Recent political events in Canada expose another false prophet

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:22

For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. Ecclesiastes 5:3

The wisest prophets make sure of the event first. Horace Walpole

On January 6, 2025, Justin Trudeau announced his intention to resign after more than nine years as Prime Minister of Canada. His resignation took effect on March 14 when he was succeeded as Prime Minister by Mark Carney, who had succeeded Mr. Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada on March 19. Mr. Carney obtained a dissolution of Parliament several days later, and a federal election was called for April 28. The election resulted in the Liberals winning their fourth straight minority government, their total of 169 seats falling three short of the total required for a majority of the 343 seats in the House of Commons.

The result must have come as a shock to Solomon Davies Ikhuiwu, founder and leader of God Heal Our Land, a charismatic ministry that typically misuses II Chronicles 7:14, applying it to Canada instead of Israel. As reported by Lee Harding of the Western Standard, April 12, 2025 (link, photo in original):

Solomon Davies (right) and Pierre Poilievre in Hamilton in Ottawa 2024 (Photo credit: Solomon Davies)

Two prominent Canadian Christian leaders are turning to prayer as the federal election draws near, fervent in their belief that the result is at stake.

Hamilton evangelist Solomon Davies launched the Canada Prayer Challenge at the end of January. The online prayer meeting was only meant to last 40 evenings, but still continues due to the importance of the election campaign.

In an interview with Western Standard, Davies said he attended an event on Parliament Hill with seven pastors from his area last October. recalled asking Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for permission to pray for him in person, which he received.

"The Lord wanted me to tell him that he will be the next prime minister of Canada. This was what I told him October of last year. And I was so sure of what I said to him, because whenever God speaks to me, I run with the word."

The minister said he saw Poilievre again at a well-attended rally in Hamilton two weeks ago and encouraged him again.

"I was like, 'Hey, we're praying for you.' He was like, 'Yeah, we need your prayers.'"

Davies said being a prophetic voice is outside his typical ministry. Nevertheless, he believes a dream he had on April 6 carried divine significance.

"In my dream, Pierre was about to give his victory speech from the campaign the election, I'm close to the front and I'm excited. I'm in anticipation."

However, Poilievre did not emerge as expected.

"To my surprise, the person that came out of the door was not Pierre. It was actually a pastor who was an intercessor [person of prayer] for the nation. I saw my dream, he is praying over the crowd, not on the microphone."

Davies declined to name the man, given he did not have his permission to do so, but believes that he symbolically represents the Church.

"It's almost like the Lord has left it to the church not only to go vote or to campaign for for righteous leaders, to go door knocking for them, to volunteer for them, but the most important thing besides...is praying for this election," Davies said.

"If the church gets lazy, we don't pray, we don't fast, anything can happen, because there's such a thing as election fraud, right?"

From New Brunswick, My Canada founder Faytene Grasseschi sent an email blast on Tuesday to urge Christians to pray for the election.

"Over the last few days, I have felt an increasingly strong impression that I need to fast for our nation. The urgency was growing," Grasseschi wrote.

"This morning, one of my dear friends, Shirley Hildebrandt, messaged me to let me know that TODAY is the 21st day to the federal election and she was feeling to call a fast.

"As soon as I read Shirley's message, I knew that this was what the Lord had been trying to speak to me: a 21-Day Fast."

Hildebrandt is hosting daily prayer calls over Zoom at Noon Eastern through April 29. Grasseschi is organizing an online national day of prayer for Holy Thursday, April 17, which will run from 11 am to 5 pm Eastern.

"We know what is at stake: (possibly) charity status for churches and Christian ministries, increasing debt, a federal unity crisis, parental rights, expanding assisted suicide even more...just to start," Grasseschi said.

"I feel weepy. It is time to cry out for mercy for our land. We don't deserve it, but perhaps He will give it if we humble ourselves and pray."

The website of God Heal Our Land doesn't seem to have been updated recently; it would be interesting to hear Mr. Ikhuiwu's explanation of how God had given him a prophecy that proved to be false. This is the kind of self-deception that happens when you believe that God speaks to you directly through dreams instead of just relying on the Bible, which is the only completely trustworthy source of prophecy.

As for the election, this blogger regars the result as more evidence that Canada is already under God's judgement, and that's likely to continue until He returns.

Nigerian primate and "prophet" warns Peoples Democratic Party of satanic forces

The Peoples Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in Nigeria, and is regarded as being on the center-right of the political spectrum. Its candidates won every presidential election from 1999-2011, but the PDP's share of the popular vote has been declining in recent years, not only in presidential but in congressional elections. INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church is led by Primate Elijah Ayodele, who is described as "God's Mouthpiece, Global Prophet, Father of Nations, Great Leader, A Teacher." Readers are advised to remember the following warning when the Nigerian elections occur in 2027. As reported by Seun Opejobi of the Lagos Daily Post, March 14, 2025:

The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, on Friday revealed that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may not have a presidential candidate in 2027 if the party doesn’t wake up from its slumber.

Primate Ayodele stated that the party needs to retrace its steps, as there are satanic forces in place aiming to ruin it completely.

In a statement by his spokesman, Oluwatosin Osho, Primate Ayodele said that even if the PDP eventually has a legally recognized candidate, the party will lose disgracefully.

He said: ‘‘If care isn’t taken, PDP will lose in 2027 unless they retrace their steps and undergo a total cleansing. PDP will not even come second, let alone third, in the election. There are satanic forces that will ruin PDP until the party dies unless they wake up.”

The prophet stated that the party must turn to God in order to survive because it is rapidly declining, and those who have the power to save it are neither listening nor willing to implement the necessary reforms.

“They need to run to God, or else the party won’t survive 2027. PDP is dying rapidly, and those who can save it won’t listen. In some states, like Lagos, the party’s candidate will not stand a chance. If care isn’t taken, PDP may not even be able to produce a candidate in 2027 because there is a satanic spell on them. Important personalities will continue to decamp,” he said.

However, he stated that the party still has 91 days to begin the process of getting back on track, or else it will only take God’s mercy for a resurrection.

“The party has 91 days to start the process of getting back on track because the spirit of hatred and irritation has been invoked against PDP, and it will only take the mercy of God for them to rise again,” he added.

Bad fruit from false prophets in Malawi leads government to consider regulating religious practices

Unquestioningly accepting the pronouncements of alleged prophets instead of being a Berean and checking them against the Bible (Acts 17:11) is always a bad idea. If religious freedom ends up being restricted in Malawi, it will be because of the words and actions of the false prophets. It doesn't say much for the discernment of the followers of these false prophets that they're less able to recognize false teachers than are government authorities. Perceptive readers can't help but notice a disproportionate number of women among the false prophets mentioned in the following articles.

As reported by Thomas Kachere in the Malawi Times News, July 12, 2024:

Fifty-two-year-old Ebel Manyamul has been paralysed for almost his entire life.

His facts of life are that when he was aged three, he suffered from leprosy.

From then on, he has been physically challenged.

Just that, as a member of a Christian fellowship, Manyamula held on to the faith that, one day, he would walk again.

Ans the 'good news' he had been waiting for came on Tuesday, April 16, this year when Manyamula, who comes from Mangirani Village in Chriadzulu District, heard that a servant of God from Nsanje, Prophetess Jersey Window, would be in his village for a night-long prayer session.

Scriptures were recited and songs of praise sang.

Before long, some of the congregants started testifying about what God had done to their lives, changing their lives from bad to good.

When it came to Manyamula's turn, the prophetess prayed for him, surrounded by some congregants who were trampling on his feet, as ordered by the Prophetess.

This is according to the version from the court that handled the case.

A medical report in our possession shows that, after the activities of April 16 this year, Ebel had 12 stitches for wounds on both legs.

According to Ebel's brother Joseph, Ebel became physically challenged when he was...3.

"We were saddened with the development," he said.

Times, which was the first media house to break the story online--nmely on Times 360 Malawi--managed to engage the prophetess on the issue before she was arrested and taken to court.

In that interview, Window indicated that she was ready "to die for Jesus Christ."

Before long, Chiradzulu Police Station officers arrested her.

The prophetess was remanded to Blantyre Prison, also known as Chichiri, as confirmed by Edward Kabango, spokesperson for South East Region Police.

They also arrested two more suspects, namely 32-year-old Veronica Wyson and 30-year-old Marita Wyson from Mangirani Village, Traditional Authority Nchema, in Chiradzulu District for causing grievous bodily harm to Ebel.

