Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Dock

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Dock

The trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) for bribery, fraud and breach of trust has begun. There are three cases against him and not all are of equal weight. It is not important for our readers to know the details. If you want to know the details, you can find it easily on the internet through an internet search/ There are numerous detailed articles describing the charges and the evidence.

I think that there are a few important things to understand that can inform your prayer. Bibi and part of his rightwing party (Likud) members are engaging in a propaganda campaign to discredit the investigators and the Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, who brought the charges. They claim that this is a campaign of the left to remove the right-wing government. They also are on a campaign to discredit the court as an activist court and to also discredit the Supreme Court. I believe this is very dangerous. Yes, as in the United States, the Court here has been too activist at times, but this is a criminal trial not a matter of activist legal interpretations. The campaign to discredit the Court by Netanyahu’s closest allies in Likud is wrong and again dangerous to the country. Not all Likud members are in on this campaign. Several higher-ups in Likud have perceived themselves to have been betrayed by Bibi and remain quiet. One other matter is disturbing. They brought up a case from 10 years ago where the Attorney General was investigated to find if he covered up a case for General Gabi Ashkenazi who is now the Foreign Minister in the Unity Government and part of Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party. This was dismissed a decade ago.

Bibi is innocent until proven guilty, but it does not look good for him, though I hope he would be found innocent. I have evaluated Bibi in the past in my postings. He has done some really great things and not so great things! One key thing to keep in mind is to understand who Avichai Mandelblit is. He is a conservative Attorney General that was appointed by Bibi! If one was following the investigation and the prosecutors, it seemed as if Mandelblit was doing everything possible to not indict Bibi. He was an ally of Bibi. However, the force of the evidence was so great to him that he could not avoid it. History would record the evidence and if he did not go forward, he would forever be remembered by history as a compromised political hack. So now Bibi seeks to discredit his own pick for the Attorney General, his former ally. Again, I hope Bibi is innocent and found innocent, but the evidence, even as reported in the conservative Zionist press, is that he is guilty. (not in the Bibi newspaper Yisrael Hayom)

One sad thing about the complexity of legal processes here is that this could all take form 18 months to 3 years to finalize. There could be appeals to make it even a longer time.

Photo credit: Haim Zach (GPO)

Can we Figure out what Prime Minister Netanyahu Desires for Peace?

Two of the most important things to note about the new unity government in Israel is that Blue and White under Benny Gantz will not prevent Prime Minister Netanyahu (Bibi) from annexing the settlements (cities and towns) in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and the Jordan Valley. This will probably happen with the acceptance of the Trump administration. The world will scream, and will not recognize it, but Israel will not turn back. The U. S. will recognize it with a few other countries.

The second thing to note is that Yamina under Naftali Bennet, the rightwing religious party, is not in the government with Bibi. Bibi could have offered them a greater role, but I think he intentionally did not, though he professed to want them in the government. Bibi is one of the most amazing political manipulators ever. I think he really did not want them in the government. Bennet’s past behavior greatly irritated Bibi since he would publicly criticize Bibi though in his cabinet. Imagine a cabinet minister in President Trump’s government publicly criticizing him or the cabinet ministers in the times of former presidents. Yes, it is a coalition of parties in Israel, but in most Parliamentary coalition governments, once the government is formed such public criticism ends. And what was his critique? It was usually that Bibi was not moving forward to annex the territories or that he was too weak on defense issues.

These two facts now give Bibi flexibility and maybe revealing his end game with the Palestinians. If Bennet is in the government, he will push Bibi to reject a Palestinian state. Bibi does not want to do this, at least not publicly. If there is no such state Bibi wants the Palestinians to be blamed for not attaining one. Yesterday at the time of this writing, the Settlers voted to reject Donald Trump’s Peace Plan because if gives the Palestinians 70% of the West Bank and Gaza for a state. Bibi has said he fully accepts the Trump plan. He prefers to not have Bennet in the government making public criticism from his right flank.

There are three plans that now are possible. The old plan for a Palestinian state with the ’67 ceasefire lines as the border is not one of the possibilities that anyone can now be considered. The first Is the Carolyn Glick One State Solution which is the name of her book. In this solution the Palestinians living in the West Bank (not Gaza-which would be released to be on its own or part of Egypt) are given full citizenship in Israel. Glick is a contrarian with regard to her views on population trends. She thinks that the Palestinians would never then be more than 1/3 of the population. It does not appear that Bibi has accepted this view. He thinks, I believe, that absorbing so many Palestinians would be dangerous.

