The Albanian Braveheart: Skanderbeg, Ottomon Slave Trade, & Janissaries

In his book Defenders of the West , author and historian Raymond Ibrahim asserts that the single most important institution of the 15th century Ottoman state was that of slavery . The Ottoman Empire enslaved millions of white Europeans , which far surpassed the transatlantic slave trade involving the black slaves .

There were several purposes that Christian slaves served for the Ottoman Empire , including sex slavery , which affected not only the women but many of the men and especially the young boys as well . This was closely tied to the practice of defshirme , which was the practice made by the Turkish oppressors of kidnapping sons from Christian nations as a form of blood tax .

Many of those sons , as we'll see more in just a moment , would become janissaries , but would also be victims of sexual assault at the hands of their Muslim lords . The other most obvious role for slavery was that it supplied skilled labor to the Turkish workforce . There was great labor to the Turkish workforce .

There was great profit to the Muslim state in taking the best and brightest from Christian nations and forcing them to serve the Ottoman Empire , but it also kept Christian countries weak and subservient . This type of slavery made use of mentally and physically gifted Christians as soldiers and administrators , government officials and other well-trained military leaders .

Quite obviously , this type of slavery strengthened the Turks and , as Ibrahim says , it was also meant to weaken and bleed dry the Christian nations . Man-stealing also reflected one of the key changes in tactics for Turkish forces .

Early conflicts between Christianity and Islam were fought in traditional ways on the battlefield or through tribal raiding , theft and territorial expansion . As we saw in the episode of the Crusades , wild horse charges from Muslim forces were often no match for the grinding , discipline and efficient order of Western armies .

Over time , islamic forces realized they would have to adapt to Western fighting styles . They did so mainly by stealing European soldiers and forcing them to fight in their armies . The Greek historian Dukas explains the original fighting methods of the Islamic peoples .

He says the following the nation of the Turks , more than any other , is a lover of rapine , that is , the violent seizure of property and injustice . This is true even against their own kinsmen . If their attacks are aimed at Christians , what more need be said If they hear the herald's voice summoning them to the attack .

They descend like a flooding river uninvited , the majority without purse and foot pouch , and without spears and swords . Countless others come running , swelling the number of troops , the majority of them carrying nothing but a club in their hands . They rush against the Christians and seize them like sheep . They continue to do this every day" .

Because the Muslims quickly realized that such primitive warfare was not as effective against Christian soldiers , they decided to take European boys as slaves and then train them as warriors . In order to compete militarily with the Europeans , they appropriated their methods of warfare as well .

These troops of Christians turned Turks became known as Janissaries , which means new soldier in English . The Janissaries became the most feared component of Islamic warfare . From a young age , janissaries were trained as infantry shock troops .

From the 14th century and onward , all Christians from the Balkan region , which included Albanians , bulgarians , greeks , macedonians , romanians and Serbians , were forced to make a blood tribute payable only in their own flesh . In other words , christians were forced to send their boys , often as young as 8 years old , to serve the diabolical Islamic death machine .

Of course , the blood tribute was forced on pain of death , so no unwilling parents could avoid the tax After being stolen from their homes , the children were taken to the center of the Ottoman Empire , where they were indoctrinated as Muslims and trained as soldiers .

Where they were indoctrinated as Muslims and trained as soldiers , they were degraded to the level of animals , according to chroniclers of that time period , and became fiercely attached to the sultan , proof that they were among the earliest prey to what is now called Stockholm Syndrome .

This condition is also known as trauma bonding and is a psychological response in which victims develop positive feelings toward their abusers . It's often linked to high-prof profile kidnappings today and hostage situations , but it can also occur in other abusive situations , such as domestic abuse , child abuse , human trafficking and abusive work situations .

Not all of the kidnapped children , however , were so easily indoctrinated , especially if they were older children . Some of them would hold secret gatherings where they would affirm their Christian faith together . As such , the Muslims planted spies everywhere among the young Janissaries , and seldom were they ever left unwatched .

Even these atrocities committed by the Muslims have been whitewashed and portrayed by Western academics as quote the equivalent of sending a child away for a prestigious education and training for a lucrative career . End quote . What these revisionist historians ignore is that this type of education , if you want to call it .

That included being kidnapped and sexually defiled regularly by Muslims , beaten and whipped for no reason and suffering all sorts of other evils . Such foolish statements made by modern revisionist historians are far from the truth . Consider , for example , this 16th century testimonial Quote Think , ye , of the heart-rending sorrow .

How many mothers scratch out their cheeks , how many fathers beat their breasts with stones , what grief these Christians experience on account of their children , who are separated from them while alive . And how many mothers say it would be better to see them dead and buried in our church rather than to be taken alive in order to become Turks and abjure our faith .

Better , my son , that you had died . End quote . But as with many events in history , the Lord would use this merciless tyranny of Islam for a good purpose , as out of the Janissaries would arise one of the greatest champions of Christ ever known . Out of the Balkan countries , albania was the most targeted for slavery by the Ottoman Empire .

The Ottomans desired the handsome youths and pretty girls that dwelt in that country . After raiding and pillaging for some years , the Ottomans fully subdued Albania in 1415 . Sultan Murad II took the nobles' sons as hostage to ensure the subjugation of the country .

One of these nobles , john Castriotti , was forced to give away all four of his sons in a broker deal for peace . Three of the boys were killed by their masters and only one , george , who was 10 when he was stolen , survived . Once taken to the Ottoman capital of Andrianople , george underwent formal Janissary training .

According to contemporary historians , george was not even challenged by the Janissary training . He loved war as a child , and back in his home country of Albania , he had spent many hours training every day at the craft of war . He hardened himself from a young age , often sleeping outside in blizzards or in the incredible heat .

This is shocking , surely , for anyone , let alone a boy under the age of 10 . The training George received at the hands of the Muslims only fueled his passion for the craft of battle . He rose very quickly in the ranks of the Janissaries , fighting everywhere he was needed and never once losing a battle . He became a decorated Muslim general .

George passed the physiognomy test as well . He was a legendary physical specimen . He was tall and slender and muscular . He had a powerful voice , with black hair and fiery eyes . His strength is equated to that of Godfrey of Bouillon , for in fact his sword swing could cleave a man in two and often did .

George's remarkable strength , leadership and appearance caused the Muslims to give the young man the nickname of Skanderbeg , which means Lord Alexander in English . The Albanians were said to have descended from Alexander the Great's line , hence the name . The stories from Skanderbeg's life as a Janissary offer insight into how formidable he really was .

