“For I am God, and there is none other beside me, telling beforehand the latter events before they come to pass, and they are accomplished together: and I said, all my counsel shall stand, and I will do all things that I have planned.”
(Isaiah 46:9-10)
My Counsel Shall Stand

***

MPN NEWS (We were not originally going to publish this article, mostly because of it length. How ever after sending it out to a very few people the reaction we received back caused us to change our minds.

“WOW! I have never read such a concise - straight to the point - power packed message that covers nearly everything involved in this issue in one relatively small document. J.”

“Hi Robert. Wow. I mean, wow. That is one heck of an article and series this woman has written. I think I told you that I grew up around newspapers and journalism and this has influenced me somewhat in what I do. So I appreciate it when someone tries to hew to the side of factual-ism and truthfulness in their writings, as well as having their sources, as well as their facts, straight. Much of what is in the article I have heard in bits and pieces from different sources over the years. But this article is unique for me in putting it all together, the ducks in a row, so to speak. I don’t usually read something that long but this was well worth it. M.”

There is one minor error in the following article. Hal Lindsey was not involved in authoring the “Left Behind” series. He is most well known for writing “The Late Great Planet Earth”.

The Untold Story of Christian Zionism’s Rise to Power in the United States

Well before Theodore Herzl founded political Zionism and published The Jewish State, Christian Zionists in the United States and England were already seeking to direct and influence the foreign policy of both nations in service to a religious obsession end times prophecy

by Whitney Webb

July 12, 2019

The largest pro-Israel organization in the United States is not composed of Jews, but of Christian evangelicals, with a total membership of 7 million, more than 2 million more members than the entirety of the American Jewish community.

Members of this organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), met in Washington on Monday, attracting thousands of attendees and featuring speeches from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence, and National Security Advisor John Bolton. CUFI’s leader, controversial evangelical preacher John Hagee, has met with President Donald Trump several times and was recently part of an exclusive White House meeting in March on the administration’s upcoming “peace plan” for Israel and Palestine.

CUFI is but one of many organizations throughout American history that have promoted the state of Israel and Zionism on the grounds that a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine is a requirement for the fulfillment of end-times prophecy and necessary for Jesus Christ to return to Earth — an event Christians often refer to as “the Second Coming.”

While organizations like CUFI and its predecessors have long seen the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and the later Israeli victory and conquest of Jerusalem in 1967, as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, there is one prophecy that this sect of evangelical Christians believes is the only thing standing between them and the Second Coming. There are estimated to be more than 20 million of these Christians, often referred to as Christian Zionists, in the United States and they are a key voting bloc and source of political donations for the Republican Party.

As was explored in previous installments of this series, these Christian Zionists, much like religious Zionist extremists in Israel, believe that the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock must be replaced with a Third Jewish Temple in order to usher in the end times.

These two groups of different faiths, since the 19th century, have repeatedly formed an opportunistic alliance in order to ensure the fulfillment of their respective prophecies, despite the fact that members of the other faith are rarely if ever on the same page in their interpretations of what occurs after the temple’s construction.

This alliance, based on a mutual obsession with hastening the coming of the Apocalypse, continues to this day and now, more than at any other time in history, these groups have reached the heights of power in both Israel and the United States. Parts I and II of this exclusive series explored how this branch of religious Zionism has come to dominate the current right-wing government of Israel and has led Israel’s current government to take definitive steps towards the destruction of the Al Aqsa mosque and the imminent construction of a Third Temple.

Now this installment (Part III) will show how this movement’s Christian counterpart in the United States, Christian Zionism, has likewise become a dominant force in American politics, particularly following the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, where this apocalyptic vision is a major driver behind his administration’s Middle East policy.

Yet, this fire-and-brimstone vision of the end times has long been a guide for prominent figures in American history and the American elite, even predating Zionism’s founding as a political movement. Thus, Christian Zionism’s influence on Trump administration policy is merely the latest of a long list of examples where prophecy and politics have mixed in American history, often with world-altering results.

Puritans, Prophecy and Palestine

Accounts of the role of European and North American Christians in the creation of the state of Israel often begin with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, but the efforts of certain Christian groups in England and the United States to create a Jewish state in Palestine actually date back centuries earlier and significantly predate Zionism’s official founding by Theodore Herzl.

Among the first advocates for the physical immigration of European Jews to Palestine were the Puritans, an offshoot of Christian Protestantism that emerged in the late 16th century and became influential in England and, later, in the American colonies. Influential Puritans devoted considerable interest to the role of Jews in eschatology, or end-times theology, with many — such as John Owen, a 17th-century theologian, member of parliament, and administrator at Oxford — believing that the physical return of Jews to Palestine was necessary for the fulfillment of end-time prophecy.

While the Puritan roots of what would later become known as Christian Zionism are often overlooked in modern accounts of where and why American evangelical support for Israel began, its adherents still clearly acknowledge its legacy. For instance, on Monday at the CUFI conference, Pompeo, himself a Christian Zionist known for his obsession with the end times, told the group the following:

“Christian support in America for Zion — for a Jewish homeland — runs back to the early Puritan settlers, and it has endured for centuries. Indeed, our second president [John Adams], a couple years back, said… ‘I really wish the Jews again in Judea an independent nation.’

These Puritan beliefs, which persist today and have only grown in popularity, became more entrenched in England and colonial America with time, especially among the monied political class, and led to a variety of interpretations regarding exactly what the Bible says about the end times. Among the most influential was the development of Christian “dispensationalism,” an interpretive framework that uses the Bible to divide history into different periods of “dispensations” and sees the Bible’s prophetic references to “Israel” as signifying an ethnically Jewish nation established in Palestine.

Charles Russell’s visual interpretation of Darby’s ‘dispensations’ circa 1886

Dispensationalism was largely developed by English-Irish preacher John Nelson Darby, who believed that the God-ordained fates of Israel and the Christian church were completely separate, with the latter to be physically removed from the Earth by God prior to a foretold period of earthly suffering known as the Tribulation.

In Darby’s view, the Tribulation would begin following the construction of a Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This belief in the physical removal of Christians from the Earth prior to the Tribulation, widely known as “the rapture,” was invented by Darby in the 1820s and its lack of scriptural support has been widely noted by theologians of various denominations as well as biblical scholars. However, it is important to point that there are differences among dispensationalist Christians as to whether the rapture will occur before, during or after the Tribulation period.

Yet, despite its relatively short existence as an idea and lack of support in the Bible, the rapture was enthusiastically adopted by some churches in England and the United States, particularly the latter. This was largely thanks to the work of highly controversial theologian Cyrus Scofield.

Notably, Darby’s brand of Christian eschatology coincides with similar developments in Jewish eschatology, namely the ideas of Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Kalisher and the creation of a new branch of Jewish messianism that believed that Jews must proactively work to hasten the coming of their messiah by immigrating to Israel and building a Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Darby’s beliefs, and those he inspired promoted something similar in the sense that Christians could hasten the coming of the rapture and the Tribulation by promoting the immigration of Jews to Israel as well as the construction of a Third Jewish Temple.

Christian Zionists pave the way for Theodore Herzl

Darby traveled to North America and several other countries to popularize his ideas, meeting several influential pastors throughout the English speaking world, including James Brookes, the future mentor of Cyrus Scofield. His travels and the spread of his written works popularized his eschatological views among certain circles of American and English Christians during the religious revival of the 19th century. Darby’s beliefs were particularly attractive to the elite of both countries, with some English noblemen placing newspaper advertisements urging Jews to immigrate to Palestine as early as the 1840s.

Another prominent figure influenced by Darby’s end-times doctrine was the American preacher Charles Taze Russell, whose church later gave rise to several different churches, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Decades before the founding of modern political Zionism, Russell began preaching — not just to Christians, but to Jews in the United States and elsewhere — about the need for mass Jewish immigration to Palestine.

As Rabbi Kalisher had done a few decades prior, Russell penned a letter in 1891 to a wealthy member of the Rothschild banking family, Edmond de Rothschild, as well as Maurice von Hirsch, a wealthy German financier, about his plan for the Jewish settlement of Palestine. Russell described his plan as follows:

“My suggestion is that the wealthy Hebrews purchase from Turkey, at a fair valuation, all of her property interest in these lands: i.e., all of the Government lands (lands not held by private owners), under the provision that Syria and Palestine shall be constituted a free state.”

The same plan was to resurface a few years later in arguably the most influential Zionist book of all time, Theodore Herzl’s The Jewish State, which was published in 1896.

Russell addresses an audience of American Jews in New York in 1910. Photo | Public Domain

It is unknown whether Rothschild or Hirsch was influenced at all by Russell’s letter, though Russell’s ideas did have a lasting impact on some prominent American Jews and American Christians with regard to his promotion of Jewish immigration to Palestine.

The same year that Russell wrote his letter to de Rothschild and von Hirsch, another influential dispensationalist preacher wrote another document that is often overlooked in exploring the role of American Christians in the development and popularization of Zionism. William E. Blackstone, an American preacher who was greatly influenced by Darby and other dispensationalists of the era, had spent decades promoting with great fervor the immigration of Jews to Palestine as a means of fulfilling Biblical prophecy.

The culmination of Blackstone’s efforts came in the form of the Blackstone Memorial, a petition that pleaded that then-President of the United States Benjamin Harrison and his secretary of state, James Blaine, take action “in favor of the restoration of Palestine to the Jews.” The largely forgotten petition asked Harrison and Blaine to use their influence to “secure the holding at an early date, of an international conference to consider the condition of the Israelites and their claims to Palestine as their ancient home, and to promote, in all other just and proper ways, the alleviation of their suffering condition.”

As with Russell’s letter to de Rothschild and von Hirsch, it is unknown exactly how influential the Blackstone Memorial was in influencing the views or policies of Harrison or Blaine. However, the Blackstone Memorial petition is highly significant because of its signatories, which included the most influential and wealthiest Americans of the era, the majority of whom were Christians.

Signatories of the Blackstone Memorial included J.D. Rockefeller, the country’s first billionaire; J.P. Morgan, the wealthy banker; William McKinley, future president of the United States; Thomas Brackett Reed, then speaker of the House; Melville Fuller, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; the mayors of New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Chicago; the editors of the Boston Globe, New York Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune, among others; and numerous other members of Congress, as well as influential businessmen and clergymen. Though some rabbis were included as signatories, the petition’s content was opposed by most American Jewish communities. In other words, the primary goal of Zionism, before it even became a movement, was widely supported by the American Christian elite, but opposed by American Jews.

The Blackstone Memorial would later attract the attention of Louis Brandeis, one of the most prominent American Jewish Zionists, who would later refer to Blackstone as the real “founding father of Zionism,” according to Brandeis’ close friend Nathan Straus. Brandeis would eventually succeed in convincing an elderly Blackstone to petition then-President Woodrow Wilson with a second Blackstone Memorial in 1916 that was presented in private to Wilson nearly a year later.

