More on Obama's Betrayal of Israel; and 2016 as the Year of Great Shaking

So, just how great was America's betrayal to Israel before the UN Security Council? We'll straighten it out here. It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and President of Fire School of Ministry.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. The result of the voting is as follows: fourteen votes in favour, one abstention.

The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution twenty three thirty four. That is the shameful sound of the UN Security Council announcing and then applauding the decision to call Israel's settlement activity illegal and thereby brand East Jerusalem, where President Obama himself prayed at the Western Wall, to brand settlements in Judea and Samaria, to brand them illegal. And this is all with the help and participation of the United States of America, led by President Barack Obama, in perhaps the most shameful act of his presidency, one that will live on in Infamy. This is Michael Brown. Welcome to the broadcast.

I hope you had a blessed Christmas. I hope you are enjoying the Hanukkah season. Those of you who like the Hanukkah candles, some do both, some do neither, some do one or the other. But I pray that and hope that your time was blessed with your family. I don't pray that your time was blessed.

That would be a retroactive prayer. I hope it was blessed. All right. 866-34Truth, 866-348-7884. This is where we left off Friday when the UN Security Council voted 14 to nothing against Israel.

All that needed to be done was for the United States to veto the measure, and it would have stopped right there.

However, we had no intention of vetoing. We planned to abstain. And in fact, according to Israel, it has, quote, ironclad information. Ironclad Information That says that the United States, President Obama's administration, worked actively with the Palestinians to draft the resolution. and we're behind it going forward.

The reaction from Prime Minister Netanyahu has been intense. We'll cover that. We'll cover Senator Ted Cruz saying that the United States should stop funding the UN until this is reversed. We'll talk about some of the reactions from other Republican and Democratic leaders, and of course the reaction from President-elect Trump. But before we get into any of that.

Just to make this perfectly clear. Because this is big, this is major, and it's news we're going to focus on. To make this perfectly Clear. The United States has differed with Israel's settlement policy. This has been known.

There are critics within Israel of the settlement policy. There are critics saying that Prime Minister Netanyahu is himself to blame for this crisis because he kept up with building settlements in East Jerusalem and in Judea, Samaria, in territories occupied by war, the way that critics would put it. And this is only an obstacle to peace, and it upsets the U.S. as well.

So, Prime Minister Netanyahu is to blame for this. But as Prime Minister Netanyahu said, yes, there's always been a difference over the settlements. But friends don't take friends before the UN Security Council. This is an absolute outrage. And the purpose of the UN Security Council, according to the official website of the UN, the Security Council's primary responsibility under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security, it is for the Security Council to determine when and where UN peacekeeping operations should be deployed.

It's good. This has nothing to do then with what Israel's doing. This is not a threat to world peace and security right now, as we will demonstrate. And what has the UN Security Council done and what has the UN done about the horrific bloodbath in Syria? taking place just a few miles north of Israel.

Hundreds of thousands massacred, tortured, butchered. And the UN, what has it done? Virtually nothing. God of light, hear our cry, send a fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. I should just note, though, that it's highly irregular for a president to make these sorts of moves so late in the presidency. We've seen Bill Clinton do this at the end of his peace process, but it was a process that was long underway.

This really does seem like more of a punitive measure and very irregular for an outgoing president. Ah, more of a punitive measure, friends. This was from October 27th. Foundation for Defense of Democracy's Vice President Jonathan Shanzer on a White House plan that would kill the peace process. This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.

This was an opinion video on the Wall Street Journal. This was something... that we have talked about. or that others have written about and talked about that they saw coming for some time and it's not over yet It's not over. There has been a concern that the Obama administration would do something ugly towards Israel, that this would be a parting shot from President Obama against Prime Minister Netanyahu, and also a way of him undermining Donald Trump's administration coming in, because UN security resolution can't be undone without a vote that would counter this.

And that would also include China and Russia not vetoing it.

So you've got something that's. almost an impossibility, naturally speaking. And in a case like this, when it's been talked about for months, and when I've been reading reports of what's been feared for months of what President Obama might do, and then this happens. This happens. You have to say, okay, when the administration says, no, no, no, we had nothing to do with this resolution whatsoever, Israel says it has ironclad information.

They've gone on international television and international media and said we have ironclad information. We will give that over to the Trump administration. If they want to release it publicly, fine. But the Obama administration did not just say we're going to abstain from vetoing this. They were behind it, according to multiple sources, from what I understand.

So listen to this report from October 27th, JJ, clip number nine. Again, this is Jonathan Shanser. This is as reported by the Wall Street Journal in terms of some things that might be coming initiated by the Obama administration. President Obama may be planning to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations before he leaves office. Foundation for Defense of Democracies Vice President Jonathan Shanzer joins the show with the details.

So Jonathan, what have you learned?

Well, Mary, we've learned that there are about six options right now that the President is considering from recognizing a Palestinian state to a UN Security Council resolution that details parameters for the peace process, or perhaps, I think even more likely, a UN Security Council resolution against settlements. If those fail, then we think that there could be a Rose Garden speech or some other parameters speech that the President delivers in the last several months of his presidency. They're also apparently weighing the option of sanctions or at least barring organizations that support settlements through IRS regulations.

So as we understand it, there are about six different options all on the table, all punitive measures in the eyes of Obama. Obama, perhaps a last chance at score settling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I mean this this is remarkable. Notice one of the specific options. that here they're reporting back in October, October 27th, all right, that one of several options, one of several things that President Obama might do is have a UN Security Council resolution against the settlements.

That is exactly what happened. But look, it went beyond that. It went beyond just talking about the settlements, say, in what's called the West Bank or Judea, Samaria. You're talking about in the heart of Jerusalem as well, East Jerusalem. Remember, during the the war where the five surrounding Arab nations tried to wipe out the the fledgling state of Israel in 1948, Jordan occupied East Jerusalem.

and the Jewish people only got it back at great cost in 1967. And it was a time when all of the Jewish sites were defiled by the Jordanians and and synagogues turned into bathhouses and things like that just to to further mock the Jewish people. And then Israel recaptured that. This is the eternal capital of the Jewish people. But now, according to this resolution, It is illegal territory.

If you join me, if you're one of those going on our tour to Israel, God willing, in late February, early March, and we go to pray at the wall one day as we do, all right? We we go there. Just understand. That is now illegal territory, where President Obama went and offered a prayer. That is now considered illegal territory.

In fact, listen to what Charles Krauthammer has to say. This was December 22nd, a special report on Fox News. Clip number seven, Charles Krauthammer articulating just how grotesque this UN resolution is. And again, according to Excellent reports and sources. The Obama administration was behind the resolution, helped craft the resolution, and then abstained from vetoing it.

An ugly slap in the face of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the people of Israel, and one that they will not. forget let's listen to charles krauthaumer To give you an idea of how appalling this resolution is, it declares that any Jew who lives in The Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. The Jewish quarter, inhabited for a thousand years, is illegal, breaking international law, essentially an outlaw, can be hauled into the international criminal court or international courts in Europe, which is one of the consequences. The Jewish quarter has been. Populated by Jews for a thousand years.

In the War of Independence in 1948, the Arabs invaded Israel to wipe it out. They did not succeed, but the Arab Legion succeeded in conquering the Jewish quarter. They expelled all the Jews, they destroyed all the synagogues and all the homes. And for 19 years, no Jew could go there. The Israelis got it back in the Six-Day War, and now it's declared that this is not Jewish territory.

Remember, it's called the Jewish Quarter, but it belongs to other people, and any Jew who lives there is an outlaw. That's exactly what we supported. The resolution is explicit in saying settlements in the occupied territories and in East Jerusalem. Yeah. Precisely so.

An absolute outrage. But isn't it amazing? How suddenly all these different nations around the world. I mean Senegal, New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela. Sponsoring the bill, sponsoring the resolution.

Egypt initially sponsored it earlier in the week. President-elect Trump reached out to the president of Egypt, who stepped back from offering it, which was an extraordinary thing to see happen. People say, well, there's only one president at a time. There's no business for Donald Trump to get involved there. Under normal circumstances, perhaps, but because this was an overt attempt by President Obama to undercut the peace process as Donald Trump would step into it, to make it more difficult for him stepping into it, as many see it.

