Not Just Culture Wars

 

Image: Unsplash

While Christian leaders and pastors’ debate over whether or not Christians should be involved in the culture wars, two Chinese Colonels have long ago already outlined that there are forces at work seeking to wage war on society on many other fronts,

“Aside from what we have discussed above, we can point out a number of other means and methods used to fight a non-military war, some which already exist and some of which may exist in the future. Such means and methods include psychological warfare (spreading rumors to intimidate the enemy and break down his will); smuggling warfare (throwing markets into confusion and attacking economic order); media warfare (manipulating what people see and hear in order to lead public opinion along); drug warfare (obtaining sudden and huge illicit profits by spreading disaster in other countries); network warfare (venturing out in secret and concealing one's identity in a type of warfare that is virtually impossible to guard against); technological warfare (creating monopolies by setting standards independently); fabrication warfare (presenting a counterfeit appearance of real strength before the eyes of the enemy); resources warfare (grabbing riches by plundering stores of resources); economic aid warfare (bestowing favor in the open and contriving to control matters in secret); cultural warfare (leading cultural trends along in order to assimilate those with different views); and international law warfare (seizing the earliest opportunity to set up regulations), etc., etc. In addition, there are other types of non-military warfare which are too numerous to mention. In this age, when the plethora of new technologies can in turn give rise to a plethora of new means and methods of fighting war (not to mention the cross-combining and creative use of these means and methods), it would simply be senseless and a waste of effort to list all of the means and methods one by one. What is significant is that all of these warfighting means, along with their corresponding applications, that have entered, are entering, or will enter, the ranks of warfighting means in the service of war, have already begun to quietly change the view of warfare held by all of mankind.”[1]

While many Christian pastors naively argue that there are no culture wars and that Christians should not be seeking to advocate for the right kind of culture, these two Chinese Colonels have pointed out that “cultural warfare” is only one means of seeking to influence and defeat a nation. There are many other types, all of which we have seen examples of in our own nation in recent years. 

During Covid psychological warfare was unleashed against whole populations.

Drug warfare has been going on for decades.

International law warfare is a continual thorn in the side of those who seek to expell illegal immigrants, or who seek to engage in various fields like coal and nuclear power, or even make reliable cars. 

Many more examples can be given.

Those who say that there are no culture wars are incredibly naïve, foolish, or downright deceptive. We live in a world where nations are competing for supremacy and dominance, and as the Church we have a responsibility to speak into this space with the truth of God, to call leaders to repent and to be active in spreading the message of the kingdom of God. We should not be naïve to the many ways that other forces are seeking to undermine our society.

There is not just a culture war, far more is going on in our society and world than we realize. 

List of References

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[1] Col. Qiao Liang and Col. Wang Xiangsui 1999, Unrestricted Warfare, Echo Points Books and Media, pp42-43.

Israel Has Targeted Civilians Before

 

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One of the most incredulous things that people say about the Israeli Defence Force is that it is “the most moral army in the world”. Putting aside how ridiculous this is in the context of the current war on Gaza, this should be incredibly offensive to members of the military of Switzerland, among other places. Switzerland has long take an stance of neutrality in many of the world’s wars, creating for itself a large level of prosperity, but also keeping it from being accused of a variety of war crimes that many modern armies are accused of. It is hard to be immoral in war, if you say no to invading other countries, bombing other countries, and aligning in battle with other countries.  

Part of the basis of this statement about the morality of the Israeli army is the assertion that they go more out of their way to prevent the deaths of civilians than any other state force. But after having read more deeply into the history of the war on Palestine in the last 100 years, I can say that this is certainly not the case. There have been many instances of the IDF targeting civilians. That is not to say that their enemies are particularly moral, because they are not. I wrote about how evil and counterproductive how Hamas fights is, in a previous piece. They are not moral in any way. Fighting hard and dirty appears to be the norm in the Middle East, as it is in many contexts where wars are unceasing. Constant war hardens people. A very good example of this is when you look at how in World War 2 at the start of the war Americans were horrified at Britain’s tactic of bombing civilian cities, but by the end of the war they were going above and beyond what even the Brits had done. War is a corrupting force, it hardens the human soul, especially if it is ongoing.

I also think it could be argued that one of the natures of war anywhere in the Middle East is that it corrupts all sides equally and drags them all down to a pretty deplorable level. A friend of mine has a saying, “Don’t argue with stupid people, because they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” You could adjust this to say, “Don’t get involved in fighting quarrelsome people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

Khalidi shows in his book, The 100 Years’ War on Palestine, just how ridiculous the assertion is that the IDF always goes out of its way not to target civilians. He writes about what happened with Israel’s war in Lebanon against the PLO in the early 1980’s,

“It is not hard to understand the reasoning of these leaders and the communities they represented. Southerners, most of them Shi‘ites, had suffered more than any other Lebanese from the PLO’s actions. Besides its own violations and transgressions against the population in the south, the PLO’s very presence had exposed them to Israeli attacks, forcing many to flee their villages and towns repeatedly. It was understood by all that Israel was intentionally punishing civilians to alienate them from the Palestinians, but there was nevertheless much bitterness against the PLO as a result.”[1]

I want to stress here that this is not an argument from Khalidi or myself asserting that the enemies of Israel are any more moral, as he notes here, they too were committing crimes against civilian populations in Lebanon. But the point stands that Israel are happy to use collective punishment when they believe it suits their aims. The current war in Gaza is an example of this, with the IDF setting up a medieval style siege against the Gaza strip to limit severely any food or supplies coming into the city. When Hamas numbers around 30,000 fighters, whereas the population of Gaza is over 2 million people, this amounts to collective punishment and starvation of a civilian populace. This is targeting civilians, but Khalidi goes on to show how Israel have done this previously, as well,  

“For the Sunnis, in particular those in West Beirut, the bombardment and siege of the Lebanese capital put an end to their staunch support for the PLO...This was a crucial shift: without the support of Beirut’s largely Sunni population, together with its many Shi‘a residents, prolonged resistance by the PLO to the Israeli offensive was ultimately futile...

