Watchman's Teaching Letter #186 October 2013

This is my one hundred and eighty-sixth monthly teaching letter and continues my sixteenth year of publication. Since WTL #137, I have been continuing a series entitled The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, and have been expanding on its seven stages ever since: (1) the courtship, (2) the marriage, (3) the honeymoon, (4) the estrangement, (5) the divorce, (6) the reconciliation, and (7) the remarriage.

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD, Part 45,

THE DIVORCE:

With WTL #’s 183, 184, & 185 we have pretty much completed the “estrangement” of the twelve tribes of Israel (the last being Benjamin), along with the present genetic corruption in the British Royal line of Heir-Apparent would-be kings or queens. To get a good start on the subject of the divorce, we need to know just who was divorced from whom. To avoid a lot of confusion on the “who”, I will cite Ephesians 4:4-6: “⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Master, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Here the body is the “church” (i.e. the “ekklesia”) a word which can only apply to one family within the White Adamic race! And there is no such thing as an “allegorical Israelite”, as Stephen E. Jones and Jory S. Brooks insist.

Strong’s “4983 ... soma, so'-mah, meaning [in part]: “... 2) the bodies of plants and of stars (heavenly bodies) 3) is used of a (large or small) number of men closely united into one society, or family as it were; a social, ethical, mystical body 3a) so in the New Testament of the church [i.e., ekklesia] 4) that which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself.”

And inasmuch as aliens are forbidden to be in the assembly, assuredly they will not enter into the kingdom as Stephen E. Jones insists they will. Unfortunately, there are those who have dragged this “mainstream” Pharisaical doctrine into the Israel Identity Message. Foremost among these are Stephen E. Jones and Jory S. Brooks.

In a brochure entitled The Hebrew Foundation of Christ’s Church, Jory S. Brooks attempts to bring non-Israelites into the Kingdom. In a diagram in column 4, he tries to show there is a “physical” Israel and an “allegorical” Israel. Then under the subtitle “Israel’s Relation To The Church” he says the following:

“‘The second illustration above demonstrates the true relationship between Israel and the church. The Bible shows clearly that Israelites were the first converts to the faith, came to knowledge of Christ in great numbers, and formed the core of the Church. Not all Israelites believed in Christ, but a large proportion of them did, and formed the foundation of the New Testament Church. These Israelites then went out and converted others, Hebrews and non-Hebrews; these latter becoming a form of allegorical Israel ...” However, as Strong’s explains on the “body”, ‘... 4) that which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself’.” Sorry, Stephen E. Jones and Jory S. Brooks, the “shadow” races are not getting into the Kingdom!

Brooks continues: “We might therefore say that they are ‘EXPERIENTIAL ISRAELITES’, a term coined by Bible teacher and author, Dr. Stephen E. Jones, for those who, while not physically Israelites, come under some of the Israel covenental blessings through faith in Christ. The combination of both groups, Christian physical Israelites and Christian ‘Experiential Israelites’, constitutes Christ’s true Church. The body of Christ is therefore physically and allegorically Israelite throughout. This explains the otherwise inexplicable fact that the New Covenant was made only with Israel (Heb. 8:8-9), a point which has caused untold confusion among those who teach that Christ’s Church is non-Israelite.”

This statement is totally unscriptural and is a lie right out of the pits of hell, and “Dr.” Stephen E. Jones holds a Master’s in subterfuge. Not only does Jones teach universalism, but he is a vicious antichrist, anti-seedliner (antichrist in the sense that he denies the Satanic seedline that was to bruise the Messiah, and if He was not bruised, then we have no Redemption). Universalism is also antichrist inasmuch as it nullifies both the Old and New Covenants for which our Kinsman Redeemer died. If, as both Brooks and Jones imply, non-Israelites can come under those Covenants, then He is no longer a “Kinsman Redeemer”. The bottom line is, if Christ were to marry any non-Israel, non-Adamic people, He would be guilty of COMMITTING ADULTERY! “Allegorical Israelites” or “EXPERIENTIAL ISRAELITES”; they surely have to be kidding! IT’S PREPOSTEROUS! Not only that, but it is BIBLICALLY CRIMINAL!

