War Has Changed Forever

 

More people are becoming aware of just how much warfare has changed, and also how much nations that have not adopted to modern drone strategy and tactics are being left behind very quickly.

“I listened to General David Petraeus this week say something that stopped me in my tracks: “Combined arms cannot survive. Tanks can’t survive on this battlefield.”

This isn’t a blogger’s hot take. This is the man who commanded US Central Command, ran the surge in Iraq, and led NATO forces in Afghanistan — telling us that the tactical grammar of warfare since 1945 has just been rewritten, in real time, in the fields of Donetsk. Here’s why he’s right, and why Ukraine’s genius was born entirely of necessity…

…For a century, the logic of land warfare was settled doctrine. Tanks punched holes. Infantry and infantry fighting vehicles poured through them. Artillery cleared the way and covered the flanks. Air power sealed the deal. This was combined arms — the method that took Berlin in 1945, drove Iraq from Kuwait in 1991, and toppled Baghdad in 2003. Every serious army on Earth built itself around it.

General David Petraeus — four stars, former CIA Director, the man who literally co-authored the standard history of warfare since 1945 — has now said, plainly, that this era is over. In a recent interview, Petraeus described how the war began in 2022 as textbook combined arms, with Russian armor columns pushing on Kyiv and Ukraine retaking ground the same way that autumn. But something changed. Cheap drones, in overwhelming numbers, turned the battlefield into what he calls a death zone — a zone artillery can barely enter before being forced to withdraw or die, a zone where, in his words, tanks simply cannot survive.

The numbers back him up in a way that should unsettle every general staff in the world. Reporting this year found that the drone kill zone along the front has widened to roughly 50 kilometers — not the ten or fifteen originally estimated, but fifty, thick with fiber-optic-tethered drones immune to jamming. Some Russian soldiers, according to their own military bloggers, now survive only twenty to thirty-five minutes once they cross into forward positions. And the result is a front line that barely moves at all: the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies assessed that Russia’s advance on the transport hub of Pokrovsk — fought over for nearly two years — was slower than the Allied advance during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. That is not a footnote. That is one of the bloodiest and most static campaigns in human history being used as the modern benchmark, and Russia still came in slower.[1]

This is correct. The rate of battlefield progress has drastically slowed down because of drone warfare. There have been some good commentators who have been noting the changes in drone use on the battlefield for several years now. Drones have replaced artillery as the Queen of the Battlefield, as one put it. They have completely changed how war is fought. And nations which have not invested in large quantities of cheap and effective drones, and trained their militaries in how to use them, are now being left behind by those that have. Even if they have what is considered a powerful military in conventional terms.

Drones are quick and easy to produce, are capable of great ranges, and have turned the rear of the army itself into a kill zone, which has greatly enlarged the battlefield. This has made logistics much harder and it has also made the battlefield more dangerous for conventional troops. To be sure, Russia is winning against Ukraine, but only because it was able to out produce Ukraine's drone output. But the effectiveness of drones on both sides has made this a very slow war. Russia is slowly taking ground, but at great cost, because Ukraine is a major producer of cheap effective drones as well.

The drone is effectively having the same impact that machine guns + artillery did in WW1, it has completely changed how infantry can fight. Or more to point, how they cannot fight anymore in the same way. It is no longer effective to send your troops in behind the tanks and other armoured vehicles. Drones are just too good at taking both the vehicles and the men out. Drones are also cheaper than tanks, jets, and other military equipment, which means that they can be produced quickly and in large numbers. This also means that less powerful nations can now counterbalance countries that have invested billions into more expensive equipment, and have not adapted to changes in technology.

This is also why the US has lost in Iran. The Iranians can produce some of the best drones in the world in large numbers, and they are able to use them to effectively stop any possible invasion force from the US and Israel. They can use them to counter even advanced jets, and, the most scary thing for us all, they can use them to annihilate the energy infrastructure in the region which would crash the world economy. Tech worth a few thousand dollars can do billions of dollars in damage. This is a terrifying situation for the world. And one we cannot change at the moment.