It was appropriate for him to reach out. I'm glad that he did.

So Egypt then stepped back from sponsoring it. Then New Zealand. Malaysia? Senegal? Venezuela, why in the world would they sponsor this?

What's their issue with Israel? It's remarkable, isn't it, how the whole world unites together. And what does it ultimately come down to? Jerusalem. The world against Jerusalem.

It's in the Bible, friends. Read Zechariah 12, read Zechariah 14. This stuff is in the Bible. Let me go a little further here. Prime Minister Netanyahu, who called in the U.S.

Ambassador to browbeat our ambassador. and then called in the ten ambassadors, I believe it was ten that have ongoing relations with Israel. He called them in to cut off ties, diplomatic ties. They would not be welcome at events, etc. He has pulled any funding from the UN.

And he has pulled projects. They were working with Senegal, they were working with New Zealand, I believe, special projects. He's now pulled those. I mean, you don't start to work together and have business relations and Israel finding constructive ways they can improve the life of the people of Senegal. And then have the Selgales leaders do this to Israel.

It's simply not going to happen. And then, and then, on top of that, on top of that. He has urged the United States to stop funding the UN. Right now, we give about 22% of the overall UN budget comes from the United States. And Senator Ted Cruz has said no funding until the UN Security Council reverses this.

All right, there is a lot more to talk about. I want to get to some of your calls as well. And then I want to look at some of the history. of anti Semitism in the UN.

Some of the shocking History, bias. Hatred towards Israel, rejection of the Jewish state, whatever you want to call it. It is so mind-bogglingly obvious That you have to be in denial to deny seeing it. I've written about these things, I've addressed them. If you go to my digital library on the website, you will find a host of related resources.

That is thelineoffire.org. Just search for Israel, search for Jerusalem, and you'll find articles and videos that are highly relevant. Also take advantage. Digital download, friends, 40% off until the new year on thelineofire.org. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. What happened today is that the United States joined the Jackals.

At the UN. The voice of Charles Crauthammer again weighing in. On the horror of What was done, the shameful betrayal of Israel. Um According to Israeli Energy Minister Minister Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, the USA has abandoned its only friend in the Middle East. Oh, oh, also, also.

Let me point this out. There is a major meeting in the next few days in France. International Gathering of Leaders. And the concern there is that Secretary of State John Kerry will lay out what he believes the peace process should look like. And try to get international support for it, another dagger in Israel's back.

And in light of that, Prime Minister Netanyahu has urged the Jews of France to leave France and move to Israel. If they want to continue to live their lives as Jews. Yeah, this is all very, very intense. 866-348-7884. Let's go to Ederson in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

Welcome to the line of fire. How is this for? Can you hear me okay? Yes, go ahead.

Okay. Anyway, I'm not a bit surprised at anything this president does. I mean, from the very moment he got in, he made statements, you know, and he appallingly so, you know, smeared and it just looked in his nose. I remember upon his inauguration and said that he was not the quite and all that and and you know it He was making a joke out of it. It's it's his position has always been that of a Muslim.

He he has always upheld anything that against Israel. When the President of Israel was once discussing with him matters. you know, concerning Israel. you know, he he he just Treat them. you know, him so disrespectful and and then I'm talking about Obama tree him disrespect.

And he gave him a tutorial on Jewish history. Push yes Yeah. I believe it cut to the heart anything that the President, our President at that time, you know, regarded anything to do with Israel. He has no respect for Israel. it it it is is my position, my opinion.

Uh, you know, and and this reminds me a lot of what went on in in in Second Kings uh uh chapter six, you know, uh this, you know, when when uh you know, the man of Christ, uh I mean the man of God rather, you know, was uh asleep and the young man came in and told him, said, Lord, how shall we fear when he saw all this uh uh my uh how shall we Fair, you know with uh The army, you know, the Syrian army coming, and he said, I pray the Lord should show up in the eyes of this young man that he may see that those that are with us are more than with them. Yeah, yeah, in 2 Kings chapter 6, that's exactly what happens, where God shows him angels and flaming chariots surrounding the city. The lesson being there are more with us, there are more against us, even though they seemed outnumbered completely.

So I don't believe that President Obama himself is a Muslim, but I do believe he has great sympathy for Islam for a number of reasons, including the years he spent growing up in Indonesia and even being listed as Muslim there because his father was Muslim. None of that surprises me. Yes, he will say we're still great friends with Israel and have positive things to say, and yet there has been deep betrayal. And yet, in this case, before us, his true colors really are coming out. There is no denying it that his true colors are coming out at this point.

And the mistreatment of Prime Minister Netanyahu, which was videotaped, where they're sitting together meeting, and then President Obama walks out to have dinner with his family and leaves them there. I mean, just something that is not done to another head of state, let alone to your chief ally and friend in the Middle East, Israel. And with the key role Jewish people have in America, the betrayal was all the more ugly. It's it's really Undeniable. And the only positive to me is that the ugliness is coming to light.

The only positive is that it's coming to light before he leaves office, but it does make things more difficult for the next administration and for the people of Israel, for whom this is still devastating news. Thank you for the call, for weighing in. 866-34Truth. Let's go to Ella in Virginia. Welcome to the line of fire.

Okay. Hey Dr. Brown, how are you? Thank you.

Okay, um I just wanted to ask. I you know, I don't remember where exactly in the Bible, but I think that the Bible says something about.

somebody who comes saying peace, peace to Israel and then turns around and does something like this, like stabs them in the back. I don't know, I might be mistaken, but I think it's somewhere in Daniel. Yeah, I'm not sure about I'm not sure of the specific passage to which you're referring in Daniel. Of course, 1 Thessalonians 5 is a much more general passage, Ella, that says when people are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction will come on them. It wouldn't surprise me if there is an end-time peace treaty where Israel and the surrounding nations find a time of total harmony and peace, and Israel has no defense walls or anything like that because everything seems peaceful.

And that's when the last hellish war breaks out, and then God will defend his people at that point. I'll have to look at Daniel again to see what verse you might be. Thinking of in those terms. But let me just say this: I don't believe that Daniel would be prophesying about President. Obama.

And this does not mean that in every way President Obama is a wicked, evil man. It means that his dealings now with Israel have been very wrong and very unrighteous, and therefore, with respect to the office of the President, are called out publicly. I thank you for the call. 866-34-TRUTH. Yeah, let me let me just.

give you a little hint of the bias in the UN. And by the way, I'm going to take this up the next 30 minutes or so. If you miss any part of the broadcast, catch it all later at thelineoffire.org. Click on listen. The entire show is archived within a couple of hours of its completion.

Or you can listen live. Wherever you are in the world, by just clicking on listen live on the website or on your cell phone, you'll be able to listen online. The UN Human Rights Council, from its creation in 2006 to 2016, over one decade. Adopted 135 resolutions criticizing countries, okay, in a ten-year period.

So it was created in 2006 until 2016. It had 135 resolutions criticizing countries. 68 of those 135 resolutions have been against Israel. Yeah. Uh-huh.

68 out of 135. Think of all the atrocities that have taken place all over the world in the last 10 years, and who's the main culprit? Israel. Shame. On the UN.

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When you order the paperback, you can order it through Amazon. There'll be a link to do that. You will then get sent you the first three chapters immediately in PDF form so you can start reading them. And then when the book is released January 3rd, not only will the paperback be sent, you'll get a free e-book as well.

So you buy a book, you get one free plus the first three chapters immediately. But you have to do it at strongholdofood.com and it's a very limited offer straight from the publisher. It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for joining us on the line of fire. Welcome back from your Christmas break.

866-348-7884. The number to call. If you'd like to weigh in on the UN vote and America's role in this, again, rather ironclad. That's the way Israeli leaders have put it. They have rather ironclad intel.

that America was not just a passive partner with this resolution, abstaining from voting, abstaining from vetoing it, but rather an active partner in crafting it and bringing it forward through Palestinians and Others. What do I believe? I don't know for a fact, but I believe that's true. Why? Because we've heard this was coming for a while.