Instead of gathering signatures from prominent members of America’s elite class, Blackstone this time focused on shoring up support from Protestant organizations, namely the Presbyterian Church, in keeping with Wilson’s Presbyterian faith. According to historian Jerry Klinger, president of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, this change in focus had been Brandeis’, not Blackstone’s, idea.

Alison Weir, author of Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel, described Brandeis as “one of the most influential” American Zionists and a key figure in the efforts to push Wilson to support the formation of a Jewish state in Palestine, of which Blackstone’s second petition was part. However, Weir asserted that Blackstone’s second petition was secondary to a so-called “gentleman’s agreement” whereby English officials promised to support a Jewish state in Palestine if American Zionists, led by Brandeis, were able to secure the United States’ entry into World War I.

Wilson ultimately supported Blackstone’s new document, which was never presented publicly to the president, but privately by Rabbi Stephen Wise. This second Blackstone Memorial was a key component of the Brandeis-led campaign that eventually guaranteed American support — i.e., private support — for the Balfour Declaration, which established British intentions to support a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine. Notably, the Balfour Declaration is named for the then-English Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, himself a Christian dispensationalist, though Weir told MintPress that Balfour was more likely influenced by political imperatives than religious motives. The only person in the British cabinet to oppose the Balfour Declaration was its only Jewish member, Edwin Montagu.

The Balfour Declaration was addressed to a member of the Rothschild banking family, Lionel Walter Rothschild, the last in a series of letters written to members of the Rothschild family urging them to use their wealth and political influence to favor the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine: from Rabbi Kalisher, who wrote to Baron Amschel Rothschild in 1836; to Charles Taze Russell, who wrote to Edmond de Rothschild in 1891; and finally to the Balfour Declaration, written to Lionel Walter Rothschild in 1917.

Weir told MintPress that the Rothschilds figure so prominently in these early efforts to establish a Jewish state in Palestine owing to “their wealth and the power that goes with it,” making them very sought after by those who felt that a Jewish state could be formed in Palestine by the purchase of the territory by wealthy European Jews, as both Kalisher and Russell had proposed. However, the Balfour Declaration was addressed to the Rothschilds because, at that time, members of the Rothschild family, Edmond de Rothschild in particular, had become among the strongest supporters of the Zionist cause.

Though the declaration carries his name, it is unclear whether Balfour himself actually authored the document. Some historians — such as Michael Rubinstein, former president of the Jewish Historical Society of England — have made the case that the declaration itself was written by Leopold Amery, then-political secretary of England’s War Cabinet and a Zionist who, despite his commitment to the Zionist cause, obfuscated his Jewish roots for much of his career for reasons that are still the source of speculation.

As shown by the Balfour Declaration and the lobbying efforts that led to its creation, support for what would soon become known as Zionism among the nobility of England and the United States was already formidable before Herzl even began work on The Jewish State. It is worth considering that the power and influence of this religiously-motivated class of Christian elites had an influence on Herzl and his ideas, particularly given the fact that dispensationalist Christians had been promoting a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine at a time when the idea was unpopular among many prominent Jews in Europe and the United States.

Furthermore, the role of Christian Zionists, as they would later become known, continued well after Herzl began his Zionist activities, and resulted in many of the most influential acts that led to the establishment of the State of Israel, including the Balfour Declaration.

Notably, Herzl’s own success in promoting his views following the publication of The Jewish State was largely due to English dispensationalist pastor William Hechler. Hechler, while serving as chaplain at the British Embassy in Vienna, forged an alliance and later close friendship with Herzl and was critical to negotiating meetings between Herzl and prominent members of the German government, including Kaiser Wilhelm II, which lent necessary political legitimacy to Herzl’s Zionist movement.

A largely overlooked figure in the rise of Zionism, Hechler is mentioned in Herzl’s diary more than any other person and passionately felt that the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine would bring about the end times. Hechler is also known to have been extremely interested in the construction of a Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount, having devoted considerable time to creating models of that Temple, some of which he prominently displayed in his office and showed to Herzl with great enthusiasm during their first meeting.

Herzl gives Kaiser Wilhelm II a tour of an early Jewish settlement near Jaffa, Palestine in 1898. Photo | Israel GPO

The Hechler-Herzl alliance is one early example of how Christian Zionists and Jewish Zionists each used the motivations of the other for political gain despite the fact that Christian Zionists often hold anti-Semitic views and secular Zionists, as well as religious Zionists, do not hold Christianity in high regard. This opportunism on the parts of both Christian and Jewish Zionists has been a key feature in the rise of Zionism, particularly in the United States, and the case of Cyrus Scofield, the man more responsible than any for popularizing Christian Zionism among American evangelicals, offers another important example.

The surprising story of Cyrus Scofield

There is perhaps no other book that has been more influential in the dissemination of Christian Zionism in the United States than the Scofield Reference Bible, a version of the King James Bible whose annotations were written by Cyrus Scofield. Scofield — who had no formal theological training, though he later claimed to have a D.D. (doctor of divinity degree) — originally worked as a lawyer and political operative in the state of Kansas and eventually became the district attorney of that state.

Soon after his appointment to the position, he was forced to resign as a result of numerous allegations of corruption, including bribery, forging signatures on banknotes and stealing political donations from then-Senator of Kansas James Ingalls. During this time, Scofield abandoned his wife and two daughters, an action since blamed on the burgeoning scandals he was facing as well as his self-admitted heavy drinking habits.

Amid this backdrop, Scofield is said to have become an evangelical around the year 1879 and soon became associated with prominent dispensationalist preachers of the era, including Dwight Moody and James Brookes. Local papers at the time, such as the Atchison Patriot, regarded Scofield’s conversion and career change with great skepticism, referring to Scofield as the “late lawyer, politician and shyster generally” who had disgraced himself by committing “many malicious acts.”

Scofield went on to pastor relatively small churches, moving from Kansas to Dallas, Texas, and later Massachusetts. Yet, despite his lack of renown and his troubled history, by 1901 Scofield had managed to gain entrance to an exclusive men’s club in New York, the Lotos Club, whose members at the time included steel magnate and multi-millionaire Andrew Carnegie, members of the Vanderbilt family, and famous American writer Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain.

Pastor Scofield, center, with the Deacons of the First Congregational Church of Dallas, circa 1880s

Scofield’s membership in this exclusive club — as well as the club’s patronage of his activities, which granted him lodging and financing to produce what would become the Scofield Reference Bible — has been the subject of considerable speculation. Indeed, many have noted that the presence of a fundamentalist, dispensationalist small-town preacher with a disgraced political past in a club stuffed with some of the country’s most elite academics, writers and robber barons just doesn’t add up.

Joseph M. Canfield, in his book The Incredible Scofield and his Book, asserted that “the admission of Scofield to the Lotus Club, which could not have been sought by Scofield, strengthens the suspicion that has cropped up before, that someone was directing the career of C.I. Scofield.”

Canfield puts forth the theory in his book that the person “directing” Scofield’s career was connected to New York lawyer and Zionist activist Samuel Untermeyer, who was on the club’s executive committee and was a close associate of Louis Brandeis and influential in the administration of Woodrow Wilson. He then notes that Scofield’s annotated bible was later “most helpful in getting Fundamentalist Christians to back the international interest in one of Untermeyer’s pet projects — the Zionist Movement.”

Other scholars, such as David Lutz, have been more explicit than Canfield in linking Untermeyer’s Zionist activism to his role in financially backing Scofield and his work on his annotated Bible. Ultimately, like the Blackstone Memorial before it, the Lotos Club’s patronage of Scofield’s work again reveals the interest of the American elite of the era, Christian and Jewish alike, in promoting Christian Zionism.

Untermeyer and the Lotos Club notably also funded Scofield’s numerous travels to Europe, including one fateful trip to England where Scofield met with Henry Frowde, publisher of Oxford University Press. Frowde was taken with Scofield’s work, largely owing to the fact that Frowde was a member of the “Exclusive Brethren,” a religious group founded by John Nelson Darby, the father of dispensationalism. Oxford University Press subsequently published the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. Twenty years after its publication, it became the first-ever Oxford publication to generate over a million dollars in sales.

Scofield’s Bible became spectacularly popular among American fundamentalists soon after its publication, partly because it was the first annotated bible that sought to interpret the text for the reader as well as because it became the central text of several influential seminaries that were set up after its 1909 publication. Among Scofield’s many annotations are claims that have since become central to Christian Zionism, such as Scofield’s annotation of Genesis 12:3 that those who curse Israel (interpreted by Christian Zionists to mean the state of Israel since its founding in 1948) will be cursed by God and those that bless Israel will similarly be blessed.

Modern Christian Zionists, like Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), have frequently cited this interpretation that originated with Scofield in defending extreme pro-Israel stances. For instance, Hagee made the following statement in 2014:

“You have to go back to basics, with the fact that in Genesis (chapter 1), God created the world and made a very solemn promise (brought in Gen. 12:3), ‘I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.’ From that moment on, every nation that ever blessed Israel has been blessed by God. And every nation that has ever persecuted the Jewish people, God crushed. And so He will continue.”

Falwell and Likud: a friendship or something else?

Despite the widespread dissemination of the Scofield Reference Bible and its popularization among American evangelical churches and seminaries, the public influence of dispensationalist eschatology and Christian Zionism on American politics was relatively limited for much of the 20th century. However, the private influence of Christian dispensationalists was nonetheless present, as seen through the role of dispensationalist preacher and Third Temple advocate Billy Graham and his close relationships to several presidents including Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Then the political power of dispensationalist theology dramatically moved from the private quarters of the halls of power into the mainstream American political discourse with the founding of the Moral Majority by evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell in 1979.

In the early 1970s, Falwell’s growing ministry was bringing in millions of dollars annually, especially his nationally broadcast program “The Old Time Gospel Hour,” which ran on several major cable networks at the time. Despite — or perhaps because of — the spike in donations, Falwell was soon targeted by the federal government, specifically the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for “fraud and deceit” and “gross insolvency” in the financial management of his ministry, particularly the ministry’s sale of $6.6 million in church bonds. The SEC lawsuit was eventually settled when a group of businessmen in Lynchburg, Virginia — where Falwell’s ministry was based — took over the ministry’s finances for the next several years, until 1977. Falwell blamed his ministry’s financial problems on his “financial ignorance.”

One year after his ministry appeared to be on a better financial footing, Falwell received an invitation to visit the state of Israel and was personally invited on the all-expenses-paid trip by Menachem Begin, then the prime minister of Israel and leader of the Likud Party. The trip would mark the beginning of a long friendship and close relationship between Falwell and Begin and, more broadly, a relationship between American evangelical leaders and Israel’s Likud Party. As Israeli historian Gershom Gorenberg notes in his book The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount, the Begin administration “was the first to tap evangelical enthusiasm for Israel and turn it into political and economic support.”

Soon after returning from Israel, Falwell’s finances again came under federal scrutiny after a federal investigation found that Falwell had transferred the health insurance policies of his employees to an unlicensed shell company with just $128 in assets and hundreds of thousands in dollars in unpaid claims. Just as Falwell’s financial troubles began to mount yet again, he received a generous gift from none other than Begin in the form of a private Learjet valued at $4 million. Shortly thereafter, Falwell went on to found the Moral Majority organization, “after consultations with theologians and political strategists.”

