Things are looking bad, no matter where you look in the world today. There are ongoing attacks on the family, gender, marriage, sexuality and even life itself. Then there also is a rise in conflict: war in Ukraine, Israel, and various parts of Africa, floods of migrants coming into the West and the signs of a move toward global government. And this is just the good news!
The US, which has provided the stability of the world order, is increasingly beset by civil strife, and all the elements are in place for a future civil war. Meanwhile, as a death cult prepares for further assaults on Israel, their supporters chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. In other words, the elimination of Jews from the current nation of Israel. It seems there has been an unleashing of evil, which, has been a long time in preparation, as the Communist blueprint for the US developed in the 1950s now comes into full effect.
Curtis Bowers produced and directed a film in 2010 that pointed out the strategy that the Marxists had developed to bring about a Communist takeover of the US. I first came across this film in 2020 and found it to be one of the most important that I have seen. The 90 min film Agenda: Grinding America Down can be watched below. It is well worth the time to view.
Curtis Bowers also was interviewed in 2020 by the Epoch Times on the program American Thought Leaders. The host, Jan Jekielek, introduces the interview by saying:
“A decade ago, Curtis Bowers made the documentary film Agenda: Grinding America Down detailing a communist agenda to corrupt American institutions – from education to Hollywood to the media – and subvert America and its values from within. The main strategy was to divide and conquer – to turn Americans against each other. “
This strategy – “to divide and conquer – to turn Americans against each other” has been extraordinarily successful. Jan Jekielek from the Epoch Times asks Curtis Bowers to provide an update on how the Marxists have made inroads into every critical American institution. Curtis notes the impact of the self-confessed Marxist group Black Lives Matter and the racial divide that has been fostered as part of the broader Communist agenda.
What we are witnessing is the timeless battle between good and evil. At the moment, evil seems to be in the ascendancy. There is no doubt that we are seeing seems to be the slow demise of America. Despite many great Americans fighting to defend the Constitution, the political, business and global Marxists have gained control of all the tools of power. This once great nation has turned away from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and is following the god of an evil woke agenda – transgender, transhuman, life-denying and declaring what is good as evil and what is evil as good. This embrace is not surprising when society rejects God as its foundation. We are seeing similar trends across the West.
In the midst of the ascendancy of evil, it is reasonable to ask – where is God? This has been a question that has been asked since biblical times and there are no simple answers. Evil and deception entered the world at the time of the Garden of Eden and even today, we have a choice – God or Satan (of course this choice is disguised and we can be deceived into thinking we are supporting good ,when we are supporting evil). This great cosmic struggle continues in each generation but in some mysterious way, God is in control and will achieve His purposes with the return of Jesus. God’s call is to be His friends and to do this, we need to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) and put our trust in Him, no matter how bad things look.
Our current time has reminded me of the period toward the end of the time of the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) in the period 700 to 600 BC. Many prophets warned the nation to return to God, but these were largely ignored. Remarkably, even with the warnings of impending destruction, God provided words of encouragement spoken through the prophets and hope for the nation if they would “return to Me, and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7). This is still our hope today if we have ears to hear.
The Prophet Habakkuk
The prophet Isaiah (his name means “the Lord is salvation”) provided extensive warnings to Judah around 700BC and declared “, Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20). This seems to be a relevant warning to us today. Throughout Western society, we seem to be declaring evil as good and good as evil.
If we look back around 3,000 years, the nation of Israel had divided into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon (around 931 BC). The northern kingdom of Israel, which had ten of the 12 tribes, refused to be under the harsh rule of King Solomon’s son and subsequently turned their faces away from the true God to worship other gods. The northern kingdom had come under God’s judgment and was dispersed after being conquered by the Assyrians between 740 and 720 BC.
The southern kingdom of Judah (that included the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the Levites, plus some of the faithful from the other tribes) remained in the southern part of Israel, where the magnificent Jerusalem temple, built by King Solomon, was located. There were a series of godly kings (notably Hezekiah and Josiah) amongst some wicked ones.
About 100 years after the time of Isaiah, probably during the last days of the reign of King Jehoiakim, which lasted from 609-598 BC, the prophet Habakkuk (his name means something along the lines of - he who embraces or he who clings) came on the scene, and his short book has a message for us today. This period was just before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
The Bible Project has an excellent 6-minute video about the interaction between the prophet Habakkuk and God.