At Matt. 27:51-52, it speaks of an “earnest” (a down payment or pledge) on a future resurrection to take place in the latter days:

“⁵¹ And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; ⁵² And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, ⁵³ And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” Notice especially “... and many bodies of the saints which slept arose ...” Only White Adamic Israelites are saints! Here the Greek word for bodies is the same Strong’s #4983 ... soma, so'-mah, as found in the passage at Ephesians 4:4-6! Therefore, in both places “body/ies” equal one genetic group of people! Hence, Yahweh married and divorced only that one particular “body” of people! One is either under the covenants promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or one is not! Neither can one who is not under these covenants elect to be a participant in them, nor can one under these covenants elect not to be under the obligations and responsibilities they entail. Neither the “elect” nor the “non-elect” have a choice in the matter! If one is not born of the chosen line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then one cannot share in the benefits allotted to Abraham’s Isaac’s and Jacob’s family heritage, for Ephesians 4:4 states: “... There is one body ....” Paul then informs us in Eph. 5:30 that this one body is “of his flesh, and of his bones”, and therefore it cannot be multi-racial. So the little ditty that goes: “Jesus loves all the children; all the children in the world; red or yellow, black or white ...” is entirely opposite to what the Bible really proclaims at Ephesians 4:4-6, and many other related passages! William Finck, in his Christogenea New Testament, translates Ephesians 4:4-6 thusly:

“⁴ One body and one Spirit, just as you have also been called in one hope of your calling. ⁵ One Prince, one faith, one immersion, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

But this begs the question, Where would we find this “body” of people today, inasmuch as they were cast out of their Canaan-land upon being divorced? The story starts at 2 Sam. 7:10 where it states:

“Moreover I will appoint a place for my people [the twelve tribes of] Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime.”

This begs a second question, If the twelve tribes of Israel are prophesied to leave their home in old Canaan-land, and settle somewhere else, and NEVER return, who in the world are the people settling there today, calling themselves Israelis? Not only that, but it is prophesied that the genuine twelve tribes of Israelites would find it a very bloody task to attempt a return to Palestine, (Hosea 2:6):

“⁵ For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink. ⁶ Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.”

Here the key phrase is: “... I will hedge up thy way with thorns ...” To comprehend this phrase, one must understand that the term “thorn” is an idiom for race-mixed people, like the Arabs! If one will but consult the various maps of the Near East around Palestine, they will clearly see that Palestine is completely surrounded on all sides by large Arab populations. The Arabs are the “wall” that Yahweh allowed to develop as a “hedge” of “thorns” to prevent the twelve true tribes of Israel from returning. Thus the Arabs would block true Israel’s paths. The Crusaders attempted to return, but they could not for long hold their old homeland.

From a 3-volume set of books entitled History Of The World, by John Clark Ridpath, we learn the following concerning the Crusaders:

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, p. 304: “The result was as revolting as the beginning was abominable. The superstitious horde fell upon the Jewish colonists in the cities of the Rhine and the Moselle, and began to rob and murder. The victims of the atrocity had, under the protection of the barons of the towns, become prosperous and wealthy. This circumstance whetted the appetite of the vile rabble, who pretended to see in the Jews only the enemies of Christ. They proposed to begin the holy war by exterminating the foes of God in Europe before proceeding against those in Asia. The blood of the unoffending Israelites [sic Canaanite-jews] flowed in torrents, and their homes were ravaged and destroyed. In spite of the protests of the Romish Church, under whose call the Crusade had been begun, the Jews were massacred by thousands, and other thousands, in order to save themselves from a worse fate under the brutal swords of their persecutors, threw themselves into the flames or rivers.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, pp. 326-327: “A few days after the capture of Jerusalem the Western princes met to consider the disposition to be made of Palestine. The almost inevitable solution was the conversion of the country into a Christian state. The form of government was, of course, that feudal type of monarchy which then prevailed throughout Europe. It devolved upon the princes to choose a king, and to this task they set themselves with alacrity. Of the leading Crusaders, those who were eligible to the high office were Robert Short Hose of Normandy, Robert of Flanders, Raymond of Toulouse, and Godfrey of Bouillon. From the first the tide set strongly in favor of the last named duke. Short Hose and the Count of Flanders both announced their intention of returning forthwith to Europe, and as to Raymond, his haughty bearing and impetuous temper made him unpopular as a leader.” ... “Thus, on the 23d of July, in the last year of the eleventh century, the Holy Land with its capital, once the City of David and the Christ, now wrenched from the dominion of the Turks by a series of exploits of well-nigh inconceivable audacity, was erected into a feudal monarchy after the European fashion, and placed under the suzerainty of Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, destined for the present to suffer more ills in defending than he had borne in conquering his heritage, and hereafter immortalized by the muse of Tasso as the hero of the Jerusalem Delivered.” ... “As soon as the monarchy was proclaimed, the king-elect repaired with the pilgrim princes to the Church of the Resurrection, and there took an oath to reign according to the laws of justice and honor. Hardly was this ceremony ended, when the startling intelligence was borne to the city that a powerful Moslem army, led by Afdhal, one of the most valiant emirs of the East had reached Ascalon, and was searching for the force of Crusaders, sufficiently strong to offer battle.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, p. 328: “The battle of Ascalon was decisive of the present fate of Palestine. For the time the Turk was hurled from his seat. With the accomplishment of this result the prime motive of the Crusade was satisfied. Many of the princes now made preparation to return to Europe. The eccentric Raymond, however, had sworn never to see the West again. He accordingly repaired to Constantinople, and received from the Emperor as the portion due his heroism the city of Laodicea. Eustace of Bouillon and Robert of Flanders returned to their respective countries, and resumed possession of their estates. Here they passed the remainder of their lives in prosperity and honor. ...”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, p. 329: “The valorous Tancred carried the war still further into the sultan’s territories, whereupon a Saracen army was sent out from Damascus, and the adventurous Crusader was about to be cut off. Godfrey hurried to his assistance, and the Moslems were defeated in battle. Returning to Jerusalem, the Defender of the Holy Sepulcher passed by way of Cesarea, and was met by the emir of that district, who made him a seemingly courteous offer of fruits. The unsuspecting Godfrey accepted and ate an apple. Doubtless it had been poisoned, for the prince immediately sickened. He was taken in haste to Joppa, where he lingered until the 18th of July, 1100, when he died. ...”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, p. 331: “The Christian kingdom of Palestine was divided into the four great fiefs of Jaffa, Galilee, Cesarea, and Tripoli, and over each was set a baron who was the vassal of the king. The one fatal weakness of the situation lay in the fact that while a constant stream of pilgrim warriors was setting towards Jerusalem, another stream fully as copious was flowing back into Europe. Even at the time of greatest solidity and peace the number of knights and soldiers resident in Palestine was never sufficient to defend the country in the event of a formidable invasion by the Moslems.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, p. 332: “Another circumstance tending to undermine the foundation of the kingdom was the rapid deterioration of the people of the West under the conditions of life in Syria. The resident Crusaders were brought into communion and fellowship with the native Christians of the country – Syrians, Greeks, Armenians; – a nerveless race of Orientals, destitute of the warlike vigor of the Western pilgrims. Besides, the Mussulman peasantry remained in the villages and continued to cultivate the soil. After the lapse of a few years these diverse races began to commingle, and a new type of population was produced, inheriting but little virtue from either line of parentage. These hybrid inhabitants were known by the name of Pullani or Poulains – a degenerate stock deduced from a bad cross under the influence of a baleful climate and diseased society.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, p. 347: “The Meander was barely fordable, if fordable at all, by infantry. Conrad, however, eager to reach the foe, and believing that his men could swim or struggle through the deeper part of the current, drew up the Crusaders on the hither bank, exhorted them to heroic battle, and gave the order to plunge into the stream. The command was obeyed with alacrity, and so great a number of warriors rushed into the river that the current was broken above and the waters ran away from below, leaving the bed almost as dry as the banks. Great was the amazement of the Moslems at this, to them, miraculous phenomenon. Believing that their enemies were aided by supernatural powers, they made but a feeble resistance, and then fled in a route. The Germans pursued the flying foe, and slaughtered them by thousands. Years afterwards their bones might be seen bleaching in heaps along the bank of the Meander.

