R Magic Brow

Most of the time when people talk about spiritual warfare, the focus is on the demonic — oppression, possession, attacks, or counterattacks.But angels are also part of the unseen realm. In fact, according to standard biblical interpretations of Revelation 12, holy angels outnumber demons by about two to one.And just like demons, angels interact with human beings. Hebrews 13:2 warns, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”“There are stories about angel encounters that have been handed down throughout history — I'm talking about going all the way back to World War I,” says BlazeTV host Rick Burgess.On this episode of “Strange Encounters,” Rick revisits two of history’s most remarkable stories about angelic encounters. Psalm 34:7 in action: Angels surround missionaries on cannibal islandIn 1858, Scottish missionary John G. Paton and his wife arrived on the island of Tanna in the New Hebrides to bring the gospel to cannibal tribes. One night, hostile natives surrounded their mission station, intending to burn it down and kill them. As the Patons prayed, the attackers suddenly withdrew in fear.Roughly a year later, they learned from the chief, who had converted to Christianity, why the locals had fled that night: hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords encircled the Patons' house.Both Paton and the chief believed the army to be made up of angels.Over the following decades, the gospel message spread, and thousands upon thousands of former cannibals turned to Christ across the islands.“Truly a miracle,” says Rick. “And how was this done? With the appearance of big men in shining garments with swords protecting a missionary.”He then reads from Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”“This one almost sounds like exactly what happened to John Paton,” he remarks.The white cavalry of 1918: Golden-haired angel leads charge against the GermansIn May 1918 during WWI, British troops in France were in a desperate position and about to be overwhelmed by a massive German advance. Suddenly, the German soldiers stopped their attack and began firing wildly at something the British could not see. The fighting halted in confusion.The British later captured two German officers. When interviewed, the officers described seeing a cavalry charge of men in white uniforms riding white horses shining like sunlight bearing down on them. Leading the troop was a towering angelic figure with golden hair, wielding a great sword.The Germans opened fire, but the riders kept advancing unharmed. Terrified, the German troops broke off their assault and fled in terror.The heavenly intervention bought enough time for American troops to arrive and capture the Germany army.“It led to the allies turning toward victory in World War I against the Germans,” says Rick.While many think that angels do not intervene in human affairs to this scale any more, Rick pushes back.“I think when we get to heaven that it may be very likely that we meet an angel or angels that we get to converse with that says, ‘You don't have any idea how many times I was sent into your life to protect you and to help you,”’ he predicts.To hear more, watch the episode above.Want more from Rick Burgess?To enjoy more bold talk and big laughs, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Eleven years after the Supreme Court redefined marriage, the robed kings are now attempting to redefine American citizenship.Notice that I said “are attempting,” not “have redefined.”‘Whenever a free people should give up in absolute submission to any department of government, retaining for themselves no appeal from it, their liberties were gone.’Court orders are not self-executing. Nor are they universally binding on the coordinate branches that wield the powers of execution and appropriation. The ruling need not determine how those branches treat future cases.The Republican response has nevertheless been underwhelming and devoid of urgency — much as it was when the party folded on marriage in 2015.This time, the stakes are higher. If Republicans respond with the same passivity, we may not have a country left to conserve.Republicans were apparently so outraged by the ruling that they went on recess for two weeks rather than use the July Fourth period to reassert citizenship by consent of the governed.Many now insist the only remedy is a constitutional amendment, knowing it would never come close to ratification.That response accepts the premise that Congress may exercise its powers only within the political rule announced by the court in a case brought by individual plaintiffs.Conservatives must understand that they cannot comply their way out of judicial usurpation. The political branches must exercise their own constitutional judgment.Courts do not possess a veto over CongressHere is the central point Republicans are missing: Courts can decide individual cases. They can affirm, reverse, or vacate judgments.They do not issue passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards, or citizenship documents to future children born on American soil.Children already granted citizenship under the prevailing interpretation present a different question. The immediate issue concerns future births.President Trump should use the veto pen and budget process to prevent the political result the left sought through the court.RELATED: The courts are running the country — and Trump is letting it happen Denis-Art/iStock/Getty ImagesCongress’ first priority should be a reconciliation bill prohibiting funds for the State Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to issue citizenship documents to children born to illegal aliens or birth tourists.Some will call that “defiance” of the Supreme Court.Last I checked, the Supreme Court does not issue birth certificates. It does not appropriate money for them, either.Even under a strong theory of judicial supremacy, courts may invalidate a positive action by another branch, such as imposing punishment under an unconstitutional law.But when a court demands that Congress fund and the executive administer a citizenship regime, the political branches retain the right and obligation to interpret the Constitution for themselves.Abraham Lincoln made this distinction during his sixth debate with Stephen Douglas.While acknowledging that courts decide individual cases, Lincoln rejected the notion that a judicial opinion automatically becomes a political rule binding Congress and the president in every future controversy.