HOW DO WE FIND TRUTH?
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:37)
Like many of my newsletter readers, I have been left continually reeling from the reports out of Israel and Gaza. Ukraine and Russia seem to have been pushed into the background well and truly. Putin, as the world's greatest villain has been replaced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
At the same time, a futile and extraordinarily expensive COVID-19 inquiry is proceeding in the UK. It is evident that there is no possibility of uncovering the core issues about the disease, lockdowns and forced vaccinations because everything has become political. The inquiry seems to have become distracted by very rude words used in WhatsApp messages by politicians and civil servants.
Misinformation and disinformation laws are being implemented in most Western countries, in an apparently coordinated process that seeks to shut down freedom of expression (see the Westminster Declaration).
Does it remind you of "Build Back Better" during the COVID-19 "crisis"? Just to remind readers (particularly the ones who believe that what we are seeing is a "cockup" rather than conspiracy), I have included a video below of clips put together by the UK Telegraph in 2021 that demonstrates how world leaders are being fed the same script. I wonder by whom?
Meanwhile, the WHO bureaucratic processes proceed cunningly and slowly in the background to trap us into a globalist health dictatorship. The push for digital IDs for all and vaccine "passports" are being implemented by stealth. It appears that with various world crises, we are being distracted from some of the fundamental changes implemented to monitor us and restrict our freedoms.
It's no good going to your local doctor and telling them that you're feeling depressed because quick as a flash, you'll be put on various psychoactive drugs, next you'll be on a terror watch list, and then your gun licence will be removed!
What do we do?
Well – we have to know the truth. As I was thinking about the truth, my mind went back a few thousand years to a group of Jews in Jerusalem, with whom Jesus discussed la condition humaine.
"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32 – my emphasis).
You need to read the whole passage (see this link) to gain the context. However, I was struck by what Jesus said, which had some conditions and a process that leads to freedom. Here is a diagrammatic summary:
Knowing His word → discipleship → truth → freedom
This seems a good process for the Sons of Issachar to understand more fully as we seek to understand the times in which we live. We, like Pontius Pilate need to ask the question: what is truth, constantly. (John 18:38).
Is There A Difference Between Truth and Facts?
I have been reflecting on the significant challenges of knowing "the truth" and have slowly come to the realization that there seems to be a difference between how we each understand truth and facts and this apparent difference can trap us into unrelenting arguments. This difference is probably something widely discussed in university philosophy courses which were beyond my reach as I studied horse anatomy and animal medicine. However, this week, I have been doing some research and found the following helpful material from philosophy.stackexchange.com
"A fact is a reality that cannot be logically disputed or rejected. If I say "fire is hot," I don't care how great your reasoning skills are, if you touch fire your skin will burn (and don't give me that "but people can walk on hot coals!" bull. There's a difference between the transfer of heat through conduction and training one's body to deal with the agonizing pain of said conduction). Now when I say this, I am not speaking a truth, I am speaking a fact. If you say "fire is not hot," you are not lying, you are incorrect. Facts are concrete realities that no amount of reasoning will change. When one acknowledges a fact, they are doing just that. Facts are not discovered, facts are not created, facts are simply acknowledged.
A truth on the other hand, is almost the opposite. Truths are those things that are not simply acknowledged, but must be discovered, or created. If I say "God exists," and I possess strong reasoning for the affirmative of that statement, then God really does exist, that is a reality. However, if another individual possesses strong reasoning for the negative, and because of this reasoning they believe that God does not exist, then that is also a reality. If we were to debate our ideologies, and my reasoning appeared stronger than theirs, they may choose to adopt my belief that God does exist. If they do, then the existence of God is just as true as the nonexistence of God which they believed a week ago. Truths, as opposed to fact, are much more fluid and malleable than their empirical counterparts."
Here is another site that has some useful perspectives about facts v truth:
"Unlike truth, which can be subjective, facts are objective and can be verified through observation or experimentation. However, it is important to note that facts can be interpreted in different ways, and they can be used to support different conclusions or arguments. This is why it is important to consider the context and interpretation of facts when using them to support a claim or argument.
