Yoma: Die Dag Van Versoening

March 31, 2025

Luk. 4:14-30: “En Jesus het in die krag van die Gees na Galiléa teruggekeer, en daar het 'n gerug aangaande Hom deur die hele omtrek uitgegaan; en Hy het in hulle sinagoges geleer en is deur almal geprys.  


[Hy was ‘n rondreisende rabbi]. Toe kom Hy in Násaret waar Hy opgevoed was; en soos Hy gewoond was, gaan Hy op die sabbatdag in die sinagoge en staan op om te lees. En die boek van die profeet Jesaja is aan Hom oorhandig; en toe Hy die boek oopmaak, kry Hy die plek waar geskrywe is:[Hy lees uit Jesaja 61, eintlik was dit ‘n boekrol, ‘n ‘megillah,” nie ‘n kodeks of ‘n boek nie.] Die Gees van die Here is op My, omdat Hy My gesalf het om die evangelie aan die armes te bring. Hy het My gestuur om die wat verbryseld van hart is, te genees; om aan gevangenes vrylating te verkondig en aan blindes herstel van gesig; om die wat gebroke is, in vryheid weg te stuur; om die aangename jaar van die Here aan te kondig. En nadat Hy die boek toegemaak [Hy het die rol opgerol]en aan die dienaar teruggegee het, gaan Hy sit, en die oë van almal in die sinagoge was op Hom gevestig.


Toe begin Hy vir hulle te sê: Vandag is hierdie Skrif in julle ore vervul. En almal het vir Hom getuienis gegee en was verwonderd oor die aangename woorde wat uit sy mond kom; en hulle sê: Is Hy nie die seun van Josef nie? En Hy antwoord hulle: Julle sal My ongetwyfeld hierdie spreekwoord toevoeg: Geneesheer, genees uself!


Alles wat ons hoor wat in Kapérnaüm gebeur het, doen dit hier in u vaderstad ook.


En Hy sê: Voorwaar Ek sê vir julle, geen profeet is aangenaam in sy vaderland nie. Maar Ek sê vir julle met waarheid, daar was baie weduwees in Israel in die dae van Elía toe die hemel toegesluit was drie jaar en ses maande lank, toe daar 'n groot hongersnood gekom het in die hele land, en na nie een van hulle is Elía gestuur nie, behalwe na Sarfat [Wat te doen het met reiniging deur vuur- in Hebreeus]in Sidon, na 'n weduwee. En daar was baie melaatses in Israel in die tyd van Elísa, die profeet, en nie een van hulle is gereinig nie, behalwe Naäman, die Síriër.


En almal in die sinagoge is met woede vervul toe hulle dit hoor; en hulle het opgestaan en Hom uit die stad uitgedryf en Hom gebring tot op die rand van die berg waarop hulle stad gebou was, om Hom van die krans af te gooi. Maar Hy het tussen hulle deur geloop en weggegaan.”


Jesus kom in die sinagoge en Hy sien sekere dinge wat na Hom verwys soos na Hom as die Seun van Josef en op ander plekke waar Hy geken word as die “Seun van Dawid” en hier in die dorp waarin Hy groot geword het, word Hy geken as die Seun van Josef. Nou, baie van julle ken Jesus as “HaMashiach ben Yosef,” en HaMashiach ben David,” “Messias die Seun van Josef en Messias die Seun van Dawid.”


Ons moet onthou dat Josef deur die Heidene aanvaar was terwyl sy Joodse broeders hom verwerp het.


Hy was in sy eie land deur sy Joodse broers verwerp maar deur die heidene aanvaar.


So, dit is hier waar hulle Jesus begin ken het as die “Seun van Josef” waar Hy twee verhale vertel het oor Elia en Elisa wat deur die Heidene aanvaar is maar wat deur die Hebreërse mense verwerp was. Jesus vergelyk Homself met hulle en die mense raak ongemaklik, maar Sy woorde was aangenaam, maar nadat Hy hulle die waarheid oor Hom vertel het was Sy woorde nie meer so aangenaam nie. Toe hulle eers uitgevind het waar Hy regtig vandaan kom was hulle verontwaardig en woedend. Vandag is dit dieselfde. Jy kan ‘n goeie Evangeliese boodskap bring of ‘n goeie lering bedien maar wanneer jy begin praat oor die verkeerde dinge in die kerk of wat verkeerd is met hulle, dan gaan hierdie selfde mense baie vinnig teen jou draai soos teen ‘n rot met hondsdolheid. Nou wat hier in Nasaret gebeur het was ‘n voorbeeld van wat met Hom in Jerusalem gaan gebeur na die triomferende inkoms. Jesus vergelyk Homself met Elia en Elisa en wat met hulle gebeur het. Die drie en ‘n halwe jaar wat genoem word, drie jaar en 6 maande, plaas die gebeure in ‘n eskatologiese raamwerk.


    Dit sê vir ons dat wat ookal hier op ‘n manier gebeur het- te doen het met die eindtyd,- die tyd, en tye en ‘n halwe tyd in Daniël en in Openbaring. Dit het te doen met die drie en halwe jaar aan die einde van die eeu, en ook die drie en ‘n halwe jaar eskatologies. Jesus se openbare bediening was drie en halwe jaar en Satan wil die selfde tyd hê wat hy gaan kry deur die Antichris. Die Antichris gaan probeer om die Wet en die tye te verander en dit sal in sy hand gegee word vir ‘n tyd- tye en ‘n halwe tyd.


