Jaco Pretorius

Standing on the 1621 Remonstrant Confession. Classical Arminianism: Free Grace, Universal Atonement, Conditional Election & Faith in Christ.

[Jaco Pretorius @JacoLiving4God]

Looking for a community rooted in classical, biblical Arminianism?

The Society of Evangelical Arminians (SEA) exists to defend and promote the truths of total depravity, prevenient grace, unlimited atonement, and conditional election.

Join here:

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[Homer Pavlos @HomerPavlos]

On 3 May 1821, 4.000 Muslim Turks from what was then called Bilad al-Sham arrived in Cyprus and beheaded 486 Greek Christians in a single day because they didn't convert to Islam (Bilad al-Sham was the Ottoman Syria, which included Lebanon, Jordan, Syria Palaestina, Jerusalem, Gaza, and essentially the whole region, then divided into eyalets, or provinces).

When Küçük Mehmet arrived in Cyprus, drew up a list of 486 prominent Greeks, with Archbishop Kyprianos at the top. He informed the Sultan that if these men were not exterminated, they could obtain weapons from Greece and rise in revolt.

Then the order came from the "Sublime Porte", the office of the Grand Vizier. The directive stated that all those on the list must be slaughtered, unless they changed their faith, that is, unless they converted from Christian Greeks into Muslim Turks.

On June 12, most of them were arrested in their places of residence and imprisoned in the dungeons, while 16 managed to escape.

The first to be murdered as an example was Archbishop Kyprianos. On July 9, 1821, he was hanged in the Square of the Government House in Nicosia, under a mulberry tree. On the same day, the three Metropolitans of Cyprus were beheaded: Chrysanthos of Paphos, Meletios of Kition, and Lavrentios of Kyrenia, along with many other clergymen.

On July 14, the "great massacre" took place.

Approximately 486 Greeks of Cyprus were publicly beheaded. Imagine the number, around 400 Greeks in a single day.

486 Christian heads. Greek heads. Because they didn't convert to Islam.

36 were spared from death because they converted to Islam.

The English traveler John Carne writes that he had met Archbishop Kyprianos, who, judging from the developments, foresaw the violent end that awaited him. Carne records the words of Kyprianos:

"My death is not far away. I know they are only waiting for an opportunity to kill me."

The French ambassador Jérôme Méchain writes about the atrocities committed by the Muslim Turks:

"The island of Cyprus… quiet and peaceful… if left undisturbed… is today in turmoil from the day of the arrival of a large number of troops [...] …the Musellim is becoming more and more ferocious. Every day in Nicosia he hangs, strangles or butchers unfortunate people, Christians [...]"

Meanwhile, the Swede Berggren writes:

"The Virgin Mary dressed everywhere in black, many houses were spattered with blood."

The poems that were written, such as "The 9th of July 1821 in Nicosia, Cyprus" by Vasilis Michaelides explain how much barbaric Islam is for this world.

The hatred of the Muslim Turks against the Greeks has been etched into our memories and souls.

We cannot forget. It is our duty to remember.

Read more about Ottoman tyranny in Greece from 1453 to 1825 on my profile.

- Homer Pavlos

[Renaldo “Ngamla” Gouws 🇿🇦 @RenaldoGouws]

The USA, with its five asks, has given the private sector a golden opportunity to stand up and hold the ANC accountable. Instead, most of the CEO's of these private firms are deciding to keep quiet and won't get behind asking the government to:

- Condemn the "Kill the Boer" Song
- Stop EWC laws and Nil Compensation
- Stop race-based policies in South Africa
- Stop demanding BBBEE from overseas companies
- Condemn and Commit to fighting Farm Murders

The private sector is the hardest hit by the insane government overreach. Why can't the private sector get behind these five reasonable asks? Why do they refuse to stand up for the people of this country?

[Oloyede Olayinka @YinKysmileS]

If you have ever been persuaded by an impressively woven theological system, built through selective texts and carefully constructed definitions, that Jesus Christ could not possibly have died for ALL, for EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL in the world, follow Paul to Athens with me. Because once you carefully follow the progression Paul deliberately builds, from creation to providence to repentance to the risen Christ and finally to righteous judgment, you cannot simply unsee it.

And the further Paul goes, the harder it becomes to make his “ALL” mean a secretly selected few. To slip that restriction into Paul’s “ALL” is not exegesis; it is theological bias overriding the text. Paul NEVER put the limitation there.

