“My Church Will Be Victorious” – Part 2. Persecution and the Heavenly Tree
In this post I offer a prophetic vision of the future of America and the Church. It is not an end-times prophesy. I believe, but I am not certain, it will come to pass in my lifetime. Based on all I see happening in America today and the hours I have spent in prayer, study, research, and discussion with others, I think the picture I describe in this post is directionally correct. See what you think.
Introduction
If you read part 1 of this essay you are probably thinking, “that is a grim, depressing assessment of the state of America and even the Church”. But, wait. It is against this reality, as I see it, that God spoke to me and said, “My Church will be victorious”. How is this possible? In fact, I see the future as an opportunity for the Church to become bigger and more beautiful than it has ever been before in America, and for the disciples of Christ to live in deeper intimacy and joy with Him, in spite of the coming darkness. And as the Church grows, America will be transformed by reformaton (transformation of institutions) and revival ( transformation of individuals)!
I see all of this operating in three realms: the Heavenly realm where a supernatural war between the forces of good and evil is currently being fought; the realm of the Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world – where light is pushing back darkness; and the natural or earthly realm where the politics of power are being played out in a struggle for the heart and soul of America. God calls us to operate in all three realms as directed by Him. The struggle in the Kingdom realms is captured, in my mind, with the metaphor of a tree I call the Tree of Babylon in the previous post.
The Heavenly Tree
As I was thinking about the tree of Babylon, with roots of pride sunk deep into the kingdom of the world, the Holy Spirit brought me to this Scripture: “The ax is already at the root of the tree, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire . . . The winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear the threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3: 10, 12 NIV).
The ax is already at the root of the tree of Babylon – the tree of death. It will be burned up ‘with unquenchable fire’. In its place, God will plant another tree – the heavenly tree – the tree of life, a picture of revival.
The heavenly tree is planted in the soil of the Kingdom of God. Its roots are the spirit of humility and repentance. These roots sink deep into His Kingdom where they tap into pools and streams of living water, which is the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit flows into the trunk it gives life to the whole tree. The trunk is made up of the good news of salvation by grace through faith symbolized by the cross, and the love of Jesus for His creation. The branches of the tree are the branches of redemption, restoration, grace, life, power, righteousness, and freedom that produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, etc. This is the spreading tree under which America will return to worship as we turn our face toward Jesus and His cross.
The heavenly tree, or tree of life, is familiar to Christians in America. It is still growing in our nation. But over the last several decades, it has been increasingly crowded out, even overtaken, by the tree of Babylon. When reformation and revival break out in America, the heavenly tree will be deeply rooted in the heart and soul of America again.
The Truth Will Overcome the Darkness
How will these transformations happen? I am not sure, but these are the thoughts I have been pondering for the last several weeks.
Social justice is not a belief amenable to logical discourse, debate, and argument. It is a religious cult. It is impervious to alternate viewpoints. It is a totalitarian ideology. I can imagine this scenario, which is an extrapolation from what is already happening in America:
As a totalitarian darkness invades American culture and settles over our major institutions, Christians will be persecuted and called out as intolerant, hateful, bigoted, and racist (someone seriously called my sweet wife a ‘Nazi’ the other day). We will be marginalized and censured by public opinion, and possibly the state. The church will be allowed to exist, but to exist it will be forced to preach a message aligned with social justice – following the precepts of political correctness and identity politics. The state will use the threat of the loss of tax-exempt status or pass legislation to pave the way for lawsuits by the culture, alleging hate crimes. Maybe we will see mob violence against Christians or church buildings. Parachurch organizations will be threatened with the loss of their 501C3 status or thrown off high-school, college, and university campuses. Many churches will bend – they will not preach the Truth but support and augment the lies told by culture. We are already seeing this happening in America.
In this toxic totalitarian cultural environment real cultural change requires changing the human heart. The fundamental problem in America today is spiritual, not political; the political follows the spiritual. Our solution does not lie with the government, or any particular president or political party (although one party is worse than the other).
The good news is that ultimately every totalitarian regime collapses. Under the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit, hearts will be changed when the woke wake up, become disillusioned with the lies, false promises, loss of freedom, and evil of social justice and soft totalitarianism, and see their utopia as just another form of slavery.