Nou, daar is meer aan dit verbonde. Wanneer daar gepraat word van hierdie drie en halwe jaar in ‘n gegewe perikoop en in ‘n gegewe verhaal, dan het dit iets te doen met ‘n toekomstige eskatologiese toepassing. Dit gaan nie net oor wat gister gebeur het nie. Maar dan sal ons moet deel met hierdie vraag, hoekom het Jesus die boekrol op hierdie punt opgerol, of die Boek toegemaak. Kyk na die Boek Jesaja hoofstuk 61, die gedeelte waaruit Jesus gelees het:


Jes. 61 1: “Die Gees van die Here HERE is op My, omdat die HERE My gesalf het[Die woord wat hier vir “salf” gebruik word is waar die woord Mashiach, messiah vandaan kom.]- om 'n blye boodskap[Hierdie woord is basardie woord vir evangelie in Hebreeus, in Grieks in die Septuagent is dit- euaggelion] te bring aan die ootmoediges; Hy het My gestuur om te verbind die gebrokenes van hart, om vir die gevangenes 'n vrylating uit te roep en vir die geboeides opening van die gevangenis;...”


Toe Jesus die gedeelte in die sinagoge in Nasaret gelees het- het Hy net die eerste helfte van vers twee verse gelees.   “--om uit te roep 'n jaar van die welbehae van die HERE.” Hy lees nie die res van die vers nie-  “‘n dag van die wraak van onse God; en Hy rol die Boekrol toe, of maak die Boek toe. Hy gaan net die eerste helfte van die profesie met Sy eerste koms as die “seun van Josef” vervul, die een wat redding bring. Hy sal die tweede gedeelte van die Skrif vervul met Sy wederkoms: “DieDag van die Wraak van onse God;” Met Sy eerste kom het Hy gekom in genade en in Waarheid en om genade te betoon.


Met Sy tweede koms kom Hy met die oordeel van God, die wraak van God. Maar daar is ander voorlopers vir hierdie dinge. Kyk na die Boek van Sagaria 12:10:“Maar oor die huis van Dawid en oor die inwoners van Jerusalem sal Ek uitgiet die Gees van genade en smekinge; en hulle sal opsien na My vir wie hulle deurboor het, en hulle sal oor Hom rouklaag soos 'n mens rouklaag oor 'n enigste seun en bitterlik oor Hom ween soos 'n mens bitterlik ween oor 'n eersgebore kind.”


Kyk na die Evangelie van Johannes, die verhaal van die Geboorte 19:37:“En weer sê 'n ander Skrif: Hulle sal sien in wie hulle gesteek het”Letop net die eerste helfte van Skrif word aangehaal. Hoekom staan daar nie: “En hulle sal oor Hom rouklaag soos een wat treur oor ‘n enige gebore Seun?” Jesus vervul dit met Sy tweede koms. Kyk na Openbaring 1, dit sê vir ons direk:


Op 1:7: “Kyk, Hy kom met die wolke, en elke oog sal Hom sien, ook hulle wat Hom deursteek het; en al die geslagte van die aarde sal oor Hom rou bedryf; ja, amen!”


Hulle sal opkyk na Hom wat hulle deursteek het en oor Hom rou bedryf- met Sy tweede koms en nie met Sy eerste koms nie; hulle skree “Kruisig Hom.!” En die vers word in twee gedeel. Dit is hoe ons die Boek Daniël verklaar maar dit is net ‘n voorsmakie vir later.


Hulle neem Hom na Nasaret. Iets om te verstaan van Nasaret as jy nog nie daar was nie, as jy op beweeg van Nasaret af dan kry jy “illit” waar die oorspronklike Nasaret was. Nasaret is ‘n harde plek, dit is grootliks ‘n Arabiese gemeenskap. “Illit” is ‘n Joodse gemeenskap waar die rant van die gebergte is en jy sien dat dit direk die teenoorgestelde is van die noorde kant van die vallei van Armageddon, die vlakte van Jisreel teenoor Megiddo. Aan die suide kant is daar ‘n berg wat geken word as Migiddo, “Har Megiddo,”


    Armageddon is egter nie ‘n berg nie. Die vallei word Jisreel noem. Aan die noorde kant, teenoor Megiddo is ‘n ander berg, Har Tabor- die berg Tabor waar die lied van Deborah plaasgevind het. Kyk na Rigters 5. In die Lied van Debora sien ons iets wat herhaal word in die Septuagint teks, die Griekse Ou Testament in die Magnificat, die loflied van Maria, en in die Lied van Deborah-  Geseënd is u onder die vroue, u sal deur almal as geseënd genoem word.


Nou, Nasaret is waar Maria, Miriam as ‘n jong dogter gewoon het. Sy sou vanaf Nasaret na die berg Tabor oor gekyk het wat sy geken het en sy sou geweet het dat dit die plek was waar die verhaal van Debora afgespeel het. Dit is waar die verhaal van Jael ook plaasgevind het, waar die eer en die roem aan Sisera gegaan het, ons lees in Rigters 5:7: “--totdat ek, Debóra, opgestaan het, ek, 'n moeder in Israel, ” En dit gaan verder en ons lees van ‘n esel wat op gery word in vers 10, en hier word verskillende tale gebruik om geseënd te beskryf, “Geseënd is jy onder die vroue, hulle sal jou as geseënd noem.” Rigters 5:24: “Mag bo die vroue geseënd wees Jael,...”  Min het Maria van Nasaret geweet dat die engel Gabriel eendag na haar toe sal kom met die woorde: “Geseënd is jy onder die vroue.”


Sy het in die skadu van die Berg Tabor opgegroei wat uitkyk oor Nasaret Illit. “Geseënd is jy onder die vroue.” Dit is waar dit gesê was, maar eendag sou dit ook vir haar gesê word, presies op dieselfde plek, dit is Nasaret. Aan die Ooste kant van Nasaret, en loodreg van die Vallei van Jisreel is ‘n styl berg hang en jy sal nie daarvan hou om daar af te gaan nie; daar is verskeie klowe en plato rante met styltes van meer as 45 grade.


