Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, July 3, 2022
Shavuah Tov,
Has Today’s Counterpart of the Black Robed Regiment– And Most of Its Troops– Gone AWOL? by Dr. Raymond Finney
INTRODUCTION: Tomorrow, July 4, is America’s Independence Day. This day observes the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. This act of rebellion ushered in the Revolutionary War, which secured, a few years later, independence from Great Britain and created the sovereign nation of the United States of America.
Today’s RR will be a mishmash discussion of America’s independence then, now, and in the future. If you read this RR, keep one verse in mind (2 Chronicles 7:14): [Adonai said to Solomon] “… when My people, over whom My Name is called, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We Americans are in grave danger– on the verge of collapse or defeat by a foreign power, I fear– because we do not humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our evil ways. Israel was the “apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8), but God allowed His people Israel to be destroyed and sent into exile (Diaspora) because they did not follow Him. Many Americans are certain this will never happen to us because we are special. Why should God protect America, when Americans fail to follow and worship Him?
And, as you consider this year’s Independence Day, also keep two oft-heard statements in mind:
● “In God We Trust.” This is the United States’ official motto, but do Americans really trust God?
● “God bless America.” God has blessed America beyond measure. Do we Americans now need to bless God?
A TWO-PART RR: In this year’s Independence Day RR, I comment in two parts: (Part A) America was founded as a Judeo-Christian nation, as proven by the Founders’ comments; and (Part B) An important component of the struggle for independence was provided by the Black Robed Regiment, which, sadly, is missing in today’s America.
► PART A – THE DEBATE CONTINUES: It is debated whether the United States was founded by Judeo-Christians, by Deists, or by agnostics. A Deist follows Deism. Deism originated during the Age of Enlightenment and Reason in the 17th and 18th centuries in France, Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. Deism sharply declined as a philosophy around 1800.
Deism is a philosophical viewpoint, not a religion. A Deist agrees, through reason and logic not through Biblical revelation, that a Creator (God) exists. This Creator set in place the laws of physics governing the Universe. Then, the Creator apparently became bored and walked away from His creation. Created beings, left to their own devices, should not expect help from the Creator. The Deist does not believe in prophecy. (Why would the Creator be interested in our future?) The Deist does not believe in any supernatural events. (Why would the Creator intervene in the history of the Earth, because physical laws already set in motion will control the future?) The Deist does not believe in any form of worship, ceremony, prayers, or rituals. (Why would the Creator care about these practices, which would be little more than superstition, if there is not One who receives the praise and worship?)
Deism is the opposite of theism. Theism is the belief in a God who intervenes in the lives of humans and a God with whom one can have a personal relationship (a Father–child relationship).
SOME EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT A JUDEO-CHRISTIAN FOUNDING OFTHE UNITED STATES: Several Internet sources provide quotations of the men who founded the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Their comments provide evidence of strong Judeo-Christian faith. One source (WallBuilders) is: The Founding Fathers on Jesus, Christianity and the Bible – WallBuilders . I can include only a brief sample of these quotations, but it would be useful to read all quotations during this season of patriotism. (Off topic, but appreciate the mastery of their impressive knowledge and beautiful command of the English language, mostly achieved through education at home and in parochial schools, without benefit of computers and modern educational theories and techniques.)
The following quotations, gleaned from their speeches, diaries, and other writings, support the conclusion of strong Judeo-Christian faith held by these men. I have space to quote only a few of their comments of faith and to provide only the briefest biographical sketch of their impressive credentials:
● John Adams (signer of Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights; second president): “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.” AND “The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.” AND “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited…. What a Eutopia– what a Paradise would this region be!” AND “I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.”
● John Quincy Adams (sixth president of the United States): “In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.”
● Samuel Adams (signer of Declaration of Independence, ratifier of Constitution): “I… [rely] upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.” AND “Let us secure [the Lord’s] favor and He will lead us through the journey of this life and at length receive us to a better.” As governor of Massachusetts, he called on his state to pray that the “peaceful and glorious reign” of our Divine Redeemer be known by all, that the gracious and free pardon of Jesus be sought by all, and that contrite confession of sins to God and forgiveness be sought through “Jesus Christ our Savior.”
