Now that he is deceased, we can officially take his name off the list of potential antichrist figures. But you can rest assured that he will hardly be the last one on the list. Not by a long shot.

When Gorbachev was the Antichrist | Article | AskDrBrown

Are you old enough to remember when Christians thought that Mikhail Gorbachev was the antichrist? After all, he was the whiz kid who came out of nowhere and was shaking the Soviet Union. Perhaps he also aspired to take over the world? And then he had that mark on his forehead. Some said it looked like a dragon! Could he be the man?

Now that he is deceased, we can officially take his name off the list of potential antichrist figures. But you can rest assured that he will hardly be the last one on the list. Not by a long shot...

A Sober Assessment of the State of America and the World

Certainly, we are living in chaotic times, times of trouble and upheaval. But how bad are things, really? How dire is the condition of the world? Has America ever been in a worse condition than it is now?

A Sober Assessment of the State of America and the World | Article | AskDrBrown

Are we living in the last moments of human history? Is the whole world about to explode? Has America ever been in a worse condition than it is now?

Certainly, we are living in chaotic times, times of trouble and upheaval. 

There is a mindset that C. S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery” which he defined as “the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.” In other words, if it’s newer, it must be better. 

The exact opposite of this concept is the idea that if it’s newer, it must be worse. Society is not what it used to be. Families are not what they used to be. Morality is not what it used to be. Education is not what it used to be. Everything is on the decline!

But are things really that simple? Can we make such blanket statements?

Andrew Klavan, who was born in 1954, was describing his early days with the Daily Wire team, which included much younger men like Ben Shapiro and Michael Knowles.

Klavan wrote, “sometimes the younger guys would say things like, ‘This is the most divided era in American history,’ and I’d say, you know, between the ages of ten and fourteen, I saw the president of the United States murdered by a Communist, his senator brother murdered by a Palestinian and the greatest civil rights leader of the age gunned down by a racist pornographer. To me, things look pretty chill. I think that was useful to keep the rhetoric in check and align our feelings with reality.”

Of course, it’s easy to think that America is the worst it’s ever been. Doesn’t it often feel like that?

After all, when is the last time we’ve been this politically polarized? When have we had to deal with LGBTQ+ extremism? When have we faced such uncertainty about the future? What about the horrific school massacres? What about the dangers of cancel culture and wokeness? What about the racial divisions? What about the plague of porn? And the epidemic of fentanyl overdoses? The list goes on and on.

Still, as Klavan said, we need to “align our feelings with reality.” How bad are things, really?

The fact is that some things are the worst they’ve ever been in our nation’s history, such as the ubiquity of porn or the rise of radical transgender activism.

On the other hand, other things are better than they’ve been in decades, such as the strength of the pro-life movement, from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to the passing of pro-life legislation in state after state. And despite the racial tension we’re living with, things are certainly far better today for black Americans than they were prior to 1964, let alone prior to 1865.

It’s true that we’re having serious economic struggles. But Americans today, on average, live in far more luxurious conditions than did previous generations, and we’re nowhere near the times of the Great Depression.

And despite the deadly uptick in certain drug overdoses and the legalizing of pot, illicit drug use is lower today than in past decades, as is violent crime. (The murder rate in big cities is back to where it was 25 years ago, but again, that just means things have been really bad before.)

As for being a divided nation, which we are, we are nowhere nearly as divided as we were immediately before and after the Civil War.

Even our colleges and universities, many of which had strong Christian foundations and most of which have swung far to the left, have had bad days before. As revival historian James Edwin Orr noted in one of his lectures, after the Revolutionary War, America experienced a period of spiritual decline. 

Things got so bad on some of our campuses that not a single professing Christian could be found at Harvard, which was founded for the glory of God. At Princeton, only two believers were found and only 5 students who did not belong to the filthy speech movement. 

Students rioted on some campuses and, on one occasion, took a Bible from a church and burned it. Orr even states that Christian students were so few on some campuses that they met in secret, and recorded their meeting notes in code lest they should be discovered. This really happened in our country! (I strongly encourage you to take 25 minutes to watch this old lecture by Dr. Orr. He also mentions how Thomas Paine joyfully repeated Voltaire’s words that Christianity would be forgotten in 30 years.)

As for the state of the world today, we are actually living in one of the more peaceful times in history, despite Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine. Just compare things today with the worldwide upheaval and massive loss of life during World Wars I and II. Or consider the tens of millions of lives snuffed out due to the policies of Stalin and Mao.

Even in the Middle East, Israel has friendlier relations with more of its neighbors than at any time since its reestablishment in 1948.

