Partisanship and the Role of the Prophets

When we as humans face a war for survival, we fight to the death and we fight to win. In existential struggles, those who “play nice” or insist on following the rules are considered weak and naïve, or perhaps even guilty of collaboration with the enemy. After all, we need to win at any cost, don’t we?

The people of Jerusalem faced the same burning question during Jeremiah’s time. The nation was ripe for judgment after decades of ignoring prophetic calls to repentance. The situation had actually passed the point of no return and the threat of Babylonian conquest was imminent, but the people believed that the presence of the Temple would prevent any harm (Jeremiah 7:4, 16; 11:14; 14:11). The same sentiment existed among the people a century earlier: “Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us” (Micah 3:11).  

These words reflect the natural response of religious societies to any criticism of their actions, let alone even the mention of divine judgment. Such a prophetic message is offensive on several levels. First of all, it reminds us that good works and religious observance are not enough to outweigh the consequences of rebellion in other areas of life. Secondly, it undercuts the idea that humanity cannot control the ultimate timing of judgment by rushing to “repent” every time just before the ax falls. Thirdly, it challenges the circular reasoning that “we are right because we are right” which views God as obligated to grant the victory. And fourthly, the message is seen as a demoralizing act that plays into the hands of those evil Babylonians who are, after all, the enemies of God himself. 

Jeremiah paid a high price for his critique of the spiritual condition of the nation, and he was even accused of cooperation with the Babylonians (Jeremiah 26:7-11; 37:11-15). He faced what today we could call partisanship. Everything about Judah had to be defended, and every other voice had to be silenced. The nation believed that Jeremiah’s message was a betrayal that undermined the fight for survival. They rejected the idea that Jeremiah’s prophetic criticism could be from God since their enemies were obviously so much worse. 

Today we face a fight-to-the-death over the future of entire societies and humanity itself. Many of us fear that it would hand victory to the “other side” if we ever admitted that anybody on “our side” could ever be in the wrong. This is an understandable defensive reaction to an emergency situation complete with hordes of foes at the gates who are bent on destruction rather than constructive criticism. However, this response is perilous because it feeds the concept that “we-are-right-because-we-are-right” and it cripples the role of the prophets in our lives.

Sometimes the last defenses that still seem to be standing are political leaders who at any other time would be considered unfit to represent the cause of believers. Many cling to them and defend their words and actions as though life itself depended on it. The fight to protect their reputations may seem necessary in the current crisis, but it leads us into a twilight zone of self-deception if we silence any critique that deviates from the partisan position. Unwittingly, we reject the fundamental right of God to hold all of us to account and to correct even those who are closest to him.

Perhaps God is leading us to a place where we trust him to be our only true defense – even as every safe space is being torn away and even though it seems that the enemy is winning one victory after another. Friends, the leaders and institutions in whom we have trusted will soon disappear. The “Babylonians” about to replace them are truly evil in every sense of the word. But God himself promised to fight our battles – even if it is not in a way that we would have chosen (Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 20:4; 2 Chronicles 20:17; Romans 8:31-37). If we lose everything in this world, we still have him. Maybe these losses for “our side” – as painful as they might be – are preparing us to embrace a future much brighter than what this fallen world could ever have offered.

Beware the Raging River of Rebellion

By now it should be clear to everyone with critical thinking skills that the COVID-19 crisis has been used skillfully to advance increased control over humanity – whether or not the virus is as dangerous as claimed. However, even before information that undercut the official narrative began to accumulate, countless voices began calling for civil disobedience against the lockdown. Many of these voices belong to believers who reject mask-wearing and social distancing rules while claiming that such regulations are a dry run leading up to totalitarianism. 

Let me be clear that they might be right in their overall analysis. After all, many of those same leaders who insisted on the lockdown also openly encouraged the recent wave of unrest as if there was no pandemic. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns something has troubled me in the attitude of many Christians – including some whom I count as friends. Their responses even made me wonder if they could be trusted to take precautions that infringed on their “rights” if ever there was truly extreme pandemic. 

Could it be that a spirit of rebellion has swept many believers away in these perilous times? I can almost hear the question of countless readers: “How can you call it a ‘spirit of rebellion’ if we are rejecting the unjust dictates of evil men?” Many would also remind me of the words of Peter and the apostles: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). We will return to that particular verse towards the end.   

I have heard more than one person say that we need to reject the regulations now in order to push back already against the even stricter regime yet to come. This idea may sound logical, but I submit that it is based more on human wisdom than on the Word of God. Two examples are the relationships between David and Saul, and between Jesus and the Roman authorities. We see that both of them not only refused to rebel against obviously unjust rulers, but also encouraged others to submit wherever possible (1 Samuel 24:1-7; Matthew 22:15-22). 

