TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Big Pharma and Jewish Lobby Seek to Block Kennedy and Gaetz Nominations

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump shocked the Washington political establishment with some surprising nominations for his in-coming cabinet. Three names are at the top of list of Washington lobbyists to derail their nominations: Tulsi Gabbard, Matt Gaetz, and Robert Kennedy Jr.Rick Wiles, Doc Burkhart. Airdate 11/15/2024Join the leading community for Conservative Christians! https://www.FaithandValues.comYou can partner with us by visiting https://www.TruNews.com/donate, calling 1-800-576-2116, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961.Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves!https://www.AmericanReserves.com             It’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today!https://www.amazon.com/Final-Day-Characteristics-Second-Coming/dp/0578260816/Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books!https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/final-day-10-characteristics-of-the-second-coming/id1687129858Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today.https://www.sacrificingliberty.com/watchThe Fauci Elf is a hilarious gift guaranteed to make your friends laugh! Order yours today!https://tru.news/faucielf

Here are two massively important products to have in an emergency, because it's not a matter of if, but when an emergency will happen to you. With years of experience in survival preparedness, let me tell you, these are must-haves. One, high quality and nutrient-packed, shelf-stable emergency food buckets. And two, reliable and long-lasting water filtration systems. These essentials will make all the difference in an emergency, supplying your loved ones with all the calories and nutrients they need to survive any scenario. Don't take the risk. Try my favorite America-loving brand American Reserves for your emergency food supply needs. president-elect donald trump shocked the washington political establishment with some surprising nominations for his incoming cabinet three names are at the top of the list of Washington

lobbyists to derail their nominations. I'm talking about Tulsi Gabbard, Matt Gaetz, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I'm Rick Wiles. This is True News for Friday, November 15, 2024. Let's begin our analysis and commentary of today's news by looking at this headline published by London's Telegraph newspaper. British defense figures alarmed by Trump's choice of pro-Moscow Tulsi Gabbard. Pro-Moscow. They're smearing her already, Doc. Her and Vladimir Putin are pen pals. Well, who's upset?

The warmongers of Great Britain. Right. Why are they upset? Because she doesn't believe their propaganda. Right. She's not going to sign off on it. Mr. Trump is putting her in the highest position of u.s intelligence overseeing 18 intelligence agencies including the cia and the nsa she's above all of them they're reporting to her you can't go any higher

than the position she's been nominated for director of national intelligence so the warmongers are absolutely terrified and so this is what appeared today in the london paper because you know if you're just a average british citizen reading the telegraph you're thinking what's happening over there in america trump has put a pro pro putin propagandist in well that's their position of intelligence? What's happening? Has he lost his mind? No. He's got his right mind.

The warmongers are out of power right now. And this is a good thing. And let's hope it lasts for years. So the Telegraph said Donald Trump's choice of Tulsi Gabbard as his intelligence chief is an alarming move, given her history of support for Russia, overseeing 18 agencies. Ms. Gabbard, age 43, has repeated Russian propaganda over Ukraine biolabs. She has backed Moscow's case for war. And she met twice with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad after dismissing reports about his use of chemical weapons. Her appointment has sparked concern over potential reductions in intelligence sharing across the Five Eyes Alliance.

So they're going to pluck one of the eyes out. It's just going to be four eyes. The four eyes of the monarchy. Right. Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Right. So the American eyeball is going to be plucked out of this alliance what are they worried about in london they're alarmed that their version of reality will not be accepted anymore right that's what's frightening them thelegraph is one of the main publishers of the propaganda.

So what they're seeing is the incoming president of the United States is going to refute the propaganda the Telegraph has been publishing and feeding to the British people for years, along with the Times of London and other major newspapers. What does that make them look like? Warmongers. Warmongers. Which they are. It's just finally being brought out to the public. So we've got some quotes here. I'll let Doc read the quotes.

These are some of the top spokespeople of the warmongers of Great Britain. So it starts off here, Sir Richard Dearlove. He's the former head of MI6. He said that this is a maverick appointment. She has no experience of intelligence and security. We have to see how this plays out once she's in the job. So more of a neutral position there. Philip Ingram, a former senior intelligence and

security officer in the British Army, said, I think appointing anyone with zero intelligence experience to be director of national intelligence should be an alarm call. One Western intelligence source told Politico that Ms. Gabbard's appointment could impact intelligence sharing. What some allies share may now be shaped by political goals, which it never was before, right, Rick, rather than professional intelligence gathering. Hamish deBreton Gordon, a former commander of NATO's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Battalion, warned the U.S.-U.K. alliance could be impacted. He said, the greatest strength, perhaps, of this special relationship, which they call the relationship between the U.S. and U.K., is the sharing of intelligence, he told The Telegraph.

But the appointment of Ms. Gabbard, who seems closer to Moscow than London, has the potential to destabilize this unique and critical alliance. She's pro-Moscow. She's pro-Putin. She's pro-Moscow. She's pro- Putin. She's pro- peace? Doc, you know, Mr. Trump has not even been installed in the White House yet.

We're just days after the election. Isn't that amazing? It's just last week. It's only been a week? Yeah, a week and a few days. That's it, a week. He's turned the political establishment of this country upside down and sufficted the political establishment in Europe also. So many things have happened in a week that I never expected. That I'm now thinking, what could we see in the next four years? How far will he go?

How big of a revolution will he carry out? Could we, before Donald Trump leaves the White House, could Russia be a member of NATO? Could the United States and Russia be allies, whether they bring Russia into NATO or not? Could Russia and the United States be strong

allies before Donald Trump leaves the White House? I hope so. Well, if the next big war at the end of this turning is with China, we're going to need all the help we can get, right? I mean, I'm just thinking in those terms. I'm not endorsing that.

I'm not saying that's a good deal. If Donald Trump can persuade Vladimir Putin, look, Xi Jinping's not your buddy. All right? Kick China out of BRICS and we'll join. Now, there's a radical idea, isn't it? Right. Kick China out of BRICS and the United. Now there's a radical idea, isn't it? Kick China out of BRICS?

And the United States joins BRICS? Right. But I'm not ruling out the possibility that Russia becomes an ally of the United States. Sure. Why not? Putin's mission is survival for his country.

He's just trying to keep his country alive in a very dangerous time. And I wouldn't rule out that the United States and Russia become strong partners and start solving problems. Think about it this way.

One way to get NATO troops into Russia is to invite them into NATO. It's pretty wild doc but i'm not ruling out anything we're on a roller coaster ride so okay so they're after the warmongers are out to get tulsi gabbard right who's out to get matt gates the adl the adl yes my friends over at the adl yes they don't like matt gatesetz. Yes. I got to call them. You know, I'm even really close with the ADL. You know that.

They think the world – they write headlines about me. They have me at the top of their list of people that they admire. Well, they sure talk about you quite a bit. They talk a lot. Well, that's the way I see it. They talk about me a lot. Okay. But no, at the top of their list right now is Matt Gaetz.

