Amazing Facts wrapped up its Pinnacle of Prophecy series a few weeks ago. At the end of the last session, Pastor Doug Batchelor plainly said something that should grab every Christian’s attention regardless of their denomination. He said “When people are scared, they tend to turn to spiritual things”. Then he took it a step further and explained how based on current events, America is starting to transform into the Second Beast Power it’s foretold to become in the book of Revealation.
Six Catholics now sit on the Supreme Court. One of them–Clarence Thomas–is known to be affiliated with Opus Dei. Mike Johnson, who recently became the new Speaker of the House of Representatives is a Dominionist and has ties to the New Apostalic Reformation (NAR). The pieces are falling into place. Christian Nationalist movements are working with Republican politicians to form alliances with the more mainline Protestant Fundamentalist denominations and White Nationalist movements in the U.S. in an all-out effort to take over the government or at the very least destroy it. It’s even been confirmed some have formed alliances with the Russian government amd Hungary’s Viktor Orban to create a united front against what they call the “Globalist Elite” and the “Radical Left”. Everything’s building for a clash of wills either before, during or after the 2024 Presidental election in particular.
Something’s gotta give and this is why it’s easy for anyone with eyes and ears to see Civil War is inevitable. Those behind these efforts to replace the U.S. government with a Theocracy have been open about their intentions lately and it’s near-impossible to ignore on social media. They want as many people to see and know where they stand. They’re looking to force people to conform to their ideology or at the very least don’t try to oppose them…or else. If that reminds you of ISIS from about 10 years ago, it should. These Christian Fundamentalist groups are following the same playbook. Yet most people will say “That will never happen in America”. Yet it is in plain sight. Sweet irony.
Earlier this year I stated on this blog on at least two separate occaisions that I believe we are at least a generation or two away from America turning into the Second Beast Power. I still maintain that position and more so knowing Pope Francis will retire in the near future. His health has been rapidly declining in recent years and he has recently publicly reaffirmed that he intends to retire sooner than later. In the meantime, he is working to set the table for when his successor–whoever that is–becomes the next Pope. The Vatican is patiently waiting for Pope Francis to announce his retirement so they can start the selection process for his successor. For almost two years, the Cardinals required for that process have been on standby in The Vatican so they can vote on the next Pope as soon as possible.
Pope Francis is widely considered the most Liberal Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. This is largely due to his popularity with young people in particular. The same is not true of the “old guard” in The Vatican. Most historians believe the next Pope will likely be far more Conservative in contrast to Pope Francis. The Vatican is watching what’s going on in the U.S. very closely and whoever the next Pope is will likely wait for faith leaders from the U.S. to approach them first to give the American Christian Coaltion the perception that they will be negotiating from a position of strength. Historically, the Pope is widely regarded as a unifying force for all of Christianity. So, it would make the most sense for the next Pope to wait until he is called upon for political reasons. It also means the Vatican will keep its distance and wait until America becomes a Theocratic Autocracy since they know some Protestant churches like the SDA Church is watching them very closely.
I do agree with those who are rightfully saying the 2024 presidental election could be the last election America has as a Democracy. At the very least I am anticipating acts of violence during or after the presidental election and more so if Donald Trump doesn’t win the election. Speaking of the former president and current Republican frontrunner. He recently publicly said if he becomes president again, he WILL weaponize the U.S. Department of Justice against his political enemies. This is to say nothing of calls getting louder and sharper in recent years by some for politically motivated violence. Not just violence against public figures but violence anyone who doesn’t vote for or support certain people.
As much as many Christians have been talking about America becoming more secular over the last 50 years, Christian Fundmantalism has been a threat to this country since even before its founding. The Salem Witch Trials were largely why America was founded with the separation of Church and State as part of the First Amendment. Everyone who’s said America was founded as a Christian nation or always was a Christian nation betrays the fact they either do not know American history or don’t know the difference between opinion and fact.
Let’s take George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclaimation for example. Here it is in full:
More specifically, this excerpt jumps out to most:
Ask any Theologian or religious historian and they will tell you “That settles it. The first president of the United States himself proclaimed Thanksgiving Day to be a day of thanks and prayer to God.” Yes…and no. This is where knowing the difference between opinion and fact is so important. Washington himself respected the need for a separation of Church and State. Weather Washington believed in God or not is still debated to this day but it is a fact that he did not want to be the first president of the United States in the first place. He was a unifying force during and immediately after the Revolutionary War but he made it clear to everyone how uncomfortable he was with efforts by some to make him king of the then new nation.
All that said. Over the last 200 years, presidents and members of Congress have been VERY careful of how they invoke their faith when making public proclaimations. Again: There is no Church of America. This is why whenever the National Prayer Breakfast or Thanksgiving comes around every year, the president typically chooses their words carefully so they don’t sound like they’re telling or ordering people to do anything religious. Like it or not, Freedom of Religion goes both ways.
One of the oldest and most enduring myths championed by many evangelicals overall is America was founded as a Christian nation. That’s not true and this is made clear by 1/5th of the First Amendment which stresses the following:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
It’s worth noting The First Amendment starts that way and more is said about this than the other four things (Free Speech, Free Press, Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Petition). That’s because the founders wanted the strike a VERY hard balance. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamlton, who were both members of Congress during Washington’s time as president pushed for the wording being like this specifically to protect people on both sides from having the levers of government weaponized against them. They would not have done this unless they sincerely believed someone would at least try to weaponize the levels of government for this reason otherwise.
When you take that into consideration, this leaves Christian Nationalist movements with no option other than to outright destroy the government and remake it to their liking. That’s exactly what’s going on as we speak with the current Republican Party.
By the way the Appeal to Heaven phrase is itself from a quote by the American philosopher John Locke. The quote is to the effect “When appealing to earthly power is not possible, all you can do is appeal to heaven.” I put the full text above but basically, Republican policymakers like new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson have co-opted this idea cooked up by Christian National movements and the Sovereign Citizens movement to not recognize any government they don’t like or agree with. They’re pushing a Theocratic agenda in which “Only God-fearing Men (and Women) led by The Spirit”–this is their words, not mine–are allowed to be in positions of power. What about everyone else? Either convert or swear fealty. If not you forefeit all civil rights, could be imprisoned or killed. “That’ll never happen in America”? Keep thinking that way at your own peril.
The irony is like I said at the beginning, the book of Revealation actually does speak of a time to come in which some would seek to merge Church and State for the purposes of persecuting those who refuse to fall in line. Such people have been made to believe they’re doing what’s right or what’s best when they only want to weaponize the levers of government against others in the name of Christianity. At the same time these same Christian Fundamentalists are working hard to convince their audiences the biggest threat to Christianity is Secularism. The problem is the Bible makes it clear the REAL threat is and always has been compromised religion.
That brings me to Isaiah 4:1 which says this:
This is what is going on in America and to a lesser extent parts of western Europe right now. People want to be able to call themselves Christian but want to be able to do their own thing. It’s not eluding to anything sexually immoral as some view it as. The number of women mentioned is less important than the quote said in this verse: “We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothes. Just let us be called by your name.” In other words, people want a free pass to break the Third Commandment (“Don’t take The Lord’s name in vain.”).
This is also why there are so many Christian denominations. In Islam, there are basically two sects: Sunni and Shi’ite. In Judaism, there is Orthodox (strictly follow Jewish customs and beliefs) and Unorthodox (largely Jewish by blood but most regularly attend Shabbat services). In other faiths, there’s just one. Why is Christianity, which all the denominations have declared is the true religion for 2,000 years so divided in comparison to the others? Because of Theocracy that’s why.
Emperor Constantine’s so-called conversion to Christianity did what centuries of persecution could not: It diluted and twisted the power of the Gospel message. After Christianity and later Catholicism replaced Paganism as the Roman Empire’s State Religion, it suddenly became popular to be a Christian. The then emerging Roman Catholic Church was a church of compromise and contradiction as Paganistic beliefs were Christianized to encourage those who practiced Paganism to convert to the new state religion.
Conveniently, Christians who refused to bend the knee to the new Theocratic Power–Church and State combined–were branded as heretics and in many cases enemies of the State. For nearly 1500 years, the Catholic Church kept Europe in spiritual darkness. The common people were barred from reading and owning their own Bible by the church which decreed only an ordained clergy could read and understand it. The real reason was because the Bible would have exposed what they were doing as heresy. For those who don’t know, the Dark Ages largely gets its name from the fact the Catholic Church kept Europe in Spiritual Darkness. Superstition and fear of the unknown were used to keep people in line for nearly 1500 years.
Then two significant events happened in the 16th Century: Guttenberg’s Printing Press and Martin Luther’s protest against the Catholic Church’s Indulegences. These two events sparked the beginning of the Reformation that sought to call attention to the fact the Catholic Church was a church of compromise. When the Catholic Church converted Pagan societies, it was usually forced conversion and indoctrination. The Vatican used its position of influence in European governments to persecute everyone who refused to swear loyalty.
That brings me back to the original topic and efforts to bring about a modern-day inquisition in America by Christian Nationalist groups and Christian Fundamentalist movements. Just like centuries ago, people are being told Secularism and the influences of Eastern Mysticism are two of the biggest threats to Christianity. The problem is the Bible makes it clear the biggest threat is and always has been a Theocratic Power. On the outside it appears benevolent but in reality it’s an opressing and supressing power.
The Catholic Church is The First Beast Power–the Vatican no longer denies they fit the criteria outlined in the Bible–and the United States will become the Second Beast Power. That brings me back to these efforts by Christian Fundamentalists and Christian Nationalists who’ve long been closely aligned with the Republican Party turn America into an Autocratic Theocracy. People need to understand the overturning of Roe v. Wade was just one of the items on their agenda.
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was a book written in 1985 that was adapted into a TV series a few years ago and is now in its 5th season on Hulu. I’m sure most of you have at least heard of it or at the least heard references to it in recent years. The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian story set in a fictionalized version of America called the Republic of Gilead where legally, women are second-class citizens. Basically, America becomes what the Puratains wanted America to be 400 years ago: A Theocratic Authoritorian Patriarchal Society.