Paul begins:

“God that made the WORLD and ALL THINGS THEREIN, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing HE GIVETH TO ALL LIFE, AND BREATH, AND ALL THINGS; And hath made of ONE BLOOD ALL NATIONS OF MEN FOR TO DWELL ON ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” Acts 17:24–26

Before anybody tells me what “all men” means in verse 30, I want Paul to tell me who these people are.
God made THE WORLD AND ALL THINGS THEREIN. He gives ALL life and breath. He made ALL NATIONS OF MEN from one blood. He placed them upon ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

Who receives that life and breath? Only believers? Obviously not. The idolater breathes. The unbeliever eats. The wicked man wakes beneath God's sun. Jesus Himself said God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

So Paul's “all” has not begun as “all kinds of elect people.” He is talking about the human race.

Then Paul tells us something even more remarkable about why God ordered humanity's existence: “That THEY SHOULD SEEK THE LORD, if haply they might feel after him, AND FIND HIM, though HE BE NOT FAR FROM EVERY ONE OF US: For in him WE LIVE, AND MOVE, AND HAVE OUR BEING.” Acts 17:27–28

Watch the movement carefully. The “all nations of men” are the “they” who should seek the Lord. And God is “not far from EVERY ONE OF US.”

Paul is saying this while standing among pagan Athenians surrounded by idols.

Then comes the command: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now COMMANDETH ALL MEN EVERY WHERE TO REPENT.” Acts 17:30

Now tell me: who are “ALL MEN EVERYWHERE”?

We have just been told.

They belong to the world God made. They are among those to whom God gives life and breath. They comprise all nations of men. They inhabit all the face of the earth. They are among those who should seek the Lord. God is not far from every one of them.
And now God commands:

ALL MEN. EVERYWHERE. REPENT.

If “all men” suddenly means only certain individuals unconditionally selected from humanity, show me where Paul changed populations.

Where is the restriction?

Where did “all nations of men” become “some individuals from all nations”?

Where did “every one of us” become “only those selected for salvation”?

It isn't there.

But Paul is still not finished. The next word is “BECAUSE.”

“BECAUSE he hath appointed a day, in the which HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BY THAT MAN WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED; whereof HE HATH GIVEN ASSURANCE UNTO ALL MEN, in that HE HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.” Acts 17:31

Read that again slowly.

God commands ALL MEN EVERYWHERE to repent BECAUSE He will JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS through Jesus Christ, and He has given ASSURANCE UNTO ALL MEN by raising Christ from the dead.

Paul has now surrounded his command with universal language:

ALL NATIONS OF MEN.
ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
EVERY ONE OF US.
ALL MEN.
EVERYWHERE.
THE WORLD.
ALL MEN.

At what point exactly are we supposed to insert “only the elect”?

If “all men everywhere” means only a selected subset, should “judge the world” also mean God will judge only a selected subset of the world?

Nobody believes that.

Jesus says: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And BEFORE HIM SHALL BE GATHERED ALL NATIONS: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:31–32

The world that God created is the world accountable to Him. The humanity receiving life and breath is the humanity commanded to repent. And the humanity commanded to repent is the humanity warned that it will meet the risen Christ.

But here is where the argument becomes even more profound.

Why can God command every sinner everywhere to repent? Why is the risen Christ God's assurance to all men? And why can the coming judgment of that world be called judgment “IN RIGHTEOUSNESS”?

Acts 17 itself explicitly gives us Christ's resurrection, not a complete doctrine of the extent of His atonement. So we follow the risen Christ through the rest of the New Testament, and Scripture tells us what happened before that resurrection.

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if ONE DIED FOR ALL, then were all dead: And that HE DIED FOR ALL, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him WHICH DIED FOR THEM, AND ROSE AGAIN.” 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

There it is again: death and resurrection.

And notice Paul's reasoning. ONE DIED FOR ALL, because ALL WERE DEAD. The scope of human ruin and the language describing Christ's provision stand together.

Hebrews says: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; THAT HE BY THE GRACE OF GOD SHOULD TASTE DEATH FOR EVERY MAN.” Hebrews 2:9

John says: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and NOT FOR OURS ONLY, BUT ALSO FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD.” 1 John 2:2

Paul says: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of GOD OUR SAVIOUR; WHO WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, AND TO COME UNTO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; WHO GAVE HIMSELF A RANSOM FOR ALL, to be testified in due time.” 1 Timothy 2:3–6

And Jesus says: “For God so loved THE WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into THE WORLD to condemn THE WORLD; but that THE WORLD THROUGH HIM MIGHT BE SAVED.” John 3:16–17

Now the picture is coming together beautifully.

