooit met vleitaal opgehou of met bedekte hebsug

nie. God is getuie. Ook het ons nie eer van mense, òf van julle òf van ander gesoek nie, al kon ons as apostels van Christus met gesag optree." Valse profete vlei mense deur hebsug, 'n verskuilde agenda?? om geld uit hulle te kry, hulle vertel vir mense wat hulle wìl hoor. "Gee en word ryk, as jy 'n honderd Rand gee sal jy dit 'n honderdvoudig terug kry" Die feit dat baie van hierdie mense se profesie nooit bewaarheid word nie maak nie saak nie, en die mense gaan altyd terug vir nog meer! Verstommend! Jeremia 5:31 sê: "??die profete profeteer vals, en aan hulle sy oefen die priesters mag uit, en my volk wil dit graag so hê." Paulus sê: "??ons vermaning was nie uit dwaling of uit onsuiwerheid of uit bedrog nie".

Misleiding begin by mengsels, mengsels tussen die Waarheid en dwalings, ["Akatharis"] Mengsels tussen dit wat goed en dit wat sleg is, alles is onrein!. Dit is soos 'n groot glas heerlike lemoensap met 'n paar druppels arseen in, dit is gif, dit is "akatharis", dit is die modus operandi van geestelike misleiding. As die vis geestelike misleiding is moet alles verwerp word en nie net die grate nie, dit is net 'n dwaas wat sal probeer om die arseen uit die glas lemoensap te probeer haal en te dink hy gaan suiwer lemoensap drink. Moet nie na mense luister wat nie die Woord van die Here reg sny nie, dit is dwaas, hulle hoort nie op die kansel nie. Jakobus waarsku teen baie leermeesters want hulle sal baie strenger geoordeel word. Wanneer ons eendag voor die Here gaan staan, dan gaan die leermeesters baie meer verantwoordelik gehou word vir alles wat hulle aan die gemeente vertel het, maar nog steeds is daar baie leermeesters wat die skape gif mengsels laat drink! Hierdie mengsels gaan hulle laat sweet. Die Sadokiete is anders, hulle sal nie sweet nie omdat hulle nie mengsels bedien nie, hulle kleed is van rein suiwer linne. Opb.19:8: "En aan haar is gegee om bekleed te wees met rein en blink fyn linne, want die fyn linne is die regverdige dade van die heiliges."

'n Sadokiet dra 'n kleed van suiwer linne, sy dade is suiwer en nie 'n mengsel nie, daarom is daar nie sweet nie. Die Leviete het 'n mengsel daarom sal daar sweet wees. Met ander woorde, die Sadokiete het rus en vrede in die Here terwyl die Leviete se strewe om hulle vlees te bevredig hulle laat sweet. As ek 'n 10 mense in my gemeente het wat God vir my gegee het, dan gaan ek hulle die Waarheid leer en so sal ek rus vind in die Here. Ek sal tevrede wees wat God vir my gee, en ek sal tot God bid om by te voeg volgens Sy Wil. Ek sal my Evangeliese werk doen, ek sal deur gebed en genade die Aangesig van God soek en die Evangelie van Jesus Christus bedien. Ek sal doen wat ek kan doen, en ek gaan nie sweet nie. God sal byvoeg volgens Sy Wil. Vandag se Leviete het die een na die ander opwekkings rituele om mense te vang en getalle aan te vul om hulle hebsug te bevredig, hulle bekommer hulle oor die tydelike dinge, hulle wedywer in die vlees en dit laat hulle sweet. Daar is natuurlik iets goeds in wat hulle sê en preek maar dit is iets goeds vir mense wat van mengsels hou!. 'n Sadokiet sal daarna strewe om in die Here te wees want dit is waar sy Rus en Vrede is, sy Sabbat, Jesus Christus is ons Sabbatsrus. Alles wat 'n Sadokiet doen is die resultaat van om in die Here te wees.

'n Leviet se probleem is om die mees nuutste programmatuur en die beste vryskut Christelike akteurs in die hande te kry om sy Sondag en Woensdag met welslae en wins agter die rug te kry. Meer geld vir meer mengsels. Daar is mengsels in wat hulle preek, in wat hulle glo en in wat hulle doen. Dit is onrein, dit is "akatharis" omdat hulle probeer om mense behaag in plaas van God. Wat word verwag van 'n Sadokiet?

Esegiël 44:23 sê: "En hulle moet my volk die onderskeid leer tussen wat heilig en onheilig is, en hulle bekend maak die onderskeid tussen wat onrein en rein is."

'n Sadokiet sal mense leer om te onderskei, maar 'n Leviet sal altyd polities korrek optree en onderskeiding is nie deel van sy woordeskat nie. As jou predikant of pastoor nie sy gemeente leer om te onderskei nie is hy 'n ontroue leier, want dit is net regverdige leiers wat mense leer om te onderskei.

Wanneer u kerke sien wat nie teen die verkeerde dinge wil preek nie, of wat nie vir die Waarheid wil opstaan nie, of wat mengsels bedien soos wat ons sien en hoor op die gewilde polities korrekte "Christen" TV en radio kanale, dan moet u weet dit is Leviete en nie 'n Sadokiete nie. 'n Leviet sal altyd inval met dit wat die staat en die mense van hom verwag. 'n Leviet sal altyd die Waarheid verruil vir dit wat die mense wil hê en wanneer dit gebeur dan is dit ook nie lank nie dan begin moraliteit ook verdwyn, so kom die wêreld in die kerk in.