We have heard this was coming for a while. We have heard the Obama administration was going to do something like this.

So when it happens, as described, And Israel's bold enough to say they have rather ironclad intel, and Israel's got pretty good intel. I would believe that. To be true. And when you have respected political pundits just publicly saying America was behind this. I believe it is true.

But either way, what we do know is that we abstained from the vote. That is indisputable. That is undeniable. And that is inexcusable. What is Israel doing in return?

Report on New York Times yesterday. Undeterred by a resounding defeat at the United Nations, Israel's government said Monday it would move ahead with thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem. And warn nations against further action, declaring that Israel does not turn the other cheek. Just a few days after the UN Security Council voted to condemn Israeli settlements, Jerusalem's municipal government signaled that it would not back down. The city intends to approve 600 housing units in the predominantly Palestinian eastern section of town on Wednesday, and what a top official call the first installment on 5,600 new homes.

And think that activity like that is what the UN Security Council is getting exercised over. while bodies are rotting in Syria. And and one of the worst Atrocities in terms of human barbarism, with the whole world watching. One of the worst atrocities in our lifetimes takes place. And again, the UN barely lifts a finger.

and much of the international community just sits by. uninterested because it's not happening in their backyard. Hey, most of us in America hardly think about it because it's just so distant from us and it's not hey, it's not before us in social media. And you know, didn't see it on Instagram yesterday or whatever. You know, it's not Relevant.

Plus I got some Cool new gadgets for Christmas. I mean, that's how, unfortunately, we're thinking and feeling here. And hey, you know, big sports weekend and everything else. Uh but y you think you think again. What what does Venezuela I think it's a very good question.

or New Zealand or Malaysia. Or the other countries that voted in favor of the resolution. What the settlements in Jerusalem? have to do with them?

Someone explained that to me.

Someone explain why that is of such pressing concern. Here, in terms of UN voting, let's see. Oh, let me get this up here. The UN General Assembly. From 2012 to 2015, this is according to the website unwatch.org, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted 97 resolutions criticizing countries.

You're not going to believe this. You're not gonna believe this. 83 of those 97 have been against Israel. Yeah. Yeah.

Shall I repeat that? 2012 Through 2015. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted 97 resolutions criticizing countries. 83 out of those 97 have been against Israel. You tell me?

The United Nations is not anti-Semitic. And I'll ask you. What are you smoking? Shake the nation. Change the world.

Change the world. It's fire we want. For fire we please. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 Truth. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. For two decades, before June of 1967, the West Bank, including much of Jerusalem, was controlled by Jordan. During that time, a time when Israel did not have a single settlement, There were numerous Palestinian terror attacks.

against the nation state of the Jewish people. In other words, Palestinians committed terror attacks against Israel. when there were no settlements. That is Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, himself an opponent. Of the settlements.

But on a video from Prager U, Prague University, from January 12, 2015, so almost two years old, he explains why the settlements are not. the great obstacle to peace that they're constantly presented as being. And his proof is that there have been constant attacks against Israel and the Jewish people, attempts to wipe the Jewish people out, terrorist attacks and others, and constant rejection of the Jewish state before there were settlements. 866-348-7884. This is Michael Brown.

Welcome to the line of fire. Before I get to some more calls, let's listen to more of what Alan Dershowitz has to say. And he's next going to talk about what happened in Gaza. Remember, Gaza, Gaza Strip, this was. Occupied by Israel.

The Jewish people were developing the land there, developing farms. There were markets. One of my friends said when his wife was a girl, they would go there to shop with family, and it was fine. And the Palestinians were living there, and their standard of living was certainly higher then. Than it was under Hamas.

So, what happens? Israel under Ariel Sharon, shockingly, because he was not going to move, right? The bulldozer under Ariel Sharon and under tremendous pressure from America says, All right, we're just going to pull out, uprooted thousands of people that had been living there for years. Physically, they literally had to drag people out of their homes. It was tremendously traumatic for Israel to see Israeli soldiers carrying fellow Israelis out of their homes, people crying and screaming, and then to basically put them in a refugee camp within the rest of Israel so that they could say, fine, we'll give this over to the Palestinians.

And what happens? Clip number two, Alan Dershowitz. In 2005, Israel abandoned every single community, every house, every farm, every structure it had built in the Gaza Strip. How did the Palestinians of Gaza react? They launched thousands of rockets and numerous other terror attacks against the nation state of the Jewish people.

The attacks continue to this very day. And every year the range of these rockets get longer and their payloads more lethal. Only a very sophisticated Israeli anti-missile defense keeps the country secure. Can you blame Israel for not wanting to risk a two-front rocket war? Yeah, and look, Israel pulls out.

And what happens? It gets far worse for the Palestinians. It gets far worse for them. There is a vicious war between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, with many killed, with many tortured in the most atrocious ways, an ugly war between them. The people end up voting Hamas into power, and of course, Hamas has different programs of social benefit for the people there.

It's not just about terrorism, but in point of fact, it is a radical terrorist group that is probably just as corrupt as the Palestinian Authority in terms of mishandling of funds, if not more corrupt. It has now hurt the overall standard of living for the Palestinians. Why? Because it has now been turned into a war zone with Hamas wanting the destruction of Israel. How are you going to have that as your next-door neighbor without protections and making sure that arms are not smuggled in?

Egypt has also had to. Put up barriers with Hamas because Hamas is smuggling in tunnels through the Sinai, from Egypt smuggling weapons into Gaza, and Hamas and Egypt have not been in good standing. It goes on and on. This is what happens when Israel says: hey, just take over, just have at it. Take it.

So Dershwitz continues, clip number three, he's explaining the nature of military occupations. Military occupations are clearly permitted under international law following an aggressive attack by a neighboring state. Jordan, Israel's neighbor to the east, attacked Israel in 1967 despite Israel's repeated efforts to keep Jordan out of the Six-Day War. In defending itself against Jordan, Israel captured the West Bank in the eastern part of Jerusalem. Under international law, until a meaningful peace is achieved and all terrorism against it ceases.

Israel has every right to retain military control over this area. Since no peace treaty has been reached and the terrorism continues with new attacks threatened almost daily, Israel is under no legal obligation to leave. Given the danger that Israel would be putting itself in if it did leave the West Bank, exposing its major cities and international airport to rocket attacks, it would be irresponsible to do so, which is why Israel is still there.

Now you say, okay, but that's different from settlements. That's different from building settlements. Yeah, there is dispute over that. Israel claims that it has the legal right to build settlements. And after all, they'd say, look, there are a million and a half Palestinian Arabs living in Israel proper.

They have free rights as citizens. They can vote. They're on the Knesset. They're on the Supreme Court. They don't have to serve in the military, so they get protected without having to serve in the military.

Why can't Jews live in what would potentially be a future Palestinian state if there was a two-state solution? Why must it be free of all Jews? Palestinians say, look, you're getting the best land, water supplies, all of this. And some of the settlers are anti-Palestinian or even violent. Yeah, there is some ugliness.

You do have extremists among the Jews as well as extremists among the Muslims. It's just that you have a higher percentage of extremists among the Muslims, and terror is their way of getting back at Israel. Where Israel does wrong, we rebuke it.

So it's perfectly fine to have a dispute over the settlements. It's not perfectly fine to dispute East Jerusalem. Forget that. But it's perfectly fine to dispute whether Israel should be building settlements in biblical Judeo-Samaria, now called the West Bank. Is that conducive to peace or not?

But it is complete self-deception to think that if they stopped building the settlements, there would be peace. That is not the primary obstacle to peace, as Alan Dershowitz demonstrates in that video of which we played clips. Not only so, But the big issue, to repeat, is as Prime Minister Netanyahu said, you don't bring your friends before the UN Security Council.

So Ted Cruz. Uh Tweeted this out, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu tonight, this is December 24th, to wish him happy Hanukkah, and assure him of strong support in Congress, no US dollars for UN until reversed. What? Whoa That would be significant. That comment suggests that Cruz, according to Washington Examiner, has made his mind up since Friday when he said he looked forward to working with Senator Lindsey Graham and President-elect Trump to significantly reduce or even eliminate U.S.

funding of the United Nations and also to seriously reconsider financial support for the nations that supported this resolution. This is heavyweight stuff. This is heavyweight stuff. And then Geert Wilders. The controversial right-wing Dutch parliamentarian and perhaps next prime minister.

