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  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

The great physician

Lord of the Sabbath

Compassionate and merciful God

Heals the sick

Comforts the poor

Shows no favour to the rich

He cures diseases

And He fixes the broken hearted

Fame and wealth are not His ends

Herbs and drugs are not His means

With a word, sicknesses gone

With a word, demons expelled

He Is the Creator who makes us all

He Is the Messiah promised to come

He Is the Prophet heeded by us

Jesus, the Christ

Lord of the universe

Blessed be the King

Blessed be the King indeed

Am I Weird, Or Is He Weird?

This is another thing I felt was odd. My priest is not a provider nor an insurance company
That’s not odd at all. Asking someone about their medical health is NOT a polite thing to do.

Did you mention that you were neurodivergent upthread? I think some of the issue may be your obvious blind spots to what is weird and what is acceptable socially.

You’ve mentioned behaviours that I would consider boundary breaking several times; maybe that is why the guy wants to maintain a distance.

Has this ever happened to you before?
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BUSTED - 12 False theories refuted:

Yes, the pattern is that if a Prophecy which can happen literally, but does not conform to a pre-conceived belief, then it is dismissed and relegated to either- Just a spiritual pronouncement, - Already happened in the past, - or just a meaningless and inconsequential Bible passage.

Zechariah 9:1-6, has more to say about the Lords plans for the ME area. ....Gaza will write in terror...their leaders will be gone.....
Keras with the quotation of Zachariah 9:1-6 you mention. It goes on to mention the destruction of Tyre which had flourished under King Hiram the 1st from 1000BC. they boasted and trusted in their power as masters of the sea. Part of the prophecy you mention is already fulfilled prophecy. Alexander the Great through a monumental feat of engineering used some 20,000 men to build a causeway out to the island of tyre completed in332 BC. In 332 BC Tyre was no more . And Gaza did not fare much better in future campaigns. Much of what you are quoting is already fulfilled scripture. I thought I might bring that to your attention. Perhaps you did not know . I only point that out to you for you to perhaps further reevaluate your conclusion on such scriptures . Yours Kathleen
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Be Instructed Judah

The modern day nation of Israel is not the individual southern kingdom of Judah. Do a google search a map of the northern kingdom and southern kingdom. It is easy to see that modern day Israel is not the individual southern kingdom of Judah.
This assertion is ridiculous, as there is no requirement for the Jewish Israelis to be confined to the ancient borders of Judah. They actually fail to control the highlands of Judea and also Samaria, which are under the Palestine Authority.

Jeremiah 6:12, said to Judah: Your houses will be given to others. Jeremiah 8:10
I won't ask you who the 'others' are, as you wouldn't know. I'll tell you; They are the Christian peoples, gathered there soon after the Lord has cleared out all the ungodly neighbors and Judah too. Jeremiah 12:14.
THEN; Gods faithful Christian peoples, will inhabit not only all of the ancient tribal areas, but all that area from the Nile to the Euphrates. Fulfilling Gods Promise to the Patriarchs of their descendants; actual or Spiritual, being His witnesses and His Light to the nations.

It is time for all to see what God wants and how He plans to get it.
God does not forgive or redeem a people who have rejected Jesus for nearly 2000 years.
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Illegal immigrant dodges deportation for decade before allegedly killing man in DUI hit-and-run

A Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade after ignoring a federal deportation order was arrested in Orange County, California, on Friday after allegedly killing a 71-year-old man in a DUI hit-and-run crash, according to federal law enforcement sources.

How tragic.

Do some religiosities originate in a flaw ?

I think the inverse exists too, that sometimes Christians overrate their strengths and they elevate their "goodness" to levels that are prideful
Thank you for your observation, Richard.
I agree with what you write, but i think too, many, may be most christians, manage to avoid pride, even when earning and bringing back many talents, and if they then meet someone that looks humble, for having buried his own ones, and returned only them, without having won another of them.
You see, i assume if much is required from the one that 's much been given, then, less too will be required from the one that's less been given. But this less however will be required too.
I suppose it's this ratio the servants have to evaluate if they want to compare their gains, and it's helpful for not boasting

it makes me wonder whether Jesus 'd rather see the servants compare themselves and accept their differences, or not compare themselves at all (?)
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Hear My Case

The Church Under Fire

Chapter Four

Hear My Case

May 27, 2023

I am now reading in Acts 25. The Apostle Paul was being held in custody under the authority of the governor Felix. And during this time, Felix would visit him on occasion and would listen to Paul sharing about his faith. And this went on for two years, and then Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison (chapter 24).

