Is Jesus the Angel of the Lord?

Moses and the Burning Bush

Why did Jesus say several times that nobody has seen God, when plenty of people are recorded as having seen and heard God in the Bible ? John 6:46; John 1:18; John 5:37; also 1 John 4:12: “No one has seen God at ANY time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him”.

There appears to be a contradiction, since Jesus said no man has ever seen or heard God, yet many times throughout the Old Testament, people DID see and hear God! Nonetheless, “You have never heard his voice, nor seen his form….” [John 5:37]

The Voice of God

What then of Ezekiel? “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” (Ezekiel 1:28)

WHO then did Adam and Eve hear? In Eden Adam and Eve “heard his voice” and presumably saw him also, because he had a conversation with them. (Genesis 3:8)

WHO then spoke from the Mount? “The Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form”. Deuteronomy 4:12

Elijah recognized God by a “still, small voice” (I Kings 19:12–13)

Daniel 4:31 A voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar…”

Contradiction

So God spoke directly to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8), to Cain (Genesis 4:6), to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-2), to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15; 32:26-29), to Moses (Exodus 3:4; 19:19), to Elijah (I Kings 19:9, 11-12), and to many others. Yet Jesus said, no one has heard the voice of God the Father!

The site below lists 35 times in the bible that God’s voice was heard – did Jesus LIE about those instances? Is Jesus Christ a liar, or was the voice that people heard from heaven, the voice of GOD, actually the voice of the pre-incarnate Christ? https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God~s-Voice

(It’s interesting that AFTER the incarnation, when Jesus was in a human form on earth, the voice of God is heard testifying to the Son. [John 12:28-30, Luke 3:22, 2 Peter 1:18 etc].)

Why did Jesus tell his disciples that no one had ever seen or heard God the Father? Was it in an effort to focus the Jews’ attention on himself instead of God the invisible Father in heaven? No, Jesus did not crave attention, in fact he avoided it and walked away from the “multitudes” who sought to make him king before the time. Then why?

Israel Should Have Known

Instead of simply correcting a scriptural misunderstanding, Jesus was opening up a “can of worms” relating to the core belief system of the religious Jews: that God is ONE, and therefore cannot have a Son.

Their coming Messiah was supposed to be a miracle-working MAN. Yet, looking forward into the plan of God for salvation, a mere man could not have achieved redemption for all mankind.

“The Lord is Our God, the Lord is One”

Judaism forbids the worship of a person as a form of idolatry, since the central belief of Judaism is the absolute unity and singularity of God. In Judaism, the idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical — they believe that the Torah rules out a trinitarian God [Deut 6:4): “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”

Thus Judaism teaches that it is heretical for any man to claim to be God, part of God, or the literal son of God.

This is still the case. The Jerusalem Talmud (Ta’anit 2:1) states explicitly: “if a man claims to be God, he is a liar.” So, the implication of Jesus’ statements about the body and voice of God in their scriptures was that Somebody else (He Himself) was the God who appeared to mankind and spoke! Imagine how shocking that would be to their beliefs.

• Judaism’s View of Jesus
  
  

Jesus is Either God, or a Liar

Several times Jesus was accused of blasphemy. When he healed the paralytic man (Mark 2:1-12), he forgave his sins! So, the scribes said, “Who but God alone can forgive sins?”.

Jesus told the Jews that He knew Abraham, who “rejoiced to see My day” (John 8:56), and when they protest, He announces, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (verse 58), taking upon Himself the divine name of the Eternal God.

Jesus was known to call God his “Father” – thereby “making Himself equal with God” [John 5:18] and “for this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father”.

So it was, at his trial, the Jews said, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God” (19:6-7).

Jesus: not mere Man but God

The problem for Israel is NOT that they didn’t believe in a Messiah to come, but they denied his divinity. The Messiah would not and could not be the Son of God. They absolutely believed in God and the scriptures, but failed to see Jesus therein. Jesus said:

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me”. [John 5:39]

After he rose from the dead, he explained this further to his followers: “‘Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?’” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.” [Luke 24:26-27]

• See Jesus in every book

The Appearance of Jesus throughout History

The Man Seen in the Furnace

It is surprising to some just how many times Jesus the Son of God appeared before his incarnation. These are called “Christophanies” or appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ.

There is no doubt at all that the people of the Bible heard and saw God, but until Jesus pointed it out, the disciples could not understand that it was He, the ever-existing Word who “was God, and was with God” since the beginning (John 1:1) and who had revealed himself throughout the ages.

