The Madness of a Tyrant

THE ASSESSMENT

"I cannot for the life of me see how an American president can launch a serious military action without a full and formal national address in which he explains to the American people why he is doing what he is doing, why it is right, and why it is very much in the national interest. He referred to his aims in parts of speeches and appearances when he was in South America, but now he's home. More is needed, more is warranted, and more is deserved. He has to sit at that big desk and explain his thinking, put forward the facts as he sees them, and try to garner public support. He has to make a case for his own actions. It's what presidents do! And this is particularly important now, because there are reasons to fear the current involvement will either escalate and produce a lengthy conflict or collapse and produce humiliation. Without a formal and extended statement, the air of weirdness, uncertainty and confusion that surrounds this endeavor will only deepen. ... America has been though a difficult 10 years, and the burden of proof on the need for U.S. action would be with those who supported intervention. Chief among them, of course, is the president, who made the decision as commander in chief. He needs to sit down and tell the American people how this thing can possibly turn out well. He needs to tell them why it isn't mad."

IS THE U.S. PRESIDENT INSANE? [1]

This comment by columnist Peggy Noonan is very telling. She asks a critical question. “Is the president of these United States insane?”  The answer to this inquiry is both “yes” and “no” depending upon the definition used for insanity and madness. Clinically, Obama is not insane. He is, however, bent upon a wicked anti-American and anti-Christian agenda, to be sure, but he is not technically insane. His agenda is calculated and devious, which makes him ingeniously devilish. What Obama desires, and is feverously working toward, is to reconstruct America’s foundation by destroying America’s Christian foundation.  This includes the destruction of America’s currency by evil inflationary tactics, which is a blatant violation of the 8^th Commandment. These sinister policies infect every aspect of American life and are not compartmentalized to the economic sphere alone.  

On the other hand, if one is to analyze Obama’s actions by the Standard of The Scriptures, the man is absolutely out of his mind with madness.

Solomon warns us that “the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead,” Ecclesiastes 9:3b.

THE BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF CRAZY

According to God’s Word the problem of evil is rooted in the hearts of the “sons of men.” Without the transforming Grace of God at work in their hearts, mankind will think and act according to a reprobate mindset. What president Obama is doing is simply acting consistently with his theological presupposition, which is anti-God and anti-Biblical. Without question Obama’s position characterizes him Biblically as an evil man. This is God’s assessment and therefore it must be our assessment as well.

The evidence of an evil heart will be manifested in men’s personal actions and in their political agendas. This should be noted during any and all election campaigns. Solomon calls them the “sons of men,” making a clear distinction from the “sons of God.” These “sons of men” are depicted as earthly, sensual and carnal, and therefore are not to be trusted no matter what they promise.

While Obama may not be clinically insane, Biblically speaking he is a madman and is being used by God as a judgment against both America and the world for their repudiation of God and His Laws.

LESSONS FROM THE SCRIPTURES

Whenever a nation rejects God, judgment is inevitable. Israel’s rejection of Samuel as Judge, desiring a king like the other nations instead, was a clear rejection of God and His Laws.

1 Sa 8:7, “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

At this point God explains to Samuel the inevitable results of having a carnal man rule them.

1 Sa 8:10-17, “And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.  And he said, ‘This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.  And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear [plow] his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.  And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.   And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.  He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.’”

While these pronouncements are horrible, the response of the people and the counter- response of God are even more terrifying.

The People’s Response:

1 Sa 8:19-20, “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.’”

This response testifies of the people’s desire to live a life of irresponsibility. They thought that if they could be cared for by becoming salves of a “nanny state” they could legally shirk any personal responsibility to care for themselves.

The Lord’s Counter-Response:

1 Sa 8:18, “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

Responsibility under God is liberty. Israel saw God’s requirements of responsibly as tyranny and an unfair restriction upon them. They were wrong. God’s counter-response shows that irresponsibility coupled with the rejection of God, in favor of human lordship, results in despotism, plunder and slavery.
The problem was not with Saul, but with the lusts of the masses for a human, caretaker  king.

