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
For the preservation of Christianity in the world unto this day.
I bless you that though the enemies of Israel have afflicted them from their youth up, have greatly afflicted them, yet they have not prevailed against them; though the plowers have plowed on their back, yet the LORD is righteous, he has cut the cords of the wicked. Psalm 129:1-4(ESV)
That Jesus Christ has built his church upon a rock, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against; Matthew 16:18(ESV) but his offspring will be established forever and his throne as the days of the heavens. Psalm 89:29(ESV)
Romans 8 This week’s lessons show that because we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection, we no longer stand under condemnation, and are therefore assured of an eternity in the presence of the Lord where sin will be no more.
Theme
Justice versus Love
You recall what is said in the third chapter of John’s gospel, the very chapter which contains that great verse beloved by Christians everywhere, beginning, “For God so loved the world . . .” The chapter talks about the Gospel: that God sent Jesus Christ that we might have eternal life. But immediately after that it also talks about condemnation, saying that if we have not believed in Jesus we are condemned already because of our unbelief. In other words, our natural state is not neutral. Our moral condition is not that of a tabula rasa in the sight of God, a blank slate upon which we can write negative or positive thoughts, good or bad ideas, condemnation or no condemnation. We are already under condemnation, because we carry within us a sinful nature and are born under the curse of Adam. When we have the opportunity to express this nature, as we do every day of our lives, we express it inevitably by opposing God and running from Him.
All we do is displeasing to God. It is with us as it was with the generation that lived prior to the Flood. When God looked down on that generation He saw that “every inclination of the thoughts of [their hearts] was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5). That describes us, apart from the grace of God. So if it is the case, as the text says it is, that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” that is good news.
This is not simply a case of God saying that we stand in a good relationship to Him, or that at one time we did not but He is now simply forgetting about our offenses. God is the judge of the universe, and the judge of the universe must do right. Rightness demands punishment for sin, an outpouring of the wrath of God. After all, this is the way the Book of Romans began. In chapter 1, Paul says, in effect, “My intention is to talk about the Gospel, which is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
But as soon as he begins to talk about the Gospel, he talks about God’s wrath. He says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (v. 18). Then he goes on for two and a half chapters to show that this includes everybody. All are condemned. All are under the wrath of God. So, if it is the case, as Paul says in chapter 8, that we are now no longer condemned, it is because of the amazing and effective work of God.
I think of how that woman must have felt who had been brought before Jesus by wicked men in order to trap Him. She had been taken in the very act of adultery, and now she was brought before Jesus to hear what He would say. The text says they thrust her forward. They made her stand in the midst of all the men who were standing around.
Then they said, “Here she is, caught in the very act of adultery. Here are the witnesses. They saw it. They can verify it. Now you know what Moses says. Moses says the punishment for adultery is stoning. She should die. That is what the law of God says. But what do you say? Do you stand by the law of God? Or are you going to turn your back on the law and be a man of mercy? Are you going to say, “Don’t stone the woman?”
That poor, poor woman! I think she expected to be stoned. I think she expected that to be her fate. But then our Lord stooped down and wrote on the ground, and as He wrote, we are told that the accusers began to go away, beginning with the oldest. Finally Jesus looked up and saw nobody but the woman.
“Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” He asked her.
She answered, “No one, sir.”
He said, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:1-11).
Imagine what joy must have swept over her heart! Imagine standing in a position where you expect to be condemned and then suddenly finding yourself released from condemnation! If you can imagine that, you can understand Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Study Questions
What needs to happen before God can declare one to be in a right relationship with Him? Why is this necessary?
In the story of Jesus and the woman from John 8, how did the conduct of the religious leaders display the evil inclination of their hearts?
Application
Reflection: What are some ways you see the truth of Genesis 6:5 in society today? In what ways do you see our sinful natures expressed even in the church? What should you do in response to such behavior, both in yourself and in those around you?
For Further Study: Listen to a free download of James Boice’s message, “The Woman Taken in Adultery.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” There you go—end of article.
That is a familiar and accurate understanding of the parable genre, but it is inadequate for the expositor who desires to preach from this packed quiver of pointed arrows of truth.
Jesus often spoke in parables when he taught. That observation is patently obvious. But defining the essence and employment of parables has proven to be difficult and requires further examination of Jesus’ use of this simple yet powerful teaching method. Only when this tool is properly understood can the preacher draw from this wealth of knowledge and wisdom packaged in few and simple words.
Defining a word is the first and best place to start. The word “parable” is based on two Greek words that indicate something cast aside, generally for comparison. Parables are used to compare something known to something unknown in order to enlighten the hearer.
In order to better understand the parables and properly exegete them, it helps to recognize what they are as opposed to what many preachers think they are.
A parable is “an ingeniously simple word picture illuminating a profound spiritual lesson.”[1] The parables are “dark sayings” (Psalm 78:2), revealing part of their meaning but leaving the rest to be inferred. They are in the same family as similar genres but eternally different in their character.
Fables, such as those written by Aesop, deal with earthly moral themes using unnatural characters in impossible situations, such as talking animals having races. Whereas, parables present heavenly, eternal lessons using real characters acting in possible situations, such as people, seeds, and leaven.
Allegories and parables are near neighbors but differ in length and complexity. Allegories are extended stories, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, where nearly every element represents an idea or principle. Allegories contain their own interpretation. Parables are short, succinct illustrations presenting one moral lesson, such as “Love your neighbor.” Their hidden message is meant to be properly interpreted by the hearer. There is a danger in assigning a “deeper meaning” to every element of a parable. The point is to take the parable as a whole, taking the elements on face value in order to understand the lesson. The details are real; there are no talking rabbits or enchanted forests, just soil, slaves, and sand.
Myths, such as stories about the “gods,” are “true” within their stories, but weak on moral lessons. They are usually explanations of inexplicable realities or tales meant to inspire one to valiant deeds. Parables use down-to-earth, familiar elements to inspire holy living.
Parables and proverbs are a DNA match in that they both teach moral truths; also, the Hebrew word is the same for both. A parable can be thought of as a stretched-out proverb, not as pithy but more wordy.
Why did Jesus teach in parables?
The answer is found in Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question in Matthew 13: “‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:10–13, ESV; cf. Isaiah 6:9–10). The purpose of parabolic teaching was to hide the truth from those who had no interest in heavenly truth while making those same truths understandable to those who wanted to hear.
As Trench explains: “There is a natural delight which the mind has in this manner of teaching, appealing as it does, not to the understanding only, but to the feelings, to the imagination, and in short to the whole man; calling as it does the whole man with all his powers and faculties into pleasurable activity; and things learned with delight are those longest remembered.”[2]
Did Jesus always teach in parables?
Matthew 13:34 and Mark 4:34 are often misunderstood. They say Jesus never spoke to the crowd without a parable. This has led some to believe that everything Jesus said had a hidden, heavenly meaning, leading to some fanciful hermeneutical gymnastics. The verses mean Jesus interspersed his plain-speech sermons with parables. As an aside, he fulfilled the words of Hosea 12:10: “I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables,” proving that he was God and a prophet of God.
Jesus began using parables after a particularly revealing day with the Pharisees. He had performed undeniable miracles but encountered fierce opposition and unbelief. He pronounced woes upon unrepentant cities and was accused of casting out demons by Satan. The Pharisees were more concerned about their rules than human needs. That did it! From then on, Jesus used parables to reveal and confirm their wicked hearts and their fate (Matthew 13 & ff.). Even when the Pharisees understood a parable that targeted them, they refused to repent (Matthew 21:45).
Barclay sums up the purpose of parables well: “He wanted to persuade men to pass a judgment on things with which they were well acquainted, and then compel them to transfer that judgment to something to whose significance they had been blind.”[3]
[1] John MacArthur, Parables (n.p.: Nelson Books, 2015), xxvi
[2] Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1852), 27
[3] William Barclay, And Jesus Said (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1970), 13
In a culture which celebrates self-promotion and self-congratulation, it can be difficult for the grace of humility to flourish. Even in the church there is a resistance to self-questioning and pride can manifest itself in subtle ways in our opinions and self-opinion. Comparing the greatness of our holy God with how small and sinful we are, the only wise response is to accept that pride has no place in our relationship with God, or indeed with each other. But it would be a mistake to think that we attain humility by harshly running ourselves down, or that true humility rejects the possibility of getting restoration and dignity from our kind Saviour. Instead humility has the wisdom to see things just the way that God sees them. William Guthrie was on the alert against various forms of warped thinking among the people he pastored. In the following updated extract from his preaching, William Guthrie shows that humility is wiser than to let itself be scared away from God, but that humbling ourselves to see things as God sees them has various advantages.
