Category: Politics

The Amazing Demonic Intelligence of Hamas Leader Sinwar

The Hamas plan in the war against Israel has been amazingly intelligent, brilliant, evil
and demonic at the highest level. Let’s review.

1. First, Hamas created a military fortress of weapons and tunnels the lengths of
the New York subway system, under civilian areas with the means to come
above ground to fire rockets and other ordinance at Israel. The tunnel shafts are
in civilian homes, schools and hospitals.
There has never in history been such concentration of military weapons so
concentrated in civilian areas. It is human shield strategy on steroids. Hamas
knows that it can use the death of civilians in propaganda to turn the world
against Israel. This was all brilliantly pre-planned. It is the strategy of Hamas to
get a significant number of civilians killed. Hamas lies about statistics, and about
attacks that did not happen (remember the hospital in the early days?) Its lies
are reported by a corrupt western media as truth.

2. The Hamas invasion and slaughter of October 7 th was an act of evil horror. But it
did not end there. Rather, Hamas took hostages. Sinwar rightly understood that
the hostage issue could eventually be used to undermine the willingness of
Israelis to fight the war against them. While in the early months the Israeli public
by a clear majority supported prosecuting the war over getting the hostages out,
though this was really important too for all Israelis. The pain of the hostages
would wear down the will to fight. Sinwar knows the Israeli mentality well enough
to have anticipated this in his strategy. In addition, the hostage strategy would
divide Israel between the prosecute the war faction and the get the hostages out
at all costs faction even if it means Hamas remains in power. Sinwar anticipated
this and he plays Israel like a master.

3. Hamas depends on media to distort the reality of fighting an urban war. Civilians
will always die in such a war and according to the expert from West Point,
Jonathan Spencer, Israel’s casualty rate is the best in history on protecting
civilians in urban war. Hamas depends on the fact that Israel can be accused of
genocide apart from its legal definition. The genocide and war crimes are on the
side of Hamas. But people do not carefully read the conventions that were
approved that define war crimes, and who bears the responsibility for civilian
deaths. Hamas is responsible for almost all such deaths. They kill their own
people over food distribution, over criticism of Hamas and more. They depend
on the ignorance of people to make claims not based in law. The actual law is
too nuanced and requires real thought. Those accusing Israel are radically
misinterpreting the law. But Sinwar and Hamas knows that people will by the
definitions of propaganda and not respond according to the actual law.

This level of intelligence shows a brilliant demonic inspiration. It has to be defeated by
much prayer as well as by military might.

ONE WHO WAS WOKE FROM WOKE

Batya Ungar-Sargon is a high-up editor with Newsweek Magazine.  This is a pretty prestigious position.  I found out about her from an article in the Jerusalem Post.  In the article, she professed that she had awakened from being part of the woke leftist side of thinking and opinion.  I was so impressed by the article that I bought the book that was featured, Second Class.   The book so well fits my argument on economics in my book Social Justice.  Ungar-Sargon is a mystery person.  She is an Israeli, but is she Arab or Jewish or a descendant of a mixed marriage?  She keeps her history private.

I begin with what I argued in my book.  I argued that believers are to be engaged in fighting for good laws in society that are more in accord with the Law of God but only evangelism and revival can change the consensus to have Law that is more in agreement with the Bible.  We, the Body of the Messiah, are to be engaged in all of culture but live out according to one’s own unique calling in life.  One part of my book argues that we should support the economic system that best lifts the greatest number of people to adequate provision.   We are to be concerned for the poor, the working class, and the middle class but with policies that really work.   In this, I argue that only a rightly regulated free enterprise system can create wealth expansion to lift people, but that the concentration and power of wealth in a very few is wrong.

Ungar-Sargon was a woke leftist but got more truly woke and was delivered from woke leftism.  She was delivered by studying the working class, lower middle, and middle class, but also did not ignore the poor. She did address the attitudes and beliefs of the upper middle class and the rich, the elite.  What she found changed her life outlook.  I have often said that the woke are actually just the opposite of being woke but are more like the zombies who became such by being infected by the seedpods in the great sci-fi classic, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Ungar-Sargon found that the policies of the elite in both political parties have been bad for the middle and lower middle classes.  It has deprived them of their potential to attain the American dream economically.  The dream is that by honest work, one can own a home, provide for a family, have a decent modest annual vacation, and save for a comfortable retirement.  This includes healthcare. This was much more attainable 40 years ago.  She details the many policies that have undercut these classes.  I will not detail them all.  Three of them stand out.  One is free trade. This has enriched corporate titans and stockholders at the expense of workers.   The theory was that free trade would lead to specializations where countries would do what they do best, and the U. S. would have more high-paying tech jobs and services.  I read this argument years ago and thought that someday in India they would do the tech jobs at a fraction of the cost, that good-paying union jobs would be shipped overseas, and that it would backfire.  This was a big issue in the Ross Perot campaign for President in 1992.   Indeed, the great industrial jobs were lost, China grew greatly and America’s high-paying blue collar jobs decreased.  Wages were lowered over time and did not keep up with inflation.