To be sure, the whole world is like a tinder box ready to explode. And there is more potential for some kind of global government than ever, not to mention a potentially catastrophic “Great Reset.”

On the other hand, the gospel is spreading through the nations at an unprecedented rate, and the church is experiencing its greatest growth in history.

To borrow the words of Dickens, these are the best of times and the worst of times. These are times for great concern and great hope. 

These are times of great shaking, of powerful spiritual outpouring, and of intense demonic activity.

These are critical times in which the scales could tip either way, quite dramatically and suddenly, in the days ahead.

Let us be vigilant. Let us be active. Let us seize the moment.

As one of my missionary colleagues has said, “This may not be the last generation, but it’s our last generation.”

Let us use these times for the glory of God. 

The European Parliament Condemns itself by Condemning the Supreme Court’s Expecting Overturning of Roe

The European Union’s Parliament decided to pass a resolution condemning the expected decision. The vote was 364 to 154 (37 abstentions) and was intended to “remind” the United States that it is “vital” to uphold Roe v Wade. In so doing, the European Parliament condemned itself, sticking its nose where it did not belong while standing against the rights of innocent babies in the womb.

The European Parliament Condemns itself by Condemning the Supreme Court’s Expecting Overturning of Roe | Article | AskDrBrown

Even though the Supreme Court has not yet released its decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the European Union’s Parliament decided to pass a resolution condemning the expected decision. The vote was 364 to 154 (37 abstentions) and was intended to “remind” the United States that it is “vital” to uphold Roe v Wade. 

In so doing, the European Parliament condemned itself, sticking its nose where it did not belong while standing against the rights of innocent babies in the womb.

This, of course, is no surprise, given the degree to which most of Europe has become post-Christian.

As noted in a 2018 article in The Guardian, “Europe’s march towards a post-Christian society has been starkly illustrated by research showing a majority of young people in a dozen countries do not follow a religion.

“The survey of 16- to 29-year-olds found the Czech Republic is the least religious country in Europe, with 91% of that age group saying they have no religious affiliation. Between 70% and 80% of young adults in Estonia, Sweden and the Netherlands also categorise themselves as non-religious.”

In the UK, where The Guardian is based, 70 percent of young people identify with no religion and 59 percent never attend religious services.

In the words of theology and religion professor Stephen Bullivant, “Christianity as a default, as a norm, is gone, and probably gone for good – or at least for the next 100 years.” (I would add that this would be true barring a fresh wave of revival; it is not a fait accompli.)

Not only so, but in much of Europe, where there is a profession of Christian faith, especially among the older generation, it is often so mired with either dead tradition or progressive liberalism that it is hardly Christian at all. (This is my own observation, not that of the The Guardian.)

That means that, despite the rapid rise of the “nones” in America (speaking of those with no religious affiliation), we still have many more robust, Bible-believing Christians than does Europe. That’s why we continue to fight for the life of the unborn and continue to stand against LGBTQ+ extremism. And that’s why these European lawmakers felt the need to condemn the court’s expected pro-life ruling.

To quote them directly, the “MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] condemn the backsliding in women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide including in the U.S. and some EU countries, calling for safe access to abortion.”

In the words of Croatian socialist MEP Predrag Matić, “The draft opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States is a shock and a nightmare.”

The resolution even condemned those states that have passed bills to protect pro-life legislation, such as bills banning abortion after 6 weeks.

All of this leads me to ask the European Parliament: Who asked you for your opinion? Who appointed you the judge of America? And who put you in charge of the decisions of our individual states?

As expressed by German MEP Christine Anderson, a right-wing lawmaker who voted against the resolution: “The USA is no longer a colony ruled from Europe. Didn’t you know that?”

Is it any surprise, then, that a growing number of European leaders have no children themselves? Is this unrelated to the decline of a Christian culture that esteems life and regards children as a gift from God?

A 2017 article by Darrell Delamaide asked the question, “Do childless leaders mean the death of Europe?”

He wrote, “The election of Emmanuel Macron as the new French president now means that the leaders of the four European countries in the G-7 biggest economies — Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni — are all childless.

“Other prominent European leaders also have no children — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

He continued, “Those calling attention to it seem to think so. George Weigel, writing this week in the First Things website, talks of ‘Catholic Lite and Europe’s demographic suicide.’ Earlier this month, James McPherson headlined his commentary in the Washington Examiner ‘Emmanuel Macron and the barren elite of a changing continent.’ And late last month, even before Macron’s victory, Britain’s Sunday Times carried a long book excerpt by Douglas Murray with the title ‘Europe signs its own death warrant.’”

