Why am I so critical of President Trump in these posts? I could answer that question in a half dozen posts....or I could answer it in one word. The long form answer would be political in nature....but the short form answer would be more revealing, That one word would be....Israel.
It may be that Donald Trump does not even realize that he is lying....when he is lying. I say this because this has been a problem with him for most of his life if not all of his life. If this were just political maneuvering that would be one thing....for anyone might change....but if you don't even realizing that you are doing it....or if you do but you don't care....well....that's a much bigger problem.
Compounding that problem is whether or not Donald Trump has a working understanding on right and wrong. North Korea's Kim Jong-un is about despicable as they come. How does one smile at this man....embrace this man.....banter amiably with this man? Could you do it? It leads to concern that there may be a severe underlying problem here.
Now back to the main question......one may get away with this type of soulless diplomacy with Kim Jong-un or most anyone....but not with Israel. God has dealt harshly with His biblically historic people....over many millenia....and in His perfect timing He miraculously brought them back to the Promised Land....and as a nation unto themselves....and it also appears that He will shortly bring to a conclusion what His word to us describes as the Times Of The Gentiles.
It's obvious that God used the United States.....among some other nations.....to secure Israel's ownership of their land today. So....do them right....and don't do them wrong. Laugh or scorn if you want but I'll believe what God tells us in His Word. This doesn't make Israel right in the decisions that they make....it doesn't put them in God's will now....and it doesn't elevate them above any nation on earth other than that God will determine their future according to His promises.....both of judgment and redemption....the only thing of significance is that they are back in the promised land....and will stay there in spite of what they themselves do....and in spite of what we or anyone else does....but woe to them that are the instrument of God's judgment on Israel in any way.....and that's where President Trump comes in.
Donald Trump as President Trump may play fast and loose with North Korea or China or Russia or his conservative base or anyone....but not Israel. There is no art of the deal here....no "ultimate deal"....and there's no art of the comeback here. If you cannot tell right from wrong then you should stay away from this test.....and if you cannot tell the truth in meetings with Israeli leaders....then don't meet with Israeli leaders.
Evangelicalism on the whole is acting under a false assumption. They assume that Israel is acting in God's will....as opposed to 'existing' in God's will....and that they are faithful to God....and consequently God as He promised will be faithful to them.....instead of God being faithful in His promises to them in spite of Israel not being faithful to Him....just as we are anything but faithful to Him. If we miss this then we misinterpret why Donald Trump was elevated as President of the United States....and we miss how problematic it is that a man who has serious trouble with the truth might deal with an Israel that by the very nature of who they are....may require much diplomatic skill....but nothing even remotely close to just dealing with them in truth.
On the surface it looks as if President Trump is very strong on Israel....but in 2016 it looked as if he was very strong on many issues where that turned out not to be the case. The President put his son-in-law Jared Kushner in charge of finding a peace in the Middle East.....this appointment in itself is more than problematic....and only amplifies the concern.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obviously very confident in President Trump. The two met for the first time....in their official positions....in February of 2017. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that promises were made in that meeting. That is what concerns me. One line from Dionne Warwick's 1968 hit Promises, Promises was...."Oh, promises, their kind of promises....can destroy a life."
There can be no leeway in this.....no equivocation....and no coded comments such as the President made in August of last year after the embassy was moved....in that Israel...."Will have to pay a higher price." That remark stirred international interest and was never fully explained.
NOTE: Since I'm on the topic of Israel here.....I would like to add this for you to think about. Generally....many evangelicals in America today.....look forward to.....(and that's putting it mildly).....the building of a third temple in Jerusalem....and there may be a daily sacrifice some day on the temple mount once again....but here is where a problem arises. There are some different interpretations within the church on what will happen in the very last of the last days....and this is natural....because we don't have all the answers on these things right now....even though many teachers think that we do.....but we cannot deviate from what we already know for certain from God's Word....the essence of the Christian faith....that there no longer is a need for sacrifice....and worse yet....any sacrifices today would deny Christ's sacrifice on the cross! All the sacrifices in the Old Testament were meant to point to the Lamb of God. You don't have to know biblical prophesy to know this....you only have to know what God has told us in His Word....throughout His Word....on why Jesus was manifested in the flesh. So my advice is to be careful when politics.....Israel and the temple mount for example....enters into our Christian faith.