The second is mass immigration which suppresses job opportunities.  To say one wants to regulate immigration so as not to suppress the wages of the lower middle class is said to be racist.  But it is not racist, but reasonable.  Mass illegal immigration has been terrible for poor blacks and lower-middle-class citizens.

Finally, she comes against the direction of society that one must have a college degree. Job after job is limited to those with a degree though there is nothing in the job that requires such an education.  Tens of thousands are spent on colleges with no purpose other than to enrich the education establishment.  Jobs are refused to those who more than are capable of doing the work. In addition, training people for jobs in apprenticeships and through trade schools is much more fitting for most people.

She finds that working people have much commonsense wisdom.  They really do not care about what political elites care about, are not racist, and want a social structure where all can get ahead.  Then she finds that the concerns of the elite left are just not relevant to most people.   She finds that DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs make little difference in lifting people but cost a lot of money.  Transgenderism is just not of concern to the working class who see it as a diversion from their concerns.   They are more than live and live-oriented but want to see policies that really work.  She finds that stable families are more important than race as a factor in success by far.   White privilege is way overstated.

Then, horror of horrors, she found that Trump’s policies of bringing jobs back and expanding opportunity really worked.  Ending free trade for fair trade, enterprise zones, and stronger immigration policies were good for the working class.

One could say that Ungar-Sagan became truly woke and is now a champion of the working class which has been abandoned by the Democrats and not yet adequality championed by the Republicans.   For a Biblical worldview orientation her book is hardly adequate, but it goes in the right direction and is in my view closer to a Biblical social justice position.

Abortion, the Pope and Donald Trump

Donald Trump today invited three responses when he said that abortion policy was up to the States by legislators or referendums. He got pushback against this from the left who were angry over the Supreme Court decision and wanted a national law making it legal with no restrictions to the point of birth. He got pushback from the right that want it to be nationally banned or greatly restricted. Neither is realistic.

Then in the same news cycle, the Vatican just came out with a profound document, five yours in the making on God’s creation order of male and female, marriage, abortion, transgenderism, in vitro fertilization (which Donald Trump supports), and more. Here is my take.

The Catholic statement was amazing. Magnificent, theological, and comprehensive. It is based on two premises: that God created human beings as male and female to be expressed for those not called to celibacy in a marriage where children can be produced. It looks at the agendas of transgenderism as profoundly wrong and seeking to overthink the goodness of God’s creation order. Secondly, it also rejects in vitro fertilization because though they understand the desire to have children, having children is not a right but a gift of God. This is consistent with the position of the Church that the life of the developing baby is sacred and to be preserved from the moment of conception until birth. In vitro violates this since the baby is not conceived in marital love and lab-fertilized eggs are destroyed.

Donald Trump was vilified by some on the right and even even former Vice President Pence. But I think we can defend what he did. Precluding abortion as a national stand is a losing position at this point in history. Yes, maybe after 15 weeks precluding could win, but a pro-life position can not accept abortion at any time, one week or ten or 8 months. What Trump did is require the people to take a stand in each state. Then each state faces God’s judgment for policy. The danger is that referendums from Democrats are radical and with no restrictions to the 9th month. They deceptively frame poll questions and referenda. At this point, the best way for Republicans to win is to change hearts through education and media efforts and to see states make restrictions as they have the political support to do so while still engaging in counseling and pro-life pregnancy centers. They have to do a better job of pointing out radical pro-abortion positions that the majority of people do not support. We have to both look at what we ideally want but also face what is politically possible even if this brings God’s judgment on states that do not fight for life.

Israel-Hamas War

The Jerusalem Post was filled today with evaluations of the state of the war with Hamas and what we should do.  Not all agreed, but there was a good deal of very good commentary.  My own reflections this week agreed with some of the commentators.  This week I was on a leaders’ retreat in the desert (Sde Boker) and also got the perspective of other leaders.