The word "truth" refers to something that is in accordance with fact or reality. It can also be used to describe a belief or statement that is accurate and honest.
The word "fact" refers to something that is known or proven to be true. It is often used to describe information that can be verified or supported by evidence."
Now, after reading these ideas, you may, like me, be feeling a bit confused and find that your head hurts. However, the main point seems to me that the writers propose that facts are indisputable, whereas the contention is that truth is disputable.
This apparent difference between truth and facts are what we are facing today. Not too long ago, the fact that there were only male and female genders coincided with the truth that there were only two genders. Now, this truth is disputed, but the facts of chromosomal differences remain indisputable.
In thinking further about facts vs. truth, it is a fact that this week, the United Nations has selected Iran to Chair the UN Human Rights Social Forum. The truth (probably disputable) that flows on from this fact is that the UN has no moral legitimacy and the fact of Iran chairing any group related to human rights, is a travesty.
So – it seems that whereas facts are indisputable, truth may be disputable and "malleable" according to modern thinking. Truth also seems to depend on your worldview. I wrote in some detail about this in July last year – see this post.
A biblical worldview is at odds with most of society today, so the Sons of Issachar readers who have such a worldview will find themselves at odds with people who may have a worldview without God. In this worldview, we seem to live in a chaotic world with repeated cycles of death and destruction and where there is no purpose.
Because of differences in worldview, I thought it would be helpful to research the Hebrew and Greek words translated as "truth" in the Bible because we may gain further insights into their origins.
What Does Truth Mean?
The Hebrew word most commonly translated as "truth" is אֶמֶת (transliterated as emeṯh), and the Lexham Bible Dictionary outlines the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words as follows:
"The most common term for "truth" in the Old Testament is אֱמֶת (emeth). The semantic range of אֱמֶת (emeth) includes factuality and validity as well as faithfulness, firmness and reliability. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), it is most often translated using ἀλήθεια (alētheia). πίστις (pistis) or δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) are also occasionally used. Truth can be predicated of people as well as propositions.
As Factuality
When used in a factual sense, אֱמֶת (emeth) indicates a genuine state of affairs as opposed to a false one. It is used in Deuteronomy in the context of a legal investigation (Deut 13:14; 17:4; 22:20). In Daniel 10:1, "truth" is used to describe the word that Daniel received in a vision. It can also be used as an indication of honesty in speech:[1]
The Queen of Sheba discovered that the reports she had heard about Solomon were factual (1 Kgs 10:6–7).
The widow of Zarephath told Elijah after he raised her son from the dead that "the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth" (1 Kgs 17:24 NRSV).
The king of Israel insisted that Micaiah tell the truth when he prophesied (1 Kgs 22:16; 2 Chr 18:15).
The one who can dwell in the Lord's sanctuary is one who tells the truth (Psa 15:2).
Zechariah prophesied to the returned exiles that they ought to speak the truth to one another (Zech 8:16).
As Faithfulness and Reliability
אֱמֶת (emeth), understood as "faithfulness", frequently occurs together with חסד (chsd), "mercy," to indicate God's loyalty to people (Gen 24:27; 32:10; Exod 34:6; 2 Sam 2:6; Pss 25:10; 61:7; 89:14; Mic 7:20):
God's אֱמֶת (emeth) is contrasted with the wrongdoing of his people (Neh 9:33).
The works of his hands are אֱמֶת (emeth) in the sense of faithfulness (Psa 111:7–8).
God's promise to David "from which he will not turn back" (NRSV) is described as אֱמֶת (emeth) (Psa 132:11).[2]"
So from a biblical view, it seems that fact and truth are the same thing, even though we may try to separate these today. The Hebrew word that we translate as "truth" means, factuality and validity as well as faithfulness, firmness and reliability.
Still, why do we find it a battle to understand what truth is and why it is so hard to establish "the truth".
