For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;1 Timothy 2 : 5, Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Revelation 1 : 7

Sebastian Morello

Monday, May 26, 2025

It seems a decision has been made among many outlets of the Catholic commentariat to remain, for the time being, uncritical of the new pope, Leo XIV. Undoubtedly, this approach is the right one, as everyone should proceed in good will, hoping that with Prevost’s election will come a new chapter after the unhappy decade or so of Francis’s pontifical reign. But, troublingly, for the third time since his pontificate began only a short while ago, Pope Leo XIV has declared that the soul of Pope Francis is in Heaven. Most recently, Pope Leo asserted this to be the case via an official Pontifex ‘tweet’ on the social media platform X, which stated that Francis had “returned to the Father’s house. He accompanies us and prays for the Church from Heaven.”

[12] Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! [13] And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? [14] Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.Job 22 : 12-14

Lingered over the Church for twelve years as if he were an enormous dark cloud

But this eccentric habit of declaring, outside any official canonisation process, that, as it were, no such process is needed, is deeply problematic. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the faithful of the Catholic Church are being prepared for this highly controversial figure (who, as one journalist friend put it to me, “lingered over the Church for twelve years as if he were an enormous dark cloud”) to be canonised soon, as if it were inevitable and unavoidable.

At the age of twelve, Jesus accompanied Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem to attend the Passover. Here, for the first time during His child life, He looked upon the temple. He saw the white-robed priests performing their solemn ministry and witnessed the impressive rites of the paschal service. Day by day He saw their meaning more clearly. Every act seemed to be bound up with His own life. New impulses were awakening within Him. Silent and absorbed, He seemed to be studying out a great problem. The mystery of His mission was opening to the Saviour. The work that He was to accomplish for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the appointed heirs of the promises of the covenant, began to dawn upon His mind.
When the services of the Passover were ended, Jesus lingered in the temple courts; and when the worshipers departed from Jerusalem, He was left behind. It was then that He found the learned rabbis and plied them with questions regarding the coming of the Messiah. He presented Himself before them in the attitude of a humble learner, and yet the doctors of the law were astonished at His questions. They could not always answer Him. In reality He revealed perfection of character; and although He had not been taught by the rabbis, He was more learned than they.

The mother of Jesus, after a long search, found Him in the school of the rabbis. When He was alone with His parents, the mother said, in words that implied a rebuke, “Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.” [Luke 2:48.]
“How is it that ye sought Me?” answered Jesus. “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” [Verse 49.] And as they understood not His words, He pointed upward. In the answer to His mother, Jesus showed for the first time that He understood His relation to God. 21LtMs, Ms 85, 1906, par. 8 – 21LtMs, Ms 85, 1906, par. 11

There are several very serious problems with Leo repeatedly stating that Francis is in Heaven. For one, such statements cause the faithful to doubt the gravity of Francis’s public sins. These sins are not inconsiderable, given that they include idol-worship (Pachamama), the suppression of an ancient apostolic rite of the Church, syncretism and religious relativism, the protection and promotion of predators and deviants, the abuse of the Church’s law, the teaching of heresy, etc.

I saw that the Lord has given the world opportunity to discover the snare. This one thing is evidence enough for the Christian, if there were no other; namely, that there is no difference made between the precious and the vile. Thomas Paine, whose body has now moldered to dust and who is to be called forth at the end of the one thousand years, at the second resurrection, to receive his reward and suffer the second death, is represented by Satan as being in heaven, and highly exalted there. Satan used him on earth as long as he could, and now he is carrying on the same work through pretensions of having Thomas Paine so much exalted and honored in heaven; as he taught here, Satan would make it appear that he is teaching in heaven. There are some who have looked with horror at his life and death, and his corrupt teachings while living, but who now submit to be taught by him, one of the vilest and most corrupt of men, one who despised God and His law. [ EW 89.1

Who knows if Francis was a heretic, but it’s clear that he was heretical. The distinction being that the former would have required him to be publicly accused of heresy and for him in response to have held obstinately to his heresies. Given that he customarily refused to meet with those who raised objections to his teaching or manner of governing, we were not given the opportunity to witness any obstinate attachment to heresy. But in any case, the record is not good. If such sins can be committed and the perpetrator still immediately enjoys the beatific vision upon his death, then the message to the faithful is clear: either these sins were not even as grave as our ancient faith would have led us to believe, or they are not sins at all.