The Moral Majority is widely credited with turning the Christian evangelical right into a major political force in the United States, promoting extremely pro-Israel policies, increased defense spending, a Reaganite approach to the challenges of the Cold War, as well as conservative domestic policies. Falwell frequently utilized his gift from Begin in traveling and promoting the new organization, as well as himself as a major public figure.

The Moral Majority marks a clear turning point in the Israel-U.S. evangelical relationship, as it made fervent support for Israel an area of major importance to evangelical voters and also led many evangelical voters to pay closer attention to events going on in the Middle East. Yet, given Falwell’s strong promotion of Christian Zionism, many evangelicals who became increasingly politically active following the organization’s founding not only supported Israel’s policies of the era but also supported many of the future ambitions of Begin and the Likud Party. This support was solidified by the beginning of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism’s ongoing practice of offering U.S. evangelical leaders free “familiarization” tours to Israel in the early 1980s.

Begin’s vision of “Greater Israel” — the complete annexation of Palestine as well as large parts of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt by Israel — was also shared and promoted by Falwell. In 1983, Falwell stated that “Begin will quickly tell you, ‘We don’t have all the land yet we’re going to have,’” and further predicted that Israel would never relinquish control over the occupied West Bank because Begin was determined to keep the land “which has been delivered to them (the Israelis).”

Falwell framed Begin’s expansionist ambitions as a religious belief in “the inerrancy of the Old Testament,” a sentiment Falwell shared. Falwell also pushed for a U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and felt that construction of a Third Temple on the Temple Mount was necessary to usher in the end times and the second coming of Christ.

As Falwell helped turn Christian Zionism into a major political force in the United States, he also made himself a key political figure in the Reagan era and an important go-between for U.S.-Israel relations. In 1981 Begin informed Falwell of his plans to bomb an Iraqi nuclear facility before he informed the Reagan administration with the hopes that Falwell would “explain to the Christian public the reasons for the bombing.” According to Canadian academic David S. New, Begin told Falwell during that phone call: “Get to work for me.”

In addition, Falwell frequently met with Begin, whom he later called a personal friend, and these meetings often overlapped with Begin’s official meetings with Reagan. A year later, Begin gave Falwell Israel’s Jabotinsky award, making Falwell the first non-Jew to receive the honor for his advocacy on behalf of Israel and, more specifically, Likud policies and ambitions.

Though the Moral Majority officially shuttered its doors in 1989, its political legacy persisted long after, as did Falwell’s political clout. Indeed, following Begin’s model, Benjamin Netanyahu, during his first term as prime minister, also made a habit of visiting Falwell, meeting with the controversial pastor even before he met with political officials in his visits to Washington.

During one trip to D.C. in 1998, Netanyahu’s first visit was to an event co-hosted by Falwell, where the pastor praised Netanyahu as “the Ronald Reagan of Israel.” The New York Times described the purpose of Netanyahu’s U.S. visit not as a visit aimed at meeting with government officials, but rather one intended “to shore up his base of traditional support in the United States. Conservative Christian groups have long been ardent supporters of Israel because of its religious importance to Christianity.”

However, this relationship between Christian Zionists like Falwell and prominent right-wing Israeli politicians has not been without its controversy, especially given that pro-Israel evangelicals like Falwell have a history of making anti-semitic statements.

For example, during a 1999 sermon, Falwell discussed his interpretation of end-times prophecy, widely shared by Christian Zionist evangelicals, that the Second Coming would follow not just the creation of the state of Israel but the construction of a Third Temple on the Temple Mount, from which a figure known to Christians as the “Antichrist” would reign. In responding to his own rhetorical question as to whether the Antichrist is “alive and well today,” Falwell stated that “Probably because when he appears during the tribulation period he will be a full-grown counterfeit of Christ. Of course, he’ll be Jewish.”

Falwell’s comments were immediately condemned by a variety of Jewish groups, including the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Rabbi Leon Klenicki, then-director of interfaith affairs for the ADL, noted that Falwell’s view is a “common theological position” among American evangelicals and that Falwell was “an influential voice among evangelical and charismatic Christians” who “only supports Israel for his own Christological ends.” “He sees us only as the ones who prepare the coming of Jesus,” Klenicki stated at the time. “It is a great disappointment after more than 30 years of dialogue; he’s still in the Middle Ages.”

Another prominent dispensationalist with great political and literary influence is Hal Lindsey, the author and co-author of several books, including the popular Left Behind book series. Lindsey’s work greatly influenced many prominent U.S. politicians like Ronald Reagan, who was so moved by Lindsey’s books that he invited Lindsey to address a National Security Council meeting on nuclear war plans and helped make Lindsey an influential consultant with several members of Congress and the Pentagon.

As noted by Israeli historian Gershom Gorenberg, Lindsey sees Jews as serving “two central roles” in Christian dispensationalist eschatology:

“[T]he first — despite his insistence of love for Jews — is the classic one of Christian anti-Jewish polemic: They are ‘the Jewish people who crucified Jesus’ and the archetype of those who ignore the truth of prophecy. The second role is to fulfill prophecy despite themselves.”

Gorenberg further notes that Lindsey believes that Jews have fulfilled two of the three crucial prophecies that will usher in the end times, with the first being the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the second being the Israeli conquest and occupation of Jerusalem after the Six Day War in 1967. According to Lindsey: “There remains but one more event to completely set the stage for Israel’s part in the last great act of her historical drama. That is to rebuild the ancient Temple…”

As Falwell’s and Lindsey’s comments reveal, the eschatological views of dispensationalism frequently perceive the Jewish people as little more than pawns that must fulfill certain requirements — e.g., establishing the state of Israel, conquering Jerusalem, building a Third Temple — in order to hasten the salvation and “rapture” of evangelical Christians. Meanwhile, Jews in Israel who do not convert to Christianity are expected to die horrible deaths, though some Christian Zionists in recent years, as will be seen shortly, have sought to adjust this still common theological position.

Despite the anti-semitic motivations underlying evangelical support for the state of Israel and the Likud-supported vision of “Greater Israel,” the politically active Christian Zionist movement that Falwell helped create translated into a strong support base for Israel and right-wing Likud policy that has made it crucial to prominent Israeli politicians.

For instance, significantly more American Christians (55 percent) than American Jews (40 percent) believe that God gave Israel to the Jews while that sentiment is shared by only 19 percent of Israeli Christians. In addition, with regards to the Trump administration’s pro-Israel policies, only 15 percent of evangelical Christians believe that President Trump favors Israel too strongly while 42 percent of American Jews hold the view that Trump is biased in favor of Israel.

In a video recorded in the early 2000s — later broadcast on Israeli TV — Netanyahu, speaking to a family of Jewish settlers, described the mass support among Americans, particularly evangelicals, for Israel as “absurd,” saying:

“America is something that can be easily moved. Moved in the right direction. They won’t get in our way; 80 percent of the Americans supprt us. It’s absurd.”

In a 2017 speech to the Christian Zionist group CUFI, Netanyahu made it clear that much of this “absurd” support came from American evangelicals, stating that “America has no better friend than Israel and Israel has no better friend than America, and Israel has no better friend in America than you.”

Richard Silverstein — an academic and journalist whose work has been published in Haaretz and MintPress, among other outlets — has argued that Israeli politicians, particularly Netanyahu, have sought out support from evangelical groups despite their anti-Semitic undertones and the fact they the act out of self-interest in pursuing their political objectives.

“In a 2017 article, Silverstein stated that for Israel’s nationalist right-wing:

Judaism is not a spiritual value, it is a physical manifestation of power in the world. These Israelis understand that not all Jews are their “brothers.” Some Jews are too effete, too liberal, too humane, too universalist. These Jews are the detritus which will be washed away by the tide of history. Israeli nationalists need to replace these traditional Jewish allies and have done so by finding new ones: Christian evangelicals, African dictators, European neo-Nazis. Zionism as they define it is less a movement dedicated to ethics and more one dedicated to self-interest.”

A “vital part of Israel’s national security”

As Falwell began to fade from public view in the early 2000s, his legacy has largely fallen to a handful of preachers now at the forefront of Christian Zionism and Christian Zionist political activism, with Falwell’s son, Jerry Falwell Jr., ranking prominently among them. However, of the preachers that followed in Falwell’s footsteps, one stands out: John Hagee.

Hagee is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, which has an active membership of over 22,000. A charismatic Christian who believes in dispensationalist eschatology and thinks that Christians are biblically required to support Israel, Hagee has long been a major advocate for Israel within evangelical and charismatic Christianity circles and has raised over $80 million for Israel since he first began hosting “A Night to Honor Israel” events in the early 1980s.

In 2006, Hagee sought to create the “Christian AIPAC” and revived a then-defunct organization previously founded in 1975 known as Christians United for Israel, or CUFI, mentioned at the beginning of this installment. Since its re-founding, CUFI has grown exponentially, now counting 7 million members, a figure that exceeds the Jewish population of the United States, which stands at around 5.7 million. Hagee chairs its executive board, which included Jerry Falwell up until Falwell’s death in 2007.

CUFI is exempt from paying U.S. taxes and from publicly disclosing its finances because it is officially registered as a church, though it is often likened to an arm of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States and actively promotes and funds illegal West Bank settlements. CUFI also advocates for Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and the construction of a Third Temple.

Much has been written about CUFI’s influence in the Republican Party, which began under the George W. Bush administration soon after its founding. As journalist Max Blumenthal noted in a 2006 article for The Nation: “Over the past months, the White House has convened a series of off-the-record meetings about its policies in the Middle East with leaders of Christians United for Israel (CUFI).”

As a result of these meetings, CUFI aligned itself tightly with the neoconservatives that were well represented in the Bush administration, even appointing neoconservative and Christian Zionist Gary Bauer to its board and naming Bauer the first director of its lobbying arm, the CUFI Action Fund. Bauer is a founding member of the highly controversial and now-defunct neoconservative group, Project for a New American Century (PNAC), and has also served on the executive board of the neoconservative group Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).

CUFI has since won powerful allies and counts neoconservative Elliott Abrams; former CIA director James Woosley; neoconservative archon Bill Kristol; former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee; Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ted Cruz (R-TX); Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence among its staunchest supporters. At a CUFI summit last year, Netanyahu described CUFI as a “vital part of Israel’s national security.”

In addition, CUFI has close ties to casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the top donor to President Trump and the entire Republican Party. Adelson even received a special award from Hagee at a 2014 CUFI event. “I’ve never had a greater warm feeling than being honored by Pastor Hagee,” said a beaming Sheldon Adelson at the time.
At the most recent CUFI summit, held on Monday, the Trump administration sent Pence, Pompeo, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and National Security Advisor John Bolton, all of whom spoke at the summit.

