There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings: that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1 PETER 4:13
I want to bring you my postulate that most present-day Christians live sub-Christian lives. As a result, Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone!
Most Christians are not joyful persons because they are not holy persons, and they are not holy persons because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit, and they are not filled with the Holy Spirit because they are not separated persons.
The Spirit cannot fill whom He cannot separate, and whom He cannot fill, He cannot make holy, and whom He cannot make holy, He cannot make happy!
My postulate further insists that the average modern Christian is not Christlike. The proof of this is apparent in the disposition that we find among the children of God. They have moral weaknesses and suffer frequent defeats. They have a dulled understanding and often live far below the standard of the Scriptures and thus outside the will of God.
To be honest, let us admit that the application of the gospel is being pulled down to the standard of the most carnal, the cheapest saintling hanging on by the teeth anywhere in the kingdom of God!1
War always will rage between the two great sovereignties until one or other be crushed. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility; the very pretence of it would, in fact, be the triumph of the powers of darkness. Michael will always fight; his holy soul is vexed with sin, and will not endure it. Jesus will always be the dragon’s foe, and that not in a quiet sense, but actively, vigorously, with full determination to exterminate evil. All his servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight; they are born to be warriors—at the cross they enter into covenant never to make truce with evil; they are a warlike company, firm in defence and fierce in attack. The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is daily, with all his heart, and soul, and strength, to fight against the dragon.
The dragon and his angels will not decline the affray; they are incessant in their onslaughts, sparing no weapon, fair or foul. We are foolish to expect to serve God without opposition: the more zealous we are, the more sure are we to be assailed by the myrmidons of hell. The church may become slothful, but not so her great antagonist; his restless spirit never suffers the war to pause; he hates the woman’s seed, and would fain devour the church if he could. The servants of Satan partake much of the old dragon’s energy, and are usually an active race. War rages all around, and to dream of peace is dangerous and futile.
Glory be to God, we know the end of the war. The great dragon shall be cast out and for ever destroyed, while Jesus and they who are with him shall receive the crown. Let us sharpen our swords to-night, and pray the Holy Spirit to nerve our arms for the conflict. Never battle so important, never crown so glorious. Every man to his post, ye warriors of the cross, and may the Lord tread Satan under your feet shortly!1
BE ye therefore followers (or imitators) of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Here is a model at once so attractive and so perfect that we may love and copy it at the same time. We may not take the conduct of others for our model, and treat them as they treat us; the only pattern for a Christian is Christ.
3, 4 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. (Sins of the tongue are fearfully common. Cheerfulness is a virtue, chaste pleasantries are the flowers of conversation, but those unholy allusions and unedifying jests which so often are commended as exceedingly clever should never obtain currency among the followers of the holy Jesus.)
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (The covetous man is here placed in very disreputable company. This proves that the Holy Spirit judges lust for gold to be as vile a lust as any other; he sets the brand of Cain upon the brow of the greedy. We send missionaries abroad, and yet we do not sorrow over idolaters at home. If a man worships a god of gold, is he not quite as debased as if his idol were made of wood?)
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8, 9 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Avoid bad company. Choose only those for your friends who are also friends of God. How can we reprove sin if we take those who openly practise it to be our bosom friends?
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Death hides in darkness, life loves light. We, therefore, who have spiritual life should never do anything which we should be ashamed to have published to the whole world. Christ has given us light, let us not hide it, neither let us shut our eyes to it.)
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, (Look all around, and be anxious that your conduct may do harm to no one, from any point of view.)
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (Men filled with wine call for a song, and when believers are exhilarated by the divine Spirit they also should have their singing, but they must choose the songs of Zion, such as the Lord himself will account to be true melody.)
20, 21 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. (To make God great and ourselves little is our peculiar occupation; we are to give him glory in all that we do, and seek no honour for ourselves, but willingly take the lowest place among our brethren for the Lord’s sake.)
13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (2 Ki 17:12–13). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
13 For God’s pleading with Israel to turn from her wicked ways and back to God, see the remarks on Joel 2:12–14. For שׁוּב (šûḇ, “turn,” “return”), see W.L. Holladay, The Root sub in the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 1958).