According to these passages of Scripture, Obama is not the root of the problem. The problem is with the people of the nation. The real culprits of political and moral abominations are the people who have allowed such a madman to fill the seat of power by their vote of support. Whenever the people lust after unrighteousness in rejection of God’s call to responsibility, God feeds them with their lust. God’s judgment is upon the masses of the world for their rejection of the God of Scripture.

NO QUICK FIX

There is no immediate “silver bullet” reparation to this dilemma. The process of reparation will be slow and painful, and it will take diligence. More importantly, reparations must come from the bottom up. Government cannot fix any problem. It can easily initiate problems, even exacerbate problems, but it cannot fix them. Its purpose and role are limited; and until the masses understand this there can be no reparations—only plunder, slavery and sorrow.

CHRISTIAN INVOLVEMENT

The answer is simple although the implementation of it is difficult. Real Christians must get involved in the political system. By “real” I mean those men that are convicted as to the absolute authority of God’s Law as it deals with every area of life, especially the political and legal aspects of it. Men of whimsical religious persuasions are unacceptable. Washington is full of religious men. What we need are men of Biblical conviction and Christ-centered tenacity. What we need is a leadership model in conformity with God’s Word, honoring the Crown Rights of King Jesus. What the world needs are men of Biblical Theonomic Conviction who are willing and courageous enough to call for a Biblical Reconstruction of the entire culture.

THE STRATEGY

1.       Pastors must preach the entire counsel of God, showing that it is the task of each and every Christian to be involved politically for the Glory of Christ. This is Christ’s world, and the wicked are not entitled to any of it, since their agenda is to destroy it.

2.       There needs to be a restoration of the Biblical Eschatology of Postmillennialism in repudiation of the idea of the Kingdom’s defeat. Christians who believe that they will all lose in the end, only to be bailed out by the Second Coming, have already claimed defeat. Having misunderstood entirely the comprehensive victory of Christ’s atonement, ascension, coronation and Pentecost, today’s modern evangelical has acquiesced to the notion of earthly failure. This is not Biblical orthodoxy and cannot be proven by any honest hermeneutical study of Scripture.

3.       Proper education is essential. Christian children must be removed from government indoctrination camps—otherwise all will be lost. The enemies of the kingdom will be amidst the members of the Christian community—in the families and in the churches.

4.       Affordable Christian schools, colleges and leadership training facilities must be established.

5.       Efforts must be made to expose any candidate who holds to anti-Christian doctrines which would endanger the well-being of the community, state or nation. Even if the candidate is running for the office of ‘Dog Catcher,‘ if he does not conform to Biblical standards of a public official he must be exposed and a man of virtue must run against him.

6.       Research committees must be formed to investigate potential candidates and expose them if they seem to be a potential threat to the Biblical integrity of a community, state or nation.

7.       Virtuous citizens should run for local and state offices before attempting the run for a federal seat, and candidate committees should be formed to help such Christian patriots.

Following these tactics will set the stage and lay the foundation for real Biblical change whereby one day our children’s children may see the knowledge of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. But if these things are ignored, our heirs, under extreme slavery and apostasy, will hang their harps upon the willow, unable to sing the songs of Zion.

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[1] In 2010 President Sarkozy called Barak Obama "a madman," "a lunatic."

Biblical Reconstruction and Reform: The Answer for our World

THE UNRAVELING

The stability of the national and global community is rapidly unraveling. America is now involved in three military campaigns abroad (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya), a violent conflict on the U.S. southern border, unrest concerning Union bullying, Muslim pressure to adopt Islamic social justice, imminent economic collapse, willful destruction of our food supply through genetic engineering , urban gang and drug related violence, the breakdown of the family through divorce and the promotion of the homosexual agenda, human genocide via legalized abortion murders, and a President that hasn’t a clue as how, or which way, to lead the nation. We also see Japan experiencing one of the most horrific disasters of her history on par with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of WWII. The Middle East is also experiencing a political and social meltdown, and the future of affordable energy for the entire world is in peril. These are just a few of the problems we face as a nation and as a race. 

