Turmoil in America Rooted to Forgotten Catholic Past

Over the past week America has become the focus of great turmoil following the riots in Charlottesville Virginia. White supremacist and others marched to protest the planned removal of a statue commemorating Confederate General Robert E Lee. Several states have been removing statues over the past year, and this has been raising the ire of the of some of their citizens.

What are we to make of all this?

During the past few years there has been a growing movement to remove Confederate monuments throughout the southern United States. There are estimated to be 718 Confederate statues and monuments across the US, of which around 300 are in the southern states of Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.

A number of other US towns and cities have plans to take down their Confederate statues. One was removed in the Florida town of Gainesville on Monday, while Lexington in Kentucky also has plans to move two monuments. Some towns have covered up the monuments while they decide what to do with them.

New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu addressed his city in May, hours after a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from Lee Circle on, where it stood over the black-majority city for 133 years. In his speech he described New Orleans past:

New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu addressed his city.

New Orleans was America’s largest slave market: a port where hundreds of thousands of souls were brought, sold and shipped up the Mississippi River to lives of forced labor of misery of rape, of torture…

America was the place where nearly 4,000 of our fellow citizens were lynched, 540 alone in Louisiana; where the courts enshrined ‘separate but equal’; where Freedom riders coming to New Orleans were beaten to a bloody pulp….

As President George W. Bush said at the dedication ceremony for the National Museum of African American History & Culture, “A great nation does not hide its history. It faces its flaws and corrects them.”

The historic record is clear: the Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and P.G.T. Beauregard statues were not erected just to honour these men, but as part of the movement which became known as The Cult of the Lost Cause. This ‘cult’ had one goal — through monuments and through other means — to rewrite history to hide the truth, which is that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity.

The controversy that has erupted, the riots, the murder, the violence has sprung out of a generations long struggle with America’s past. What was behind the American Civil war?  What were the core issues? Who were the core players?

There was much more going on than what is portrayed in the media today. A s Bible believers we should expect this, because we are told in the prophetic word of a system that would involve itself with all the rulers of the world:

“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Revelation 18:3)

There is a connection between the Catholic Church and the Confederate struggle that is an inconvenient truth which revisionists have taken great effort write out of history.

The American Civil War was a struggle between the Unionists who wanted to unite all of America under one federal government and the Confederates who wanted to secede from the Union and form their own independent nation that protected their “way of life” and values.  One of the institutions the south fought to protect, perhaps the most infamous, was the slave industry. Its institutions and industry depended on the slave industry to maintain itself.

Current Event: The End of Temporal Papal Power

Pope Pius IX who recognized
the Confederate Government

The events in America didn’t happen in a bubble. While the American Civil War was coming to the boil, another war of unification was raging in Italy. Liberal Republicans were attempting to unite the country, and break up the age-old divisions which had separated the country since the fall of the Roman Empire. Garibaldi and his red-shirt republicans were fighting against the conservative despotism of the institutions of Italy, headquartered in Rome with the Pope and the Catholic Church, undergirded by both Austrian and French governments at different times.

The time of Catholic despotism, and the temporal power of the Papacy was coming to an end. The 1260 years of persecution where drawing to a close. Daniel had prophesied of the Papal little horn, which would replace three of the 10 horns of the 4th beast:

“I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” (Daniel 7:8)

This blaspheming little horn, reflected on by Paul in 2 Thessalonians, where he titles it the Man of Sin who would be a “falling away” or “apostasy” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12). He would blaspheme God and exalt himself:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4)

Daniel relates that this system would have the power to persecute the saints, or the believers:

“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;” (Daniel 7:21)

However, this power would be for a limited time:

“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” (Daniel 7:25–26)

The period of a time given by Daniel is a time (360 days), times (360 days x 2) and the dividing of time (360/2), would total 1260 prophetic day/years. This commenced in 607 with the decree of Phocas enshrining the papacy as the head of all churches and ending around the era of 1867. The Papacy ruled over the Papal states in central Italy from the time of the donation of Pepin around 758.

Prophetic writer Rev. Robert Fleming Jr,  in his book The Rise and Fall of the Papacy, 1701 reflected on these time periods, stating:

“Therefore, we may justly reckon that the Papal head took its first rise from the remarkable year 606, when Phocas did in a manner devolve the government of the West upon him, by giving him the title of Universal Bishop. From which period if we date the twelve hundred and sixty years, they lead us down (as I said already) to the year 1866…”  (Robert Fleming, The Rise and Fall of the Papacy, p70-71).

He looked for the destruction of the temporal power of the Pope around this period of time, but beginning around the time period of the French Revolution:

“The fifth vial (Rev. xvi. 10, 11), which is to be poured out on the seat of the Beast, or the dominions that more immediately belong to, and depend upon, the Roman See—that, I say, this judgment will probably begin about the year 1794, and expire about the year 1848; so that the duration of it, upon this supposition, will be the space of fifty-four years; for I do suppose, that seeing the Pope received the title of Supreme Bishop no sooner than the year 606, he cannot be supposed to have any vial poured out upon his seat immediately (so as to ruin his authority so signally as this judgment must be supposed to do) until the year 1848, which is the date of the twelve hundred and sixty years in prophetical account, when they are reckoned from the year 606. But yet we are not to imagine that this vial will totally destroy the Papacy (though it will exceedingly weaken it), for we find this still in being and alive when the next vial is poured out.” (Robert Fleming, The Rise and Fall of the Papacy, p139-140).