In addition to its own influence as an organization, the group has made Hagee himself a major political player. In 2007, then-Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) compared Hagee to Moses, stating:

“I want to take to opportunity to describe Pastor Hagee in the terms the Torah used to describe Moses. He is an Ish Elohim. A man of God. And those words really do fit him. And I have something else. Like Moses, he’s become the leader of a mighty multitude. Even greater than the multitude that Moses led from Egypt to the Promised Land.”

Efforts by prominent politicians to court Hagee were once numerous, until evidence of Hagee making remarks about the Holocaust that were widely considered anti-semitic surfaced during the 2008 presidential campaign. In those remarks, Hagee asserted that Adolf Hitler had been sent by God to act as a “hunter,” and force Jews by means of the Holocaust to resettle in Palestine as a means of fulfilling Biblical prophecy. Then-Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who had aggressively courted Hagee’s endorsement, was forced to distance himself from Hagee after those comments resurfaced.

Yet, the stigma around Hagee has since worn off and his influence is again on the rise following Trump’s election to the presidency, as evidenced by the attendance of numerous top Trump officials to the 2019 CUFI Washington Summit earlier this week.

Though he was not included on the official board of Trump’s evangelical advisers early in Trump’s presidency, several slightly less controversial allies and associates of Hagee were, including Tom Mullins, Jerry Falwell Jr., and Kenneth Copeland. Then, a few months after Trump’s inauguration, Hagee “dropped by” the White House unannounced and met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss U.S. support for Israel. He also met with Trump a few weeks before Trump announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a meeting at which Trump had reportedly promised Hagee that the embassy would soon be moved and told the pastor “I will not disappoint you.” Hagee described Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem as having “biblical timing of absolute precision.”

More recently, Hagee was part of an exclusive group of evangelical leaders who met with White House officials this past March prior to the partial release of the so-called “Deal of the Century,” aimed at bringing “peace” to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is widely viewed as greatly favoring Israel and is expected to be rejected outright by Palestinian leadership.

After the meeting, Hagee issued an urgent prayer request. ”Our topic of discussion was discussing the forthcoming peace plan concerning Israel. Israel and the Jewish people need our prayers and our advocacy like never before,” Hagee said in a video posted to the CUFI Twitter page soon after the meeting. “The Bible gives the command, ‘For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake, I will not keep my peace.’ I urge you tonight to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

As the final installment of this series will show, the shared apocalyptic visions of extremist religious Zionists and Christian Zionists regarding a Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount is a major driver behind the Deal of the Century and was also a major factor in the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, despite Palestinian hopes that East Jerusalem would serve as the capital of their future state. Notably, Christian Zionists believe that Palestinians must be expelled from the state of Israel. In addition, these end-times beliefs are also a factor in the administration’s push for war with Iran, which Christian Zionists like Hagee and Pompeo believe is also a requisite for the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

While Hagee’s influence and the influence of his organization CUFI are stronger than ever with Trump in the White House, his political clout with the Trump administration is, at least partially, due to the presence of staunch Christian Zionists in two of the top offices in the executive branch: vice president and secretary of state.

Pence and Pompeo push “holy war”

Though several Trump officials spoke at the recent CUFI summit, two stand out — not just for their high-ranking positions but also for their open admissions that their Christian Zionist beliefs guide their policies. These officials are Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

After Trump chose his running mate, Pence’s religious fervor came under media scrutiny, with several outlets noting that he was known to be an ardent Christian Zionist. Pence’s faith gained particular attention owing to his past statements on Israel, which he has often described in prophetic terms.

Though raised Catholic, Pence gradually transitioned to an “evangelical Catholic” and then to an evangelical Protestant and has since become a key political figure representing the fundamentalist Christian movement that promotes “dominionism,” an ideology that varies in its interpretations but ultimately seeks to see the secular nature of the U.S. government shift towards one governed by “Biblical law.” Pence’s association with this movement has led prominent voices in the media to accuse him of supporting a theocratic form of government.

Though many of the initial concerns about Pence revolved around his likely effects on domestic policy, much of his influence has instead been seen in foreign policy, including the administration’s Middle East policy. His public identification as a Christian Zionist and his speech to the 2017 CUFI summit, the first vice president to ever speak at the annual event, have led some to worry that the Christian Zionist view of prophecy is guiding Pence’s political actions.

Following Pence’s first speech at CUFI, Daniel Hummel, a scholar and fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, told the Washington Post:

“Christian Zionism has a long history in American politics, but it has never captured the bully pulpit of the White House. Past administrations often used general biblical language in reference to Israel, but never has the evangelical theology of Christian Zionism been so close to the policymaking apparatus of the executive branch.

By identifying with Christian Zionism while in office, Pence risks the Trump administration’s ongoing search for an ‘ultimate deal’ to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and erodes the U.S.’ claim that it can be an ‘honest broker’ in the Middle East.”

Concerns that the U.S. is under the influence of extremist religious Zionism and Christian Zionism that would prevent the country from acting as an “honest broker” in the Israel-Palestine conflict have, unsurprisingly, been proven true. In fact, Pence’s religious beliefs are believed to have been a major factor in Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the U.S. Embassy to the contested city.

Though Mike Pence is the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration who is openly a Christian Zionist, it is Pompeo that is the most overt and open about how his religious beliefs regarding the end times guide his decision-making as head of the U.S. State Department.

For uch of his political career, Pompeo has framed U.S. counterterrorism policy as a “holy war” between Christianity and Islam, which he believes is the earthly equivalent of a cosmic battle between good and evil. In 2017, as CIA director, Pompeo claimed:

“Radical Islamic terror [will] continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ is our savior [and] truly the only solution for our world.”

That same year, Pompeo created a new CIA “mission center” targeting Iran headed by Michael D’Andrea, whose CIA nickname is “The Prince of Darkness.” Pompeo, like many Christian Zionists, believes that war between the United States and Iran is part of the end times, a belief that is outright alarming given his prior control over CIA covert operations and his focus on Iran, as well as his current role as the U.S.’ chief diplomat, in which he has also been laser-focused on promoting an aggressive policy towards Iran.

In addition to his views on “holy war,” Pompeo also frequently discussed his views on the rapture while serving as CIA director. TYT reported last year that Pompeo had spoken about the rapture so frequently that it had reportedly frightened top CIA officials.

According to Michael Weinstein — founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group on issues of religious freedom in the military and intelligence community — who was quoted in the TYT report:

“He [Pompeo] is intolerant of anyone who isn’t a fundamentalist Christian. The people that worked under him at the CIA that came to us were never confused — they never had time to be confused. They were shocked and then they were scared shitless.”

A 2015 video of Pompeo that surfaced while he was CIA director also shows the former congressman describing politics as “a never-ending struggle … until the rapture.”

More recently, a New York Times article published in March again brought Pompeo’s obsession with the end times back into public view. Titled “The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy,” the article detailed how Pompeo has made it standard operating procedure to mix his Christian Zionist views with his approach to foreign policy. That article also referenced the statement Pompeo made earlier this year, in which he opined that it was “certainly possible” that President Trump had been sent by God to “save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace.”

Pompeo made those statements during an official trip to Jerusalem that was also controversial for other reasons. Indeed, in a state department video shared on social media and meant to publicize Pompeo’s trip, footage of a model of the Third Jewish Temple was included while footage of the Al Aqsa mosque was notably excluded, despite it being the most iconic building in Jerusalem.

Given that Pompeo had also visited the tunnels that have worn away the historic mosque’s foundations, many Palestinians took the video as a sign that the Trump administration was colluding with the Temple Activist movement in Israel, which was discussed in detail in Part II of this series.

Joining forces to target Jerusalem

Well before Theodore Herzl founded political Zionism and published The Jewish State, Christian Zionists in the United States and England were already seeking to direct and influence the foreign policy of both nations in service of a religious obsession with ushering in the end times. The historical record clearly shows how Christian Zionists have influenced events throughout history, particularly in regard to the founding of the state of Israel and subsequent developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

In the pursuit of these dispensationalist end-times prophecies, Christian Zionists have forged alliances with Jewish Zionists and each has opportunistically used the other in order to usher in the common events that are believed to facilitate the coming of their respective apocalypses or to aid more secular, political goals. From Hechler and Herzl, to Scofield and Untermeyer, to Begin and Falwell, these alliances have shaped the policy of Western governments, particularly the U.S. and England, for over a century.

Today, only one such prophecy has yet to be fulfilled, the construction of a Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount, which is currently occupied by the Al Aqsa mosque compound. Now, more than ever before, Israel’s government, as shown in Part II, is filled with high-ranking officials who openly call for Al Aqsa’s destruction and seek to hastily construct a Third Temple. Similarly, as this report has shown, the Trump administration is greatly influenced by Christian Zionists who also seek the mosque’s destruction, in hopes that the Third Temple will soon be built.

Yet, the Trump administration’s ties to this apocalyptic ideology go even deeper than has been discussed in this article, as many other influential members in the Trump administration — especially top Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman — also share and actively promote this extremist religious Zionist ideology that seeks to rebuild a Third Temple. As will be seen in the next installment of this series, this ideology is also a driving factor for top Trump and Republican Party donors such as Sheldon Adelson.

The end result is that the hold of this apocalyptic ideology on both the governments of Israel and the United States appears to be stronger now than ever, meaning that the danger currently facing Al Aqsa mosque, and with it world peace, looms large.

Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.

***

WND

Franklin Graham warns of serious 'nightmare' for U.S.

Posted By Bob Unruh On July 14, 2019

Franklin Graham

Billy Graham Evangelical Association CEO Franklin Graham says that if Congress adopts the Democrats’ Equality Act, which would nullify constitutional protections for religious rights, the “nation may never recover.”

H.R. 5 which already has passed the House of Representatives, would cancel civil rights protection for women, eliminate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and codify the LGBT agenda.

It previously was condemned by Graham and other Christian leaders.

In the July-August issue of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s “Decision” magazine, Graham points out it’s not likely that the Republican majority in the Senate will go along, but “if the Senate majority changes or if enough Republican senators change their position, it would be up to the president to veto the bill.”

“And if that office were to change hands in 2020, I have little doubt this would become the law of the land,” he warned.

He said there would be “catastrophic consequences.”

Christian organizations “would lose all protections to hire people who adhere to their biblical statements of faith. Christians will be persecuted for their sincerely held beliefs as never before. The clear teachings of the Bible on the sins of homosexuality and abortion will no doubt be considered ‘hate speech.’ It will be a nightmare from which this nation may never recover,” he warned.

In a separate article, “The Equality Act: A Clear and Present Danger,” the organization’s Jerry Pierce explains the law would force the closure of faith-based adoption agencies and women’s shelters.

And those who fail to use transgender pronouns could be fined.

School field trips? Dorm room assignments? All would be ruled by “the new sexual orthodoxy.”

Then religious groups, including churches, would be under the thumb of the “newly framed Civil Rights Act,” he wrote.

“The law would make no exemptions for religious institutions and explicitly invalidates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Parents no longer would be allowed to choose medical treatment for their children and “the law would also strip parents of their right to raise and educate their own children if their beliefs contradict government mandates.”