The God who gives humanity life and breath did not stop giving when humanity reached its greatest need.
He gave His Son.

The Creator's generosity toward humanity does not end with sunshine, rain, food and oxygen while salvation suddenly becomes a provision with no reference whatsoever to most of the people He commands to repent.

When Scripture finally speaks of God's supreme Gift, its language remains astonishingly broad:

THE WORLD.
WHOSOEVER.
ALL.
EVERY MAN.
THE WHOLE WORLD.
A RANSOM FOR ALL.

And now go back to Paul's word: RIGHTEOUSNESS.

“He will JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS...”

God is not judging merely for the sake of judging. The Gospel announces something God has actually done in Christ and summons sinners to respond to it. Christ died. Christ rose. God commands repentance and faith. And persistent rejection meets righteous judgment.

Jesus explains that judgment: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT IS CONDEMNED ALREADY, because HE HATH NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that LIGHT IS COME INTO THE WORLD, and MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:18–19

That is breathtaking. The Light came. The problem was not that there was no Light for them. They loved darkness.

Jesus says elsewhere: “And ye WILL NOT COME TO ME, that ye might have life.” John 5:40

There is life in Christ. Yet they refuse to come.

This is why universal provision must never be confused with universal salvation. Scripture does not say everybody is automatically saved because Christ died for all. It says: “Therefore being JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

And faith contributes no merit to Calvary:

“Now to him that WORKETH is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that WORKETH NOT, BUT BELIEVETH ON HIM that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:4–5

The sinner who believes did not provide the Lamb.
God Himself provided the Lamb. Faith simply receives what grace has provided.

And this is why God's disposition toward those who reject Him matters so much. Listen to God Himself:
“As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I HAVE NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED; BUT THAT THE WICKED TURN FROM HIS WAY AND LIVE: TURN YE, TURN YE from your evil ways; FOR WHY WILL YE DIE, O house of Israel?” Ezekiel 33:11

Notice how naturally that fits Acts 17.

“ALL MEN EVERY WHERE... REPENT.”
“TURN YE, TURN YE... WHY WILL YE DIE?”

This is not a God delighting in sinners remaining unrepentant so that He can destroy them. He is a righteous Judge, yes, but He explicitly tells us that He takes “NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED.”

Then look at Christ: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... HOW OFTEN WOULD I HAVE GATHERED THY CHILDREN TOGETHER, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, AND YE WOULD NOT!” Matthew 23:37

“I WOULD.” “YE WOULD NOT.”

And when judgment approaches Jerusalem: “And when he was come near, HE BEHELD THE CITY, AND WEPT OVER IT.” Luke 19:41

The Judge weeps over those approaching judgment.

That should stop us from constructing a theology in which the destruction of the wicked becomes something God secretly delights in while publicly pleading with them to turn.

Now return one final time to Athens.
Paul's argument begins with the world God created, moves to all humanity sustained by His goodness, tells us humanity should seek Him, declares Him not far from every one of us, commands all men everywhere to repent, announces the risen Christ to all men, and warns that the world will be judged in righteousness through Him.

Then the rest of Scripture tells us why Christ can be proclaimed to that world:

“ONE DIED FOR ALL.”
“TASTE DEATH FOR EVERY MAN.”
“NOT FOR OURS ONLY... THE WHOLE WORLD.”
“A RANSOM FOR ALL.”
“GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD.”

And Scripture tells us why some nevertheless perish:

“HE HATH NOT BELIEVED.”
“MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT.”
“YE WILL NOT COME TO ME, THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE.”

That is what makes the coming judgment so solemnly righteous. The Judge is not indifferent. God has acted in Christ. The Gospel announces that act to sinners. God commands repentance. Christ is offered as the object of faith. Yet the Light can be rejected, the outstretched hands resisted, and the Savior refused.

