Our “Elder” Statesman

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, ~ John 8:9

In John 8:1-11 the story of the “woman taken in adultery,” Jesus (vs. 6) was writing Lev. 20:10 and Deut. 22:22 in the sand…the law requiring both the guilty man and woman to be stoned. Interrupted (vs. 7), He finishes his writing (vs. 8). He knew the man was one of them. In He Is the Judgment, Chambers writes, One of the most remarkable things about Jesus Christ is that although He was full of love and gentleness, yet in His presence everyone not only felt benefited, but ashamed. It is His presence that judges us; we long to meet Him, yet we dread to…In Dr. Ruckman’s footnotes on verse 9, he writes, The “eldest” had the most sins to cover because he had lived longer. A famous Christian combat leader in the Dark Ages, when counterattacking the Catholic armies, said, “Come, come brethren! Let us play the men for our people and the cities of our God. He who goes first, goes cleanest!”

I have long ago given up correcting those who refer to me as pastor. One good brother I had the good fortune to meet at a unity prayer breakfast in Queens several years ago has referred to me as Elder ever since. Things might have turned out much differently for the John 8 woman had God not shown up when He did. He is preparing the way for our own John 8 moment today. America played the harlot…He sent our John…we planted our seed in ’23…we prayed for His mercy in ’24…He answered our prayers on November 5^th…What have we learned?

I love the Epoch Times TRUTH, TRADITION, HOPE banner because it displays the perfect order of things. Truth must come before all things. Without truth, there is no tradition, and without tradition to pass on there is little to no hope…a line of despair God’s mercy saved us all from crossing on November 5^th. But again, what have we learned? If God has truly anointed me as an Elder, what does this mean? What does He expect of me?

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. ~ 1 Timothy 5:17

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. ~ 1 Peter 5:2

Discernment is the power to interpret what we see and hear.  (Perfect) Oswald Chambers, Enter in by the Door

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. ~ John 10:12

William Booth saw today’s hirelings a full century and a quarter away!

November 5^th was much more than the answer to prayer, it was the apex of the age Booth warned us of. As Elon and his “four young coders” just revealed for all the world to see (as most will tune in tonight); the age of imposters!

The clock struck 2 AM on Jan 21, 2025. In Treasury’s basement, fluorescent lights hummed above four young coders. Their screens cast blue light across government-issue desks, illuminating energy drink cans and agency badges. As their algorithms crawled through decades of payment data, one number kept growing: $17 billion in redundant programs. And counting. OVERRIDE: INSIDE THE REVOLUTION REWIRING AMERICAN POWER

This recent quote from the Bishop who called the world to its knees in a corporate prayer for God’s mercy last Summer: “Reality is under time, truth is above time. Yesterday I was, today I am, tomorrow I will be. Yesterday Jesus is, today Jesus is, tomorrow Jesus is.” ~ Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel

What does the impostor fear most my friends? Truth! Do you remember when I asked my readers to imagine truth as a friend, and how our relationship to our friend may have grown more distant and colder over the past 17 years, and especially the past 5? Well, Booth saw the age where friends would marginalize friends to preserve their own sense of security in the below time reality as they perceive it to be. And he knew that imposters would murder to preserve the same. This is exactly why in the early days of our nation; you had to be a Christian to hold public office. Because, to a Christian, salvation is far more important than survival and, or power. So, in closing I must ask my readers what have we learned, and where do we go from here? I know for myself, as an elder with the most sin to cover, I most definitely will answer the call to go first.