In this installment of the Weekly Scroll, we find ourselves 2/3 of the way through the straits; and I have to say that the belief regarding being between the straits, which is that God’s people should be on high alert for danger, has proven to be accurate. We’re in a very dangerous and potentially disastrous time.

For starters, the Stock Market has been showing signs of faltering, perhaps heralding a recession.

In the Middle East, Israel continues to brace for all out war with Iran and its proxies. In Washington, the Biden administration is scrambling to prevent a larger regional war — one that has the potential to spread even beyond the Middle East. 

Iran has vowed retaliation and has stated they don’t care if it causes an escalation. Frankly, it is in their theological and eschatological DNA to press for a confrontation with Israel. You see, Shia Islam believes that creating chaos will hasten the arrival of their version of the Messiah — al Mahdi.

And speaking of would-be Messiahs, back here in the US, the race for the White House is getting testy. As for the candidates, Vice President Harris and her team are employing Muhammad Ali’s old tactic — i.e. the rope-a-dope. They’re not fighting; they’re retreating to the ropes and covering up. They’re not saying much of anything, at least nothing unscripted, obviously trying to avoid getting knocked down or knocked out. And while she remains silent, they’re hoping Trump tires himself out throwing jabs and punches,  which they hope to turn to their advantage. And, for the record, throwing jabs and punches is one of Trump’s favorite things to do.

Though the specifics may be apples and oranges, the U.S. and Israel are both bracing for the unknown — and the unknown may have life-altering, world-changing ramifications. In Israel’s case, they can’t be completely certain what the next phase of the war might be, but they, and those of us in the U.S., will be greatly affected by the outcome if a greater war commences. 

Simultaneously, we in the U.S. are awaiting the outcome and fallout of an election that, in my opinion, will determine how long the U.S. will continue as free nation, relatively speaking — and the outcome will certainly have ramifications for Israel and the world. 

Specifically, if ultra-radical liberalists takes possession of the White House and, God forbid, both houses of Congress, — not an impossibility — relations with Israel will become even more strained and, in my view, will likely gravitate toward being more pro-Palestinian — and you might as well say, pro-Hamas, pro-Iran — but certainly anti-Israel. 

Not only that, our individual freedoms here in the U.S. will suffer even more than they have already. The gradual pecking away of liberty we’ve experienced so far would have been exacerbated already if not for the checks and balances that the Founders wisely instituted — however, those checks and balances are hanging by a thread.

That thought brings me to the main point I want to address this week: the growing acceptance of lawlessness. There are forces in this country who actively seek to dismantle time-tested societal norms, desecrate ancient standards of morality, destabilize foundational principles and truths, which in the end, collectively undermines the rule of law. That is why I believe we are quickly becoming a lawless society in a lawless world. 

In the Bible, lawlessness is also called iniquity and is connected to the idea of having no regard for God’s instructions. The Bible also makes it clear that lawlessness poses a real danger to all and, especially, the Body of Messiah. Yeshua said that in the last days, “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). 

His warning implies that the chaos which will erupt as a result of mankind’s unwillingness to abide the rule of law, will cause many believers to just give up — i.e. some will adopt the attitude of “What’s the use?” This being so, it is critical to amplify the very next thing Yeshua said: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” 

Being able to endure the perversion and pervasiveness of lawlessness is critical in these last days. So with that in mind, let’s turn our attention to an important point made in the book of Hebrews. In chapter 12, the author reveals that the people of Israel, who had gathered at the foot of Sinai to receive God’s Law, eventually perished in the wilderness because they could not “endure what was commanded.” They were unable to abide by the Law given to them, and so he goes on to warn those living in the last days:  

In these verses, the writer of Hebrews quotes the prophet Haggai, chapter Two specifically, to address what we can expect in the last days. Put simply, everything and everyone will be shaken to determine whether or not it is (we are) established upon the Rock or the sand. If not on the Rock — which is to say, the Truth, the Eternal Word, the Messiah —  then it is standing on sand, and everything built on shifting sand is destined to fall. That means every individual, every industry, and institution will be shaken; every nation will be shaken; every denomination will be shaken — and consider this: every Constitution will be shaken. That brings me to this:

Recently, President Biden introduced an effort that, essentially, questions the wisdom of the Founders. Not only that, it threatens to tamper with the Constitution altogether. Specifically, he wants the Supreme Court to be overhauled, which would undermine certain elements of the Constitution as it relates to the role of the United States Supreme Court. He outlined his goals in three primary proposals, one of which is term limits.