“The effect of the victory was very inspiriting to the Crusaders, who began to draw the fallacious inference that they were invincible. From the Meander, Conrad took his way in the direction of Iconium. Still at the mercy of his Greek guides, he was led into the defiles near that city, where the sultan had collected an immense army to oppose his further progress. While the Germans were making their way through a narrow pass, they beheld above the hill-crests the spearheads and turbans of what seemed an innumerable host of Moslems. Great was the disadvantage at which the Crusaders were placed in the battle which ensued. Encumbered with heavy armor, it seemed impossible for them to reach and smite the light-armed Saracens, who swooped down on them from above. It was not long until the line of march was blocked up with the dead bodies of German warriors. Thousands upon thousands were slain; and Conrad had the infinite chagrin of seeing his army melting away under the blows of an enemy who, from his inaccessible position, suffered scarcely any losses.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, pp. 356-357: “... Of all the leading sovereigns of Europe, only the Christian rulers south of the Pyrenees – who were themselves sufficiently occupied with the Mohammedans at home – failed to cooperate in the great movement which was now organized for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Infidels. Henry Plantagenet of England, Philip II. of France, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Popes Gregory and Clement, all alike vied with each other in promoting the common cause.

“Nor had the people lost while the kings had caught the enthusiasm of war. The popular impatience could not await the slower preparations of prudent royalty making ready for the struggle. Thousands upon thousands of pilgrim warriors, unable to restrain their ardor, hurried to the seaports of the Mediterranean, and embarked at their own expense to imperiled Palestine. The maritime Republics of Italy, more than ever before, came to the front as the carriers of the numerous bands that now urged their way to the East. Not only the ports of Italy, Southern France, and Greece furnish[ed] an outlet for this tumultuous movement, but those of the Baltic, the North Sea, and the British Channel in like manner sent forth their hosts of warriors.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, pp. 357-359: “In traversing the Greek Empire, Frederick [Barbarossa] met with the same double-dealing and treachery which had marked the course of the Byzantines from the first. At times the fury of the German warriors was ready to break forth and consume the perfidious Constantinopolitans, but Barbarossa, with a firm hand, restrained them from violence. Sharing their indignation, however, he refused to accept the invitation of the reigning Caesar, Isaac Angelus, to visit him in his capital. With an eye single to the work in hand, he crossed into Asia Minor, and began the herculean task of making his way towards Antioch. In this movement he was opposed, as his predecessor had been, by every inimical force in man and nature. He was obliged to make his way through heated deserts and dangerous passes with the Turcoman hordes darkening every horizon and circling around every encampment. But they were never able to take the old hero off his guard. He overcame every obstacle, fought his way through every peril, and came without serious disaster to Iconium. Here he was confronted by the sultan, whom he defeated in battle, and whose capital he took by storm. By this time the name of Frederick [Barbarossa] had become a terror, and the Moslems began to stand aloof from the invincible German army.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, pp. 359-363: “At this juncture a new figure rose on the horizon – a warrior armed cap-a-pie, riding a powerful war-horse, brandishing a ponderous battle-axe, without the sense of fear, stalwart, and audacious, a Crusader of the Crusaders, greatest of all the mediaeval heroes – young Richard Plantagenet the Lion Heart, king of England. In that country Henry II., founder of the Plantagenet dynasty, had died in July of 1189. The siege of Acre was then in progress, and Frederick Barbarossa was on his march to the Holy Land. King Henry himself had desired to share in the glory of delivering Jerusalem from the Turks, but the troubles of his own kingdom absorbed his attention. Greatly was he afflicted, or at least angered, by the conduct of his sons, Richard and John. The former was headstrong, the latter cunning, and both disloyal to their father and king. Richard had conceived a romantic affection for Philip Augustus of France – a prince of his own age, and with something of his own audacity. ... With the opening of spring, the two kings made ready to set out for the East. Philip departed first. After an auspicious voyage, he arrived in safety in Palestine, and joined his forces to the army before Acre. Richard, on the other hand, had ill-fortune. Off the coast of Crete, his squadron was shattered by a storm. Two of his vessels were wrecked on the shores of Cyprus; and, although he himself had reached Rhodes when the news overtook him that the stranded crews had been robbed and detained as prisoners by the Cypriots, he turned about to avenge the injury. Disembarking his troops, he took the capital of the island by storm, and put the governor in chains. And, to add insult to ignominy, the chains were made of silver. The inhabitants of Cyprus were made to pay dearly for their aggression, for the king levied upon them a tribute as heavy as their offense had been rank. ... Arriving at Acre, the English king was received with great enthusiasm. His astonishing audacity and prowess were precisely the qualities needed in the Christian camp before the fortress. On his appearance, notwithstanding the serious illness with which he was prostrated, new life flashed through the dispirited ranks. His battering engines seemed to work with the vigor of his own will. He became the Achilles of the host, whom nothing could resist or divert from his purpose. The repeated and unwearied efforts of Saladin to relieve and reënforce the beleaguered garrison were repulsed as fast as made. The inhabitants of Acre found themselves in the grip of a giant. The walls were broken on every side. The garrison was reduced in numbers and driven to despair. Saladin at last gave a reluctant assent, and Acre, hitherto impregnable, surrendered to the Crusaders.

