Make A Joyful Noise

 

The utility of AI for making incredible music is only really beginning to be tapped. What I really love about it is how we can use it to connect with the worship of the ancient Church. We do not know exactly how they sung the Psalms, we just know that they did, as did the ancient Hebrews.

There are incredible lyrics in the Psalms, and they cover a range of topics that modern worship songs just stay away from. By taking the Psalms, and simply moving some of the words around to create a chorus, and other aspects of modern songs, we can create amazing worship straight from the Bible.

Check out my new creation, based on Psalm’s 100 and 101.

You can listen to the song here.

Make a Joyful Noise

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 

Serve the Lord with gladness:

come before his presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord he is God:

it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 

I will sing of mercy and judgment:

unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.

O when wilt thou come unto me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.

 

I will sing of mercy and judgment:

unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.

O when wilt thou come unto me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

 

I will sing of mercy and judgment:

unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.

O when wilt thou come unto me?

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

 

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,

all ye lands.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,

all ye lands.   

 

 

 

 

 

Capitalism vs. Communism?

 

 

This is a great meme, that a friend sent me, because it highlights the biggest flaw of socialism/communism.

I have actually read Marx (and Engels). I read the Communist Manifesto when I was in France in 2011 (it seemed fitting to read it there), and once since. I have also read his Das Capital, but only in part, and some of his other writings as well. What many people will not tell you about Marx is that his critiques of capitalism (he popularized that word by the way) were often on point and correct, because he could in part see where debt was getting us as a society, and how industrialists were taking more and more control (note, G. K. Chesterton wrote about the exact same issues, but he was no communist) The problem is Marx’s solutions are even worse than the problems he was seeking to address.

He proposes destabilizing the family, faith, and making all possessions common property. It's a disaster. It is what one should expect from a lifelong dole bludger. He had time to have some good insights but never had the ability to practice any real solutions, and never really understood how society works. Family, faith and private property are all essentials for a strong society.

What I propose, in constrast, is not to reject everything about our economy (though Capitalism means moneyism and is idolatry), but simply to believe the Bible is wiser than us, and so are the countless societies which practiced debt forgiveness for millennia, and institute once in a generation debt forgiveness.

If we don't do this, communism will gain traction with the young, again, who own almost nothing. And oligarchy will entrench itself in the older generations who own everything. And our society will spiral out of control.

Our options are: You will own nothing, and be forced to try and be happy anyway

Or: We put restraints on the banks with debt forgiveness like ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Sumer, early Greece, early Rome, Byzantium and many other societies did.

 

Dear President Trump, RE: Ukraine - A Response

Dear President Trump, RE: Ukraine

That’s not my title, that is the title of a blog piece sent to me today, by a friend, that seeks to lobby President Trump regarding the Ukraine War. Since before this conflict started I have been doing everything I can to write about why we should stay out of foolish wars, and most especially what the Scriptures say about these endeavours. I particularly stepped up writing about wars and alliances once the Ukrainian war began, because for many years now I have been advocating that Australia not get involved in foreign wars that are not our concern. Our country has a bad habit of just following the United States into all of its conflicts (to date Australia has sent 1.5 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, which is a provocation of war against a country that did not attack us, nor could we defend ourselves against effectively, in a far off region of the world) and I think we should speak out about this. You can read some of those writings by clicking here.

However, within the Church there is a strong pro-war lobby group. This group has particular influence in the United States, but there are Christians in Australia who would like to see the war with Russia continue, or who at least believe it is the United States role to subject other foreign powers and use force to do so. This article from this blog is an example of this philosophy, so I thought I would respond to it. I don’t know the author, I have only come across his blog a handful of times. From what I understand this author is a Christian brother with a genuine faith in Christ, and I have heard good things from friends about his public views on a host of other issues. So, my issue is not with him, it is with the position he puts forward in this blog which I have seen is a common one amongst Australians. This blog just gives me the opportunity to reply to the presented position in a systematic way.

My intention with this article is to knockdown the idea that the West should continue the war with Ukraine. So, let’s respond to the blog, knowing that this is a disagreement with a well commended Christian brother.

“Dear Mr President,

Congratulations on your return to the White House. I realise it’s been a long journey for you, full of twists and turns, let alone attempted assassinations. May God uphold you in your work.

Like many people, one of my big hopes for your second presidency is a return to the relative world stability we had in your first term. The last four years of your predecessor have been quite chaotic: a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.  The October 7 massacres. And, of course, the war in Ukraine. I’m hoping and praying you’ll help reduce the chaos and bring more order to our troubled world, such as the historic Abraham Accords you helped bring to fruition four years ago.”[1]

Ok, let’s pause here, because already we find an issue. Because the Abraham Accords did not bring “order to our troubled world.” Many of those who are well informed on the issue have the exact opposite view, the Abraham Accords helped pave the way for this current Middle Eastern conflict,

“It’s worth noting, that Joe Biden confirmed much of this analysis when he opined on October 25:

“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did… is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel and regional integration overall… ”