The conjunction “and” does not appear in the final phrase in the MT; so it may be best to translate the phrase with the LXX: “through all his prophets, every seer.” God had sent every type of prophet.1
Ver. 13.—Yet the Lord testified—rather, and the Lord testified—against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers. A “seer” is, properly, one who sees visions; a “prophet,” one inspired to pour forth utterances. But the words were used as synonyms (see 1 Sam. 9:9). Ever since the revolt of Jeroboam, there had been a succession of prophets in both countries whose office it had been to rebuke sin and to enforce the precepts of the Law. In Judah there had been Shemaiah, contemporary with Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:2; 12:5): Iddo, contemporary with Abijah (2 Chron. 13:22); Azariah, with Asa (2 Chron. 15:1); Hanani, with the same (2 Chron. 16:7); Jehu, the son of Hanani, with Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 19:2); Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, with the same (2 Chron. 20:14); Eliezer, the son of Dodavah, also contemporary with the same (2 Chron. 20:37); Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, contemporary with Joash (2 Chron. 24:20); another Zechariah, contemporary with Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:5); Joel, Micah, and Isaiah, besides several whose names are unknown. In Israel, the succession had included Ahijah the Shilonite, contemporary with Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:2); Jehu, the son of Hanani, with Baasha (1 Kings 16:1); Elijah, and Micaiah the son of Imlah, with Ahab (1 Kings 22:8) and Ahaziah (ch. 1:3); Elisha, with Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash (ch. 3:11–13:14); Jonah, with Jeroboam II. (ch. 14:25); Hosea and Amos, with the same (Hos. 1:1; Amos 1:1); and Oded (2 Chron. 28:9), contemporary with Pekah. God had never left himself without living witness. Besides the written testimony of the Law, he had sent them a continuous series of prophets, who “repeated and enforced the teaching of the Law by word of mouth, breathing into the old words a new life, applying them to the facts of their own times, urging them on the consciences of their hearers, and authoritatively declaring to them that the terrible threatenings of the Law were directed against the very sins which they habitually practised.” The prophets continually addressed them in the Name of God, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. This was the general burden of the prophetical teaching, both in Israel and in Judah, both before the captivity of Israel and afterwards (see Hos. 12:6; 14:2; Joel 2:12, 13; Amos 5:4–15; Isa. 1:16–20; 31:6; Jer. 3:7, 14; Ezek. 14:6; 18:30, etc.).2
17:13 Turn from your evil ways. The prophets continually called the people to repentance (cf. Jer 7:3, 5; 18:11; Eze 33:11).3
17:13seer Refers to a divine messenger (or visionary). The author of Chronicles often uses “seer” in place of “prophet” (2 Kgs 21:10; 2 Chr 33:18).4
17:13 all the Law. That is, the Mosaic law with all the provisions of the covenant (1 Kin. 2:3 note).5
1 Patterson, R. D., & Austel, H. J. (1988). 1, 2 Kings. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, pp. 249–250). Zondervan Publishing House.
2 Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). 2 Kings (pp. 333–334). Funk & Wagnalls Company.
4 Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (2 Ki 17:13). Lexham Press.
Daniel 9:2 — Prophecy is easier to understand at the time when it is being fulfilled as opposed to when it is given. Notice the interconnection of Scripture; Peter wrote about Paul’s writings (2 Peter 3:15-16), now Daniel writes about Jeremiah’s writings.
Daniel 9:5 — Compare this verse to Nehemiah’s repentance on behalf of his nation (Nehemiah 1:7).
Daniel 9:11 — Daniel recognizes that Moses’ prophecy is being fulfilled (Deuteronomy 27).
Daniel 9:17-19 — Daniel begs God four times to listen in these three verses, not because the Israelites deserve it but because of “thy great mercies” (Daniel 9:18).
Daniel 9:24 — What are the Seventy Weeks and how are they counted? From BobShelton.org:
Daniel 10:13 — Spiritual warfare is real. We read about it in Jude 1:9, Zechariah 3:2, and Revelation 12:7.
Daniel 10:15 — Daniel spoke much before the vision, but after God revealed His truth to Daniel, Daniel went silent. Job had much to say to God, but when God spoke, Job replied, “I uttered that I understood not” (Job 42:3).
Sadly many people deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6). Doctrine matters, for if you do not follow the Son, you cannot claim the Father.
Some think that all religions worship the same God, but someone shared this answer to the claim. If you were to ask me if I know John Smith, and I say, “Yes, and I know his wife, Julie, and his son, Bob.” Then, if you say, “John’s never been married,” we’re probably not talking about the same John Smith. Likewise, if your Jesus is not Christ, the living God, then it’s probably another Jesus.
And ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)
Yes, when the sun shines, the sick quit their chambers and walk abroad to breathe the fresh air. When the sun brings spring and summer, the cattle quit their stalls and seek pasture on the higher Alps. Even thus, when we have conscious fellowship with our Lord, we leave the stall of despondency and walk abroad in the fields of holy confidence. We ascend to the mountains of joy and feed on sweet pasturage which grows nearer heaven than the provender of carnal men.
To “go forth” and to “grow up” is a double promise. O my soul, be thou eager to enjoy both blessings! Why shouldst thou be a prisoner? Arise, and walk at liberty. Jesus saith that His sheep shall go in and out and find pasture; go forth, then, and feed in the rich meadows of boundless love.
Why remain a babe in grace? Grow up. Young calves grow fast, especially if they are stall fed; and thou hast the choice care of thy Redeemer. Grow, then, in grace and in knowledge of thy Lord and Savior, Be neither straitened nor stunted. The Sun of Righteousness has risen upon thee. Answer to His beams as the buds to the natural sun. Open thine heart; expand and grow up into Him in all things.