...A few more weeks into the war, however, the leaders of the three Lebanese Muslim communities changed their position significantly and became more supportive of the PLO. This shift came after the PLO consented to withdraw from Beirut in exchange for ironclad guarantees for the protection of the civilians who would be left behind.

On July 8, the PLO presented its Eleven-Point Plan for withdrawal of its forces from Beirut. This plan called for establishing a buffer zone between Israeli forces and West Beirut, coupled with a limited withdrawal of the Israeli army, the lasting deployment of international forces, and international safeguards for the Palestinian (and Lebanese) populations, which would be left behind virtually without defenses once the PLO’s fighters had departed. On the strength of this plan, the Lebanese Muslim leaders were convinced that the PLO was sincere in its willingness to depart as a move to save the city. Also, they were deeply disconcerted by mounting evidence of Israel’s overt backing for the mainly Maronite LF, since it underlined the vulnerability of their communities in a post-PLO Lebanon dominated by Israel and its militant allies.

These concerns had been reinforced by the arrival of the LF militias in the Shouf in late June, and the widespread massacres, abductions, and murders that they carried out there and in the areas of the south under Israeli control. At this stage, after seven years of civil war, such sectarian slaughter was commonplace, and the PLO’s forces had served as a primary defender of the country’s Muslims and leftists. The Sunni, Shi‘a, and Druze leaders therefore redoubled their backing for the PLO’s demands in its Eleven-Point Plan.

There is a vital thread of US responsibility that must be followed to understand what happened next. The consequences were not just the result of decisions by Sharon, Begin, and other Israeli leaders, or of the actions of Lebanese militias who were Israel’s allies. They were also the direct responsibility of the Reagan administration, which, under pressure from Israel, stubbornly refused to accept the need for any formal safeguards for civilians, rejected the provision of international guarantees, and blocked the long-term deployment of international forces that might have protected noncombatants. Instead, to secure the PLO’s evacuation, Philip Habib, operating via Lebanese intermediaries, provided the Palestinians with solemn, categorical written pledges to shield the civilians in the refugee camps and neighborhoods of West Beirut...An American note of August 18 to the Lebanese foreign minister enshrining these pledges stated that

Law-abiding Palestinian non-combatants remaining in Beirut, including the families of those who have departed, will be authorized to live in peace and security. The Lebanese and US governments will provide appropriate security guarantees . . . on the basis of assurances received from the government of Israel and from the leaders of certain Lebanese groups with which it has been in contact.

These assurances were taken by the PLO to constitute binding commitments, and it was on their basis that it agreed to leave Beirut.”[2]

So, having lost the support of the Lebanese population, the PLO agreed to leave the city of Beirut, clear the region, and give it over to Israeli control on the provision that the United States and Lebanon made sure the Palestinians civilians, and others, were protected. But what actually happened? This:

“On August 12, after epic negotiations, final terms were reached for the PLO’s departure. The talks were conducted while Israel carried out a second day of the most intense bombardment and ground attacks of the entire siege. The air and artillery assault on that day alone—over a month after the PLO had agreed in principle to leave Beirut—caused more than five hundred casualties. It was so unrelenting that even Ronald Reagan was moved to demand that Begin halt the carnage. Reagan’s diary relates that he called the Israeli prime minister during the ferocious offensive, adding, “I was angry—I told him it had to stop or our entire future relationship was endangered. I used the word holocaust deliberately & said the symbol of his war was becoming a picture of a 7 month old baby with its arms blown off.” This sharp phone call impelled Begin’s government to halt its rain of fire almost immediately, but Israel refused to budge on the crucial issue of international protection for the Palestinian civilian population as a quid pro quo for the PLO’s evacuation.”[3]

So, Israel continued to bomb the area, even though negotiations to cease fighting were ongoing. This bombing was so horrific that even Ronald Regan, a famously pro-Israel President, called on Israel to stop the onslaught. That is an incredible fact. Note, though the PLO had not yet left, this was still an area filled with civilians, but this did not stop the relentless Israeli bombing. Let’s keep reading,  

The departure from Beirut of thousands of the PLO’s militants and fighting forces between August 21 and September 1 was accompanied by a broad outpouring of emotion in West Beirut. Weeping, singing, ululating crowds lined the routes as convoys of trucks carried the Palestinian militants to the port. They watched as the PLO was forced to evacuate the Lebanese capital, with its leaders, cadres, and fighters going to an unknown destiny. They ended up scattered by land and sea over a half dozen Arab countries...

...As their convoys rolled through Beirut, no one was aware that a sudden and unilateral American decision, taken under Israeli pressure, meant that the international forces supervising the evacuation—American, French, and Italian troops—would be withdrawn as soon as the last ship left. Israeli obduracy and US acquiescence had left the civilian population unprotected.”[4]

The PLO had agreed to leave, but they did not know that America was not intending to keep up their end of the bargain. And of course, it was not an official agreement, as Khalidi notes. The Palestinians had not read their American history, if they had, they would know that America has a long track record of betraying those it makes treaties or agreements with, when it suits them. The Native American peoples found this out the hard way, continually. We read a little further on,

“…The next day, September 16, I was sitting with Kerr and several of my AUB colleagues on the veranda of his residence when a breathless university guard came to tell him that Israeli officers at the head of a column of armored vehicles were demanding to enter the campus to search for terrorists…On the same night, September 16, Raja and I were perplexed as we watched a surreal scene: Israeli flares floating down in the darkness in complete silence, one after another, over the southern reaches of Beirut, for what seemed like an eternity. As we saw the flares descend, we were baffled: armies normally use flares to illuminate a battlefield, but the cease-fire had been signed a month earlier, all the Palestinian fighters had left weeks ago, and any meager Lebanese resistance to the Israeli troops’ arrival in West Beirut had ended the previous day. We could hear no explosions and no shooting. The city was quiet and fearful.

