Our man in Japan

 Man is betrayed..  Matthew 26:2 I don’t like being undermined so I can’t keep a promise. 

 The beginning of sorrows..  Matthew 24:8  Toothache again. 😞 It’s my own fault. I love 🍦 ice cream! 🍨 

 Remember them which have the rule over you..  Hebrews 12:7 

 Go forth, & look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; & they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh..  Isaiah 66:24  You can silence Christians online or in the classroom, you can sack them, persecute them, put them in jail unjustly, take away their kids, even kill them but be sure, be very sure, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES! 

 Evil before mine eyes..  Isaiah 65:12  God bless that Welsh teacher who took down a teen girl with a knife yesterday. I was never even trained for that, & thank God I’ve never had to face a student with a knife. 

 The putting forth of the finger..  Isaiah 58:9  There’s a reason why my English department at the University of Bristol asked me to read the King James Version of the Bible BEFORE I started my degree- it’s because this translation rises to Shakespearean levels of linguistic elegance. Indeed, Shakespeare got several of his best plots FROM the Bible! Just for comparison, my Catholic Filipino Bible loosely translates the above expression as ‘the clenched fist’, & the American NLT rather more prosaically renders it: ‘stop pointing your finger’! Ultimately Isaiah is great at poetic turns of phrase. 

 To cause to inherit the desolate heritages..  Isaiah 49:8 I read yesterday that the Dean of Canterbury, a senior English cleric, is in a gay relationship. This is partly why the Brits have turned away from the Church of England- rotten corruption in high places. But a return to Orthodoxy is overdue, and the fact that all of Biden’s liberal billions has failed to stop the advance of Russian Orthodoxy is just a sign of what’s to come- the rotten secular liberal order is failing. The West just has to choose what to replace it with- Christ or Islam? You don’t even need to like Islam to let it win- you just need to continue to scorn Jesus. If you do, 2000 years of excellent Christian civilization will be lost. The church won’t end. It will just be run from Lagos instead of Lambeth. 

 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.  Isaiah 48:22  My dad through much of his life wasn’t very religious. He did start reading the Psalms after mum died. But this quote from Isaiah- I’m pretty sure he couldn’t have given you chapter & verse- was often in his mouth. Clearly it spoke to him. 

 The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith..  Galatians 3:24 Japanese people largely accept the commandment ‘Do not kill’ (Exodus 20:13) although even this most straightforward of the 10 commandments is not without controversy. What about war? What about abortion? What about capital punishment? What about eating meat!? Which is why the Catholic catechism has a whole chapter on this one commandment alone…. Paul’s point is it is only when we realize our inability to live life without breaking the commandments that we see our need for grace. You may never had had an abortion, but you have probably lied at least once, which breaks the law against bearing false witness..(Exodus 20:16)

 Into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood..  Hebrews 9:7  Christ’s atonement, His bloody death, was necessary for our salvation. 

 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself..  Isaiah 45:15 God doesn’t always show up exactly when we want Him to. Or in the way that we want. That doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist! Patience & humility are important.  

 God the LORD, he that created the heavens..  Isaiah 42:5 So in Britain a school in NW London successfully fought off a law suit by a Muslim pupil (taxpayers paid legal bills) for Islamic prayers during school time on school premises. People are celebrating the restriction on Islam but I’m not in favourite of secular education- kids need to understand they have a Creator, and any school that teaches otherwise is failing those kids. 

 Ready for the sodering.. Isaiah 41:7 The KJV here still follows the French root of the word solder- to fuse metals with low melting alloy like tin. In Old French Souder there is no L. Clearly any idol that needs soldering is no real God at all.  When I first came to Japan I was amazed at what a money making industry the household Buddhist altar business has become. Vast sums involved! It’s a racket! 

 Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is weary?.. Isaiah 40:28 Muhammed is a false prophet & the Koran is the work of the devil- that won’t change even if a holy Christian priest was nearly murdered by an Islamist in Australia today. Islam has grown throughout the centuries by violence and intimidation and every country and every non Muslim needs to stand up against this scourge. They win if we are afraid to call them out for what they are-followers of Satan. 