The book of Habakkuk is short (three chapters) but has a lot to teach us now as we cry out to God and ask where His justice is and what He will do about all the evil in the world. We must be careful about what we are asking for because we may receive an answer like Habakkuk!
The Story of Habakkuk
Firstly, the prophet cries out to God that things are going bad in the nation of Judah. There’s trouble, violence, contention, plundering, lawlessness, and no justice. It couldn’t be much worse, and the wicked have overcome the righteous.
Remarkably, God answers the prophet and tells Habakkuk that he will be “utterly astounded” (Habakkuk 1:5) because He is raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians). God says that this terrifying nation will take over everything as they come on swift and fierce horses. God says that:
“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.” (Habakkuk 1:9-10).
These guys were like the Hamas of their day, and Habakkuk knows by their reputation, about the horror of being conquered by Babylon. He wonders how a moral God can use this terrible nation, which he says will gather people like fish in a net and “slay nations without pity” (Habakkuk 1:17). God then tells Habakkuk that He also will judge Babylon. God seems to be saying that He is acting in love for His people by bringing severe judgment.
God tells Habakkuk to write down the vision that He will give him for “an appointed time” (Habakkuk 2:3), after which comes one of the most important verses in the Bible. God tells Habakkuk: “The just shall live by faith”. In other words – don’t live by what you see because the just (God’s people who believe in His promises and walk with Him) shall only be able to live by faith (faith in God’s eternal promises). This is further amplified in the New Testament in the books of Romans (Romans 1:7) and Hebrews (Hebrews 10:38). It is the verse that arrested the attention of Martin Luther and led to the Reformation.
This simple verse - “the just shall live by faith” - carries a profound message because, in the New Testament, the Book of Romans tells us who is “the just”. The Book of Galatians details how we “shall live”. Finally, the Book of Hebrews covers the story of what it is to live “by faith”.
God shows Habakkuk a fantastic vision of what seems to be the end of the age when,
“the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14).
In essence, what God is telling Habakkuk is – don’t look at what you can see now, but understand what is to come. Judgment is necessary and is the kindness of God, just as in the same way a parent needs to discipline a wayward child (“Chasten your son while there is hope…” - Proverbs 19:18).
The vision that Habakkuk receives is remarkable because his response (walking by faith, not by sight) at the end of the book is one that is a guide for all people of faith today:
“Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labour of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
We live at a time when what we see (chaos, evil, destruction, injustice) is not a shadow of the hope that God gives us (the return of Jesus and eternity). Walking by faith requires an understanding that no matter what we see – bad crops, no fruit, flocks and herds decimated, cryptocurrencies being worthless – our call by God is to find joy in Him – the God who is our strength and salvation.
How can God allow terrible things to happen? There is no easy answer because, after all, “God is God”, but we can have faith in His character and actions. He is a God who uses the least severe judgments to bring about His purposes.
After Moses went back up onto the mountain to receive the tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments for the second time, God speaks to Moses about Himself:
“The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7).
There is a lot in this passage, but one thing is sure – the character of God is one of mercy and grace. He is longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth. He also forgives but doesn’t clear the guilty. We need to live our lives in “the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 1:7) but also have full assurance of a future with Him where we will walk with Him in eternity if we put our trust in Him.
The book of Habakkuk provides a glimpse into how He deals with injustice and sin amongst His people. It may be to bring terrible calamity, and while we can’t understand His ways, God’s character provides us with the foundation of confidence that He is trustworthy and He is always at work to bring about His eternal purposes.
Of course, God’s sovereignty is a subject that is too challenging to cover in-depth in this newsletter. However, I hope that readers may gain some perspective from the Book of Habakkuk about our current challenges where there seems to be injustice and terror. There is much happening that we don’t see or understand but ultimately God is at work, as we look toward eternity.
Interestingly, as I have reflected on the challenges of understanding God’s sovereignty, I had a sense that it would be helpful for readers and listeners for me to talk to Pastor Paul Kim. I felt that Paul’s story would provide another dimension about God’s sovereignty.