The following evening, two shaken American journalists, Loren Jenkins and Jonathan Randal of the Washington Post, among the first Westerners to enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, came to tell us what they had seen. They had been with Ryan Crocker, who was the first American diplomat to file a report on what the three of them witnessed: the hideous evidence of a massacre. Throughout the previous night, we learned, the flares fired by the Israeli army had illuminated the camps for the LF militias—whom it had sent there to “mop up”—as they slaughtered defenseless civilians. Between September 16 and the morning of September 18, the militiamen murdered more than thirteen hundred Palestinian and Lebanese men, women, and children...

...In Waltz with Bashir, Folman refers to concentric circles of responsibility for the mass murder that was facilitated by this act, suggesting that those in the outer circles were also implicated. In his mind, “the murderers and the circles around them were one and the same.”

The statement is as true of the war as a whole as it is of the massacres in Sabra and Shatila. A commission of inquiry set up after the events, chaired by Israeli Supreme Court Justice Yitzhak Kahan, established the direct and indirect responsibility of Begin, Sharon, and senior Israeli military commanders for the massacres. Most of those named lost their posts as a result of both the inquiry and the general revulsion in Israel over the massacres. However, documents released by the Israel State Archives in 201246 and the unpublished secret appendices to the Kahan Commission reveal even more damning evidence of these individuals’ culpability, which was far greater than the original 1983 report lays out. The documents expose long-deliberated decisions by Sharon and others to send the practiced Phalangist killers into the Palestinian refugee camps, with the aim of massacring and driving away their populations. They also show how American diplomats were repeatedly browbeaten by their Israeli interlocutors and failed to stop the slaughter that the US government had promised to prevent.”[5]

What is important to note here is that the Israeli investigation itself found the senior Israeli military leaders responsible for this massacre. One of those leaders would eventually become the Prime Minister of Israel. We also read,

“According to these documents, after the entire PLO military contingent had left Beirut at the end of August 1982, Begin, Shamir, Sharon, and other Israeli officials falsely asserted that some two thousand Palestinian fighters and heavy weaponry remained in the city, in violation of the evacuation accords. Shamir made the claim in a meeting with an American diplomat on September 17,49 even though the United States government knew for certain that this was not the case—Sharon himself told the Israeli cabinet a day earlier that “15,000 armed terrorists had been withdrawn from Beirut.” Moreover, Israeli military intelligence undoubtedly knew that this number included every single regular PLO military unit in Beirut.”[6]

Consider the import of these words. This was planned and carried out and the United States did not stop it. The US knew that all of the fighters had left, but they did nothing to actually stop this event. And the reason why this is significant will be seen soon. The Israel military did not do these attacks directly, but through their proxies, 

...Unbeknown to Draper or the US government, at that very moment the LF militias that Sharon’s forces had sent into the refugee camps were carrying out the killing of which he spoke—but of unarmed old people, women, and children, not supposed terrorists. If Sharon’s forces did not carry out the actual slaughter, they had nonetheless armed the LF to the tune of $118.5 million, trained them, sent them to do the job, and illuminated and facilitated their bloody task with flares.”[7]

This is incredibly chilling. As is how closely America supported its ally in this attack which killed thousands of civilians, by arming them in this conflict. To avoid American interference in this war, which they had faced in 1956 when they wanted to attack Egypt, Israel made sure that they had full US backing before they attacked,  

“Now, in 1982, launching this “war of choice,” as many Israeli commentators called it, was entirely dependent on the green light given by Alexander Haig, a point confirmed by well-informed Israeli journalists soon after the war. The new and fuller details revealed in previously unavailable documents make the case clearly: Sharon told Haig exactly what he was about to do in great detail, and Haig gave his endorsement, amounting to another US declaration of war on the Palestinians. Even after a public outcry over the deaths of so many Lebanese and Palestinians civilians, after the televised images of the bombardment of Beirut, after the Sabra and Shatila massacres, American support continued undiminished.

In terms of what Ari Folman called the outer circles of responsibility, American culpability for Israel’s invasion extends even further than Haig’s green light: the United States supplied the lethal weapons-systems that killed thousands of civilians and that were manifestly not used in keeping with the exclusively defensive purposes mandated by American law…

…Because of this knowledge, because of American backing for Israel and tolerance of its actions, its supplies of arms and munitions for use against civilians, its coercion of the PLO to leave Beirut and refusal to deal directly with it, and its worthless assurances of protection, the 1982 invasion must be seen as a joint Israeli-US military endeavor—their first war aimed specifically against the Palestinians."[8]

They say history does not repeat, but that it rhymes. And when it comes to Israel’s wars against Palestinians, there have been previously recorded and investigated examples of civilians being targeted. The United States is on record having known what was happening and supplying them the weapons which they used in these attacks. And yet still Israel claims that it has "the most moral military in the world." What we see recorded in history with these attacks is being repeated today and yet still people make this claim. 

This all does not mean that Israel’s enemies are any more moral, Hamas is known for targeting civilians regularly, they are not the friends of civilisation or the West. But Israel is guilty of targeting civilians as well, and the US is guilty of not doing anything to stop it. And this is on record. Many people are ill-informed about the nature of the ongoing war in Gaza. It stretches back about a century now, and both sides have committed atrocities. This is not a situation where westerners should be getting involved in defending one side as “good”. It is a situation where the entire world should be divorcing itself from the problems of the Middle East, cutting aid, especially military aid, to the any of these nations, and judging each nations actions according to an objective standard. Israel is not the innocent party many westerners think it is. And getting involved in wars in the Middle East is a recipe for moral corruption. 