If you do not know about the marvelous ministry of Mt. Zion Bible Church, you’re in for a treat. If you do know, then you know how wonderful it is.
Chapel Library is a ministry of Mount Zion Bible Church, a Christ-centered church in Pensacola, Florida. You can read their history here. Volunteers from the church handle global requests for hard copy printed matter to be mailed, audio tapes and MP3’s, manage a correspondence school, send free material to train chaplains in prison ministries, are entrusted with SpurgeonGems.org, a complete collection of Charles Spurgeon’s (1834-1892) sermons and other resources, and more.
Their material is from ‘the old, dead guys’, (my term) such as John Bunyan, John Owen, Lloyd-Jones, etc, and a few solid theologians still alive (Beeke, MacArthur, Voddie). The material available in their library can be sent to you via USPS for free, downloaded digitally, or read online.
They also print and distribute a periodical booklet called Free Grace Broadcaster. This month’s edition- Winter 2024 #270- is titled The Wonderful Love of Jesus. Inside are essays and excerpts of essays from these theologians of the past on the topic. I was deeply moved by the essays in this edition, so much so, it got me ready for Advent in a powerful way. Your mileage may vary, but these essays surely spoke to my heart and mind.
The 2 particular essays that got me right in the heart were Christ’s Love as Mediator by John Owen (1616-1683); and To Know the Love of Christ by Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952).
Owen muses on the hypostatic union in Christ- the dual natures. Jesus was divine and also human. Here, Owen discusses Jesus’ human love:
But He was to have another nature in which He was to undergo the difficulties of this work of salvation. He was required to pity us until He had none to pity Him when He most needed it. He was to tread the way of salvation until His soul was heavy and sorrowful unto death. He was to save us from the wrath and justice of a righteous God by suffering that wrath and justice Himself. But far from deterring Him, these proposals only heightened His love for us and increased His delight in the work of our salvation. Indeed, His love, like a mighty river, swept over those ominous proposals, for He says, “Lo, I come…to do thy will, O God” (Heb 10:5-7; see also Isa 50:5-7).
So, driven by His eternal love to undertake the office of mediator and the work of our redemption, a body was prepared for Him. In this body or human nature, which He made His own, He was to accomplish our salvation. His human nature was filled with immeasurable grace and fervent love to mankind. And by this His human nature was made fit to work out the purpose of eternal love.
From this, it is clear that Christ’s glorious love was not only divine but also human. The love of the Father, revealed in His eternal purpose8 to communicate grace and glory to all the elect, was a divine love only. But Christ’s love was also human. And in none of those eternal acts of love could the human nature of Christ have any claim or concern. Yet it is the love of the man Christ Jesus that Scripture celebrates. … It was because of that inexpressible love that the Son of God assumed our nature (Heb2:14-17).
Wow. Did you ever ponder the love of Jesus outflowing from His human nature? When I think of how frail and sinful my love is and how pure His was as a human, it boggles my mind.
AW Pink’s essay was so good, too.
Consider Jehovah’s condescending to take upon Him a nature that was inferior to the angelic, so that when the Word became flesh His divine glory was almost completely eclipsed. Contemplate the unspeakable humiliation into which the Son of God descended, a humiliation which can only be gauged as we measure the distance between the throne of heaven and the manger of Bethlehem.
Yes…that immeasurable distance between the throne of heaven and the lowly manger in the straw. I highly recommend the material at Chapel Library. Their earnest desire to exalt Jesus and connect Christians with material that elevates their sight of Jesus to glorious heights. Browse and see what you can find. This edition of the Free Grace Broadcaster is here.
Now, to housekeeping. Tomorrow, December 1, I begin my annual “Thirty Days of Jesus” advent series. I created this a few years ago to help me gain an appreciation for all the aspects of His coming. It’s a visual series, with a photo representing an aspect of the flow of His coming- from prophecies announcing its future occurrence, to the nativity, growth as a boy, adult ministry through healing, teaching, etc, His death, ascendance, and future return. I match the photo or illustration with verses I’ve chosen that in my view represent that aspect of Jesus’ Advent, life, death, and resurrection, and ascension.
Since it is mainly a visual series I won’t be podcasting it. But I will take the time to record other essays I published in the pause in the podcast I took since last May.
It’s the end of the year already? The months and years fly by. I can’t believe I’ll be saying ‘happy 2025’ soon. The mania around the 1999 change of century seems like yesterday. But we are already into a quarter of this new century!
Merry Christmas, friends, and enjoy your advent season.
The Lord cannot possibly fail to keep His promises. Our salvation rests securely in His covenant-keeping hands. In this message, R.C. Sproul explains why Abraham had good reason to believe in God’s trustworthiness—and why we do too.
As we transition this weekend from Thanksgiving into the Christmas season, we see even the secular calendar pointing to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. It’s the God of the Bible that America has been thanking for over 400 years at Thanksgiving. And it’s the arrival of God in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ that is God’s strongest possible declaration that this creation matters. And one day, He will return to make all this right again.