By “regional integration”, Biden is referring to the Abraham Accords which were promoted as a way for Arab countries to “normalize” relations with Israel and “to advance the peace process in the Middle East”. But don’t be fooled by the hype. The Accords were merely Phase 2 of Trump’s lopsided giveaway to Israel. As some readers might recall, Phase 1 of Trump’s so called Middle East Peace Plan “provided for a unified Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the principal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, amounting to annexation of roughly 30% of the territory. The Palestinians were given some desert areas near the Egyptian border, limited sovereignty, and a non-contiguous state with numerous Israeli enclaves…. ”

So, with a wave of his hand, Trump broke with all of his presidential predecessors, all the applicable UN Resolutions, and with traditional US foreign policy dating back five decades. And this was just the beginning because—as we know now—the Abraham Accords set the dominoes in motion leading inexorably to the flattening of Gaza and the displacement of two million civilians. As author of the Accords, Trump is largely responsible for the unfolding catastrophe.”[2]

Even if you think the Abraham Accords were a good thing, they were clearly still a failure, as has been noted in even in the Israeli media,

“When the Bahraini and Emirati foreign ministers stood proudly on either side of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to sign the Abraham Accords four years ago, all four men — and their governments — imagined an era of steadily expanding ties between Israel and the Arab world…

…But as the men were waxing poetic about the new era that the accords were about to usher in, events back in Israel foreshadowed how elusive that future would be.”[3]

So, even if you wholeheartedly agree with what Trump did, you cannot say that these Accords brought order to the Middle East, or the World. The situation in the Middle East has deteriorated since their implementation. One may be tempted to blame Biden for this, but well informed foreign policy experts note that the issues started to rise straight after the Accords happened. Any proper analysis will also concede that the Middle East is in worse shape than it was when the Accords were signed. Perhaps things will change for the better going forward, but if President Trump is in anyway serious about turning Gaza into a resort, then more war and chaos in the region is a guarantee.

Ok, the blog goes on to say,

“Mr President, you came promising to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. A war that has decimated Ukrainian cities. A war that has left a trail of widows and orphans.  A war that has brought destruction into European soil we haven’t seen since World War 2.

We in the West are hoping it would be a fair and just peace, especially for Ukraine, which did not ask for this war, let alone start it.”[4]

The idea that Russia just attacked Ukraine while they were standing by doing nothing, appears to be a common perspective. Without doubt Russia did invade Ukraine in February 2022, but those who start the history there do a disservice to the full context of what happened. Russia invaded on behalf of Russian speaking minorities in the Donbass region, because of stated violations by Ukraine of the Minsk agreements made between those two countries,

“MOSCOW, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced alarm on Friday over a sharp increase in shelling in eastern Ukraine and accused the OSCE special monitoring mission of glossing over what he said were Ukrainian violations of the peace process.

Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists have been fighting in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine since 2014 in a conflict that Kyiv says has claimed some 15,000 lives.

Washington and its allies have raised fears that the upsurge in violence in the Donbass could form part of a Russian pretext to invade Ukraine. Tensions are already high over a Russian military buildup to the north, east and south of Ukraine.”[5]

The blog post we are reviewing asserts that Ukraine did not ask for this war. But the history of the events says otherwise. They massively increased the shelling in the Donbass region, something that is even affirmed by the American pro-Ukrainian media, and Russia saw this as a violation of the treaty between itself and Ukraine. We also know, because of the analysis of foreign policy experts like John Mearsheimer, Jeffrey Sachs and Colonel MacGregor, and others, that Russia went to war not just on behalf of the Donbass militias, but also in response to the continued encroachment of NATO towards their borders.

We all know that America would never tolerate China or Russia putting military assets or signing military treaties with countries on its border. It is beyond credulity to think Russia would ever be ok with it either. We also know that this conflict was in part provoked because America wanted to weaken Russia through its proxy, Ukraine. A long time US strategy. This is why the US continued to increase military and other aid to Ukraine, rather than work for peace previously,

“At a news conference in Poland after the visit, Mr Austin told reporters the US wants to see "Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine".

The Pentagon chief added that US officials still believed Ukraine could win the conflict with "the right equipment" and the "right support".

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale observed that Mr Austin's comments calling for a weakened Russia were unusually strong for a US defence secretary. It is one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, it is quite another to speak of weakening Russia's capabilities, he said.”[6]

There was clearly much more going on with this conflict than simply a resurgent Russia seeking to extend its boundaries. To act like this conflict just came upon an unsuspecting Ukraine out of the blue is ahistorical. Why do you think the American Congress sought to impeach President Trump in his first term for delaying weapons shipments to Ukraine? They were preparing for this conflict for some time. Trump knew this and has long stated that if he was in charge of the US the war would never have happened, indicating that America was a key player in starting the war.

Next the blog states,

“But your recent words and actions make me nervous for Ukraine and world stability. While I applaud your desire to end this horrible war, you seem happy to do it at Ukrainian expense. I know Putin would probably end this war if you gave him much of what he wanted. Looking on, it seems you want peace at any cost – especially to Ukraine.

But, Mr President, the Bible says yes, there is a time for peace. But there’s also a time for war.