Yes. And this is surprising to me. I didn't see this one coming, that the Jewish lobby would turn their guns on Matt Gaetz, which makes me really like Matt Gaetz now. I mean, the more that they want to stop him the more i want matt gates as the attorney general because i like there's got to be something here if they're out to get him there has to be something worth uh pushing for matt gates to be the attorney general uh this is uh the san diego jewish world the uh also the jewish citizen uh several national jewish organizations are opposing president-elect donald trump's nomination of recently resigned republican congressman matt

gates of florida for u.s attorney general leaders of the anti-defamation league the american jewish committee and the jewish council for public Affairs all came out against Gates becoming the leader of the Justice Department, which among its other duties prosecutes hate crimes. Well, based on that, Rick, you could be attorney general. Well, at least deputy. Could I be deputy attorney general? I mean, it's at least worth a shot. Well, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, stated Representative

Matt Gaetz has a long history of trafficking in anti-Semitism from explaining his vote against the Bipartisan Anti-Semitism Awareness Act by invoking the centuries-old trope that Jews killed Jesus. That's what the Bible says. That's a trope, huh? Yeah. No, the Bible says it. Yes. To defending the Great Replacement Theory, which the Democrats used to hold to, and inviting a Holocaust denier as his 2018 State of the Union guest. He should not be appointed to any high office, much less one overseeing the impartial execution of our nation's laws. That's coming from the organization inspired by Benaiah Brith, the Jewish Freemason organization. Gates has taken exception to the Anti-Semitism Awareness Acts incorporation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of

anti-Semitism, especially an example given by the IHRA that anti-Semitism is indicated by using the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism is indicated by using the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism. They're talking about the symbols. They're talking about the Christian cross. Right. Claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel to characterize Israel or Israelis. One more paragraph here. Mr. Gates made this comment about the bill, which was approved in the House of Representatives,

and currently awaits a Senate floor vote. The gospel itself would meet the definition of anti-Semitism under the terms of this bill. The Bible is clear. There is no myth or controversy on this. And for that reason, for that quote, Doc, jewish lobby is out to take down matt gates yes because he said the bible is true there's no controversy about this what's the this yes who who crucified jesus the jews here we are all said it over 2 000 years after the crucifixion of jesus christ and they're still denying the role of their ancestors yes why why are you doing why are you denying something your ancestors did 2 000 years

ago i'm not going to take up for any of my ancestors 2 000? No, that's their fault. Right. I got my own troubles. But there's a reason for it, because they haven't repented of it. Right. And they still think it's justified. So, Rick, as far as Matt Gaetz is concerned, with the opposition seeming to come out heavy on him, we're talking about not full endorsement

by a number of U.S. senators, the ADL here. But we're still weeks away from a confirmation. We're months away. Months. It's in January. Right. And so where do you think this is going to land with Gates?

Will they forget about it by then? They're going to really smear him over the next couple months. They're going to take him through the mud. And we see right now the leaders of it will be the Jewish lobby. Okay. So just keep that in mind. When you hear and see the attacks on Matt Gaetz, just know it's coming from the Jewish lobby. Now, Mr. Trump had to know that this opposition would be in place when he made that nomination.

So where are we at on this with him, do you think? I'm not positive that Donald Trump is going to be so extremely pro-Zionist as he was in his first term. He's clearly appointed a lot of Zionist-leaning people. Like Governor Huckabee. On most things I agree with Governor Huckabee. On the issue of Zionism and Israel, I don't agree with him. But everything else, I would probably agree with him. I could go down that list with a lot of people that he's appointed. They lean towards Zionism, but he's not put any rabbit foaming at the mouth of Zionists in power. I mean, Mr. Huckabee is the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Well, the other Trump term, it was Mr. Friedman. Right. A Jewish Zionist who wanted Israel to conquer the Middle East. So there's a big difference. You're getting Zionist light with Huckabee. With Friedman, you got raw Zionism. So I'm not seeing, you know, we don't see his son-in-law, Kushner, anywhere to be found. Right.

Okay. These are good signs. So I don't know if it comes down to open warfare here over Matt Gaetz. I don't think Donald Trump is going to back down because the Jewish lobby is up in arms about it. I agree with you. I don't think he's going to back down. I think he's made up his mind. I believe he made his decision to put Matt Gaetz in as attorney general a long time ago. A month ago.

Yes. He made a comment. We don't have it to show you, but I can tell you, paraphrase it. He said, Matt and I have a secret. I wish I could tell you, but I can't tell you until after the election. But it's going to help Republicans win a lot of elections. The secret wasn't Matt Gaetz going to the Department of Justice. The secret is a plan that Matt Gaetz and Donald Trump will implement when Gaetz is in the Department of Justice.

I don't know if the guys can pull up the clip or not that I just posted. But what I think, Doc, and I'm just guessing. You know, a secret, you don't know what it is when it's a secret. Right. So all you can do is guess. He said the secret would help Republicans win a lot of elections. He said Matt and I have the secret. We now know that Matt Gaetz in the Department of Justice is part of the secret that is shared by Donald Trump and Matt Gaetz is a massive investigation, a massive investigation into election fraud, vote rigging, vote tampering.

Right. Collusion among the media and intelligence agencies. In other words, I believe they got a plan to blow open, blow wide open. The Department of Justice. No. Bigger than that, Doc, to blow wide open the conspiracy that's been running this country for decades. That's a big ask there yes but if you have control of the department of justice and 50 u.s prosecutors they're going to fire all u.s

prosecutors which he has the power to do right he's going to fire all of them every state has a has a u.s prosecutor they're all going to fired. When you have that kind of control and you take control of the FBI and you have all of this apparatus under your control, you can now start investigating election fraud and conspiracies to derail the former Trump administration. They've got the power of the law in their hands. In other words, they're going to use lawfare on the deep state.

Yes. What did you find? I've got that clip where back in October, Donald Trump says Matt Gaetz and him have a secret. Let's watch. Because we can take the Senate pretty easily. And I think with our little secret, we're going to do really well with the House, right? Our little secret is having a big impact. He and I have a secret.

We'll tell you what it is when the race is over. But obviously, we're now seeing what the secret was all about. about and that was to radically change the approach to the justice department and to go after these folks that have controlled basically you know american politics now for decades i would say going back to the assassination of john f kennedy i believe that's the day the takeover began doc november 1963. speaking of kennedy so the jewish lobby is out to get matt gates well they're also out to get rfk jr right here's the times of israel rfk jr who mused that covet was designed to spare ashkenazi jews has been tapped to head the department of health and Human Services. So there's your sign, Doc. There's your clue. The Jewish lobby will not accept Robert F. Kennedy.

Because he knows something. He knows something that they don't want the public to know. So we're not going to go deep into that article you see the headline uh i want to show you how the smear there's just a a small example of the smears that are underway right now against robert kennedy i could show you a hundred different headlines the next one is a telegraph a telegraph in london why are you concerned in london about who we have in our government right i don't care who is i don't care who is in your government i don't i don't sit here and get ruffled about who is in the british cabinet yeah and don't you

have enough to talk about and and they get their own problems over there. Okay, but here's the telegraph. Bobby is an outlier. Look at this. Inside RFK Jr.'s mad world of crackpots, cranks, and vaccine conspiracies. That sounds like... Wow, they've opened up the insane asylum. That sounds like a reality show, doesn't it? Coming up next, RFK's mad world of crackpots.

Cranks and conspiracy theorists, all right? But that was on the front page today in London. Yes. Okay, so again, if you're just an average citizen in Great Britain, you pick up the morning paper, you look at it, You go, what is going on over there in America? Trump has lost his mind. He's appointing crackpots and all kinds of crazy people in his cabinet. It's all about smearing people, tearing them down, derailing their careers because you are afraid of truth. You're afraid that truth is going to be heard.

Another one. This is the New York Post, and this is an editorial. Putting RFK Jr. in charge of health breaks the first rule of medicine which is do no harm right now this is written by the editors of the new york post which is supposed to be a conservative newspaper who owns it rupert murdoch right where does the murdoch media organization get most of their money pharmaceutical advertising does that explain the editorial? It does in my mind. Where do you think?

Look, count the pharmaceutical ads on Fox News. Oh, if you took away pharmaceutical ads, I mean, you wouldn't have nothing but sponsoring Israeli soldiers to stay at your home. That's it. That's it. On all the networks. Or save some poor Holocaust survivor. It's on all the networks, especially the news networks. So just keep that in mind.

