This Is Nothing New Under The Sun ... It Has Been Already In The Ages Before Us

    

     Knowing that I cannot trust the media for truth in these daunting days, I have been even more diligent in searching God's Word for answers to the growing rebellion and discord in our nation. I know that what we are seeing played out on our computer and TV screens is the subversion of the worldly government by agents within that very system they claim to serve; men and women who serve their fleshly desires for money, position, and power while selling jealousy, envy, division and hatred to the masses.

     If we truly want to know the source of our disunity and division, we must look beyond the convenient identifiers of Republican vs Democrat; Black vs White; Patriot vs Traitor; Young vs Old. The truth is that this country has been attacked by an insidious Enemy who has been working under the guise of social and political revolution since the founding of this country. Call it by any of its secular names ... Freemasonry, the New World Order, Socialism, Marxism, Communism, Progressivism ... they all serve the same Master: the Anti-Christ who seeks to establish the Beast System, an end-of-the-world kingdom that controls the globe and serves his selfish desire for power.

     But Christians should be able to see that this same Enemy has been active in the world since the Garden, and again at the Tower of Babel, when men believed the lies of Nimrod, the king of Shinar, who among his many names was known as "One Who Speaks of Dark Things". So God came down and confused man's common language because His purpose for mankind was to live for HIS NAME, scattering over the earth proclaiming HIM! But what we see playing out before us is people whose love of self, power, and greed have supplanted any love for the One who created them to serve HIM.

     I am not denying that grievances are real; that sins have been committed throughout our history. But  destabilization and violence; the perpetuation of intolerance and biogotry (by everyone involved); the struggle for political and social power through civil unrest; a passive government and pulpit -- all of it plays right into the Enemy's hands.

     But, just as Solomon spoke in the Book of Ecclesiastes, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun... It has been already in the ages before us." The rebellion we see in the streets of America is, in reality, a rebellion against God, and is as old as time. And the Bible clearly warns us that we must be alert for such strategies ... But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. (2 Peter 2:1-3). We could easily apply that passage to our college campuses and the twisted set of beliefs often proposed as education -- or the deceptive discourse that our politicians peddle as they try to convince us they are serving us, their constituents. 

     We must recognize that the Beast System has been given the opportunity to establish itself because we have not stood in our identity for which we were created -- as Ambassadors of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Every man, woman, and child is here on the planet to represent their Creator; to refute the lies of the one who seeks to poison their hearts and minds with false identities. Whether it is the rioters in the streets or the government officials who struggle for solutions, people and events have spiraled into a state of confused and violent turmoil.

     But what can we expect when we, the representatives of God's Kingdom, have allowed the citizens of this world's kingdom of darkness to censor God's presence? Prayer has been removed from our classrooms, and college campuses are nearly devoid of any mention of Him. The Ten Commandments have been removed from parks and courthouses. Churches have become businesses in the marketplace, tied to a secular government by their 501(c)3 charters. Christian views are heavily redacted on social media platforms. And to self-identify as a Christian is often met with fingers pointing to our hypocrisy and false righteousness.

     And, sadly, the Church has relegated its authority to secular government. I'm sure you've heard the oft-quoted excuse of Romans 13:1 ... Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been put in place by God. That verse has been so misunderstood, and the Enemy has been so successful in convincing Believers that we are subject to all government because it all has been put in place by God. But I submit to you a different  perception of the verse ... No one has authority [in government] except those who have been granted authority by His permission and sanction! Any other authority gained [without His sanction] does not come from Him! And if they have His sanction, then we are to be subject to that authority, which comes from Heaven.

     How will we know? By their fruit! If you are seeking the Kingdom of God, then you will recognize those who come in its authority. Governments who pass abortion laws allowing babies to be killed in the womb are not sanctioned by God. Governments who institute Welfare laws that enslave generations to their hand-outs instead of encouraging and establishing paths out of poverty are not sanctioned by Him. Governments who build and feed a nexus of military-industrial conflicts to maintain global power are not sanctioned by Him. And men who enter the halls of Government for personal greed and power are not sanctioned by Him. As Ambassadors and representatives of the government of the Kingdom of Heaven, our answer should be the same as Peter and the Apostles in Acts 5:29, "We must obey God rather than men [for we have no other choice]."

     Now we see statues commemorating our national history being defaced and destroyed -- as if that wipes out the sins of America. When we decimate [destroy or remove] our history -- flawed, or not --, how will future generations recognize when they are close to repeating it? And I am perplexed at the lack of knowledge and understanding of our history that I see in this Millennial generation! True, the Civil War was a blight upon our country's history, but we cannot ignore that it righted a wrong in our nation's moral conscience, and it is a reminder of just how fragile our foundation is. That fragility is still quite evident.

     So, as children of the Light, we must become more vocal than the children of darkness. We must speak the bigger truths of the spiritual strongholds of Power, Greed, and Deception that are behind the scenes of the protests and division. Our pulpits need to be thundering the message that Satan deflects responsibility on to others, thereby creating victims that serve his purposes. Jesus puts the responsibility right back on us... if my fellow man hates me, I am to love him. If he persecutes me, I am to pray for him. We may not be able to control everything that the Enemy throws at us, but we are responsible for how we react to it.

     So, how are we going to react to what we see in the streets of America and on Capitol Hill? We pray fervently, and we wage war in the Spiritual realms! Let the world compare our fruit with the fruit of those causing destruction. Let us take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Do not get discouraged and don't be dismayed! We must stay strong in the Lord, no matter what comes. We may be the only image of Christ that those in darkness will ever see. The false prophets and teachers will reap what they've sown, but let us act out of unselfish concern for the lost. God is not silent and He is not absent. And the Lord expects us to endure until He comes. Let us not waver.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9     We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;