The fact that Satan claims that one whom he loved so well, and who hated God so perfectly, is now with the holy apostles and angels in glory, should be enough to remove the veil from all minds and discover to them the dark, mysterious works of Satan. He virtually says to the world and to infidels, No matter how wicked you are, no matter whether you believe or disbelieve in God or the Bible, live as you please, heaven is your home; for all know that if Thomas Paine is in heaven, and so exalted, they will surely get there. This error is so glaring that all may see if they will. Satan is now doing through persons like Thomas Paine what he has been trying to do since his fall. He is, through his power and lying wonders, tearing away the foundation of the Christian’s hope and putting out the sun that is to light them in the narrow way to heaven. He is making the world believe that the Bible is uninspired, no better than a storybook, while he holds out something to take its place; namely, spiritual manifestations! EW 91.1

Purgatory does not really exist!

Perhaps people will not be led to such erroneous conclusions, but then the remaining alternative is that, despite the Church’s age-old teaching to the contrary, Purgatory does not really exist. If such sins can be committed without any need for purgation from the guilt entailed by them, then Purgatory must not be in fact necessary. Thus, again, if the faith is to remain intact among the faithful, Leo’s habit of declaring Francis’s heavenly status is far from desirable.

Such declarations by Leo, moreover, discourage the faithful of the Church from exercising charity. Whatever our view of Francis, he was a baptised member of the Church and thus a brother in Christ who may now stand very much in need of our prayers.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:Hebrews 9 : 27

For if his sins are as grave as the ancient faith would lead us to believe, even if he made a perfect act of contrition prior to his death and made a good confession, his soul will remain in Purgatory for a very, very long time. Those who wish to participate in God’s mercy upon Francis’s soul, and therefore to say prayers and do acts of penance for his benefit, may be dissuaded from doing so by the reigning pope’s repeated statements.

As Tetzel entered a town, a messenger went before him, announcing: “The grace of God and of the holy father is at your gates.”—D’Aubigne, b. 3, ch. 1. And the people welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if he were God Himself come down from heaven to them. The infamous traffic was set up in the church, and Tetzel, ascending the  pulpit, extolled the indulgences as the most precious gift of God. He declared that by virtue of his certificates of pardon all the sins which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit would be forgiven him, and that “not even repentance is necessary.”—Ibid., b. 3, ch. 1. More than this, he assured his hearers that the indulgences had power to save not only the living but the dead; that the very moment the money should clink against the bottom of his chest, the soul in whose behalf it had been paid would escape from purgatory and make its way to heaven. (See K. R. Hagenbach, History of the Reformation, vol. 1, p. 96.) GC 127.3

But there is another reason why Leo is, in fact, playing with fire. It has not gone unnoticed among many of the Church’s faithful that, of late, canonisations have been co-opted as an instrument in what has for decades been the dominant ecclesiastical regime. Instrumentalising such holy things, besides being sacrilegious, is a very foolish thing to do. Ultimately, it does not serve to strengthen the regime, as intended, but only to undermine that which is instrumentalised.

It should not surprise us, then, that many theologians have begun to question the infallibility of canonisations. Increasingly, theologians have argued that the conditions of canonisation posed by Thomas Aquinas are either no longer in place or have been dramatically warped. And the modern practice of popes to waive the remaining ordinarily required canonisation conditions due to personal whim or preference has not helped the situation.Pope Francis at the tomb of Pope Paul VI [Source: YouTube screenshot]

Pope Francis at the tomb of Pope Paul VI [Source: YouTube screenshot]

The instrumentalization of canonizations has, thus, only weakened devotion to the saints and damaged the credibility of the Church’s judgment in such matters. Increasingly, it is felt among the practising faithful that canonisations have little to do with the Church’s response to an organically emerging devotion to a particular deceased holy person, and everything to do with whatever consolidates the dominant ecclesiastical regime, helping to impose and enforce its ideological commitments.

