Newsletter 139 2nd Quarter 2021
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets before you.” Matthew 5: 11, 12
Jesus is purifying His church. There is much dross to be cleansed from it. Many have soiled their garments and are no longer fit to be presented to the king. What we are about to go through, during the next few years, will prepare a bride radiant in her splendour.
From the very beginning of His ministry Jesus declared that His followers will be persecuted. They will be persecuted just as the prophets before them had been persecuted.
Persecution of Christians by those who belong to the kingdom of this world is assumed in the New Testament. In his first letter Peter encourages his readers not to be surprised at the fiery trial they are enduring. Like Jesus, Peter encourages us to respond to persecution with joy. (1 Peter 4: 12 – 13). The reason for our joy is summed up by Paul in the letter to the Romans, “the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8: 18. We can have joy because our hope is not fixed on this life but on the glory of the life to come.
Jesus explained why the world hates us in His pre-crucifixion prayer for His disciples, “…and the world has hated them because they are not of this world.” John 17: 14. To the world we are aliens. Put simply, we no longer fit. As Christians we live by different values. Values which are outlined in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7).
The previous issue of Trumpet Sounds looked at the issue of Globalism. It established that there is a small but powerful elite that has succeeded in acquiring a choke hold on the affairs of practically the entire human race.
In this issue of Trumpet Sounds we deal with the issue of civil disobedience. The plans the elite have for this world are in conflict with Christian values. Therefore if we stand our ground conflict is inevitable.
We need to be clear about when is it right to submit to the government and when we should disobey?
In this Issue
Should Christians ever disobey government?
Civil Disobedience
Pastor Coates
Examples from scripture of civil disobedience
A Good Witness
Faith
What next?
A lesser known but still amazing deliverance.
Should Christians ever disobey government?
In AD 64 much of the city of Rome was destroyed by fire. The emperor Nero (54 – 68 AD) was suspected of starting the fire to clear the land so that he could rebuild the city to his liking. In his writings, the Roman senator and historian Tacitus recorded, “To get rid of the report [that he had started the fire], Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace” (Annals, XV).
It was during the reign of Nero that the apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans (58 AD?). One might expect him to encourage the Christians in Rome to rise up against their oppressive ruler, instead he calls on them to submit. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.” Romans 13: 1 – 7.
Even during the reign of a ruthless and godless emperor, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells his readers to be in subjection to the government. Moreover, he states that no authority exists other than that established by God, and that rulers are serving God in their political office.
Civil Disobedience
With the above in mind, we ask when it is acceptable for a Christian to disobey the government. This question has come into sharper focus during the recent lockdowns. Should churches have acquiesced to laws requiring them not to meet or should they have defied the government by meeting to worship despite the threatened penalties?
In March last year Government regulations closed all churches. Under the regulations the person responsible for the place of worship had to ensure that, during the emergency period, the place of worship was closed except for certain very limited exceptions. Ironic that church ministers were required by the government to police the church building to ensure that none of the congregation sneak in for a time of private prayer.
Pastor Coates
Pastor James Coates, of Grace Life Church, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is a person who believes that the government had overstepped their authority. For his stand he was sent to prison. Under the Covid regulations in Alberta the number of worshipers at a place of worship was limited to a congregation size of 15% of the buildings fire-code capacity. Pastor Coates holds the conviction that the whole congregation should meet together during one service.
In the light of this stance, Alberta Health Services asked the courts to enforce their health orders against the church. The courts issued an undertaking to Pastor Coates that required him to follow the rule to avoid prison time.
Romans 13.
The following Sunday the church met with more than the 15% capacity. On that occasion Pastor Coates preached on Romans 13: 1 – 7. He initially outlined areas in which he considered the present day evangelical church deficient. His headings were; deficient in ecclesiology, deficient in approach to scripture, deficient in its theology of persecution, deficient in its knowledge of history and finally deficient in its theology of government.
His focus then turned to the God ordained function of government. As Christians we understand that all authority comes from God. Governing authorities receive delegated authority from God in the expectation that they will govern according to God’s word. If they fail to rule according to that standard they will be held accountable by God.