The hidden treasures in our presidential Thanksgiving proclamations whatever thoughts Thanksgiving brings to mind, it’s a pretty safe bet that presidential proclamations aren’t among them. In late September 1789, our country’s first Congress sent a resolution to George Washington asking that he recommend a day of thanksgiving to the new nation. Washington obliged and declared Thursday, Nov. 26, “to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks.” Here in these documents, then, is a sort of CliffNotes of American history, a timeline of the trials and triumphs of our past.
BREAKING: UK Parliament votes in favor of bill allowing doctors to kill their patients The bill, first introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, allows adults who are estimated to have less than six months to live the option to kill themselves with the help of doctors. According to the proposed legislation, two doctors and one judge need to approve each case. The bill will now move on to a third reading—the committee and report stages—where it will be further scrutinized by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Lebanon ceasefire ‘could be short,’ Gaza war will not end until goals achieved, Netanyahu says in rare Hebrew interview Days after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was declared, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his first Hebrew-language interview to the right-leaning Channel 14 news channel, explaining his reasoning for the ceasefire – a decision that was unpopular even among those within his voter base. Netanyahu told Channel 14 journalist Yaakov Bardugo that he didn’t view the ceasefire as a permanent solution and cautioned that it would have to prove itself.
12,500 targets hit, Hezbollah’s leadership decimated: Israeli army sums up 2 months of war in Lebanon On the third day of the ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israel Defense Forces published a summary of “Operation Northern Arrows,” its military offensive in southern Lebanon that began with massive airstrikes on Sept. 23 and culminated with the ground operation that began on Oct. 1. The operation succeeded in deposing almost the entire Hezbollah leadership, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and severely degraded its weapons arsenal.
BBC journalists quit union after being told to wear Palestinian colors Several journalists of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have resigned from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) after the union directed its members to dress differently for a “Day of Action for Palestine.” journalist Charlotte Henry said she quit due to the union having become “a hostile environment for Jewish journalists.”
Ceasefire with Lebanon: A Win for Biden or the Trump Effect? Less than two days after the ceasefire took effect, Israel accused Hezbollah of violating the agreement, forcing the IDF to strike inside Lebanon twice. In the first strike, fighter jets struck a Hezbollah facility used to hold medium-range rockets after identifying activity there, according to the military.
Iran nuclear proliferation ‘critical threat’ in coming months, French spy chief says “Our services are working side by side to face what is undoubtedly one of the threats, if not to say the most critical threat, in the coming months – the possible atomic proliferation in Iran,” Nicolas Lerner said at the British embassy in Geneva. His rare public comments come as Iran and European powers meet in Geneva to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, the situation in the Middle East, and Tehran’s ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
Surge in antisemitism must be a global wake-up call GB News reported on Wednesday that leaflets reading “Zionists, leave Britain or be slaughtered” were distributed in Hendon, a neighborhood with a large Jewish population. “We are witnessing a troubling trend of redlines being repeatedly crossed,” said Isaac Zarfati, executive director of StandWithUs UK. “This is not just another wave that will pass if we remain passive.”
Preacher Slammed for ‘Appalling’ Remarks at Irish Memorial, Accusing Israel of Viewing Itself as a ‘Master Race’ Reverend Canon David Oxley delivered the sermon last week at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin during a Remembrance Sunday service attended by Irish President Michael Higgins and other high-ranking dignitaries. Ironically, Oxley had previously revealed familial ties to the Nazis in a sermon delivered at the same event five years ago.
Syrian Islamist rebels re-enter Aleppo in apparent collapse of regime defenses Syrian Islamist rebels appear to have made stunning territorial advances against the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday, re-entering the city of Aleppo for the first time in eight years amid the apparent collapse of government defenses in the area.
Netanyahu to convene security meeting amid Syria developments Israel is closely monitoring the situation in Syria as rebel forces are fighting along the Syrian-Iranian axis and threatening the Assad regime. Israeli officials say, “This is something we need to follow closely to see how it develops.” They also note, “It’s not necessarily something that will affect us in the short term, but any instability in a neighboring country could impact us. It appears there may even be opportunities for change here.”
European Federation Of Journalists Announces They Are Leaving Elon Musk’s X In other words, Elon Musk has lifted the suffocating wet blanket of online censorship from a single website and the European media are losing their minds. The organization also claimed that their president had received “misogynistic cyber harassment and death threats”, though they did not produce any evidence to support the accusation.
Hezbollah Believes It Lost Up To 4000 Fighters Killed, Far Surpassing 2006 War Reuters has cited Hezbollah and Lebanese sources to say that Hezbollah believes the number of its fighters killed by Israel over the last year of fighting could be as high as 4,000. A fragile ceasefire has held for the last three days, and the Shia group backed by Iran has been burying its dead this week. Ground fighting has been most intense in the last two months before the ceasefire was agreed to.