Amazingly, the prophetic time periods worked out so that the French Revolution, beginning in 1789 saw the limiting of the power of the Pope. Rome fell to the rebellion in 1848, as the Republicans tried to unite Italy, and the pope fled from the Vatican. The French remained loyal to the Papacy and restored the Papacy to Rome. On July 3, 1849, the French Army entered Rome; on April 12, 1850, Pius IX entered Rome as a restored leader. In 1868 he eventually lost control of the Papal states and his temporal power.

The Papacy & the Civil War

So what has this got to do with the Confederate States? All the controversy about statues celebrating men enshrining slavery are closely related to the decaying Papal temporal power of the times.

The rise of the Republic in Italy sparked a response from the American consul Nicholas Brown:

“He immediately told the revolutionary government that “so deeply rooted in every American heart (is) the love of liberty” that the American people “will at once hail with joy the Independence of the Roman Republic long before their diplomatic agents can have time in due official form to give expression to the generous sentiments of their constituency.” (Leo Francis Stock, “The United States at the Court of Pius IX,” The Catholic Historical Review 9, 1 (April 1923): 108.)

The Northern States of America had supplied moral and military support to the Unionists of Italy, selling them ironclad warships to aid in their conquest against the Papal States and their French protectors. This no doubt had a negative impact on the relationship between the Americans and the Papacy.

According to the revisionist Catholic historian Robert Attilio Matteucci,

“Liberalism encouraged the uprising that drove Pope Pius from Rome, so the Pope opposed liberalism and a united Italy at every turn. As efforts for unification gained greater popular support throughout the peninsula, in Rome the Pope became increasingly conservative and autocratic in his opposition. After the rebellion, the Pope retaliated by opposing everything related to the failed Roman Republic. America had shown some degree of support for the Roman Republic and its liberal ideology, so the Papacy’s relationship with the United States suffered as a result. As long as the French expressed willingness to militarily uphold the Pope’s secular control of Rome, the Pope was free to continue in his opposition to liberalism.” (Robert Attilio Matteucci, Jr., The Pope and the Presidents: The Italian Unification and the American Civil War, 2015, p11)

The northern States in America were considered by the Southern Confederates to be infected by liberal Republicanism – just as the Southern Italian States being united by Garibaldi were viewed by the Catholic Church.

Both the Confederates and the Catholics saw themselves as defenders of a way of life that they wanted to hold onto. The Southern Confederates wanted their own laws and to maintain the oppression of men through slavery. The Pope wanted to maintain his despotic temporal power over the Papal states and keep them locked into the mediaeval feudalistic system that had served the Papacy well for so long. The scriptures talk of the Catholic system as being traders in souls of men:

“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; For no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, And precious stones, and of pearls, And fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, And all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, And all manner vessels of most precious wood, And of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, And ointments, and frankincense, And wine, and oil, And fine flour, and wheat, And beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, And slaves, and souls of men.” (Revelation 18:11–13)

The church has traded in slaves and souls of men for many years. Both through the slave trade, but also through the selling of indulgencies to desperate widows who were told that their husbands, sons and parents would not be delivered from the imaginary purgatory with out paying the priests of the church for prayers for the departed.

On December 20, 1860, the State of South Carolina announced it would secede from the Union and become a separate republic. The Federal Government responded by calling on other States to send troops to suppress South Carolina. Six Southern states refused to comply and joined with South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as their President.

When the liberal Republican Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as president, the South saw it as the end of the their way of life.

Igniting the Civil War: Catholic Chief Justice Roger Taney (Statue Removed)

Catholic Chief Justice Roger Taney
Statue removed August 18, 2017.

Most historians agree, that it was the decision by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (a Roman Catholic) that was the pretext for the Southern Confederacy’s igniting of the Great American Civil War. Taney decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case stated:

(blacks) “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it.”

The statement by the Chief Justice of America was used as a pretence for defending the southern way of life. Although from the North, he was considered one of the instigators of the Confederate South’s case. This has been tactical policy of the Jesuits from their inception – divide a nation and conquer it.

The Catholic Justice Taney’s statue was removed Friday, August 18th, 2017, from the Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore as part of the campaign to shut down glorification of the Confederate South.

The first shot in the Civil War ordered by Catholic General Pierre Beauregard (Statue Removed)

The opening shot of the confederate rebellion rang out on April 12th, 1861. One month after Lincoln was proclaimed President of the United States, the 4th of March 1861. The Papacy saw the Confederates of the south their champions on the continent and stuck their oar deep into the situation.

