Why we will fight the culture war in vain if we
refuse to understand the nature of the battle:
Ephesians 6:12 KJV
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The Bible is a collection of metaphorical stories which reveal
the unchanging nature of both God and man. How could that not be so given that we
are His creation? The Bible is a motif of recurring thematic
elements and is our greatest artistic literary work.
Hebrews 13:8-9
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today,
and for ever.
9 Be not carried about with divers and strange
doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not
with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Many Christians look for the fulfilling of Biblical
prophecies as a one-time event without realizing this. Since the Bible is a
collection of stories rife with metaphorical meaning which reveal man’s eternal
struggle to be free of totalizing oppression. It is helpful to understand that Biblical
prophecy rather than simply revealing a single event actually refers to
something that is far more eternal which repeats as an ongoing process.
Matthew 24 KJV is often used as a sign of the eminent return
of Christ, yet Jesus told those who were hearing him that they would witness the
fulfillment of verses one and two themselves. Then later in the same chapter
Jesus reveals the ongoing nature of this struggle against our oppressors leading
up to His ultimate return. The last part of the chapter covers a very broad
period of time. After all, God is eternal, and a day is as a thousand years to
Him.
Matthew 24:1-2
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the
temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the
temple.
2And
Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There
shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
It is important to note that the Romans destroyed the
Second Jewish Temple in the year **70 CE** during the siege of Jerusalem. This
event marked a major turning point in Jewish history. The Roman army, led by
the future emperor Titus, besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel
resistance in the Roman province of Judaea. After a five-month siege, the
Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple. On Tisha B'Av, 70 CE
(August 30), Roman forces overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the Temple.
A day is as a 1000 years:
The phrase "The day is 1000 years to the Lord" is
a reference to a verse in the Bible, specifically **2 Peter 3:8**. This verse
states: "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day
is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
This illustrates the **eternal nature of God**. It suggests
that God transcends time and what we perceive as a long period of time may be
insignificant to God. It also emphasizes that God's perception of time is
different from ours. This verse is often used to explain why it may seem like
God is slow to fulfill His promises, according to human standards. However,
from God's perspective, He is not slow but patient, waiting for us to repent.
The Church as the New Israel:
There are several scriptures in the Bible that have been
interpreted to refer to Christians as the "New Israel". Here are a
few:
1. **Galatians 6:15-16**: 15 For in Christ
Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creature. 16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and
mercy, and upon the Israel of God. This
verse refers to the church as the "Israel of God".
2. **Jeremiah 31**: This chapter speaks of a
"New Israel" and is often interpreted as referring to the church.
3. **Psalm 24:6**: This verse is interpreted to
mean that Jesus Christ, the head of the church, is also the head of the
"Israel of God".
In the New Testament, the church is often described as the
spiritual Israel, composed of spiritual Israelites. This new congregation is
commissioned to fulfill what the physical nation of old failed to do: carry
God’s glory and salvation throughout the earth.
Israel and its oppression by the totalizing powers
of its day as a metaphor for the present oppression of Christians under the prevailing
totalizing enterprises of our time:
The Israelites lived under the dominion of other nations on
four separate occasions in the Old Testament. Here are the instances:
1. **Assyrian Captivity**: The Kingdom of Israel was
conquered by the Neo-Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-Pileser III and Shalmaneser V.
2. **Babylonian Captivity**: The captivity of Judah was
accomplished by three distinct invasions of the Babylonians and covered a
period of twenty years.
3. **Persian Rule**: After the fall of Babylon, the Jews
were under Persian rule, which allowed them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild
the Temple.
4. **Roman Rule**: The Romans took control of Judea in 63
BC. The Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD marked the beginning of
the Jewish Diaspora.
It is interesting to note that the use of the number 4 in
the Scriptures is the number of trial and testing. Each time Israel was given
over to the totalizing tyranny of each of its four oppressors it was due to Israel’s
unfaithfulness. Their final unfaithfulness was due to the failure of them to
recognize Christ as their Messiah. This resulted in the diaspora where the Jewish
people were scattered abroad until Israel once again became a nation in 1948.
The Jews are the only people in all of human history who successfully returned
to their ancient homeland to recover it.
Each time Israel was forced into exile because of their
unfaithfulness. In exile and under totalizing oppression the people of Israel
were required to bow down to false deities and accept practices which were to
them blasphemous rejections of the one and only God.
From Psalm 137 KJV
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the
midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive
required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a
strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right
hand forget her cunning.
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue
cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the
day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be
destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth
thy little ones against the stones.