If we go back to Jesus being interviewed by Pontius Pilate (who asked "what is truth"), just before His execution, Jesus said the following in response to Pilate's question: "Are you a king then?",
"For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:37).
In a commentary by John Piper, he writes the following in relation to this verse:
"There is truth—truth that comes from outside the world and gives meaning to the world. The world doesn't make this truth. It doesn't shape or change this truth. It is THE TRUTH, not a truth for me and a different truth for you. But THE TRUTH for all of us. Unchanging, absolute."
Piper's view is that truth comes from outside the world, and Jesus said that He is "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Remarkably, Jesus says that He will send His Spirit to guide believers into truth:
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…" (John 16:13).
Those who believe in Jesus receive a spiritual guide (the Holy Spirit) into truth, and this is encouraging because if we ask God, His Spirit will guide us with His discernment.
I have had a sense of this guidance as I try to understand what is happening in the world and ask God to help me understand the signs of the times. However, I have also found that I can be totally wrong and have misinterpreted what I thought were unassailable facts. This is where great care is needed as I outlined in a previous post – The Right Side of History- - where I covered Feargus O'Connor Greenwood's book 180° .
We have to be extremely careful to ensure that we have the facts, which are sometimes 180° away from what we thought was true. When we have the facts, we can use our discernment to know the truth.
Pattern Recognition
As I have grappled with some of these ideas over the past weeks, I was delighted to read James Delingpole's recent article on substack titled – Israel/Gaza. Ignore the Distracting Details. Focus on the Bigger Picture - see the post below
James Delingpole is a master of uncovering the 180° deception, and his entire post is worthwhile reading. For this newsletter though, here is the central argument of James' article :
"How, for example, did I know within seconds of the Israel/Gaza story breaking that we were being sold a pup? And how, more importantly, can I be sure that my take is the right one?
In a word - well, two - pattern recognition. Once you've looked into a few conspiracy theories - and worked out that they are all conspiracy fact - you start to realize that the people behind these events have what poker players call a 'tell'…. That is, once you've seen one, you've seen them all because these 'events' all to a greater or lesser degree, evince the same motivation, modus operandi, and psychopathology.
You start with the big picture premise: the world is run by Luciferian psychopaths. If you haven't yet grasped this fundamental truth, you're never going to understand what is really going on…"
James Delingpole makes an important point – it is good to look for pattern recognition that then helps us to understand what is happening as we review the facts. I like James' challenging view – "the world is run by Luciferian psychopaths"! Once we understand this, perhaps we can understand "the truth", and we can be "set free" (John 8:32).
Asking the Right Questions
Once again I am reminded of something that I outlined in my book Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times - from a talk by US leadership expert Pat Murray. When you are faced with a problem, don't go searching for a solution but rather the right question.
If we use pattern recognition that James Delingpole has written about in his post to examine some of the recent significant events, we can ask a few important questions that may uncover "the truth". Some of the questions that I have been asking recently include the following:
How did the term "sustainable development" become accepted as an underpinning of the whole of Western society?
How did a post-modern view, where there is no objective truth, become embedded in Western society?
Why did NATO relentlessly expanded eastwards when there were clear warnings of likely conflict with Russia?
How is it that the COVID-19 crisis was "cured" by the Russian invasion into Ukraine, when suddenly COVID-19 disappeared from the front pages of the newspapers?
How did an unregistered "vaccine" involving new genetic technology become forced on the world population and receive the support of every institution?
Why were opposition voices and subject experts blocked in providing their views to mainstream media about potential dangers with the COVID-19 "vaccines"?
What is behind government contentions that they can legislate to save us from misinformation or disinformation?
Why was it that Hamas was formed with the initial support of the US and Israeli intelligence systems?
How is it that the most well-equipped intelligence and military system in the world were unprepared for the Hamas invasion from Gaza?
If the Israeli intelligence system was not unprepared, is it possible that the Gaza attack was one like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 that authorities knew about but let happen for more nefarious purposes?
Is the only way we can understand "truth" achieved by turning every major news story on its head 180°?