While we all yearn for peace, sometimes war is the only way to defeat evil and bring that just and lasting peace.”[7] 

I don’t think many commentators realise just what has happened with this war. Russia is not just holding its own against Ukraine, the United States, and the combined forces of much of Western and Eastern Europe, it is winning. Handedly. Trump is not suing for peace just for the sake of peace, these are surrender negotiations. Putin holds all the cards in this situation.

This has been known for sometime,

“Ukraine is now experiencing a level of existential threat comparable only to the situation immediately after the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. But in contrast to then, improvements are unlikely – at least not soon.

Not only have conditions along the frontline significantly worsened, according to the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, but the very possibility of a Ukrainian defeat is now discussed in public by people like the former commander of the UK’s Joint Forces Command, General Sir Richard Barrons.

Barrons told the BBC on April 13 that Ukraine could lose the war in 2024 “because Ukraine may come to feel it can’t win … And when it gets to that point, why will people want to fight and die any longer, just to defend the indefensible?”

This may be his way of trying to push the west to provide more military aid to Ukraine faster. Yet the fact that the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, publicly accepts that to end the war Ukraine will have to negotiate with Russia and decide “what kind of compromises they’re willing to do” is a clear indication that things are not going well for Ukraine.”[8]

This piece is from early 2024.

For the past 50 odd years Europe, Britain, Australia and the United States, along with other western countries, have been progressively moving our manufacturing overseas, particularly to Asia, but also to other developing countries. This has gutted the West’s ability to manufacture anything it relies on, including military equipment. Russia, China and many other countries have not only benefitted from this, when the US put sanctions on Russia they actually strengthened their economy because they have been preparing their country to make locally what they need for some time,

“…Russia’s economy has been resilient to western sanctions and seen growth driven by the war. On top of deliveries from Iran and North Korea dual-use technology, including electrical components and machine tools for arms manufacture, has been supplied by China.”[9]

The chickens are coming home to roost for all the environmentalist propaganda and irresponsible offshoring of manufacturing that has happened for some time now in the West. The Western powers have now been shown that we are effectively underdeveloped and the combined might of the manufacturing capabilities of Russia and its allies, especially China, are at a level we cannot compete with anymore. Russia and the USA beat Germany in World War 2 because they both had larger populations and more powerful industrial bases. Well, the United States has gutted its manufacturing base for decades now, and the result is that it cannot produce enough to help Ukraine, a militarily very strong country, beat Russia, a manufacturing power with an even stronger military. The centre of gravity of world power has shifted. Trump knows it. The western world is only slowly recognizing this.

The blog then notes,

“Your great nation knows this well. It was American soldiers who fought the war that pushed Hitler’s armies back to Berlin. It was American soldiers who fought the war that brought an end to the Japanese empire. If the world was to see peace, your nation knew that the early 1940s was a time for war.  God knows where we would be now if they decided otherwise.”[10]

America is not the manufacturing power it was in the 1940’s. It is not the same country it was then in many ways. It cannot face great powers and guarantee it could come out on top, like it once did. But note this, America beat Germany with the help of which ally? Soviet Russia, which did the vast majority of the land-based fighting on the eastern front. What major power has the United States beat on the battlefield in its own right in a hundred years? Japan. But what other? The US contributed massively in the two World Wars, particularly in the second world war and especially against Japan, but in Europe Russia did the bulk of the fighting. And Japan was a sea power, not a land power. The US has held onto its heavy weight fighting championship belt since then by only fighting lightweights since WW2 (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, twice, etc), and even many of the those wars it has lost.

Next our blogger notes,

“At other times, the mere threat of war can bring peace.

Whether it was President Clinton threatening force to bring a genocidal Bosnian Serb regime to the negotiating table in the mid-1990s. Or you threatening to bomb Putin in your first term if he invaded Ukraine. (Putin says that if you were President at the time he would not have invaded Ukraine). Or your threat of unleashing ‘all hell’ on Hamas if they didn’t return the hostages, which many Arab observers credit with helping bring Hamas to the negotiating table.

Sometimes, the threat of force, especially from you, is the only thing that the likes of Putin, Hamas, and many a dictator will heed.

And so, Mr President, I humbly believe you have options.”[11]

While I agree on principle that presenting a threatening military stance and backing it up with one of the most powerful militaries in the world can help maintain peace - the peace through strength strategy - this writer is uninformed about what actually happened in Gaza. Trump did not need to put pressure on Hamas for negotiations to happen, but on Netanyahu. As the Israeli Newspaper Haaretz notes,

“Wednesday night, Channel 12 News' Yaron Avraham, presented a comprehensive report detailing all of the hostage negotiation deals that have been proposed since November, when the last, and only, successful exchange took place.

Presented as a detailed timeline of the last 11 months, the investigation includes never-before-seen documents and previously unheard conversations which highlight Netanyahu's relentless attempts to "Torpedo the Deal," as the segment is titled.”[12]

It has long been reported in the Israeli news that Netanyahu was blocking any hostage deals. Trump did force the ceasefire, but he did it by putting pressure on Israel.

Even when it comes to Ukraine in Trump’s first term, remember Trump was brining pressure on the Europeans at the time, and, as we already noted, he stopped a weapons shipment to Ukraine. The idea that he was standing in the way of Putin and that this was stopping the war, does not take this into account. He was holding back western forces that were giving assurances to Ukraine and that were intent on provoking Russia. The fact that peace talks have begun with his second presidency shows that this reading of events makes the most sense.  