The next bankers’ heist: Swap US government-owned land and minerals for Bitcoin The US government may be planning to use taxpayers’ money to buy Bitcoin and hold it on government balance sheets. Why? To benefit Bitcoin billionaires. This move would allow the billionaires to exit their Bitcoin holdings at a high price and use the funds to acquire real assets such as land and minerals. It should be taken in the context of discussions about land and minerals owned by the US government.
Foreign Intel: NATO To Deploy 100,000 “Peacekeeper” Troops into Ukraine?? Foreign Intelligence: in the absence of prospects for inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield , NATO is increasingly leaning towards the need to freeze the Ukrainian conflict in order to restore the combat capability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for an attempt at revenge.
Putin Says Trump ‘Not Safe’ After Assassination Attempts, Slams Mudslinging Against His Family Russian President Vladimir Putin while at the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan spoke to reporters and made mention of US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. He said that he doesn’t believe Trump is safe after no less than two attempts on his life. Putin described “the absolutely uncivilized methods used to battle against Trump, up to and including an assassination attempt – and more than once.”
UK votes to legalize assisted suicide; final approval of bill pending United Kingdom lawmakers passed a bill Friday that, if finalized, will legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales under strict circumstances. The bill allows for medical assistance in dying for any person at least 18 years of age who has fewer than six months to live.
How Democrats Rigged a Few House Seats Michael Swartz Some radical gerrymandering and sketchy 2020 Census miscounting gave the Democrats some crucial House seats they didn’t deserve.
Giving Thanks: This weekend, when many folks are looking for the best sales on gifts, please consider a gift that pays far greater dividends than retail discounts. Our primary objective at The Patriot Post is to ensure that the legacy of Liberty is extended to the next generation. Please support our mission to keep the message of Liberty loud and clear. The investment of Patriots like you makes it possible! Thank you for your support. —Mark Alexander, Publisher
Who Will Replace Wray at the FBI? Douglas Andrews The bureau’s current director is on borrowed time, and the FBI itself is in dire need of reform.
Exterminating Collegiate DEI Emmy Griffin Some colleges are ending their DEI departments ahead of a second Trump presidency.
American Youth Ain’t Happy Thomas Gallatin In an age when everyone seems to be complaining and despairing about life, the key to finding happiness lies in thankfulness.
Where’s the Resistance? Douglas Andrews Eight years ago, the Left was utterly defiant in the face of Donald Trump’s election. This time around? Not so much.
Leftists Threaten Thanksgiving Boycott Emmy Griffin Some unhinged women are now declaring they won’t attend holiday gatherings with conservative relatives.
The Biden (Read: Trump) Ceasefire Nate Jackson The current president claims credit he doesn’t deserve for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
ICC Haters Target Israel Thomas Gallatin The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister underscore the need for national sovereignty.
Giving Thanks Jack DeVine It’s simple: Ours is the best nation on earth. We are blessed beyond measure.
Delusions of Grandeur “Have we left the country in better shape than we found it? [T]onight, I can say with all my heart, the answer to that question is a resounding ‘Yes.'” —Joe Biden Who Wants to Tell Him? “It was a close election at the end of the day.” —House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries Demagogues “The Justice Dept and the court system failed to uphold the principle that no one is above the law. DOJ by neglecting to promptly investigate the events of Jan 6, and the courts by willfully delaying progress of the case and providing immunity. The public deserved better.” —Congressman Adam Schiff “The Constitution is very clear that [Trump] cannot serve another term. And what my fear is is that … Donald Trump is well on his way to dismantling our government.” —Congressman Dan Goldman Dumb & Dumber “If you think that you can vote for what people see as their destruction and then demand that they still are cool with you … and have Thanksgiving with you, I think you’re kind of missing the point of what people are upset about. They’re afraid. And autocracy and fascism are things that are legitimate to be afraid of. So, you may want to step back.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid “Musk and Ramaswamy have already promised massive cuts to eviscerate federal agencies Republicans don’t like. … So, you know, get ready to enjoy unregulated financial markets, polluted air and water, and raw unpasteurized milk, likely without ObamaCare to help you out at the ER.” —Joy Reid “How did a convicted felon resonate more with Americans than a hyper-qualified woman of color?” —”The View” co-host Sunny Hostin “We have bathrooms here in this building. It just says, ‘All genders.’ Why can’t they just do that everywhere?” —”The View” co-host Joy Behar “People have a right to express themselves, to dress how they want and to be who they are. And if a woman doesn’t look woman enough to a Republican, they want to be able to inspect her genitals to be able to use the bathroom? It’s disgusting.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “There will be people, American citizens, who will prevent these little kids from being dragged out of these [immigration] shelters. … What is going to happen to the military when the military opens fire on us?” —Democrat strategist Julie Roginsky “Laken Riley’s killer never stood a chance.” —MSNBC headline “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want. So for me, if I violate this [vote counting] law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.” —Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Board of Commissioners chair Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia “Today, I had the honor of awarding Cecile Richards the Presidential Medal of Freedom. With absolute courage, she fearlessly leads us forward to be the America we say we are — a nation of freedom. Through her work to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote, she has carved an inspiring legacy.” —Joe Biden (“Cecile Richards presided over the abortions of 3.9 million babies as president of Planned Parenthood. She belongs in jail. Not in the White House receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” —Lila Rose) Hot Air “We’re on the brink of needing to declare a climate emergency, which is what we really have. And we need to get people to behave as if this really is a major transitional challenge to the whole planet, to everybody.” —John Kerry Who Knew? “I don’t care who you voted for. … I care about Trump supporters. I care about RFK Jr. supporters. I care about Tucker Carlson supporters. I care about Charlie Kirk supporters. I care about Ben Shapiro supporters. I care about all people.” —California Governor Gavin Newsom
The United States Department of Education is being accused of unjustly targeting Christian colleges and universities, allegedly to advance a “woke agenda.”