The Iranians have invested in these drones for years, and have many more than Israel or America, who have focused on classic trinitarian forces (navy, air force, and army) with expensive equipment, rather than cheap tech like this. While the US was building F-35's with limited ability, their enemies were building tens of thousands of drones for a fraction of the price.

This is why we are seeing the US military fail in the region. Military tech has massively changed, and because of its funding structures it has been slow to adapt. After all, if you cut funding to tank building you undermine a congressman's local economy and seat in congress as a result. This sort of pork barrelling has effected all western countries in varied ways, and limits our ability to adapt quickly to developments in modern warfare.

That many westerns are only becoming aware of this now, when this situation has been known by others for years, just highlights this problem. Westerners still think in terms of how war was fought in the 80's. They think of badass pilots in jets and helicopters. But war has massively changed, and as a result the battlefield needs a very different approach.

The infantry man is facing now what the army soldier faced in WW1, the battlefield is no man's land again.

List of References

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[1] Lim Tean

Galatians 6 Bible Study – Bear With One Another

 

You can watch the video of this Bible study tonight from 8PM AEST here. 

English Standard Version

Bear One Another's Burdens

1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Final Warning and Benediction

11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Introduction

The sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians serves as a powerful and practical conclusion to his vigorous defense of justification by faith and life in the Spirit. It transitions from doctrinal argument to pastoral exhortation, offering an example for how we should live out our freedom in the gospel. The chapter is broadly divided into two sections: instructions for communal living (vv. 1–10) and a final, personal appeal from Paul (vv. 11–18).

The opening verses introduce a central, paradoxical tension of the Christian life: the call to "bear one another’s burdens" (v. 2) while recognizing that "each will have to bear his own load" (v. 5). This is not a contradiction but a reflection of life in the Spirit. Believers are summoned to gentle, humble restoration of those caught in sin, guarding against self-righteousness. This mutual burden-bearing is how the "law of Christ”, the law of love, is fulfilled. The community is called to accountability without comparison, testing one's own work rather than boasting in comparison to a neighbour.

Paul then grounds this ethic in the principle of sowing and reaping (vv. 7–9), a sobering reminder of spiritual cause and effect. Life oriented toward the flesh, or selfish desires, leads to corruption, while a life oriented toward the Spirit yields eternal life. This principle fuels perseverance in doing good, especially within the household of faith. The section culminates with Paul’s encouragement to do good to all people as opportunity arises, but especially to our brothers and sisters in the faith.

The final section, written in Paul’s own large script for emphasis, returns to the letter's core conflict; the false teaching that required Gentile circumcision for full acceptance. Paul exposes the motives of the agitators, their real concern is avoiding persecution for saying that Gentiles can be full members of God’s household. In stark contrast, Paul’s only boast is in the cross of Christ, through which his allegiance to the world system has been utterly severed. True identity is found not in religious rituals like circumcision of uncircumcision but in being a "new creation." He closes with a plea to be left unopposed, bearing in his own body the scars of his service to Jesus, and offers a benediction of grace.

Paul wants Christians to pursue God’s grace in the community of believers, rather than seek the things of the flesh.

Galatians 6, Bible study Questions

1.     What attitude and motivation should characterize the restoration of a believer caught in sin (v. 1)? Why is self-awareness crucial for the restorer?

    Cross-references: Matthew 18:15; James 5:19–20

2.     How does "bearing one another’s burdens" fulfill the "law of Christ" (v. 2)? What does this tell us about Christ's law?

    Cross-references: John 13:34–35; Romans 15:1

3.     Verses 3–5 warn against self-deception and comparison. How does testing "his own work" (v. 4) prevent the deception of thinking "he is something" (v. 3)?