These are just a few interesting questions and you can add your own.
It is a challenging journey into "truth" but I trust that there are a few ideas this week that may help readers understand the current conflict between facts and truth.
We need great discernment in every area of life as we seek to uncover the truth. I will leave Sons of Issachar readers with John Piper's quote which I continue to reflect on:
"There is truth—truth that comes from outside the world and gives meaning to the world. The world doesn't make this truth. It doesn't shape or change this truth. It is THE TRUTH, not a truth for me and a different truth for you. But THE TRUTH for all of us. Unchanging, absolute."
BOOK LAUNCH OF ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MODERN TIMES
Last weekend, some friends on the south coast of New South Wales hosted a book launch for my book Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times. It was a wonderful event and people bought multiple copies of the book as gifts. I had a chance to speak about the signs of the times and how to apply ancient wisdom in the modern world.
The book is still available for a special price of US$0.99c for Kindle on Amazon and it makes a good gift. You can also buy hard copies of the book on all the Amazon sites.
I thought that readers would be interested to see a few photos of the book launch.
You can find out more information on the book website
Figure 1. Site of the book launch on the New South Wales south coast and group photo
STORIES THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK
Quantum Computing and Technocracy
Patrick Wood always has his finger on the pulse of the key issues that we face as the technocrats seek to gain global control. This week he reported on an interesting story related to Quantum computing.
Wood had raised warnings about the change in computing capacity some years ago and in his article in Technocracy News he writes:
“In 1998, the first 2-qubit computer was demonstrated. In January 2019, IBM released a commercially usable quantum computer called System One that was based on 20 qubits. By November 2021, IBM released a 127-qubit computer called Eagle, the first attempt to break the 100-qubit barrier was in November 2022. IBM unveiled the Osprey in November 2022, based on 433 qubits. In October 2023, Atom Computing leapfrogged over IBM with its 1180-qubit quantum rendition but with a twist: Atom’s version runs at room temperature. Note in the video below that Atom sees its technology scaling to “tens of thousands of qubits & beyond.”
In terms of processing power, we can compare it with what we know today: bits vs. qubits. A “byte” has 8-bits. A megabyte has 1,000,000 bytes. A gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes. A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes or roughly 1 trillion bytes. So, if you have one of those modern stone-age marvels that sports 64MB of RAM and 1TB of disk space, you will get the picture here…
Time Magazine wrote this in January 2023:
In November, IBM unveiled its new 433-qubit Osprey chip—the world’s most powerful quantum processor, the speed of which, if represented in traditional bits, would far exceed the total number of atoms in the known universe.
What? Further, the director of research at IBM added, “We now have a way to engineer machines that will have tens of thousands of qubits.”
God help us!”
Unmasking Censorship During COVID-19
This week the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) in the US celebrated the 14th anniversary of Vaccine Awareness Week. I have come to realize that false narratives about the safety of vaccines has been widely promoted and on the NVIC site, they feature an important article by Dr Joseph Mercola – see this link.
The article is worthwhile reading in full and is divided into the following sections:
The Why Behind 15 Years of Persecution;
COVID Unmasked the Police State;
A Hate Group Doing What Hate Groups Do (this features a group I had never heard of – The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH));
CCDH Is the True Misinformation Superspreader;
The Rise of the Censorship Industrial Complex;
Government Has Been Weaponized Against Its People;
A Great Awakening Is Underway;
Push for Vaccine Mandates Has Misfired Big-Time;
Consumer Advocacy Is Essential;
Help Us Protect Medical Freedom
As Robert F Kennedy Jnr repeatedly points out, all vaccines come with a range of serious side effects and the indemnity of vaccine manufacturers by governments has resulted in no accountability.
The NVIC has just celebrated its 41st anniversary and the article notes:
“….a group of parents in 1982, whose children had been injured by DPT vaccine, decided to take on the pharmaceutical industry and big public health.