Catholic General Pierre Beauregard,
Statue removed May 17, 2017

Abraham Lincoln saw Catholic interference in American politics resulting in dire consequences:

“I do not pretend to be a prophet. But though not a prophet, I see a very dark cloud on the horizon. And that dark cloud is coming from Rome… a cyclone such as the world has never seen will pass over this country, spreading ruin and desolation from north to south… Neither I nor you, but our children, will see those things.” (Abraham Lincoln, cited by Charles Chiniquy, the Canadian Catholic Priest and friend of Abraham Lincoln, who authored the book 50 Years in the Church of Rome)

Lincoln is quoted by Chiniquy as stating:

“The war [Civil War of 1861-1865] would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the Jesuits.” (Abraham Lincoln, cited by Charles Chiniquy)

Who fired the first shot? General Beauregard was the first Confederate general officer, and then appointed a brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. He was a Roman Catholic and was the man who ordered the first gun to be fired at Union Armies at Fort Sumter, on the 12th of April, 1861 beginning the Civil War.

General Beauregard’s statue was removed from New Orleans May 17, 2017.

The President of the Confederation Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and the Pope (Statues Removed)

Confederate President Jefferson Davis,
statue removed May 11, 2017

According to Catholic Historian Robert Matteucci, the Southern Confederacy had more Catholic influence than the North:The President of the Confederation was Jefferson Davis. Jefferson attended the Catholic school of Saint Thomas (Aquinas) operated by the Dominican Order in Kentucky. He was the only protestant student at the school and fell under the influence of Catholicism.

Further, the anti-Catholic nativism that swept much of the United States in the decade before the Civil War was less persistent in the South and several key Southern individuals had escaped it. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, for example, despite his Episcopalian faith, attended St. Thomas College, a Catholic institution. A larger example of the influence of Catholicism on Southern politics can be seen before the war, in 1848. In that year, the legislature of Louisiana passed a resolution “commendatory of Pope Pius IX, and in favor of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the court of Rome.” (ibid, p33)

Davis sought the Popes recognition of the Confederation in a letter he wrote September 1863, and sent by the hand of Ambrose Dudley Mann, Commissioner of the Confederate States of America for Belgium and the Vatican who arrived at the Vatican in November 1863.

Pope Pius IX responded in December addressing his letter to

Illustrious and Hon. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, Richmond

This was de facto recognition of the Confederate Government. Although revisionist historians have argued against it, prominent figures from both sides of the argument at the time give it credence. Dudley Mann was ecstatic and wrote to President Davis stating,

“this letter will grace the archives of the Executive Office in all coming time. It will live, too, forever in [hi]story as the production of the first Potentate who formally recognized your official position and accorded to one of the diplomatic representatives of the Confederate States an audience in an established Court Palace.” (Baylen, “A. Dudley Mann’s Mission in Europe, 1863-1864,” 324.)

The Times-Picayune in occupied New Orleans, the center of Southern Catholicism, recorded:

“one of our journals asserts that the address, ‘Illustrious and Honorable President,’ is a virtual acknowledgement by that distinguished personage of the ‘Independence of the Southern Confederacy.’” (“Letter from Antelope,” Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 26, 1864.)

General Robert E. Lee
Statue removed May 19, 2017 in
New Orleans and August 2017
in Charlottesville VA.

Roman Catholics of the day attested to the letter as being recognition. Father John Bannon, a Confederate Catholic chaplain, born in Ireland and living in Missouri, was approached by the Confederate government and asked to lead a mission to Ireland to try to dissuade Irishmen from immigrating to the North and enlisting in its military. He met the Pope in October 1863. He certified across Ireland that the letter was recognition of the Confederate government by the Papacy.

General Robert E. Lee, the leader of Confederate armies confirmed the same:

“Even Robert E. Lee, pointing to his own portrait of Piux IX, told a visitor after the war that he was “the only sovereign… in Europe who recognized our poor Confederacy”. (Felicity Allen, Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart, 1999,  p441).

The statue General Lee was removed on May 19, 2017, the last of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans to be taken down.

Lee wasn’t the only one to see things this way. The Cincinnati Enquirer, January 19, 1864, ran a headline:

“Recognition of the Confederate Government by the Pope in Rome – Important Correspondence.”

At the end of war, President Davis was imprisoned. Pius’ affinity to the failed Confederacy and its President was further demonstrated:

Pius IX sent Jefferson Davis an autographed photo of himself while Davis was imprisoned after the war. On the photo, the Pope offered the former Confederate the words of Christ that the oppressed should turn to God and that he would give them rest, handwriting in Latin Matthew 11:28, “Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et ego reficiam vos, dicit Dominus.” (Robert Attilio Matteucci, Jr., The Pope and the Presidents: The Italian Unification and the American Civil War, 2015, p68)

Autographed letter and crown of thorns sent by
Pius IX to Jefferson Davis in Prison.

In the New Orleans Confederate Civil War Museum there is a crown of thorns, weaved for Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, by Pope Pius IX. The Pope sent the this sign of compassion while Pius was himself a “prison of the Vatican” after the fall of the Papal States under the forces of Garibaldi.

Jefferson Davis statue was removed in New Orleans, Thursday, May 11, 2017.

