Free Republic

Over the last November weekend of 2025, a memo circulated throughout the Federal Food and Drug Administration that might well trigger the entire unraveling of the US vaccine program with a focus on the mandated Covid shot in particular. The author is Dr. Vinay Prasad, who was a moderate critic during the Covid but has become ferocious since his appointment as the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research of the FDA. Of this memo, ACIP member and scientist Robert Malone has written: “I am stunned, gobsmacked by his letter below. The significance and importance of this letter...

“‘Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased’” (Matthew 12:18). Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate Servant, the one and only Son chosen by the Father to die for fallen sinners. The divine commendation here is a modified quotation of Isaiah 42:1–4, one of the most beautiful descriptions of our Lord anywhere in the Bible. The Father’s choice of Jesus to be His Servant was decisive and irrevocable—Christ was the one and only person perfectly qualified for the work of redemption. As the perfect choice of God, Jesus is also completely pleasing in His...

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him” (Matthew 12:14). Sometimes neither the most persuasive arguments nor the most convincing deeds will change someone’s hard-hearted opposition. Such was the case for the Pharisees’ challenge to Jesus in considering the proper significance and use of the Sabbath. He had irrefutably connected the divine virtues of benevolence, kindness, mercy, goodness, and compassion with scriptural Sabbath observance. But the Phari-sees stubbornly rejected His exhortations and clung to their legalistic works and self-styled traditions. Not even God’s Word or the powerful demonstration by His Son would...

“He said to them, ‘What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand!’ He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other” (Matthew 12:11–13). One of the tragedies of Hinduism in India is its distorted disregard for human welfare. You should not...

“‘But if you had known what this means, “I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,” you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’” (Matthew 12:7–8). God has not hesitated to set aside His laws for the sake of mercy toward sinners. Otherwise none of them would be saved or even born, because He would have destroyed them right after they sinned. God’s plan was not to condemn all sinners but to save from its penalty those who believe in His Son. And if a righteous and just God displays that kind...

“‘Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here’” (Matthew 12:5–6). Seldom would any Christian today, even the most fastidious and rule-oriented among us, consider preaching, teaching Sunday school, leading youth ministry, or other similar work as profaning the Lord’s Day. Yet these activities require much time and effort—on Sunday. Likewise, the most scrupulous of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time viewed the priests as innocent of any Sabbath breaking, even though such...

“But He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?’” (Matthew 12:3–4). David the great king, psalmist, and warrior was a true hero of the Jews, even more so than the prophets and patriarchs were. Jesus here reminds the Pharisees of what happened when David and his men sought to escape the vengeful and jealous King Saul south of...

“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath’” (Matthew 12:1–2). Keeping the Sabbath was still a binding ceremonial duty for the Jews of Jesus’ day, but most of them had little idea of God’s original purpose for the day. Instead of being a day of rest, it had become a day of burden with thousands of man-made restrictions. Ironically...

“‘Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light’” (Matthew 11:29–30). Jesus’ great invitation includes a call to submission, which inherently includes obedience and is symbolized by a yoke. The “yoke” was made of wood and designed to fit comfortably on the neck and shoulders of a work animal to prevent chafing. An ancient aphorism says, “Put your neck under the yoke and let your soul receive instruction.” By analogy, Christ wants His disciples...

“‘. . . and I will give you rest’” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus promises genuine, unsurpassed spiritual rest to every person who turns to Him in repentance and humble faith. God’s rest is a key scriptural theme, and the writer of Hebrews warns we must not take it for granted and miss it—especially if we think we’re safe and yet do not believe, much as the Jews: Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to...

“‘All who are weary and heavy-laden’” (Matthew 11:28). Everyone whom Jesus specially invites for salvation already realizes their distress, that they are “weary and heavy-laden.” The Lord mentions this after He refers to faith (“come to Me”), but chronologically it precedes faith—it is the repentance that prompts the person to trust in Jesus for salvation. “Weary” refers symbolically to strenuous work in trying to find the divine path to salvation. Christ invites all to come to Him who have exhausted themselves in searching for salvation by their own resources. Whereas “weary” denotes internal exhaustion, “heavy-laden” implies that past heavy burdens...

“‘Come to Me . . .’” (Matthew 11:28). Although infinitely beyond human comprehension, God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are inseparable in salvation. God sovereignly provides the grace that draws sinners, but they must humbly come in faith and commit to obey the Lord Jesus before salvation becomes complete. Christ makes this clear when He says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). Redemption comes not through human creed, denominational preferences, favorite rituals, certain pastors, priests, or theological gurus—but only through the atoning...

“‘All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him’” (Matthew 11:27). Human ideas and concepts are temporal and completely incapable of producing spiritual truth or guidance. Only because God has sovereignly given all things to Christ and in turn revealed the Son to men and women can any of us be saved. God must break into the vacuum of the sinful human heart and reveal Himself before we can know...

“‘All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him’” (Matthew 11:27). Any genuine invitation to salvation such as Jesus gives here must include mention of God’s revelation. Nobody, even the most sincerely religious or philosophically determined, has ever obtained real salvation unless God sovereignly revealed it—and such revelation has to include the truth that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus without doubt or qualification equates Himself with God and calls Himself...

Please join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

“‘You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight’” (Matthew 11:25–26). An infant is completely dependent on others for everything he or she needs. A baby has no resources of its own to draw upon for help. The same Greek word (for “infants”) is used of those who can’t eat solid food (1 Cor. 3:1; Heb. 5:13). It is also used of those who can’t speak (1 Cor. 13:11) and of those who are helpless (Eph. 4:14). To such spiritual babes, those who...

“‘You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight’” (Matthew 11:25–26). God does not exclude intelligent people from His kingdom but those who rely on their own intelligence for salvation. The apostle Paul was a scholar, but he didn’t abandon that brilliance to become a Christian. However, he did stop relying on that training to understand the things of God. Intellect is a gift from God, but it becomes an impediment to authentic knowledge of Him when trust in it supersedes trust in...

“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’” (Matthew 11:25). When all life’s rhetoric, rationalizations, and routines are swept aside, a person is either for Jesus Christ or against Him (cf. Mark 9:40). After performing many miracles (Matt. 4:23–24) and preaching in detail the gospel and sanctification (chaps. 5–7), Jesus more specifically urged people either to accept Him or reject Him. Here begins a final appeal of grace and mercy during His first Galilean ministry. This opening address to God calls our attention both to Christ’s unique relationship to His Father and to the...

“‘And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day’” (Matthew 11:23). Often those who have opportunity for the greatest spiritual privileges take those most for granted and enjoy them least. Such could be said for the Galilean city of Capernaum. It was the area where Christ made His headquarters and performed more miracles and preached more messages than in any other region during His earthly ministry. Yet all of this marvelous activity apparently had...

In today’s weather forecast, we are talking about a rare and spectacular northern lights display expected to light up skies across much of the United States. tonight. A powerful geomagnetic storm is underway, allowing the aurora to be visible as far south as the central Plains, Ohio Valley, and even parts of the Deep South. Skies will need to be clear and dark, so head away from city lights for the best chance to see it. Infrastructure impacts, like power grid issues, cannot be ruled out. This is one of the most widespread aurora events in years, get all the...