A case in point is that of Saint Philomena. Few saints have enjoyed such popular veneration in modern times. Soon after her remains were discovered in the catacombs in 1802, many amazing things began to surround the growing interest in who she was and what her role in the early Church could have been. Miraculous healings, weeping statues, and the visions of ecstatic seers all contributed to the massive cultus that erupted, with everyone from the reigning pope to the poor parish priest of Ars, John Vianney, spreading devotion to this early martyr who had refused to breach her vow of chastity even for an Emperor.

But then, under Pope Paul VI, her name was removed from liturgical calendars. Devotion to this powerful intercessor was incompatible, it seems, with the new rationalistic and naturalistic regime that Pope Paul introduced. That the faithful had such a deep and sincere devotion to Philomena – a sign, according to Church tradition, that the sensus fidelium was manifesting itself – meant nothing to the new experts whom Pope Paul had raised up to lofty offices from which to experiment upon the Lord’s faithful.

Proof, indeed, that canonizations seem to have little to do with the Church’s response to an organically emerging devotion is offered by the subsequent canonisation by Pope Francis of Pope Paul VI. The fact is, almost no one likes Pope Paul VI. He was a sulky, bourgeois social climber with a snobbish liking for connoisseurs and academics, who presided over the most destructive period in the Church’s history, leading to a great exodus from the pews and the universal collapse of priestly vocations.

Really, again, no one likes him: traditionally minded Catholics never forgave him for suppressing the ancient liturgy and gutting the Church of her ancient traditions, and progressively minded Catholics never forgave him for giving the thumbs down to contraceptives. The only people who didn’t really mind him – yet certainly did not pray to him or venerate him – were the ecclesiastical neo-conservatives. But their position as a faction in the post-conciliar Church was made practically impossible by the reign of Pope Francis, given that it then became just too difficult and embarrassing to keep arguing that the post-conciliar papacy was in perfect continuity with the pre-conciliar papacy.

The canonisation of Paul VI happened for one reason only, and that was to send a message to the faithful that if they think Vatican II was a disaster then, well, tough luck, because “there’s no going back.” But that message only works if the Church’s faithful take these modern canonisations seriously, and of course increasingly they do not, precisely for this very reason: they lose their power with their misuse. Canonisations are now widely understood as just another weapon in the armoury of an ecclesiastical regime whose ambition it is to mix the Church’s roles with an affirmation of secular, atheistic modernity.

If the Church continues to struggle for survival under such a regime; that regime’s ultimate collapse will make the Church’s presence almost undetectable in the world. Consequently, there’s no way out of the new, anti-traditional Church except that of repudiating the whole modern experiment and once more taking up the mission, under the ministerial care of the Paraclete, to make disciples of all nations, thereby rescuing them from the unconverted world which is, I wish to emphasise, the principality of Satan.

It is possible that Francis’s soul is neither in Heaven nor Purgatory.

Since Cardinal Prevost ascended to the Chair of Peter, there have been some promising signs that have given me and other traditional Catholics reasons for hope. But he must stop the nonsense. He should stop saying that Francis is in Heaven. It is possible that Francis’s soul is neither in Heaven nor Purgatory. It is possible that Francis’s soul is in Purgatory, in which case, if you feel so inspired to do so, it would be laudable to pray for him.

It is almost unthinkable – if the tradition of the Church on matters of idolatry, abuse of law, corruption of holy offices, etc. etc., is taken seriously – that Francis is now in Heaven. Saying that he is there is quite obviously done for ideological reasons, to resurrect the mythology of post-conciliar continuity that duped so many Catholics for so long, and has so profoundly contributed to the mass apostasy of the faithful over the past half-century or so.