Biden claims that “term limits would help ensure that the courtaE™s membership changes with some regularity (and) reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come.” Many believe this to be a result of his and the Democrat’s agitation over the fact that former President Trump appointed three justices to the court, appointments which eventually led to a reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Biden went on to say that, “The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court.” My interpretation of this statement is that Biden believes the U.S. should micmic other nations rather than setting the standard as we have for so many years. And, once again, Biden and others ignore the fact that the U.S. was never intended to be a constitutional democracy, but a constitutional republic.

But because there are many radicals in this nation who are still brooding over the reversal of Roe v. Wade, not to mention other recent rulings by the court that don’t line with their ideology, this is their way of making the issue a part of the political conversation leading up to the presidential election. In other words, they’re banking on this appealing to the ignorant and apathetic voter — and it goes without saying, the radical progressives. 

Obviously Biden, a lame-duck president, is trying to appease progressives on his way out for who knows what reason — maybe because he was told to. Whatever his reason, he’s essentially providing fodder for those who have no regard for the rule of law or the Constitution. Furthermore, his proposal will likely resonate with those who are unfamiliar with the Founders’ reason for how and why the USSC should be a separate branch of the government, and consequently, left alone to be, as a judiciary body, impartial.

There are significant reasons why the Supreme Court does not have term limits. Most importantly, to impose term limits would not only undermine Constitutional standards, but would make the Court more political aE” not less. One legal scholar had this to say in USA Today:

“Term limits have a problem. Not only are they unconstitutional, but they will have the exact opposite result proponents wish for.” (He lays out the reason why and concludes that in short time), “the overwhelming majority of the court would quickly be ideologically one-sided. In the span of only a few years, a court of eight Scalias could turn to eight Ginsburgs.” 

There are many on the left who have voiced their support of this effort, including the Majority leader of the Senate, as well as others who have, in times past, voiced support for “packing the court” — of course they mean to pack the court with those who share their political philosophy. The problem with this notion is, the Founders desired the court to be an independent judiciary in order to preserve constitutional liberties, whether their decisions were popular or not. It was never intended to reflect the views of political parties, necessarily, or for that matter, a majority of people. 

Then there’s this: if we start adding justices to the Court (i.e. packing the court) when we don’t like the decisions made by the sitting justices, it will be transformed from a court into what one analyst called a “super-legislature,” thus defeating its purpose entirely. Scuttling its purpose would be another nail in the Constitution’s coffin.

If another of Biden’s proposals — the so-called ethics code — were employed as he lays it out, it would open the door to chaos. To have lower court judges evaluate the ethics of Supreme Court Justices would effectively destroy the system that has been used since the founding of the nation. It would be akin to the child calling the parent on the carpet and administering correction when the child doesn’t like something the parent did. You’re not going to find support for that idea anywhere in Scripture because, instead of establishing order, it would dismantle the established order and invite chaos to reign.

Which brings me back to something I mentioned previously — there are those in this world who believe that creating chaos hastens the advent of their world view. Again, Iran believes that to create chaos helps usher in al-Mahdi. You’ll have to decide for yourself what the radicals in this nation are cooking up with their continued effort to disrupt the established order in the U.S. — I have my ideas. Here’s what the Speaker of the House had to say about it: 

“President BidenaE™s proposal to radically overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American peopleaE™s faith in our system of justice….This proposal is the logical conclusion to … ongoing efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court.”

Thankfully, the Founders foresaw that people would arise and try to do just what Biden proposes, which is why they intentionally made procedures for amending the Constitution difficult. In short, it would require a two-thirds majority in each house of Congress to pass, and if that did happen, three-quarters of the state legislatures would also have to approve it. In other words, it’s not likely to happen soon and certainly not before Biden leaves office — and he knows that. So why is he pushing it? 

Perhaps, it’s an attempt to plant a seed that many radicals hope to water and bring to fruition some time in the future. They’re playing the long game — they always do. Consider how radicals and progressives have turned schools and universities into indoctrination centers, and then consider how and when that started — when God and prayer was kicked out of school over sixty years ago. As I said, the radicals always play the long game.