• Ten Times Jesus Showed Up As God

The God they saw, and called the “Angel [Messenger] of the Lord” was in fact the pre-incarnate Jesus! See http://halfshekel.com/angel.html where it is explained that the Hebrew and Greek word for Angel means one who is SENT, a messenger or ambassador, see Malachi 3:1.

How fitting that Jesus said he was “sent from God” and John calls him the Word of God, that which is expressed and sent out from God the Father, the Living Word! Jesus explicitly stated: “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.” (John 16:28) He was SENT, with the message of redemption, thus is rightly called the Angel of God in the Old Testament.

Not One God, but One in Three Persons

In stating that no man had ever seen or heard God the Father, Jesus was making a distinction between the God who is “the only Sovereign One, the King of kings and Lord of lords [who] alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light [whom] no one has ever seen, nor can anyone see Him.” [1 Timothy 6:16] and “His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) who indeed HAS been heard, approached, and seen many times in history!

Imagine how difficult was that fact to any religious Jew in the day of Jesus!

• Has Anyone Seen God or Not?

Pre-Incarnate Appearances of the Son of God

Adam and Eve: heard the voice of God, and hid from the “presence of GOD” in the Garden, and he talked with them.

Hagar: sees the “Angel of the Lord” and calls him El Roi, saying, “You are the God who sees me… Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (Genesis 16:14).

Abraham: “The LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless…”(Gen. 17:1)

Abraham: “And the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, saying, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord…” [Genesis 22:16]

NOTE: We’re told in the Bible that God can’t swear by anybody higher than himself. When the angel of the Lord says to Abraham, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord,” we see this ‘person’ who is distinct from the Father and yet still called God.

Jacob: spent the night wrestling with an unnamed Man. “So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, ‘Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared’.” [Genesis 32:30]

Moses: sees Yahweh in the burning bush, who says “I Am That I Am”. (Exodus 3:14) And he said, ““I am the God of your Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”” And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God”.

Moses: “God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD [Yahweh]; I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Yahweh, I did not make Myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3)

NOTE: Jesus said: “if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

Moses Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, “saw the God of Israel” (Exodus 24:9-11)

Moses: saw God in the midst of the fire and heard his voice on the mountain “we have seen this day that God speaks with man…” Deut 5:24

Moses: God says of Moses, “With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the LORD”.(Num. 12:6-8)

Jacob: said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan.” Genesis 48:3

Gideon: When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!” [Judges 6:22]

Samson’s parents: Manoah and his wife saw the Angel of the Lord and fell with their faces to the ground. “We will certainly die,” the man said, “for we have seen God.” (Judges 13)

Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of this “Angel”

• The “Angel” is referred to with masculine pronouns (Genesis 16:13; Judges 6:21).
• He is identified as God (Judges 6:11, 14; Zechariah 12:8).3
• He performed miracles (Judges 6:21; 13:20).
• Gideon and Manoah thought they would die because they saw the “Angel” face to face (Judges 6:22; 13:22).
• The “Angel” accurately foretold future events (Judges 13:3).
• His name is “wonderful” (Judges 13:18; cf., Isaiah 9:6).
• He destroyed 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian army in one night (2 Kings 19:35).

“The Angel of the Lord” cannot be viewed as a normal angel. He is occasionally identified as God, accepted worship, and at least two people who saw Him thought they would die for seeing Him face to face. These same attributes and activities are clearly attributed to God elsewhere in Scripture. [Source]

“So, who is that strange figure, the angel of the Lord who appeared to the patriarchs, to Moses, and the burning bush, and in the courtroom of Zachariah’s night vision? Who is that mysterious commander of the Lord’s army, who shows up confronting Joshua on the battlefield, sword drawn? We normally associate the presence of God, the eternal Son with and among us, with the incarnation, and certainly, the word did become flesh and tabernacled among us. But he didn’t come out of nowhere — at various places in times in biblical history, we have theophanies or christophanies where the Son manifested himself in human or angelic form prior to his incarnation”. [Source]

• Preincarnate appearances

An Open Challenge to Israel

The answer to the question, why did Jesus several times tell his followers that “no man has seen the Father” but also, “if you have seen me, you HAVE seen the Father” is that he was claiming to be the very same God that Israel saw, heard and worshipped in the Old Testament.