Then on Thursday, May 30, 2024, Chiradzulu First Grade Magistrate Smart Maruwasa convicted the three and ordered them to pay K150,000.00 each.

He ordered that the money be used for compensating the victim.

Meanwhile, Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance Executive Director Victor Mhango has condemned men and women of God who go beyond limits.

"Justice should be seen to be done, even on people of God who go beyond the limits," Mhango said.

As reported by Pemphero Malimba of the Malawi Times News, August 14, 2024:

Amid troubling incidents involving harm or death in the name of religious healings and exorcisms, the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (Chreaa) has renewed calls for the government to regulate practices of religious leaders in the country.

Last month, a four-year-old child, who was purportedly a prophetess in Kasungu, allegedly instructed her 40-year-old mother, Ireen Banda, to flog four children who had sickle cell anaemia and Down syndrome as a supposed cure.

Banda, who remains in police custody, is alleged to have severely beaten the children all over their bodies, leading to their deaths.

In April this year, police in Chiradzulu arrested a 74-year-old female preacher, Jessie Window, for allegedly directing members of her ministry to straighten the legs of a man with a physical disability in an attempt to heal him through "prayers."

The man sustained injuries and was hospitalised for several days.

These incidents, among others, have ignited debate about regulating religious practices while respecting the freedom of worship.

In an interview Tuesday, Chreaa Executive Director Victor Mhango said such regulation would help alleviate the challenges some Malawians face due to the misconduct of certain religious leaders.

"Many Malawians are being deceived and some have been assaulted, harassed and even sexually abused by so-called men of God.

"We believe the government is aware of these issues; so, we are calling on it to ensure that these religious institutions are regulated," Mhango said.

He added that many people in the country accept whatever comes from religious leaders as the true word of God.

"It is high time Malawians recognised that many of these individuals are false prophets, merely advancing their own agendas," Mhango charged.

Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) General Secretary Reverend Francis Mkandawire supports these calls.

Mkandawire emphasised the need for increased dialogue between the government and religious bodies.

"Regulation is unavoidable at this point. The government must implement it.

"However, we recommend that if regulations are introduced, there must be extensive consultations with religious bodies to address the issues," Mkandawire said.

He cautioned that failing to consult may infringe on the rights of legitimate religious groups.

"If the government introduces regulations without consultations, it may impose restrictions on religious bodies that are operating properly," he added.

Public Affairs Committee Publicity Secretary Bishop Gilford Matonga prefers self-regulation within the religious sector.

Matonga said if all churches or institutions were affiliated with religious mother bodies, such as the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, the Malawi Council of Churches and EAM, these organisations could discipline members who act contrary to religious teaching.

"At present, people can choose whether or not to join these bodies," Matonga said.

He also highlighted the need for a dedicated government ministry for religious affairs.

"Currently, we have only a presidential adviser on religious affairs, which is inadequate. A ministry that could formulate policies would be more effective if the policies were developed with input from the community," Matonga said.

Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said the government would consider calls for the regulation of religious practices, provided it does not impact legitimate spiritual practices.

"Any criminal activity by a pastor or an ordinary person is punishable by law. If a sector, perceived as sacred, requires regulation to prevent it from evading legal scrutiny, we need to address it.

"However, if the regulation does not affect genuine spiritual practice, we should engage in that conversation," Kunkuyu said.

This was how demon-possessed criminals were dealt with in the Canadian Arctic in the 1920s

This has long been one of my favourite headlines; as reported in the Edmonton Bulletin, October 2, 1929 (capitals, bold in original).

ESKIMO GETS RELIGION AND SLAYS THREE

---------------------

Insane Native Then Pushed Through Hole In Ice By Tribesmen

Canadian Press

OTTAWA, Oct. 2--Believed by the authorities to have been a victim of the wave of religious mania, which swept over this lonely land about ten years ago, a young Eskimo inhabitant of the interior of the southern portion of Baffin Land became demented and shot and killed his two parents and a young woman relation. He shot at but missed his brother. The Eskimo tribe of which he was formerly a law-abiding member, kept him in close confinement through a long winter but in the spring, after he had twice escaped their vigilance, pushed him through a hole and drowned him beneath the ice of the sub-Arctic.

The story, almost unbelievable in its complications forms a part of a routine report of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers at Lake Harbor, Baffin Land, and will be incorporated in the annual report of the R.C.M.P. now being prepared at headquarters here.

Sergeant J.F.C. White in charge of the detachment at Lake Harbor reported that last winter, accompanied by Constable P. Dersch he made a long patrol through a section of southern Baffin Island where white men were unknown before the great war. He learned the story from the tribe in which the tragedy occurred.

Heard Voice From Heaven

The report stated that Mako Gliak, a young man became obsessed with the idea that he was a purifier of his race. He told his relatives he had heard a voice from Heaven telling him to kill all his people. He promptly proceeded to put this mission into operation.

The names of those he murdered were not ascertained by the police, although they were told Mako's parents and a young woman related to him were shot before the rest of the tribe overpowered him.

As Mako was obviously under a devilish spell, the Eskimos did not know what to do with him. The nearest post, Lake Harbor, was 500 miles away, and they had no means of making such a long journey with a madman. They bound him up with thongs of sealskin and kept him under guard in an igloo all winter. About March of the following year (1926) members of the group decided that they could not keep him any longer. They told police the men of the tribe were all worn out, by this time in maintaining a sharp vigilance lest Mako should escape and continue his crazy plan.

Pushed Through Ice

They summoned him before a meeting of the whole family one day, and told him he had to die. The gave him his choice of the manner of death. He could be shot, stabbed, or drowned--whichever he preferred.

But Mako did not widh to die, they told police. However his end was decided upon, and a hole was made in the ice. He was pushed through this and river currents carried him to his death.

No official action is contemplated, officials of the R.C.M.P. said. In making public the report from the north.

It is believed that the Eskimo tribe was actuated by motives of self-defence. Such occurrences are not unknown in the territory patrolled by Canada's silent watchmen of the North.

The district in which the deaths occurred is on a river which runs from Adjuak Lake into Nellfilling Lake in southern Baffin Land. The first white man to cross this lonely land was a German, and two years after the Great War it was penetrated again by Major L.T. Burwash, noted Canadian Arctic investigator of the Yukon and Northwest Territories branch. Occasionally since that time, R.C.M.P. officers have patrolled the district but no white man has visited the scene since the fall of 1925 when the youth went mad.

R.C.M.P. officials said a religious mania of this nature is not uncommon among the semi-civilized peoples of the north.

140 years ago: U.S. President James A. Garfield dies after being shot by a pseudo-Christian utopian socialist

On September 19, 1881, James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States of America, died at the age of 49. He had been shot in the back on July 2 at a train station in Washington. His wound was probably survivable, and it's been speculated that his death resulted not so much from the wound as from infection caused by poking and prodding by his doctors with unwashed hands using unsterilized instruments in an effort to find the bullet.

Mr. Garfield had taken office on March 4 and had made civil service reform a priority of his presidency. The assassin, Charles Guiteau, was an unsuccessful lawyer from Chicago who has been largely passed over in the history books as simply a deranged office-seeker. However, the history books have overlooked, as Paul Harvey would say, "The rest of the story."

Charles Guiteau, the fourth of six children, was born on September 8, 1841 in Freeport, Illinois and moved with his family to Ulao, Wisconsin in 1850, moving back to Freeport with his father after his mother died in 1855. He failed the entrance examinations for the University of Michigan, and abandoned remedial studies.

Mr. Guiteau's father Luther was closely affiliated with the Oneida Community in Oneida, New York. The United States of the mid-19th century contained a number of utopian sects, and the Oneida Community, founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848, was one of them. Mr. Noyes was influenced by the preaching of Charles G. Finney, the "Father of American revivalism," and underwent a religious conversion at the age of 20 in 1831; he claimed to be a Christian, but eventually embraced the unbiblical doctrine that believers can attain sinless perfection in this life. He studied at Dartmouth College, Andover Theological Seminary, and Yale Theological College, and while at Yale, came to the conclusion that the second coming of Christ had occurred in A.D. 70 and that "mankind was now living in a new age."