List of References

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[1] Khalidi, Rashid . The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: The New York Times Bestseller, Profile. Kindle Edition. Chapter 4.

[2] Ibid, chapter 4.

[3] Ibid, chapter 4.

[4] Ibid, chapter 4.

[5] Ibid, chapter 4.

[6] Ibid, chapter 4.

[7] Ibid, chapter 4.

[8] Ibid, chapter 4. 

Theology is Not Neutral.

 

Theology is not neutral.

Bad theology can get people killed, it can be used to justify wars, it can be wielded to grease the wheels of corruption, upset the balance of world order, and cause governments to neglect their own roles and people because "Deus Vault" ("God wills it").

I have written about this before, but it is immoral for governments to give their people’s tax money or debt money, however it is raised, to other nations. Doubly so for war. 

This is why I make no apologies for going against Christian Zionism hard, again and again. It is responsible for many evils in this world, and much destruction. It would be wrong to stay silent on it.

Effectively, what Christian Zionism, or prioritizing of Israel is, is a form of Judaizing, something Paul spent his whole ministry combatting. Judaizing imports the Old Testament, or more specifically the Old Covenant, into the Church in an incorrect way, directing the focus away from how it was completed in Christ and only those who believe in him are now God's people. This is a devastating subversion of so many truths of the gospel. 

There is also certainly no command anywhere in the Bible telling the church, or Christians in government, that they must "stand with Israel". Israel, like any other nation should be treated exactly as Jesus says in Matthew 28:18-20: "disciple all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." Foreign nations for Christians are not entities to stand with, but entities for which we want good relations and want to seek to evangelize when possible. They are not our fight, though, and it's immoral for Christians in power to redirect government funding away from their own citizens. 

But if you were going to do it for Christian reasons, imagine if someone like Mike Johnson was to use his power to send $30 billion worth of missionaries and gospel mission support to the Middle East, instead of city destroying weapons? I don't think that is the government's role to do either really because it is the Church’s role to do mission, but if he were really trying to bless Israel, or the Middle East, or the world even, at least that would be using his power to do something good, rather than to steal from Americans to pay money to a despotic Middle Eastern pseudo-democracy[1] to continue ongoing war.[2] What a terrible inversion of the Christian message and teaching. It is absolutely deplorable that anyone in power can say this is a Christian responsibility with a straight face, and even worse that many Christians genuinely believe this.

It flies against the face of much of what the Bible teaches, even on war and alliances. Israel was forbidden from making military alliances with foreign nations in the Scripture*. And Christians are commanded to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. There are many inversions happening here. Inversions which give Christianity a very bad name. I used to laugh at people when they said that American evangelicals are responsible for many wars in the world, but I have been shown how wrong I was many times. The reason I was so wrong is simple: Many regime evangelicals define evangelicalism very differently to how it should be understood. God help the world while they stoke up the flames of war.

List of References

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[1] I don’t see how we can say a country that does not allow millions of its inhabitants to vote is a true democracy. Not that I am an advocating for democracy either, I’m simply noting that Israel is not the freedom loving country that many westerners appear to think it is.

[2] Yes, I know a lot of that money goes to American weapon manufacturers, which hire American workers. But that money could be spent on many things Americans needed, or not borrowed and spent at all, so that the nation were not so severely in debt. 

*Search alliances on this blog and you'll find many detailed examinations of this. 

Is Modern Worship Helping Deceive People?

 

There are many problems in the church today, and they are evident to many of us, whether pastors in the church, or other leaders, or even just amongst the general laity. Not that we all agree about what all these issues are, but still there are many which are clear and none that are clearer than that there is a severe weakness across the western church, an aversion amongst many Christians for certain themes in the Bible like judgement and wrath, and deep flaws in how many Christians actually understand God. You could say there is a whole side of God and his truth that many Christians don't want a bar of. 

I think we could point to several reasons for this. The most common one people mention is the teaching of the pastors in the modern Church. Many people have serious issues with this, and this is certainly an issue. But I think there is a much more common reason that many Christians have a very deficient theology of God and his word, and that is because the worship is often inadvertently helping to deceive people.

Now, I know there are songs that are sung in some churches and on Christian radio that generally teach some error. But most Christian worship songs tend to be more vague than explicitly heretical. And many songs which are sung are completely fine theologically. What is causing the deception is often not what is sung, but what is not sung. Repetition has been used in the Church since the beginning to teach people both simple and complicated theology. We even see some examples of this in the Bible, like the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15, in parts of 2 Timothy 2 and elsewhere. Repetition, that is constantly repeating the truth helps it to stick in the minds of people. And modern worship achieves this, but on such a narrow range of theological issues that Christians are being catechised into a deficient theology without even realizing it. 

This is easiest to demonstrate by showing things that the Israelites sung in their worship that you would never find in a modern worship song. In this case, about how this world is controlled by corrupt politicians and how God sees that. The Bible is not afraid to bring up this issue in the context of worship, for instance, Psalm 2 explicitly teaches about the corruption of the political leaders of David’s day and God’s response to this: 

“1 Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

One thing that became clear during the covid years is that most Christians had not taken to heart what the Bible says about the corruption of political leaders in this world. This is an incredibly important theme in the Bible. In fact it is one of the dominant themes of books from Judges, through to 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, all the way through to making up much of the teaching of the minor and major prophets. Yet many Christians thought there was really only one basic passage about government in the Bible, Romans 13, and that we should just inherently trust the powerful. You could not get any further away from the message of the Bible than that. The Bible’s reflections on power and the powerful in this world are far more detailed and intelligent than that, encouraging deep scepticism of the powerful and shrewd dealings with the leaders of this world. But many Christians are unaware of this.