“There is only one true, supreme God—the God of the Bible—and his Name is YHWH. YHWH is usually translated as LORD (all capital letters) in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament.

“Yahweh means: “I Am who I Am.” God explained his Name to Moses during the burning bush encounter when he commissioned Moses to free Israel from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 3:13-15). God’s Name, the “I Am”, gives a sense of the enigmatic, transcendent and eternal nature of God (cf. Rev. 1:8).

“In Isaiah 44:6, the LORD (Yahweh) refers to himself as “the First and the Last”. In Revelation 1:8 and 17, Jesus similarly refers to himself as “the Alpha and the Omega” and “the First and the Last”.

“In Zechariah 12:10 the LORD (Yahweh) is speaking and says that, “they will look on Me whom they have pierced.” This is Jesus speaking (Psa. 22:16; John 19:34). This verse from Zechariah appears again in Revelation 1:7b and is about Jesus Christ.

https://margmowczko.com/proving-that-jesus-is-god-from-the-old-testament/

Conclusion

There are some mysteries too deep to comprehend, and although we believe in One God in Three Persons, it’s difficult to grasp it mentally, as an intellectual concept. Human minds are not made that way. Nonetheless, we do know from what Jesus explained that the GOD who appeared to the men and women of the Old Testament is the same GOD who appeared on earth as the child of Mary, the incarnate Saviour, and the crucified and risen LORD.

Once having seen that fact, we can never go back to the comfy impression of just a humanised “gentle Jesus meek and mild”, merely a special man filled with mercy and compassion who came to help and heal mankind. Although Jesus “took flesh” and became like one of us, he is also the almighty Lord and God who was the agent of creation, upholds all things with the word of his power, who rose from the dead to ascend to the right hand of the Father as LORD over all, having “all authority in heaven and on earth”.

“And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD before the new court and said, “O LORD God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”” [2 Chronicles 20:6]

“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” [Psalm 147:4-5]

“But God made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding, he stretched out the heavens. When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.” [Jeremiah 10:12-13]

“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. “ [Hebrews 1:3]

In the old days, God spoke to Israel through the prophets,

But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs. [Heb 1:3]

(Internet Links do not imply endorsements.)

“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”

The exceeding greatness of God’s power!

The Angel Moved The Stone – But Why?

I write on the Saturday of Easter weekend (as the westernised version of events has it) and it is no coincidence I am sure that in my recent re-reading of the gospel of Matthew I arrived today at the final two chapters, the account of the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of God.

As always, the bible text itself corrects so many popular bible myths that have been introduced over the centuries. We must not base our beliefs on myths or religious paintings, but the word of God.

The World In Chaos – A Christian Perspective

No doubt you are as troubled about world events as I am, especially as there seems no relief in sight.

And these days, praying isn’t so straightforward either, since we have less and less clarity on exactly what is the Lord’s intention (except for the obvious biblical prophecies.)

(Personally, I pray Lord, let YOUR will be done, and YOUR will prevail.)

Today on Twitter, Ron Perlman  addressed the current situation from his own patriotic American perspective, and it sparked off some thoughts for me. What he said was this:

The Vegan Controversy

A Hidden Agenda?

Today, I had planned to write about the rise and seemingly unstoppable advance of full-on veganism. To clarify, I don’t mean vegetarianism or simply avoiding meat to spare the suffering of animals. I mean the shunning of ALL products, whether edible or not, that involve animal ingredients, not so much as a personal choice but as an environmental statement .

I say I had planned to do that, but on following up my own researches on the Net I found several facts:

1. The subject – even amongst Christians – causes such positive and negative feedback that it’s almost impossible to contribute to the discussion in a rational way. I am wary of adding to that.
2. There is a dearth of factual data as to the roots and religion (yes, religion) behind veganism and other hot topics.
3. Almost all websites found in a search are pro-vegan, or pointing out the rapid rise of veganism in the Western world.
4. Christian websites are finding ways to support veganism, too

More importantly, hardly anyone realises that veganism is just one chapter in a whole book of beliefs about planetary ascension. And those who do speak out, approach the subject in such a way that they come over like cranks and crackpots.

At the risk of joining the tin-hat brigade, I DO see and know (from long years of research) that radically changing our diet is just one way of altering the entire planetary eco-system and population to achieve a state of “nirvana” or (as some Christians believe) a return to the perfection of Eden.