The wisdom of humility
Discerns God’s ways
Although humility is prepared to come down very low and is very compliant with God’s will, yet it is most wise and sagacious in how it interprets all that God says or does to His people. Humility discerns that whatever God is doing, it is intended to save and not destroy His people. It discerns that all that God does is in order to bring them to Himself, and not to chase them away from Him.
Reads the Bible sensitively
True humility is wise to distinguish between spiritual truths and what are called “canonical” truths. [Humility does not read the Bible and latch on to isolated words that seem to be discouraging.] Every word of Scripture taken by itself is not “canonical,” as we can see from how God said one place, “I will deliver you no more,” whereas He delivered them many a time after that. Another time Jesus said, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Can statements like these literally be called canonical? They must agree with other Scriptures, and with the analogy of faith. Every place of Scripture, taken by itself, cannot be called canonical, until it is compared with other Scriptures and the analogy of faith.
For the fourth time in the last six years, Isaiah 41:10 was the most downloaded Scripture of the year on the YouVersion family of Bible apps, which according to its founder has been installed on one billion devices nationwide.
“I think this verse keeps rising to the top because it addresses one of our deepest needs, the assurance that we’re not alone,” YouVersion Founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald said Dec. 4 in announcing the top Scripture. “In a world full of anxiety and uncertainty, people are drawn to God’s promise to be with us, to strengthen us, and to help us. That message never gets old because the need for it is universal and timeless.”
But the Scripture ranked 26th on Bible Gateway apps, where the 23rd and 91st psalms claimed all but one of the top 23 spots. At Bible Gateway, whose creators say was viewed hundreds of billions of times in the past year, Psalm 23:4 was the top Scripture, followed by the remaining verses of the psalm. Jeremiah 29:11 ranked 7th, followed by the 16th verses of the 91st Psalm, with Psalm 91:11 the most popular of that psalm.
“There were no huge surprises this year; most verses only shuffled a few points in one direction or another,” according to a Dec. 1 press release from Bible Gateway. “Psalm 91 continued its ascent (pushing John 3:16 all the way down to number 24), as did Psalm 121. Isaiah added a few verses this year, and Revelation (which did not appear at all last year) resurfaced with a few verses toward the bottom, knocking Ephesians’ ‘armor of God’ verse off the list altogether.”
November’s Global Bible Month spurred increased Bible app usage, YouVersion said, with the first Sunday in November setting an all-time record of 19 million people opening the app in a single day.
Daily app usage increased by 19 percent compared to November 2024, YouVersion said, surmising the month sparked a lasting habit of daily Scripture engagement.
Isaiah 41:10 reads in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.”
Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 12:2 ranked among other top Scriptures on YouVersion.
At Bible Gateway, people looked most often for Psalm 23:4, which reads in the CSB, “Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff -they comfort me.”
Following in popularity at Bible Gateway were Psalm 23:1, Psalm 23:6, Psalm 23:5, Psalm 23:3, and Psalm 23:2.
Bible Gateway announced the top 100 Scriptures downloaded on its app, with 51 coming from the Old Testament and 49 from the New. While Psalms was the most popular book in the entire Bible, the second and third most popular books were the New Testament writings of 1 Corinthians and Matthew.
This article has been republished with permission from Baptist Press.
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.” (10:11–13)
Jesus’ identification of Himself as the good shepherd points back to the true shepherd described in verses 2 to 5. It is the fourth “I AM” statement in John’s gospel (see the discussion of v. 7 above). The Greek text literally reads, “the shepherd, the good one,” setting Christ the Good Shepherd apart from all other shepherds. Kalos (good) refers to His noble character (cf. 1 Tim. 3:7; 4:6; 2 Tim. 2:3; 1 Peter 4:10); He is the perfect, authentic Shepherd; in a class by Himself; preeminent above all others. Being a faithful shepherd entailed a willingness to lay one’s life on the line to protect the sheep. Robbers and wild animals such as wolves, lions, and bears were a constant danger (cf. 1 Sam. 17:34; Isa. 31:4; Amos 3:12). But Jesus, the good shepherd, went far beyond merely being willing to risk or actually risking His life for His sheep; He actually laid down His life for them (cf. v. 15; 6:51; 11:50–51; 18:14). The phrase lays down His life is unique to John’s writings and always refers to a voluntary, sacrificial death (vv. 15, 17–18; 13:37–38; 15:13; 1 John 3:16). Jesus gave His life for His sheep, because they were chosen to become part of His flock. The preposition huper (for) is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to Christ’s substitutionary atonement for the elect (cf. v. 15; 6:51; 11:50–51; 18:14; Luke 22:19; Rom. 5:6, 8; 8:32; 1 Cor. 11:24; 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:14–15, 21; Gal. 1:4; 2:20; 3:13; Eph. 5:2, 25; 1 Thess. 5:9–10; 1 Tim. 2:6; Titus 2:14; Heb. 2:9; 1 Peter 2:21; 3:18; 1 John 3:16). His death was an actual atonement to provide propitiation for the sins of all who would believe, as they were called and regenerated by the Spirit, because they were chosen by the Father. Opposite the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for the sheep, is he who is a hired hand (like the doorkeeper of v. 3), and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, who sees the wolf coming (cf. Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:29), and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them (cf. Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34). The hired hand symbolizes the Jewish religious leaders and, by extension, all false shepherds. They are always mercenaries, doing ministry not for love of the souls of men or even love for the truth, but for money (Titus 1:10–11; 1 Peter 5:2; 2 Peter 2:3). Therefore they flee at the first sign of threat to their well-being, because they are not concerned about the sheep. Their overriding priority is self-preservation, and the last thing they care to do is to sacrifice themselves for anyone.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). John 1–11 (pp. 431–432). Moody Press.
10, 11. The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy; I come in order that people may have life, and may have abundance. The thief is the Pharisee, as has been explained (see on 10:1). Note the climactic arrangement: steal, kill, destroy. That these religious leaders spiritually killed and destroyed the people whom they had stolen is clear from Matt. 23:15. The exact opposite of killing and destroying is making alive. And the exact opposite of the thief is the good shepherd, Christ. So Jesus says, “I came in order that they (i.e., people; here the sheep) may have life (see on 3:16) and may have abundance (of grace, 1:16; cf. Rom. 5:17, 20; Eph. 1:7, 8; of joy, 2 Cor. 8:2; of peace, Jer. 33:6). See also 2:6, 7; 4:14; 6:13, 35. These passages show that Jesus always provides an overflowing measure, a surplus. Jesus continues, I am the good shepherd, really: the shepherd, the good one. The adjective is stressed! This adjective, however, is not ἀγαθός but καλός. The basic meaning of this word is beautiful. Here it indicates excellent. This shepherd answers to the ideal both in his character and in his work. And he is the only one in his class. (See footnote above.) The predicate of this great I AM has the article, and is therefore interchangeable with the subject. The statement “I am the good shepherd” explains 10:2, 3, 4. We now know whom Jesus had in mind when he spoke about the shepherd to whom the sheep give heed. The excellent character of this shepherd is shown especially in this, The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. In the sense in which this is meant it cannot apply to an ordinary sheep-herder, no matter how good he may be. Such a shepherd may, indeed, risk his life in the defence of his sheep (1 Sam. 17:34–36), but he does not really lay down (τίθησι) his life; i.e., he does not yield his life as a voluntary sacrifice. Also, in ordinary life the death of the herder means loss and possible death for the herd. In this case the death of the shepherd means life (ζωή) for the sheep! The good shepherd “pours out his soul (note τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ both here in 10:11 and also in Is. 53:12, the LXX translation) unto death.” He gives himself! The idea is not that this shepherd gives merely his natural life. No, ψυχή which rests on an Aramaic original (whether oral or written) is the full equivalent of the self, the person. See also the same phrase, “his life,” in Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45, while 1 Tim. 2:6 has himself. It is probable that ψυχή has this meaning wherever it occurs in John’s Gospel (10:11, 15, 17, 24; 12:25, 27; 13:37, 38; and 15:13). The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The preposition is ὑπέρ, a word which has the root-meaning over. In the Fourth Gospel it is always used with the genitive. Thus used, its meaning pendulates all the way from the colorless concerning (1:30), through for the benefit of and the closely related for the sake of (6:51; 11:4; 17:19), to the very meaningful instead of (see 10:11, 15; 11:50, 51, 52; 13:37, 38; 15:13; 18:14). However, it is probably incorrect to say that this preposition in itself ever means instead of. That is its resultant connotation when it is used in certain contexts. The good shepherd lays down his life for the benefit of the sheep, but the only way in which he can benefit the sheep, saving them from everlasting destruction and imparting everlasting life to them, is by dying instead of them, as we learn from Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45, where the preposition ἀντί (instead of, in exchange for) is used. It is easy to see how by a very gradual transition for the benefit of or in behalf of may become instead of. Thus, in the papyri the scribe who writes a document in behalf of someone who cannot write is writing it instead of that unlettered individual. Cf. also 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13. It is for the sheep—only for the sheep—that the good shepherd lays down his life. The design of the atonement is definitely restricted. Jesus dies for those who had been given to him by the Father, for the children of God, for true believers. This is the teaching of the Fourth Gospel throughout (3:16; 6:37, 39, 40, 44, 65; 10:11, 15, 29; 17:6, 9, 20, 21, 24). It is also the doctrine of the rest of Scripture. With his precious blood Christ purchased his church (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25–27); his people (Matt. 1:21); the elect (Rom. 8:32–35). Nevertheless, the love of God is wide as the ocean. The sheep are found everywhere. They are not confined to one fold (10:16; see also on 1:10, 29; 3:16; 4:42; 6:33, 51; 11:52). On Jesus as the good shepherd see also Ezek. 34:23; Luke 15:3–6; Heb. 13:20; and 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; see especially on John 10:14, 15.
Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to John (Vol. 2, pp. 109–111). Baker Book House.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shalt come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8)
This is a glorious gospel type. Jesus, numbered with the transgressors, hangs before us on the cross. A look to Him will heal us of the serpent-bite of sin; will heal us at once—”When he looketh upon it, he shall live.” Let the reader who is mourning his sinfulness note the words—”Everyone that looketh upon it shall live.” Every looker will find this true. I have found it so. I looked to Jesus and lived at once, I know I did. Reader, if you look to Jesus you will live, too. True, you are swelling with the venom, and you see no hope, True, also there is no hope but this one. But this is no doubtful cure—”Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”
The brazen serpent was not lifted up as a curiosity to be gazed upon by the healthy; but its special purpose was for those who were “bitten.” Jesus died as a real Savior for real sinners. Whether the bite has made you a drunkard, or a thief, or an unchaste or a profane person, a look at the great Savior will heal you of these diseases and make you live in holiness and communion with God. Look and live.
Propitiation. A hard word to pronounce…and a hard word to understand, but we have to try, since today’s verse of 1 John 4:10 says this is the reason God sent His son.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10).
PROPITIATION: An offering that turns away the wrath of God directed against sin. According to the NT, God has provided the offering that removes the divine wrath, for in love the Father sent the Son to be the propitiation (or atoning sacrifice) for human sin (1 John 4:10). Source: Pocket dictionary of theological terms (1996).
by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to exercise his love towards sinners. In Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary. (1893)
The Easton’s definition uses the word ‘consistent’. God is able to do anything but it would not be consistent with His holy character to abandon his promise to punish wrongdoers for their sin. He could turn away His wrath by deciding to do so, but it would destroy His perfectly just nature to be inconsistent. No, God is consistent, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8). “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed“. (Malachi 3:6).
So He sent His Son to be that sacrifice and absorb God’s wrath for our sins, though Christ was sinless.
Further Reading
GotQuestions: What is Propitiation? The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.
Ligonier Ministries: What Do Expiation and Propitiation Mean? Let’s think about what these words mean, then, beginning with the word expiation. The prefix ex means “out of” or “from,” so expiation has to do with removing something or taking something away. In biblical terms, it has to do with taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonement. By contrast, propitiation has to do with the object of the expiation.
Bible Hub Topical Bible- Propitiation That by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to execise his love towards sinners.
Here we are at the fourth article in this series, and I’d like to know if you have seen yourself yet. What does Mark 7 have to say to you? There are at least three things to see. The first two are incidental. The third is the main thing, and I’ll develop it at some length. (First article)
Honour Your Parents
First, this passage tells us what God means in the fifth commandment when he requires that children honour parents. For children, Ephesians 6:1 says that the fifth commandment means obedience. Many Christians conclude that the fifth commandment means nothing once the child leaves his parents’ home. Jesus differs. Honour doesn’t look like ideological conformity. It does look like material support. The Pharisees had said the fifth commandment did not require certain individuals to support their parents financially in their old age, and Jesus excoriates them for laying aside the Word of God. Apparently, those who teach that the fifth commandment does not require that adult children support their parents financially in their old age are people who set aside the word of God. What would Jesus say about those who teach that the Fifth Commandment has nothing to say to adult children who have left their parents’ home?
Apply Scripture
Second, legitimate applications of Scripture are authoritative and binding. Jesus applies the fifth commandment to honour parents by including something that the commandment did not specify (material support), and he calls that inclusion “the Word of God.”
Repent of Idolatry
Third, this passage tells us that we must sharply differentiate between the Word of God and human tradition. We cannot confuse the two. The Pharisees had elevated human tradition to the level of Scripture, and where the elders’ tradition exempted certain individuals from supporting their parents, and the fifth commandment required it, God’s word was set aside in favour of the elders’ tradition. Jesus excoriates such people as hypocrites and idolaters.
Binding Others to Your Ideas
This shows up in our Christian world today when older generations of Christians insist that younger generations conform to the way we’ve always done it. Younger generations insist that they get to establish their own way and that older generations have nothing to say to them. Conservative Christians attack less conservative Christians because they don’t conform to all their ideas about how Christianity ought to work. Less conservative Christians attack more conservative Christians because their ideas are not considered valid. In each circumstance, the situation is the same. We are elevating our own ideas to the level of Scripture and making them binding for all people.
How can we avoid this danger? It’s a very prevalent danger. What will test and reveal whether we are elevating our own ideas to the level of Scripture or not? What will open our blind eyes to this tendency?
One Revealing Test
The best way to become aware of our blindness is to sit down and listen carefully to other Christians who differ from us. Usually, those who refuse to listen to other Christians who differ from them are aware that if they did sit down and listen, it would unveil the faulty foundation upon which their traditions stand. We would suddenly find out that other Christians have just as good, if not better, reasons for doing what they do. We may discover that they have more biblical reasons for what they do than I have for my traditions.
When I Am The Standard
Listening hard to other Christians who differ from you forces you to evaluate the foundation upon which your Christianity rests. It puts two human beings who differ side by side. Our inclination in such circumstances is to force my ideas on the other Christian and insist that he conform to what I think. We strive to align the other person with our way of thinking. That’s the same heart that the Pharisees manifested. It is the heart of idolatry because we bow down to our own ideas by thinking they are superior to the other person’s ideas. We insist that they bow down to my ideas. We take the thinking of man and elevate it above the thinking of another man.
We might justify that way of thinking by saying, “I’m smarter than they are,” or “I’m more godly than they are,” or “I’m more surrendered to God than they are,” of “I have a word from the Lord about this,” or “I’m older than they are,” or “I have more experience than they do,” and therefore they need to privilege me and my way of thinking about this. In each case, we insist that a man listen to the traditions and ideas of another man and bow down before them. That is idolatry. “I have become the standard of holiness. I am the standard to which other Christians must conform.”
I am concerned that much blogging reflects this mindset. “My ideas are worth setting before the entire world.”
Unless the Word of God clearly teaches what I’m trying to force on other Christians, forcing them to conform is exalting myself above them and calling them to my viewpoint rather than to God’s truth. I’m worshipping myself and insisting that other Christians do the same. What I call worship and service to God, then, is empty. It is vain.
Welcoming Those Who Differ
One of the best defences against traditionalism and this idolatry in the church is the presence of Christians in your church who differ with you over matters to which the Scripture does not speak with clarity and precision. The Pharisees couldn’t admit that kind of difference into their community. It was not okay that Jesus’ disciples were different to what their traditions prescribed. Everything had to be uniform. Diversity was a threat. It all had to conform to them. It was the only way they could preserve their ideas as authoritative. Nothing was welcomed if it threatened their way of thinking.