Dan lees ons in Esegiël 44:24: (Die Sadokiete) "En oor 'n regsaak moet hulle optree om reg te spreek, volgens my verordeninge moet hulle dit uitoefen;" 'n Sadokiet, 'n regverdige leier sal altyd standpunt inneem en dinge volgens Bybelse standaarde oordeel, terwyl 'n Leviet altyd 'n middeweg sal soek. Met die Toronto dwaling was daar aan vooraanstaande kerk leiers gevra wat hulle standpunt is oor hierdie dinge, maar instede daarvan dat hulle standpunt ingeneem het, het baie gesê die mense moet maar die vis eet en die grate uitspuug! Die lig is nie groen nie en ook nie rooi nie, die lig is geel! Hierdie mengsels is deur baie kerk leiers goedgekeur, en baie ander was draadsitters, polities korrek. Dit is verderflike kettery!

Ons moet onthou dat Esegiël nie net vir sy tyd geprofeteer het nie maar ook vir die tyd waarin ons nou lewe, en dit maak nie saak in watter kerk u is nie, die vraag is, is daar 'n geheime bose vreemdelinge aan die werk in jou gemeente? Is daar ooreenkomste en samewerking met liberale Protestante, met die Roomse Kerk, die godsdienste van die wêreld, mense met verskuilde agendas? Is jou leier oppad na Babilon? As dit gebeur moet u weet dit is die einde van Ware aanbidding. Die Graan word gemeng met gif en die Wyn en Olie is weg.

Gee jou kerk leier aan die mense wat hulle wil hê, of gee hy aan hulle wat God sê hulle nodig het? Met ander woorde: Bedien hy mense of bedien hy die Here? Laat jou leier mengsels "akatharis" tussen goed en kwaad toe, leer hy mense om te onderskei? Beskerm hy die skape teen die wolwe, of is hy 'n huurling? (Joh.10) Staan hy op vir Bybelse standaarde of is hy 'n draadsitter? Hierdie is nie vrae wat ek vir jou moet beantwoord nie, ek kan nie jou lewensweg vir jou kies nie maar ek kan jou net vertel dan daar 'n weg is wat vir die mens reg lyk, maar die einde daarvan is die dood.

As jou pastoor of predikant 'n Sadokiet is, bid vir hom en staan hom by met alles wat jy kan, hy het dit nodig. Hy is miskien nie volmaak nie maar hy is 'n goeie man en hy is 'n man van God, moet nie die os muilband wat die waaragtige ploeg trek nie. Pasop vir die huurlinge, die Leviete wat met die ekumeniese pad oppad is na Babilon. Jy kan vir hulle bid maar jy mag hulle nie ondersteun nie, want hulle verdien dit nie, en as jy hulle ondersteun dan het jy deel aan die misleiding.

God seën u. †††


By David Passmore May 30, 2026
Staying The Course Amidst Isolation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Living in Israel one gets the feeling that the metaphorical walls are closing in. Israel's reputation is being tarnished all over social media and the mainstream media, and this is reflected in massive public disdain towards this country. We are constantly told that there is near consensus amongst academics and commentators that a genocide was committed in Gaza. The very legitimacy of the state is brought into question. The majority of Americans are now hostile towards Israel. There is real fear that the next U.S. administration will turn against Israel. Even if this were to happen passively, by the U.S. refraining from exercising its veto power towards Security Council Resolutions condemning Israeli actions this could be catastrophic. Internally it is a fractured society leaning increasingly right wing which further alienates Israel from world opinion. An example in point is how Ben Gvir mocked the most recent participants of a global aid flotilla to Gaza. Such conduct further agitates outrage at Israel. The left-wing media presents the ruins of Gaza as a mortal wound in Israel's side. When the world observes this level of carnage no degree of public relations can ameliorate the sense of indignation towards Israel. We can liken the situation of Israel to that of a depressed person. All he sees is hopelessness and gloom. But this isn't the first time that the Jewish nation has been faced with such darkness. Things change and we don't know how the geo-political map will reconfigure in the future. We need to ride out this storm and keep going. On a historical note, the situation is reminiscent of what our ancestors faced when we returned from the Babylonian exile to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was faced with constant lies and conspiracies designed to entrap him by hostile actors: Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab. They employed deception, slander and ridicule in order to maintain their political eminence. There was also a certain sense of abandonment amongst the Jews in Israel then as in our own day. We read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah about the anguish of the leadership in Israel concerning the lack of assistance from the Babylonian diaspora towards the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple. Only 20% of the exiles returned to the land. It was largely the poor who returned. Most of the affluent, established Jews remained in Exile. This is a continuing theme in Jewish history. It is also important to observe that from its very beginnings there were bible believing Christians who spearheaded the return of the Jews to their land. The idea of organizing a return of the Jews to Israel began as a Protestant Restorationist objective that can be traced to 17th century Puritan England. The protagonists of the Cromwellian Republic viewed themselves as the new Israel fighting the Papist forces of Satan. Alongside this, interest grew in the notion that biblical prophecies pertaining to the return of the Jews to Israel were a necessary precursor for the return of Christ. The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century lent political clout to Christian Restorationism with specific missions to the Jews established. Although there had been a longing to return to Israel as written in the thrice daily Amidah prayer, Jewish Zionism arose in the midst of mid nineteenth century nationalism and was further fermented by European antisemitism. It was an altogether secular enterprise. Although Israel's situation appears rather stark, we can draw strength from the Providence afforded to our ancestors in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when they too were faced with defamation. This is also an opportunity to grow closer to our natural allies in the evangelical world who from the beginning of Zionism were steadfast supporters of the project to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel.  (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 May 25, 2026
