Yesterday (November 7, 2020), Vice President Joe Biden was declared President Elect by many news networks based on their projections.
Because this article appears on Patheos and many of you reading it don’t know me or my political views, let me make my political views known at the front.
As an Insurgent who has received the gospel of the kingdom, I don’t align with any candidate or party in the political system – which (as I’ve said until almost breathless) is part of the world system.
So by nature, it’s corrupt. THE WHOLE THING.
(I made the biblical case for this many times elsewhere.)
Yet we have MANY self-proclaimed “prophets” in the charismatic movement today who – before the election — STRONGLY prophesied (without blinking) that Trump will win a second term.
That’s why I’m writing this article.
My question – are all these “prophetic” voices wrong? Are they false prophets? Are they genuine Christians who just “missed” it? Even though they look completely wrong now, will they be proven right with a stunning surprise?
“Here’s the deal” (to quote Mr. Biden) … is it possible that President Trump can stun the world and be sitting in the White House as president of the USA come January?
Actually, it’s possible, but the chances are slim to none – but slim hasn’t left town. Not yet.
The fat lady has indeed cleared her throat, but she hasn’t sung.
So how would it be possible?
Here are several ways:
- Some electorates turn defiant and become what’s known as “Faithless Electors,” voting against their state. Some States allow for this, and yes, it’s possible. Though not likely. Especially this year (for fear of being hunted down and having their OFF switch flipped.)
- Some of the States flip to Trump after a recount or when all the ballots come in.
- Trump and his team win some of the court rulings they’ve filed. Voter fraud is demonstrated or massive glitches and mistakes in the counting are revealed.
- The Durham Report suddenly concludes and demonstrates criminal activity by Biden and the authorities take action.
- The DOJ and AOG take action on a new finding implicating Biden in some criminal activity and they press charges.
- A tragedy befalls the Biden ticket and the complicated situation goes to the Supreme Court to be sorted out.
- Perhaps the most important of all ….
It’s 2020!
That being interpreted means, ANYTHING can happen, even the most shocking and unexpected events.
All of the above scenarios are hugely unlikely right now, but then again, it’s 2020.
We’re also dealing with Trump, who is neither fish, fowl, air, vapor, earth, fire, or water. He’s a creature who has withered just about every attempt to take him down by his detractors.
Whether you agree with his critics or not, even his fiercest enemies have vocalized how astounded they’ve been that the man seems to defy gravity – beginning with his win as the Republican nominee despite all the scandals that would have left any other mortal on the dust heap of history.
Somehow he won against Hillary Clinton, survived the Special Counsel investigation (Mueller and company), survived Impeachment, and a steady diet of 24/7 critiques by the cable news media and online journals. And even COVID.
Whether you believe all of this was warranted or not, anyone with two working neurons and a decent synapse knows that his ability to survive what would sink most humans is exotically rare.
But let’s get back to the main point.
What about these so-called “prophets” who prophesied that God would give Trump a second term?
This could be a 1 Kings 22 situation. Have you read that one? All the prophets were deceived by a lying spirit, except one who stood against the rest.
If that happens and Trump is defeated after fighting through his last breath, will those of you who follow these “prophetic” people stop doing so?
Will you stop reading their newsletters, donating to their ministries, watching their videos, and following them on social media?
Or will you make excuses? Again.
(I say “again” because one of the most well-known among them prophesied that COVID would be gone by Easter 2020. #EpicFail. Yet he still has a BIG ministry with a BIG following.)
On the other hand, what if Trump stuns the world and ends up winning 270 electoral votes when that seems IMPOSSIBLE right now?
It is 2020, after all.
If in the unlikely event that this freak event happens, I do have a prediction (not a prophecy, mind you, but a human prediction).
Blood in the streets “the likes of which you have never seen” (to quote Mr. Trump).
A burning down of America. At least one that’s seriously attempted.
So today is 11/8/2020.
Let’s see what happens.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, I stand by these words that I wrote elsewhere.
A WORD ABOUT POLITICAL ELECTIONS
In every presidential election, those who cheer for a particular candidate feel like it’s closed curtains for the free world when their candidate loses. Those on the winning side feel the opposite.
Laying that aside, in virtually every election, countless Christians engage in the same level of anger, vitriolic rhetoric, and political smackdowns in which the unbelieving world engages. There is little difference except for the words “Jesus” or “God” peppered in.
To both mourning Christians and celebrating Christians, I wish to remind you that no president or prime minister ever brought in the kingdom. And no president ever will.
Reality check: If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are part of an embassy of a radically different empire with a radically different kind of politics.*
You belong to a kingdom that’s not from this planet, yet one which demands your full allegiance, total passion, and very life — something that many people (Christians even?) have given to a political party or candidate.
As ambassadors of God’s kingdom, we can rest assured that God has everything under control. Whether you are in abject fear or delightful relief with your newly elected president or prime minister, the Lord calls us all to touch the throne on that person’s behalf:
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 Savior.
~ 1 Timothy 2:1-3
Notice the prayer here. It’s not that the political rulers of the world will transform the culture to make it obey God. The prayer is simply that the political authorities will allow we Christians to live “quietly and peaceably” for our Lord.
As we have already seen, the ekklesia is not a secluded, isolated enclave. It stands in the world and for the world as a witness and a testimony. The claim that “Jesus is Lord” is a political statement that refuses to claim that Caesar — or any other entity — is Lord.
So wherever you stand after a political election, don’t let your heart be troubled on the one hand, nor place your full hope in any fallen human on the other.
To do so is to forget that you are part of an eternal kingdom that is part of the heavenlies.
We don’t pledge our allegiance to any flag other than that of the kingdom of God. When we lose sight of this, we begin to engage with our political opponents like the world does, criticizing and even demonizing them. Demonization should only be relegated to non-human entities. Too many Christians are willing to say that those who disagree with them politically are evil.
The outcomes of this world’s political elections neither mean the salvation nor the demise of the world. They are but specks on the grand radar of time. Put things in perspective, please. Our spiritual forefathers lived under rulers who fed them to lions, lit them on fire as human torches, and other barbaric forms of oppression and slaughter.
Don’t yield to the temptation to become engrossed in partisan politics, forgetting who you are and to whom you belong.
We are part of a kingdom that will outlast, and eventually overcome, all others.
Jesus is the Lord of that kingdom and He is also the Lord of this world, no matter who is in power presently or in the future.**
Seek first His kingdom, which includes showing this world what the kingdom of God looks like, acts like, and feels like — especially during heated political seasons.
All presidents, prime ministers and kings will be but a footnote in the pages of history. But the kingdom of Jesus Christ shall have no end.
This understanding removes fear and panic when it comes to our governmental officials.
This is a supplemental chapter to my landmark book INSURGENCE: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Audios Treating Different Aspects of the Same Topic From THE INSURGENCE PODCAST:
#73: The Kingdom vs. Nationalism and Globalism
#53: Transcending the Political Bloodbath
#16: Justice, Black Lives Matter, and the Kingdom
#75: You Cannot Serve Two Masters
#32: Spiritual Warfare and the Kingdom (Principalities)
#12: The Political System and the Kingdom
Footnotes:
* I’ve written more about the relationship between the kingdom of God, the ekklesia, and politics in chapter 7 of Jesus Manifesto, “A Collision of Two Empires.”
** I’ve further explored what it practically means for Jesus to be Lord of the world now in chapter 7 of Jesus Now, “Lord of the World” as well as in chapter 8, “Jesus Christ Today.”
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