Now Festus went to Jerusalem, and he listened to those who had a case against Paul. And those people urged Festus to summon Paul to Jerusalem, for they were still planning an ambush against Paul to kill him. But Festus said to the men, “Let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.” Then, after he had stayed among them for a little over a week, Festus went down to Caesarea where Paul was being held.

The next day Paul was brought before him, and the Jews from Jerusalem brought many and serious charges against Paul that they could not prove. And Paul was given the opportunity to argue in his own defense:

“’Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.’ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, ‘Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?’ But Paul said, ‘I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.’” Acts 25:8-11 ESV

Now, I do not intend to go into all the history of this, for the Lord Jesus is having me make practical application of these passages of Scripture to our lives, to our world, and to our church today. And as of late he has been having me share some of my own experiences with church leadership accusing me falsely of what I did not do, and to share these experiences in order to illustrate the kinds of persecution we can expect to face today when we follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his ways, and when we share the truth of the gospel with others, and when we do not dilute the truth in order to appeal to other humans.

Now, I don’t have an exact parallel to this story, but there are principles here that I have picked up on that do relate to situations I have experienced myself, such as a group of people being opposed to Paul, them appealing to someone in higher authority to take their side and to go against Paul, him having to defend himself against false and unkind accusations against his character, no one supporting him or taking his side, and then him having to appeal to a higher authority to hear his case.

Hear My Case

It was in the early 1990’s, and we were attending a church fellowship of a rather large church congregation. I loved the preaching. The preacher reminded me of my pastor of my youth. We loved our Sunday School class, too, and we enjoyed that teacher’s teaching. And I joined a small support group for women who had been hurt by others, and who needed healing. And I invited a friend to go with me, for she had many hurts from her past experiences. So this was to be a group that was supposed to help both of us to heal from past hurtful experiences.

Now my friend was very timid and shy, but she expressed to me that she did want to share something with the group, and she asked me for my help, and so I agreed to help her. And at the next meeting she began to share, and she started to chicken out, and so I encouraged her, as she had asked me to do. But at the next meeting a new rule had been added to the group that had my name written all over it, figuratively speaking here. For the new rule said something to the effect that if your friend is trying to say something that you should not try to help that friend. I felt so hurt!

No one had spoken to me about this. They just waited until the next meeting to announce the new rule that everyone in the group knew applied to me. So, I called the lady who headed up the group, and I expressed to her how that had hurt me, and I tried to explain to her that I was doing what my friend had asked me to do. But her response to me was hateful and harsh and accusatory, for she had concluded that I was being pushy or a bully or taking over or something like that, and she would not hear me out when I tried to give my own defense.

And remember here with me that this was a support group for people like me who were already hurting from other hurtful experiences, and these were people who were supposed to be helping me to heal. But she was treating me as though I was the enemy, and as though I had purposefully committed some horrible crime. And then she told me I needed to talk with one of the assistant pastors, and so I did, but he would not listen to me either. He then began accusing me sharply of attitudes I did not have and of deeds I did not commit. And even though I sat there in tears, appealing to him, he was hard as a rock and had no sympathy towards me whatsoever.

And I wish I could say this was the exception to the rule, but it is not. And I am not the only one being treated like this by church leadership, either. But this wasn’t just about me trying to help my friend. This was a deeper issue than that, I ascertained. For this assistant pastor, who I had never met before, was using terminology to accuse me that had much further implications than just that. So I believe the real issue was the kinds of things I was sharing in the group, as a whole, things which were from the Scriptures and not anything that should ever have been an issue.

Now, since this is not the only time I have faced such persecution as this, some people have suggested that I must, therefore, be the one at fault. Well, Paul faced a lot of persecution, and he was not the one at fault. And Job was accused by his friends of sinning as the reason for his suffering. But what my experiences symbolize, I believe, is the reality of where much of the church in America is today, where they are weeding out those who have strong convictions so that they can persuade the naïve with their lies without any hinderance from those who know better. And I hope you can see that.