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange work frantically as panic selling swept Wall Street in this Oct. 19, 1987 file photo.AP/Peter Morgan
Recession fears have eased, boosting investor confidence in the stock market.
Albert Edwards warns a market pullback could come without a recession, however.
Rising Treasury yields and drying liquidity could hurt stocks with valuations high.
Recession fears have largely dissipated since this summer, bolstering investor confidence in a roaring stock market.
But Albert Edwards wants investors to remember that equities at historically expensive levels don’t need an economic downturn to suffer a pullback.
The bearish Societe Generale strategist known for calling the dot-com bubble said in a November 21 client note that the relentless market rally could be due for a reversal — no recession necessary.
His argument starts with the fact that valuations are high. There are many ways to measure how pricey a market is, and Edwards shared a few novel examples.
For one, US stocks are now three-quarters of the MSCI world index.
Societe Generale
Then there’s the S&P 500’s 12-month forward PE relative to its 12-month trailing PE — basically an indicator of how much forward optimism may be getting ahead of itself. It’s shown below on the left.
Societe Generale
The chart on the right side above shows the widely followed Shiller CAPE ratio. By itself, it shows the market is as costly as it was around the top of prior bubbles. But it’s also very expensive relative to European stocks, which have historically traded at similar valuation levels to US stocks.
The second part of Edwards’ argument is that liquidity is drying up in the sense that the Fed is shrinking its balance sheet, which can be bad news when valuations are high. Here’s the CrossBorder Capital’s Global Liquidity Index, shown in black, which has dipped on a six-week basis. It implies bitcoin, a speculative asset, should be due for a drop in price versus six weeks ago.
Societe Generale
Rising 10-year Treasury yields could also cause liquidity to dry up, as investors who hold the asset will have taken a loss by selling it. Higher yields also attract capital away from stocks, as Treasurys are risk-free. Edwards said rising yields will eventually put a damper on the stock market, especially with valuations continuing to climb.
Societe Generale
“To be fair, full blown equity bear markets (-20% or worse) really only ever occur in recessions when both profits and valuations plunge. Alternatively, sharply rising bond yields can cause problems to equities in a high PE environment – such as now,” Edwards said. “This is a case of an elastic band stretching to breaking point – the 1987 equity crash would be a good example.”
He listed a couple more examples: “Just look at the equity euphoria back in 2018, which initially shrugged off rising bond yields – until they didn’t. The same happened in 2022. At some point rising bond yields will just as surely begin to hurt equities.”
Edwards has a fairly poor track record recently, having had a downbeat view on stocks and the economy while the market has soared and the economy has held up. He himself admits this in the November 21 note. So perhaps take his views with a grain of salt.
Still, he did foresee the 2000-2002 bear market, and provides, at the very least, logical arguments that are food for thought, as rallies and expansions don’t last forever.
As Bloomberg Opinion Columnist and former strategist Marcus Ashworth put it last year: “The SocGen strategist’s doomster scribblings are a must-read for fund managers — even if he’s often wrong.”
On November 5th, the American people gave Donald Trump one of the most resounding and consequential political mandates in generations. By the popular vote count, he won more in total than any – legitimate – presidential candidate in history, eclipsing by 3 million his own record-breaking 74 million votes from 2020.
On the electoral college side, Donald Trump amassed more of such votes than any Republican president since George H.W. Bush, nearly forty years ago, who at that point was just one election removed from Ronald Reagan’s 49-state landslide and rode the momentum of his predecessor.
By 2024’s standards, Donald Trump’s 2024 victory – both in terms of electoral and popular vote – was a landslide. Not only were the sheer numbers unexpectedly staggering – 312 electoral votes plus 77 million popular votes.
But the context in which this victory came: multiple assassination attempts, countless phony charges and indictments, and a barrage of fake news hit jobs, makes the victory, in a word, miraculous.