I would argue this is the case, at least in part, because we don’t sing songs with themes like Psalm 2. When was the last time you sang a Christian song about how this world is ruled by rebellious, conspiratorial leaders, who rage against the true king? Never? Rarely? Probably never in Church. But the ancient Israelites sung about themes like this quite a bit in their worship. Just read through the Psalms and you will see many topics which you would never hear in the average church worship set.

It is not like writing songs according to these themes can’t be done. It can. Here is a wonderful example from Petra, called Angel of Light:

“City lights are flashin', they call you to the streets
Hearts are filled with passion in everyone you meet
The Boulevard is waitin', it wants to get you high
Neon signs are waitin' to sell you anythin' you want to buy

But I know your devices, it shouldn't seem so odd
You lied from the beginnin', I see through your facade

Angel of light, I see you glow in the night
But you only bring darkness to my soul
Angel of light, you're tellin' me wrong is right
But I won't let your evil take control

They follow in your footsteps, not knowin' that you fell
Bumper to bumper on the freeway to hell, you lead them into wrong
You make it look so right, you lead them into darkness
And make them think you lead them into light

But I know where you're going, too bad you're not alone
If it wasn't for the real light, I might have never known

Angel of light, I see you glow in the night
But you only bring darkness to my soul
Angel of light, you're tellin' me wrong is right
But I won't let your evil take control

You got the clergy workin' overtime to widen the narrow way
You've got politicians everywhere listenin' to what you say
You've got false apostles teachin' lies, perverting the only way
You've got principalities and powers waitin' to obey

You've got philosophies and vain deceits lyin' to deceive
You've got hate and greed, ungodly lusts in the deadly web you weave
Somehow you've got so many thinkin' you're not even there
One look is all it takes to get them blinded by your glare

Angel of light, I see you glow in the night
But you only bring darkness to my soul
Angel of light, you're tellin' me wrong is right
But I won't let your evil take control, oh no

Angel of light, I see you glow in the night
But you only bring darkness to my soul
Angel of light, you're tellin' me wrong is right
But I won't let your evil take control
I won't let your evil take control, oh no, no, oh Lord, oh no.”

This is a powerful song which directly teaches Christians how the evil one works, including how he works through the leaders of this world,

“You got the clergy workin' overtime to widen the narrow way
You've got politicians everywhere listenin' to what you say
You've got false apostles teachin' lies, perverting the only way
You've got principalities and powers waitin' to obey”

Every time I hear this song, I smile, because I know that the Petra guys understand more about how this world works than many pastors and Christians. They understand that many of the clergy are on the devil’s team. They understand that many politicians are servants of the devil. They understand that there are false apostles everywhere. They understand the devil has a legion of powers doing his bidding. Every Christian has some awareness of this. But not a lot.

Christians are incredibly deficient in understanding evil. They understand the gospel, they understand the grace of God, the mercy of God, the father's heart, and many things along these lines, because we sing about them a lot. And WE SHOULD sing about them a lot. But they don’t understand many other things the Bible talks about, because they don’t sing about it a lot. I guarantee for more Christians their worship songs give them their theology more than their pastor's sermons.

If you were to ask many Christians what their favourite 5 Bible verses were, few could tell you and few could repeat them. But many could repeat the lines of their favourite worship song, new and old. Especially if played to music.

It is for this reason that I think, often inadvertently, that Christian worship is often helping deceive Christians, because we have limited down too much how many themes from the Bible that we sing about.

I certainly was never taught a song like this in Sunday School, and nor were many other evangelicals. Perhaps we need to repent for our neglect in this area.

 

 

How to Discern God’s Will

 

Image: Unsplash

What do we really mean when we ask, “How do we discern the Spirit’s voice in our lives?” or “What is God’s will for my life?” I think when we ask this we are usually asking one of three questions? Either, “What does God want me to do?” Or “What does God have in store for my life?” or “What is God saying to me now?” I think this is what we are really asking, and these are valid questions. Part of the problem though is that Christians can ask these questions with some wrong assumptions. I think a lot of Christian’s genuinely believe that God is going to tell each and every person what his plan for their life is, like he did for Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul, and other biblical figures. Many Christians think he is going to come in a dream, or a prophecy, or a flash of a fiery chariot from the sky and hand you his commissioning papers for your life, or tell you who to marry, where to apply for a job, and what car to buy. Some people think, we need to listen for that still small voice of the Holy Spirit whispering in our heart before we make an important life decision or even some mundane decisions. The problem is that these are wrong assumptions about how God is going to answer a valid question: ‘what is God’s will for my life?’

This is a question many people ask at many points in their life, so let’s see if we can build a biblical framework for how to go about seeking God’s will. Let’s see what the Bible says.

Seeking God’s Will in the Old Testament

Let’s begin by looking at how people sought God’s will in the Old Testament. This is a good place to start because a lot of Christians don’t realize we need to distinguish between God’s work in the Old covenant, and his work in the new. So how did God speak to people in the Old Testament? 1 Samuel 28:6-7 tells us of three ways and I will add one a little later, “6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her. “There is one in Endor,” they said.”

What is happening here is that God is refusing to speak to Saul through his usual means, so Saul goes to a witch, but the take away is this passage mentions three ways God speaks:

1. Dreams – we know what this is about, God spoke to Joseph, Jacob and Solomon through dreams. Joseph’s dreams are famous, and have made it into Broadway plays. Solomon’s are just as famous. God did come in dreams, but only rarely. In fact, there was about 12 years between when Joseph had his first dreams, and then in prison interpreted the baker and cupbearers’ dreams, and another two years for Pharaoh’s. So even Joseph is not recorded as always having these dreams. 
2. Urim and Thummin – This sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings, “You must consult the Urim Frodo”. The Urim was used with the Thummim, and a priestly vestment, and the priest would consult God, and withdraw one of the stones. This seems to be one of the most common ways God answered the question, “What shall I do?” For example in situations where David is deciding to go into battle (like in 1 Samuel 30:7-10). Before he goes to battle in 1 Samuel 30, he seeks the Lord’s answer to the questions, should he go, or should he not. It’s likely that in this situation he is actually seeking God through the Urim and Thummim.

