Shalom from Zion

Living in these chaotic and confusing days, we might wonder how we can continue to walk and co-labor with God when we are not really sure about what He is doing. Proverbs 3:5 is our answer: Trust in YHWH with all your heart [mind, emotions and will]; and lean not on your own understanding.

There are times when He wants us to know His will so that we pray with our spirit and understanding (1 Cor. 14:15). Yet there are other times when we are at a loss about what is happening to us or to our world. Can we then trust Him without demanding to know what, why, how, etc.? Can we walk by faith or has that sly spirit of humanism slipped into our lives so that we insist that it must make sense to us before we step out on the water? All of us have been, and will continue to be, tested in this area.

Testimony from Chuck: Once, when struggling with an issue in my life, and after failing often even while crying out for His help, I became very frustrated and angry with God. As I was walking in Jerusalem, I literally screamed out, "God, where are You?"

I heard His still, small voice ask me, "Chuck, where are you?"

Instantly I knew what He meant and responded, "Lord, I am in a resurrected Israel, in the midst of a reunited Jerusalem, filled with a restored people – most of whom do not yet believe in You – and if You have been that faithful to this nation and people, how much more will You be faithful to me who calls on Your name and trusts in Your Son!" And so I walked on praising Him while still in the midst of my struggle.

God does not want us to be strong for Him, but to be strong in Him so that no matter what happens, we trust that He is guarding over His word (Isa. 55:11; Jer. 1:12). And when doubts come, we can look on His nation Israel and see Him fulfilling His Word in the face of much world opposition (Psa. 33:10-12).

Israel's God-ordained destiny

During the week of the US elections, the Lord directed Chuck to start interceding at the IFI prayer meetings for Israel to move into its God-ordained place among the nations. When he asked why now, God pointed to the US election results, adding that He has been slowly moving Israel into this position for a while and He wants us to agree with Him in prayer about this (Amos 3:7).

Yet is this supported by the Word? Definitely and here are just a few of the many references: Deuteronomy 28:13; Isaiah 2:2-4; 27:6; 60:1-2; Zechariah 8:23; Malachi 1:5.

Whether this is fulfilled before the Lord returns, or shortly after is beside the point. We pray in line with His will; He hears those prayers and fulfills them when and how He wants. Consider this: today, Mediterranean and Eastern European nations, some Latin American and African nations and India, even some Arab nations all look to Israel in many ways. This trend will only increase in the near future.

Cyril Widdershoven at Oilprice.com wrote that pro-Biden Europeans are "looking forward to a realignment of US-European geopolitical powers in the Arab Gulf." Analysts see Biden re-entering Obama's evil nuclear-deal with Iran, and also expect a pro-democracy push by him with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE. [WFJ: This is happening today and is causing unrest in these nations who have been strong US allies.]

A not-so "secret" meeting between Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last fall was one more "sign of the deepening cooperation" between these nations. While they've kept this quiet, this cooperation is expected, as the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Israel had signed diplomatic pacts, held technical, economic, and defense meetings, without any criticism from Saudi Arabia.

"A combined military-economic cooperation between Egypt, Sudan, GCC leadership, and parties in the East Med," including Israel, would be a major hindrance "for any ambitions Biden may have to unite the US, EU, Turkey, Qatar, and Iran."

If, as the author labels this, "OPEC+" is birthed by the Israeli peace pacts, it will be a "strong front against Iran." Arab states also want to stop Turkey's plans for their region. "Security and energy again are at play, but the US is becoming an increasingly unimportant force in the region." ("Israel & Saudi Arabia could derail Biden’s ME plans," C. Widdershoven, Oilprice.com, 23 Nov. 2020)

As American influence decreases Israeli influence increases!

Doron Matza said the deals between Israel and some Arab nations raised a question on "what these countries expect to get in return…" Are the Abraham Accords "merely expedient," and not truly "diplomatic relations based on shared values…?" Yet in international politics, it may be not one or the other – but both.

Regardless, the Accords provide "deep insight about the status of Israel," which is now "seen as a strong player in the region," and not just in military terms. Israel today is a "regional power", on the cutting edge of ecological and agricultural breakthroughs, technological and medical advancements and even has its own energy sources. ("Peace deals have made Israel a magnet," D. Matza, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 18 Dec. 2020)

Dr. Y. Freeman, of Hebrew University's Political Science Dept., said "Israel's soft power is booming." Soft power, a nation's ability "to project its value and appeal through ethics, legitimacy and culture," has not historically been linked with Israel. Yet today even Arab and Muslim nations are looking to it for answers. "It's no longer 'Palestine First,' but rather Chad, UAE and Sudan first."

