BEWARE OF POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS

POLITICAL POWER
BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH

Chapter 13 – The False Prophet

By Douglas R. Shearer

Introduction (By Doug Krieger)

“The more things change, the more they stay the same!”  So goes this little ditty; a trenchant reminder:  Where have I seen this before?   Doug Shearer’s seasoned article merits an immediate review in light of the False Prophet’s grandiose preparatory escapades here in these United States of America, as well as amongst the Ten Kings who shall lend their allegiance to the Beast for one hour of concupiscent power-sharing born out of absolute ignorance (Revelation 17:12).  Imagine, these “ten horns” have not received any kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the Beast – if that isn’t a set up, I don’t know what is!

Now, I dare say that most folks among the faithful have little discernment between heresy and apostasy.  Strictly speaking, heresy in Christianese is a departure from Church dogma – unorthodox; but more to the point:  It defames and dilutes one of the major tenets of the Faith to the extent that the “essence of true Christianity” is altered, derogated and so severely damaged that it has made the Faith unchristian at its core (e.g., if I were to deny the virgin birth of Jesus or His resurrection from the dead, I would embrace heresy and would be considered an heretic).  Apostasy is completely different in its meaning.

The Greek words for apostasy or apostatize can be found in two passages of the New Testament – both from Paul’s writings insofar as any linkage between the two:

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (i.e., “the apostasy” or Greek:  apostasia – Strong’s Concordance #646) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition” (II Thessalonians 2:3).

“But the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart (i.e., “will apostatize” or Greek: ἀποστήσονταί – Strong’s Concordance #868) from the faith, cleaving to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons” (I Timothy 4:1).

Both words in Greek have the same stem – one a noun (“the apostasy”) and the other a verb (“will apostatize”).  The “falling away” is not the rapture of the Church but is directly connected to the revelation of the Man of Sin, the Antichrist and all the hideous descriptions of this Son of Perdition.  The New Spirit Filled Bible attempts to interpret this great prophetic falling away as follows:

“The falling away refers to massive rebellion against God and His authority by unbelieving humankind during the Great Tribulation” (p. 1694 – The Spirit Filled Bible, New KJV, Thomas Nelson); and likewise attempts to interpret the phrase “depart from the faith” to mean:  “They will apostatize, that is deny the essential doctrines of Christianity” (p. 1703 – The Spirit Filled Bible, New KJV, Thomas Nelson).

Notwithstanding the superlative effort to decipher the meaning of apostasy and apostatize, these definitions are deficient in that the “essence” of apostasy and apostatize connotes a far more sinister interpretation.  For one, “the apostasy” is directly associated with the Man of Sin with “all power, signs, and lying wonders” (II Thessalonians 2:9) and is inexorably connected with political subterfuge of such magnitude that, as it says in Matthew 24:24:  “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”  This may “sound” like religious deception, but it is far more when it is aligned, as it should be, with the Antichrist of II Thessalonians 2 and the Beast of Revelation 11, 13 and 17-19.

This deception is directly tied to the End of Days political personage of Antichrist (indeed, a most political character; yet, with obvious religious overtones); therefore, its verb form is not a quantum conjecture of the same – set in “action form.”  That is, those who would depart (“will apostatize”) from the faith, while cleaving to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons, will by their insipid political entanglement depart from the true faith – and all the more will they be found “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (i.e., they will purposefully subject the faith once delivered and subvert it by bringing it under the Law).

For all intents and purposes, both the natural law will be violated, as well as the Mosaic law will be resuscitated as mandatory for believers – in other words, “hypocrisy” here must be connected to the same “hypocrisy” mentioned in Galatians 2:11-21 when Paul contested with “the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy…But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel” – clearly, at issue, is the bringing of believers under the Law vs. the Gospel of the Grace of God as found in Christ alone.

In Chapter 11 of the False Prophet – Another Gospel – we contended for the Gospel of the Grace of God juxtaposed to the Gospel of the Kingdom committed to prophetic Israel.  We earnestly sought to delineate the difference between Law and Grace and the tenacity of these evangelicals, primarily those who embrace Lordship Salvation and resurgent five-point Calvinism (i.e., Covenantalism in its world view), in this context must be considered hypocritical.  By their pursuit to bring us under Law in violation of the Mystery committed to the Apostle Paul regarding the Gospel of Christ alone, they have crossed from grace to law, from the truth to hypocrisy, from the pure Gospel of the Grace of God to another gospel, from the heavenly vision to the Church and State in apostate alliance.   

It is the contention of this author that the lethal aforementioned hypocrisy, with its concomitant legalisms and propensities to apostatize the Church – bringing her under Law, and in that weakened state, vulnerable to the vicissitudes of deception at its most political level (i.e., Antichrist) – is, quite frankly, a conclusive association.  There is no casual identity between apostasy and legalism which binds the believer to the Law, and, subsequently, to the State – a State which demands outward transformation and reformation by these same “hypocrites” – just as the believer under law lives a life of the hypocrite – “having a form of godliness but (in essence) denying the power thereof.”

This linkage of Church and State – as Doug Shearer so clearly delineates in his prescient comments made in 1988 – will, I believe, constitute the “Great Falling Away from the Faith” – a monstrous hypocrisy, deception wrought by the False Prophet to so entangle the Church, that she shall, in her apostatized state, RIDE THE BEAST of political power into the public square, wholly given over to ANOTHER GOSPEL!

Even so, APOSTASY in its most glaring, adulterous form is naught but God’s people caught up as so-called “spiritual advisers” to the State:

“And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house.  (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly) . . . But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth” (I Kings 18).