It is time to stop these games now and to reconcile the Church with her tradition, and that will require a lot more honesty about who the bad guys were, and are, to this day.

[36] Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. [37] And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:Ezekiel 20 : 36-37

A reed like unto a rod, measure the temple of God, and the altar

[1] And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.Romans 8 : 7

I am instructed that when the Lord’s time comes, should no change have taken place in the hearts of proud, ambitious human beings, men will find that the hand that had been strong to save will be strong to destroy. No earthly power can stay the hand of God. No material can be used in the erection of buildings that will preserve them from destruction when God’s appointed time comes to send retribution on men for their disregard of His law and for their selfish ambition. 9T 13.2

[7] Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the LORD stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. [8] And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: [9] And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.Amos 7 : 7-9

[1] He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. [2] And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. [3] And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; [4] And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. [5] And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: [6] Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.Ezekiel 9 : 1-6

[2] But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

That night I dreamed that I was in Battle Creek looking out from the side glass at the door and saw a company marching up to the house, two and two. They looked stern and determined. I knew them well and turned to open the parlor door to receive them, but thought I would look again. The scene was changed. The company now presented the appearance of a Catholic procession. One bore in his hand a cross, another a reed. And as they approached, the one carrying a reed made a circle around the house, saying three times: “This house is proscribed. The goods must be confiscated. They have spoken against our holy order.”  1T 577.2

Two Witnesses, and they shall Prophesy!

[3] And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. [4] These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

[2] And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: [3] And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. [4] So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? [5] Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. [6] Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.Zechariah 4 : 2-6

[5] And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

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[29] Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? [30] Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.Jeremiah 23 : 29-30

No Dew, No Rain!

[6] These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. [7] And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.Exodus 3 : 10, Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;2Thessalonians2:3, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.John 8 : 36

Their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city!

[8] And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. [9] And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

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But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.Isaiah 63 : 10, For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.Isaiah 66 : 16

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Rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another;

• For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
  Jeremiah 4 : 22
• Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
  Ecclesiastes 8 : 11
• Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
  Jeremiah 13 : 23

[10] And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. [11] And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.Isaiah 66 : 16, But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.Isaiah 63 : 10

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And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.Genesis 43 : 34,

 

• And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.Judges 16 : 25,
• Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.Judges 19 : 22,
• And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.1 Samuel 25 : 36,
• And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.1 Kings 21 : 7

[12] And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. [13] And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. [14] The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. [15] And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [16] And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, [17] Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;2 Timothy 4 : 1

[18] And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. [19] And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.Revelation 11 : 1-19

Opinion

H [30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: [31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.Isaiah 40 : 30-31

Suzanne Moore

Mon, June 9, 2025 at 7:49 PM GMT+35 min read

41

As yet, Greta Thunberg has not had her money shot. In terms of Insta-activism, her seafaring jaunt to deliver aid to Gaza has been farcical. It was always going to be.

First, let me say two things clearly. I totally support more aid going into Gaza: food and medicine are needed. I want us to stop selling arms to Israel. While I support the right of Israel to exist, I do not support its right to keep on killing the people of Gaza. It’s unbearable.

Saving cute eco-warriors! exposing her bare legs!

Ronald Reagan “Most Terrifying Words – ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

But the last thing the Israel-Gaza conflict needs is more martyrs, especially cute eco-warriors in shorts. It also doesn’t need hypocrites – particularly ones who also claim to champion women’s rights. The great irony is that Greta, with her exposed legs, dissenting views and freedom to express them, would not be tolerated by Hamas. But clearly that’s by the by.

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.Revelation 3 : 18

The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.3

In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the State, Protestants are following in the steps of papists. [See Appendix, Note 11.] Nay, more, they are opening the door for popery to regain in Protestant America the supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which gives greater significance to this movement is the fact that the principal object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday observance,—a custom which originated with Rome, and which she claims as the sign of her authority. It is the spirit of the papacy,—the spirit of conformity to worldly customs, the veneration for human traditions above the commandments of God,—that is permeating the Protestant churches, and leading them on to do the same work of Sunday exaltation which the papacy has done before them. GC88 573.1

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The Moral High Road! “aid boat”_sail into a war zone!