A spirit of lawlessness is flooding the world today, and the enemy is doing his best to sweep believers away in the same roaring waters. Identifying his plot may be more difficult when it is tailored to your own bank of the river – that is, when it is disguised by language that appeals your own side of the societal divide. He wants to draw us out to a place where we fight the raging current alone and by our own authority.  

The day may be near when a vaccination that includes fetal tissue and a computer chip passport will be imposed upon humanity – forcing all to decide whether to obey God rather than man. We know that this will be connected to the coming “lawless one” and the “mystery of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-9), but a preemptive response of rebellion on our part is not the solution even when it is directed towards a world that itself is rebelling against God. Indeed, it simply lures us out to an unprotected position like a small group of soldiers independently declaring war on an entire army. God wants to protect us from the spirit of rebellion in order to spare us being taken down by a world in rebellion. 

Our primary calling in this battle is to obey God and to submit to his authority. When human authority asks us to disobey God, we must refuse. However, this is not done in a spirit of rebellion towards man but rather in a spirit of obedience towards God. The distinction may seem trivial if the practical decisions made appear to be the same externally, but the difference is profound on the spiritual level. We must not join in the spirit of lawlessness and rebellion, but rather must prepare ourselves for future potential conflict with human authority by practicing obedience towards God. His authority will be our refuge in times when obeying God and man cannot possibly both be done.

The Coming Worldwide Hunger

Mark Twain once wrote that foretelling wars and famines “was not so hard, for there was always a war, and generally a famine somewhere.” For Westerners who have grown up in an age of unrivalled abundance, that “somewhere” has always been “somewhere else” – never “here” and never closer than the television screen which could be switched off conveniently. The very idea of worldwide famines of “biblical proportions” has seemed to be more appropriate for a fictional drama series than the reality of everyday life in Europe and North America, but those days may be over. 

The experts have been wrong on many aspects of the Corona Virus and its fallout, but the warning from the UN’s World Food Programme that the economic upheaval from the health pandemic could result in a hunger pandemic is not necessarily an exaggeration. Countless masses in many nations already lack the resources to feed themselves properly, and the situation continues to deteriorate. If society continues to unravel in America and other nations, the previously wealthy could soon be preoccupied with basic survival as well. Hunger is coming, and it will not be a game. 

The worldwide wave of hunger will not be a pleasant sight, but we were forewarned and given instructions on how to respond. Jesus predicted that famines would be part of the events leading to the Last Days. In the same Olivet Discourse, the final parable promises that whoever feeds the least of these would be rewarded as though he had done it for Jesus himself (Matthew 24:7; 25:31-40). This care is not limited to those considered friends: “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink” (Proverbs 25:21). 

There is a passage in Ecclesiastes that speaks about times like these: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth… He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap… In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand…” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6). Now is not the time to recoil in hesitation. A hungry world will soon be at the gates, and the fact that we do not know how much evil will be on the earth is an even greater reason to serve as much as possible now. 

The empty stomachs of the masses may lead millions to their first taste ever of the Bread of Life. “Behold, the days are coming… that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11). Physical hunger for a season can even be part of the God’s plan to satisfy the hungry soul for all eternity: “So he humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3). 

Evening shadows are falling all across the world, and it can be tempting to “withhold” our hands in fear, despair or apathy as the humanitarian and spiritual disaster approaches. However, it is written: “If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10). If you are a true believer who has tasted of the Bread of Life, this is your job description for as long as you are still on this earth. The hungry will soon be knocking, but the bread is already in our hands. 

Contact Tracing and the God of Contact

The phrase “contact tracing” was practically unknown before the COVID-19 crisis. The concept is not new, but human history is about to be changed irreversibly by the combination of (1) groundbreaking technology for tracking human activity and (2) the political will to make contact tracing universal and preemptive. Worldwide trends of the past two decades pointed clearly in this direction, and so it should be no surprise that many proposed measures in response to the crisis would all but end privacy.

No society can remain truly free while abolishing privacy. Reasons of security and public health cannot change that fact – even if they often appear logical and justifiable. This is not the time for the legitimate discussion on finding the balance between these conflicting principles in the modern age. However, it is fascinating to compare the character of God with the conventional wisdom of world elites when it comes to “contact tracing” and privacy.

At first glance, it would seem that God was the inventor of contact tracing: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; you understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, you know it altogether” (Psalm 139:1-4).

