Questions? Ask the Pastor – May 2017
I was asked for my take on the Syria situation! And I have to tell you that I am confused. I’ve watched the newscasts and can readily see a coming together of opinions. But, do we have the real story or are we looking at another false flag, so to speak. I can’t get the old saying, “Who is served best by an action” out of my mind and I keep wondering why Assad would do such a thing as authorizing a chemical bombing of such proportions. Now, I’m not saying he didn’t but what was his motive. He seemed to have everything going for him when President Trump basically said the status quo would not be challenged, and for the most part, Assad had the major centers in his nation pretty well under his control. The rebels were being beaten back, thanks to the Russians, and for the first time in a long-time, he had few worries. And the retaliation came about so quickly that one has to wonder how it could take place with so little preparation. Finally, of course, a thoughtful mind might ask, “Was this a deed of the rebels, who two years ago were reported to be in possession of some chemical weapons.” And wasn’t it President Obama who confidently claimed that Assad had relinquished all his chemical arsenal?
You know, I also can’t help but dwell on the possibility that President Trump wants to be a clear contrast to Obama and could he have been enticed into such a bold move before a complete investigation. One thing is certain, as a whole, Americans don’t want another war in the Middle-East.
Ah! Intrigue! It’s a sad aspect of the world in which we live. Look at the turmoil being stirred up because of the Brexit vote. And with my skeptical mind, I wonder how involved are the one-worlders. Here we have a situation where Prime Minister May has filed the Article 50 documents to take Britain out of the EU and no sooner have the papers been filed, the Scottish First Minister is making fresh demands for a new election. And she is not alone, Northern Ireland is also demanding another look. Prime Minister May has resisted their overtures, as well as the EU leader of the negotiations calling the British exit a stupid move. It appears that “Come out of her, my people”, although God’s plan, is going to be resisted fiercely by “guess who”. And by the way, it might be uncomfortable for the EU to welcome Scotland and Northern Ireland because it would likely encourage dissident groups in other EU countries to want out, like the Flemish in Belgium for just one. And Britain faces some challenging negotiations as the EU will probably demand great concessions. So, the next two years will prove interesting. Fortunately, God will win out.
You know, as an after-thought, Spain is saying that Gibraltar, that has been a British possession since the early 1700’s, will be their possession when Britain leaves the EU. It isn’t going to happen for two reasons. One, the people of Gibralter in the recent past have voted 90% in favour of Britain, but more importantly, God made a promise to Abraham. Genesis 22:16-18 tells us that having tested the obedience of Abraham, by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac at Mount Moriah; and having found him willing to obey; God halted the sacrifice, spared the young man, provided instead a ram caught in the thorn bushes, and then made the following prophetic promise to Abraham, the patriarch whom He called His friend. “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and the sand which is upon the sea-shore: and thy seed shall possess the GATE OF HIS ENEMIES and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Some will say that Britain has already lost or relinquished the gates and they are only left with Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands but time will demonstrate this Gibraltar was given to Britain during the early days of the Reformation and for a specific reason.
To the reader who asked about the idol shepherd, this is a huge subject and I wrote a small booklet on this many years ago. But, I will give you some thoughts and when space permits in a later issue, I will try to expand upon the remarks that follow. But, remember, we are all well acquainted with the concept of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd who gave up His life for the redemption of His sheep, and what a beautiful symbolism that is. His sheep know His voice and they follow wherever He leads them. He gives unto them eternal life and no man can pluck them out of His hand. However, in the Book of the Prophet Zechariah we find a little known and even less understood prophecy, concerning one who is described as being the “idol shepherd”, one whose entire description is the direct opposite of all that the Holy Scripture teaches us in relation to the Good Shepherd. Here is what Zechariah 11:15-17 relates, “And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that is broken, nor feed that, that standeth still: But he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock, the sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye, his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.”
The Word of God, which came by such major prophets as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, frequently warns us against false shepherds, wolves in sheep’s clothing, hirelings who seek to deceive the very elect of God, but in these few verses, Zechariah warns us against one especially false, cruel and deceptive shepherd, one who by his total inability to perform the duty of a spiritual shepherd, shows that he is in truth a stranger to and, in fact, an enemy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This false shepherd is indicted first of all for the tasks he has failed to perform. He has failed to heal the broken, feed the flock or minister to the needs of those who are described as being “cut off”, obviously, a reference to Israel, the cast off, divorced, dispersed people of God, put away for their sins and described by Hosea the prophet as Lo Ammi — ‘not My people’. Instead, this idol shepherd has catered to his own needs and desires, feeding himself and not the flock, and actually turning upon the flock and devouring them.
This personality is then more clearly described by the use of the all-important expression — the IDOL shepherd. He is not merely the chief shepherd of an idolatrous and apostate church system, but he himself is actually set up as an idol or object of worship within that System.
In order to demonstrate this more fully, we must now look at the Idol Shepherd’s actions. He feeds himself at the expense of the flock. he devours the flock. He promotes a system of idolatry. And he sets himself up as an idol.
You may have a different view but in my opinion, in all the centuries since the days of Zechariah, until now, only one personality, or to be more accurate, one dynasty of men fits the description given — THE POPES OF ROME.
Someone contacted me on the “Who is Gog” question and as I wrote and spoke many times earlier, it is definitely Russia. Remember, they confirmed this themselves back at an early 1930’s exposition when they passed out pencils that had a small figure of a man on one side with the quotation, and I am going by memory, “Land of Gog and Magog”. And I think with all of the danger signals going on in the world, we might well see the dire events of Ezekiel 38 coming into focus within a few years.