Once , a Muslim peer grew jealous at Skanderbeg and his fame and challenged him as a result to a duel . Skanderbeg stripped off his shirt and accepted the duel . Marin Barlitius , the main biographer of Skanderbeg , paints the picture of Skanderbeg's impressive physique and prowess .

He says the following Skanderbeg , both by voice and by countenance , betrayed a wonderful resolution and assurance , and the Ottoman audience was impressed with his manly perfection . His arms looked as if nothing like them had ever been seen . His neck was strong and somewhat bending , such as possessed by wrestlers . His shoulders were big and marvelously spread .

The color of his visage was fair and white , and the cast of his eyes was straight and pleasant , without any blemish or imperfection . Like Alexander the Great , he was built like a giant . Physically , he was invincible" . During the duel , skanderbeg struck the Tatar's head off with a single blow , then proudly held the skull aloft in victory .

Sultan Murad was impressed by Skanderbeg and gave him privilege and status in his court . Soon , skanderbeg was given command of a 5,000-unit cavalry regiment . After that , he commanded a regiment of Janissaries . In 1428 , the Ottomans and the Venetians went to war .

Skanderbeg's father , john Castriotti , and the Albanians quickly allied themselves with the Venetians , hoping to rid themselves of the Muslim tyranny . Sultan Murad raised a massive army , declared a holy war and handily defeated the Albanians , taking John Castriotti's lands as well in the process .

After the war , the Sultan increased the amount of slaves the Muslims were taking from the Albanians . A few years later , in between 1433 and 1436 , the Albanians retook their home while the Sultan was busy elsewhere . Enraged , the Sultan returned in 1436 and devastated the Albanian land again , destroying John Castriotti's lands .

Castriotti had traded away his sons in exchange for the peace of his country , and now he had neither sons nor peace . He died shortly after the Sultan retook Albania . During all of this , skanderbeg had been elsewhere fighting for the Sultan . When a group of Christians approached him asking him to return to Albania and Christianity , he dismissed this as blasphemy .

After Sultan Murad resubdued Albania and John Castriati died , the Sultan made Skanderbeg the ruler of the Albanian city of Kroia in 1438 . Ironically , the city was part of Skanderbeg's rightful inheritance , as was the city of Dibra , which is where he relocated .

Nearly two years later , in 1443 , john Hunyadi and the Hungarians began their long campaign against the Ottoman Empire and Sultan Murad . On November 3rd of the same year , the Hungarians and Ottomans collided in Serbia . Skanderbeg was there leading a regiment of Ottoman troops .

Then , suddenly , in the midst of battle , skanderbeg led his men in a full retreat and everyone was mystified Seeing their brilliant and invincible leader retreat . The Muslims were thrown into a fierce panic . It was a clever and perfectly timed ruse , for Skanderbeg had turned on his former Muslim captors .

In the ensuing chaos , skanderbeg escaped the Muslim army with 300 loyal Albanians . Before he left , skanderbeg had forced the Sultan's secretary to send a message to the governor of Kroja . The message was in the name of the Sultan and ordered the current governor to hand over Kroja to Skanderbeg . Afterwards , skanderbeg put the messenger to death .

Kroja was centrally located in Albania and highly fortified , and also very rich . It would be instrumental in the retaking of Albania , which Skanderbeg clearly knew when he used clever trickery to take the city .

On November 28 , 1443 , he arrived at Kroia's famous White Castle and gave the governor of the city the Sultan's decree , the governor immediately handed over the city and departed for Adrianople . That night , skanderbeg's warriors slipped over the castle walls and slew the remaining Muslim garrisons .

Skanderbeg's first action as ruler of Croia was to raise his family standard once again , which was a double black-headed eagle set against a red background . The taking of Croia was so important . Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote poetry about the event several hundred years later , in the 19th century .

This is a portion of the poem the crescent banner falls and the crowd beholds instead , like a portent in the sky , iskender's banner fly , the black eagle with double head and shouts ascend on high .

For men's souls are tired of the Turks and their wicked ways and works that have made of Akisar , the white castle , a city of the Turks and their wicked ways and works that have made of Akhisar , the White Castle , a city of the plague , and the loud exultant cry that echoes wide and far is long live Skanderbeg .

The next day , in Kroya's cathedral , skanderbeg officially proclaimed himself a Christian and the avenger of his family . Before making a public reveal of his true intentions , skanderbeg's mind had often been known only to a few . He knew that any slip he had made in the presence of a leader in the Ottoman Empire , and he would have been killed as a traitor .

In fact , skanderbeg had been a Christian his entire life , but had simply bade his time waiting for the moment to strike . He later said of his own predicament that I hardly dared to trust myself with my own conception of my plans . End quote .

After crossing into Albania , an event which Ibrahim likens to Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon , skanderbeg was not sure his countrymen would support his rebellion . Much to his excitement , however , it was exactly the opposite . About his countrymen , skanderbeg said this quote it was not that I put arms in your hands , for I found you ready in arms .

I found you everywhere , bearing the signs of liberty , in your hearts , in your faces , in your swords and in your lances .

And as most loyal teachers and guardians ordained by my father , you have put the scepter in my hands with no less faith and diligence than as if you had kept and preserved it especially for me , even unto this day , and you have brought me , by your effort and careful care , into my ancestral possession of Kroia , without shedding any Albanian blood . End quote .

A contemporary source during the life of Skanderbeg was Konstantin Mihailovic , who said that the reason Sultan Murad defeated the Albanians so easily was that one looked on while he was defeating another . Ibrahim refers to Albanian discord as a chronic disunity .

Skanderbeg was aware of this fact , and so , on March 2nd 1444 , he gathered the feudal lords and nobles of Albania in Alessio at St Nicholas Cathedral . At this meeting , skanderbeg lamented the Christians' gullibility at the hands of Muslim plots and treachery , and emphasized the need for unity among Christian brothers in order to defeat this great enemy of Islam .

Skanderbeg gave his father as a chief example of Christian gullibility . He said , quote I would to God that the credulity and light beliefs of us Christians would at once come to an end and that we would at once wax weary of the treachery of the Ottomans . Skanderbeg also knew that war would be bloody .

Later in their meeting he said this All men generally will call me cruel and will detest me , and I cannot think without horror as a new author of wars and perils and of bloodshed and murder .

Think without horror as a new author of wars and perils and of bloodshed and murder , whereas they ought rather be , it said , without boasting , to call me the preserver of their liberty , end quote . Now here is talk of a man's man . Skanderbeg understood what the consequences of his actions would bring . He knew the cost of his and his countrymen's freedom .