When it comes to the moral high road, the likes of Thunberg seek to occupy ALL of it, no matter how muddled the thinking. This is precisely the problem.

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Pretending you can sail into a war zone and “help” is a grandiose delusion. But, of course, Greta and her “aid boat” were largely a symbolic protest. What matters above all are the images of the selfie-yacht and the attention they can garner. Being boarded and detained (or, as she puts it, “kidnapped”) by Israeli forces gave her exactly what she had hoped for to kick against. But unfortunately for Thunberg, who had handily pre-recorded a video for just such an event, the actual image of the “kidnap” is her smiling as she is being handed a pastrami sandwich by an Israeli soldier.

And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.2 Kings 9 : 30, Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.Jeremiah 3 : 3 

This image will forever be compared with the horror show of the actual kidnap of hostages by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. There are girls younger than Greta, with bloodied pants, their Achilles tendons cut; a mother clutching her two red-haired children whom we now know are dead; a terrified old lady being abducted.

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It is said that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will force Thunberg and her crew to watch the brutal footage recorded on October 7. I doubt this will make much difference. In 2023, the IDF showed Hamas body cam footage collected after the Nova festival attack to the press in London. Most of the viewers were in tears but certain activist “journalists” came out saying there was no proof of women being raped as they had not been shown that.

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Thunberg, like so many of her generation wrapped up in their made-in-China

Thunberg, like so many of her generation wrapped up in their made-in-China keffiyehs, are not interested in the specifics of this conflict.

From  climate change activism to Palestinian solidarity!

This is what happens when a young girl with a penchant for protest becomes too feted. She addressed national parliaments and Davos as a climate activist and was interviewed everywhere, so she must have grasped the fact that her youth and passion energised many. Unsurprisingly, then, her symbolic power was soon commodified as she appeared at protest after protest, morphing effortlessly from climate change activism to Palestinian solidarity.

Political activism is now algorithmic. Hey, if you liked that cause, then try this one.

The “Left” these days often seems little more than a collection of disparate causes: eco stuff, trans rights and Free Palestine. The contradictions between these beliefs are underplayed as they become bundled together as an omnicause. I first heard that word used in 2023. The omnicause can incorporate everything from animal rights to emptying the jails. Forget the single issues that require specific, often boring campaigning: the omnicause is a moronic vacuum where analysis goes to die.

The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity, and points to the real authors of the change. “All things,” he says, “whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord’s day.” But the Sunday argument, groundless as it was, served to embolden men in trampling upon the Sabbath of the Lord. All who desired to be honored by the world accepted the popular festival. GC88 574.2

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It is a product partly of the horizontalisation of social media. By this, I mean that something such as Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police, which had relevance in America a few years ago, gets picked up here… even though we have a quite different population and methods of policing.

Those protesting what is happening in Gaza are not all uninformed, but many are.

Younger people recruited from Just Stop Oil (and now presenting as Youth Demand) have stopped soup-throwing in favour of this new pressing cause. But they have not talked about famine in Yemen or the atrocities of Sudan. Interconnectedness has its limits, after all.

There may well be links between climate change and war. Many argue that drought was a factor in the unrest that led to the Syrian civil war.

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The omnicause, though, does not do specifics. It favours symbolic demonstrations that can go viral. These simplistic spectacles of righteousness often backfire.

What did Fossil Free Books achieve, for instance?

What did Fossil Free Books achieve, for instance? It decided to campaign against companies that had any connection to Israel. The result was that investment firms such as Baillie Gifford stopped funding book festivals. How this helped either the environment or indeed the Palestinian cause is something of a mystery.

Thunberg’s stunt has been similarly self-aggrandising and vacuous!