This next part of his blog makes me wonder how much attention this blogger and many Australian Christians have paid to the war. Do people not realize how much war technology has shifted in the last decade?

“On the one hand, you could continue giving major concessions to Putin at Ukraine’s expense, Demanding little from him and much from Ukraine. Yes, It might end the war and bring peace - for a little while. 

However, the testimony of history through events like Munich 1938 is that dictators like Putin become emboldened by such major concessions. They smell blood.  They end up demanding more, not less. They see concession as weakness, not strength. And they feel confident to push the boundaries – if not immediately, then soon after. And we’ve yet to mention whether such a peace is just.

On the other hand, Mr President, you could do what you did before: threaten escalation. After all, it worked before with Putin, as you have said.  Threaten to send a Naval carrier group or two to the Black Sea. Threaten to send a few squadrons of USAF fighters to control the skies of Ukraine on and off the battlefield. Russia can barely move forward against Ukraine (which has no control of its skies) despite a massive advantage in manpower.  Could you imagine what Ukraine could do if American aircraft controlled the air?

(Russian Generals know it, and Putin knows it: such American air power would decimate Russian forces.)

Such threats of escalation would help bring de-escalation. The threat of war will help bring peace. It would send a signal to Putin and other regimes that America won’t tolerate her allies being invaded and abused.

You could help bring order to our chaotic world. You could help bring peace, through strength.”[13]

Russia quickly neutralized Ukraine’s air power early in the war with its anti-aircraft missile systems, the famous S-400 and S-500 systems. The blog we are reviewing even notes that Ukraine has no control over the skies. This is why. These systems effectively make it suicide for fighters and bombers to take to the skies over the battlefield. These systems also neutralize one of the United State’s greatest former advantages, the Aircraft carrier group. Why do you think the United States has not done just as this blogger asks? They know that they cannot be assured victory in the skies or sea anymore.

Such a threat from Trump to bring in the navy would not worry Putin at all. For one, Navy carrier groups cannot defeat highly advanced and mobilized land-based militaries with superior air defence and endless missile stocks. It would be like attacking a 17^th century fort with an old cannon armed frigate; suicidal. The day of the fighter controlling the skies is over. Russia, China and many other powers now have the ability to control the skies with anti-aircraft systems that are far easier to make, and far cheaper, than fighters or bombers. And they are many multiple millions of dollars cheaper than building aircraft carriers. This person does not know what they are asking. Russia is an advanced industrial power that can produce advanced missiles quickly, and far cheaper, than the US can produce planes to replace the ones shot down by those missiles. The math just is not on their side.

America has sent billions to Ukraine in equipment, training, aid and even reported manpower at times (for “training purposes” of course…) and still Russia is winning. Why it has not advanced further could be explained by Putin’s lack of desire to conquer all of Ukraine, because he has seen what happened to the US when it tried to hold Afghanistan and Iraq, rather than by an inability of Russia to do so. Though we are only assuming here. However, we are not assuming when we say that Russia has beaten Ukraine, how far they go will depend on how far the US and Europe will push the issue.

Our writer finishes with this admonition,

“Mr President, there is a time for peace. But also a time for war.

I’ll be praying for your decision.”[14]

Pray that Trump is able to get the peace Europe and Ukraine need. Russia holds all the cards. It is obvious much of the West does not recognize this yet. But many of us do. The West has been weakening itself with bad foreign policy, environmental ideology and offshoring decisions for decades. These bad policies are now all coming back to roost. Ukraine, and by virtue of their aid also the US, and Europe, have lost. The sooner they admit defeat the sooner they can save lives all around. Praise be to God, it appears that President Trump knows this. Pray he is successful in bringing peace.

List of References

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[1] Akos Baologh, Dear President Trump, RE: Ukraine, https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

[2] Mike Whitney, 2025, https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/the-primary-cause-of-october-7-was-donald-trump-heres-the-proof/

[3] Lazar Berman, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/four-years-on-abraham-accords-are-strained-by-gaza-war-but-prove-resilient/

[4] Akos Baologh, Dear President Trump, RE: Ukraine, https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

[5] Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-sharp-increase-shelling-donbass-is-alarming-2022-02-18/

[6] Matt Murphy, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61214176

[7] https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

[8] Stefan Wolff and Tetyana Malyarenko, 2024, https://theconversation.com/ukraine-is-losing-the-war-and-the-west-faces-a-stark-choice-help-now-or-face-a-resurgent-and-aggressive-russia-227875

[9] Ibid.

[10] https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

[11] https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

[12] Rachel Fink, 2024, https://archive.md/ysGm4#selection-927.0-935.244

[13] https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

[14] https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/dear-president-trump-re-ukraine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3czwnwxHWGOBdpC6XD-lgDouKHrkCTtGr6jutoUuSFZ5-NOb5DPgRT4k8_aem_bX8sL1_jE2vvOUrZ_Yx70w

Standing On Our Own Two Feet

 

There are conservatives and commentators now arguing that Trump's plan for peace with Putin makes the world a far more dangerous place. That now we can no longer see America as a reliable ally because it went from being Ukraine’s primary support. Really it was the driver behind this war, but still, the US went from sending billions in aid and weapons to Ukraine, to now cutting it out of any peace negotiations.  