Who has been found guilty of hate speech in his country, which has only been made him more popular? He tweeted to Israel, ignore the UN and keep building your settlements. And as much as Israel may have a problem with Geertwilders on the one hand, because they would try to be more measured in their tones about Islam. They certainly have to recognize him as a comrade fighting against radical Islam and not being afraid to expose it. Yeah, this is weighty, friends.

Don't underestimate how weighty this is. A report on the Daily Wire. Hank Berrien says this. Obama administration, not deny it, wants Israel back at suicidal pre-1967 borders. This is the greatest concern of all.

Not just what's happened with the Security Council resolution, but rather that Secretary of State John Kerry will sketch out a plan for a two-state solution saying that what America wants, which then gives fuel to the nations, that what America wants is Israel to go back to its pre-1967 borders. That would make it at its narrowest about nine miles wide. Surrounded by peoples that want to annihilate them. That's why they are called suicidal. Borders.

Um And the report continues, roughly one month ago, according to the Times of Israel. U.S. officials stated that Barack Obama had nearly ruled out any major last-ditch effort to put pressure on Israel overstall peace negotiations with the Palestinians. indicating that Obama will likely avoid one last row with Israel's government as he leaves office. Only days later, Kerry laced into Israel speaking at the Brookings Institution's Sabin Forum, threatening Israel by refusing to commit to veto any UN resolution intended to establish a Palestinian state.

He promised to veto if it is a biased and fair resolution calculated to delegitim excuse me, a biased, unfair resolution, got that right, calculated to delegitimize Israel. Oh, so this UN resolution that we did not veto was not biased, was not unfair, and did not delegitimize Israel? What? Absolutely. Nonsense.

The UN resolution for which the United States abstained last Friday denied Jewish sovereignty over the holiest place in Judaism. Thus, essentially, denying any Jewish claim to the land of Israel. Mm-hmm. Just just outrageous. Again, I'm glad...

The true colors of our administration are becoming clearer and clearer. We warned about it. We said we questioned the president's allegiance to Israel many years ago. It's been proven out over the years, sad to say. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for joining us on the line of fire. So, the French initiative, Paris Conference, is January 15th.

That's where there is great concern that President Obama may promote a move in the U.N. Security Council, giving guidelines for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. It'd be very difficult, just another obstacle to overcome in the future. and Defense Minister Vigdor Lieberman. Said this yesterday, that France's proposed peace summit is a modern-day Dreyfus trial.

The only difference, he said, is that this time, instead of the defendant being one Jew, it will be the entire nation of Israel. With France going to elections soon, this is not a time for peace summit. It's a tribunal against the state of Israel. The Dreyfus trial, of course, goes back over 100 years when a Jewish officer was falsely accused and found guilty, exposing national anti-Semitism on a very ugly level. It's part of what helped fuel the modern Zionist movement as Jews realized that they did not have a safe home in many other parts of the world.

Israel has now suspended ties with 12 of the UN Security Council nations. It has suspended all working ties with 12 of the nations that voted to pass a resolution urging Israel to halt building its Settlements. Yes, so foreign ministers and ambassadors from Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal, and New Zealand will not be received at Israel's foreign ministry amid the suspension. They will also not be granted an audience with Prime Minister Netanyahu. On and on it goes.

Again, the exact words of Dutch leader Geert Wilders, ignore UN and continue building. And then Rebecca Kiel reports on thehill.com. That Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat from Washington, said what we're seeing now with Israel's accusations is the beginning of a war. And the American government, we're seeing the air war right now, and we're seeing all these tweets and all this kind of innuendo and all these half stories and all this stuff to create tremendous tension so that when the President comes in on January 20th, he can begin the ground war, which will be when his appointees begin to carry out his actions in the departments across the government. How hey, draining the swamp.

It's not war on the American government. It is draining the swamp. Let this part of the swamp be drained as well. 866-34Truth. Let's go to Deborah in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

Thank you for calling the line of fire. Hi, thanks so much, doctor Brown. I cannot tell you how much I am so grateful to you. How last week you just brought this to our attention. I knew nothing about this, and you just gave the play by play, like, hey, we've got an hour here.

So boy, we prayed for an hour. And then in the second hour, how you told about this disastrous thing that took place. Shocking, yes. New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal, where did this come from? I mean, I was especially shocked about New Zealand.

I I thought they were kind of a Christian kind of a place, and I thought the previous Prime Minister at least was even like had some Jewish heritage. Do you know some history of the Of the New Zealand decision or any further information about why in the world these countries did this? Uh I I do not know the specifics with New Zealand. I can only say That the default mentality around almost the entire world is that Israel. Is engaging in illegal activity in building the settlements.

In other words, it takes something extraordinary for a country to see that any differently. Why specifically New Zealand voted in this way? It is a great question to ask because sometimes it comes down to a major political leader just having influence. For example, what President Obama did does not reflect the sentiments of the majority of the members of Congress for sure. You even have minority leader Chuck Schumer speaking out against it as a Democrat.

It certainly does not affect the sentiments of the nation as a whole, but it does reflect his specific agenda and some of his issues with Israel. And again, to think of this as a parting shot. to think of this as something that you do almost to get back at someone else. Or, you know, it's almost like I'm about to go off the air in five minutes. I come to the end of the hour, so I'm going to say something that you can't respond to and then end the show.

You know, that's kind of what he's doing. But some of the history here is as simple as saying once you're on the Security Council and once you're a representative to the UN, the default value, the default mentality is anti-Israel. Here, I'll just give you another example: UNESCO. This again is unwatch.org. Each year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, adopts around 10 resolutions a year.

criticizing only Israel. UNESCO does not criticize any other UN member state in a country-specific resolution. An exception occurred in 2013 when under pressure from the UN UNESCO adopted one resolution on Syria. Otherwise, every year they adopt 10 resolutions on average. all criticizing Israel.

World Health Organization. For one week every year, the UN World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, meets to formulate global health policy. Resolutions are adopted to address global health issues. There is one exception: the annual resolution entitled Health Conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in the Occupied Syrian Golan, which singles out Israel for condemnation, no other country in the world. is condemned by the World Health Organization.

This is the entire way that the UN tide goes. 100% of the time, barring extraordinary intervention, as when the U.S. would stand up and veto something with its role in the Security Council. It's just the spirit of the world. It reminds me of Psalm 2 when the nations say, We don't want the Lord and His anointed ruling over us.

There's something about Israel's role in the world that is going to be hated and opposed. by the nations. It's part of their opposition to God. Israel is far from perfect. But the world's treatment of Israel reflects its attitudes towards God.

Hey, thank you for the kind words. Thank you for calling. And, um,. What are the Muslim nations saying about this? Dr.

Ephraim Herrera, expert on Islam, sees the Islamic response to the recent anti-Israel resolution in the UN Security Council as part of their new war against Israel. Fatakh, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad all see the Security Council resolution condemning Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as a historic achievement. The Security Council is now on record that Israeli control of all areas beyond the 1949 armistice line is invalid. Yeah, so they're saying, hey, this is another step to the destruction of Israel. Oh, it's ultimately not going to happen.

But to the extent we do the right thing, we'll be blessed. To the extent these other nations do the right thing, they will be blessed. And of course, we call for Israel. To have a real full turning to the one true God, all right, friends. Just another reminder.

Go to strongholderfood.com. Order your copy of Breaking the Stronghold of Food comes out in six days. All right, order your copy. You can order there on Amazon.com and you will get immediately sent you a PDF of the first three chapters so you can start reading now, today. And you'll also get a free e-book.

Yeah, so you get a free ebook on Kindle as soon as it comes out along with your paperback.

So that's only at strongholdoffood.com and it's a very limited time offer. My bottom line today. The world treats Israel. the way it treats God.

Well, we've seen a great shaking in 2016. Did we see a great awakening in 2017? Yeah. It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and President of Fire School of Ministry. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Well, there's no question, there's no question that 2016 was a year of great shaking and upheaval. Was it not? I mean, tell tell me the last year. that was like this. this much shaking and upheaval in the nation.