Death would be on the Albanian doorstep and cowards everywhere would say that blood was well on his hands . But confident and competent Skanderbeg asserted that he knew he was doing the righteous thing . He was actually the liberator of the Albanians . He knew liberty and freedom would have a price , and all who were unwilling to pay it well they were cowards .

So he would pursue the righteous cause even if much blame fell on his own head . To conclude his talk , he did not end by slandering the nobles . Instead , as all great leaders do , he encouraged them to glory in a positive tone .

Up then he cried let us levy and muster our soldiers and let us make known unto all ages to come that we are men worthy of a Christian nation . Skanderbeg then formed an alliance with the Albanian aristocracy known as the League of Alessio . Skanderbeg was immediately chosen to be the commander of the armies .

Now that he had the support of the nobles , skanderbeg turned to rallying the people of the villages who would serve in his armies . Due to Skanderbeg's charisma and deep personal belief in his own cause , his army grew quickly . The army was mostly filled with peasants , farmers , highlanders , shepherds and cowpokes .

All new recruits were chosen for their physical stamina , their mental alertness , their family background , their deep religious belief and , above all , their love of freedom . In Skanderbeg's army he had three branches cavalry , infantry and guerrilla . The purpose of the guerrilla branch was to confuse and terrify numerically superior enemies like the Turks .

It did not take long for the entire country to take up the process of army building with its zealous righteousness . One historian said this blacksmiths and craftsmen , like their predecessors of biblical times , literally began beating plowshares into swords Almost overnight . They most excitedly produced bows , steel-nosed arrows , lances , halberds , arquebuses , pikes and axes .

The very sharp swords and daggers which they created with loving care would still be hot when thrust into the eagerly awaiting hands of Skanderberg's puny army . End quote by May of 1444 , skanderberg's army was 8,000 men with a 10,000 man reserve .

It was an impressive feat to gather an army in such short time , yet still minuscule compared to the hundreds of thousands of well-trained Ottoman soldiers which would no doubt be on the way . If the Albanians stood any chance , they would have to use guerrilla tactics and rely upon their unconquerable fighting spirit .

The first test of the Albanians' new army came in June of 1444 . Sultan Murad signed a peace treaty with King Ladislaus III of Hungary , then turned to Albania to put down the revolt of his previous protégé . 40,000 Ottomans were deployed to Dibra .

Skanderbeg told his men to take up arms to break the chains of so long a servitude and bondage and to drive the enemy from our soil .

With 15,000 men , skanderbeg went to engage in battle with the Turks as some of his men quivered in fear in the face of such a great army , skanderbeg said that all who wish to go home should leave , as those men were quote unworthy of the air he breathes . End quote .

Skanderberg said quote I will judge your merits when I see your swords smoking with the blood of the Turks . End quote . Skanderberg gave the impression that his army was smaller than it was by lighting very few fires and having his men speak in low voices . When the Turks charged them on June 29th , the Albanians disbanded quickly and retreated into the mountains .

Characteristically arrogant , the Muslims over-pursued their enemies with reckless abandon . Skanderbeg had lured them into a trap , with his nephew , hamza Skanderbeg , and 3,000 Albanian horsemen plunged into the disorderly Turkish ranks . The Turks were completely surprised .

The ambush turned into a bloodbath as the battle continued and the Albanians grew more comfortable fighting their general slaughter of the Muslim forces increased . Only 120 Albanians had perished that day , compared with the 22,000 Turks who met their demise . For every Albanian slain , roughly 183 Turks were killed .

The battle was a resounding success for the Albanians and caught the attention of several European magnates as well . Pope Eugene IV saw Skanderbeg as a potential lightning rod for Christian resistance to the Muslim yoke . King Ladislas III of Hungary sent Skanderbeg a congratulatory letter saying what can be more glorious than this victory ?

Skanderbeg thanked him , extolling him as a fellow defender of the faith , and he also criticized European disunity , which left countries like Albania and Hungary to bleed by themselves . Skanderbeg then moved to join Ladislaus to fight the Turks at Varna , but he was blocked by the Serbian ruler , george Brankovic , who had a peace treaty with the Sultan .

Aware of the threat Skanderbeg posed to his peace , brankovic prohibited Skanderbeg from passing through his land . As a result , the Christians were defeated at Varna and Laudislas was decapitated . Enraged Skanderbeg ravished Brankovic's land , burning and pillaging everywhere he went .

The Muslims , as Skanderbeg well knew , used a very effective divide-and-conquer strategy against the Christians . Murad would grant a peace treaty to one Christian kingdom if they would refuse to support their Christian neighbors . In time , the sultan would surround , strangle and retake whichever kingdoms remained .

Again , it serves as a grave warning for Christians today , who can be so easily provoked into attacking and weakening each other instead of banding together against a common enemy . Throughout 1444 and 1445 , skanderbeg made various inroads against Turkish occupation . It was said that the possessions of the Sultan were the revenues of Skanderbeg .

In late 1445 , skanderbeg defeated a Turkish army four times as large as his own . Skanderbeg won several other skirmishes throughout 1445 , enough to keep him on the Sultan's mind . Even though Sultan Murad had won a stunning victory at Varna , he remained frustrated by Skanderbeg and referred to the Albanians in his letters as pig-headed .

Sultan Murad tried to win Skanderbeg over with guile and words . When his armies failed in Albania , he wrote in one letter to Skanderbeg over with guile and words . When his armies failed in Albania , he wrote in one letter to Skanderbeg . Next , sultan Murad expressed concern for Skanderbeg's soul , since he had turned from the Islamic religion .

After that , he offered Skanderbeg a full pardon if he returned to the service of the Sultan . Skanderbeg was not such a fool as to fall for the Sultan's tricks . He had spent his entire life in Turkish company and was accustomed to their trickery , lies and treachery . Upon seeing the Sultan's letter , skanderbeg merely smiled .

He responded on July 12 , 1445 , writing , quote and partly to the waywardness of your nature and the rest of your conceived grief , which I know you can hardly moderate , and rather for that reason I have not set down myself to contend with you in foul and unbecoming language , but with arms and the just fury of war , end quote Skanderbeg also said that the

Sultan's concern for his soul was ironic , since the Sultan was a studious defender of a most damnable error , as he called it . Skanderbeg finished his letter by saying , quote Therefore , hereafter , cease your angry threats and tell us not of the Hungarian fortune at Varna .

Every man has his own resolution and every man a particular providence of his own actions , and so will we , with patience , endure such fortune as it shall please God to appoint us , meanwhile , for direction of our affairs . We will not request counsel of our enemies , nor peace .

