While Biden offers a breath of fresh air after the chaos of Trump, he is also seriously off-track concerning God’s moral law. After signing the Respect for Marriage Act, President Biden remarked, “Love is love. Right is right. Justice is justice.” But stating“[l]ove is love” doesn’t justify same-sex marriage nor is it love if it breaks God’s law that is designed to lovingly guide and protect people. This kind of “love” cannot be called “right” and “justice” any more than an act of adultery between two people who claim to love each other.
A Morally Bankrupt Leader Is a Foolish Response
Similarly, picking a morally corrupt character like Trump to confront moral decline is an innately ludicrous idea that has proved disastrous. I wrote about this blindness inEVANGELICALS, TRUMP, AND THE BIBLE: The Bride and The…
Yesterday, Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback Church, a Baptist megachurch in California, issued this heartfelt apology on Twitter:
My biggest regret in 53 years of ministry is that I didn’t do my own personal exegesis sooner on the 4 passages used to restrict women. Shame on me. I wasted those 4 yrs of Greek in college & seminary. When I finally did my proper “due diligence”, laying aside 50 years of… pic.twitter.com/yz3HjNUFw6
Baptists have historically sought to identify themselves by obedience to the Scriptures, which is commendable. They have often repented, made changes, and accommodated different views. On occasions they split, going in different directions. In an essay titled, Baptist Theology, Anthony L. Chute1 writes the following on the varieties of Baptists:
Although Baptists agree in the main with the theological commitments above, there are distinctives that set a number of Baptist groups apart from each other. General Baptists affirmed a general atonement whereas Particular Baptists affirmed limited atonement. Southern Baptists formed their denomination in reaction to the refusal of the Triennial Convention (a network of northern and southern Baptists) to appoint slave owners as missionaries; the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., was formed after the American Civil War and is the nation’s oldest and largest African-American religious convention. Missionary Baptists were actively involved in missions at the turn of the nineteenth century, which gave rise to Primitive Baptists who decried mission agencies as unscriptural rivals to the local church. Landmark Baptists look to the past with their understanding that Jesus founded the Baptist church in the first century, while Seventh-Day Baptists look to the last day of the week as the day when Baptist churches should gather for worship.
(Baptist Theology, The Gospel Coalition) 1Anthony L. Chute (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is associate professor of church history and associate dean of the School of Christian Ministries at California Baptist University, where he has taught since 2003.
University Avenue Baptist Church writes of Baptist diversity as follows:
Baptists come in all shapes and sizes and are not the same. Currently, there are over 64 separate Baptist denominations in the United States and the diversity is surprising. For example, Primitive Baptists ardently defend predestination; so do Regular Baptists and Reformed Baptists. But Free Will Baptists believe just the opposite. Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists don’t believe in missions.
Swedish Baptists and German Baptists live primarily in the midwest; Northern Baptists (who later became American Baptists) were strongest in the northeast. Southern Baptists began in the south and still have their largest numbers there. Some Fundamentalist Baptists believe that the first Baptist church was started in 31 A.D. and that “nobody is a true Bible fundamentalist unless he is a fundamental Baptist.” The Alliance of Baptists are at the complete other end of the theological spectrum as they embrace diversity and nonconformity. The list goes on and on.
It appears that Baptists have been at the juncture of a new hard choice because some in the Body of Christ, even in their ranks, have thought it biblical that women can be pastors. Could it be that another group of Baptists is about to emerge; one that accepts women as co-heirs who are co-equal for all the church roles in Christ?
As leaders, members, and others in the body of Christ weigh into the debate, it is imperative to remember that understanding the council of the Scriptures is only by God’s grace. The Pharisees were blind though they sought the Scriptures. Even Jews who came to Christ struggled to incorporate the gentiles. More recently, Baptist antiabolitionists, those who held anti-suffrage views, and segregationists battled with change too.
Be Tonic Not Toxic
Change is invariably hard, and in an age where LGBTQ+ and gender-mutilating views are on the rise, we must be cautious. But we must not conflate those issues with the idea of women being pastors because it will only serve to cloud understanding.
As we seek God’s face to know what is best, let us be sure that we are gentle and loving to one another, avoiding slander so that God does not resist us. For “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). In the end, God will judge us, not so much by our zeal for what we believed was in His word but by our obedience to what His word meant. There is a difference.
Zeal can become misdirected, and obedience does not come to the proud, so may God bless us as we venture on in a world where our love for God is seen in our obedience to His commands and where our love for one another identifies us more than the beliefs that constantly divide.
Rick Warren – “Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man!”
Dear Rick,
Remember the Lord’s words, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matt. 5:11 NIV). Regardless of what people say or do, God’s approval is all that matters. If crucifixion was a route to victory, any loss you experience for the cause of truth, and Truth Himself, is always a win.
Evangelicals in America brought unholy fire into God’s holy institution of government (Rom. 13) and, worse, into His Church. They must repent for this fire continues to destroy their nation and divide the Church and only God can put it out. I have written on this in order to bring about repentance and to this end have made my book freely available at THE BRIDE AND THE BEAST: Evangelicals in Bed with Trump.
“In 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, passed, what they called, a Resolution On Moral Character Of Public Officials.”1 It contains biblical principles that inform and warn the electorate against choosing persons of ill-repute. Here it is:
WHEREAS, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34 NAS); and
WHEREAS, Serious allegations continue to be made about moral and legal misconduct by certain public officials; and
WHEREAS, The Bible calls upon all citizens to submit themselves to their governing authorities as ministers of the Lord (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13); and
WHEREAS, Scripture further teaches, “Whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves” (Romans 13:2); and
WHEREAS, Governing authorities are not themselves exempt from the rule of law and must submit to the nation’s statutes, rather than mocking them (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:14; Proverbs 19:28-29; 2 Samuel 12:7; Mark 6:17-18); and
WHEREAS, Some journalists report that many Americans are willing to excuse or overlook immoral or illegal conduct by unrepentant public officials so long as economic prosperity prevails; and
WHEREAS, Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in the society, and surely results in God’s judgment (1 Kings 16:30; Isaiah 5:18-25); and
WHEREAS, Many public officials and candidates deserve our gratitude and support for their consistent moral character and their uncompromising commitment to biblical principles of right and wrong, resulting in blessing upon their people.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That we, the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting June 9-11, 1998, in Salt Lake City, Utah, affirm that moral character matters to God and should matter to all citizens, especially God’s people, when choosing public leaders; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we implore our government leaders to live by the highest standards of morality both in their private actions and in their public duties, and thereby serve as models of moral excellence and character; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we urge all citizens, including those who serve in public office, to submit themselves respectfully to governing authorities and to the rule of law; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptists and other Christians to fulfill their spiritual duty to pray regularly for the leaders of our nation (1 Timothy 2:1-4); and Be it finally RESOLVED, That we urge all Americans to embrace and act on the conviction that character does count in public office, and to elect those officials and candidates who, although imperfect, demonstrate consistent honesty, moral purity and the highest character.2
“In 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, passed, what they called, a Resolution On Moral Character Of Public Officials. If it had been followed, Trump would have been kept out of office in 2016 and evangelicals would have distanced themselves from him in 2020.”1 Instead, more the 80% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Resolution On Moral Character Of Public Officials reads as follows:
WHEREAS, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34 NAS); and
WHEREAS, Serious allegations continue to be made about moral and legal misconduct by certain public officials; and
WHEREAS, The Bible calls upon all citizens to submit themselves to their governing authorities as ministers of the Lord (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13); and
WHEREAS, Scripture further teaches, “Whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves” (Romans 13:2); and
WHEREAS, Governing authorities are not themselves exempt from the rule of law and must submit to the nation’s statutes, rather than mocking them (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:14; Proverbs 19:28-29; 2 Samuel 12:7; Mark 6:17-18); and
WHEREAS, Some journalists report that many Americans are willing to excuse or overlook immoral or illegal conduct by unrepentant public officials so long as economic prosperity prevails; and
WHEREAS, Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in the society, and surely results in God’s judgment (1 Kings 16:30; Isaiah 5:18-25); and
WHEREAS, Many public officials and candidates deserve our gratitude and support for their consistent moral character and their uncompromising commitment to biblical principles of right and wrong, resulting in blessing upon their people.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That we, the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting June 9-11, 1998, in Salt Lake City, Utah, affirm that moral character matters to God and should matter to all citizens, especially God’s people, when choosing public leaders; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we implore our government leaders to live by the highest standards of morality both in their private actions and in their public duties, and thereby serve as models of moral excellence and character; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we urge all citizens, including those who serve in public office, to submit themselves respectfully to governing authorities and to the rule of law; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptists and other Christians to fulfill their spiritual duty to pray regularly for the leaders of our nation (1 Timothy 2:1-4); and
Be it finally RESOLVED, That we urge all Americans to embrace and act on the conviction that character does count in public office, and to elect those officials and candidates who, although imperfect, demonstrate consistent honesty, moral purity and the highest character.2
Since 2016, to justify supporting Trump, many Christians peddled the idea that he was like King Cyrus, a foreign king that God used to help Israel. For argument’s sake, I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and concede that is perhaps, in some ways, what happened. However, by them also condoning Trump’s behavior throughout his Presidency rather than rebuking his evil ways, they ended up helping refashion a “man of lawlessness” too.
Did God Reverse the 2016 Results in 2020?
As I see it, God’s disapproval of Trump and Trumpism is reflected in the 2020 election results. Consequently, Christians will now have to suffer under the sins of the Democrats rather than have the nation suffer under the evil that they disregarded in Trump. Furthermore, if Trump was put in by God as a “King Cyrus,” then is it possible that the reversal of his 306-232 winning margin in 2016 to exactly 232-306 in 2020 is a sign that God has reversed His decision and is disciplining Christians for serving the creature rather than the Creator? Do you need to repent of that?
Warning of a Trump Resurrection
Finally, a word of warning! If Trump’s behavior in his first term of office has been bad, His behavior is likely to be far worse if he is elected in 2024! For, the consequences then could be far worse than tolerating his endless lies, his Ukraine call cover-up and impeachment, his bungling of the coronavirus pandemic, and his administration’s low regard for Black lives and migrants. Also, if he is re-elected in 2024, he will have no more need of Christians and may turn on them just as the beasts Nero and Domitian did on the early Christians.
More Posts on President Trump, the Coronavirus, and God’s Judgment
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31 NIV). Picture by ba1969 (Billy Frank Alexander)
Poor Excuse for Choosing Bad Character
In 2016, highly influential evangelical leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., endorsed Donald Trump’s candidacy despite the candidate’s gross shortcomings in character. He said, “We’re not choosing the pastor-in-chief, we’re choosing the President of the United States.” In doing this he broke rank with God, for this is not how the Almighty taught us when He chose David to be king. For, in choosing David, God found a man after His own heart.
Trump, “the best doctor”
The irony is that Falwell said that he saw in Trump a man who loved people and went on to say, “if you had a young child who was ill you would want to choose the best doctor.” With 250 000 Americans dead, largely because of Trump’s politicking and despite his confessed early knowledge of the danger of the coronavirus, it seems that he has loved himself, power, and the dollar more than the American people.
Church Leaders Follow Evil and the People Follow Suit
If America is in a mess today, it’s because evangelicals sidestepped serious character flaws in Trump and then went on to excuse his behavior throughout his term of office. In their blind zeal for God, they endorsed a “fox” rather than a man after God’s own heart or even just a good man like God found in king Cyrus of Persia.
Consequently, America’s evangelical leaders are not unlike the prophets and priests in the days of Judah. For Jeremiah writes, “The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. ‘Both prophet and priest…I find their wickedness,’ declares the Lord” (Jer. 23:10-11 NIV).
Repent!
Church leaders like Falwell, Franklin Graham, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, and countless others must repent of endorsing evil and for helping to lead the church and the nation into the idolatry of Trumpism. Furthermore, the church must repent of making super-gurus out of church leaders, for this idolatry causes Christians to be led by people rather than God.
Jesus does not take kindly to false teaching and idolatry. For, to the church of Pergamum, He says, “I have a few things against you: There are some among you…who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Rev. 2:14-16 NIV).
The church in America must repent of their Trumpism or they risk losing so much more than their country’s God-given democracy that so many have laid down their lives for.
Repent for ignoring Trump’s character and making a deal with an ungodly man.
Repent for supporting the President regardless of his behavior.
Repent for never showing your displeasure at his evil ways.
Repent for helping to fuel national division so that debate has fallen apart and people are led by lies.
Your failure to be God’s prophetic voice is helping to destroy the country.
Repent for dishonouring the President-elect and fuelling division.
The Man of Lawlessness Is in the Temple
Repent, Church leaders, for leading people to think that God was somehow especially behind Trump. Because you have called evil good, you have been and will continue to be played as the beast’s false prophet. Repent, therefore!
Repent every pastor and church leader that initially helped the church to elect a man of lawlessness into office, and, worse, into the hearts of God’s people (the temple of God), so that he reigns from there.
Repent for not holding the President accountable for his evil ways after you helped him become elected.
Trump is America’s very own beast that you have aided by playing the part of the false prophet.
Repent for every false prophecy spoken about the President.
Repent or You Will Lose Your Light
Repent, for you have profaned God’s name by endorsing evil so that reasonable people won’t want to hear the gospel from you. For, already, to the extent that this has happened, you have lost your light!
Finally, the next time the devil wants to make a deal with you, do what Jesus did when He was offered the kingdoms, or it will cost you dearly as it already has.
“Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins and do what you did at first. If you don’t turn from your sins, I will come to you and take your lampstand from its place” (Rev. 2:5 GNB).
Therefore, repent! For God’s word says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
[This word has been an application of the following texts: Matt. 4:8-10; Rev. 13; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; Isaiah 5:20; Rev. 2:5; 2 Chron. 7:14].
More Posts on President Trump and the Coronavirus Judgment:
A false prophet flirts with a beast who is in love with a prostitute and the result is that 100,000 die in a plague in just 3 months. And, that’s just the beginning!
The Characters in America’s Version of Revelation:
President Trump plays ‘the beast,’ an evil and power hungry leader.
The evangelical church plays ‘the false prophet,’ a spiritual leader that endorses the beast.
The “almighty dollar” plays ‘the great prostitute,’ an economic system based on greed that uses governmental power to that end, even at the expense of human dignity and life.
Vice President Pence plays a ‘witness’ that has lost his witness because he has become ‘lukewarm.’
COVID-19, a ‘plague’ sent by Jesus Christ, exposes each of the characters for what they are.
The Play:
A proper interpretation of the book of Revelation makes it abundantly clear that President Donald J. Trump is America’s very own manifestation of ‘the beast’ of Revelation 13. Furthermore, the current economic spirit behind the “almighty dollar” is ‘the great whore’ of Revelation. And, sadly, America’s evangelicals have been the ‘false prophet’ in this tragedy. A plague, which, according to Revelation 6:8, is one of many forms of judgement that are sent by Jesus (see Rev. 6:1).
Here is a brief breakdown:
Just as the beast of Revelation is ridden by the prostitute, President Trump is driven by the need to have a successful economy in order to stay in power, even at the expense of people. Rather than being submitted to Almighty God or even the rationality of science in the face of a pandemic, President Trump is driven by the “almighty dollar.” Nothing can curb him to care for people ahead of power.
Just as the beast is endorsed by the false prophet, President Trump is endorsed by many evangelicals who love him more than truth, justice and morality. He has been so enthusiastically embraced by so many in the Church that he essentially sits in the Temple speaking as though he is God. Rather than addressing his waywardness, as any true prophet would, these religious leaders and their flock defend him and prophesy sweet lies about him and the future of America.
Just as the beast is empowered by Satan, the father of lies, President Trump is notorious for his constant and flagrant lying.
Just as the beast has a lust for power that knows no bounds, Trump has lied and cheated to hold onto power, even to the point of being impeached.
Just as the beast is full of pride, President Trump never admits to his errors. All is “perfect.”
Just as the beast blasphemes God, President Trump does so by claiming allegiance to God and His people, yet living contrary to God and refusing to repent.
Vice President Pence has been the “picture perfect example” of the good American evangelical as he reinforces their God-sent leader’s views. He is the evangelical’s ideal political Ken-doll who supports and excuses the beast despite his immoral, in-humane and illogical political stances. Like the false prophet that he also represents, Pence looks ‘like a lamb,’ but speaks ‘like a dragon.’ Actions speak louder than words and not wearing a mask shows his allegiance.
COVID-19 enters America and sets up the true makers of Fake News to be exposed for downplaying the virus.
COVID-19 sets up the President to make a choice, which he says at one point is “the biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.’ And, over the course of time, he has chosen to dismiss science and instead risks people’s lives, promoting his sentiment on issues because he doesn’t like the cost to the economy.
COVID-19 sets up lukewarm and deceived Christians, who are supposed to be “the light of the world,” to look foolish because they continue to blindly back Trump.
Blind Evangelical Church
If you are an American evangelical, then it is very unlikely that you will recognize the correlation that I have made between the book of Revelation and your current experience. This is, in part, because of the false teaching of dispensationalism that has dominated evangelical thinking over the years. It is so removed in its misinterpretation of Revelation that it has made the prophecy completely useless to Christians who are adherents of this false doctrine. While the Bible explains men like President Trump as being ‘the beast,’ most Christians in America have been robbed of the understanding and comfort that Revelation has for them in the face of such a person. This lack is a judgment on their churches for not testing this doctrine that has been so forcefully espoused by so many over the years.
100 000 Die Under the Beast
As beasts go, President Trump may appear tame. However, 100,000 Americans have died in three months and most of the deaths are due to his bungling of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is directly attributable to his pride and lust for economic success and power instead of having a heart for the American people. What’s more, in the face of these numbers, he continues with his childish pride by not wearing a mask, when wearing a mask protects others from what we might unknowingly have and inadvertently spread. It is an example for others to follow as a way of caring for one another.
Judgement
Clearly, God has been busy using this beast, who is full of pride, as a means of judgement on a nation full of pride. Yet, still, many remain persistent and even belligerent in their unmasked pride (pun intended). In the process, He is also judging His own people for the choice that they made in Trump, and, having made him their choice, for their reluctance to hold him accountable. Instead, they have excused him at every turn and, as a result, he has become the nation’s nightmare. He might have been less brazen had he not had the kind of undivided loyalty that he has received from the evangelicals from the get go.
How Should Christians Respond?
Toward the Beast:
Repent! Jesus must be your first love, not a politician. Also, repent on behalf of your brothers and sisters in Christ and those of your nation that have unswervingly embraced him. And, pray for all your leaders, especially President Trump, for God’s mercy is able to reach him, even as it reached Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Then, when elections come, don’t disregard the character of the candidates, for, in so doing, you have already been bitten once.
Toward the Prostitute:
Americans love the “almighty dollar” and many American Christians love it too. Revelation has this to say to them, ‘I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of [the great prostitute], my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues”’ (Rev. 18:4 ESV). You need to repent of the love of money, for the word says, ‘Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”’ (Heb. 13:5). Also, ‘For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs’ (1 Tim. 6:10).
Toward the False Prophet:
Like the Bereans in Acts, test all ministers of the Word of God by the Word of God. For, it is as a result of a lack of this that many false teachers and false teachings have crept in. And, having become established, they have led this generation to embrace a beast who has led them into a full-blown plague.
Learn from these words of Jesus in Revelation to the church in Pergamum: ‘But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth’ (Rev. 2:14‑16).
What have your spiritual leaders taught you to think and practice that is contrary to God? Do you constantly excuse President Trump? Do you love money at the expense of people’s lives? Do you wear a mask out of reverence to God, who has given sanctity to life and who commands us to love our neighbour? Whether you follow the beast or the Lord Jesus Christ will be seen by how you think and what you do. You might need to repent of allowing yourself to be marked with ‘the name of the beast,’ which, in Revelation, symbolically indicates who your allegiance is with in both thought and action.
Toward the Plague:
Do not be presumptuous like good King Josiah was by getting in the way of God’s judgement. Wear a mask, wash your hands and social distance until the plague is over. If you contract the virus, realise that you are not necessarily being judged. As a Christian, this is a test of your faith. If you are lacking faith then ask God and He will give you the faith and grace needed for the experience. He will carry you through it to the other side, whether to be with Him, which is far better, or with your family, which, God willing, He may consider to be better for now.
Toward the Lukewarm Witness:
Let’s begin by looking to see to what extent we are lukewarm witnesses. Let’s also realise that we don’t all have the same pressures. Then, let’s pray for our own needs and for grace for our brother. That said, my word for Vice President Pence is, ‘Do not be deceived, “Bad company corrupts good character”‘ (1 Cor. 15:33 NIV). Love your neighbour and wear a mask! If you are a witness for Jesus Christ, ‘Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould’ (Rom. 12:2 PHILLIPS). And, that can often include the Christian world. Be a Daniel or a Shadrach and put your neck on the line for your faith.
May we all soberly look at what God is doing in our own nations and all around the world at this time. And, let’s keep praying for grace for one another so that we can represent Him well as His ambassadors on earth.
Many in the evangelical church have backed Trump, the most powerful man alive, who is easily driven by US companies that care less for people’s lives than their own prosperity. They all make a great cast for Revelation, where the ‘false prophet’ backs ‘the beast,’ who is ridden by ‘Babylon, the Great Whore,’ who cares nothing for ‘the people of the earth.’
Turn To God, He Loves You
Repent Church and be devoted to Jesus first and not someone who promises ‘America first’ at the expense of kingdom values. Repent President Trump and follow the doctors and not the dollar! And, especially, wholeheartedly follow Jesus, who loves you dearly. He is the perfect deal. Repent businesses, for God is your provider. And, people of the earth, repent and follow Jesus. And, church, as for the Great Prostitute, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues’ (Rev. 18:4).
Real Church Life