But the truth is relying on the US was always a bad idea, and often the countries that have relied on the US end up facing the worst fates. I was just reading this morning about how America backed Saddam Hussein because he opposed Iran, look how that turned out for Hussein. Ukraine being bled on the battlefield and then hung out to dry is a common fate of US allies. As Midnight Oil sung many years ago, “U.S. forces give the nod. It’s a setback for your country.”[1]

Don't take my word for it, either, note Henry Kissinger's words, one of America's most influential and famous Secretaries of State:

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal" is attributed to Henry Kissinger. This statement reflects the idea that while being opposed to the U.S. can lead to significant risks, aligning with the U.S. can also result in dire consequences, particularly in the context of U.S. foreign policy and its often unpredictable nature. Kissinger's assertion suggests that the U.S. may not always be a reliable ally, and this has been observed in various historical contexts where nations that relied on U.S. support faced severe repercussions."

America has always reserved the right to turn on its allies when they were no longer needed or a better deal that they believed served their interests, was in the offering. Ukraine has just found this out. Acting like Trump is some new phenomenon for turning on a US ally is just another example of how the people who promote the narrative like to memory hole the real history of how these things work. This was always going to be the way this war ended, with America abandoning Ukraine.

Australia need not worry about this, either. Australia neither sits in Europe, nor Asia, nor America. We are far away from all the major players. We are the most resource rich nation in the world, apart from maybe Russia. We should be strategically neutral, militarily strong, and energy independent.

Instead for decades our governments have instituted a policy of military reliance on America, indeed actual servitude, serving as a US auxiliary force. We have been strategically belligerent having co-invaded numerous countries that neither threatened us or who could have even touched us (except through our immigration policies). And for at least two decades now Australia's energy sector has been hamstrung by radical environmental ideology, imported from the US and Europe. This has caused Australia to burden itself with high energy prices by increasing investment in so-called renewables, when we have all the energy resources a county could ever need for centuries. We could be self-reliant if we wanted to, but our addiction to being in lockstep with the US in its foreign policy has stopped us from every standing on our own two feet.   

However, Australia needs to learn to stand on its own two feet. Now is as good a time as any. Reliance on US support was always a gamble where the chances of being hung out to dry were as high as being able to count on support. If US support looks like what the US did to Ukraine under Biden, or many other examples, then we'd be better off playing no part in foreign wars and adventures anymore, in any way at all.

Australia should be the Switzerland of the South Seas. A land of trading to all sides and picking fights with none. A land where every Australian man is taught to defend his country, but is not sent off to foreign wars. A land which uses its energy riches to enrichen its own citizens, not provide the resources for other major powers to strengthen their nations. Australia could do this. What is stopping it?

List of References

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[1] https://genius.com/Midnight-oil-us-forces-lyrics

Only Believers Are Children of Abraham

 

Who is Abraham the father of and to what descendants are his promises for?

Obviously, Abraham was a physical man with physical descendants. Most people know that he was first the father of Ishmael through Hagar, his concubine, and then the father of Isaach through Sarah. Some others will be aware that he had another wife and many more children,

“1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.”

Abraham, as he was told and as his name means, was literally the father of many. Not just the ancestor of many. There is no doubt though that he favoured the child of promise, Isaac. Why did he favour Isaac? Because he was the child through which God's promise was to come, “15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (Gen. 15:15-16). It was through the child of promise that the promises of God would be extended to Abraham’s offspring. All Abraham had to do was belief God. Therefore, though Abraham had many physical descendants, it is only the children of promise, or the children of faith, who are his real descendants. This is not my argument, this is the argument of the whole of the Scriptures and especially the New Testament.

Paul makes this especially clear in Romans 4, where he says about being credited with righteousness, as Abraham was,

“9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Rom. 4:9-12).

Who is he the father of? “of all who believe…” Those who are uncircumcised, but also note that he also says this, “and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised…” In other words, Paul was arguing that while Abraham may be the physical father of many peoples, particularly the circumcised, he is in reality the father of all who believe, whether circumcised or not. But he is especially emphasizing that being among the circumcised, or physically being a Jew, does not make one a child of Abraham. One must be “not merely circumcised but also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised." In other words he is the father of all who believe in Jesus.

Paul was not the first to argue this. John the Baptist said much the same thing. In Matthew 3 he says,

“7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matt. 3:7-9).

According to John the Baptist, the greatest man ever born of woman in the Old Covenant era, only faith and repentance counted to make one a child of Abraham. And he even asserts that God can raise up children of Abraham from the stones right in front of him, which likely has the double meaning of pointing out that many unbelieving Gentiles would soon become children of the man of faith. After all that is why Abraham is called the man of faith, he is the father of all who came after him who have faith in God.

Paul makes this point equally strong in Galatians as he did in Romans,

“7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gen. 3:7-9).