Then there is the Bennet plan which is to eventually, but in stages, annex the whole West Bank and give the Palestinians some level of residency and autonomy but not citizenship. Some go father and want to pay the Palestinians to move away. The world will call this apartheid. Bibi is too smart for this solution since this would lead to world rejection and boycotts. It would end progress with the Arab world. Some think the Palestinians could have residency in Israel but citizenship in Jordan. Jordan is not interested. Boogie Yaalon wanted to see no change but to just live in the status quo until there is a change of heart. This direction would also be seen as apartheid.

The third option is the Trump plan. It is the plan of realism. It gives Israel the boarders and territory they need to make their state larger and more defensible. However, it also provides a Palestinian state and solves the problem of the challenge of absorbing the Palestinians as citizens. Israel cannot be said to be apartheid since the Palestinians can have their own state. Indeed, if they declare a state and are recognized by the world, then there is a border dispute not a dispute on apartheid. Bibi wants to move fast and gain the Jordan Valley and that 30% of the West Bank. My view is that Bibi really does embrace the Trump plan and would accept a Palestinian State under the Trump terms which are the terms of realism. But with the Palestinians rejecting this, Bibi can blame them for not having their own state. He can live with the status quo on no Palestinian State and just say it is up to them.

The present unity government is the best opportunity Bibi could imagine for doing what he wants to do. If he does annex, the Yamina people in the Parliament will vote for the annexation. They will not vote for a Palestinians State, but that will not be up for a vote this summer!

Photo Credit: Haim Zach/GPO

A Modest Proposal for Theological Integrity

Many today pray for and believe for the fulfillment of the prayer of Yeshua for the unity of the people of God (John 17:21). We hear of calls for humility, love, repentance form competition, prayer, cooperation, and more. One thing we do not hear is a call for theological integrity. What do I mean by theological integrity? I am not speaking about judging theological integrity by any particular stream of theological commitments. There is a tendency in some streams to dismiss others on the basis of their theological stream and claim that only their stream has integrity. This we must not do if we are to gain John 17 unity. The theological streams include Calvinism, Arminianism, Pentecostalism, new charismatic streams, Methodist, Lutheran, Holiness, Anglican and so many more. These streams all have attained credibility and longevity, and it is time to allow for differences of interpretation within broad orthodoxy. This broad orthodoxy is defined by the historic and more recent confessions of faith that have gained near-universal acceptance as rightly representing a summary of the most important Biblical truths. Theological integrity is first based on the embrace of this broad orthodoxy. This includes the broad orthopraxy of Biblical morals and ethics.

However, some who claim to embrace broad orthodoxy still say very bizarre things. When they say such things, others react and dismiss these people as false teachers and vilify them. Some go on a public crusade against these ministers. I am very accepting of those who do not think like I do. I also came to what was for me a very hard conclusion, that God’s anointing and power are not correlated to accurate precision in theology. As a theologically trained person, I would that it be that anointing and power were correlated to accurate theology. I am sure after years of examination that it is not so. Anointing and power come from the heart of faith and love more than theological precision. God’s work is often through weak theological vessels. If we vilify these people and their work, we could be rejecting the work of the Spirit and in danger. However, accurate theology is still important and can prevent some sad results. Can we hope for a way through this problem? But let me first note just a few of the kings of bizarre things that have been taught and are taught today but some who have large platforms and influence.

In recent times we have heard those with influence teach the following.

1. That there is no judgment during this age, but that this is an age of grace and love without judgment or wrath. Judgment and wrath are Old Testament realities not New Testament.

2. That the New Testament teaches that we are only to love God and that we are not to think that the fear of God is relevant or proper motivation.

3. That the Old Testament is irrelevant to believers in the New Covenant. Yes, it is the Word of God but is now mostly irrelevant. It is as a past word of God now that we are in the New Covenant.

4. That God expects us to exercise faith in such a way that we can all become very rich.

I could go on and note other aberrations You may have your own list. I sometimes wonder if these people carefully read the Bible, and even just the New Testament! Do they really fully accept even the authority of the New Testament, though of course I argue always for the authority of the whole Bible. Accepting the New requires accepting the authority of the Old since the New Testament directly teaches the continuing authority of the Old which it calls Scripture and does not use the phrase Old Testament.