When Israel went to war after the terrible atrocities, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the goal was to end Hamas rule in Gaza and to dismantle the terror organization. Once this became the stated goal and was repeated numerous times (can anyone think it is less than 100 times?) anything less will be seen in the world especially the Arab world as a Hamas victory and will discredit Israel and empower Hamas.  Some years ago, Lee Smith wrote the book The Strong Horse on the mentality of the nations in this part of the world.  They want to bet on the strong horse and a weak-looking nation will not gain their alliance.  The Abraham Accords was a bet on Israel as the strong horse to counter Iran’s power.  New accords probably require Israel to defeat Hamas despite what these nations may publicly say.

However, I believe Israel’s leaders have fallen into a Hamas trap.  One of the world leaders in game theory, a Nobel Prize winner, saw this trap clearly.  By getting Israel to delay the war and focus on the hostages, the nation actually diminishes the chances of getting the hostages out and winning the war.  With the Hamas propaganda machine estimated to reach 100 million, the more time that goes by the more Israel is under international pressure to end the war, which would be a disaster.  Israel’s leaders originally said they had till January to win the war and then they would lose international support.  But here it is April. Wow!  And we are still dithering and talking about a cease-fire with only a third of the hostages released. 

If Bibi had in the beginning said that Israel would punish Hamas badly and then withdraw, he could have declared victory.  But now Israel is in danger of being the weak horse due to the claim.  But Bibi was right in the goals because Israel had to end Hamas rule and the periodic terror in the south from Hamas rockets.  But why did Bibi and his leaders think time was not on their side?  Because the pictures of the destruction and civilian casualties would move the world against Israel since it was Israel’s bombs.  Yes, Hamas is the real culprit and the one responsible for it.  Despite the lying narratives about Israel violating International laws of war, the truth is that Israel does not violate the actual written laws, and although we do not know the civilian casualty numbers (we only have Hamas reports), Israel receives the brunt of the outrage, not Hamas. It is wrong and unjust and as John Spencer, the retired West Point expert on Urban warfare argues, Israel’s program to protect civilians and the proportion for urban war especially with civilian human shields, is very good. 

Donal Trump tells Bibi, to get on with it, finish the job, and end Hamas rule.  That seems like good advice and only such an advance might lead to a pause with hostage release.

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER, KANSAS CITY, A PERSONAL RESPONSE

Not long ago I signed onto a joint statement on the present situation at IHOPKC.  However, my main emphasis and reason in supporting this statement was again to call for an impartial judicial eldership board.  Only this can finally bring judgment and clarity at a level that will settle the controversy, for we now see people on both sides in social media pressing their views, though the larger number is anti-IHOP and Mike Bickle.  

I am not happy about how either side is handling this, either IHOPKC or the Advocates that have taken up the grievances against Mike Bickle and IHOP.   Both sides should have called for an objective panel of elders that was so credible that all sides would submit to their decisions on guilt, innocence, discipline, and restitution.  They would oversee an objective investigator if still needed. This is the main issue in my view. It shows how far the modern churches and ministries are from biblical standards of justice and judicial process (Deut. 1, 16, Matthew 16, 18 and I Cor. 6).  This was well established in many Protestant denominations and is also today found in some new church streams. 

In the statement that we put out, some misunderstood the idea that the accusers’ testimonies were credible.  Credible does not mean proven but sufficiently serious and with enough description and corroboration that they should be taken seriously and heard in a fair court.  But unless there is a court with cross-examination, we can have views, and can think something looks credible, but conclusive judgment requires a court.  Again, this was a common process in many historic Protestant denominations.   In civic law, an indictment does not mean the accused is guilty but that there is enough evidence to bring a trial, but the accused is still innocent until proven guilty in such fair court.  Therefore, we have written, called, and cajoled, but it is still not clear that this to finally be done.  

And what is happening now?  Trial by social media continues.  There is a contingent that is now on a feeding frenzy that is discrediting the prophets who were part of the early days of Kansas City Fellowship (the predecessor of IHOP) from 30-40 years ago.  Some who related to IHOP are in full confession mode, but their confession includes why they were sucked in, but at the same time their confession is full of severe judgments and accusations.  It does not seem only a confession.  Another contingent, smaller but also very strong, is blasting the accusers and seeking to discredit them.  One video that was sent was about a primary accuser being mentally ill and needing intervention.  If true, how sad, and if not true how painful to the accuser!  Actually, it is painful in either case!