There are many possible reasons for this, yet perhaps what the world is finally seeing "is Israel's resilience in dire or changing times." Today's battle with Covid-19 is but one example. In the midst of this global crisis, history shows that Israel has an edge, as its abilities "have been molded and strengthened by emergencies of the past. Even in the face of threats, boycotts and immense changes, Israel has always been able to strengthen its economic, diplomatic and military might." ("Amid Covid-19, Israel is the world's greatest hope," Yonathan Freeman, JP Op-ed, 9 Jan. 2021)

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu sees the current events in the US as "part of the process of America descending from the stage of history." This has happened to all previous superpowers, especially as they battle over essential "values". He lists ancient Egypt, Rome, the Turkish Empire, the Russian and the British Empires, etc.

Most of Europe rejects its biblical foundations today: "values of justice" are replaced by "political correctness"; family values by hedonism. Europe's below replacement birthrate figures forced it to accept "a large Muslim migration that would fill in the gaps and Europe began to lose its character completely."

Israel can "fill this vacuum," even with its crises. The "average number of children per Israeli woman is double" the West. Israel leads the world in the smallest number of children from single mothers," and its abortion rate drops yearly. Also, Israelis use less alcohol and drugs percentage wise than any other nation.

Israel must "take its place in the world's leadership in values." While this may sound pretentious, yet is it not what God promised Abraham? "All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your seed." ("America is collapsing, Israel must fill the vacuum," Rabbi S. Eliyahu, Arutz 7, 10 Jan. 2021)

Is Israel the world's #1 enemy?

On the day Israel and Morocco established diplomatic ties, the UN General Assembly adopted "seven draft resolutions against" the Jewish State. One reiterated 1948's UN Resolution 194, that the "Arab refugees from Palestine" – later called "Palestinians" – should not have been "deported from their homeland", which Israel did not really do, and each Arab still has a "right to their property." But after WW II, tens of millions of Europeans were refugees, cast out of their homelands. "Who among them received the right of return? Who got their property back?"

Most Western states voted in favor, including Germany, yet of all those refugees last century, "at least 12 million were German-speakers deported after WWII from the Czech Republic, Poland" and other nations. What is the difference between Palestinian and German refugees? "Each group identified with the aggressors, and each paid a price," even if they did not actually fight. Do German refugees have the "right of return" today? Yet Germany, and most of the EU, backs the Palestinian demand to return, although this would lead to Israel's demise.

The international working definition of anti-Semitism "adopted by many countries …defines it as, among other things, 'Applying double standards by requiring [of Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation'." European nations, even Germany, are acting in an anti-Semitic way with Israel. ("The UN's eternal hypocrisy on Israel," Ben-Dror Yemini, Ynet Op-ed, 15 Dec. 2020)

The gap between Israelis and Jews in exile

Dov Lipman says the March 23rd election will be unique in Israel's modern history. Three of the top four parties are right wing, so any prime minister candidate will be from the Right, and this could be dangerous. When Lipman represents Israel in the nations, he is asked by politicians, students, and Jewish groups "about Israel's lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians," which is blamed on Israel's right-wing leaders. He tells them that most Israelis have shifted rightward because of the persistent "Palestinian failure to accept Israel's overtures for peace," which has "led to increased terrorism against innocent Israelis." Today most Israelis do not see the Palestinians as truly wanting peace.

Even some Jewish communities in exile do not know this, and think it is the "radical Israeli leaders" who block all peace deals. Since the next prime minister will be right-wing, the gap between Israeli Jews and Jews in exile will likely grow wider. ("Israeli leaders must plan for divide with diaspora…" D. Lipman, JP Op-ed, 25 Dec. 2020)

Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer sees the Jewish exile in America as dying, as "Jewish fate and destiny" has shifted to Israel. The US story began "in the late 19th century as 3.25 million Jews" fled to America to escape the Russian pogroms. It's fading today as seen in a high rate of intermarriage, the increase in anti-Semitism, and that among non-Orthodox US Jews, "Israel ranks last among all major issues they consider when voting."