We are witnessing a total breakdown of the societal order of the City of Man. Like Rome in 410 A.D. the City of Man is being sacked by bands of brutal and godless barbarians. But the barbarians of our age have adopted a particular set of warfare tactics. These barbarians wage what via actual, political, philosophical and ideological means. Unlike the Roman breakdown, we are experiencing a worldwide crisis which will affect every single human being on the face of the planet. This has never happened on this scale before.

NO HEAVENLY BAILOUT

Unlike the thieving bailout policies of the Fabian socialists, Marxists, and American liberals, there will not be any bailout from Heaven. On the contrary, these difficult events are orchestrated by God for the chastisements of the world and her wicked rebellion against His Holy authority.  God has removed His blessings from a rebellious world and the nations have been plunged into chaos as a result.

The prophet Amos explains that every event which comes to pass is orchestrated according to the will of God in a Holy response to the actions of man[1]. For every obedience and rebellion, there is a perfectly suited and just response. This principle is true for both individuals and nations alike.

DON’T EXPECT THE RAPTURE

These events are not the signs of the end. The rapture is not at hand; neither will these events reveal the anti-Christ. Rather these events only testify to the extent of the world’s anti Christian hatred and arrogant neglect toward the True and Living God. God is now calling all flesh to attention by these crises. Whenever a people (or a nation) refuse to acknowledge the comprehensive and universal Crown Rights of Christ’s Legitimate Lordship, God brings destruction – and destruction comes in many forms. God’s judgment is a justified recompense for the rebellion of mankind, and it is God Who determines the manner of chastisement.

There is however another important point to be made. These events are also meant to identify to the professing Christian church, and the professing Christian nation, the United States, their gross irresponsibility to call its civil leaders back into conformity to the Word of God. Blame cannot be placed at the foot of Congress, the White House or the Judiciary without adding culpability to the church and the citizenry for abandoning the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and His revealed Law-Word.

A RETURN TO GOD’S LAW

It must be evident by now that humanistic policies of men and the godless laws of nations cannot repair the breaches of our global breakdown. Nothing of man’s inventions, politics or policies can help the world now. They have all been exposed as failure. The only alternative is the law of God, understood and applied faithfully and equitably.

WHERE TO START

1.       In order to be equipped with the Law-Word of God one must first know and understand it. Therefore study God’s word with a view to understand how it ought to be applied to modern difficulties.

2.       Read and study select books which address the logistics and tactics that the Christian must take to redeem the culture.  The Blue Print Series is one I recommend.  Follow our New Geneva Christian Leadership Facebook Page to learn more – subscribe to our blogs and twitter posts.

3.       Study historical books which detail how God’s people dealt with cultural difficulties and how they reformed the culture and overcame the incredible odds against them. Read D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation in the time of Calvin, Schaffs Historical account of the Reformation particularly the section on Geneva, Pierre Viret’s[2] work and De Regne Christos by Martin Bucer. These will assist you in gaining insight on how to address these problems by use of God’s Law.

4.       Once you are prepared you can begin teaching others and declaring to the rulers of the world what God requires of them. Whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, it matters little, God will use us in either case for His Glory.

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[1] Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil (lit. calamity) in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

[2] More on Pierre Viret soon to come.

Economic Security and Family Order

The world’s most valuable asset in a time of economic crisis is not gold, silver, guns, ammunition, medical supplies, food or even water. Some may think the most valuable asset for a family’s economic security is farm land. While all these things are essential, and should be highly valued and available in a time of crisis, they are not the most important aspect of the Family’s well being.

The Christian Family is God’s vehicle for Cultural Dominion. It is the sanctuary and safety zone for each member. It is the child’s first church, school, government and economic vehicle. It is the most important institution on the face of the earth. Although the church remains crucial to the wellbeing of the culture, the family is central. Without the family, the church cannot exist. Both institutions, the church and the family, are to work in harmony, supporting one another without usurping each other’s authority role.

Today’s Christian Family is in peril. It is out of order. It is out of order to the point that it no longer resembles the Christian family of Scripture. It is so far out of order that at times it doesn’t even resemble the traditional family of the 1600 and 1700s. The reason for this is clear; it is simple; and it rests upon the shoulders of Christian husbands and fathers.