Who are the sons of the man of faith, according to Paul and John the Baptist? “...It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” I don’t know how any Christian can even question this when Paul lays it out in black and white so clearly.

And even more significantly, so too did Jesus,

“39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:39-44).

When the Jewish leaders challenged Jesus he straight up told them that just like any other unbelievers they were not of God, and therefore not children of Abraham. Because for Jesus, and this should settle the question, it is only those who love him who are the children of God, or children of Abraham, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,… “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.”

It is about right now that someone might bring up Romans 9-11 and say, “What about that passage Matt?” As if Paul contradicts himself, Jesus and John the Baptist there. Well, what about it? This is what it says,

“6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Rom. 9:6-8).

Some read this and then conclude, “Ah ha! See, Israel came from Isaac therefore the Jews are the children of Abraham.” But they miss the entire point of Paul’s argument. As he notes, “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God…” Well, then who is? It is “the children of promise.” And who are they? They are the children of faith, as every other passage explains.

Paul’s argument here in Romans 9-11 (and really in all his works) is that we cannot rely on the flesh, but that we must rely on faith,

“10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:10-13).

If Paul were arguing here that the fleshly descendants of Isaac were the children of promise, this would contradict his whole argument in Romans 1-8, especially in chapter 4, and it would also undermine his argument in chapters 9-11 that we must rely not on the flesh, but on faith. Paul drives this home in chapter 11,

“19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again” (Rom. 11:19-23).

Flesh counts for nothing. The natural state of the branches counts for nothing. Only faith counts when it comes to the people of God. One can only stand in faith. One is only of God through faith. One is only a child of Abraham by faith. Again and Again the Bible emphasizes this. John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul agree; it is only the people of faith who are sons of Abraham.

This is because it is circumcision of the heart that matters, not circumcision of the flesh. Even Jeremiah made this point, all the way back in the days of circumcision,

“25 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart” (Jer. 9:25).

This is the message that got Jeremiah, Paul, John the Baptist and Jesus all persecuted: that being a physical descendant of Abraham did not count. Only those who had faith are accounted as part of God’s people. The Pharisees took issue with this position and sought to persecute the church to do away with all who taught this. But it is even a greater travesty that today people who call themselves Christians stand with the Pharisees and say that circumcision of the flesh and descent by the flesh accounts for something before God. This is the very antithesis of both the New Testament and the Old. Confidence in the flesh is the opposite of anything the people of God should ever believe.

Paul spent his whole life seeking to assert this message,

“3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

If the flesh counted for anything we could have confidence in it. But it does not. Only faith does. Only those who have faith in Christ are the sons of Abraham. This is core, foundational, Christianity.  

The Vaccines Destroy the Immune System?

 

Never take experimental medication. I can’t believe I have to say that, but I do. Of course, an exception to this rule might be because your life is on the line and you judge that it is worth the risk to face serious injury in the face of certain or almost certain death. But in general do not take experimental drugs. Especially not if you are being coerced.

And certainly do not take the advice of politicians and media…or those we could call, “The bought and paid for…”

Very early on in the crazy Covid times a young woman came up to me in a public setting, this would have been mid 2020, and asked me directly, if I was going to take the vaccine. No vaccine had been announced, at this stage the only people who were saying they were going to push a mandatory, or at least ‘as mandatory as possible’, vaccine were being called conspiracy theorists. Though it was not long after this that Scott Morrison made his infamous “as mandatory as you can possibly make it” comment. It was not really until later that year, as I remember, that it became much wider news that a vaccine would be our only way out.

My response to this young woman? I will wait to see how safe it is. This was the only sensible response in my view. But what I did not realize yet was that the fault lines were already been drawn. Already people were starting to judge each other on whether or not someone was willing to take this. But my only thought at the time was simple: who would take an experimental medication for such a virus? Especially considering it was new technology. The answer to that is: most people would. Many because they wanted to. And many because they felt the pressure to do so. And others because they were coerced. But at the end of the day as we know now, many would.

But we are still seeing that this damn thing is not fully understood, and only now are some prominent doctors connecting the increasing sickness we have all seen going around with the fact that this thing effected people’s immune systems in a negative way,

“Experts from Yale University have discovered an alarming syndrome linked to the mRNA Covid vaccines.

The previously-unknown condition - dubbed 'post-vaccination syndrome' - appears to cause brain fog, dizziness, tinnitus and exercise intolerance.

Some sufferers also show distinct biological changes, including differences in immune cells and the presence of coronavirus proteins in their blood, years after taking the shot.

The condition also appears to reawaken a dormant virus in the body called Epstein-Barr which can cause flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes and nerve issues.

The full results of the small study have not yet been published, and the Yale experts emphasized the results 'are still a work in progress.'

Yet the findings, from a well-respected institution, suggest more research on post-vaccination syndrome is needed, independent experts said.

The next phase of the research will be to ascertain how widespread the condition is and who is most at risk…

…When they analyzed the patients' immune systems, those with PVS had different proportions of some immune cells. It’s unclear what these differences might mean as the researchers couldn't link them to specific symptoms

The team also looked at 134 people with long Covid, as PVS symptoms overlap with it, as well as 134 healthy vaccine recipients.