Civil disobedience
Pastor Coates drew a distinction between being subject to or in submission to the governing authority and obedience. He proposed that it is possible to be in submission and at the same time engaged in civil disobedience. Being subject to the authority requires us to accept the consequences of our disobedience. Two examples of when civil disobedience is necessary are as follows:
- When government forbids what God commands.
- When government commands what God forbids.
Do not render to Caesar what is not his.
Pastor Coates maintains that it is not for government to dictate the terms of worship to the church. He refused to give to the government what is not theirs. In submission to the authorities, following this act of disobedience, Pastor Coates turned himself in at the police station and was sent to prison. In these days, when we all expect growing pressure on the church, Pastor Coates’ example challenges us all to think through when we must make a stand. We may not agree over the specific issue which Coates considered fundamental but other issues will arise which we will not be able to ignore.
As a foot note: Pastor Coates’ testifies to the fruitful time spent in prison which led to many opportunities to witness.
Examples from scripture of civil disobedience
The Bible clearly tells us to submit to the governing authorities. It also sets out examples of those who refused to obey. Disobedience starts in the book of Exodus.
The Hebrew Midwives
Exodus opens with the story of the Hebrew midwives who were commanded by Pharaoh to kill the baby boys born to the children of Israel. The midwives disobeyed the command of the king sparing the boys. The Pharaoh had commanded what the midwives knew to be wrong. God blessed the midwives for their disobedience, Exodus 1: 21. Those who refuse to have any part in carrying out an abortion are making a similar stand. The world may penalise a person who makes that stand, but God will bless.
Rahab
When the king of Jericho commanded Rahab to hand over the Israelite spies she lied saying that the men had already left the city. She recognised that God was with Israel and hid the spies, Joshua 2: 1 – 21. God blessed her and her family sparing them when Jericho fell. As an added blessing she became an ancestor of our Lord. A parallel in the 1940’s was hiding Jews during the Nazi occupation.
Obadiah
It is written of Obadiah that he feared the Lord greatly 1 Kings 18: 3. His must have been an almost impossible situation serving at the heart of government during the reign the weak king Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel. She had flooded the nation with pagan worship. It took great courage to defy her. At the time when Queen Jezebel was massacring the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah hid a hundred of the prophets from her, 1Kings 18: 4. Had he been found out it would probably have resulted in his death.
Christians within government may often wish that they could do more to uphold godly values. God will bless them for doing what they can.
Jehoiada
After King Ahaziah died his mother, Athaliah (daughter of Jezebel), destroyed all the royal offspring. Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba took Joash from among the kings sons and hid him. Six years later, Jehoiada gathered men around him, declared Joash to be king, and put Athaliah to death. 2 Kings 11: 1- 12. By protecting Joash they did what was right by preserving the royal line of Judah.
When great evil comes over a nation it is sometimes necessary to bide our time. All through those years Jehosheba and Jehoiada must have prayed that the Lord would keep Joash hidden and safe. If Athaliah had found out it would have been certain death for all three.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
A well-known story is that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who refused to bow down in worship of the idolatrous statue set up by Nebuchadnezzar. It is another story about rulers commanding what God forbids. We are not to worship any other idol or god. As a result of their obedience to God, the three were thrown into the furnace. They trusted that their future was in God’s hands. The comfort in this story is that the Lord was with them in their ordeal, Daniel 3: 1 – 30.
Daniel
Daniel considered prayer and faithfulness to his God of greater importance than complying with the royal edict. The king was tricked into forbidding prayer to any other than himself. Daniel responded by following his custom of praying three times a day to the Lord. He knew that the punishment was to be fed to the lions. God preserved him from the hungry lions. Daniel 6: 10. We are to worship the Lord, 1 Chronicles 16: 29. In many nations the rulers seek to prevent the worship of the Lord. They have no authority to forbid what God commands.
Peter and John
After the lame man was healed Peter and John were arrested and put in prison. The next day the rulers of the people commanded them not to speak or teach about Jesus. Peter challenged them whether it was right to listen to them or to God, Acts 4: 18 – 20. The rulers had overstepped their God given authority by commanding disobedience to God. Later, the rulers confronted the apostles again and reminded them of their command to not teach about Jesus, but Peter responded, “We must obey God rather than men”, Acts 5:29.