A majority of today’s Christian men have rebelled against God’s pattern for Godly manhood by following the path of the humanist, resulting in the Family’s malady.


Today’s men, Christian and non-Christian alike, are more concerned with sensual gratification than with Family Order. They are concerned with money, business ventures, the quest of financial ease, and the hope of early retirement.

This abdication of family responsibility results in women filling the void. As R.J. Rushdoony states, “The matriarchal society is thus the decadent or broken society.”

The most important asset for the economic security of the Christian Family is Godly Order. If a family is out of order it cannot survive, even in the best of times. In a crisis, it is doomed. Christian men must repent and recapture what has been lost by their greed, and carnal quest for worldly goods.

Establishing a Godly Family-Order begins with establishing a Godly marriage. The principles of a Godly marriage, and a Godly Family-Order were set forth by Matthew Sorin in 1840. These are all reminiscent of Ephesians Chapter 5 and various principles from other Pauline Epistles.

The duties Arising out of the Marriage Relation:
1. Mutual affection.
2. Mutual Confidence
3. Mutual Attention
4. Mutual Assistance
5. Mutual Respect
6. Mutually promoting each other’s Spiritual welfare.

Notice how the husband and wife are to work together in mutual agreement and assistance for the control and ordering of the family. Without this marital order the family will be out of order. This is why Paul is careful to counsel Timothy that if any would rule the church he first must rule well his own house. Family order is essential to both the family and the church.
Here are some principles to be considered:

1. Christian men must kill off any pride that may interfere with family focus. That means doing without some of the things your neighbors may have so you can give time to your family.

2. Christian men must be able to take advice and absorb corrective criticism from both their wives and their brethren. They must be constantly searching the Scriptures for ways to direct their family in the things of God.

3. They must re-direct themselves God-ward so they may re-direct their family God-ward. Discipleship takes time. One must first discipline the self before one can discipline others. This takes time and patience. It also takes men away from the “fun” things that they may want to do. That is where the problem lies. Prioritize your family first and focus upon them.

4. Christian men must be frugal in order to teach frugality. This is an economic necessity. Today’s undisciplined man is actually an unruly child. Whatever his heart lusts after he sets out to buy. A Family man must teach his family to count the costs lest he inadvertently teaches squander rather than stewardship.

5. Family order requires the husband/father to know what is happening in the family at all times. He must have his finger on the “pulse” of each member of the family, especially his wife. The Godly man knows the state of his flocks and herds. He must be engaged his family’s life.


6. Establishing an orderly family means having a goal as a family. That goal must be Christo-centric. It must glorify God. Each member of the family must be in pursuit of some goal for the Glory of God. If no family goal God-ward is established, the family cannot be called a Christian family no matter how many prayers are said, hymns sung, or money dropped into the offering plate.

Economic security depends upon Family Order; in a time of ease, and especially in a time of crisis.

Patience and Preparation

“Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water”
(1 Kings 18:3-4).

During times of wicked oppression, God’s people need to be very careful lest they become discouraged and slothful. By nature, mankind is impatient. The majority of postmodern Christians are impatient. They desire overnight success and overnight victory. Some Christians are more patient than others and will concede to remain patient as long as victory comes in their lifetime. While victory is certain, as the Lord has promised, it is not promised according to our time table. Victory comes by degrees and it comes by way of consistency and hard work. Our Lord comments on the Kingdom and how patience is essential for its maturation.

  "And he said, So is the Kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." (Mt 4:26-29)

Commenting on Mark 4:26-29, R.J. Rushdoony states,

“The Kingdom of God, as it develops in history, has a necessary growth and development. No more that we can plant grain and then expect the harvest at once, can we expect quick or immediate results in the growth of God’s Kingdom. If we plant grain, we must cultivate it, often water it, then to the field, and, only after much labor, reap a harvest. To expect otherwise is stupidity and foolishness, whether in farming or in the work of the Kingdom. In fact, our Lord describes quick growth as false (cf Matt 13:5-6, 20-21).…Within the church, this demand for immediate and spectacular results is commonplace.”

Godly patience is essential for the totality of Christ’s victory to be realized.

Note what Obadiah was doing during the tyrannical rule of the wicked.

First, he was hiding those that feared the Lord. They had to go underground. As Solomon states, “… when the wicked rise, a man is hidden”  (Pr 28:12b). These God-fearing men had to be hidden, and similarly the witness of the God- Man Jesus Christ was removed from society’s view.

Second, Obadiah fed them with bread and water. These are symbolic of the Word of God. These men were being prepared for another day.  This lesson is of extreme importance.  The men were not simply waiting for the rapture or for some divine intervention. They were preparing for providence. They had gone underground (and thus out of sight) to work without being overtly oppressed. But they were working. They were planning and scheming. God tells Elijah that He had reserved seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to the image of Baal or kissed him. These were some of those men. They were faithful men, ready and willing to act when the time was right. And while they waited they prepared.

While our nation’s moral, economic, political and legal integrity is unraveling, Christians need to be preparing for the time when God calls them to expound God’s Word in answering the real problems facing our culture. We Christians must be ready when God providentially orchestrates our entrance into the forefront of history. We need to be building Christian models for society. We need to be positioning ourselves to help those in our church and in our community. We need to be ready for whatever God has in store for our nation, and that takes work. It takes study and it takes commitment.

Until we are ready, well prepared, and poised to plan for the many generations of the future, with concrete solutions, God will not open a door of opportunity for us. Our generation will languish and another generation will take our place, willing and ready to perform God’s will – consistently and patiently.

Log onto the New Geneva Leadership Academy’s Web site and surf through the courses available. These courses are structured precisely for the purpose of preparing Christian men and women for the task that is upon us. Deo Vindice!

Real Wealth and the Dollar’s Demise

The modern view of wealth has little awareness of what wealth has meant in different areas of the world and during various historical eras. Today, money is directly equated with wealth. In ancient times, and among other peoples of the world, land holdings, many children, grandchildren, and livestock have all been indicators of wealth. Knowledge, skill and societal influence were indicators of wealth, and still should be.

According to the Hebrew lexicon, the word ‘wealth’ is sometimes translated as, “strength”, “power”, “substance”, “fullness”, “rest” and “prosperity”. And thus, one can be wealthy without having an abundance of money.

By now it should seem quite evident that the American dollar is in a tailspin and is losing value by the minute. This dire prophesy was once home only to those fringe “gloom and doom” economists, but now, even the Wall Street Journal has sounded the trumpet of fiscal doom.

In a recent March 2nd article, “Why the Dollar's Reign Is Near an End” Barry Eichengreen argues that “although the dollar has served as the world's main reserve currency for decades, it will soon have to share that role.


Read it here: Why the Dollar's Reign Is Near an End


So what should the Christian community do?
What does it mean for Christ’s church and Christ’s people?
How are we to respond?

As I have argued before, one should already be making the necessary preparations for this economic downturn. Food prices are sure to skyrocket as will other basics needed for daily life. These things should be purchased before the prices soar. (see Ambassador School Blog post Feb 23, 2011). If at all possible, store extra food, clothing and medical supplies. These should be used for your neighbor as an opportunity to sharing the Truth of God’s Law Word. You should also encourage your pastor to begin a food bank at your church for the local community. He should instruct the congregation to prepare individually so no one family will be a burden to the others. (These Providences can be great opportunities for the Church to exercise true leadership.)

In light of these situations facing our nation and the global community, one should also carefully consider what wealth is, and why it is given.

Moses tells us why wealth is given. (Remember wealth Is not only money – in fact, it is often much more comprehensive than just dollars, gold and silver.)

“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 8:18

Wealth of every kind is given for one reason; to use it for the advancement of the Kingdom.

First, Christians need to take a careful assessment of their overall wealth and then, use it to advance His Glorious Kingdom in whatever way possible. The demise of the dollar can be Christianity’s gateway to leadership and Godly Dominion. Let’s not waste a great opportunity- it is God’s gift to us and to our neighbor.