Signs of the Times Tony Pearce ‍ ‍ Left, right or center – is our democracy in danger “Things fall apart, the center does not hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.” W.B Yeats ‘The Second Coming. ’ ‍ ‍ Labour’s losses in the council elections and the battle for succession to their unpopular leader Kier Starmer have raised the possibility that we may soon have our seventh Prime Minister in ten years. Local elections saw Reform and the Greens make sweeping gains, leading Green Party leader, Zack Polanski to say that we are seeing ‘the end of the old two party system’. Maybe we are. In which case what comes next? Will we head to the far left, the far right or will the center hold on to power? Or will it end with ungovernable chaos as unqualified people take control of local and national government? Behind all this there are fundamental questions, ‘What is government for? Who does it represent and where is it going?’ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ According to the Bible (Romans 13) the purpose of government is to promote good and restrain evil. The government has the right to raise taxes for the common good of society and people should pay them. In 1 Timothy 2 Paul encourages us to pray for the government that ‘we may live a godly and peaceable life’. In other words, pray that the government will create an orderly and peaceful society and not interfere with our right to set up communities that teach and preach the Word of God. The situation becomes more difficult when we see government promoting things which are harmful and restraining things which are good and clamping down on freedom of speech with a threat to our ability to live a ‘godly and peaceable life’ ‍ Since becoming a Christian in my early twenties, I have wrestled with the question of how our faith applies to contemporary political issues. I started this quest on the left politically after leaving university and working as an English teacher with sympathies for Marxism. I then became a born again Christian in 1970, and joined my late wife Nikki in evangelizing the radical left, by handing out leaflets at their marches and demonstrations in London and attending their meetings to discuss matters of faith and politics with them. ‍ ‍‍ ‍ We had some good discussions with people and hope we made some consider the Christian alternative. However as we looked at Marxism from a Christian point of view and its practice in Communist countries, we understood that behind this ideology there is a strong anti-christian spirit. It denies the existence of God and promotes the idea of human perfectibility by our own effort. This is exemplified in the words of the Internationale, the socialist battle hymn, ‘No saviour from on high delivers, no faith have we in prince or peer, our own right hand the chains will shiver, chains of hatred, greed and fear.’ This Antichrist spirit led to the persecution of Christians in the Communist countries of eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and China. Far from creating the socialist paradise on earth that Lenin wrote about in ‘Socialism and Religion’, it created a society ruled by hatred, greed and fear, controlled by secret police, prison camps and responsible for the death of millions. ‍ ‍ In western society we have witnessed the growth of ‘cultural Marxism’ a movement aimed at infiltrating and changing society from within, rather than fomenting the workers’ revolution. Labour’s Fabian Society, with its (now discarded) logo of the wolf in sheep’s clothing, has been engaged in this process since the beginning of the 20th century. Social change really took off with the permissive society in the 1960s, which succeeded in changing traditional values, especially in the area of sex and the family. It replaced biblical values with a new ‘morality’ that is fundamentally anti Christian. These ideas have permeated large swathes of our society including the education system, the judiciary, the Civil Service, much of the media, mainstream political parties (including even the Conservative ‘wets’ and parts of the established church). ‍ ‍ Melanie Phillips describes the results of this in her book, ‘The Builder’s Stone.’ ‘Having decided that the West was rotten to the core, western elites set out to create a new culture that would usher in the brotherhood of man and eradicate hatred, prejudice, and war. Their Brave New World junked biblical religion with all its constraints on behaviour and revolved instead around self gratification. Everybody had the right to live as they wanted; nobody could say that their way of life was better or worse than anyone else’s; no one had the right to say that their culture was better than any other culture. That was ‘racism.’ At the heart of all this was the doctrine that there was no such thing as objective truth. Everything was relative; everything was a matter of opinion. Because there was no truth feelings became more important than facts. So the West abandoned the codes of morality, conscience, truth and lies, personal responsibility, and duty to others in favour of a culture of the self. In the process it junked its inherited traditions and biblical codes on which western culture was based.’ ‍ Britain changed from being a society that respected values based on the 10 Commandments and the teaching of Jesus Christ to one that discarded them for relative values. Ideas of ‘diversity, inclusion and equity’ became the norm, together with and a form of ‘tolerance’, that is really very intolerant if you oppose it. This ‘tolerance’ means accepting the virtues of multiculturalism and humanism and believing that all gods are equally valid or true (or none are). We must also accept that all lifestyles and family arrangements including homosexual and transsexual ones are just as valid as traditional two parent heterosexual families, with a father and mother committed to each other in lifelong matrimony looking after their own children. ‍ As society accepts this radical change in how we view culture, morality and religion, we are told not to criticize other cultures and world views or imply that they are anything less than equal to the culture, morality and faith derived from the Bible. ‍ All this has not improved society. Instead we have a collapse of values with no central idea to hold it together, just a group of competing ‘communities’ which are often only united in opposition to the traditional values and culture of Great Britain. A good example of this is the ‘red – green alliance’ of radical leftists and Islamists who come together to denounce Israel and campaign to ‘globalise the Intifada’. In practice this means a world wide war against Israel and Judaeo-Christian society and a desire to replace it with their version of either Islamism or Communism. However if one of them were to come to power, you can be sure that the Islamist’s would get rid of the leftists or vice versa. In fact that happened in Iran’s 1979 revolution, when Islamist supporters of Khomeini and Communists came together to get rid of the Shah. Then the Islamists seized power, turned on the Communists and wiped them out. ‍ Alisteir Heath wrote in the Daily Telegraph: ‘Ruined by decades of political vandalism, the Britain we knew and loved, a land of stability, pragmatism, and ancient freedoms, is no more. Today’s UK is uglier, impoverished, volatile and disorderly. We’ve lost our level-headedness. Anger and frustration have become our defining emotions. Our institutions have wasted away, and we have been taught to despise our history. The decline of family, community and faith have led to alienation, dependence on welfare and the rise of novel ideologies, mostly secular but also sectarian, turbocharged by social media. While the state becomes unnervingly authoritarian, the air reeks of insurrection and every variety of extremism. The British public’s sense of betrayal is as well-founded as it is dangerous. The machinery of state is incompetent and self-serving, a vehicle for social engineering in the global interest.