● Charles Carroll (signer of Declaration of Independence, framer of Bill of Rights): “On the mercy of my Redeemer I rely for salvation and on His merits, not on the works I have done in obedience to His precepts.” AND “I, Charles Carroll… give and bequeath my soul to God who gave it, my body to the earth, hoping that through and by the merits, sufferings, and mediation of my only Savior and Jesus Christ, I may be admitted into the Kingdom prepared by God for those who love, fear and truly serve Him.”
● John Dickinson (signer of Constitution): “Rendering thanks to my Creator for my existence and station among His works, for my birth in a country enlightened by the Gospel and enjoying freedom, and for all His other kindnesses, to Him I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity.”
● Benjamin Franklin (signer of Declaration of Independence and Constitution, etc.): “As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.” AND, Franklin’s eulogy he wrote himself: “The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.”
● John Hart (signer of Declaration of Independence): [T]hanks be given unto Almighty God therefore, and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die and after that the judgment… principally, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it and my body to the earth to be buried in a decent and Christian like manner… to receive the same again at the general resurrection by the mighty power of God.”
● Patrick Henry (ratifier of Constitution): “Being a Christian… is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.” AND “The Bible… is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed.” AND “Righteousness alone can exalt [America] as a nation…. Whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.” AND “This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”
● Samuel Huntington (signer of Declaration of Independence): “It becomes a people publicly to acknowledge the over-ruling hand of Divine Providence and their dependence upon the Supreme Being as their Creator and Merciful Preserver… and with becoming humility and sincere repentance to supplicate the pardon that we may obtain forgiveness through the merits and mediation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
● James Iredell (ratifier of Constitution, Supreme Court justice): “For my part, I am free and ready enough to declare that I think the Christian religion is a Divine institution; and I pray to God that I may never forget the precepts of His religion or suffer the appearance of an inconsistency in my principles and practice.”
● John Jay (author of Federalist Papers, chief justice Supreme Court, etc.): “Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved Son…. Blessed be His holy name.” AND “I recommend a general and public return of praise and thanksgiving to Him from whose goodness these blessings descend. The most effectual means of securing the continuance of our civil and religious liberties is always to remember with reverence and gratitude the source from which they flow.” AND “The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.” AND “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
● Thomas Jefferson (signer of Declaration of Independence, third president of United States): “I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.” AND “I am a real Christian– that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.”
● James Kent (judge, father of American Jurisprudence): “… if anything happens to me, you [my children] might know, and perhaps it would console you to remember, that on this point my mind is clear: I rest my hopes of salvation on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
● Francis Scott Key (author of “Star Spangled Banner”): “[M]ay I always hear that you are following the guidance of that blessed Spirit that will lead you into all truth, leaning on that Almighty arm that has been extended to deliver you, trusting only in the only Savior, and going on in your way to Him rejoicing.”
● James Madison (signer of Constitution, author of Federalist Papers, fourth president): “A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest, while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven.” AND “I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way.” AND Madison proposed the three branhes of government– executive, legislative,and judicial–from Isaiah 33:22: For Adonai is our Judge [Judicial Branch], Adonai is our Lawgiver [Legislative Branch], Adonai is our King [Executive Branch]– He will save us!
● George Mason (father of Bill of Rights): “I give and bequeath my soul to Almighty God that gave it me, hoping that through the meritorious death and passion of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ to receive absolution and remission for all my sins.” AND “My soul I resign into the hands of my Almighty Creator, Whose tender mercies are all over His works… humbly hoping from His unbounded mercy and benevolence, through the merits of my blessed Savior, a remission of my sins.”
● Gouverneur Morris (signer of Constitution): “There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish…. [T]he most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion.”
● James Morton (signer of Declaration of Independence): “With an awful reverence to the Great Almighty God, Creator of all mankind, being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and memory, thanks be given to Almighty God for the same.”
● Robert Treat Paine (signer of Declaration of Independence): “I desire to bless and praise the name of God most high for appointing me my birth in a land of Gospel Light where the glorious tidings of a Savior and of pardon and salvation through Him have been continually sounding in mine ears.” AND “I am constrained to express my adoration of the Supreme Being, the Author of my existence, in full belief of His Providential goodness and His forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through whom I hope for never ending happiness in a future state.” AND “I believe the Bible to be the written word of God and to contain in it the whole rule of faith and manners.”
● Timothy Pickering (ratifier of Constitution): “Pardon, we beseech Thee, all our offences of omission and commission; and grant that in all our thoughts, words, and actions, we may conform to Thy known will manifested in our consciences and in the revelations of Jesus Christ, our Savior.”