    Cross-references: 2 Corinthians 10:12; 1 Corinthians 4:3–5

4.     How do you reconcile the command to bear another’s burden (v. 2) with the statement that each must bear his own load (v. 5)? What is the difference between a "burden" and a "load"?

    Cross-references: Acts 20:35; 2 Thessalonians 3:10–13

5.     What principle does verse 6 establish for the relationship between teachers and those taught? How does this reflect mutual burden-bearing?

    Cross-references: 1 Corinthians 9:11, 14; 1 Timothy 5:17–18

6.     The metaphor of sowing and reaping (vv. 7–8) is a universal spiritual principle. What does it mean to "sow to the flesh" versus "sow to the Spirit"? What are the respective harvests?

    Cross-references: Proverbs 11:18; Romans 8:5–6, 13

7.     In the context of not growing weary (v. 9), what encouragement does Paul give? How does the sowing/reaping principle fuel perseverance?

    Cross-references: 2 Thessalonians 3:13; Hebrews 12:1–3

8.     Verse 10 provides a scope for doing good. What is the relationship between doing good to "everyone" and "especially" to fellow believers?

    Cross-references: Matthew 5:43–48; 1 John 3:16–18

9.     Why does Paul take over the writing with "large letters" (v. 11)? What does this personal touch emphasize about the content to follow?

    Cross-references: 1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18

10.  According to Paul, what were the false teachers' true motivations for insisting on circumcision (vv. 12–13)? What were they trying to avoid, and what did they hope to gain?

    Cross-references: Matthew 23:5; Philippians 3:2–3

11.  In contrast to the false teachers, what is Paul's sole boast (v. 14)? What does it mean that "the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world"?

    Cross-references: 1 Corinthians 2:2; Philippians 3:7–8

12.  What are the "marks of Jesus" that Paul bears on his body (v. 17)? How do these validate his message and authority?

    Cross-references: 2 Corinthians 4:10; 2 Corinthians 11:23–25

Is Polygamy Biblical?

Is Polygamy biblical? The question itself is a form of trick, really, because just because something is in the Bible does not mean it is biblical. That is, just because we see something is in the Bible does not mean we should practice it. Cutting one’s self to call down the powers of the gods is found in the Bible, this does not mean we should practice such an awful ritual. Praying to images is in the Bible, that does not mean that we should practice it. Polygamy is in this category.

However, there is a growing push to reinstitute polygamy today, so I have decided to address it in my upcoming book on marriage.

Here is an excerpt from my chapter on the issue:

The Bible presents a lot of things in both a negative and positive light. The Scriptures present alcohol in a positive and negative light. They same is true with food, sex, war and many other things. So, to argue that the Bible often presents polygamous marriages in a negative light leads to a dangerous and unthoughtful approach to biblical interpretation, that any thoughtful critic could undo. Think about it, the very first two-person marriage in the Bible is a failure, as well. Eve led Adam into sin and Adam failed to lead them both out of it. Could you not, using the negative light angle, say this frames one-man-one-woman marriage in a negative light? I think there is a better argument to be made against polygamy, which we will explore now.

So, what does the Bible say about polygamy?

There is no doubt the Old Testament permitted polygamy. The Patriarchs were mostly polygamists, Moses, the prophet who led Israel our of Egypt and through the wilderness, had a Midianite wife and a Cushite wife. As we saw before God specifically says he gave David many of his wives, though Bathsheba David stole. Gideon, the judge, also had many wives, and so too did many other righteous men in the Old Testament.

We have to admit that polygamy was a concession God allowed, but it seems only very powerful, and very wealthy men benefitted from the practice…well, and their wives of course, who got access to the wealth of these men. But polygamy was not God’s intention from the beginning. Let’s got through the Bible and refresh our memory on God’s intention.

God created us to partner with one person. As Moses wrote in Genesis, “24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:24-25). There is nothing more natural than a man and woman being together, and for life. There is nothing more evident than that God created men and women for each other. Men and women are created to be physically joined together and to complement each other. We balance each other out. This very intentional design is reiterated throughout the Old Testament.