Yet now Israeli-Jewish life is prospering. "In the 1950s and '60s American Jews were brought up on the image of starving Israelis" Various Jewish groups raised money for the poor Israelis trying to eke out a living in the homeland.

Today, Israel's image has totally changed: it is "the Start-Up Nation" that gives the world "so many countless innovations in so many areas" that despite the efforts of its enemies, their Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is a "colossal flop" as "even the people running BDS need Israel-made products." An example is Stephen Hawking who needed to use "Israel-made technology in order to breathe and to communicate …his support for BDS."

Today more Jews live in Israel than in the US, and that's despite all of Israel's "life-and-death" security threats. Israel is the focus of Jewish destiny now, and that is "the way it always was meant to be…for out of Zion shall come forth the Torah and the Word of G-d from Jerusalem." ("As US Jewry's door closes, Jewish destiny has moved to Israel" R. Prof. D. Fischer. Arutz 7 Op-ed, 29 Dec. 2020)

Iran truly is the world's #1 enemy today

Iran was in rough shape when Trump was US President, but now with Biden it has stiffened its neck and demands that it be honored and gets its own way – to the detriment of the whole world.

Dr. Eran Lerman said the assassination of Dr. Fakhrizadeh last fall, the head of Iran's military nuclear program, and its link "with North Korea" regarding ballistic missiles, was of great "strategic significance." In 2018, Bibi exposed Fakhrizadeh as the point-man in Iran's nuclear weapons project, so this was a harsh blow to that program. While few leaders are irreplaceable, yet as seen from Quds Force Commander Soleimani's death last January, there are groups, "especially in the covert world, that find it difficult to recover from the death" of a strong leader.

Also, if a man like that can be targeted, Iran has a real "problem when it comes to intelligence vulnerability. This is on top of the assassination of the senior al-Qaida figure Abu al-Masri in August which was attributed to Israel; a massive explosion at the nuclear facility in Natanz" in July; the killing of Soleimani; and Israel's theft of Iran's nuclear archives years ago. All of these defeats in intelligence, which Iran attributes to Israel, "has a cumulative effect of intimidation and deterrence." ("A strategic event with a message to Iran & Biden," Dr. E. Lerman, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 29 Nov. 2020)

Israeli-Arab Khaled Abu Toameh exposed the EU's hypocrisy, as they condemned Fakhrizadeh's killing, thus siding with Iranian-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. These terrorists, plus Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, were all outraged as his death was another "obstacle to achieving Tehran's goal of eliminating the 'Zionist entity'."

But other Arabs could not fathom why people mourned "the death of a dangerous man whose main job was to manufacture nuclear weapons…" As Saudi writer T. al-Hameed said, "There is no gloating about death," but Fakhrizadeh headed up "an evil project" for the whole region. He said all who mourned his death – the above groups, plus Turkey, Qatar and Syria's Assad – are "terrorist parties, or states that support terrorism…"

Hameed said those who "condemn the killing of a man…but do not condemn Iran's killing of innocent people," including Syrians, Iraqis, Lebanese, and Yemenites, are total hypocrites

Saudi political analyst M. al-Saaed said, "…disrupting the Iranian regime's access to nuclear weapons is a long-term service to humanity," while another Saudi told the EU that Iran has often used assassinations against its political opponents.

Abu Toameh said these reactions also send a strong message to Biden: "The Iranian regime remains a mortal threat, and a return to the nuclear deal," made by Obama, "would be seen by many Arabs and Muslims as a calamitous betrayal and a deadly threat to their countries, as well as to Israel." ("Arabs: Why is the EU mourning this Iranian scientist?" K. Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 4 Dec. 2020)

Gilad Erdan, Israel's UN and US Ambassador, speaking at the Zionist Organization of America's virtual meeting in late 2020, reflected on how the Abraham Accords "transformed the region," birthing cooperation on many levels, and shifting the way many ME nations see their region. "For years, the Palestinians held the interests of the Arab world hostage." Arab nations were forbidden "from recognizing Israel's existence or having relations with us unless we surrender to outrageous Palestinian demands." That paradigm is now dead.

He said Iran is partly responsible for "this newfound bond" as "its dangerous ideology," united ME moderate forces. "Today, we stand together in confronting the murderous intentions of the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. When Israel and Arab countries unite on any issue, the world should start listening."