● Charles Cotesworth Pickney (signer of Constitution): “To the eternal and only true God be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen!”
● John Randolph of Roanoke (several early Federal offices): “I have thrown myself, reeking with sin, on the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ His blessed Son and our (yes, my friend, our) precious Redeemer; and I have assurances as strong as that I now owe nothing to your rank that the debt is paid and now I love God– and with reason. I once hated him– and with reason, too, for I knew not Christ. The only cause why I should love God is His goodness and mercy to me through Christ.” AND “I am at last reconciled to my God and have assurance of His pardon through faith in Christ, against which the very gates of hell cannot prevail. Fear hath been driven out by perfect love.: AND “[I] still cling to the cross of my Redeemer, and with God’s aid firmly resolve to lead a life less unworthy of one who calls himself the humble follower of Jesus Christ.”
● Benjamin Rush (signer of Declaration of Independence, ratifier of Constitution): “The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!… My only hope of salvation is in the infinite transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the Cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!” AND “I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament.” AND “[The Bible] is the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published.” AND “The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effective means of limiting Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools.” AND “[T]he Bible… should be read in our schools in preference to all other books because it contains the greatest portion of that kind of knowledge which is calculated to produce private and public happiness.” AND “[C]hristianity is the only true and perfect religion;….”
● Roger Sherman (signer of Declaration of Independence and Constitution, framer of Bill of Rights): Said of him: “The volume which he consulted more than any other was the Bible. It was his custom, at the commencement of every session of Congress, to purchase a copy of the Scriptures, to peruse it daily, and to present it to one of his children on his return.”
● Joseph Story (Supreme Court Justice): “One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law. There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying at its foundations.”
● Charles Thomson (secretary of Continental Congress, signer of original draft of Declaration of Independence): “I am a Christian. I believe only in the Scriptures, and in Jesus Christ my Savior.”
● Jonathan Trumbull (several offices, confidant of George Washington): “Principally and first of all, I bequeath my soul to God the Creator and giver thereof, and my body to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian burial, in firm belief that I shall receive the same again at the general resurrection through the power of Almighty God, and hope of eternal life and happiness through the merits of my dear Redeemer Jesus Christ.”
● George Washington (commander-in-chief of Continental Army, first president): “While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” AND “I now make it my earnest prayer that God would… most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion.”
● Noah Webster (Revolutionary War soldier, judge, legislator): “The moral principles and precepts found in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.” AND “The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good and the best corrector of all that is evil in human society– the best book for regulating the temporal concerns of men.” AND “[T]he Christian religion… is the basis, or rather the source, of all genuine freedom in government…. I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of Christianity have not a controlling influence.”
● John Witherspoon (signer of Declaration of Independence, ratifier of Constitution): “[C]hrist Jesus– the promise of old made unto the fathers, the hope of Israel, the light of the world, and the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth– is the only Savior of sinners, in opposition to all false religions and every uninstituted rite; as He Himself says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me…. No man, whatever be his character or whatever be his hope, shall enter into rest unless he be reconciled to God though Jesus Christ…. There is no salvation in any other than in Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” AND “ If you are not reconciled to God through Jesus Christ– if you are not clothed with the spotless robe of His righteousness– you must forever perish.”
● Oliver Wolcott (signer of Declaration of Independence): “It is most evident that this land is under the protection of the Almighty, and that we shall be saved not by our wisdom nor by our might, but by the Lord of Host Who is wonderful in counsel and Almighty in all His operations.”
● And so forth: I have only quoted a few of the many patriots, who put quill to paper to profess their faith in God. I have only included a few statements of each man, necessarily omitting many other statements. Does it seem that these men, the Founders of our nation, had strong faith in the Triune God, or were they Deists or agnostics? To me, it seems the intelligentsia have once again lied to us. Our nation was founded as a Judeo-Christian nation.
► PART B – IS A MODERN BLACK ROBED REGIMENT NOW AWOL? As you likely know, AWOL is the military acronym for “Absent Without Official Leave.” An AWOL soldier, who deserts his assignment (leaves his unit without permission), may endanger himself or his unit. Under certain circumstances, the AWOL soldier may be executed by firing squad. In matters of faith, a spiritual leader, congregation, denomination, or congregation member may be AWOL by abandoning the assignments desired by God.