Proverbs 5:15-21 says,

“15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. 20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? 21 For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.”

The fact this was written by a polygamist, who was taught it by his polygamist dad, only adds to its strength. Think about it, if Solomon tells you to avoid polygamy, you know he is coming from a place of experience. Right? No one knows better how wrong it can go. He is a true and genuine expert in the matter, and I don’t think anyone teaches more against it in the Bible than him.

Malachi reiterates the same standard in his short book, “But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant” (Mal. 2:14). Malachi notes that God was not blessing the people of Judah because of how they broke their marriage covenant to their wife.

Contrary to what a lot of people believe, the ideal of marriage between one man and one woman, is taught in the Old Testament. It was only very powerful men in certain circumstances who practiced polygamy. It was not practiced society wide, even in Old Testament Israel. But the New Testament makes the standard even clearer.

Jesus corrects the record,

“3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery” (Matt. 19:3-9).

Not only does Jesus reaffirm the original intention for marriage that it should be between one man and one woman, with no exceptions, he also says it is committing adultery for a man to divorce his wife and marry another. If it is adultery to do this, then how much more is it adultery to marry another, while you are married? This destroys any chance of polygamy being legitimate for the Christian. Jesus’ words on the matter really should serve as the final word for Christians. I know of some Christian men who have tried to live in polygamous marriages and their wives have had to leave them over this. This is a legitimate reason for their wives to divorce them. Just as it would be for a man to divorce his wife if she took another man.

Paul builds on Jesus’ words and affirms that elders must be the husband of one wife, “3 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,…” (1 Tim 3:1-2). The overseer “must be” present tense “the husband of one wife…” Many have seen this passage as explicitly rebuking polygamy, and I agree with them, as overseers are to be models to the rest of the congregation.

Paul reiterates the standard of monogamy in many places, including Ephesians 5,

“22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (vv.22-24).  

Some devious people might try to argue that Paul uses the plural word for “wives” or “women” here. But he is referring to a collective group of people. Each wife should understand how what Paul says here applies to her relationship with her husband. The husband-and-wife relationship in the bible reflects the relationship between Christ and the church, and Christ only has one bride: The Church.

Now, I am going to reiterate that. There are not two peoples of God, therefore a man should not have two brides. The image of one husband one bride comes from God’s fellowship with his one bride, the church, which is all who believe in him. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 7:2, “2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” Paul clearly understood Jesus’ words on marriage to be the final word on the matter, because he bases all of his teachings on Jesus’ understanding of marriage, and does not negate it in any way. Hence, it is the final word on the matter for Christians.

So, we can see that the New Testament very strongly, and firmly, reasserts the original form of marriage as absolute. From Jesus’ words to Paul’s, to the end of Revelation marriage is between on man and his bride. The final picture of a wedding ceremony in Revelation 19 even illustrates this for us, “7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready…” (Rev. 19:7). Marriage is between a man and a women. Every other form of marriage invented by the mind of men is just a poor copy of what marriage actually is.

  

Christian Nationalism Is Happening

 

 

Christians on social media for whom the TGC is too right wing and feminism is right because their wives told them it is. "You can't do Christian Nationalism!" 

Texas, "Watch us."

Things are looking up. 

Many Christians, and Non-Christians in the West are becoming more and more aware that the decline of Christianity is not leading into a Star Trek style Utopia, where all of humanity lives under a tolerant liberalism that defends freedom and prosperity, but instead it is leading into a dystopian world in which everybody is worse off. 

Atheists are beginning to realize how good they had it when they were minorities in a largely Christian country, rather than just one of many anti-Christian parts of society. They are realizing that the post-religion world is not a real possibility. They are realizing that they have simply helped create a void that something else will fill. 