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ Criticism of this process now risks being classed as ‘hate crime’ with a growing authoritarian society monitoring social media posts and public teaching of alternative ideas in ways which risk shutting down free speech in our society. A Christian teacher Enoch Burke is currently in prison in Dublin after he was suspended from his job and jailed after refusing to accept and teach transgenderism in the school. ‍ ‍ ‍ Nick Timothy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, got into trouble when he questioned mass Muslim prayer in Trafalgar Square. He wrote: ‘Mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination. The adhan – which declares there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination. The domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook.” He is right in this. Allah hu Akhbar actually means Allah is greater, greater than your God, Muhammad is greater than Jesus and the Koran is greater than the Bible. ‍ ‍ ‍ Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern for our Nation wrote: “The fact that we have mass Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square at all is indicative of the massive culture change that we have seen in the last few decades. A culture change that was not voted for or ever agreed to by the British people. And, a culture change that can hardly be described as having been entirely beneficial to our culture as a whole. I only need to mention grooming gangs involving mostly Pakistani Muslim men , sharia courts, honour crimes, terror attacks, the assassination of an MP, an attempt to blockade Parliament, mass antisemitic marches through London, a convicted terrorist standing for local elections, sectarianism, and many other examples to make the point. Earlier this month, the Government gave Muslims special protection with the adoption of an official definition of anti-Muslim hostility .” ‍ ‍ ‍ You are not really supposed to question this in public life today. A message circulating on social media is an apt commentary on all this. ‘First they overlook evil, then they permit evil, then they legalise evil, then they promote evil, then celebrate evil, then persecute those who call it evil.’ Soviet dissident Solzhenitsyn wrote: ‘A Communist system can be recognised by how it spares criminals and criminalises its opponents.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ The root cause of all this is the rejection of God and biblical values. The 18th-century French philosopher Joseph de Maistre coined the phrase "people get the government they deserve." David Pawson followed up on this idea, arguing that in democratic societies like ours, the moral and spiritual condition of a nation's citizens is directly reflected in the leaders they elect. If the general public abandons moral truths, they will inevitably vote for governments that reflect those same compromises. David Pawson taught that God may use governmental leadership to judge or bless a nation, depending on the people's obedience. He noted that Hebrew prophets saw wicked rulers as a form of divine judgement on a society that has strayed from God's laws. Therefore a nation's ultimate hope rests on repentance rather than just political change. His conclusion is that Christians should actively stand for moral truth in society. He believed that the church is meant to influence culture upward, and that a decline in national morality inevitably leads to deteriorating governance. ‍ ‍ ‍ Sadly much of the church today has become the ‘salt that has lost its savour’ through compromise with antichristian forces in society and government. It may be too late to save our country and western democracy as social and economic pressures create a collapse of democracy and push us either towards anarchy or dictatorship. ‍ ‍ ‍ Yeats’ poem quoted at the beginning of this article ends with the enigmatic line ‘Some rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.’ Most likely he is referring to the coming anti-Messiah who is labelled the Beast in the book of Revelation. Many believe his is now waiting in the wings to replace the true Messiah (born in Bethlehem) and bring in the dictatorship prophesied in Revelation 13. The Bible indicates that the Beast or Antichrist will have power for a moment, but it will be short lived and doomed to destruction at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Messiah and He shall reign forever and ever (Revelation 11.15) and the ‘government shall be on His shoulder’ (Isaiah 9.6). ‍ ‍ ‍ Maranatha come Lord Jesus. ‍ ‍ ‍ Water, water nowhere and not a drop to drink. (Apologies to the Ancient Mariner) ‍ ‍‍ ‍ While nations worry about supply of oil and gas as a result of the war in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a much more vital commodity for human survival is water. And it is in short supply in a growing number of nations. ‍ ‍ As of 2026, over 25 countries face extremely high water stress, with the most severe crises located in the Middle East and North Africa. This region is home to the world's most water-stressed nations, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, and Libya. India and Pakistan face critical water scarcity due to overexploitation of aquifers and population density. Much of Africa , Somalia and Ethiopia in particular are facing severe shortages due to drought and climate change. Mexico and parts of the United States (particularly Texas and the west coast) are experiencing significant water shortages and declining groundwater levels. ‍ ‍ ‍ Iran is facing a severe, multi-year water crisis as of May 2026, with major cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj approaching the point where taps could run dry due to depleted reservoirs. Groundwater is depleted across most of the country, and nineteen provinces are experiencing severe drought. The crisis is driven by a combination of climate change and decades of poor water management, including