Both people with long Covid and those with PVS seemed to have reactivated Epstein-Barr syndrome…

…It causes symptoms like fatigue, fever, and rashes, and once symptoms disappear, the virus remains dormant in the body, where it can be reactivated when the immune system is low.”[1]

So the vaccine has weakened peoples immune systems. This is not the only mechanism that is causing vaccinated people to get sick. The presence of constant inflammation is another, “Persistent spike proteins in the body are thought to cause some of long Covid's symptoms, by keeping the body in a constant state of inflammation.”[2]

But this next line is the one I want to highlight, “'Much larger studies of very carefully defined and phenotyped individuals [genetically analyzed] need to take place.'”[3] In other words, this thing has not been studied at any responsible level, yet already much of the world population has taken it and has its impact in their blood.

People were conned into taking an under regulated dangerous new drug, and revelations are still ongoing about how little doctors understand the damage and side effects it has caused. 

Don’t take experimental medication. It’s wisdom 101. And especially do not follow society down a road that they were coerced by politicians into.

 

List of References

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[1] Emily Joshu, 2025, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14414367/covid-vaccines-new-syndrome-biological-changes-yale.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawIjeS5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSvhxfbY5xZtxsDfV9B8Ey6Ku1jy0oJV5EKDVpryNQ6BP6SSA7dXb_4MNg_aem_ZBQeMWwq3Dsd2RjPx-IJ_w

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Black Mirror

 

I've seen Christians write comments online and say them in other contexts that are just as deplorable as what those two nurses in NSW's said. They just said it about Palestinians which is more tolerated in our society in some circles.

People know my views on limiting immigration and relevant topics. And many conservative commentators are using this situation to point out the very obvious flaws in our immigration and refugee programs. No argument from me on those points.

But this is not the only significant point that we should address on this issue. We should face the fact that we have imported people from all sides of a war zone, a war zone our country helped create. And then large segments of our society have emotionally tied themselves to one side or another and people on many sides are saying equally evil things.

I think what those two nurses said is evil. But I also think some Christians got to see their mirror opposites in those two.

This World Of Lies

What is truth?

This is not my question, this was Pilate’s question when he was standing in front of the Lord Jesus Christ deciding whether or not Jesus was guilty of anything. We read in John 18,

“37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all” (John 18:37-38).

Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, and rather than acknowledge this Pilate simply responds exactly as a cynical politician with no need to look good for the cameras, or to shore up support from voters would respond, “What is truth?” Pilate lived in a world of lies.

Rome was a nation of false gods and was ruled by a corrupt political class that claimed to represent the people, but were really slaves to power and wealth. It claimed lordship over the whole world, yet was stopped at the borders of Germania, Parthia and Arabia by a combination of foreign powers and geography. Lying was not a crime in Rome. It was a method of attaining power, as it was in many other societies. But it was not unique in this way. The whole world of that day laid under the power of the chief of liars, Satan himself, as does our world today.

Jesus on the other hand represents unrelenting truth. What is truth? First and foremost, it is Jesus, he is the truth, the way and the life. If you want to know what the truth is it begins with Jesus himself, who is the full representation of the Father, the Lord of all. For this reason, truth should be defined really simply: it is what is, whether we like it or not. God exists whether we like it or not, and as truth is one of the attributes of the creator of heaven and earth, truth has this same quality. Truth is unrelenting in presenting what is real, tangible and solid, whatever our thoughts or feelings on the matter. In other words, truth is what it is, and you cannot change it. You can deny it, but you cannot change. Truth cannot lie, just as Moses and Paul tell us that God cannot lie (Num. 23:19, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18).

It appears that many people including Christians and Christian leaders have not really taken on board just how significant this point is. For sure, no true Christian or Christian leader believes that God would or could lie. At least I have not met one who would teach or assert this. However, the corollary of this is that God, and in his inability to lie, is being contrasted with every other being in existence. This contrast between the truthfulness of God and the faithlessness of humanity is an important theme in the scriptures. For instance, Paul notes in 2 Timothy 2:11-13, “11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” God cannot be unfaithful. However, human and spiritual beings can be. Men lie, women lie and even angels, fallen angels, can lie, as is evident with the devil himself. In other words, many Christians and Christians leaders have not stopped to fully take on board just how much we live in a world of lies. Lies are far more common than the truth in this world, which is why God stands out as the lone source of complete truth. 

Jesus and his Apostles tried to warn us about this. The Apostle John notes,

“19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (1 John 5:19-21).

John went to great lengths to warn us about the true nature of this world. It is a world of lies. This becomes abundantly clear when we note the below passage from John’s gospel and line it up with this one we just read form his first epistle. When speaking to the Jewish leaders Jesus said,

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

This whole world “lies under the sway of the wicked one” and the wicked one “is a liar and the father of it”, in fact, there is “no truth in him.” If you want to understand this world we live in, there is your base line: this is a world of lies managed by the father of lies, in whom there is no truth. And who are his children? All who deny the truth, as in all who deny Jesus is the Christ, “22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:22-23). The first people to do this were the majority of the Jewish people themselves, but since then billions from all over the world have been added to the list of those who deny that Jesus is the Messiah. Most of the world currently denies Jesus is the Christ. This is, remember, a world of lies. A world of falsehoods, a world run by the chief liar himself, the devil.