The Tribulation
Looking to the future there will come a time when the world will be commanded to worship the image of the beast. Those who refuse will face death, Revelation 13: 15.
This may well come about in our time. Worshipping the image of the beast is both commanding what God has forbidden and as the intention is to stamp out worship to any other that the beast, it is forbidding what God commands.
We are to take comfort in the examples of Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Lord was with them in their faithfulness and will be with us if we are obedient to Him.
Conclusion
The above examples from Scripture inform us that, protecting innocent lives, refusing to worship any but God and obedience to the Lord’s commands are pleasing to God. Subjection to the governing authorities does not require total obedience. There can come a point at which submission brings us into conflict with obedience to God. At that point we are always to choose obedience to God. If that leads to us being persecuted by the state we are not to be surprised. No human ruler has the authority to command what God forbids or forbid what God commands.
A Good Witness
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2: 1-4
Before we come to the point at which we must disobey the governing authorities we are to pray for them. Pray for rulers so that the issue of civil disobedience does not arise. But if it does arise it is crucial that we consider the effect our actions have on others. In writing to Timothy, Paul reminds him that our conduct should be a good witness. God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. How will our actions impact unbelievers? This is not a counsel to compromise by seeking the approval of men. It is a reminder that we should always consider how our actions will be understood by those outside the church.
Tertullian wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”. When people see that Christians are prepared to give up their lives rather than deny their God it speaks of the reality of their faith.
But in this current pandemic will the world see insistence on keeping churches open as selfishly seeking privileges denied to the rest of society? Indeed will they consider that the actions of a church, insisting on meeting together, as reckless and endangering increased spread of the virus? We must weigh up the impact our actions have on those outside the church remembering that we are at all times to be a good witness.
Faith
Submission is an act of faith. We are to submit for the Lord’s sake. “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” 1 Peter 2:13 – 14. We submit not for our own comfort but for the Lord’s sake. Submission to authorities recognises God’s sovereignty over all that happens in this world.
Kings and governors are sent by God to punish evil and praise good. There are many countries in this world where those sent to uphold righteousness are the enemies of the good. God who raised these authorities up knows their injustice. He will deal with them in His time.
God will reward those who patiently suffer wrong doing. Servants be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.” 1 Peter 2: 18 – 19. The example of masters and servants also applies to government. The Lord will commend us if we suffer patiently under a harsh regime.
The Bible doesn’t allow us to disobey simply because we dislike a law and find it inconvenient, and the Bible doesn’t allow us to disobey just because we distrust the Government. We may well disagree with the government over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic but that is not a sufficient reason for disobedience.
Vaccination
Must we accept a Covid vaccination because our Government requires it? We may well distrust the government, due to recognising that the Covid pandemic is being manipulated for other purposes. We may dislike the vaccination because many experts have warned of potential side effects.
In the discussion above we have looked at the times when a Christian must put obedience to God before submission to the state. With regard to the Covid vaccination it has neither been commanded nor forbidden by God. Therefore there is no direct issue of obedience or disobedience.
In the quote from 1 Peter 2:13 we are told to submit “for the Lord’s sake”. When considering our actions especially if we are to obey or disobey the governing authorities we are to decide what will bring the most glory to God.
Does it bring glory to God to accept a Covid vaccine as in the minds of most people this will speed the end of the pandemic, or is it more glorifying to warn that the vaccines are still experimental. We will not know of potential side effects until the stage three trials are complete in two or three years’ time.
In the past it was accepted that the authorities had the right to isolate in special hospitals those with seriously infectious diseases. That was the only way of containing an epidemic. The government might argue that vaccines are the present day alternative to isolation hospitals. Therefore they have the right to require vaccination. But for the majority, especially the young, Covid has neither been as infectious nor serious enough to warrant isolation. Therefore vaccination for younger people is unnecessary for containing the disease.
Each Christian must prayerfully decide what is right. The situation is similar to the question of eating meat offered to idols which is answered in 1 Corinthians 8: 4 -13. We must not look down on the one whose conscience does not agree with our own decision. It will not bring glory to God if His church is divided due to this issue. If division happens Satan has won a resounding victory.
