They're wrong, because human leaders are horrible, every one of them, and because God doesn't care about our countries, but about our hearts.
Why are human leaders horrible?
Because they're all human, and all humans are sinful, and becoming a leader doesn't negate that simple fact.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Romans 3:23 (NKJV)
The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,According to the fruit of his doings. - Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV)
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)
As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one.” - Romans 3:10-12 (NKJV)
Everybody chooses to reject God on their own strength, because we are born first of the flesh, are dead in the spirit, and the flesh is in rebellion with God by regularly seeking to remove the imagined chains that God placed on us by creating us as finite beings.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. - Romans 8:5-8 (NKJV)
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. - Galatians 5:17 (NKJV)
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - John 3:4-6 (NKJV)
God even gets in on this when Israel demanded a King, demonstrating how God does not desire a particular political arrangement, that the arrangement is just a distraction from God:
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” - 1 Samuel 8:6-9 (NKJV)
Do you understand the significance of this passage? God is telling Samuel that the desire for a King was a rejection of God. Really let that sink in. A desire for a King is a rejection of God, because a King will not behave in accordance with God's desires, because the desire of God was to not have a King in the first place.
God doesn't like human unity on humanities' terms. God doesn't like a strong economy or a big military or lots of welfare programs or even a republic democracy. Why? Because all these things are a distraction from God, and God has no problem destroying the achievements of humans in order to get their attention and demonstrate why they need to correct their behavior.
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. - Genesis 11:1-8 (NKJV)
Were the people actually capable of supplanting God in all things? No, but the implication given by God here is the same as what Christ would later state more explicitly.
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” - Matthew 19:21-24
When people look to themselves for sustenance, and especially when they are doing well, their hearts are easier to steal away from God.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)
God wants people focused on God. When the people are not focused on God, God intentionally raises up the enemies of His people to shake them from their rebellious stupor and get their attention focused back on God.
“Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. - Habakkuk 1:5-7 (NKJV)
You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.
Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,And all your fortresses shall be plunderedAs Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,Because of your great wickedness.At dawn the king of IsraelShall be cut off utterly. - Hosea 10:13-15 (NKJV)
"But Nate, these are Old Testament declarations and prophesies and whatnot about a disobedient theocracy Israel, and that doesn't apply to us within a personal Christianity now!" I hear someone screaming, attempting to discredit the point to prevent having to meditate on it. Guess what?
Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. - 1 John 3:13 (NKJV)
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. - 2 Corinthians 4:8-11 (NKJV)
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. - 2 Timothy 3:12-13 (NKJV)
If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. - John 15:19-20 (NKJV)
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. - 1 Peter 4:12-14 (NKJV)
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. - Romans 5:3-4 (NKJV)
God raises up enemies that we are not capable of defeating on our own, and so we must turn to God to be saved. Nobody but God will or can save us. For Israel, because they were a chosen people with a theocracy, the assaults came at the national level. For Christians, given direct relationship with God and being agnostic to politics, the attacks come at both the national and the personal level.
But God is faithful to those who repent and return to God.
How faithful?
The lineage of Jesus included a murderer and adulterer.
Let's talk about David.
And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” - 1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NKJV)
So at this point, Samuel has told Saul that Saul has been disobedient to God. As a quick aside, anyone who, at this point, still believes that God only appoints those into positions of power that will be obedient to God, should stop that based on this verse alone, but I digress.
God, knowing the future, and the acts that David is yet to commit, still anoints David:
I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
With whom My hand shall be established;Also My arm shall strengthen him. - Psalm 89:20-21 (NKJV)
Why? Because David glorified God, even if only for a time.
“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ - Psalm 89:24-26 (NKJV)
Not because David would not make mistakes.
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,And blameless when You judge. - Psalm 51:1-4 (NKJV)
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,And blameless when You judge. - Psalm 51:1-4 (NKJV)
And God not only forgave David, but went a step further. David's second son by Bathsheba was Solomon. Solomon was not David's firstborn, so upon David's death, the throne would not have passed to Solomon, but God saw it fit to send the prophet Nathan to Bathsheba in response to the treachery of one of Solomon's brothers.
So Nathan spoke to
Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that
Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not
know it? Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. - 1 Kings 1:11-12 (NKJV)
This transition to power was not just a nice and peaceable affair either. Solomon promised not to kill Adonijah so long as he behaved, but when Adonijah treacherously asked for the companion of David, Solomon refused and had Adonijah executed.
Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!” - 1 Kings 2:23-24 (NKJV)
Solomon killed his older brother for requesting that he be given the concubine of their father, yet today we are told that a man speaking crudely about sexual interactions with women is not fit to be a leader, even after he apologizes?
David had another son from Bathsheba as well, Nathan. Why is this important? Because both Solomon and Nathan show up in one of the two genealogies of Christ.
David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. - Matthew 1:6-7 (NKJV)
So, to recap, David committed adultery, murdered the husband of the wife, repented, and two of his sons go on to be a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ, one of which had to execute his older brother to secure his place on the throne?
And we think the political drama going on today is serious business? That the moral character of people has ever improved?