But many Christians and Christian leaders have not taken what Jesus warned us about seriously. Pilate is not an exception among powerful political leaders or elites. He is not simply a product of a far-off day where things were done differently. He is an example of the archetype of the powerful elite in this world; the powerful are generally deeply corrupt, not often courageous, and they have a bad grip on the importance of truth; they are often liars, in other words. There are obviously exceptions to this, but putting them aside, virtually any political leader from any society in any age could have made that statement, “What is truth?” And it would not have been out of character for them, because they thrive in a hive of lies in this world of lies. Even good leaders, like say, King David, could have said it when he was asked about what happened to Uriah before Nathan challenged him.  

Corruption, lies, and immorality are not the exceptions among the rulers of our world, they are the norm. They are part of the reason why we need a man like Jesus, who is also God, to come and rescue us. Precisely because of the corruption of this world which they help foster. There are good leaders, some better than others, but how often do they get near the real reins of power? Very rarely, because this is a world of lies. In such a world it is those who play by the devil’s game according to his rules that get granted access to power by the one who holds the whole world under his sway. In a corrupt system corruption is a strategy to get promoted, not an outlier. In a corrupt system the generally honest and earnest people are viewed more as threats to the way things are than assets, because they cannot easily be bought.

This is why for those of us that understand the level of the lies our society spreads, the USAID revelations of money being given to over 6000 journalists and 1000 media platforms worldwide[1] to present false news is exactly what we expected was happening. Because we know this is a world of lies, a corrupt world, and that money greases the wheels of corruption, and we know that corrupt leaders will pay off others to push their message. We know this because we have been paying attention to how much the media just straight up lies. These lies speak of deep corruption. This is why we also celebrate this money being cancelled. It won’t stop all the lies of course, but it will help somewhat.  

But for those Christians and Christian leaders who are not aware of how much our world is a world of lies, the cancelling of this USAID is an attack on a charity arm of a flawed but generous government agency. They have not caught onto just how easily the liars in charge were able to manipulate them because their danger radars are completely turned off, because they still look at the world through a high trust perspective. The revelations that USAID was promoting degeneracy worldwide under the name of USAID is something they do not even have a framework for comprehending, even though this is something that USAID long admitted to being involved in, in fact it has bragged about it. And it has been known to be doing much worse as well. USAID is just one branch of how the American Deep state interfered in countries around the world, toppling governments and extending the US Empire across the globe.[2] Aid has long been a cover for foreign interference. But many Christian leaders have simply not recognized this, or if they knew, they have not openly admitted it.

The problem is that many Christians and Christians leaders just simply do not have a biblical understanding of how much our world is a world of lies. There are many reasons for this. For one, many teachers in the church are false teachers who do not present true Christianity in any way, but treat their pulpits as means for gain and so their congregations are at a deep disadvantage when it comes to discerning the reality of this world. Many Christians and Christians leaders also come from an era where Western society had a much higher standard for public figures and the truth, or at least appeared to. In other words, they still think we live in the high trust society we did 50-60 years ago, but we don’t. Not even close.

Some people, genuine Christians, hold to an eschatology that says the devil is currently bound, even though it is best to see that as future tense[3], as Peter says he roams the world now looking to devour people (1 Peter 5:8), John says the world is presently under the devil’s power (1 John 5:19), and Revelation 12 agrees with this as well. And even if he were bound to some degree, these passages still stand anyway, but this kind of eschatology can make people underestimate just how much sway the devil still has on this fallen world. 

Lastly, there is the simple fact that many Christians have simply not pondered over the implications of the fact that the father of lies has sway over this world. How many Christians even read their Bibles? How many of them that do really take things like this to heart?  

You need to do so right now.

Recognize that when Jesus told us that the father of lies is the ruler of this world (John 8:44, 12:30-32)[4], he was warning us about how much this world is a world of lies. A world which lies under the power of the father of lies is not a world where you can take anything that those who deny Christ say at face value. It is not a world where you can act like everyone is deserving of trust until they prove otherwise. It is a world where you have to be on your guard to how you are being lied to and by whom. Otherwise, you are not facing the world truthfully as it is.

This is a world of lies. Take Jesus seriously when he tells us this. He is the true King, and he knows what he is talking about.

List of References

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[1] Belle Carter, 2025, USAID’s funding of over 6,000 journalists, 1,000 platforms worldwide raises concerns over independence and transparency,  https://www.newstarget.com/2025-02-08-usaid-funds-6000-journalists-1000-platforms-worldwide.html

[2] Kit Klarenberg, 2025, Did a Trump executive order just cripple the global US regime change network? https://thegrayzone.com/2025/01/31/trump-executive-order-us-regime-change-network/

[3] Yes, he was bound during Jesus’ ministry. But that is the point. It is the direct presence of Christ that binds him and that is what the time of Jesus’ ministry, and the future Millennium have in common.

[4] It is best to read the fact that he will be cast out, as he was cast out of heaven, to roam on the earth, as Revelation 12 shows us.