Churches and synagogues do not have firing squads, but an AWOL “soldier of Messiah” will face judgment after death (Hebrews 9:27). Hint: At your judgment, you will want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” You will not want to hear, “I hold these, your failures, against you.”
PLEASE NOTE: In following portions of this RR, I make critical comments about today’s clergy and congregations. This RR is a generalized summary of the activities of many thousands of worship leaders and worship assemblies throughout America. This RR is not an attack against or characterization of Rabbi Weiner or Shomair Yisrael Synagogue. Any reader who equates these RR comments with an attempt to draw parallels with Rabbi Weiner and Shomair Yisrael has failed to understand what I am trying to communicate (poorly, I fear, in my stumbling English).
AN ESSENTIAL REGIMENT IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR: The Revolutionary War, fought from 1775 to 1783, was a war between Great Britain– the most formidable military force in the world at that time– and the American colonists– a ragtag group of farmers, merchants, and other men who had no training or organization, and little equipment other than the home hunting rifle. The war should have been a laughable riot, easily won by King George’s army. Yet, the colonists won and expelled British troops from the soon-to-be-formed United States.
SIDELIGHT: I suppose nostalgia for the homestead musket was the reason the Second Amendment was included in the Constitution. The value of an armed populace as a deterrent to tyrants was highly regarded. END sidelight.
How was such a victory possible? Believers look at this victory and recognize that:
● God ordained that there would be a United States for purposes known only fully to Him, and He decides its leaders:
□ (Psalm 22:29): For the kingdom belongs to Adonai, and He rules over the nations.
□ (Psalm 103:19): Adonai has set up His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.
□ (Daniel 4:32): “All the inhabitants of earth are counted as nothing. [Adonai] does as He wills with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. No one can hold back His hand, or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’”
□ (Romans 13:1b): … For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are put in place by God.
□ And other Scriptures not quoted in this RR.
● The war (Revolutionary War) against Great Britain was unpopular. We have no accurate polling data from the 1770s. (Are polling data ever very accurate?) However, historians estimate that 20 percent of residents in the North American British colones were loyalists (loyal to King George and Great Britain), a smaller percentage were patriots (favoring dissolution from Great Britain, regardless of the cost– even war), and the remainder (the majority) were undecided, choosing to go about their lives regardless of the government overseeing their lives.
● I will not attempt to recount the Revolutionary War, but the Continental Army faced the greatest military force in the world at that time (the British Army). Surely, Great Britain should win this mismatch. But, the Continental Army endured every possible hardship and was the final victor in 1783. American casualties of this war have been estimated at approximately 6,800 killed in combat and 17,000 killed from disease acquired during combat activities (including, dysentery, smallpox, and malaria).
● One feature of the War, which may be unknown or forgotten by many Americans, are the activities of “the Black Robed Regiment.”
The Black Robed Regiment was the name the British gave to the courageous and patriotic American clergy during this time. The name was chosen because many clergymen wore black robes, when they occupied their pulpits. At the time, the British blamed the Black Robed Regiment for American Independence. Modern historians have documented that there is not a right asserted in the Declaration of Independence which had not been discussed by the New England clergy before 1763.
In 1856, a commentary in a British periodical, Bibliotheca Sacra, concluded: “If Christian ministers had not preached and prayed, there might have been no revolution as yet– or had it broken out, it might have been crushed.”
America’s leaders agreed with the British. John Adams recorded that “the pulpits have thundered,” identifying several ministers as being among the “characters the most conspicuous, the most ardent, and influential” in the “awakening and a revival of American principles and feelings” that led to American independence.
Clergymen in the so-called Black Robed Regiment were deeply committed to the concept of liberty for all. Historian B. F. Morris wrote (1864): “The ministers of the Revolution were, like their Puritan predecessors, bold and fearless in the cause of their country. No class of men contributed more to carry forward the Revolution and to achieve our independence than did the ministers…. [B]y their prayers, patriotic sermons, and services [they] rendered the highest assistance to the civil government, the army, and the country.”
Numerous reviews of the Black Robed Regiment are available online, such as: History of the black robe regiment – Nationalblackroberegiment . Learning about this Regiment is a worthwhile endeavor in this patriotic season.
WHERE IS THIS REGIMENT NOW? The United States was founded by an exceptional group of patriots– patriots who were willing to die for freedom for themselves and their families. They agreed with Patrick Henry’s famous quotation (1775): “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Clergymen in the Black Robed Regiment were important in forming public opinion about the necessity for a revolution against the British Crown.