Authority That Transcends Tradition Unifies
The Christian church must operate differently. We have an authority that transcends human traditions and ideas. We have the authoritative word of God. When Christians choose to remain in the same church, despite some of these differences, that choice automatically downgrades the importance of those differences. It automatically upgrades the importance of whatever they share in common. One of the best ways to ensure the church stands firm on Sola Scriptura is to admit into the church Christians who adhere to the Christian faith in all its fullness, but who differ on matters to which the Scripture does not speak with clarity and precision. That sort of church will only hang together in unity if each is willing to set his ideas aside to be part of it. Only as we cling to Scripture alone as the centre and foundation is such a model of church unity possible.
A Uniquely Christian Church
Such is a uniquely Christian church, because the gate by which we enter the Christian life is very narrow. That doesn’t mean I must be narrow. Instead, it means that I can’t bring all my ideas through the gate. I must lay aside my scruples and traditions, those things that are merely mine, to love others and live under the banner of a common Christian faith. That glorifies God, not me. That elevates Christ, not tradition. That establishes the Scriptures, not man. Other Christians stand or fall before their own master, not before my traditions. Insisting on uniformity or condemning others for failing to measure up to me and my worship of God is hypocrisy. It is idolatry.
Conspiracy Theories and Deeper Knowledge
If we replace the Scriptures with human ideas, whether handed down or self-developed, we relocate the centre of Christianity and begin to worship a different god, a god who, not surprisingly, looks very much like me. This is one of the reasons Christians dive so deeply into conspiracy theories and become enamoured with nearly everything except Jesus Christ. Those conspiracy theories and all the nitty-gritty that fill your YouTube history become a way of getting a leg up on other Christians. It’s a way of showing that you have superior knowledge. “I am more perceptive than other Christians because I can see these things.” How many such Christians fill their “fellowship time” at church with everything except Christ? How many say, “I am content to be ignorant of all else except this one thing. Jesus Christ was crucified for me, and in that alone do I boast and glory!”
The Deep Things of God
How unchristian our Christianity has become. Christianity is this: God destroys human wisdom by bringing salvation, not through superior knowledge or more perceptive human minds, but through a cross that crucifies us.
The Cross
A stumbling block to Jews
A scandal to Greeks.
The Wisdom of God.
That is the centre of Christianity.
So, when was the last time you had a really deep discussion with another Christian about the cross (Galatians 6:14)? When was your last blog post about the glory and beauty of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 2:2)? When did you celebrate the fact that nothing holds your church together except a common Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:3–6)? When did you welcome another Christian who differs from you (Romans 15:7)?
This is Christianity.
I determined to know nothing, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
So let us follow Christ, and let us call one another to follow Christ and not to follow ourselves.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible.
Dr. Adam Tyson begins a biblical series addressing anxiety and worry from a gospel-centered perspective. By walking through Philippians 4 and real-life examples, he helps young men understand the difference between appropriate concern and sinful worry. Discover how God’s peace can guard your heart in an age of uncertainty.
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
I am sometimes asked what I consider to be the best cure for mental and spiritual depression, and I have answered that the best cure for spiritual depression is to feed on the promises of God. Are you depressed or discouraged? Has life gotten you down? If so, somewhere in the Bible there is a promise of God to cover it. I am convinced there is no need, no anxiety, no worry, no dismay for which God has not made dozens of encouraging and uplifting promises.
God’s Promises
Years ago now a delightful old French woman told me a story from her own life that illustrates this principle. In her youth in France she had been taught to make a little box of Bible verses containing a selection of the promises of God from Scripture. Each verse was written on a small piece of paper about the size of a piece of chewing gum, and each was then rolled up to make a miniature scroll. After there were forty or fifty of these small scrolls they were placed on end in a tiny open box. This was the promise box. She had been encouraged as a child to pull out one verse each morning and read it. One day during World War II (when she was much older) she was feeling terribly discouraged by many things that had happened. In her depression her mind turned to the little box of promises that had been long since forgotten. She went to the drawer of the dresser where she kept the box and took it out. She prayed, “Lord, you know how depressed I am. You know that I need a word of encouragement. Isn’t there a promise here somewhere that can help me?” She finished praying and stepped over to the window where the light was better for reading. As she did she tripped over a loose edge of the rug and all the promises spilled out onto the carpet. She immediately got the point and prayed again, joyfully, “Lord, how foolish I have been to ask for one promise when there are so many glorious promises in your Word!” Think of the breadth and scope of God’s promises. There is John 3:16, a promise of everlasting salvation: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” John 10:9 points out, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:27–28 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Some promises concern prayer. Philippians 4:6–7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” First John 5:14–15 tells us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” We come now to what is perhaps the greatest promise in the entire Bible. It is great because it includes all the other promises. It is Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Do you stand in need of salvation? God will supply salvation. Do you need strength for life’s trials? God will supply strength. If you are lonely, God can meet you and comfort you in your loneliness. If you are discouraged, he can lift you up. No need is left out, for the verse says that “God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
The God of Israel
A verse like this needs to be savored in each of its phrases, and the place to begin is with the two most important words in the sentence, the subject. The words are “my God.” Who is the one who Paul knew was able to supply the needs of the Philippian Christians? It was not any God, for he did not say “a god” or merely “the god in whom you may happen to believe.” Paul was not referring to the gods of the Greeks, Egyptians, Assyrians, or Romans. When Paul said, “my God,” he was being specific and personal. Paul’s God was Jehovah, the God of Israel who had revealed himself to human beings personally in Jesus Christ. This God is a great God. He is a gracious and effective God. In fact, to the biblical writers all other gods were “no gods” (idols); they were nothing. The God of Philippians 4:19 is the God who called Abraham out of Mesopotamia when he was an idol worshiper like his contemporaries and sent him on his way to a new land promising that he would be blessed and there would be greater blessing to all people through his descendants. The God of Philippians 4:19 is the God who called Israel out of Egypt, who took her through the Red Sea, who preserved her for forty years in the wilderness, and who finally enabled her to conquer the land of Canaan. He is the God of David, of Elijah, of Jeremiah, of all the prophets. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who died for our salvation and then triumphed over the tomb. This God stands behind his promises. The value of a promise depends entirely upon the effectiveness and fidelity of the thing or person believed. Once I was talking to someone about faith, and he asked whether the faith of Christians is any different from the kind of self-delusion that many people practice to escape reality. He wanted to know if faith was not purely subjective. I admitted in reply that there is a subjective element to faith. Faith is personal. Emotionally there probably is very little difference between this type of conviction and delusion. But that is only half the picture. Although there is little or no difference between the two kinds of faith psychologically, there is all the difference in whether or not the object of the belief corresponds to the things believed about it. For instance, there is not much difference between the belief of a person who leans against a papier-mâché column, thinking it is marble and able to hold him up, and the belief of a person who leans on a real one. But the real column will support the person while the artificial one will collapse and let him fall down. The God of whom Paul speaks is a God who will support his people and who will not let down the one who believes in him. Is he your God? If he is not your God, if you have never come to him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promises of God’s care in the Bible are not for you. On the other hand, if you do believe in him and wish to obey him, you will find him strong in your need. You will find him entirely and consistently faithful.
Human Needs
The emphasis of the first part of the verse is on God, but the second part speaks of human needs. We must think of this also. What are our needs? First, there is our need for forgiveness. God provides that abundantly, for he offers forgiveness of sins that are past, present, and future. Forgiveness is made possible for us through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we receive it personally by acknowledging our sin before God and accepting Christ’s sacrifice. The apostle John wrote, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9). The doctrine of forgiveness through Christ is never taught without some people imagining that a promise of forgiveness is actually an invitation to wrongdoing. The argument goes, “If we know God will forgive us, why can’t we do as we want beforehand?” Fortunately, it does not work that way. I know of a Christian family who raised two fine boys in Philadelphia. Because they were in the midst of the city the boys were often tempted to join one of the gangs that roamed through the neighborhood and destroyed property. The parents might have said, “Look here, Carl (or Robin), if you ever get mixed up in one of those gangs and get hauled in by the police, don’t come running to me for help. Just remember that I warned you about it beforehand.” If they had done that, the boys would likely have taken up bad company in self-defense. Instead, the father said, “I know about the temptations that you will be facing in the city. But I want you to know this. If you ever get into trouble with the gang, never keep it to yourself. Come back here. This is your home. You belong with me and your mother, and we’ll face everything that happens together. Never doubt that we love you and that we’ll forgive you.” In that home the boys grew to be strong Christian men and were pure and honest. How glorious that our heavenly Father treats us in an identical manner! Forgiveness is not our only need, however. Our second greatest need is for fellowship with God. Without God we are spiritually hungry, empty, and miserable. That is why Saint Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” We do not need to be miserable and spiritually hungry, however. For God longs to be known by us, to fill the spiritual vacuum of our hearts, to commune with us personally, and to meet us in our deep longings. Moreover, he is able to do so abundantly “according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” We also need God’s defense against enemies, and God is able to supply that too. David, the first great king of Israel, had enemies within and without, in his own family and in other nations. But when he came to the end of his life and was able to look back thankfully over the years of God’s deliverance from his enemies he said, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me” (2 Sam. 22:2–3).
