SPECIAL PRÉCIS ON THE PROSPECT OF PERSECUTION, DETAINMENT, OR DEATH BY ANTICHRIST: CHRISTIANITY FOR GROWNUPS 2.0 (WITH VIDEO)

THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” – PSALM 13:3-6, AMPC

KEY TERM: “BOUNTIFULLY.” ‘Gamal’ [גָמַ֣ל]: “A primitive root meaning: ‘To wean or ripen; to requite or recompense for benefit.’” NOTE: “‘Gamal’ conveys a movement from incompleteness to completion. In Family Life it marks the decisive moment when a child is weaned; in Moral Life it describes the full repayment—good or bad—rendered to another; in Agriculture it pictures fruit that has reached full ripeness. ‘In every setting the verb speaks of a process brought to its Appointed Goal.’”

QUOTATION. “‘If there is no Struggle, there is no Progress.’ Those who profess to favor Freedom, and yet depreciate Agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This Struggle may be a Moral one; or it may be a Physical one; or it may be both Moral and Physical; but it must be a Struggle. ‘Power concedes nothing without a Demand. It never did and it never will.’” ― FREDERICK DOUGLASS, “West India Emancipation.” Canandaigua, New York, Aug. 3, 1857; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘Lighten mine eyes.’ — Because I find my own counsels insufficient, do Thou enlighten my mind, and guide me by Thy Counsel into the Right Way of obtaining thy merciful help. Or, he means, ‘Do thou revive, and comfort, and deliver me from the Darkness of Death, which is ready to come upon me, and to close mine eyes.’

‘Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him’ — Namely, by my art or strength; which will reflect Dishonour on Thee, as if Thou wert either unfaithful and unmindful of Thy Promises, or unable to fulfil them. Therefore prevent, or repress this their arrogance and blasphemy, and maintain Thine own Honour. ‘I have trusted in Thy mercy!’ — Neither their threats and boastings, nor my own dangers, shall shake my confidence in Thy mercy promised to me.” ― JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

TEACHING

OPEN. I have told you the story before. Sometime around 4-5 years ago while walking Scout the Wonder Dog out back of our apartments as the Digital Circuit Rider mission was just taking off, I was asked A QUESTION by the Lord in that unmistakable ‘Voice that’s not a voice:”

“If I ask you to lay down your life for Me, would you be willing to do it?”

I remember being brought to an absolute standstill as I heard The Question, pondering it for a few moments, then responding with something like this: “Lord, if that is truly You, I’ll have to get back to you on this.” That honest response since never in my then 75 years or so had anyone ever asked that Question of me.

As I reflected on His Question for what was likely a couple weeks (or months) – I cannot remember exactly – I came back to Him and said, “YES.”

And without exaggeration, my struggle to launch the Circuit Ride Mission began to take wing with the necessary patronage, inspiration, and gradual but increasing growth that I had been frankly agonizing over for years.

BONHOEFFER’S CALL. “‘The Cross is laid on every Christian.’ The First Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the Call to Abandon the attachments of this world. It is that ‘Dying of the Old Man’ which is the result of his Encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship, we surrender ourselves to Christ in Union with His Death—‘We give over our lives to Death.’

Thus, it begins: The Cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the Beginning of our Communion with Christ. ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and DIE.’ It may be a Death like that of the First Disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a Death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. ‘But it is the same Death every time—Death in Jesus Christ, the Death of the Old Man at His Call.’” ― DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, The Cost of Discipleship, 1937, p. 99; edited

I just finished posting the Prelude to this Commentary, “Notes on Christianity for Grownups” (Wed. Oct. 22, 2025). This iteration will make that look like boot camp given the evidence I am about to roll out for every TRUE CHRISTIAN: ‘The Definition of which is quite simple, beloved, one that Mr. Bonhoeffer both believed and lived.’