Scanderbeg charged Murad with grave humiliations , which included the fact that the sultan had sexually defiled him as a young boy , a fate very common for other janissaries .

One contemporary chronicler noted that Skanderbeg , the son of John Castriotti , as a child had attended the Sultan's porte , had been the Sultan's young lover , which is one obvious reason Skanderbeg had so long planned his escape , although it has been conveniently left out of the history books written in modern times . The Turks had a notorious penchant for pederasty .

As MJ Akbar writes , the Christians were particularly aghast at the open homosexuality . Venice had forbade lads under 14 from visiting Istanbul for fear they would be affiliated with what they called the Turkish disease . End quote this was the singular , most important reason Christian parents feared the blood tax .

Often they would mutilate their sons to prevent them from being included in the Janissary ranks . Murad did not immediately move upon the Albanians , but unfortunately for Skanderbeg , his fame and renown grew so much that even the nobles of Albania were growing jealous of him .

The same was true of the Venetian government , which resented Skanderbeg's new and immense power . The Venetians tried to assassinate Skanderbeg in 1447 , though the plot failed . Because of this treacherous plot , however , the Albanians and Venetians would go to war . The jealous Venetians made a partnership with the Ottomans to try and stamp out the Albanian star .

In turn , murad led an army of 80,000 soldiers to fight at Svetigrad , the crucial fortress of eastern Albania . Skanderbeg's nephew , hamza , led the Albanian forces against Murad there . While Skanderbeg fought the Venetians on the other side of Albania , skanderbeg made short work of the Venetians , then rushed back to aid Hamza , where his nephew was under siege .

Once he arrived there , skanderbeg was challenged to a duel by Ali Perez Fasha , an Ottoman commander . Although his lieutenants pleaded with him not to do it . The 45-year-old Skanderbeg accepted the challenge . The men charged each other on horseback . Year old Skanderbeg accepted the challenge . The men charged each other on horseback .

Skanderbeg swiftly slew his opponent , as he always did in single combat , but the duel had been a distraction . During the fight , the Turks had poisoned the wells around Svetigrad , eventually causing the city to capitulate . Sultan Murad was unable to capitalize , however , as he had to turn and face John Hunyadi from Hungary immediately following his victory .

Once again , skanderbeg was prevented from joining Hunyadi by the Serbians . Skanderbeg was positioned just 30 miles from Kosovo , but sadly , hunyadi and his army were decimated by Sultan Murad . Murad turned his full wrath towards the Albanians . He besieged the fortress of Croia with a vengeance .

While 1,500 men defended the city , skanderbeg ordered the rest of his men to engage in guerrilla tactics . The siege dragged on for eight months and yet still the Albanians refused to quit the battle . Sultan Murad , disheartened at the never-ending strength of Skanderbeg , died of humiliation . The Sultan's men lifted the siege and returned home defeated .

The victory was yet another key moment in the life and campaign of George Castriotti , aka Skanderbeg , lord Alexander , defender of the faith . The siege of Croia was perhaps the peak of Skanderbeg's campaigns . Several more times he defended the city from siege and he won time and time again .

In 1451 , skanderbeg married Donika , the daughter of a powerful Albanian noble who was a freedom fighter against the Ottomans . Skanderbeg , in turn , was more powerful than he had ever been In his wisdom as a leader , and despite the country's newfound peace , he urged his countrymen to stay alert and fit for war .

He did not want them , as so often happens , to be defeated by victory and grow complacent . He warned his countrymen that they were growing soft and slothful . He said quote have any reason to abandon our arms and let our wanted virtue lay asleep and forgotten . We must not stay indoors and dwell in pleasures and grow corrupt and effeminate . End quote .

And so , under his Spartan leadership , his armies resumed their military training and war preparations . Then , as Skanderbeg had predicted , in 1452 , the Ottomans under Muhammad II sent two armies . 1452 , the Ottomans under Muhammad II sent two armies numbering 25,000 in total into Albania .

It was another opportunity to display his military prowess , and Skanderbeg intercepted both armies and , on the same day , soundly defeated them both . The next year , skanderbeg crashed into a new , unsuspecting Muslim army in the midst of a severe thunderstorm . Caught completely off guard , some 3,000 Turks were butchered by Skanderbeg's men .

Once Ibrahim , the Muslim commander , was captured , skanderbeg cut off his head and displayed it on a pike , which is exactly what the Muslims had done to the Hungarian king , ladislaus III at Varna . It seemed as if Skanderbeg would lead the Albanians to freedom after all .

Unfortunately , during the coming years , skanderbeg would be betrayed time and again by Albanian generals who defected to the Muslim side . As modern journalist Christopher Hitchens once pointed out , the barbarians never take a city until someone holds the gates open to them . The barbarians never take a city until someone holds the gates open to them .

Such was the case in Albania , in which unprincipled nobles could be bought out for a small price . In 1467 , Skanderbeg summoned a meeting at St Nicholas Cathedral with what remained of the Albanian nobility after so many years of treachery and war . The league which he had formed some 23 years earlier was in shambles there .

Tragically , at the age of 63 , skanderbeg contracted the plague , the same sickness which had claimed the life of John Hunyadi . Skanderbeg , who was considered the Albanian braveheart , died on January 17 , 1468 . The West had lost its great defender .

After Skanderbeg's death , albania quickly capitulated , one city after another , and yet , as he lay dying , skanderbeg remained the ever-devout Christian . He said the two most important things in a man's life were to adore God by serving him faithfully and to shed one's blood in the service of his Christian countrymen .

He gave thanks for many successful campaigns against the bloodthirsty Turks .

Then he said this but now , my dear friends , in the ordinary course of human events which I have reached three score and three years of my age , seized by a grievous sickness and shorn of my accustomed strength , I begin to wax feeble and little by little , I go by the way of all flesh .

The time has come for me to lay aside this mortal and frail burden in my body . Even so , I have run the race which it pleased God to appoint to me" . He went on to give a final warning to his countrymen , and especially those in places of leadership .

He said Before my soul departs from my body and before I leave you , there is one thing of which I find it . And especially those in places of leadership , he said . By these means you have won the favor , honor and admiration of all the princes of Christendom , even hereafter , when I am dead and gone .

Let that be the only and the whole desire of your hearts . All things , I can assure you , will fall out happily for you as long as you continue steadfastly united and as long as you put the public and common good above your own personal interest .