To see John Cleese acknowledging this is incredible. It is remarkable. I remember seeing Cleese debate with an Anglican Minister about these issues and the young Cleese did not get this. He, and other mockers like him, did not realize just how much they were attacking the foundations of the society upon which they stood. 

But as we can see in Texas and other places, this is beginning to turn around. 

Either You Do It Or The Government Will Take Everything

 

 

I've said for years that society cannot afford to sustain the aged on public money. The pension was originally designed to last two or so years on average. Not 20 or 30 years. It was originally designed not just to support people in old age, but to incentivize older people to lay down their tools so they younger people could work. It has gone far beyond its original intention, and we simply cannot afford it.

Historically people have funded their own retirement, and they have done it through a means that anyone can afford: by having children and living with them after a certain age. This was the age old method. Many families would have several generations living in the same home, and the elderly would be looked after by the young. We have now gotten away from this, and forgotten why children were considered wealth, and society is literally going broke trying to make up the difference.

For those older women who have no family, through tragedy or unfortunate circumstances, the Bible says the Church should pool resources to look after them. But for everybody else it says their family should provide for them into old age.

This worked for millennia.

But then, as we humans like to do, we thought we were smarter and thought we could get the government to care for the aged using publicly money, and we thought that we did not really need to care about having lots of children. We called it progress. Within a couple of generations our population’s birth rate is now plummeting, debt is skyrocketing, and forward-thinking policy makers can see the brick wall our society is heading towards. Liabilities are increasing and the number of people who can effectively pay for them is shrinking. 

And don't think immigration can fix it, because lots of data shows that immigrants on average learn less money, and many of them go straight onto welfare anyway. 

Ask the state to care for you too much, and it will take all you have and more to pay for it.

All Israel is Not All Israel

 

When you are discussing the nature of who God’s people really are, the contrast between the people of faith (true Israel) and the people of the flesh (not true Israel), you will have someone chip in, “What about Romans 11?” To which I like to ask, “What about it?” Many people who bring this passage up have not considered it in detail, and how it fits into Paul’s wider argument in both the chapter of Romans 11, the section of Romans 9-11, nor Paul’s wider writings.

I know I have addressed this topic before (you can read past posts here, here and here), but my devotions the other day from Isaiah 59 have prompted me to address this from another perspective. You may be aware that Romans 11 quotes Isaiah 59:20, this is the New King James version of the text,

“25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins” (Rom. 11:25-27).

Verse 26 quotes what Isaiah says in his own prophetic writings. Isaiah is looking forward to the day in which the sins of Israel will be taken away. We know that Jesus did on this on the cross, but we also know that this salvation points forward to a time when he will return to save his people from this fallen world (1 Pet.1:3-5). As I argued in previous pieces, especially this one here, God only temporarily hardened the Israelites so that they would demand the Messiah be killed, and this passage could be fulfilled. God’s calling and election cannot be revoked, therefore, the non-believing Jewish person still has the same offer of salvation under the same conditions as any non-believing Gentile. I am not going to go into detail about this again here. I simply want to show how Isaiah’s own words confirm this reading.

The NKJV breaks this passage into three parts.

Firstly, the recognition that God’s people have gone astray,

“1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

6 Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace” (Isa. 59:1-9).

Isaiah begins this passage by outlining the sin problem. Just like any good gospel preacher would do. Note the tense in this passage, this is Isaiah looking at the wickedness of his people. He is describing a people who are caught in their sins and the result of their sins.

Next, Isaiah speaks from the perspective of an Israelite. He switches from “they” to “we”, this section reads more like a confession, as my NKJV identifies,

“9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey” (Isa. 59:9-15).

This part of the passage says much the same thing, but because of the change in perspective it shows that the consequences of the sins of God’s people are causing them to cry out. They are suffering because of their rebellion. They know their guilt and they are confessing it.

In the final part of the passage we see God’s response to the rebellion of his people, and their being trapped in their sins,

“Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

21 “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore” (Isa. 59:15-21).