Former-US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, also spoke, saying, "As a Zionist I've always respected and held sacred the right of Israel to decide what's best for itself. It's high time for the American left to extend that same courtesy…Don't assume that living in America," you know better than Israelis what's best for Israel. "You don't." ("When Israel, Arab nations unite, world should take notice," Israel Hayom, 30 Dec. 2020)

Mission impossible – peace with Palestinians today

Palestinian Media Watch [PMW], an NGO tracking the Arabic media, said that to Palestinian leaders, peace with Israel is only possible by creating a 'judenfrei' Palestine – a state cleansed of "the over 800,000 Jews who now live in" Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. As Palestinian Authority [PA] Deputy PM Abu Rudeina said: "There will be no peace as long as there is one settlement on Palestinian lands."

PMW said this "demand is based on the Palestinian narrative" which defines the 'West Bank' and 'East Jerusalem' as 'Palestinian lands'," yet these areas were never under "'Palestinian' control or part of an independent 'Palestinian' State'." And even UN Security Council Resolution 242, passed after the '67 Six Day War, never even mentions the word "Palestinian". ("PMW: For PA, peace means a Judenfrei state, ethnically cleansed of Jews," JP, 5 Nov. 2020)

Sarah Stern writes on a feature of Palestinian society that makes peace with them impossible. "Imagine…going to Charleston, So. Carolina and seeing posters…praising the brave actions of Dylann Roof," a white supremacist who in June 2015 shot nine African-Americans in a Bible-study in their church, and that teachers in the South exalt Roof "as a heroic role model for your children to emulate," while sports events and school buildings are "named in his honor." This is a picture of the "toxic environment that has permeated the areas controlled by the PA and Hamas" since 1993.

PMW's Itamar Marcus, having studied that society for 25 years, documents how the PA communicates incitement "against Israel and the Jews," in PA textbooks, their TV station, newspapers and Facebook. This evil child abuse condemns Palestinian "children, as well as [Israeli children], to a lifetime of suffering…"

Stern: "In order to understand a culture and a society, look at the people they choose to lionize." Now consider what America would be like if "Roof was to become a national hero." ("A window to society's values," S. Stern, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 27 Nov. 2020)

Muslim Arab Bassam Tawil wrote on the PA's ruling Fatah faction's celebration of 56 years since "its first terrorist attack" against Israel [1/1/65], and its promise to continue until Israel is destroyed. The poster celebrating that attack says it all with "a map of 'Palestine' superimposed over the entire state of Israel," making it "clear that Fatah does not believe Israel has a right to exist." Yet PA President Abbas, the head of Fatah, and PA officials say they look forward to working with the Biden administration "to achieve peace" based on the two-state solution.

Abbas refuses direct talks with Israel, instead preferring a UN-sponsored conference, with Russia, China and the EU, in the hope of putting pressure on Israel to withdraw to the indefensible 1967 armistice lines that include east Jerusalem." ("Palestinians: An Int'l Peace Conference to displace Israel," B. Tawil, Gatestone Institute, 29 Dec. 2020)

The new US administration has turned back to the two-states-for-two-people land-for-peace plan that has never – and will never – work. US State Department spokesman N. Price told reporters in Washington, "We believe it is critical to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution." These unilateral steps included, "annexation of territory, settlement activity, demolition, and incitement to violence [and] the provision of compensation for individuals in prison for acts of terrorism."

Price said that "direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on core issues of the conflict," are needed, and added that "The ultimate status of Jerusalem is in fact a final status issue." [Zech. 2:4-5!]

Biden has been clear that he does not plan to reverse the decree that Jerusalem is Israel's capital, but Price clarified that this stance "was transient and ultimately the status of Jerusalem would be determined by direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians." ("US: It's critical to refrain from settlement activity…" JP, 13 Feb. 2021)

Palestinians vs. Arabs who want peace with Israel

Palestinians regularly condemn Jews visiting Jerusalem's Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa mosque is located, saying that the Jews "defile" the whole compound. This is Sunni Islam's third holiest site, yet now Palestinians are also against visits by "Muslims who believe in peace with Israel," calling them "traitors".

The site is now seen by Palestinians as "their private property," and the PA's Jerusalem mufti, Sheikh Hussein, banned "Muslims who believe in normalization with Israel from visiting." Sheikh Sabri, another top PA cleric, said the visits of these Muslims are dangerous and normalizing ties with the Jewish State is a "crime".