While Delamaide himself downplayed these concerns, I agree with those who have drawn attention to the increased childlessness of many European leaders.

Without children of their own, they can hardly grasp the full significance of bringing a child into this world. Without the gospel, they can hardly grasp the importance of fighting for the life of that child while it is still in the womb. And with a declining birth rate, well under the 2.1 rate needed to sustain a society, Europe will continue to decline, not just spiritually and morally, but in numbers as well.

May a culture of life, based on biblical principles, rise again in Europe!

Who Is Vladimir Putin and What Makes Him Tick?

When it comes to our president or to many prominent world leaders, we have a pretty good idea of who they are and what makes them tick. But do we really know who Vladimir Putin is? Do we know what drives and motivates him? More specifically, do we know for sure why he has invaded Ukraine?

Who Is Vladimir Putin and What Makes Him Tick? | Articles | AskDrBrown

We have been told that he wants to restore the glory of the former Soviet Union. This will be his legacy.

We have been told that he is simply threatened by the expansion of NATO, dreading the possibility of nuclear weapons stationed next to the Russian border.

We have been told that he truly believes his propaganda and is committed to “denazifying” Ukraine.

We have been told that being shut in with COVID for two years has affected his mind and that he is not himself.

We have been told that he is suffering with cancer and is on steroids, hence his apparently irrational behavior and allegedly swollen appearance.

We have been told that his mission is spiritual and that he fashions himself the savior of the Russian Orthodox Church, with Kyiv as the Rome of this Church.

Others would simply say that there is nothing to figure out since the man is a megalomaniac, while still others would remind us that this is the same person who once was a leader in the KGB.

Leading up to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, I watched experts and analysts explain that the whole issue was the expansion of NATO. “If Ukraine joins NATO, that will be akin to Russia putting nuclear weapons in Cuba!”

Yesterday, I read a tweet from a Fox News analyst explaining why there was no truth to this theory. “He did not invade Ukraine because of NATO!”

Do we really know what’s motivating Putin?

Among all the theories circulating, the one that is the most interesting (but is getting less attention) is the spiritual explanation.

Writing for Unherd, Giles Fraser claimed that, “The religious president wants to rebuild Christendom.”

Pointing back to events in 988 involving Vladimir of Rus in Kyiv, when he converted to Christianity, Fraser writes, “This is the founding, iconic act of Russian Orthodox Christianity. It was from here that Christianity would spread out and merge with the Russian love of the motherland, to create a powerful brew of nationalism and spirituality. In the mythology of 988, it was as if the whole of the Russian people had been baptised. Vladimir was declared a saint. When the Byzantine empire fell, the Russians saw themselves as its natural successor. They were a ‘third Rome’.”

Fraser explains that, “Soviet Communism tried to crush all this — but failed. And in the post-Soviet period, thousands of churches have been built and re-built. Though the West thinks of Christianity as something enfeebled and declining, in the East it is thriving. Back in 2019, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, boasted that they were building three churches a day. Last year, they opened a Cathedral to the Armed Forces an hour outside Moscow. Religious imagery merges with military glorification. War medals are set in stained glass, reminding visitors of Russian martyrdom. In a large mosaic, more recent victories — including 2014’s ‘the return of Crimea’ — are celebrated. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ this is not.”

“At the heart of this post-Soviet revival of Christianity is another Vladimir. Vladimir Putin. Many people don’t appreciate the extent to which the invasion of Ukraine is a spiritual quest for him. The Baptism of Rus is the founding event of the formation of the Russian religious psyche, the Russian Orthodox church traces its origins back here. That’s why Putin is not so much interested in a few Russian-leaning districts to the east of Ukraine. His goal, terrifyingly, is Kyev itself.”

Indeed, Putin has often spoken of his passion for true Christian values, saying this in a September 19, 2013 speech: “Another serious challenge to Russia’s identity is linked to events taking place in the world. Here there are both foreign policy and moral aspects. We can see how many of the Euro-Atlantic countries are actually rejecting their roots, including the Christian values that constitute the basis of Western civilisation. They are denying moral principles and all traditional identities: national, cultural, religious and even sexual. They are implementing policies that equate large families with same-sex partnerships, belief in God with the belief in Satan.”

He even stated that, “The excesses of political correctness have reached the point where people are seriously talking about registering political parties whose aim is to promote paedophilia. People in many European countries are embarrassed or afraid to talk about their religious affiliations.”

Yes, these are the words of Vladimir Putin. And remember that it was in 2013 that a bill banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” focused on excluding LGBTQ curricula from the schools, passed Russia’s State Duma by a vote of 436-0. Let that sink in.

