“The Faith” vs. Catholicism, Zionism, & Christian Nationalism

The genuine Christian Faith was founded, expounded, and demonstrated by the Son of God who was and is “the image of the invisible God,”[1] perfectly reflecting the character and purposes of God. The Apostles then mirrored “the mind of Christ,”[2] having been “conformed to the image of [God’s] Son.”[3] They parroted Jesus’ teachings and followed His example of submission to God’s stated purposes and His self-sacrifice. The Apostles were secondary reflections of God’s purposes and His true character to this fallen world. Having learned this lesson well, Paul instructed the churches to continue this tradition: “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”[4] Thus all Christians are charged with following in the footsteps of Jesus and His Apostles, being lights of the knowledge of God and His purposes in this dark age. This is what Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”[5]

But pristine Christianity was quickly eclipsed by various forms of pseudo-Christianity, all of which replaced the true “image” of God with false idol-images which distort and disfigure Jesus Christ, misrepresent God’s purposes in this age, and thus impugn God’s character. While there are many forms of pseudo-Christianity, this blog post is about how Christians are to relate to government, politics, and shaping the culture, not from a position of wielding power, but from the voluntary position of servanthood.

John 18:36 (LGV) Jesus replied, “My Kingdom is not out from this world. If My Kingdom was out from this world, then My deputies would have resisted so that I would not have been handed over to the Judeans. But My Kingdom is not now from here.”

Roman Catholicism was the byproduct of early Christianity’s merger with civil government. From the time of Jesus until Constantine, true Christians suffered at the hands of pagan Rome yet willingly submitted to persecution and martyrdom in order to be faithful to Christ and His message. But Constantine seduced the persecution-weary Christian bishops with the promise of relief. This was affected by elevating Christianity from its Christ-commanded submission to civil government and enduring persecution to wielding the power of government, from being willingly submissive to the power of the sword to wielding the power of the sword. In the process, the “light” and “image of God” was virtually extinguished.

The draw of the true Gospel has always been the price paid by God Himself. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” [6] The price paid by the Son is also the draw of the Gospel, whose “equality with God” was set aside when He chose to “empty Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men,” then afterwards “became obedient unto death.” These two things, the unfathomable love of God and the incomprehensible submission to God’s will by His only-begotten Son out of His own love for His Father and love for us, is the POWER of the Gospel.[7] The early Christian demonstration of Christ-likeness is THE CAUSE of Christianity’s conquering the known Roman world with the true Gospel. This is where the spirit and power of God resides. Why? Because: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. … We love Him because He first loved us.”[8] When Christianity traded the POWER and SPIRIT of God inherent in the true Gospel for the power of governing and of wielding the sword, Christianity became “Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.”[9] Sure, a certain kind of “morality” was elevated in contrast to the immorality of pagan Rome. But, just as with the Pharisees of ancient Judaism, the leaders of this form of pseudo-Christianity were and are hypocrites. Christian leadership (which Christians are supposed to follow) lost its Christ-reflecting submissive spirit and thus the core of the Gospel was destroyed. The Spirit of God departed from His Temple, the Church of God. Yes, “Mystery Babylon” has to exist for God’s ultimate purposes to come to fruition, including all of the carnage and the blood of the martyrs that she drinks in the name of God. But true Christians, who have the mind of Christ, should want nothing to do with Mystery Babylon or the spirit behind it.

Israel today is at war with Hamas. The carnage on both sides is horrendous. Israel as a nation has the right to defend itself with force, as does any sovereign nation. But how did the present intolerable and unwinnable situation come about? It occurred when the Jewish people, thanks largely to “Christian Zionism” driven by the false doctrine of dispensationalism, once again used governmental power to attempt to bring about God’s promised Kingdom on earth just as Roman Christianity did beginning in AD 325. Israel would not have become a nation without the intervention of dispensationalist (Zionist) Christians who thought they were God’s tools. Nor could Israel have continued to be a sovereign nation without the continued support of the United States. This support is driven by Evangelical (Zionist – dispensationalist) Christians who support Israel’s unconditional right to the Land God promised Abraham, even while in rebellion against God’s Law and rejection of the Messiah. The Israeli government now holds the sword, and seeks to cling to the conditional promise of the Land while failing to meet the conditions set in the Law of Moses, or waiting for God to fulfill His promises of the permanent inheritance on His terms. “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”[10] Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations, reflecting the character and purposes of Yahweh. But since World War II, Israel has virtually lost all moral authority (except among Evangelicals), being far removed from the “light to the nations”[11] which she is supposed to be and is destined to be. For now, Israel is the source for blasphemy against God just as Roman Catholicism is the source of blasphemy against Christ.

Christian Nationalism in the United States is just the latest form of the same spirit of “Mystery Babylon.” Just as Roman Catholicism extinguished the “light,” and just as Israel extinguished their light, so also is Evangelical Christianity extinguishing the “light” by seeking to bring about their misguided version of God’s will on earth through their own might and political power. Donald Trump used the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) slogan and promise of a Christian utopia in exactly the same way Constantine used the promise of his own version of a Christian utopia of a Roman Church-State. The election of Mike Johnson to the speakership of the House of Representatives is just another move on the chess-board between two opposing powers, neither of which have the Spirit of God or the power of the message of the Gospel. Like Roman Catholicism, like the modern state of Israel, Christian Nationalism in the United States trades the power and Spirit of God (attained only through lowly submission to all God-ordained authority, patience in trials and persecution for Christ’s sake, and seeking the true HOPE and inheritance) for the power to wield supremacy and even the sword, all the while pretending to be God’s instrument. What will be the result? It will be no different than what Roman Catholicism produced and what Zionism has produced. Hatred for God and for His Son, because His people do not reflect His character or His purposes. They instead seek to bring about their own vision of God and His will by human efforts and ignoring God’s commandments.

To modern Israel God’s message is the same as in Zerubbabel’s day: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”[12]

To Evangelical Christians God’s message is the same as in Jesus’ day: “Jesus replied, ‘My Kingdom is not out from this world. If My Kingdom was out from this world, then My deputies would have resisted so that I would not have been handed over to the Judeans. But My Kingdom is not now from here’.”[13]

To all Christians God’s message continues to be: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”[14]  

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[1] Col. 1:15

[2] 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5-8

[3] Rom. 8:29

[4] Phil. 3:17

[5] Matt. 5:16 (NASB)

[6] John 3:16 (NKJV)

[7] Rom. 1:16

[8] 1 John 4:10,19

[9] Rev. 17:5

[10] Zech. 4:6 (NKJV)   

[11] Isa. 42:6; Isa. 49:6

[12] Zech. 4:6 (NKJV)

[13] John 18:36 (LGV)

[14] Rev. 18:4-5 (NKJV)