Lincolns Assassination & the Papacy

Following the Civil War president Lincoln was gunned down by the Catholic John Wilkes Booth who was aided by Jesuit conspirators. The forgotten story is recorded in Charles Chiniquy’s book “50 Years in the Church of Rome.” Chiniquay, Historian Constance Head, and Booth’s own sister Asia Booth Clarke all confirm his conversion to Catholicism. Catholic Historian Robert Matteucci drew a connection between the assassination of Lincoln and Pius IX:

The Church became involved in the aftermath of the Lincoln assassination. John H. Surratt, a Catholic accused with his mother and several friends of conspiring to kidnap and assassinate President Lincoln, was pursued by Union forces in the aftermath of President Lincoln’s assassination. Rather than being captured, tried, and hung like his mother, Mary Surratt, John Surratt managed to escape with the aid of the Catholic Church. He was smuggled to Rome where he ultimately served Pope Pius in the Papal Zouaves…. While the Pope’s actions toward Jefferson Davis certainly showed personal affinity between the two figures, the acceptance of John Surratt into the Papal military fostered the belief that the Pope’s sympathy was more widespread among former Confederates than just toward the Confederate President.” (Ibid, p69) 

This is very similar to the Catholic Ratlines that smuggled Nazi war criminals out of German into South America following the fall of Nazi Germany. The travelled using Vatican issued Red Cross passports through a series of Catholic churches, monasteries and safe houses, until safely spirited away from the men trying to bring them to justice for their crimes against humanity, and specifically the Holocaust.

The Story of the Statues

While the removal of the Statues of the Confederates has caused much uproar in the United Stated today, what has been forgotten is the connection between these men  and the Vatican. They were tools of the Vatican as it tried to hold onto despotic grip over the Papal States, and maintain its influence in the world. As we read in Revelation:

“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Revelation 18:3)

While the Confederacy didn’t rise from the dead, and its monuments are being removed today, the Vatican survived by confederating itself with the fascist prime minister Benito Mussolini in 1929. The Vatican signed an accord with Mussolini whereby the Italian government agreed to give the Church financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States, and recognized the Vatican City State as an independent state.

No longer a temporal power, it became the smallest state in the world – a single city:

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth… And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:18)

The Confederation may have been destroyed long ago, and it statues are taken down today causing an uproar. However, nothing will parallel the uproar when the Great City and its statues are destroyed at Christ’s return:

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:” (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Or as the words of Revelation put it:

“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, Death, and mourning, and famine; And she shall be utterly burned with fire: For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, Shall bewail her, and lament for her, When they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, Saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.” (Revelation 18:8–10)

So keep watching the Bible in the News, for greater turmoil is to come. This has been Jonathan Bowen joining you.

During the past few weeks Jerusalem has become the headline of the News once again. As was reported the other week, two Israeli security guards were gunned down on the Temple Mount  by armed Palestinians.

In response Israel put up metal detectors at the Arab entrance Temple Mount – they already exist at the Jewish and non-Muslim entrances. Riots ensued throughout Jerusalem. However, even though the Saudi king stated that metal detectors were common place at Muslim holy sites in Mecca, the mob would not be quelled.

A 19 year old Palestinian terrorist went on to murder three members of a Jewish family, an act which the terrorist’s father stated, was in response to the situation on the Temple mount.

Temple Mount: An International Crisis

The United Nations security counsel met to discuss the situation. The Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations summed it up:

The Solomon family Shabbat table after the murders.

Good morning. As diplomats, as ambassadors, as leaders, it is not often that we are at a loss for words. When I learned of the horrific terror attack this past Friday evening, when I saw the ghastly pictures of the Sabbath meal, interrupted by a vial terrorist, I was left speechless. The Salomon family, had gathered together like millions of Jews, for the most joyous occasion: The birth of a new grandson. Instead, their night of celebration ended in massacre. This the picture of the festive meal in the house.

The family, had lit the Shabbat candles, blessed the wine, and sat down to eat when a terrorist entered their home. He stabbed his victims to death. He killed Yosef, the 70 year old grandfather. He slayed Yosef’s daughter Chaya, and he murdered Joseph’s son Elad. He did this all in front of their children and grand children. Had it not been for Elad’s wife, this horrific attack would have taken the lives of the entire extended Salomon family….

Some experts classify these terrorists as “lone wolves” acting on their own, but we know that these terrorists are brainwashed with the same hateful teachings that they are all taught, that violence and cold blooded murder is holy….

Instead of condemning this act of terror, calming the situation, and pledging to remove all fanatics from their society, the Palestinians are spreading the most horrible lies. They would like the international community to believe that this unspeakable act of violence is Israel’s fault. Don’t believe the phoney Palestinian outrage. 

The security counsel is meeting to discuss how to de-escalate the conflict. Let me save them some time, it is quite simple: Demand that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian authority stop promoting violence. Tell them to stop educating to hate. Make them stop paying terrorists

The Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, took the same podium and laid out his lies:

“We always welcome the Security Council to shoulder its responsibly regarding to dealing with issues that threaten international peace and security. And definitely what is happening in occupied East Jerusalem is threatening international peace and security, as a result of the aggression by Israel, the occupying power against the Palestinian people, against Jerusalem and against an extremely important religious site for all of us – the Palestinians, and by that I mean Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Al-haram Sharif.