The reason Murdoch's media empire is against Robert Kennedy is because it's going to hurt their advertising. Because the pharmaceutical companies are going to start spending more on public relations. They have to be nice now yes uh well following on that same theme then we have this article from reuters rfk jr vowed to purge fda sets up collision with big pharma i i hope there is a collision

big pharma uh there needs to be a collision with big all right there is a collision already taking place look at today's wall street journal trump's rfk pick weighs on vaccine makers and this showed up in the markets investors slashed billions of dollars off the value of the world's top vaccine makers after president-elect donald trump nominated environmental lawyer and what they're saying is vaccine skeptic. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary. Shares in Pfizer fell 2.6% on Thursday, erasing about, get this Rick, $4 billion from its market value. And we're down 1% in pre-market trading here on Friday. BioNTech dropped 7.1% on Thursday

and Moderna 5.6% in Europe. Shares in the Danish Mpox vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic fell more than 15% in trading today in Europe. So, Doc, if pharmaceutical companies have already lost billions of dollars in their valuations billions if and this is going to continue then compare the loss of billions of dollars to spending 50 million on public relations to smear kennedy which one's better for the pharmaceutical

companies they'll spend the 50 million they'll spend 100 million on on investigating him private detectives all kinds of media campaigns against him there'll be secret money going to reporters there'll be reporters getting mysterious deposits and foreign bank accounts to write articles about kennedy they have to stop him he's already hurting them in the tune of billions of dollars the same thing's happening with the warmongers tulsi gabbard is going to hurt them – you'll be talking about hundreds of billions of dollars, possibly trillions of dollars. Yes. You cut off the wars.

What do they do? And actually the budget of the HHS, which RFK has been tapped for, is bigger than the Pentagon. Wow. Imagine cutting back on HHSs cutting back on the pentagon my word rick i mean you i mean really you could see a massive turnaround which is why the deep state has fought trump so hard yes he's doing this time what he said he was going to do the other time this time he's actually doing it, Doc. Last night I saw this article. I sent it over to Doc last night. I had to fan myself, Doc. I was like, I'm going to pass out.

Is this for real? Is the word chemtrail in this article? It is. Is it really here? A hot dog. There's another telegraph. You tuned in the right day. Look at this.

There's the telegraph again. They're really at the forefront of attacking Kennedy. So Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and this is from this article from the Telegraph, said he would declare a COVID-style public health emergency on his first day in office ahead of his appointment as Donald Trump's health secretary. The president-elect tapped Mr. Kennedy to take charge of the country's health policy under his administration. Mr. Kennedy has pledged to introduce sweeping reforms vying to overhaul the country's approach to vaccines, fluoride in water, and processed foods. Speaking on the campaign trail for Mr. Trump and J.D. Vance in September, Mr. Kennedy said, on day one, we're going to declare an emergency like we did in COVID.

And it's going to be a chronic disease emergency. We're going to get – now, listen to this, folks. This is an episode of Tree News right here. We're going to get the fluoride out of the water. We're going to get the chemicals out of the food. And hang on to your hats. We're going to get the chemicals out of the chemtrails. And then the Telegraph had to put this jab in.

Chemtrails are trails of condensation left in the sky by aircraft. Yeah, sure they are. See, they're terrified, Doc. The truth is coming out. Decades of lies are going to be exposed. This is what's terrifying them. The great Oz, the curtain's going to come back and we're going to see the great Oz.

And then he's just a little weasel of a guy there with- Who blew in from Kansas. Yes. There is no great Oz. It's all propaganda. And this is what's terrifying them, that the propaganda facade is under attack. Yes. By people with power who no longer believe the propaganda.

So all of us who have been in this fight for a quarter of a century, and there are people out there, they were fighting long before i got involved in 99 i saw the first chemtrail in 1999 were they there before i don't know doc my eyes were blind but in 1999 i saw chemtrails i tried to tell people what they were i did reports on it all the time and you either saw them and understood it or you were under a spiritual delusion where many people are today. And they don't even, there's no awareness. They have no conscious awareness that, hey, what's taking place up there in the sky? That's not normal.

I mean, if you were born 25 years ago, you've grown up in 25 years of chemtrails why would you think that's unusual that's just that's just the sky so there have been many of us who've been in this battle for a long long time and we were mocked we were ridiculed we were ostracized called all kinds of names but we have persevered to the point that we are now at a place that we see high level government designated people going into power who will validate what we have been saying for 25 years right i mean they're finally admitting that fluoride lowers your iq yes my grandmother knew that duck when i was a little i say a little kid i i can remember being a you know early teen i don't know, 13, 14 years old, my grandmother, my grandparents were vehement anti-communists.

They saw the Communist Party appear and take shape over their lifetime. And my grandmother would tell me, Rick, they're putting fluoride, the Communists are putting fluoride in the water to make americans stupid and i would chuckle and say granny that's crazy talk that's not true and she'd say yes it is true they're putting it in the water to make us stupid right what what did they come out a month ago and say in a report, scientific report? Fluoride lowers IQ.

It's a neurotoxin. Yes. So my grandmother was right decades ago. We're stupid, but we have great teeth. Yeah. No, it pacified the American people. That's right. It pacified them.

It pacified them. It took their fight away from them. Okay. So we're finally at the point that fluoride is going to be removed. We have reached a point where you're going to have a high-level government official say, those are not condensation trails. Those are chemtrails. There are government aircraft spraying chemicals in the atmosphere we're going to finally find out what they've been spraying what they've been spraying and why they've been

spraying it doc this is going to get really interesting if if if trump can stay on it if he can if he can keep going without first first of all, without being killed. Right. Okay. Bobby Kennedy's in danger. Tulsi Gabbard's in danger. Matt Gaetz is in danger. They're at the tip of the spear right now.

Up against the deep state. Up against the darkest elements of this government. Of this nation. Of the world. The darkest elements. They're up against the tip of the sphere. They're going up against darkness. And I hope they understand they need spiritual power. They need spiritual power. Because they're puncturing holes in this web of darkness that has come over this country.

This web, this octopus has been smothering this country. It's a spiritual covering over the country. I agree with you. Of darkness, of evil. And they need prayer. They need Christians to intercede for them at all times. covering over the country i agree with darkness of evil and they need prayer they need they need christians to to intercede for them at all times uh i want to get on to some other stories here quickly um um mr trump had a major event in mar-a-lago last night the america first policy

conference took place last night um he He gave a shout out to Bobby Kennedy sitting in the audience. He made an interesting comment. I don't know what to make of it. We'll play the video, let you watch and see what you think. Another one who's another great mind and a great guy and so popular

and I think he's right. He wants to make people healthy. It's driven him pretty wild over the last number of years. And the Democrats didn't treat him well, he was doing fantastically well. And I think they came out with some rule that you had to do this, Mike, you had to get 70 or 75% of the vote to qualify to be in the primary. That was a pretty tough thing to get. And he was doing incredibly well. And he decided

he can't do it when independent. Now he's with us all the way. And today I nominated him for, I guess, if you like health and if you like people that live a long time, it's the most important position. RFK Jr. Bobby. And I just looked at the news reports. People like you, Bobby. Don't get too popular, Bobby. You know, you've reached about the level. Now, we want you to come up with things and ideas and what you've been talking about for a long time, and

I think you're going to do some unbelievable things. Nobody's going to be able to do it like you, and boy, does he feel it in his heart. So congratulations also to your family. And how did you interpret that comment? Don't get too popular. Well, you know my

saying, the moon should never outshine the sun. It's weird when it happens, right? Yes. That was the first friendly warning. The sun said to the moon, you're getting too bright. Yes.

You're too popular. Don't get too popular you you might become more popular than me uh sylvester stallone was there and uh here's the new york post he labels trump the second george washington said he's in awe let's watch proud to be here i didn't expect this but i'll just keep it short and sweet because there's no such a thing as a speech too short. When I did Rocky, if you remember, the first image was a picture of Jesus. It says Resurrection AC Club. I found a church that had been converted to a boxing ring. So the image pans down from Jesus onto Rocky being hit.

And at that moment, he was a chosen person. And that's how I began the journey. Something was going to happen. This man was going to go through a metamorphosis and change lives, just like President Trump. We are in the presence of a really mythical character. I love mythology. And this individual does not exist on this planet. Nobody in the world could have pulled off what he pulled off. So I'm in awe. And I'll just say this, and I mean it. When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world.