Thunberg’s stunt has been similarly self-aggrandising and vacuous. Watching footage of this climate activist and her mates all chucking their expensive phones into the sea as they were about to be taken by the Israelis showed that, of course, when the chips were down, environmental concerns went out of the window. The omnicause does not require logic, consistency or even coherence. It is closer to acting than activism. It depends on melodrama and a narrative of provocative images.

In this generation there are many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of human speculations, “science falsely so-called;” they discern not the net, and walk into it as readily as if blindfolded. God designed that man’s intellectual powers should be held as a gift from his Maker, and should be employed in the service of truth and righteousness; but when pride and ambition are cherished, and men exalt their own theories above the Word of God, then intelligence can accomplish greater harm than ignorance. Thus the false science of the nineteenth century, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy, with its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in opening the way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages. GC88 572.3

Thunberg may be brave and have been prepared to sacrifice herself – though for what, exactly, I am not sure. But now we have seen the pictures, I am afraid that what she has sacrificed has been her integrity.

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The omnicause burns itself out in the end because it has no actual strategy. It simply signifies tribal loyalty. It gobbles everything up and spits out its participants, who simply move on to the next “wrong” thing.

You might think that, for Thunberg, her ship has sailed. But that does not mean she won’t clamber aboard the next one that hoves into view.

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Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.1 Timothy 1 : 17

Henry Bodkin

Sun, June 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM GMT+37 min read

207

Among Israel’s spies, he is known as “the ghost”.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.1 Timothy 1 : 17

He closely supervised some of the worst massacres of the Oct 7 Hamas attack, and in the months since has played a key role in holding the terror group together in the face of the IDF’s assault.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.Zechariah 13 : 7

Now, as the presumed new Hamas commander in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad holds the fate of the hostages and, to a large extent, the entire Strip in his blood-stained hands.

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“He was always recognised by our people as one of the more capable commanders,” said Maj Gen Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s former national security adviser.

He is cautious. They’re all cautious!

“He is cautious. They’re all cautious, but he’s had some luck as well. He never made the mistake that allowed us to kill him.”

After the Lord’s ascension, when the disciples were scattered by persecution, Nicodemus came boldly to the front. He employed his wealth in sustaining the infant church that the Jews had expected to be blotted out at the death of Christ. In the time of peril he who had been so cautious and questioning was firm as a rock, encouraging the faith of the disciples, and furnishing means to carry forward the work of the gospel. He was scorned and persecuted by those who had paid him reverence in other days. He became poor in this world’s goods; yet he faltered not in the faith which had its beginning in that night conference with Jesus. DA 177.1

Maj Gen Amidror speaks ruefully – Israel is believed to have tried to assassinate Haddad six times since 2008.

As Trump targets ‘terrorist sympathizers,’ college protests have fallen silent

Eighteen months into the longest war in the Jewish state’s history, he is now believed to be the last man standing of the five brigade commanders on the eve of Oct 7.

Bro. ——, you can do good. You possess good judgment, and God is leading you out of darkness into the light. Use your talents to the glory of God. Put them out to the exchangers, that when the Master cometh he may receive his own with usury. Break your tendrils from the valueless things of earth, and elevate them to entwine about God. The salvation of souls is of greater consideration than the whole world. One soul saved, to live through the endless ages of eternity, to praise God and the Lamb, is of more value than millions of money. Wealth sinks into insignificance when compared with the worth of souls for whom Christ died. You are a cautious man, and will not move rashly. Sacrifice for the truth of God, and become rich toward God. God help you to move as fast as you should, and place the right estimate upon eternal things. T17 64.1

As such, when the IDF finally killed Mohammed Sinwar by flattening the tunnel in which he was hiding in the grounds of a hospital last month, Haddad, believed to be 55, assumed command.

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It follows the assassination of top-level figures Mohammed Deif in July 2024 and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s supreme Gaza commander, in October that year.

Haddad takes over an almost unrecognisable force from the structured terror army that crossed the border to such devastating effect in Oct 2023.

Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.94
The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this antichristian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. Mar 217.2 – Mar 217.3

Hamas now resembles more of a guerrilla movement, with small, independent units – a handful of gunmen each – popping up in the rubble with light weapons and explosives.

One soul saved, to live through the endless ages of eternity, to praise God and the Lamb, is of more value than millions of money. Wealth  sinks into insignificance when compared with the worth of souls for whom Christ died. You are a cautious man, and will not move rashly. Sacrifice for the truth of God, and become rich toward God. God help you to move as fast as you should, and place the right estimate upon eternal things. PH099 45.2

But, as this month has proved, the group is still more than capable of killing IDF troops, ensuring the war grinds on as Israel expands its new seize-hold-and-demolish strategy, with tragic effects for civilians.

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And, of course, Hamas still holds dozens of hostages, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

Last weekend, the group rejected an Israel-endorsed proposal generated by Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, that would have freed 10 hostages during a 60-day ceasefire. Crucially the deal came with no guarantee of a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war.

For some in Israel’s intelligence community, this had Haddad’s hardline fingerprints all over it.

According to analysts, his decades living in the shadows, plus the loss of two sons to Israeli fire in the last 18 months, places him in the front rank of Islamist fanaticism.

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But, with Israel committed to seizing 75 per cent of the strip in under two months, the veteran terrorist may soon be forced to revisit his choice.

The time to reorganise his forces!

“The most crucial decision he has to make is whether he goes for a ceasefire that will give him the time to reorganise his forces,” said Maj Gen Amidror, now at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “He would have to pay by releasing some hostages.

MR No. 1028—A Call to Reconsecrate, Reorganize, and Advance13MR 192I would prefer not to speak today, though not because I have nothing to say. I have something to say. The state of things that has existed in the conference is not clearly understood by some who occupy positions in the conference or by others who bear responsibilities in other lines of the work.
The work has been increasing; it has been growing. The light that I have had from the Lord has been expressed over and over again, not to as many as there are here today, but to different individuals. The plans upon which God wishes us to work have been laid down.
Never should the mind of one man or the minds of a few men be regarded as sufficient in wisdom and power to control the work and say what plans shall be followed. The burden of the work in this broad field should not rest upon two or three men. We are not reaching the high standard which, with the great and important truth we are handling, God expects us to reach.
Over and over again men have said, “The voice of the conference is the voice of God; therefore everything must be referred to the conference. The conference must permit or restrict in the various lines of work.” As the matter has been presented to me, there is a narrow compass, and within this narrow compass, all the entrances to which are locked, are those who would like to exercise kingly power. But the work carried on all over the field  demands an entirely different course of action. There is need of the laying of a foundation different from the foundation which has been laid in the past.
We have heard much about everything moving in the regular lines. When we see that the “regular lines” are purified and refined, that they bear the mold of the God of heaven, then it will be time to endorse these lines. But when we see that message after message given by God has been received and accepted, yet no change has been made, we know that new power must be brought into the regular lines. The management of the regular lines must be entirely changed, newly organized. There must be a committee, not composed of half a dozen men, but of representatives from all lines of our work, from our publishing houses, from our educational institutions, and from our sanitariums, which have life in them, which are constantly working, constantly broadening. 13MR 192 – 13MR 193.1

“If not, the IDF will – slowly, slowly – come into these areas; Hamas will lose ground and people. It’s down to his judgment.”

IDF advances in Khan Younis

The IDF made a major push in the southern city of Khan Younis this week, discovering, they said, an arsenal of rocket parts.

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Intense activity is also under way in Gaza City and its suburbs, such as Jabalia, traditionally a Hamas stronghold hiding an extensive tunnel network.

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.1 Samuel 24 : 3

An added challenge for the new commander will be how to keep control of a desperate civilian population, for whom hunger is now proving a more potent force than fear, with aid cut off for nearly three months.

During the two months of the last ceasefire, Haddad was handed the task of rebuilding Hamas’s civilian and military infrastructure.