Many Gulf State Muslims have condemned these "threats and abuse," being offended and shamed "by the Palestinians' rhetoric and provocations." Emirati al-Aslami, said on social media, "How wrong we were when we thought Israel was preventing Muslims from visiting…" Also Muslims feel "safer visiting a mosque under Israeli protection than without it. Israeli policemen have protected Muslims…from being attacked by other Muslims" over having relations with Israel. ("Muslims: Al-Aqsa Mosque does not belong to Palestinians," Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 6 Nov. 2020)

In a Kuwaiti TV interview, D. Falasi, a UAE Federal National Council member, blasted PA leaders for not caring about their people. They rejected the UAE's "coronavirus aid" since it would go directly to the people, and the leaders would not profit. Hamas is no better. "People from the Red Crescent told us that they built a hospital (in Gaza) and they were surprised when … Hamas fired a rocket from the hospital's roof so that Israel would bomb this hospital. Just see how low they can go."

Falasi defended UAE's decision on establishing relations with Israel. "What do you think we should focus on? Our people's interests and their development, and about living in security and peace, or about 70 years of wars that have not benefited us in any way?" ("UAE official: Palestinian leaders 'small-time hucksters,' Iran to blame for regional ills," Israel Hayom, 10 Nov. 2020)

Undermining the West's biblical foundations

Melanie Phillips wrote that those who saw "the depth of former US President Obama's hostility to Israel," are worried over all the ex-Obama people Biden has chosen in foreign policy and security areas. "Obama's hostility is assumed to derive from his left-wing mindset" which sees Israel "as a colonialist occupying power…"

There's a more sinister reason as to why Obama and the left see Israel negatively. "The core of the left's agenda is to remake the Western world," by tearing down "the Western nation-state and its culture," including its history, its "laws, religions, institutions and traditions…" They view the Western nation-state as evil, and want to erase all national borders, with the state being replaced by "a Kumbaya vision of the brotherhood of man expressed through transnational institutions and laws."

Mass destruction of Western values has already gained ground "in schools and universities, through the culture wars." Trump in office was an irritating setback. In Obama's memoir, he says he is "not yet ready to abandon the possibility" of remaking America. He sees the Covid-19 pandemic as "a mere interruption in the relentless march toward an inter-connected world," a world with no "boundaries between nations," and "transnational corporations and institutions" ruling over all the nations.

This agenda places the left into direct "confrontation with both Israel and Judaism itself." As former British Chief Rabbi, the late Jonathan Sacks said, "The people who are always in the way of any universalizing agenda are the Jews." (Num. 23:9b)

Liberals see the Western nation-state as birthed in 17th century Europe, but the concept "that the nation was essential to safeguard life and liberty was pioneered thousands of years ago," as the template for the nation-state was "the ancient kingdom of Israel, composed of a particular people in their own land bound by their own laws," sharing an "identity and purpose."

Also, if nations do not defend their borders, they cease to exist. So another "reason why Israel falls foul of the Western left is that it is single-mindedly determined to defend itself as a nation." ("The agenda that undermines America's bond with the Jews," M. Phillips, Arutz 7, 4 Dec. 2020)

Anti-Semitism and the aliyah [Jews returning to Israel]

The Jewish Agency for Israel reports that "more than 20,000 new immigrants [olim] from almost 70 countries made aliyah in 2020." Whether it's the dismal global economic situation, "the Covid-19 pandemic or because Israel has become a desirable alternative for world Jewry, the numbers are impressive." All these Jews left their comfort zones during a "period of global turmoil, to come build a new life in Israel."

New inquiries from potential olim and the aliyah files being opened have increased so dramatically that JA officials think 250,000 olim could return within the next five years if "the government implements a national plan for such a large wave of immigration and absorption." This is a topic we often pray about. ("Amid Covid-19, aliyah to Israel continues," JP Editorial, 28 Dec. 2020)

Alex Benjamin, an official at the European Jewish Association, confessed that the European Court of Justice ruling against kosher slaughter shocked him, as they rejected the opinion of the EU Attorney General that, "bans on kosher slaughter were an impediment to the fundamental right of Freedom of Religion, enshrined in the EU's own charter of fundamental rights."