After the aggression against that Mosque, and closing it for the first time since 1969, and putting obstacles in the path of worshipers, and in essence trying to create a new reality to the benefit of the Israeli occupying authority. All these things are outraging the Palestinian people, outraging our people in Jerusalem. Those whom we salute for standing on the forefront to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-haram Sharif and they are articulating demands which are the demands of all the Palestinian people, the demands of the Palestinian leadership….

They should condemn in the strongest possible term the violation of the right of the Palestinian people, when they close down Al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Aqsa Mosque should not be closed down under any pretext, and under any story when worshippers wants to go and pray there….

Notably he never mentioned the murder of the two Israeli guards that caused the metal detectors to be put in place, or the murder of Salomon family in cold blood. Rather he saluted them, and the rioters.

The Israeli Ambassador gave the reason for putting the metal detectors in place:

First we need to remember that on July 14th, terrorists took advantage and smuggled weapons on the Temple Mount. They killed two officers  on duty on the Temple Mount, which is a holy site for Muslims and Jews. Israel is making sure that there is real freedom of religion in Jerusalem, that is what we will continue to do. We will enable everybody to come and pray on the Temple Mount, but at the same time, we will do whatever is necessary to maintain security on this important site.

To give an idea of “whose take” on this is correct, we just need to look at the events following the removal of the metal detectors. What happened? Muslims rioted on top of the Temple Mount and threw rocks down upon the Jewish worshippers at the Kotel (Western Wall below), until they were dispersed by soldiers with tear gas.

The real resolution to this will be when the kingdom is established, and we are told:

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9)

Not Fair to Stop Terrorists and the Jews should not be armed?

As Mansour tried to leave the conference, a reporter from 24 News asked:

 “Could you say a few words in reaction to the attack on the family on Friday night, the Salomon family, surely you can’t condone that kind of violent attack?

Mansour responded:

You see that when you have an occupation with its ruthlessness, as we see it. And we see a manifestation of it, of involving violation of international law at the magnitude of warcrimes such as settlements. , then don’t expect all Palestinians to be angels, not to react to it. Even some might take the issues in their hand as individuals, that is not necessarily the policy of the Palestinian government….

We should not lose sight of the huge crime committed against the millions of Palestinians in the occupied territories, by the Israeli occupying authority, its military forces, and the settlers, and settlers’ terrorism, and the armed settlers. Because almost all settlers are carrying weapons, and therefore there are militias. They attack the Palestinian people, they steal their land, they destroy their crops, they are making their life miserable….   

No here is an interesting statement. Mansour in his speech at the UN, stated his position that the Israeli “settlements” are a war crime:

[UN] Resolution 2334 which dealt with many things including settlements. And we all know that settlements, from the point of view of International Law, is described, amongst other things, as a war crime and a crime against humanity. 

As watchers of the Bible in the News, this is very interesting as it will be part of the pretext for the invasion of Israel by the international community in the future, an invasion doomed to failure when the nations come:

“And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages…  to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” (Ezekiel 38:11–12)

It is the people who dwell in the midst of the land who the Palestinians call “settlers”. How dare they arm themselves – is the stance of the Palestinians. This is similar to the Philistines in the days of Jonathan and Saul who removed all munitions out of the land:

“Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.” (1 Samuel 13:19–22)

When we were in Israel for the Promised Land Youth Conference in 2015 we invited Yishai Fleisher, a religious Jew, and a settler ( now the spokesperson for Hebron), to speak to our group of young people about his vision of the future of Israel as it is related to the Bible. During the session, he invited questions, and one of the young people asked him about the fact that he was armed:

Jake:    “I noticed that you have a handgun….

Yishai: “Really?”

Jake:    “Is your job critically dangerous, I mean as far as Israel needs…

Yishai: “It’s not to do with that, it is where I live. I’m a “settlah”. I live on the mount of Olives in a mostly Arab neighbourhood called Ras al-Amud. There are strong Jihadists elements. For the first time in 2000 years Jews are allowed to carry arms, so I do.”

Jake:    “So it is more of a pre-emptive measure than a….”

Yishai: “It is a defensive measure…  it is not pre-emptive, it is a defence. It is policing. It is sovereignty. It is strength. It is pushing back bad guys. It is striking the Jihadists. It is not letting Nazism take route again.”

Elli       “Do you not think that is another thing that could be turned against you in the media? So you did fight back and…

Yishai: “So I should give the gun to the CNN? I’ll trust it with them?   I told you again… yes it could, unless you believe as I did, that strength required, is attractive, it is leadership, and people can accept that better than wishy-washy. Furthermore, if I lay down my arms there is going to be the next holocaust.  If they lay down their arms there will be peace. So the first, to use a Star Trek term, the prime directive is to protect the Jewish property. Without that I have nothing. I cannot be overly concerned about narrative warfare, if haven’t got a mouth to speak. So I might as well protect myself. Jewish strength is actually something…. When do we get in trouble?  When we are talking all kinds of peace, and “give away”, and “kumbaya”, and weeper, when we talk like that, that is actually when we get in trouble. When we say, “This is our land, and you cannot have it, and our capital is Jerusalem. And we say to America, “Guess what, you don’t have an embassy in Jerusalem, you cannot have an Arab state in Israel. Because you don’t respect our capital, you don’t respect us.”