Now, I know that not everyone involved in the green revolution is of the same mind, nor are many even aware such beliefs exist. Even if they do, they are not necessarily in agreement with them, and many are simply doing their best for the environment and their health, as they see it.

Nonetheless, a change in attitude is happening in many areas, as seen in the illustration below. Like it or not, this new model is in direct opposition to biblical truth. (Included is the place of women in this system – telling us that more is being suggested than mere dietary choices.)

Does God Encourage Veganism?

Since I’ve mentioned it, let’s briefly put paid to the theory that God approves veganism because Adam and Eve didn’t eat meat, and that His plan to transform the planet and return it to Edenic perfection means that God wants us all to begin right away. Or so the argument goes.

Five counter arguments:

First, Adam and Eve ruined the perfect plan of God and we have them to thank for our present condition. That cannot be reversed just now.

Second, after the Fall and the Flood, the earth lost its ability to provide sufficient nutrition in just plant food

Third, nowhere in scripture does God ban the eating of meat, per se. On the contrary, eating the fatted calf was an especial honour. God led Israel to land flowing with milk and honey, not tofu and quinoa.

Fourth, the eventual restoration of the earth will come by the miraculous work of God himself, and not by man!

Fifth, even though certain foods were banned under the Law, restrictions were lifted under the New Covenant when Jesus declared all foods clean, [Mark 7:19] and Paul confirmed it in Romans 14:14 “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean”. Adding that “the weak eat only vegetables”

BUT, please note that this is in the context of validly-held beliefs, which God does not judge and nor should we, for we are told to:

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. For one man has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.” [Romans 14:1-3]

So at this point I must say that what I write here is NOT to judge, much less to condemn, anyone – Christian or not – who has decided to avoid meat.

If that is a personal choice you have made, then I am not here to point a finger. My sole aim in writing this article is to set out what is behind the global push to veganism and indeed many other efforts to save the planet Earth.

How To Save The Planet

Probably the great majority now of eco-warriors, if I can call them that, are focused merely on “saving the planet” from what they see as rapid decay or corruption due to pollution of various kinds – a worthy cause which I in part support, who wouldn’t?

I happily recycle like anyone else. Yet I cannot support the core religious beliefs behind a secretive agenda that is unknown to most.

• See  Agenda 21 Website
• Especially – “history behind the current earth-changes”

What is the Goal?

Saving the planet is not the real aim, but altering the planet and all its inhabitants is the secret belief that drives hardcore environmentalism. It has its roots in Buddhism and Hinduism, but draws from many religions including a more recent upsurge in “new-age” beliefs.

For instance, it is encapsulated in this Native American “prophecy” which teaches that the rainbow children of the latter day will come together in unity, love and acceptance: “There will come a day when people of all races, colors, and creeds will put aside their differences. They will come together in love, joining hands in unification, to heal the Earth and all Her children”.

Here you can read of the coming “planetary ascension” that is predicted by the new-age gurus of today:

Planetary Ascension
The earth is going through an ascension at this time into a higher vibration and dimensional awareness. What this means is that she is joining her physical body with the higher frequencies of light so that she can participate in the galactic harmonic of spiritual light in an entirely new way. The earth…  must free itself of all that stands in the way of moving into the higher frequencies of light before becoming completely able to do so.

Among the things at stake is the future of human evolution. For the new planetary body will house those who have evolved in keeping with the earth’s present spiritual status, and if the earth were harmed or destroyed even in part, the capacity of this transition to take place in full measure would be interfered with as well….

It may be said that the entire earth is waiting …for the new birth and new awakening that will enable humanity to [enter into] a new way of being with each other and with life. … when the planetary body of the earth as well as all her inhabitants will know themselves to be one with each other and one with the Divine source of light and love that has given each one birth.  {Source]

The Hippy Generation

We saw an early attempt to bring about Utopia in the hippy era of the 1960’s when the “rainbow children” of that era promoted free love, hallucinogenic drugs, and peace for all mankind.

Many of the hippy generation went on to become world leaders, influencing today’s media, education, government, literature and also the Church. (See for example the Seven Mountains beliefs.)