This practice was similar to casting lots (cf. Prov. 16:33), something which the disciples did to choose the twelfth apostle (Acts 1), before they received the Holy Spirit.

3. Prophets – These guys are famous, starting with Moses we get heaps of prophets until Malachi. Most of the role of these guys was to address kings, leaders of Israel, including important priests, and other prophets, and sometimes the entire nation as one. There are a few exceptions, like where both Elisha and Elijah ministered to poor women who were foreigners to Israel. But nowhere in the Old Testament do we see prophets holding worship services and just dishing out to all of God’s people his personal plan for their lives, or answers to who they should marry, and whether or not they should go to Uni, or start their own business. We just don’t see this.

Also, these prophets could not drum up God’s word in themselves. Peter tells us no prophecy was ever produced by the will of men (2 Pet. 1:21). Some only had God come a couple of times with a message, like Amos, and Jonah, some prophesied multiple times across most of their life, like Moses and Jeremiah.

4. Theophany’s/Visions – I said I add would another way, and that is Theophany’s, or direct visitations of God. This is probably the most famous way. We see it with God visiting Isaiah and of course the famous burning bush visit with Moses, and many others. These visitations often involved angels or even the Angel of the Lord.

God came to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) and said these very famous words, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5) Here God comes to Jeremiah and tells him what his plan for his life is, God did the same for Moses, Joseph, Isaiah and others in the Old Testament. But never does the Old Testament teach us that God came to every single person to tell them what his plan for their life was.

I hear some people thinking. What about through his word. Remember they did not have personal Bibles in those times. Though what Scriptures did exist, in the temple or the palace, God certainly spoke through.

How the New Testament Believer Should Discern God’s Will

God still speaks in much the same way now, as he did in the Old Testament, in fact in some ways he has increased his supernatural work,  

“17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18).

God has increased his supernatural work through the presence of his Holy Spirit in every believer. We should be seeing dreams, and visions, and prophecies in the New Testament church, and people certainly do. I do not deny that God can and does speak to people still today. But we need to ask ourselves this question? Does this mean that when it comes to making big decisions in life that we should always wait on God for a dream, a vision, a prophecy, or a direct visitation from God himself? Or try to discern the Spirit’s voice in our heads or hearts?

No, because God does not promise to reveal his secret will for our lives to all of us. He actually sets out a very different method for seeking his will and making decisions for our lives. He tells us in Roman’s 12:2, “2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The world tells us to follow our hearts, songs tell us to follow our hearts, love stories tell us to follow our hearts. Many parts of this world will tell us to look internally to discern God’s will for us, or what God is saying to us. But the Bible contradicts this.

We are told, “be transformed.” We don’t discern God’s will for our lives by chasing after dreams, prophecies and visions, otherwise you will never act. Nor do we seek his will by trying to sense it like some kind of Jedi Knight, the feelings of our heart are more often than not deceptive rather than helpful (Jer. 17:9). The voices we hear in our head should not be examined to see if they are our voice, a demon’s voice or the Holy Spirit’s voice. That is not how we discern the will of God, or the leading of the Spirit. No we do it by having our mind renewed and transformed. How do we do this? By reading God’s word and saturating our minds with his truth.

If you do this “you will know his will.” This means when the Bible says that we discern ‘the will of God,’ or “discern the leading of the Spirit”, we are discerning what he says in his word that we can do, and can’t do, what we should do, and what we shouldn’t do. All that is good, acceptable, and perfect for us to do is revealed in Scripture. In other words, we are discerning God’s revealed will, what he has written for us is, in his grace and mercy. In this we have a massive advantage over Old Testament saints because they didn’t all have Bible’s, and most of the prophets walking around Israel were false prophets, which is the same today, but we have God’s word to help.

We are not promised to know God’s specific will for our lives, but we are given his revealed will and this helps us to act according to the will of God. Here are examples of how the Bible says this:

1 Thessalonians 4:1-5,

“4 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;…”

You see here how Paul is outlining the will of God for us so that we don’t have to try and work it out. This is how the Holy Spirit guides us.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-21,

“16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”

Here Paul is saying clearly what God’s will for us is: rejoice, always. He does not deny God can speak through prophetic utterances, but he simply says test them. And how do you test them? Well, do they line up with God’s revealed will in his word? If not you are being deceived. If yes then perhaps God has spoken to you.

1 Peter 2:13-17,

“13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

What is God’s will here? That we do good and so silence the talk of foolish people who seek to criticize the Church and Christians.

So, if you want to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice then what do you need to do? Not look within, you simply need to pick up a Bible, read it in context and listen. This is a prominent and important teaching in the Bible. This is also actually taught in the Proverbs 3:5-8 where Solomon says,

“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

Solomon is saying the same thing here as Peter and Paul.

“Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” is equal to “be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” To discern God’s will, to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice, we need to recognize that we are fallen people, with fallen thinking, and that our understanding is not perfect. So, we must lean into God, and trust him to guide us. If you do this and “…in all your ways acknowledge him…he will make straight your paths”. In all that we do we have to get to know God and we will know which way to go. How do we do this? We read his word, pray for his Spirit to fill us, and we ask for wisdom which he promises to give.

And when we do this “8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” It will be freeing. Have you ever felt the physical effects of not knowing what to do? Rather than living in fear, of not knowing what to do or what to decide, we can take what God has told us in his word and apply it to our lives and make decisions based on how we know he would have us act. And we also know that he gives us freedom, within the guidelines of his words, to make our own decisions. You don’t need to try and discern the guiding of the Spirit in some force-like way. You simply need to read God’s word, prayer regularly, seek godly counsel and make wise decisions. Whenever we read God’s word, we hear the Spirit speaking to us, “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Eph. 6:17). God’s word has great power to transform us,

“11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:11-12).