It may be that Donald Trump does not even realize that he is lying....when he is lying. I say this because this has been a problem with him for most of his life if not all of his life. If this were just political maneuvering that would be one thing....for anyone might change....but if you don't even realizing that you are doing it....or if you do but you don't care....well....that's a much bigger problem.
Compounding that problem is whether or not Donald Trump has a working understanding on right and wrong. North Korea's Kim Jong-un is about despicable as they come. How does one smile at this man....embrace this man.....banter amiably with this man? Could you do it? It leads to concern that there may be a severe underlying problem here.
Now back to the main question......one may get away with this type of soulless diplomacy with Kim Jong-un or most anyone....but not with Israel. God has dealt harshly with His biblically historic people....over many millenia....and in His perfect timing He miraculously brought them back to the Promised Land....and as a nation unto themselves....and it also appears that He will shortly bring to a conclusion what His word to us describes as the Times Of The Gentiles.
It's obvious that God used the United States.....among some other nations.....to secure Israel's ownership of their land today. So....do them right....and don't do them wrong. Laugh or scorn if you want but I'll believe what God tells us in His Word. This doesn't make Israel right in the decisions that they make....it doesn't put them in God's will now....and it doesn't elevate them above any nation on earth other than that God will determine their future according to His promises.....both of judgment and redemption....the only thing of significance is that they are back in the promised land....and will stay there in spite of what they themselves do....and in spite of what we or anyone else does....but woe to them that are the instrument of God's judgment on Israel in any way.....and that's where President Trump comes in.
Donald Trump as President Trump may play fast and loose with North Korea or China or Russia or his conservative base or anyone....but not Israel. There is no art of the deal here....no "ultimate deal"....and there's no art of the comeback here. If you cannot tell right from wrong then you should stay away from this test.....and if you cannot tell the truth in meetings with Israeli leaders....then don't meet with Israeli leaders.
Evangelicalism on the whole is acting under a false assumption. They assume that Israel is acting in God's will....as opposed to 'existing' in God's will....and that they are faithful to God....and consequently God as He promised will be faithful to them.....instead of God being faithful in His promises to them in spite of Israel not being faithful to Him....just as we are anything but faithful to Him. If we miss this then we misinterpret why Donald Trump was elevated as President of the United States....and we miss how problematic it is that a man who has serious trouble with the truth might deal with an Israel that by the very nature of who they are....may require much diplomatic skill....but nothing even remotely close to just dealing with them in truth.
On the surface it looks as if President Trump is very strong on Israel....but in 2016 it looked as if he was very strong on many issues where that turned out not to be the case. The President put his son-in-law Jared Kushner in charge of finding a peace in the Middle East.....this appointment in itself is more than problematic....and only amplifies the concern.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obviously very confident in President Trump. The two met for the first time....in their official positions....in February of 2017. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that promises were made in that meeting. That is what concerns me. One line from Dionne Warwick's 1968 hit Promises, Promises was...."Oh, promises, their kind of promises....can destroy a life."
There can be no leeway in this.....no equivocation....and no coded comments such as the President made in August of last year after the embassy was moved....in that Israel...."Will have to pay a higher price." That remark stirred international interest and was never fully explained.
NOTE: Since I'm on the topic of Israel here.....I would like to add this for you to think about. Generally....many evangelicals in America today.....look forward to.....(and that's putting it mildly).....the building of a third temple in Jerusalem....and there may be a daily sacrifice some day on the temple mount once again....but here is where a problem arises. There are some different interpretations within the church on what will happen in the very last of the last days....and this is natural....because we don't have all the answers on these things right now....even though many teachers think that we do.....but we cannot deviate from what we already know for certain from God's Word....the essence of the Christian faith....that there no longer is a need for sacrifice....and worse yet....any sacrifices today would deny Christ's sacrifice on the cross! All the sacrifices in the Old Testament were meant to point to the Lamb of God. You don't have to know biblical prophesy to know this....you only have to know what God has told us in His Word....throughout His Word....on why Jesus was manifested in the flesh. So my advice is to be careful when politics.....Israel and the temple mount for example....enters into our Christian faith.