excessive dam construction and inefficient, water-intensive agriculture. China is facing a severe, multi-faceted water crisis defined by extreme scarcity in the north, widespread pollution, and mismanagement, threatening its food supply and economic growth. ‍ ‍ ‍ Several countries are significantly affected by upstream dam construction that reduces downstream water flow, causing, environmental, and diplomatic crises. These countries include Iraq, heavily impacted by dams built on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by Turkey and Iran, leading to reduced water for agriculture, destruction of forests, and increased sandstorms. Egypt and Sudanface significant water security risks due to the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laosare affected of dams built by China on the upper Mekong River ‍ ‍ One country which bucks this trend is Israel. Israel manages its water resources by transforming a chronic shortage into a surplus through large-scale desalination, extensive wastewater recycling, and a centralised national water carrier system. The agriculture sector has shifted away from freshwater, using treated effluent instead. Advanced drip irrigation technologies are widely used to minimise waste. Israel has exported its water technologies to countries around the world, particularly Africa where it has given advice on how to use limited water resources to great effect. ‍ ‍ ‍ Without water no society on earth can survive. Bible prophecies indicate that water shortage and pollution will be a global problem in the last days. Most obviously no water equals no food, so famine is an inevitable result of water shortages. Jesus warned of this as a sign of the last days in Matthew 24.7. Revelation 8.10-11 speaks of something called ‘Wormwood’ falling on rivers and springs of water causing it to become bitter and many to die from drinking it. ‍ ‍ Prophecy speaks of the two great rivers of the ancient world, the Nile and the Euphrates, being affected by a crisis causing the Euphrates to dry up (Revelation 16.12) and the Nile to become contaminated and its waters turn foul (Isaiah 19.5-11). Isaiah 24 speaks of a curse devouring the earth in the last days causing the earth to be ‘defiled (or polluted) under its inhabitants.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ According to the New Scientist, there are massive amounts of water hidden deep beneath the Earth's surface. Scientists have found evidence of a reservoir of water three times the volume of all surface oceans combined, located roughly 250–400 miles underground within the mantle. ‍ ‍ ‍ It may be that the Lord will release this water to replenish and clean up the earth in the Millennial kingdom when ‘waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.’ Isaiah 35. Zechariah 14.8-9 says, ‘In that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.’ Zechariah 14.8-9. See also Ezekiel 47. ‍ Rethinking Russia ‍ Things are not going well for Vladimir Putin in his ‘special military operation’. Four years after invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia is not making advances and actually losing ground. Russia is losing as many as 25,000- 35,000 casualties a month and over 1.2 million have been killed and wounded since the war began. Ukrainian skills in drone warfare have destroyed large quantities of Russian equipment, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and rocket systems, helicopters, and naval vessels. ‍ ‍ Russia is spending an estimated 40% of the entire federal budget on the war effort. As a result of this and western sanctions, Russia is increasingly unable to fix chronic infrastructure problems at home. During the bitter Russian winter thousands of people were left without heat, light, or even water. All forms of transport, trains, trucks and planes, are facing logistical problems, making it difficult to transport goods and people across the vast Russian regions. Russia is on the way to an infrastructure collapse that will likely take decades to recover. ‍ ‍ Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov warned the State Duma that Russia's faltering economy risks stoking a 1917-style revolution. He demanded urgent financial and economic measures by autumn to avert a potential economic collapse. This raises the danger of the Russian Federation fracturing. The Caucuses are restive, the far east is looking to China and Siberia is facing an acute problem as a result of melting permafrost, causing buildings, bridges and pipelines to collapse. ‍ ‍ In the present circumstances it is hard to see how Russia could lead the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). Some have said that it is more likely that Turkey is the lead power in the War of Gog and Magog. They say that Meshech and Tubal are not Moscow and Tobolsk, but regions of modern Turkey. Erdogan’s Turkey is backed by an Islamist world view hostile to Israel, seeking the recovery of its Ottoman Empire. He has his eyes on taking control of Jerusalem. Turkey is possession of a large land army already stationed in the region, some of it occupying part of Syria. ‍ ‍ The alternative is that the War of Gog and Magog is some way off, possibly part of Armageddon, giving time for Russia to recover from its present distress. We wait and see, but meanwhile spare a thought and a prayer for the people of Ukraine and Russia, suffering as a result of Putin’s futile war, oppressed by his corrupt dictatorship and facing an economic and social collapse caused by his failed policies. ‍ ‍
By David Passmore May 25, 2026
Trump's Visit with Xi Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The tempest path of Sino-U.S. tensions came to a head during Trump's first term in office with the outbreak of Covid. Many commentators believed that the deterioration in relations was in terminal decline and that a major confrontation in the straits of Taiwan was fast looming. Trump held China responsible for the spread of Covid, insisting that he would pursue reparations. The election of Biden halted this commitment. Biden sought a non-confrontational policy towards Beijing. In the aftermath of the disastrous premature withdrawal from Afghanistan handing that country over to the Taliban and the Russian invasion of Ukraine under his watch, Biden became too preoccupied to assertively engage with China. Chinese State media portrayed Trump's visit as being rather unremarkable in the context of other foreign dignitaries lining up to meet Xi, pointing out that just a week later Putin would arrive in Beijing. China manifests that it is winning the trade war that Trump began in 2018, beating America at its own game of capitalism. They frame the U.S. as being in a position of weakness because China is able to source whatever products they buy from the U.S. elsewhere like oil from Canada, and