I am writing this blog in my living room a few hours after waking up to see the results of the mid-term elections in the United States.
I have many thoughts and feelings running through my heart and mind as I scroll through the headlines, most of which are deeply personal and wouldn't be of much interest to my readers.
But here's a few thoughts that are not so personal to me and which you might find interesting and or helpful.
To start off, I am not any more worried about the future of Israel, or my own personal future, after this election then I was before it. Israel is a project of the Kingdom of the Lord God Jesus Christ, and it's not going to fail because of anything happening in this physical world.
Many people believe that America is indispensable to Israel's existence, and that without American support, Israel will not survive.
This is not the case, and I could write an entire book explaining why.
But for now, it's enough to say that if America stops supporting Israel, or even if it turns decisively against Israel, as many European countries already have, that will not be catastrophic. In fact, an unpopular opinion I hold to is that this is something that NEEDS to happen for Israel to stop looking for help from earthly kingdoms like the United States and the European Union and instead seek assistance from the God of their Fathers.
Not the RELIGION of their Fathers, but the GOD of their Fathers.
You'll be happy to know, gentle reader, that this is already beginning to happen, and I think recent electoral events both here in Israel and in the US will serve to push that along even more.
Regarding America's future, I am also not overly concerned with this one election, because many of the people who voted for Democrats in this election voted for Republicans in the last one, and if they changed their minds once they can change their minds again. If any Republicans reading this blog need to be cheered up, I will say that in my humble opinion, you've got a VERY good chance of keeping the White House in 2028 and maybe even gaining back control of one or both houses of Congress.
Once again, I could write a whole book telling you my reasons why, but for now, I'll just say that politics is a game where winning can create all kinds of new problems and losing sometimes helps you solve some of your old problems.
So, those are the things I'm NOT worried about, for either Israel's sake or America's.
Here's what I AM worried about, for America's sake.
The Bible was on the ballot in this election, and it was RESOUNDINGLY rejected.
I'm not talking about "Christian Nationalism" which SHOULD be rejected because it's a form of idoloatry (more on that in a bit) I'm talking about the Bible.
It is incorrect to say that "America is a Christian nation" but it used to be correct to say that America is a country where the Bible was the most important foundational pillar of cultural influence.
America's traditional support for Israel was a manifestation of this Biblical foundation in American culture, starting with President Harry Truman's extension of diplomatic recognition of the newly born Jewish State just a few minutes after David Ben Gurion Declared Independence on May 14th, 1948, up to this present moment.
But in this most recent election, many fiercely anti-Israel candidates were elected in races around the United States, with the most high-profile being the new Senator from Michigan, Dr. Abu El-Sayed.
But this "blue wave" also included some self-described "Christians" like Texas Senator-elect James Talarico, whose selective and conditional support for Israel should surprise no one given his selective and conditional relationship with the Bible and the God it describes. I would take that a step further and describe the kind of Christianity Talarico practices as nothing but agnostic secular humanism overlayed with a thin veneer of traditional Christian nomenclature and vocabulary.
That did not prevent him from being elected as the new Senator from Texas, and there were other examples of this same phenomenon in many other traditionally "red" States and districts.
To be fair and comprehensive on this point, some of the most popular influencers on the political Right in America, such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, have also gone off the deep end regarding their obsessive expressions of contempt and vitriol for Israel, and this is actually a key element in their own expressions of "Christian Nationalism."
In particular, Carlson has chosen to regard Christian supporters of Israel his most bitter ideological enemies. He also makes no secret of his belief that the Book of Esther has no business being in the Bible and he has contemptuously dismissed efforts to call his attention to other passages in both the Old and New Testament which contradict his positions.
What Tucker Carlson and James Talarico have in common is that they both treat the Bible like a salad bar, taking the parts they like and ignoring the parts they don't like while pointing to a non-Biblical "jesus" as their Lord.
In both cases, the "jesus" they're both worshiping is not the "Jesus" described in the Bible but rather he's a composite made up of a collection of ideological beliefs and positions and ideas that they themselves hold to. In other words, the "jesus" they worship is a figment of their own imaginations and thus, an idol.
In case no one ever explained it to you, an "idol" and it can also be literally ANYTHING a person looks to for their identity, their hope, or their security.
That is as true for a modern American Democrat worshipping "woke jesus" or a modern American Republican worshipping "MAGA jesus" as it was for an ancient Philistine worshipping "Dagon" or an ancient Greek worshipping "Zeus."
It is also true, just by the way, for a modern Israeli or Christian Zionist who is worshipping "King Bibi" and/or the Golden Calf of Modern Orthodoxy.
Brothers and sisters, please hear me.
The ONLY hope for America, or Israel, or Europe, or anywhere else, is the big-G "God" described in the Bible, and that means ALL of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament. All of it.
As Psalm 33:12 says "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance."
To our modern ears this sounds redundant, but the meaning is clear that the nation who worships the TRUE God that the Bible describes instead of one of the many other small-g "gods" that so many people have been worshipping all through history, will be blessed. I believe the opposite is also true, that any nation whose object of worship is NOT the TRUE God described in the Bible will NOT be blessed, but cursed, or just left to its own devices, which is essentially the same thing.
So, if you're reading this as you're in shock and mourning over the results of the mid-term elections in the United States, or the recent Knesset elections in Israel, or the elections they had last month in Brazil, or any other election anywhere else, what I can tell you is that the way to get to a better place is to open up the Bible and read it. Pray EARNESTLY into what you're reading in that Book and then get into regular fellowship with others who read the Bible and pray.
Repent individually and corporately, of the errors you've made, the idols you've put your faith, hope and trust in, the false doctrines you've held to which contradict the Bible (remembering that the Holy Spirit will never "reveal" anything that contradicts the written Scriptures) and any other sinful behavior you've slipped into, even unintentionally.
Stop chasing "prosperity" and earthly possessions, political power, book and merch sales, prestige and all that other nonsense and instead pursue righteousness.
That's the winning strategy you're looking for.
That's the way you can become a force for good that no earthly force can withstand, even a blue wave, or a red wave, both of which can be here today and gone tomorrow.
That's what I've got for you this week brothers and sisters. I hope it blesses someone.