Mr. Noyes was a Perfectionist--he believed that it was possible for man to be free from sin in this lifetime--and on February 20, 1834, he declared himself perfect and free from sin. Mr. Noyes' declaration provoked outrage from Yale Theological College, and he was expelled and stripped of his recently-earned license to preach. Mr. Noyes returned home to Putney, Vermont, where he continued to preach his Perfectionist doctrines. In 1847 he was arrested for adultery, and he and some followers fled to Oneida, where he established a community in 1848, raising canned fruits and vegetables, and achieving success in various industries, including the silverware trade. The Oneida Community, which practiced communalism, complex marriage, male sexual continence, and mutual criticism, grew to over 300 members by 1878, and had branches in other locales.

Charles Guiteau joined the Oneida Community in June 1860 at the age of 18, and expressed perfect confidence in Mr. Noyes and his teachings. Despite the community's practice of group marriage, Mr. Guiteau was generally rejected by women during his five years there. He left twice, returning once and then leaving for good, filing several lawsuits against Mr. Noyes, demanding payment for work he had done on behalf of the community. Mr. Guiteau studied law, but failed in a brief career as a lawyer and at several other jobs. He met and married librarian Annie Bunn in 1869, but was abusive to her. Mr. Guiteau eventually reinvented himself as a theologian, although his writing on the subject was largely plagiarized from Mr. Noyes. He was increasingly convinced that his actions--which included defrauding clients--were divinely inspired, but by 1875 Luther Guiteau was convinced that his son was possessed by Satan.

Charles Guiteau turned his interest to politics, originally supporting former President U.S. Grant for the 1880 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination, and then supporting Mr. Garfield after the latter won the nomination. Mr. Guiteau believed his support had been crucial to Mr. Garfield's electoral victory, and made repeated personal requests--always rebuffed--for a consulship in Paris. By July 2, 1881, Mr. Guiteau was convinced that God wanted Mr. Garfield "removed."

In contrast to today, justice was swift in 1881. On October 14, Mr. Guiteau was charged with murder. His trial began on November 17; a plea of temporary insanity was unsuccessful, and he was convicted on January 25, 1882 and sentenced to death. On June 1, he composed a lengthy poem claiming that God had commanded him to kill President Garfield in order to prevent Secretary James G. Blaine’s "scheming" to war with Chile and Peru. Mr. Guiteau also accused Chester Arthur, who had succeeded Mr. Garfield as President, of the "basest ingratitude" for not pardoning him when he knew that the death of Mr. Garfield had saved the United States.

Mr. Guiteau was hanged in Washington, D.C. on June 30, 1882 at the age of 40. While on the scaffold, he recited a poem he had composed titled I am Going to the Lordy.

Charismaniac dominionist drivel in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada

The kind of nonsense that is typical of charismaniacs and dominionists is now infecting mainstream evangelicalism. An example is provided by Lorilee Jespersen, who, according to her biographical entry, has been working with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada in the St. Lawrence District for 20 years. In both English and French (click on the link for both languages), Ms. Jespersen stated, on January 18, 2021:

As we were preparing for District Conference 2019, our St Lawrence District team felt the Lord’s prompting to engage in a time of corporate confession similar to that of the previous General Assembly, but particularly focused on Quebec and our realities here. A group of pastors and intercessors discerned a number of key issues that God seemed to be highlighting as common sins or struggles needing to be overcome for those of us working in this part of God’s Kingdom. We carefully went to work to prepare a time of guided prayer for all the delegates.

I was primarily responsible for the last category—discouragement and despair—feelings that sometimes come on us while working in the hard ground of Quebec. I was having difficulty knowing exactly how to finish the prayer and I had left it open, waiting for God’s direction. The morning of the district conference, God seemed to wake me up with a somewhat strange message to “taste the rainbow,” and a picture of a package of Skittles. As I shared this with the others involved we had a collective sense that God wanted us to push back the discouragement, and instead renew our sense of hope and belief in His promises for this place. As a prophetic act I bought Skittles for all the participants. We handed them out to everyone and claimed the rainbow as our God-given symbol of His promises, making some very clear and faith-filled declarations over Quebec.

Since the COVID-19 crisis, Quebec—Montreal in particular—has displayed rainbows as an act of hope. They are in windows, at the airport, in various boroughs across the city, and on billboards all around us. Even famous structures such as the Jacques Cartier Bridge, the Big O, and the downtown Marriott Hotel display rainbow-coloured lights every evening. Quebecois graphic designer, Karine Perreault, is the person behind the rainbow that is featured on profile pictures on Facebook.

When I began to see the rainbow appear around me, my mind went to that moment at the District Conference when we claimed the rainbow as a symbol of God’s promises, and declared with faith that God is moving, and is going to move, in mighty ways in this place. We continue to believe this is true, and many are pressing on in prayer for spiritual awakening through this crisis. Stories are beginning to emerge of prodigals coming home. My husband and I have recently had the privilege of helping people who were once associated with our youth ministry return to the Father.

With all my heart I believe that the rainbow we see in windows and on buildings is not a human effort to make us feel better, but it is an indication that God is mightily at work here and everywhere right now. We are tasting the rainbow even now. We will see the fulfillment of His promises for this place.

Those familiar with the excesses of charismania will be familiar with assertions such as "God seemed to wake me up with a somewhat strange message..." The phrase "taste the rainbow" is nowhere found in the Bible, which leads me to question whether the message Ms. Jespersen received came from God; it seems more likely that it may have been the result of something she ate. Since when is buying Skittles a "prophetic act?"

Claiming the rainbow "as our God-given symbol of His promises, making some very clear and faith-filled declarations over Quebec" is the language of dominionism. In fact, the rainbow represents just one promise from God--that He will never again cover the Earth with a flood to destroy all flesh:

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:12-17

It should be noted that God's promise not to destroy all flesh with a flood is represented my the appearance of actual rainbows in the sky, not pictorial depictions. While the rainbow is God's symbol of His covenant, it's been hijacked in recent decades by New Agers and alphabet perverts as a symbol of their agenda. The rainbows that Ms. Jespersen sees on display in Montreal may very well be intended to represent these anti-Christ agendas. While I sympathize with Ms. Jespersen's frustration at working in a spiritually barren place such as Quebec, she's claiming, on the basis of an alleged message from God that isn't found in the Bible, that God has promised something for Quebec that He hasn't necessarily promised; this is the attitude and language of dominionism. Her husband should correct her on her false doctrine, and so should the leaders in her church. The fact that the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada puts this on its website for public consumption is an indication of the lack of discernment in the C&MA, and doesn't bode well for the future of the denomination.

Israeli communications minister promises investigation after GOD TV subsidiary begins broadcasting in Israel

As reported by Malkah Fleisher of Jewish News Syndicate, May 5, 2020:

A new evangelical Christian channel whose mission is to “take the message of Yeshua our Messiah to all of Israel 24/7, 365 days a year” began broadcasting in Israel in Hebrew last week, after signing a seven-year contract with Israeli cable provider HOT.

The Shelanu (Hebrew for “Ours”) TV channel is a branch of GOD TV, which broadcasts missionary programming in 200 countries around the world. The new deal will give the channel access to over 700,000 Israeli households.

GOD TV CEO Ward Simpson said in a video announcing the launch that his network had received permission from the Israeli government to “broadcast the gospel of Jesus Christ—Yeshua the Messiah—in Israel on cable TV in the Hebrew language. Never before, as far as we know in the history of the world, has this ever been done.”

Permission for the new station was granted by Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, whose chairman, Asher Biton, told Israel’s Haaretz daily that his organization did not know the station would engage in missionary activity, which he said is prohibited under the terms of the license.

“According to our regulations, it is fine to broadcast religious programming,” he said, “but it is forbidden to broadcast content that has the potential to influence viewers in an undue fashion, and most certainly young and impressionable viewers.”

Under Israeli law, it is forbidden to entice converts by means of material benefits, and also to attempt to convince minors to change their religion.

If Shelanu is permitted to continue broadcasting in Israel, it will not be the first channel to carry Christian content. Daystar and Middle East Television also provide Christian programming. However, Shelanu would be the first to do so in Hebrew, and to openly push a missionary agenda.

Kehila.org, an organization working to promote Christianity as “Messianic Judaism” in Israel, quoted Simpson praising the new network as a “historic and unprecedented media opportunity” enabling missionaries to “take the message of Yeshua our Messiah to all of Israel 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Quoted by GOD TV in an article posted to its website in January, Asher Intrater of Revive Israel Ministries—an organization which runs Christian activities geared toward Hebrew speakers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—said, “As Messianic believers in the Land, we want to see all Israel saved. The media is one of the most powerful methods to achieve this. We’ve tried for years to make this happen. Now that a major media platform has opened to us, this is a special opportunity to reach our people.”