Submission
Pastor Coates drew a distinction between obedience and submission. Obedience to God caused him to defy the authorities. Submission to those same authorities led him to turn himself in at the Police Station. He suffered the penalty for disobedience which was several weeks in prison.
In the examples from scripture there is no hint of resistance to the exacted penalty for disobedience.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not resist the furnace. Instead they declared their trust in God for deliverance. They recognised that their lives were in his hands. Daniel suffered the lion’s den trusting in God to deliver him. Peter and John went to prison and were beaten for obeying God’s command. They each believed that our first duty is to God. Our second duty is to respect and submit to governing authorities.
When a Christian is led to disobey it is in sharp contrast to the way of the world. The world will riot, cause damage, obstruct people in their work and attack the police.
The Christian will respect other people including their property. A Christian will recognise the rights of others to go about their lawful business and respect the police for their role in keeping public order.
In the UK at present we have the privilege of being able to seek redress in the courts for unjust treatment by the authorities. Paul after imprisonment in Philippi or being rescued from the mob in Jerusalem made use of his legal standing in gaining some redress for the wrongs suffered.
The time is coming when such options will be closed down. When that time comes we are still to submit as that is pleasing to God who raises up all authorities.
What next?
Trumpet Sounds 138 was devoted to the single topic of globalism. It established that there is an elite acting behind the scenes to bring about a global government. They are driven by the belief that the world is in both a population and climate crisis which requires urgent action. In addition they believe that technological advances will transform life beyond recognition. Their solution to these challenges is to enforce centralised control by an elite to implement policies aimed at resolving these issues.
In that edition we also looked at how a crisis can be used to introduce measures which would not have been accepted by the population prior to the crisis. Klaus Schwab, head of the World Economic Forum and apparent spokesman for the global elite, has repeatedly reminded us that Covid-19 presents the perfect opportunity to push forward plans for a restructuring of the global economy and society. He calls the restructuring the Great Reset.
Event 201
The pre-pandemic ‘Event 201’, funded by the WEF and Bill Gates Foundation, held in October 2019, simulated a coronavirus pandemic. Its aim was to test if governments and communities were prepared for a major pandemic. In the Event 201 scenario there is an antiviral drug which could help the sick but not significantly limit the spread of disease. Therefore reliance was placed on the development of a vaccine to bring the pandemic under control.
It was predicted that in the first 18 months there would be 65 million deaths. (https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/scenario.html) Did is this prediction coupled with local national computer models of the spread of the disease panic governments into resorting to extreme counter measures?
The predictions have proved wrong. As of the middle of April 2021, globally, there have been 3 million deaths, linked to the virus. The majority of deaths have been among the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions.
Despite, governments starting to condition the population into accepting the need for a third or even annual inoculations, the virus is not generating the level of fear necessary if people are to be coerced into the ongoing surrender of their freedoms and acceptance of the restructuring proposed by the Great Reset. Therefore what may be the next move?
Covid Passports
In the UK the government first assured us that there would not introduce vaccination certificates. Then they said that they were thinking about it. Now there are situations where they are being considered. China already has a vaccine passport with Japan and the EU close behind.
The vaccines are said to considerably reduce the symptoms of Covid-19. There is no claim that they prevent a mild infection or that they prevent a vaccinated person passing on the virus. So what is the point of a Vaccination Certificate?
Some believe that its purpose is to facilitate greater control over people’s lives. The certificates will be used to regulate where and how we travel, where we shop and access to entertainment or sports venues. Fear alone may not prove sufficient to persuade people to accept the changes proposed in the WEF Great Reset. The control gained through a vaccine passport will give increased leverage to coerce acceptance of these measures.
Cyber Polygon
The Event 201 simulation of a coronavirus pandemic preceded the real thing by only a couple of months. Will another WEF funded simulation be a precursor to another crisis?
‘Cyber Polygon’ is an annual WEF funded event which simulates a major cyber-attack on economic systems. This year’s simulation will be held on the 9th July.