We do know that Mike Bickle has repented of some serious things.  We know that IHOPKC has drawn conclusions on Mike’s sin as the overseers of IHOPKC today and their conclusions are credible and may be seen as having judicial weight.  However, there is much more that has not been disclosed including the life that Mike Bickle and some other leaders have lived over more than the last 20 years.  That is foggy.  IHOPKC has also admitted a woefully inadequate government structure of accountability.  

However, I want to speak to the feeding frenzy of attack against IHOP and its history.  First, the leaders’ falling into sin does not mean that mighty things were not done through IHOPKC and Kansas City Fellowship and through its leaders.  I do believe in New Testament standards for qualification and discipline but do want to say something about examples from the Hebrew Bible.  Did God work through Aaron, the brother of Moses, in the Exodus? He was the voice of Pharaoh. He was witnessed as an instrument of the most amazing signs and wonders, amazing prophecy, and more. Yet, he gave himself to make the golden calf and then was in denial as if it happened without his agency.  God nevertheless restored him after his repentance.  Did Mike Bickle sin more than King David?  Not only did David commit adultery but murdered her husband.   He was restored by God and made the preparations for the building of the Temple.  However, his sin was probably the cause of much of the division and civil war that ensued under his son Absalom.  Great tragedy was experienced!  Yet, David unified Israel and established so much and is the ancestor of the Messiah. I am not writing this to say that those who sinned and covered up should be restored. I am writing about what God obviously did through the Kansas City Fellowship and later through IHOPKC.   I personally experienced some amazing times of holiness there over 33 years ago including supernatural signs and wonders.  There was a holy fear of the Lord in His presence. 

Now there is a deep revulsion and rejection of the Kansas City prophets by those who were themselves involved with them.  This leads to the idea that no great work of God was done as a result of the leadership of Mike and his prophets.  I was there at the Vineyard Conference in Anaheim in January 1989 when John Wimber introduced Paul Cain.  His word to John before coming to visit John was an amazing supernatural word that John confirmed.  His ministry in January 1989 came with signs and wonders and a presence of God that was the greatest I ever experienced.  There was a holy Presence that gave rise to deep reverence and fear.  The Holy Spirit’s electricity in the air even set off the fire alarms. Should I deny this because Paul Cain later fell into sin and refused the directions that were given to him for repentance and restoration?   Then there were the other prophets, ones that to our knowledge never fell into sin who prophesied over our ministry and its future, Jim Goll and John Paul Jackson are two I will name.  I don’t think they have any skeletons in their closets.  John Paul wrote a great book on avoiding wrong ways and the casualties from wrong prophetic order.  Then there is the discrediting of Bob Jones.  Did Bob really prophecy that Mike Bickle’s ministry would focus on Israel and its greatest task and fulfillment would be raising 100 million intercessors for Israel?  Yes, he did. Did he do this before Mike had a clue about Israel?  Yes.  Did his later fall did discredit the amazing prophetic happenings and signs and wonders in the early 80s?  The history is in Anglican Bishop David Pytches’s book Some Said it Thundered. It is credible and happened.   The later sins of some did not discredit what happened.  I was a witness to some of this.  As for Bob Jones, he did not have a history of sexual sin to my knowledge, stepped down from ministry for a season, and was fully restored under a well-known national leader who does repentance, discipline, and restoration.   

For me, it is amazing how many forget that the greatest prayer meeting for Israel’s protection and salvation took place on May 28.  Are we forgetting this so quickly?  Without any knowledge of this date, my son led a gathering of leaders in January 2023 and called for fasting and prayer on May 28.  The words from Bob Jones from 40 years ago were amazingly fulfilled and that was some years after his death.  It seems to me that God allowed Mike Bickle’s sin to be hidden until this word was amazingly fulfilled.  IHOPKC and the early prophecy were key to launching great prayer worldwide for the salvation of Israel, prayer houses, integrated 24/7 prayer with congregations, and more.   The pattern of Zinzendorf’s Moravians was resurrected in many nations.  Some even have said they want to destroy IHOPKC.  I think that would be terribly wrong.  Shall God destroy the innocent with the righteous? Abraham plead.