But have no doubt whatsoever that the Ottoman tyrant will seek to cause disunity among you and to divide your forces . He will use many plots and devices to turn you one against the other and when he sees you are at variance with each other , he will in the long run oppress you one by one and utterly consume and destroy all of you . End quote .

A more grave warning could not be made either to the Albanian nobles or to men in places of leadership today . The enemy will seek to divide you so that it may conquer you .

When we examine the leadership within the church today , we find this is exactly what our enemies have been doing sowing discord , false teaching and disheartening Christians from banding together to fight a common enemy . Once prominent voices for righteous causes well , they have sold out to the highest bidders .

Will we finally hear the warning of this great Christian king from centuries ago . Skanderbeg's legacy was one of a great Christian man , a brilliant military leader and a prince who devoted himself to his people for over 25 years . He was a staunch defender of Europe and of Christianity . Even his enemies feared his name .

He died in glory , one of the greatest Christian heroes to ever live and a man of robust , courageous faith .

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Those 400,000 have roughly 30 million descendants today , so that's important . There were no eunuchs made , and we'll see why that's important . They weren't starved and literally worked to the point of death . In contrast , the Ottoman economy and other Muslim empires were almost entirely based on conquest and slavery .

So just between 1450 and 1700 , they took around 2 million slaves from Russia , poland and Lithuania . This does not count the slaves from Croatia , albania , greece and the West in Spain , france or Italy , brian , your people .

The Arabic slave trade was far larger and lasted far longer than the transatlantic slave trade , a reality that often goes unnoticed , or perhaps disregarded intentionally today , and I want to ask you guys why you think that is .

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That's the first thing Doesn't fit the narrative Because if you look at this whole project that we've been doing with looking back in history specifically and trying to recover the best things from the first Christendom and honoring our Christian fathers , then you'll find that your whole public school education , the common media narrative and everything like that , the

entertainment , we've all been catechized and are swimming in these waters of essentially white guilt , european guilt , making you feel ashamed , weaponized empathy , all of these things for all of the evils that Christianity has perpetuated .

And so it doesn't fit the narrative to say well , I mean , yes , that was bad , there are 30 million descendants now of the African slaves in the United States . Nobody says but they probably have it better than they did if they were to remain in Africa right now . Nobody says that .

And then it also it doesn't fit the narrative to say look at the slave trades around the world , especially with Islamic countries . Why did they have so many more slaves than Western countries is because they were so brutal to their slaves that their replacement rate was so much higher . They had to replace so many more slaves .

Actually , your , your buddy , bob the yeah , bob , from a speaker's corner .

You know that's not the episode for any any of the moralities or the ethics around slavery . But you see , america , the American slave trade , the slave trade of the West , was used primarily for building and cultivating and for progressing , for economics yeah , things like that . What are the ? What do Islamic countries primarily use their slaves for ?

And it's for their base pleasures . They're not based in a good way , like like horrible pleasures , uh , to perpetuate their sin and things like that . They're not building with these slaves , they are actually just using these slaves for debauchery . And so , again , I'm not saying slavery good or bad on this episode we talk about that later .

But if you just look at the uses of slaves , it's very different , and so it makes sense that the replacement cost would be so much higher .

I mean this is crazy and knowing the sexual debauchery that's going to happen , I don't know .

You know , my , our wives and our daughters are at risk . And then they hoist the rainbow flag and he goes oh no , that's pretty much . It's just the Islamic armies that are like that . They're like gay Vikings .

The whole narrative about Thomas Jefferson and children he's you know , probably sired kind of illegitimate half slave children that he sired , that was something that had to be kept in the dark . But in muslim culture it's fully in the open . It's it's a part of their conquest reward . It's a reward , it's part of their whole ethos .

There's nothing in the dark about it . Sex slavery was completely common and totally permissible . It was just yep , let's , let's go for this altogether . So you even see the differences between I mean something like Stonewall Jackson and his concern for the black slaves in the South to be educated Christianly , to have a Sunday school .

He advocated for all sorts of Christian activity and evangelism of the slaves , whereas when you get to like the Janissaries , it was brutal brainwashing , brutal rape , brutal torture to make them into expendable soldiers that you could have the double edged sword of not only military conquest but the demoralizing effect of sending the children of a nation back to go and

wage war against them .

And as I'm asking that question , I've talked to a lot of warfighters , soldiers who've come home even from the more recent campaigns , and they'll say the same thing Still rampant .

You're not allowed to talk about the problems with your god or your religious ideology and the priests of your , your religion . But you are , of course , able to do anything that you can to wage intellectual and cultural war against and physical war against your enemy .

So if Christianity is an enemy of the left and things like sodomy and Muslims , multiculturalism , the like unfettered immigration of foreigners , including Muslims , into the west to aid in their total conquest , then you'll you . You start to go oh , of course that's what's happening .

I mean , it's the same reason that you'll never hear the mainstream media talking about the astronomically higher rate of sexual child sex abuse by gay men not just muslim , I mean , like just gay men in America have an astronomically higher rate of sex , child sex abuse , but they don't want to talk about that .

They're not going to talk about that , of course they're not going to talk about that . Um , for the same reason , they're not going to talk about lesbian domestic violence or a Muslim basically debauchery . So I mean it's ?

It's all just a part of the cultural and religious warfare being waged against Christians by the demonic and satanic left , because what they want to do is demoralize Christians . They want to tell Christians that they are evil people , that are fundamentally come from an evil people , and so magnify all of their sins and faults and invent new ones as well .

Invent new ones that are you know , either by calling something that's not actually evil evil or by inventing new evils that they didn't actually do . And then , of course , they will whitewash over and they'll say no , islam , it was a bastion of scientific and mathematical learning and multiculturalism , and look how tolerant they were of minority populations .

And they'll say things like this with a completely straight face , while not mentioning the Janissaries or this , or the slave trade that , by the way , continued all the way up till today . The first war America fought was the Barbary Pirate Wars , and they were slave slavers . That was what they did in , I think , tunisia and these , you know , barbary islands .

They were just wicked slavers that would man steal and abuse , and they were just .

So what do you think about the Janissaries being the stolen Christian children who are then indoctrinated by Muslims and used to attack Christian peoples ? Right , got to be a hard pill for Christian parents . Got to be demoralizing . Do you see any connection today with the education system and what's going on with quote unquote child stealing with Christian children ?

Some reports saying the SBC loses up to 80% of its kids . Is there a parallel here with the demoralization of the left in America ?

There's something about when your daughter you pay an exorbitant amount of money to send your daughter to a public university and she comes back and is a pink haired orc and she hates everything that you stand for and is actively making war on you .