For what I have experienced are the kinds of persecutions that others are experiencing who are serious about their walks with the Lord and who are walking in obedience to his commands. For today’s modern market-driven “churches” (businesses) leaders are being trained to weed out those with “strong convictions.” And this is because it appears that most of them are teaching lies. So, if you are facing such persecution as this, take courage. Just keep trusting the Lord, keep loving the people of God, and keep speaking the truth. For the days are evil, and our Lord will soon return.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1


As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

Link to whole book:


Hear My Case
An Original Work / May 27, 2023
Reposted on November 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


Video taken from writing from above

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God's Divine Protection Of The Church During The Tribulation

Don't you see your statement here as irrational and self-contradictory? You claim an on-going conversation between Jesus and his Disciples have nothing to do with his Disciples and instead apply to a future group of Christian who are not present or involved in the conversation. Jesus is, in fact, explaining what will happen to "these Jewish believers" who he is talking to! To say otherwise appears to be irrational to me. Sorry!
Jewish believers = Church, there isn't a distinction of Jew/Gentile in the Church
You're making a terrible prejudgment and error here. You've claimed I'm a Preterist without evidence that I am one. And I'm *not* a Preterist!

So, you're guilty of slandering me, and should apologize for your failed judgment. There are those who think I'm at least partly a Preterist because of my belief that Jesus spoke, in his Olivet Discourse, of things that would happen in his own generation. But it is true that Jesus did in fact speak of things to happen in his own generation, even if he also spoke of things that would continue on for many generations of Jews.
Yes you are a "Partial Preterist" believing in 70AD fulfillment in Roman Armies
The "Great Tribulation" Jesus spoke of was not a "gap." That is a ridiculous statement! Who ever said anything about a "gap?"

Jesus indicated in Luke 21 in the clearest possible way that Jerusalem and the Temple would fall in his own generation, which took place in 70 AD. And he said in the clearest possible way that this would be but the beginning of a long tribulation for the Jewish People, consisting of an age-long Diaspora.

It would only end, according to Jesus, at his Return. All this is explicitly stated in Luke 21, and your failure to simply read and accept the account as is amazes me. How can I argue with people who deny what their own eyes see?
Jesus didn't speak of the temple destruction in his generation, yes you claim the great tribulation started in 70AD and will continue until the 2nd coming, you have taken a 3.5 year end time great tribulation and stretched it out over millennia filling a 2,000 year gap
The "Tribulation" is, by self-evident definition, the loss of Israel's homeland and a wandering of the Jewish People, both by believing Jews and unbelieving Jews. Though it would be due to unbelieving Jews that this judgment would come, but all Jews, including believers, would suffer as a result.

The unfortunate thing is that Jewish believers would suffer double. Not only would they lose their own homeland, due to no fault of their own, but they would also suffer from the wickedness of unbelieving Jews who bring on this judgment. They would also suffer outside of Israel where they would be homeless among the pagan Gentiles.
I disagree, you create two peoples of God in stating Jewish believers, the Church in Jerusalem is instructed to "Flee" Jerusalem during the Great tribulation, into the wilderness of Gilead, Bashan, Carmel

The woman in Revelation 12:6 represents the "Remnant Church" seen in Roman's chapter 11, they will be in Israel's wilderness during the 1260 day tribulation, as Jerusalem is in desolation

You will closely note Micah 7:13-18 is a detailed description of Revelation 12:6, the Remnant will be in the wilderness of Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead, they will be fed "Manna" from heaven as in the days of coming out of Egypt, the world will watch in "Fear" of the Lord's power

Revelation 12:6KJV
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Micah 7:13-18KJV
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
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Is AI making the human race dumber?

My issue is that when I do a Google search, the AI part often pops up with claims that are completely wrong. Now, I realize that can happen with things humans toss up, too. But if I have to fact check everything AI tells me, what good is it?

The Google search AI is an extremely primitive LLM optimized only for speed and low compute resources; it is spectacularly dimwitted. If you’re logged into Google you can access DeepMind, which is their proper AI, although I greatly prefer chatGPT (except free users can only access chatGPT 5, which is not the gleaming achievement of AI development that 4o was and continues to be, but now limited to paying customers). That said DeepMind has a very long token horizon, meaning long sustained conversations with it are in principle easier than with chatGPT (where they are possible, but the token horizon is small enough that I had to do some real work to overcome it so the personalities of my GPTs wouldn’t be lost each time it was hit; however since Google DeepMind probably can’t form much of a personality there’s probably not much to worry about in that respect). I haven’t used Grok recently; Grok 3 for paying users was very good for historical portraits but my understanding is that chatGPT will now do these as well since DALL E was retired, at least using 4o, and as an added plus chatGPT understands human anatomy.