Of course, a lot of worldwide shaking. That's almost perpetual in one country or another. But some have referred to this as a political revolution. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary people, named Surreal their word of the year. Only way you could describe it.

And, you know, they pointed to things like the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, to Donald Trump winning the elections. I mean, just a lot of things happened that would have been unexpected. But the results of the election, far and away, and that which came out of the campaign and the divisions within America, no question. That this has been a year of shaking with the elections at the top of the list. What I'm wondering about is this: how much?

Is this the hand of God? and answered a prayer. How much is this the hand of God in answer to prayer? prayer. And what needs to happen to go from a great shaking To a great awakening.

This is Michael Brown. Welcome to today's broadcast of the line of fire. If you'd like to get in the conversation, here's the number to call 866-34TRUTH. 866-348-7884. Do you see the hand of God?

Do you see answers to prayer in where we're at in America today? No, it it du it doesn't even mean that you like Donald Trump as president. It doesn't even mean that you think it's a good thing. It it I'm simply asking if you see God's hand in shaking America, if you see some of the surreal results of the year as bearing the marks of divine intervention. Here look.

If I played LeBron James in one-on-one basketball, Right, one-on-one. Half court. and he beat me five straight games, twenty one to nothing. that would not be a miracle. That would be completely expected.

Uh he's what six foot eight And a physical monster, and one of the most gifted athletes of our generation. And hey, I'm in good shape for 61, but I'm six foot two, sixty-one-year-old white man who at his best could never really jump.

So yeah, if he beat me five straight games, 21-0, you wouldn't say that was a miracle. He wouldn't have to say, man, that was a miracle. That's the only way I can explain it.

However, if I beat him five straight games, 21 to nothing, and he was really trying, you'd have to say, that's a miracle. There's no possible explanation. And if I was interviewed afterwards, I'd have to say anybody with a brain understands this was the hand of God. I don't get. I don't get any credit whatsoever.

Obvious. I mean, the scenario is too ridiculous even to talk about. Right.

Okay. So it's one thing when a natural process of events unfolds. that you don't say, well, that was divine intervention. I went to the gas station to put gas in my car the other day. uh and then after that went to drive through the car wash.

I was not aware of any miracles that took place during that time. I was not aware of any miracles that stopped an alien invasion. or any miracle that stopped my my car from exploding, or it just seemed like normal. Right, but if If you were driving And you were going around a band very carefully on the side of a mountain, and the side of the mountain started to fall. And next thing, your car goes careening down 300 feet, and then you land on a road down there, and you're completely unscathed.

You say, Oh my god, that's a miracle! God saved our lives, that was a miracle. Do you see the hand of God in the shaking America has gone through? I certainly do. I want to talk about how to go from.

Great shaking to great awakening. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown. Thanks so much for joining us on the line of fire, 866-34TRUTH. The night that President-elect Trump was elected. I wrote an article and I was just waiting for confirmation that he was in. It was all pointing in that direction.

I waited for one or two reliable websites to announce it while Fox and CNN were still waiting to announce. As soon as I saw a couple of others announce it, I sent my article out. It was shared on different websites, multiplied tens of thousands of times. Donald Trump, President of the United States, by the sovereign intervention of God. I firmly believe that.

I am one who strongly opposed Donald Trump during the primaries, had grave concerns about his presidency, but always wondered: am I missing something, God? Am I looking through natural eyes and not seeing something you're doing? For sure, if you believe God raised up Donald Trump to be our president, then you'd have to say God raises a people for national leadership, secular leadership. in ways that are different than the way he raises up people for church leadership. Because Donald Trump would not be allowed to serve as an elder.

in our churches. Right.

I mean, for many reasons, he wouldn't be allowed to serve as an elder, let alone a senior pastor or something like that. But could God raise him up to be president? Why not? That seems that he has. And along the way, President-elect Trump making a lot of decisions that many conservatives are pleased with.

and are very hopeful about in terms of where he's going with his administration. And the standing with Israel is very positive.

So warts and all. the the the tweets and all and the things you wish you wouldn't say or do, it's all part of the package. But think of some of the shaking that's taken place. The shaking of our whole political scene. The shaking of the Washington Establishment The shaking of the secular media the shaking of the church The shaking of The nation in terms of race, religion.

Now, a lot of this is. bad stuff coming to the surface. The amount of divisions in America.

So please understand. If if you are say Hispanic, and you have some friends That are that are uh that are illegal immigrants or undocumented workers in America. And they're fearing for their lives and future right now. You're saying I don't know if God raised Donald Trump. And maybe you're a Muslim living in America, you lived here 20 years, you're peace-loving, you despise radical Islam and all that it does.

And you say, I don't know about seeing God's hands there. I see a lot of ugly stuff coming. I understand. the concerns and the worries people have. Either way, this is all coming to the surface, is it not?

This is all coming to the surface now with President-elect. Trump. much more so than before. Again for better or worse In the viewpoint of Lance Wall now, Donald Trump is a divine wrecking ball against everything that is PC, and he even labeled him in his book God's Chaos Candidate. I certainly see divine shaking.

I certainly see that For better or worse in America right now. Shaking can be for the good, shaking can be for the bad. Depends what shaking, depends how we respond to it. But let me let me suggest some things. In terms of how we move from a great shaking in 2016 to a great awakening.

in 2017. All right? Number one. To the extent prayer played a role in this shaking, it must be maintained. And Increased.

to the extent That prayer played a role in this shaking. It must be maintained. And increased. Let me explain why I feel that is so critically important. We all know the importance of prayer.

We all know the importance of corporate prayer and crying out to God in individual prayer. We know that there were calls for prayer in a desperate way leading up to the election by many Christian leaders across America. from all different backgrounds and persuasions. What happens though is this. We here I I'll use an analogy.

You You're really sick. You you have a bad report from the doctor. You radically change your diet. You start to exercise. And once you feel healthy, Go back to your old ways.

You have a crisis in your family. You have a child that's sick. You don't miss a church service. You're there at every prayer meeting. You're praying with your friends.

You're crying out to God for a miracle. The child miraculously recovers, and within a few months, you're back to your old ways. It's human nature. I'm sure I've done it as well.

So a lot of Americans concerned about the elections recognizing the degree that we need awakening in the country, crying out, crying out, crying out, crying out, crying out. Right? And then President Trump gets elected. And some think it's terrible, some think it's great. But either way The sense of urgency is often lost.

No, no, we need to keep. Our foot on the gas. We need to keep the pedal to the metal. We are in as much need of awakening now as we were three months ago. Oh, maybe there are things stirring and happening.

But in terms of a spiritual awakening, in terms of America turning to God, in terms of the church coming together as one, Talk about a need, an urgent need, young people being freshly touched by God. Again, I'm not saying that so we all agree politically. That's not the goal. The goal is that we turn to God.

So to the extent prayer played a role In the great shaking of 2016, it must continue to play a role and even increase if we want to see a great awakening in 2017. and beyond.

Okay, number two. I'm going to take some calls, but let me give you some of my list of five items here. Number two: we must put our hope in the Lord, not Donald Trump. Am I hoping that Donald Trump will do good towards Israel. And do the opposite of what our president has done to Israel in recent days.

Absolutely. Am I hoping that Donald Trump will elect Conservative God fearing justices To the Supreme Court, who will be real constitutionalists. Absolutely. Am I hoping that he will make wise decisions regarding the economy. and dealing with terrorism.

Absolutely. Am I hoping that he will make wise decisions regarding immigration? and weave in some compassionate Avenues For those who have been here illegally to become legal, if they have been law-abiding citizens or law-abiding workers here raising their families in our country, do I believe there should be a path to citizenship for them? I'd love to see that. I endorse Senator Ted Cruz, but differed with his hardline approach on this.

Yes. Secure our borders, absolutely. Yes, deport those who are illegal and doing illegal things here, yes. But a compassionate solution for others. I'd love to see that.