soybeans from Brazil. The oil, soybeans and 200 Boeing's Xi agreed to purchase from Trump were presented as a mere gesture to placate Trump as China has already bought 350 Air Buses in the last year. China would have the world believe that it is only semi-conductors where America has the edge. Here China hints that it is not likely to buy H200 Invidia Chips because it would mean that China will always lag behind the U.S. in building their AI tech. China's major contention and concern is that the U.S. may impose export controls to contain China. China's strategy instead is to invest massively on indigenous innovation. China wants to become an innovation powerhouse that will export its own Chips to the Global South. China is fast catching up with America's lead in AI with the launch of Deep Seek and they claim similar progress with Chip making. China is now ostensibly only eight months behind the U.S. on Large Language Models. Running contrary to this narrative Trump insists that China is desperate to trade with America. China's economy has now peaked. Emblematic of this stagnating growth is rising youth unemployment. China is no longer America's biggest trading partner. Trump has shifted manufacturing back to the U.S. and Trump believes that China can't revive its economy without America. Lined up to meet Xi with Trump were the heads of some of America's biggest Tech Corporations. Corporations like nvidia seek a relaxing of export controls for Chips as they want short term profits, ignoring the risk that China will reverse engineer this technology. More broadly, China and the U.S. are playing a geopolitical chess game spanning the globe. Trump outmaneuvered China in Latin America with the removal of Maduro from power in Venezuela. China is exploiting its influence on Iran in order to get Trump to refrain from taking more active steps towards the defense of Taiwan. Indeed, Trump didn't say anything about Taiwan during his visit. Trump's instincts are of a transactional approach towards alliances, where he is only willing to underwrite defense assistance if allies pay up as an insurer would. It is also important to note that saber rattling the Taiwan card also serves the CCP agenda to distract internal dissent concerning the state of the Chinese economy. Most imminently Trump needs China to pressure Iran to open the Straits of Hormuz and get oil prices down before the midterm elections. China has largely insulated itself from the Gulf energy impact due to stockpiles. Trump would also like China to stop providing Iran with GPS for its missiles. Other Chinese weapons systems and technology sold to Iran have failed to perform well against U.S. and Israeli military hardware. Matters boil down to a leverage between whatever Trump can do on Taiwan, China can do on the strait of Hormouz with Iran. Human Rights concerns, espionage and the alarming rate of Chinese acquisition of U.S. land have been placed on the back burner for the time being.  (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 May 17, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for Phil Malone and family “Please keep me and my family in prayer. My mum passed away on 13th May at the age of 93. It's a time of mourning, but may it be a time for the Gospel of Christ to be preached to my unbelieving family, especially my brother.”
By Mea Fredrickson May 13, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for Sister Joanne Rizzetto, wife of Pastor Dave Rizzetto of Church of The Open Door in New York City. Joanne has developed painful complications and adverse side effects from medications following knee surgery. May The Lord intervene for healing and give guidance to her physicians. Lord, we humbly ask you to intervene in the life of our dear sister. We know you can do all things and that you hear our prayers and consider your servants. Please put a stop to the adverse reaction. Restrain and reverse its effects and restore our sister so that she can continue to serve you in the ministry that you have called them to. We do glorify Your Name. We don't ask as those who treat you as our debtor, but as those who have tasted your goodness and found such mercy and compassion at your feet. Grace and peace and mercy be with Joanne and Pastor Dave.
By David Passmore May 5, 2026
Will Lebanon miss its golden opportunity? Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Converging new facts on the ground have transformed the political landscape in Lebanon. With Assad removed from power in Syria, a vital lifeline of arms supplies for Hezbollah originating in Iran has diminished. Hezbollah suffered considerable losses in its last round of fighting with Israel. The decapitation of its leadership with the targeted pager attack inflicted a severe blow. Hezbollah's new leader Naim Qassem is a weak substitute for the charismatic Nasrallah who was assassinated by Israel in 2024. Hezbollah in its frail state foolishly fell into line with Iran's instruction to join the fighting against Israel following the recent American-Israeli war with Iran. This was contrary to the wishes of the Lebanese government which was fearful of the inevitable destruction that would be wreaked by the Israeli response. The differing attitudes to Israel amongst Lebanon's population is reflective of its ethnic composition. The predominant groups in order of plurality are Christians, Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims with a smaller minority of Druze. The major concern of most Christians in Lebanon is the dire state of their economy. They have no appetite to further their plight by invoking Israel's rage. During the colonial inter war period the French envisaged the demarcation between Lebanon and Syria as carving out enclaves for Christian and Druze control. Within Lebanon there would be a shared government that by convention would have the Executive power split between a Christian President, a Sunni Prime Minister and Shia Speaker of Parliament. The Christians in southern Lebanon (particularly Maronite Catholics) saw themselves as being anthropologically descendants of ancient Phoenicians as opposed to an Arab identity where the Arab Christians were largely Eastern Orthodox. The schism between the Maronites and the Arab Eastern Orthodox dates back to the time of the Crusades. The Maronites were culturally French, speaking French as their main language and held precedence in much of the Lebanese economy. The first threat to Lebanese stability and cohesion was settled by the U.S. Eisenhower administration in 1958 which landed Marines in an amphibious operation. A repeated attempt at this by the Reagan administration in 1983 ended in a military disaster for the U.S. due to suicide bombings by Iranian controlled terrorists. Israeli efforts to bring in stability during the Lebanese Civil War in conjunction