In his opening remarks at last year’s ‘Cyber Polygon’, Klaus Schwab said: “We all know, but still pay insufficient attention to ze frightening scenario of a comprehensive cyber-attack which would bring to a complete halt to ze power supply, transportation, hospital services, our society as a whole. Ze COVID19 crisis would be seen, in this respect, as a small disturbance in comparison to a major cyber-attack”.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOvz1Flfrfw&t=404s at 6 mins 44 secs)
The cyber-attack may come through a worm. A worm is a malicious malware programme that can self-replicate on computers or via computer networks without the user being aware. The 2003 Slammer/Sapphire worm was the fastest worm in history. It doubled in size every 8.5 seconds infecting 75,000 devices in 10 mins and 11.5 million devices in 24 hours. In 2017 the WannaCry worm caused damage worth hundreds of millions. The only remedy is to disconnect all devices from the internet. But as Schwab correctly says that would devastate the global economy.
Some are speculation that just as Event 201 preceded the corona virus pandemic. This year’s Cyber polygon will precede a devastating cyber-attack which will drive nations even further into the globalist camp. The devastation of the economy caused by government policy can then all be blamed on a cyber-attack.
Creating global tensions
Every nation uses it. It is the time proven way of distracting the population away from internal deficiencies in government. People are less likely to rebel against the government when there is a foreign threat. Will war or the threat of war be used to overcome resistance to the restructuring proposed in the Great Reset?
Trumpet Sounds has in the past commented on the military build-up by both China and Russia. Russia is now ahead of the USA in both missile and submarine technology. They have missiles which can almost certainly evade the US anti-missile defences and submarines which can, they claim, operate undetected in US coastal waters.
Like Russia, China has also been engaged in a major military build-up. China now has a much larger navy that the USA. The Pentagon recognises that it is probable that the US would lose and all-out war with China.
Both nations are testing the resolve of the West to resist their territorial ambitions. Russia speaks of protecting all Russian peoples wherever they are. Recently Russian troops massed on the Ukraine border. It appears that President Putin considers that ethnic Russians living in other countries should come under his protection. Absorption of Eastern Ukraine into Russia, as happened with the Crimea, may well be his intention.
China is much more aggressively expansionist. For almost a year Chinese troops have been occupying territory deep into Indian controlled Ladakh in the Himalayas. In another provocative action hundreds of Chinese ‘fishing boats’ are anchoring at the Whitsun Reef off the Philippines, asserting Chinese claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea. Almost daily China’s air force flies through Taiwan’s air-defence identification zone. China is acting provocatively because its leaders do not believe that the United States or any other nation would come to Taiwan’s rescue.
Will these development be used to scare us or will a false step erupt into war? Revelation 9: 13 – 21 describes a devastating war immediately preceding the appearing of the Antichrist. It is a war brought about by demonic beings released by God for the purpose of challenging men to repent.
This is a reminder that God is ultimately in control. The globalists may try to use growing tensions to coerce people to adopt their vision. But they are not the ones who control the future.
A lesser known but still amazing deliverance.
We love the story of Esther, which tells us how she was used by God to deliver her people. In that story Ahasuerus had a dream which played an important part in the downfall of Haman.
There is a lesser known story of deliverance in which dreams also play a significant part. Alexander the Great was furious that the Jews had refused to support him in the siege of Tyre. As the Macedonians advanced on Jerusalem, Jaddua, the high priest, offered sacrifices and called the people to prayer beseeching God to protect the nation.
In a dream God assured Jaddua that He would protect the city. He was to open the gates and get the people, all dressed in white robes, to process out. The priests and he would lead wearing their robes. The enemies of Israel, knowing Alexander’s anger toward Jerusalem expected to plunder and persecute the Jews. To their astonishment that is not what happened.
When he saw the people in white robes and the priests in their garments, with the high priest dressed in purple, Alexander went forward and bowed down to the high priest. Alexander’s army thought that he had lost his mind. Parmenio one of his generals asked how it was that he to whom all nations bowed down would bow before the high priest.
Alexander’s reply as recorded by Josephus, “I did not adore him, but that God which has honoured him with that high priesthood; for I saw that very person in a dream in this very habit, when I was in Dios in Macedonia, who when I was considering with myself how I might obtain dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me dominion over the Persians.”
Following this meeting Alexander entered the city and offered sacrifices to God. The priests showed Alexander the book of Daniel, with the prophecy that one of the Greeks would destroy the empire of the Persians