“Outspoken Hippy Reaffirms New Age Beliefs for Today”

“The hippie expression of the New Age movement is attempting to unify the world’s religions and cultures to create, in effect, a one-world religion (i.e., a single spiritual philosophy) and global culture wherein all of humanity will live harmoniously together as one. The hippie movement represents a particular type of globalization. It is promoted in the lyrics of John Lennon’s song Imagine: “I hope someday you’ll join us; And the world will live as one.” A special United Nations event was recently held in celebration of ‘The Spirit of the United Nations.’ Open to all U.N. staff and Non-Governmental Organizations, the program featured an opening ‘blessing song on behalf of indigenous peoples,’ an expression of ‘thanks to Mother Earth.’ ” [Source]

Where Does Veganism Fit In?

To get back to the subject in hand, the general belief is that meat-eating [just one aspect of the old structure] is holding mankind back from evolving onto a higher spiritual plane, and ultimately to the status of “ascended masters“. Or similar expressions of the same basic idea.

Having risen to that condition of spirituality, it makes way for the lower species [animals] to evolve to a more human-like condition. (They then will continue the unenlightened activities of killing and eating one another until they, in their turn, evolve. And so on.)

Thus, we are all – it is said – on a long journey of continuous rebirth so that all who live on earth (and ultimately the planet herself) may rise to a higher plane of existence.

For this to happen we must respect Mother Earth (who is, they claim, a Living Being), stop plundering and polluting her resources, and learn to harmonise with her “frequency” to come into perfect unity.

The drive to stop mankind eating meat is just one plan in the quest for Enlightenment.

Other plans include:

• Complete integration of all races and cultures
  • Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi in 1925 in Practical Idealism predicted: “The man of the future will be of mixed race. Today’s races and classes will gradually disappear owing to the vanishing of space, time, and prejudice. The Eurasian-Negroid race of the future will replace the diversity of peoples with a diversity of individuals”.
• Eradication of genders and gender stereotypes
  • “More and more progressive parents have decided to liberate their children from the chains of gender“.
• Freeing people from the bondage of marriage laws
  • “The House believes that marriage is outdated; Is marriage merely a defunct symbol belonging to a society we no longer live in?” University College London Union debating society.
• Overturning the belief that sex is principally for procreation
  • “The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It claimed that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else”.
• Emancipation of all women
  • There will be no New Age without full equality for all women. “The world of humanity has two wings — one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Baha’is believe that humanity has entered a new age, one in which the true potential of both women and men must find full expression, creativity and fulfillment.”  “In the New Age [The Age of Aquarius, the Hippy Ideal] woman will be equal to man”.  – August Vandekerkhove
• Eradicating all fossil fuels
  • “We need to rapidly shift away [by 2020] from our dependence on fossil fuels -and- replace them with clean energy from water, wind and sun. The alternative to moving to green energy is a dark and dangerous future”. – UN secretary general António Guterres
• Cutting back on all industry
  • “Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” – Maurice Strong, founder of the UN Environment Programme
• Using only what “Gaia”, or mother-earth, freely provides
  • “Our insatiable drive to rummage deep beneath the surface of the earth is a willful expansion of our dysfunctional civilization into Nature.” – Al Gore, ‘Earth in the Balance’
• Drastically reducing population numbers
  • “A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal.”– Ted Turner, founder of CNN and major UN donor. Also see: “Empty half the Earth of its humans. It’s the only way to save the planet“
  • But please see an important comment about the Ted Turner quote HERE
• And of course, “controlling the climate”.
  • “The climate crisis is NOT a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift Global Consciousness to a higher level.” – Al Gore, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize

Speakers Confirm The Goal – Reeducation

Needing a practical way to reeducate humankind, powerful bodies like the Club of Rome decided to use scare tactics:

“In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill.” – Club of Rome, The First Global Revolution

The full quote is found here:

“The common enemy of humanity is man. In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behaviour that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself.“ – Club of Rome, premier environmental think-tank, consultants to the United Nations

To see the recent (2018) Club of Rome “Emergency Plan” for the planet, please download or see their pamphlet here:

Beliefs of Al Gore

The most prominent new-age guru, Al Gore, is almost single-handedly responsible for today’s climate change beliefs (once called Global Warming, since it was predicted at the time that much of the world would be under water from rising sea levels within 25 years.)

• VERY useful website to browse to discover the truth about climate change

Al Gore was raised a Baptist and considers himself a born-again Christian, yet his books are full of new-age earth religion and pagan spirituality. “Mr. Gore also preaches repentance through a spiritual union with Gaia in the same way Christians taught a spiritual union with Christ.” [Source]

The education/propaganda around these and other similar issues has been deliberately so pervasive that hardly anybody under the age of 30 rejects the theories, but yet they know nothing of the true agenda nor where it’s coming from.