Men who say they are women would have access to women’s locker rooms, homeless shelters, hospital rooms, elder care facilities and more. And bakers, florists, photographers, videographers and others who believe in traditional marriage would be forced to violate their beliefs or be run out of business.

“Tolerance is no longer enough,” Pierce wrote. “What Obergefell [the case creating same-sex marriage} didn’t accomplish, the misnamed Equality Act of 2019 attempts to complete with the full crushing force of the federal government behind it.”

He quoted Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty, who said, “The Equality Act attempts to make sure that in all cases LGBT rights trump religious freedom – in every situation. It makes religious freedom a secondary freedom or right.”

Pierce said under the law, people couldn’t “have a different belief and expect to live in peace.”

“They can’t even make the argument for their beliefs, which is why this is so extreme.”

WND reported Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, charged that H.R. 5 would endanger millions of American women, undermine fundamental American rights to faith in both religion and science and put children at risk by medicalizing them in harmful, permanent ways without parental involvement.

“Americans can all agree. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect,” he wrote. “No one should be mistreated by his or her employers, coworkers or anyone else. However, when lawmakers propose amendments to federal law, we must avoid doing more harm than good,.

“We must not pass legislation that harms children, sets back the rights women have fought so hard to attain or erases the gains made possible by other federal civil rights laws, such as Title IX. H.R. 5 does all of these things. This bill would do much more harm than good, and women and children would bear the brunt of the damage.”

WND reported 21 Christian leaders wrote to Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate declaring their “adamant” opposition to the “poorly named Equality Act.”

“We the undersigned cannot remain silent concerning a dangerous bill pending in Congress known as the Equality Act (H.R. 5). Not only is it incompatible with God’s Word (the Bible) and the historic teaching of the church, but the Equality Act is also riddled with threats to religious liberty and the sanctity of human life,” they wrote.

Signatories included Tony Perkins of Family Research Council, former Rep. Michele Bachmann, Paul Blair of Reclaiming America for Christ, Stephen Broden of Fair Park Bible Fellowship, Times Square Church Pastor Carter Conlon, James Dobson of the James Dobson Family Institute, Jim Garlow of Well Versed, Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse, Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist in Texas, Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, Harry Jackson Jr. of International Communion of Evangelical Churches and Robert Jeffress of First Baptist in Dallas.

Others were Guillermo Maldonado of King Jesus International Ministry, author and radio host Eric Metaxas, Robert Morris of Gateway Church, Ramiro Pena of Christ the King in Waco, Everett Piper of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Ralph Reed of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, James Robison of LIFE Outreach, Todd Wanger of Watermark Community Church and Tim Wildmon of American Family Association.

Collectively, they are considered leaders for tens of millions of Americans.

“First, the ideology enshrined in the Equality Act – which falsely equates one’s sexual conduct with immutable characteristics like skin color and ethnicity – is a falsehood that openly contradicts the scriptural mandates we were given for our good (1 Thess. 4:3-8),” the letter explains. “We cannot remain silent and allow this lie to harm countless men, women, and children – whether in this or any other legislation. … No family would be safe from the long reach of the Equality Act.”

Also, the leaders contended, the Democratic proposal would “gut” religious freedom protections in the U.S.

The Alliance Defending Freedom previously condemned the plan.

“Essentially, the ‘Equality Act’ gives people of faith an ultimatum: Change your faith-based practices or face government punishment,” wrote the ADF’s Sarah Kramer in a postabout the proposal.

Washington watchdog Judicial Watch also warned it would remove access to all single-sex “public multi-stall bathrooms, domestic violence or rape crisis shelters, drug rehabilitation centers, jails, juvenile detention facilities, homeless shelters, locker rooms or group showers.”

And Family Talk founder James Dobson warned, “Make no mistake – the so-called Equality Act is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to finish off religious liberty in America once and for all, which ought to be plainly obvious based upon a cursory reading of the First Amendment.”

Their worst concerns have been confirmed by the left. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said, during congressional debate that religious rights protected by the First Amendment never should be used as a defense in a conflict with LGBT demands.

Liberty Counsel said the bill “literally sets the stage for setting up the Bible as prohibited material where it addresses homosexuality.”

***

RT

US House chaplain holds EXORCISM after ‘spirits of darkness’ engulf proceedings

Published time: 19 Jul, 2019 03:26 Edited time: 19 Jul, 2019 05:25

© Global Look / Damien Klamka

The House chaplain has staged an emergency prayer intervention in Congress to cast out the “spirits of darkness” he blames for the turmoil that seized the chamber during the vote to condemn the president’s tweets for ‘racism.’

"It felt like there was something going on beyond just political disagreement” on the House floor on Tuesday during the contentious vote, chaplain Rev. Patrick Conroy told CNN on Thursday. “The energy of the House was very off. No one was relishing what was happening."

Conroy’s prayer was inspired by the Catholic exorcism rite, he explained – as well as “traditional blessings for homes or other buildings.” He had the idea after witnessing Tuesday’s chaotic vote on a resolution condemning Trump’s “racist” tweets degenerate into partisan sniping. The drama unfolded before the vote itself, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi ultimately leaving the room in a huff after Republican Rep. Doug Collins demanded she retract the characterization of Trump’s tweets as racist. Presiding Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver dropped the gavel and abandoned the chair, a dramatic move with no historical precedent, as the proceedings devolved into bickering over whether a rule had been broken. Over two hours went by before order was sufficiently restored to continue with the vote, which split along partisan lines to condemn the tweets.

“I now cast out all spirits of darkness from this chamber, spirits not from you,” Conroy is seen to pray in a C-SPAN video of the session, deploring that “darker spirits seem to have been at play in the people’s House.” The Jesuit priest has served as House chaplain since 2011, and while he has invoked God’s help in congressional battles in the past, he has never led a congressional exorcism before. Like all of his prayers, however, the demon-expelling composition was designed to be nonpartisan.

“I want every member of the House to be able to say ‘amen,’” he said. No one burst into flames after that, so there's probably still hope.

***

Fellowship Of The Minds

Demonic: Christian & Jewish clergy ‘bless’ abortion clinic in name of ‘god’

Dr. Eowyn

July 14, 2019

LifeNews reports that on July 9, 2019, calling killing unborn babies “sacred work,” a group of ten Christian (Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ) and Jewish (Reform and Reconstructionist) clergy gathered to “bless” an Austin, Texas abortion clinic — the Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion chain known for numerous health and safety violations.

Rev. Amelia Fulbright, a campus minister of the “ecumenical” “Christian” Labyrinth Progressive Student Ministry at the University of Texas, said the “blessing” was organized to encourage the “patients” as well as the abortion workers:

“The first and foremost goal was to say that we support you and the work that you’re doing, especially in a state where you’re constantly having to meet new regulations or deal with critics and protesters. As people of faith, it’s not that we think we’re bringing God to this place; we believe God is already present in that space. But it’s to ask for prayers of safety, healing and peace, to infuse the space with an energy that is life-giving for women, a lot of whom are in an anxious time.”

Fulbright said one of the most meaningful moments during the “blessing” was was when her 4-month-old baby became hungry. She said being able to nurse her child in that setting, surrounded by people who understood the importance of being able to choose motherhood, illustrated to her that abortion clinics are a “life-affirming space” and that “It paints a different picture than what the anti-abortion movement would like you to think happens in abortion clinics.”

The “blessing” was organized by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCFRC) and Texas Freedom Network.

Rev. Katey Zeh, a Baptist minister and executive director of RCFRC, said abortion is “sacred work” and the abortion clinic is a “blessed space”. She writes:

The Whole Woman’s Health clinic in Austin is also a blessed space, not only because of our ritual of blessing on Tuesday but because providing reproductive health services has always been sacred work.

Zeh claims “compassion” means supporting pregnant women who abort their unborn babies:

“Because our prophetic teachings emphasize caring for our neighbors, progressive faith communities are called to respond to pregnant people with compassion and affirmation. We know that making reproductive decisions can be hard work spiritually and emotionally, yet we believe God accepts the decisions of conscience each person makes.”

(“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. Matthew 7:15, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

***

NEW YORK POST

Swedes are getting implants in their hands to replace cash, credit cards

By Lee Brown

July 14, 2019

Thousands of people in Sweden are having futuristic microchips implanted into their skin to carry out everyday activities and replace credit cards and cash.

More than 4,000 people have already had the sci-fi-ish chips, about the size of a grain of rice, inserted into their hands — with the pioneers predicting millions will soon join them as they hope to take it global.

“It’s very ‘Black Mirror,’” Swedish scientist Ben Libberton told The Post of the similarity to the TV series highlighting futuristic scenarios.

Like glorified smartwatches, the chips help Swedes monitor their health and even replace keycards to allow them to enter offices and buildings.

They have particularly caught on, however, by enabling owners to pay in stores with a simple swipe of the hand, a big deal in a forward-looking country that is moving toward eliminating cash.

The microchips were pioneered by former body piercer Jowan Österlund, who calls the technology a “moonshot” — and who told Fortune magazine that he’s been hit up by hopeful investors “on every continent except Antarctica.”

“Tech will move into the body,” the Biohax International founder told the mag. “I am sure of that.”

Österlund insists the technology is safe — but that has not stopped alarm bells from ringing, with some fearing a link to a doubling in cybercrime in the country over the last decade.

Libberton, a British scientist based in Sweden, praised the “definitely exciting” potential health benefits of accurate health metrics taken from inside the body.

“Think if the Apple Watch could measure things like blood glucose,” he told The Post.

But he also fears the mass of highly personalized data and how it could be used.

“The problem is, who owns this data?” he asked. “Do I get a letter from my insurance company saying premiums are going up before I know I’m ill? If I use the chip to buy lunch, go to the gym and go to work, will someone have all of this info about me? Is this stored and is it safe?”

Libberton added, “It’s not just about the chip, but integration with other systems and data sharing.”

And he fears Swedes are not giving enough thought to the potential dangers.

“People have shown they’re happy to give up privacy for convenience,” he said. “The chip is very convenient, so could we accept our data being shared very widely before we know the risks?”

The trend coincides with Sweden’s march toward going cashless, with notes and coins making up just 1 percent of Sweden’s economy. At the same time, the country has seen a dramatic decrease in some crimes — with just two bank robberies last year compared to 110 in 2008.

INDEPENDENT

ELON MUSK UNVEILS NEURALINK 'THREADS' THAT HOOK HUMAN BRAINS DIRECTLY TO COMPUTERS

Entrepreneur says brain chip will 'ultimately achieve a sort of symbiosis with artificial intelligence'

Anthony Cuthbertson

July 17, 2019

Elon Musk‘s secretive neurotechnology startup Neuralink has made its first major public announcement, revealing flexible “threads” designed to link a human brain directly to a computer.

The technology is aimed at helping paraplegics control computers through implantable devices in their brain, and could one day vastly improve the way humans think and communicate.

Speaking at an event in San Francisco, Mr Musk said the chip will help “preserve and enhance your own brain” and “ultimately achieve a sort of symbiosis with artificial intelligence”.

