NOTES ON THE HONOR OF BEING A MEMBER OF THE REMNANT FELLOWSHIP

SCRIPTURE. “‘Then those who feared the Lord [with awe-filled reverence] spoke to one another; and the Lord paid attention and heard it,’ and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who fear the Lord [with an attitude of reverence and respect] and who esteem His name. ‘They will be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘on that day when I publicly recognize them and openly declare them to be My own possession [that is, My very special treasure]. And I will have compassion on them and spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’” – MALACHI 3:16-17, AMP

QUOTATION. “When we look for success, it should be for the sole purpose of ‘boasting sincerely in Christ.’ There’s no other reason for it. Success is only worth it when the more intense it gets for you, the more you find yourself bragging for His glory rather than your own.” ― CRISS JAMI, Killosophy, 2015; edited

FIRST THOUGHTS

Those of us who have chosen to engage in our own online Peloton Fellowship are part of a much larger Conversation among true believers in Jesus Christ who are part of God’s Remnant Church, about which I have written much. Initiated in 2020, we hold the Biblical Canon both sacred and inviolable in fervent Resistance to the Last Days explosion of false doctrines and false Christ’s.

ROOTS OF DOCTRINAL SEDITION. More specifically, we have discussed in considerable detail: (1) The uniquely American ‘Once-Saved-Always-Saved’ (OSAS) prevarication pioneered by the esoteric, largely allegorical wanderings of such theological giants as Church father Origen, Augustine of Hippo, and much later the great reformer, John Calvin.

(2) Still later came the largely Germanic theologies of ‘Higher Criticism’ spawned by such figures as Friederich Schleirmacher, Ludwig Feuerbach and David Strauss who further dismissed the importance and relevance of the ‘literal’ Biblical Text, looking for mysterious underlying structures that most often were not there in the first place. This to gravely delegitimize the Authority of the Canonical Truths of Divine origin.

(3) Then came the insidious ‘Faith-Prosperity Doctrines’ (of demons) promoted by such originators as Andrew Carnegie, Charles Fillmore, E.W. Kenyon, and later Oral Roberts, followed by television personalities such as Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton and the legendary Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and a panoply of the shamelessly enriched children of these forebears, too numerous to name here.

(4) Into this admixture of theological poison were two more schools of what we now refer to as ‘Dominion Theology’ of such hyper-Calvinists. Examples: Rousas Rushdoony’s Reconstructionism and its later chimeric, largely Charismatic hybrids in the forms of the Latter Rain Movement, the Manifest Sons of God, and the Kansas City Prophets pioneered by Mike Bickle alongside adherents of this “New Apostolic Reformation” of C. Peter Wagner, Rick Joyner, Lou Engle and a long list of disciples. Not the least of whom is the modern apostle of its final form called the “Seven Mountain Mandate” fueled by the theatric proselytization of Lance Wallnau and his many companions.

(5) All of which was effectively accelerated by the various Church Growth Models associated with the Hyper-Grace, “Seeker Friendly” accommodations of such figures as Donald McGavran and others who ended up promoting something called “The Emergent Church” in such preachers as Joseph Prince, Andrew Wommack’s Charis Bible College, and more ‘acceptable’ figures such as Rick Warren and others.

Thus, our nearly daily Discourse online in response to Scriptures as they apply to these Final Days of Apostasy from the Faith. To that end, we are singularly devoted to loving and revealing:

‘What God Loves and What God Hates.’

PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS. “Love is to be sincere and active [the real thing—without guile and hypocrisy]. Hate what is evil [detest all ungodliness, do not tolerate wickedness]; hold on tightly to what is good.” – 12:9, AMP

It is that simple, beloved. We are commanded to live by these Timeless Words, and if we do, He shall yet seat us together with Him in Heavenly Places, while enabling us to work tirelessly now to bring Truth and Hope and Rescue to a people in need in this present, increasingly perilous life on the Earth.

II. THE BIBLICAL REMNANT

In former treatments of the crucially important idea of The Remnant, I had not delved into the historic theology that undergirds our appreciation for it. Thus do I turn to an excellent piece that does just that by MARV ROSENTHAL, a somewhat unusual source for me. He is a Messianic Jew, founder of the Israel My Glory ministry with no formal theological degrees. Yet I found his essay superior to the several that I reviewed for this important section.

TITLE: “A Theology for the Remnant,” Israel My Glory, April-May 1986; edited. As is my practice, I bullet point his primary ideas for ease of reading.

INTRODUCTION. “It is never easy to swim upstream – to buck the tides and resist the currents. But, by the very nature of the case, True Christianity calls for an upstream lifestyle. The world in which we live and move and have our being is, by Biblical definition, an ordered system headed by Satan. Following the philosophy of this ordered system leads to eternal separation from God as surely as night follows day. But the attractions of the world are strong, its currents swift, its captain powerful. Those who exchange the philosophy of this world for the Theology of Heaven, as revealed in the Bible, are part of a Believing Remnant. According to the dictionary, a remnant is ‘that which remains or is left over’ [following some great crisis].”

ISRAEL’S PAST REMNANT. “Throughout the entire Old Testament – from Abraham, the Father of the Jewish Nation, to Malachi, the last of the writing Prophets – the children of Israel did not follow after their God. They rejected God’s Prophets, they refused the messengers that God sent to them – they repeatedly sinned, rebelled and transgressed … It was only because of a godly Believing Remnant that God preserved Israel in the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, in the days of the premier Prophet, Elijah, that Remnant numbered exactly seven thousand souls from within the entire nation. To the Prophet’s lament that he was the only one left who had remained faithful, God said, ‘Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal and every mouth which hath not kissed him’ (cf. 1 Ki. 19:18; Rom. 11:4).”

ISRAEL’S FUTURE REMNANT. “The Doctrine of the Remnant is an exceedingly important theme. It affirms unconditionally that, however great Israel’s Apostasy, and however severe God’s righteous Judgment, there will always be ‘a core’ – a Remnant of faithful believers who will continue to exist (cf. 1 Ki. 19:18; Mal. 3:16- 18). Prophetically, the Doctrine of the Remnant pictures the fulfillment of the Divine Promises to Israel, not in the mere physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but in the physical spiritual descendants of the Patriarchs – Jews who have exhibited saving faith in Christ – the True Remnant within Israel. Apostasy, even by the majority of the Jews, can never nullify the Divine Promises … It is this precise theme that the great Apostle Paul addresses in the theologically important eleventh chapter of Romans. In verse one he asks the question, ‘I say, then, Hath God cast away his people?’ Is God done with the Jews – are they finished as a nation – did their national rejection of Christ annul all the God-given promises? Hear Paul’s response: God forbid!’ That’s a Hebrew idiom of the strongest sort. It could be translated, ‘Don’t even think such a thought! (Rom. 6:1-2).”

THE CHURCH REMNANT. “‘It would appear that God does not despise that which is small’ [Zech. 4:10]. In the Old Testament Israel was not ‘naughty but nice;’ they were not ‘mischievous but winsome.’ What Israel was, was a sinful nation. They disobeyed God’s Law, rebelled against His goodness and transgressed His precepts. Only a Remnant – a handful – a feeble minority, remained true. At the End of the Age (during the Tribulation Period), things will be no different. The great majority of mankind will not have a heart favorably disposed to God. Factually, God describes the period immediately prior to His Second Coming to the earth this way, ‘But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Mt. 24:37). Among other things, the Days of Noah were characterized by unbelief, wickedness and perversion. So grievous was man’s sin that God had to destroy the world which then existed. Only a feeble Remnant (Noah and his immediate family) survived the destruction (Gen. 7:1-7).”

THE LAST DAYS. “There was a Remnant in the Old Testament, there will be a Remnant at the End of the Age, and there is a Remnant today [1986]. Such a view is not defeatist, it is Biblical. And furthermore, it gives a proper foundation upon which to view the present moment of history. There is a great deal today parading under the guise of Biblical Christianity that is not owned by Christ. False prophets abound. Experiential theology is permitted. A lifestyle of legitimate Biblical separation from the world is generally considered passe. True worship is rare. Christ honoring music is increasingly being substituted by ‘religious,’ man-pleasing entertainment presented by ‘performers’ rather than servants. More and more Christian leaders are condoning things today that they condemned fifteen years ago [1970’s]. And notwithstanding some outstanding contemporary prophetic voices and a cadre of faithful, uncompromising pastors, ‘the fire is out’ in most of the pulpits of the land. Harsh words, these, some will complain. No! Faithful and true words!”

DK. This dear man wrote this nearly 40 years ago, clearly prophetically as we now see. Gone Home in 2022, his words resound to me as I respectfully pass them along to you all. THE REMNANT constitutes the only True Church in Biblical history, whether Jewish in the Old Testament Era, or Christian in New Testament times. And its Nemesis was always and nearly forever, ‘a rebellious, Apostate majority!’

I will speak more of this powerful Principle as we close our discussion.

III. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “‘Then those who feared the Lord [with awe-filled reverence] spoke to one another; and the Lord paid attention and heard it,’ and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who fear the Lord [with an attitude of reverence and respect] and who esteem His name. ‘They will be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘on that day when I publicly recognize them and openly declare them to be My own possession [that is, My very special treasure]. And I will have compassion on them and spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’” – MALACHI 3:16-17, AMP

KEY TERM: “ESTEEM.” ‘Chashab’ [חָשַׁב]: “From a primitive word meaning ‘to interpenetrate, to weave or fabricate;’ i.e., to plot, plan or contrive [with God in mind]; to think, carefully regard, conceive [as His workman]; to find out and honor [His will]; to highly value as with silver; to invent, create of fashion; to reckon [with fear and reverence]; to venerate as possessed of real worth.”

COMMENTARY. “‘Then’ — When contempt of God was grown to such a height; ‘they that feared the Lord’ — Those that were truly religious, that knew God’s Judgments to be a great deep, and that His ways are as high above our ways as heaven is above the earth; ‘spake often one to another’ —Conversed together about spiritual things the more frequently: for though it is not said what was the subject of their conversation with each other, yet we have reason to believe it was as good concerning God and his providence as the discourse of the wicked was evil. They spake what was right concerning God’s justice and mercy, His holiness, forbearance, and long-suffering, His wisdom and equity in his government of the world in general, and of His Church and the members of it in particular. And by their pious discourse they endeavoured to arm each other against the impressions which such wicked suggestions as those above mentioned might otherwise have made upon their minds; and to confirm one another in piety and virtue.

‘And the Lord hearkened and heard’ — Took a special notice of what these pious persons did and said. ‘And a book of remembrance was written’ — It was as safely laid up in his memory as if it had been entered into a register, in order to be produced at the Day of Judgment to their praise and honour. The words are a beautiful allusion to the records kept by kings, Esther 6:1. ‘And they shall be mine’ — It shall appear how dear they are to me, when The Time comes in which I shall ‘separate’ the precious from the vile, the vessels of honour from those of dishonour, 2 Timothy 2:20. In the Day of the Execution of My Judgments they shall be distinguished and preserved safe, as choice jewels are wont to be. ‘And I will spare them as a man spareth his own son,’ &c. — They shall be spared, pitied, and loved, and I will preserve them from those Calamities which shall fall upon the wicked and unbelieving, with the same tenderness which a father shows to a dutiful son.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

DK. In virtually all my recent posts, though unintentionally, I have been writing a great deal about COURAGE. If that is being drawn to our attention by the Holy Spirit, then we’d better listen closely. Here are a few thoughts about God’s Love of the Courageous, and His unmistakable contempt for Cowardice, especially when it is found among His Church Leaders.

To open this terribly important idea, I turn first to DR. BRANDEN HENRY, a psychologist who penned this in his Blog, Red River Counseling on June 8, 2017, in a piece titled, “Cowardice and Christianity” (edited).

“COWARDICE can be defined as: ‘A trait wherein fear and excessive self-concern override doing or saying what is right, good, and of help to others or oneself in a time of need—it is the opposite of courage.’

For years I have considered Cowardice to be one of the most incompatible traits for those who follow Christ. ‘Cowardice is an Anti-Virtue.’

Scripture is full of Cowardice, from Abraham offering his wife to Abimelech in order to escape trouble (Genesis 2:20), David killing off Uriah in order to avoid the consequences of taking Uriah’s wife (2 Samuel 11), or Pilate giving up Jesus to be tortured and killed because he was afraid of upsetting the crowds (John 19). A few examples of many.

Bold living is extraordinarily difficult, painful and risky. However, to live Cowardly is to choose self over others, comfort over Christ-likeness, and ease over sacrifice. To live a life of Cowardice is to not follow the Way of the Cross.”

COWARDS IN THE PULPIT. I realize that is a shocking subtitle, but after seven agonizing years of Church Collapse in the face of Donald Trump and Covid-19, I can conclude nothing else. And I am not alone. Consider the following. My first inkling of this turned out to be more like a thunderclap. GEORGE BARNA reported an earthquake of a study in August 2014 that forewarned us of a Major Crisis in the American Pulpit.

The Summary below spells out why.

“New research shows that while 90 percent of pastors believe the Bible has much to say about today’s pressing political and societal issues, fewer than 10 percent are talking about those issues from the pulpit. Researcher George Barna spoke recently on American Family Radio’s Today’s Issues about his research project over the past two years, in which the Barna Group asked pastors across the country about their beliefs regarding the relevancy of Scripture to societal, moral and political issues, and the content of their sermons in light of their beliefs. What he found was startling.

‘When we ask them about all the key issues of the day, [90 percent of them are] telling us, “Yes, the Bible speaks to every one of these issues,” Barna told American Family Radio. ‘Then we ask them: “Well, are you teaching your people what the Bible says about those issues?” and the numbers drop … to less than 10 percent of pastors who say they will speak to it’ …

‘The reality is that most people, including pastors, wish to be comfortable and to avoid controversy,’ [Sam Rohrer, President of American Pastors Network] said.’If the primary goal is to see people leave on Sunday morning feeling good about themselves and feeling comfortable rather than seeing the holiness of God and the ugly reality of sin, then a pastor will answer to God for doing his own will rather than declaring God’s will. The issues of the day that confront our nation must be dealt with from the pulpit if God’s Word is to make a difference in people’s lives and if the culture is to be impacted. This includes the areas of marriage and divorce, life and family, but it also includes the areas of honesty, servant leadership, following the Rule of Law, etc.’

BARNA ADDED: That many pastors are afraid to get involved in political issues because of the controversy it might create. And, he added, ‘Controversy keeps people from being in the seats, controversy keeps them from giving money, from attending programs.’” – DEBORAH HAMILTON, “Most Pastors May Be Committing This Sin,” Charisma News, Aug. 20, 2014; edited

BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. Perhaps even more shocking is a study showing the great majority of American pastors do not preach a Biblical Worldview. Why? Because they don’t have one! DR. TRACY F. MUNSIL, Executive Director of American Worldview Inventory at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University reported this on Augusts 20, 2022 (edited).

I hope you’re sitting down.

“An earlier report from the American Worldview Inventory 2022 showed that just 37% of Christian pastors have a biblical worldview, with ‘the predominant worldview among pastors (62%) being Syncretism,’ a hybrid mixture of disparate worldview elements blended into a customized philosophy of life. According to this latest report, the widespread absence of Biblical Worldview among American pastors is resulting in eroding beliefs in areas as basic as salvation through Jesus Christ, the nature of God, the sinful condition of human beings, and the existence of objective truth.”

I will comment on the drastic implications of these findings in the next section, though you can already more clearly understand why the American Church has been so easily seduced by Donald Trump’s Christian Nationalism movement in just a few short years. But as we will see, the roots of this movement were planted in our very founding.

IV. LAST THOUGHTS

As I have written twice before, I have not been able to dismiss three of four GREAT FRACTURES in our Founding and early years of coalescing into a nation. One, the institution of ‘Slavery’ that began when the first slaves arrived on a Dutch ship in Jamestown in 1619. For the next 200 years, around 600,000 more enslaved people were brought to the American Colonies to primarily work the tobacco and cotton fields.

Second, the colonization of the American continent that began in 1492 with the voyage of Christopher Columbus sent up signal flares of our ‘Contempt for Native Peoples’ when disease, wars, ethnic cleansing, and enslavement were found in its aftermath. Much later the barbaric “Trail of Tears” (1830-1850) saw the forced removal of approximately 60,000 people of the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Muscogee or Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations) from their ancestral Homeland in the Southeastern US, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 Native Americans, including men, women and children.

Third and finally, the shameful 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo resulted in the virtual ‘Theft of Mexican Lands’ stretching from present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. As a result of the Treaty, Mexico was forced to relinquish half of Mexico’s entire landmass for $15 million, plus 3.5 million in debt forgiveness. By any account, robbery of much of Mexico’s Heartland for a pittance.

THE MONROE DOCTRINE (1823). The infamous policy emanating from a speech by President James Monroe mandated that America was ‘legally permitted to seize any lands’ formerly owned by indigenous peoples, and barred any European nations from interfering, which would constitute an Act of War. Thus, America legitimized unethical and at times, bloody conquest of Native Lands in the interests of some mythical concept coined by political writer John L. O’Sullivan as “Manifest Destiny,” meaning that it was ostensibly “the will of Providence” that White American settlers were ‘destined’ to expand across all of North America.

My admittedly controversial argument here is that White Supremacy and its subsequent Nativism has been in our political and spiritual DNA from the very first. It has, beloved, and we need only to look around to see its residue, and now, its naked revival under the auspices of Donald Trump’s White Christian Nationalism. This only an ideological stone’s throw from Adolf Hitler’s National Socialism (Nazi) political movement that would ultimately persecute, marginalize and finally slaughter over 6,000,000 non-Aryan “undesirables” by 1945 by the end of World War II.

CODA. I tell you true: If there is not ‘A Faithful Remnant’ formidable enough to withstand these massive social, political and spiritual forces, America shall soon be left on what Ronald Reagan once called, “The Ash Heap of History” in a speech to the British Parliament on June 8, 1982.

Shall the Church awaken in time? I have the gravest of doubts. THUS, THIS COUNSEL: ‘Aspire to the Biblical Remnant, beloved, at every possible cost!’ For the rescue of souls, for your own salvation, and for the Honor of our Soon Coming King. Selah.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/TXyN-SKHoU0