“In the hour of victory the character of Ceour de Lion revealed itself in full force. Without the show of courtesy to Philip, he took possession of the palace for himself. He would not brook even a protest against his arbitrary and high-handed proceedings. Perceiving that Leopold, duke of Austria, had planted his banner on the wall, Richard seized the standard and hurling it into the ditch, set up the banner of St. George in its stead; nor did Leopold dare to express by other sign than silent rage his burning resentment.

“The sultan was obliged to make terms most favorable to the Christians. Fifteen hundred captives held by him were to be given up. Acre was to be surrendered, and the garrison ransomed by the payment of two hundred thousand crowns of gold. The victorious kings agreed on their part to spare the lives of the prisoners. The Moslem camp before Acre was broken up and the army withdrawn in the direction of Damascus. The Lion Heart having detained about five thousand hostages, permitted the remaining inhabitants of the captured city to depart in peace. And now followed a scene terribly characteristic of the bloody annals, ferocious spirit, and vindictive methods of the age.

“Saladin failed either through negligence or inability to pay to the victors within the prescribed time the stipulated ransom for the captives of Acre. Thereupon Richard fell into a furious passion, and the Moslem hostages to the number of five thousand were led out from the walls to the camps of the French and English and there beheaded in cold blood, and so little was the humanity of the great Crusader shocked, that he complacently beheld the end of the horrid tragedy, and then wrote a letter in which his deed was boasted as a service most acceptable to heaven.”

Ridpath On Crusaders, vol. 2, pp. 383-385: “... It seemed necessary to find a scapegoat, on whose head might be laid the sin and ignominy of the failure. Popular indignation with a due apprehension of the facts pointed to Pelagius, and great odium was set against his name. But Honorius III., who had now come to the papal throne, defended his legate from the aspersions of his enemies; and, in order that the blame might rest upon some one sufficiently eminent to bear the disgrace, His Holiness laid the charge of failure at the feet of Frederick II. ... It soon appeared, however, that Frederick was not to be moved by such imputations of dishonor. The Pope accordingly changed his tone, and undertook to accomplish by policy what he could not effect by upbraiding the imperial Crusader. ... The scheme amounted to this, that the kingdom of Jerusalem should become an appanage of the German Empire. John of Brienne was most willing to give up the shadowy distinction with which he had been honored and to escape from the perils of Syrian warfare, and Frederick was equally willing to accept a trust made palatable by such a gift as the Princess Iolanta. Accordingly, in the year 1225, the project was completed, and the Emperor solemnly bound himself to lead an army to the Holy Land for the reestablishment of the kingdom planted by Godfrey in the City of Zion.

“The event showed, however, that Frederick was slow to fulfill what he had so readily promised. A period of five years elapsed and still he was not ready to depart for the East. Pope Honorius died and was succeeded by Gregory IX., who espoused with zeal the enterprise which his predecessor had not lived to see accomplished. Unable to urge the Emperor to go forward by any milder persuasion, His Holiness excommunicated him, and finally forbade him to do the very thing which he had so long refused to undertake. This last measure seems to have aroused the perverse Frederick [II] by the law of contradiction, for setting at naught both the threats and the interdicts of the Pope, he collected a small squadron and departed for Palestine.

“The armament with which the Emperor, still under the ban, set out on his mission consisted of only twenty galleys. Those who had had experience in the long-continued wars with the Infidels were excited to contempt on witnessing the departure of the ruler of the German Empire with such a force on such an expedition. It was not long, however, until their contempt was turned into wonder at the extraordinary success which attended the arms of Frederick. Notwithstanding the anathemas of the Pope, and the unwearied efforts of that potentate to defeat his plans and cover him with disgrace, the Emperor made all speed to Acre, and there with his handful of soldiers prepared for the reconquest of Palestine. Both the Hospitallers and the Templars, acting under the commands of the Pope, withheld their support, and Frederick was left with only his own troops and the Teutonic knights. Such, however, was the vigor of his movements that many of the Syrian chivalry were impelled by a sense of shame, even against the papal interdict, to join their German brethren in their struggle with the Infidels.