with its Lebanese Christian allies led by Major Saad Haddad likewise came to calamity when the Sabra and Shatila revenge attacks took place following the assassination of Lebanese leader Bashir Gemayel. The ''Good Fence'' policy of an Israeli friendly free Lebanon zone in Southern Lebanon eventually ended badly following Menachem Begin's second incursion into Lebanon called ''Shalom HaGalil'' aimed at stopping the PLO rocket attacks on Israeli border communities like Metulla, Kiryat Shmona, Naharya, Rosh Hanikra, Tzfat and Carmiel. The proxy Israeli occupation from the Israeli border to the Litani river became an imbroglio that many in Israel viewed as Israel's Vietnam with widespread domestic protest and a collapse of morale within the IDF. Eventually Israel absorbed Christian war refugees from Lebanon, while the Vatican and most of the Christian world turned their backs on the Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was then saddled with two states within a state. The first was in the aftermath of Black September in 1970 when King Hussein of Jordan defended his Hashemite throne and government from Yasser Arafat's attempt to take over Jordan due to Jordan having a 70% Palestinian Arab demographic majority. The Jordanian legion drove tens of thousands of its pro Arafat Jordanian citizens into Lebanon, creating a population base for the first state within a state under Arafat. However the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other factions had their niche interests. Courtesy of the Israeli Air Force Arafat relocated what he saw as his government in exile to Tunisia. This was a missed opportunity by the Lebanese government to assert its autonomy and full territorial control by making a Camp David type peace with Israel inclusive of economic and mutual security provisions. Instead an Iranian backed Syrian intervention replaced Arafat's state within a state with a new one that morphed into Hezbollah. The fall of the Assad regime and the Israeli counter-offensive against Hezbollah re-presents Lebanon with the opportunity that it once lost. The predominantly Christian controlled Lebanese military could and should operationally coordinate with the IDF, to obliterate and remove Hezbollah as the Israelis relieved Lebanon of Arafat's state within a state. Such a rapprochement would likely have strong American and possibly French and British support, allowing Lebanon to be at a non-combative peace with Israel along the lines of Egypt and Jordan, and now some of the Emirates. The natural comradery of the Lebanese Druze community with the Israeli Druze and the pro-Israeli Druze of Syria would additionally re-enforce a regional harmony, as would the Maronite Christian community in Israel with their co-coreligionists in Lebanon.  (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 May 5, 2026
PASTOR JOHN ANGLISS It is with profound sadness that we learned of the temporary separation from our friend and brother Pastor John Angliss. We look forward to being reunited with John in the millennial reign of Christ and indeed in God's Eternal Kingdom. Jacob Prasch visited John a few weeks ago in the UK while John was in hospice care having been diagnosed preterminal in his illness. While medically correct, it was of course a misdiagnosis. John is now cancer free and is alive and well in the presence of Jesus awaiting us in glory while his mortal body is being renewed for resurrection and immortality. In the meanwhile, during this temporary season of bereavement we do request prayer for his beloved wife Mary and for his congregation, The Ark Fellowship in England near Reading, England. Because he has recently arrived in the USA and is scheduled to address the Moriel Canada branch conference in Winnipeg, Jacob Prasch will regrettably not be able to attend the memorial service in Britain. Our condolences however are very much with Mary and our brethren in the UK who like us knew and loved Pastor Angliss. John was one of a minority of faithful voices who upheld a traditional biblically based Pentecostalism in the era of counterfeit revivals and apostasy that overtook most of British Pentecostalism. John was a faithful friend of Israel & The Jews standing on the prophetic purposes of God for Israel and the salvation of the Jews. John was a loyal friend to Moriel and Jacob Prasch and a colleague of David Pawson and Derek Prince, both of whom likewise stood by God's promises to Israel. John was also a founding leader of CMFI - the Christian Ministerial Fellowship International, former pastor of Three Mile Cross fellowship , and former board member of Focus On Israel (a Pentecostal Ministry to the Jews). While this separation is temporary, John's eternal gain will be our temporary loss. O GRAVE - WHERE IS THEY VICTORY, O DEATH WHERE IS THY STING ? Hosea 13:14 / 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57
By David Passmore April 28, 2026
We made it this far: Israel at 78 Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Since the last anniversary milestone of Israel at 75, we have been embroiled in relentless wars. Citizens had little respite to enjoy this year's festivities, coming on the heels of a lull in fighting on the Iranian and Lebanese fronts. We are constantly waiting for a breakthrough on the horizon that will normalize our relations with our neighbors and secure our position on the world stage. It is acutely exhausting to be the focus of the world's attention. But also there is a sense of inevitability accompanying the Zionist project. Specifically that Israel is destined to be central in the wider region and global affairs. Why is this? Is it due to it being a western transplant? Being geographically positioned on the crossroads of three continents? Religious believers would point to prophetic fulfillment. It is short sighted to only look at how our problems are rooted in today’s' reality. Greater forces are at work that will dictate the direction that Israel is heading. The Jewish diaspora will likely find itself in a growing precarious position that will lead to increasing Aliyah (immigration to Israel) and will perhaps ferment the emergence of a second Jewish commonwealth that will not need to heed international pressure in the same way that todays' polity finds itself doing. In this light it is interesting to ponder how our posterity would view our predicament and gains. And I frame matters in these terms with intentionality. We are enmeshed in a seemingly intractable conflict with the Palestinians, and yet Israel has made great gains particularly in the technological fields. There is a current of thinking that perceives Israel's way out of its quagmire is by making itself indispensable to technological advancements. We don't know how tomorrows' world will be shaped by the rapidly advancing AI revolution but so