I think it’s important to interject here what former President Obama once pledged to do if elected: he said he wanted to “fundamentally transform the United States.” He appealed to the masses with promises of “redistributive change” because he was convinced and thus argued that government was duty bound to do bring about this change. But if government does something for one person, as Obama promised, it must do something to someone else. Let’s put it this wayaE”to redistribute wealth means giving to one because you took from another; to create new rights for one person (e.g. so called, trans rights) means another’s person’s rights are diminished — which is exactly what the Constitution specifically precludes. It amounts to what the Bible calls “adding to and taking away.” 

When it comes to the Constitution, Obama has never seemed overly impressed with the document, rightly seeing it as restrictive. Still, as President, he once said, aEoeI have the power and I will use it in defense of the middle class…. WeaE™re going to do everything we can with or without Congress.aE I point this out because this past week it was reported that Harris’s campaign has ditched the Biden people and has brought on the Obama people to assist her in the campaign.

In the name of democracy and “serving the people,” Biden and others are attempting to make this Supreme Court overhaul to be about “the people,” when in reality it is about ramping up efforts to dismantle the established order. Not only are they calling the legitimacy of the USSC into question, but the legitimacy of the Constitution itself. Unscrupulous people have been picking away at it for decades; this is just another step in the overall effort to dismantle it altogether — which is a frightening prospect. I can’t help but wonder if Biden and others would be demanding a fundamental change to the Supreme Court if the court had not reversed Roe v. Wade; or had decided differently on presidential immunity, student-loan forgiveness, the Second Amendment, and other issues? Most likely, not.

What does this mean to us? Consider: things in the natural are a reflection of what is going on in the spiritual. So then, this is evidence that, not only in the U.S., but throughout the world, there is a growing effort to throw off any established rule of law and, as Alistair Crowley said, to be free “to do as thou wilt.” In reality, however, it is not just a rejection of the rule of law as determined by constitutions and charters but, ultimately, it is an effort to defy the rule of Law as defined by the Supreme Judge. This revolutionary effort is, according to the Bible, engineered by those who wish to cast off any restraints that the Lord has placed upon people through His Word: 

Just as some view our Constitution as being restrictive, the wicked of the world view God’s Word in the same way — as something to hold them back. Frankly, its’ purpose is to restrain our evil inclination and thus preserve life. So to think that we can, without consequence, throw off lawful bonds and ignore protective boundaries meant to preserve us from harm is a fool’s errand. In that light, Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch recently had this to say in response to Biden’s proposal regarding the USSC: “Be careful.” I would echo the same warning to those who want to call into question the Almighty’s wisdom and sovereignty — be very, very careful.

There is something else I want us to consider today: Justice Gorsuch also made the case that there are far too many laws in the U.S., to the point that it can be difficult for people aE“ and even the government aE“ to keep track of them all. This inundation of laws and regulations has resulted in people committing felonies without even meaning to do something wrong. Furthermore, many of these laws aren’t enacted by the legislative branch, as the Constitution requires, but by agencies within the executive branch, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the IRS, the EPA etc. 

In other words, there are laws on the books, many of them felonies, that are commissioned by non-elected individuals, which is a flagrant affront to the ideal of representative government. Instead, these regulations most often represent the views of those who hold power. Instead of having the best interests of the people in mind, unelected bureaucrats often move to appease special interests groups.

With that in mind, I want you to think about this: God’s instructions are sometimes ambiguous, and I think on purpose, thus allowing us some latitude to work our own salvation with fear and trembling. In those cases where He doesn’t spell out the specifics we would prefer to have, I believe it is meant to provoke us to look to Him for guidance — i.e. to be led by His Spirit so that we may do what is pleasing to Him. 

Unfortunately, what has mankind always done? Exactly what He said, “Don’t do.” We “add to” and “take from” His Word with the result being religion, some would say legalism — but how about this term? Overregulation. In other words, so many man-made rules and regulations that overwhelm and immobilize us for fear of making a mistake. In the natural and in the spiritual, adding to and taking away always pollutes the original intent of the one who authored the law, whether we’re referring to the Founders of this nation or to the Almighty. This is exactly why the Messiah said to some of the religious leaders of His day:

These are the same men of whom He said:

God’s law was, indeed, twisted and manipulated by some, for their own reasons, which consequently placed undue burdens upon the people. Those same religious leaders were swift to come down on those who didn’t rise to their religious expectations, and at the same time, found ways to skirt around God’s law themselves. Likewise, we see the same principle being played out in world, today, as people increasingly come under the burdens imposed by those in power, and who do not always act in our interests but in their own. And should it become necessary, they will quickly throw off the rule of Law.