As Fraser and others claim, “Putin regards his spiritual destiny as the rebuilding of Christendom, based in Moscow.”

And this: “The spiritual choice made by St Vladimir still largely determines our affinity today’ Putin wrote only last year. ‘In the words of Oleg the Prophet about Kyev, ‘let it be the mother of all Russian cities’.”

Is this, then, what is really driving Putin? If so, is there any way to understand how a “Christian” leader, in the name of pure “Christianity,” could engage in such a murderous, destructive, and bloody campaign? (Sadly, this would not be the first time something like this happened in Church history.)

The one thing that seems certain is that this is Putin’s war, not Russia’s war. But until we truly understand who he is and what is driving him, it will be much more difficult to stop him.

That ought to be a major strategic priority.

Did the Prophet Ezekiel Predict Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?

According to Pat Robertson, Vladimir Putin is being “compelled by God” to invade Ukraine. Indeed, “He went into the Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.” And, according to Robertson, this was all prophesied by Ezekiel, who lived more than 2,500 years ago. Is this true?

Did the Prophet Ezekiel Predict Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine? | Articles | AskDrBrown

According to Pat Robertson, Vladimir Putin is being “compelled by God” to invade Ukraine. Indeed, “He went into the Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.” And, according to Robertson, this was all prophesied by Ezekiel, who lived more than 2,500 years ago. Is this true?

Over on the Bible Prophecy News website, Dr. Bob Thiel asks, “On February 24, 2022, Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' into Ukraine. Are Jewish sources correct that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the start of the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38? Are Protestant sources, and people like Trumpet editor Gerald Flurry right that Vladimir Putin is the 'prince of Rosh/Rush'? Does Ezekiel 38 include Russia? What are some of the other nations involved in Ezekiel 38? Does this battle happen BEFORE or well AFTER Jesus returns? Can you know the answer from the actual passages in Ezekiel 38?”

A Christian Zionist website makes this claim (note that this was posted on December 10, 2021, so more than two months before the Russian invasion): Based on Ezekiel 38-39, the armies that will one day invade Israel “include Russia and Turkey from the north, Sudan/Libya (possibly including Algeria and Tunisia) from the south and west, and Iran from the east. Consequently, sometime in the future, an enormous military force surrounds Israel, which is far beyond their capacity to defeat. God alone can deliver them from annihilation, which Ezekiel reveals He does (38:17–23; 39:1–6).”

In stark contrast, Old Testament and Semitic scholar Michael S. Heiser tweeted, “The idea that Ezekiel 38 and 39 is about Russia or a Russian invasion has literally no merit in terms of exegesis.” (Exegesis refers to accurate interpretation of the Scriptures.)

First, Ezekiel 38 says nothing about Russia, directly or indirectly, despite some translations which read, “Son of man [which is how the Lord referred to Ezekiel], set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him” (ASV, my emphasis; see also the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament which dates to approximately two hundred years before Jesus).

The correct translation, as recognized by the vast majority of translations and commentaries, is this: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him” (ESV).

The Hebrew here reads n’si rosh, which could potentially mean “the prince of Rosh” (as if rosh was a place name) but it is better translated as “chief prince” (with rosh carrying its normal meaning of “head, chief”).

Yet even if a case could be made for the Hebrew text meaning, “prince of Rosh,” Ezekiel scholar Daniel Block points out the problems. (This will be a little technical for some readers, but just watch for his conclusions.)

He writes, “The popular identification of Rosh with Russia is impossibly anachronistic and based on a faulty etymology, the assonantal similarities between Russia and Rosh being purely accidental. In the 19th century some scholars associated Rosh with Rûs, a Scythian tribe inhabiting the northern Taurus Mountains, according to Byzantine and Arabic writings. Recent attempts to equate Rosh with Râshu/ Rêshu/Arashi in neo-Assyrian annals are more credible, except that the place so named was located far to the east on the border between Babylon and Elam, and would have had nothing to do with Meshech and Tubal. This interpretation is also difficult (though not impossible) from a grammatical point of view. If Rosh is to be read as the first in a series of names, the conjunction should precede ‘Meshech.’ rōʾš is therefore best understood as a common noun, appositional to and offering a closer definition of nāśı̂ʾ. Accordingly, the prince, chief of Meshech and Tubal, combines Ezekiel’s preferred title for kings with a hierarchical designation, the addition serving to clarify the preceding archaic term. Ezekiel’s point is that Gog is not just one of many Anatolian princely figures, but the leader among princes and over several tribal/national groups.” (New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Ezekiel 25-48, 434-435).

Second, Meshech and Tubal referred to nations that were located in what is Turkey today, hence also unrelated to the current war.

