Digging into the difference of opinion noted in the Joel Rosenberg re-post unearthed an interesting find – one connecting into what I wrote ten weeks earlier about the origin of this blog. I’ll say more about that later.
Some readers may have queried my covering comment to Joel’s post; (it) “includes opinions of a Bible teacher who thinks its prophecies have happened“. This merely reflects the actual content of The Blazeinterviews.
As Hank Hanegraaff’s online radio show is called ‘Bible Answer Man’, my remark may seem to question that title. Those reading the linked article would note journalist Billy Holloway’s statement that Hanegraaff has “a wildly different take on the matter” to that of Rosenberg for he, “rejected the notion that Revelation and other alleged prophecies apply to today’s world”.
How come? Aren’t both men Christians? A little elucidation is called for…
Doubtless both men meet the basic criterion for a born-again believer, as in the Spirit-inspired instruction of the apostles Paul and John:
…9 if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Chapter 10 of Paul’s letter to the Romans; New International Version)
16 For God so loved the world (that’s you, my reader) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (Chpt 3 of the Gospel according to John; NIV)
So, to have faith in Christ it isn’t absolutely necessary to believe everything in the Bible. In fact, some believers disregard prophecy and scholars have various opinions upon this topic and when, if at all, predicted events will occur. Also, are such things to be taken figuratively?
In my musing in late-May Is the Lord Exposing Rotten Politics? UK, USA – next EU? we considered what was happening over the ‘pond’ regarding Obama and Clinton and I was prophetically guessing the Lord’s wanting to sort out deep corruption in governments. That’s now come to head at such an appropriate time with next week’s American elections up in the air over Hillary Clinton’s extremely suspicious activities.
Doesn’t it remind you how suddenly the political scene changed here as a result of the EU Referendum’s unexpected result favouring Brexit? In several posts I’ve surmised the USA may follow on our footsteps in view of our spiritual link.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those whowill believe in Me through their word;21 that they all may be one, asYou, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.22 And theglory which You gave Me I have given them,that they may be one just as We are one:23 I in them, and You in Me;that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”(John 17:20-23 NKJV)
Of myself: born and baptised in Roman Catholicism but when an adult became anti-church; but blessed to be saved and born-again by and baptised in the Holy Spirit, I regard myself as being non-denomination and desire the manifestation of the above prayer by My Saviour Jesus the Messiah.
And guess what? I find Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America, is in the same boat with me – ie. non-denominational – as we shall soon see! Continue reading →
Further to Part 1’s closing quotation from William Koenig on Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, readers may like to check this overview of his book on Obama’s dangerous legacy.
His location brought close familiarity with the work of several presidents and so William noticed the contrast between the last administrations is like that between darkness and light!
He emphasises that not since Ronald Reagan’s presidency have ALL Christians been so welcome in every area of the White House as they are under Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. As a newly refreshed believer the President has become more open to the Lord and, supported by Franklin Graham and other Christian leaders, is moving forward in his faith. SO please avoid jumping to conclusions and making inaccurate even presumptuous judgments.
We will look more closely at Donald Trump’s faith and its application in furthering Kingdom principles later. Continue reading →
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those whowill believe in Me through their word;21 that they all may be one, asYou, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.22 And theglory which You gave Me I have given them,that they may be one just as We are one:23 I in them, and You in Me;that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”(John 17:20-23 NKJV)
Of myself: born and baptised in Roman Catholicism but when an adult became anti-church; but blessed to be saved and born-again by and baptised in the Holy Spirit, I regard myself as being non-denomination and desire the manifestation of the above prayer by My Saviour Jesus the Messiah.
And guess what? I find Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America, is in the same boat with me – ie. non-denominational – as we shall soon see!
RECAP
So let’s quickly recap thus far on this posts’ specific topic. We’re examining the claim from British pastors’ perspective that, as reported superficially by biased media, there are grounds for doubting Donald Trump has “the values of Jesus or a heart for His Kingdom.”
However, my blog’s historical data reports:
Trump is honoured, supported and prayed for by black churches, one bishop of which attended his Inauguration.
