NOTES ON PREPARING FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD: A THEOLOGICAL PRAXIS FOR MAKING ALL THINGS READY – III: COMMITMENT

SCRIPTURE. “And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing].” – REVELATION 12:11, AMPC

QUOTATIONS

PLATO. “For to fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without really being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For no one knows whether death may not be the greatest good that can happen to man.” – ‘Apology of Socrates to the Jury,’ c. 399 B.C.

POLYCARP. “But when the Pro-Consul pressed him and said: ‘Take the oath and I let you go, revile Christ,’ Polycarp said: ‘For eighty and six years have I been his servant, and he has done me no wrong, and how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?’” – “The Martyrdom of Polycarp,” ‘Apostolic Fathers,’ Martyred c. 155 A.D., Kirsopp Lake, Editor, 1912

BONHOEFFER. “[At the last] Bonhoeffer asked a British prisoner to communicate a message to a friend in England, George Bell. These were Bonhoeffer’s final known words: ‘This is the end; for me, the beginning of life.’ Stripped naked [to be hung thus with piano wire], Bonhoeffer was led outside to the gallows. The author of ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ (1937) would pay the price he wrote of. ‘When Jesus calls a man, He bids him come and die.’” – Martyred on April 9, 1945; Reported by Randy Alcorn, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Final Thoughts on His Life and Death,” ‘Eternal Perspectives Ministries,’ December 18, 2007; edited

FIRST THOUGHTS

I have been afraid for most of my life.

As a child in the 1950s, following a traumatic event at the age of five, I remember having to deal with a neighborhood bully named Eddie Moore. Later in junior high school, as a mixed-race boy of slight build, I had another fierce critic named Joe Perry (remind me to tell you how that ended, by the way). Then in high school and beyond, the popular boys fought with each other as a rite of passage.

I did not.

Even after becoming a Christian in 1979, as I was being miraculously wrested from a two-decade addiction to alcohol, I gradually cultivated another kind of fear without even realizing it: ‘The fear of men’s opinion of me.’ This lasted well into the 2000’s.

THE CHANGE. But then something began to happen in 2016, as the first of my firings from three religious institutions took place, as my Christian superiors told me I had to stop writing my increasingly blistering warnings about Donald Trump. As these demands continued to be made of me, I sensed the birth of an iron resolve to stand by my commitments I had never experienced before.

I would later learn that this resolve did not come from me.

By the Fall of 2019, shortly following my last termination, I was ordered to clear out my office in an hour, turn in my keys and leave the premises. And yet, though shaken by the suddenness and brutality of it, I was somehow calmed by His Presence.

As I walked outside to ponder it all, I leaned on the car to quietly survey the surreal moment and a lovely landscape of trees and hills, and to my great surprise, heard the Spirit of God say something I had never heard before, nor have I since:

“I am proud of you.”

My response was not very respectful: “What? How can that be, Lord? I just lost my third job and I don’t know what to tell my family.” Later that day while decompressing by watching a Christian film before heading home, I heard the same words echoed five times from the ‘Coach’ character in the movie to a struggling young athlete learning to run cross country (my high school sport by the way):

“I am proud of you.”

FREEDOM. My family received that story as from the Lord, but I continued to lose scores upon scores of Christian friends for my theological and political stance since 2016. But then another stage in my matriculation in God’s School of Life occurred in March 2020, at the tail end of our three-year ordeal of my unemployment:

My Blogs and Vlogs began receiving substantial financial support.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, contributions started coming in and have remained steady as a rock to this very day, with some recent increase. But as my social media audience and presence grew, so did the bitter hatred, the mocking, vicious slander (from believers by the way), the shunning, followed by dozens of death threats.

Yet somewhere in the grind and grist of that chaotic Covid Year of 2020, I discovered, somewhat astonished by it: I no longer feared death!

JOY. In the wake of this New Freedom, I was literally buoyed upward by a clarified sense of who I had become, my Mission as a teacher, and vastly more importantly, my much richer understanding of Who God is – and Who He is not! Selah.

Then a final insight, from that still small Voice I had learned to hear more clearly back in those transformative days:

‘Once you lose the fear of death, son, you are fully, completely and forever free to serve Me, no matter what.’ Or rough paraphrase to that effect.

In a Blaze of God’s sustained removal of the scales from my eyes , I finally understood what OSWALD CHAMBERS meant by that magnificent phrase: “With reckless abandon!” Taken from his landmark devotional, ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ first published in 1924, listen to his timeless Principle.