My daughter came back from her first or second semester of college and she was some list of trans identified , blah , blah , blah , all these complete mental illnesses , basically that you know left dispositions , but I repeat myself , and she was essentially disavowing his entire . You know everything that he had attempted to transmit to her .

And I think you're right that this is not a new tactic and Christians actually need to see it for what it is .

They need to see it as a part of warfare and not just as like oh , there's some differences of opinions , but we need to be a melting pot of ideas , some of this weaponization of Americanisms , to essentially get the right to capitulate , get the right to essentially surrender and say oh yeah , you know , we , it's not that I don't want those ideas to be promoted

in the universities or people to have those . I would die for your right to express your opinion . But the left is like thank you . We will now get you to send your own children to our indoctrination centers and take over all of primary , secondary and post-secondary education . I mean functionally .

What strategic steps would you , should you take , to ensure that that doesn't happen ? And it's sort of a tie to that , but the question is how far would you go , how much would you be willing to change your life in order to make sure that that doesn't happen ?

You know , all education is discipleship Not all discipleship is education , but they're being discipled and conformed into a certain image , they're being catechized to look a certain way , and that's why you know this in this Steve Dace example , where this father sent his daughter to a university and she comes back , you know , completely radicalized by the left .

And so I don't think there's any step that you could take within the law of God that would be too radical . I mean , you should order your entire life around this , protecting and insulating your kids from the left .

And this is why I find it particularly strange when we look out at Christianity as it exists today and you find traditionally conservative bulwarks within the Christian faith that continue to pander to the left . They continue to court leftist favor , and this doesn't make sense to me . This doesn't make sense to me .

The Proverbs , do they not say that bad company ruins good morals , and so it is very strange to me that you find a majority of you know of the Christian church today that continues to think the way that they win is to pander to the left , to participate in leftist events , to support the left . I don't , I don't understand this .

I don't understand it at all , because there is a reason that the SBC and other denominations it's not just them are losing most of their kids and it's because they continue to participate in the left's education , discipleship , catechism , their whole thing , their education system . My wife is telling me about a popular children's TV show , bluey .

I think it's Bluey , and the premise of the show is like mom works , dad stays at home and works remote and is around the kids when he can and Bluey kind of calls the shots .

Whatever , bluey is a dog or something like that , but just the framework of the house is like mom goes out and works and is the breadwinner and dad stays at home and this is with uh around christians and such . I've never seen it . So maybe it's a fine show , but uh , just the framework of it is like oh man , it can .

It's just everywhere you look , you know the . The common narrative right now on netflix is like it's gonna , the lgbtq agenda is going to be shoved down your throat whether you like it or not .

We're going to continue to make leftist garbage propaganda for your entertainment and shove it down your throat , and we continue to participate in these things , and so it it you end up having a couple of knee jerk reactions , right ? If you don't think through this carefully . The first thing is to bunker . Like that's the first thing .

Bunkering can be good , like having a private school . Are you bunkering your kids against a public school ? Are you protecting them ?

You're sheltering them , you're bunkering them from , from outside influence , because you want them to think a certain way and react a certain way , speak a certain way , think a certain way , all those things , but the wholesale like I don't know if this is a big issue anymore .

I don't get out a lot , but back when I was growing up , the homeschool movement that I was familiar with was complete sheltering of children . Like that's where you get the stereotype of children that can't speak to an adult , they can't reason , they can't get a driver's license because they're too terrified because they actually haven't .

They've been sheltered in all of the wrong reasons along with the right reasons that's a baby with the bath water , sort of thing , and so that can be . A real danger is sheltering your kids completely and not preparing them for the world .

But the best way to prepare them isn't to throw them into the deep end of the pool with all of the , the trannies and the and the homos and and the furries at public school . Um , it's , it's actually . There is a good bunkering and a bad bunkering .

Uh , and I don't know if you guys can think of any other examples of a knee jerk reaction in which , um which , um , you know , people maybe do harm to their kids when they think through this issue yeah , that's a good question .

And it's tied very closely , I think , to the albanian situation with skanderbeg , because he said you know , as we covered like , but throughout his life it was the albanian nobles who were siding with the turks , or other christian leaders who were siding with the Turks and opening the door . So I think part of the demoralization Brian seems to come from .

You know , we even have lots of Christian groups that you would think were like Christian and reformed and everything . Right now we're basically saying any use of power for Christians to defend themselves , to build up communities , to have political power , it's evil , it's absolutely horrible , we shouldn't do it . And so what are they doing ?

They're demoralizing , they're encouraging you to be a doormat . Just walk me through that , do you ? Do you see the same problem happening today , with basically our nobles betraying us ?

You can shape them into whatever shape you want and they will become the most radical and unquestioning , robotic followers of a movement If you can get them young , see this in , like the child soldiers in Africa , and this has been done before in multiple different ways . So this is happening If you look at a parallel in our education system taking our children .

They're not having their own , so they're taking ours . They're aiming to own the institutions where children are shaped . And what do we have amongst our elites ? Well , often what we have are Christians saying asinine things like oh well , what happens if we take all of our children out of the schools ?

They'll stop influencing them , they'll stop being salt and light . Don't you want to train your children to be missionaries ? And I'm like no more than I want to train , than I would send my child to be a Janissary soldier to convert the Muslims . Like , absolutely not .

So they're providing cover so often for these practices that basically convert our children into kamikaze , super liberal warriors , who then go back into their families and think about , like that father with his tranny , you know , converted daughter , what is a bigger piece of bait on a hook to get an older man to apostatize or embrace things like liberalism .

His daughter , then his daughter , feeling like he has to choose between Christ and his own children in affirming them . This happens all the time .

So they're sending them back to convert families and soften them , and what they're doing is they're basically getting us to see everything through negative image glasses where , instead of saying that's the evil and we need to fight against it with whatever means necessary , we need to start schools .

We're going to pull our kids out , homeschool , we need to like , absolutely say no to public schooling and all of that kind of process and public universities and this sort of thing , and instead it's the people who say that , that you shouldn't do that , who are called legalists , and you're , you're you're , you're evil and you're bigots , and you're religious extremists

and you're you know , all this sort of epithets that we get called all the time .

He knew exactly what their strategy was . And he said the way they win is they use a divide and conquer strategy . So what they would do is they would take a Christian nation and they would say hey , we'll give you peace . If you betray your neighbor , I promise we won't pick on you . And then Skanderbeg was wise to it .

He said listen , what they do is they do that until you're the last one standing , then they'll surround you too . So , dan , it seems like one of the things that we have to have in our class of quote , unquote nobility or elites , people who are ruling , is sort of an invincible courage .