A Need for Testing
I must add one other thing, however, for it is sometimes true that in God’s sight we have a need for that which is not so pleasant. We need to be disciplined, taught, or tested. If that is the case, then it is also true that Philippians 4:19 is a promise of God to supply the unpleasant discipline and testing. Early in his ministry Harry Ironside had an experience that illustrates this provision. On one occasion he had acted on faith, as he often did, to preach for two weeks in Fresno, California. But the time came, surprisingly to him, when he was entirely out of money and had no funds with which to eat. He was even forced to check out of his hotel room and leave his suitcase at a drugstore to be picked up later. There was some complaining and bitterness. When the thought of Philippians 4:19 crossed his mind—“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”—his spirit rebelled. “Why then doesn’t he do it?” he questioned. It seemed that God had promised, but he was no longer keeping his word. That night, as he settled down under a tree on the lawn of the courthouse in Fresno, God spoke to Ironside concerning things about which he had grown careless. In his prayer and meditation he experienced a spiritual awakening. From that time on the work went better. Old friends appeared, first to invite him to lunch and later to provide accommodation. The church to which he was ministering took a collection to help him out on his return journey. At the end he went to the post office and found a letter from his father, much to his surprise. He opened it, and there staring him in the face was a postscript that said, “God spoke to me through Philippians 4:19 today. He has promised to supply all our need. Some day he may see that I need a starving! If he does, he will supply that.” Ironside says, “Oh, how real it all seemed then! I saw that God had been putting me through that test in order to bring me closer to himself, and to bring me face to face with things that I had been neglecting.” He wrote later that he wished to share the experience with others who may be going through similar times of testing.
God’s Riches in Glory
The final phrase of our text speaks of the measure of the supply of God for our need. The measure is this: “according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Every so often the world is witness to some new space spectacular. I suppose that every time an astronaut goes off into space there are millions of people who wish they could share this experience. Suppose that one of these persons would ask one of the astronauts to bring back a sample of space. Well, he could take up a small canister, seal it in space, and bring it back. There is a sense in which the canister would contain a sample. But it would not even begin to capture the immensity and grandeur of space. If it were to hold more, it would be necessary to enlarge the container. But even then it could never even begin to exhaust that immensity. In a parallel sense God has promised to fill the need of the believer in Jesus Christ out of his infinite wealth and resources. He will expand us as time goes on, and we shall come to hold more. We shall become more and more like Jesus Christ. But even at the greatest extent of our enlarged capacity we shall only touch his resources slightly. There will always be infinite resources beyond the ones we experience. Do you think that you can exhaust the riches of God by your needs, however great they may be? Can the finite exhaust the infinite? Can that which is corrupt exhaust that which is incorruptible? Can the part exhaust the whole? Can human beings exhaust God? It is impossible. In this life, as in the next, God shall supply all our needs, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, and still there will be inexhaustible resources beyond.
Boice, J. M. (2000). Philippians: an expositional commentary (pp. 256–261). Baker Books.
Approaching the end of his epistle Paul now assures the addressees that God will supply their every need: And my God will gloriously supply every need of yours according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Had not God’s care rested in a marvelous manner upon the apostle himself, during this very imprisonment? Note Paul’s later testimony regarding this care: “But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength in order that through me the message might be fully heralded, and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued out of (the) mouth of (the) lion” (2 Tim. 4:17). So also this same compassion would bless the Philippians. Touching is the expression “my God.” See on Phil. 1:3. It was the God who meant so very, very much to Paul. This God will not fulfill every wish but will supply every need! He will do this “in glory,” which in the sense of gloriously must in all probability be construed as modifying the verb supply; hence, “God will gloriously supply.” Paul is not primarily thinking of what God will do for believers when they have entered the glory of heaven, but what he will do for them in this earthly realm of needs, as they present these needs to him. These he will fulfill not merely out of his riches (as a millionaire might do when he donates a trifling sum to a good cause, subtracting the amount from his vast possessions) but according to his riches, so that the gift is actually in proportion to God’s infinite resources! Of course, this loving care, this glorious help in need, is based on the merits of Christ Jesus. “How vast the benefits divine which we in Christ possess” (cf. Rom. 8:32). It is only because believers are in vital union with him that they receive all these bounties. The assurance of this manifestation of God’s very special providence does not mean that the Philippians would now be justified in becoming lazy, disregarding or even rejecting every means and avenue of caring for themselves. “God’s word does not advocate fanaticism, nor does it say that one should throw his pocketbook into the nearest river and then announce that he is going to live by faith” (Tenney). To be sure, God was taking care of Paul, but one of the ways in which he was providing for him was the gift from Philippi which Paul here acknowledges. Among the many passages in which this tender and loving care of God for his children in the here and now is described, passages which have given comfort to God’s people in many generations, are also the following: Gen. 28:15; 50:20; Exod. 33:14; Deut. 2:7; 32:7–14; 33:27; Josh. 1:9; 1 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kings 17:6, 16; 2 Chron. 20:17; Ps. 18:35; 23; 31:19; 91; 121; Isa. 25:4, 32:2; 40:11; 41:10; 43:1, 2; 46:3, 4; Joel 2:21–27; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 6:32; 14:20; 23:37; Luke 6:38; 12:7; 22:35; John 10:27, 28; 17:11; Rom. 8:28, 31–39; 2 Tim. 1:12; 4:18; 1 Peter 5:7.
Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of Philippians (Vol. 5, pp. 209–210). Baker Book House.
Merz: Skeptical of certain parts of the US proposal British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have spoken with Zelenskyy at Downing Street in London. According to Macron, the goal now is to reach consensus between the United States, Ukraine and the country’s European allies. “The main issue is the convergence of our common positions, those of the Europeans and the Ukrainians and the United States, to complete these peace negotiations,” Macron said,
THE POPE’S WAR ON CHRISTENDOM: HIS ISLAMIC FANTASY VS. EUROPE’S BLOODY REALITY The Pope’s interfaith rhetoric collapses against Europe’s blood-soaked reality, revealing a globalist agenda that demands Christian nations surrender to the very forces destroying them. The Pope was asked a serious and unavoidable question: “Is Islam a threat to the Christian identity of the West?”Rather than answering with Scripture, historical understanding, or even basic honesty, he delivered a set of rehearsed globalist talking points. He dismissed the concerns of millions of Europeans by claiming that their fears are “created by people against immigration.”
Will Welfare Fraud Scandals Sink Failed VP Nominee Tim Walz? Following his short-lived campaign as Kamala Harris’s bumbling vice presidential pick last year, most Americans were likely content to forget that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz exists. But staggering welfare fraud recently uncovered in the Land of 10,000 Lakes has thrust Walz’s hapless leadership back into the headlines Walz’s administration allegedly ignored credible warnings about the fraud, allowing the scammers to steal billions of dollars from taxpayers. At least some of that money was traced to individuals in Somalia linked to Al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization.
Yes to asylum centers outside the EU The agreement on the concept of so-called “safe countries” was made by the member states’ migration ministers in Brussels. This is a turning point in the EU’s migration policy, says Brunner at a press conference in Brussels, together with Rasmus Stoklund, Minister for Migration in this autumn’s presidency country, Denmark. The agreement opens up the possibility of more reception centers outside the EU, similar to what Italy already has with Albania and which Denmark and other countries have also considered. Sweden currently has no plans to start its own asylum reception centers outside the EU.
UK dictatorship is attempting to scrap jury trials – Who really benefits? “Democracy” means governance exercised through the Rule of Law administered by the people through jury-led trials. So, the UK government’s recent attempt to scrap jury trials is wholly anti-democratic, Iain Davis writes.