Every single noteworthy institution, political and cultural, from Hollywood to the mainstream press to the Academy, was aligned against Donald Trump unlike any candidate in American history.
It is clear, especially in the aftermath of the election, why precisely they were so aligned against Donald Trump: he and his movement represented the old American nation, the remaining vestiges of the one still beholden to constitutional government and self-rule.
The countermovement, embodied by Kamala Harris, was the ideology of globalism, open-borders, and institutionalized Marxism made flesh.
It represented everything that was opposed to what America long stood for: from its focus on wasteful overseas wars while ignoring the mounting problems at home (an affront to a longstanding and venerable policy of non-interventionism whose origins lay in George Washington’s Farewell Address), to its ravenously godless attacks on morality, biological sex, and the way technology can be manipulated to control and tyrannize a collective people.
Thus, there was much at stake this election cycle. The only outstanding question really was how much of the old America still remained – how much did the American people recognize their ancestral duties to throw off the shackles of tyranny at the moment of greatest urgency. Blessedly, Americans, though late at the arrival, did indeed rise to the task.
For the first time in a generation, Republicans (at least nominally) have control of both chambers of Congress, plus the presidency, plus the Supreme Court – with an historic popular mandate to boot to help realize their agenda.
That this popular mandate was almost certainty diminished by fraud and corruption, the result of Democratic Party machinery in big cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, that actively work each election cycle to erode the Republicans’ due share of the overall vote through unlawful vote grabbing and illegal ballot dumps, only serves to underscore just how significant the mandate was.
Donald Trump won, not because he eradicated the systemic cheating that barred him from a second term four years ago, but despite that Herculean contingency.
That he did so proverbially chained for weeks on end to multiple courtrooms, itself a heinous form of election interference, is yet further testimony of just how enormous the scope of the electoral mandate he was given.
Anyone who seeks to undercut the President’s victory by claiming this election was only about inflation, the Ukrainian war, or even the crisis at the border – grave as each of those problems are – is not seeing the full picture.
This was not a mere election about politics, as that term has been conventionally understood, but a withering indictment of the regnant powers that be, their unconstitutional use and abuse of power, and the perniciously zealous ideologies of social justice wokeism they have inculcated throughout American institutions in recent decades.
The demand among the body politic to drain the swamp is a fundamental expression of MAGA’s political doctrine, which is to restore republican government and democratic rule by the people’s will, over against the unelected bureaucrats and political elite that have brought our society to near ruin.
Globalism and social justice have been the one-two punch that, like an aggressive cancer, have almost completely eroded America’s once robust institutions and civic identity.
As it turns out, Make America Healthy Again is not just a motto for rejuvenating public health, but can function as a formula for civic renewal.
We need to root out the political cancer, which requires taking a sledgehammer to institutions like the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and the myriad intelligence agencies, to return power back to their constitutionally authorized places: Congress, the individual states, and the Executive Branch under a unitary authority: namely, the President.
The structural reforms needed for government run downstream of a seismic ideological shift that goes much deeper than institutional clean-up, with origins in society and our jurisprudence going back decades.
Basically, MAGA represents a complete rejection of modern liberalism, root and branch. The ideology’s pernicious fixation on equity and diversity, at the expense of quality and freedom has finally been renounced by the American people.
The forces that have been working so vigilantly to bring down this country and make every American ashamed and embarrassed of his birthright and history, so much so that they hoodwinked millions to dismember monuments dedicated to great heroes, rename public buildings, overhaul the calendar and its sacred holidays and traditions, and engage in pitiful episodes of ritualistic self-loathing and denounce Christian morality, have been utterly rejected.
The invidious superstitions that unify the cult of HR-managers, social justice activists, and pronoun policers have been dealt a major blow, hopefully terminal, and should never be permitted to go anywhere near the levers of power again.
The next four years of course will be a continuation of this generational tug-of-war; but the war itself is worthy and necessary, for the ideological forces that guided the Left, and their political successes through Obama, Biden, the Mueller investigation, Jack Smith, the January 6th Committee, and the various forms of persecution against Donald Trump, his allies, and his supporters over years and years, must be defeated once and for all.
They have demonstrated, by so flagrantly and brazenly weaponizing justice against Donald Trump and the January 6th demonstrators, for example, that their ideology is incompatible with free government and justice, as that term has long been understood under the Constitution.
In America, you do not prosecute your political enemies, let alone innocent civilians who exercise their God-given rights that also happen to be enshrined, protected, and guaranteed by the law of the land. The movement that does engage in such feverish zealotry has abdicated forever its claim to power.
Donald Trump’s mandate hence runs much deeper than another mere political victory. This is not politics or business as usual.
This is a wakeup call by the American people to destroy what Elon Musk calls the “Woke Mind Virus” once and for all: to obliterate it from our institutions and from public life in general and put this country on sound footing again to reclaim the mantle of its hallowed inheritance of a once great and mighty people.