“Wow… there goes Israel, it is being tough.” That’s right.  People respect honesty and toughness, they don’t respect milk toast, you know that expression? Mushy. They respect clarity. I think if we used it in a robust fashion we’d be in good shape.

After 2000 years of oppression, during which time the Jewish people have been trodden down, they are now able to carry arms in their own land… so they do. It is a very telling comment that if Israelis laid down their arms there would be a holocaust, but if the Palestinians laid down their arms there would be peace.

Is this fair? Well, it is necessary because the Palestinian Ambassador, Mansour, concluded the his statement by insisting:

If people think that the Palestinian people are going to live that situation without any form of resistance to it, that is not realistic, and that IS NOT FAIR.”

So it is “not fair” to expect terrorism to stop? It is legitimate resistance for a Jihadist to enter a Jewish home and murder a peaceful family?  That is the hysterical position of the Palestinians. The frightening thing is that the United Nations supports it.

Why Israel Gave up the Temple Mount?

The issue of the Temple Mount is at the heart of the situation. When we were in Israel with the Promised Land Youth Conference we ascended the temple mount where we calmly walked around. We were not allowed to bring Bibles with us, or give prayers.

Even though we respected these rules, we were forced off by hysterical Muslims.

During Jordanian control over Jerusalem, Jews were not allowed to worship at the Western Wall (the Kotel). When Israel captured Jerusalem, it opened the Kotel to worship by the Jews, but also allowed the Muslims to assume control of the temple mount. The Jews allow the Muslims to worship on the temple mount, but the Muslims will force off both the Jews and Christians.  While we hurried off the mount, our guide, who was a religious Jew, was escorted by a security detail, and was berated by hysterical Muslim women who were bussed in daily, and paid to harass Jews on the mount.

This hasn’t changed much in the past two years. The JBN (Jewish Breaking News) reported this week:

Rabbi Ari Abramowitz of The Land of Israel Network was forcibly silenced and detained on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem while leading a group in reciting the Kaddish prayer for the Solomon family, slain by a terrorist in Halamish over on Friday evening….

Although the Temple Mount is the most holiest place for Jews, the Jordanian Waqf, which oversees the security at the Temple Mount, does not let Jews recite any prayers.

The world is completely hypocritical in its treatment of the Temple Mount – Muslims can pray and read their holy books there, Jews and Christians cannot pray or bring their Bibles onto the site.

Many people wonder why Israel capitulated on control of the Temple Mount, and allows the Muslims to have such control over it? It is a question that has rocketed to the forefront of the news today.

In 2015, after we were thrown off the Temple Mount, we put this same question to Yishai Fleisher during our evening with him. His answer is worth listening to in light of the events of this past week:

Jonathan:        The Temple Mount: what do you see… how do you see practically moving forward with that? Obviously, Moshe Dayan put the Waqif in charge. So how do you see moving forward with that?

Yishai:             Well, let’s ask the first question – “Why did Israel relinquish sovereignty of the Temple Mount? What is the answer to that?”

Jonathan:        Fear?

Yishai:             Fear of what?

Jonathan:        The world?

Yishai:             Fear of the world. You say. Fear of Islam. Fear of America. Fear of what?

Jonathan:        Fear of America, fear of the Western nations probably more than Islam.

Yishai:             So let me give you an history lesson. There was fear involved, but it wasn’t because of Islam or the Western world. The fear was: “Holy Moly! There’s a temple coming, and that scares the bajeebers out of me! Wo! Wo! Wo! Wo: I just got eyeball to eyeball with God, and I want to turn around and go the other way.”

That encounter with God is an incredibly scary moment.

“Did you just see what I saw? Did we just win this war in 6 days? And like smash all the armies, and we took over our ancestral homeland? We are here on the temple mount!  What does this mean? It means… it probably means something big! It probably means that pretty soon we’ll have to keep the Sabbath and eat kosher, a I’m NOT ready for that – and I’m certainly not ready for no sacrifices and no temple!”  

That is scary: to go eyeball to eyeball with God in revelation, you know what happens most of the time – if you see God’s face? You are out. Ok? And it is very, very scary – and the Jewish people simply chose to take a step back from too much revelation. So, the Temple Mount is very scary to Jews because it is too darn close to the fire is very hot there. You just feel very close to deeper meaning of this world… it is like contact with God, and it is all too real. It is all too…

It’s like all that good old Israeli Zionism which is based on nationalism, self-determination, the birth of nations, all these good values, secular values, that started out with communism, socialism, basically self-determination of the secular kind. Well that gets all blown away if suddenly, you are like, “Well this did not happen naturally. It wasn’t my jets. It wasn’t that. There was something on the revelation end.”

The Jews immediately went down to a much more, a much less, hotter fire and that is the Western Wall. “I can deal with the Western Wall. I can deal with the Western Wall, right? The Western Wall is much more manageable.  It is the remnant of the second temple and we wail at the wailing wall. Ok, I can live with that. But the full blast, temple? I wasn’t ready that.”