Because without him, you can imagine what the world would look like. Guess what? We got the second George Washington. Congratulations! I should be. Congratulations. Bye. Very strong, glowing tribute to Donald Trump. I would say that Donald Trump is the first president to be elected since Franklin Roosevelt to have that level of strength, charisma, and bring about a transformation of the government and the nation. You know, if I lived at that time, I would not have been a Roosevelt fan, not Franklin Roosevelt, because he ushered in socialism into this country.

But just looking at Roosevelt as a man, Franklin Roosevelt, not Theodore, his cousin, Franklin Roosevelt was extremely charismatic, very strong-willed, very influential man. He knew how to use the media. He did. And he could persuade people. And back then, the media consisted of newspapers and magazines and radio. But he knew how to do it. But he could persuade people and he could inspire people. And he changed the U.S. government. He changed the culture.

So I think Donald Trump is at that level of Franklin Roosevelt. We are witnessing something historical taking place. No doubt about it, this is historical. And the country will not be the same after four years of Donald Trump in the second term. I want to mention our sponsor, Gold Co. You've got time to ask them for their 2025 gold and silver kit. It will educate you about the wisdom of having some of your portfolio in precious metals. There's a QR code. You can snap that right now. You can call that number, 844-960-GOLD. That's 4653, 844-960-4653, or use the website truenews4gold.com.

Let them know that you heard about Gold Co. on True News. This is a good time. Take advantage of this season where there's no crisis right now. It's a good time to make a decision with your investments where you're not doing it under the pressure of a crisis or an impending crisis. It's a good time to learn and make a wise decision, gather information, and ask questions, and think it over, and not feel rushed to do something because it appears that some ominous event is about to happen in the world. Those are not, never make big decisions

when you're emotionally troubled. So this is a good calm time to get in touch with Gold Co. and learn more about precious metals. Next story up, Sebastian Gorka. Mr. Gorka, Dr. Gorka is in line to be Deputy National Security Advisor. Well, that's with the buzz in D.C. right now, according to Politico. Now, both Michael Anton and Sebastian Gorka are in the running to be President-elect Donald Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor, according to three people familiar with the competition who were granted anonymity to speak candidly. President Trump has already selected Representative

Michael Waltz of Florida to serve as his national security advisor. Neither role requires Senate confirmation, but both Anton and Gorka would both be controversial picks that are likely to stir anger in Washington. When asked by Newsmax's Ed Henry in an interview on Thursday night about whether he was going to be tapped for a job in the Trump administration. Mr. Gorka said, if you are asked by the president to serve, it is not an honor, it is a duty. So that's all I'm going to say. So what do you think? This is, he is under serious consideration. When somebody makes a statement like that, that says they've already had the interview.

He's just waiting on the call that says you got the job um so uh we'll just wait we could hear that by the end of today some big positions still have not been filled uh secretary of the treasury right so the washington post says that the top three candidates for Secretary of the Treasury is hedge fund executive Scott Besant, who happens of Key Square Group Hedge Fund. Howard Lutnick runs Cantor Fitzgerald. Yes. And then Larry Kudlow. Right. So.

I wouldn't be surprised if Larry Kudlow gets the job. That's what I'm in favor of. Donald Trump likes Larry Kudlow. Yes. And I think he'll probably get the job. Now, Rick, what's interesting about the Scott Besant story in this, and the Post goes into some detail on this, is that by all indicators, last Thursday, this was a done deal. Scott Besant was going to be Treasury Secretary. But then something happened, and they kind of withdrew on that, just according to the Post, and then other names were dropped

into the mix. So I find it interesting that they're reporting. Now, we don't know all the back story and everything, but... My guess is this, Doc, that some of these very strong-willed candidates that are at high-level positions already, when they're considered for a cabinet position, they go into the negotiating mode themselves. Right. Obviously, you can't negotiate for payroll and all that kind of stuff because it's set by the US government. But my guess is they start demanding that they will appoint all the positions under them. And the White House is going to say, no, you're not. We will fill those positions. And if the two butt heads, they're not going to get the job. You'd have to be such a spectacular star to go against the incoming president and say,

I will tell you who I'm going to appoint. That's just not going to happen. Now, I don't know if that's what is the case here of Mr. Besant, but I think this happens from time to time where people look like they're going to have the job and something happens. The only other thing that can happen is something is found out about their private life. Right. Okay?

And someone says inside the team, we better head and do this. There's going to be trouble. But I think it's going to be Larry Kudlow. If it comes up with Bessent or Lutnick, we know that there's not going to be a whole lot of opposition to those guys, right? No. All right. But Kudlow, yeah, the people start pulling their hair out and start running around D.C. on fire if Kudlow. Why? Because he is a Trump loyalist. Yes. And that's who's getting their job and that's who's getting the jobs this time. Right.

The first time, he chose non-loyalists. He put people like Nikki Haley in office. But in Donald Trump's defense on his first term, this was the first time he'd ever been elected to a political office. He's taking over a new company, the United States of America. So he brought in a bunch of retreads. Right. The people who were working in the company, so to speak. Now he's had time to reconsider and do a hostile takeover. He's doing it right. So I would say it's Larry Kudlow. Some other names really quickly here.

Doug Burgum, the governor of north dakota will be running the department of interior and there's some uh rumors out there that he'll be also granted department of energy too both yes now there's that's floating around social media i don't think that's ever happened before so we'll see see. We'll see what happens. Doug Collins for, this is a former Georgia congressman, Veterans Affairs? Yes. Well, I thought Brian Mass was going to get that. So Brian Mass, I would say his next job is Secretary of the Army, and if he doesn't get that, he'll be running the Army Corps of Engineers, because that's a local story here. He gripes about the Army Corps of Engineers because that's a local story here. He gripes about the Army Corps of Engineers all the time.

Doug Collins, by the way, is currently serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. Another one here. John Sauer, U.S. Solicitor General. Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General, who would serve under Matt Gaetz. Right. So both of these, both Sauer and Blanch, are Trump lawyers. Personal lawyers. Yes.

Both of them. So he's surrounding himself with people who will fight for him, who will defend him. The Solicitor General, he's the one that presents cases before the Supreme Court. But you had mentioned yesterday, keep an eye out on who they name as Deputy Attorney General. And then when I saw this, I thought, okay, they've got their stop set for Matt Gaetz there. That's right. And that's why I'm going back to the Treasury, that if Mr. Bassett is demanding the right to appoint, and he's bumping up against the wall because Mr. Trump is saying, no, we will choose. We're not going to allow anybody else in other than our people.

That's it. Right. All right. So now here in Florida, Marco Rubio will have to resign his Senate seat to become Secretary of State. There's already a race to be the next U.S. Senator, which will be appointed by Governor DeSantis. And the name that popped up, big surprise, Laura Trump lives in Jupiter, Florida. She's married to Eric Trump, and she has come out and said, yes, I'll take the job. I'd like to be the U.S. Senator from Florida. So Senator Rick Scott has endorsed her. Lindsey Graham has endorsed her.

We've got a short video clip from The Hannity Show. Let's watch. I'm getting that answer. I'm going to have her call in if I have to. How would you feel about that, by the way? I would be like over the top excited. She busted her to help President Trump win. She helped the Senate. She helped the House. She is a co-chair of the RNC. There was no cheating. She raised a ton of money. Nobody understands the American First agenda better than Laura Trump. She's a great mother, a very sharp young lady. I would love to have her as a colleague. That'd be up to Governor DeSantis. But we could not do better on the Republican side than Laura Trump. Okay, so Governor DeSantis has a problem.

He's got a short list of DeSantis loyalists. People that are loyal to DeSantis who want that job. Sure. Doc, if he snubs Laura Trump and appoints one of his people,

he is persona nagrata for the rest of life. I mean, to embarrass the Trump family, to publicly snub Laura Trump and say, I'm appointing somebody else, DeSantis is finished. Donald Trump will get even. You can be sure of that. And whoever he appoints will have to face a Trump supporter in the Republican primary in two years. If Governor DeSantis is smart, he will appoint Laura Trump.

This is what I'm telling you. The Trumps now own the Republican Party. It's a family subsidiary now. You can't go anywhere on the White House, you better be on the Trump team. You have to have Trump's endorsement, because there are primaries where everybody in the race is a Trump supporter. The one who wins is the one he endorses. That's the reality of politics now.