Hoekom wou hulle Jesus van die afgrond afgooi? Hoekom wou hulle hom op hierdie manier probeer doodmaak? Hoekom wou hulle Hom nie stenig nie, hoekom wou hulle Hom spesifiek van die krans afgooi om Hom dood te maak? Maar belangrik, hulle kon Hom nie doodmaak nie. Hoekom was Hy beskerm?


Heel duidelik was dit nog nie Sy tyd om vir ons sonde te sterf nie? Kom ons kyk na Levitikus 16.


Die Dag van Versoening, Yom Kippur


Dit kom ooreen met die Hebreeuse woord “kapporah.” Kapporah beteken ‘n offer afgelei van die Hebreeuse woord “lehakreem”—dat die mens een met God sal wees. Die eenheid wat deur sonde verlore gegaan het sal herstel word wanneer die Messias kom. Onder die Wet sal die sonde van die Joodse mense vergewe word as hulle ‘n ware geloof en ‘n ware sonde belydenis gedoen het, die bloed van die Yom Kippur sondebok sal kappurahbring, dit sou hulle sonde tydelik bedek totdat die Messias kom en dit weg neem.


Dit is soos met ‘n tydelike bestuurs lissensie totdad jy die waardige lissensie kry. Dit bring kapporah, dit was ‘n tydelike bedekking. Die Ou Testamentiese heiliges kon nie hemel toe gaan totdat die Messias gekom het nie. Hulle het na Abraham se boesem toe gegaan waar hulle gewag totdat die Messias kom. Die Ou Testamentiese heiliges kon net deur die Bloed van Jesus gered word, dieselfde met ons. Daar is geen ander naam in die hemel waaronder ons gered kan word nie soos wat Hebreërs vir ons sê, die bloed van diere kan nie ons sonde afwas nie, hulle kon net kapporahmaak..


Dit was simbole van wat die Messias sou doen. Ons almal weet van die bloed van die Lam, maar met Yom Kippur is daar ook die bloed van die sondebok. Dit alles is die bloed van Jesus, maar die bloed van hierdie diere was op verskillende maniere werksaam. Al die diere offers in die Tempel, die bloed, is alles beelde van die bloed van Christus in verskillende aspekte, die bloed van die lam, die lam sonder gebreke, die onskuldige sou vir die skuldige sterf. Een mens sonder sonde is beter as al die mense met sonde, so kon een vir almal sterf; dit is die bloed van die lam. Dan is daar die bloed van die bulle, die sterke sou vir die swakke sterf, net soos wat die onskuldige vir die skuldige sou sterf. Die voëls, hulle moes die voels onder lopende water offer.


Dit is beeld van wassing met die bloed. Al hierdie dinge gee vir ons verskillende aspekte van die bloed van Jesus, maar die bloed van die bok het sy eie unieke gedeeltes. Wat is dit?


    Wel een van die dinge is, in Grieks kry ons twee woorde vir sonde:  “Hamartia” en “hamartano.” Hulle is amper dieselfde maar in Hebreeus is hierdie woorde, Heten pesha,heel verskillend.Hetbeteken om die doel te mis, om ‘n pyl te skiet wat die teiken mis. Peshabeteken om te vêr te gaan. Pesha is oortreding; Hetis om te faal. Pesha is die sonde wat te doen het met ‘n opdrag; Hetis die sonde van nalaat, om te versuim.


Ons sondig beide deurom dinge te doen wat ons nie moet doen nie, maar ons sondig ook om nie dinge te doen wat ons moet doen nie. Dink aan Koning Saul, sy eerste sonde was hy het dinge gedoen wat hy nie moes doen nie; hy het ‘n moordenaar van die Hoë Priester, Abithar geword, hy het betrokke geraak in die oproep van dooies en towery, die okkulte. Hy het probeer om Dawid dood te maak. Hy het begin om dinge te doen wat hy nie moes doen nie. Sy eerste sonde was hy het gefaal om dinge te doen wat hy moes doen, hy moes ontslae geraak het van Amalek, hy het van die buit vir homself gehou wat hy moes verbrand het; dit was vir ‘n heidense god gegee.


Wanneer iemand terugval, wegval van God af, dan gaan dit nie soseer oor iets wat ons doen nie maar oor iets wat ons doen wat ons nie moet doen nie, dit kom later. Dit begin gewoonlik oor wat ons doen en wat ons nie moet doen nie. Wanneer iemand se gebedslewe, Bybel lees, gemeenskap met ander gelowiges, getuienis- begin stil raak, wanneer ons ophou om die dinge te doen wat ons moet doen, dan is dit net ‘n kwessie van tyd vir ons ou natuur om oor te vat en vir ons om dinge te begin doen wat ons nie moet doen nie.


Die bloed van die lam het hoofsaaklik te doen met pesha terwyl die bloed van die bok meer te doen het met het.Die bloed van die lam is meer te doen met die dinge wat ons gedoen het voordat ons tot redding gekom het. Die bloed van die bok het meer te doen met dinge wat ons daarna gedoen het. Die bloed van Christus reinig ons van alle sonde, meer nog, peshahet te doen met bewustelike sonde. Het het te doen met sonde wat in Hebreeus geken word as “barut”- onwetenheid.


Heb. 9:7: “-maar in die tweede die hoëpriester alleen, een maal in die jaar, nie sonder bloed nie, wat hy offer vir homself en vir die sondes van die volk uit onwetendheid begaan ” [afgelei van Hebreeus- barut.]