Of course, the argument is that the war will expand, involving many other nations, some of which are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5-6. And I personally believe that the Bible does predict a final war against Israel, one in which the Lord will fight for His ancient people and ultimately destroy the invaders. This is most clearly addressed in Zechariah 12 and 14, as well as in Ezekiel 38-39.

I believe that this will literally happen, just as I believe that the Bible prophesied that God would scatter the Jewish people around the world (I write this as a Jesus-believing Jewish person myself) and then regather us back to our ancient homeland. As it was written, so has it happened.

And Ezekiel’s language is very clear, saying to these nations, “After a long time you shall be summoned; in the distant future you shall march against the land [of a people] restored from the sword, gathered from the midst of many peoples—against the mountains of Israel, which have long lain desolate—[a people] liberated from the nations, and now all dwelling secure” (NJPS Version). This is quite a striking prophecy!

But there is no evidence that Russia’s current invasion is related to these words, nor is there any evidence that Russia is mentioned or alluded to in these chapters.

What about a Jewish tradition that purportedly states, “When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), you should put on your Shabbat [Sabbath] clothes and don’t take them off because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute.”

It is just that: a tradition, without scriptural support or divine authority. Plus, the Russians have not yet reached Istanbul. Not even faintly, remotely close.

Could it be that, in the years to come, we will see a coalition of nations coming against Israel, with Russia leading the way (or, at least, participating). That’s possible. And could it be that, when that day arrives, we will look back to Ezekiel 38-39, at least as a broad-brushed description of what is taking place? Perhaps.

But right now, there is absolutely no scriptural or factual evidence that connects Ezekiel 38 to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And with hundreds (or thousands) of mistaken date-setting interpretations of the Bible littering our recent past, it’s best to toss this latest one in the dustbin right now.

What are the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Could it be that we are on the edge of a massively costly, truly disastrous, global war? 
And what does this feel like for the people of Ukraine?

Are We on the Edge of World War III? | Articles | AskDrBrown

What are the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Could it be that we are on the edge of a massively costly, truly disastrous, global war? And what does this feel like for the people of Ukraine?

The brother of my personal assistant is married to a Ukrainian woman (they both live here in the US), and as of Thursday morning, my assistant received this report from his brother: “Her parents, who live now in Nova Kakhovka [in Ukraine] have Russian flags planted in their city. Roads and bridges and some airports have been blown up. There’s no access to fuel and the grocery stores have no food.”

And that was within hours of the invasion. What is coming next?

Because of my lack of expertise in European-Russian geo-political affairs, I have not offered my own commentary on the current crisis, relying more on the opinion of those much-better versed in these important subjects. Yet some of what these experts have to say is quite alarming.

On my Thursday broadcast of the Line of Fire I interviewed Fred Markert, who came to faith in 1973 while living in Berlin and immediately got involved with smuggling Bibles into Communist Eastern Europe. Since then, he has ministered in 150 countries and served as a leader in a worldwide missions organization.

But he is not only keenly aware of what is happening spiritually around the world. He has a real grasp of world history and understands some of the key geo-political developments taking place today.

He explained on the broadcast that, unlike America, Russia has no natural barriers on its borders, whereas we are protected by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific to the west  (Markert called them “the two largest moats in the world”), with friendly countries neighboring us to the north and south.

In contrast, Russia is surrounded by plains and has been invaded 6 times in the last few hundred years, and thus there is a certain paranoia about being invaded again. Accordingly, Russia feels more secure when it has buffer countries around it.

In keeping with this, Eliza Mackintosh explained on CNN.com, “Ukraine was a cornerstone of the Soviet Union until it voted overwhelmingly for independence in a democratic referendum in 1991, a milestone that turned out to be a death knell for the failing superpower.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO pushed eastward, bringing into the fold most of the Eastern European nations that had been in the Communist orbit. In 2004, NATO added the former Soviet Baltic republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Four years later, it declared its intention to offer membership to Ukraine some day in the distant future -- crossing a red line for Russia.

“Putin sees NATO's expansion as an existential threat, and the prospect of Ukraine joining the Western military alliance a ‘hostile act’ -- a view he invoked in a televised speech on Thursday, saying that Ukraine's aspiration to join the military alliance was a dire threat to Russia.”

Heightening the tension was the NATO declaration in 2008 that it would bring both Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. This was perceived as a further provocation by Putin, similar to China or North Korea or Iran moving some of their armies into Canada or Mexico. How would we feel? (Think back to the Cuban Missile crisis.)