But either way, even if Donald Trump Appoint it. the best justices we've ever had to the Supreme Court. even if he helped turn our economy around. Even if he he replaced the Affordable Care Act, so-called Obamacare, was something far better. Even if he stood strongly with Israel.

Even if he launched an effective war against terror, this still does not equal spiritual awakening. That still does not heal many wounds across the nation. That still does not bring the church together. That still does not cause young people to want to follow Jesus.

So even if he was the best president we ever had. that still will not bring a great awakening to the nation. That must come. From the pulpits, and that must come from the pews, so to say. I know many of your churches don't have pews anymore, and many meet in home groups, and all of that.

I understand. I'm just using proverbial terminology. It must come from believers on a grassroots level turning to God. It must come from prayer groups on campuses. It must come from leaders across cities praying together and crying out.

It must come from individual believers saying, God, there must be a breakthrough. There must be more. That's what must happen. if we are to see awakening come.

So don't look To Donald Trump. To be the one that brings awakening to America. Pray for him to do what he's supposed to do as president and to do it well. Pray for those around him. All right, absolutely amen to all of that.

Important, essential. But don't expect him to do what he's not called to do. Or what he cannot do cannot You can't give what you don't have. All right. Oh, if he gets radically, dramatically born again, and next thing the whole nation's stunned by the change in his life, sure, that could help bring awakening.

But right now, while we pray for him, And for his relationship with God, I'm concerned about my walk. I'm concerned about my wife's walk. I'm concerned about our kids, our grandkids. I'm concerned about my neighbors. You know what I'm saying?

Start where you live. It's not where you live. It's noble to be praying for the president. But what about where you live? I live.

What about your church? Where about your congregation? What about the fire burning and the heart and life of your pastor and the leadership there? That's what we need to look at. To see great awakening come.

All right, we're going to come back to your phone calls: 866-348-788. For and Uh I'll give you three more points quickly. on Five Ways to Move from a Great Shaking in 2016 to a great awakening in 2017. Shake the nation. Change the world.

Change the world. Give us strict to always do what's right. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown. Thanks so much for joining us on the line of fire. First hour, I focused on the UN resolution from which America abstained a shameful day in America. Talked about it somewhat that happened Friday, but then spent the entire first hour focused on it. I'd strongly encourage you to listen to that whole broadcast.

You can do so by going to my website, thelineoffire.org. the lineofire.org and just click on listen. You'll be able to listen to that whole hour later today. Going from great shaking to great awakening, we go to Bobby in high point. Thanks for calling the line of fire.

Hey, Doctor Brown. Hello? Um I agree, but a lot of what you've said, or probably most of it. but during the election I stayed up till three o'clock in the morning and I'm not some kid and I called over to Shark to see if my son and daughter are still awake and Patrick said, Yes, it's then he just went in there and bit the dust.

So I did a lot of praying. I felt that Hillary Clinton was a blatant liar, and Ben Gazey turned me off with her.

So and our country's in terrible shape. People that are freeloaders, and I call them that, that have no intention of doing anything but looking to the government to give them a handout. They have no idea the terrible shape that America's in. I think we're spiritually sick, and you were talking about the churches. and I attend a Methodist church.

I was a raised Baptist. And Some uh at the um over in Charlotte there was a Charlotte uh there was a Methodist minister that performed the same-sex marriages. They were the minister was not uh reprimanded for doing that and it's scripturally That is wrong. God says a man shall not lie with another man as he would a woman in the south.

Well, I'm sorry. Excuse me. I apologize. Just got cut off there for one split second.

Sorry, Bobby. Let me just jump in and say this. Yeah, the the point that I've been making is that we've seen great shaking. in 2016, and I believe the hand of God is in there. But to go from great shaking to great awakening, certain things need to happen.

I listed the first two to the extent prayer played a role in the shaking. It must be maintained. It even increased. Number two, we must put our hope in the Lord, not Donald Trump. In other words, to repeat, even if he's the best president we've ever had.

The fact of the matter is he's not the one that's going to bring spiritual awakening to America. Number three, we must give ourselves to the Great Commission and to changing hearts and minds, especially among young people. It's an urgent task right now. Number four, if in fact we've been given a divine respite, a reprieve of sorts, we must maximize this opportunity with a holy desperation. If things would have gotten intolerably bad under Hillary Clinton presidency and we've gotten a certain respite, what are we going to do with it?

Are we going to seize the moment and pray and engage? or not. And number five, we must not underestimate the depth of division in our country. The task is massive, and only with the help of the Holy Spirit will we see positive, lasting change. Thanks for the call, Bobby, and sorry for the interruption in the middle of your sentence there.

With all this as a foundation, I'm so glad to have my friend and colleague, Dr. Darrell Bach, with us. Darrell Bach is a prolific author, New Testament scholar, and professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, but one who has also engaged the culture actively for a number of years on critical life subjects and even wrote a book about how. How would Jesus vote?

So, Darryl, so glad to have you back with us on the line of fire. Great to be with you, Michael. Mir happy. New Year and Passman. Merry Christmas.

Yeah, and happy Hanukkah, too, as it's ongoing. Take it all in. Yeah, take it all in. Hey, Daryl, could you give me your own process, your own personal evolution through the Republican and Democratic primaries up until right now in terms of what your position has been or how has it been adjusted?

Well, I think the major thing is to see that we have an array of issues and a complexity in them that Really indicates that neither party has. the line on answers in every area, and that there is a mix of things going on here that is very, very complex. And one of the things that our culture does is it tends to oversimplify the complexity of these things. and it allows people to cherry pick on biblical values in such a way That you only look to the values that are supportive of kind of where you are and you. Tend to bypass the values that are on the other end of the discussion that also need to be integrated in order to have a kind of a healthy.

Worldview and a balanced worldview. And so we talk past one another rather than to one another, against one another rather than actually engaging. we dig in rather than have a conversation, and that ends up being unhealthy, and we've gone through two decades of pretty Hard gridlock.

Now, there are a handful of things where there really are major differences that are rooted in worldview. differences of significance. But most issues that we have Have these multiple elements playing in them that we need to really do a better job of thinking through, and we need to have a better conversation.

So that's how I've processed it. Um There are um There are problems also from a church perspective of the way in which our stance in the public has looked. in terms of the things that we embrace that we ought to embrace, but then it looks like there are other things that we have ignored or excused that we probably shouldn't ignore or excused. And so that makes us look inconsistent and hypocritical. In fact, we take positions now that we wouldn't have taken eight years ago, that kind of thing.

So it it makes for a complex Testimony for the church, and particularly with young people, as you've already noted, this inconsistency is something that they are. Keeping their eye on, and as a result, it makes some people. Um very hesitant to uh to embrace what the church um believes.

Now, I want to unpack what you're saying and get into the concept of the role of the church as a third estate, not being Republican, Democrat, or a specific party, but rather having its own voice. But we've just got about a minute and a half before the break. Dallas Theological Seminary, as a seminary, does not have so many 18-year-old students as much as students in their later 20s or 30s or even older, but it's still a younger generation by and large. What's the atmosphere there? Are you seeing any of the generation gap reflective even in the seminary?

Oh yeah, we absolutely see it. Our average age is mid thirties, which reflects second career people in their forties and fifties. These are the people who are just out of college and they're Mid to light twenties. And that's our mix. And we see the conversation even within them.

And when I talk about young people reacting, those are the voices that I'm hearing on a pretty consistent basis. They're asking for a consistency between what we teach in the pulpit and what we do when we engage. in the public square. Yeah. And where would you say is the most glaring inconsistency where the church has come around on either side of Donald Trump?

I will talk about issues of gender and how women are viewed. And probably on the other side of the break, that's probably a good place to start because I think there's a sequence here that shows a blind spot that's pretty significant. Got it. All right. We will be right back with Professor Daryl Bach.

If you don't own any of his books, if you haven't read any of his books, just get online wherever you order your books, type in Daryl Bach and have at it from highly academic works, technical works on the New Testament, great commentaries to works that anybody can understand, where the real gospels, where they're lost gospels we don't have, and how to vote and sort out issues. Darrell Bach, B-O-C, will be right back with Bach. It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34Truth. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. The 2016 presidential elections Have not just divided the nation, they have revealed how deeply divided the nation is. Do you remember when the baby Jesus Yeshua was being brought to the temple by Joseph and Miriam, Joseph and Mary?