 That is why Moshe Dayan and company gave the temple mount away. If you understand that, you understand a lot more about what is going on. The fear of the nations pales in comparison to standing eyeball to eyeball with the good Lord. The Jewish people were just not mentally prepared for that.

So, the process we are going through is a process of education. When we went to the temple… institute, little child go to the temple institute, like my kids, and learn and except, and grow up with a consciousness that there will be a temple one day. When it comes, it won’t be like – “Wo! I do not speak that language at all.” It will be much more like, “Ah, this is what we have been waiting for.”

So the window was open, it was a little too much too fast. Remember what happened to the children of Israel as they left Egypt and approached the land of Israel?  They rejected it. They got afraid of it. It was too much revelation. They had to go on a 40 year march in the desert in order to kill off a whole generation. It will take some more time until the next generation is ready to receive the full consciousness of the Temple.

It is so encouraging to witness this awareness amongst the religious Jews who are turning back to God. It is a fulfillment of the passage in Malachi where we read:

“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, Which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.” (Malachi 4:4)

The children of Israel are remembering, but it is a process as Yishai pointed out. We read this in Ezekiel 36:

“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24–28)

This is the process we are witnessing right now. But as with all mankind (Jew and Gentile), the struggle between the flesh and the spirit is a tough one, as Galatians tells us:

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17 ESV)

But with the right ingredients, namely the word of God – faith can grow:

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

This process will be greatly enhanced when Elijah the prophet is sent to Israel, both to the Jews in the land and to the diaspora:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, And the heart of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5–6)

We pray for the day – when God will turn the heart of the children of Israel back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We are thrilled to see the embryo of this change today.

We look for the day when God will fulfill his promise – of establishing his temple in the land again:

“And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile…” (Ezekiel 43:7)

This will be on Mount Zion, in the midst of his people:

“… and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.” (Ezekiel 48:10)

May that day be soon. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for those who love the city of the Great King.

For the Bible in the News, this has been Jonathan Bowen joining you.

The results of the British general election shocked many across the UK and the world when British Prime Minister Teresa May lost her majority in the British Parliament two weeks before Britain is due to start negotiating BREXIT – Britain’s Exit from Europe.

Britain’s Role as dictated by the Bible

The result caused many to ponder what is going on. Clearly, Bible prophecy spoke about the need for Britain to Exit the European Union based on the role it must play as the Merchant of Tarshish with its Young Lions who stands in opposition to the Russo-European confederacy that will eventually sweep into the land:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezekiel 38:13)

It is not part of the European Beast of Revelation 17 that will make war with the lamb as we read in Rev 17:

“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14)

Rather, it is part of a group of nations who will submit to the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of crisis:

“The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him.” (Psalm 72:10–11)

Britain will be involved in assisting the Jews to return to the land:

“Surely the isles shall wait for me, And the ships of Tarshish first, To bring thy sons from far, Their silver and their gold with them, Unto the name of the LORD thy God, And to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, And their kings shall minister unto thee: For in my wrath I smote thee, But in my favour have I had mercy on thee.” (Isaiah 60:9–10)

What is going on?

So one has to wonder, what on earth is going on in the political world when the Prime Minister who is supposed to lead Britain out of the European Union loses her majority? This is when we need to step back and remember one clear fact:

“This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (Daniel 4:17)

The angels are at work behind the scenes to give the reigns of world government into the hands of those who will bring about the purpose of God. In the late 1940’s, if Christadelphians had been voters in the national British election, (which we do not do because we believe in the principle of Dan 4:17), undoubtedly they would have voted for Winston Churchill, the politician most friendly to Israel. Yet Mr. Churchill lost the election before the war was even over. Into power came Clement Attlee and Earnest Bevin, a self-hating Jew, determined to demonstrate his Britishness over his Jewishness. Their policies, and restrictions on immigration post-holocaust, caused revolt in Palestine amongst the Jewish population, ending up with Britain relinquishing its mandate and the formation of the State of Israel. The very opposite of what we would have voted for caused the very thing that was in God’s plan – a sovereign state of Israel, answering to the “My of people Israel” described by God in Ezekiel 38.

Why did May lose the election?

It is too early to tell exactly what the angels are doing, but we do know the overall outcome. It was interesting to hear Nigel Farage’s comments on May’s blunder during an interview with a panel from the USA’s Fox news. Here are some excerpts.

Nigel Farage – “Mrs. May made a mess of it”

“Well, I think Mrs May makes a mess of it! I mean, she had a parliamentary majority; we triggered Article 50; the negotiations with the European Union are due to start in 11 days time; and the next election was not due until 2020. She forced this fresh election upon the country, and she’s failed, and while she has just about crept back, with the support of some Northern Ireland Unionists, I think her credibility is completely and fatally damaged, not just here but in the eyes of the European Union too….

I have to say, there were no obstacles in our course at all. Whilst her majority wasn’t big, it was big enough. She has risked everything just to give herself an increased majority and it really has come undone….

If the election had gone about 10 seats the other way, we’d be facing the prospect of Prime Minister Corban.  He’s basically a Marxist; he’s cozied up over the years to Hamas, who he called his friends, Hez bollah, the IRA and he absolutely loathes the United States of America. Him becoming Prime Minister would have been a disaster for relations between our two countries, in terms of security, defense, and trade. So thank goodness it didn’t happen, but boy he got close….