God sees and counts our steps (Job 31:4; 34:21). He searches our heart and knows its intents (1 Chronicles 28:9; Hebrews 4:12-13). There is no place out of his reach: “‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the LORD… (Jeremiah 23:24). What, then, is the difference between God’s omniscience and contact tracing by governments or social media giants?

Before addressing that question, let us consider an aspect of human character that reflects the image of God. If the era of social media has taught us anything, it is that human beings have a deep inner longing to know and be known. Establishing these deeper relationships cannot happen without relinquishing at least some privacy, but the individual must have the freedom to do so voluntarily in order for the connection to be meaningful. There can never be a true sense of security if others control to what extent and under what conditions this knowing and being known takes place.

In the new world being created before our eyes, there is no room for individual choice regarding personal information. Human beings are under constant monitoring – with no accountability for those managing the data collection, and certainly with no intent on their part to be open about their own lives. This is the way of the world, and we should not be surprised. After all, Jesus said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them” (Matthew 20:25).

It is precisely here that we see the contrast with the character of God. He indeed knows everything about us – more than all surveillance technologies put together – but his motivation is strikingly different. God uses that information for our own good, while building a relationship of trust with us. Amazingly, his ultimate goal is to bring us into a place where the knowing is mutual! “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12; also 1 John 3:2).

I find it simply astounding that the God who knows every detail of my life wants me to come to know him in the same way in eternity. In a world that is rapidly approaching the abolition of relationships in favor of the dark abyss of data collection, the thought of that friendship complete with reciprocity is an incredible comfort. He is not like the rulers of this world, my friends, and it is with him that we will spend all eternity. 

Crowned with Favor during Corona

The losses surrounding the Corona Virus are incalculable: hundreds of thousands dead, tragic stories of victims dying and being buried with no family present, countless weddings cancelled, bans on gatherings, a halt to travel, and hundreds of millions unemployed. The devastation will never be fully known, and there is, unfortunately, a distinct possibility that the worst is yet to come should the economic and societal aftershocks worsen.

Can these traumatizing events be anything but a curse for all those affected? I have yet to meet even one person who is enjoying the Corona Virus, but it is already clear to me that what the enemy meant for evil, God intends to use for good (Genesis 50:20). The suffering he allows has a way of softening the heart to receive reproof and instruction, giving us a chance to reprioritize our lives. A response of faith leads to spiritual growth that otherwise would not have occurred. Our “spiritual muscles” may ache with pain, but the resulting godliness is great gain (1 Timothy 4:8).

They say you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, a lesson Corona has taught us well. We will value many blessings more than ever before should we regain them in the future, and we are learning now to appreciate blessings that we still have which could disappear someday. Food and shelter may be obvious, but those of us who grew up in free societies never knew how valuable unrestricted movement really is. Another blessing is the vibrant human bond with family, close friends, fellow believers, and even strangers in the street. I wonder if I ever would have realized without “social distancing” just how precious this interaction is to me.

There is much talk about this being a “dry run” for a reimagined world. Sadly, that may be true. However, I believe that God has not been outmaneuvered on this front. With seriousness and urgency, he is using this crisis to make ready the hearts of his own for any troubles ahead. Experiencing this worldwide emergency allows us to get at least a little idea of what it is like to be prisoners without freedom, and also prepares us for being refugees subject to uncertainty and lack.

The people of Israel faced the threat of a curse by Balak and Balaam just before their entry into the Land, but Balaam was compelled to admit the true state of the nation: “The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them” (Numbers 23:21). A similar spiritual battle is raging in our time as we approach the end, but God gave us the quarantine to prepare. This crisis not only will strengthen our longing for God’s presence in heaven, but it will also remind us that our relationship with Jesus Christ is the one thing that can never be taken from us even in our hardest of days on this earth. We are in a triumphal procession through the trials, and name of our king is on our lips.

Just like the psalmist, we face countless enemies and evildoers – but we can confidently declare with him: “For you, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12). It is fascinating to discover that the Hebrew word translated here as “surround” resembles a word with the meaning of “crown” at a later stage of the language. The implications are inspiring. We not only march in the triumphal procession of the king; we also are “crowned” by him with favor during trials. God is using the Corona Virus to fit us for the crown of life and righteousness (James 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:8) – a crown that will be revealed in eternity.

Hope in the Age of the "New Normal"

If one phrase could define the COVID-19 era, the “new normal” would likely be a leading candidate. This phrase has a suffocating ring of finality to it, as though it will be impossible to go back fully to the “old normal” ever. That old paradigm encompassed things we took for granted – such as unrestricted human physical contact including handshaking and hugging, unlimited mass gatherings for prayer or for pleasure, and largely unhindered movement whether merely outside of the house or between countries and continents.