I will not go into great detail, however, Obadiah who hid the prophets of the Lord from the fearsome effects of Jezebel’s sting in several caves (undoubtedly, blinding their vision in the process), having no testimony left in Israel – though they survived on bread and water – was the classic compromiser (i.e., “hypocrite”) who expressed fear of Jehovah, while having no witness to the Apostate King Ahab, who had utterly apostatized the religion of Yahweh by mingling it with the gods of Jezebel and her myriad fornications.  Apostasy is truth mingled with falsehood, and normally, commercial exploitation (money) is involved.

Yes, APOSTASY is the mixture of the Church and State wherein the Church ingratiates herself to the State and the State seeks moral covering from the Church – with the Church “thinking” that she, as adviser to the State, can somehow affirmatively influence the corrupted State – but, alas, she plays the hypocrite, and worse, the HARLOT who rides the Beast of Revelation 17 – this is the spirit of Jezebel who set up Naboth the Jezreelite who would not sell his vineyard for MONEY to King Ahab.  The same Jezebel, who with subterfuge under the guise of eminent domain, held a banquet in Naboth’s honor, only to have “two sons of Belial” (lit. “scoundrels”) in the audience to stand up and accuse Naboth:  “You have blasphemed God and the king” (fascinating the connection here of “God and Country” – Church and State?) . . . then take him out, and stone him, that he may die” (one sure way of getting that vineyard and please note:  Church, State and Gain – Apostasy!) (I Kings 21).

Therefore, this chapter lays the groundwork to the next episode of the False Prophet:  The Neo-Pagans:  Our Founding Fathers…but now…

A WARNING FROM THE PAST

Twenty two years ago I published an article that stirred up quite a storm of controversy.  I've reprinted it below.  I wrote it in the aftermath of Pat Robertson's run for the Presidency in the fall of 1987 and the spring of 1988. It was meant to sound a warning to Evangelical Christians: "Resist the siren call of politics."

It generated a lot of consternation when it was published - much of it from the likes of Gary North, Gary Demar, Jay Grimstead and other committed postmillennialists. On the other hand, it was very well received and widely acclaimed by the likes of Dr. David Hocking, Dr. Walter Kaiser, James Andrews, Steve Lawson, and Ed Steele - all of whom echoed the concerns I had put my finger on. 

Postmillennialism was at the time gaining a foot-hold in American Evangelicalism. However, during the ensuing 1990s, excitement over postmillennialism seemed to dissipate - and my article lost its relevancy and was soon forgotten. I managed to convince myself that the danger was past.  As it turned out, however, that wasn't at all the case. It had simply gone underground.

The growing cleavage in American politics, the ever widening gap between conservatives and liberals - with every social strata of American society being drawn to take sides - it all portends once again the politicization of the Evangelical church - with the inevitable postmillennial mind-set that follows in its wake.  And what makes it all the more dangerous this time around - over twenty years following the Pat Robertson campaign - is the ascendancy of Five Point Calvinism - a complex of doctrinal precepts that will "legitimize" its intellectual underpinnings and sharpen its worst features.  And now for the article . . .

POLITICAL POWER
BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH

(Written in April, 1988 - with no changes made)

PAT ROBERTSON

Monday, February 8, 1988 - I found my eyes glued to the television set.  I was transfixed!  Almost mesmerized!  Excited, but troubled as well - strangely apprehensive!  By early evening it had become clear to the entire American press corps that Pat Robertson had managed to contrive a major political upset in the Iowa caucuses - scoring a second place finish behind Senator Bob Dole and forcing George Bush, the sitting Vice President, to settle for an embarrassing third.

My excitement, however, was not centered upon Robertson's stunning success.  That was not at all its focal point.  Indeed, one month later, on "Super Tuesday," the Robertson campaign 'bombed out."  The Bush organization crushed Robertson throughout the entire South.  The balloon was popped.

Still, my excitement did not dissipate.  No, it was the campaign itself that was fueling my excitement - not its immediate success or failure.

A DRESS REHEARSAL

The Robertson campaign was a dress rehearsal - an intriguing preview of a breathtaking drama.  And Robertson's failure did not ring down the curtain on that drama; it only served to indicate that opening night is still several years away.

The Robertson campaign was a harbinger - pointing to an onrush of apocalyptic forces - a gathering storm that is still just over the horizon.  The Robertson Campaign is not an epitaph; it is a herald's cry.

THE SEEDBED OF A BREWING REVOLUTION

The campaign was launched by a beleaguered, heretofore politically inactive segment of "Americana": believing Christians - Christians who are serious and dedicated, who act upon their convictions - consciously and consistently. We are its progenitors - its fountainhead - its source; not just conservatives; but Christian conservatives.  Make no mistake about it!  Christians were at the bottom of the Pat Robertson campaign.  Christians financed it!  Christians organized it!  And Christians oversaw it!

MORAL COLLAPSE

The moral collapse of America has been underway for over thirty years - less obviously, but more insidiously, even earlier - much earlier - back to the turn of the Century - back to the "Toy Affair," the "Scopes Monkey Trial," and the demise of Princeton Theological Seminary; and it's that collapse that galvanized the Robertson campaign - which formed its backdrop and generated its dynamism.

THE POLITICS OF MORAL COLLAPSE

Until the late 1950s, the spreading collapse had gone largely unnoticed; but by the mid-1960s it had become alarmingly obvious; moreover, it began to quicken its pace and expand its scope.  Evangelicals protested; but their protests went unheeded.

The first rumblings of a moral backlash were discernible in 1964 - during the Goldwater Campaign; however, the Goldwater Campaign was based more upon a conservative foreign policy and an equally conservative economic agenda.  It did not unabashedly stress moral issues; nor was it clearly financed, organized, and directed by Christians.

But by 1968 - under the shuddering impact of the apparently endless War in Vietnam - American politics began to undergo a profound change - an almost complete metamorphosis.  The Democratic Party began to unravel - the party of Roosevelt and Truman, the party of the economic underclass and of disadvantaged minorities.  It was being rent asunder.  Within several years, its political agenda was radically transformed.