“When they realise Yeshua is one of us, that He is a native Israeli, all of a sudden the opposition goes away,” Intrater added. “Shelanu is not an import coming from outside. It’s us speaking from the inside, sharing to our people, heart to heart.”

On April 29, GOD TV posted an additional article to its website, quoting an unnamed station manager as saying, “We received the platform of HOT as a gift from GOD TV but now it is our obligation as believers to produce relevant and dynamic content that will grab the attention of the Israeli people and open their eyes to the truth of their Messiah, Yeshua.”

However, anti-missionary groups and government officials tracking the story have expressed outrage that the Israeli government allowed Shelanu to broadcast in the Jewish state, and have vowed to work to shut it down.

“It is the very nature of Christian missionaries to be deceptive in their tactics. I would assume this to be the case in their obtaining a license for such a channel,” said Shannon Nuszen, a former evangelical missionary who subsequently left the movement and converted to Judaism and pro-Israel work. “How this received government approval is beyond me, and hopefully [it was] a mistake that will be rectified immediately.”

Israeli Communications Minister David Amsalem issued a response and tweet in which he assured the public that “we will not allow any missionary channel to operate in Israel, at no time, and not under any circumstances.”

Though the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council is under his ministry’s authority, he said that “from the moment that I learned about this case, I turned immediately to the director of the commission, requesting a thorough investigation of the issue, and asked to make sure that no channel will break the parameters of its license, and that if indeed this channel does missionary work, it be removed immediately.”

Amsalem vowed not to allow “unfair influence” on Israeli viewers.

“On the face of it, this is a bungle, and as communications minister of the State of Israel, I will not allow an unfair influence of religious broadcasting on viewers in Israel,” he said.

Attempts to visit the Shelanu website Tuesday afternoon appeared to indicate that the site had been taken down or hidden. Videos of Simpson discussing Shelanu which had been uploaded to YouTube had been set to private.

I'm not a fan of "Christian" television; it's dominated by charismaniacs, dominionists, heretics, and charlatans. I've never watched GOD TV, but it comes as no surprise to this blogger that a quick glance at their website shows me that I haven't missed anything worthwhile. The network's programming includes the usual suspects, such as ear-splitting noise masquerading as "worship"; promotion of New Apostolic Reformation "prophets"; Sid Roth; Hillsong Church; and "anointed" Bishop John Francis of Ruach City Church in England conducting a fawning interview with false teacher Bishop T.D. Jakes. As someone who wants true Christian doctrine to be proclaimed in Israel, I won't protest if Shelanu ends up being banned in that country.

May 31, 2020 update: Jewish leaders in Israel and leaders of "Christian" ministries have responded to the beginning of GOD TV's broadcasting in Israel; as reported by Rivkah Lambert Adler of Breaking Israel News, May 10, 2020 (bold, links in original):

In the midst of the controversy over God TV’s plan to broadcast evangelical messages in Hebrew on Israeli cable television, Breaking Israel News asked a number of Christian and Jewish leaders to weigh in.

Their comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Christian Leaders

Pastor Mark Biltz, El Shaddai Ministries

I am a firm believer in the Bible and in the God of Israel as revealed in the Scriptures. It was to the Jewish people that Hashem gave all the covenants.

Christianity is full of replacement theology – replacing the Biblical feasts and Sabbaths with pagan holidays, replacing the Levitical priesthood, replacing the seat of the throne of the Lord from Jerusalem to Rome, replacing the Biblical Hebrew names with English names, [thus] losing their meanings. It can’t get much more replacement than that.

Christianity has much to learn from the Jewish people about the God of Israel and the Biblical narrative. The agreement between God TV and whoever it was in Israel that made the contract, was that there would be no programming that would wield “undo influence” over the viewers. The sole purpose of the programming is to have a very strong influence over the viewers, to alter their belief system.

I can see how strong Jews who are strongly Zionist as well would be very upset by a TV station supported by Christion Zionists in order to proselytize the Jewish people who are less knowledgeable, or less religious, and how they would feel betrayed.

In every alliance, there are always boundaries or redlines that have to be drawn, and the depth of the relationship is based on the value placed on not crossing those boundaries. For Christianity to build a bridge requires great humility and a deep spirit of repentance and acknowledgement of the harm done. How much trust and value you place on those who are on the other side of the bridge will determine if the bridge is two-lane or a six-lane highway. Christianity, historically, has blown up every bridge built over the last 2,000 years and I hope that any bridge that is built between Christians and Jews will be built on baseless love.

Nathalie Blackham, Broadcaster, Israel First TV

The theology I was taught was that the Jews were wrong. See how God dealt harshly with them? We have Jesus now. We are the good guys. These are deep-seated views of many Christians, more or less.

Today I see things very differently.

Missionizing Jews is like replacing their Jewish belief with a Christian belief. It is saying that the covenant that God has with the Jewish people is not good enough. It is erasing their belief and saying that ours is better. It is degrading the Jews and taking away who they are.

So many Christians are totally ignorant. On my first trip to Israel, I realized that I thought I knew the Bible, but I knew nothing. We have the Bible in our hands because the Jews shared it with us. That’s why it’s so important for Christians to visit Israel.

The God TV move is detrimental for Jewish- Christian relationships. This is like the Crusaders, but with a smile!

We should build relationships between Christians and Jews based on the principles of mutual respect, learning from each other, leaving space for each other to grow and develop and sharing from the Torah.

John Enarson, Christian Relations Director Cry for Zion

Jewish-Christian relations should, above all, be based on mutual respect and openness.

My fellow Bible-believing Christian friends should know I am not speaking as a proponent of dual-covenant theology when I say: God TV’s new initiative is disrespectful, unwise, and I have strong disagreements with their theology and actions here. While folks at God TV might mean well, they are both harming the Jewish people as well as damaging Jewish-Christian relations. I honestly cringed when I first saw some adverts for the new channel, before it even made the news. God TV should reconsider their actions forthwith.

Lars Enarson, Author, Founder and President of The Watchman International

I came to Israel 23 years ago with a similar attitude. Thank God I have learned a few things since then.

I remember the very first week when I came here and I had taken my family for a vacation in Eilat to rest. A homeless person approached me on the beach. He was drunk and asked me very angrily, “What are you doing here?” I was surprised and answered him that I am a Christian who loves Israel and I have come here to pray for the country.

He said, “Do you think we Jews don’t know how to pray? We don’t need you here. Do you know the names of the first five books in the Bible in Hebrew?” I said, “No I don’t.” “You don’t even know this? We don’t want you here. Please go back where you came from!” No doubt this drunkard scored a point.

Since then I have learned so much from the Jewish people here in Israel that I am so extremely thankful for and I now try to educate Christians around the world about what I have learned. Today I read the Bible in a very different way.

My view is that people who do not speak with respect for Judaism have no business being on Israeli television.

Bob O’Dell, Co-founder of Root Source

I wonder how many donors consider that when they fund some of these Christian efforts towards Israel, they are unwittingly funding a combative posturing that disrespects millions of God-fearing Jews at the same time? This posturing, turning “the roots of our faith,” into “the enemies of our faith” is acceptable to some Christians, but not to me.

I thank God that there are many emerging efforts by Christians to turn the hearts of more Christians to Israel and the Jewish people with just respect, love and honor, and to experience the life and joy of sharing the passages Hebrew Bible together, only for the sake of learning, love and joy.

Never before have so many Christians interacted directly with Orthodox Jews in Israel to study the Bible, and never before have this many Christians, inside and outside of Israel, begun to speak out that they find the evangelistic posturing of some of their Christian brethren towards Israel distasteful.

Tommy Waller, Founder and President HaYovel

Missionizing or converting others to Christianity, whose majority identifies with a supersessionist [replacement theology] belief, has been historically devastating to one people – the Jews. The problem with replacement theology is that it empowered the Christian to “save the Jew from hell,” but then after Jewish rejection placed themselves as God and created a hell on earth. This disturbing history, unfortunately, is not taught in our churches today. As a Christian myself, the revelation of this treatment of Jews has brought great shame.

For the Jews, the Torah has marked and kept their identity for well over 3,000 years. It sets them apart from the other peoples and nations of the world. The idea of bringing the “Gospel to the Jews” in their own language is actually an all-out assault against the Jew’s God-given identity.