“We nevertheless do oppose that decision as a political rule,” Lincoln said in Quincy, Illinois, in 1858, “... which shall be binding on the members of Congress or the President to favor no measure that does not actually concur with the principles of that decision.”James Madison expressed a similar understanding in his second “Helvidius” essay, describing “a concurrent right to expound the Constitution.”The branches were designed to check one another, not submit automatically to judicial command.Use power of the purse Congress should do more than defund citizenship documents for the children of illegal aliens and birth tourists. It should also restrict jurisdiction and funding for federal cases brought to compel their issuance.Congress possesses broad authority over the jurisdiction, structure, and funding of the lower federal courts. It also controls judicial appropriations.That power is not theoretical. Supreme Court justices routinely appear before congressional appropriators to seek funding.Congress may therefore restrict funds for proceedings intended to force the executive branch to issue citizenship documents contrary to congressional policy.Such provisions would have an obvious budgetary effect and could be included in reconciliation. Congress could prohibit spending both on the documents and on litigation seeking to compel them.The same legislation should defund:the diversity visa lottery;grants to sanctuary jurisdictions and states issuing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens;Census Bureau operations used to count illegal aliens for apportionment;visas prohibited by presidential orders but revived through lower-court injunctions.Republican leaders will hide behind the Byrd rule, which excludes provisions deemed extraneous to the budget. But Republicans found ways around it when extending tax cuts, even where provisions increased the deficit.These immigration restrictions would reduce federal spending.Where there is political will, there is a procedural way.RELATED: The founders gave us the remedy for rogue state judges: Impeach RapidEye/iStock/Getty Images Confront judicial supremacy nowEventually, however, the political branches must simply be prepared to say no to judicial usurpation.The left will always find a judge willing to declare even jurisdiction stripping or spending restrictions unconstitutional.That is why judicial supremacy must be confronted directly.Many assume that because no formal veto exists over a Supreme Court decision, the court must possess final authority. The opposite is closer to the constitutional design.No special veto was needed because the judiciary possessed neither purse nor sword. Courts depended on the other branches to execute their judgments.Alexander Hamilton described the judiciary as possessing “neither force nor will, but merely judgment.”Every Republican serious about reclaiming American sovereignty must reach the same conclusion: Judicial supremacy cannot be evaded indefinitely. It must be confronted head-on.Consider the favored Republican response to the citizenship ruling: Accelerate mass deportations so illegal aliens cannot give birth here. Some lawmakers have also floated restrictions on pregnant foreign visitors.Those policies are necessary. But the irony should be obvious. The same judges who distorted citizenship law will interfere with every serious immigration-enforcement measure.Why has the administration struggled to achieve mass deportation? Because federal courts continue to enjoin policies involving ICE arrests, detention, removal, benefits, and visa restrictions. Even policies already upheld by the Supreme Court remain targets.In Trump v. Hawaii, the court recognized the president’s broad authority to restrict entry from designated countries. Yet lower-court judges continue to obstruct portions of later restrictions.The same problem will arise when the administration tries to stop counting illegal aliens in the census.RELATED: Trump’s mass-deportation promise needs receipts Douglas Rissing/iStock/Getty ImagesIf Republicans accept judicial supremacy without resistance, judges will almost certainly hold that the 14th Amendment requires every person, regardless of legal status, to be counted for representation.That argument may even be textually stronger than the claim that every child born to an illegal alien must receive citizenship.The deeper issue is sovereignty. If Republicans emerge from the final Trump governing trifecta without correcting stolen citizenship, illegal representation, and judicial sabotage of immigration enforcement, the party will have betrayed the promise that launched Trump’s political career 11 years ago.At that point, another convention and another round of slogans will mean nothing.Lincoln, citing Jefferson during his fifth debate with Douglas, warned what happens when a free people submit absolutely to any branch of government: “Whenever a free people should give up in absolute submission to any department of government, retaining for themselves no appeal from it, their liberties were gone.”That is the choice before Congress. Submit to judicial supremacy or use the powers the Constitution still gives the political branches.The Supreme Court has spoken. Congress does not have to surrender.