Dit alles is die bloed van Jesus. Al hierdie diere is beelde van Christus maar Sy bloed is inwerkend op verskillende maniere. Die bloed van Christus reinig ons van alle sonde, die verlede en die hede. Ons moet verstaan dit is medewerkend op verskillende maniere. Dit is medewerkend in dinge wat ons doen wat ons nie moet doen nie, maar dit is ook medewerkend vir die dinge wat ons moes gedoen het maar nie gedoen het nie.


Dit is medewerkend vir die sonde wat ons onwetend doen, maar dit is ook medewerkend vir die dinge wat ons onwetend doen. Christene kan onwetend sondig, soos byvoorbeeld mense sal toelaat dat ongedoopte ongeredde kinders Nagmaal gebruik, dit is totaal verkeerd. Die Nagmaal is vir gedoopte weergebore Christene alleen. Ons sien in Eksodus dat ons ons kinders moet laat sien hoe ons die Nagmaal gebruik sodat hulle die vraag kan vra: “Hoekom doen julle dit?”Deurom kinders nie toe te laat om Nagmaal te bruik nie is ‘n manier om hulle te laat vra oor hulle redding.


Die Tafel van die Here is dalk ‘n beeld van onskuld vir wat dit beteken, nie dat dit die tafel deur ‘n immorele persoon verontreinig word nie, maar omdat dit verkeerd is.  Hierdie kinders weet nie dat dit hulle sondig nie en dit is die ouers se verantwoordelikheid, maar die rigting wat die kerk nou in beweeg is heel waarskynlik onbekend vir die ouers. Maar dit is nogtans sonde en iemand moet betaal vir die sonde. Jesus betaal vir die sonde al is dit onwetend. Elke keer as ‘n Roomse Katoliek bid vir die dode dan is dit die sonde van towery, hulle sien dit nie so nie maar hulle roep geeste van dooies op. Dit is towery.


    Nou, daar is ware gelowiges in die Roomse Katolieke Kerk, maar as hulle waarlik gered is dan sal die Heilige Gees hulle lei om onder hulle uit te kom. Niemand sal sê jy kan nie ‘n Roomse Katoliek en gered wees nie, maar as jy ‘n Katoliek is wat gered is dan kan jy nie in hierdie Kerk bly nie, maar nog steed reinig die bloed ons van alle sonde, al is dit sonde wat onwetend gedoen is.


Elke keer wat ‘n Roomse Katoliek vir die dooies bid of hom uitstrek voor transubstansiële elemente, dan is dit die sonde van afgodery. Dit is ‘n sonde wat deur baie onwetend gedoen word. Ons almal het die bloed van die Lam nodig. “Is jy gewas in die Bloed van die Lam?” Dit is waar, maar wat ook baie waar is, is dat ons ook in die bloed van bok gewas moet word. Die vraag dan, waarom, soos dit is, is daar twee bloed versoening feeste, Paasfees in die Lente en Yom Kippur in die herfs? Hoekom twee?, dit is ‘n belangrike vraag.


Onthou, Jesus vervul die heilige Lente dae met Sy eerste koms, Hy vervul die Herfs heilige dae met Sy tweede koms. Die herfs heilige dae is net gedeeltelik vervul met Sy eerste koms. Hy het Paasfees, Eerste Vrugte vervul toe Hy uit die dood opgestaan het, en Weke, wat Pinkster is, met sy eerste koms en dan is daar die somer wat ooreenstem met die Tye van die Nasies, die tydperk tussen die 69ste en 70ste week van Daniël.


Maar dan is daar Basuine, daar is Yom Kippur, Versoening, en dan is daar Tabernakels, of Hutte fees. Nou. Daar is ‘n gedeeltelike vervulling van hierdie heilige dae in Sy eerste koms. Toe Jesus gesterf het, het Hy Yom Kippur gedeeltelik vervul. Hy is ons Hoë Priester wat die perfekte versoening gebring het. Die Tempel se voorhangsel het geskeur. Sondige mense is nie langer geskei van ‘n Helige God nie, dit het Jesus gedeeltelik vervul, en hoe Hy dit vervul is soos volg. Tabernakels is gedeeltelik vervul in Johannes 7, maar die volle vervulling van Esegiël 47 vind plaas in die Millennium. Sagaria 14 sê vir ons dat Jesus in die Millennium in Jerusalem aanbid gaan word. Hy vervul die Lente feeste met Sy eerste koms maar die herfs feeste is net tydelik vervul met Sy eerste koms, dit sal vervul word met Sy tweede koms. Yom Kippur, die Dag van Versoening het ‘n toekomstige betekenis.


Daar was twee bokke.


Lev. 16:1-10: “En die HERE het met Moses gespreek ná die dood van die twee seuns van Aäron, wat gesterf het toe hulle voor die aangesig van die HERE nader gekom het; en die HERE het aan Moses gesê: Spreek met jou broer Aäron dat hy nie te eniger tyd moet ingaan in die heiligdom nie, binnekant die voorhangsel, voor die versoendeksel wat op die ark is, sodat hy nie sterwe nie; want Ek verskyn in die wolk op die versoendeksel.


Hiermee moet Aäron in die heiligdom ingaan: met 'n jong bul as sondoffer en 'n ram as brandoffer. Hy moet 'n heilige linnerok aantrek en 'n linnebroek moet oor sy vlees wees en met 'n linnegordel moet hy hom gord en 'n linnetulband moet op sy hoof wees. Dit is heilige klere; en hy moet sy liggaam in die water bad en dit aantrek. En van die vergadering van die kinders van Israel moet hy twee bokramme as sondoffer en een ram as brandoffer neem.