“Having made every thing secure at Acre, Frederick courageously set his forces in motion toward Jaffa. Contrary to expectation, this stronghold was taken from the Turks, refortified, and garrisoned. It appears that Frederick, more wise than his predecessors in the Holy War, had conceived the project of playing off the sultan of Damascus against his brother of Cairo, and of gaining through their conflict of interests and ambitions what the other Crusaders had failed to reach – the recovery of Jerusalem. But before he was able to achieve any results by this shrewd policy, Coradinus died and Camel was left without a rival to contend with the German invaders. Frederick, however, was not to be put from his purpose. He pressed forward from Jaffa in the direction of the Holy City, and the Infidels fell back before him. Bethlehem, Nazareth, and other important places were taken without a battle, and so great was the alarm both in Jerusalem and in Damascus that the sultan made overtures for peace. Thus, against all expectation (unless it were his own), Frederick found himself in a position to dictate terms almost as favorable as might have been obtained by the conquerors of Damietta. Nor has any one ever been able to discover the nature of the motives which he was able to bring to bear on the sultan to secure so favorable a settlement. It was stipulated that henceforth all Christians should have free access to the Holy City; that the Mohammedans should approach the temple on Moriah only in the garb of pilgrims; that Bethlehem, Nazareth, and other recent conquests should remain to the Christians; that the peace should not be broken for a period of ten years

“Great was the wrath of the Pope on hearing of the victory of the excommunicated prince. The whole power of the Church was rallied to deny and explain away the signal success and good fortune of Frederick. The latter, however, was now in a position to laugh at, if not despise, his enemies. Preferring to consider himself under the ban, he determined to celebrate his coronation in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Nor durst the Moslems offer any opposition to the ceremony. The Emperor accordingly entered the city with his train of Teutonic Knights and soldiers, and, repairing to the altar, took therefrom the crown and placed it on his head; for the patriarch of Jerusalem, fearing the Pope, refused to perform the crowning, nor would the Templars and Hospitallers be present at the ceremony. Thus, in the year 1229, the Fifth and least pretentious of all the Crusades terminated with complete success. The victorious Emperor returned to Acre, and then set sail for Europe, followed by the plaudits of his own countrymen, but jeered at and scandalized by the papal party throughout Palestine. It had already come to pass that Rome looked with greater aversion and hatred upon a heretical and disobedient Christian than upon the worst of the Infidel Turks.

“Such was the anger of the papal party against him by whom the restoration of Christian influence in the Holy Land had been achieved, that no efforts were made to conserve the fruits of his conquests. Not satisfied with this negative policy, the adherents of Gregory began a series of active aggressions against Frederick, looking to the undoing of his Imperial title, and the sapping of the loyalty of his subjects. Bitter were the persecutions which were directed against him. When the Empress Iolanta died at the birth of her son, the anti-German party insisted that the child should be discarded along with its father, and that the crown of Jerusalem should be given to Alice, daughter of Isabella and Henry of Champagne. The latter claimant went over from Cyprus to Syria to set up her pretensions, whereupon, in 1230, a civil, war ensued between her adherents and the supporters of Frederick. The party of Alice had greatest numerical strength, but the Teutonic Knights remained loyal to their Emperor, and more than counterbalanced the advantage of his enemies.

“After the strife had continued for a season, a reconciliation was effected between Frederick and the Pope. The settlement was without any sincere foundation on either side, but was sufficiently meritorious to bring about a peace in Syria. But in that country the mischief had already been accomplished. More than half of the time of the truce concluded by the Emperor with Sultan Camel had already run to waste, and nothing had been done towards securing the conquests made by the Germans in Palestine ....” Although there is much more to this story, in the end, the Pope’s several Crusades had lost, and the “hedge” of “thorns”, as prophesied, is still in place in the Middle East!

Really, this “hedge” of “thorns” covers an area larger than the Middle East, comprising Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, all surrounding and including Palestine. The Crusaders couldn’t conquer and occupy it. The Soviets tried to conquer part of it, but had to turn tail and retreat from Afghanistan. Then, the United States, with her allies from NATO (including England) decided to conquer both Iraq and Afghanistan, which has cost many thousands of lives, with nothing gained other than a lot of costly bloodshed from the prophesied “hedge” of “thorns”!