far Israel has proven to be uniquely adaptable and innovative to technological change. This has proved to be a boon to Israel's economy, as have offshore natural gas discoveries being developed in concert with Greece, Greek Cypriot and American energy interests that are geographically and strategically removed from any Straits of Hormuz shipping impediments that strangle the Persian Gulf deposits shared by Qatar and Iran. On another note we should contextualize the situation. How different are Israel's challenges from other nations? Is Israel any less stable than other countries (particularly in the region)? Israel doesn't find itself uniquely challenged to define its identity (most European countries do also, particularly in light of immigration). Nor does the government experience any more volatility than other comparable democracies. Israel's real problems lay in the nature of how its Jewish citizens desire to govern themselves. It is arguable whether the judicial reform protests that occupied public discourse in pre-October 7th Israel would have led to serious civil strife. But it is without doubt that this impasse was allayed by the external attack. The underlying tensions remain unresolved and there are many ways that they could play out. It has been framed as a battle for Israel's soul. Israel's enemies predict that Zionism is imploding and that the State won't survive another 5-10 years. Supporting this claim, they point to Israel's increasing alienation and growing pariah status on the international stage. Our Prime Minister has been indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Even public opinion in our staunchest ally the U.S. has turned sharply against Israel. With 80% of the Democratic Party being anti-Israel in a growing climate of anti-semitism we have even witnessed the shift of Alan Dershowitz to the Republican Party which must be seen as emblematic of a trend. There is apprehension in Israel of a post-Trump America dominated by the Democrats. However, these seeming incontrovertible facts may be offset by other measures of fortitude. This may be partially countered by the high investment by Silicon Valley in the Israeli Hi-tech sector, making Israel an asset for purposes of Research and Development in America's AI race against China. New opportunities for economic relations have also been opened with Arab nations through the Abraham Accords and with the powerhouse India. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine a world in which Israel's technological prowess will not carry the sway of western decision makers in the long run. Israel's 78th anniversary is a moment to take pause and not catastrophize what the future may behold. The entire world is currently in a state of transformation and Israel is not an outlier in this context.  (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 April 23, 2026
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By David Passmore April 14, 2026
A critical juncture in NATO'S future Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM NATO was originally established in 1949 to keep the Russian hordes at bay from toppling those European countries not forked over to the Soviet sphere of influence at the Potsdam conference. Europe lay in ruins. Britain had passed on the torch of global hegemony to the U.S. by tacitly acquiescing to the decolonization of its Empire when Churchill and Roosevelt agreed terms of the Atlantic Charter for the post-war new world order in 1941. So from its start NATO was very much an American driven endeavor. American money with the Marshall plan was propping up western European economies and its military might was forming the bulk of their defensive capabilities. The lopsided nature of this dynamic has informed how tensions have persisted and recently erupted in the Alliance. During the Cold War the U.S. felt obligated to shoulder the costs of underwriting Europe's security in light of the broader interests to keep the Soviet's in check. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain European complacency became a sticking point with the 'peace dividend' further exploiting American largesse. European NATO allies spent ever smaller percentages of their GDP on defense expenditure at U.S. expense. Now in a multi-polar world U.S. and European perceived threats are less aligned. This was first tested in the aftermath of September 11th when for the first time NATO elected to trigger its article 5 collective defense protocol. And since then the U.S. has sought to continue to expand the traditional theatre of operations beyond Europe's borders. No longer is Russia perceived by America as being a proximate existential threat to its interests, but rather containing Chinese expansion in the Pacific arena. Parallel to NATO a discrete 'five eyes' intelligence sharing alliance comprising the Anglo-sphere (the U.S., U.K., Canada and New Zealand) emerged. This stands at the center of the U.S. – U.K. 'special relationship'. A relevant question would be can this signals intelligence (NSA-GCHQ) partnership persist should the U.S. withdraw from NATO? Conventional thinking would have led one to believe that with Brexit the U.K. would naturally pivot towards closer U.S. relations but under Starmer the U.K. is distancing itself. European powers misrepresent the present conflict as an aggressive, rather than defensive U.S. adventure while they themselves are more likely to be at risk. In this the Starmer government resembles the Labor party led committee for nuclear disarmament in the 1980's. It opposed the Thatcher supported deployment of U.S. cruise missiles in response to the Soviet SS20's pointed at Britain's cities. The British left branded their response to Soviet strategic escalation to U.S. aggression. This time however there is for the moment no Thatcher to bring common sense into an equation dominated by emotionally driven ideologies in the face of an aggressor with definite aims. In terms of the Russian-Ukraine conflict we are reverting to the old question dating back to the Napoleonic war era: to what extent is London happy with the European nations fighting it out alone for dominance of the continent. Britain was never willing to accept a single power in control. Many variables will dictate what kind of world emerges from the current conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. How will power be extracted from potential gains? What will be the strategic impact of this? What is sure, in the age of Trump this pattern of reliance on U.S. muscle is becoming quickly exhausted. Dating back to the Roman Empire, a factor in the decline of major powers has always been astronomical military spending, a budgetary demand that the U.S. under Trump is no longer willing to shoulder alone. (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).