In Russia’s eyes (or, in Putin’s eyes), the expansion of NATO, coupled with the growth of Western democracies, is perceived as a very real threat. And this, coupled with Putin’s apparent megalomaniacal vision to reconstitute the Soviet Union, is a recipe for disaster. Also, given the fact that Stalin resettled Russians in different neighboring countries during the time of Soviet expansion, Putin can say today that he is fighting for his own citizens in countries like Ukraine. “It is about our own people’s freedom and independence,” he can argue.

When I asked Markert what the worst-case scenario was, he pointed out that our failed withdrawal from Afghanistan reminded the world that we are not the only superpower today, as we had been since 1992. Rather, there are three, America, Russia, and China, meaning that there is real potential that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could provoke World War III.

He said that “this is a not minor thing,” describing it as a “hinge of history” and “a pivotal moment.” He also opined that how the West responds will determine the future of the next 100 years.

Yet, Markert stated, “We are between a rock and a hard place” in terms of how we respond. If the West engages militarily, “it could easily escalate into World War III.”

If we don’t engage militarily, it will embolden countries like China and North Korea and Iran to take similar action. (Just look at China’s recent sword-rattling when it comes to Taiwan.)

Thus, in many ways, it is a lose-lose situation right now. Certainly, we need to be praying!

As for international Christian perception of Trump and Biden, Markert said that the Christian leaders he knew around the globe did not like Trump in terms of his personality. But they did like his policies, and because he was considered unpredictable, that kept these aggressive, foreign nations at bay. (Think back to Trump’s threat to North Korea’s “Rocket Man” that “my [nuclear] button is bigger than yours!”)

In contrast, these leaders see the current administration as weak, which is why we are seeing these aggressive acts by Russia (today) and perhaps others in the future. (At this point, this observation would appear to be self-evident.)

Interestingly, according to Markert, the biggest world issue today is the ongoing decline of America. And, he stated, the reason for our decline is our immorality, both internally (it is destroying us) and externally (we are exporting it around the world through our movies and music and porn).

Yet, he believes, if America can regain its moral footing, God will bless us and reestablish us as the world’s superpower, resulting in many, positive, international results. This is why Markert is devoting so much of his time and attention to working towards a Great Awakening in America.

So, the situation really is quite critical, and we should cry out God for mercy and wisdom and intervention. Many lives hang in the balance.

But God can turn this crisis into something positive if we respond to Him rightly.

(There’s much more to this fascinating interview, which you can watch here.)

Russia, China, Canada, and a Reminder of Why So Many of Us Voted for Trump

The purpose of this article is not to offer a retrospective analysis of the Trump presidency. Rather, it is to respond to those who cannot possibly understand how God-fearing, Bible-loving, morality-espousing people could vote for Trump. We actually had some very good reasons.

Russia, China, Canada, and a Reminder of Why So Many of Us Voted for Trump | Articles | AskDrBrown

In the aftermath of the events of January 6, 2021, the narrative is becoming more and more fixed. 

Simply stated, it claims that the vast majority of Americans who voted for Trump were gun-waving, white supremacist, insurrectionist, Christian nationalists, who need to be marginalized, if not purged from society. For many reasons, we need to continue to challenge that narrative. And recent world events involving Russia, China, and Canada provide a perfect opportunity to push back against that misleading and caricatured narrative.

To be clear, having voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, I do not want him to run again in 2024. 

And I am sympathetic to the argument that, in many ways, did Trump more harm than good, especially in his post-election behavior and in the damage that was done to our Christian witness when he looked to him as some kind of political savior. (I know that strong Trump supporters find this perspective utterly outrageous, but that’s a battle I am not here to fight.)

But the purpose of this article is not to offer a retrospective analysis of the Trump presidency. Rather, it is to respond to those who cannot possibly understand how God-fearing, Bible-loving, morality-espousing people could vote for Trump. 

Let’s start with the recent events in Canada and Prime Minister’s invoking of the Emergencies Act in an attempt to crush the Freedom Convoy protesters. According to reports, he “invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the country’s history to crack down on protests against his vaccine mandate — just days after the Biden administration urged him to use ‘federal powers.’”

How much of this came directly from President Biden? Only those involved know for sure.

But if true, an obvious question arises: Could you imagine the Trump administration encouraging this kind of extreme crackdown against freedom-loving, peaceful protesters? Could you imagine Trump telling Trudeau, “Yeah, you really need to crush this resistance”?

Yet, when it came to international policy and America’s role in the world, those of us who voted for Trump felt far more confident in his leadership than the leadership of Biden. Does this make us violent white supremacists? Or, put another way, when it came to the massive implications of our international policies, was there no justifiable reason to vote for Trump?