Whenever they come to this realization, the Church with the love of Jesus Christ will be there to show them the way to true life and freedom. When the totalitarian regime collapses, the Church must be ready with emotional healing, spiritual deliverance (there will be a great need for this), and the Truth – the true Truth, not a culturally acceptable, relative truth – to give authentic life and light where before there was only death and darkness. This is the Church God was talking to me about when He said, “My church will be victorious”. But if the church is indistinguishable from the culture, it will have nothing to offer; no meaning or reason to exist – it must be ‘My Church’, not ‘the church’. Throughout this time of soft totalitarianism (however long it lasts) the church must not become an ally of culture – the Church has to stand unswervingly and unflinchingly for the Truth and the Kingdom of God. That is the heart of our resistance – we will not capitulate.
In this age of relativism, what is the truth?
The Truth is Jesus – He is the way, the truth, and the life. The truth is the inerrant, infallible word of God. The truth is love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, there is power in joy. The Kingdom of God is light and life; it is good. The kingdom of the world is darkness and death; it is evil. The joyful, fearless Christian cannot be conquered by darkness, and loving God and loving others in the power of the Holy Spirit is the way we will bring lost ones into His Kingdom of His Son where there is light and life. But for this to happen, Christians will need to continue to engage the culture through work, family, neighborhoods, social organizations, sports, and any other venue that allows us to interact with social justice believers. We have to carry the light into a dark world.
How Will Christians Live in a Post-Christian Totalitarian America?
How will Christians live in this season of darkness? We will live in the power of joy and peace. This is because of another great truth in the life of every disciple – they are living ‘in Christ’. Living in Christ means living in intimate, organic union with Him, operating within the sphere of His influence and power. It means Jesus living in us and we in Him. His presence in us is independent of our external environment – light or dark, it makes no difference. Our joy and peace in the midst of darkness – a darkness of disease, death, or a totalitarian cultural revolution – comes from Christ in us. It is not my joy; it is the joy of Jesus in me. Nothing can separate us from Christ, as long as we remain in Him, and therefore nothing can separate us from the power of His peace and joy. The power of the Triune God in me is greater than any other spiritual power – satan and his darkness cannot defeat the power of Jesus flowing from the heart of the joyful Christian disciple. Amen!
But, still persecution will come. It came to all the disciples, including Paul. For many Christians around the world, and even some in America, it is already here. Americans should not be surprised. Paul promised Timothy that he would be persecuted. After reminding Timothy about his own persecution, Paul wrote: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3: 12 NIV). OK, if persecution comes, either from the state or culture, what might Christians, who want to passionately follow the Truth, do?
First, Jesus tells us we must “count the cost” (Luke 14: 28 KJV). The early Christians faced tremendous darkness from the Jewish state and the Roman empire. Jesus told them, and He tells us today, we have to give up everything, even our own lives, to follow Him. “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14: 33 NIV). This is important, because when the persecution comes in whatever form, the converts will fall away, the disciples will remain. But we must prepare ourselves for what following and preaching Jesus will cost each of us. Are we willing to lose everything for Jesus, even our lives?
We might become Christian dissidents and go underground; a type of Christian resistance, pushing back against the collectivism of the totalitarian culture.
Collectivism is the ideology that promotes the state over individuals – there is no meaning or reality apart from the state. Collectivism is dehumanizing. It is the heart of Marxism. It is what allows the state to kill with impunity; it is pure evil. In Marxist collectivism, the ends justify the means including stealing a presidential election. Individualism is a threat to the state, so it must be crushed or eliminated wherever it is found. Christians belong to another type of collective; the Body of Christ, the Ecclesia, the Church. But every person is born in the image and likeness of God with unique gifts and personalities. A Christian dissident will hold on to their God-given uniqueness and resist the cultural pressure to surrender their soul to the state. For example, Christians of every race will strenuously resist accepting the ideas of white privilege and critical race theory, which are intended to shame white people into ‘joining’ the collective.
As I wrote above, Christian dissidents will hold firmly to the Truth – we will not capitulate.
Christians might resist in other, more public ways. We can protest peacefully in our town, state capital, and Washington, DC. Of course, we can vote. We can share the gospel wherever God gives us an opportunity, no matter the cost. We can serve the poor and homeless with joy and passion. We can demonstrate the power and presence of God through healing, signs, wonders, and miracles. We can practice civil disobedience, where appropriate. And we must love, even our enemies.
Throughout all of this, Christians are called to worship and pray – to pray in every way God directs us, and to repent and be repentant. We must intercede for God’s glory and His Kingdom to break out over our country and the world in revival. We must pray for the persecuted church throughout the world. And just as Scripture calls us to pray continuously; we must also worship continuously.