President Donald Trump with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan (Photo: Getty Images)
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of America’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has been revealed as a secret adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, shaping a bold policy agenda both before and after his decisive election victory, four sources told The New York Post.
Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a banking firm with assets of $3.2 trillion and operations worldwide, has emerged as an influential sounding board for Trump.
A company insider revealed that despite their potent collaboration, efforts were made to keep these consultations under wraps to prevent leaks. The president-elect’s team, keen on maintaining a strategic distance in public perception between Trump and Democrat Dimon, orchestrated the confidential discussions.
Sources close to Trump’s transition team revealed that Dimon has engaged in candid, behind-the-scenes discussions on cutting government spending, revamping banking regulations, lowering taxes, and rebalancing trade policies.
“They have been speaking regularly for months,” said one of the GOP sources.
The quietly cozy relationship between Trump and Dimon has flourished despite the banker’s cryptic and tight-lipped tendencies when it comes to politics. Trump had floated Dimon’s name as a possible Treasury secretary pick in June and later claimed he had won his White House endorsement — despite a lack of any public statement from Dimon to that effect.
Trump and Dimon also have continued to talk despite bouts of tension, including on Nov. 14 when the president-elect declared on Truth Social that Dimon ”will not be invited” to join his Cabinet. The banker promptly shot back: “I haven’t had a boss in 25 years and I’m not about ready to start.”
The JPMorgan CEO, a registered Democrat who declined to back either candidate in the White House race, had even reportedly toyed with the idea of joining a Kamala Harris administration but then ruled himself out of leaving the Wall Street giant when her poll numbers tanked, The Post previously reported.
Nevertheless, the former” Apprentice” star’s admiration of Dimon, who has helmed JPMorgan Chase for nearly two decades and has a net worth estimated by Forbes at $2.6 billion, was described by one source as “a man crush.”
Dimon is not the only Wall Street giant lending his expertise to the president-elect. Reports also suggest that Trump has consulted BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and has been seeking advice from a “kitchen cabinet” of Wall Street executives following his appointment of Scott Bessent, a former partner at Soros Fund Management, as Secretary of the Treasury.
Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo believes this marks a seismic shift for the financial sector, heralding a “new era of deregulation” under Trump’s leadership.
“This is Jamie’s vindication,” Mayo told The Post. “He is looking at all the bureaucracy and red tape and saying enough of the regulatory theater. It’s like banking with one hand tied behind your back”
Ever since Chase Bank got rid of the Jeffrey Epstein-linked string of lawsuits, Dimon has been able to fully reposition himself as a leading voice on the economy and may even be signaling a shift in his political views.
Earlier this year, during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon provided a candid analysis of the American political landscape while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Dimon acknowledged that former President Donald Trump’s economic policies resonate with many voters, and he criticized the media and Democrat rhetoric for creating divisions.
“I wish the Democrats would think a little more carefully when they talk about MAGA,” said Dimon.
“When people say ‘MAGA,’ they’re actually looking at people voting for Trump, and they think they’re voting, and they’re basically scapegoating them, that you are like him. But I don’t think they’re voting for Trump because of his family values.”
He went on to acknowledge that, from his perspective, Trump had been “kind of right” about several significant issues, such as NATO, immigration, economic growth, tax reform, and some aspects of foreign policy concerning China.
“And that’s why they’re voting for him,” Dimon said, suggesting that voters’ decisions are more nuanced than some critics might suggest.
He called out the Democrats and Biden regime for demonizing millions of Americans who voted for Trump.
“The Democrats have done a pretty good job with the deplorables, hugging onto their bibles and beer, and their guns. I mean, really, can we just stop that stuff and actually grow up, treat other people with respect, and listen to them a little bit? And, I do think the economy will affect, and I think this negative talk about MAGA is going to hurt Biden’s election campaign.”
In a “don’t try this at home” spectacular, a BBC hosts tries to figure out what actually makes up fire. And the wonder of it is, there’s kind of nothing to it. It’s another marvel that God created for us to investigate – slack-jawed, we discover that the closer we gaze, the more wonder there is to find.
“There is a layer of mudstone that is 1 meter (3 feet) thick and it stretches for 80-acres. That’s really shallow and really wide. But it’s filled with over a million bones. The big bones are at the bottom and the little bones are at the top, having been ‘graded’ through a gravity-sorting process.”
What Pharaoh’s magicians pulled off in Exodus 7–8 has always had me wondering about the limits on what Satan can do. Clearly, his magicians couldn’t do everything Moses and Aaron were enabled by God to do… but they did seem to be able to “create,” at least in a sense. So can Satan do miracles? This gent makes a good case to think not.
Are images of Jesus violations of the Second Commandment?
On top of the cases for and against detailed in the articles above, I’m going to add an additional thought: if you don’t know one way or the other, you shouldn’t do it. If something might be sinful, and not doing it is fine, then why would you risk doing what’s sinful? Jay Adams explains that thought further in his article “What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do.”
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