Do I still want fair judgment for those women who are bringing the accusations against Mike Bickle and IHOP?  Yes!   Do I grieve over abuses?  Yes.  Do I want to see an opportunity for cross-examination if there is a desire for a defense to be made by Mike and the former leaders of IHOPKC who are charged?  Yes! Then he and others can be found guilty of what they did do and not guilty for what they did not do.   Do I want to see other charges of manipulation and the use of prophecy for controlling others to be heard with cross-examination?  Yes!  But that is a bit harder to prove.  Strong prophetic gifts can cause people to fall in line.  We too easily forget the responsibility of all believers in the New Covenant to hear the Spirit and to confirm prophetic words for their own individual lives and corporately as well.  Yes, we have to constantly emphasize this.  But none of this discredits that a mighty work was done worldwide through IHOPKC and Mike Bickle.  Again, prayer ministries have been raised up all over the world that pray for Israel and the Messianic Jews.  Also, let us not forget the many who for years served at IHOPKC.  They were not in gross sin, but morally righteous.  They served under a bad leadership structure according to IHOPKC’s present evaluation.  Some of these are now on the Advocates’ side in this battle.  Also, many were blessed, renewed in strength, and sent out to serve the Kingdom after leading to walk in the power of the Spirit. 

So here I am, like a voice in the wilderness. I am calling for two things.  Do not discredit what God did through the Kansas City Fellowship and through IHOPKC.   This is independent of the sin of leaders.  Secondly, let there be fair judgment.  And please stop the prosecution through social media from both detractors and supporters.  I wait and wait for IHOPKC to publicly declare themselves as committed to this objective fair eldership judiciary. 

FOR A BOOK THAT PRESENTS THE CASE FOR ELDERS AND THE WHAT, HOW AND WHY OF THEIR JUDICIAL FUNCTION, DO ORDER AND READ MY BOOK “DUE PROCESS, A PLEA FOR BIBLICAL JUSTICE AMONG GOD’S PEOPLE.”. 

 

Israel’s Strategy on a Temporary cease-fire and the Hostages

Israel is under enormous pressure from two directions. First, world leaders want a ceasefire in Gaza due to the number of civilian deaths in the Gaza War. They lie about what the International Laws of war say, and which laws Israel seeks to keep. They do not admit, as key analysts have noted that despite the level of human shielding, for an urban war, Israel’s percentage of civilian causalities is amazingly low. The world says that Israel should not go into Rafah. If she does not go, Hamas wins and can reconstitute and come into power again. 

 

The second pressure is from some of the hostage families. Not all of them agree. Their protests and the desire for some to see their family members released at any cost is rejected by the majority of Israelis, but their protests have led to awakening the pre-war protests against the Netanyahu government and are breaking down the strong national unity that characterized our nation back in November. 

 

However, could a temporary cease-fire and the release of hostages and Hamas murderers in Israel’s jails be the right decision to get the hostages back? Could such a cease-fire compromise Israel’s need to defeat Hamas? Maybe but maybe not. And these murderers could be killed in the onslaught after the cease-fire. Would that Israel have a death penalty for terrorist murderers? This would end trading for terrorists. 

 

The United States has pushed Israel not to invade Rafah, the last Gaza stronghold for Hamas, but there has been a “but.” The “but” is unless there is a credible plan to save the civilians whose number has burgeoned to maybe 1 ½ million in the very small area of Rafah. Israel could use the pause to get their plan in place to move most of the refugees in Rafah and other civilians back to the other areas of Gaza. They can set up checkpoints for all who return North, so no weapons can be taken with them. Until the actual cease-fire, they can clean up the other areas of Gaza so they can be re-occupied by civilians. Right now, it appears that Israel’s primary focus is now cleaning up the areas of Gaza outside Rafah. If Israel does adequate clean-up before the cease-fire, they can evacuate Rafah when the cease-fire ends. Yes, the war is drawn out, but maybe this is Israel’s strategy. 

 

The other big problem is Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel does need to clean out Southern Lebanon and push the terrorists beyond the Litani River in Lebanon as is the UN resolution 1701. Israel should have done this 15 years ago. Would she continue to fight in Lebanon if there is a cease-fire? Probably not, but this is a huge problem since almost 100,000 Israelis have been displaced due to Hezbollah rockets. I do not see a solution to this. Prolonging their displacement until after a six-week ceasefire will be infuriating to them. Stay tuned. 

Do sign up for my Twitter account, Daniel Calvin Juster, to make sure you do not miss my writings.