“Abandonment means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions. If you totally abandon yourself to God, He immediately says to you, ‘I will give your life to you as a prize.’ The reason people are tired of life is that God has not given them anything — they have not been given their life ‘as a prize.’ The way to get out of that condition is to abandon yourself to God. And once you do get to the point of ‘Total Surrender to Him,’ you will be the most surprised and delighted person on earth.”

DK’S TAKE. When we finally arrive at that sacred point in our lives with Christ, when it no longer matters if I am rich or suffer lack, whether I hold favor in the eyes of the world or not, indeed, whether I live or whether I must die: ‘I am free, beloved!’

Neither do I fear any man anymore, nor shall ever again.

I am quick to confess, however, such Freedom is costly, as DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Reminded us so passionately his classic, ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ (1937).

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the Kingly Rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him.”

Bonhoeffer spoke rightly about what God expects of every person who calls themselves, Christian – and nothing less.

TWO KINDS OF FEAR

It is axiomatic that we understand that some Fear is divinely beneficial, while another kind is crippling. TWO SCRIPTURES bring us quick and concise differentiation between the two.

FEAR OF GOD. “The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and skill [the preceding and the first essential, the prerequisite and the alphabet]; a good understanding, wisdom, and meaning have all those who do [the will of the Lord]. Their praise of Him endures forever.” – PSALM 111:10, AMPC

FEAR OF MAN. “Nevertheless, even many of the leading men believed in Him [as Savior and Messiah], but because of the Pharisees they would not confess it, for fear that [if they acknowledged Him openly] they would be put out of the synagogue (excommunicated); for they loved the approval of men more than the approval of God.” JOHN 12:42-43, AMP

THE AMERICAN CHURCH. In the summer of 2014, DR. GEORGE BARNA published one of the most important surveys of his long career of studying American Evangelicalism. The findings rocked – or should have rocked – the very Foundations of American Christianity.

Here is a short Summary of his key findings from expat minister and author, JOHN SOUTER, in his essay, “Why Are Our Pastors Not Preaching the Truth?” (‘Fresh Light Source,’ 2014). I quote at length due to the importance of this report.

“Barna found that when his researchers asked [American] pastors about the key political issues of our day, 90 percent of the pastors agreed that the Bible does speak to every one of these issues. But when the pastors were asked if they were teaching their people about what the Bible says about those issues, ‘only 10 percent’ of the pastors said they were (or that they would do so).

Did you get that? ‘Ninety-percent’ of America’s pastors say they KNOW that the Bible speaks to all of these issues, but they are deliberately determined to NOT teach these biblical principles. That is an eye-opening admission! …

James 4:17 says: ‘Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.’ It seems to me that the majority of these pastors are failing to teach what they know they should teach, and that is plain and simply a sin.

German WW2 pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated that: ‘Silence in the face of evil is evil itself: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.’ Bonhoeffer was martyred for resisting the Nazis. He is an excellent role model for those pastors who want to do the right thing. He also stated, ‘We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself …

We must admit the Truth: if your pastor is refusing to speak out on the issues which he knows the Bible speaks to, then he is DELIBERATELY refusing to teach those Biblical Principles to you and your family. According to Barna, we are not dealing with ignorant pastors, we are dealing with deliberately ‘disobedient pastors’ who are purposely choosing to remain silent.”

THE PANDEMIC. These shameless, cowardly trends among American pastors have been tragically marinating since publication of Barna’s Report in 2014. By the time DONALD TRUMP was elected president in 2016, the Church was prime meat for deciding to unswervingly support him at the sustained rate of approval of around 80 percent.

Then came Covid-19, when the Trump presidency and the entire world was about to be turned upside down. Let me refresh your memory about his strategy to confront the Plague of the Century.

“It’s a stunning reversal President Donald Trump would like Americans to forget. Only days after dismissing the Coronavirus threat as ‘a distraction,’ he’s now assumed the title of a resolute war time president fighting an ‘invisible enemy’ while promising to rally the nation behind him in pursuit of ‘total victory.’ Trump’s new posture is in response to a crisis that is worsening by the hour and appears to be partly designed to cover up the administration’s failures in distributing testing kits that have might help authorities slow the virus’ advance.” – STEPHEN COLLINSON, “Trump’s New Policy on Coronavirus Undermined by His Own Actions,’ ‘CNN Politics,’ March 19, 2020; edited

As Trump and his team hedged and dodged the reality of the deadly disease, history now records his initial mockery of sound medical science, contributed to over 750,000 American deaths by mid-2021, likely to climb to 1,000,000 by the time the second edition of my book, ‘The Sixth Seal,’ hits the shelves in 2022.

A NEW MOVEMENT. To add to all this venomous mayhem, His followers began dutifully to resist the vaccines and mask wearing protocols, and now we have a virtual ‘Medical Freedom Movement’ of nearly 40 percent of the population fiercely defending ‘the right’ to remain unvaccinated.

Which I unapologetically view as the right to endanger one’s neighbor, possibly leading to their death.

Here is Summary of that Movement by British freelance journalist LIAM O’DELL, writing for ‘Indy100’ in a piece entitled, “A Brief History of the Anti-Vax Movement and Where It Came From,” published on September 19, 2021; edited.

“With the ongoing conspiracy theories being thrown around the Coronavirus vaccines, some may well think that the Anti-vax Movement is a fairly recent phenomenon. Yet, the truth is that it’s anything but. Before Piers Corbyn, David Icke and others, there was Andrew Wakefield [former physician and discredited British anti-vax crusader], whose concerns around one vaccine, in particular, many believe, sparked years of anti-vax messaging and ‘vaccine hesitancy.’ Despite numerous scientists and medical professionals stressing the efficacy and safety of vaccines, unsubstantiated and disproven fears around getting one of the current coronavirus jabs, range from the misconception that they cause autism, to the view that Bill Gates is behind a plan to implant microchips into people – a claim without evidence that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has dismissed as ‘False.’”

THE IMPACT. Thousands of more infections and deaths. Hospitals nearing capacity again as some cities have to airlift the sick to other city hospitals due to lack of medical staff and beds. More seriously, this 40 percent puts the statistical brakes on any hope of ever achieving ‘Herd Immunity,’ the ultimate lifesaving event.

ANTIVAXER DEATHS. Bob Enyart, a Denver-based pastor and talk show host, died in September. Phil Valentine was a conservative talk show host who died August 21, 2021 from COVID-19. Marc Bernier was a conservative, right-wing radio host in Florida who dubbed himself “Mr. Anti-Vax.” He regularly protested against the vaccine as was not vaccinated. He died August 30, 2020. Dick Farrel was a conservative talk show host from Florida. He was an avid Trump supporter who changed his mind about the vaccine after her fell sick from the virus, but it was too late. He died after a two-week battle on August 4, 2021. Tod Tucker was a conservative talk show host from Oklahoma City, OK. He did August 11, 2021, after an onset of viral pneumonia as the result of COVID-19. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung Sr. was a Christian radio host and Bible Prophecy Teacher. DeYoung, who died August 15, 2021, once called the vaccine “government control,” and was not vaccinated. Caleb Wallace was the Founder of the “The San Angelo Freedom Defenders” anti-mask group and he organized anti-mask rallies. He died August 28, 2021. Herman Cain was American businessman and activist for the Tea Party movement. He was an active Trump supporter who unfortunately didn’t live long enough to become a true anti-vaxxer. Before he died he vocally opposed to masks and stay at home orders. He died July 30, 2020 from COVID-19. – cf. BILAL G. MORRIS, “Anti-Vaxxers Who Have Died from Covid-19,” ‘Newsone,’ September 14, 2021

GOD’S LAW. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap. For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” – GALATIANS 6:7-8, AMPC

Writing for the respected online journal, ‘Beliefnet,’ Christian journalist LESLI WHITE spoke dispassionately about this life-or-death issue in her piece entitled, “Should Christians Get the Covid-19 Vaccine?” (2020; edited). Currently, that roughly 40 percent of Americans who refuse vaccination includes vast numbers of Trump White Evangelicals.

“Some [now many] Evangelical Christians have subscribed to ‘Myths’ about the COVID-19 vaccine and the Pandemic. Many of these same people have fueled misinformation campaigns and promoted Conspiracy Theories. Some critics have accused right-wing fundamentalist pastors of perpetuating baseless theories that are encouraging their congregants to ignore public health information. This includes unfounded theories like the vaccine is the mark of the beast and could even cause sterilization in women …

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) published an article titled ‘3 Reasons Christians Should Vaccinate With Confidence,’ addressing what Christians should do with vaccinations [Safety and Effectiveness (Proverbs 27:12); Love of Our Neighbor (Mark 12:31); and Refusal to Walk in Fear (Proverbs 1:7)].”

