Jewish Myopia By Terry James

As anyone who reads my commentaries knows, I support Donald J. Trump in most every one of his actions and policies as president. As a matter of fact, I believe he has been placed in this powerful office at one of the most crucial points in human history, not just at the most critical point in American history.

A quick rethinking of the 2016 U.S. presidential election makes one acknowledge the strange turn of events. The so-called odds ran totally contrary to the way the election was supposed to go.

I believe it was not just a strange turn of events, but a supernatural turn of events that took place.

Likewise, I think most who read these commentaries know that I strongly support the nation Israel in most every way. This is not to say I always support and agree with the Israeli government and that country’s actions and reactions to events in which they become involved. The nation is in many ways stumbling in the dark like any other nation, and often makes mistakes. Israel is in no way perfect, and those who accuse we who support the nation blindly just don’t know the truth of our support. I’m talking about our support as Christians –Christians in the truest sense. –Christians who believe in the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy.

And, speaking of blindness –a myopic view of things that rivals any nearsightedness in history— the nation called Israel and the people called Jews are subjects of legendary such malady.

Only, it is not merely legendary myopia the nation and Jewish people as a whole suffer. It is Biblically pronounced extreme nearsightedness with which they are afflicted.

Paul the apostle wrote the following in this regard.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Rom 11: 25)

Jewish orthodoxy, of course, rejected Jesus Christ as Messiah 2000 years ago. This puts the nation, as a whole, under Paul’s further expression of God’s condemnation in this regard.

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor 4: 3-4)

Having prefaced these commentary thoughts with the fact that both Mr. Trump and the Jewish people and the nation Israel have no greater a supporter than yours truly, I must point out a development that portends devastating trouble ahead.

The trouble of which I write is for the Jewish people who continue to reject the one, true Savior of the world –the Lord Jesus Christ.

It involves the matter of the orthodox Jews –the religious upper-strata that holds to Judaism and the rejection of Jesus Christ. These religionists –at least a number of them—embrace President Trump as a sort of savior. They don’t give him Messiah status, but they laud him as a king of prophetic prominence within their clerical view.

This brief excerpt will, I hope frame my thought here.

President Trump attended an Orthodox Jewish fundraising event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday evening. Four hundred Orthodox Jews participated in the event, contributing an estimated $100,000 each for the honor of paying a personal tribute to the Commander-in-Chief.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson recited the blessing said upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler…

 

Blessed art Thou, O L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, that you have shared part of your love and glory and compassion with a human being who maintains the honor of every innocent person and every Jew forever.”

 

The Talmud states that it is a mitzvah (Torah commandment) for a Jew to go out of his way to see rulers and kings, whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish but there is a dispute among Halachic (Torah law) authorities as to whether this blessing should be recited with the complete name of God in these times upon seeing a ruler who is not a king.

 

It is significant that when the rabbi recited the blessing upon seeing Donald Trump, he said the complete and explicit name of God in Hebrew.

 

Rabbi Nachman Kahana, a prominent spiritual leader in Jerusalem, did not agree with Rabbi Jacobson’s decision to use the name of God in this instance.

 

“Every rabbi can make his own ruling and Chabad has their own methods and rulings. But what is for sure is that Halacha is not influenced by political considerations,” Rabbi Kahana explained to Breaking Israel News. “It is like science and should be the result of careful consideration of the facts and the current situation…

 

This is learned out from the real king, Hashem (God, literally ‘the name’), which is the source of the king’s authority. Hashem’s authority is not derived from other men. He cannot be impeached, and we don’t vote for God.” (Rabbi: Blessing Trump as King Shows He is the Final President Before the Return of Davidic Dynasty, By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Breaking Israel News, November 13, 2019)

So, there is disagreement about the technicalities of giving homage to political leaders amongst the Jewish upper-clergy. However, their myopic inability to determine who is who among politicians and world leaders is the point I wish to make. The lack of ability to determine how those leaders can be trusted as a blessing by God to Israel is becoming clear in these strange days so near the end of the age.