It will be difficult for most Christian organizations, especially in Israel, to stand against those who seek to steal Jewish identity, in this case, God TV. The fact that a Christian television network would actually try to prove Jewish persecution of Christians is deplorable. One visit to Yad Vashem should greatly offend any right-minded person.

Christianity needs to support the miracle God is doing with the people He chose in the land He chose. As a Christian, I believe strongly that the Apostles and Prophets and Jesus himself would be horrified at the actions done by those who claim to follow him. Honestly, I believe there should be a cable Christian channel in Israel with 24/7 programming where one Christian after another repents for all that has been done to the Jews over the last 2,000 years at the hands of Christians.

Steve Wearp, Founder Blessed Buy Israel

I’m really sorry that there’s a group out there that is trying to preach to the Jewish people with an agenda that was just exposed – the God TV channel. I’m just ashamed to have my name affiliated with that, or have any affiliation with it.

I wanted to say I’m really sorry there are people that are still out there that do not understand that coming to the Jewish people with hidden agendas and to try to tear them away from what God has set before them to accomplish. I want you to know that not all of us are like that.

I pray one day there will be a great distinction or a great awakening in the Christian community as to Israel’s place, and this anti-Semitic replacement theology will be destroyed once and for all. It’s a scourge and I will not stand for it. And I’m not going to let anything like this destroy what what Hashem is building between our two communities

I’m really proud of walking with you guys. And the offense, it just hurts us. It’s why we’re doing what we’re doing, why we’re trying to rebuild trust, honesty, integrity, and remove this scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic teachings, doctrines, philosophies in the church and expose it for what it is.

Jewish Leaders

Rabbi Ari Abramowitz Host The Land of Israel Network

Many Jews would understandably seek to dodge this issue altogether in order not to put our Christian friends in an uncomfortable position of needing to take a public stand on this, but this is when we find out who our friends really are.

This impulse to missionize, which may or may not be well-intentioned, is arrogance and an act of hostility. Watching that video, I felt a mixture of anger and compassion. Anger that this haughty man who is preying on Jewish souls believes that he knows more than generations of the sages of Israel who have dedicated their lives to immersing themselves in the words of the Bible in its original Hebrew, and compassion that he is depriving himself of the uniquely uplifting experience of growth and revelation because he is so focused on removing the scales over everyone else’s eyes, that he will be stuck with the veils over his own.

Countless Jews have been burned at the stake rather than accept missionizing for generations. And now he comes into our homes in our own land with the same sinister plot?

There is so much beauty and friendship being nurtured between the Jewish and Christian worlds. Why tear it all down by reverting to this toxic replacement theology?

Sondra Baras, Founder and Director Christian Friends of Israeli Communities

From the very beginning, when I first started Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, my relationships with Christians were based on mutual respect and on a clear understanding that we, as Jews, would not try to convert Christians to Judaism and our Christian friends would not evangelize Jews. My Christian colleagues in leadership at CFOIC Heartland are committed to this understanding as well. It is fundamental to our ability to work together.

One of the things we’ve been doing is trying to get Christians to understand how offensive evangelizing is to us, because many of them have been taught since childhood that Jews have just been waiting to be saved. They have no idea that we are very comfortable with who we are.

Unfortunately, there are still some people who don’t understand this or don’t want to understand this. I will have nothing to do with people or organizations who insist on evangelizing Jews. That is our red line.

Yishai Fleisher, International Spokesperson for The Jewish Community of Hebron

Yishai Fleisher 🕎 ישי פליישר
✔
@YishaiFleisher
The folks at @GODTV keep putting their foot in their mouth because they are simply say the truth - they want to convert Jews! (But the real question is why the Israeli regulator missed this effort to have a missionary channel, and why other ones already exist, on Israeli cable?) https://twitter.com/haaretzcom/status/1259455913770889217 …

Haaretz.com
✔
@haaretzcom
God TV responds to critics: ‘We’re not trying to convert Jews; we just want them to accept Jesus as the messiah’ https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-god-tv-to-critics-not-trying-to-convert-jews-just-want-them-to-accept-jesus-1.8834815?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter …

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7:31 AM - May 10, 2020
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I believe in the Christian-Jewish alliance. I am grateful for friends who share a love of the Bible and allies who stand up for Israel from Balfour to Mike Pence. But alliances need clear boundaries. Missionizing Jews is wrong. God TV in Israel is wrong and will be stopped.

David Ha’Ivri, Religious Zionist leader, writer, and speaker

I don’t approve of proselytizing Jews. Christians who want to turn Jews into Christians are not, I repeat, are not friends of Israel.
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Convincing #Jews to accept Jesus as the messiah is the very core goal of missionary proselytizing. We strongly object to this type of activity, and that is how and why Jews have survived as a nation and preserved our ancient faith. https://twitter.com/FleurHassanN/status/1259456317997154305 …

פלר חסן נחום Fleur Hassan-Nahoum
@FleurHassanN
God TV responds to critics: We’re not trying to convert Jews; we just want them to accept Jesus as the messiah: reminds me of when people say we don’t hate Jews we just don’t believe they should have the right to self determination like everyone else https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-god-tv-to-critics-not-trying-to-convert-jews-just-want-them-to-accept-jesus-1.8834815 …

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9:14 AM - May 10, 2020

Yisrael Medad, Author, Blogger and Activist

The point is that Jews, especially due to our history, view attempts at conversion as a total attempt to erase us, our history, our values, our teachings and our ethics as if they are worth literally nothing.

This station assumes, as its base, a Jews-for-Jesus type approach and we suspect it fooled the Cable Broadcast Council in its application for a license. Over-the-air programming allows them to circumvent the prohibition [against] proselytizing minors.

In relations between Jews and Christians, I would prefer it be based on simple mutual respect. ‘I like and appreciate you for who you are and you do the same.’

Rabbi Yehuda Glick, President Shalom Jerusalem Foundation

What God TV did is actually declaring war against the Jewish people – nothing less! We are different, we hold diverse perspectives and we have to respect this. Pulling the carpet from under our feet is something we cannot and will not accept and totally refuse to even consider.

At the same time we believe that working together is part of our faith as well as the faith of anyone faithful to the Bible.

As reported by Breaking Israel News, May 12, 2020 (links inserted by blogger):

TENNESSEE (5/11/2020) – Laurie Cardoza-Moore has called on the Israeli government to ban GOD TV from broadcasting programs focused on converting Jews to Christianity. Cardoza-Moore is the founder of Proclaiming Justice to The Nations and host of the award-winning Evangelical Christian television program Focus On Israel which formerly aired globally on GOD TV and is currently syndicated on tens of other Christian channels reaching a weekly audience of billions. The statement comes after GOD TV announced that they have received special permission from the Israeli government to proselytize Jews in Hebrew on Israeli cable TV.

“I have written to the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Communications Minister David Amsalem and the Director of the Government Press Office Nitzan Chen calling on them to ban GOD TV from airing missionary content focused at converting Jews to Christianity. At a time when global antisemitism is engulfing the world, GOD TV should be using its platform to teach Christians about their biblical responsibility to stand with our Jewish brethren and the State of Israel. Instead, they have chosen to stand on the wrong side of history, empowering the anti-Semites,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations.

Cardoza-Moore continued: “Unfortunately, because of biblical illiteracy, we are seeing a rise of antisemitism again in Christianity. Christians have adopted false doctrines and traditions known as “Replacement Theology” and “Supersessionism” that has mobilized the Amaleks of history. These false doctrines are what fuel the desire to force unbiblical principles on our Jewish brethren. God TV should be encouraging Christians to repent of the history of Christian arrogance and ignorance that has incited some of the worst antisemitic incidents in history, including the pogroms, the Inquisition, and more recently, the Holocaust. Instead, they should ask their Jewish brethren to teach them the Torah as was stated by the prophets.”

Putting things into a historical perspective Cardoza-Moore said: “Unfortunately, Christian history is replete with examples of Christians forcing their doctrinal views on Jews; either through torture, or, with a disingenuous smile. As a descendant of Sephardic Jewish ancestry, I have studied the implications of where this type of ideology can lead. My ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism during the period of the Spanish Inquisition. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella blamed corruption in the Catholic Church on the Jews. In order to survive that dark period in history, they were forced to convert. For 500 years since they hid their identity from generation to generation only to disclose the hidden truth upon the matriarch’s or the patriarch’s passing. They were known as Conversos. Conversos were blamed for plagues, accused of poisoning wells and kidnapping Christian boys for their blood. Many of the Conversos were tortured or burned at the stake to test the authenticity of their conversion.”