CHRIST’S CALL. “And he who does not take his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps DYING because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].” – MATTHEW 10:38-39, AMP

A brief Commentary by RONALD A. BEERS, General Editor of the Life Application Study Bible makes this Central Doctrine indelibly clear:

“To take up your Cross and follow Jesus means to be willing to publicly identify with Him in service and sacrifice, to experience certain opposition, and to be willing to face even suffering [loss] and DEATH for His sake. This verse is a positive and a negative statement of the same [Doctrinal] Truth: ‘Clinging to this life may cause us to Forfeit the best from Jesus in this world and in the Next’” (2022, pp. 2101-2102; edited).

JESUS is absolutely Relentless on this vital point that shall forever Separate Wheat from Tares: “For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through DEATH], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity]. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but FORFEITS his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” – MATTHEW 16:25-26, AMP

Now then: If you are still willing to continue in our most sobering Study of True Christianity in the Era of Antichrist, do join us in the next section to see why these Solemn Commitments must be made, without wavering.

TRUMP’S RETRIBUTION

“For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate THE COST, to see if he has enough to finish it?” – JESUS CHRIST, Luke 14:28, Amplified

“I am your Justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your Retribution!”– DONALD TRUMP, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), March 2023; edited

THE LIST. Trump’s occasions of being Justice and Retribution to all who have opposed the President are already finding the sharp blade of Vengeance lodging deep. And the following HIT LIST is so long, I have to segment and summarize it.

So hang on: This is a rather breathtaking ride. Compiled by the excellent ABC news team of Peter Charalambous, Benjamin Siegel, Alexander Mallin, and Katherine Faulders (Oct. 23, 2025; edited).

INDICTED. John Bolton, former National Security Advisor; James Comey, former FBI Director; Letitia James, New York Attorney General.

INVESTIGATING. Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve Governor; Chris Christie, former New Jersey Governor; Adam Schiff, United States Senator; Jack Smith, former Special Counsel; Miles Taylor, former Chief of Staff of the US Dept. of Homeland Security; Christopher Krebs, former Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

ACCUSED. Former President Joe Biden; former President Barack Obama.

THREATENED. Kamala Harris, former Vice President, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee; Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden; Ashley Biden, daughter of former President Joe Biden; Alejandro Mayorkas, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security; Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State; Brian Hook, former U.S. Special Representative for Iran; General Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Antony Blinken, former Secretary of State; Jacob Sullivan, former National Security Adviser; Lisa Monaco, former Deputy Attorney General; Mark Zaid, whistleblower attorney; Norman Eisen, co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during first Trump Impeachment; Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney; Andrew Weissmann, lead prosecutor in Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel’s office; Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee; Liz Cheney, Vice Chair of the House Jan. 6 Committee; Adam Kinzinger, member of House Jan. 6 Committee; Fiona Hill, witness in 2019 House Impeachment Inquiry; Alexander Vindman, witness in 2019 House Impeachment Inquiry; James Clapper Jr., former U.S. Director of National Intelligence; Michael Hayden, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Leon Panetta, former U.S. Secretary of Defense; John Brennan, former Director of Central Intelligence; Thomas Fingar, former Chair of the National Intelligence Council; Richard Ledgett, former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency; Michael Morell, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Michael Vickers, former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; Douglas Wise, Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Nicholas Rasmussen, former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Russell Travers, former U.S. Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Andrew Liepman, former Principal Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; John Moseman, former Chief of Staff for the Central Intelligence Agency; Larry Pfeiffer, former Chief of Staff at the Central Intelligence Agency; Jeremy Bash, former Chief of Staff at the Central Intelligence Agency; Rodney Snyder, former Chief of Staff at the Central Intelligence Agency; Glenn S. Gerstell, former General Counsel of the National Security Agency; David B. Buckley, former Inspector General at Central Intelligence Agency; Additional former intelligence officials associated with Hunter Biden laptop probe; 37 former intelligence leaders associated with assessment of Russia’s attempt to influence 2016 election; Law Firms (Covington & Burling; Perkins Coie; Jenner & Block; Milbank; Wilmer Hale; Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Willkie Farr & Gallagher).