That's the new politics that we're in today. It used to be presidents stayed out of primary fights. Not this president. This guy says, no, I want my team all the way down. The whole ticket, all the way down. They've got to be my team. Not just my supporters. My team. My handpicked people.

So he is building a political machine that will change American politics for decades. Doc, this will be going into the 2030s, the 40s, the 50s. The Trump machine. After he's gone, it will still be in power. And we'll have generations of Trumps. Yes. Well, hey, we're almost out of time. Doc will not be here on Monday. Doc has a family funeral to attend in

Missouri. We'll miss you on Monday. But you'll be back on Tuesday. Yes. And we'll be here for Morning Manna on Monday. And I'll be here for Morning Manor on Monday and I'll be here for True News. So looking forward to seeing you. Would greatly appreciate your financial support for True News. Twenty five and a half years in the face of a lot of opposition, but we've been telling the truth and we thank those who stood with us. Morning Manist coming next.

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American Reserves, your ally in emergency readiness. Visit our website and become prepared today. Good morning. Welcome to Morning Manna. Today is Friday, which means we will participate in the Lord's Supper. So we encourage you to have bread and your choice of grape juice or red wine. The Lord's Supper will be in the last final minutes of today's Bible lesson, so you have time to prepare. And today we are in verses 55 through 61 of the 26th chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. Let's pray. Dear Gracious Father father this is an awesome wonderful day and it was made by a wonderful awesome father and we thank you and we praise you this is the day you have made and we will rejoice we choose to rejoice we it's a decision of our conscious will to rejoice in this day that you made for us.

So, Father, there is no problem that will come against us today that can defeat us and rob us of our joy. We know that you will work through it with us and get us through every situation that we will face today. We will face today with confidence and calmness and peace. Father, we have gathered here, brothers and sisters from many nations, gathered online through technology to be taught the Word of God, and we humbly ask for the Holy Spirit to take a seat at the head of the table and direct this morning manna Bible study that we may know your son Jesus more deeply in all of his glory and honor. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. If you've got your Bibles, please turn them to Matthew chapter 26. We're going to pick back up our study here at verse 55 today. God's word is so precious. Don't take it for granted, folks, that we have the opportunity to learn from him and his word and welcome all the different countries that are checking in, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Australia. Thank you so much for being here with us for morning manna even though it's evening and nighttime for some of you out there verse 55 of Matthew chapter 26 in that same hour Jesus said to the multitudes are you come out as against a thief with swords and stays for to take me I sat daily

with you teaching in the temple, and you laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. Verse 57. And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

But Peter followed him far off unto the high priest's palace and went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Now the chief priests and elders and all the council sought false witness against Jesus to put him to death, but found none. Yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses and said, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it

in three days. God bless the reading of his word today. Amen. So, Doc, this particular verse, verse 55, it says, In that hour, Jesus said to the multitudes. That, to me, indicates that they've moved away from the garden. Yes. Apparently, the police escort into Jerusalem gathered a lot of onlookers. Jesus said to the multitudes.

I don't think there were multitudes in the garden. They were the arresting officers. But now he's speaking to the multitudes so the word is already out it's early morning and word is out they've arrested jesus uh they're either parading him through the streets or they've reached the site where the religious leaders are meeting. Because there's a crowd. And he turns and he looks to the crowd and he says, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me?

I sat daily in the temple teaching and you didn't arrest me. So the impression I get is that you've got the arresting officers, the SWAT team, you've got the chief priest, the temple captains, the elders, and you've got the rubberneckers, the onlookers, the ambulance chasers. There's quite a scene now. And Jesus is speaking to all of them as one group. Have you come out to arrest me like I'm a robber? You brought swords and clubs. You know I sat in the temple teaching.

You didn't arrest me there. He's, by speaking directly to them, he is emphasizing their personal responsibility in orchestrating his arrest. Yes. Saying, you had plenty of opportunities to arrest me in a peaceful way. Why at night with clubs and swords?

So he's exposing their calculated malice and he's challenging their moments their motives he's challenging their motives in the heat of the moment so he asked him why why do you treat me like i'm i'm a violent criminal or a robber or an insurrectionist and he's he's challenging them to justify their use of excessive force of which they have no answer yes um Of which they have no answer. Yes. Jesus' behavior is the opposite of a criminal. Criminals operate in secrecy, in darkness. They use violence. Even if it's not violence against a human, it's violence

against their property. They break windows. They open doors. They crack safes. All right, that's violence. And so he says, how can you treat me like I'm a thief what behavior do you see in me that that is similar to a robber a violent criminal again they had no they had no answer um i think the violent arrest was just a foreshadow of the violence they wanted to commit against him. Yeah, they had already planned all this out. They knew exactly what they were going to do. And they perp walked him in front of a bunch of people, too.

That's what they do today as well. They'll perp walk you to embarrass you, not just to arrest you and put you in the squad car but trot you out in front of everybody and make a big deal about it do you know who invented that that technique i'm afraid to know rudy giuliani no kidding i didn't know that. Yes, he is the originator of that technique. I did not know that. When he was a U.S. prosecutor in New York, when he would arrest mob leaders and, you know, drug addicts and stuff, drug dealers, I mean, he would perp walk them in front of the public humiliate them also and it made him look powerful like don't mess with me I'm coming after you okay um which is what they're doing here to Jesus they're humiliating him they're flexing their muscles. They're saying, everyone, look at us. We've arrested Jesus Christ.

Who's your daddy now? Who's in charge? So they are flexing their political muscles, their governmental muscles. And there's a spiritual dimension of this arrest. Because there's a temporary triumph of evil. For a moment, evil was in control. It appeared to be in control. But God was using it in his plan for the ultimate victory over sin you know people talk about

playing 3D chess what level does God play? He's got layers and layers and layers and layers of plans that humans don't comprehend. So Jesus reminds everybody, hey, I was in the temple. I was teaching openly. I was mingling with the people. There was no secrecy. There was never any violence.

I never recommended violence. I never committed a crime. Everything I've ever done has been done in public. My teachings have been in public. My healings, my miracles, all in public my teachings have been in public my healings my miracles all in public no secret meetings it's all out in the open always in the daytime not at night you people operate in darkness you do things in a clandestine secret secretive manner. I do things in the open, in the daylight.

You see, evil people work in dark. They need darkness. Most crimes are carried out at night. um and yet his openness in the in the temple in the cities in Judea Samaria they never made an attempt to arrest him during the day certainly not under armed guard right because they feared the public that was the reason they feared a backlash they feared there would be a revolt against their authority so the need for secrecy and physical force reveals their own awareness of the injustice of their actions,

which makes their guilt more obvious. When people have to conspire to do something in darkness, then they already know that what they're doing is wrong. And that's what he's saying. You people, in your own hearts, you know what you're doing is wrong um he submitted to indignity he willingly submitted to these arresting officers, to the religious leaders, and he allowed himself to be treated like a common thief. He didn't protest. He didn't call them names.

He didn't try to escape. He didn't threaten to sue them. He didn't shout, I've got rights. He willingly submitted and allowed himself to be mistreated. Why? Because it's part of God's plan. He knew he had to walk through this experience. There was something more important, something bigger, something of eternal importance at the other end of this experience, far more important than claiming his rights.

You know, he could have uh he could have pointed out how many how many rules and regulations they were violating you know i i can defeat you in court this is wrong you know it's wrong he didn't say anything like that because he's he's looking beyond the cross he's he's seeing not only himself on the cross he's looking beyond the cross and he's saying what i'm about to do will make it possible for you to be forgiven for what you what you're doing right now and that was that was the bigger picture the salvation of of the human race far outweighed the defense of his individual rights the defense of his dignity right I mean he didn't say, how dare you treat me like this? I'm the son of God.

I could squash you like a bug. He could. He could have. He said earlier, I could call down 12 legions of angels. But he doesn't exert his rights and his authority. He willingly submits and allows, he allows the criminals to treat him like a criminal. Right. The criminals in the story are the people who've arrested him.