Cardoza-Moore concluded: “In recent decades, millions of Christians have felt the call to stand with the State of Israel and the Jewish people with no hidden agenda. Our only mandate to the Jewish people is to love and support them because they are God’s chosen people. Any attempts to convert Jews or downgrade their religion will only sow undue hatred at a time when we should unite in the face of darkness.”

The common thread running through these objections to GOD TV isn't so much that GOD TV is evangelizing with false teachings as that GOD TV seeks to evangelize Jews at all. I recommend that the reader click the links to the ministries mentioned above, especially those that claim to be Christian. They all advocate for the state of Israel--and I generally support their pro-Israel positions--but they don't advocate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're opposed to evangelizing Jews, but they seem to be in favour of Judaizing Gentile Christians.

It's heresy for "Christians" to talk about our "Jewish brethren" when they're talking about Jews who don't have saving faith in Jesus Christ. The only basis on which Gentiles and Jews can be brothers is that of faith in the work of Jesus on the cross to break down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles:

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22

I take great offense at the idea that Gentiles who have a relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (see, e.g., Galatians 3:26) have to learn about God from Jews who don't know Jesus. Such a view contradicts the teaching of the apostle Paul, who had impeccable Jewish credentials at the time he was persecuting the early Christians:

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. Acts 22:3

And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. Galatians 1:14

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:6

Here's what Paul, as an apostle, had to say to Gentile Christians about the religious attitude of his fellow Jews:

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Romans 10:1-2

They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. Galatians 4:17

Some of the leaders of these ministries have redefined "replacement theology," which is properly understood as the unbiblical teaching that the church has replaced the nation of Israel. Some of the ministry leaders quoted above now define "replacement theology" as the replacement of Judaism by Christianity. In fact, the New Testament has replaced the Old Testament, and is better (see, e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Lars Enarson says that "people who do not speak with respect for Judaism have no business being on Israeli television." I don't know if the Lord Jesus Christ would want to appear on Israel television, but Mr. Enarson would bar him from Israeli television, because He had nothing good to say to or about the Jewish leaders and the Judaism that was practiced in His day. Among other negative comments, He quoted Isaiah 29:13 to them:

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Mark 7:7

Not only do I warn against GOD TV and its false teachers and doctrines, but I warn against "Christian" ministries that advocate for the state of Israel but don't proclaim Christ. If you support them, you're supporting organizations that are denying the divinely-inspired words of the apostle Paul:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

June 29, 2020 update: As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, June 30, 2020:

ShelanuTV is the branch of the global evangelical Christian media network GodTV focused on proselytizing to Jewish Israelis. It began broadcasting on the HOT cable network at the end of April after it received a license from the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting earlier this year. This move was decried by many Israelis.

Proselytizing, seeking to convert people to another religion, is not illegal in Israel, although the law prevents proselytizing to minors without their parents’ presence or consent, and promising any monetary or material compensation for converting to another religion.

The Israeli broadcasting council informed HOT last week that the license had been suspended because GodTV’s programming targeted Jews and not Christians in Israel, as the license request had specified.

“A channel which seeks to address the Jewish people which dwell in Israel [and present it with] the gospels of Jesus will never be broadcast on Hot and this was known to the senior officials of the channel, as was stated in the hearing,” Council chairman Asher Biton wrote to HOT.

Proselytizing, seeking to convert people to another religion, is not illegal in Israel, although the law prevents proselytizing to minors without their parents’ presence or consent, and promising any monetary or material compensation for converting to another religion.

The Israeli broadcasting council informed HOT last week that the license had been suspended because GodTV’s programming targeted Jews and not Christians in Israel, as the license request had specified.

“A channel which seeks to address the Jewish people which dwell in Israel [and present it with] the gospels of Jesus will never be broadcast on Hot and this was known to the senior officials of the channel, as was stated in the hearing,” Council chairman Asher Biton wrote to HOT.

“The directors of the channel hope that the Council will approve the new request to broadcast the channel, and thereby avoid a severe diplomatic incident with hundreds of millions of Evangelical Christians who love and support Israel around the world,” Cantor said.

Mr. Berkowitz then offers his comments on the situation; it's interesting to note his shocked reaction to the opposition of professing Christians to evangelizing Jews:

I am very hesitant to comment on the GodTV issue. On one hand, I always advocate free speech. On the other hand, Christian proselytizing is one of the final, if not the final obstacle that stands between true brotherhood between Jews and Christians.

In the wake of GodTV beginning its broadcasts in Israel, I wrote an opinion article speaking out against Christian proselytizing Jews. The response shocked me. So many of my dear Christian friends came out against what GodTV is doing. I did not expect that at all. It represents the first time in the 2,000 year history of Jewish-Christian relations that Christians did not support efforts to convert Jews.

I did not ask how my friends were coping with the clear theological issues. My understanding is that Jesus told his followers to spread the word. When a Christian preaches to a Jew, it is an act of love (albeit an entirely unwanted and even harmful act of love). For Jews, preaching to non-Jews is essentially forbidden. Nonetheless, in the wake of GodTv’s efforts to target Israeli Jews, so many Christians rejected and even outrightly opposed this effort. I was stunned. Almost exclusively, my Christian friends have never proselytized to me even without my asking. When I was curious about a certain aspect of Christian theology, I have had to pressure them into providing information. The few who do proselytize, I have asked, though never demanded, to stop proselytizing to Jews. I compared it to offering candy to a diabetic: it is an unwanted act of love. Even if they persisted, I treasured their friendship.

I can only hope and pray that this is the beginning of a trend. It must come from inside Christianity and not as a demand by the Jews. It will require a paradigm shift and I hope that Jews can respond with a corresponding paradigm shift that will bring us to be a Light Unto the Nations and the caretakers of the House of Prayer for All Nations.

The true "final obstacle that stands between true brotherhood between Jews and Christians" is the refusal of most Jews, since the 1st century, to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ:

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; I Corinthians 1:23

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the only one who can break down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, and He has:

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 2:11-18

I pray that Mr. Berkowitz will put his trust in the One who has fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies.

Superstition and charlatanry are alive and well in Dalton, Georgia

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: II Peter 2:3a

Despite coming from a site with a notoriously liberal bias, this story, too lengthy to reproduce here, is familiar to those who've come across such things many times before. Click on the link and read The Bible That Oozed Oil by Ruth Graham in Slate, February 27, 2020.

Secular and religious commentators offer contradictory theories about coronavirus

I wasn't going to post anything about coronavirus, but I've seen a few items that are too good to pass on. Whenever a plague makes the news, it's only a matter of time before conspiracy theories spring up, and the current coronavirus outbreak is no exception. The explanations, unsurprisingly, are in line with the biases of those offering them.

Cliff Kincaid, a conservative Roman Catholic columnist with News with Views, believes that the coronavirus outbreak is a Chinese government plot against U.S. President Donald Trump:

Chinese Reds Set a Trap for Trump

February 29th, 2020

President Trump is in a difficult situation. If he were to disclose circumstantial evidence that the coronavirus virus is a Chinese bioweapon, there would be calls for retaliation against the Communist regime. Such a declaration could lead to more fear, the threat of war, and perhaps a global economic collapse. As it is, the virus is causing a market meltdown. He does not want to contribute to a panic and further collapse.

Politically, his reelection hangs in the balance...

Trump Has Been Sabotaged by the Medical Deep State

March 9th, 2020

The Chinese virus has been treated as just a natural occurrence or unfortunate incident that necessitates that we have to cede more power over our lives to what critics have long called the Medical Deep State. Under pressure from a foreign threat, President Trump has relied on these health care “professionals.” But the result has been stories from the Washington Post about “How the Trump administration lost control of the coronavirus crisis” and the New York Times about how “The Coronavirus Is Coming for Trump’s Presidency.” This is the new narrative designed to bring down Trump.

The President has another option: put the military in charge of the coronavirus response and move quickly to a war footing with Communist China, the source of the outbreak...

Meanwhile, Iranian authorities are claiming that the coronavirus outbreak is a plot by Mr. Trump against Iran, as reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, March 8, 2020 (links in original):

Fatemah Rahbar, a member of Iran’s parliament representing the capital city of Tehran, died on Saturday from Covid-19. Rahbar, age 55, was the second member of parliament and the seventh Iranian leader to die from the coronavirus.

