From Abdication to Revolution
Pic credit.
August 30, 2023
Disclaimer: We all need healing to some degree. But, without knowing a patient’s history and symptoms, we cannot evaluate the problem, assess the condition, or prescribe effective treatment. My goal is not to offend anyone by pointing out painful truths that may hurt someone’s feelings. I count myself among humans who have stumbled into the quagmire of another generation’s abdication. Decades ago, I followed the “leader” into a pit designed for my destruction. By Christ’s love and mercy, I have learned from miserable failure. I have taken the cure and hope to become part of the solution.
Today, I have been thinking about the state of this world and humanity’s apparent descent into chaos. I know—that sounds like the beginning of a vast generalization. Bear with me, please.
I was urged onto this train of thought by a story about a teacher who was fired because of violent and Satanic images on social media. Indignant, I remembered a time in our country when nobody would have hired him in the first place.
One thought led to another, and after a quick diagnosis of the problem from a biblical perspective, I began to ponder a solution that could help us put on the brakes before we collectively slide into the abyss.
I begin by positing:
We lose the right to speak once we surrender our God-given sovereignty, with its privileges and responsibilities, and by default give someone else the authority to act in our stead. Suppose we don’t like the result of our abdication. In that case, some situations require a revolution to reclaim sovereignty. Whether this is literal or figurative depends on the severity of the harm done and the urgency to act. Too many Americans have abdicated our sovereign thrones of power and allowed the government to be our surrogate.
Case in point – public education from its inception would only ever be a tool for the government to destroy our children. Parents who felt they needed that extra income to live comfortably took the poisoned bait, uncritically parking their children in “education centers,” and entrusted total strangers with teaching and influencing their children for eight hours a day. As some parents failed to monitor what their children were learning, the vacuum formed where the family used to be the seat of learning, the formation of early character, and the roadmap to faith in God.
A vacuum must be filled; it’s impossible to miss the nature of that “filler” when we look at current events. This education system slowly transformed into a juggernaut that can (and does) sue parents for supremacy—and wins! Parents can lose their children to Child Predator Services (a.k.a. Child Protective Services) and even go to jail. Our current imbroglio with government-run schools has become shark-infested waters, and the first drop of blood has caused a feeding frenzy with our nation’s children being the victims.
How do we fight back?
What if we inherited the terms of abdication but never agreed (isn’t that how we feel about taxation without representation, after all)? What about a school system in an authoritarian state where you have no option to homeschool your children—or so they tell you? Will you obey? Do you know the consequences if you don’t?
Here’s another example.
Recently, a small group of climate change “activists” got arrested for blocking a two-lane highway near the Burning Man event. They were arrested at gunpoint and brayed like mules. These people were only LARPing (live-action role play) and were shocked that someone called them to account for their actions. I know this because if they had thought beyond their narcissism, they would have stoically agreed that this was important enough for them to take the consequences for their disobedience and bear it all with dignity.
Revolutionary ideas come with inherent risks, the most serious of which is to anger an opponent more potent and better funded than you are.
Jesus said:
Luke 14:28-33 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— (29) lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ (31) Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. (33) So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Jesus warned that we need to count the cost—like kings who do so before deciding to go to war, or a builder must do it before he starts a project to be sure he can finish.
With this in mind, who has done the homework to find out the source of the abdication of our sovereignty to a governing entity? What about the timeline—can failure be pinned on one generation? We all love to point the finger when we know who the culprit is, but what if the culprit is us? What if our previous failure has hardened our hearts so that we do not recognize our culpability or face the consequences for stopping something we do not believe in? Now that we suddenly see, what do we do? Do we actually have the power to do anything?
We all know that there are cases where civil disobedience is possible, but what will it yield? Do we want a one-off that will fizzle out like a firecracker with the first drop of rain? Are we willing to accept the consequences to realize a particular reward? What would that reward look like?
How can you commit to changing a thing without considering all the nuances? To change a thing, you must understand its original purpose and form. Then, you must know how it has deviated. Finally, you must study the methods necessary to return it to its original purpose and investigate the intended and possibly unintended results of proceeding with your plan.
In the “royal” abdication of a throne, there must be someone strong enough to deal with the fallout, pull a nation together, and keep the intended vision for the country and its people always at the forefront. Otherwise, the population is ripe for a coup. Whether or not a coup is appropriate depends on the reason for the abdication, the damage done by the one who relinquishes power and control, and who is assuming the throne.
In the old torch and pitchfork days, emotional bands of people rallied to drag a perpetrator out of his bed and punish him on the spot. Tar and feathers were suitable for public humiliation. Carrying someone on a rail and dumping him beyond the town limits was also effective. The gallows awaited if the crime was bad enough, hopefully after a trial.
The problems with spontaneous judgments and lynch mobs bent on retribution are many and glaring. Those who do not stop to study the situation, who do not understand how to combat an evil so that it doesn’t recur, who have not thought beyond the satisfaction of an act of vengeance, may win the battle but will lose the war.
Revolution begins in the mind.
Satan, the adversary, has had time since the Garden of Eden to study us. He knows how to foment rebellion, incite war, and nudge humans over the moral precipice. The devil is not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient, and most certainly not an “equal opposite” of God or Jesus Christ. But he knows how to put a hook in a man’s jaw and lead him into sin.
Yet, for Satan to succeed, he must first have that man’s agreement. He will lie and steal to gain that contract. But once he gets it, he is free to do as he will—unless the man realizes what has happened and changes his mind (sometimes called repentance).
The devil also wants people to think they can never be free once they sign on that dotted line—another lie; out of revenge someone may kill the body, but God will free the soul that puts his or her faith in Him. Christ Jesus provided the way to be free, and it is through His blood that was shed in our stead so that we can be reconciled with God.
Maybe that doesn’t sound like a deal, but none of us are getting out of here alive in our original bodies. Unchanged humans could not survive in the Kingdom of God. We who love Christ and are awaiting His return long for the change, for as Paul said, to live is Christ, but to die is gain.
What does this have to do with abdication and revolution?
Man abdicated his God-given right to rule and have dominion over the earth when Adam and Eve disobeyed their Creator in the Garden. Because of their disobedience, Satan had a legal right to usurp man’s place in our world. We don’t like to admit this. It makes us feel bad. It seems unfair, even.
But by way of demonstration that this is the truth, Matthew records this astounding event that occurred during the time the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights to be tempted by the devil:
Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (9) And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” (10) Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.’ “
Jesus did not contradict the devil. He knew that what Satan offered was his to offer.
Satan offered a shortcut that would have put Jesus on the throne anyway; wasn’t the goal worth the compromise? In our culture of moral equivalency, it might be hard for some to understand why Jesus had to do it the hard way.
The short answer is that if Jesus had taken him up on it, Satan would have successfully subverted the God who created him—Impossible.
Jesus spoke about shortcuts, or “other ways,” and perfectly answered our question about entering in some other way.
John 10:1-5 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (2) But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (3) To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (4) And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. (5) Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
The world we see now is far from the one that could and should have been had humans not listened to the serpent. Jesus paid a terrible cost to redeem us—that was His purpose in coming. But it is our job to clean up the resulting mess.
The Satanic slogan “Ordo ab Chao,” or “order out of chaos,” is the Masonic/New World Order idea of subjugating and dominating the masses once and for all through planned catastrophes and population control. The order the NWO wants to “create” includes the imposed lockdowns we’ve all experienced over the past few years, along with the forcing of “vaccines,” wearing useless masks, social distancing that makes us easily identifiable when paired with facial recognition software, and working from home or losing our jobs—anything to produce stress and apply steady pressure on the human psyche. This is not the kind of order God had in mind for humans.
Here is David’s famous Psalm 8 on the creation and purpose of humankind.
Psalms 8:1-9 To the Chief Musician. On the Instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! (2) Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. (3) When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, (4) What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? (5) For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. (6) You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, (7) All sheep and oxen—Even the beasts of the field, (8) The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. (9) O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
God’s plan was to raise us as His children so that we would come into our inheritance and glory with Him one day. But God provided a sacrifice for us—prepared from the foundation of the world—and HE prophesied the coming of His Messiah to crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15).
How do we engage in a revolution?
Remember, revolution begins in the mind. Satan attacks us in our minds first because that is where many battles are lost before they start. If his delivery is crafty enough to deceive us, he can con us into agreeing with him or making us despair.