Veganism in numbers

• 350% Rise in the number of vegans in Britain from 2006-2016; 542,000 people said they were vegans in 2016.
• 168,000 Veganuary 2018 participants, of which 60% were under 35, up from 3,300 on its 2014 launch.
• 185% Increase in vegan products launched in the UK between 2012 and 2016.
• 20% Percentage of under-35s who have tried a vegan diet.

Such is the determination of the new vegans that they foresee it being classed as a religion and thus given the same protective regulations, as this article states: “Ethical veganism could be considered ‘protected belief’ akin to religion in landmark case.”

But, as I said, how many of these dedicated – and no doubt sincere and good-hearted – people know that changes in diet are only one small part of the whole plan of planetary evolution?

Indeed, few of the main proponents know it! They are driven by a genuine belief that we can “save the planet” by adopting rigorous new laws and requirements, and perhaps would be horrified to learn they are being used as puppets.

One commented: “We are unable to self regulate, so we need legislation and quotas to be brought in to limit what we aren’t listening to”.

New Laws and Restrictions

The leaders speak out, and the Governments of the world are quick to comply.

Harassed and “informed” by various strong-willed and determined lobby groups and quangos, the lawmakers start moving obediently in the same direction, without really knowing why, and without considering the consequences.

This is due to pressure from leaders such as Marco Springmann of the University of Oxford, who led a recent research team.

He said: “a global change is needed, but we really need much more proactive governments to provide the right framework. People can make a personal difference by changing their diet, but also by knocking on the doors of their politicians and saying we need better environmental regulations – that is also very important. Do not let politicians off the hook.”

Tim Barford, manager of Europe’s largest vegan events company, VegfestUK, points to the deeper roots of this recent explosion of interest. “There is a big plant-based shift culturally – a systemic change in the way that we’re approaching food and the way that we feed ourselves. Remember that successive governments over 15 years have been ploughing money into persuading people to eat more fruit and vegetables, with the five-a-day campaign. Then you’ve got a real cultural change among millennials, which is very much built around justice and the way we look at animals.”

Powerful Influence of the Media

No sooner did the media report on a major climate change conference in 2018, that called for a drastic reduction in meat-eating worldwide [UK and US citizens must cut beef by 90% and milk by 60%], the UK Government starting talking about a “tax on meat and meat products” as if food wasn’t already expensive enough.

And the exponential rise of veganism was just the result they hoped for – there is now a massive new interest in going vegan, fuelled by people who believed the simplistic chant that “giving up animal produce will save the planet”.

This article says that a third of Britons have now given up on meat.

As well as the pressure to be kind to animals (which at one time used to involve releasing them from zoos or laboratories to die a slow and painful death in the wild, or to decimate the indigenous species) there is now the much more emotive issue of resolving damage to the climate.

Because, farting animals create dangerous levels of methane. They say.

I even read a while ago of a scheme to make farmers provide their animals with nappies (diapers.) Such is the desire to stop the natural produce of animals, which by the way is one of the best providers of nutrients for growing plants, including TREES that (you guessed it) remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Nonetheless, they chant, stop eating meat to save the planet! But even environmentalists disagree, as in this article:

It points out that “Anti-meat campaigns ignore the essential role that grazing animals play in genuinely sustainable agriculture. Livestock production must be reformed, but eliminating it would do more harm than good….studies … claim that livestock production accounts for 83% of global farmland and produces 56-58% of the greenhouse gas emissions from food, but only contributes 37% of our protein intake and 18% of calories. As such, it’s perhaps not so surprising that concerned journalists come up with coverage like the Guardian’s, “Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth” [which see]  …Yet, the debate so far has been extremely limited and largely dominated by those with little if any practical experience of food production or what actually constitutes food system sustainability.

I’ve lost count of the number of food campaigners who’ve told me that all we need to do to make food production sustainable is to stop eating meat. Really? What about the environmental impact of palm oil, soya bean oil, rape oil and even sunflower oil production; the over-enrichment of the environment from nitrogen fertiliser; the decline in pollinating insects; the use of pesticides …and what also about the growing problem of soil degradation…?