As for Russia, while Trump’s critics claimed that he was either too friendly with Putin or actually admired him, others saw things quite differently.

Writing for the Jewish Press on July 24, 2018, Daniel Greenfield claimed that, “Trump Stood Up to Putin, Obama Appeased Him.”

He wrote, “The architects of Obama’s appeasement of Putin have been some of the most militant voices denouncing Trump. . . . Instead President Trump has steadily reversed Obama’s tide of concessions to Putin.”

He continued, “The media is outraged over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But when that happened, Ukraine asked for weapons and the only aid that Obama offered their country was MREs. It took months for Obama to come through with boots and tires. Meanwhile Trump has delivered actual weapons.

“Why did Obama refuse to provide Ukraine with weapons? According to senior officials, to avoid antagonizing Moscow. Trump isn’t afraid of Russia. Obama however was shaking in his loafers.

“While Trump approved anti-tank missiles for Ukraine, Obama slow-walked shipments of boots, putting them on trucks instead of planes so that they took months to arrive, so as not to upset the Russians. Meanwhile the Trump administration cut the red tape by dipping into its own European stockpiles.

“In the time it took Obama to ship boots to Ukraine, Trump shipped Javelin missiles.”

And he closed with this: “Unlike Obama, President Trump sold weapons to Ukraine. Unlike Obama, he bombed Assad and took on Russian mercenaries. Unlike Obama, he provided Poland with working Patriot missiles. Unlike Obama, he didn’t base his foreign policy around fearing to offend Moscow. Unlike Obama, he stood up to Russia.”

The fact is that many of us who voted for Trump felt that he would do a better job of standing up to the world’s strongmen than Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden would do. (For a relevant Twitter poll, see here.)

As for China, allow me to share two personal anecdotes. While in Australia in early 2020, shortly before the COVID travel restrictions, I was picked up at the airport by a Chinese national who was now an Australian citizen.

When I asked him for his views on Chinese President Xi, he told me plainly that he thought he was dangerous. When I asked him for his views on President Trump, he said, “He’s a hero.”

In fact, a colleague of mine who has spent almost all his adult life living and working in China, and who is well-connected to the underground Chinese church, told me that every Christian he knew in China was praying fervently for the reelection of Trump. And when Trump lost, many of them wept.

More broadly, a Bing search for the words how Trump stood up to China (not in quotes) yields pages of articles and videos with headlines like this: “It Takes a Trump to Stand Up to China” (The Hill, December 6, 2016); and “Finally, a President Stands Up to China” (Townhall, August 28, 2019).

To be sure, Trump had more than his share of critics when it came to his Chinese policies, with CNN claiming in July 2020 that, “Trump blasts Beijing in public, but privately Trump org imports tons of Chinese goods.”

But the fact remains that America just competed in the Beijing Olympics, with our athletes being urged not to protest and our official diplomatic protest seeming quite tepid, even with its reference to China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity.”

Really now, if we truly believed that China was guilty of “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” shouldn’t we rather boycott the Olympics? Why not put teeth in our words?

Obviously, I cannot imagine the pressures President Biden is under, and the purpose of this article is not to throw stones at him. (How many Biden-bashing articles have I written?) And, to repeat, I do not want to Trump to run again in 2024 for quite a few reasons.

I’m simply reminding those who broad-brush and smear all of us who voted for Trump that international policies were a major consideration for many of us, with those policies potentially affecting hundreds of millions of lives. (And I’ve not said a word here about our policies with Iran.)

That is hardly a matter of white supremacy or dangerous Christian nationalism. This is matter of worldwide humanitarian concern.

Canada Has Just Declared War on Freedom of Religion and Conscience

It may sound harmless, but the Canadian Senate’s decision to fast track and pass a bill prohibiting “Conversion Therapy” is terribly dangerous and, to date, without precedent worldwide. How on earth did this happen?

Canada Has Just Declared War on Freedom of Religion and Conscience | Articles | AskDrBrown

It may sound harmless, but the Canadian Senate’s decision to fast track and pass a bill prohibiting “Conversion Therapy” is terribly dangerous and, to date, without precedent worldwide. 

An article on Canada’s CTV news referred to “the harmful practice” of conversion therapy, noting that this will now be banned for people of all ages, part of a promise made to “the LGBTQ2S+ community” by the current government.

As to why the bill was fast tracked, Sen. Leo Housakos, a member of Canada’s Conservative (?!) Party, explained, “I think we have to get to the reflex in this institution, that when something is in the universal interest, public interest, that we should not create unnecessary duplication and engage into unnecessary debates.”

