(Blog) You Always Have A Choice - Ep. 941 - July 10, 2026

You Always Have a Choice in an Age of Deception

When hatred, fear, and political anger shape the conversation, people can start treating false ideas as settled truth. Deception does not remove personal responsibility, even when it comes through religion, cultural pressure, temptation, or a convincing public narrative.

In Episode 941 of The Smith and Rowland Show, Jeff Rowland and Alan Smith discuss rising antisemitism, biblical prophecy, the warning of 2 Thessalonians 2, and the ongoing responsibility to choose truth. Their central argument is direct: every person remains responsible for responding to God.

A Light Opening Before a Serious Conversation

Jeff Rowland and Alan Smith open the episode in their usual playful style. Rowland introduces himself as someone who supposedly "draws everybody," then quickly clarifies that listeners should not take every sarcastic comment as a serious statement.

The pair also joke about recording their show at a dairy farm. That setting leads to an imaginary air freshener sponsorship, complete with an invitation to an air freshener conference. Smith takes the joke further by saying another company, "Butts Are Us," wanted to sponsor the program but would have to wait its turn.

"We need air fresheners."

The humor gives way to a much weightier concern: the growing hatred toward Jewish people and the confusion that develops when religious belief, public opinion, and world events become tangled together.

Rising Antisemitism and the Search for a Scapegoat

Rowland describes antisemitism as a global problem that is appearing in unusual places and taking new forms. Smith responds with a practical observation: the Jewish population is small compared with the world's total population, yet Jewish people are repeatedly blamed for sweeping global problems.

During the discussion, Smith cites a worldwide Jewish population of roughly 15.7 to 16 million people, with about 7.5 million in the United States and about 7.9 million in Israel. The exact figures are less important to their argument than the disproportion involved.

Their concern rests on a simple point:

• A relatively small population cannot reasonably explain every economic, political, or social problem in the world.

• Blaming Jewish people as a group ignores individual responsibility and replaces facts with suspicion.

• Antisemitism often draws power from religious hostility, not only political disagreement.

• Christians must not accept a narrative that portrays Jewish people as a collective enemy.

Smith and Rowland argue that religious beliefs often shape political conflict. In their view, the arguments surrounding Israel, Islam, Christianity, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and other nations cannot be understood apart from what different groups believe about God, land, Messiah, peace, and the future.

Paul's Warning About Deception in 2 Thessalonians 2

The main Scripture passage in the episode is 2 Thessalonians 2. Rowland explains that Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica because believers there had become troubled about the rapture and the day of the Lord.

The Thessalonian church had faced severe persecution. Rowland points to the historical suffering of early Christians there, including Roman persecution, as part of the setting for their fear. Under that pressure, some apparently believed they had missed the rapture and had already entered the day of the Lord.

Paul's response was pastoral but firm. He urged them not to be "soon shaken in mind" or troubled by a spirit, message, or letter that claimed to come from him. The concern may have involved a false letter attributed to Paul, one that had confused the church about the sequence of coming events.

His warning remains the centerpiece of the discussion:

"Let no man deceive you."

According to Rowland's reading of the passage, Paul identifies events that must occur before the day of the Lord. The passage speaks of a falling away, the revealing of the man of sin, and the removal of a restrainer before the final judgment of the wicked one.

The End-Time Sequence Discussed in the Episode

Rowland presents the following sequence as the chronology he sees in 2 Thessalonians 2:

1. The rapture takes place.

2. The restrainer is removed.

3. A falling away, or apostasy, occurs.

4. Apostate Christianity becomes established.

5. The man of sin is revealed.

6. The Antichrist rises to prominence.

7. Christ destroys the wicked one at His coming.

Christians hold different views about the timing and details of these events. However, Smith and Rowland's point is that Paul tells believers to resist panic, reject deceptive claims, and stay rooted in what Scripture actually says.

The Three Delusions Named by Smith and Rowland

The episode identifies apostate Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as "three great delusions" that the hosts believe will shape end-time spiritual confusion. This is their prophetic interpretation, and they connect each system to what they see as a rejection or distortion of Jesus Christ.

Rowland uses the term apostate Christianity for a form of Christianity that abandons biblical truth while keeping Christian language. He argues that it replaces or redefines Jesus as Messiah rather than submitting to the Jesus presented in Scripture.