You can't be dumb enough to think that if you give into the left I mean , I look at guys like Tim Keller , I look at the gospel coalition , this is exactly the game they played forever is well , we'll make peace with the New York times and then there'll be nice to us . And then , at the end of the day , what happened to TGC ?

What happened to , like , keller's movement ? It's dead , it's over , it's cooked , it's done , it's , it's cooked , it's done , it's , it's cooked . You know , put a fork in it but it's like it's been conquered .

Yeah , you're never going to appease the left into a true armistice .

The very first thing I said we need to do is to regain the political will to act in our own national interest , and that's like what is a nation ? That's what it does . That's the very thing that the uh left and the soft evangelicalism is trying to prevent is from . They're trying to basically make that into a sin .

They'll come at it from multiple vectors or let's say oh , you're , you're , you're like uh , what is it ?

you're like gondor wanting to use tolkien saran's ring , the one ring of power any power is evil power yeah , they'll use all kinds of , you know , vectors of attack to get oh you're , you're being , you're ethnically vainglorious because you're trying to promote this . You know , you're trying to have the political will to act in your own national interest .

And then , particularly when you start to say things like and and . When we talk about a nation , it can't just be an idea driven nation , this very weird 20th century concept of America as an idea . The propositional nation . You can join America just by assenting to a list of propositions .

And oh , by the way , those propositions turn out to be quite malleable and you can change them over time and we'll pretend like they never changed , like this is what all the founders meant , channies , from the beginning . Of course that's what they meant , right Right .

So you say , oh , when you recover the idea that the nation actually means a people and that , like the heritage Americans , you know that if you want to come and become a part of the US , you ought to adopt you need to be Protestant .

It's saying that a Christian king is a contradiction in terms .

I think tribalism is one of them , where you have like consolidation of one of the things that needs to happen If you're going to have any kind of progress made is that we need to build a coalition of people around the adoption of certain aims and political ideas and goals so that we can then gain , gain and leverage power to achieve those goals .

So it takes a lot of people to do that . They have to come together across lots of different lines within protestantism and christianity in in america today and there is definitely momentum behind some of this .

But because that momentum is building around political aims that fundamentally challenges the presuppositions of the majority position in the West today , you're going to have a fear reaction to that by people who have assumed that the status quo is moral and good and normative instead of radical and novel and insane , which it is .

People that assume that the post-World War II consensus and the moral presuppositions about things like race and immigration , all these things are just obviously this is what everybody's always believed . Who's been a Christian ?

And then people like Stephen Wolfe or Zachary Garris in our book , or you know , we go back and we start to say no , no , no , christians didn't always believe these things .

These were mainly foisted on us by radical cultural shifts brought on by liberalism , communism , marxism and other isms that are really would like to kill you , and so you should shed those false ideas and embrace more sound , historically robust Christian positions .

On things like national self-interest and that's really scary it's much more comfortable to operate within the rules that the elites in the system have established as the rules that everybody must play by , because if you start throwing those rules out all of a sudden , you are an enemy number one .

You're like you're the one that particularly they must destroy , because you're not just questioning how we live within their matrix . You're saying unplug yourself from the matrix .

We have a lot of people in Christian reform camps saying things like if you believe that the Constitution is dead , this is contra biblical teaching , you know , and it's interesting because guys like Christopher Caldwell wrote a New York Times bestseller talking about how civil rights killed the constitutional era .

It was probably dead before that , granted , but whatever was left of it was killed . I mean , civil rights has destroyed the original constitution , not a Christian nationalist , not any of those things . But yet you have people today saying well , let me give you the biblical nuance position . This is wicked and evil to say the constitution is dead .

So you have to recognize that a huge percentage of america , or of any population , up to and including the population of the entire world , is there's a huge percentage of people that just aren't that smart , they're not going to be capable't that smart , they're not going to be capable of deep political thinking they're not going to be capable of , you know , nuance .

They're not going to be capable of conditional . You know understanding of propositions and right . So when you start saying let's talk about classical political theory and you , you know taking him back through the reformation and the medieval time and Greek , roman and Greek thought , you've completely , you're just not making an impact .

You might as well be speaking Mandarin Chinese to a lot of people .

So if you can make really easily packaged , pithy , um , kind of false ideas that are convenient to your movement , that are easily absorbed and uh , what's the word harmonious with the current thinking , that is , has no cost to adopt , then that is that you , you can use that to sway a huge percentage of the population America is built on the backs of hardworking

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Well , it's probably why you have a lot of people who are , you know , kind of using that whole language of gospel centeredness and gospel centrality and like somehow tying that to the constitution . You're like , oh , this is , this is a different category . Yeah , I'm failing to get it . It's actually really interesting , because what ?

That's what they're doing is by making these sorts of statements .

And what you're doing is you're implying that there is a huge percentage of christians out there who are successfully promoting the idea of violently dominating your family and things like that , you're like well , it's just a smear , it's , it's called , it's the poisoning . The well is the name of the strategy .

You just poison the well by ascribing , even subtly and by implication , man deniable . Deniably , because you could always find some crazy random anonymous twitter account . That's like no , I totally believe in violently dominating your wife and and then just see it's out there . It's everywhere . People , people , everywhere , are saying this . I actually saw this .

You never named the people that you're actually hoping people will conclude you're talking about yeah , so that they could defend themselves and be like hey , by the way , here's 18 contradictions of that and some nuance , and you know that's not what I'm saying .

But they were saying , yeah , we're tired of being treated like we suck and we're tired of the war against middle America , so maybe some recipes for success as well there . Do you , gentlemen , as you look at particularly church leadership , do you see stuff panning out for the better in that regard ?

Or do you kind of see it maybe a Scanderbeg situation where it's like we're going to have to fight ? We have to realize we're probably going to be betrayed by our own and there's probably more betrayals coming .

So since we started recording , we live in a nation where that is , of background world to the evangelical world , to almost any sort of political arena or arena of ideas , and you know that that cultures and things like that .

So we just have to understand that we live in a world that's fundamentally hostile to Christianity and it's bent on the wholesale destruction of Christianity . It's not aiming to coexist peacefully with Christians and basically say like , yeah , we're totally glad that there are these conservative Christians out there . They bring a lot to the nation . It's a melting pot .

Of course . We want them around . They do their thing . We just want to have the freedom to do our thing over here in our corner . That's not even what they're saying .

It's a totalizing campaign for complete victory , domination and conquering , which is why Dan's point about TGC not dying but actually being conquered is important , because they're not just aiming to marginalize , they're aiming to conquer , take over and then use the pulpit and use these things to promote their agenda .

