Category Archives: Prophecy

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

What’s wrong with the right ditch?

For the Vietnam War, the right ditch was just as extreme as the left ditch. And sadly, it had a Christian counterpart in 1930’s Germany.

Looking back, it is hard to believe that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis came to power through presidential appointments and elections. But even after winning the election in 1933, Hitler had only 43% of the vote. So, he was forced to build coalitions in order to govern Germany and to bring forth the perfect Aryan race he had envisioned for the nation.

Hitler and the Nazis understood the importance of calming Christian fears about his ungodly plans to build a Third Reich. Thus, the Nazis used the Bible to undermine Christian values.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Romans 13: 1-2)

The Nazis twisted Romans 13 into a justification for Christians blindly obeying the Nazi government in whatever they did. After all, the Nazis were established by God and resisting the governing authorities was a major sin.

Yes, there was fevent opposition to the Nazi’s twisted use of Romans 13 by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemoller and other pastors. But their voices were muted as trumped up charges were brought against them and they were imprisoned.

Sadly, nearly one third of the Lutheran pastors jumped on board the Nazi bandwagon and backed their policies. This defection from the truth quelled most believers’ apprehensions about blindly obeying the Nazi government.

Then, as the changes became more and more radical and ungodly, German Christians were swept along in the undertow of their earlier decisions into deeper and deeper waters of blind obedience.

During the Vietnam War, much the same thing happened to a significant percentage of Christians who fell into the right ditch. They held tightly to Romans 13 and voiced slogans such as, “America, love it or leave it.”

By holding so tightly to Romans 13:1-2, Christians ignored the message of a subsequent verse:

For it [the government] is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. (Romans 13:4)

The government of a nation is supposed to minster good to its people, not evil. Thus, if a nation’s government heads in an ungodly direction, we are to react like Peter and the apostles did:

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

The Vietnam War acted like a sword to divide Christianity and set it up for future defeats.

(Continued in Part 7)

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

Click on the following for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 and Part 10.

How to be a Radical Christian (vi).

And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15)

In order to have authority over demonic forces in spiritual warfare, a believer must be known in two places: heaven and hell.

Being known in heaven comes at salvation with being a new creation. This is an act of grace by our Lord and has nothing to do with individual struggles or works on our parts. We are bought with a price and are then citizens of heaven.

On the other hand, being known in hell comes out of struggles, and then, eventual victories  over demonic forces which have influenced and controlled us believers in various areas of our lives. The amount of authority we have will be directly proportional to the number of victories we have in our personal lives. Few or no victories will result in very little authority for us.

For instance, I knew a man who was part of a prayer group in a major Midwestern city. The prayer group began interceding against prostitution in his neighborhood and against the unclean spirits controlling the activity. But the man failed to mention to the group that he himself had a long standing problem with lust.

After a few days of prayer and fasting, prostitutes began knocking on his door day and night, offering their services to him free of charge. It almost drove him over the edge. He was forced to withdraw from the prayer group.

In Part 5, I stated that a religious spirit empowers and guides the Islamic Terrorists. And the only way to overcome this particular religious spirit is for a bunch of Radical Christians to somehow get free from the control of the religious principality which rules over our nation.

So, how do we get free from the religious principality’s control?

Most of us Christians will have to come out of our present churches in order to accomplish this feat. Next, we will have to go through wilderness experiences like Jesus did in His forty day fast and defeat Satan’s hold on our lives.

Then, if we survive these tough ordeals, we will be prepared for battle.

And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. (Luke 4:14)

(Continued in Part 12)

Like most youths,  my parents greatly influenced my early political inclinations.

Both were great examples of citizens who understood the importance of the ballot for the survival of our democracy. It mattered not to them whether it was a school board seat, township commissioner post or a county sheriff run-off, they showed up at the polls and cast their votes.

Once, I asked Dad, “When all is said and done, how do you decide which  political candidate to vote for?”

“I always vote for the best man,  based on the issues, and not on his party affiliation,” Dad said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

Sounds like good voting sense, huh? Then, I slowly edged out onto thin ice and asked a follow-up question.

“Dad, have you ever voted for a single Democratic candidate in your whole life?” I asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Dad replied with a wink of his eye. “Sadly, the Democrats are always wrong when I check them out, and the Republicans are always right.”

So much for objectivity, right?

Well, let’s be gentle to my parents who still to this day remember President Franklin Delano Roosevelt‘s solutions for the agricultural doldrums of the Great Depression: mandatory destruction of corn fields and slaughtering millions of pigs while thousands of Americans went hungry.  Buddy, can you spare a dime?

As for myself, I paid scant attention to politics while I was growing up on my parents’ farm during the 1950’s and early 60’s. The Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees were far more important to me. And anyway, have you ever heard recordings of speeches given by President Dwight D. Eisenhower or Senator Everett Dirksen? They were drop-dead, excruciatingly boring!

But still, I  remember a discussion in my senior year history class about the 1964 presidential race between President Lyndon Johnson and the Republican candidate, Senator Barry Goldwater.

“Roy Rogers is backing Goldwater for president,” I said in total candor when the teacher asked for my opinion. “So, if Goldwater’s good enough for Roy Rogers, he’s good enough for me.”

With that cheesy political attitude, I headed for the University of Illinois in September, 1964, just two months before the presidential elections.

So, what did many college lads talk about – other than girls and sports – in dorms and fraternity houses? Politics. And how do you think my Roy Rogers’ argument held up in debates about presidential politics?

Not well at all!

You see, in my era, 70% of the students attending the University of Illinois were from the Chicago area. And these kids had parents who had totally different opinions about the Great Depression. They liked FDR. They loved President John F. Kennedy and were inspired by him. Plus, they were feisty, card-carrying Democrats who knew their stuff.

It only took one discussion to discover I was just a hayseed farm boy when it came to politics. So, I learned to listen and read newspapers and magazines.

But something happened in the summer of 1965 which changed, not only my attitudes on politics, but millions of other college students for decades to come.

(Continued in Part 2)