As I said above, seeking guidance from wise counsellors is important too. Don’t forget this. Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in abundance of counsellors there is safety.” 

What does this all look like? Let’s get really practical:

Seeking the Spirit’s leading on marriage? Look at what the Bible says about marriage: do not be unequally yoked, men you need to provide, etc, etc.

Seeking the Spirit’s leading on your profession? Look at what the Bible says: whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.

Seeking the Spirit’s leading on friends? Look at what the Bibles says: don’t be in the company of fools.

Seeking the Spirit’s voice on where to go to Church? Look at what the Bible says: engage in a church that teaches God’s word, where they love one another, and seek to be a light to the world.

Seeking the Spirit’s voice on how to use your money? Look at that the Bible says: be generous, give, and be a good steward. 

God wants us to use our mind, a mind that we have worked hard to fill with the knowledge of him, and he wants our hearts to desire what he would desire, and then he wants us to act. If he decides to come to you in a more specific and supernatural way then that is completely at his choosing. But considering what the people went through who God came to in the Bible, you may not want to crave that too much.

Led by the Spirit?

What the Bible says about being led by the Spirit is often misunderstood by many Christians as well. They see this and they think, “Aha, this is where I need to work out what the Spirit’s voice is saying to me.” Pastors who teach this are incredibly irresponsible and having grown up in Pentecostal churches one of the flaws I saw in that denomination[1] (all denominations are imperfect) is that a lot of mentally unwell, or mentally fragile people were incredibly attracted to that theology of seeking God’s voice because it affirmed their highly subjective way of living their lives and following God. To this day I believe that charismatic Baptists, Pentecostals, and others which teach people to “listen for the still small voice of the Spirit” are doing incredible damage, but especially to mentally ill people.

Being led by the Spirit is about having your desires prompting you to live righteously, not sinfully. Paul is clear about this. For instance in Romans 8 he says this,

“12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:12-17).

There is nothing in here about having to try and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. Paul simply means that the Spirit prompts us to live righteously and the flesh prompts us to sin, follow the leading of the Spirit to do what is right, not the flesh. The Spirit prompts us to cry out in praise to God, calling him father, we do not need to try and listen for its voice.

As clear as this in in Romans, Paul makes it even more clear in Galatians,

“16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal. 5:16-26).

Again, there is nothing here about listening for the still quiet voice of God to be led by the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit’s leading is righteous living, the fruit of the flesh is sin. If you want to be led by the Spirit read God’s word, and do no override your conscience to sin. You hear the Spirit’s voice in his word and you following his leading by feeding the righteous impulses of the Spirit in your life.

So, we now have a framework of how to discern God’s will in our lives: read his word, pray, seek wise counsel and recognize that your thinking is flawed and therefore it is good to seek wise counsel from others. And whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.   

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[1] I am not picking on them, every denomination has its issues.

The New World Order

 

“The New World Order” is an interesting phrase. Often you will hear it bandied about by the end times predictors. But the truth is we have been living in the a “new world order” for some time. If you look at a standard United States one dollar bill, at least an older one, I do not have a recent one, you will see a pyramid with the all seeing eye above it, and below these words “novus ordo seclorum” which translates to “new order of the ages” or “the new world order.”

The age of the rise and now decline of the United States has been a new world order. The age that came before it was the age of Kings and their empires. This was replaced with the Republican system of the United States which then sought to lead the way by advancing democracy around the world, or at least claim to because the reality is far different. But this ushered in an age where kings were made mere ornaments of their nations, and countries were supposed to be ruled by Presidents and Prime Ministers rather than the blooded aristocracies. The truth of the matter is far different of course, the aristocracies simply worked behind the scenes to give people apparent democracy. But still this was claimed to be, and in many ways was, a new world order. Some even called it “the end of history” where liberal democracy was going to usher in a new golden age of liberal humanity, much in the mould of the Federation in Star Trek. It turns out though that really the ancient Greek philosophers were correct, and just like the democracies and republics of the past, this was just a stage of society before oligarchy and tyranny.

Be that as it may, we have now entered into a “New World Order” of earth-shattering proportions. It has been clear for some time now that the United States is severely declining. None of its wars have been truly successful for some time, and they have become increasingly disastrous. Rather than tip the balance in favour of Ukraine, America’s support for Zelensky in the U.S.’s proxy war against Russia has instead bled the West of arms and Ukraine of men and placed Russia and its allied nations, like China and others, in the strongest position they have been in years.

But the recent attack on Israel by Iran has placed an exclamation mark on the New World Order we are now in, one where neither Israel nor the United States can operate with impunity as they have long been able. There has been much in the media about how Israel defeated Iran’s so-called “desperate” attack, but a lot of evidence points to this not being the case, but rather a significant warning to the globalist powers that Iran can now project itself, at least effectively in the Middle East. Simplicius has made this case, among others, and he is a man to listen to because while the media was parroting the lie that Ukraine was winning, he was putting out battle analysis after battle analysis showing that Russia was handling everything Ukraine was throwing at it, and in fact showing a lot of restraint in its response while winning handsomely. His Analysis of the attack on Israel by Iran is therefore an incredibly useful piece of information to help us understand what has happened and just how much our world has changed. Here are some excerpts from his excellent piece on the issue:

“An Iranian academic stated the following:

"Iran has not fired its hypersonic missiles. In fact, most of the drones and missiles that were fired were older drones and missiles. They were very inexpensive and were used as decoys. So Iran spent a couple of million dollars to force the Israelis to spend $1.3 billion in anti-missile missiles, which was itself a big achievement by the Iranians. And then a number of other missiles that the Iranians fired...cut through and struck their targets," the academic and geopolitical affairs commentator told Sputnik.”