Tragically, it fell under the control of an altogether new cadre of leaders - a cadre which neither Roosevelt nor Truman would ever have countenanced.  The Democratic Party threw open its doors to the shrill purveyors of "the new morality."  Soon the Democratic Party was championing abortion-on-demand, the rights of homosexuals, and the overthrow of traditional family values.

EVANGELICALS ABANDON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Evangelicals found it ever more difficult to remain in the Democratic party.  Indeed as much as many Evangelicals - myself included - may have preferred the Democratic Party's economic and foreign policy goals, the party's betrayal of its conservative social and moral heritage impelled most Christians to back away from it - to either eschew politics altogether or flee to the Republican party.

The failure of Jimmy Carter - an avowed Evangelical Christian - to alter the Democratic Party's commitment to "the new morality" sealed and finalized the exodus; and by 1980 the Democratic Party had been largely forsaken by Evangelical Christians.

THE PACE OF POLITICIZATION IS STEPPED UP

The years 1973 to 1980 delimit a very real watershed era in American history - an era which marks not only the Evangelical's abandonment of the Democratic Party, but, just as significantly, marks the abrupt appearance of two new, powerful forces:

• The growing outrage among evangelicals generated by "Roe vs. Wade;" and
• The ever-expanding influence within Evangelical Christianity of an entirely new variety of believer - a variety, which had been swept into the Evangelical folds during the Jesus Movement Era.

"ROE VS. WADE"

"Roe vs. Wade" is perhaps the single most galvanizing impulse underlying the politicization of Evangelical Christians.  It unleashed a fire storm of pent up fury - and underscored the awesome depth of America's moral collapse.  Abortion-on-demand - murder!  Plain and simple!  A repulsive, grotesque Evil had been cast in the guise of a civil right.  Blind selfishness had been enthroned!  Millions of unborn babies were now being systematically slaughtered - and with the full approval - if not the blessing - of the United States Government.

The slaughter had to be stopped. And only the church was prepared to assume that burden.  Every other American institution had been paralyzed - none stood in the gap.  The church alone was left.  She alone recoiled in shame and disgust!  If she failed to arise, the slaughter would not only continue, but would undoubtedly intensify. And who could foresee its final consequences?  What odious perversion would "the new morality" next legitimize - the blatant advocacy of existential ethics - not simple toleration, but outright encouragement? Extermination of the elderly?  Eradication of the handicapped or the hopelessly ill?  The sale of pornography to minors?

THE NEW CONVERTS FROM THE JESUS MOVEMENT

The crystallization of an Evangelical political consciousness was immeasurably helped along by the new converts who had flooded into the Evangelical camp during the heyday of the Jesus Movement.  The influx had been overwhelming! 

Not only were the sheer numbers staggering, the nature of the new converts was astonishingly different.  The Jesus Movement was unlike all past Twentieth Century revivals.  It had not been restricted to the backwashes of "Americana" - lurking along its periphery - hidden away in the Appalachians or entrenched in the deep recesses of the Old Bible Belt.  It had flowed onto major college campuses - and had cut through to the very heart of academia.

The arts and the media were likewise caught in its grip.  The pop culture embraced it - almost completely.  Jesus had become avant-garde - the gospel was fashionable!

The new converts were not cast from the old mold: more often than not they boasted college degrees, were well read, held down high-paying jobs, and were upwardly mobile.  And most importantly, they were almost all socially attuned and politically sophisticated.

Some were "movers and shakers" - masterminds who had comprised the actual nucleus of the anti-war movement that sprang up in the wake of the 1968 Tet Offensive and the even earlier civil rights movement.  The leadership itself!  Indeed, during the ten years from 1967 to 1977, Evangelical Christianity was thoroughly "seeded" with experienced "political power-brokers" - trained and very competent activists whose skills were now at the beck and call of the Evangelical Christian Church.

A THIRD FORCE IS BROUGHT TO BEAR

But the Robertson campaign - though primarily a product of Roe vs. Wade and the Jesus Movement activists - also reflected the influence of a third apparition - a resurgent postmillennialism.

And if this genie is let completely out of the bottle - if the change it portends runs its full course - then, the turmoil we've witnessed thus far is just a tickler - "cause we ain't seen nuttin yet."

A NEW CHRISTIAN WELTANSCHAUUNG

What's happening?  The new Christian activism is spawning a wholly new Christian mind-set - a weltanschauung - a call to arms that promises victory and purportedly vindicates the on-going political struggle in Biblical terms!  It's radically different from the traditional Twentieth Century Evangelical mind-set.  And if it "catches on," Christian activism - for the first time in over one hundred years - will have clothed itself in an eschatological justification.

That justification will inevitably alter the nature of the conflict - Christian activism will assume the form of a "holy crusade" - a crusade which is pointed not merely toward a roll-back, a simple return to the "old days," but, rather, toward a final victory - the establishment of a Christian Republic!  The Kingdom of God on the earth!

PREMILLENNIALISM THE TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN WELTANSCHAUUNG

The traditional Twentieth Century Evangelical mind-set has been fashioned by a premillennial eschatology.  For at least one hundred years, premillennialism and Evangelicalism have been almost synonymous; indeed, during the early decades of the Twentieth Century, the Scofield Reference Bible - with its numerous footnotes interpreting scriptural passages along premillennial lines - was deemed the badge of American fundamentalism.  No Evangelical - whether Pentecostal or non-Pentecostal - wholly escaped the influence of premillennial eschatology.  Its influence was decisive.