For just a few minutes, let us set aside the ongoing debates on what the response to the Corona Virus should have been from the beginning and what it should be going forward. For the sake of the discussion, let us even assume that steps such as “social distancing” and the usage of facemasks are the correct response to a public health crisis (at least at some point on the timeline). While I realize that many question those policies on philosophical and scientific grounds, my intent here is neither to attack such measures nor to silence the concerns of those opposed to them – but rather to reflect on the situation from an eternal perspective.

What strikes me more than anything else about the “new normal” is the underlying message that this is the unavoidable fate awaiting human beings here on earth. There is no hope for a brighter future in this new world, with the only viable option seeming to be complete surrender to the certainty of increasingly restrictive controls as envisioned by the experts as the only way to battle the possibility of unending and unpredictable outbreaks of disease. Hope in the human heart suffers “death by suffocation” when it is overwhelmed by a worldview that depends on human manipulation for survival – instead of submission to the source of life himself.

To quote Dostoevsky, to live without hope is to cease to live. Make no mistake, friends; the enemy himself is the true author of the underlying philosophy of the “new normal” – for he realizes that his time is short. He knows that the extinguishing of hope is one of the most powerful weapons in his arsenal, and he will stop at nothing to “spiritually isolate” the believer from the living hope that has already been given to him or her (1 Peter 1:3). This spiritual principle applies to the overall situation, whether or not wearing a face mask is a reasonable response to this specific virus.

Even as the shadows deepen around the world, the hope of the true believer cannot be extinguished. Even if the circumstances of this life worsen, we cling to the promise that “surely there is a hereafter, and [our] hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:18). Even though the enemy taunts us with the utter impossibility of it all, we can “rest [our] hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). And even if we never fully recover those human blessings of physical connection and coming together in this present age, we know that “we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Someday the “new normal” will become nothing but distant memory – conquered by the God who not only gives the human heart hope, but is our hope (Psalm 71:5). Let us fix our eyes on him unswervingly in whatever time we have left on this earth.

Fear and Punishment ~ Two Peas in a Pod

The second-to-the-last chapter of the Bible has a verse that makes the heart skip a beat: “But the cowardly (or fearful)… shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone…” (Rev. 21:8).

The cowardly? Isn’t that a little harsh? Isn’t fear a normal reaction, and even healthy sometimes? What if I cannot help but be fearful – especially if the things that I fear are not just my imagination? Can’t God just give me a medical exemption out of compassion for those diagnosed with weak hearts? These are valid questions, and we will come back to them at the end. Just to be clear, the subject here is not natural human caution in the face of real danger, nor a reverential awe towards God. Instead, we are talking about a way of life characterized by paralyzing and panic-inducing fear.

The Coronavirus, the response to it and the repercussions from it have instilled a deep fear in humanity. Many are fearful of the intentions of other humans, based on the track record of human history and the actions of leaders prophesied in the Bible. Others find the very nature of God to be frightening, either because he allows such evil individuals to be victorious (if only for a time), or because of the judgements that he himself pours out (especially at the end of time). It is no wonder that many people can identify with the wicked servant who received the single talent: “For I feared you, because you are an austere man” (Luke 19:21).

In this spiritual war, fear keeps us as soldiers from being effective in battle. For this reason, Moses gave command to discharge all of the fearful and fainthearted (Deut. 20:8), and Gideon sent all but three hundred of his men home (Judg. 7:3). We could be tempted to think that God is merely interested in maintaining an army of warriors when he commands us not to fear. Battle-readiness is indeed a major goal, but God has a motive that reveals his long-term and personal care for each of his warriors.

We find the key in the following passage: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:18-19). As God prepares our hearts to spend eternity with him, removing fear is on the top of his list. The Bible is full of commands not to fear, but rather to trust.

This work of fear removal is for our own good, because we never will feel at home with him if it is not replaced by his love – which is, interestingly, the opposite of fear. Indeed, fear is like a foretaste of the torment and punishment of hell. If we doubt the goodness of his motives or fear what he allows in our lives, arriving in heaven would not solve that very basic breakdown of our relationship with him.

So, are we punished for being fearful? Is there no compassion and understanding? I would suggest that these are the wrong questions. Undoubtedly, cowardly fear is one of the traits of the unbeliever when he stands before God, but the believer is in a lifelong process of preparation for heaven – which includes the uprooting of ungodly fear. The Lord would actually be unloving to allow us to continue suffering in the torment of fear – whether in this life or the next. God works in our hearts to remove the punishment of being fearful with the goal of ultimately rescuing us from the punishment for being fearful. These days are an unparalleled opportunity to allow that work of mercy continue – whatever lies ahead.