Seemingly oblivious of these issues, George Monbiot in “The best way to save the planet? Drop meat and dairy”, on Friday, June 8, also used the research study as evidence to support his claim that if we all gave up meat and dairy we’d be able to re-wild grasslands and live happily by eating more imported soya. (But please do read the entire article)

• Another recent report from GRAIN and others are now claiming that meat and dairy companies emit more than Exxon and other fossil fuel companies. WOT??

Hypocrisy?

At the height of the vegan hysteria generated by the 2018 UN conference, somebody pointed out what should be obvious: shunning all animal products forces everyone to adopt more plastic – which is one of the worst polluters of the planet in the first place!

Changing from wool to acrylic, or leather to plastic, and using all kinds of non-biodegradable materials, means that in the name of protecting animals people are actually further polluting their environment!

And as for protecting animals, the plan to reclaim all land to raise crops is just as damaging.

Killing Animals in the Name of Conservation

“Nobody’s hands are free from the blood of other animals, not even vegetarians, he concluded. Millions of animals are killed every year, Davis says, to prepare land for growing crops, “like corn, soybean, wheat and barley, the staples of a vegan diet….the animals in this case are mice and moles and rabbits and other creatures that are run over by tractors, or lose their habitat to make way for farming, so they are not as “visible” as cattle…and that gives rise to a fundamental question: “What is it that makes it OK to kill animals of the field so that we can eat [vegetables or fruits] but not pigs or chickens or cows? ANY disruption of the land, whether it be to farm or to build subdivisions, reduces the amount of land left for other animals, resulting in the deaths of many”. [Source]

SEE ALSO Blood On Your Hands?

Health issues

Then there is the problem of raising children on a vegan diet.

It’s already been scientifically proven that avoiding all meat, dairy, eggs and anything else remotely non-vegetable leads to vitamin deficiencies in adults, but imagine what it does to growing children. How, I ask, do you raise a baby on almond milk and beansprouts without causing lasting damage?

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient found in virtually no plant foods. It is vital for healthy red blood cells, maintenance of nerves and normal brain function. It is mainly found in animal foods, such as fish, meat, dairy products and eggs, all of which vegans demand we give up! [Seven Nutrients You Cannot Get From Plants]

Yet, one fan says this: “Milk is a hormonal fluid and casein (milk protein) has been proven to cause cancer. Eating one egg a day is the equivalent of smoking 5 cigarettes”.

Really? If people can now believe that breastfeeding is carcinogenic, and eggs give you lung diseases, then the vegans are winning this battle!

• Proven Reasons Why Vegan and Vegetarian Diets Ruin Your Body

Here is a very useful page of stories from people who have given up on being vegan, sometimes after many years. Their testimonies speak louder than any of my words.

Conclusion

I have hesitated to write this study because I know it will generate all kinds of reactions, probably some of them hateful. It seems to be a trend in these days that people become divided on emotive topics and some refuse to see the truth. I believe that presenting facts rather than feelings is important, which is why I have tried to give an overview, with web pages for you to view in order to do further research of your own.

Having said that, I know some will never change their minds; some too will go to supportive websites and follow the reasoning there. So be it. It’s a personal choice.

However, I have tried to point out that veganism is only part of a wider plan to reeducate mankind and to achieve, ultimately, a global transformation that some believe can only come through certain means such as cultural integration, peaceful coexistence, religious unity, sexual liberation, and a complete cessation of animal farming.

Some have gone so far as to say we should abandon pets in the home, or rename them “comfort animals” to respect their rights. Others have suggested we should provide the higher species of animals (such as apes) with their own form of human rights. These thoughts all come from the belief that we are all animals, and all on the same path of evolution.

• 61 percent of people in this poll believe animals are equal to humans.

Without understanding the religion behind veganism, we are doomed to adopt it merely because we feel sorry for animals, while the world leaders gleefully use our soft-heartedness against us. Beware!

Ebenezer – the Stone of Helping

I write today on one of most significant and historic days for this nation and the British Isles – yes including Ireland, whose future is also tangled up in the web of Europe and Brexit. How should we as Christians respond?

My Life Is In Your Hands

This uplifting praise was delivered by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and the song was posted to Youtube in 2009. It was sung, I believe, in a prison. I am posting it because I needed it today, God led me to this song, and I wanted also to share it with you all.  The words are here:

It’s Love Actually

A new year has arrived, and as we look around an increasingly ungodly, violent and troubled world we are grateful more and more for the steadfast love of the Lord. His love is foundational to everything that he is, and to our faith in him.