You see this actually in corporate America , to where you will have corporations that lobby Congress to pass legislation for restrictions , government regulation on their competition , to give themselves an advantage . They're using bureaucracy and the legal system to do that .

And I think what's going to happen , eric , to answer your question , is that things are going to get really ugly in Christianity . Things are going to get really ugly because you can already see these lines being drawn right now , as the big Eva of the seventies through early OOs has pretty much fallen at this point .

John MacArthur is one of the last you know bulwarks of of big Eva kind of kind of world . A lot of them have gone left at this point are completely irrelevant , but as they're the , these different groups and tribes try to vie for power .

You'll see If you're already willing to lie about your opponent publicly as a Christian pastor , you're already willing to strawman them and to drag their name through the mud and to make things up about them to lie . What will you not be willing to do ?

That's why I think it's going to get really ugly in the future for Christians in this Christian world , because there is people , power and money to be had influence , and I think that there are some bad actors that are fighting for it right now , and so I don't know what's going to happen , but I think it's going to be ugly in the short term , and so I

think that a fight is probably necessary , and I don't know how it looks right now . What we're doing is part of that .

But this statement right here from Trump the whole country is being rigged right now . This is being done by the Biden administration in order to hurt or wound a political opponent .

I think there are so many Americans , including Christian Americans , who find themselves in this position where they feel like this whole system is rigged against us , and so I think the reality is for Christians is , if I could give like one white pill moment . You have to wake up . You have to wake up to the reality of what's going on In Skanderbeg's world .

This is not and this is the encouragement , this is not new right that your nobles will betray you , that your friends will betray you , and you sort of have to have this Trump-like attitude where you're like I'll see you at the polls and we'll see , and the guy hasn't given up . He keeps fighting .

And I think for Christians , you know not , you know not to conflate that with you know supporting Trump or anything like that . But I'm just saying as Christians , like the people who are going to win in this moment , you cannot flinch when the left aims all its guns at you . You just can't do it .

It's just not like we're in the pax americana , the , but all of the time , like history is full of of rapid , complete changes where all of a sudden the britains are conquered by the saxons , or all of a sudden we've got a danish , you know , invasion , or all of a sudden we've got you give roman examples . I mean , you could give example after example .

In American history , the paradigm for what it means to be an American and what our nation is like has changed five to 10 times in the few short years that we've existed as a nation , so that that means that things can get much , much worse , really quick , much , much better , really quick , or just very different .

Like we can't operate as if the paradigm you can just project the trend into the future indefinitely , and that's kind of what I see right now . A lot of the people , like you're saying people need to wake up to is .

No , we're really at turning some turning points in terms of our national life and within Christianity , that we need to shed some of the slave mentality that has been hoisted on us or foisted on us by evil political masters and reassert our own will .

Gentlemen , I want to conclude with , sort of hopefully , what I think will be a white pill , because in the midst of this whole story , the Janissaries stealing children , pedophilia , all the horrible stuff if you read the whole story of Skanderbeg , it's really interesting that in his mercy and his wisdom and his kind providence , the Lord raised up a man who was

stolen by the Muslims and he turns on them and he becomes the most lethal weapon against them in that day , along with John Hunyadi .

And really , when you put it in historical perspective , we're like , yeah , things are bad , but they're not like Muslims raping my kids , bad . So some perspective there is helpful . But , dan , why do you think it's so important to take into account God's providence and how he uses figures like Scanderbeg to defeat the enemy ?

But what glory is there to be had , what glory is there to be won in times that are dark , for all of these stories that he's written for us throughout history of our Christian forefathers ?

When these dark times come , that there are men of courage who will stand , who will not break , who will be principled , who won't give way to the enemies of the Lord , and he will provide , and he will . He will provide a way for them to victory and he will provide a way for us to victory . So there is hope .

That's what I think is best about these stories . There's hope .

It's like somebody going to university , getting trained in all the worst institutions in America and then coming back to our side and being like I know how to defeat them . Why does god love to do ?

So I think it's important that we pray , that we uh trust the Lord in that we . We really each seek to be the kind of men that would be willing to embrace the spirit of a Scanderbag and say , look , not all of us are going to have the hubris to think like we are . I am a Scanderbag Well , probably not .

But can you live that arc out in your own life in some small way ? Can you be the kid that was raised in public school and turn around and be like not my kids , you know . Can you be the husband that grew up in a passive home with a dad that didn't do family worship and didn't you know and say , not known , my , my kids are going to be different ?

Can you be the one who grew up in the really evangelical fish mega church and say no , no , no , our family , we're going to worship the Lord in sobriety and holiness and fruitfulness , and we're I'm going to leave my family to a different kind of church .

We're going to start a different sort of thing and raise our children not to fear all the danger of the world but to look at it as an opportunity and a battleground on which to glorify God .

It's important , not that we all just sit there and wait for a Scanderbag , but for all of us to say God loves to play this story out on the the , the level of a single human life and on the level of nations and empires . And he'll do it in your life .

If you look to him in faith and embrace the hardship that he's put in front of you , uh , in faithfulness , whether it's your welding job or leading a nation , like he'll be faithful . So I mean , that's the charge that I would want to give to men .

Is you , don't you , we underestimate the power of a single devoted Christian life lived in faithful sobriety and lived in with a righteous seal for God's glory and for their people ? You don't , you have no idea what God could do with just one life , lived faithfully like that ?

So , be that one , like , be that one man , be that woman , be you know , embrace that .

The time has come for me to lay aside this mortal and frail burden of my body . Even so , I have run the race which it pleased God to appoint to me . And then I love this , he says . Before my soul departs from my body and before I leave you , there is one thing of which I find it necessary to admonish you and to plead with you .

Until now , during my lifetime , you have endured all suffering for the safety and dignity of our Christian religion and our country . By these means , you have won the favor , honor and admiration of the princes of Christendom , even hereafter , when I am dead and gone . Let that be the only and the whole desire of your hearts . And I was , like man , so good .

That is the kind of charge you want to give on your deathbed . Yeah . And he pleads with them like don't give in to the devices of the Ottomans . We would say the same Don't give in to the devices of wicked men everywhere around you .

They could be in the ranks of Christians , but continue fighting and be steadfast and firm in the faith to which you were devoted . So I love that .

He will overcome all of the obstacles that face you , all of the enemies that come against you , and he will cause all of his enemies to be under his feet , whether they repent or he crushes them . So take heart and continue to fight the good fight . Thank you .