ISBN: 979-8218777920

A little over five months ago on September 10, the world saw Charlie Kirk get shot in the neck which proved to be a fatal wound. His book, however, had not yet become available on the market. There is something "beyond the grave" about a work that appears after someone is killed because one cannot help but to conclude that something about the nature of the work performed, especially as a public speaking figure, is going to be linked to the ultimate written word they leave behind as a testament.

In the case of Kirk, Jonathan Cahn, who has some works reviewed on thebooklight, declares that there was a kind of demonic "witch hit" put out on Mr. Kirk. It seems like American politics reverted back to Salem, Massachusetts in the past ten years except that the alleged witches keep walking around doing what one assumes are witch things—which it appears, with Mr. Kirk's last book, are flinging curses around designed to kill people waking up to the Messiah's call to lost Israel.

Before we continue, there are many who have tried to indicate that Mr. Kirk was anti-Israel, but it is clear, after having read this work, that Mr. Kirk was being called back to the observances that the first believers would have held. Why is that? Because his entire final book is about the Shabbat and why it is important. For his own life, he settles on Saturday as being the proper time for rest. This is, traditionally, the Jewish day of rest as opposed to Sunday.

Mr. Kirk is aware that there is controversy around the day that Sabbath should be, and he puts forth arguments on both sides of the question in standard debate format. His primary aim is to confront the reader with the necessity of Shabbat, and the abolishment of excuses around the subject. He points out the health benefits, the worship of idols in the form of science and incessant connection, and how being a leader of a huge movement like Turning Point was, without Sabbath, burning him out. He admits to having some Sabbath envy before delving in to understanding it because he felt like he did not have the time to indulge in the "luxury" of Shabbat. He identifies this psychological problem with being a slave in Egypt in terms of an encouraged mindset in society.

Much of his argument is toward the younger generations who do not know how to turn off their phones to connect with the people around them and often become so entangled in social media that they commit suicide.
He quotes many facts and figures in support of this addictive mindset being problematic, although the case now is progressively clearer that social media is made to be addictive and aims toward the twenty-five and under population. Though this research has long existed, it might be that Charlie Kirk has helped to shine a brighter light on the matter. Sometimes, it seems like no matter the data, it takes a certain speaker to say something before it becomes noticed.

Mr. Kirk spends time with Seventh-day Adventists as well as Jewish observers of Shabbat to gather his research. He notes the traditions observed by each, and how Sabbath becomes a kind of "Sanctuary of Time" that is held apart from the standard flow of people doing whatever it is they want to do. It is a reminder, he argues, that there is something bigger and strengthens the connection to the Creator and nature so that a person remembers they are part of creation and not a piece distinctly removed from it. In short form, if God rested and He created everything, He probably knows what is best when it comes to work. Kirk digs down on the definition of "work", to make sure he understands what that means in Hebrew.

The definition he uses for work is melachah which is a broad term that has thirty-nine categories, we learn, in Rabbinic tradition. Kirk defines the word as "purposeful, creative labor" though a quick dictionary consult of the term discloses another meaning—salting. Indeed, fish were salted in Migdal for preservation—the appellation used, of course, for Mary of Migdal, or Mary Magdalene. The distinction here that is not teased apart fully in the narrative is that the act of salting, or preserving concerns studying and reading the Torah, whereas "purposeful, creative labor" does not, on its own, suggest that the Torah is the object. Sabbath then, prohibits "work" that is not divinely understood and driven. You can salt the fish with Torah all day long, but you should not be salting your literal fish for dinner.

It is evident that Kirk agonizes over how to observe the Sabbath since there is such widespread disagreement. He tries to be a uniter in not declaring one day over another and gives arguments as to why either work. An argument he does not introduce, which might have resolved a lot of complication in his analysis, is that the Sabbath is Friday/Saturday whereas the gathering point for the wider community is Sunday. Shabbat then becomes a private, home kind of observance, whereas a communal gathering day, Sunday, becomes a public day of fellowship. The confusion on the point comes from Rome, naturally, who had a large interest in making sure that Sunday became the day of rest because if there were two days devoted to God, it meant that there were only FIVE days a week for the empire, and as any Caesar knows, that's just not enough of the limelight.

Taken together as a whole book, Charlie Kirk is/was going from a Roman Christian understanding of Sabbath to a Jewish one. The fact he had influence might have meant he could have turned thousands if not millions, maybe billions, to an observance of Shabbat on Saturday. If you happen to be a witch, this is something you ain't gonna like. The Torah has that whole passage about "not suffering a witch to live". Therefore, it is not surprising that witches would put a curse out. What might be surprising, to a normal believer, is that it looks like the curse "got through".

What people might be forgetting, though, is that YHVH, the God of Israel, promises that if any of His sheep are harmed, the level of curses and catastrophe that come down on those doing the harming is unfathomable. If He allows it through, it is only because He intends to judge those who align as being enemies of Israel in a harsh, final reckoning with their sin. Far from inspiring them with confidence, it ought to inspire them with fear. Charlie Kirk should have signalled those who succeeded with their ill intentions to expect a dire consequence. We know, though, and are told, that they do not receive this insight. YHVH, the God of Israel, however, will clear up any lingering misunderstandings or doubts. They will know the weight of their sin and who is in charge.

One remark that Kirk discusses in the book is that when he was growing up, he used to twist his ankle all the time and it made him upset because he wanted to play basketball. The doctor told him that some injuries only time can fully heal. This is precisely the idea behind Shabbat. We sometimes get distracted with "playing in the world" and forget to take time out to heal. We get "caught up in the game".

The reviewer of this work was given a tangible example of this during the reading of this specific title. Driving down a residential road, a child had lost a thrown ball that was rolling down the right shoulder of the road which happened to be situated on a hill. The father took off walking down the sidewalk. The ball kept rolling along the shoulder, but sometimes impacted the curb—threatening the driver of the car with accidentally mashing it if it happened to rebound too far off the curb. After maybe half a mile of this, with the ball in the rear view mirror but still gaining momentum, a stop sign was at the end of the road but the slope of the hill continued. The next danger was making a right hand turn, and squashing the ball that would still be rolling through the intersection. The ball, however, did something odd. It stopped at the stop sign along with driver of the car. Whether it was the leaves or a drainage ditch that caused it to lose momentum was hard to tell. It almost looked like the ball "read" the stop sign and "observed" the law. This occurrence kept it safe. In fact, it preserved the item used to play the game, and therefore the game itself and the joy that playing brought. The father was not far behind, and probably had been through this long walk before and so knew that the ball would stop at the end of the road next to the stop sign. Observing the sign, then, allows the Father to pick us up and get us out of the road where other traffic might be trying to move that we know nothing about. Put differently, when the ball is set in motion, the only thing that will cause a change in where it goes is eventually for it to stop and be picked it up and put somewhere else.

Indeed, Charlie Kirk did Stop, In The Name Of God. One concludes he was picked up and put somewhere else. In his case, away from the games that witches like to play. God's turn.

Original review over at thebooklight!