Interview with Pastor Paul Kim
I have known Paul for many years. He is a remarkable man of God who leads a church called Glory International in the West of Sydney. Here is a link to the church’s website
I knew a little about Paul’s story, and he came to mind for me to interview once I thought about the idea of writing about the sovereignty of God. Paul’s personal story is inspiring: growing up in Korea, hearing the call of God, moving to Australia in his last years of school and becoming a pastor. I interviewed him not long after the start of the attacks on Israel by Hamas, and he reminded me about the Book of Habakkuk.
In this interview, we cover the first part of his story, and I will have a second part in a future edition of the Sons of Issachar Newsletter.
Paul’s story is one of the sovereignty of God who reached down to touch the life of a young boy and then take him on a journey of faith. While it is difficult for us to understand all of God’s sovereign purposes, hearing Paul’s story built my belief that there is a God who loves us and stretches out His hand from heaven to touch our lives.
STORIES THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK
How Globalists and Communists Encouraged Islamic Terror
The New American has a critical video this week with a 20-minute presentation by Alex Newman, who focuses on the deep state – how Islamic terror has been encouraged. He raises the interesting issue of the “red-green axis” – links between Communism and Islam. Here is the link to the video.
Alex Newman writes in the notes associated with the video:
“Islamic terrorism is in the news a lot today but almost nothing is being said about how the Deep State, Communists, and globalists have all sought to weaponize Muslims, explains The New American magazine’s Alex Newman in this episode of Behind The Deep State. Under the leadership of KGB boss Yuri Andropov, the Soviets sent thousands of agents into the Muslim world to radicalize Muslims and use them to attack Israel and the West. Western governments, meanwhile, armed and trained Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and other nations under various geopolitical pretexts. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.”
In the video, Alex Newman explains that this “red-green axis” is not a recent phenomenon. However, it is particularly significant when you see what is happening with the support for Hamas that has been seen in the West since the horrific terror attacks. The goal is to take down the United States, which stands in the way of globalism.
Trends Journal – Top Trend 2023 – MidEast War Spills into Europe’s Economy
An interesting article in Trends Journal this week.
The war in Israel, where the conflict could widen, is likely to have a significant effect on an already large refugee influx into European countries. There will be pressure, with Israel’s attempted destruction of Hamas, for Europe to take in perhaps one million refugees. The analysis from Trends Journal is as follows:
“TREND FORECAST: Europe’s sluggish economy and high interest rates have forced Eurozone countries to lengthen what had been a 10-year plan to make a massive, rapid investment in renewable energy to replace what it has lost in oil and natural gas imports from Russia.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ will continue to keep oil prices as high as the market will bear, as we have explained in articles such as “OPEC+ Cuts Daily Oil Output Limit By Two Million Barrels” (11 Oct 2022) and “OPEC+ Slashes Daily Oil Output Limit By 1.16 Million Barrels” (4 Apr 2023).
As a result, Europe will remain on the brink of an energy shortage through this winter. The continent’s gas storage facilities are full for the coming cold season and, as of now, temperatures are forecast to remain within seasonal norms. That indicates Europe could get through to next spring with no energy crisis.
That could allow the region to escape a portion of the damage caused by price spikes if Iran joins the Israel War or if the conflict escalates in other ways.”
It is difficult to forecast how the conflict between Israel and Hamas and now Israel and Hezbollah may evolve. However, senior figures in the US Congress already want to take the fight to Iran. With the combination of the Ukraine and Mideast conflicts, Europe will be in the crosshairs and may become drawn more directly into one or both conflicts.
Iranian Infiltration into the US Government
Kash Patel, the national security advisor to President Trump, published a troubling article this week about various Iranian influencers and “moles” at the heart of the US government. See this link.
Firstly, he writes about Ariane Tabatabai, an Iranian-American who currently serves as the chief of staff for the Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. Patel notes:
“As reported last month by Semafor, Tabatabai, on multiple occasions, requested guidance from the Iranian Foreign Ministry dating back to at least 2014—the emails themselves are now public—when operating inside the US supposedly for our best interests.”
He then writes about the background of Matt Bitar, a senior director for intelligence programs on the President’s National Security Council since 2021.