TWO THOUGHTS. This unavoidably reminds me of something that took place in Adolf Hitler’s Germany in his first year of seizing power as Chancellor in 1933. Plus, a sobering Scripture describing the ‘Consequences’ of taking your own revenge.

Especially when the Targets of one’s Retribution are those serving Justice.

NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES. “The Night of the Long Knives (German: Nacht der langen Messer, also called the Röhm Purge or Operation Hummingbird (German: Aktion Kolibri), was a Purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ordered a series of extrajudicial executions intended to consolidate his power and alleviate the German military’s concerns about the role of Ernst Röhm and the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Nazis’ paramilitary organization, known colloquially as ‘Brownshirts.’ Nazi Propaganda presented the murders as a preventive measure against an alleged imminentCoup by the SA under Röhm—the so-called ‘Röhm Putsch.’ – EDITORS, Wikipedia, Oct. 21, 2025; edited

BIBLICAL JUSTICE. “‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip; For the day of their disaster is at hand, and their doom hurries to meet them … Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], ‘Vengeance is Mine, I WILL REPAY,’ says the Lord.” – ROMANS 12:17-19, AMP

DK NOTE. No beloved, President Trump has not executed anyone yet – at least Americans. Yet. But to make My Point from my graduate days of statistical analysis, there was an amazing tool called “Regression Analysis.”

If the Researcher did his homework properly, one could reasonably, reliably construct a Linear Regression that would FORECAST a likely Outcome if the following conditions were met. (1) The base data (or the Independent Variables) were accurately assembled, one could Predict Results (in the form of Dependent Variables).

All of this is based not only on complex mathematics, but human logic. Therefore I see so many Patterns in the Conduct and confessed Motives of Donald Trump that yes, ‘I firmly believe he will reach a point of Extrajudicial Executions.’ He is already on that path with the renegade killings of ostensible drug runners in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans.

Both tragically and brutally, there is one more ‘Independent Variable’ that we dare not overlook any longer that I will conclude with in the next, Final Section.

LAST THOUGHTS: THE CAMPS

Perhaps the most chilling chapter in America’s struggles with Immigration Policy is discovered in the President’s unprecedented construction of “Detention Centers” throughout the United States. I prefer to call them what they actually, by firm documentation, are:

CONCENTRATION CAMPS. According to a summary AI Overview (Oct. 25, 2025; edited), President Donald Trump and his Administration have pursued a ‘Significant Expansion’ of Immigration Detention Facilities. Since he began his Second Term in January 2025, several new facilities have been opened or expanded, drawing condemnation from immigrant advocates over ‘Conditions and Due Process concerns.’

The first and clearly the most notorious Camp is commonly now referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.” In July 2025, Trump toured the then-new 3,000-capacity tentand trailer facility built in eight days in the Florida Everglades. He endorsed its use as a ‘Model’ for other states. The Center was constructed in a remote area, and environmental and human rights groups criticized the conditions and location.

Since the launch of Alligator Alcatraz, several sources report that there are currently between 200-400 ICE Detention Centers around the country. They were reportedly at 109% capacity, with overcrowding leading to the release of some detainees. Human rights reports from July 2025 also detailed degrading and abusive conditions at Florida detention centers.

The evidence for serious, sustained and what I would call Brutal or even Barbaric treatment at these facilities reminds of the early stages of Adolf Hitler’s Concentration Camps. Reports published in 2025 by government bodies, human rights organizations, and journalists have documented these practices (AI Overview, Oct. 25, 2025; edited) that frankly beggar human comprehension.

PHYSICAL & SEXUAL ABUSE

Physical Violence: Credible reports from a Senate investigation documented multiple instances of detainees being physically abused by staff. One report details an attorney’s client being “slammed against the ground” and handcuffed after a minor infraction.