And so the Bible ends exactly where this theology would lead us to expect: “And the Spirit and the bride say, COME. And let him that heareth say, COME. And let him that is athirst COME. And WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.” Revelation 22:17

From Athens to Calvary, from the empty tomb to the final judgment, the picture holds together:

The God who gave all humanity breath did not withhold humanity's greatest provision. He gave His Son. The Christ who died for all rose again. The risen Christ is proclaimed to all. God commands all men everywhere to repent. Whosoever believes receives life. Those who reject the Light remain accountable. And the same Christ whom humanity is commanded to receive will one day judge that world “IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

That is not a Gospel searching for a tiny, hidden group of specially selected sinners. That is a Gospel for the world, purchased by Christ, proclaimed to all, received by faith, and rejected only at the sinner’s peril. So preach it exactly as God gave it: TO EVERY CREATURE UNDER HEAVEN. Do not make Calvary smaller than Scripture makes it.

[Sojourner @Sojournerism]

Can I be recruited into a BBEE position? The answer is no.
Can I employ whomever I choose based on merit and not race ? The answer is no.
Can I secure a place at university based solely on my scholarly achievements without ticking a race box? The answer is no.
Can I apply for a water license for agricultural use? The answer is no.

The country’s laws are not being misrepresented. The country’s leaders are misrepresenting the laws.

[Jaco Kleynhans @JacoKleynhans]

It was unwise for South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, to share a platform yesterday with Bernie Sanders and figures from the Democratic Socialists of America who treat the United States as an imperial villain. For South Africa, the US is first and foremost a major trading partner whose policies directly affect AGOA access, investment, and access to global platforms. The speakers in New York last night can reasonably be described as left-wing extremists who have spent years romanticising sanctioned states such as Cuba, Iran, Somalia and Venezuela, while downplaying the costs of race-preferential policies such as DEI in the United States. They treat American power as the root of most global problems. That South Africa is aligning itself with this rhetoric immediately after Washington imposed targeted visa restrictions over land expropriation and minority-rights concerns only confirms the impression that Pretoria values ideological solidarity more than pragmatic damage control. Sharing a stage with them in New York, at a time when US–SA relations are already critically strained, risks turning a necessary diplomatic visit into a public endorsement of the very anti-American framing that has already produced economic and consular pushback, when South Africa can least afford to narrow its options with the world’s largest economy.

[January Littlejohn @JanuaryDoNoHarm]

So sad to see @GuyattGH flush his career down the toilet by endorsing the quackery of Dr. McNamara. Watch @Miriam_Grossman destroy her testimony in under 5 minutes.

[Rieb van Janbeeck @RiebvJanbeeck]

Robert Petrus Rodrick Stoltz was found severely assaulted inside his South African residence in 2025. Preliminary investigations revealed that he had been attacked with a steel rod while outside in the yard. After losing consciousness, he was dragged into the house and placed in the bathroom with his hands tied behind his back and a cloth stuffed into his mouth. He later succumbed to his injuries.

26-year-old Bobo Mokoena Mathibe was sentenced for murder and robbery to 19 effective years.

Rus in Vrede, Oom Robert. 🙏🏻✝️

[Martin Sellner @MartinSellner_]

Philippine never turned 20.

Today 2 years ago Moroccan Taha Oualidat, already convicted of rape, raped and strangled the beautiful young student.

Her family found her body in a park after a desperate search.

Just like her, all of Europe is being raped and strangled.

Support the @SaveEuropeAct to stop this.

[Martin Sellner @MartinSellner_]

Die 19-jährige Philippine Le Noir de Carlan, Studentin und Pfadfinderleiterin, ging am 20. September 2024 in Paris spazieren.

Dort traf sie auf den 22-jährigen Marokkaner Taha Oualidat. Er war bereits wegen Vergewaltigung verurteilt und sollte abgeschoben werden. Weil Marokko ihn nicht zurücknahm, wurde er aus der Abschiebehaft entlassen.

Zwei Wochen später vergewaltigte und erwürgte er Philippine. Ihre Familie fand ihre Leiche am nächsten Tag halb vergraben in einem Park.

Remigration hätte sie gerettet.
Die linke Politik hat sie getötet.
Unterstützt den @SaveEuropeAct um das Morden zu beenden.

[South African Institute of Race Relations @IRR_SouthAfrica]

Are you GATVOL of ticking race boxes?

[Paula Breytenbach🇿🇦🇺🇸 @PolyannaBrey]

APARTHEID was a law instituted in 1948 which discriminated against people according to race.

The B-BBEE Act of 2003 is a law - updated in 2013 by parliament to strengthen compliance - that discriminates against people according to race.

[Renaldo “Ngamla” Gouws 🇿🇦 @RenaldoGouws]

Most ANC voters wont support you anymore because they see what you deliver.

The US is our second biggest trading partner with over 600 companies here investing hundreds of billions and employing hundreds of thousands.