God looks at his people and sees them in their rebellion, he sees how their selfishness has turned into them oppressing the weak, he sees how there is no justice, no righteousness, and he decides that he himself needs to save them, so he does, “16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.” The “arm” of the Lord is of course Jesus, as we know from Isaiah,

“1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him…

…12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:1-3, 12).

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the arm of the Lord who made intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus rode out of Zion and took away the sins of his people, which is all who believe. And he will return one day out of heavenly Zion to bring judgement for his people, and all who trusted in him will be saved. He will punish evil as he notes in Isaiah 59:17-19. He will ride to victory his people, as Isaiah 59:20 says. And who are his people?

Well, he defines his people for us in verse 21,

“21 As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”

They are those who:

-        He has a covenant with,

-        who speak the word of God,

-        who pass the words of God unto their descendants,

-        and who will be his people forevermore.

This can only apply to believers. Isaiah 59:20 is not a promise that God has a plan to save the final generation of Jewish people living in a country called Israel. It is that he will ride to victory for his redeemed, though who are filled with the Spirit, which we know is all believers, “14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). This is the Church, the community of believers.

The very next part of Isaiah also shows that the Gentiles are indeed in view,

“1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isa. 60:1-3).

Isaiah is clearly teaching about the work of salvation achieved by Jesus that goes out to all peoples, and that Jesus will again return to judge evil and vindicate his people. Hence, all Israel is simply all who believe. Saying that all Israel will be saved is the equivalent of saying that all believers will be saved.

Indeed, one of the reasons that Pharisees misunderstood who Jesus was, is because they believed the coming of the Messiah would bring their glory and the establishment of a Jewish Kingdom to rule the world. They missed the fact that there were two comings. One to deal with sin, one to take God’s fallen people from this sinful world. Isaiah 59:15-21 points to both these events. The New Testament helps us to see this with more clarity. Jesus took away our sins on the cross. He came out of Zion and achieved victory of our sins. He will one day ride again out of heavenly Zion and take people’s sins away completely.

Trying to force this into an end time revival of one ethnic group, when the vision is global, is doing great harm to this passage. It is fair to say it points to the cross and to the end of days, though. What Jesus did on the cross is a picture of how he is going to rescue us with the salvation ready to be revealed at final day, as I noted at the start.

Why limit this passage down to only apply to Jewish people, when it is taken from a much larger argument made by Isaiah that God will save all who trust in him from their sins, make them his people, and come back and rescue them? Thinking that Isaiah was referring to simply their nation, rather than to all peoples, is exactly the mistake the Pharisees made. Paul would not make that same mistake. 

 

 

Every Empire Falls For The Same Reason

 

The ruins of Nineveh lie buried beneath the sands of modern-day Mosul, a silent testament to the fragility of human power and the temporal nature of powerful empires. This reminds me of Ozymandias by Shelley,

“And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”[1]

The Assyrian Empire, the one-time undisputed superpower of the ancient Near East, collapsed with stunning speed. For the biblical prophets, however, this was no historical accident. It was the judgement of God, a divine act. While the world often attributes the fall of nations to economic collapse or military defeat, the Scriptures offer a different underlying cause; empires fall when they become full of themselves and fall into pride in their own strength and abilities.

The Assyrians, for example, were proud of their conquests and their victories. Every empire is. We read in Zephaniah 2:15 about Nineveh, “15 This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.” Zephaniah captures the heart of Assyria's fatal arrogance. What does the statement, “I am” mean? In the book of Isaiah, this almost exact phrasing, “I am, and there is no other,” is the exclusive claim of the Lord God (Isa. 45:5-6). Only he can claim to be the one who is above all others. By placing this divine claim in the mouth of Nineveh, Zephaniah is not just accusing them of idolatry; he is accusing them of Luciferian pride. They aren't merely boasting; they are actively usurping the sovereignty of the Lord Creator. The Assyrians thought they were gods, indeed, they are placing themselves in the position of THE God. Assyria had become proud of its evil, confident of its victories, enamoured with its own glory. They worshipped themselves.