And Simeon prophesied over him in Luke the second chapter. And said that he would be a sign spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed. The elections have brought to light what is in many, many hearts. And there are many divisions that we now see right within the church, and lots of misunderstanding, miscommunication. My guest, Professor Darrell Bach, research professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, prolific author and New Testament scholar, also actively involved in cultural engagement, is urging Christians to talk to each other, not past each other.

And in a volatile time like now, when everything is reduced to sound bites and where we tend to dig in our heels, this call is all the more important.

So, Darrell, where are you seeing right now some of the deepest areas of divide, even within the church and how we are perceiving things or missing things?

Well, we s we saw it in the run-up to the election. You know, normally a magazine like Appreciate today would run. A couple of pieces uh explaining How to be for the rationale, the Christian rationale for being for candidate A versus candidate B, and it would be a two-part deal. In this election, they had seven such pieces. They ran the gamut from why for Trump to why for Clinton to why one should think about not voting for either.

We're voting for each of the run in candidates in a And these were serious pieces trying to argue from biblical grounds for concerns for the various For the various candidates, and it just showed a depth of interaction. And you saw among leaders. a back and forth between particularly between the various Republican Candidates who were running, you know, some of whom claimed and had a pedigree, a relationship to the church, some of which who didn't. And then how people stepped forward and made the case for them. That you know, this this Election was really initially, I think, a A vote over the nature of our divisions in our country and then the nature of the candidates, kind of each representing.

the most vocal wings of that conversation, all it did was exacerbate the conversation. All right, so let's start here and then we'll open it up in our next segments, which are much longer. The difference in perception that you've spotted, you've observed, between men and women. in this election. This is it a a deeper divide than normal?

I think almost any almost no matter how you slice it, there's a deeper divide than normal. I think it's a reflection of the nervousness. that people feel on all sides about kind of where we are. And so that naturally breeds some insecurity, which then can manifest itself in either fear or frustration. And I think That's what you're seeing.

But the example that I have in mind That I think is really glaring is the way in which evangelicals have handled, or at least it's a symptom, I think, of potential mishandling. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. the Trump tape about women And then the rehiring of the Baylor AD was over what happened at Baylor at Liberty University. Just that sequence alone.

says there is a blind spot or a potential blind spot in dealing with how women are treated. And some people would say that blind spot in how women are treated is also present in other areas of our society with regard to race, with regard to immigration, some of those kinds of questions. which are complex, tricky questions, there's no doubt about it. But but the way in which it gets discussed and the way in which Certain positions are quickly dismissed as a problem.

Alright, we're gonna continue with Darrell Bach. Let's find out. Will Darryl tell us who he voted for? Did he vote? And if you don't know what happened in Baylor, we'll catch you up on that.

What about the controversy with Russell Moore and Jerry Fallen and Baptist dividing? What's happening? God of light, hear our cry, send a fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm not giving out the phone number. I want to devote the remaining time we have to my guest, Daryl Bach, Professor.

at Dallas Theological Seminary author and also cultural spokesman. You may have seen him on secular newscasts or read quotes of his in the New York Times.

So he's not just speaking within a Christian ghetto of sorts, but seeking to bring a Christian message to the world. Darryl, have you revealed publicly whether you voted for Trump Hillary or neither? Love. I haven't. All right.

Yeah. Uh I did vote uh But um but I haven't made a point of it because I actually think it's beside the point. What I did do is write a piece before. before the election saying that I understood anyone who voted virtually in any direction in this in this election. in part because of the flaws in in the major candidates.

And and that of both in any direction or decision to vote neither of those candidates or a decision to vote for a third party was a reflection of the difficulty that we face. And recognizing that um certain positions certainly were worth defending, but that they came with baggage that also Um Um complicated an understanding of where the church really was. And so That's where the difficulty was. Got it, and a difficulty experienced by millions of Americans, both believers and non-believers.

So just. quickly, what happened with the athletic director at Baylor and then his hiring at Liberty and then perceptions of misogyny with Donald Trump and female perceptions of Christianity now? What's What's the there were multiple there were accusations There's multiple problems with the Players on the Baylor football team, which of course was doing nationally very well at the time. And it was said that the Head coach.

Okay. athletic The athletic officials Okay. At Baylor, um, really didn't take these charges of. sexual abuse of women on campus seriously. Um the subsequent Um study Um Led to the letting go of the head coach.

letting go of the athletic director and eventually the letting go of the president. Google. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Uh four uh what was said to be um not taking special care to re to report and respond to these well.

Well you know then we had the the Trump tape, which is which is a similar kind of treating of women. in terms of viewing them as objects. And then we had The hiring of Liberty of this athletic director, who certainly had not been. cleared by what had taken place at Baylor. Uh by any means And what it what it reflects is um A twofold problem.

Uh Most important of which is many women, particularly millennial women. felt um very offended by what took place in the election. and the way in which uh women are handled and the way in which women their opinion and their status as people doesn't matter very much. And this is something the church should care about. Uh and view uh with significant It is and I'm saying this not at this is not a reflection on the candidate per se.

I'm talking about the way in which the church is seeing. to engage or not engage seriously or passionately with issues with which it should be connected. just as we passionately engage and rightfully so on issues of pro life and abortion, or as we talk about the challenges that we see and the dangers we see in the same sex marriage situation we find ourselves in, there are other areas that also demand of passion and engagement, and we tend to prioritize them in ways that look inconsistent. That undercuts the testimony and credibility of the church. What do we do with the fact that it seems that so much of the secular media is going to jump on reports of division in the body or even try to exacerbate it almost as if they're cheerleading for us to self-destruct?

How do we overcome the way the secular media is presenting things? Because often that's the funnel through which much of the world hears our position. Yeah, I think that's a great question. I think they're really cute. keys to this.

One is to work for as much unity as we have. You know, most of the things that I've talked about in Ray Questions for look at and say yes. The church should be concerned about this. The church should be concerned. concerned about that.

The church should be concerned about this. I share all those concerns. Um The difficulty comes When we so prioritize certain issues at the expense of other issues that it looks like. We care about certain things and don't care about the other. And so our discussion has to be engaged in such a way that we show that we care for the swath, for the whole array of things.

That I'm mentioning. The other part of this that's really important is to not let a tribalism get in the way of our fundamental unity in Christ. And what I mean by that is We have to be self-reflective. We have to be self-critical. We have to own our own junk.

When we fail, we need to have the integrity. uh that I think scripture calls us to have of owning up to it And trying to be responsive to it rather than pretending, well, it's not as bad as the other side, or to be defensive in defending it. You know, the the Trump case got defended as locker room talk. And I look at that and I go, I wouldn't want to teach my son that's how to treat a woman, and I certainly want my daughter to be the object of something like that. And so to really speak out and not be perceived as kind of dismissing as inconsequential something that's so fundamental about how I view another human being.

So we have to own the full orb of this, both what we do well and what we believe in and those things where we perhaps don't respond as we ought to and yet being honest, we need to do better. And I think when we work towards that middle in which price is at the middle of those values, Versus a tribalism that says, well, I can't be self-critical about my own size because that looks like weakness. or that looks like it's giving over to the other side, that doesn't help us really in the end get anywhere. No, it doesn't. Here's the challenge, though.

It's easy to circle our wagons when we feel. that our tribe is being attacked or misrepresented. Or that the future of America hinges on this. And so if you talked to me three or four years ago, And said, okay, what if you don't get the kind of candidate that you want to vote for on the Republican side, and it's Hillary Clinton that you can't vote for on the Democrat side? Will you sit out the election?

I probably would have said I probably will. I don't want another establishment candidate, the Republican Party, if it's going to hold to certain family values and conservative values, they're going to have to do a better job of putting forth candidates that reflect that. And I'm not going to vote a compromised vote. And yet when push came to shove, once again, I thought, well, I can't vote for Hillary Clinton. And the best way to vote against Hillary Clinton is to vote for Donald Trump.