Prayer played a major role in his Inauguration, which featured more religious leaders than any other inauguration in history.
Independent editor based in the White House reported, “I rejoice at the change because it has been very tough being in the White House press corps the last eight years…Fortunately,Trump, Pence…and the nominees are very pro-Christian, pro-Evangelical and pro-Israel. This is truly a new day for believers in Yeshua.”
Furthermore, “not since Ronald Reagan’s presidency have all Christians been so welcome in every area of the White House as they are under Trump & VP. Pence.”
An inserted re-blog from the ‘Never-Trump’ author Joel Rosenberg tells what changed his mind and how he told President Trump when ‘Veep’ Pence took him to meet him in the Oval Office:
“Sir, if you accomplish nothing else for the rest of your term, you will go down in history as the most pro-life and pro-Israel president in the history of the country. And I just want to say, on behalf of my wife and me, thank you.” The President seemed moved. Then I noted the Bible commands believers to “pray for kings and all those in authority.”
“I want you to know, sir, that I have prayed for you and your family every day since you took the Oath of Office.”
“Thank you, Joel,” Trump replied. “That means a lot to me.”
OCTOBER 2020
1. One of my regular readers in New Zealand responded to Part 2 by informing me of comments by Revd Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church, California, about Trump:
“For me it is worthy of note that I’ve never seen a president who loved prayer as much as Donald Trump — and that includes from those I voted for and those I didn’t,” Johnson, who regularly preaches on revival and the Holy Spirit, said. “His passion for godly counsel is also legendary. His historic actions for Israel should appeal to believers, as the biblical mandate to pray supportively for Jerusalem is a clear priority in scripture.”
‘Explaining that he isn’t trying to coerce anyone or tell them who to vote for, Johnson said he believes Trump “is the only one who isn’t owned by either party, and is fully capable through courage and boldness to bring about the changes needed.”
‘President Trump said in a written statement that he no longer identifies as a Presbyterian and now sees himself as a non-denominational Christian. “Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a non-denominational Christian,” Trump, who has repeatedly identified as a Presbyterian in the past, said in a written response to RNS.
‘Saying that his parents “taught me the importance of faith and prayer from a young age,” Trump went on to say that “Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same.”
‘The revelation about Trump’s religious identity appeared in an interview that was conducted in writing and covered a variety of faith topics, ranging from the president’s own spiritual life to his plans for the White House office tasked with engaging faith groups.’
Last week you gave reference to thanking God that you had COVID. What did you learn spiritually during your COVID experience?
You are regularly associated with influential Evangelical leaders what have you learned from them spiritually?
Given the support you have received from evangelical Christians in particular, do you consider yourself to be an evangelical Christian and, why or why not?
What have you done to help persecuted Christians around the world?
You have continued the efforts of past administrations to have a “faith-based office.” What specific results have been produced by the Faith and Opportunity Initiative since you established it in 2018 and what do you expect it to accomplish in the coming years?
CONCLUSION
I trust my readers will be surprised and encouraged to join me in visiting the above links to learn more about President Trump’s renewed faith as a follower of Jesus Christ. May the Lord be the Trumps’ strong tower and keep them secure during this vital election.
Next, we’ll be surprised to note how Trump has put his faith into action as a politician!
Further to Part 1’s closing quotation from William Koenig on Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, readers may like to check this overview of his book on Obama’s dangerous legacy.
His location brought close familiarity with the work of several presidents and so William noticed the contrast between the last administrations is like that between darkness and light!
He emphasises that not since Ronald Reagan’s presidency have ALL Christians been so welcome in every area of the White House as they are under Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. As a newly refreshed believer the President has become more open to the Lord and, supported by Franklin Graham and other Christian leaders, is moving forward in his faith. SO please avoid jumping to conclusions and making inaccurate even presumptuous judgments.