Every empire becomes like this just before it starts to fall and decline. It becomes proud, arrogant, boastful, and overconfident. This overconfidence is part of what leads to its fall. Not simply because they become sloppy in battle, though this often does happen. But because as we learn in the prophets, pride provokes the living God to judgment. Empires do not merely fall as a natural consequence of bad decision-making, God intervenes in their destiny. God actively “cuts down” the towering tree (Ezekiel 31:10-11) because He “opposes the proud” (James 4:6). Empires that lean into their pride face divine resistance to their own strength and prosperity.

The reason this hubris causes an empire to fall is because pride causes people, leaders and nations, to trust in their own abilities and strengths. As Ezekiel notes about the heart of the Assyrians, “10 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,…” (Eze. 31:10). The Babylonian Empire learned this lesson too when King Nebuchadnezzar looked at his kingdom and boasted, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built...?” Immediately, his reason departed and he was driven into the fields to eat grass (Dan. 4:30-33). God will not share His glory with a human ruler or a human kingdom. Many people refuse to learn this lesson.

This pride also leads these powers to think they can do whatever they want. They think they are like God, so why should they not act however they want? Is that not what it means to “be like God”? This is part of what causes them to fall into foolish and evil behaviours, specifically things like extreme cruelty, violence, and the oppression of the vulnerable (see Nahum 3:1, "Woe to the city of blood"). Empires that think they are God will believe they can dehumanize their enemies and treat them however they like. They, of course, set the standards and terms, right? Their fall is judgment for how they treated others, not just how they thought about themselves. But these two things are intricately connected. Pride of position leads to evil action.

This is why every empire falls, because they all fall into these same patterns of strength, pride in their own strength, believing they can act like God as the judge and executioner of all according to their will, and that their cruelty is justified, therefore they can act as they will and not be held to the same account as the nations they vent their fury on. God looks at this, sees a nation, or people, who have sought to usurp his place, and he removes his favour from them, and humiliation and collapse results. From the natural you would look at this and see a corrupted empire, seeking to enforce its will on people and failing. In the spiritual you see the same results of pride that have been recorded since time immemorial.

The warning of Zephaniah and Ezekiel is not confined to the dust of ancient Mesopotamia. Every superpower, from Rome to Britain to the contemporary global powers like the USA, faces the same temptations and falls into the same patterns. The United States is one example of this today. How often have its leaders condemned other nations for invading others and dealing violence, and then turned around and argued its own invasions and violence were thoroughly justified? Like other world powers it often fails to live by its own moral code. This is because of the same pride that other world powers, like Britain, France, and others, have fallen into. This is the consistent pattern. When a nation begins to rely on its military prowess, its economic strength, or its technological advancement as its ultimate security, it has already begun the slide toward ruin. God giveth and God taketh away.

We live in an age of unprecedented human achievement. Yet, the greatest danger facing any modern empire is not a rival nation or a shifting economy; it is the existential risk of believing the lie, “I am, and there is no one else.” Nor, should the nations that oppose corrupted empires be confused with always being the good guys. They might be just as wicked in many ways, and if they walk forward in pride they will fall into the exact same errors.

This is as true of individuals as it is of empires. Behind every abusive man is the same sort of pattern of pride. Behind every abusive woman is the same thing. Wherever we have authority we must never forget that it is a delegated authority that will ultimately be judged by the Lord God. We are never the ultimate authority. Even if you were to rise to the highest place in the world you would still not be the ultimate authority. God is the only one who can rightly claim, “I am, and there is no one else!” All else who fall into the lie of believing they can claim this will bring his ire.

Repent, he is merciful to the repentant who will humble themselves. But the proud, they are in trouble.

List of References

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[1] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias