And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. - Luke 24:17-21
There are two primary reasons why the very first commandment is thou shall have no other gods before me. The first is that as sinners, we are irretrievably wayward. We constantly are looking at everything we perceive to not have. We desperately want to have the job of God, at least in our lives. This is the sin that cast Lucifer from the heavens. It is the sin that he then used to tempt Eve in the garden. The enemy rarely changes tactics because we are so darn predictable in our state as sinners. In Galatians, God admonishes us through the Apostle Paul in His amazement at how fast we abandon God for false gospels and false christs. For these reasons, God lets us know right up front - no other gods before me! The second reason? He is a jealous god. When Israel left Him for Ashtaroth, he was jealous with righteous indignation. Same thing when they left Him for Baal. Same thing when we leave Him to worship money, fame, power, or politics. For today, we will focus on the latter mentioned idol. Politics, or rabid nationalism, is the last idol of this church age. It fuels the current Great Apostasy. It will lead the church to get in bed with the one world religion that the bible portends. Remember the growing trend of purpose driven mega-buildings and CEO pastor dudes are not comparable with end times theology. Narrow is the true road and few are those who find it - few.
I chose the key verses today to illustrate the utter apolitical nature of Jesus Christ. Those in the NAR try to pretend that scripture supports a political God but that is foolishness. God is no respecter of man and could care less about our petty squabbling about the management of a world that is falling away. It amazes me that so many Christians believe that they will stand before Christ and He will want to hear about how you fought against illegal immigration instead of how you loved the poor on this world, for example. These verses are taken from the narrative of the Road to Emmaus. After the crucifixion, Jesus comes alongside some travelers but hides His identity from them. Because He pretends to not know about the recent events, the travelers tell Him about their disappointment that Jesus was crucified without "redeeming" Israel. The text even says they were sad, or despondent regarding this. Even after being taught for three years the exact manner of death and that He would be resurrected they were oblivious to anything except their present circumstances, much like the political apostate church today. Because the modern "church" leaders spend all of their efforts victimizing the church they constantly become like the snowflakes they used to mock, grieved by the slightest perceived slight. I saw John Hagee once preach that people who did not want to say Merry Christmas needed to "get out of his country." The truth is we have unprecedented freedom in this country when it comes to our faith. Now if you want to see a time when politics was not so favorable to God's people look no further than when Jesus was walking this earth. The Jewish people were under the tyrannical rule of Rome and to say they were oppressed would be an understatement! No wonder the disciples all thought He was there to deliver them from Rome. No wonder those on the Road to Emmaus were sad that He had not redeemed Israel from the rule of the Roman Empire. Yet despite this unprecedented oppression do you know how many times Jesus taught on politics? Zero. What did He do to alleviate the Roman oppression? Nothing. When asked, He always responded that His kingdom was not of this earth. The bible says we are but pilgrims walking through this world and that our true citizenship is in heaven and let me be clear - God does not offer dual citizenship! How do we know that? Read the first commandment! I say all of this as a backdrop for the above linked short video of Bill Johnson talking about Christianity and politics. As always, Bill is a raving loon when it comes to theology and it is no different on this subject. Just remember this is who you align yourself with when you espouse dominionist theology. So, let us reason once more as I just highlight some of the nuggets shared by Wild Bill.
"Only 25% of Christians vote and it is a cop-out to say your vote doesn't matter. Every vote is an act of obedience that releases power and presence." - Bill Johnson
Not sure who is being polled here but 25% sounds awfully low. There are larger fish to fry here however. Let's start by stating that Johnson's metaphysical mumbo-jumbo is extra-biblical at best. We do not release power or presence when we vote. God is not impressed either. Voting is a civic responsibility. There is not one bible verse that says that voting is an act of obedience, none. Why? Because it isn't. Not unless your head is twisted like a dominionist who thinks God needs our help in selecting leaders - He doesn't. Or that God needs our help in passing legislation - He doesn't. God is God all by Himself and needs us for nothing. We worship God for who He is - not who we are in relation to Him. Now, I agree that saying your vote doesn't count is like a cop-out but that avoids the real issue. Our voting always comes down to the choice of the lesser of two evils. The dominionist believes incorrectly that the Republican Party is somehow righteous, but they are not. They are just as evil as the Democratic Party. So, when presented with two choices of evil what should the Christian do? Many, including Spurgeon, believe the correct answer is choose neither.
"Don't tell me that you are praying for the government and then not vote. Your prayer is meaningless to me." - Bill Johnson
When you are singularly focused on this world it is no wonder you can utter something so stupid. It is wholly plausible that one can pray for the government and its leaders as scripture compels and not vote. The bible does not qualify the compulsion to pray for leaders. All leaders arise only through the permissive will of God. Johnson believes this nonsense because he is a reprobate heretic. Do not fall for such false teaching that actually discourages you from praying in favor of some carnal act on this earth.
"Vote values and not personalities." - Bill Johnson
Well, gee, I can't figure out who he is referring to? Johnson must think he is really clever. In the late 1990's the apostate church leaders were all screaming that "character counts" as their way of decrying Bill Clinton as president. Fast forward to 2016 and the church was faced with a Republican candidate that makes Clinton look like a choir boy and suddenly the mantra changes to vote values and not personalities? Do you honestly think the hypocrisy is lost on the dying world? Who can blame them though? In 2012 the church sided with the Mormon Republican in Mitt Romney over the liberal Christian in Barrack Obama. Romney was a direct descendent of one of the twelve founding apostles of Mormonism and tithes 25% of his massive wealth to the Satanic cult but he had the little "R" next to his name and that was good enough for the church. How was that voting values Bill?
"There is a spiritual mandate for the church come election season." - Bill Johnson
No Bill, there is not. The church has a spiritual mandate to be salt and light, not pepper and glitter. We have a spiritual mandate to represent Christ and bring the gospel to the lost. We have a spiritual mandate to come out from among her and not partake in her filth. Beloved, the lesser evil is always still evil. Realize that the people who line up with Bill Johnson on these opinions are the who's-who in heresy. Nearly every false teacher from here to Osh-Kosh. Are you sure you want to align with them? Let me close with the analogy I always use. This world is the Titanic and we have already struck the iceberg. I have seen the movie. I know how it ends. There is no "reviving" the ship. There is only one lifeboat and His name is Jesus. You can either stand with Bill Johnson insisting that your candidate is the best fit to guide the ship into its icy grave or point people to the lifeboat.
Reverend Anthony Wade - July 13, 2022