And lastly, there are some experts who believe Iran utilized its elusive hypersonic Kheybar Shekan missile, which also features a highly maneuverable MaRV…

…This is where it gets most interesting, and why I’ve prefaced it so thoroughly.

In short: while Israel and the U.S. claim they shot down 100% of everything, and while it’s possible that the drone and cruise missile lures were mostly shot down—though we have no strong evidence one way or the other—we do have evidence that the ballistic missiles largely went unopposed, slicing through what’s claimed to be the densest air defense in the world. Not only Israel’s itself, comprised of a layered defense of David Slings, Arrow-3s, Patriots, and Iron Dome, but also the aforementioned allied airforces, as well as what’s now been reported to be a U.S. Arleigh Burke warship firing upwards of 70+ SM-3 missiles from the Mediterranean shore…

…They call this the New Equation. Anytime Israel attacks them, Iran now intends to strike them ‘head on’, i.e. directly from its soil as is their newly demonstrated capability.

Beyond this, Iran broke ground in setting new milestones for missile technology and modern warfare, as stated in the outset. Iran demonstrated the capacity to bypass the most powerful and advanced anti-missile systems in the world—ones that have no built-in excuse as is the case in Ukraine. In Ukraine, the excuse is that the Patriots and other systems are manned by under-trained Ukrainians, and are not reinforced and integrated as wholly into layered Western systems as they would be in Western hands…

… This sends a signal that Iran is now truly capable of striking any of the most high profile, high value targets of the West’s, in the entire sphere of the Middle East, within a radius of 2000-4000km. That is a significant capability that dwarfs even anything Russia or the U.S. itself is capable of in the same efficient way. Sure, Russia can send Avangards (very few, and highly expensive) and far slower long range cruise missiles, but due to the Treaty, no other country can match Iran’s cheap and immediate ballistic missile capability. The U.S. would have to send up a load of slow planes and do the traditional long range stand off attacks with slow munitions to hit targets at such distances…

… Iran is said to have thousands of such missiles, so obviously having launched only 70+ or so is likely not indicative of a major attack tasked with actually causing serious destruction to Israeli infrastructure.”[1]

The entire analysis is interesting, as it always is with Simplicius. You might wonder why we would believe what he has to say in opposition to so many media reports that Iran expended all its weapons and failed to break the iron dome? Well, for how long did the media tell us that Ukraine was winning, Russia was running out of ammo, and the war was nearly over? Many times, it might be hard to remember that now, but this was the message for some time, and while this message was being pushed in all of the major new sites, Simplicius’ analysis was countering this on virtually every point and showing us that not only was Russia not running out of ammunition and artillery shells, it is able to produce them at a far higher rate than the United States and its allies combined. This has born out on the battlefield, as have many of Simplicius’ other assertions. Of course, he is not the only one saying this. I have been following Simplicius and others on the war in Ukraine on the advice of people with far more knowledge and experience in world politics and war than I have, and much of what especially Simplicius says appears to accurately counter what much of the mainstream media says about the situation on the ground in war. And his analysis, along with others, show us that the world has changed and the West is now behind the eight ball.

Of course, we are in the fog of war, and there is information, disinformation and counter-disinformation all over the place. But if Simplicius’s analysis is correct, and there is a lot of good reason to trust that it is, then the world has drastically changed.

If the vaunted Iron Dome can be penetrated, then so too can the defences of many other countries, the defences of aircraft carriers, and military bases worldwide. This changes the balance of power in the Middle East, at least potentially unless Israel and the United States have a way to respond effectively, and it changes the ability for the United States to be able to project its power around the world, wherever such missile systems exist. This has long been predicted to be the case, but now we are seeing it in action.

Some people are not able to comprehend why this is such a big deal. Why does the fact that this attack cost about $30 million dollars and Israel’s defence cost about $1.3 billion matter? The answer should be obvious really. Because that which is cheaper and easier to make can be made in much more volume and quicker than that which is expensive and harder to make. Aircraft carriers are phenomenal feats of engineering and power, but they cost about $5-10 billion to make, and they take a lot of time and a lot of resources. And now there is the potential to see them taken out by relatively cheap and easier to build weapons by far less powerful nations. What Iran shot at Israel was barely a fraction of what it is purported to have access to. And this type of arsenal is far easier and cheap to make than what the U.S. focuses on.

This changes the world as we know it. We are now, if all of these reports are correct, in a true and genuine New World Order. One where neither the United States, nor its allies, can do what they want with impunity. One where regional powers can cause world powers to hesitate and maybe even retreat. Because what we are effectively seeing is that in the same way destroyers and battleships were surpassed by aircraft carriers in World War 2, changing the balance of world powers, so too have aircraft carriers, and ever fighters jets, now been replaced by advanced missile technology that can penetrate the best possible defences. This is a phenomenal development.

As a history lover and student of military history I think this is a fascinating thing to behold. As a westerner, and someone who lives in a country that has been prosperous in large part because the passing world order favoured it, I can only think that now more than ever we men of the West need to be calling on the Lord Jesus Christ to give wisdom to our leaders. A world where regional Middle Eastern powers can stop the U.S. military from projecting at will, is a very different world than the one we are used it. It is the difference between a Britain with Roman legions and a Britain where the legions have left. It is a world where our government leaders will need to rethink how they engage with such nations. Hopefully, this works out for long time peace. I suspect that in the short term though this will provoke more war, while both sides test each other’s current and emerging capabilities. The world is about to get a far lot more interesting because it will be far less predictable.

List of References

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[1] Simplicius’s Garden of Knowledge, 2024, https://substack.com/home/post/p-143567052?source=queue