We will look more closely at Donald Trump’s faith and its application in furthering Kingdom principles later. Continue reading →
On March 7, 2019, I entered the Oval Office for the first time in my life. Vice President Mike Pence, a friend since 2012, and I had just had lunch in the White House Mess. We had discussed the administration’s Middle East peace plan, which was then still in development, and my recent private meetings…
The Saudi Foreign Ministry has just released a quite positive statement on the White House peace plan. They thank President Trump and his administration for their efforts to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. They also urge the Palestinian leadership to take the plan seriously and return to direct negotiations. Based on my meetings…
In both their Arabic and English editions, the Saudi Gazette has just published a rare and possibly unprecedented front-page interview with an Evangelical Christian speaking candidly about war, peace, reform, the Crown Prince and what followers of Jesus believe.
JEDDAH — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman is leading Saudi Arabia through the most dramatic, positive and exciting social and economic reforms in the history of the Kingdom, said Joel C. Rosenberg, New York Times best-selling author and head of the Evangelical Delegation, in an exclusive interview with Saudi Gazette, following his visit to the Kingdom recently…..
Rosenberg: None of us want to see another war in the Middle East. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are commanded in the Bible to pray for peace and to be peacemakers. So, we are praying fervently for peace and stability. At the same time, however, we…
After speaking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), President Trump says US forces in the Gulf are “locked and loaded,” strongly suggesting he may order retaliatory military strikes against Iran, possibly within the week. All eyes are once again on the Middle East, yet the US media has largely ignored a group of […]
(Washington, D.C.) — Last Thursday, I was humbled to be invited to the White House for four hours of meetings regarding the upcoming rollout of the President’s Middle East Peace Plan, as well as the threats posed to the U.S., Israel and our allies by the rogue regimes in Iran and North Korea. The morning […]
A most historically noteworthy event reported by Joel Rosenberg. Perhaps we’re heading towards fulfillment of Isaiah 19:23 on a highway being built from Egypt to Assyria and that both nations will form an alliance with Israel…
(Cairo, Egypt) — It’s impossible to overstate how historic this is: a pious Sunni Muslim Arab President builds the largest church in the Middle East and gives it as a Christmas present to the Christians of his country. Can you remember the last time this happened? Neither can I. Yet this is precisely what happened […]
(Jerusalem, Israel) — On Wednesday, The Jerusalem Post published the first in-depth story on our Evangelical Delegation to Saudi Arabia, why we went, and what the Crown Prince told us behind closed doors.
As I told editors Yaakov Katz and Seth Frantzman in the Post’s offices yesterday, the entire meeting in the Royal Palace was on the record, except for what MBS told us regarding his views of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Our team took detailed notes and I provided some of the excerpts of our conversation to the Post. Here’s the article.
Joel keeps us up-to-date on Iran (Ezek 38; Gog/Magog) and I note its response: supreme leader demands his own terms on the nuclear accord and one of its Revolutionary Guards leaders threatens US Secretary of State!
(Washington, D.C.) — Iranian leaders hated it. Most European leaders hated it. So did most former advisors to President Obama and Vice President Biden, and most of Washington’s so-called “experts.” But this is hardly news.
What’s fascinating is that most Arab leaders loved it.
I’ve spoken with two very high-ranking Arab officials in recent days about the speech delivered by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at The Heritage Foundation on Monday morning. Both made it clear to me how deeply grateful and appreciative their countries are to the Trump-Pence administration for finally taking a bold, decisive, uncompromising position against Iranian aggression.
One Arab official told me privately: “It’s like the world is sane again.”