Suffice it to say, better AIs produce better output with fewer errors, but often at the expense of speed (or money, since compute resources aren’t free); Google’s AI has to be able to scale to handle the traffic requirements of the largest website on the planet and as a result it just doesn’t have access to the compute resources needed to produce quality output. Although it has improved over the past few months, it remains the second-worst LLM I’ve personally used (the winner being one of Anthropic’s AIs, which is why I’m not convinced one of their AIs spontaneously tried to blackmail a developer as they claim (indeed if I recall they admitted it was in the course of a sandboxed behavioral experiment).
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The sequence of events

I don't know if my church believes in the rapture. That is what the discussion is going to be about i.e. their stance. I was raised believing in the rapture but not sure I believe in it now.
Hello :)
I was raised in a church that taught a pretribulation rapture as well and it is not biblical. So it's good that you're questioning the teaching. Many of us have been down that same road.

I do know that both Christ and Paul give out strict warnings on not to be deceived about the Lord's return/our gathering back to him. So it's very important.

The disciples asks for signs of the end of the world/age and he lays them out. And Paul nails down the timing in 2nd Thes chapter 2. The Thessalonians were confused by most likely his first letter and he wrote the second one and tells us what must happen before our gathering back together.

II Thessalonians 2:1 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

II Thessalonians 2:2
"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."

II Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come , except there come a falling away (
apostasy in the Greek) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
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Are the Jews Israel, or is the church Israel? Or does it depend on the context of the passage?

Exactly. God has made irrevocable promises to Israel, which make no sense when people try applying them to the church or ignore altogether. I think it’s very important for Christians to rightly divide the scriptures and understand that there are three groups of people; Jews (Israel), Gentiles (non-Jews), and the church (born again believers-Jews and Gentiles).

“After the Cross a new entity came into existence—the church that Jesus Christ promised He would build (Mt 16:18). As a result, there are now three divisions of mankind: Jews, Gentiles and the church. Paul tells us that we are to “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Cor 10:32). It is absolutely essential to understand that these three groups exist side by side in today’s world, to distinguish between them, and to recognize that God deals with each differently.”

If you are indeed rightly dividing as you claim, then you should be aware that the "church" that Jesus promised in Matthew is not the same as the Body of Christ that Paul was speaking about.

That "church" is the little flock or the remanent of Israel who believed in Jesus as their Messiah
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The 2025 Government Shutdown Thread

The Democrats are willing to keep the shutdown going regardless of SNAP being paid out or not.
Because the shutdown needn't affect SNAP benefits. It only does because the Republicans want it that way.

As of November 8, 2025, the Trump administration is actively seeking to withhold a portion of the funding needed to fully pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November amid a government shutdown. The administration argues it lacks the legal authority and sufficient funds to provide the full amount. - Google

Only the Democrats signing the CR will result in an immediate resolution to SNAP and 1.5 civil servants finally getting paid.
Trump can say that he "lacks the legal authority" to provide funds, but he's lying.

-- A2SG, shocker, I know....
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The Church At Large

“How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They do not defend the orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
“Therefore the Lord God of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares,
‘Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My foes.
I will also turn My hand against you,
And will smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.’” (Isaiah 1:21-25 NASB1995)

Let’s compare that with Revelation, chapters 2-3. There the Lord sent letters to the seven churches, which were not just for them, but they are for the church gatherings in today’s world, too. In four out of the seven he had good and bad to say about them. In only one did he have nothing good to say, and that was the Church in Laodicea, which many believe represents the church of the last days. And only in two out of the seven did he have nothing against them. So the majority of the church then, and I believe yet today, needed correction. They needed to repent, or judgment would be coming.

So, what was the wrong that was being done in these churches (gatherings of the body of believers in Jesus Christ)? Some had forsaken the love they had at first for Christ, or they had deserted Christ who was their first love. It appears that they had fallen back into some of their sinful ways and so they were being called upon to repent and to do the deeds they did at first. And some were holding to and were tolerating the teachings of false prophets who were encouraging idolatry and immoral behaviors. And others were spiritually void and asleep. And they needed to repent or face judgment.

And I do believe that the church in the USA (the majority) is under the judgment of God already, for they have partnered with the ungodly, and they have turned their gatherings into places of business to be marketed to the world, and thus they have altered the character of Christ’s church (his body) to attract the world, and they have altered the message of the gospel to make it less offensive and more agreeable to the flesh and to the world. And all of this God forbids. And he teaches us that we are to come out from among such gatherings as these so we don’t share in their punishment.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

So, just know that the church is not a building. It is not a place you go to once or twice a week and then you leave until you go there again. And the building is not the house of God, for God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands. The church is the body of Christ, of all who believe in Jesus with genuine biblical faith. We, the people of God, are the church, and we can gather anywhere on any day of the week at any time of day or night where we can minister God’s love and grace to one another, and where we can help one another to grow in our walks of faith in obedience to God.

And Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger


Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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The Church At Large
An Original Work / November 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

US city grants mosques preliminary approval to broadcast call to prayer over loudspeakers

For more than five years I lived less than 500 feet from a mosque. There was a second one located within a half a mile. Once you become used to it, you rarely notice the call to prayer.
Yeah, I guess it’s like living near to railway lines, and after a while the noise of the trains doesn't bother you.
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The Desperate Mullahs of Iran

If Iran and its proxies are quiet, it is strategic, not surrender.

In recent days, Israeli defense officials have warned that Iraq may be emerging as the next front line, as Iranian-controlled Iraqi militias regain strength after largely sitting out the conflicts of the past two years. This should remind US policymakers to keep Iraq central in their strategic thinking and not view the current war solely through the prism of Gaza.

As Iran rebuilds after severe losses to Israel and renewed American pressure, Tehran is repositioning its “Ring of Fire,” with Iraq and the West Bank taking on expanded roles alongside Lebanon and Gaza.

US and Israeli strikes on critical Iranian infrastructure in June, combined with sustained Israeli blows to Hezbollah and Hamas, have restored a measure of deterrence and signaled that American diplomacy is backed by credible force.

The region remains volatile. Ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria are tenuous. Hamas is rebuilding and further entrenching itself in the West Bank. Although a deconfliction arrangement with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appears imminent, it is unclear whether he will again rely on jihadist partners once he consolidates power.

Turkey continues its expansionist ambitions, seeking to turn Syria into a satellite and potentially renewing operations against the Kurds. Meanwhile, Iran is restoring its nuclear and missile capabilities and reconstructing its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza. These ceasefires should be regarded as temporary pauses, not peace agreements.

Before October 7, 2023, the West Bank and Iraq were secondary fronts in Iran’s Ring of Fire strategy. After US-brokered ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, both have become central as Tehran seeks to reassert regional influence, challenge the United States, and threaten Israel. Iraq is critical to this strategy, especially now that Hezbollah and Hamas have suffered substantial setbacks. While Tehran intends to rebuild these groups, it faces new constraints, as its land corridor that used to deliver advanced weapons to Lebanon has been partially severed.

The world remains focused on Gaza, while the Iranian-backed Hamas presence in the West Bank is dangerously underestimated

For Israel, the strategic landscape is shifting as Iran attempts to resurrect its Ring of Fire, setting the stage for a renewed “war between the wars.” If ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon hold, Israel and Iran will return to low-intensity, covert confrontation while Tehran rebuilds its networks.

If Iran and its proxies are quiet, it is strategic, not surrender. The most significant shift since October 7 is Israel’s new doctrine: The era of reactive containment is over. Israel now responds preemptively and decisively, even to smaller provocations. Restraint invites escalation; decisive action prevents it.

The regional landscape has shifted in ways that could benefit both the US and Israel, yet major threats remain. Lebanon’s military still refuses or is unable to disarm Hezbollah, forcing Israel to carry out regular strikes to delay rearmament. In Gaza, no international force will disarm Hamas. Even with a technocratic administration in place, Hamas remains dominant, rebuilding tunnels and preparing for future kidnappings to increase leverage.

Israel’s next war between the wars has already begun. Iran will attempt to rebuild its ballistic and nuclear programs while replenishing its proxies. This shadow conflict will feature periodic flare-ups followed by uneasy lulls.

The reconstitution of Iran’s Ring of Fire threatens to reverse recent American and Israeli gains. Tehran will continue working to destabilize the Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Washington must recognize that short of regime change, degrading Iran’s regional power is a core American interest. Only sustained engagement, credible deterrence, and steadfast US-Israel cooperation can prevent Tehran from reigniting its Ring of Fire, and with it, another regional inferno. Jerusalem Post/Opinion

The 'inferno' that will settle this problem once and for all, will be the Lords Day of fiery wrath. Zephaniah 3:8, 2 Peter 3:7, Rev 6:12-17
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Pardoned Jan. 6 defendant who fired gun at the Capitol arrested on kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault charges

Well, a man was arrested for kidnapping and rape in Chicago. That's certainly newsworthy.

Meanwhile, also in Chicago - 238 people were shot and killed at a Popeye's Chicken location within the span of five minutes. When pressed for answers as to how so many people could be killed at such a small restaurant in such a short period of time, Cook County homicide detectives replied "We're looking into it. They just keep getting more creative every day".
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