Cutting Off Their Own Noses

Grace and peace to the heirs of the promise, and greetings to those to whom has been bequeathed eternal destruction.

Lately I have been seeing increasing hostility towards the Gospel message and the carriers of that message: the body of Christ.  Of course, this is a fulfillment of prophecy, but it is nonetheless a disturbing trend.  

I found out, for instance, that back in 2011, two men were arrested for reading the Bible in front of a Department of Motor Vehicles location to those who were waiting in line.  Thankfully, they were soon released, but I couldn’t help but think about what the Bible says about these last days in regards to our witnessing.

“And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God…” (Revelation 20:4a).

Owning a Bible and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be punishable by death.  Saints, those days will soon be upon us.  We are not to be troubled, however, as Scripture goes on to say:

“And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4b).

What a blessed reward for our faithfulness!  Now I ask you: Is eternal life worth giving up  this comparatively short life for?  It is for me!

What I wanted to say, however, is that though it will be the government that will take away our right to witness, it will be our fellow Americans who will scream for that right to be taken away.  In so doing, they will be putting the shackles on their own wrists, for   witnessing is protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  What they do to us, they also do to themselves.

Think about this: One would have to be marvelously blind not to see that our government is hostile towards the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Many in our government would like nothing more than to see all free speech taken away.  They abhor our right to demonstrate and to picket.  And they detest our right to question their actions and motives.  And they hate our right to petition the government for redress of grievances.  They, therefore, hate the Constitution and the Bill of Rights not only because they guarantee these freedoms, but because they make the government answerable to “the rabble.”  As a prominent Confederate once said, “Nothing is more abhorrent to me than government that seeks to elevate the populace into the governing class.”  Freedom of speech is a threat to tyranny.

Witnessing, however, is a comparatively benign activity.  Christians are not interested in politics per se.  We are interested in souls.  Christians do not seek to subvert or destroy earthly kingdoms: rather, we seek to win souls for the kingdom of Heaven.  Israel was occupied by Rome during Jesus’s entire ministry, yet not once did Jesus mention overthrowing Roman rule.  Jesus has even commanded Christians to respect governmental authority.  So from a purely political perspective, witnessing is the least threatening of all protected speech.  In fact, it is not a threat to government authority at all.  

However, in that politics is ultimately an extension of religion, and the United States government is controlled by the Roman Catholic church, a religion that has historically sought to eliminate all personal freedoms, especially freedom of conscience, then it only follows that Christians would be a threat to the government.  For Jesus is liberty.  

The government will use its hatred of Jesus and all Christians as the means by which it will eliminate all personal freedoms, beginning with free speech.  Because Americans are becoming increasingly rebellious and hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are pushing to curtail Christians’ right to preach that Gospel.  And they are willing to do away with the First Amendment altogether to make it happen.  And the government will be all too happy to oblige them.  What these horribly deceived people fail to understand is that, in taking away our right to witness, they ultimately forfeit their own free speech rights and all rights, in fact.  They are cutting off their own nose to spite their face. 

Make no doubt about it, our Christian witness is seen as a threat by this government.  And I am not just talking about what I have read about or seen on television.  We have been paid a visit by both the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Senate:

We discuss politics here only as it concerns the Bible and biblical prophesy and we have neither promoted rebellion nor distributed anti-government propaganda.  Why, then, would the government be interested in anything we have to say?  Because we speak the truth, that’s why.  And many in our government are the enemies of truth.  We also encourage Christians to obey the Great Commission and witness.

So, prepare, Saints, to see more vitriol spewed against the servants of God as the world grows increasingly hostile to our message.  And watch as the government eventually moves to stop us from spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  But in the face of all this, be not troubled, but be encouraged and look up, for our redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man