[15] And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, [16] After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: [17] That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.Acts 15 : 15-17

Israel contends that, with the traditional NGO-led aid system cut off, bar a “trickle of UN trucks”, that job is now harder, as Hamas cannot steal the food and use it to control the population.

Northern Smoking Pot : Hamas leadership operating behind veil of secrecy

Government spokesmen argue that social media bears this out.

They point to increasingly blood-curdling warnings against “looting” on Hamas-linked accounts, plus videos of so-called “field executions” – in reality, civilians being summarily gunned down in the street, or, in one recent case, tortured to death on camera.

Even during times of relative stability, it is difficult to get accurate data on civilian attitudes to Hamas within the Strip.

But a series of protests in recent weeks has led some analysts to believe that ordinary Gazans’ fear of Hamas was waning, with at least one ringleader murdered in the aftermath.

Credit: Telegram/Hamza20300

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Hamas has never been the only armed group in the Strip!

Despite its seeming omnipotence in Gaza since 2007, Hamas has never been the only armed group in the Strip.

So-called “clans” – some with links to other terror groups such as Islamic State, some more or less organised crime groups, some just armed families, and some all three – are also gaining power as the situation destabilises.

Israel was arming at least one of them, a militia under the command of an Arab bedouin

On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel was arming at least one of them, a militia under the command of an Arab bedouin called Yasser Abu Shabab, despite his group’s alleged links to drug dealing and arms smuggling.

Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel’s message have often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that church and state would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been pronounced groundless and absurd. It has been confidently declared that this land could never become other than what it has been—the defender of religious freedom. But  as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the third message will produce an effect which it could not have had before. GC 605.3

Such groups are already playing a role in seizing aid. If, thanks indirectly to Israeli support, they become better at it than Hamas, they could hasten the terror group’s demise – although how that would improve the immediate situation for the population is unclear.

Parents need to awake, and purify their souls by practicing the truth in their home life. When we reach the standard that the Lord would have us reach, worldlings will regard Seventh-day Adventists as odd, singular, straight-laced extremists. “We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” RH January 9, 1894, par. 10

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Maj Gen Amidror warned against premature celebration.

“What we see with these [torture] videos is all the effort not to lose their grip,” he said. “But I don’t think they have lost their grip yet.”

Reports suggest a new unit of about 5,000 gunmen called the “executive force”, a name salvaged from a similar outfit 20 years ago, has been unleashed to try to keep control.

A regional security official summed up Haddad’s position to the Hebrew press last week.

“He is one of the last and only leaders to have remained on the ground in Gaza, which means that the pressure he is under is tremendous,” he said. “If no deal is reached, he doesn’t want to go down in history as the last leader to oversee Gaza while it was falling apart under Israeli control. On the other hand, he needs to show that he is a leader.”

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Within Hamas, Haddad certainly has the stature to lead.

He joined the group as a young man, more or less at its inception in 1987. From there he rose to become a platoon commander and eventually a battalion commander. By 2023, he was in command of the Gaza Brigade, based in and around Gaza City in the north of the Strip.

[12] Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. [13] Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. [15] And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. [16] Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. [17] And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.Isaiah 8 : 12-13, 15-17

As such, he was one of a small number of senior figures who knew the plans for Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (Hamas’s codename for the Oct 7 attack) in advance.

On the evening of Oct 6, he gathered his senior commanders.

The orders he then handed out resulted in some of the most high-profile atrocities of the incursion, such as the attack on the IDF’s Nahal Oz base, where more than 60 soldiers and 15 civilians were killed after it was overrun.

Now, this famously cautious man who, unlike some of his terror comrades, avoided media appearances, has his face on leaflets being dropped by the IDF and Shin Bet into Gaza with crosshairs superimposed around it.

Referencing the Sinwar brothers, Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s overall leader until he was assassinated in Tehran last year, the leaflets’ Hebrew and Arabic captions assure the population that Haddad would soon be “reunited” with his friends.

No one can foretell what military effect that would have, but it would – in one sense – close a chapter on Israel’s darkest ever day.

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