And so he submits to the people who are wrong. In Luke, Jesus refers to the hour of the power of darkness. Recognizing this is the hour of darkness. The power of darkness. This is it. We're in it right now. And that phrase in the Greek compares compares to our phrase it's always darkest before the dawn okay that that's what it relates to there and so that's the english version of that uh because here here what time of the night slash morning is it? We're getting somewhere between the 3 and 6 a.m. hours here,

probably closer toward maybe in our terms 5 o'clock and everything. And you know how it is. If you go outside about an hour before the sun comes up, it just seems like that's the darkest and the most peaceful time of the night slash morning. And so that's what that is referring to there. So this hour is the appointed time. Yes, right on schedule.

In verse 54, which we read yesterday, he said, But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled? That thus it must be. He's saying it's the appointed time. How else can the scriptures, how else can the prophecies be fulfilled? It's the appointed hour of darkness. Yes. He's saying this success that evil is having is not due to their power, but because his hour had come.

The emphasis is always on him. Even in the most evil, darkest hour, it's still his hour. That's right. Amen. That'll preach. He still owns it. Because it's the only way to fulfill God's redemptive plan for mankind. Yes. redemptive plan for mankind yes so what he's saying is that his arrest aligns with divine timing and that all previous attempts to apprehend him had been blocked by God's providence yes we read throughout Matthew at times that the Jewish rulers wanted to arrest him.

But it didn't happen. Why? The hour had not come. Jesus is now saying, this is it. This is the hour. And I'm allowing you to arrest me. I'm allowing you to kill me. You're not taking my life.

I'm laying down my life. My hour has come. Even during his arrest, Jesus is maintaining his authority and his composure and expressing his sovereignty over the situation he's sovereign over his own death that's right remain calm kept his composure he gave us a model of grace under pressure that shows that trusting God allows us to face

challenges and challengers with courage it is difficult when you're under great pressure and when you're being wronged and you're being falsely accused and you're in great danger. It is very difficult to remain graceful. We have to think about Jesus in that moment. How he remained calm and full grace in a time when he knew he was wronged, that a sham trial was being held,

that he was going to be convicted and tried and sentenced to death, and yet he remained calm because he knew his father was in control. So compare his demeanor with the demeanor of his captors. They're driven by fear, by hatred, by anger. They're operating in the dark, in the shadows. Verse 56, but all this has happened that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him and fled.

As we've seen throughout Matthew, Jesus consistently references scripture. So he's explaining to everybody there. What you're seeing right now, this is the fulfillment of prophecy. You're either on the right side or the wrong side. But it's being fulfilled, and you're being used in it. Which side are you on? What role are you taking in the fulfillment of prophecy? And he's saying that to the multitudes there

to everybody there you're witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy it's hard when you study prophecies it's hard to imagine what it's like to be in the moment the prophecy is fulfilled. Because most humans totally missed it. Whatever the prophecy was, when it was fulfilled, they didn't understand it. They didn't perceive it. They probably had a misconstrued interpretation, mental picture of what that prophecy would look like when it was fulfilled. They never imagined it happening the way it happened.

And so these people here, they're not thinking, what prophecy is he talking about? What's being fulfilled? Well, it wasn't just one prophecy. Multiple prophecies were being fulfilled in rapid fire progression that's another thing people miss they think prophecy a will be fulfilled at this time and B

will not be fulfilled until so many years later and prophecy see many years later and they don't understand that a, and C can happen within minutes. That's right. God's in control of the timing. So these. He uses the plural. The scriptures. He's saying multiple prophecies are being fulfilled simultaneously

all all this has come to pass not one thing has come to pass all this has come to pass and that speaks of the inevitability of these events as part of God's divine plan. All this has come to pass. All the stuff that you're doing has been fulfilled. All this that you're doing has happened so that all these prophecies would be fulfilled. Some of the prophecies. Psalm 41.9. The betrayal by a friend.

Zechariah 13.7. The scattering of the sheep. Isaiah 53. The suffering servant. They're all happening at one time. But the puny little brains of the men there couldn't comprehend it. They were religious experts. And yet they couldn't comprehend it.

So despite the actions of wicked men operating under the influence of Satan, God's providence ensures that their schemes align with His divine plan. That's hard to comprehend, isn't it? In human minds. Their wicked schemes lined up with his perfect divine plan. So in God's

divine plan, the power of darkness was allowed to succeed for a short time. But God was in control because it was necessary to bring about the light for mankind so this is why he has accepted this path. Because he's aware that all this was done. It is his father's divine plan and he accepts his father's will.

He made that decision in the garden before the arrest. He came to the conclusion he came he reached closure his soul was in anguish he wrestled not in trying to know the plan but in accepting the plan right he knew the plan. It was accepting the plan that he had to conquer. And in the garden, he conquered it. There was closure. He made the decision. Yes, Father, I'll drink this cup. Your will, not mine. again calmness the calmness shows that he's in control well he he inspired the scriptures that are being fulfilled yes he's the he's the originator of the prophecies so he not only uh was aware of the plan he wrote the plan and yet he wrestled he wrestled with his father about fulfilling the plan the plan that he wrote with his father that's how powerful this flesh is i mean that the

flesh will keep you tethered to this earth. That's why we need new flesh at some point in the future. Yes, yes. He's not going to allow us to live in eternity with this old flesh. That's right. So, the disciples fled. All the disciples fled. All of them. Forget all disciples fled. All of them.

Forget all their earlier pledges of loyalty. Now every single one of them has run away in fear. So they heard those words from Jesus. All this is being fulfilled and at that point something hit them I mean it was simultaneous fear talk it happened at one time yes a wave of fear went over all of the disciples and one went this way and another one went that way and blocks and blocks in the city, looking for someplace to hide that nobody would recognize them. And Jesus is back there now. They've abandoned Jesus. He is alone with the killers. That thought had to have haunted those men the rest of their lives.

The rest of their lives. They had to have been haunted by that moment. The thought of it reminded them of their weakness as a human all the disciples fled not just most of them all and they abandoned Christ in his most crucial hour his most dangerous hour not one disciple said no one shouted over the crowd said Jesus I'm here with you I'm not leaving

I'm going with you all the way not one they were all taking care of their own skin I'm not leaving. I'm going with you all the way. Not one. They were all taking care of their own skin. At that point, it was every man for himself. They didn't even take care of their brothers. They weren't even taking care of their fellow disciples. They ran in separate directions verse 57 those who had taken Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest where the scribes and the elders

were gathered together so after the arrest in the garden, he's transported to Caiaphas to be examined by Caiaphas and Caiaphas' father-in-law, Annas, who was the high priest before Caiaphas. So this is a family dynasty of religious power. That's right. That's in cahoots with the Romans. Yes, the Romans appoint these offices. These weren't legitimate priests. They likely weren't from the Levitical order. They were probably from one of the other tribes.

This was a Roman appointment of the priest. Now there were Levitical priests that served in the temple. John the Baptist's father is a good example there. But, and then they did the day-to-day operations of the sacrifices, everything in the temple. But these offices here were

political appointments by the Romans. Yes. So Annasas the old man the retired chief priest high priest he's retired he's he's the former high priest his son-in-law is now now in power but jesus is taken to annas which tells us that the real man pulling the strings was annas he's the man in the shadows he's the man who's in control. Caiaphas is the public figure. Caiaphas

has an earpiece. He can hear his father-in-law sending him messages. Yes. But they take Jesus to Annas. And the questioning of Jesus by Annas was informal.

That's not the original, that's not the formal trial. It's an informal questioning. And I believe Annas was trying, he was probing, looking for holes in Jesus' defense. Right, to find some way to accuse him. To say to Caiaphas, here it is. This is what you, you drill down on this one. I think that's what this was all about. He was searching for, to establish grounds for a formal accusation at the main trial.