This is How Hamas Opened a Front in Europe Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood identified Europe’s weak point. In a naivety mixed with stupidity, the continent’s leaders do not understand the principles of fundamentalist Islam – and we are paying the price for it. Here is what Israel needs to do Europeans replaced the fanatical religious dogmatism of the Middle Ages with a kind of enlightened subjectivism, in which truth is a matter of personal perception rather than facts.
Passenger Jet Suddenly Dropped From Sky for a Wild Reason, Airbus Says The cause wasn’t immediately clear. But after grounding more than 6,000 of its planes last week, Airbus finally shared the suspected culprit: cosmic rays from outer space messing up the aircraft’s computer systems. It may sound like a dog-ate-my-homework type excuse, but it’s very much a real phenomenon. Scientists call these events — an actual nightmare The rays are made of tiny subatomic particles traveling near the speed of light. When these strike a computer’s memory chip, they can inadvertently flip the value of a bit from 1 to 0, and vice versa. This is called a bit-flip. In the world of computers, they’re cosmic acts of divine intervention. Experts have been warning of cosmic rays’ potential to disrupt flight systems for years. Planes are now controlled by electronic computer systems rather than mechanical …
PM Netanyahu expresses doubts over int’l Gaza security force’s ability to disarm Hamas Netanyahu began his remarks by saying that, “Israel today is a country that is stronger than ever, it is certainly a regional power, in several areas it is a global power. And this is connected to several things that were done here over the years and even more so in the last two years.” Netanyahu also said that “A senior American official told me, ‘You are the only fighting allies we have.’”
Tom Homan sets Dana Bash straight after CNN host suggests ICE targets migrants based on appearance Appearing on “State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” Homan pushed back after Bash claimed Somali individuals were being stopped and questioned simply based on appearance. “No, they’re not. You know, the law requires agents are trained to Fourth Amendment training every six months. Border Patrol is trained in Fourth Amendment training,” Homan said when Bash asked if ICE agents were stopping people resembling Somalis. “They stop. You can detain and question people for a short period of time based on a reasonable suspicion.”
Israel won’t stop striking Hezbollah despite talks with Lebanon, wants group’s disarmament by start of 2026 – report Israel conveyed to the Lebanese government that it won’t stop striking Hezbollah despite the recent first civilian-level meeting between the countries’ representatives, the Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar reported on Monday. After Israel escalated strikes and signaling it was preparing for a potential new ground operation in recent weeks, the U.S. pressured Beirut and Jerusalem to send civilian representatives for the first non-military talks between the two sides in decades.
8 excuses for the world’s Israel obsession, and why they’re all nonsense The Western world, including Europe, is obviously obsessed with Israel. It’s become more obvious with the recent debacle surrounding the Eurovision. It’s strange that such a tiny people, like the Jews, and such a small country, like Israel, should get so much focus. Why is that? Why have you heard about the Jews more than you’ve heard of the Zhuang people? There are 16 million Jews and 19 million Zhuangs in the world. Why is the world so involved in a territorial dispute in Israel, a tiny country the size of New Jersey, but no one cared about the civil war in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009, a country three times Israel’s size? … there is a spiritual dimension to it
Menorah installed at Western Wall ahead of Chanukah A traditional eight-branched candelabrum was installed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday ahead of the Chanukah festival, which begins on the evening of Dec. 14, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said. The bronze menorah, or chanukiyah, which measures some 6.5 by 6.5 feet, will be lit every evening during the eight-day holiday, which runs until Dec. 22, the foundation said in a statement.
Supreme Court likely to back Trump’s power to fire independent agency board members The court’s conservative majority suggested it would overturn a unanimous 90-year-old decision that has limited when presidents can fire agencies’ board members, or leave it with only its shell intact. Chief Justice John Roberts referred to the decision known as Humphrey’s Executor as “a dry husk.”
‘Fourth Reich’: Musk Strikes Back At EU ‘Tyrants’ After X Fine Elon Musk is not taking the outrageous fine from Brussels bureaucrats lying down, lashing out at EU officialdom for taking on Nazi characteristics and oppressing their own citizens’ best interests. Musk also re-shared a post about Irish teacher Enoch Burke, who was jailed for refusing to use transgender pronouns, and later replied to another user, “So many politicians in Europe who are traitors to their own people.” it’s punishment for not bending the knee to the EU’s iron-fisted control over online content.
Country music star accused of ‘Satanic ritual’ at show: ‘Evil does not hide anymore’ The Zac Brown Band opened up its “Love & Fear” residency at the Las Vegas Sphere Friday night and promptly freaked some folks out with the visuals. The Zac Brown Band performed at the Las Vegas Sphere,” Isaac’s Army wrote on X. “As you can see here he is performing a Satanic Ritual over his unsuspecting fans during the show. This is a classic case of Loosh harvesting.” “Zac Brown Band performed a demonic ritual at the sphere,” “Most of these concerts are energy harvesting rituals.” “Demonic … evil does not hide anymore,” Monica Keatts replied. “It’s celebrated.”
At least 23 people injured after rare 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan A powerful 7.5 earthquake struck off northern Japan on Dec. 9, triggering tsunami warnings and prompting evacuation of around 90,000 residents. 23 people were injured, including one seriously. Although all tsunami advisories have now been lifted, officials cautioned that strong aftershocks may continue for a week and stressed the importance of remaining prepared.
Why Is the Pacific Ring of Fire Shaking So Violently This Year? Should we be alarmed that there has been so much activity along the Pacific Ring of Fire lately? Every time that there is another major event, and that has been occurring quite frequently in recent weeks, the experts rush to tell us that what we are witnessing is perfectly normal. But is that really true? Late last month, I wrote an articleabout how volcanoes that have been dormant for ages are suddenly roaring to life all over the globe.
This Is How China Is Rapidly Becoming the World’s Most Dominant Economic Superpower I don’t want China to be the world’s most dominant economic superpower. I am an American, and so I want the United States to be the world’s most dominant economic superpower. Unfortunately, the facts that I am about to share with you in this article cannot be denied. We consume far more than we produce, and we go into colossal amounts of debt in order to make that possible. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that this makes us an economic superpower.
Left-Wing Vermont School District Raises Somali Flag Next to American Flag A woke Vermont school district hoisted a Somali flag on Friday, as Democrats around the country defend Somali migrants amid President Trump’s immigration crackdown and a growing fraud scandal in Minnesota’s Somali community. The City of Winooski made headlines two years ago after becoming the second city in the United States with an all-LGBTQ+ city council.
Trump’s NatSec Strategy release: On Monday, the White House released President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, which includes a 33-page blueprint laying out his policy agenda. In brief, Trump’s policy boils down to reasserting enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine and adding his own corollary. The document notes, “The goal is for our partner nations to build up their domestic economies, while an economically stronger and more sophisticated Western Hemisphere becomes an increasingly attractive market for American commerce and investment.” Focusing on an America First policy, the document states, “The choice all countries should face is whether they want to live in an American-led world of sovereign countries and free economies or in a parallel one in which they are influenced by countries on the other side of the world.”
Trump’s tariff bailout for farmers: President Trump has insisted that foreign nations are paying the bulk of the cost of his tariffs, but when trade negotiations with those countries are upended, some damage to Americans is inevitable. American farmers felt the pinch from tariffs and trade wars this year, especially soybean farmers, who saw their biggest foreign purchaser, China, boycott their product for most of this year. In October, a U.S.-China framework agreement was reached, under which China promised to buy 12 million tons of soybeans in the remainder of the year. Until then, Trump is taking $12 billion in tariff revenue and putting it toward a one-time payment meant to tide farmers over until next year, when trade is expected to be more normalized.
House moves to pass defense bill: The House is poised to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act this week, which includes several significant changes. Speaker Mike Johnson summarized these changes as “codifying 15 of President Trump’s executive orders, ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.” House Republicans want to quickly pass the legislation and send it to the Senate before Congress breaks for the Christmas recess. This NDAA sets a spending budget of $892.6 billion, which is $8 billion over what the White House requested. It includes a 4% pay raise for enlisted military personnel, officially ends the use-of-force authorization in the Middle East, and bans DEI-based and critical race theory programs. It also includes a provision, in light of Arctic Frost, requiring the FBI to notify Congress if it investigates candidates for federal office.