Mind you, this story IS a work of fiction but the fact that Atwood felt moved to publish the book in 1985 tells me she saw signs back then that America might soon be heading in that direction and on that note. Based on the story, America becomes the Republic of Gilead in 2005 after a military coup in which basically all of Congress and the president are killed off. We almost had something like that happen in January 6, 2021 as a reminder. Personally, I consider these past four years to be a delay of what may come after the next election but I won’t digress further. Just like those who usurped power in The Handmaid’s Tale didn’t care about what most people thought or wanted, those working in plain sight to overthrow the U.S. government and replace it with a Theocratic Autocracy could care less about what most people think or want.
The current Republican Party wants to rule, not govern. Even if it’s minority rule they won’t care. Mind you, most won’t take having their rights taken away too well. This is the big reason why civil war is inevitable. Not war between states but a war of ideologies. Gilead used religion to solidify its power and suppress dissent. The Republican Party and Christian Nationalists like to selectively quote scripture when making public statements to make the case “God is on our side”. In truth, they’re publicly justifying what they’re looking to do in the near future.
Another big plot point of The Handmaid’s Tale is due to a worldwide environmental disaster, most of the world’s women have been rendered infertile. This is the event that sets off a military coup and the rise of the Republic of Gilead. This new Theocratic Autocracy deems the infertility crisis the world is facing to be a direct result of tolerating Abortion and Birth Control. Their answer: Strip women and girls of all rights, rape is legalized and those who are childbearing age are forced to get pregnant for the ruling class. Once they give birth, the child is taken from them and the process repeats until they die or become infertile, whichever happens first. Those who can’t get pregnant or refuse are sent to die in contested areas of Gilead.
…Again, the world of The Handmaid’s Tale is 100% a work of fiction. The problem is just like future events foretold in the Bible, scenarios from The Handmaid’s Tale are becoming reality. I mentioned the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier. I believe I mentioned this in another article earlier this year but originally, only the Roman Catholic Church openly opposed abortion and birth control. Protestant America was also largely pro choice until Frank Schaeffer and his father Francis Schaeffer convinced many Protestant Evangelical leaders 50 years ago that adopting and promoting an anti-abortion stance was a good idea. It was a decision Francis Schaeffer would late regret and has been working to fix the mistake he and his father made.
If you ever wondered why the men of most Christian Fundamentalist groups have large families–usually 7 to 10 kids on average–it’s because their ideology forbids the use of contraceptives and birth control. Their extreme views dictate a woman’s only real purpose is to have and raise children. In their minds, women don’t need education or to work outside housework. Why do women in these fundamentalist groups just “accept” these idologies despite the fact it means they’re less than human? A combination of things, the two biggest always being spiritual manipulation and emotional manipulation.
While in America most Christian Fundamentalist groups confine this to a married couple it’s no secret there are Polygamist groups like the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) based in Utah which involve several women with one man. Before I move on, I do want to point out there is a real world location called Gilead. It’s a small mountainous region located in northern Jordan and is also referenced a few times in the Bible on that note. Having said all that, if you hear anyone mention or reference Gilead you can safely assume they are talking about the fictional country from The Handmaid’s Tale. Not the real world location.
I want to end with this as it needs to be said: America IS going to become a Theocracy and not just because the Bible foretells it. You have to be really trying to not pay attention to not notice what is going on in not just Washington but a growing number of Republican controlled states in recent years. We have elected officials in Washington literally calling for Christian Fundamentalism to replace the American Democracy. In various U.S. states, pastors and other clergy are being brought in as advisors by state representatives.
…”It can never happen here” indeed. That’s called Normalcy Bias. The old saying “evil prevails when good people do nothing” comes to mind also.
Now is the time for people to prepare as we may be in the final 11 months of the American Democracy. Anarchists and Christian Nationalists alike are planning to do something around the time of the 2024 presidential election. I won’t pretend to know what but it’s not good and there’s a pretty good chance it will be violent. Don’t let that scare you from voting when the time comes though. That’s exactly what they want. They want people to stay home during election season just like they were hoping the Pandemic would have helped ensure Trump won in 2020 by default.
Speaking of the former president. From how it’s looking, it’s becoming more likely someone other than Trump will get the Republican nomination. Don’t let polls that point out Trump’s massive lead by the media fool you. The overwhelming majority of Republican voters absolutely DO NOT want Trump back in the White House. They want someone else and will only vote for Trump if they have no alternative. It’s looking like the Republican nominee will likely be either Nikki Haley or Chris Christie. That isn’t to say Trump will go away quietly of course among other things.
Now’s a good time for people to start preparing for acts of violence orchestrated by Christian Nationalists and White Nationalists around the time of the election and after it. I mean regardless of the election outcome. Either way they’ll blame it on the Democrats and use the manufactured crisis to justify a hostile takeover of the government. If not in Washington then in a state or two somewhere. This is the kind of situation we are likely heading for next November and beyond.
I hope and pray I am proven wrong though.
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