They offer more than you ever have to the people of South Africa. Stop trying to vilify them. They are asking you to adhere to our own constitution. Nothing more and nothing less.

[Pookie's Polls & Opinions @pookiepolls]

Danie Moolman was shot 5 times on his farm in Leeupoort, and passed away 5 weeks later due to septicemia.

Mr Moolman and his son were shot while his wife and daughter were also assaulted.

The criminal scum fled with their vehicle, which was the same evening together with goods stolen from the farm.

SOUTH AFRICA IS NOT SAFE FOR MINORITIES.

@realDonaldTrump @elonmusk @SecRubio @BrentBozell

[Rieb van Janbeeck @RiebvJanbeeck]

The madness of South African race laws.
This was in the middle of an electricity crisis.

[Skye @SkyeZedA]

This you?

[Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec]

We live in a time of great evil and chaos

We must turn to Christ

[Sir Lebona Cabonena @LCabonena]

A black person and a white person in South Africa both go to a bank and apply for a loan to buy a farm. After a certain period, they both paid off their loans and have title deeds.

But according to the ANC and EFF, black person has bought the land but a White person stole it.

I struggle to understand that logic!!!

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali @Ayaan]

I have spent years exposing the networks of political Islam. In this essay, I trace the money, the ideology, and the connections linking Doha to South Africa. Follow the money. Follow the network.

[Kallie Kriel @kalliekriel]

The comments on my post below prove @AfriForum's point that there are elements in South Africa that celebrate farm murders by showing utter disrespect for the victims of these crimes and their families.

As usual, we do not hear the South African government condemning this kind of hateful speech. They continue to deny the scourge of farm murders by refusing to declare farm murders a priority crime. Yet they have declared many other crimes, including rhino poaching, a priority crime.

For them, it seems to be: save the rhinos and forget the Afrikaners (Boers) and farmers. How about saving both?

[Homer Pavlos @HomerPavlos]

One of the most horrific tortures during the Ottoman period was that of the hooks or "tsigkelia", as the Muslim Turks called them. On the walls of cities or on specially erected scaffolds, large hooks with sharp, sharpened points were fixed. The naked victim, a Christian, was thrown onto the hooks from high up on the walls or was hoisted up with special pulleys and dropped onto the hooks of the scaffolds. There he remained impaled for days, tormented by terrible pains until he finally expired. If, moreover, the hooks had not pierced a vital organ, the torture could last several days.

Historical accounts mention the presence of such a scaffold with hooks in the central square of Heraklion (Candia), where many Cretans, mainly rebels, met their tragic end.

The Ottoman lords had a well-known proverb on their lips: "A head that does not bow falls." The execution of the sentence was carried out in public view by a specialized executioner called makelaris (a Greek-Byzantine word meaning "butcher"), with the well-known curved Ottoman sword, the yataghan. The victim arrived at the place of slaughter ridiculed and publicly shamed. Before the execution he had, as a rule, been beaten and often mutilated. The punishment itself was painless and instantaneous, but the entire preceding process made it agonizing. The body and head remained exposed for days. Often the victim's head was impaled on a pole and paraded through the city, especially if the victim happened to be an officially wanted person. Other times it was preserved and sent to the Sultan himself. Still other times the head remained hung or impaled in a prominent position for days, until the natural decomposition of its features began.

The torture of beheading was naturally also connected with the fate of the Four Martyrs who concern us in the present work. Indeed, the Synaxarion of the Saints confirms everything we have said so far. After harsh tortures and public humiliation through the streets of Rethymno, the Saints ended up in the square of the Great Gate, which today bears their name in their honor, to be beheaded.

Apart from the official executions, there were also the mass slaughters of Christian populations in cases where the Islamic-Ottoman state wanted to demonstrate its power. The main pretext for the massacres was reprisals against revolutionary movements. Alongside the official figures who were publicly executed (bishops, notables, etc.), unruly hordes of Janissaries would rush into Christian homes, break down doors, kill anyone they found in front of them, and then plunder the house, seizing whatever they liked. When leaving, in many cases they also set the house on fire.

Theochares Detorakis, in his "History of Crete", conveys a chilling piece of information. When they killed Bishop Gerasimos of Rethymno in 1821, they opened his chest, removed his heart, and sprinkled their banners with its blood in order to achieve victories against the infidels. The entire description of the incident directly evokes cannibalism from a primitive era.

- Homer Pavlos