Carlson and Cruz go 15 rounds

Rope-a-Dope was not a strategy during this ugly verbal slugfest.

Carlson vs Cruz. | Image: Canva AI

Full disclosure: I am registered U/A in my state of residence. Unaffiliated with a particular party.

---

It was UG—LY!

For over an hour, the Swingin’ Swede traded verbal blows with Senator Smackdown as America watched the streaming equivalent of The Thrilla in Manila.

After a proverbial 15 rounds, unbiased reporters would call it a draw—though unbiased reporters were hard to find.

My view

Cutting to the chase, Carlson was often quarrelsome and contentious for the sake of contention. He used his practiced loquaciousness to pin Cruz in the corner and pummel him with personal invective. Cruz fought back with barbs honed during years as a jurist and in Congress (where the fighting is always bare knuckles and no holds barred).

Not a good showing by two men who claim an affiliation with Christ. Then again, Jesus went toe-to-toe with the Pharisees without mincing words, and was not above flipping tables and driving out peddlers misappropriating His Father’s house.

Just one point

Smarter folks than me have weighed in on the Carlson-Cruz encounter, so I’ll skip the play by play in favor of driving home one point regarding a late-in-the-show exchange on Israel. Specifically, the biblical injunction regarding the fate of those who bless (or curse) the Nation Israel.

Cruz cited Genesis 12:2-3 and the idea that Christians should bless Israel always, in light of the following scripture:

“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” —Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬-‭3‬

Context

The word of the LORD comes to Abram (Abraham) concerning the heritage of his generations and the stipulation regarding blessing that heritage.

Abraham begat Isaac who begat Jacob (later renamed Israel by God) through whom came Messiah Jesus—by Whom all the families of the earth have been blessed.

In Hebrew and Greek, the word translated “nation” in English connotes “ethnicity.” In the context of scripture, there were essentially two ethnicities: Jew and Gentile (the latter comprising multiple ethnicities).

This is important in light of Carlson’s question to Cruz in the context of the Genesis verses (and there are others) concerning blessing Israel.

“Do I have to bless the government of modern Israel?” Carlson asked Cruz (and I’ve paraphrased the question here). Cruz’s response is inconsequential. Here’s the relevant data:

—Ethnic Israel (the lineage from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and to the present time) continues as the people from whom YHWH will extract the remnant during end times events.

—The modern state of Israel possesses a fragment of The Land in which YHWH placed them, and they exist largely ignorant of the person of Messiah (Yeshua Ha Mashiach, “The Anointed Savior,” Jesus).

—The Kingdom of God is a Theocracy—there is no “division” of church and state (for lack of a better way to shed light on this misunderstanding).

A probing misunderstanding

Carlson’s question may reveal an exposure to “replacement theology” wherein the modern Church has supplanted ethnic Israel in “the plans of God,” all blessings formerly promised to Israel having been transferred to the Church after the Jews’ rejection of Christ and the subsequent destruction of the temple in 70 AD.

Unfortunately for this line of thought, scripture is replete with declarations concerning the regathering of ethnic Israel in The Land given them by YHWH, and for the purposes ordained by the LORD. See just one example in Isaiah:

“It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.” —Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭11‬

Important: YHWH makes it clear through this 8th century BC prophecy that there was to be a second “regathering” of the Nation Israel (interesting in that the first regathering after the Babylonian captivity had not yet occurred).

That second regathering occurred on May 14, 1948 when by UN decree, Israel became (again) a sovereign nation in a portion of the biblically described land straddling the Jordan River Valley.

Summing up

While Carlson was hectoring Cruz about the identity of the Israel to be blessed according to scripture, Cruz was unable to insert a history/theology lesson (Carlson devoured all the oxygen on the set during this exchange). So, I’ll answer Carlson in Cruz’s stead:

“Yes, Tucker—the ethnic nation of Israel comprises the same people-group called by YHWH to take possession of The Land, and from whom would come the Messiah.”

“Tucker, you are mistaken in trying to parse ethnic Israel into a “government” group with a subject “people group.” In God’s economy, there is no such distinction. His is a Theocracy which encompasses all aspects of life—religious, spiritual, civic, etc.”

“To answer your question, Tucker, yes, the Church should absolutely do whatever is necessary to bless ethnic Israel, for a blessing is Promised in return.”

“It would bless Israel if the United States, after careful and measured consideration, helped eliminate any possibility that Iran/Persia could develop a nuclear weapon. For they would surely use it to bring to pass their desire to destroy both the Little Satan (Israel) and Big Satan (America).”

“Lastly, Tucker, my personal conviction—my biblical conviction—has nothing to do with decisions made by the Commander in Chief. But I do recognize that wise decisions by our leaders are still in-play in God’s economy.”

That was the right answer, Tucker.