He wrote, "The court backed a regulation banning the slaughter of livestock that have not been stunned, putting its idea of animal welfare above freedom of religion… A clear decision was made: Jewish rights; Jewish practice; Jewish belief now enjoy 2nd class European status – behind animal rights."

This impacts all of Europe's Jews whether they are observant or not. "As a people of faith, our traditions are …a living, breathing manifestation of our beliefs." Some do not live by these rules, but they "have sustained us, [and] given us our identity" for centuries.

Confronting Europe's hypocrisy, he writes, "The well-meaning pats on the back when our synagogues are attacked, our people spat on, cursed at, murdered on European streets." They say "Europe isn't Europe without Jews," and "We love you" Yet it is hypocrisy "to be told we are important and we matter, while they legislate our way of life out of existence in Europe." ("The moment the Jew became a second-class citizen in Europe again," A. Benjamin, TOI Blogs, 17 Dec. 2020) We see this as another merciful wake-up call from God to His people that it is time to "flee Babylon".

The Covid-19 crisis has increased antisemitism. Last year, an Anti-Defamation League website article had "images shared by white supremacists and anti-Israel anti-Semites on social media," accusing the Jews of "intentionally spreading Covid-19."

Today, major media outlets could be used as modern examples of the age-old "anti-Semitic libel that Jews spread diseases," and are also falsely reporting that Israel is holding back vaccines from the Palestinians. For example, AP ran this headline: "Palestinians left waiting as Israel is set to deploy Covid-19 vaccine," and the Guardian had this: "Palestinians excluded from Israeli Covid vaccine rollout as jabs go to settlers." Only midway through the Guardian article, do they report that "the PA has not officially asked for help from Israel," as it cut all ties with Israel last year.

Also unacknowledged is that the Oslo Accords make the PA responsible "for healthcare, including vaccinations," for all of their people. Yet Israel is vaccinating non-citizen Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and plans to vaccinate all Palestinians prisoners, and workers who work in Israel for their livelihood. ("Media adopts canard Israel denies vaccine to Palestinians," L. Harkov, JP Analysis, 4 Jan. 2021)

As in the days of Noah

Dr. Chaim Cohen, a Hebrew University sociologist, wrote of an "obvious, but completely ignored fact," that since communism's fall in 1990, the 21st century has turned out to be totally different from the 20th. "The latter was one long military conflict, from 1913-1990, between Western "powers and ideologies," resulting in about 150 million deaths. Yet, so far, in the 21st century "there have been no major military conflicts between world powers.

"Why? Because there has been a 100 fold increase in business, recreation and tourism done on a world-wide basis since the mid-20th century. Simply stated Western society has been too busy 'partying, making money and having a good time' on a global scale to waste lives, ideas and material affluence on ideological military conflicts." [As Yeshua said, the end will come in days like Noah's – marrying and partying and then… (Matt. 24:36-39) ("The Global Village or a Global Death Trap?" Dr. C. Cohen, Arutz 7. 18 Feb. 2021

The Washington DC riots

Before those riots, what was legislated in the US capitol stirred Evangelist Franklin Graham to see "the recent gender-neutral changes made to the House of Representatives' official rules as a direct attack on the authority of God." Democratic leaders altered the rules "to enshrine what they call gender-inclusive language and to stop the use of so-called non-inclusive words."

Graham: "Can you believe that they actually propose to strike the use of words including father, mother, son, daughter, aunt, uncle, husband, and wife?" Citing Genesis 1, he said, "The Bible teaches that the difference between the sexes is divinely instituted," and to erase these distinctions "is shaking a fist in the Creator's face, trying to deny His authority."

Then reacting to what Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist minister did, in closing "the invocation to the 117th Congress by praying in the name of a Hindu god" and then adding, "Amen and a-woman." Graham said, "'Amen' simply means 'So be it' …It has nothing to do with gender."

"Regrettably, even prayer is no longer sacred in our halls of Congress… One thing is obvious – we need more of it. Amen!" ("'Shaking a fist in the Creator's face'": Franklin Graham slams gender-neutral House rules, 'Awoman' Prayer," Jon Brown, The Daily Wire, 6 Jan. 2021)

All of this set the stage for the riots of January 6th. With what we just read, had God already left the Capitol building?

Turn us again, O God, and cause Your face to shine; and we shall be saved.Psa. 80:3

Chuck & Karen Cohen