Smith connects this concern to end-time expectations. In his view, some forms of Christianity expect the world to keep improving until a humanly defined kingdom arrives. He mentions amillennialism and postmillennialism as beliefs connected to the concerns he is raising, though the episode does not offer a full theological treatment of either view.

The hosts describe Judaism as still awaiting the Messiah. They say Jewish expectation includes the hope of a messianic age, world peace, and a return to Jerusalem. Their Christian reading is that Judaism, as a religious system, does not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Yet they stress that no individual Jewish person is beyond the ability to receive Christ.

Likewise, they say Islam does not accept Jesus as Messiah and Savior in the Christian sense. The episode refers to an expected Islamic leader, but it does not offer a detailed explanation of Islamic theology.

How the Hosts Connect These Expectations

Smith and Rowland believe the Antichrist will appeal to distinct hopes held by each group. Their interpretation is summarized below.

Rowland says he believes the Antichrist may be of Muslim descent and may unite apostate Christianity, Judaism, and Islam for a brief period. He also connects that view to the rebuilding of a third temple at or near the Dome of the Rock. These claims are Rowland's stated convictions about prophecy, not points the episode attempts to prove through historical or political evidence.

The hosts agree on one outcome: any peace created through this unity would be short-lived.

How Illusion Becomes Delusion

The episode makes a useful distinction between illusion, deception, and delusion. Smith argues that conspiracy theories can begin with an attractive or frightening picture of reality, then pull people toward conclusions that cannot bear the weight placed on them.

Their progression can be stated plainly:

1. An illusion creates a false picture.

2. Deception convinces a person to accept the picture.

3. Delusion develops when the false picture is embraced as truth.

Rowland returns to the language of 2 Thessalonians 2, where Paul says that God will send a "strong delusion" so that people will believe "the lie." He emphasizes the definite article, arguing that Paul describes a specific, final falsehood rather than a general tendency toward error.

In the hosts' reading, people do not arrive at this delusion by accident. The passage connects it to a refusal to believe truth and a willingness to take pleasure in unrighteousness. They see rejection of truth as the moral context for the delusion.

That point matters because it shifts the discussion away from speculation. The question is not only whether a future deception will come. It is whether people will accept lies today because they support anger, pride, fear, tribal loyalty, or personal desire.

God's Judgment Does Not Cancel Human Choice

Smith raises a difficult question: if God sends a delusion, how can people be responsible for believing it? The hosts answer by saying that the delusion comes as a response to repeated rejection of God, not as arbitrary coercion.

They connect this theme with Proverbs 1, where God calls and stretches out His hand, but people refuse again and again. The warning is sobering. When people reject wisdom and truth persistently, judgment follows.

Rowland also refers to Romans 1, where God gives people over to uncleanness and a reprobate mind after they reject the truth they have received. In this view, divine judgment does not mean God forces people to do evil against their will. It means God allows them to pursue what they have repeatedly chosen.

Rejection leads to judgment when people refuse the truth they have been given.

The hosts believe many Christians hold an incomplete view of God. They may speak of God as friend while treating holiness as optional. Yet Scripture presents God as loving and holy. Grace is not permission to celebrate unrighteousness, and judgment is not a contradiction of God's goodness.

Temptation, Blindness, and Personal Responsibility

The episode's title comes into focus when Smith and Rowland discuss temptation and free will. Their argument is that God may allow a test, a temptation, blindness, or a difficult circumstance, but none of those things force a person to choose sin.

They use Jesus' temptation as an example. God allowed Jesus to be tempted, but Jesus still chose obedience. Smith also refers to Job. Job lost what God had given him, and the test revealed whether he would continue to choose God when comfort, security, and prosperity were gone.

The same principle applies to ordinary life. A person may face an opportunity to sin, an invitation to compromise, or a persuasive lie. That pressure is real, but it does not remove moral responsibility.

"Man always has a choice."

Smith challenges the fatalism behind phrases such as, "This is just the way I am." A person's habits, background, temptations, and fears can influence decisions. They do not have the final authority to define them.

The hosts also caution against treating God's judgment as a form of predestination. In their view, saying that God allowed or sent something does not mean a person was forced to accept it. God's Word gives the standard by which choices should be judged.

Circumstances may influence a choice, but they do not remove responsibility for it.

Israel, Jerusalem, and God's Promises

Rowland insists that promises God made to Israel still belong to Israel. He rejects the idea that every biblical promise to Israel has been transferred to the church. In the hosts' view, God has promises for the church, and He also has promises tied to Israel, the land, Jerusalem, the Davidic kingdom, and the throne of David.