SCOTUS grants religious vaccine exemptions: In a win for parental rights and religious liberty, the Supreme Court erased a lower court ruling that had upheld New York’s strict school vaccine rules, which don’t allow religious exemptions. Amish parents living in New York protested the new regulations enacted in 2019, but their appeals were rejected in a federal district court and then the Second Circuit Court. The Supreme Court vacated the Second Circuit opinion, ordering the court to reconsider in light of a ruling from last term in a case challenging the lack of parental opt-outs to the LGBTQ diversity curriculum in Montgomery County, Maryland. Justice Samuel Alito hit the nail on the head when he wrote for the majority in that case, “Public education is a public benefit, and the government cannot ‘condition’ its ‘availability’ on parents’ willingness to accept a burden on their religious exercise.”
Trump signs EO blocking states from regulating AI: Artificial Intelligence, love it or hate it, is not going away. In light of that, many states have begun tackling the thorny problem of regulating AI. On the one hand, AI’s potential negative side effects are numerous and frightening; on the other hand, falling behind in the AI race could leave us defenseless against the AIs of hostile nations. Donald Trump and Big Tech executives seem convinced that falling behind in the race is the worst option. Trump explained that he would be signing a “one rule” national AI policy executive order this week. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 approvals every time they want to do something,” said Trump of the state-level regulations. Some Republicans like Ron DeSantis insist that states should be able to regulate AI, calling Trump’s moves “federal government overreach.”
Judge blocks Trump’s wind stoppage: U.S. District Judge Patti Saris sided with 17 states, Washington, DC, and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York when she ruled on Monday that Donald Trump’s executive order to pause wind farm permits was illegal. Saris wrote, “After review of the parties’ submissions and a hearing, the Court concludes that the Wind Order constitutes a final agency action that is arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order pausing wind farm permits to assess the Biden administration’s permitting process and whether the permits posed potential harm. Trump reversed Biden’s anti-fossil fuel policies and, in turn, has squelched development of pricey renewable energy projects. Environmental groups hailed this ruling as a big win.
Harmeet Dhillon to fight anti-2A laws: The Department of Justice has launched a Second Amendment section to challenge onerous state-level laws that amount to restrictions on the right to bear arms. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division will be taking up the Second Amendment fight on behalf of citizens. Dhillon has agreed with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said that the “Second Amendment is not a second-class right.” Some state regulations expected to face challenges include multi-thousand-dollar concealed carry permit applications, unreasonably long delays, and specific gun bans. “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” For once, Americans have a DOJ that remembers that fact.
Fuentes is a phony influencer: A Hitler-admirer and Stalin-fanboy, online provocateur Nick Fuentes has been viewed as a growing influencer on the right, and especially so following his softball interview with Tucker Carlson. Indeed, Fuentes used the publicity to claim his supposed influence among young conservatives surpasses that of the late Charlie Kirk. However, a recent report reveals that most of Fuentes’s supposed followers are fake. According to a report released Monday by the Network Contagion Research Institute, 92% of Fuentes’s 1.1 million followers on X are anonymous, and retweet at a velocity that outpaces Elon Musk’s 229.5 million followers. In other words, the vast majority of Fuentes’s followers are artificial. Furthermore, half of Fuentes’s retweets come from followers located outside the U.S., concentrated in India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These places are notorious for bot farms.
Zelensky rejects land for peace: The leaked peace proposal that the Trump administration hoped would finally end the four-year Russo-Ukrainian war called for Ukraine to cede territory that Russia has taken, and even some territory it has not. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has now rejected that point of the proposal outright, saying his country cannot give anything away: “That is what we are fighting for.” Many have commented that the proposal, which was widely touted as the best path to peace so far, seemed to favor the Kremlin heavily. That may be because Russia shows no sign of wanting peace. Ending the war may be the most prominent concession diplomats could hope for from Russia. Ukrainian and European leaders insist that Ukraine needs stronger protections in any peace plan, but they continue to insist that this requires American cooperation, which the Trump administration seems unwilling to provide.
Trump watches: People watching NewsMax have likely seen ads for Trump Watches, featuring Donald Trump giving the tag-line “It’s Trump time.” These watches range in price from $499 to $2,999, with one made of pure gold having sold for $100,000. The question is whether this is Trump’s watch company and whether he is using his office to sell his products and enrich himself. The answer to both counts is no. Trump Watches are from the company TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, which has no direct association with Trump. The company merely has licensed Trump’s name, image, and likeness, a long-standing practice for Trump. Some other examples include Trump vodka and Trump wrapping paper, which he has no direct involvement in producing or selling. While some may see this as off-putting, Trump is not doing anything illegal. Furthermore, American presidents in the modern era have been used to market watches.
Headlines
ABC makes Jimmy Kimmel contract decision after yanking him off air over Charlie Kirk comments (New York Post)
Alina Habba becomes Bondi advisor, leaving role as top New Jersey prosecutor (Fox News)
Trump warns Europe to be “very careful” after EU slaps Musk’s X with $140 million fine (Washington Examiner)
The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case yesterday that could have drastic implications for our system of three, not four, constitutional branches of government.
Nate Jackson
In plain language, our Constitution established three branches of government. Not four, which the Supreme Court considered yesterday in Trump v. Slaughter.
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” likewise laid this out: “Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.”
It’s that simple, really, but I suppose I should also quote the Constitution. Article I, Section 1 created Congress: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” Article II, Section 1 begins, “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” Likewise, Article III, Section 1 says, “The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
The unconstitutional so-called fourth branch, often dubbed the administrative state, traces its roots primarily to President Woodrow Wilson. An academic, Wilson wasn’t a fan of the Constitution, particularly the limits it put on the executive. Arguably, he, more than any other president, is responsible for the administrative state of “experts” who determine much of what the federal government actually does now.
Congress regularly avails itself of the advantages of delegating its work to unelected bureaucrats, too. Why make hard decisions when you can campaign on blaming someone else in another branch?
In 1914, Wilson signed the law creating the Federal Trade Commission, consisting of five commissioners appointed by the president. In 1935, the Supreme Court effectively certified this “body of experts” arrangement in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, concluding that President Franklin Roosevelt could not fire an FTC commissioner except “for cause.” In other words, a president can’t just fire his predecessor’s people and install his own.
That case established the precedent of “independent” agencies ostensibly protected from the — gasp — politics of presidential decisions about firings. However, these agencies are independent only in that the unelected bureaucrats who run them are largely unaccountable to the voters they rule.
As Ben Shapiro aptly notes, “There is nowhere in the Constitution where it says Congress has the power to set up an agency inside the executive branch that the president of the United States cannot run.”
Fast-forward to President Donald Trump, who fired FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter; predictably, she sued. Lower courts, following Humphrey’s, ordered her reinstated, but Trump has pursued the case all the way to the Supreme Court, hoping for a critical overturning of a terrible precedent.
Team Trump’s brief to the Court explains the FTC’s power over all manner of economic transactions and that the elected president must have authority over an executive agency that otherwise wields power unaccountably.
By contrast, Slaughter’s team essentially argues that overturning 90 years of precedent would “profoundly destabilize” the government. Yes, returning something to constitutional bounds would indeed “destabilize” the current government, as intended.
The Leftmedia buys Slaughter’s argument, however. Article after article frets about the horrors of “politicizing” such independent agencies, as if no such thing has ever happened until Donald Trump.
The Court’s left-wing justices also seemed sympathetic to this argument yesterday. For example, Justice Elena Kagan worried, “You end up with massive, unchecked power in the hands of the president.”
Similarly, Justice Sonia Sotomayor lamented that overturning Humphrey’s would give “absolute power to the president.” Over the executive branch, yes, that is what the Constitution says. Yet she turned that venerated document on its head, adding, “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government, and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent.”
No, Team Trump is asking the Court to restore the constitutional structure of government.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson channeled Woodrow Wilson, opining, “My understanding was that independent agencies exist because Congress has decided that some issues, some matters, some areas, should be handled in this way by nonpartisan experts.” She went on, “So, having a president come in and fire all the scientists, and the doctors, and the economists, and the PhDs, and replacing them with loyalists, and people who don’t know anything, is actually not in the best interest of the citizens of the United States.”
Joe Biden, who appointed Jackson to the Court, showed how well “government by the scientists” works.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh may have had that in mind when he said, “I think broad delegations to unaccountable independent agencies raise enormous constitutional and real-world problems for individual liberty.”
As for the precedent at play, Chief Justice John Roberts doesn’t think much of it. “Humphrey’s Executor is just a dried husk of whatever people used to think it was,” Roberts said. The FTC of 1935 “has nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today,” he added. “It was addressing an agency that hadn’t very little, if any, executive power.”