As we said, Caiaphas was the high priest appointed by the Romans. He presided over the Sanhedrin during the trial. And this position is both religious and political as doc said they're operating illegitimately Caiaphas is not recorded here in Matthew but Caiaphas said it is expedient for one man to die for the people. Which shows that he came to the trial with a premeditated intention to condemn Jesus to death. And yet he prophesied of the necessity of Christ dying. Yes. prophesied of the necessity of Christ dying. It is necessary

for one God-man to die for the human race. And politically he was right. Politically he was right in the sense that listen, if we we've got to do something to kind of

relieve this pressure and relieve this tension that's going on right now, or the Romans are going to come down hard on us. And speaking from the high priest perspective who had been appointed by the Romans, his office depends on his ability to work with the Romans and to keep the crowds under control. And so from a political mindset, yeah, he's absolutely right. But he did not know that he was speaking also prophetically as the high priest, even though he wasn't the legitimate high priest.

That's right. The last thing they wanted Caesar to hear back in Rome was that there was trouble in Jerusalem yes Caesar wanted two things peace and quiet and tax money that's it. I want everything to be calm and I want the taxes collected. That sums it up. Isn't that government today? Yes. any trouble, make sure you pay your taxes. And that's what Caesar's attitude was. And so the Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, they knew it. If one of these Roman officers goes back to Rome with a message

that there is civil unrest percolating in Jerusalem, Caesar's going to send a bunch of soldiers here, a lot more soldiers than we have now, and they're going to knock heads and break knees. Right. So it would be better that we kill one

and pass the word up to Rome. Hey, we got rid of the troublemaker. We're good for another five years. It'll be at least five years until another troublemaker shows up, because they'll all remember what we did to this one. Ben Shapiro, a darling conservative on radio and podcasting, He said Jesus deserved to be crucified. He was a criminal. A revolutionary.

A revolutionary. Okay, so this is a complete sham trial. The Jewish legal tradition prohibited trials for capital death penalty cases they could not occur at night and they could not occur during a festival like passover and a meeting of the sanhedrin couldn't take place at night that's what i mean you can't have a meeting of the Sanhedrin at night. You can't have a trial at night. And you can't do it during Passover.

I mean, they're breaking all the rules. So they're having a gathering at Caiaphas' house in violation of their own rules, which they are supposed to uphold. They can't even uphold it for themselves. It's like government breaking laws. Government agencies break laws. The government is lawless.

Right. is lawless right so what we see here is the the willingness of the of the jewish leaders to bypass proper procedures in order to achieve their goal of eliminating jesus christ for right now we'll just set the rules aside this is a special case the rules are for normal cases this is not a normal case we have to we have to suspend the constitution right now that's the same thing dictators do we're going to suspend the constitution to deal with a crisis well the crisis is you just suspended the constitution that's the biggest crisis it's the crisis so they've suspended all their own rules and they have a mock trial heavily biased designed from the beginning to produce a predetermined outcome witnesses were brought to fabricate accusations against Jesus.

And so by dawn, the Sanhedrin had transitioned from this informal gathering to a formal court hearing to render their judgment all under the facade of legitimacy. I'm not comparing President Trump to Jesus, but we've just watched over the last four years prosecutors and judges and courts breaking the rules, breaking laws, breaking constitutional protections in order to get a conviction. Yes.

They still do it today. Happens in many nations. So Annas, he's no longer the high priest priest but he is the power behind the power yes and um all of this is being orchestrated by him he's in the background he's watching over his he's pleased with his son-in-law who's carrying out his instructions. Most likely, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who were members of the Sanhedrin, most likely they didn't get the email that they were having an emergency meeting. I doubt that they were having an emergency meeting. I doubt that they were there.

What do you think, Doc? Do you think that they were there? Well, the only thing that would be an argument against them not being there is that it said that now the chief priest and elders and all the council were there, but that might have just been a collective all without Nicodemus and Joseph and Mithra. So for me, the jury's out on it. If they were there, why isn't there any record of them speaking up and everything? So I think it's the absence of the evidence that makes the argument

that they weren't there. But if I find out in eternity that they were, I'll adjust my theology then. But for now, I just don't see them being there. Plus there was no record anywhere else in Scripture

about, oh, by the way, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were there, but they didn't say anything. They were either not invited, not informed, because Annas and Caiaphas knew that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea would raise objections. Point of order. It is against the law to have a trial at night. It is against the law to have a trial during Passover.

It is against the law for the Sanhedrin to meet at night. Those would have been points of order. So that's why I think they weren't invited but if they were invited and they were there then they were terrified they were stunned and terrified and unwilling to speak up because they certainly didn't go along with it um so we talked about the fulfillment of prophecy uh all in god's plan jesus is fulfilling uh god's divine plan the trial was a blatant miscarriage of Justice yes biased judges lying witnesses illegal procedures how corrupt can you get I mean everything about it was corrupt I mean if something like this happened today there would be an appeal to a higher court to tell the judges, look at what happened. There's no way this man or woman received a fair trial and was given justice.

The whole thing was rigged. But God allowed it and Christ allowed it because it had to happen wickedness had to triumph for for a brief season so that righteousness would triumph and rule forever. Verse 58, But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace and went in and sat with the servants to see the end. So while the

other disciples fled completely, Peter had partial courage. He followed the mob. He followed the arresting party. He followed them into the palace of the high priest Caiaphas. I mean, he's not a total coward here. He's going. He's inside. But he followed from afar off. He was in the back far enough that nobody saw him. He could see them.

They couldn't see him. The mob is going this way. Peter's at the far end. John chapter 18, verse 15 says that another disciple went with Peter. Yes. And just the way that that's worded and everything, it was likely John. Yes. The author of the Gospel of John. And there are scholars that go into detail about that he might, John, might have been related to the high priest family in

some way yes and that he had him so that gave him the access into the palace right and peter as well and so um but not peter being related but uh john p Peter being with John gave him access. And so this physical distance speaks of Peter's internal conflict. His love for Jesus compelled him to follow, but his fear for his own safety kept him at a distance. There's conflict going on in his life. He wants to be with his Lord, but not too close. Too close, you'll be identified as one of his associates.

You know, in times of persecution, in modern times, when Christians see another Christian, a Christian who is bold, who is courageous, who is fearless, speaking for Christ, defending the weak against the actions of the wicked. Weaker Christians can admire that person, love that person, and yet back away. Yes. When asked, oh, I've heard of of him but I really don't know him because they fear for their own lives they fear what could happen to their career what could happen to their reputation what could happen to their circle of friends if they're publicly identified with this one whom the Jews hate so still goes on today yes it does Rick Peters inner Turmoil. His love for Jesus and his desire for self-preservation.

It speaks of our human tendency to waver under pressure. There's a little bit of Peter in all of us. That's our human flesh so they go into the courtyard Peter gained access into the high priest's courtyard as doc said through the connection of another disciple most likely John who was known to the high priest and his and the family of Caiaphas so if it was John that somebody somebody exercised their connections and said hey and Peters with me me. So there's an open courtyard, accessible through various connections, and this courtyard becomes the setting for Peter's denial. So he was bustling with activity, and there were guards and servants gathered around a fire.

You picture what's happening, what the scene was like. Early morning, in the spring. There's a chill in the air. There's a fire burning. People gathered around it for warmth and but it says that peter peter's motive for following jesus was a mixture of both concern for his minister and curiosity why why did i say that because he went to observe the trial and to see the end he went there to see how that how jesus's life was going to end

what's going to be the end of this trial is he going to get life in prison or are they going to execute him i want to be there i want to see it yes he didn't want to hear about it he wanted to see it with his own eyes and yet he's got to stay in the background he doesn't want to be identified with christ um now the the chief priest is verse 49 59 now the chief priest and the others and the whole council sat saw false testimony against jesus that they might put him to death nothing like a rigged trial yes go find us some liars go plant some evidence make this trial sound and look legitimate now rick i didn't know this i might have heard it before but it never really connected with me until this particular study, is that there were professional false witnesses that often you could hire a false witness.