You surely are aware of this, but I will mention it again: The United States is on the verge of collapse. If you are unaware of this, it is time to close down your social media accounts and try reading real news. Admittedly, it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff– the real news from the fake news. But, the truth is out there for diligent workers– workers who search for truth and of whom God is pleased (2 Timothy 2:15): Make every effort to present yourself before God as tried and true, as an unashamed worker cutting a straight path with the word of truth.
The Black Robed Regiment has passed into history. Sadly, there is no replacement.
● Some of the biggest cowards in America stand in pulpits, whether dressed in black robes or other clothing. These cowards are called pastors, ministers, rabbis, or some other honorific title. Instead of proclaiming clearly, “Thus saith the Lord,” they mumble a weak message (typically, three outline points with a poem). They take great care not to offend anyone. If the governing body of the congregation (trustees, deacons, other) is offended, the worship leader may lose his/ her job. If a congregant is offended, he/ she may stop tithing or join another congregation. If the government is offended, the congregation’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status may be jeopardized. If Satan is offended,… well, that is probably not much concern, because many of these congregations really do not believe in such old-fashioned concepts as Satan.
● Congregants in many of Messiah’s worship centers tolerate (even encourage) weak congregational leadership, meaningless messages, an weakly follow in Yeshua’s footsteps. When confronted with the Great Commission and other commandments from Yeshua, they do their imitation of Alfred E. Newman– “What, me worry?” (Do you remember Alfred E, Newman? I was a teenager in the 1950s, and Alfred E. Newman, the idiot mascot of Mad Magazine, was someone I read monthly. There are– maybe– worse ways to waste youth.)
I have dozens of statistics I would like to add, but, having overstayed my welcome, I will not subject you to these statistics. Suffice it to say that the Body of Yeshua has been inflicted with numerous wounds, boils, and cancers inflicted by the Believers who should be most faithful to Him. Many examples of what I consider false teachings can be seen daily on ”Christian television.”
NO SURPRISE: True Believers should be embarrassed and hurt that there is such weakness in the Messiah’s Body (Believers), but the Bible has warned us that this will be the case in the last days. For example:
● In some of Yeshua’s letters to His worship assemblies (Revelation, chapters 2 and 3), He indicated great displeasure at leaders and congregants who abandon their assignments from God (who were AWOL). The last worship assembly, patterned after the one in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22), will be lukewarm and will be detested by Yeshua.
● In the end times, many “Believers” will not be modeled after Yeshua (2 Timothy 3:1-9): But understand this, that in the last days hard times will come– for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, hardhearted, unforgiving, backbiting, without self-control, brutal, hating what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to an outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people! For among these are those who slip into households and deceive weak women weighed down with sins, led away by various desires, always learning yet never able to come to the knowledge of truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these people oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and worthless concerning the faith. But these people will not make any more progress– for their folly, like that of Jannes and Jambres, will be obvious to everyone.
● Faith will be missing in many congregants (Luke 18:8b): [Yeshua said] “… But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
● Few supposed Believers will actually find the way to Heaven (Matthew 7:13-14): [Yeshua said] “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
● Drawing on the lives of Noah and Lot, Yeshua warned us to conduct our lives circumspectly (Luke 17:26-30, 33): [Yeshua said] “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. They were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed them all. Things will be the same on the day when the Son of Man is made fully known. |…| Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
● Beware of false teachers, which abound in modern congregations (1 Timothy 6:3-5): If anyone passes on a different teaching and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and with the instruction in keeping with godliness, he is prideful, understanding nothing. Instead he is obsessed with arguments and disputes about words– out of which come envy, strife, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction between people corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.
You, as a Believer, are responsible to keep and spread the teachings of Yeshua HaMashiach, no matter what failures may exist in surrounding institutions and congregations.
In conclusion, my two points are: (1) the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles; but (2) we are losing those revered principles. How long can our nation operate on the false premise that we are a Godly nation, while doing everything we can to dishonor Him? See Galatians 6:7: Do not be deceived– God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also shall reap. We Americans have been sowing evil seeds, and some day we must reap an evil crop. Until next Sunday, Shalom and Maranatha.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun 03-Jul-2022 4th of Tamuz, 5782
Nu 19:1-17 Jer 52 Ezr 2 (Lk 6:1-26) Gal 3