 

Two-State Solution

Some of my friends and followers here may be confused about the idea of a two-state solution, a Jewish state and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace.  Twenty years ago, the majority of Israelis were in favor of a two-state solution to preserve the Jewish majority in the Jewish state and a way for Palestinian Arabs to have their own state where they could live with full national identity among the nations.   Many Messianic Jews in Israel supported this solution, but many did not.  Many were optimistic that this would happen.

Some Messianic Jews agreed with the right-wing nationalist Orthodox who looked at the book of Joshua and saw that Israel had a mandate to take the whole land.  Only by exercising faith and taking all the land from the Jordan to the Mediterranean can we have the blessing of God on Israel.  Palestinians who desire to live in peace and live with some level of autonomy but not citizenship can stay, and those who do not want to live in peace on this basis would have to leave.

Other Messianic Jews rejected this view called maximalist.  Why?  Because Israel has not repented of sin and come to fully embrace the Bible’s teaching on morals and life.  We have not come to Yeshua but even more, the state supports abortion, the LGBTQ agenda and so much more. Of course, the Orthodox Jews do reject these orientations.  We Messianic Jews believe in Israel and the return to the Land, but a counsel of taking the whole Land now may not have God’s favor.  It might bring destruction as the Zealots in the first century brought Roman destruction on Israel.  This is still a debate among Messianic Jews in the Land.

However, today the majority of Messianic Jews and the great majority of Israelis reject the two-state solution, at least for now.  This is not as wrongly perceived in the West because of the domination of the right-wing national Orthodox.  Rather, the Israelis are disillusioned with the Palestinians and the two-state solution. It is not religious reasons that drive them.  Here are the reasons.

  1. Israel sought to have a two-state solution under Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. What happened?   The first big attempt was during the time of Yassir Arafat.  He rejected the plan negotiated with President Bill Clinton.  When he walked away, Clinton said to him, “You have made me a failure.” Prime Minister Olmert negotiated even more generous terms, terms that no Israeli government could go beyond.  He offered 97% of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and East Jerusalem for a Palestinian State.  He offered land swaps for the 3%. He offered a right of return to near relatives of Arabs living on the Israel side of the new border, but other refugees could return to the new state.  Mohammed Abbas rejected the plan.  Again, later there was another violent intifada uprising. Israelis became convinced that the Palestinians did not really want a two-state solution, but it was only a game played for the West.  Maybe Abbas was afraid of the radicals like Hamas and thought if he accepted peace, he would be killed.  Remember Anwar Sadat of Egypt.
  2. Secondly, Israel under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was pro-settling Judea and Samaria, came to believe that two-states were necessary to preserve Israel.  He withdrew all Israeli settlements from Gaza and turned this completely over to the Palestinians. It was a grand experiment.  There was no blockade.  They were totally free and were encouraged to make Gaza a great place.  This was very controversial.  Sharon’s desire was for them to succeed. If they did then he could withdraw from most of Judea and Samaria except for the big settlement blocks needed for Israel’s territory depth for defense and security.  He said he wanted to draw the border.  Because he did not think the Palestinians would accept any agreement, he decided that unilateral withdrawal was the way forward.

Gaza then came under Hamas rule. They killed Palestinian Authority government leaders and took over.  The population supported Hamas. Hamas did not want a two state solution but wanted to destroy Israel.  They turned Gaza into an armed military camp with offensive weapons galore.  This is the background for the present war.

  1. After this, the left wing parties declined and never again came into power. Labor that had been so big dwindled to  be a tiny party.  Why?  As Israelis looked at this history, they came to believe that there was no real partner for peace.  Palestinian education was anti-Semitic.  The Palestinian authorities gave big support stipends to terrorists who were jailed or killed. This is called pay for slay.

Contrary to Western perceptions, Israel’s rejection of a two state solution was not due to the religious fanatics, but due to a hard evaluation of the history and the present situation.

Only a change of heart among the Palestinians can lead to lasting peace under any scenario.

The Disappointing Elections in the United States on Tuesday: A Israel-American Messianic Jewish Response

Conservatives and Evangelicals hoped to see great gains on election day in the United States, but the results were painfully disappointing.  In spite of crime, inflation that has been devastating for middle-class prosperity, and the open borders issue, the Republicans did not make significant gains in the key races.  All this despite President Biden’s polling with very poor approval ratings.