It would be very helpful if those who have a large platform of exposure due to their anointing, media, or a large Church would have a theological partner to vet writings and media presentations before launching off into the never-never land of bizarre theology and bizarre proclamations. The theological partner would be one sympathetic to their general orientation. My friend Dr. Craig Keener of Asbury Seminary, who wrote the brilliant book Spirit Hermeneutics, is a top Biblical theologian. His book is a corrective for Pentecostal and Charismatic scholars and applies to all Bible teachers. Professor Keener is a very strong supporter of movements that show the power of the Spirit. A person such as Dr. Keener could be a great aid to the large platform ministers whose presence in media: in television, videos, and writing gains a great following. With such a platform of influence comes greater responsibility.

God desires humility. If the critics would be slower to condemn, this would help unity as well. Let their writings of correction come with humility and pleading on a biblical basis. May those with large platforms and who have power ministries have the humility to have advisors who are well trained and solid in theology. This would be helpful to the quest for greater unity.

Innocents Abroad

For many years I have wanted to read Mark Twain’s book Innocents Abroad. Why? Because it is so frequently quoted concerning Twain’s impressions of the Holy Land on his trip in 1867. The quotes prove the Holy Land was desolated and largely unpopulated. The idea is to show how the primary issue of Jewish settlement was not displacement but making the Land into something when it was so desolate. So, I finally downloaded a Kindle reader copy from Amazon.

What a great read. Twain was a literary master. This was written before Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He went on a long journey from New York. He visited many places in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Though he sometimes bogs us down in his own thoughts disconnected from the center of his travels, generally the book is brilliant and a pleasure to read. Twain shows himself to still support the views of his Presbyterian upbringing. Twain’s description of Arab cities and towns is very negative. Some would say it is prejudice. However, Twain was not a racist but attributed the negatives to a deficient culture and religion. His descriptions of Paris, Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome were wonderful to read. To see places that we had visited described as they were in 1867 was a great pleasure for me. Twain is devastating in his sarcasm about Catholic relics and holy places that do not have a credible history behind them. This is true in the Holy Land as well.

However, the center of the book for me was his description of the Holy Land, its desolation, poverty, and cultural deprivation. I don’t live in the same country that Twain describes. Israel today is a beautiful and a largely prosperous land. Truly it seems as though this land could not flourish without the Jewish presence. Twain describes everything from the Golan to the Sea of Galilee (the Kineret), Samaria, Judea, the Jordan Valley, the coastal plain, and of course, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Many of the inauthentic holy sites are subjects for his biting humor. He was a master of humor. Even the Old City today is a wonderful place to visit but then it was not so much so.

One of my good friends who led tours has all his tourists read the sections on the Holy Land before their tour. That is a great piece of advice. The return of our people to the Land is almost a resurrection of the Land from the dead

Corona Virus Update

I have read countless articles and listened to many newscasts. I think we now can draw some pretty sound conclusions.

It has been well established that the problem with COVID 19 is overwhelmingly an attack on the old and those with co-morbidities. The statistics are stunning. It is from 90-96%.
We did not know this in the beginning. We should not be harsh in judgment on those who shut down the economy since the information they had was limited. If the virus was more lethal to younger and healthier people we could have been looking at millions of deaths. Leaders had to act on that possibility.
Now that we know the truth, the key is to isolate the vulnerable and to allow the healthy to work. The isolation of the vulnerable can be loosened in areas where there is little to no virus cases, which is many places. For example, there is no virus in our town in Israel. All ages can go to the gym and not wear masks. No out of towners are allowed in the gym.
The Florida model of protecting the old and those with co-morbidities with great effort and intensity but opening up the rest of the economy is the model for the future.
Randomized testing sufficient to show where the virus is not a problem will be a key to greater loosening for the vulnerable.

I am losing patience for the vitriol in attacks. Those who want to work are called selfish when if they have no salary they cannot eat. Losing a job is an existential threat and destroying the economy has the potential to lead to many deaths. I am tired of credible minority views among scientists eliciting vilification and dismissal. I am also tired of news people who believe in the prevailing view being vilified by news people who are convinced by the minority. Where is the place of healthy debate? That is how science progresses.