The serial entrepreneur’s previous ventures include revolutionising online payments with PayPal, transforming the electric car industry through Tesla, and pioneering private space travel through SpaceX. But it is his work with the mysterious Neuralink that is arguably the most ambitious.

The billionaire polymath founded the neurotechnology startup in order to put humans on a level with computers and ultimately counter what many perceive to be the existential risk posed by artificial intelligence.

“After solving a bunch of brain-related diseases... it will create a well-aligned future,” he said.

During the presentation, Mr Musk appeared to accidentally reveal that the system was already being tested on a monkey, which had "controlled a computer using its brain".

Very few details have previously been given about the project, though since it was founded in 2016 by Mr Musk has frequently alluded to its goal of building an “ultra-high bandwidth” to connect a human brain to a computer.

Such technology is needed for humans to keep up with the rapid advancements of artificial intelligence, he claims. If it isn’t built, Mr Musk believes humans could fall so far behind that machines eventually view humans in the same way humans currently view house pets.

Speaking about this idea at a tech conference in 2016, he said: “I don’t love the idea of being a house cat, but what’s the solution? I think one of the solutions that seems maybe the best is to add an AI layer.”

The idea of augmenting human capabilities through technology, often referred to as transhumanism, is usually restricted to the realm of science fiction – but Neuralink says it plans to begin clinical trials of the technology next year.

Neuralink has developed a robotic system to implant the threads into the brain and hopes the procedure will one day be as efficient as laser eye surgery.

A tiny chip connects to the brain through the threads, which are thinner than a human hair and are barely perceptible with the human eye.

A fully implantable neural interface connects to the brain through tiny threads (Neuralink)

The size of Neuralink's system makes it far smaller and less invasive than previous attempts at brain machine interfaces.

A white paper describing the technology states that previous interfaces that have been used in clinical trials have been limited to 256 electrodes.

"We have built arrays of small and flexible electrode 'threads', with as many as 3,072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads," the paper states.

Trials of Neuralink's fully implantable neural interface system will begin in 2021 (Neuralink)

The first applications will be to assist paraplegic people with using their smartphone or computer, though it could also be used to treat epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and even provide "rich visual feedback to the blind".

Neuralink president Max Hodak said patients will first need to learn how to use it.

"Imagine not having arms before and then suddenly having them and having to figure out how to use them," he said. "It's a long process, it's like learning to touch type or play the piano."

***

BBC NEWS

Ancient city of Babylon designated Unesco World Heritage Site

July 5, 2019

The ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Iraq had been lobbying since 1983 for the 4,000-year-old site to be added to the United Nations' prestigious list.

The city was famous for its Hanging Gardens, which were among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The site has suffered in recent years - first from the construction of a palace for Saddam Hussein, and later from being used as a base for US troops.

The UN World Heritage Committee met in Azerbaijan to decide on the latest sites to be given the honour - awarded to areas or landmarks considered important for the whole of humanity and protected by international treaties.

The Iraqi delegation welcomed the designation, seeing it as a recognition of the significance of Babylon and Mesopotamian civilisation.

A replica of the Ishtar Gate

Announcing its decision, Unesco said: "Seat of successive empires, under rulers such as Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon represents the expression of the creativity of the Neo-Babylonian Empire at its height.

"The city's association with one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Hanging Gardens - has also inspired artistic, popular and religious culture on a global scale."

It also warns that the site is in an "extremely vulnerable condition" and in need of urgent conservation.

(Ishtar(Inannain Sumerian sources) is a primary Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with love andwar. This powerful Mesopotamian goddess is the first known deity for which we have written evidence. While largely unknown in the modern day, this powerful ancient deity had a complex and influential role in the religions and cultures of the AncientNear East.

In the ancient world, it is difficult to overstate the importance of Inanna/Ishtar. As the most famous Mesopotamian goddess, her substantial influence was embedded in many aspects of her worshippers’ lives, and she was revered across the broad geographical reach of the Ancient Near East for a period of history spanning thousands of years. Ishtar comes from a very early time in the history of complex civilisations, with her cult attested atUrukas early as the late 4th millennium BCE. ANCIENT HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA)

***

All News Pipeline

Total Media Meltdown After Social Media Summit At White House For Censored Independent Media - Lib Reporter Claims Attendees 'Eager For Demonic Possession' Then Whines After Being Called A 'Punk'

By Susan Duclos – July 12, 2019
On Thursday, July 11, 2019, President Trump held a "Social Media Summit," which did not include tech leaders of Facebook, Google, Twitter or others, but instead consisted of conservative politicians, members of his cabinet and citizen journalists, which he called "online journalists and influencers," who he said were "challenging the media gatekeepers and corporate censors to bring the truth to the American people."
The President also commended these social media "influencers" for their ability to communicate with Americans without the "fake news filter," despite the widespread censorship of conservatives and Independent Media by social media platforms and big tech platforms like Google and YouTube.
Some key comments via New York Post:

President Trump lashed out at social media “censorship” and “bias” Thursday and threatened legislation if Silicon Valley doesn’t change its ways.
“I am directing my administration to explore all regulatory and legislation solutions to protect free speech and the free speech rights of all Americans — that’s you people in this room,” he said at a “social media summit” at the White House.
“We hope to see transparency, more accountability and more freedom — that’s on both sides,” he continued.

The nearly 45 minute speech, which is embedded at the bottom of the article, went over well with the audience in the room, as President Trump highlighted actions being taken by some GOP congressmen and women in regards to big tech censorship, as well as having James O'Keefe of Project Veritas stand up so he could congratulate him on his latest project where he exposed systematic bias and censorship by Google.
One of the most well received lines was when the President called citizen journalists of the Independent Media "extraordinary," before stating "The crap you think of is unbelievable, unbelievable."
HOW ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA CREATES A 'FAKE NEWS' NARRATIVE
The establishment media on the other hand, was not at all happy with the summit, nor the President's comments, and they were especially bitter that the President was celebrating Independent journalism, while informing the public about the issue of online censorship of conservatives.
That unhappiness peaked after the summit itself, when the attendees were seated in the Rose Garden for the President to make an announcement on the Census, after courts had prevented his administration from adding the citizenship question, when frequent CNN guest and White House Correspondent for Playboy, Brian Karem, in response to someone telling him to not "be sad," gestured toward the attendees and loudly stated "This is a group of people that are eager for demonic possession."
In response, President Trump's former Deputy Assistant to the President, Sebastian (SEB) Gorka, yelled across the garden to Karem, "And you’re a journalist, right?"
Karem then snarkily responded "Come on over here and talk to me, brother. Or we can go outside and have a long conversation."
Gorka walked right on over to him and shouted "You’re not a journalist. You’re a punk!," before turning and walking away, with some of the guests chanting "Gorka, Gorka, Gorka."
At the end of the full video of their exchange, someone can be heard telling Karem "For the record, he'd kick your punk a**."

***

The Big Wobble

The flurry of powerful earthquakes continue, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 rocks Indonesia: The 86th major quake of 2019

July 14, 2019

USGS
The flurry of powerful earthquakes continue, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck southeast of the city of Ternate on Sunday, in the Moluccas in the eastern area of Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) at an area 168 km south-southeast of Ternate, the USGS said. Indonesia’s meteorology agency said there is no tsunami potential from the quake.
A 5.8 magnitude aftershock followed around 30 minutes after, the agency website showed.
Earlier today, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck west of the beach resort of Broome
According to Reuters, there were no immediate reports of damages or casualties in the quake, which the agency said hit at a depth of 33 km (21 miles), about 203 km (126 miles) offshore from the town in the state of Western Australia.
The latest quake brings the total of major quakes (mag 6+) to 86, incredibly all but 7 of them striking along the Pacific Ring Of Fire.
Incredibly, the last 40 major quakes this year, going back to the 3rd of May have occurred along the Pacific Ring Of Fire.
The Indonesian quake was the 9th major quake of July.

***

FOX NEWS

1,700-year-old recently discovered Christian letter offers clues into how faithful lived centuries ago

By Caleb Parke

July 16, 2019

Researchers unveiled a rare 1,700-year-old letter that they said sheds new light into how early Christians lived.

The letter, which is at least 40 to 50 years older than all other known Christian documentary letters outside the Bible, is written by a man named "Arrianus" and addressed to his brother, "Paulus," likely named after the Apostle Paul who recorded much of the New Testament.

It dates back to the 230s A.D.

In the missive Arrianus discusses the topics of faith, local politics and food under the Roman Empire.

"The earliest Christians in the Roman Empire are usually portrayed as eccentrics who withdrew from the world and were threatened by persecution. This is countered by the contents of the Basel papyrus letter," said Sabine Huebner, professor of ancient history at the University of Basel in Switzerland, where the letter is kept.

"The letter contains indications that in the early third century, Christians were living outside the cities in the Egyptian hinterland, where they held political leadership positions and did not differ from their pagan environment in their everyday lives."

The world`s oldest autograph by a Christian. (University of Basel)

The document stands out from other preserved letters of Greco-Roman Egypt because of the author's abbreviated use of the concluding phrase: "I pray that you fare well 'in the Lord.'"

“The use of this abbreviation – known as a nomen sacrum in this context – leaves no doubt about the Christian beliefs of the letter writer,” Huebner said. “It is an exclusively Christian formula that we are familiar with from New Testament manuscripts."

She noted the name Paulus is revealing and "was an extremely rare name at that time," indicating that the "parents mentioned in the letter were Christians" and "named their son after the apostle as early as 200 AD."

Arrianus and his brother Paulus were educated sons of the local elite, landowners and public officials.

The translated English transcript of the Basel papyrus letter. (University of Basel)

The rare document, known as P.Bas 2.43, originated in the village of Theadelphia in central Egypt and belongs to the Heronius archive, the largest papyrus archive from Roman times. It has been in the care of the Swiss university for the last 100 years.

Huebner is publishing a monograph, "Papyri and the Social World of the New Testament," that includes a copy of the letter along with others illustrating the social, political and economic life of the early Christians.

The full transcript of the letter:

“Greetings, my lord, my incomparable brother Paulus. I, Arrianus, salute you, praying that all is as well as possible in your life.

“[Since] Menibios was going to you, I thought it necessary to salute you as well as our lord father. Now, I remind you about the gymnasiarchy, so that we are not troubled here. For Heracleides would be unable to take care of it: he has been named to the city council. Find thus an opportunity that you buy the two [–] arouras.

“But send me the fish liver sauce too, whichever you think is good. Our lady mother is well and salutes you as well as your wives and sweetest children and our brothers and all our people. Salute our brothers [-]genes and Xydes. All our people salute you.

“I pray that you fare well in the Lord.”

Zero Hedge

Snowden Warns, Big Tech Will "Indenture Entire Populations Into Servitude" To Corps & Govts

by Tyler Durden

July 14, 2019

Tech giants such as Google or Facebook store vast amounts of personal data for their own gain but they are also “happy to hand over” this data to governments, making people vulnerable to persecution, Edward Snowden warned during an interview with RT.