The Iranian leadership has been hard-hit by the coronavirus. Rahbar, age 55, was the second member of parliament and the seventh Iranian leader to die from the coronavirus.At least 23 members of Iran’s 290-member “Majlis” or parliament have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to Iran’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Abdul Reza Misri. This includes the deputy health minister and one of the vice presidents. This figure represents about 8% of Iran’s government. One week after elections for the parliament, the government suspended open parliamentary sessions indefinitely.

On Saturday, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced on a televised news conference that there had been 21 new deaths and 1,076 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 145 dead and 5,823 infected in Iran. He emphasized that 1,669 of the confirmed cases recovered from the illness.

“More than 16,000 people are currently hospitalized as suspect cases,” Jahanpour said during a televised news conference.

The government has taken serious measures to combat the spread of the pandemic. Iran temporarily released 54,000 prisoners from overcrowded jails. Mohammad Ja’far Montazeri, Iran’s prosecutor general, said on Sunday that hoarding or disrupting the supply of healthcare items could entail punishments as severe as the death penalty. Hassan Norouzi, the spokesman for the parliament’s legal and judicial committee, told the Tehran Times that the government had instituted a 3-year jail sentence for those who spread fake news or rumors about coronavirus in the country.

China, the epicenter of the outbreak, has so far reported 80,651 cases, of which 3,070 were fatal.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed U.S. economic sanctions for the toll the pandemic is taking on his country. President Trump “is maliciously tightening US’ illegal sanctions with the aim of draining Iran’s resources needed in the fight against #COVID-19 — while our citizens are dying from it” Zarif tweeted on Saturday.

The Iranian Student’s News Agency (ISNA) reported that Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that the coronavirus may be the product of an “American biological invasion.”

“Today the country is engaged in a biological battle,” Salami said. “[The coronavirus] is American biological invasion that first spread to China and then to Iran and other parts of the world, and the United States knows that it did that.”

“America should know that this virus will return to it if it was behind it,” said Salami.

Iranian civil defense chief Gholam Reza Jalali echoed this accusation. Without naming the United States as the culprit, Reza said, that a “biological attack has been launched against China and Iran with economic goals.”

Religious commentators are also offering contradictory explanations of the reason for the plague. An Israeli Rabbi blames sodomite pride parades, as reported by Mr. Berkowitz in Breaking Israel News, March 9, 2020:

At a speech at his yeshiva (Torah learning institution) on Saturday night, Rabbi Meir Mazuz, a leading Sephardic Haredi rabbi in Israel, blamed the spread of the coronavirus to Israel on the gay “pride” parades in Israel.

“This pride parade is a parade against nature, and anyone who does something against nature, the one who created nature takes revenge on him. When you do things against nature, you place your hand in fire and pray that the fire doesn’t burn you, it burns you! Here they are doing [something] against nature in impertinence, the pride parade, what are you proud of?” Mazuz was quoted as saying by Israel HaYom.

Israel has reported 39 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country as of Monday morning.

The rabbi also claimed that the Arab countries have not been hit by the coronavirus because they are strictly against homosexuality.

He addressed the outbreak of the virus in Iran, the hardest-hit country outside of China. Though not an Arab country, Iran is strictly Shia Muslim and criminalizes homosexual activity. In his speech, Rabbi Mazuz blamed Iran’s outbreak on their “hatred of Israel.”

Rabbi Mazuz has blamed other tragedies on Israel’s acceptance of homosexuality. In November 2015 he claimed gay pride parades and other forms of “sinful behavior” were the reason terrorists murdered Eitam and Naama Henkin the previous month.

It should also be noted that the rabbi inaccurately predicted last month that the coronavirus would infect every country in the world but would not arrive in Israel.

In his recent speech, Rabbi Mazuz suggested that the holiday of Purim contained a cure for the coronavirus.

“If you pray for rain, the harsh judgment of the corona will also be cancelled. It is recommended that on the eve of Purim you also read the sections of the Torah describing the Temple service of the incense while praying for the plague to be dispersed.”

Laura Densmore of Hebraic Heritage Ministries and Bridge Connector Ministries, however, blames the outbreak on President Trump's Middle East peace plan, which proposes to divide Israel. As she states in Breaking Israel News, March 9, 2020 (bold, links in original):

I open this article with a question and then I want to examine the facts on the ground with you. Then you can come to your own conclusions.

The question I pose is this: Are we experiencing consequences from the God of Israel (the Corona pestilence and the Nashville tornado) due to America’s push for the “Deal of the Century” proposal to divide the land of Israel?

Now let’s look at the evidence and the facts on the ground together.

Here is a general principle in the bible. The God of Israel would often bring judgment upon the children of Israel through natural disasters, plagues, wars, and famines. These events don’t happen “serendipity” by chance or coincidence. Instead, these events are often associated to sin. There is sin in the camp and so the God of Israel gives “push back” in the form of a judgment. There are consequences to the sin. There is a “measure for measure” dynamic going on here. In other words, when the people “sew” sin, they reap judgment from God.

Bill Koenig of Watch.org has done a masterful job of tracking these consequences for attempting to divide the land of Israel in his book, Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel.

Keep this in mind: the purpose of the judgment from God is that He wants to see His people repent, turn away from their sin and return to HIM and to His word.

Now, let me be clear. I am a strong Trump supporter. He has done a lot of good for our nation in rebooting our economy, in bringing jobs back to America and getting America back to work. He has done a lot of good in recalibrating our international trade deals in America’s favor. He has done a lot of good for Israel in moving the US embassy back to Jerusalem and in declaring that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the state of Israel. I strongly support Trump and I am one of his biggest fans!

But in this one area, the “Deal of the Century”, I believe our President and Jared Kushner have missed the mark. They are looking at the problem from a pragmatic, reason and logic based perspective. But they have missed the spiritual perspective.

The Trump team took time to ask for everyone’s input on the peace plan: the Saudis, the Jordanians, the Palestinians, the Israelis, the Egyptians, the EU and the US. But they forgot to consult with the God of Israel to see what HE says about dividing the land of Israel:

For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land. Joel 3:1-2

The covenant that the God of Israel made with Abraham and his descendants to give them the land of Israel is eternal and everlasting. To go against that covenant is sure to bring down judgment upon any nation that “wields the knife” to cut/divide Israel.
Sadly, I believe that is what we are now seeing with the spread of the Corona virus.

I believe that the Corona virus is something that God has allowed as a judgment.
It came upon us in a BIG WAY just days after the Trump Peace plan (to divide the land of Israel) was announced.

Trump’s Peace plan to divide the land of Israel to make a Palestinian state was unveiled on 1.28.20:

Revealed: Trump’s “Deal of the Century” map for a future Palestine, Israel

Within three days, on Feb 2, 2020, Trump had to shut USA borders to travelers from China due to Corona virus:

Trump: US has shut down Corona virus from coming in from China

DO YOU NEED MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE GOD OF ISRAEL IS BRINGING DOWN JUDGMENT UPON THE USA FOR THE “DEAL OF THE CENTURY” PEACE PLAN?

Let’s connect two more data points of cause and effect that appear to be strongly connected to each other (kudos to Sara Ballenger for pointing this one out to me). On March 3, 2020, we read this headline:

At AIPAC, Trump’s Israel envoy Friedman pushes the peace plan.

And I quote from the article:

“US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman gave a scathing and highly partisan speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference on Monday night, castigating the American left for opposing US President Donald Trump’s Israel policies and Mideast peace plan.”

How did the God of Israel feel about this “push” for the “Deal of the Century” plan to divide HIS land? While David Friedman was promoting the Deal of the Century plan at AIPAC, here is what happened in Nashville TN on the SAME DAY, March 3, 2020:

Nashville tornado damage includes destroyed airport, collapsed homes as death toll climbs.

I don’t think the God of Israel was very happy to hear more news about the dividing of His land!

However there is GOOD NEWS! Intercession and prayer can change the course of a judgment from the God of Israel!

Here are some scriptures on pestilence and how intercession and action can change the course of pestilence:

In Exodus 32: 31-35, we see a plague came upon the children of people after the sin of the golden calf. After swift action is taken by the Levites to deal with the sin in the camp, the plague/pestilence stops.