I am a bit puzzled by the idea of a vaccine being the ultimate answer. I am not on the anti-vaccine side. I do my annual flu shot. However, I know that the shot is only 40-50% effective. I think we have to look at other treatments. Today in the Israeli press there were reports of three anti-body anti-viral drugs that may be close to a cure. Three companies are developing these. One is Pluristan Therapeutics in Haifa. The second is Israel Biological Research Institute. The last is Sorento Therapeutics in California. These drugs sound like potential game-changers. They prevent the virus from taking hold in the body. Let’s hope so.

Let’s be thankful that in most countries the curve is now been flattened and is going dow.

The debate on hydroxychloroquine continues. Detractors say that it has been tried and does not show good results. The proponents say that the studies are invalid since it has to be given in high doses early in the infection. There are dramatic stories of turn arounds, anecdotal evidence. We still await a study where all can agree that the parameters were solid. Why is this so hard to accomplish? Some thin, It is the drug companies and their profit motive. Let’s hope not.

A New Israeli Government

Finally, at 1:00 P.M. Israel time a new Israeli government was formed. I need not say much about it since I have before written on what was going to happen after there was a unity government agreement. Things have pretty much worked out as noted before.

However, I wanted to state a few things.

The new government has 36 portfolios and is super bloated. However, it was the only way to get everyone on board. Benjamin Netanyahu promised Blue and White an equal number of portfolios to Likud even though their joining in the unity government lost then some 14 members of their Parliament block. This was the price of getting them to join with Likud. Now however there are two major issues. Several members of Netanyahu’s party, Likud, are very angry. Though they are higher on the list of those elected, they are not getting portfolios in the new government. It seems like Bibi picked those more loyal to him than those higher on the list. My guess is that this will diminish is support in the future and in his upcoming trial. Bibi has made many enemies of past allies. I would think that a new Likud leader could very well be chosen in the next election.

Secondly, Bibi’s trial begins May 24, for fraud and more. If he is found guilty, his leadership of Israel is over. This could take one to three years. For Israel’s sake they should speed this up and either convict him or clear him.

Thridly, the prospects for the annexation of 30% of the land in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) including the settlements and the Jordan valley look very probable now. Amazing!

Photo Credit: Amos Ben Gershom (GPO)

ISRAEL TODAY: May, 13, 2010

I thought I should send you an update on Israel today. By now most of you know that a unity government will form tomorrow. It will have 72 out of 120 parliament seats. Amazingly, it looks like the right-wing religious Zionist party, Yamina, under Naftali Bennet, will not join the government. They claim that Prime Minister Netanyahu simply is not offering them significant portfolios. They are angry. However, to accommodate all the parties that are joining, Netanyahu will increase the number of cabinet/portfolio positions to 36. 17 is the usual and recommended number. It is sad to see that this has to happen.

However, it gives two opportunities. One is for Bibi to annex the settlements of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and the Jordan Valley. Secretary of State Pompeo of the United States is in Israel today to discuss the Trump peace plan and annexation. Some European leaders are apoplectic about this possibility.

I hope that this government can address social issues, housing, the cost of living, and equal justice in services for Arab Israeli citizens. On having the ultra-Orthodox work and be productive citizens economically we will still have to wait. They are too powerful. For justice on citizenship issues for Messianic Jews and status for Russian Jews, we will also have to wait.

On another front, Israel’s progress in the Corona Virus is stunning. We are down to 4,104 cases and only 54 intubated. Israel is opening up the economy. The biggest problem is El Al which looks to go out of business without massive government support (this is in the balance). I love flying El Al and dearly hope this does not happen. Secondly, tourism is a huge economic engine here and it is dead right now. I hope it comes back in the late summer and early fall.

The Messianic Jewish community seems to be stronger for the whole trial. Internet services have been amazing throughout the Land.

Evil, When to Say the Word

One of my dear friends wrote to me that I should not use the word evil of people. I do want to clear up any misunderstanding. I am not saying that Democrats individually or those who vote for them are evil. I think there are Democrats who are good people and Republicans who are bad people. But my words have to do with the party corporately. I think everyone would say that the Nazi Party was evil and most of its leaders were evil, but not all in the party were. At what point can such pointed language be used?

In Genesis 18:3 we read of Sodom and Gomorrah that, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great indeed, and their sin is very grievous indeed.” And we know the rest of the story. Billy Graham many times said that if God does not judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. In one sense, until we find salvation in Yeshua, the Bible teaches that were are all as an unclean thing. I suppose we could say that evil is much a part of us all. Romans 1:29-31 say, “They became filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. . . inventors of evil . . . that those who practice such things deserve death—they not only do them, but also approve of those who practice the same.” A similar and alarming description is found in Isaiah 59.