Dan moet Aäron die sondofferbul wat vir hom bedoel is, aanbring en vir hom en sy huis versoening doen. Hy moet ook die twee bokke neem en hulle voor die aangesig van die HERE stel by die ingang van die tent van samekoms. En Aäron moet oor die twee bokke die lot werp, een lot vir die HERE en een lot vir Asásel. Dan moet Aäron die bok aanbring waar die lot vir die HERE op gekom het en hom as sondoffer berei; maar die bok waar die lot vir Asásel op gekom het, moet lewendig voor die aangesig van die HERE gestel word, om oor hom versoening te bewerk deur hom vir Asásel in die woestyn te stuur.”


Dit laat ons dink aan die beeld van een wat moet sterf sodat die ander een kan lewe en ook om weg tedoen met sonde. By ‘n sekere punt in Israel se geskiedenis het hierdie ander bok, die sondebok, teruggekom en met die tyd van Jesus het hulle ‘n gewoonte gehad. Hulle het die bok in die wildernis ingejaag en van ‘n krans afgestoot. Die ander bok was geken as die “Azazel” “Sier Azazel” Die sondebok.


    Hulle sou gekies word deur die lot te werp. As dit in die regterhand was dan was dit gesien as ‘n goeie teken. As die lot in die regterhand was, die een vir die Here, dan was dit gesien as goeie teken vir die mense wat vergewe was; hulle het kaporahontvang vir hulle sonde.


Die Hoë Priester het dan ook spesiale klere aangetrek wat hy net in hierdie tyd van die jaar gedra het. Hierdie klere was ‘n wit kleed met ‘n rooi lyfband- sash, of ‘n skarlaken gekleurde lyfband, net een maal ‘n jaar. Hy sou ook deur ‘n uitsonderlike ritueel gaan wat Mekudeshgenoem word, om geheilig te word of om eenkant gesit te word, afgelei van die Hebreeuse woord “kodesh” Dit is die selfde woord wat gerbruik word vir ‘n huwelik. Wanneer ‘n paartjie in die huwelik tree dan sê jy “mekudesh.”


Hierdie spesiale kleed wat die Hoë Priester met Yom Kippur aangetrek het stem ooreen met ‘n bruilof kleed. Die idee is dat net die persoon wat mekudeshword toegelaat om in te gaan. Na die dood van Aaron se seun het die Here Moses gewaarsku. “Moenie toelaat dat iemand anders ingaan nie.” [Met sy wit kleed en rooi lyfband met die klokkies]


Jy kan iets objektief weet “la daat”, maar wanneer jy iets subjektief weet dan is dit iets anders. In Grieks is die term “ginosko,” “om ‘n vrou te beken.” Josef het Maria “nie beken” tot na die geboorte van Jesus nie. Jy kan iets objektief ken maar dit is nie dieselfde as om iets subjektief te ken nie.


Reg van die begin af was Adam en Eva in die tuin geplaas om oor dit te heers. Hulle was veronderstel om sonde objektief te ken. Hulle moes weet dat daar ‘n duiwel is. Hulle moes objektief weet maar nie subjektief nie. Hulle was nie veronderstel om dit deur ondervinding te weet nie, hulle was nie veronderstel om dit in hulleself te ken nie. Net soos met die heilige huwelik. Om ‘n huwelik in Hebreeus te bevestig word die term “Miknasbah” “Om in haar in te gaan” gebruik, een persoon gaan in ‘n ander persoon en ‘n derde persoon word voortgebring. Dit leer ons oor die Drie Eenheid.


Enige persoon kan in ‘n mediese handleiding na ‘n vrou se geslagsdele kyk, enige persoon kan weet waaroor dit gaan maar net die persoon wat ge- mekodesh is, wat deur God vir die doel geheilig is, kan weet wat dit is om ‘n vrou te beken. Of soos met ‘n Jood wat die Tora lees, hulle kan dinge weet oor die Heilige Ark en oor die Toonbrood, hulle kon dinge lees oor die Dekaloog, hulle kon weet wat in die Ark is, maar net die Hoë Priester kon fisies weet wat dit is om daar in te gaan. As iemand anders as die bruid se man by haar slaap dan was dit ‘n gruwel omdat haar man die een is wat mekudesh—hy is die een wat God geheilig het.


Wel dit is dieselfde ding, as enige iemand anders as as die Hoë Priester, wat ge- mekudeshis, daar in gaan, dan was dit ‘n gruwel. Dit was veronderstel om ‘n geheim te wees, jy was nie veronderstel om te weet nie. Jy kan objektief weet maar jy kan dit nie ondervindings gewys weet nie, dit sou ‘n gruwel gewees het as jy geweet het. Die Hoë Priester kon weet wat dit was, onthou die Hebreeuse term vir die heiligmaking van die Hoë Priester op Yom Kippur is dieselfde as die heiligmaking tussen ‘n man en sy bruid, mekudesh.


“Met hierdie ring bevestig ek julle in die huwelik volgens die wette van Moses en Israel,”-  en dit dit is dit.


Dan trap jy die wynglas en jy is getroud.


Op daardie dag lyk hy anders, hy lyk nie soos die selfde persoon nie. Hy gaan deur hierdie lang ritueel van die mekudeshen hy bid die gebed van heiligmaking, ‘n gebed van mekudesh-voordat hy ingaan. Hy trek ‘n kleed aan voordat hy ingaan en hy lyk anders. Die eerste keer wat jy hom gesien het- het hy anders gelyk.