Nowhere in scripture does God indicate that those who take on the mantle of leadership will be obedient to God. In fact, God added to the promise made to David with regard to his offspring:
If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
It shall be established forever like the moon,Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” - Psalm 89:30-37 (NKJV)
And do not keep My commandments,
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
It shall be established forever like the moon,Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” - Psalm 89:30-37 (NKJV)
And what do you think soon came about for Solomon?
And the punishment?
Then Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king. - 1 Kings 11:26 (NKJV)
God raised up enemies to the kingdom which claimed to be of God but was in open rebellion. God didn't care about the structure of the government or who was in power, merely with the return of His people to obedience and reliance on God.
And this is where the USA finds itself today. Though some large portion of the country claims to be Christian, the majority do not actually know God, let alone act in obedience to God's commands. How can I say this with confidence?
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. - Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)
Hillary Clinton is a genuinely evil person, deceptive and a follower of Satan, if in method but not by name. Islam is a genuinely evil religion, again very deceptive religious system which has historically used lies to defeat other peoples. Blind immigration and irresponsible foreign aid are evil dogmas, teaching people to care more for the "biggest victim" than the injured and needy in their own community, or even under their own roof.
Trump won't defeat these things. Trump won't bring lasting unity to our country all by himself. To believe that he or any politician could do so would be to subscribe to a works-based salvation.
No, the only salvation for our country is in turning to God, and being obedient to spreading the gospel. Trump will not get in the way of that process, but Hillary will, and the "Christians" of today are too soft to fight back.
Christian persecution under Hillary will not be survived because the Christians in the USA are turning to themselves, their comfort, and their resources instead of turning to God. Christianity will be stamped out under the thumb of a secular feminist who hates God, hates the United States of America, and wants to manifest her own godhood on earth to bring about a creation in her own image.
Trump wants people to take responsibility for their lives and work hard to Make America Great Again.
Which do you think is more likely to turn to God and repent of mistakes?
This should be easy, in that a decade after Trump was exposed as having crude talk, he apologized for it, even though the talk didn't actually hurt anyone, and almost none of the people who were demanding an apology were actually affected by, or the subject of, those comments.
This happened because of a moralism that has set into the United States which promotes armchair critics demanding that others pay attention to their superior morality, all while not living it out perfectly themselves.
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you demand your country bear the burden of foreign irresponsibility while not accepting any responsibility for your own household.
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tweet and post about your own inherited greatness, judgment, and mercy instead of the God from whom you inherited those traits.
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you demand perfect behavior of public figures, while excusing the rebellious behaviors you excuse in your own private life.
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you go on mission trips to convert peoples to the same personal irresponsibility that you call "freedom in God".
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you believe that the pleasantly soft whispers of Satan are more true than harsh words spoken in righteous anger.
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you demand an outwardly pious appearance while excusing a heart darkened by materialistic idol worship.
Woe to you, bloggers and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you revel and advertise the failure of others in the hopes it can forever distract you from ever facing your own.
In this election, your choices are going to determine whether Christianity is purged from the United States, or whether the soil is cultivated to offer it a chance to grow again. The USA will never be saved without God, but God doesn't need the USA to save the rest of the world, and so its collapse would not hinder God's plans at all.
We choose whether we want to continue to rebel against God, to seek to be our own gods and save the world, knowing that our efforts are ultimately failing but living only "in the moment". Our world is rapidly heading towards conflict. The blood of innocents does not need to be shed for it to be saved, the blood of the perfect innocent was already shed to save us all.
God invites us to participate in what God has planned, and Donald J. Trump is the only option for President which facilitates that happening at a national level. This is not because Trump is perfect, but because God can always uses flawed people who are willing to turn to God to create a lasting legacy of good which can affect the entire world for generations to come.
There is no such thing as a perfect political leader, even Jesus refused to take on that mantle. All human rulers, leaders, teachers, all of them are flawed and broken, but that's not what prevents God from using them, it's their rebellion against God that creates the divide.
The USA was once filled with a people who looked to God, and became a world super-power faster than any other nation before it in history. This is not because we were perfect, but because our people looked to God as their guidance, not the government, and not public figures who were good at writing persuasive words. People took responsibility for their actions, they lived with the curse of the fall, and in so doing found success. We have since diluted that struggle against our curse under the pretense of grace, but in reality we have merely fostered a tolerance for sin. We have abandoned the simplicity in Christ for the unending complexity of our depravity made manifest.
Hillary is busy trying to be her own god, to create her own reality, to ensure that her will is manifest by the power that she wields, to bring her idea of heaven here and now. Supporting her, either directly or by throwing your vote away for a third party candidate, is indication that you desire to share in her efforts to achieve godhood, and that you desire persecution to force your relationship with God because you are too lazy or arrogant to pursue it otherwise.
All the explanations I have heard only further exposes the arrogance and naivety of childish Christians, people who believe that they truly understand the morality they have inherited, and the design of God's plan into the future. Such hubris leads away from God and to their own capacity.
And God will be faithful to remind his people of why they need Him. God cares not for our happiness, but our Holiness. Our sanctification will proceed, and the pain will be increased the more we fight against it.
How sad a commentary that we present ourselves as unwilling participants in this dynamic, excusing the responsibility we bear for the agency we have been granted by God.
I pray that our sanctification does not require the unnecessary bloodshed of innocents before we submit to God again.
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