The 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was a major piece of legislation that basically said vaccine safety should be a national priority; that vaccines do injure and kill, and that was the first time that had been acknowledged.
From that point on, the pharmaceutical industry knew that they had to do something to stop this.”
Big Pharma has been extraordinarily successful in preventing any accountability to government and COVID-19 resulted in the removal of any remaining barriers to the scrutiny of the safety of vaccines. New mRNA vaccines have been licensed with only minimal animal testing and it is likely that the end result is an ongoing increase in vaccine-related diseases and excess mortality.
There is no political appetite to investigate these issues because politicians are fearful of being labelled “anti-vaxxers”. We need to be diligent in investigating any vaccines and we can’t rely on doctors to give us independent advice.
Biden Is Not With Israel, But The American People Are
I have listened to many interviews and podcasts this week and read dozens of articles about the horror of the attack in Gaza. The most illuminating one was an interview with Dr Victor Davis Hanson – here is the link.
Toward the end of the interview Dr Davis Hanson says:
“Joe Biden is a very unpopular president….we have a very unpopular, weak president with divisions on Israel within his own party and a completely united opposition who has majority public opinion support…which puts a lot more pressure on Joe Biden..I have no confidence in Joe Biden as a leader. I think that the events that he put himself unknowingly in, I don’t think he even knew what he was doing. I don’t think that he put those carriers (the aircraft carriers and associated ships) to help us. I think that someone suggested it and he did it. Now he’s put himself in a position where he will be led by events”.
Dr Davis Hanson explains that the move of the carrier group of ships to the Eastern Mediterranean may set events in place that could be out of the control of Joe Biden and his advisers, if there is an attack on the US fleet.
He believes that the US is the only country that understands Israel’s dilemma and the forces coming against it. He thinks that it is critical for the US to support Israel. He also says that if Israel does not respond to the terror attack with extreme force, enemies of Israel will say that Israel is week and therefore will sow the seeds of its own destruction.
Israel needs to respond with strength and if it does, people privately from the Arab world will applaud Israel. If Israel does not respond with strength, and give in to pressure we will see a theatre-wide war with Iran and Hezbollah. Their view will be that this is a post-modern Jewish population that gives into a post-modern decadent America. So, Dr Davis Hanson believes that “A short-term gruesome experience as it’s going to be, is absolutely necessary for peace and to stop Hezbollah and Iran…Israel has to destroy Hamas…if they don’t and listen to our government they’re in big trouble..the more successful they are the more support they will receive from Europe and the Arab world.”
Conclusions
It seems a challenge every day to make sense of what is happening in the world and to discover “the truth”. We are not without help and Jesus’ half-brother James tells us:
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
The second part of my interview with Pastor Paul Kim from Glory International Church in Sydney is included below and I commend the interview to readers. Apologies for the poor recording technique.
Pastor Paul Kim – Second Part of Interview – The Sovereignty of God
In the second part of this 56 min interview, we discuss the following areas:
Paul’s call to ministry;
Paul’s dream of 2014 about the coming challenges and Israel’s safety being taken away together with the decline in leadership of the West;
Revelation 6 and the poisoned tipped arrow;
The end times: war, famine, disease and financial collapse;
Coming persecution and deception. The need for courage and guarding our hearts against offense;
The days of Noah;
What do we do? Watch and pray;
We need to overcome the “betrayal barrier” where we feel betrayed by God if He doesn’t act in the way we think He should;
Fostering a thankful heart in difficult times and trusting God;
The great reward to come;
The good news of Jesus and the choice of heaven or hell – the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of satan.
Prayer and Jesus’ offer.
[1] Elliot Ritzema, “Truth,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
[2] Elliot Ritzema, “Truth,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
Another superb spiritual and cultural review. Kudos, Reuben !
Exceptional commentary, Rueben! I found the discussion on facts versus truth very enlightening, and your "questions" are spot on. It's remarkable how the same false and destructive narratives magically appeared in South Wales, the entire United States and everywhere in between.
Glad to hear you had a successful book launch. Keep up the good work, my friend.