I weep when I remember my righteous ancestors whose
Christian faith and values became the foundations for the peace, order, and
good government upon which Canadian was founded. Do we honestly think as Judas Iscariot
did that our oppressors can be so easily dismissed when Canadians have so completely
rejected God? After all Judas betrayed Christ because he falsely believed that
the Lord was going to drive out the Romans out of Israel without first leading Israel
to repentance and acceptance of Him as their Messiah. Judas’ failure to grasp the
nature of Christ and that of his own fallen nature led to Christ’s crucifixion and
Judas’ own death! Peter stated of him in Act 1 KJV 16 Men and brethren, this
scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of
David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17
For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18 Now
this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong,
he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Our struggle against the oppressors in our day:
Ethic scholar Dr. Julie Ponesse has a PhD in Philosophy
(Western, 2008) with areas of specialization in ethics and ancient philosophy. She
also holds a Masters in Philosophy with Collaborative Specialization in
Bioethics from the University of Toronto and a Diploma in Ethics from the
Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. Dr. Ponesse has published
in the areas of ancient philosophy, ethical theory, and applied ethics, and has
taught at universities in Canada and the US for 20 years.
In the fall of 2021, Dr. Ponesse saw her academic career of
20 years fall apart after she refused to comply with a Canadian university’s
COVID vaccine mandate. In response, Dr. Ponesse recorded a special video
directed to her first-year ethics students. That video went viral. Since the
release of that video, Dr. Ponesse joined The Democracy Fund as the Ethics
Scholar focussing on educating the public on civil liberties. However as of
December 2022, Dr. Ponesse has resumed her private life and ended her term with
The Democracy Fund.
Earlier today Dr. Julie announced the following on social
media, “The darkness of the last few years is undeniable but it did give us
an invaluable gift. It showed us who we are, what we are made of, like nothing
else could have done. It awoke us not just to the horrible truths of this
world, but to who we can be, and need to be, moving forward. It showed us what
humanity needs and what we EACH need if we are to rise and flourish, and not
just to survive. The question for each of us is “Will you retreat or will you
run towards the light?”” She wrote this as a preamble to her new book Our Last
Innocent Moment available at this link: https://www.amazon.ca/Last-Innocent-Moment-Julie-Ponesse/dp/1630692581
Let me read the preamble to her new book:
“If there can possibly be anything good to come
out of the horrors of the last three years, it is this: some of us, at least,
have been shaken awake. We now know that we are under attack. We are under
attack not so much for the particular things we say or do but simply for
wanting to be free, for wanting to be able to think through our lives, and for
wanting our lives to be the products of our own choices.
Whatever happened over the last few years, we
have been fundamentally changed by it. There’s no reclaiming the innocence we
lost. Life is more serious now. Our obligations are more weighty, or just more
apparent. There are certain truths we came to see that can never be unseen. And
everything is so much more complicated than we thought.
This is a dark time for humanity. But darkness
always creates the greatest opportunities for growth and self-awareness, and
for us to intentionally remake ourselves for the better. The moment is upon us.
We can’t reclaim the innocence we lost in 2020, but we can use our experiences
to remake a more innocent world for ourselves and for our children. We can, I
dare say, create something even greater.
Whatever you’ve been through over the last four
years, whatever you left unsaid and undone, whatever you’ve lost, and however
it changed you, this book is for you.
Dr. Julie Ponesse is Chief of Biomedical Ethics
for The Wellness Company, a 2023 Brownstone Institute Fellow, and the author of
My Choice (2021). She has a PhD in Philosophy (Western, 2008) with areas of
specialization in ethics and ancient philosophy. Dr. Ponesse has published in
the areas of ancient philosophy, ethical theory, and applied ethics, and has
taught at universities in Canada and the US for 20 years.
In the fall of 2021, she saw her academic
career of 20 years fall apart after she refused to comply with a Canadian
university's COVID vaccine mandate In response, Dr. Ponesse recorded a special
video directed to her first-year ethics students. That video went viral.”
My conclusions:
While I laud Dr. Julie for her courage and integrity, she
falls short of stating why we will fail if we refuse to recognize the following,
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.” Justin Trudeau, Chrystia Freeland, Steven
Guilbeault, the CCP with whom they are deep in bed, their injection into the
WEF, all the COVID failures, lockdowns, the reaction of the state to legitimate
dissent, whatever source for and manifestations of the totalizing enterprise our
elected representatives are the walking, talking manifestations of these Satanic
principalities and powers. We must arm ourselves with the full armour of God if
we are to press on toward the Holy City on the hill for only then can we defeat
them. There cannot be a political solution to our moral, philosophical, and
indeed spiritual crisis. There can be no recovery without first the Church
repenting of its wicked compliance to the ways of this present age. The Truth
of Christ which is only present in the Church must prevail if we are to defeat
this totalizing enterprise!
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