The most alarming and disappointing result for me was Ohio approving an abortion change to its state constitution that makes abortion legal through all nine months of pregnancy.  National liberal groups poured money into this contest.  While national polls previously showed that most would approve of abortion restrictions and preclude it after 15 weeks (closer to the European standard) this radical change to the constitution passed.

The second most disappointing election was in Virginia.  The governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, was elected in 2021, on a platform to support parental rights in education and to see woke and LGBTQ indoctrination removed from schools.  He gained control of the Virginia Lower House of Representatives. The hope was that he would hold the House and gain the Senate.  He supported an abortion ban after 15 weeks which had not yet passed.  He lost both the House and the Senate.  The struggles over education continue locally with some materials in children’s libraries being pornographic and the transgender issue boiling where biological boys and teens are permitted to use girl’s bathrooms and locker rooms.  Louden County Virginia has become nationally famous for the struggle.  Younkin was backing the conservative parents in this battle.  This has certainly been a setback.

Some Republicans did win governor’s races, but a red state Kentucky (Republican) re-elected their Democratic governor.

Many thought that with election of Youngkin, Virginia was an indicator that the country was changing in a positive way, but now we realize that abortion is deeply ensconced in both blue states and purple states like Virginia that can go either Republican or Democrat.

This leads to comments on the law.  Some misunderstand the view of Christians who desire a return to the law that is more in accord with the Jude0-Christian heritage of the United States.  We see in this misunderstanding the alarm of some on the left due to the very strong Evangelical faith profession of the new speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.  They think Christians want to impose their faith/values on the nation and paint them like fundamentalist Muslims. However, most of these folks want a return to some of the values in the country that prevailed historically.  This was not a radical harsh society.

It is well to respond with some reflections.  Unless there is a dictatorship or control by an elite that represses the rest of the population (more a potential of the left today than the right), the laws of a society reflect the moral consensus.  There can be tolerance for the dissenters but when there is truly a strong democratic aspect to a society, the minority cannot impose but has to win the consensus and become the majority in the society.  For example, the consensus 60 years ago was that abortion was terribly evil and should be illegal.  That consensus was lost and now it appears that legal abortion is the consensus.  The law now reflects that consensus.

There are some important takeaways from this election.

  1. Many are only now realizing how deeply committed the majority are to abortion in many states.  It trumps other issues, even the economy, crime, education, open borders, and more.  This is the reason many lost at the polls.
  2. That the people are so choosing for abortion is bringing their states and perhaps the country into judgment.  This is not something now imposed by the courts, but something chosen in elections, in referendums on abortion.  People voted for more pro-abortion politicians.  The United States is indeed in great peril of the judgment of God. God does judge nations by his most basic law standards. Abortion is the most painful manifestation of evil in our society.

This all raises a larger question on how to see reform in the United States.  Yes, we want to see our laws more in accord with the Bible, but how much can be gained by the political processes if there is not a change in the moral consensus of society first?  Yes, we should be involved in civic life and bring better laws where we can, but changing the consensus is the more crucial matter.  For me, that means that without a mighty revival and reversal of the decline in the Evangelical Churches of America (by this I include Pentecostals and Charismatics) there is not much hope.  These elections convince me more than ever that we will not see much progress before a great national revival in the Church that will affect the consensus of the society.

War and Moral Relativism

As Israel prosecutes the war in Gaza, we reflect on the terrible hatred and atrocity of Hamas. When Israel left Gaza (Sept. 12, 2005), they offered Gaza freedom and development if only they would live in peace with Israel.  Instead, Hamas came to power and murdered the leaders of the Palestinian Authority.  They turned from the offer of liberty and self-determination to create a terrorist state that would be armed to destroy Israel.  Israel had no choice but to blockade Gaza to prevent offensive weapons import.  That blockade now shows itself to have been ineffective. Patrolling the sea and the borders did not prevent the importation of missiles and the manufacture of missiles.  How amazing that the leftists and apologists for Hamas describe the problem as Israel’s occupation and ignore what happened when Hamas came to power!  There would be no blockade in a peaceful Gaza.

The recent attack of Hamas shows us people under an ideology of hatred that pursues atrocities.  Despite this, on American University campuses there are demonstrations supporting Hamas and blaming Israel for the occupation and the blockade.  Such moral blindness shocks the hearts of those who have a moral sense.  These folks talk about Palestinian children who died in past Israel wars against Hamas.  They cannot distinguish between an Israel that seeks to not kill civilians but has no choice when Hamas uses them as human shields.  Hamas is responsible for killing their own women and children and then using it for propaganda. There are videos where they even admit this strategy.  The moral issue of intentionality is ignored.  So how did we get to this place of moral blindness?