After watching Iran be feted and praised and rewarded and appeased by President Obama and his team over the past eight years, most Sunni Arab leaders are rejoicing that the U.S. is finally treating Iran as…
Thirty years ago my jaw dropped upon seeing an utterly amazing ‘coincidence’ between a book I was reading (The Invisible Hand) and a video of Iran’s elite troops rehearsing an attack upon, and liberation of, Jerusalem (see ‘Bio’ ). After many years watching the malign machinations of that regime, I’m pleased there’s now a non-Israeli world leader adamantly refusing to tolerate Iranian terrorism AND is already taking action – with Britain and France! – as well as knowing those ‘Twelvers’ hell-bent eschatological motives! [See Iranian Leader’s End-times Declaration & ‘Mahdi’ tag]. Here’s Joel Rosenberg’s on yesterday’s announcement:
(Jerusalem, Israel) — After a careful policy review by senior administration officials, and consultation with a wide range of U.S. allies, President Donald Trump today kept his promise by announcing the U.S. will terminate the nuclear deal that President Obama and Secretary John Kerry negotiated with Iran. The President also announced the U.S. will imposing […]
Global exposure and condemnation at long last of this nasty, pretentious Holocaust denier’s vile personality. Next, Britain’s Labour Party and its leader…?
(Jerusalem) — In January, I said on Fox News that “we may be heading for a post-Abbas era.” That day just grew much closer. World leaders from the United Nations to the European Union to the German government and the U.S. are publicly condemning a speech Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave this week as “anti-Semitic,” […]
This morning’s news (UK time) is that, on his first trip to the Mid-East, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has given Saudi Arabia and Israel the ‘thumbs up’ to deal with Iran. [Update at Netanyahu Reveals Stunning Intelligence Coup ie. Iran lied about Deal.]
(Jerusalem, Israel) — The news is just breaking here that Prime Minister Netanyahu will speak live to the nation in a televised address at 8pm local time (1pm Eastern).
At this hour, the PM is meeting with his Security Cabinet.
What we’re hearing so far is that the PM will discuss new intelligence Israel has obtained about Iran’s nuclear program and new plots Iran is developing against the State of Israel.
The speech comes at a moment of high tension in the region.
The Syrian regime continues using chemical weapons against its own people, despite the fact Russian President Putin and then US-President Barack Obama assured us all chemical weapons had been removed from Syria.
Russia and Iran continue to consolidate their military positions in Syria, and to prop up the Assad regime to keep the dictator in power.
Both the U.S. and Israel have launched air strikes against the…
This deliberate act of covert warfare against Britain may bring a couple of blessings in disguise: first, bringing the nation together after the deep divisions caused by the EU-referendum; secondly, the public awakening to the utter unsuitability/incompetence of Jeremy Corbyn in leadership of either his party or the nation! (Link to Latest)
(Dallas, Texas) — First, a few thoughts on the situation unfolding in the U.K.
The poisoning of a Russian father and daughter — opponents of Vladimir Putin — on British soil by a military-grade nerve agent was reprehensible. It must be condemned by every world leader. The number of Putin critics murdered or severely injured in Great Britain is in the double digits and continues to rise. This is absolutely unacceptable and must not go unpunished.
I applaud British Prime Minister Theresa May for announcing an immediate series of punitive measures against the Russian government, including the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies, the largest number of such expulsions in thirty years.
NATO HQ also just issued a statement on these attacks on British soil, which reads in part: “The UK confirmed the use of a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia and…
UPDATED: (Jerusalem, Israel) — On Monday, I was humbled to be invited to watch Vice President Mike Pence’s historic address to the Knesset from inside the chamber.
It was the first time an American Vice President had ever addressed Israel’s 120-seat parliament, and Mr. Pence certainly covered a lot of ground and stirred an enormous amount of controversy. Among his key points, the V.P.:
Spoke of his personal affection for Israel and the Jewish people and cited or alluded to more Scripture than probably any foreign leader who has spoken there.
Called on the Palestinian leadership to “return to the table” and agree to direct peace talks with Israel (they have refused such talks since 2014).
Praised Israeli, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders for making peace treaties in the past with American help.
Underscored the nuances of President Trump’s December announcement on Jerusalem and discussed the U.S. embassy’s move from Tel…
(Jerusalem, Israel) — After several years of darkness falling on the Middle East, we’re actually seeing quite a bit of good news in recent months. The U.S.-led coalition of Sunni Arab countries is systematically crushing the Islamic State. The Caliphate has been dismantled. ISIS jihadists are still a threat, but they’re being driven out of […]