And perhaps God has raised him up, as some are saying, you know, as someone who doesn't even know the Lord, he'll do good for America.

So, you know, in a conflicted way, but I absolutely cast my vote. It's the same vote whether I was conflicted or not. When I hit the button, I did vote for Donald Trump and was glad to see him elected with hope that despite all the shortcomings, he could be someone that could do something positive for our nation. But, you know, when you feel the stakes are so high, it's often hard to have that. That third estate position.

So explain exactly what that is: where we're not of one party or another, we're of the Lord, and then speaking with a different voice to the world.

Well, I you know, I get the person who A person who casts a vote for Trump in this election because they were concerned about the Supreme Court, or they were concerned about religious liberty. Or some combination of those kinds of concerns. I get that absolutely. There was a lot at stake here. particularly in the makeup of the court.

Having said that, What? Don't want to slip into is giving someone a complete pass in all areas. What it means to be the third, a third I, if you will. is to be a critical eye Even on your own side, answer the question. Is this really best for the country?

Yeah um Okay. That are being made in other areas. Moves the only way to go and are they the best options for Yeah. See four. Uh are the things that are Said things that pull people together or pull people apart.

You know, at the core of the gospel, There is a desire for the right kind of reconciliation that you're trying to do. Yeah. And there also is an expression of concern for people who are marginalized and all the edges that run all through the scripture. How do you how do you reflect that in the midst of the environment that we're in? And the trouble is, if you do that, you risk being accused of being a traitor when you're really being faithful to the gospel.

And in the end, our leader. Yeah. uh more than it is anything else. But you know, when you speak of being accused of being a traitor, of course, that's been the pattern. The early church, as you know so well, was accused of anti-state or anti-empire actions and being subversive because they didn't fit in.

To this day, I can talk to you about friends in India. where colleagues have been martyred by radical communists because they were not for the communists and they were not against the communists.

So they decided, well you must be informers and they were they were killed. Often we don't fit in that mold.

So a great challenge being put before us by Daryl Bach. Make sure you check out his books. World, oh God of burning, cleansing flames. Send the fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. I firmly believe that a great awakening is possible here in America.

If that's to happen, it's going to happen on our knees. It's going to happen with our repentance as believers. It's going to happen with our giving ourselves to the Great Commission and being more passionate about that. Than we are even about politics. My guest, Dr.

Darrell Bach, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, New Testament scholar and prolific author, has been addressing these issues as one seeking to be loyal above all to Jesus and bringing consistent witness from the church to the world. Darrell, you've been brought into this situation, controversy surrounding Southern Baptists. You have prominent leaders like Robert Jeffers, who have been strong Trump supporters and basically saying you're foolish if you don't vote for Donald Trump in light of what Hillary Clinton would do. You have Southern Baptist leaders like Russell Moore, who have been open, never Trumpers, and raising constant concerns about the character and demeanor of a candidate now president-elect Trump.

So here you've got two of the most well-known spokesmen for Southern Baptists and even for Christians in America seemingly in deep division. Where do you come in with all of this? Yeah. Well, they both have points. Um You know, that's the difficulty of this.

They both have points. The question is how to balance it out. You know, I tell people that we've been fighting a culture war Here for a couple of decades, in which we've viewed other people as the enemy, I actually don't think. That's how a Mm-hmm. Engagement should be undertaken.

Ephesians six twelve says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, it's against spiritual forces. And what that means is that we're actually in the business of trying to draw people towards the gospel and to challenge them about how they live at the same time and their need for the gospel. But we're actually trying to rescue people out of the hands of somebody rather than viewing them as an enemy to be crushed. And I think that makes all the difference in the world about how we engage.

So I've been calling for people to recalibrate the way they view the culture war and to recalibrate the way they see these tensions that we are in the midst of living. Where?

so that we are paying attention to the merits of what is coming from both sides of the conversation. And rather than cherry-picking I'm all one to you or all the other, think about what combination works best. in terms of the tensions that we live in, because we live in a dysfunctional world And the world is not going to be perfect ultimately until Jesus fixes it. In the meantime, we have to try and represent him and the values that he calls us to have the best that we can.

So the problem with your approach is it requires thinking and maturity. and spirituality and effort. Those qualities are often lacking in our fast-paced, instant society.

So, all of this requires us to really. get back with God in a deeper way and slow down a little bit. That's true. And if you look at the fruit of the spirit and what that's about, I tell people, if you actually analyze the fruit of the spirit, most of those qualities are relational. You're dealing with how you interact with other people.

And there's a lot of advice and scripture. About how to deal with conflict and tension in which One of the major roles is d as being doing a good job of listening. and some sense of compassion even in the midst of challenge. You know, Paul saw idols and in Athens, and yet he opens his speech to them in Acts seventeen Saying, I see you have a spiritual quest, but let's talk about it, you know. And he's trying to redirect their thinking, kind of give them pause about the way they're approaching things.

But he engages them not in a way. That demeans them or that calls them names, but in a way that challenges what the results of their approach to life can produce. and says there's got to be a better way. And I think that's how we need to represent ourselves in the public square. Yeah, and obviously this is A great opportunity for the church to step back and learn because we see some of our dirty laundry has been exposed for the world to see.

And the general perception that it's white evangelicals who helped vote in Donald Trump, and therefore they're insensitive to the plight of immigrants, and therefore they're insensitive to the needs of women, and therefore they're insensitive to the concerns of Muslims, that's something that we have to overcome. That's right.

So the proof is going to be in the pudding and how we move ahead. You know, we can we can do the post modems on the election all we want. But we are where we are. And so now the question is. How does the church move forward?

And the church moves forward by making sure that it stands up for the full array of things that it's poster represent. and not be selective and not be selective to protect the candidate. or to protect a political cause But to really move forward to Check. the religious cause and the core human values of the Yeah. And that represents all people made in the image of God and having a sensitivity about that.

Uh three. Yeah. Show real reconciliation in Christ looks like. Yeah, it's a great challenge, but it is a great opportunity. And that means that the evangelical leaders, Christian leaders that God has placed near Donald Trump, have a sacred responsibility to speak truth to him if he does go in ways that they feel is wrong or contrary to a Christian concern for America, as opposed to just cheering him on to be, as one Jewish scholar put it about the prophets of Israel, His Majesty's loyal opposition, that God, as it were, was looking to the prophets when he was about to bring judgment.

He was looking for the prophets to intercede and almost to challenge him to show mercy. That in the same way, there's a holy and respectful challenge that leaders can bring to a president, and they will only do him good if he listens. Yeah, in fact, I think the profits are the model for what we're talking about because you could sit there and say. They're The profits were were pro-Israel. They were as Bible on the side of Israel.

You could be, but that didn't mean that they didn't stop and criticize Israel when she was violating God's standards. And so So you have this self-reflective self- But it their brain alongside their Mm-hmm. commitment to what it was that is And it was, in fact, because they were so deeply Committed to what Israel should be, that they were self-critical about what she was not. And that is a very good Very, very important. step in a very very important process for the the church to maintain in the midst of this situation.

Yeah, and it's the great challenge for saying, yes, we are patriotic, but our ultimate expression of patriotism is loyalty to Jesus and loyalty to the kingdom of God. That comes first, and we believe. To the extent America operates on kingdom principles, to that extent America will be blessed and do good. Daryl, I appreciate the voice that you bring and the work that you're doing. May the Lord continue to open doors in secular media.

And are you feeling right now, just got 30 seconds, that you're being fairly quoted and fairly represented by the secular media?

So far, I've been handled very, very fairly. People are. In fact, some of the journalists that I interview with are surprised and Yeah.

So So they are interested in engaging me more, which is actually an encouraging thing. Excellent. And the way you voted or didn't vote will remain a secret. Yeah. God bless you, Darrell Free.

Great talking to you. Yeah, thanks, Michael. Thanks so much. All right, again, that was Daryl Bach, research professor, New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Also on the front lines of cultural engagement, check out his many books, Daryl Bach, B-O-C-K.

Make sure you visit the Line of Fire website, thelineoffire.org, 40% off of all digital downloads. The bottom line today: the calling on the church is holy. challenging and difficult we can only fulfill it with the help of the holy spirit