They believe Jerusalem will become the capital of the world in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Rowland also points to the angel's declaration that Jesus would reign on David's throne. He argues that this did not happen during Christ's first coming and will occur in the future.

The hosts say this conviction does not depend on claiming that Israel, Jewish people, or the modern nation of Israel are morally perfect. Instead, they base it on what they believe God has promised.

Smith and Rowland also urge listeners to consider the suffering bound up in Jewish history. They mention several periods of oppression and displacement:

• Israel spent 400 years in bondage in Egypt.

• Judah endured 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

• The people experienced Assyrian captivity and rule by Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman powers.

• After rejecting Jesus, Jewish people were scattered throughout the world for nearly 2,000 years.

That history challenges the shallow claim that "chosen people" means a life of ease, privilege, or immunity from suffering. The hosts argue that biblical election should never become an excuse for hostility toward Jewish people.

The Christian Response to Jewish People and Muslims

Rowland's practical point is clear: Christians are not called to hate Jewish people or Muslims. They are called to proclaim the gospel.

For Jewish people, the hosts refer to the biblical language of provoking Israel to jealousy unto the Lord. Their argument is that Christians should live and speak in a way that points Jewish people to Jesus as Messiah. Hatred, mockery, and political scapegoating do the opposite.

They extend the same principle to Muslims. Christians may disagree sharply with Islamic teaching, but disagreement does not justify hatred. According to the episode, the appropriate response is to share the salvation of Christ, not to turn an entire group of people into an enemy.

The hosts also draw a line between Israel's national blindness and individual responsibility. They believe Israel, as a nation, rejected Jesus and experienced the blindness Paul describes. Still, they say any Jewish person can receive Jesus Christ today.

Paul's teaching that there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the body of Christ means both can come to Him. National history does not cancel personal access to the gospel.

A faithful response includes several commitments:

• Refuse to blame Jewish people for the world's problems.

• Refuse to treat Muslims as people who deserve hatred.

• Do not replace the gospel with political anger.

• Test religious and political claims against Scripture.

• Remember that every person can choose to respond to God.

Israel's Place in Geopolitics and Prophecy

Smith says people cannot understand the wider religious and political conversation unless they understand what various groups are seeking. The hosts describe three competing expectations: a Jewish hope for Messiah and a messianic age, an Islamic hope for a coming leader, and an apostate Christian hope for a progressively improved world.

Those expectations, they argue, shape how people interpret events in the Middle East and beyond. Rowland says Israel is connected to conflict involving Iran, Russia, and Ukraine. This is his broad prophetic and geopolitical interpretation, not a detailed explanation of each conflict.

The larger warning is directed at Christians who allow academic theories, political movements, government narratives, or online conspiracy claims to rewrite their view of Scripture. Rowland believes those influences are painting a picture in which Jewish people become the central problem in world affairs.

His concern is that Christians may accept that picture because it feels persuasive, popular, or emotionally satisfying. Yet a compelling story can still be false.

Biblical promises should not be rewritten to fit current opinions.

A Future Revival in Israel

The episode closes its theological argument with hope. Rowland refers to Old Testament prophecy, including Zechariah, and says he believes the greatest revival in history is still ahead. In his reading, it will take place in Israel.

He describes it with the biblical image of a nation being born in a day. The hosts believe Jewish people will recognize Jesus as Lord and receive the gospel of the kingdom. They connect this future turning to their broader conviction that God's promises to Israel remain active.

That expectation changes how they believe Christians should speak about Israel and its people. If Christians believe God will bring a great revival there, hatred toward the land or its people makes no sense within their theological framework.

Smith and Rowland do not argue that Christians should ignore sin, injustice, or moral responsibility. Their point is narrower and more direct: God's future purposes should move believers toward prayer, truth, blessing, and gospel witness instead of contempt.

The Choice Still Belongs to Each Person

The strongest message of the episode is not a chart of end-time events. It is a call to personal responsibility. Deception can be widespread. Temptation can be intense. A person may live under religious blindness, social pressure, political anger, or painful loss.

Yet Smith and Rowland maintain that none of those conditions erase the call to choose God.

God calls people to truth. People can reject that call, and rejection has consequences. They can also choose truth over deception, holiness over selfishness, and God over sin.

The choice remains personal, even when the pressure is public.

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