Now reading such words amazes us. Surely it cannot be so bad. Or is it? When say that a political party can become evil it is due to its thrust on many issues. In 1978 I met with Jimmy Carter’s liaison for religious affairs. I plead with him on the abortion issue and the sad position of President Carter, an Evangelical Christian. His view was “I am personally against abortion but believe it is a woman’s right to choose.” That was the beginning of my exit from the Democratic party and sadly so, for I agreed with many other policies. Should someone have a right to choose to kill their child? It is also a burden and dependent. Or a handicapped child (this will be accepted in the future, mark my words).

When we now look at the record, I want to ask us if evil is the right conclusion. Here is a list.

Support for radical abortion rights so that the child can be killed at the moment just before birth at full term. Not one Democrat except Bill Casey would vote against this. This includes total support for partial-birth abortion.
Support for the use of fetal tissue in science and medicine and the terrible industry that profits off of abortion and incentivizes abortion.
Support not only for basic civil rights for different sexual orientations (a case can be made for that) but forcing Christians to submit to the agenda of the LGBT movement which is much more. This includes the following.

Requiring adoption agencies to allow couples in every kind of orientation to adopt children. Requiring religious organizations to conform to the LGBT agenda. This has decimated Catholic agencies. This is contrary to all social science research on the welfare of children.
Requiring conscious violations of private service businesses that create art for cakes, weddings, etc. to give in to the agenda and create art to support what they believe is immoral. There are plenty of people to do their art, but they want to destroy and gain conformity.
As I write a case is at the Supreme court against private religious schools hiring only people according to their faith confession unless they are ministers. This would destroy schools like Wheaton College and Christian grammar and high schools.
Support for Planned Parenthood and wanting to repeal the Hyde Amendment does not force Christians, Muslims, and Orthodox Jews to give their tax dollars directly to support abortion. With Trump, States now can opt-out of Planned Parenthood support.
Putting pressure on countries for U. S. aid and trade to embrace the LGBT rights agenda. President Trump has suspended this.
Campaigning against all who teach traditional morality as proponents of hate. Shutting down and getting business leaders fired who support traditional marriage as God’s law. They now lose their civil rights.
Requiring the military to accept the idea of a pregnant man in the barracks.
Requiring women’s sports to accept transgenders and thus destroying women’s sports.
Destroying businesses whose leaders support traditional marriage even if they do not discriminate in hiring (Chick Fil A?)
Seeking to make any kind of sexual arrangement among consenting adults as equal to marriage. No longer seeing marriage and the family as a high value and priority.

Destroying Bret Kavanaugh on a totally trumped up set of allegations with no evidence. Why? Because he might be a vote against abortion on the Supreme Court. Destroying him and his family was o.k. with them. Abortion would still be legal in most states anyway but just not a constitutional right.
Creating a nest of lies from Adam Schiff on Russia and Trump. The Democrats stood as one in fostering the lies. Now with the transcripts of the house intelligence committee, the level of lies is blatant and painful to behold.
Destroying a Lt. General on a set up or entrapment. Destroying his finances and threatening his son to get him to give a false plea.
Restricting religious liberty and Christian clubs at universities, or controlling pulpit speech.

In my view, the Democrats stand as one in supporting this agenda whenever votes come up or in accommodating the radical left in its hate speech accusation abuses. The hate speech claim is pure intimidation and power assertion and it is working. All should read Mike Brown’s great book Jezebel’s War Against America.

Is this enough to all this party evil, though not all the people who are Democrats. Now there are bad Republicans, but the party does not stand for these things.

Trump and the Prophetic Consensus

I have given rational reasons as to why Christians and Messianic Jews can justly support Donald Trump in spite of this past behavior and in spite of behavior today that is concerning. My arguments have been based on policy. My readers know my views on policy.

However, I have not before noted that there is a very strong consensus from credible prophets that Christians and Messianic Jews are called to support President Trump. When I have slightly indicated such recently, there has been great push back on the fact that many so-called prophets are not trustworthy and that they don’t trust the glitzy T. V. prophets either.

However, I have walked with prophetic people for decades. The ones I walk with are not the glitzy T. V. prophets who make wrong international proclamations and do nothing when they turn out to be false. I have walked closely with some who are not famous, not media personalities but have deep humility and have a very strong track record of accuracy. I think there is a strong consensus among them. Here is what they have said.

