05 December 2021
We need a divine cosmology.
Christ is coming back. When He does, everything that humanity has done since the Fall will be wiped away. This earth will return to its natural state as the Garden of Eden. Nothing mankind did will be remembered. So why does it matter if this or that country is wiped away on the path to that end? What difference does it make if one human civilization replaces another, and the old is lost?
No form of government devised by man is blessed by God. The Bible assumes without much discussion that the only proper form of human government is a tribal feudal covenant with God. All other governments are inherently evil, a work of Satan. Whoever does not gather with Him, scatters abroad; there is no middle ground. Not a single government on this earth is worthy of Christian admiration. No human civilization merits savoring and saving. No artistic or intellectual accomplishment is worth a damn.
That's what God says.
There is only one patriotism that pleases God: A devotion to His eternal Kingdom in Christ. An awful lot of human accomplishment is pinned on claims to have obeyed His teaching. It's not hard to see what a lie it all was. The early church leaders left Christ in order to become involved in human government. Engaging human government in that fashion is by definition abandoning the gospel. The generations following them compromised more and more. Yes, we could say that the Church gave us Western Civilization, but it was the Harlot Church that rode the Beast of human government. It was merely the Church trying to save itself, not the message of Christ. The gospel was long gone from the Church by then.
So the West is a pool of sewage, and America is just the latest bucket of that poison. The urge to defend what America has done does not come from the Holy Spirit. And the same can be said of every other human government on this earth. That churches have helped to shape some of those governments is no blessing on either church or state. Nor is it any kind of tragedy when the government inevitably turns on the churches, because that's just another human conflict over human concerns. There is no loss to the Kingdom of Heaven when the institutions of organized religion are shut down.
God's Word teaches us that when men ignore His counsel, He herds them like cattle. He does not shepherd them as He does His flock. Both flocks and herds are disposable, consumable in the end at the human level. But His flock hear His voice and He cares for them intimately; that's the meaning of the Covenant. Only Covenant people are His flock. Cattle are prodded and have no idea what's going on. We get to choose which we shall be. We have the option of turning to His Word and understanding His larger plans for the human race. We have the option of embracing His divine moral character, and enjoy how Creation itself celebrate with us His goodness and love.
He has always been calling for His sheep to form proper churches. This is as close to a Kingdom government among humans as we can hope to see. In human terms, it's a fragile thing. A proper church has no ambitions as humans measure such things. It simply exists, seeking only to improve its own group obedience, trying to keep up with the demands of manifesting His glory in a changing environment. It cannot be static by any means. Still, it doesn't have to do anything at all in terms of what mankind can measure. It's just a matter of walking in the cycle of events and celebrations year by year, marking time as individuals come and go.
The witness of the church is in how it receives the blessings of shalom. At its core, this refers to the social stability within the give and take of human existence. The only way you can have that stability is with God at the helm. It includes a measure of miracles because real churches understand the grounds upon which God pours out His power. But miracles aren't the thing we seek; miracles are only the outward sign of God's covenant favor.
God decides when miracles are warranted; He decides what glorifies Himself. They don't respond to human need, but come only for His glory. We strive to keep track of that, but He has promised to declare it to those who live within Covenant boundaries. The sheep who are paying attention and listening for His voice are the ones to follow closely and are the first to taste the sweetness of new pastures.
Here is the mystery that confuses believers who wallow in Western thinking: Failure can be a blessing, too. Saying that God wills this or that is not the same for those inside versus those outside the Covenant. Kingdoms rise and fall at God's whim, and human institutional success or stability is just a tool for how God herds the cattle who don't acknowledge Him as Sovereign. So it is on the individual level: It can be God's will for you as one of His sheep to fail. Why do the wicked prosper? Because their prosperity has no meaning, since their existence has no meaning, either. In this world, some win and some lose. In the Covenant, "winning" is measured on an entirely different metric.
Never forget the lesson of King Jehoshaphat. He organized the priests and Levites to scatter across the kingdom and teach the people the Covenant. There is some give and take where he sought peace with the Northern Kingdom, and we see how the latter were spooked by superstition (the siege of Kir in Moab) in contrast to his own kingdom standing firm on the Covenant. The failure of this very shaky alliance with Israel to win that war resulted in Moab later forming its own alliance and marshaling to attack the Kingdom of Judah in reprisal. King Jehoshaphat humbled himself before the Lord and was commanded to put the Temple choir in the vanguard marching to face them. Upon coming into view of this enemy alliance, they were already dead.
Instrumentality -- the idea that all consequences are predicated on technique -- was not how the choir defeated the Moabite coalition. The outcome was always in God's hand. When His Covenant people obey Him, miracles march with them. When people ignore His Covenant, miracles are at His whim and always inexplicable. You can get to know miracles like a good friend, but only within the Covenant.
Judah's victory was not a matter of tricks and tactics that win. Jehoshaphat was committed to obeying, win or lose. God grants the victory or not, and we are in no position to question His whims. We are called to obey regardless of the outcome. We try because that's what God puts in our hands. Winning in itself means nothing. "Shall we go up to battle, Lord?" That's a separate question from, "Shall we expect to win?" The Covenant required asking the first question, and discouraged trying to pester God with the second. Go and perform your duty with full ardor, because that's what God is looking for in us. This is the native outlook of heart-borne conviction: Be faithful regardless of the outcome.
For the past few decades, God has preferred that His children generally infiltrate American institutions (that includes churches). It was our duty to bring His glory to shine in endeavors that really don't in themselves matter. It's not hard for people of conviction to give their best to the mission at hand regardless of the outcome. Solomon said that every human endeavor is futility and chasing the wind. What matters is the excellence of our obedience to the Lord in all things. Now, the time of infiltration is coming to an end. In times of tribulation, the majority of us will pull back to our home base. But in our times, there has been no home base in terms of visible biblical churches. So that means we pull back and begin forming that home base that has been so neglected until now. We need to be as separate as possible.
Now is the time to commit our hearts to forming Covenant communities of faith. It's possible for a given church here or there to change directions and do this right. But what are the odds of that? It will mean a willingness to forsake the land and facilities, and most of the church owned property. Bad times are coming. Rather, expect that you will stand in faith alone as an individual for a time, unless you are among the few blessed with a marriage partner who embraces the Covenant. Cherish faith partners wherever you find them.
What matters as we close this series is that you grasp the dire necessity of restoring the Covenant. Obey it by yourself if no one will walk with you, but plan on God adding souls sooner or later. Recognize with your heart the boundaries of Covenant conviction and teach them as essential, the way Jesus commanded us in the Great Commission. Build what you can in terms of moral infrastructure -- that is, the habits and orientation of the Covenant. Make it the norm in your thinking and plans. Always go before the Lord and ask Him what He will provide, and what He wants you to bring. The people of God need a Covenant consciousness. They need to examine the boundaries and embrace them.
Your assumptions and expectations need to match revelation.
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