Lev. 16:11-16: “Aäron moet dan die sondofferbul wat vir hom bedoel is, laat aankom en vir hom en sy huis versoening doen: hy moet die sondofferbul slag wat vir hom bedoel is,  en die vuurpan vol gloeiende kole van die altaar voor die aangesig van die HERE wegneem; daarby twee handevol fyngestampte reukwerk van speserye en dit binnekant die voorhangsel bring.--


--- En hy moet die reukwerk op die vuur lê voor die aangesig van die HERE, dat die wolk van die reukwerk die versoendeksel wat op die Getuienis is, kan oordek, sodat hy nie sterwe nie. En hy moet van die bloed van die bul neem en dit met sy vinger op die versoendeksel aan die oostekant sprinkel; en voor die versoendeksel moet hy sewe maal met sy vinger van die bloed sprinkel. Dan moet hy die sondofferbok slag wat vir die volk bedoel is, en sy bloed binnekant die voorhangsel bring en met sy bloed doen soos hy met die bloed van die bul gedoen het: hy moet dit sprinkel op die versoendeksel en voor die versoendeksel. So moet hy dan vir die heiligdom versoening doen vanweë die onreinhede van die kinders van Israel en vanweë hulle oortredinge, wat hulle sondes ook al mag wees; so moet hy dit ook doen vir die tent van samekoms wat by hulle te midde van hulle onreinhede woon.”  [In die tyd van Jesus was dit in die tyd van die tweede Tempel]


Dit begin met die idee dat dit verewig kan wees, ‘n ewige opdrag om hierdie bloed te besit.


Daar is ‘n sameroeping maar nie ‘n pelgrim sameroeping nie; die mense het nie nodig gehad om na Jerusalem te kom soos wat hulle met die Paasfees gedoen het nie, dit kon tuis gevier of onderhou word, dit kon in Nasaret gehou word en nie noodwendig in Jerusalem nie. Paasfees, Pinkster, Tabarnakels moet in Jerusalem herdenk word behalwe deur die Levitiese priesters. Hy gaan deur dit. Hebreërs sê daar sal geen werk of voorbereiding vir dit gedoen word nie- la anot na shotem,letterlik- “om ons siele te pynig vir ons sonde.”


Hy sal deur die rituele wassing gaan en dan sal daar drie soorte offers wees, die gewone Tempel offers wat elke dag gedoen word, ‘n afgesonderde offer vir die priester soos wat ons in Hebreërs lees. Die Hoë Priester moet eerstens versoening doen vir sy eie sonde. Dit is waarom Jesus ‘n priester van ‘n ander orde moes wees, die orde van Melgisedek, Hy het nie sonde gehad nie, en dan die bok vir die sonde van die mense, drie offers. Hierdie bokke was deur die lot gekies.


Kom ons kyk na Lev.16: 21 en 22:


“--en Aäron moet sy twee hande op die kop van die lewendige bok lê en oor hom belydenis doen van al die ongeregtighede van die kinders van Israel en al hulle oortredinge, wat hulle sondes ook al mag wees; en hy moet dié op die kop van die bok lê en hom deur 'n man wat gereed staan, na die woestyn toe stuur. So moet die bok dan op hom al hulle ongeregtighede na 'n woeste land wegdra; en hy moet die bok in die woestyn los.” [In die tyd van Jesus is hulle agteruit oor die krans gestoot.]


Die Hoë Priester het die sonde van die mense op die bokke gesit. Die bokke sou dan in strate van Jerusalem gelei word, die mense sal op hulle spoeg en hulle skop, met klippe gooi, met stokke slaan en hulle vervloek omrede hulle sonde. Een bok sal dan losgelaat word en die ander een sal ‘n offer in die tempel wees en die Hoë Priester sal dan agter die voorhangsel ingaan, een maal ‘n jaar. Ons sien dit met Jesus se geboorte.


In die Apokriewe boek Henog lees ons dat die Azazel ook verwys na Satan as gevolg van die wortel “zaz”in die woord, wat te doen het met ‘om weg te vat’. Daar is twee bokke net soos wat daar ook twee voëls is in Levitikus 14; een sterf en een sal eindelik vry wees. Maar die Jode sien die twee bokke as een offer.


In die tyd van Christus was die distansie in die wildernis verdeel in distrikte, geken as deputasies totdat hulle finaal by die krans kom. Die Hoë Priester sou dan hierdie skoon rooi kleed met die klokkies aantrek. (Matt. 27: 28) en ‘n persoonlike belydenis aflê. Onthou toe hulle Jesus gekruisig het, wat se kleed het hulle Hom aangetrek? ‘n rooi kleed. Hy was ons Hoë Priester wat vir ons die volmaakte offer geword het. Hy sou ‘n goue (silwer) wierookbak in Sy hand hê. Dink aan die wierook, in Openbaring 8 en in Esegiël is wierook ‘n beeld van die gebede van die heiliges. Die Here sou die geure en die reukwerk van die mense ruik.  


    God sê in Jesaja1:13:“Bring nie meer skynheilige offergawes nie; gruwelike reukwerk is dit vir My--”  God sal nie hulle gebede of aanbidding van vreemde gode aanvaar nie. Misleide mense kan kerk toe gaan en kerk speel maar God sal nie hulle reukwerk aanvaar nie. Meer nog, Hy sal net die reukwerk ruik as die Hoë Priester dit inbring. God sal net ‘n gebed in die Naam van Jesus aanvaar.


Mense kan die kralekrans gebede opsê soveelkeer as wat hulle wil, maar God sal dit nie aanvaar nie. Moslems kan Allah die hele dag aanroep, maar eerstens, Allah is nie ons God nie en al was hy sou God nie hulle gebede hoor nie. Dit moet in die reukwerkbak van die Hoë Priester wees. Dit is net gebede in die Naam van Jesus wat God sal aanneem. Daar is geen ander Naam nie.