Their blindness, as expressed by the Apostle Paul in the scripture given above, becomes increasingly manifest as their true Messiah’s coming nears. This myopia –this blindness, is foretold by the Messiah, Himself.

“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.” (John 5: 43)

Jews at the highest ecclesiastical echelons are exhibiting the supernatural myopia Jesus predicted. They are straining to look for the anointed one so long promised. Sadly, they will soon, deludedly, see Antichrist as Israel’s Messiah.

The Mighty Angels of Revelation: Book Review by Terry James

The Mighty Angels of Revelation

By Nathan Jones

Book Review by Terry James

Nathan Jones, my good friend and colleague who serves with Dr. David Reagan’s Lamb and Lion Ministries and is the co-host of the Christ in Prophecy television program, has written what I consider to be the premiere book on Angels. If you don’t have this book nearby to grab and study then you will miss the full scope of what God’s Word has to say about these magnificent creatures.

The information contained therein is stunning in its breadth of exploration and examination. It is, as I have written, the very best, most comprehensive book on the subject that I’ve read.

Nathan asked that I read the book manuscript and consider writing its foreword. His invitation turned out to be not a chore because of work disruption, but a genuine blessing that has edified my study and expanded my biblical vista in ways I’m still discovering.

My foreword begins with the following:

“Angels among us,” (a song by Alabama,) says it all.

Nathan tells of what his family is certain was direct, heavenly intervention by one of God’s messengers. I once would have been somewhat reluctant to believe in such intervention—at least not on a regular basis. However, on April 22, 2011, I faced an angelic cloud of witnesses on three different occasions when my heart stopped three separate times and I was declared clinically dead on arrival by a hospital physician.

That there are angels among us—or perhaps better stated, we are among them—I have absolutely no doubt in the deepest reaches of my spiritual heart since that widow-maker heart attack on that Good Friday of 2011.

But it is not that strangely glorious experience that convinces me now; it is the very Word of God. In that regard, Nathan Jones’ new book focuses intensive enlightenment upon the story of angels found in the Bible.

A devastating car wreck almost killed Nathan’s parents. If not for a lone biker who had stopped at the scene of the accident and administered first aid, some say they would have died before medical help arrived. The only problem: only one person could recollect the biker ever having been there. Their rescuer had mysteriously disappeared without a trace. The only survivor who could remember insisted they must have been rescued not by a mere man, but by an actual angel sent from God.

This jolting event in the life of one family led author Nathan Jones to set off to explore his own skepticism about the possibility that angels were not only real and active in the Bible in the past, but continue to be real and active in our world today. He pondered: Are angels still secretly working among us, serving God as His angelic messengers? Are angels actively involved in directing the affairs of mankind? How do Satan and the demons play into the spiritual warfare raging behind the scenes? And, does God plan to use His mighty angels to reshape the world that is yet to come?

In his pursuit of these questions, Nathan was challenged by a pastor friend, Vic Batista, to seek out one of the greatest sources in the study of angelology–the book of Revelation. With its whopping seventy-two instances of angels, demons, and entire groups of angels and demons, Revelation stands apart from all of the other books in the Bible as the most prolific source for learning about angels.

Revelation contains great insights into the end-times days in which we are living, as well as describes in stunning detail the horrors in which the earth will soon be plunging headlong. Out of this dark tale shines a ray of light, as Revelation’s main purpose is to provide that blessed hope that Christians so desperately need—Jesus Christ is returning soon.

Just a quick perusal of the deeply detailed table of contents to Nathan’s book will give you understanding that this volume is the ultimate work on bringing to light truth about these marvelous beings.

This is a must-have reference book, as well as a thrilling and inspiring read. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Title: The Mighty Angels of Revelation

Author: Nathan E. Jones

Publisher: Lamb & Lion Ministries

ISBN: 978-0-945593-32-4

Pages: 400

Lamb & Lion Ministries: https://bibleprophecyresources.com/shop/the-mighty-angels-of-revelation-book/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZTR8R6Q/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nathan+e.+jones&qid=1572546113&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mighty-angels-of-revelation-nathan-e-jones/1134523578?ean=2940160817545