But salvation also begins in the mind, and our hopeful revolution must start with the Kingdom of Love conquering our hearts. Then, the Lord of Light can enter and renew our minds to understand God’s purposes for us and how we may receive them again.
Remember, too, that the one to whom our first parents abdicated—Satan—will not easily give up his thrones on earth. He will actively defend his position and thwart our efforts unless we understand the rules of this warfare.
So, to move as a corporate body or unit to defeat him, we must begin with ourselves—to acknowledge Jesus, The Head of the Church and the Leader of this Revolution. We must lay down our arms and tear up all agreements we have made with the enemy of our souls (wittingly or unwittingly). We must pledge ourselves to the Kingdom of God, and then God will “restore the years that the locust has eaten” for all those who humble themselves and return to Him.
[i]Joel 2:25-27 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. (26) You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. (27) Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.
Once we understand our relationship to the Creator Jehovah God, we can properly subordinate ourselves; through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, and Comforter; then we may adequately prepare to receive our battle orders.
Now comes the part where many people of action perk up and say, “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Not so fast!
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, (5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, (6) and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Saint Paul said the weapons in our warfare are not carnal but spiritual, which means that the battle is the Lord’s, and He has granted us the privilege to join in the spiritual battle to retake our homeland. It won’t be through large armies or in a kinetic war against the enemy of our souls and his minions that we will succeed. But we would benefit greatly in this war if we could recruit many to the business of prayer and watching, with obedience above all.
Psalms 91:7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
Since one righteous praying person can put to flight a thousand demons, and elsewhere, Scripture says that five may put to flight ten thousand, God has put the odds in our favor. The crux of success in this revolution is our unwavering faith in Jehovah God—the simple faith of a child who believes what his Father says and acts on His word without hesitation. That is how we will win this revolution.
Jehovah God is Adonai Tsva’ot—the Lord of the Hosts of Heaven or Armies. Jesus is the Head of the Church, the great Lover of the Bride, the Great Lion of the tribe of Judah, and He has won the victory. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Our faith and obedience will one day reveal to us a new heaven and new earth—the doing of which is in the hands of Him who created us. We will find great joy in Him the more we meditate on Him. He delights in showing His children what He is doing.
We know this all takes time. We will not be victorious instantly, and there may be many more casualties before we finish. Therefore, we must learn how to reclaim that which our first parents abdicated.
They fell in rebellion, but we will rise in obedience.
They stumbled into narcissism, but we must love with the kind of love we see in Jesus—willing to lay down our lives for the Gospel.
They were driven from the Garden and the Tree of Life so they would not live forever in a fallen condition—great mercy—but we have access to the Holy of Holies through the Blood of Jesus Christ, and we have Life everlasting with Him because He IS The Resurrection and The Life.
One final thought:
In the old, old, old days, people used to spend time resting, reflecting, and meditating on God’s Word and communing with Him in their souls. We need to bring back that personal time with God because this is the secret weapon in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Gathering forces for the spiritual battle is the job of the Holy Spirit, but sharing the Gospel is Jesus’s great commission to His disciples. We must be bold and ready to obey on a moment’s notice, and we do that by investing our time in getting to know our Heavenly Father, The Holy Spirit, and our precious Lord Jesus. That is where we discover the truth of the character and nature of God so that we learn to discern the voices that bombard us in these chaotic times.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He told His disciples that He was leaving His peace with them. That message was for you and me, too. That peace was tangible because Jesus told His disciples to give their peace (Gr. Irene -i-rah-nay) to the house they were visiting, but if that house was unworthy, let their peace return to them. If the disciples’ peace was important enough to retrieve in such a case, how much more critical is our need for the peace that Jesus left for His disciples?
With that, I pray the Lord will grant us His shalom as we meditate and ponder His words, His plans for us, and our part in it. May He give us strength, endurance, and joy in the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Messiah. Amen
Pastora Cate Covert
[i] Please note: Though this is a promise specific to Israel, it describes the tender mercy of the Lord to all who repent and return to Him because, through Christ, we are His people and benefit from His Fatherhood—even to those of us where were adopted in—and His blessings of love and compassion toward us.