Obviously, it remains to be seen how the Court will rule — for example, whether it will endorse presidential authority over the Federal Reserve or find some other way to limit it. Presidents have certainly overstepped their constitutional bounds on many issues, but the Constitution is as clear as day about where executive authority rests.
Douglas Andrews: NYT Tries to Rewrite Immigration History — Only now, five years after the fact, is The New York Times reporting that Joe Biden and his top advisers failed to heed the warning of the “experts” who saw the border crisis coming.
Jack DeVine: War Crime? — If we paid more attention to real problems — like drug trafficking — and less to political gotcha games, we’d be better off.
Emmy Griffin: School Tech Tanks Learning — Laptops in elementary school and iPads for recess have crippled our kids’ academics by taking away physical tools for learning retention.
Michael Smith: The New Nullification — How Democrat leaders are turning political disagreement into a license for defying lawful authority.
Reader Comments
Editor’s Note: Each week we receive hundreds of comments and correspondences — and we read every one of them. Click here for a few thought-provoking comments about specific articles. The views expressed therein don’t necessarily reflect those of The Patriot Post.
MTG Gives Ridiculous Interview on CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ — In a bombshell episode of CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired on December 7, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) delivered a candid, fiery critique of her former political idol, President Donald Trump.
SHORT CUTS
Braying Jenny
“[Erika Kirk] should be kicked to the curb. She is an absolute grifter just like Donald Trump and just like her unrepentant racist, homophobic husband was!” —Jennifer Welch
Demo Dumbass
“If we don’t democratize our economy and allow for the distribution of wealth, our democracy will die.” —Gavin Newsom
Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes
“The workforce needs our dreams, our skills, our tenacity. With the DREAM Act, we can make sure what we’ve done so far is only the beginning. … We are essential, we are driven, we are the future.” —an illegal alien and DACA recipient
Belly Laugh of the Day
“Look at it on the bright side, Democrats. Now that all these drug smugglers are dead, there’s a good chance they’ll vote for you in the next election.” —Jimmy Failla
Make it Make Sense
“2021-2024 Liberals: Illegals don’t get benefits funded by American taxpayers. 2025 Liberals: Don’t take benefits away from illegals.” —HUD Secretary Scott Turner
Celebrity Celebration
“I think he’s extraordinary. He’s one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had. Maybe the greatest.” —Kelsey Grammer on Donald Trump
Re: Mass Migration
“The end game was to permanently change the electorate of the U.S. Which is why we need mass deportations” —Ryan James Girdusky, explaining Biden’s immigration policy
For the Record
“For decades the belief in a two-state solution as the key to peace in the Middle East has been all but unchallenged in policy circles. Diplomats recite it reflexively, as if the mere expression of ‘two states for two peoples’ evokes a truth so self-evident that no rational mind could fail to see it.” —Jeff Jacoby
The Christmas Spirit
“During this holy season, Christians everywhere rejoice at the miracle in Bethlehem, more than 2,000 years ago, when the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, came down from heaven to be with us. Full of grace and truth, He brought the gift of God’s love into the world and the promise of salvation for every person and every nation.” —President Donald Trump
ON THIS DAY in 1775, a force of Patriots defeated a contingent of the British army along with some loyalists at Great Bridge, Virginia. The victory drove the British out of Virginia for a time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set for another meeting with President Trump, to discuss phase two of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, even though Hamas says it won’t disarm; Netanyahu says Gaza must be ‘deradicalized;’ Israel raids UNRWA offices in East Jerusalem for unpaid property taxes; Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as that country’s Foreign Minister says Hezbollah is buying time to regain power; Chris Mitchell talks about the possibility Israel might have to fight Hamas again if it refuses to lay down its weapons, what Netanyahu means when he talks about deradicalizing Gaza, the ties between Hamas and UNRWA, and the concerns over Hezbollah rebuilding in Lebanon; Chinese authorities arrested Pastor Ezra Jin in October, along with more than a dozen leaders of Zion Church, and the pastor’s wife and daughter talk with CBN News about the ongoing efforts to set them free; as parents shop for toys this Christmas season, a look at the potential dangers of some toys with AI chatbots included, as they can get involved in inappropriate conversations with kids, or encourage them to play with dangerous objects; and the unique way one Christian university holds a “Silent Night” celebration during a basketball game in the Christmas season.
Mary welcomes John Haller to chat about what the world thinks about itself as we approach another revolution around the sun. Since 1986, The Economist has published it’s very own version of short-term prophecy as it relates to the upcoming year. Their covers alone for this issue are worth looking at, seeing at a glance what they think are critical issues that will carry over. Of course, we have the sure word of prophecy to give us the big Kodak, but it’s still fascinating to take it apart and see what they expect. Topics this year include Europe, war and peace, Ai, climate, and geopolitics. One of the biggest celebrations will be America’s 250th – unfortunately, every revisionist and political self-interest group will have a spin, and it will be nothing like 1976. Although, nothing resembles 1976 anyway but really, they will find a way to divide us further and ruin the whole event. The wild card really is Trump, and as John says, this is Trump’s world, we are merely living in it. We never know what to expect. We also get an update from John on his 2 Israel trips this fall. A full hour with one of the best news cycle analysts around.
The 1st Ambassadors’ Summit commissioned 1000 pastors to stand with Israel & combat antisemitism. Analysis: Yigal Carmon on Qatar, Dr. Carol Swain on biblical prophecy & the US role. And, Christmas in Jerusalem. Want more news from a Christian Perspective? Choose to support CBN: https://go.cbn.com/ugWBn CBN News. Because Truth Matters™
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) took another step to protect Floridians by officially declaring the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organizations.
DeSantis shared Executive Order 25-244, noting, “EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support.”
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.
Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these… pic.twitter.com/2s48yYfEg7
DeSantis also noted, “Members of the FL Legislature are crafting legislation to stop the creep of sharia law, and I hope that they codify these protections for Floridians against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation.”
Members of the FL Legislature are crafting legislation to stop the creep of sharia law, and I hope that they codify these protections for Floridians against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation. https://t.co/w3QVW2qOre
The Gateway Pundit reported that in November, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
The move bans the organizations from buying or acquiring land in Texas and authorizes the Attorney General to sue to shut them down.
Governor Abbott noted, “The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.’”
“The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable.”
“Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
In November, President Trump issued an Executive Order designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
This order sets in motion a process by which certain chapters or other subdivisions of the Muslim Brotherhood shall be considered for designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, consistent with section 219 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1189) and specially designated global terrorists, consistent with IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702), and Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism), as amended.
BREAKING: DESANTIS DECLARES THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD A TERROR THREAT — SO WILL FLORIDA FINALLY INVESTIGATE THE BROTHERHOOD DYNASTY OPERATING RIGHT UNDER HIS NOSE?
Ukrainian officials are prioritizing self-enrichment over seeking a sustainable resolution to the conflict, the SVR has claimed
Kiev has reportedly devised a new scheme to steal Western taxpayer money by purchasing artillery shells at heavily inflated prices, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has claimed.
The SVR described the alleged scheme in a statement on Tuesday. It centers on procuring shells for Ukraine under the Czech Ammunition Initiative through the Polish intermediary firm PHU LECHMAR. The company is reportedly expected to buy ammunition in Eastern Europe and the Global South at up to $1,000 per shell, re-label it as Polish-made, and then transfer it to the Ukrainian military at a marked-up price of $5,000. The supplies would reportedly be financed by the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway and other Western states.
“Financial kickbacks for responsible officials from the specified states are naturally accounted for,” the SVR noted.
The agency’s allegations come amid continued reports of rampant corruption in Kiev’s senior ranks. Ukrainian Western-backed anti-corruption agencies have accused Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Vladimir Zelensky, of running a $100 million kickback scheme. The probe has triggered the resignation of several ministers, as well as Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak.
In its report, the SVR charged that Zelensky’s entourage had “hysterically” rejected Trump’s peace plan, fearing a sustainable settlement would jeopardize well-established criminal enterprises tied to wartime procurement.
“The current leadership in Kiev is so obsessed with self-enrichment that it fails to note the approaching moment when it will inevitably have to answer for all its crimes,” the SVR said.
Russian officials have argued that corruption in Ukraine has spiraled out of control with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing the issue as “hardly a Ukrainian internal matter” given that it is “foreign money that is being stolen.”
Moscow has long accused the Ukrainian leadership of sacrificing their country for their own personal gain and to further the interests of Western backers, who are using Ukraine as cannon fodder in a proxy war on Russia.
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