Yes, yes, yes. So you could also come in and lie, sort of like today, an expert witness at a trial. That's what I was going to say, expert witnesses. I'm not calling expert witnesses liars, but an expert witness is paid to give testimony. On behalf of the prosecution or the defense. There were professional liars at that time. They're still out there today.

You need a lie told in court? Okay, I'll do it. What's in it for me? But it's interesting that they struggled to find somebody because normally the way the commentators kind of addressed it they were always available 24 hours a day you could get a liar which means that there was no justice right and you know one of the accusations God spoke against Jerusalem in the Old Testament, I think this is either through, I don't know if it was Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah. One of the prophets, God said, your courts are corrupt. Your judges are corrupt. There's no justice in your city that was centuries before Jesus walked in Jerusalem they had been corrupt for

centuries if you've ever been in a courtroom and heard witnesses lie and you're sitting there going you stinkin liar you'd you swore the tale of truth and you're lying been there done they got the t-shirt right Rick's Dean it I've seen it I've heard it people lie and they never never blink an eye it just they lie why do they do it cuz they do it all the time it's not a big deal to them to tell a lie if there's something in it for them the lie there's either gain or pain they either lie to avoid pain or they live to achieve gain so they're seeking liars again it shows us the predetermined outcome of this trial we've already convicted him but now we

got to back it up and find some liars to justify the conviction. We already know what the verdict is. We just got to straight the evidence to match it. Right. Jewish law required two witnesses. All right. So they had to find at least two. And these had to be rock solid because we're talking about a capital offense, death penalty. It couldn't be hearsay.

It couldn't be third party. They had to find witnesses who would swear in court they heard or saw Jesus commit a crime. And both witnesses had to line up. Why? Because they're writing this down in their records, going into the court records. Years years later anybody would question this trial well look we had the witnesses here's your names they swore to tell the truth here's the transcript the court scribes that's what scribes are they're writing things down the scribes wrote it down So, instead of upholding justice, they subverted justice. They orchestrated false testimony to achieve their desired goal, which was the conviction of Jesus and his execution. The false witnesses were most likely recruited through various intermediaries. They sent somebody out.

It was incentivized. There were rewards. Go get Levi. He's a great liar. See what he can come up with see go over his to Zach's house and and and see if he can come over the lie that matches Levi's lie we got to get two of them that match it's all they were after find us two liars whose lies match up.

Isn't it sick to think that they did this to the Son of God? Yes. Why? To steal his inheritance. Yes. That's the purpose of it. In the parable, Jesus said, you're going to do this to steal, you will kill the Son.

The Father, the owner of this vineyard is going to send his son, and you're going to kill him to steal his inheritance. And at the end of that parable, the scripture says, and they knew he was talking about them. Yes. Because they had already made up their mind then they were going to kill him. Yes. yes because they had already made up their mind then they were going to kill him yes this wasn't something they just thought of in the last couple hours verse 60

we got to get to communion verse 60 but found none found none no they found no witnesses yea though many false witnesses came yet found they none.

At the last came two false witnesses. What do we see here? Their men fanned out through the city that morning. Knocking on doors of their favorite liars.

Come on. I just need you down at the court. You want to make a talk? Right now. Come down. He needs you right now. You got to tell a whopper of a lie. All right, give me a chance to get dressed.

Can I shave? No, no, they need you right now can i drink a cup of tea no come on down now we'll take you to breakfast later you come down now and you lie they found many liars not a couple they filled up the courtyard with liars. You know, Doc, I think, you know, a lot of mountain communities, you know, will have an annual contest for tall tales. And you get these good old boys that will sit there and just tell the

wildest story they can come up with. And whoever has the greatest story is the winner that year. That's what I see here. They were all over the courtyard lying. Yet they found

none. None of these liars came to the level that they needed to justify a death penalty. At the last came two false witnesses.

They finally found two that had, for them, a perfect story, and it matched. It lined up. The other ones were riddled with inconsistencies. You had the Jewish lawyers there saying, we can't use that. That story's full of holes. Or full of truth. Full of truth, yeah.

They got to find something that looks good on paper. We're going to write this down. Remember, this is going into court records. And ironically, the lie they tell is full of truth. Yes. Twisted truth. Yes. Twisted truth.

Okay. Hey, we'll pick this up on Monday. Let's go to the Lord's Supper. All right. Well, if you've got the elements of communion there with you, bread and either grape juice or red wine, we're going to ask the Lord's blessing on that here in just a moment, but I'll give you a moment to get prepared for that. Each week we participate in the Lord's Supper here on Friday, and we encourage you to join with us today. If you're a confessing believer in Jesus Christ, and you've been baptized in water according to the scriptures, and we invite you to participate

in the Lord's Supper here this week, and if there's a hurdle to that, I suggest that you correct those things in your life. Don't take of the cup or the bread unworthily. Make sure that your relationship is right with the Lord. Make sure you're being obedient to him in baptism and in living righteously day to day. Rick, would you pray for us to ask the Lord to search our hearts in preparation for the Lord's table?

Dear gracious Father, Father, we come to you as sinners who need a Savior. All of us are sinners, and all of us need a Savior. None of us can enter your kingdom

without a Savior. None of us can enter your kingdom without a Savior, without a Savior who died on a cross for our sins. None of us can enter your kingdom without being washed in your blood. So, Father, we confess that we are sinners, and we confess that since we have last gathered at your table, we have committed sins. And we ask that you forgive us. Cleanse us with the blood that we are about to drink. The precious, purified blood of Jesus Christ that washes away sin and its stains. We thank you, Father, in Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. Well, if you have the elements of the Lord's table there, we're going to pray a blessing over that right now and participate in this remembrance of his death. So pray with me, if you would. Almighty God, in your tender mercy, you gave your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. He offered himself and made once for all time a perfect and sufficient

sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. And he initiated this remembrance of his passion and death, which he commanded us to continue until he comes again. Father, we ask you to bless and sanctify with your word and with your Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine that we might partake of his most blessed body and blood. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed once for all upon the cross. Therefore, let us keep the feast. Hallelujah. On the night that he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat. This is my body, which you, do this in remembrance of me." The body of Christ, Jesus Christ, which was given for you, preserve your body and soul

to everlasting life. This is the bread of heaven. Take and eat in remembrance that Christ died for you. After supper, Jesus took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink this, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me. Glory to God. Hallelujah. The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which is shed for you preserve your body and soul to everlasting life drink the cup of salvation

in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for you and be thankful behold the Lamb of God behold him who takes away the sins of the world and blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb this sacrament is the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sins of the world. And blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

This sacrament is the gift of God for the people of God. Feed on him by faith with thanksgiving that Christ died for you. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. What a privilege to participate in the Lord's Table on a weekly basis with hundreds of people all over the world, Rick. Amen. Praise God. We're honored to be part of it.

So glad that so many people are with us. Yes. Well, listen, Doc, we will be in prayer for you, and we'll see you early next week. Yes. Appreciate prayers for traveling mercies and no

misconnections or anything like that. And grace to conduct your uncle's funeral with the right words. Yes. It will speak to people. Your message will speak to people in that room who need to know Christ.

Amen. Always my focus. And so praise God. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we appreciate you joining us here today for the celebration of the Lord's Table and also for today's lesson. I hope you're learning a lot. I know I am. Each day as we prepare for this lesson, I learn new things each and every time. I hope that're learning a lot. I know I am each day as we prepare for this lesson. I learn new things each and every time.

I hope that you are too. And Rick, we appreciate you teaching and leading us in this study. It's hard to believe we're winding down the Gospel of Matthew. I never thought it would take a year. I really didn't. I didn't think it would take a year but what what a year it's been and I think between the grace of the study of God's Word it has helped even us out as far as all the news of this year is concerned and so it

works as an antidote to the bad news, doesn't it? Yes, it does. Yes, it does. All right. Have a great weekend. Spend some time alone with the Lord this weekend. Let him speak to your heart this weekend. And read ahead. Prepare ahead in our study here in Matthew. God bless you.

We love you. And we'll see you next week I'm warning man