Nee, God hoor nie gebede van ongerede mense nie tensy hulle bid vir redding en tensy hulle God waarlik soek. Deur Sy genade sal Hy hulle trek na die weg van redding maar hulle sal in die naam van Jesus moet bid vir redding. Dit is net die wierookbak in die hand van die priester wat die enigste reukwerk is wat God sal ruik en wat Hom sal behaag. Maar dit gaan verder.


Die Hoë Priester wag in die Tempel terwyl hulle die ander bok ‘n ent weggelei word, ‘n distansie van geken word as 90 “ris”,12 myl, maar voor dit trek die Hoë Priester die rooi mantel uit en sny dit middeldeur en die een helfte word voor die Allerheiligste gehang terwyl die ander helfte van die kleed tussen die horings van die sondebok vasgemaak word, dit is voordat hy vir 90 “ris” rondgelei word.


Die Katolieke beweer daar is 14 kruis stadiums, nee daar is 90 en dit is nie in die stad nie maar buite die stad, Jesus was buite die stad gekruisig. Dit is waarom Jesus buite die stad gekruisig moes word.


Die Hoë Priester wag in die Tempel. Die lot was gewerp, die bokke is gekies; hy sit sy hande op die bokke vir die sonde van die mense, die parade vind plaas, die sondebok word in die wildernis ingelei en die bok vir die Here word geoffer.


‘n Aantal dinge vind plaas vanaf die tyd van Jesus en verder, ons weet dit uit die Joodse geskiedenis, uit die Mishnah. Dit was nie deur mense met ‘n Christelike vooroordeel geskryf nie. As mense se sonde vergewe was, gebaseer op Jesaja 1:18, dan het die rooi kleed wat voor die Allerheiligste gehand het wit geword. “Al was julle sonde so skarlaken dit sal wit word soos sneeu.”


Judaïsme sê in die Mishnah dat vir 40 jaar voor die vernietiging van die Tempel, vanaf 70n.C., as ons dit terug werk, vanaf die tyd van Jesus en verder, het dit nooit weer wit geword nie, die sonde van die Jesus mense was nooit weer vergewe nie. Die wet van waarskynlikheid sê dat as jy ‘n lot of ‘n geldstuk vat, kop of stert, en jy gooi dit 40 keer of meer op dan sal dit uiteindelik by ‘n gelyke hoeveelheid koppe en sterte eindig. Wiskundig is dit met waarskynlikheids teorie bewysbaar.


Die mense se sondes was nie meer vergewe nie. Die mees-wes kandelaar in dieTempel het bly doodgaan en die deure van die Tempel, wat deur 24 manne oop en toe gemaak moes word, het vanself oopgegaan.


Dit het volgens Josephus alles gebeur voor die gebeure van 70 nC. toe die Tempel verwoes was.


Daar was ook ‘n seremonie wat geken was as “Mosoph.”Die Hoë Priester het hulle sy normale klere laat aantrek en sy ander klere uitgetrek sodat hy kon lyk soos wat hy altyd gelyk het. Hy sou dan probeer huistoe gaan na wat geken was as die boonste stad van die Tempel, en die mense wat in Jerusalem gebly het sou na hom gestroom het en hom probeer verhoed om nie huis toe te gaan nie. Hulle sou hom fisies probeer keer om nie huis toe gaan nie, dit is toe hulle gesien het wie hy was toe hy die kleed uitgetrek het. Net so was dit met Jesus. Toe Hy in die Aller Heiligste ingegaan het, het Hy dit as God gedoen. Wanneer Hy terugkom as die Een wat hulle uiteindelik gaan herken dan sal hulle Hom nie wil verlaat nie.


   “Moenie ons verlaat nie, moenie weggaan nie.” Hulle het probeer om hom te ooreed om te bly. Die hele seremonie was ‘n beeld van die Here Jesus. Maar vandag word dit gevier deurom na ‘n sinagoge te gaan en om rituele kosse te eet wat “Kreplach” genoem word, en hoender sop en “sinis”, wat ‘n soortvan soet vleisdis is.


Ultra-Ortodokse Jode van nie te lank gelede het iets beoefen wat geken was as die “macoat”. hulle trek ‘n swaar “macheel” of verskeie oorklere aan en dan slaan hulle mekaar met belde, 39 houe.


Vandag, omdat hulle nie meer goeie priester,‘n Tempel of goeie bok het nie, het hulle begin om hoenders se nekke om te draai. Vandag in die sinagoge begin hulle met ‘n gebed wat die Kol Nidregenoem word, ‘n Aramese gebed wat baie oud moet wees omdat dit in Aramees is. Dit kom heelmoontlik van die Spaanse Inkwisisie af toe die Jode gedwing was om Roomse Katolieke te word, maar omdat dit in Aramees is moet dit ouer as dit wees.


Kol Nidrebeteken “Alle Geloftes”, alle gebreekte gelofdes wat aan God gemaak is. Hoekom? Omdat die bloed van die bok te doen het met sonde wegneming. Hulle sê die regte dinge maar hulle weet nie hoekom nie. Dan lees hulle die Boek van Jona. Die Heidene het hulle bekeer maar nie die Jode nie. Ongelooflik!


Dan werk hulle deur ‘n akrostiese gedig, wat eintlik gesing word en wat geken word as Yaaleh Tachanuneinu. “Mag ons in die verbond opstaan en selachti, vergewe ons, “anu ammecha” ons is U mense.”


Dan het hulle iets wat “Yizor” genoem word, die nagedagtenis van die dode, en laastens iets wat “nega” genoem word. Vandag vas hulle en doen al die ander dinge maar hulle het nie die sondebok nie. Die Judaïsme van vandag is nie die Judaïsme van Moses nie. Maar inplaas daarvan doen hulle ander dinge. Jy het hierdie twee bokke. Een van hulle is vir die Here wat in die Tempel geoffer word; die ander een is die Seir Azazel, hy word oor die krans gegooi.