In other words, when there is such widespread agreement that something is so evil and dangerous, we must ask quickly and decisively, without debate and discussion. Let’s get this thing done!

How does CTV News define “conversion therapy” (a name created by the critics, not the practitioners)?

It states, “Conversion “therapy,” as it has been called, seeks to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender. It can include seeking to repress someone’s non-heterosexual attraction, or repressing a person’s gender expression or non-cis gender identity.

“These practices can take various forms, including counselling and behavioural modification, and they have been opposed by numerous health and human rights groups.”

So, we’re not just talking about trying to force gays to try to become straight. Or kidnapping children and subjecting them to torture in a secret reprogramming camp. God forbid.

There is not a genuine Christian I know on the planet who would agree to such practices, nor is there a counselor I know who would engage in them.

If that is what was meant by “conversion therapy,” then of course, we should all oppose it.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

The reality is that this new bill actually prohibits Christians from practicing their faith when it comes to homosexuality and bisexuality and transgenderism. It also prohibits people who want to get help to pursue change, whatever their age, from pursuing that change – as along as it is change away from being gay or bi or trans.

Not only so, but the bill prohibits any attempt at “behavioral modification,” meaning, simply wanting to lessen one’s same-sex attractions or actions. This is now forbidden by law.

As expressed by Jose Ruba, communications director of Free to Care, “This means heterosexual Canadians could get support to reduce their unwanted sexual behaviour but non-heterosexuals could not. That is a violation of our Charter rights.”

Talk about dangerous government overreach. Talk about yet another step towards banning the Bible.

This bill is actually the worst thing of its kind that has ever been passed – and it was passed unanimously, with the help of “Conservative” senators. Did we not tell you this was coming?

What happens to a 30-year-old married man with children who secretly struggles with same-sex attraction? Under the new law, could he receive professional counseling to help him deal with these attractions? Not a chance.

He could, however, get counseling to help him embrace his homosexual desires, even if it destroyed his marriage.

What about a 19-year-old woman who feels tormented within her own skin, as if she’s a man trapped in a female body? If she wanted to find wholeness from the inside out, rather than getting on hormones for life and having radical sex-change surgery, could she receive professional counseling? Absolutely not.

But if you’re a 10-year-old child who identifies as trans, you can get a doctor to prescribe puberty blockers for you. And can you start to plan for the first of several sex-change operations when you reach 18.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things, create the following offences:

(a) causing another person to undergo conversion therapy;

(b) doing anything for the purpose of removing a child from Canada with the intention that the child undergo conversion therapy outside Canada;

(c) promoting or advertising conversion therapy; and

(d) receiving a financial or other material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy.

So, based on provisions c and d, if you are professional counselor who has helped people with unwanted same-sex attractions or gender-identity confusion for years, you can neither advertise such services or receive payment for them. Talk about discriminatory under the law.

You might say, “You’re getting this all wrong. The issue is dangerous conversion therapy. There’s no problem with a counselor or a pastor helping someone deal with unwanted same-sex attractions or the like. That’s where you’re mistaken.”

Instead, all positive attempts to help the countless LGBTQ individuals who want to change for personal or religious reasons are branded “conversion therapy.” And any belief that homosexual practice is wrong or that God created only two sexes, male and female is now labeled as bigoted.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the bill’s Preamble:

Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to the persons who are subjected to it;

Whereas conversion therapy causes harm to society because, among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions;

And whereas, in light of those harms, it is important to discourage and denounce the provision of conversion therapy in order to protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows. . . .

International

When Gorbachev was the Antichrist

A Sober Assessment of the State of America and the World

The European Parliament Condemns itself by Condemning the Supreme Court’s Expecting Overturning of Roe

Who Is Vladimir Putin and What Makes Him Tick?

Did the Prophet Ezekiel Predict Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?

Are We on the Edge of World War III?

Russia, China, Canada, and a Reminder of Why So Many of Us Voted for Trump

Canada Has Just Declared War on Freedom of Religion and Conscience

We Must Not Capitulate to China

Analyzing the Election Results in California and Canada, and the Attitude of Faith vs Fear

Afghanistan as the New Inspiration and Expanded Staging Ground for Islamic Terrorism

It is During Times of Great Shaking that the Kingdom of God Makes Great Advances

10 Reflections on the Afghan Disaster

Thoughts on Patriotism and the Olympic Games

The Incredible Incoherence of Ben & Jerry’s Capitulation to the BDS Movement

A Significant Apology from the UK

America, if You Want to Know What’s Coming NEXT, Look to Canada and be Forewarned

How the Churches in India are Responding to the COVID Calamity

Leah Sharibu: Say Her Name