DK’S TAKE. Now for the hard blow straight at the heart of the American Church. IF these facts are accurate, and the vast majority of our Pastors refuse to strongly encourage taking the vaccine, it is quite possible that they are active or passive accomplice to what the US Criminal Law Code would call:

NEGLIGENT HOMOCIDE. “Negligent Homicide is the killing of another person through gross negligence or without malice … It is characterized as a death caused by conduct that grossly deviated from ordinary care. Negligent Homicide may be charged as a lesser-included offense of Manslaughter. It is also sometimes referred to as ‘Involuntary Manslaughter’. State laws vary, so local law should be consulted for specific requirements.” – EDITORS, ‘US Legal Definitions,’ ret. November 14, 2021; edited

LEGAL PENALTY. “While Negligent Homicide is the lowest form of homicide, it remains a very serious offense. Each state has their own statutes in terms of punishment. What they have in common is that they include time in prison, probation, and/or fines. The levels, however, vary greatly. For instance, Texas has a prison sentence of between 180 days to two years, with no possibility of parole. In Alaska, there is no minimum sentence, but the maximum is 10 years. On average, the prison term imposed for negligent homicide is between six months and 10 years.” – GEOFFREY NATHAN, ESQ., ‘National Federal Defense Lawyer Group,’ ret. November 14, 2021; edited

BIBLICAL SANCTIONS. ‘Crimes Against Man: Civil Offenses.’ These consisted of offenses toward men of such gravity as to endanger Society or the State. They went beyond matters of controversy between private individuals, but posed a threat to the safety of the Community as a whole. ‘Homicide.’ The basic sanction against murder is contained in Genesis 9:6: ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.’ Since murder is a crime against God, in whose image man was created, it demands the extreme penalty of capital punishment … Nor does the Sixth Commandment in the Decalogue raise the slightest question as to the right and duty to take the life of anyone guilty of murder. It does not say, ‘Thou shalt not kill’ but, ‘Thou shalt not commit murder’ (the verb rāṩaḥ is a specific term for murder, and is never used of executing a criminal or slaying an enemy in battle).” – EDITORS, “Crimes and Punishments,” ‘Encyclopedia of the Bible,’ ret. November 14, 2021; edited

MY POINT. To drive home America’s historic and massively consequential ‘Loss of the Fear of God’ in our Churches today becoming so extensive, that they would risk Death in order to maintain their Seditious Narrative.

Jesus said it would be just like this: “Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold. But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” – MATTHEW 24:11-13, AMP

But is the Church listening, beloved? I daresay the Silence of the Lambs and Leaders is beyond deafening at this point. This constitutes nothing less than Intentional Injury to millions of Americans who need treatment for other ailments but cannot, due to the overflow of Unvaccinated American.

God’s Promise: The Church and their Pastors shall be the first to face God’s Wrath for it. Count on it! – cf. 1 Peter 4:17

THE TEACHING

The powerful phrase taken from this translation, ‘holding their lives cheap’ invariably reminds me of a favorite theme from SHAKESPEARE, in the riveting scene in ‘Henry V (1599) known as the “St. Crispin’s Day Speech.”

It was brilliantly depicted in film by the British actor Sir Kenneth Branagh as the king, memorializing the 1415 Battle at Agincourt during The Hundred Years War with the French. As the men became terrified at being vastly outnumbered five to one on the battlefield, King Henry delivers one of the most eloquent speeches ever recorded, to encourage their hearts. It ends with these now familiar lines.

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

Honor. Courage. Purpose. Clarity of Vision and Mission. Fearlessness. All spoke so loudly and bravely before his soldiers, the King inspired them to rise up and take to battle with smiles and shouts rather than whimpers and whispers. To our point: ‘Holding their manhoods cheap,’ compared to the Honor of their valiant Quest.

Lesson for today’s American Church Leadership, wouldn’t you say?

To finish the point, King Henry completes his magnificent Encomium with these piercing words: “Now, soldiers, march away, and how Thou pleasest, God, dispose the day.” Selah.

REVELATION 12:11. So, we go to the formal drilldown of the passage from Revelation, with close examination of the KEY TERMS from that passage.

THEY OVERCAME. A powerful word in the Greek, ‘Nikaó’ [νικάω], which means: “To conquer, to prevail over [one’s foes]; Usage – ‘I conquer, am victorious, overcome, prevail, subdue; get the victory, achieve success;’ the verb form implies a great battle; to win the case (or argument); used of one who by Christian constancy and courage keeps himself unharmed and spotless from his adversary’s devices, solicitations, assaults: the Devil; by the force which resides in goodness, i.e., in kindness, to cause an enemy to repent of the wrong he has done one, Romans 12:21.”

BY THE BLOOD. From the root word, ‘Haima’ [αἷμα]: “A special reference to ‘shed blood’ (offered as Atonement for sin); the substantial basis for all individual life; or, as it was anciently believed that the blood is the seat of the life; in this context, it designates the Life of Christ [and the manifest nature of the Lord, with His many gifts and empowerments]; likened unto a Federative or Covenantal Sacrifice that is inviolable – [except by the recipient who may choose to disregard or otherwise betray it, and depart from it, thus nullifying its divine benefits].”

BY THEIR TESTIMONY. This word in the Greek is, significantly, ‘Marturia’ [μαρτυρία], a clear index of one’s: “Witness, evidence, reputation [as the very mark of a true Christian]; the certification of the believer’s ‘integrity’ of genuine, consistent followership of the Messiah; confers authority, as in the Hebrew word, ‘Masach’ [מָשַׁח], meaning ‘so smear or anoint with God’s Unction’; to hold to the duty of giving a good report concerning The Christ [with the attendant lifestyle to support it].”

UNTO DEATH. The bottom-line requirement and manifestation of the true witness of Jesus Christ, is taken from the Greek, ‘Thanatos’ [θάνατος]: “Contextually, it refers to the physical, temporal or natural death of an individual (i.e., ‘the first death’); yet if communication with the Divine Light of God, and not held fast in both heart and action (if required), it can also lead to the Second (Eternal) Death as violation of the Covenant (by separation, or idolatry; i.e., loving one’s life more than Christ); the latter would include everlasting punishment in the Biblical Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8).”

COMMENTARY. “‘Theoretical Religion’ relaxes the energy of faith, even though it may brace the intellect; ‘Practical religion’ invigorates faith, gives it its force, and moulds the heroism of those who, in their love of Christ, ‘love not their lives even unto death.’ It is thought that these last words imply that the martyred saints alone are spoken of. This seems to me a mistake. It is true that in the martyr we have the fullest practical token of that spirit of devotion to Christ which loves Him more than life itself; but the spirit of such devotion and such love has breathed in thousands who have never died the martyr’s death, but who have devoted their lives to Him they loved. The ‘martyr spirit’ needs not death to show itself; many lose their lives for Christ’s sake who have never been called to lay down their lives for Him, and these, as truly as those who have passed away in the shroud of flame, have loved not their lives unto the death. ‘He may bid us die for Him: He does bid us live for Him. If we do not the one—the less—we may be quite sure that we shall never rise to the other—the higher and the more glorious’” (Dr. Charles Vaughan).” – CHARLES ELLICOTT, ‘An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers,’ 1878, 1897; edited

DK’S TAKE. Do you see it, beloved? Can you not discern the combined wisdom of the ‘willingness to die for Christ,’ with the deep structure theology that now shouts: ‘Those unwilling to lose all for Him, or shed blood if necessary for the One who shed blood for them, are not worthy of the Kingdom of God!

Now let that settle well into your spirit, my friends, and all Pastors – and settle it once and for all.

LAST THOUGHTS

THE LITMUS TEST: “A test in which a single factor (such as an attitude, event, or fact) is decisive.” – Merriam Webster, ret. November 19, 2021

In the interests of what both I and the theologians call, ‘Practical Theology,’ the Lord is calling His people to their first and determinative ‘Test of Fealty,’ prior to His Return for His True Church. I further propose that the substance of this Divine Litmus Test takes the form of ‘Choosing’ what to do with A SINGLE ISSUE:

Whether to ally with or stay separate from the character, activity and policies of Donald John Trump.

This is based upon the multiple Biblical reasons I have documented during this past year and a half of copiously documented Prosecution of this evil man as operating straight from the Spirit of Antichrist. I have also carefully considered his possibly being ‘the’ Antichrist – which the next few years shall prove one way or another.

DEPART! My Strong Counsel: ‘Withdraw’ from Trump’s dark presence in American Life, including the Church, the Body Politic and the General Culture. Have nothing to do with this undeniably wicked man ever again, and be quick to Repent of any past connections, active or passive, in order to Honor the King, and Preserve your testimony.

Paul wrote of it in the strictest of terms:

“But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God], or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering], or is a drunkard or a swindler or a robber. [No] you must not so much as eat with such a person.” – 1 CORINTHIANS 5:11, AMPC

CASE STUDY IN HEROISM. I close with this. One of my dearest and more distinguished academic colleagues, is DR. MARVIN OLASKY, with whom I worked briefly at Regent University and co-authored a piece on the History of Journalism in the 1980s for a Chinese Mission organization.

His prodigious presence on the American Academic Landscape in the highly related fields of History and Journalism are impossible to capture in this small section. I urge you to Google his Bio online, to see what I mean. Formerly a Jewish Marxist working for the ‘Boston Globe’ in his earlier career, he experienced a ten-year Conversion Experience that is beyond remarkable.

Tragically, he was recently forced to resign as long-term Editor of the Christian news magazine, ‘World,’ founded by JOEL BELZ in 1977. Here is a heart-rending account just out by BEN SMITH writing for the ‘New York Times’ (November 15, 2021) in a piece titled: “His Reasons for Opposing Trump Were Biblical: Now a Top Editor is Out.”

I quote at length for its immense importance as Dark Harbinger for the sustained construction of a ‘Spirit of the Purge’ [or Putsch] taking place in American Christianity today, so chillingly similar to Nazi Germany’s some 90 years ago.

“As the longtime editor of World, a Christian news organization that has a website, a biweekly magazine and a set of podcasts, Olasky has delivered a mix of hard news and watchdog articles about the evangelical realm under a journalistic philosophy he calls ‘Biblical Objectivity.’ It involves taking strong stands where the Bible is clear, which has led World to oppose abortion rights and support refugees, he says, and to follow reportable facts where the Bible doesn’t provide clear guidance. The concept served Olasky well from 1994, when he became the editor of World, until Nov. 1, when he submitted his resignation …

He [recently] received an effective ‘vote of no confidence’ from World’s board, which had recently started a section of the website, World Opinions, without fully consulting him. The new section offers opinion essays on religious issues with the kind of commentary on secular topics such as mask mandates, inflation, race and President Joe Biden’s spending plans that can be found on any number of other conservative websites.

At one level, Olasky’s departure is just another example of the American news media sinking deeper into polarization, as one more conservative news outlet, which had almost miraculously retained its independence, is conquered by Trump …

By the General Election, it was clear that, whatever leaders thought, Trump was popular in the pews. And so when World’s editors, in October 2016, declared Trump ‘unfit for power’ on its cover because of his remarks about grabbing women, and demanded that he step aside, Olasky received about 2,000 emails, he said, about 80% of them disagreeing. (In a column two days later, Olasky also suggested that Hillary Clinton step aside for her “lies” and policy errors) …

Olasky’s recent work shows a deep concern about where this is all headed. In a recent column, he deplored the ‘Flight 93 Approach’ — a reference to the hijacked flight on 9/11 where passengers banded together to storm the cockpit — that he sees among many conservatives, who, he says, believe they must use ‘any means necessary’ to keep America from being destroyed by Liberals. ‘Some on both political sides now say: We’re heading toward social Armageddon. We are two nations. It’s them or us,’ he wrote in October. ‘And yet, many on both sides still share the hope of the Pledge of Allegiance: “One nation under God.” I’m on the one-nation team.’”

THE WAY TO PEACE. In the most final analysis of these weighty, historic and theological ideas clashing with one another, I am reminded, oddly enough, of the gently joyous words of the Apostle Paul in a passage familiar to us all.

‘For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake.” – PHILIPPIANS 1:21-24, AMP

I can relate, and I know most of you can as well. Someone once said it’s much harder to live for Christ than to die for Him. Perhaps, but this I know: I have been forever set indescribably, joyously ‘free’ from the moment I stopped fearing Death, and the Opinions of Fouled Rulers, those two old enemies of mine.

I therefore conclude with the perfect Words of The Christ concerning all this Life and Death business: “No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.” – JOHN 15:13, AMP

This we are to do every single day, beloved: For our King. For our friends. For our neighbor. And even for a stranger, should God call us to it. This to honor. This to joy. This alone to true peace in a time of chaos.

Ever your servant, DK

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