Trump’s election was by the hand of God.
His election was predicated since 2012 before anyone thought of him as even a candidate.
He would be a great disrupter, coarse, and unorthodox. It was for the sake of completely shaking up an evil and compromised establishment.
He would restore religious liberty.
He would support Israel and be a Cyrus. He is the 45th President and is connected to Isaiah 45. He would be a Cyrus to Israel. Note that he moved the embassy of the U. S. to Jerusalem. This was prophesied before he was elected. After the embassy move, Israel minted a coin with King Cyrus of Persia on one side and Donald Trump on the other side.
Others have noted that Trump would also be like a Jehu and would go after Jezebel. He would be a wild man like Jehu.
He would roll back some of the evil directions re: abortion and other negative trends against Evangelicals.

There is a lot more but I think having more than a merely human perspective helps us, though we do need to confirm prophetic words and not just follow. Some words seem quite amazing and predictive.

The Theology of the Siddur, Church Liturgy, and the Hymnbook

Rachmiel Frydland was one of the most beloved figures of the early days of the Messianic Jewish movement in America. Rachmiel was a rabbinic student in Poland, and as a young man fled the Nazis in the Polish forests. He survived the Holocaust. He knew the Rabbinic traditions well. Then he very powerfully came to know Yeshua. He was a teacher to many of us. In sharing about Judaism, Rachmiel often noted that he perceived a significant distinction between the dry legalistic arguments of the Talmud and the spirit of the Siddur, the Jewish liturgical worship/prayer book for Daily and Shabbat usage. His evaluation of the former was quite critical but his evaluation of the latter was very positive.

I have come to agree with Rachmiel. In my view, after study and usage, I find that the Siddur provides us with a very accurate theology of the Hebrew Bible. Praise and prayer is based on quite a comprehensive understanding. This shows us a tradition of some people that was very attuned to the Bible, people with a strong poetic and spiritual sensitivity. Of the sensitive poet who is a worshipper will perceive the theology of the Bible with greater accuracy than the mere intellectual scholar. The worship of the Siddur reveals a majestic Creator, wonderful in love and mercy, but who also is a judge to be feared. It is a God of compassion and a God of wrath. The Siddur also reveals that salvation is only possible through the grace and mercy of God and that our good works are not able to save. This is in contrast to the conclusion one might draw from some other Rabbinic writings.

Someone once remarked that when Methodists sang the Methodist hymns over a significant period of time, they were discipled in a very comprehensive understanding of Methodist theology. The basic liturgy of the Christian Churches plus the hymns of a good historic hymnal do indeed provide quite a comprehensive and solid theology. The hymn writers usually write from a deep life of devotion and thus perceive Scriptural truth in a very deep way. A good hymnbook teaches well on the nature of this love and mercy but also teaches us about his justice and wrath. It reveals the greatness of salvation in Yeshua. It also calls us to total consecration. The hymn writers knew the majesty of God, expressed amazement at his Creation, and the danger of his running afoul of his justice and thus incurring his wrath. We were saved by Yeshua from the wrath of God. The hymn writers also knew the power of the Spirit that it overwhelms us, the gifts of the Spirit, and the great hope of the return of Yeshua. Concentrations on different aspects of the life of Yeshua provide a marvelous devotional content.

Of late, not a few have pointed out the shallowness of popular theologies today. Some teach a love of God where there is no fear of God and a mercy of God where there is no wrath or judgment. There is an indulgent God who looks the other way when his Law is violated. Some teach a salvation that does not require repentance, God’s transforming work in the heart, and consecration. I have not done a comprehensive study of contemporary worship songs. There are some very excellent ones. However, I wonder if one of the problems is that today’s worship content may not be discipling us in the full counsel of God in a way that Siddur, liturgy, and hymnal did in the past. Somehow the historic worship reflected more of a comprehensive grasp of the Bible by very spiritual people. One of the keys to good theology is taking into account all that the Bible says on a subject. The tradition of worship is amazing on this. I try to do that my book series and to show this approach. In the books, Heaven, Hell and the After Live, Spiritual Warfare, and Prosperity I try to give a trustworthy survey on the Bible’s teaching as opposed to shallow and partial approaches. I have been amazed at how much historic worship is trustworthy.