 The angel of the Lord went forth & smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred & fourscore & five thousand..  Isaiah 37:36  It’s rare I agree with Biden on much but I am glad he is showing restraint against Iran. Americans killing women & children in Iran right now is not what the world needs. Still think he needs to go in November, or preferably sooner! Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord. 

 The days are evil..  Ephesians 5:16  If it comes to it, World War 3, Armageddon, Israel v Iran, unquestionably I’m on Israel’s side not Iran’s, but let’s face it, Israel should have stopped long before it came to this. Biden has made the world MUCH more dangerous & he needs to go in November. If we all make it to November. The way he’s handling things, there may not be much of a US for Trump to take over… Britain under Rishi has come out condemning Iran as ‘reckless’ & has chosen to get the Royal Air Force involved protecting Israel but thanks to mass Islamic immigration the UK has about a million potential 5th columnists on Iran’s side. It hardly bodes well for the future..

 Thanks be to God, which giveth the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..  1Corinthians 15:57 Sports teams lose games, gamblers lose money, politicians lose elections and wars, but God never ever loses. 

 The poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel..  Israel 29:19 If you can’t afford a ‘dream team’ of lawyers or if you notice when you’re down $10, let alone $16,000,000, you still have a friend in Jesus. 

 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation..  Isaiah 28:16  Isaiah, sometimes called the 5th Gospel, is full of references to the true Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, but Jews often cannot see it. If you yourself cannot see it, compare Matthew 21:42, where Jesus says about Himself: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, quoting Psalm 118. So Zion has a Christian meaning these days- it’s not about land in Israel, it’s about the Church. 

 Who would set the briers & thorns against me in battle?  Isaiah 27:4  It is really not a good idea to fight against God. He never loses. Which is why the communists in China will lose in the long term.. But given that Biden & Kishida are hardly faithful followers of the Bible, they cannot be sure they will win any war against China in the short or medium term. 

 Strong people glorify thee..  Isaiah 25:3  Atheists often see Christians as weak, needing God as a crutch. And sure we don’t claim to be all that mighty- we just understand God is ALMIGHTY. But in a godless secular society, it is actually weak to go along to get along. The strong people resist covid mandates, abortion ‘rights’ etc, and any other attempt to marginalize the Creator of us all. Because let’s be clear: if you don’t worship the God of the Bible, you probably bow the knee to something inferior, whether it be gay rights or green politics, or ethnocentric nationalism, or the thoughts of some flawed ‘expert’ who knows far less than God. Dead fish float downstream. It takes guts to go against the flow. 

 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou whole Palestina, art dissolved…  Isaiah 14:31 KJV  And atheists claim prophecy isn’t real…

 We have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.. Hebrews 4:14  When I look at Archbishop Welby, the leader of us Anglicans, I’m often disappointed. He was talking about Kiev on Easter, the man politicizes everything! Similarly, when I look at the Pope, the Roman Catholic leader, sometimes I agree, sometimes I don’t. Now both of these men are almost certainly less sinful than me, so maybe I should give them more benefit of the doubt. But ultimately my faith rests in the Bible, not church leaders, in Jesus the Perfect Great Holy Leader, not sinful men. 

 Others which have no hope..  1 Thessalonians 4:13  Another assisted suicide, allegedly, in Japan Today. Despair is all too common, but there are real solutions, if only you give Jesus a chance. 

 The sun shall be darkened in his going forth..  Isaiah 13:10  God is always in control. Why is America the country experiencing an eclipse next week? Ask Biden! 

 The 4 corners of the earth..  Isaiah 11: 12 Is Hawaii west of the West Coast or East of the Far East? Or both? Either way, I’d sure like to go there. 

As one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth..  Isaiah 10:14  Egg hunts are fun for kids this time of year. Shame Japan isn’t really big on Easter. 

 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees..  Isaiah 10:1  Scotland’s new ‘hate’ speech law criminalizes calling transgender individuals by their birth gender- their real gender. Don’t laugh- it could happen here. 

 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined..  Isaiah 9:2