Any person can pretty much be sure that “everything you've done, everything you've typed into their search box, everything you have clicked on, everything you've liked” is duly recorded and stored in the enormous databanks of the big tech corporations, the NSA whistleblower said addressing the UK Open Rights Group Conference (ORGCON19) in London via a video link from Moscow.

“Your communications, as they happen largely today, don't actually take place between you and the person that you are talking to. They happen between you and Facebook, who then provides a copy of it to the person you are talking to, or you and Gmail, who then gives a copy of it to the person that you are talking to and every time these transactions occur through these service providers, they keep a record of it.”

The corporations do that primarily to advance their own financial and economic interests, yet they seek to not only “better their class” but also to “better their state” and are, thus, more than happy to share the data they obtained with governments, which, in turn, make a use of it in its mass surveillance programs, Snowden warned.

“We see that governments increasingly care less and less about compliance, and care more and more about power,” he said, adding that the governmental security structures, which were supposedly created to protect the people against the threat of terrorism, are in fact used against pretty much anyone from critically-minded journalists and dissidents to immigrants and minorities.

The corporations, which now virtually control the most part of internet communications, have been long abusing their position of power, forcing people into relations one would never “meaningfully consent to” while staying largely unaccountable.

The law simply has not caught up to the fact that a technological corporation now can indenture entire populations into servitude to the corporate good, rather than to individual or public good.

His warnings came soon after Facebook agreed to give French authorities data on hate speech suspects. Earlier, the tech giant’s lawyer openly stated that the social network’s users do not actually have any privacy at all when it comes to their personal data.

Yet, the whistleblower added a portion of optimism to his otherwise grim speech by saying that the people are waking up to this situation and “that things are going to get better” because of the efforts of people who are not indifferent to this issue.

Snowden has been living in a self-imposed exile in Russia ever since he exposed the NSA’s vast surveillance network back in 2013, bringing to light information about the US security agency’s mass surveillance activities targeting millions of Americans as well as foreign leaders. He has been charged with espionage by Washington and faces arrest if he were to return home.

FOX NEWS

Douglas MacKinnon: NYC is a warning -- the blackout is coming

By Doughlas MacKinnon

July 14, 2019

[BR]

Just about three weeks ago, I did a piece headlined: “Will You Survive the Coming Blackout?”

On the heels of this weekend’s mini-blackout in New York City, this is not about “See, I told you so!” but is about reminding people that a large and sustained blackout could and would cripple much of society as we know it – and it could and would have a devastating impact upon our very lives, and survival.

Such a blackout is coming. It is only a matter of time.

Again, leaving aside the growing threats of cyber and terrorist attacks upon our power grid, the fact of the matter is that much of our grid is antiquated junk desperately in need of billions of dollars in repair. Antiquated infrastructure which unfortunately, is connected to other outdated infrastructure.

Sometimes, the slighted bump to our ancient electrical power infrastructure triggers a chain reaction power loss which spreads in seconds and leaves millions of people literally in the dark and much worse.

In 2003, a tree branch fell on a power line in Ohio and, instantly, over 50 million people in the United States and Canada were hit with cascading blackouts.

A tree branch.

These weather-related events happen every single day in the United States and collectively cause multiple blackouts to our very old, very weak, and very vulnerable infrastructure.

The mini-blackout in New York City affected about 73,000 people. Because it hit parts of midtown Manhattan, some of the city’s top tourist attractions and hot-spots went dark. Including Madison Square Garden in the middle of a Jennifer Lopez concert.

Because of all of that, it became live national and international news for a few hours.

Then, power was restored and most people have already forgotten about it. No big deal.

Except...it is actually a massive deal.

While I have no connection -- financial or otherwise -- to any industry associated with this issue, my background in government and pure common sense tells me that the power outage in New York City is a red warning flag of what is to come on a larger scale and must be seen that way. It is inevitable and it is only a matter of time.

You have to make a plan to protect yourself and your family. It is irresponsible not to do so. Because when a massive blackout does hit, you will be entirely on your own. No one will be riding to your rescue.

Leaving aside a bird landing on a frayed wire, or a large branch falling on a decrepit transformer, cyber-terrorists are targeting our infrastructure multiple times per day. Often, hundreds of times per day.

And whether they are from China, Russia, North Korea, rogue terrorists or even criminal extortionist groups, they are getting exponentially better with each passing day.

This is not a game, and it’s not a plot out of a Hollywood movie. The U.S. government is shocked at the progress these bad “Cyber-Actors” are making and know we are not remotely prepared to defend ourselves at the moment.

When a massive blackout does hit – and it will – in literally one second, you can lose access to your money, food, gasoline, communication, medicine, medical attention, heat, air conditioning, and…security.

You must have a survival kit prepared. One that includes water, non-perishable food, medicine, first-aid-kits, batteries, radios, flashlights, candles, a hand-crank charger, cash, and smaller versions of all for your vehicle and office.

The mini-blackout in New York City was not a minor inconvenience. It was a major warning.

The only question now is: Who will see it that way?

MailOnline

Nuclear waste is leaking into the sea on tropical islands between Australia and Hawaii where radiation is 1000 times HIGHER than both Chernobyl and Fukushima

• Marshall Islands were hit with 67 nuclear bombs between 1946 and 1958

• The high levels of radiation have caused cancer and diabetes among locals

• 50,000 people still live there and nuclear waste is leaking into the ocean

By ELIZA MCPHEE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 01:43, 17 July 2019 | UPDATED: 02:04, 17 July 2019

The Marshall Islands were hit with 67 nuclear bombs as part of US testing between 1946 and 1958 (pictured)

Article

Strange Sounds

Ebola outbreak in DRC: The fifth global health emergency declaration in history

July 18, 2019

The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a global health emergency, which many experts say is overdue.

The disease has killed more than 1,600 people, spreading to Uganda and the Rwanda border — and there’s little sign of it abating.

WHO declares Congo Ebola outbreak international emergency. Picture via Youtube video

The decision comes after a man died in the city of Goma in the DRC, which is home to about 2 million people and has a busy international airport.

A global health emergency is not announced lightly; only four have been declared in the past, including the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-’16 that killed more than 11,000 people.

An expert panel had convened three times previously to determine if the situation had escalated enough to count as a global emergency, and determined it had not. Later, internal WHO documents revealed that officials were concerned a declaration would anger the countries involved and hurt their economies.

WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pleaded for countries not to seal their borders to the DRC because it would only hinder the attempts to tackle the epidemic.
A global health emergency will most likely draw more international attention to the outbreak. Experts had long pushed the WHO to declare a global health emergency in the hope of attracting more funding for relief efforts.

***

FOX NEWS

Iran's Revolutionary Guard seizes one UK-operated tanker in Strait of Hormuz, briefly detains another

By Greg Norman

July 19, 2019

Iran seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz Friday and briefly detained a second, marking a fresh escalation of tensions between Tehran and the West.

The U.K.-flagged Stena Impero, which has 23 crew members of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationalities aboard, “was approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters,” Stena Bulk, the shipping company that owns the vessel, said in a statement. "We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces, in a statement on their website, say the ship was seized for "non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations" and is being brought to an unnamed Iranian port, according to the Associated Press. Websites tracking the ship's path showed it turn sharply in the direction of Iran's Qeshm Island, instead of its intended destination of Saudi Arabia.

“We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf," a U.K. government spokesperson told Fox News.

Stena Bulk says "there have been no reported injuries and their safety is of primary concern to both owners and managers."

Approximately an hour later, a Liberian-flagged tanker Mesdar was also seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was seen on maritime tracking services making a turn toward Iran. However, the tanker's owner later said the ship was briefly boarded by armed guards before being allowed to go. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency tweeted that the Mesdar had left Iran's territorial waters.

"These seizures are unacceptable," British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said as he prepared to enter an emergency government meeting Friday night. "It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region."

"We're not looking at military options, we're looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation, but we are very clear that it must be resolved," Hunt later told Sky News, warning that if the situation is not resolved quickly "there will be serious consequences."

President Trump said Friday that Iran is "nothing but trouble" and that "we heard one, we heard two," tankers were seized.

"Iran is showing their colors," the president told reporters before departing the White House to spend the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. "Iran is in big trouble right now. Their economy is crashing, it's coming to a crash ... It's very easy to straighten out or it's very easy for us to make it worse."

"This is the second time in just over a week the UK has been the target of escalatory violence by the Iranian regime," National Security Council Spokesman Garrett Marquis said. "The U.S. will continue to work with our allies and partners to defend our security and interests against Iran's malign behavior."

The Pentagon had no official statement on the situation, but Fox News has learned that there are no current plans for U.S. naval vessels to escort commercial ships through the strait.

Late Friday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the U.S. had intensified air patrols over the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM spokesman Lt. Col. Earl Brown said that U.S. Naval Forces Central Command had been "in contact with U.S. ships operating in the area to ensure their safety."

Late Friday, CENTCOM announced Operation Sentinel, what it described as "a multinational maritime effort ... to increase surveillance of and security in key waterways in the Middle East to ensure freedom of navigation in light of recent events in the Arabian Gulf region.

"The goal of Operation Sentinel is to promote maritime stability, ensure safe passage, and de-escalate tensions in international waters throughout the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (BAM) and the Gulf of Oman," the CENTCOM statement went on. "This maritime security framework will enable nations to provide escort to their flagged vessels while taking advantage of the cooperation of participating nations for coordination and enhanced maritime domain awareness and surveillance. While the United States has committed to supporting this initiative, contributions and leadership from regional and international partners will be required to succeed."

The seizures come two weeks after British Royal Marines seized a tanker off the island of Gibraltar that authorities said carried oil bound for Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Iran warned Britain that it would face "repercussions" over that seizure, which Tehran called “mean and wrong." Last week, a British warship blocked three Iranian vessels from seizing another U.K.-flagged tanker.

UK Chamber of Shipping CEO Bob Sanguinetti said in a statement that the seizure was "in violation of international regulations which protect ships and their crews as they go about their legitimate business in international waters" and called on the British government to do "whatever is necessary" to ensure the safe and swift return of the ship's crew.

Earlier Friday, Iran and the United States emphatically disagreed over Washington's claim that a U.S. warship downed an Iranian drone near the Persian Gulf. American officials said they used electronic jamming to bring down the unmanned aircraft, while Iran said it simply didn't happen.

Neither side provided evidence to prove its claim.

At the White House on Friday, President Trump said flatly of the Iranian drone: "We shot it down." But Pentagon and other officials have said repeatedly that the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer actually jammed the drone's signal, causing it to crash, and did not fire a missile. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive technology.

"There is no question this was an Iranian drone, and the USS Boxer took it out as the president announced yesterday because it posed a threat to the ship and its crew," National Security Adviser John Bolton said. "It's entirely the right thing to do."

In Tehran, the Iranian military said all its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with the USS Boxer.

Maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz has deteriorated in recent weeks after six attacks on oil tankers that the U.S. has blamed on Iran -- an allegation the Tehran government denies. The incidents have jolted the shipping industry, with some of the 2,000 companies operating ships in the region on high alert and many ordering their vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz only during the daylight hours and at high speed.