“Bitar is a Palestinian sympathizer who has previously worked for Samantha Powers at the State Department, was general counsel to Rep. Schiff on HPSCI, and was the other co-author of the falsified Schiff memo (see a pattern?). Before entering senior governmental positions, Bitar served as the executive director of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which, among other pro-Palestinian advocacy, supported convicted terrorist Leila Khaled to raise money for their causes (as reported by Revolver). After Hamas launched its war against Israel, the SJP called it a “historic win”—for Hamas. “
Finally, there is the mystery associated with Robert Malley, who was in the Obama administration and a key architect of the Iran deal – the JCPOA. Joe Biden appointed Malley as his special presidential envoy to Iran in 2021, and Malley has some links to other pro-Iranian influencers in the administration. Malley recently had his security clearance suspended by the FBI because of “mishandling of classified documents”, and now he has been given a “leave of absence” by the US State Department.
It reminds me of what happened in the US government in the 1940s when there was extensive Soviet infiltration of the US government. This story is outlined in Whittaker Chambers' remarkable book “Witness”. This is one of the most important books that I have read in the last 20 years because it uncovers a modus operandi of Marxist infiltration of the US government. Similar techniques seem to be happening today with Hamas and Iranian sympathizers.
The Westminster Declaration
Sometimes you find good news, and I was amazed to find that many serious journalists from the right, left and centre of politics had come together in June this year in Westminster, London, to push back against the current political movement to “keep us safe” by denying our rights to free speech. There were more than 100 signatories of the “Declaration”, and included luminaries such as John Cleese, Michael Shellenberger, Julian Assange, Oliver Stone and Edward Snowden. Their declaration was published on their website, which has an opening quote: “Open discourse is the central pillar of a free society”.
Here is part of the declaration:
“Across the globe, government actors, social media companies, universities, and NGOs are increasingly working to monitor citizens and rob them of their voices. These large-scale coordinated efforts are sometimes referred to as the ‘Censorship-Industrial Complex.’
“This complex often operates through direct government policies. Authorities in India and Turkey have seized the power to remove political content from social media. The legislature in Germany and the Supreme Court in Brazil are criminalising political speech. In other countries, measures such as Ireland’s ‘Hate Speech’ Bill, Scotland’s Hate Crime Act, the UK’s Online Safety Bill, and Australia’s ‘Misinformation’ Bill threaten to severely restrict expression and create a chilling effect.”
“But the Censorship Industrial Complex operates through more subtle methods. These include visibility filtering, labelling, and manipulation of search engine results. Through deplatforming and flagging, social media censors have already silenced lawful opinions on topics of national and geopolitical importance. They have done so with the full support of ‘disinformation experts’ and ‘fact-checkers’ in the mainstream media, who have abandoned the journalistic values of debate and intellectual inquiry……”
“Speech protections are not just for views we agree with; we must strenuously protect speech for the views that we most strongly oppose. Only in the public square can these views be heard and properly challenged.”
It is wonderful to see these influential people speaking against the widespread legislative push to limit free speech around the world. When you see the number of countries and the similarity of the legislation, you can’t help but imagine that this has some central coordination. I hope that the declaration has a significant impact but it does seem as though the legislation will be pushed through in most countries in the name of “protecting us”.
Conclusions
There are many reasons to think that, as the Americans say - “things have gone to hell in a handbasket”. The West has sowed the seeds of its own destruction and like the Democrat cities in the US, we seem to be doubling down on the policies that have caused the current trouble and conflict.
In the midst of all the conflict and difficulties, God’s call is to “return to me and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7). I read a remarkable story this week that brings hope. A former Hezbollah fighter, Afshin Javid was on his way to the US to convert people to Islam when he had an encounter with Jesus in his prison cell in Malaysia. He came to understand that “God didn’t design us to hate”. His story is worthwhile reading at this link. God is at work and in the midst of all the challenges we face personally and as nations, he is simply calling out for us to return to Him.
Thanks for your comment Bill and I agree that we must persevere in promoting what is right. One of the big challenges is to discover what is right in the world today. We definitely have to apply skepticism to many of the big narratives but I continue to find it challenging to uncover the truth and as always, it depends on people's worldviews.
You have told us some of the "good news".
I dread to think what the bad news might be, given
all these attacks from the enemy mentioned by you.
We must persevere in promoting whatever is right
as you have explained it in your various messages.