Republican United States Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.), who turned 71 two days ago on July 9 and who served in the Senate for over two decades, died overnight, according to a statement from his office. "On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness," the statement read. "Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period." 'He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!'Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, on July 9, 1955, and received a law degree from the University of South Carolina. In 1982, Graham joined the U.S. Air Force as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He served on active duty until 1989, in the Guard from 1989 until 1995, and as a member of the Air Force Reserve after that until 2015. He left the Reserve having achieved the rank of colonel.Graham served stateside during the first Gulf War in legal support of departing troops. He served in Iraq briefly during the War on Terror in both Iraq and Afghanistan and received a Bronze Star for his service. For most of his career, after leaving active-duty military service, Graham has been involved in politics. He was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992 from Oconee County. Shortly after, in 1994, he was elected to South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District.After four terms in the House, Graham was elected to replace Strom Thurmond (R) as the U.S. senator from South Carolina. Thurmond had been in office since 1954. Graham was a strong supporter of an interventionist foreign policy. He was an advocate for U.S. financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and had visited the nation shortly before his passing. Graham was also a proponent of military intervention all across the Middle East, including the recent conflict with Iran. Graham was a longtime friend of fellow Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona and supported his campaigns for president of the U.S.After running for president himself in 2016, Graham became a staunch ally of his opponent in that race, President Donald Trump. Trump, in a statement on Truth Social, wrote, "Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead! He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!"Graham was never married and leaves no children.

A Florida 13-year-old male was arrested after photos of a gun and a written death threat were sent over social media, authorities said Thursday.Deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the incident on July 7 after the victim’s mother called 911 to report the threat to law enforcement, authorities said.‘I want to remind parents to stay engaged in what their kids are doing online and who they’re talking to.’The victim, also 13, received several Instagram messages earlier in the day from the suspect that included a photo of the suspect holding a handgun as well as a written message that read, “Tn 8:00 pm we be there we alr got lo,” which translates to, “Tonight 8:00 pm we be there we already got location,” authorities said.The victim told deputies he believed the suspect planned to show up at his home and shoot him at 8 p.m. that night, authorities said.The suspect later told deputies that he and the victim used to be friends but had a falling-out, authorities said, adding that the suspect also stated that he had messaged the victim that day, and they were planning to fight.Deputies arrested the suspect and transported him to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he was later transferred to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, authorities said.“Threats are no joke, and we take every threat seriously. This teen had already made plans to fight the victim, and he made it clear it wasn’t going to be a fistfight,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I want to remind parents to stay engaged in what their kids are doing online and who they’re talking to. Teach them the proper way of handling disagreements and be the sheriff of your home.”RELATED: Florida girl, 12, accused of threatening to 'shoot up' elementary school, threatening teacher Image source: Flagler County (Fla.) Sheriff’s OfficeBlaze News has reported extensively on similar arrests in Florida recently: In May, a 12-year-old girl was accused of threatening to "shoot up" an elementary school and threatening a teacher.An 11-year-old boy who was arrested in March for making a death threat was charged with the same crime in October, officials said.Also in March, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrested a 10-year-old boy and perp-walked him on camera after officials said he threatened to bring a gun to his elementary school and left a kill list in his classroom.In February, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said officers arrested a 12-year-old girl after she posted online a "detailed manifesto" about carrying out a mass shooting at a middle school due to bullying.Also in February, a pair of 15-year-olds were arrested after being accused of threatening to shoot up high schools, police said.In late October, an 11-year-old girl was arrested after writing a "kill list" at her desk at school, police said. Then just two weeks later, an 11-year-old boy from the same school district was arrested after allegedly creating a "kill list" at school, police said.Also in October, a Florida sheriff's office came under fire for posting a 9-year-old male's mug shot on Facebook after his felony arrest for allegedly bringing a knife into his elementary school.Just a week prior, that same sheriff's office said a 10-year-old was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, a third-degree felony, after bringing a pocketknife to school and threatening another student. The sheriff's office posted the suspect's name and mug shot.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!