Jesus vervul Pesach- Pasga, Eerste vrugte, Weke- Pinkster met Sy eerste koms. Die Herfs feesdae, Basuine, wat vandag deur die Rabbis verander is na Rosh Hashanah, hulle sê: “Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar,” maar dit is nie wat die Skrifte sê nie, die Skrifte sê: “Bring die Basuin na jou mond, sal die mense nie bewe van vrees as hulle die basuin hoor nie? Dit het te doen met die naderende samekoms van Israel vir die Groot Verdrukking.


Daar is ‘n periode van 10 dae wat geken word as ‘Dae van Verskrikking’, Yomim HaNoraim” wat ooreenkom met die tydperk wanneer die Antichris baie mense gaan uitroei, en dit word opgevolg deur Yom Kippur, en laastens, Loof Hutte of Tabernakels, wat ooreenkom met die Millennium. Dit was net gedeeltelik deur Jesus met Sy eerste koms vervul. Hy was inderdaad ons Hoë Priester en Hy was die bok wat vir die Here bedoel was. Die ander bok sou later doodgemaak word.


Onthou, die Azazel is ‘n beeld van Satan. Die Seun van die Mens het gekom om die werke van Satan te vernietig. Hoekom kon hulle Jesus nie van die krans afgooi nie? Hy was die ander bok! Hulle het die verkeerde bok gehad. Hulle wou hom nie stenig nie, hulle wou Hom van die krans afgooi. Hy was die een wat vir die Here was. Wanneer Hy terugkom gaan die ander bok van die krans afgegooi word. Satan sal uiteindelik vernietig word.


Yom Kippur sal vervul word met die Wederkoms van Jesus. Die Antichris sal sy dinge doen, Yomim HaNoraim, die dae van wraak. Let op- 10 dae. Yomim HaNoraimis 10, dit beteken nie 10 letterlike dae van wraak nie. In Daniël 1 is daar 10 dae, soos met die kerk van Smirna. “Satan sal jou in die tronk sit vir 10 dae.” In Daniël 1 is daar 10 dae, Yomim HaNoraimis 10, dit beteken nie 10 letterlike dae nie maar hier kan dit dalk so wees, 10, wat Hy Yom Kippur sal vervul. Die ander bok moet doodgemaak word.


Satan is gedoem. Hy is uitgewerp maar hy is nie vernietig nie. Jesus het ons sonde op Hom geneem, dit is waar, maar die bok was vir die Here, die ander bok is die Azazel. Hierdie bok gaan vernietig word, hy gaan dood gemaak word. Dit is hoekom hulle Jesus nie van die krans kon gooi nie. Hulle het die verkeerde bok gehad en hulle het dit nie eers geweet nie.


   Dit is baie jammer dat die Joodse mense al hierdie waarhede gehad het maar hulle het nie geweet wat dit beteken nie. Hulle was deur God geroep om die draers van hierdie pragtige waarhede te wees. “Wat is dan die voordeel van die Jood?--- dat aan hulle die woorde van God toevertrou is.” Hulle het van al hierdie dinge geweet maar hulle het nie geweet wat wat dit beteken nie. Christene egter behoort te weet wat dit beteken, maar die meeste Christene weet dit nie.


Die Jode wat nie aan Jesus glo nie is nog meer blind, net so ook die nie-Jode, hulle is blind. Dit is baie nadelig, ons is veronderstel om nie blind te wees nie. Paulus sê: “Want ek wil nie hê, broeders, dat julle hierdie verborgenheid nie moet weet nie.-” Rom. 11:25. Ons is nie veronderstel om blind te wees nie. Soos wat Arnold Fruchtenbaum sê, “Julle kan baie dinge wees broeders, maar moenie onkundig wees nie.” Maar daar is baie onkundige broeders! Dit is waarom hulle Jesus nie oor die afgrond kon gooi nie, hulle het die verkeerde bok gehad, Hy is die ander bok. Met Jesus se terugkeer gaan Satan vernietig word. Met Sy wederkoms gaan Jesus Yom Kippur ten volle vervul.


Die feit dat ons sien hoe die Jode terugkeer na Israel; die basuin wat weerklink, dit is die sameroeping van Israel. Die Antichris kom. Satan gaan doen wat hy wil maar hy gaan van die krans af gegooi word, die werke van Satan gaan vernietig word, dit is wat gaan gebeur, dink daaroor.


Die Jode in Nasaret het nie ‘n idee gehad wat hulle doen nie. Tot vandag het die Jode in die Sinagoges nie ‘n idee wat aangaan nie, hulle is blind. Die woord vir blind in Hebreeus is “Evrim” Die woord in Hebreeus vir Hebreeus is Evrim, dit is basies dieselfde woord. Paulus sê: Wanneer die Tora gelees word is hulle blind, die Hel is voor hulle en hulle sien dit nie. Hulle het dit in hulle denke, dit is hulle godsdiens, hulle nalatenskap, dit is hulle kultuur, maar hulle kan dit nie sien nie.


Hulle het die verkeerde bok! Hulle het al die verkeerde dinge! Dit is skrikwekkend. Maar as die Azazel die Jode kon mislei dan verseker ek julle dat hy ook die Christene kan mislei. As die Azazel instaat was om Israel te mislei dan verseker ek julle dat hy geen probleem gaan hê om die grootste deel van die Kerk te mislei nie.


Dit was hulle Boek, dit was hulle geloof en hulle het dit nie gesien nie. As hy hulle kon mislei wie kan hy nie mislei nie? Moenie dat hy jou mislei nie.


God Seën!


JP 04/18


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).