Targeting of LGBTQ+ Individuals: At the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, queer and trans detainees alleged being “sexually harassed and assaulted” by an assistant warden.

Retaliation for Complaints: In some cases, detainees who report abuse have been punished with “solitary confinement.”

Aggressive Tactics: In Florida, detainees reported being subjected to “flash-bang grenades” and shot with “rubber bullets” after protesting conditions.

NEGLECT & DENIAL OF MEDICAL CARE

Inadequate Care: Reports from organizations like Human Rights Watch describe dangerously “substandard medical care,” with facility staff ignoring serious medical needs. Pregnant women have also reported being denied timely and urgent care.

Preventable Deaths: 2025 has been reported as the deadliest year in decades for people “dying in ICE custody” (39 verified). Contributing factors include understaffing of medical teams, overcrowding, and denial of care for chronic illnesses.

Medical Neglect of Pregnant People: Civil rights groups reported in October 2025 that “medical neglect and abuse” in facilities in Louisiana and Georgia led to pregnancy complications and miscarriages.

Disrupted Treatment: Frequent transfers of detainees between facilities has led to “lost medical records and prescription medications,” disrupting treatment for serious conditions.

INHUMANE LIVING CONDITIONS

Extreme Temperatures: Detainees have reported being held in overcrowded cells with “freezing temperatures” and inadequate blankets. In contrast, a Florida facility exposed detainees to “extreme heat.”

Overcrowding: With the detention population reaching historic highs in 2025, many facilities are over capacity. This has forced detainees to “sleep on concrete floors, often in filthy conditions.”

Unsanitary Conditions: Documented issues include “bug infestations, overflowing toilets, and general filth.” In some cases, staff have ignored detainees’ requests for cleaning supplies, leaving them in rooms covered in feces.

Poor Nutrition: Reports detail inadequate and sometimes “contaminated food,” with some detainees losing significant weight.

DENIAL OF DUE PROCESS AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Obstructed Access to Attorneys: Lawyers have reported being “denied access to their clients” at new facilities. Transfers to different locations often make it difficult or impossible for detainees to continue working with their legal counsel.

Separation from Families: The “separation of children and parents” is being reported.

Intimidation & Retaliation: Detainees who speak out about conditions or complain about treatment have faced “threats, physical force, and isolation.”

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

Mistreatment of Children: A Senate report in July 2025 cited multiple accounts of mistreatment of children as young as two, including U.S. citizens. Some children were “denied adequate medical treatment” for severe issues.

Mistreatment of Pregnant Women: Pregnant detainees have reportedly been “forced to sleep on floors and denied adequate medical care.” One woman allegedly suffered a miscarriage alone after being denied assistance.

Mistreatment of Trafficking Victims: Reports indicate that ICE has “detained and deported victims of trafficking” and other violent crimes.

NEA NOTE ON CHILDREN. “‘Trump and his Administration are creating the current Immigration Enforcement Practices that are leading to fear and uncertainty, significant stress, anxiety, and even trauma for children, says Allison Bassett Ratto, a child clinical psychologist in Washington, D.C. She explains that rather than witnessing police officers apprehending violent criminals, children often see loved ones—family, friends, neighbors—being detained during everyday routines.

‘What they see are their classmates, their family members, their neighbors often being apprehended in violent and confusing ways while … doing things like picking up their children from the bus stop or going to their jobs, and this, for children, creates a sense that nowhere and no one is safe’ …

To those outside immigrant communities, the fear may seem abstract. But to students and their families, it’s overwhelmingly real. ‘Kids are coming to school with red eyes as they are home with overly stressed parents and all not getting enough sleep,’ one Wisconsin educator shared with NEA. Others reported lockdowns due to nearby ICE activity, terrified children clutching their passport cards, and kindergartners asking teachers, ‘Are they coming to take us away?’” – NEA Today, “The Trauma Immigration Raids Leave in Classrooms,” Sep. 10, 2025; edited

THE DISAPPEARANCES. Finally, and arguably most chillingly in an America that traditionally flouted it fierce love for the Rule of Law and Moral Order, are: ‘These following reports flowing in regarding “Alligator Alcatraz” and other Detention Centers like it.’