Mrs. May will be at the palace to see the Queen, in 15 minutes time, as per our constitutional requirements. To form a government, to form a coalition government  she has to go there as the sitting Prime Minister. So constitutionally, she was not going to resign this morning. But I think she will not be there for very long at all. Who will it be? My guess is the two front runners will be Boris Johnson or David Davis, both of whom were on the Brexit side. You see the mystery… the mystery was Mrs. May voted “Remain”, Mrs. May was for staying in the European Union, and yet became leader of a Brexit Party. She went into this election lacking sincerity because she did not believe the words she was speaking and the Tory party now must, must, must get a Brexiteer to lead it!”

Mrs. May, true to the constitution, went to the Palace, and returned to #10 Downing street to announce to the British people her intention to form a new government in a very stone-faced speech:

“

A stone-faced May loses the majority, and may lose her place –
and the government is forced into a union with the DUP

I have just been to see her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government. A government that will provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country. This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days, and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union….

What the country needs more than ever is certainty. And having secured the largest number of votes, and the greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the house of commons. As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in particular. Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom. This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful BREXIT deal that works for everyone in this country, securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long term prosperity. That’ s what people voted for last June. That’s what we will deliver. Now let’s get to work.

Whether Mrs. May is able to stay in power remains to be seen. It will be a tough fight for her to do so. It could well be that either Boris Johnson or David Davis replace her in the very near future, and the Conservative ‘establishment’ may be forced to have a BREXITEER as the next leader and consequently the Prime Minister.

A Minority Government

Politics is about power and not so much principles. A government will sell its soul to stay in power. In any minority government situation, it is the marginal group that can swing its votes over to the government and crown it, preventing a vote of non-confidence that either forces another election or has the opposition party form the government if they can form a coalition.

This has been seen in Israel where a coalition government has to be formed because there are so many political parties. Often the radical views and policies of the small parties have to be taken into account. In Israel it has served to ‘stiffen up’ the politicians in order for them to stay in power. They have had to respect the wishes of the religious right.

DUP – the Kingmakers.

What is absolutely fascinating who the “Kingmakers” are in Britain. No matter who is to lead the Conservative government they have to make a deal with the DUP or the Democratic Unionist Party.

DUP leader Arlene Foster with British Prime Minister Teresa May forming
a lose coalition to keep the conservatives in power.

The Guardian Newspaper reported with some dismay:

The DUP will back the Tory government on its next budget and prevent it being brought down by motions of no confidence. However, the DUP will decide on support for the Conservatives on other issues in parliament on a vote-by-vote basis…

There has been a mixture of anger and bewilderment within the Westminster establishment – Tory as well as Labour – over the way the DUP has suddenly become the central player in shaping who governs the UK.

The nine men and one woman who are going back to the House of Commons under the DUP banner include some who are born-again Christians and deny Darwin’s theory of evolution. They are also among the main opponents of gay marriage equality and even minor reform to Northern Ireland’s near total ban on abortion.

Well, isn’t this interesting. The King-Makers in England are religious Christians who believe in Creation and oppose gay marriage!

Reuters reported the following:

British voters spent Friday frantically Googling the name of a small Northern Irish party whose 290,000 votes and 10 seats in parliament hold the balance of power in the national parliament representing the United Kingdom’s 65 million people.

Ian Paisley’s party the DUP will be the king-maker in the coalition government.
He formed the DUP on anti-Catholic policies, calling the Pope the AntiChrist in the
European Parliament!

The article went on to describe the beginnings of the DUP party:

Some remembered it as the party of Ian Paisley, the firebrand Protestant cleric who once heckled the Pope himself, calling him the antichrist.

The DUP forged its combative brand of British nationalism in the Protestant areas of 1970s Belfast as the bloody “Troubles” pitched hardline unionists fighting to remain part of Britain against mainly Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland.

Others noted that the party now was one of the most socially conservative in Europe, having sought to maintain some of the continent’s strictest restrictions on abortion and consistently opposed gay marriage.

It recently backed the right of a Belfast bakery to refuse to make a cake with a gay rights slogan and proposed a law to allow religious business people to refuse to serve people where that would conflict with their religious beliefs.

At least one senior party member has defended creationism, the theory that the world was created by God 10,000 years ago.

So the King-Maker in the General Election, which will hold the most influence over the new government, whoever leads it, comes from a Christian, Creationist, Anti-Catholic standpoint. Some of its leaders see the issue of the European Union for what it is – a tool of the Anti-Christ, the papacy who are the religious Harlot who ride the Beast and shape its policies.

No wonder the establishment, both Catholic and Labor are have knees knocking.

If it were possible, (and it is not) the Reverend Ian Paisley would be giggling in his grave if he knew the party he formed will be one of the most influential in bringing Britain out of Europe.

Obviously, the angels know what they are doing. It is exciting to watch the hand of God at work amongst the nations – bringing about His will.

Stay tuned, to see how the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives them it to whomsoever he wills.

For the Bible in the News, this has been Jonathan Bowen joining you.