In Numbers 14:11-20 , the children of Israel hear a the negative report coming from the 10 spies about the Promised land. They lifted up their voices against God and Moses, and walking in fear, doubt and unbelief. God threatens to send a pestilence, but Moses intercedes on their behalf. God does not wipe them out, but instead, they wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

In 2 Samuel 24: 12-16, David recognizes he has sinned greatly in numbering all the people and asks for God’s mercy. God’s response is that he gives David a choice:
David can have 7 years of famine, 3 months of enemy attacks , or 3 days of pestilence. David chose 3 days of pestilence. In the end, God had mercy and ended the plague.

In Numbers 25:1-9, we see a pestilence/plague that was rapidly spreading throughout the camp in the wilderness. The children of Israel had sinned by joining themselves to Baal, which was spiritual adultery and treachery to the God of Israel. To Israel’s shame and disgrace, an Israelite man was having sexual relations with Cozbi, a Midianite woman. The plague was rapidly spreading through the camp, claiming 25,000 lives. Phinehas speared them through… and immediately the pestilence stopped.

A CALL TO ACTION

This is a call to action for President Trump and Jared Kushner. It is time that they “walk back” on the “Deal of the Century” and retract it.

This is also a call to action to the people of God to pray and intercede, to seek the God of Israel and to ask for his mercy, asking that HE stop this pestilence, this cursed Corona virus.

As the people of the God of Israel, we need to plead and stand in the gap and ask for God’s FORGIVENESS for the release of the Trump peace plan to divide Israel and ask for His MERCY upon the USA, upon Israel and the upon all the nations of the world.

We can also pray into this as a prayer of protection:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Psalm 91:1-7

And, to be prudent and practical we can also stay at home if sick, wash our hands frequently with soap and water, follow the guidelines of our local officials for preventing community spread.

In contrast to the view expressed by Ms. Densmore, a charismaniac "prophet" claims that the U.S.A. will be protected from coronavirus because of President Trump's pro-life stand. As reported by Christina Zhao of Newsweek, February 16, 2020 (links in original):

Conservative pastor Hank Kunneman recently claimed that God will save Americans from the new coronavirus because President Donald Trump's administration has "aligned themselves" with the right side of life.

Speaking to the Lord of Hosts church during a service in Omaha, Nebraska last Sunday, Kunneman prophesied that citizens in the U.S. will not have to fear the coronavirus because God will "give mercy."

"Listen to the words that I speak to you at this moment, says the living God. Why do you fear, United States? For I have spoken to you before and I will speak to you again, I have extended and opened a window of mercy to this nation at this time. Therefore, the virus that they speak of, the bright prognostication, the diagnosis, the fear, my mercy is the quarantine that shall be greater than what they have spoken to you, United States," the pastor said, before crediting the Trump administration for God's "mercy."

"And because of the administration that stands in this land, who honor me, who honour the covenants of your forefathers and of the Constitution. And because they have aligned themselves with Israel and because they have sided on the right side of life—life in the womb, life given outside of the womb—there I give life to this nation and I give mercy," Kunneman added. "Do not fear. This virus is the spirit of God."

Newsweek reached out to Kunneman via phone for further comment, but was unable to speak to the pastor before publication.

Chinese officials on Saturday confirmed 2,641 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of diagnosed to roughly 66,000 across the mainland, with the death toll at 1,523.

There have been 15 cases of coronavirus in the United States. One American citizen has died from the virus in China...

As is so often the case, the report is erroneous, or at least, imprecise, in describing the pastor as "conservative." A quick glance at the website of Lord of Hosts Church shows that Lord of Hosts is in fact a charismaniac church that's part of the New Apostolic Reformation, with the "conservative" pastor's wife listed with him as senior pastor, and the church promoting "prophetic words" and the prosperity gospel, with "apostle" Mike Keyes speaking in both services on March 15, 2020.

Quoth the "prophet":

Here's the "powerful word about what God is saying regarding the Coronavirus! This prophecy was declared on February 9, 2020.



It comes as no surprise to this blogger to see that veteran fraud and con man Jim Bakker isn't about to let the opportunity to cash in on the outbreak to pass him by; as reported by Hunter Moyler of Newsweek, February 12, 2020 (updated February 13, 2020) (links in original):

A guest on televangelist Jim Bakker's show suggested on Wednesday that a product sold on Bakker's website might be effective at protecting against and killing the novel coronavirus.

The guest, naturopathic Dr. Sherrill Sellman, said that Silver Solution—a product that can be purchased on Bakker's web store—has been found to be effective on viruses related to the one from Wuhan. Further, she said Silver Solution could bolster a person's immune system and potentially make their bodies less susceptible to the virus.

"Well, let's say [Silver Solution] hasn't been tested on this strain of the coronavirus, but it's been tested on other strains of the coronavirus and has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours," she said. "Totally eliminate it. Kills it, deactivates it. And then it boosts your immune system so then you can support the recovery, because when you kill the virus, then the immune system comes into action to clear it out. So you want a vibrant immune system as well as an ability to deactivate these viruses."

Newsweek contacted Sellman via her website for further comment and clarification but did not receive a reply before publication.

The novel coronavirus emerged from the Chinese city in late 2019. The virus has since spread to 24 other countries, including the United States, though the majority of those infected remain in China. As of Wednesday, the virus has infected over 45,000 people and killed at least 1,100, according to the World Health Organization.

According to its page on Bakker's website, Silver Solution is a product that "works faster, longer and more efficiently than other silvers to support your immune system." Information on the website does not state how the product is to be used. It currently sells on Bakker's website in a variety of packages with a 16-ounce bottle costing 40, but shoppers can purchase bundles of the product that cost up to $300. The label states that the solution contains deionized water, but no other ingredients.

However, similarly marketed products also include colloidal silver which according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) provides no known health benefits. Ingesting it can cause side effects including argyria, or discoloration of the skin or other tissue, and poor absorption of other medications by the body.

Newsweek could not verify the claim that Silver Solution supports the immune system or kills the coronavirus, nor confirm that colloidal silver is used in Bakker's solution.

Further, Silver Solution's page on Bakker's site contains a link to a warning specifically for residents of California. Under a California law, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (also known as Proposition 65), the store is required to warn that Silver Solution "contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm."

Sellman is a naturopathic doctor—a designation distinct from a mainstream medical doctor. Naturopathy, according to information from the alternative medicine university Bastyr University, is a "system of primary health care that emphasizes prevention and the self-healing process through the use of natural therapies."

Naturopathy's legitimacy is contested. Some professionals consider it to be based in pseudoscience, but 22 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. offer licenses to naturopathic doctors, according to the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC).

However, Dr. JoAnn Yanez, the executive director of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges, clarified to Newsweek that Sellman has not met the educational standards that the organization requires.

Sellman "is neither a graduate of an accredited naturopathic medical program, nor has [she] obtained a doctoral level degree from a program recognized by the US Department of Education," Yanez wrote in a statement to Newsweek. "[Her] online profile mentions graduating from the Trinity School of Natural Healing (AKA Health), which is not accredited and confers 'degrees' not recognized by any governmental institution. 'Graduates' of these programs are not considered licenseable [sic] medical practitioners."

Yanez further requested that Newsweek reiterate that Sellman is not a graduate of any institution accredited by AANMC.

The Twitter account of Right Wing Watch shared a clip of the show on its Twitter account Wednesday afternoon. The full episode of The Jim Bakker Show, "A Close Look At What's Not Being Said About The Coronavirus (Day 1)" can be viewed on the program's website.

Bakker is an evangelist who has made headlines in the past for his involvement in a scandal in which he paid a church secretary "hush money" to keep quiet about a sexual encounter. He is also noted for his ardent support for President Donald Trump. He has repeatedly defended the president against criticism, and, as The Hill reported, stated in 2017 that there would be a second American Civil War if Trump were to be impeached.

The various views of the coronavirus outbreak expressed above can't possibly all be right, but they might all be wrong. A major weakness of the explanations offered above is that they're geocentric, as if the epidemic were affecting just a particular people or area, when in fact it's spreading throughout the world. I don't believe that the pandemic is itself an emergency, but I do believe that there are those who have been waiting for such a situation in order to use it as an opportunity to advance an evil agenda; George Soros and his puppet Justin Traitor Trudeau come to mind. One thing that is definitely right is the following prophecy from the Lord Jesus Christ concerning the end times just before His return to Earth:

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Matthew 24:7

This blogger recommends sticking to the Bible as the only authority for faith and practice, rather than extrabiblical revelations allegedly given to those masquerading as "prophets" and "apostles."