“Reports are mounting that hundreds of detainees who were once inside can no longer be traced. Families, lawyers, and immigrant advocates are sounding the alarm, warning that people appear to have simply disappeared from official records …

Protesters and [‘Black and Mainline’] Faith leaders gathered at the gates, lighting candles for those lost in the shuffle. In courtrooms and city halls, debate raged over the future of detention in America and the growing number of people swept away by changes in policy.” – PIYUSH SHUKLA, “Mystery Deepens,” the Economic Times, Sep. 25, 2025; edited

CHILLING PARALLELS. The Holocaust Encyclopedia notes that Adolf Hitler’s first Concentration Camps in Germany were established soon after Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in January 30, 1933. I add: As with President Trump who wasted no time in establishing his after his return to office on January 20, 2025).

German authorities established camps all over Germany on an ad hoc basis to handle the masses of people arrested as ‘alleged subversives.’ The SS [‘Schutzstaffel,’ or ‘Protection Squadron’] established larger camps in Oranienburg, north of Berlin; Esterwegen, near Hamburg; Dachau, northwest of Munich; and Lichtenburg, in Saxony. In Berlin itself, the Columbia Haus Facility held prisoners under investigation by the Gestapo (the German secret state police) until 1936.

Recent reports here in the United States confirm that Trump intends to construct what might be termed a ‘SUPER CAMP’ ($1.2 billion). PBS verified that the President awarded the contract to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small business that has no listed experience running a correction facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million.

Named Camp East Montana for the closest road, the facility is being built in the sand and scrub Chihuahuan Desert, where summertime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit and heat-related deaths are common. The 60-acre (24-hectare) site is near the U.S.-Mexico border and the El Paso International Airport, a key hub for deportation flights. – “Mystery Surrounds,” Aug. 28, 2025; edited

ROOTS. I conclude with an eerily Prescient Quotation from the German-born Jewish girl, ANNELIES (ANNE) FRANK, who perished in the Holocaust in February or March, 1945. In her now famous Diary published on June 25, 1947, she wrote the following electrifying observation.

“‘Terrible things are happening outside.’ At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They’re allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them, and even then, they’re robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their families gone. The Christians in Holland are also living in fear because their sons are being sent to Germany. Everyone is scared. Every night hundreds of planes pass over Holland on their way to German cities, to sow their bombs on German soil. Every hour hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of people are being killed in Russia and Africa. No one can keep out of the conflict, the entire world is at war, and even though the Allies are doing better, the end is nowhere in sight.”

THE QUESTION. “He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.’

This He spoke, signifying by what DEATH he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” – JOHN 21:17-19, NKJV

Do YOU love Jesus, beloved? No, I ask again: Do you really LOVE Jesus, O follower of the Living Christ, Who willingly lay for slaughter in your place? And if so: Just how much? “Terrible things are happening outside.” Will you RISK ALL TO SPEAK on behalf of your neighbor being led to Captivity?’

Or will you remain SILENT, and quarter with The Barbarians now teeming at our Collapsing Gates?

God awaits your Answer, beloved. Selah.

ENDNOTE ON ERNEST MEYER (1923-2015). ‘The Last Goodbye,’ 1939. The painting depicts the moment of Ernest and his sister Eva’sdeparture from Germany on ‘The Kindertransport Train’. Their mother Johanna is standing on the platform. When the Jews’ situation in Germany worsened, Johanna and Gustav sent their children abroad, hoping to join them later on. Ernest gave the painting a title after the War, upon discovering that his parents were no longer alive.

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/WKQUYqgIX0E