Of course, many Christians are doing these things already. But in the future, they will all take on more urgency and meaning, because the consequences might be more severe. After we have counted the cost, we might be ridiculed, ostracized (declared not fit for ‘polite society’), even by our family; fired from our job, or worse when we declare to the world, “I am a follower of Jesus”.
But the disciple will not hold back their Christian witness or at least be wise about how, where, and when they share this truth. They will be courageous and bold, but not foolish.
How Will the True Church Survive in a Post-Christian Totalitarian America?
Paradoxically, the darkness of persecution always makes the church stronger. In important ways, darkness in one’s life is a gift.
I have prayed with people who survived the darkness of cancer. Many of them told me, “cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me.” It was in the darkness of life-threatening disease they encountered the living Jesus, and their life was never the same. For them that revelation was more than worth their battle against cancer. It could be the same thing for the Church in the darkness. It seems to me that darkness is an essential part of life. Jesus had to descend into darkness before He could be resurrected. Baptism by immersion symbolizes being plunged into darkness before being brought into new life. For this reason, a disciple can joyfully enter a time of darkness, knowing that God will bring them through the darkness and use it to make them a new creation. Darkness can be used by God to purify and prepare us for God’s greatest work in our lives. I believe if the Church has to pass through darkness, it will be for God’s glory.
To exist and even thrive, the Church also might have to go underground. Underground churches in totalitarian China and Iran are growing at an amazing rate. I believe this will happen in America as well, although probably not to the same extent as in China and Iran. Home churches will become more important in spreading the truth and interceding for an America where God’s truth and righteousness will rule. In home churches you can be known, belong to an intimate community, and experience the gospel in life-giving ways – you can hear the truth that pastors will be afraid or unable to preach. Home churches are safe because they are beyond the reach of state control.
As more and more people come out of the darkness into the light of Christ, revival will break out. First, underground, but then out in the open. The power of darkness will not be able to stand in the way of revival, restoration, and redemption led by the power of the Holy Spirit through God’s Church made up of the remnant. The ax will sever the roots of the spreading tree on the high places; that tree will be consumed by unconquerable fire.
God, of course, can do anything. He can bring revival in response to prayer and in one night change the hearts of the people of a country. He has done that. He might do that again.. Or, maybe Jesus will return.. But I believe in America today God is going to turn the evil of Satan's tree of death, manifested by the Marxist movement called Social Justice, against itself -- destroying itself from within. Afterall, evil always overplays its hand. And when it does, we will be there to show the disillusioned survivors of the darkness the way home and the path to freedom.
My Home is the Kingdom of God
My hope is not in this world and certainly not in politics or any nation. This world offers many idols, and placing my hope and trust in my country is one of them. I have only one King – His name is Jesus, and my hope is in Him and His Kingdom.
I believe God loves America. It was the first nation on earth that originally consecrated itself to Him. But Jesus did not die specifically to create America. He died for His Kingdom and His Bride, the global Church. One day He will return to reclaim Her. America can descend into the darkness, but Jesus and His Bride will be victorious, and I want to be part of that victory.
“Nations are in an uproar, (earthly) kingdoms fall, He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46: 6, 7 NIV).
Whatever happens to America, the Kingdom of God will always be my home – it will always be my ultimate source of value, peace, joy, and hope; my ultimate destination. It will always be a strong tower, a fortress, and a solid foundation, now and for eternity. Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14: 19 NIV). If I live my life focused on His Kingdom day by day, hour by hour, even minute by minute releasing the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the world in the power of the Holy Spirit, I will live a life of freedom and joy, even if the government and culture take away all my earthly freedoms and possessions. Jesus is my hope. But I believe I need to prepare myself, with Jesus’ help, to face suffering for Him in the years ahead – at least social and political opposition to my faith. I will be fully free when I consecrate all I have, even my life, to Jesus for His glory and none of my own, trusting that God’s good, perfect plan will become reality in His time.
There is a difference between waiting on God and waiting with God. During this time of two trees – the tree of Babylon and the heavenly tree – I am called to wait. But I am not waiting alone. Right now, God is with me, He is with us, and He is with His Church. Where is the best place to wait? In Christ. We must wait, rest, and listen for further instructions. But we know the future, “My Church will be victorious”!
Jesus, I am willing; help my unwillingness,
John