Premillennialism fosters a mind-set composed of several very distinct perspectives - paradigms that produce a complex network of interrelated expectations - and those expectations, in turn, are very potent formulators of Christian behavior.  There are ten fundamental features that characterize a premillennial mind-set:

1.     Though Christ has overcome the devil and, thereby, regained title to the earth, he has not yet stretched forth his arm to actually repossess it.  Repossession necessarily entails a cleansing judgment; and that judgment is a consuming fire - a conflagration that will destroy the very souls he died to save.  Therefore, the full weight of judgment is now held in abeyance - suspended; and a dispensation of mercy has been granted.  That suspension does not jeopardize God's righteousness - because the Atonement upholds it - the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.  Only enough judgment is brought to bear to prevent total chaos.  The establishment of the manifested kingdom awaits termination of that dispensation of mercy - and the Second Coming will mark it.  Judgment is preached within the church; and most certainly it will constitute a dominant theme of the future kingdom, but it is not at present the prevailing message preached to the unsaved.  Premillennialism, then, makes mercy and forgiveness, not justice and judgment, the heart of the Christian message.

2.     The message of forgiveness can only be preached by a forgiving people - a people willing to forgo the justice to which a claim based upon righteousness might entitle them.  That claim is laid aside; and, instead, misunderstanding, and, inevitably, persecution are embraced - all for the sake of facilitating the spread of the Gospel. Premillennialism then produces a Christian who is likely to embrace suffering.  He, like his Master, makes suffering a conduit of mercy.

3.     Suffering is a winepress that begets a personal, intimate relationship with God; it drives the believer to seek a solace that only Christ himself can provide.  Premillennialism then shifts the focus of the Christian life from enterprise to piety and personal devotion.

4.     The mission of the church does not consist of securing social, political, economic, and cultural reformation.  That reformation awaits the Second Coming - and will be effected by Christ himself.  Therefore, whatever reformation the church induces is primarily by force of example, not direct political intervention. Premillennialism, then, encourages political passivity.

5.     The church is an alien body - and until Christ returns, her gaze is fixed on the heavens, not on the earth.  Her people are strangers and sojourners - who like Christ himself, can find no real rest within the cosmos of earthly institution. Premillennialism, then, produces believers who are not earth-bound - who, instead, are apt to turn a deaf ear to riches, fame, and the other trappings of material security.

6.     The earth is a great sinking ship - and nothing can be done to save her; her fate is sealed.  Christians, therefore should not be encouraged to man the "bilge pumps;" but, instead, they should be exhorted to help passengers locate the lifeboat and get on board - and that lifeboat is Christ himself - Christ alone. Premillennialism, then, makes conversion of the lost the only meaningful task of the church.

7.     The unsaved - in the present dispensation - are clearly the objects of God's mercy; it is for them that Christ stripped himself of his majesty, laid aside his crown, and shed his blood.  Forgiveness is offered to those whose sins are scarlet and whose crimes are heinous. Premillennialism, then, forbids casting the unsaved in the guise of "enemy" - even those who most steadfastly resist the Gospel message.

8.     The church asks only that she be left alone to preach the gospel and make converts.  She seeks to form no alliance with the state; indeed, the state, while necessary, is hopelessly carnal - and an actual alliance would serve only to entangle the church - distract her, and, most significantly, compromise her spiritual nature. Premillennialism, then, fosters separation of church and state.

9.     Premillennialism is based upon a literal hermeneutic.  The Old Testament should not be reduced to mere types and shadows. Though a figurative interpretation is occasionally justified, it should never be presumed. Premillennialism then, prompts Christians to honor the promises God has made to the Jews; that, specifically, the Jews retain their privileged status; they are the "Chosen People;" and Israel is not a mere type of the church.  Yes, the Jews have most certainly shunned their messiah and rejected his claims; nevertheless, that blindness will eventually be healed and Israel will yet be fully redeemed.  Anti-Semitism is a pernicious evil.

10.  A literal hermeneutic transforms the prophetic scriptures: prophecy is made the empirical evidence which proves the authenticity of God's Word.  Israel is, of course, the primary subject of the prophetic scriptures. Premillennialism, then, presses Christians to ascribe overwhelming significance to the rebirth of national Israel.  Her reestablishment is not some simple fluke of history: it fulfills God's Word, validates the Scriptures, and points to the Second Coming.  Christ's return is very close at hand.  Anti-Zionism, like anti-Semitism, is unconscionable.

PREMILLENNIALISM CLEARLY NOT A CALL TO BATTLE

Clearly, premillennialism does not truly rationalize the evangelical political activism that the Robertson campaign so blatantly reflected; quite the contrary, it all but condemns it.  At best, a premillennial Christian can justify political activism only on the basis of his Christian character: he protests not on the grounds of the church's mission, but, instead, solely because the moral scruples of his Christian conscience cry out for him to protest.

But a protest based solely upon conscience - while noble - caries no promise of victory!  No assurance of triumph!  Nothing but the bloodstained banner of martyrdom!  And that's its weakness!  A call to political activism is far more compelling, far more appealing, far more potent if it's wrapped in the cloak of destiny, if its underlying rationale "guarantees" success.

It's not at all surprising, therefore, that the new Evangelical activists have been blunting the thrust of premillennialism for at least ten years - some for fifteen and twenty years; and many of those same activists have been urging its complete repudiation - ridiculing it; demeaning it - an eschatology of defeat!  A doctrine used by the wicked to handcuff the righteous!  Premillennialism is clearly not the clarion call to battle the new Christian activists want trumpeted to the troops.

POSTMILLENNIALISM THE NEW CHRISTIAN WELTANSCHAUUNG

But postmillennialism is a call to battle!  Its features are the polar opposite of premillennialism's.  It furnishes all that premillennialism so obviously lacks: it both vindicates political activism and declares the certainty of ultimate victory.  And with each passing month, each passing year, the ever-increasing politicization of the evangelical church amplifies and sharpens the siren call of postmillennialism.

1.     Christ has regained title to the earth; however, the task of actual repossession has been assigned to the church; indeed, Christ will not return until the church has completed that task - and, of course, justice and judgment are the necessary handmaidens of repossession. Postmillennialism, then, radically shifts the message of the church - from mercy and forgiveness to justice and judgment.

2.     Suffering is not the inevitable lot of the believer; and persecution is not the badge of Christian fidelity.  Justice is wielded by the strong and the confident - by those who are willing to make good their righteous claim to earth's title deed - who are retaking what legitimately belongs to them. Postmillennialism, then, produces a church that is not likely to embrace suffering.  A judge is not called to suffer himself - quite the contrary; he is called to impose justice - to make the unrighteous suffer.

3.     Intimacy is less important than duty - and a Christian whose focus is piety and personal devotion is likely to withdraw himself from the rigors and discipline of responsible service. Postmillennialism then shifts the focus of the Christian life - from personal devotion to enterprise.  "The Rule of Kingdom law" - "the Imposition of Righteous Government" - these are the only truly meaningful objects of Biblical study.  Other topics are little more than intrusions:" the study of sacrifice, suffering, atonement, justification, forgiveness - all are either taken for granted or subsumed under the rubric of "Kingdom Law."

4.     The mission of the church does indeed consist of seizing control of every important social institution - the economic component; the entire judicial system; the arts and the media; and, most especially, the educational sector - of revamping those institutions; of reshaping each into a "kingdom mold" - forcing each to conform to Biblical patterns. Postmillennialism, then, encourages political activism - because political power is the key that unlocks the door to social control.

5.     The church is not an alien body - her gaze should not be fixed on the heavens; quite the contrary: it should be riveted upon the earth.  Her people are not strangers and sojourners.  No indeed!  Her people are the rightful lords of its riches - the stewards of its wealth. Postmillennialism then legitimates wealth; indeed, it makes prosperity the index of faith, and poverty the mark of the infidel.

6.     The earth is indeed a great sinking ship; but she is sinking only because Christians have not stormed the "wheel-house" - have not driven out the perverted pilots and navigators who control her direction and who have run her up onto the rocks.  Christians should indeed storm the wheel house - should indeed rush below into the hold and begin manning the bilge pumps.  Little or no thought should be given to locating the lifeboats.  All hands are needed to save the ship, not to make preparations for her abandonment. Postmillennialism, then, expands the meaning of the "Great Commission": political power becomes its primary definition, and personal conversion its secondary and subsidiary definition.

7.     Inevitably, the unsaved are wretched, miserable obstructionists - impenitent despoilers - the jailers of God's people - despots whose grip upon social institutions must be broken. Postmillennialism, then, is very apt to cast the unsaved in the guise of "the enemy," not the objects of God's mercy.

8.     The church is called not only to seek an alliance with the state, but to do more - much more: to seize control of the state; to subjugate it; to use its machinery to transform society and revamp culture. Postmillennialism, then, does not foster separation of church and state; quite the contrary: it seeks to dismantle the wall of separation altogether. 

9.     Postmillennialism is not based upon a literal hermeneutic; the Old Testament is primarily allegorical - and is meant only to convey types and shadows which clarify the definition of the church and the millennial kingdom.  Postmillennialism then does not honor the promises God made to the Jews; those promises have been abrogated - nullified because of perfidy; repealed because of treason - the betrayal of Messiah.  Anti-Semitism is a stalking phantom that often preys upon postmillennial believers - many of whom courageously resist it, but too many of whom do indeed fall victim to its twisted logic.

10. The prophetic scriptures have all but been fulfilled - either literally before and during the 1st Century, or allegorically within the scope of church history during the last two thousand years.  Only a few prophecies remain to be fulfilled - and none pertains to national Israel. Postmillennialism, then, ascribes absolutely no spiritual significance to the rebirth of national Israel.  Her rebirth is either a mere fluke of history or the vile fruit of a sinister plot.  Anti-Zionism, like anti-Semitism, is not often held at bay within postmillennial circles.

THE STRENGTHENING GRIP OF THE NEW WELTANSCHAUUNG

Christian activism is not about to disappear.  The forces that generated its appearance - the forces of moral disintegration - have not abated; indeed, those very forces are being powerfully buttressed - day after day, year after year.  There seems no end to America's moral collapse.  Those forces nourish Christian activism - and it, in turn, nourishes a postmillennial mind-set - which, in its turn, serves only to further heighten Christian activism - a chain reaction, which feeds upon itself!  Spiraling cyclones of energy harnessing still more energy!  

The activism-postmillennialism-activism spiral can be divided into seven phases.  Each phase feeds into an ensuing phase - a more intense phase - more frantic, more extreme.  And at each phase, the nature of the church undergoes a profound change - its perceptions change; its expectations, behavior, hopes, flavor, style, message, ministry, mission - it all changes!

SECTION I

STAGE 1: NO REAL POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Roe vs. Wade was most certainly the spark that lit the fuse - that pressed Evangelicals into the activism-postmillennialism-activism cycle.  However, a whole litany of grievances had been accumulating for many years - stretching back to at least the mid-1960s.  But during that era the evangelical response did not reflect a genuine political consciousness.  Instead, prior to Roe vs. Wade Evangelicals were more apt to withdraw into themselves.  They began to abandon the public school system - establishing their own church schools - occasionally opting for the more radical alternative of home schooling.  In addition, the scope of the church was expanded - and, quite often, the authority of the church was enhanced.  Gradually, the church began to incorporate more and more functions - simple social tasks once discharged almost exclusively within a secular institutional framework.  The Evangelical Church - between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s - began to evolve into a total community.

The Wolf is at the Door

Those changes went largely unnoticed by outsiders.  Then Roe vs. Wade occurred - and evangelical political activism was unleashed.  The bottom line was simple: Evangelicals had concluded that the encroachments were becoming too salient, too overwhelming.  Simple "in-house" adjustments were no longer possible.  The wolf was at the door.  An Evangelical political consciousness had crystallized!

STAGE 2: EARLY STAGES OF EVANGELICAL POLITICAL ACTIVISM

Here, the political activism - though quite real - was rather primitive - limited to letter writing, school board meetings, and single issue protests. Much of the protest was funneled through the judiciary - the traditional birthplace and proving ground of all political activism.

During this era, the evangelical protest movement was not motivated by eschatological perceptions.  It arose from out of shame and disgust - and a good measure of fear as well.  It was at this time that the Moral Majority was formed and the Religious Roundtable organized.  Both were based upon an appeal to conscience!  Neither bore the marks of an altered Christian mind-set.  Indeed, the Moral Majority and the Religious Roundtable were founded and overseen by committed Premillennialists.

The Reagan Era

The high-water mark of "Second Stage" evangelical activism consisted of the two Reagan campaigns - both in 1980 and in 1984. Reagan actively courted the Evangelical vote - and promised that he would commit his Presidency to the Evangelicals' moral agenda.  The Evangelicals bought it - and much of Reagan's victorious coalition was composed of Evangelicals - many of whom were cross-overs from the Democratic Party.

Reagan Era a Disappointment

But the Reagan Presidency proved to be a terrible disappointment for most Evangelicals: Reagan's rhetoric was rich; but his fruit was meager.  The disappointment prompted many Evangelicals to think seriously of running one of their own the next time around - someone from their own ranks: not just a sympathizer, but a proven devotee.

STAGE 3: THE TEXAS MILITANTS

Finally, postmillennialism began to surface.  And slowly, the embryonic evangelical protest movement began to acquire a distinct eschatological justification - no longer just an appeal to Christian conscience.  It began to clothe itself in "Kingdom garb."  Soon, publishing houses in Texas were flooding conferences and seminars with books, pamphlets, and flyers - all of which outlined the precepts of the new Christian weltanschauung.

Calvinist Generals and Arminian foot soldiers

The intellectual respectability was provided by a small coterie of Presbyterian theologians, while the foot soldiers were furnished by the charismatics - mostly from the Latter Rain wing of the Pentecostal Movement.  A more bizarre alliance could hardly be imagined!  A slick band of Calvinist generals had rounded up a horde of Arminian enlistees.  And the generals - after years of grousing around in empty barracks - could at last go to war.

Breaking out of Latter Rain Pentecostalism

Postmillennialism has not yet truly broken out from its strongholds within Latter Rain Pentecostalism, but the pressure is mounting, and I suspect that it's just a matter of time. The most serious breaches have been scored within Old Line Pentecostalism - the Assemblies of God and Foursquare - both of which have always been strongly committed to premillennialism - to the point that both denominations boast "statements of faith" that actually incorporate a premillennial clause.  Other inroads have been thrust boldly forward into territory marked out by the Charismatic Renewal of the 1950s and early 1960s - including maverick churches within many main-line denominations.

STAGE 4: THE ROBERTSON CAMPAIGN SERVES NOTICE

The Pat Robertson campaign falls under the rubric of "Stage 4" activism.  It reflected both the heightened political activism of "Stage 3" and the more moderate political activism of "Stage 2."  But, unquestionably, postmillennial believers provided the hard-core support that underlay the campaign.

The Robertson Campaign served notice that evangelical political activism can't be cavalierly dismissed; that it should not be misjudged.  Nevertheless, the force of the campaign was not sufficient to overthrow the entrenched bureaucracy governing the Republican Party.  Instead, that bureaucracy mounted a fierce counterattack - a counterattack that, in the long run, may well serve to catapult the struggle into "Stage 5" militancy.  It's now "fish or cut bait."

The Robertson Campaign plainly highlighted one glaring difficulty - a dilemma that has since generated real consternation among the hyper-activists: Evangelical Christians, as a whole, are not yet xenophobic - to the point that they will only rally around one of their own.  Indeed, most of the 1988 "exit polls" indicated that more Evangelicals voted for Bush than for Robertson.

STAGE 5: SHARPENING THE CONFLICT

"Stage 4" activism is not sufficiently intense to either blunt the Republican bureaucracy's counterattack or undergird a victorious assault against the forces of moral decay.  The evangelical protest movement is not yet adequately hardened and iron-willed.  And that can only remedied by dipping ever more deeply into a postmillennial eschatology.  The struggle, then, crosses over into "Stage 5" activism. The cost of the struggle is driven upwards; hence, the value of the promised dividends must likewise increase:

·         More resources to the conflict!

·         More money!

·         More time!

·         Double the output!

·         Triple the output!

·         Faster and faster!

·         Harder and harder!

·         Drive, drive, drive!  

And surely the sacrifice is well worth the effort; the postmillennialists assure us that victory is guaranteed!  Not in the future, not after Christ returns, not just in the heavens, but now, before Christ returns, and here on the earth.  The unrighteous will not triumph!  And the prize of victory is, of course, the riches and glory of the unbelievers - their homes, their cars, their businesses - all of it belongs to the faithful!  Proclaim your right to it!  Possess it!  Display your title deed!  Flaunt it! Victory will bring Jesus back from the heavens.  It's a rhetoric that - for many - is much more rewarding, much more galvanizing than the Premillennialists simple appeal to conscience:

·         Protest because of grief.

·         Protest because your conscience is pricked.

·         Lay your life down with no real assurance that you will ever pick it up again - except in resurrection.

·         Turn your cheek the second time - and, in love, steadfastly preach forgiveness.

·         Walk the second mile.

·         Give up not only your coat, but your cloak as well.

·         Bless those who curse you and pray for those who exploit you.  Not "Come, Jesus, and witness my triumph."  But "Come, Jesus, and rescue me."

·         "Come, save your bride and take her home.

·         You alone, Lord, can establish the kingdom.

The Cry for Unity

"Stage 5" activism will also press a message of unity.  And that message will undoubtedly be clothed in the garb of John 17; but the real motivation is likely to be much more political than spiritual.  Unity is needed not just to honor Christ; it is needed to pull together the troops, to instill more efficiency.  Doctrinal differences will be brushed aside!  The struggle is all important. Nothing else really matters.

Political Power · Unity · False Doctrine

The stress upon "unity" could well undermine the teaching ministry of the church.  An effective teaching ministry is often unsparingly critical - and that criticism inevitably generates not just legitimate differences of opinion, but consternation and personal indignation as well - often leading to tragic fissures within the Body of Christ.  Biblical truth is upheld, but division is fostered.  It is the unavoidable cost of marking out and preserving doctrinal truth.  And no generation has been spared that cost: Paul decrying 1st Century legalism; Tertullian condemning Marcion; Athanasius repudiating Arius; Augustine rebuking Pelagius; Luther denouncing Papal indulgences and preaching justification by faith; B.B. Warfield opposing the modernism espoused by C.A. Briggs; John Gresham Machen struggling against the liberal realignment of the Presbyterian Church; ad infinitum.

But church leaders are not likely to bear that cost any longer: the press of political exigencies is all-consuming.  Those exigencies, those never ceasing crises - which are the day to day fare of politics - make unity, not doctrinal truth, the first order of business - thus opening the door to all manner of wild doctrinal fantasies - errors which have heretofore been kept beyond the pale of most evangelical churches.  The church could well be inundated.

Anti-Semitism Surfaces

Finally, "Stage 5" activism will most likely mark the beginning of a pronounced and carefully articulated anti-Semitism.  The postmillennialists must eventually grapple with the counterclaim proffered by the premillennialists - that, specifically, Israel, not the church, is destined to be God's agent of cultural reformation.  That teaching subverts postmillennialism - and eventually it must be blatantly contested and thoroughly repudiated - especially the more postmillennialism is made the exclusive rationale of evangelical politics.  Sooner or later the premillennialists will find themselves accused of duplicity; that, indeed, they are little more than helpless, gullible chumps - caught within the serpentine coils of a plot fomented by International Zionists headquartered in Jerusalem.

STAGE 6 - GROWING XENOPHOBIA

"Stage 5" activism will, indeed, bear all the symptoms of genuine xenophobia...

·         distrust of outsiders - of all that smacks of the unknown or the incomprehensible;

·         pernicious anti-Semitism;

·         accusations of intrigue and back-room plotting;

·         unrestrained nationalism;

·         a preoccupation with alleged malevolent forces - The Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Illuminati, the Masons.

All the old hobgoblins will be trotted out. However, it's highly unlikely that "Stage 5" activism will have engulfed the entire Evangelical Church. Many evangelicals will have yet resisted its tug.  Committed premillennial Christians, of course, will have long since fled the movement - the tightening grip of postmillennialism will have forced them out.  But the vast majority of evangelicals will simply have put off making a decision - either one way or the other - hoping perhaps that the whole mess will simply fade into oblivion - that it's nothing more last night's overcooked tomatoes.

The movement is poised

The movement will have reached a very critical point - positioned to move into a final "take-over" phase.  All that's required is a second spark.  Roe vs. Wade launched Christian activism - it, indeed, was the first spark.  Now a second spark is needed - not to further inflame the passions of those evangelical who are already boot-stomping activists, but to set afire the undecided - an explosive charge that will terminate their indecision and press them at last into the protest movement.

STAGE 7 – TAKEOVER

It is not at all probable that "Stage 6" will extend beyond a twelve to twenty-four month period; it is more of a watershed era than an actual stage in its own right; but stupendous, staggering changes will be wrought within the entire evangelical church during its short span. Nothing will be the same.  "Stage 7" activism will follow hard on the heels of "Stage 6."  And the form, substance, and dynamics of "Stage 7" activism will be much akin to "Stage 5," but on a much larger scale.

"VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI EST"

"Verbum sat sapienti est" - "A word to the wise is sufficient" - an old Latin phrase that was drummed into my head over thirty-three years ago by an instructor in classical languages.  The scenario I've outlined here will most assuredly occur at some level - hopefully not to the extent of ever reaching "Stage 7."  But it could - and the Bible certainly provides a basis for speculation which leads to that conclusion.  My purpose here, however, has not been to stimulate mere speculation; not at all!  Instead, I wish only to awaken Christians to the actuality of what is already transpiring.  "Stage 4" is already upon us - and only those who are either completely "out of touch" or who have purposefully "shut it out" can fail to acknowledge it.

The next several years will witness not less evangelical activism, but more - much more.  And unless we Christians settle our hearts now, we may well find ourselves propelled less by Scriptural mandates than by our own anxieties and an ever growing "herd mentality."

The soul of the church is at stake - make no mistake about it!

VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI EST

The nature of politics

Politics is an old acquaintance of mine - not any longer a friend; still, I'm quite familiar with politics - intimately so.  I devoted over nine years studying its dynamics - both on an undergraduate and a graduate level - at a major university - not just a simple run-of-the-mill variety, but a highly prestigious institution.

And, then, not at all satisfied with a simple academic familiarity, I used my degrees to earn an appointment to the staff of an important California legislative committee: politics - not within the executive bureaucracy - buffered, relatively sane and sanitized; but at the legislative level - real politics - crass, raw, volatile, largely unstructured, vulnerable, exposed to a bewildering maze of cross-currents.

Long working days - well into the evening and often into the early morning hours - in hearings, in preparation for hearings, in executive session, helping to negotiate disputes, drafting legislation, costing out that legislation, analyzing its impact, listening to lobbyists, counseling legislators, lunches, dinners, parties - Endless!  Exhausting!  Frantic!

Don't fall victim to naiveté!  Politics is the art of compromise!  It's not designed to establish the Kingdom; it's merely an ordained contrivance which "maintains the social order" until the King returns.  Only the King can establish the Kingdom!  Politics must not be assigned that impossible task.  "Kingdom building" has always perverted the state - tyranny and repression are its inevitable consequences.  And, tragically, the terror spawned by "kingdom building" almost always turns upon the pitiful souls who first initiate it - whether a Zwingli or a Robespierre.

But the new Evangelical activists - most especially the postmillennial activists - are not encouraging a mind-set amenable to compromise.  And that could well breed tragic consequences - ranging from bitter disappointment to a frightening polarization which rips apart the very fabric of American society - and transforms the Gospel message into the hammer of an angry oppression.

VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI EST

The nature of postmillennialism

 Xenophobia is an enervating affliction of the soul - a debilitating vexation which corrodes the spirit and troubles the mind.  It's an affliction that debases its victims and transforms them into disoriented toddlers - robbing them of their personal courage and integrity.  And Late Twentieth Century postmillennialism is xenophobic - make no mistake about it  It preys upon the immature - often turning Christians into paranoid, pitiful wretches who strike out in knee-jerk rage at all that's threatening - all that's disturbing and perplexing - hardly a testimony that reflects 2 Timothy 1:7.

Christian activists often assert that postmillennialism is not "some new kid on the block" - that American evangelicalism was decidedly postmillennial until the turn of the last century.  Yes, but resurgent postmillennialism bears little resemblance to the postmillennialism of Nineteenth Century America.  Nineteenth Century postmillennialism - along with its secular stepchild, "Manifest Destiny" - was inordinately euphoric - bountifully optimistic - almost arrogant; but - with all its faults - it was not built upon fear and anxiety.

Not so resurgent postmillennialism.  It is indeed the product of fear and dread!  It is not at all euphoric.  And the meager optimism it does convey is not a chest-thumping exhilaration; it's more akin to a frightened urchin whistling in the dark.

VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI EST

Let’s come to grips with our fears

Terror stalks mankind!  Wars and rumors of war!  Hunger, famine, economic instability, nuclear proliferation - crisis! crisis! crisis!  It's endless!  Every evening, the major television networks delineate the latest woes; and the next morning our daily newspapers proclaim still more sorrows - the stock-market, the Middle East, Central America, drugs, licentiousness, blatant sadism, murder, poverty, homelessness, starvation - but we become inured - numb to it all.  Eventually, we just tune it out.  It's not possible to live constantly with fear.  And so we hunker down - check our savings accounts, look for the bargains, take care of our own families, reinforce our own small church communities - and hope for the best.  We withdraw!  We narrow the scope of our vision and look forward only to the next step - the very next one.  We play with our toys and distract ourselves with amusing frivolities: vacations, video games, stereos, room additions, spas, new cars, jogging, crabgrass in the lawn...ad nauseam.

WHY SURPRISED?

But hunkering down solves nothing.  It amounts to little more than an irrational escapism.  The Word of God plainly declares the hour!  It's not hidden away in obscure and difficult passages.  It's described vividly!  And yet we're surprised!  Why?  2 Timothy 3:1-5 outlines - in unambiguous terms - a terrifying moral collapse - a collapse that's a defining characteristic of the Last Days; but we're astonished now that it is actually underway.  Why?  Saddened, of course!  Sorrow-stricken, most assuredly!  But astonished?  Why? 

We're plainly warned that doctrinal errors will abound in the End Times - 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, and numerous other passages - all admonish us to be on-guard.  But we're not bending over backwards to press ourselves into the teaching of solid truth - not wild fantasies, but the basics, the fundamentals?  We allow obvious error to go unchecked. Why? Human slaughter, civil strife, disease - all are prophesied - by Jesus Himself. Yet we ignore it - we seek to actually turn it all around. Why? 

And, lastly, the re-establishment of Israel - an obvious miracle - Blatant!  Visible!  Staggering!  An unmistakable sign of the End!  Yet we fail to truly embrace it.  We force it into a remote mental closet and then ever so tightly shut and bolt the door.  We refuse to ponder its grave implications.  Why?

LET'S DO THE RIGHT THING!  LET'S TURN INTO THE WIND!

If we are at the End - if indeed, the turmoil that now engulfs us is nothing less than the birth-pangs of the "Second Coming," then - far from recoiling in horror, striking out at the unsaved, or vainly trying to turn back the inevitable - let's turn into the wind - turn directly into the very teeth of the gale; and let's do it with joy in our hearts and laughter in our mouths - feel its sting and revel in its bite - let's help to launch the greatest revival in the history of Christendom.

Let's change our thinking!  Now is not the time to throw the church's vast resources into a political void - her people, her money, her energy, her precious time - all miserably squandered.  The terror that bears down upon the earth - let's trap the devil with his own device - and turn that terror into our reluctant ally. It is indeed our greatest opportunity: hearts never before softened will now crack under the strain - and open at last to the gospel message.

Let's go out with a bang. Not exhausting ourselves - brooms in hand trying to sweep back the in-coming tide - beaten, filled with fear and panic!  Let's not be counted among those who are led whimpering away - having compromised their souls on the altar of political expediency.  Instead, let's rejoice as they come to take us away - having preached forgiveness unto the very end - knowing that we have fought the good fight, that we have finished our course; and that we have kept the faith.  Just beyond lies the Eternal City - our real home - and there it is that we shall finally rule and reign with our Savior and all those who have kept faith with him