Like it has been with God’s Law, men and women “lawmakers” twist and contort the Constitution, federal laws, state and municipal laws for their own interests. The result is what we see forming before us: as a nation, we are being fundamentally transformed  from a nation who revered the rule law to a nation in chaos because of lawless laws — lawlessness. 

Here is the point of all of this: we need to recognize the signs of the times and respond accordingly. Remember: Yeshua said that, in the last days, lawlessness would abound, causing the love of many to grow cold. Through the author of Hebrews and through the prophet Haggai, God said that heaven and earth — i.e. everything — would be shaken by His Voice to see what is worthy to stand and what is not. Lawlessness is the antithesis of those things that will endure, because lawlessness is the antithesis of obedience. Obedience leads to life; lawlessness leads to chaos which results in death.

God is life, and because He is life, He creates and blesses. In contrast, the Adversary destroys and curses. God purifies and cleanses; Satan contaminates and pollutes. Satan consistently strives to corrupt and ruin everything that is pure and good — and why? Because of envy and jealousy — that emotion that spawns rage, aggression, hatred and even murder. Because he is unable to create anything, he presents a counterfeit to all that is authentic in an attempt to deceive. In fact, his only creation is the lie — he’s the father of it and he’s good at it.

Because he can’t invent anything good, he tampers with everything that is good, mixing this in with that, all in an effort to exploit the ignorant, the immature, the apathetic and those inclined to do evil. And so don’t miss this point: those who are under his influence and follow him, replicate his methods and strive for the same objectives. Just as we, as followers of Messiah, are given the task of advancing the Kingdom of God in the earth, those under the spell of the Adversary have a mission as well — to desecrate, destabilize and destroy; to expand spiritual darkness in the world. 

The Bible tells us that spiritual darkness will reach its zenith when the one called AntiChrist comes on the scene. Interestingly, he is also referred to as the “Lawless one.” The Bible says, he will deceive many people with satanic power and lies. I point this out for this reason: when the Lawless one comes, he will not unleash lawlessness upon the world; rather an already existing lawless world will provide the opportunity for his ascent. 

It seems to me that we are fast approaching that time which is why, now more than ever before, we must be willing to proclaim truth and righteousness and be ready to fight and contend for the Kingdom of Heaven. When the shaking comes, we need to be standing on the Rock, holding fast to the Kingdom that cannot be shaken, that we may endure what is about to come upon the earth.

Bill Cloud was raised in a traditional Christian home in South Georgia. Yet it was a trip to Israel to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, in 1990, that truly provoked him to become more interested in his faith. It was during this aEoeappointed timeaE that God gave him a deep love for the land, the people and the language.

Soon thereafter, Bill began learning Hebrew under the tutelage of a local rabbi and has since spent many hours studying, not only the Hebrew text, but the Hebraic roots of Christianity as well. This interest in the language is tied to BillaE™s desire to unlock the hidden treasures within the Word of God and to teach them, along with our Hebraic roots, to believers in Messiah. Furthermore, this insight has allowed Bill to better understand the prophetic element of Scripture. As a result of this study, Bill has developed a variety of media resources dealing with prophetic themes as well as teachings related to our lost Hebraic heritage.

Bill is a featured speaker in venues throughout the country and has appeared with notable teachers such as Perry Stone, Jonathan Cahn, Joel Richardson and Hal Lindsay. He has also made several appearances on a variety of television broadcasts seen on different Christian networks throughout the world. Recently Bill, along with his wife, Beth, and their children started a fellowship in the Cleveland TN area.

Through Shoreshim Ministries, Bill and his family strive to re-introduce Christians to the Jewish Yeshua and to educate believers in the Hebraic roots of their faith. As a result of this information, disciples of the Messiah can more accurately interpret end-time events and better discern our role in these last days.
Bill and his family reside in Cleveland, Tennessee.