Of the roughly 2,000 companies that operate ships in the Persian Gulf, only a handful of companies have halted bookings outright.

***

Zero Hedge

Margolis: Turkey Calls Trump's Bluff

By Tyler Durden

July 15, 2019

Authored by Eric Margolis via EricMargolis.com

Turkey has just called Donald Trump’s bluff by going ahead with the purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles. The outrage in Washington is volcanic. Trump is vowing to rain fire and brimstone sanctions down on the disobedient Turks.

The S-400 is Russia’s premier anti-air missile. It is believed highly effective against all forms of aircraft – including stealth planes – cruise missiles, medium range ballistic missiles, drones, and some other types of missiles. It offers the choice of a self-directing version with its own radar seeker, or a less expensive, "semi-active" version that is guided by its launch-battery radar.

What makes this AA missile (SS-21 in NATO terminology) particularly deadly is its remarkable 400 km range. The S-400 is said by Russia to be able to unmask stealth aircraft. I’ve been told by Soviet security officials as far back as 1990 that their radars could detect US stealth aircraft.

The missile’s remarkable range and detection capability puts at risk some of the key elements of US war fighting capability, notably the E-3 AWACS airborne radar aircraft, US electronic warfare aircraft, tankers and, of course, fighters like the new stealth F-35, improved F-15’s, F-22’s and B-1, B-2 and venerable B-52 heavy bombers used to carry long-ranged cruise missiles.

The Russian AA system can "shoot and scoot" – firing and then quickly moving. Even more important, the S-400 system costs about half the price of its leading competitor, the US Patriot PAC-2 system. The S-400 may also be more reliable and accurate. The Great White Father in Washington is not happy.

The Trump administration brought heavy pressure on Turkey not to buy the S-400, threatening to cancel Turkey’s order for 100 of the new, stealthy F-35’s. Few thought the Turks would defy the US on this issue, but they failed to understand the depths of Turkey’s anger at the US.

Most Turks believe that the US engineered the failed 2016 coup against the democratic government in Ankara working through a shadowy religious organization run by the spiritual-political leader, Fethullah Gulen, who lives in exile in the United States. Turkey’s elected president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had been too independent-minded for Washington, clashing over US policy to Syria and the Gulf. He had also incurred the wrath of America’s Israel lobby for demanding justice for the Palestinians.

Turkey is now under economic attack by Washington. President Trump is threatening sanctions (read economic warfare) against Turkey, an old, loyal US ally. During the Korean War, Turkish troops saved American soldiers from Chinese encirclement. But Turks are mostly Muslim, and Muslims are hated by Trump and his allies.

S-400 missiles are now arriving in Turkey. What will Trump do? Cancel sale to Turkey of the F-35 and other military equipment or spare parts. Threaten to oust Turkey from NATO. Get Israel and Greece to menace Turkey.

Turkey can live without the F-35. It’s too expensive and may be more vulnerable than advertised. The Turks can get similar, less expensive warplanes from Russia. India and China are both buying the S-400. Even the Saudis may join them though Moscow is delaying the sale. S-400’s are also stationed in Syria with Russian forces and are slated to go to sea in a naval version.

If the US reacts with even more anger, Turkey could threaten to withdraw from NATO and kick the US out of its highly strategic air base in southeast Turkey at Incirlik. It’s worth recalling that Turkey provided NATO’s second largest army after the US. Someone has to remind the deeply unknowing Trump that NATO without Turkey will be declawed. Equally important, that a Turkey unconstrained by NATO membership, will seek sources of oil which it lacks and desperately needs, and new alliances.

Only a century ago, Iraq’s rich oil fields used to be part of the Ottoman Empire until taken away by the British and French imperial powers. The days of a subservient, tame Turkey may be ending.

***

MailOnline

'His act of kindness was beautiful': Chick-fil-A manager helps a World War II veteran, 96, change his flat tire after the elderly customer came to the counter 'shaking and almost in tears'

• A 96-year-old World War II veteran arrived at a Maryland Chick-fil-A in distress after his car sustained a flat tire

• A manager at the franchise suspended his duties behind the till to tend to the man's vehicle

• An image of the Chick-fil-A manager helping the elderly vet has now gone viral, with social media users heartened by the act of kindness

By ANDREW COURT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 23:49, 12 July 2019 | UPDATED: 14:59, 13 July 2019

A manager of a Maryland Chick-fil-A has proved he's willing to go above and beyond for his customers, even helping one elderly patron in the most unlikely of ways.

Daryl Howard, 29, was working at the franchise in Severn on Thursday when a regular customer by the name of Mr. Lee walked in and asked for assistance after his car sustained a flat tire.

Lee, a 96-year-old World War II veteran, visits regularly for a chicken biscuit and a coffee - but on this occasion he was in much more distress after barely making it to the restaurant.

'He was shaking, almost in tears,' another manager by the name of Rudy Somoza told CNN.

Howard was only too happy to help his elderly client change the tire, telling Somoza to tend to the tills while he went outside to the parking lot.

An image of Chick-fil-A manager Daryl Howard helping an elderly customer change his car tire has gone viral on the internet

Lee (left) is a 96-year-old World War II veteran who visits the restaurant and is known to manager Howard (right)

'He jumped into action without hesitation,' Somoza explained.

As Howard changed the car tire, Somoza snapped a picture and posted it online - with no idea that it would soon go viral.

The image - which shows Howard bending down near the vehicle as the elderly Lee watches on - has heartened social media users.

'Let's highlight the awesome people in society!' one wrote on Facebook, seemingly sick of relentless bad news.

'Chick-fil-A has some pretty awesome employees!' cooed another admirer of the image.

Somoza says the selfless act wasn't out of character for Howard - whom he has known for five years.

'His act of kindness was beautiful. He has always been so helpful to anyone in need and deserves this recognition,' Somoza stated.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lee returned to the restaurant on Friday to pick up a coffee - and to say thank you again to Howard for his help.

God's Poem
A Compilation
There are two things in the Bible that are spoken of as God’s poem. First, Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities … have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” The Greek word for “what has been made” is poiemasin, from which we get the word

poem. God’s creation is his poem.

Second, there is Ephesians 2:8–10: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” For we are God’s “handiwork.” Another translation says we are His “masterpiece,” and this is the same word—poiema. …

May that signify to us that our lives began only because God chose us before the foundation of the world. May that signify that it is God who brings stability to our identity and sustains us through even the worst that this life has to offer. Because of God, we can know that we have a purpose. And, if we will let Him, God will fine-tune us for life—a life free of shame and guilt, a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.1

Just like people are supposed to be able to look at the universe and see it as a poem that must have been written by God, people are supposed to be able to look at the lives of those who follow God and say, “There is a poem that must have been written by God,” and “Whoever is the Author of that poem, I want Him to be the Author of my life, too.” …

The universe points to God; I am convinced of that. But people will only be open to seeing that if they can also look at the lives of God’s people and see new birth, stability of character and identity, a deep knowledge of who we are, and a confident sense that we are designed for a great, life-giving purpose.

Is your life an argument for God’s existence? If we want people to see the universe for the poem that it is, we need to be the poem that we are intended to be.—Ravi Zacharias

The epic poem that is you

You are a piece of work—God’s work. When Paul says that you are God’s “workmanship,” don’t think of your clunky seventh-grade shop class project. Think of The Odyssey, Beowulf, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, or The Faerie Queen—great works of epic poetry. The Greek word Paul chose for this sentence is “poiema,” and what he had in mind is a work of masterful creativity…

What Paul, and God through Paul, wants you to understand is this: You are an epic poem, a God-imaging poiema—become flesh and spirit. Your poem contains all the comedic and tragic drama of an existence more real and more meaningful than you have yet to comprehend. If you think you are a boring work of prose, you don’t yet see things as they really are…

Tiny, insignificant you are more glorious than the sun and more fascinating than Orion. For the sun cannot perceive its Creator’s power in its own blinding glory, nor can Orion trace his Designer’s genius in the precision of his heavenly course. But you can. You are part of the infinitesimal fraction of created things that have been granted the incredible gift of being able to perceive the power and native genius of God! And to you, and you only, is given a wholly unique perception and experience of God’s holy grand poiema. There are some verses God will show only to you. What kind of being are you, so small and weak and yet endowed with such marvelous capacity for perception and wonder?

This is not inspirational poster kitsch. This is biblical reality.

No, there is nothing boring about you and there is nothing boring about what God has given you to do today. … God has prepared just for you what he’s given you to do.2 Nothing you do today is unimportant. God is keenly interested in the smallest detail. You don’t need a more wonderful calling; you may just need more strength to comprehend the wonder of his loving ways toward you.3

Today you get the priceless privilege of reading with your whole being one verse or maybe a few lines in the great poiema of God, while at the same time being a poiemawhich God will recite forever and will always remember.

God is wholly absorbed in his living epic. He wants you to be too.—Jon Bloom4

He made us for Himself

“There is no one who really understands, no one to share all I feel!” Such is the cry of each of us, in turn. We wander in a solitary way, no matter what or where our lot may be. Each heart, mysterious even to itself, must live its inner life in solitude. But why? Why do we all have this deep craving to be understood by someone? Why this intense longing to have another share our joys and triumphs, sorrows and defeats?

Did God, who made us a living soul, make some mistake in this, His masterpiece—humankind? Has He left some void in our makeup? He made provision for every other hunger of life: bread for the hunger of the body, knowledge for the hunger of the mind, love for the hunger of the heart. Has He then left the soul unsatisfied, this longing for deepest understanding and truest companionship unfulfilled? Has He left this loneliness of ours unanswered?

There is an answer to these questions. This lack that we feel, this incompleteness, is a need of our soul for God. He knew that when we found human sympathy lacking, we would seek the divine. He knew that this very sense of isolation, of not being understood, would drive us to Him.

God made us for Himself. He desires our love. He put a little sign on the table of your heart, which reads, “Reserved for Me.” In every heart, He wishes to be first. He therefore keeps the secret key Himself, the key to open all our hearts’ chambers and to bless with perfect sympathy and peace each solitary soul that comes to Him.

God Himself is the answer, the fulfillment. Not until He Himself fills that inner longing will we ever be truly satisfied. Not until He fills our life will we ever be completely free from loneliness.

The apostle Paul wrote, “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”5 Jesus is touched with our every longing. As He enters our life, He becomes our satisfaction. God’s Word says He is a “satisfying portion.”6 He’ll satisfy every longing of our heart.

God is big enough, great enough to fill any soul. He is complete companionship, ideal and perfect friendship. He who made you is the only One who can fill every part of your life.—Virginia Brandt Berg

1 Galatians 5:22–23.
2 Ephesians 2:10.
3 Ephesians 3:17–19.
4 https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/you-are-gods-workmanship.
5 Hebrews 4:15 NKJV.
6 Psalm 107:9; 73:26.

Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit...According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
(1 Peter 1:2, Ephesians 1:4-5)