The U. S. has Palestinians living in the country who demonstrate for Hamas. The most glaring example of the moral obtuseness of some of these is Rashida Tlaib, a congresswoman from Dearborn.  In this case, the moral obtuseness is due to ethnic prejudice and hatred that knows no boundaries. This leads to gross moral blindness.

However, what of the leftist university students and leftists on the streets of our cities?   The issue is moral relativism.  Since moral relativism now dominates the university faculties, moral bankruptcy is the result.  I remember studying Nietzsche in College. I was 19 and had lost my faith.  Meaningless hit me hard.  I cried as I read.  My quest for the next three years was to overcome both historical relativism and moral relativism and to find a place to stand.  I found it again in the Spring of 1970.  In knowledge relativism, there is no true historical knowledge.  There are only warring narratives and power assertions.  What really happened in Gaza in 2005 does not matter.  There is no facticity.  The left has chosen to designate Israel as a colonial state that oppresses the indigenous Palestinian people.  Therefore they assert that the atrocities are understandable.

Wow!  I was amazed that President Biden showed moral clarity in this fight.  He gave a great speech supporting Israel.   But I am grieved that the universities have removed moral and historical knowledge and now affirm a bankrupt morality based on power.  I will be writing more on this in the future  But I would like every person defending leftist anti-Semitism and anti-Israel, antisemitic and antibiblical, and anti-American views to answer two questions.  Do they believe that there is a historical reality and that we can approach knowing the truth of what really happened in history?  Is there true historical knowledge?  The second question is whether or not there are objective moral norms.  If they do not believe in historical knowledge or objective moral norms, we should shame them and not listen to them at all.  They have undercut the ground for moral behavior.

   

Take all the Land Now

Some Christian Zionists and some Messianic Jews have a very strident position on possessing the Land promised to our people.  Their attitude is to take all the Land and don’t worry much about the Arab population in Samaria and Judea.  With Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of a very radical Otzma Yehudit party and Bazalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionists, the heated rhetoric and actions toward “taking it all” have now become part of the landscape of the Netanyahu government.   Some Christians and a very small number of Messianic Jews applaud.

I want to argue that this is a foolish direction and akin to the first century Zealot Party that gained control of Judea and went to war against Rome.  Yeshua warned what would happen.  Jerusalem would be destroyed because they did not recognize their time of visitation (Luke 19:44).  Having not recognized Yeshua, even after his resurrection, propelled them into following a false way.  Let us recognize that we as a people still have not recognized that time of visitation.  Also, our lack of embracing the apostolic witness to this day, a witness given with great signs and wonders, is compounded history of antisemitism in the  historic churches.  Yet, the trajectory was set by the Sanhedrin and the post Jerusalem destruction Rabbis in Israel who did not turn to Him.  This is why I believe that this is not the time to pursue maximalist visions to take the Land.  The Religious Zionist party today is so different from its moderate predecessor, the National Religious Party (NRP).  This party with the Otzma Yehudit of Ben  G’vir is the return of the spirit of the Zealots.

When I teach on the return to the Land and declare myself a Biblical Zionist, it is based on Ezekiel 36:24 ff.  There we read that we will come back to the Land in significant numbers before we are given a new heart and before the Holy Spirit is given to us.  Until that day, and until we call upon Yeshua (Matthew 23:39,40), we may well be bringing a counsel that will bring harm to Israel if we council “Take it all.”  Let us remember that Israel has still not come to Yeshua.  Secular Israel fosters the most radical LGBTQ agendas.  Parades celebrate Israel as the most pro LGBTQ nation.  Abortion is rampant.  The Orthodox Jews still practice a faith that is partially right but which also blinds to Yeshua in a life of a plathora of commandments.  The spirit of the Talmud is mostly not in accord with the spirit of Yeshua.

My council is, let’s lovingly support Israel’s right to exist.  Let’s stand with Israel.  Let’s support the Jewish people in this Land.  However, let us not give counsel in agreement with the radical right wing views of “taking it all now.”  For this season, living with partial fulfillment of the Land promises I think is wise.  We also do care about the Arabs in the Land of Israel and want them to be treated with justice.