Is Mormonism Christian? The Pentagon’s List Pushed the Issue

Last week, the Pentagon announced that it would update again its updated list of recognized religious groups, which reduced the number from 180 to 31.

The purpose of revising the list was to “streamline the Department of War (DoW) collection of religious preferences for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.”  On the new list, in addition to groups such as Agnostics, Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and two catch-all’s of “No Religion” and “Other Religion,” 22 groups were listed as “Christian.”

However, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), often known as the Mormon Church, was not labeled “Christian” like the Baptists, Roman Catholics, Methodists, and many others.  Oddly, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christian Scientists were labeled “Christian,” but LDS were not.  And that sparked enough significant outrage that the DoW has now revised its new list again, removing the “Christian” designation from all groups.

This satisfied Senator Mike Lee of UT, the loudest critic of the original list, demanding in a post on X, “Can anyone tell me why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was left out of the list of Christian churches?”  The answer was, apparently, “yes.” Christians from across doctrinal traditions responded to the senator that the most important reason is that the Mormon religion is not Christian.

Of course, it did not make sense to deprive Mormonism of the label while including Jehovah’s Witnesses or Christian Scientists.  And, as the DoW admitted, “The Pentagon’s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks.”  Still, the debate about what it means to be Christian clearly needed to happen.

The most common claim from Mormons was that Christian is in the name, as in “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” and that the doctrinal differences are secondary. However, using the same vocabulary does not mean we are using the same dictionary.  When it comes to the contrast between Mormonism and Christianity, the differences make all the difference in the world. 

For example, as Allie Beth Stuckey and many others noted, the LDS rejection of the Trinity is enough to disqualify them from Christianity.  Acton Institute founder Fr. Robert Sirico acknowledged Lee’s gracious tone but pointed to the inadequate portrayal of Jesus in the Book of Mormon and other LDS sources.  Kyle Beshears, author of 40 Questions About Mormonism, pointed out that the LDS Church claims to be “the restored church distinct from a fallen Christendom... ”  And if that is the case, “why is being listed separately a grievance?”

The foundational claim of the LDS Church is that revelations by Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century uncovered what Christians had lost over the generations in a “Great Apostasy.”  So, Mormons rejected essential Christian doctrine such as the Trinity and Christ’s status as eternally divine.  To Jesus’ work, which the author of Hebrews claimed was complete in the crucifixion and resurrection, the Book of Mormon claims additional work in the Americas. As author E. Stephen Burnett put it, the Book of Mormon is “like putting self-insert fanfiction into The Lord of the Rings and insisting Tolkien also wrote this new ‘canon.’”  The two stories are too different for both to be true.

The LDS Church is free to make their case about God, Jesus, the Bible, faith, the afterlife, and any other detailed differences from orthodox Christian belief.  Despite struggling to do that, they still demand Christians embrace their claims.  But we cannot. Ed Stetzer, Dean of the Talbot School of Theology, offered a straight-forward account as to why: 

“Wanting to use the Christian label without believing biblical Christian theology simply will not work.  The fundamental beliefs of Mormonism about Jesus and Scripture are not the same as historic, orthodox Christianity.  Paul warned about preaching a different Jesus.  We affirm the Bible as the Word of God.  This means we reject the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, or The Pearl of Great Price.  Can you believe, for instance, that Muhammad is not the prophet and still call yourself a Muslim?  The vast majority of Muslims would say you cannot.  For Christians, calling yourself a Christian while not believing that God has always existed as the triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is just as inconceivable.  It may be unpopular to state your belief that a certain religious group is not actually Christian, but it is true.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Republicans Are Rebranding June from Pride Month to Honor Biblical Values

Republican governors across the US are offering Biblically framed alternatives to June LGBTQ Pride Month celebrations, in turn celebrating God’s design for families.

Red states are using the opportunity to promote a variety of messages.  For example, some are seeking to protect unborn life as a necessary step to support the nuclear family.

OK Gov. Kevin Stitt posted on social media, “God authors every life.  As image bearers, there is inherent dignity and value in every human life.  That’s why Oklahoma is proud to declare June as Life Month.”

As Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News recently reported, TN Gov. Bill Lee rebranded June as Nuclear Family Month, celebrating God’s family structure of “one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted or fostered children.”

IN Gov. Mike Braun echoed that effort with a Nuclear Family Month for his state too.  “As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, this proclamation recognizes the important role families play in shaping the future of our state and our country,” he wrote.

For AL Gov. Kay Ivey, the fathers of that structure are “the head of the household,” and “homes led by a father and mother provide children with the structure and discipline necessary to succeed throughout life.”  So, to coincide with Father’s Day, the AL governor is celebrating Strong Families Month.

While Family, Nuclear Family, and Strong Families Month define and celebrate God’s family structure, proposals for Fidelity Month call Americans to not just celebrate these values, but to “rededicate the United States to the values of faith, family, and patriotism.”

UT, AK, and at least four other GOP-controlled states support legislation to recognize June as Fidelity Month.

While the month of June is now becoming a platform for biblical family values, it began gaining momentum last year when the Education Department used June to acknowledge God’s male and female gender design.

The department declared June Title IX Month advocating for female students’ safety from harmful transgender policies that allowed biological men to use women’s bathrooms or locker rooms.

Also in 2025, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (IL-R) denounced Pride Month and proposed a resolution to make June Family Month, saying, “Americans are inundated with perverse Pride Month displays and events throughout the month of June that denigrate the nuclear family.”

As conservative leaders reject Pride Month, and replace it with Biblical values, some conservatives say they’re “reclaiming the culture” as more and more view state measures as an opportunity for a cultural reset.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Canadian Bill Puts Bible in the Crosshairs

For generations, Canadians have enjoyed a reputation for being among the freest people in the world.  Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the ability to openly debate moral and social issues have long been considered foundational rights.  That is why the advancement of Bill C-9 through Canada’s Senate has generated such intense concern among Christian leaders, constitutional experts, and faith communities across the nation.

Supporters of the legislation argue that it is necessary to combat hatred and protect vulnerable groups from targeted abuse.  Few would dispute the importance of protecting citizens from violence, harassment, or genuine threats.  The concern, however, is not whether hatred should be opposed.  The concern is whether the government is redefining biblical beliefs themselves as hateful.

At the center of the controversy is Bill C-9’s removal of Section 319(3)(b) of Canada’s Criminal Code.  That provision has historically protected individuals who express religious beliefs in good faith based on sacred texts such as the Bible.  Critics warn that removing this safeguard creates a legal environment where long-held Christian teachings could become vulnerable to criminal complaints.

The legislation is now headed back to the House of Commons where it is expected to clear Parliament and become law before the summer recess.

Many Christians are asking a simple question: What happens next?

The answer is that nobody knows exactly how the law will be enforced.  Yet history shows that laws often begin with narrow promises before gradually expanding through court rulings, government interpretations, and activist pressure campaigns.  Christians therefore have reason to examine not only what the legislation says today but also what it could enable tomorrow.

Consider a pastor preaching through Romans 1, where the Apostle Paul describes same-sex relationships as sinful.  For two thousand years, this has been a standard Christian teaching shared by the Christian church.  Under previous protections, a pastor could confidently teach that passage knowing the law recognized the legitimacy of religious expression.

Under the new framework, critics fear that a complaint could be filed claiming such preaching promotes hatred against a protected group.

Perhaps the complaint would ultimately fail.  Perhaps charges would never be laid.  But even an investigation can become punishment.  Churches could face legal expenses, reputational attacks, media scrutiny, and pressure to self-censor.

This is how speech restrictions often evolve—not necessarily through dramatic arrests, but through intimidation.

Imagine a Christian school teaching students that marriage is between one man and one woman.  A teacher quotes Jesus’ words from the Gospel of Matthew.  A parent objects and files a complaint.  Suddenly administrators must consult lawyers, revise policies, and determine whether biblical instruction exposes them to liability.

Even if the school eventually prevails, the message to other institutions becomes clear: avoid controversy, soften doctrine, and stay silent.

The chilling effect becomes the real victory.

Another area of concern involves Christian counselors, pastors, and church leaders who provide spiritual guidance.  Imagine a young adult seeking advice from a pastor regarding questions about sexuality, gender identity, or biblical morality.  If the pastor responds by explaining traditional Christian teachings and encouraging the individual to align his or her life with those beliefs, critics worry that such conversations could eventually become the subject of complaints.

Perhaps no charges would ever be laid.  Perhaps a court would ultimately side with the pastor. But once legal uncertainty enters the picture, many ministries may begin avoiding these conversations altogether.  Some pastors could decide that discussing certain topics simply carries too much risk.  The result would be a chilling effect on one of the church’s most important functions: providing biblical counsel to people seeking spiritual guidance.

Many churches require pastors, elders, youth leaders, and ministry staff to affirm statements of faith and live according to the church’s understanding of biblical morality. Critics of Bill C-9 fear that maintaining such standards could become increasingly difficult if traditional Christian beliefs are portrayed as hateful or discriminatory.

Consider a church that requires youth leaders to affirm biblical teachings regarding marriage and sexuality.  A rejected volunteer or former employee could potentially file a complaint alleging that such standards promote hatred toward a protected group.  Even if the church eventually prevailed, it could face significant legal costs, public controversy, and pressure to abandon long-standing doctrinal requirements.

For many believers, the concern is not merely whether churches would win such cases. The concern is whether years of investigations, legal battles, and public scrutiny would gradually pressure Christian institutions to soften or abandon biblical convictions in order to avoid conflict altogether.

Another practical concern involves online ministry.  Many Canadian pastors now reach thousands of people through YouTube, Facebook, podcasts, and livestreams.  If authorities begin viewing certain biblical teachings as potentially hateful, online content could become a prime target.

Will pastors begin avoiding certain passages altogether?

Will ministries remove sermons from their archives?

Will Christian publishers stop printing books that address controversial moral issues?

These questions may sound alarmist to some, but similar patterns have already emerged in parts of Europe where speech laws have increasingly collided with religious expression.

Once government authorities gain greater power to determine which religious beliefs are acceptable, every unpopular biblical doctrine becomes vulnerable.  Christian teaching on gender, marriage, sexual morality, exclusivity of salvation through Christ, and even certain pro-life arguments could eventually come under scrutiny.

The problem is not merely what today’s government believes.  Governments change. Cultural standards change.  What one administration considers protected speech, another may classify as harmful expression.

Christians understand this principle because church history is filled with examples.

Throughout history, governments have often tolerated Christianity until biblical teaching collided with prevailing social values.  The conflict rarely begins with a direct ban on Christianity.  Instead, authorities typically insist that believers may continue worshiping privately so long as they refrain from publicly expressing certain convictions.

Freedom of worship is not the same as freedom of religion.

Freedom of worship means Christians can gather inside church buildings and conduct services.  Freedom of religion means believers can live out and proclaim their faith in public life without fear of government punishment.

Many critics argue that Bill C-9 pushes Canada closer toward the former model while weakening the latter.

Even Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has voiced concerns about authorities monitoring church services.  Such warnings would have seemed unthinkable in Canada only a few years ago. Yet they are now being discussed openly by elected officials.

For Canadian Christians, the response should not be panic, but preparation.

Churches should educate congregations about their constitutional rights.  Ministries should seek competent legal counsel.  Christian organizations should strengthen partnerships with religious liberty groups prepared to challenge unconstitutional applications of the law.

Most importantly, believers should resist the temptation to retreat into silence.

The New Testament was written largely by men who lived under governments hostile to Christian teaching.  The apostles repeatedly affirmed that believers must speak truth with both courage and love, even when doing so carries personal cost.

Christians should never use the Bible as a weapon to demean or mistreat others. Genuine hatred has no place in Christian witness.  At the same time, Christians cannot abandon biblical truth simply because society increasingly labels it offensive.

That is the tension Bill C-9 brings into sharp focus.

The coming years may determine whether Canada continues to protect robust religious freedom or moves toward a model where certain biblical convictions are tolerated only when kept private.  For many believers, this debate is no longer merely political or legal.

It is becoming a test of whether Christians will remain free to openly proclaim what they believe God has already spoken.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

How Can You Know If Your Dreams Are Prophetic or Not?

Have you ever wondered if the Lord has been speaking to you, but you have been missing the insight He is trying to reveal because of a lack of spiritual perception?

If so, consider the following: “For God does speak — now one way, now another — though no one perceives it.  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds” (Job 33:14–15 NIV).

In our natural bodies, we have five primary senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. When one of those senses is weakened, other senses often become stronger to compensate. For example, when someone loses sight, their hearing frequently becomes more sensitive.

While God’s Word is the ultimate plumbline by which we must measure all things, in the same way, the Lord has given us multiple ways to see and hear Him, if we are willing to perceive Him.  And it’s entirely possible that we, as finite human beings learning to perceive God’s voice by the Spirit, are weaker in some areas, spiritually speaking, and stronger in others.

Throughout Scripture, dreams and visions are mentioned hundreds of times.  God repeatedly used them to send messages, issue warnings, give wisdom, and provide direction to His people.  Yet much of the modern church has ignored the importance of dreams and visions because they approach Scripture with an anti-supernatural bias or caution due to the misuse and perversion of dreams through New Age spirituality and other occult practices.

But those are demonic counterfeits, and not of God.

Dispensing with dreams altogether is overcorrection — a spiritual version of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”  We should not throw away something precious that God might use to speak to us, simply because some have polluted it.

Take Jeremiah, for example.  He warned against false prophets who spoke visions from their own imaginations rather than from the mouth of the Lord.  To use my analogy, you could say that these were people who had “dirtied the bathwater.”

The prophet speaks in Jeremiah 23:32: “‘Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ declares the LORD.  ‘They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them.  They do not benefit these people in the least,’ declares the LORD.”

Notice how God, through Jeremiah, confirms the existence of true dreamers in this verse, for you can only have a false counterfeit if there is first an original.  The Lord did not say to avoid all dreams or dreamers; He specifically said He was against false dreamers.

Consider also the examples of Pharaoh and King Nebuchadnezzar.  The Bible records that men awoke troubled and deeply disturbed by what they had seen.  In both cases, they sought interpretation and then had to decide whether they would heed the warning God had given or ignore it.

When the Father is against something entirely, He gives clear instructions to avoid it, as He does throughout His Word regarding astrology, sorcery, and witchcraft.  Dreams, however, are different.

How, then, should we tell the difference between a true, Holy Spirit-inspired night vision and a false, counterfeit one?  For starters, you begin by drawing close to the Holy Spirit Himself.

If a dream is the Holy Spirit showing you something, it often stays with you.  It might shake you to your depth, and you will likely remember it vividly long after you wake up. These dreams usually compel you to pray in earnest and seek God for understanding.

Some dreams may feel hopeful and joyful, while others may be overwhelming or even terrifying.  Whatever emotion the dream stirs, something deep within you is propelling you toward the Father.

The other important thing to remember is that every one of us must steward our own journey of relationship with the Lord.  

Listen: If you’ve had a dream that stays with you, even if it seems strange, seek Him for deeper meaning.  He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). 

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Pride Month is Fading

There’s something different about June 2026.  There are fewer rainbows.  No, I’m not talking about the sign of God’s covenant that appears in the sky after a storm.  I’m talking about the rainbow flag that has become the symbol of Pride Month.

For years, June brought a predictable wave of corporate logos, advertising campaigns, themed merchandise, and public celebrations.  Parents learned to pay closer attention to commercials in family programming, sports fans grew accustomed to Pride-themed uniforms and promotions, and many city streets became venues for often indecent displays at Pride parades.

This year is noticeably different.  The symbols are not gone, but they are far less prominent. It’s premature to say Pride has fallen, but it is fair to say the appeal of Pride Month has faded.

Corporations are rethinking their public affiliation with a cultural agenda that, according to a Gallup poll released last week, is losing support among Americans.  The Obama-Biden era push to promote transgenderism among children, while limiting treatment options to experimental drugs and surgeries, has prompted many Americans to reconsider the movement’s underlying motives.

Increasingly, Americans see Pride parades not merely as expressions of tolerance but as demonstrations of cultural influence reaching into every corner of society.  For many, concerns over gender identity policies involving children became the point at which broader questions about sexuality, marriage, parental rights, and cultural authority converged.  As many warned years ago, the debate was never simply about the right to marry the person one loves; it was also about redefining longstanding social norms, including those governing parent-child relationships.

When schools withheld information from parents about a child’s social gender transition, many families saw the connection between what was happening in the classroom and the broader redefinition of marriage and family.  As a result, public opinion began to shift.

That shift is showing up in the corporate world.  Companies are not only scaling back Pride Month promotions; many are abandoning participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.  The 2026 index lost 65% of its Fortune 500 participants.  Whether driven by conviction, consumer pressure, or shareholder concerns, many corporations are recalculating their public association with LGBT activism.

By itself, that would not prove a cultural realignment.  But combined with developments in states across the nation, it suggests something more than a temporary retreat. Republican leaders have moved beyond symbolic resistance to Pride Month and are increasingly advancing proclamations and policies promoting the nuclear family.  Among the arguments they cite is extensive social science showing that, across numerous measures, children do best when raised by their married mother and father.

Here is why I believe this is more than a passing fad: corporate leaders and elected officials are responding to the people.  For several years, parents refused to back down. They attended school board and city council meetings, despite being called domestic terrorists. They opposed policies involving boys in girls’ sports and mixed-sex bathrooms and locker rooms, and in many cases ran for office themselves.  Across the country, they won seats, changed policies, and reshaped local government.

There are fewer rainbows this June.  That alone does not mean the cultural debate is over. But it does suggest that millions of Americans who refused to surrender their convictions are beginning to see the impact of their perseverance.  Parents and patriots are prevailing not through outrage, but through persistence.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

DoW Removes About 180 Belief Systems as Recognized Religions

The Department of War (DoW) recently dropped approximately 180 belief systems from its list of recognized religions for U.S. military personnel, including Wicca and other neo-pagan faiths.

A May 20 memo issued by the Undersecretary of War Elbridge A. Colby and signed by Anthony Tata, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, trimmed the list from 211 faiths to 31, according to Military.com.

The move intends to “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy,” said the memo, which ordered the revision of the “religious affiliation codes” to go into effect within 60 days.  “The new list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices,” the memo added.

Some of the belief systems that have been removed from the list include atheism, which was replaced by a general “no religion” or “agnostic” designation; pagan or Earth-based faiths such as Wicca, Druidism, Heathenism and members of The Troth; New Age beliefs such as Eckankar, Rosicrucianism, shamanism and spiritualism; as well as other alternative belief systems, including Deism, Unitarian Universalism and practitioners of “magick.”

The religions that remain are various denominations of Christianity, Buddhism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and the Baha’i faith.

The directive ultimately came from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who pledged last year to overhaul the military’s Chaplain Corps by refocusing it on religious ministry and eliminating what he called secular influences.  Hegseth announced the initiative in a video message on December 16, 2025, that promised to “make the Chaplain Corps great again” and condemned New Age notions in the “Army Spiritual Fitness Guide” that he ordered eliminated.

Hegseth, an Evangelical whose church is affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), has repeatedly promised to root out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and other “woke garbage” from the Pentagon.  He has drawn scrutiny during his tenure as Secretary of War for his use of Christian rhetoric, such as invoking imprecatory psalms against the enemies of the United States, weeks after the U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran.

An anonymous U.S. Army veteran who is ordained as a priest in Wicca and the neo-pagan faiths of Ásatrú and Druidism expressed anger to Military.com about the new list. The individual, who served three tours in Iraq, claimed it “rekindled that anger” they felt upon allegedly being discriminated against by military chaplains 20 years ago for being a self-described pagan.

Mikey Weinstein, who serves as president of the nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation, condemned the reduction of recognized religions as “middle finger to the United States Constitution’s separation of church and state,” according to Military.com.  Weinstein, who has been outspoken in pushing back against what he has characterized as Hegseth’s overtly “Christian nationalist” overtures at the Pentagon, described the latest directive as “another absolute, clear, filthy and disgusting, unconstitutional, immoral and unethical attempt to force only the approved solution, getting closer and closer to Christian nationalism.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Why Christian Persecution is Trump’s New Foreign Policy Roadmap

During his first term, President Donald Trump made fighting Christian persecution around the world a foreign policy priority.  In his second term, it has become something more than that.

The complications stemming from this virtuous decision during the first Trump Administration were real.  Relationships with adversaries and allies involved in Christian persecution were strained, and strategies became muddied.

Do you sanction Egypt, a critical partner in a volatile region, over its treatment of Coptic Christians?  Do you let jihadist networks consolidate in Nigeria while you debate religious freedom benchmarks with Abuja?  Do you refuse to engage China over its “Sinicization” of Christianity and targeting of pastors?  A principle that cannot survive in world of realpolitik is a liability.

Whether by design or coincidence, Trump’s second term reflects a more calibrated approach to dealing with this scourge.

The question now is whether Washington can do something harder than either ignoring the issue or championing it: employ it as both a policy indicator and guide.

This is already being tested.  In late 2025, after several attacks on Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, Trump designated the West African nation a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act.  The Administration went as far as ordering strikes on Islamic State targets on Christmas Day.  More recently, the White House counterterrorism strategy listed defending Christians as one of its two main priorities in Africa. Washington also eliminated the Islamic State’s number two in Nigeria, whom Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “was killing Christians.”  Meanwhile, on his visit to Beijing earlier this month, Trump brought up the case of imprisoned Pastor Ezra Jin.

Washington is no longer seemingly trying to fix Christian persecution wholesale.  It is asking where persecution is happening, who is behind it, and whether those actors threaten American interests.  These are the correct questions, and the answer is almost always the same.

The persecution of Christians abroad is often a concentrated expression of the very forces American foreign policy opposes: jihadism, authoritarianism, lawlessness, and anti-democratic repression.  It’s no coincidence that the policies necessary to stymie Christian persecution often overlap with steps Washington would like to take regarding these same countries and nonstate actors.

The pattern holds across vastly different contexts.

Washington maintains a significant aid relationship with an Egyptian government that has chronically failed to protect Coptic Christians, an estimated 15 to 20 million people, from targeted violence and systematic legal discrimination.  The pattern reflects the same tolerance for extralegal violence and sectarian hierarchy that makes Egypt an unstable and ultimately unreliable partner.  Washington need not rupture the relationship, but measurable progress on Coptic protections, including fast-tracking stalled church construction permits, prosecution of sectarian violence, and working toward legal equality, should be a condition of the aid relationship.  Currently, it is a mere footnote in the Washington-Cairo relationship.

But in Nigeria, the problems Christians face extend beyond organized Islamic terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province to the Fulani, a largely Muslim West African ethnic group.  Across the Middle Belt, Fulani militant attacks — which are often described as “farmer-herder violence” or “ethnic conflict” — have ravaged Christian communities.  While there is some truth to the farmer-herder dynamics, that language can obscure the religiously charged violence carried out with near-total impunity.

The 2023 Christmas massacres in the north central Plateau State, where Fulani terrorists murdered more than 200 Christians, while reportedly shouting “Allah Akbar, we will destroy all Christians,” should have forced a reckoning with anti-Christian violence. But massacres of Christians on holy days in their places of worship continue.

A government that cannot protect Christian villages from repeated attacks is failing at the basic tasks of governance.  For Washington, which sees Nigeria as a partner in stemming terrorism in West Africa, this is also a strategic problem.  The steps Nigeria must take to stabilize its north and Middle Belt are the same steps required to protect its Christian communities.  Better intelligence cooperation, targeted counterterrorism pressure, security-sector reform, and aid conditioned on measurable results. Washington can pursue all of these goals together, increasing assistance in proportion to Nigeria's proven willingness to protect vulnerable communities.

In China, the Communist Party’s suppression of Christianity is not incidental to its foreign policy posture.  It is an expression of the same logic driving it.  Beijing demolishes crosses, detains pastors, rewrites religious materials, and places churches under supervision.  Beijing fears Christianity so much that it has built a mass surveillance apparatus around containing it. Churchgoers have their identities catalogued by facial recognition cameras placed in churches around China.  These same cameras were originally tested on Uyghurs in Xinjiang who are facing genocide, according to the United States and others.

A regime that cannot tolerate independent churches is unlikely to tolerate independent institutions, civil society, or democratic pluralism anywhere it gains influence.  And, key to American policymakers, Beijing’s fear of Christianity is not irrational.  A faith premised on loyalty to a higher authority than the state is a structural challenge to totalitarian control.

With adversaries, the tools available are different.  Washington should further sanction China’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), an organ of the CCP that leads enforcement of Chinese religious laws, under the Global Magnitsky Act.  Doing so fits into Washington’s broader strategic vision for confronting Beijing.  The U.S. has already sanctioned members of the UFWD for human rights abuses in Xinjiang and espionage in Hong Kong.  Designating officials responsible for Christian persecution would add to Washington’s toolkit in combatting the department Chinese leader Xi Jinping calls his “magic weapon,” and signal that Washington is reading the right foreign policy roadmap.

None of this requires Christian solidarity as a foreign policy posture.  It requires a foreign policy attentive enough to read what Christian persecution is pointing to.

That is the standard against which Trump’s second term should be measured.  Not whether he champions Christians loudly enough, but whether his administration followed the roadmap where it led, asked the right questions of the right governments, and let the answers shape policy.

This approach claims that Christian persecution often reveals where America’s enemies’ priorities lie, where its partners are weakest, and where its policy is least effective.

Whether in Egypt, Nigeria, or China, the persecution of Christians is rarely the whole story. Trump’s first term treated it as a cause that demanded resolution.  His second term is treating it as a roadmap that underpins America’s strategic goals.  Washington ought not to look at Christian persecution as an isolated problem that needs an isolated remedy.  It needs to ask, consistently and seriously, what the presence of persecution tells us about the governments we fund, the partners we arm, and the threats we are not yet naming.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Are We Inventing a Fake God?

Before his passing in 2017, the late theologian R.C. Sproul remarked, “the greatest spiritual need in people’s lives today is to discover the true identity of God.”  Those words are just as convicting today, if not more so, than they were a decade ago.  Though many in our world would never reject God outright, multitudes are content to reinvent Him.

Modern versions of Christianity continue to shrink God to a size that is more manageable to our senses.  We prefer a tame deity who stays in the background. One who shows up when we need Him because He fancies us the center of the universe.  This god is anxious to take his marching orders and eager to remain quiet when we disagree with him.

Isaiah 6 offers a much different picture.  With a vision of the Lord enthroned, untamed, glorious, and burning with holiness (Isaiah 6:1-4), Scripture confronts us with the unrivaled identity of the only true God.  This prophetic picture shatters our sentimental preferences.  The living God far exceeds the watered-down mascot who cheers our every ambition, no matter how misguided.

The background of Isaiah’s glorious image was a season of national uncertainty in Judah. After a reign of more than 50 years, King Uzziah died, leaving a hole inhabited by instability and anxiety (2 Chronicles 26:3).  Yet, when God’s prophet looked toward Heaven, he did not see the Lord panicked or pacing, but reigning from His throne without interruption (Daniel 4:34-35).  History does not rattle Him.  Evil does not overcome Him. The future does not intimidate Him (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Around the throne flew seraphim — angelic servants — who antiphonally sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).  We prefer to speak more casually about the God we serve, eagerly reducing Him to the man upstairs, our life coach, or even worse, our co-pilot.  Yet, Isaiah’s description leaves no room for such frivolities.

The seraphim did not chant, “Love, love, love,” even though God is love (1 John 4:8). Nor did they cry, “Merciful, merciful, merciful,” even though the Lord delights in mercy (Micah 7:18). Instead, they selected the single attribute that most fully captures God’s essence.  Holiness does not stand beside God like one trait in a list of many.  Holiness defines God, along with all the glory and majesty that accompany Him (Leviticus 11:44-45; 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 99:3, 5, 9).

Even the repetition matters. The three-fold declaration marked the emphasis that should grip us.  Our God is in a category all His own, without rival or equal.  The scene echoed Sinai, where the mountain quaked and smoke rose like a furnace due to Yahweh’s awesome presence (Exodus 19:18).  The glorious holiness of God is heavy, and none swagger into His presence.

Isaiah certainly did not.

With a confession that cut through every self-illusion of righteousness, he lamented, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!  Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). Notice that there is no excuse for or dismissal of his sin.  Holiness means that God stands completely separate from wickedness.  Evil cannot corrupt Him.  The darkness of our transgressions has no fellowship with the light of His purity. We cannot celebrate our sins and embrace God at the same time.

Tragically, our contemporary efforts to rush toward God’s love with no mention of His holiness forfeit the very grace we desperately need.  Yet, the greatest testimony of God’s compassion for sinners is not His affirmation of our waywardness, but His transformation of our lives. Though we were formerly dead in our trespasses, walking according to the course of this world, God has made us alive together with Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-5). Christ did not die to save us from nothing, but to rescue us from our vile disobedience.

In his humility, Isaiah experienced what countless Christ followers would later find out for themselves.  When one of the seraphim took a burning coal from the altar and touched the prophet’s lips, his iniquity was taken away (Isaiah 6:6-7).  Therein is a picture of the same Gospel Christians preach today.

Notice that God took the initiative.  The coal came from a place of sacrifice where the consuming fire of God cleanses our shame (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29).  The Lord does not negotiate with sin; He destroys it.  Thus, God transferred Isaiah’s guilt to the offering, satisfying His holy wrath.  Simultaneously, God covered His servant with grace and forgiveness.

The same mercy is available to us through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.  He was pierced through for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, as God transferred our guilt upon Him (Isaiah 53:5-6).  Through His scourging we find healing and by means of His chastening He purchased our well-being (Isaiah 53:5). Christ became sin for us, not because the Lord was eager to embrace our rebellion, but so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).  God loves us enough to send His only begotten Son, not to wink at our sin, but to do something about it (John 3:16).

How holy is our God?  So much so that He put His Son to death to save sinners like you and me.  Our world does not lack opinions about God.  What is missing, though, is reverence (Romans 3:18).  Many laugh at the idea of holiness.  Others rewrite reality altogether (Isaiah 5:20).  Far too many demand affirmation, then punish dissent. Thankfully, our God does not take cues from this fallen age.  He reigns from His throne in strength and power, knowing that He will have the last word (Psalm 2:1–4).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Franklin Graham Blasts Talarico for Claiming “Bible is Silent” on Abortion

Evangelist and Samaritan’s Purse CEO Franklin Graham joined a chorus of Christians who pushed back against U.S. Senate candidate and Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico for recently claiming “the Bible is silent” on the morality of abortion.

Talarico, who will be facing off against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s U.S. Senate race this November, went viral earlier this week for claiming during an interview with podcaster and former L’Oréal CEO Jamie Kern Lima that his Christian faith leads him to believe the government should stay out of legislating against abortion.

“I trust Texas women to make decisions about their own bodies, to shape their own destinies in consultation with their family members, their doctors, their faith leaders.  I don’t believe that’s a place for government.  I don’t believe it’s a place for politicians.  I don’t believe it’s a place for the state.  And that’s a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith,” said Talarico, who has studied at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, which is affiliated with the mainline Presbyterian Church (USA).

“Jesus never talks about abortion.  The Bible is silent on abortion.  And when that happens with a social issue as important as abortion, we Christians have to take Scripture as a whole. And we’ve got to try to make some kind of ethical determination,” he continued, adding that Texas’ abortion ban prohibits victims of rape and incest from getting an abortion.

Graham was among the many who responded by rebuking Talarico’s assertion that the Bible has nothing to say on the issue of killing the unborn.  “Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico couldn’t be more wrong!  The Bible is not silent on abortion as he claims — that’s an absolute lie.  God commands us, ‘You shall not murder’ (Exodus 20:13).  Abortion is taking a life — it is murder,” he wrote in a Wednesday social media post.  “The Word of God tells us we are created in the image of God and consistently underscores the value of human life.  Jeremiah 1:5 says, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...’  In 2021, this same Democratic candidate opposed a bill to ban men from women’s sports, saying that ‘God is non-binary.’  Don’t be deceived by wicked politicians spouting lies like this,” Graham added.

Other Christians echoed Graham’s take, including Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, who accused Talarico of trying “to hide behind Jesus to defend abortion.”

“‘The Bible is silent,’ he says.  Yeah, that’s not how this works.  The Bible is explicit.  God didn’t stutter when He commanded us not to kill innocent humans.  Scripture makes it completely clear how He feels about preborn babies, explicitly stating that He knit us together in the womb and knew us before we were even born,” Hawkins wrote.  “The spiritual gaslighting here is unreal.  You can twist the words all you want, but the Bible isn’t silent about killing innocent humans who are all created in the image of God.  And, [Talarico], you will be held responsible for this perversion of the Gospel,” she continued, adding that Jesus offered an especially severe warning against those who sin against children.

Broadcaster Glenn Beck, who is a Mormon and not a Christian, laughed at Talarico’s implication that Jesus had no opinion on abortion and warned the lawmaker is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” in a Wednesday X post.

In the accompanying video from his show, Beck cited multiple Bible verses that suggest an unborn baby is a human being, while noting that sexual immorality and child sacrifice were presented as the evil rites of Baal worship that God detested in the Old Testament.

Beck also warned Texas Republicans against dismissing Talarico and his political potential in a Democratic Party he claimed has become “radical” and wants to flip the populous state.  “I won’t be surprised if the Democrats turn his campaign into Beto-level funding on steroids.  The Democrats know the stakes in Texas.  And now, they have to convince Texans that a radical leftist who believes abortion is Christian is a moderate. Texans CANNOT relax after Paxton’s victory.  Stand up.  Get out there and vote.  We CANNOT let Texas flip into the hands of radicals,” he said.

Since winning the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in March against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Talarico has drawn intense scrutiny for his liberal theological assertions, which he has repeatedly defended by claiming Jesus is not on record explicitly prohibiting certain behaviors such as abortion or homosexuality.

Robert Gagnon, who serves as visiting scholar at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Ridgeland, Mississippi, dismissed such a tactic as “juvenile hermeneutics” in a lengthy X post in March. He noted that “the Bible doesn’t mention every issue in society,” but that its position on issues such as abortion can easily be inferred from both Testaments and the unified witness of early Christian texts.

Christian satire site The Babylon Bee mocked Talarico’s hermeneutical approach with a Wednesday headline that read: “‘Jesus Never Said You Can’t Do This!’  Shouts James Talarico While Dropkicking Labradoodle.”

Graham’s mention of Talarico claiming God is non-binary was a reference to a speech Talarico delivered in 2021 on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives in opposition to a state bill requiring students to play on sports teams that align with their biology.

Talarico claimed the law would drive trans-identifying children to suicide before asserting that “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between; God is non-binary,” which some have pointed out is a Gnostic concept.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Thousands of Churches Promote Immigration Lawlessness

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” (1 Peter 2:13).

That is an explicit command from the Apostle Peter to Christians to live in submission and obedience to local and national governing authorities.  It is not to be taken as a suggestion but as a rule.

And the reason, as Peter notes in the proceeding verse, is to be a witness to the unbelieving world that “they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Christians are to be known not only as a loving people but as a holy people who share the message of the Gospel — salvation through Jesus Christ — with everyone.  And the Bible is clear that everyone includes both friend and foe.

Sharing the good news of the Gospel is the church’s primary mission.  It’s not societal transformation or the construction of some form of heaven on earth.  Christians recognize that they are ambassadors representing Christ’s kingdom and his coming reign.

Unfortunately, a corrupt human-centric worldliness has infected and taken over a significant number of American churches, and in so doing has turned Christianity on its head.  This liberal “Christianity” has usurped biblical fidelity, replacing it with a leftist social ideology promulgated under the guise of the Christian commitment to love and do justice.

American Christian theologian and apologist J. Gresham Machen identified this liberal Christianity as not being genuinely Christian at all, but rather an entirely new religion. Machen wrote that liberal Christianity “seeks to spread the blessings of Christian civilization (whatever that may be), and [is] not particularly interested in leading individuals to relinquish their pagan beliefs.”

To put it more bluntly, liberal Christianity has rejected and replaced the worship of God with the worship of man.

This is how our nation ends up with thousands of churches deluded into declaring themselves “sanctuaries” against immigration enforcement.  It seems that they misunderstand the word “sanctuary.”

Some 5,320 churches across the country have designated themselves as places where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are not allowed.  Among these churches are the American Baptist Churches USA, the Alliance of Baptists, and the Metropolitan Community Churches.  Ironically, some of these churches have sought legal protection for illegal aliens.  How about that for a twisted sense of justice — using the legal code in an effort to protect lawbreakers?

Practically, when it comes to immigration enforcement operations, ICE doesn’t target churches.  Instead, as the Center for Immigration Studies’ Jessica Vaughan notes, “Most of their work is done in jails or in carefully planned fugitive operations.  They’re not patrolling the streets or looking to arrest people on their way to church or who are attending church.”

The only reason ICE may show up on church property would be in pursuit of an individual previously identified as a criminal alien.  In other words, ICE agents don’t stake out churches hoping to round up some illegals who may show up there.

Given this reality, why would so many churches advertise themselves as “sanctuaries” for illegals?

Simply put, it’s a virtue signal aimed at their congregations.  Vaughan observes, “They want to signal that they’re trying to protect people in their congregations, but more than likely those are not going to be people that ICE is chasing.”

They have also used their sanctuary declaration to explain dwindling rolls, claiming that fear of ICE has led to fewer people showing up in the pews.

As noted above, Christians are called to obey the governmental authorities that God, by His providence, has placed over them.  The only time Christians are justified and even duty-bound to disobey such authorities is when they are explicitly directing people to disobey God’s moral law.

There is no scriptural prohibition against nation-states and borders.  There is nothing in Scripture that declares that people are free to move and live anywhere and in any country of their choosing without hindrance or process.  Freedom to abide anywhere one desires is not a God-given right.

Furthermore, the U.S. does provide a means for foreigners to legally visit, reside, and even immigrate.  Those who refuse to follow our nation’s laws do not get a pass legally because someone feels sorry for them.  We may sympathize with the hungry thief who steals a bag of chips to satiate his hunger, but that does not justify his breaking the law.

Similarly, the person who illegally enters and resides in the U.S. is not justified simply because he is seeking a better life.

Scripture teaches that law and order matter.  Christians should be people who are fastidious about following the law while also having a spirit that’s quick to forgive.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Abduction and Forced Marriage of Christian Girls in Pakistan

Each year in Pakistan, roughly 1,000 young girls — many of whom are Christians — are kidnapped from their homes.  These girls are often found months later, after they’ve been forced to convert to Islam and marry older Muslim men.  When a girl’s parents attempt to claim their daughter in court, they are often unable to provide a birth certificate to prove that she is underage.  As a result, the judge often grants the man custody of the girl, denying the parents any chance of seeing their daughter again.

While this reality is nothing new in Pakistan, stories of girls in these situations are increasingly coming to light.  International Christian Concern (ICC) is helping Christian girls and their families escape these scenarios, providing safe shelter, legal support, and the care they need to break the cycle.

Below are the stories of five Christian girls whose lives have been upended and threatened because of their society’s acceptance of child brides.

Adan Sabir

After Sabir rejected his marriage proposal, Usman Ali kidnapped her at gunpoint on July 3, 2025.  When her parents challenged him in court, Ali presented a forged marriage certificate, claiming Sabir had converted to Islam and married him of her own free will.  Although the judge allowed Ali to take Sabir home, Sabir’s family continued fighting. They appealed to the Lahore High Court in September 2025.  After examining evidence of threats and coercion, the court ordered Ali to return Sabir to her family.

Earlier this year, Sabir got engaged to a Christian man.  When Ali learned of her engagement, he fired gunshots at her family’s home on April 20.  Since then, her family has moved from place to place every few days to survive.

Maria Shahbaz

In July 2025, Shahbaz was kidnapped from her home, forced to convert to Islam, and married against her will.  After her parents fought tirelessly to bring her back, a judge ruled against them.  On March 25, 2026, Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court declared that Shahbaz was of “mature age” and could legally remain with the 40-year-old man accused of abducting her. The court validated her conversion and ruled that the marriage was governed by Islamic law.

Shahbaz’s father told the court she was about 13 years old at the time of her abduction and presented documents to prove it.  Judges deemed the records unreliable, saying her appearance suggested she was older.

Farah Shaheen

Six months after 12-year-old Shaheen was taken from her Christian family in Faisalabad, Pakistan, authorities found her chained and confined to a cattle pen at the home of a 45-year-old Muslim man.  The man, Khizar Ahmad Ali, forced Shaheen to convert to Islam and marry him against her will.  When authorities found her on December 5, 2020, she had bruises and other marks on her body.  “Her ankles and feet were wounded,” Lala Robin Daniel, a local activist, told the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN).  “They were bandaged at the police station.  She was in trauma and couldn’t talk about the torture.”

Shaheen later testified in court, likely out of fear, that she had converted to Islam and married Ali of her own free will.  Her parents feared the court would grant Ali custody of their daughter. In February 2021, following an eight-month legal battle, a court ordered Shaheen to be returned to her family.

Huma Younus

On October 10, 2019, then-14-year-old Huma Younus was abducted from her home in Karachi while her parents were away.  She was forced to convert to Islam and coerced into marrying her captor, Abdul Jabbar.  Despite her family’s desperate attempts to seek justice, the courts disregarded her suffering.  Younus’ parents, devout Christians, filed a police report challenging the legitimacy of her abduction, forced conversion, and marriage.  They presented school and baptismal records proving that she was only 14 years old at the time, far below the legal age for marriage under Pakistan’s Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2013.  ICC hosted a #JusticeforHuma petition that garnered more than 3,000 signatures, calling on Pakistan to return Younus home to her parents. Despite the outcry, the Sindh High Court shockingly ruled that since Younus had already had her first menstrual cycle, her marriage was valid under Sharia law.

Laiba Masih

Masih, a 10-year-old girl from Faisalabad, was abducted by a 40-year-old man practicing polygamy with three wives.  Eventually, he gave her to another man named Shoukat Shah. Laiba’s parents tirelessly searched for her and eventually found her with Shah. They approached him and asked him to return their daughter.  Shah declined, arguing that he had converted Masih to Islam; therefore, she could not be returned to her Christian parents. Christian activists publicly expressed their dismay and assisted the family in filing a complaint against Shah.

While they were able to prove that Masih was underage, Masih insisted in 2024 that she would remain with her Muslim husband.  “We wept uncontrollably,” Masih’s mother, Balqees Bibi, told the British Asian Christian Association.  “There are no words to describe the agony. It was as if we had been told our daughter had been violated and murdered.”

Stories like these are all too common in Pakistan.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

What is Pentecost?

The Day of Pentecost is a holiday celebrated 50 days after Easter by many Christians around the world.  This year, the date was yesterday (May 24, 2026).  This day serves as a reminder to reflect upon the remarkable acts of God that followed the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the mission we carry — events we read about in the book of Acts.

Acts 2 begins with the disciples celebrating what they must have anticipated to be a normal Pentecost, their Jewish festival.  A special day to be sure, perhaps like our Christmas or Easter, but they could never have imagined what would unfold on this particular Pentecost.

For many of us in the church, we hear about Pentecost in relation to Acts 2, but it is first mentioned in Exodus 23:16 and explained in Leviticus 23:9-14.  In the Old Testament, Pentecost is known as the Festival of Harvest or the Festival of Weeks.  The Jews celebrated Pentecost 50 days after Passover to commemorate God’s provision for His people.  Its observance is tied to God’s rich agricultural blessings as well as His giving the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  These details highlight the intentionality and significance of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the day of Pentecost — God is in the details.

Since the Holy Spirit is the One who equips God’s people for His service, a clear filling of the Spirit was vital at the start of this new era in Christian history.  This extraordinary event starts out with the disciples gathered in the most ordinary of spaces.  They were together in a house. We might have expected them to be in the temple, the place of gathering and worship for God’s people at that time.  The fact that God met them in a house instead marks a seismic shift in God’s relationship with His people.  God’s presence among His people would no longer be only at the temple.  Because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, when God’s people are gathered, a mere house can turn into a holy sanctuary.

Imagine the scene.  As the disciples were gathered (most likely this was the 120 who were together when Matthias was chosen, Acts 1:15), the rushing sound of wind roared through, and tongues like fire rested on each worshipper.  Both wind and fire are important symbols in Scripture.  Wind often represents the Spirit’s presence, while fire indicates the Lord’s holiness, cleansing and judgment (2 Samuel 22:16; Exodus 3:2; Luke 3:16).  The disciples were swept up in this holy phenomenon, filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other languages.

Meanwhile, the visiting worshippers in Jerusalem suddenly heard this large group of Galileans praising God.  The astounding part is that each heard the outpouring of praise in his or her own language or vernacular.  How could this be?  Questions arise. Confusion abounds. Some are drawn in, while others turn away.  In the midst of this supernatural event, Peter stood up and delivered a clear explanation.

Peter explained this was all a fulfillment of the prophet Joel (Acts 2:17-21; Joel 2:28-32). Up to this point, God’s Spirit was typically given to prophets, priests and kings and on a very limited basis.  Now, all people — men and women, young and old, slave and free — can receive the permanent power of the Spirit through belief in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.  Moses’s words were inspired when he cried, “If only all the LORD’s people were prophets and the LORD would place his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29).  Neither gender, age nor social class could prevent a person made in God’s image from being filled with His Spirit.

The initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a confusing event for the Jews who were present that day, which is why Peter began his explanation with a passage from the prophet Joel. Peter aimed to demonstrate from their very Scriptures that what they were witnessing was indeed part of God’s plan all along.  But Peter wouldn’t stop in the Old Testament.  He would continue to draw his listeners forward to the work of Jesus, the dividing line between those with the Spirit and those without.  

One of the goals of Peter’s sermon was to help his listeners understand the connection between Jesus’s resurrection and ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Peter argued that when David wrote in Psalm 16 about his body never decaying nor being abandoned by God, he was prophesying about Jesus, the Messiah (2:22-28).  That God had made the crucified Christ both Lord and Messiah was the most significant news the Jewish community could hear.  The extraordinary event at Pentecost testified to God’s presence in and among the disciples, but it also equipped them to carry on Jesus’s work and ministry.  It revealed and empowered.  The Spirit’s presence has the same impact on our lives today.  The Spirit testifies to God’s presence with us and helps us know Him more, and the Spirit fills and empowers us with what we need to carry out His work in our lives.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit came upon all kinds of people, an event the prophet Joel foretold.  There is no way to overhype this moment in history.  Men and women, young and old, rich and poor could all partake of the Spirit of the living God in such a way that they were said to be filled by Him.  This is possible because of Jesus’s death, resurrection and ascension.  As the vindicated Lord, Jesus poured out His Spirit on those who bore witness to Him.

This moment in history precipitated the gift of the Spirit we get to experience today — together.  Each day, take the time to ask the Spirit to fill you with a greater awareness of Himself.  Ask Him to make you more aware of His activity.  Be on the lookout for Him. What an exciting time to be alive.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel