AMERICA AND THE TWO HORNED BEAST OF REVELATION 13

Written by: 

Ginger Hanks Harwood

Published:
June 7, 2018

In 1630, Puritans left England with a charter for a new colony in Massachusetts, their new home in a new world where they could structure society in accordance to their view of God’s revealed plan for social conduct and religious worship. Before they left their ship, the Arbella, future governor John Winthrop articulated to the assembled passengers a vision for their project in the “New World.” Borrowing Christ’s phrase from the parable of Salt and Light in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14), Winthrop declared, “We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us,” affirming their commitment to model righteous living. Their colony would be a beacon of light, “a Modell of Christian Charity,” guiding the rest of Europe into progress towards true religion as outlined by reformer John Calvin.

When Winthrop asserted that the Divine Hand of Providence had predestined a unique role for their enterprise, one that eventually would be projected onto the American endeavor as a whole, he laid the foundations for what has been called American exceptionalism. In this view, America is different and even morally superior to other nations. America’s Christian (Protestant) beginnings, reflected in its national rhetoric and values, its God-given mandate to transform the world, and the establishment of a republic as the system of government, all helped colonists to perceive their polity as superior to that of the corrupt European countries and the barbaric heathen nations of the world. As time passed, the American Revolution and the Constitution were often added as evidence as to its uniqueness and moral superiority over other nations, as they inaugurated a system designed to protect liberty, egalitarianism, democracy, and capitalism (or free-enterprise). Further, Americans prided themselves on religious freedom, instituted during a period when other nations were characterized by state religions that forced individuals to acknowledge, attend, and support the official church regardless of personal consciences and convictions. Further, certain groups of Christians believed that these characteristics opened the door for American Christians to facilitate the return of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, this belief in the special role of America in God’s plan for the world, and God’s support and endorsement for her activities (evidenced by her victories and increasing size and power), evolved into an expectation that Americans would have an unquestioned allegiance to the theory of America’s manifest destiny to rule the continent and intervene in (regulate) the affairs of the world. Ministers' sermons promoted patriotism and used biblical imagery to inspire their parishioners to participate in military campaigns against peoples or nations that they depicted as evil or pagan, needing to be brought under the control of God and the virtuous government of the United States. Nationalism acquired the cloak of religious sanction, as God’s will and national power were perceived as two sides of a single coin. National political and economic interests shaped Christian corporate ethics instead of the teachings of Christ being the standard by which the nation’s activities were judged. The belief that God had placed leaders in the positions they occupied and guided their actions, as well as the supposition that He championed American supremacy, created a Christian duty to support the state, uphold its laws, and participate in its wars.  In short, the belief in America’s special place in history, its moral virtue and superiority, its destiny to be the world leader and arbiter, and the generalized notion that America was the new Israel (the center of God’s interest and blessing) led many Christians to support the economic and political endeavors of the nation without question.

It was within this cradle of Christian Republicanism, with its view of American moral superiority and godliness, that the pioneers of the Adventist Church gave the loud cry announcing the nearness of Christ’s return, lived through the Great Disappointment of the failed prophecy, and then returned to the Bible to search for understanding of their experiences. Christ’s parables provided an identification of their temporal location as “the tarrying time,” while the book of Revelation served as a guide for interpreting their social experiences. What they saw in its central chapters simultaneously explained the treatment they had received in their churches and permanently separated their interpretations of Revelation from those of the majority of churches.

By 1851, Adventist leaders were identifying the beast of Revelation 13:11 as America. At that time, neither the size nor the influence of the young nation created an obvious link between the United States and that beast, characterized by tremendous power, might, and oppression. America was a nation under God, distinctive in its gentle and restrained form of government and God’s special election. Few could see that the United States was the beast with “two horns like a lamb” who “spoke like a dragon,” and eventually would cause the inhabitants of the earth to “worship the first beast,” long identified by Protestant Reformers as the Roman Catholic Church. For most Christians, as the United States was a Protestant nation with provisions for religious freedom and restrictions prohibiting the creation of a national church, America’s national history, religious sympathies, and Constitution excluded it from consideration as the beast of Revelation 13:11.

Perhaps it was Adventists’ early experiences with the religious intolerance within their churches (manifested in the excommunication, ridicule, and even persecution of “Millerites”) that gave them a different perspective on the nature of America’s vaunted system of freedom of religion. When they had tried to explore ideas that challenged set beliefs, they had met rigid resistance based on established doctrines, creeds, traditions, and practices. Continued church affiliation was shown to be contingent on relinquishing the Christian obligation to continue to study Scripture, looking and ready to embrace new light as it was given through the Holy Spirit, and conform all social and religious practices to the teachings of Christ.

Having endured intolerance themselves, this made them more sensitive and sympathetic to past cases of religious persecution in America’s past. They noted the experience of the Quakers whom the Puritans condemned to death. The sanctions applied by the churches revealed that, at its core, American Protestantism manifested the worst aspects of Roman Catholicism: they demanded that believers accept the creeds established by their denomination rather than to decide for themselves what the Bible teaches, adhere to “man-made traditions,” deny the role of the Holy Spirit and submit individual conscience to church doctrine and praxis. Most damning was Protestantism’s application of “deadly” sanctions to those who would not comply.

The abolitionist roots of many of these early leaders (including Josiah Litch, Joseph Bates, John Byington, George Storrs, John P. Kellogg, and others) had given them another glimpse into the gulf between the Christian churches and Christ’s message of inclusive love. They had witnessed the struggle to try to secure the support of the various denominations to the abolitionist cause, and the refusal of denominational leaders to commit their churches to an anti-slavery stance. Various ministers and bishops had closed their church doors to anti-slavery presentations, and occasionally disciplined members who participated in the movement. Adventists could not recognize the protection of slavery as an institution or the personal possession of enslaved human beings as compatible with true Christianity.

Joseph Bates, the third great force behind the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, expressed strong sentiments in his analysis of America: its future was being sealed by its acts of aggression against other nations in its determination to retain and expand slavery and in pursuit of its “manifest destiny” to govern the continent from sea to sea. After the Mexican-America War, Bates published a book that, in response to the widespread celebration of the U.S. victory, asked pointed questions and answered them sharply:

What means these illuminated cities, roaring of canons, pealing of bells and exalting throughout the land? … It is the nations Te Deum in honor of the mighty victory obtained by our gallant murderers, for they would be considered such, in every case, until they were licensed by the rulers and chosen by the people. What have they done? Why they have killed and murdered thousands more of their neighbors… and by last accounts they were ravaging, pillaging, and devastating all that is pleasant to the eye before them…. What caused this mighty uproar? Why, out of about 7,000,000 slaves in the Christian world, we of this continent can boast having about 6,000,000 of them.

In 1848, he declared that, “A third woe has come upon this nation, this boasted land of liberty; this heaven-daring, soul-destroying, slave-holding, neighbor-murdering country.”

As Adventists carefully pondered the description of the “beast that rose out of the earth,” they were increasingly convinced that the passage could only point the United States. The beast with “two horns” (biblical symbols for power) was depicted as appearing like a lamb, the very symbol of innocence. In reality, its lamb-like self-descriptions as Christian and Republican were contradicted by its actions. As J.N. Andrews noted in his 1851 Review article, “Thoughts on Revelation XIII and XIV:”  

No civil power could ever compare with Republicanism in its lamb-like character. The grand principle recognized by this form of power, is thus expressed: “All men are born free and equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Hence, all have a right to participate in making the laws, and in designating who will execute them. Was there ever a development of civil power so lamb-like before? And what, in religious life, can be compared with Protestantism? Its leading sentiment is the distinct recognition of the right of private judgment in matters of conscience. “The Bible is the only religion of Protestants.” Was there ever in the religious world any thing equal to this in its lamb-like professions? Thus we consider the meaning of the “two horns like a lamb.”

Andrews’ article continued on to consider the phrase “And he spoke like a dragon,” noting that one’s speech proceeds from one’s heart, and reveals the underlying spirit. Information that the new beast would “exhibit all the tyranny of the first beast” further supported his point. He provided two strong proofs for his argument that the United States was the prophesied beast:

Let us examine If “all men are born free and equal,” how do we then hold three millions of slaves in bondage? Why is it that the Negro race are reduced to the rank of chattel personal and bought and sold like brute beasts? If the right of private judgment be allowed, why them are men expelled from these religious bodies for no greater crime than that of attempting to obey God in some thing wherein the word of God may not be in accordance with their creed? … Why are men for no other crime than that of looking for the coming of Jesus Christ, expelled from the churches of those who profess to love his appearing?

Clearly, the United States was lamb-like only in its pretensions and surface appearance. Andrews’ article made it plain that he expected the nature of the beast to become more apparent as time wore on and the United States increased in power. Faithful believers who committed themselves to following God’s laws could expect trouble, persecution, and even death for those who resisted religious laws as well as civil statutes, as there could be no doubt as to the churches’ coercive tendencies:

[The churches] are all upheld by the laws of the land. That they are oppressive when possessed of civil power, let the case be of the Puritans, themselves fugitives from oppression, bear testimony. Witness their persecution of the Quakers, even unto death. Witness also the martyrdom of Michael Servetus under the sanction of John Calvin.

His analysis of the nation’s character was seconded by Uriah Smith, who advised readers of the Review to see the true nature of their supposedly gentle nation as it persisted in demonstrating its dragon-like core: “Look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; and then look at slavery, look at the religious intolerance, the corruption and oppression existing throughout this land.”

In 1857, John Loughborough repeated much of Andrews’ evaluation of the nation in a series of articles on the two-horned beast. Loughborough’s critique added the example of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act to the list of proofs of the nation’s innately dragon-like character. He pointed out that the law violated his Christian conscience and provided hardship penalties (a $1,000.00 fine) if he remained true to his convictions and aided slaves who were reclaiming their liberty. His article made a very compelling point when he directed his readers’ attention to the Christian role in maintaining slavery: “Protestants and Republicans, both unitedly and separately, speak as a dragon. Who are Republicans? To a greater or lesser extent, they are Protestants. Protestants aid in making and carrying out laws that hold men in bondage.” Further, his article provided statistics documenting the number of slaves held by clergymen, the numbers of slaves held by Christians in each of the major church bodies, and castigated the churches in the North where slavery was outlawed for continued fellowship with slave-holding brethren in the South.

While James White claimed in his 1857 article, The Nation, that the Review had taught that the United States was the beast of Revelation 13 for ten years, and added “and that slavery is pointed out in the prophetic word as the darkest and most condemning sin upon this nation,” by 1859 the paper had advanced to advocating civil disobedience when the government enacted laws that were contrary to God’s principles and precepts. An article titled, “What Laws we should Obey,” maintained the eternal and binding nature of God’s laws and that “no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this.” It concluded with the declaration that: “[M]en may legislate for Sunday-keeping, for the rendition of fugitive slaves, or anything else conflicting with the requirements of God; but we cannot mistake our duty.” In the years that followed, Adventists continued to develop the argument that American practices and policies, which were generally supported by Christian pulpits, revealed the growing power of the dragon that lurked in America’s soul. The near genocide of Native Americans, the exploitative treatment of the Chinese, and Protestant willingness to take up arms rather than follow the example of the Prince of Peace, and the organized efforts to pass a national Sunday Law, were cited as further evidence that America was in fact a lion in lamb’s clothing.

These early Adventists were clear that being called out from Babylon entailed leaving the safety and security of conforming to established traditions, creeds, social and cultural conventions, and even breaking human laws that did not reflect God’s law. They understood that they put themselves at risk when they did conform to or support the oppressive aspects of America’s policies and they recognized that prioritizing God’s laws could result in severe penalties. The alternative, however, was missing out on eternal life in God’s presence.

They did not expect to see an age of peace and prosperity appearing as America grew in power, prestige, and affluence. Nor did they anticipate that the election of individuals whom they labeled “nominal Christians” to leadership positions would bring forth a state that followed in the footsteps of Christ. They acknowledged that churches endorsed and participated in the sinful national practices, and reached for power to enforce on others their creeds and traditions in violation to God’s laws of love and freedom. They rejected popular arguments that the wars America waged would open the door to Protestant missionaries who could lead the various populaces to eternal salvation. Adventists countered with the argument that to participate in the violent conquests of others (even for evangelistic purposes) ran counter to the explicit instructions of Christ. Further, toward the end of the nineteenth century, Percy Megan challenged the “evangelism through conquest” proponents with the question of how heathens who presently were resistant to the Gospel would be more open to it after Christians had murdered their husbands, sons, and brothers.

Instead of being caught up in nationalistic enthusiasm, Adventists remained cautious toward the future of the nation and the world as the United States gained international authority, increased its control over the economic functions of the nations, and acquired the might to enforce its will at home and abroad. Aware of the underlying spirit that had found its home in America, they were not subject to the hubris of the nation, not deceived concerning the gap between its claims to be Christian and the reality of its oppressive practices. They adopted a sectarian stance, committed to conformity to the biblical instructions to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

A lot has changed in the years of the twentieth and now twenty-first centuries, but the warnings found in Revelation still remain pertinent. It is still vital to live out an unwavering allegiance to God, realizing that this may bring disfavor and even negative sanctions as one follows Scriptural injunctions to be inclusive in our love. Faithfulness to the call to be a true “son” of God (one who reflects His image by modeling his inclusive love) sometimes means breaking with social conventions and even national laws. It still means not being caught up in the nationalistic impulse which would encourage us to put the welfare of America above the well-being of the rest of the world. It means denying America’s claims to be pure, innocent, and “Christian,” while telling the truth about the underside of America’s practices: its willingness to oppress religious groups and races that it sees as a threat to its goals, to deny equal rights and respect to minority groups, to pursue wealth at the expense of the poor and vulnerable both at home and abroad, deport undocumented immigrants back to certain death in their countries of origin, as well as many other sins. We must still recognize that the nation’s vaunted Christianity and Republicanism will not restrain its punitive response to defiance of its policies.

Finally, the vast majority of American churches at the denominational level, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, are still joining hands in an effort to force their systems of belief on the nation through the changing of laws. They preach that the financial setbacks, natural disasters, and various tragic events America has recently suffered are God sent as punishments for departing from Bible law. They teach that the heavy hand of God’s discipline will not be removed until the laws of the nation are consistent with God’s laws, as they perceive them to be, and enforced.

Increasingly well-organized, many Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists (sometimes referred to as maximalists or Christian Reconstructionists to express their goal to create a nation whose laws and practices completely reflect those of Scripture), fund and support politicians whom they believe will introduce their theology into civil law and enforce it. They embrace American military endeavors as part of God’s program to bring Christian order to the world, celebrating individuals such as Sergeant Alvin York, who devoted his trigger finger to God and became a noted sniper.

According to Jeff Sharlet in a 2006 article in Harper’s Magazine, who attended a sermon and interviewed the pastors at the Danbury Baptist Church, the preaching pastor emphatically pronounced the warning that America is going to experience a shift from a mothering church (characterized by maternal nurturing and comforting) to a church that acts from the model of fatherhood, the principle of correction and disciplinary actions. According to pastor Rusty, “America is too far gone to be redeemed by mercy alone. It is the father church’s time.” Pastor Rusty outlined the fatherhood model as an Old Testament vision of God the judge and enforcer of his law, visiting individuals and nations with suffering to bring repentance. For him, court decisions like Brown v Board of Education and Roe v Wade were examples of America defying sacred instructions for how to live.

In a private conversation with Sharlet, the pastor confided that, “We may need another 9/11 to bring about a full spiritual revival.” Maximalist Christians endeavor to elect Christians who share that vision to political offices where they can restructure national laws. What he envisions happening when the right Christian politicians are placed in key governmental positions was implied in his sermon earlier when he announced, “The symbol of the state is a sword. Not a spoon feeding the poor, not a teaching instrument to educate our young. And the sword is an instrument of death.” He imagines a time when well-placed individuals will make laws that forbid actions that are outside of Old Testament injunctions and assign costly penalties to anyone who transgresses them. His projects coincide nicely with the early Adventists’ understanding of the eventual action of “the beast that arose out of the earth.

The recent contributions of evangelicals and conservative Christians to the election of Donald Trump illustrates their well-organized campaign to place politicians that they believe will be responsive to the “Christian agenda” in governmental positions. Whether or not one supports his vision for making America great again and the policies he promotes, his election testifies to the political power of this bloc of Christians. It serves as a good reason to review what the Adventist pioneers discovered in their investigations of Revelation 13 and 14 and their perspective on American realities. Perhaps we need to follow in their footsteps and make a commitment to living out our calling as messengers of God’s love, recognizing that our first, and final, allegiance is to God, not the nation.

Written by Ginger Hanks Harwood, Ph.D. from La Sierra University (retired).

What the Church Needs to Know about Covid-19

And What to Do About It

Dear Pastor or Father,

This might be one of the most important and timely things you’ve ever read. If you take the time to read it, and then you disagree, I’ll reimburse you for your time. I’m not joking.

I’m an attorney. Don’t hate me for it! I’ll suddenly be your best friend on the day you need me, don’t worry. I only mention it because I am a litigating attorney and everything I cite in this article will be something I can prove in court. Most of the data comes from the CDC, the NIH, the FDA, other state agencies, or major American newspapers. No conspiracy theories. I don’t truck in conspiracy theory because, by definition, they’re unprovable.

God gave me a message to give you:

When the Church wakes up, this will all be over.

But if the Church DOESN’T wake up, this will BE all over.

The fact that I don’t have to tell you what “this” is speaks volumes. Let’s get started.

What You Don’t Know About Covid-19

1. We are now at the lowest point of mortality since the pandemic began.
   

   2. The CDC’s weekly U.S. mortality dashboard reports that deaths are at the lowest weekly point since March 2020:

    

   

   You didn’t know that, did you? With the “Delta variant” raging and all that. You probably thought that mortality was through the roof. It’s not.*

   (*August 31, 2021 Update: alert readers have pointed out that the mortality numbers are creeping up again since the chart above was screen-grabbed off the CDC’s website. This probably reflects that the summer wave of Covid is peaking in the southern states and just starting in the northern states. It doesn’t change the point, which is that all during the delta-hysteria period, mortality has been scraping the bottom. If we track Israel’s experience, which it appears certain we will, mortality may increase further, especially in vaccinated populations.)

   3. Pediatric mortality from Covid in Florida is below flu levels. For all of 2020, there were 22 pediatric deaths from influenza in Florida. For all of 2020 and 2021 combined, there have only been 15 pediatric deaths from Covid-19:
   
   There are other risks like drowning, or suffocation, that are much more significant for kids than Covid-19. In fact, Covid-19 is the least likely cause of death for kids in the United States:
   
   4. We are probably well over the summer peak already, at least in southern states like Florida. Northern states probably still have their seasonal fall wave coming. The Harvard/Yale “R-naught” dashboard reports that Florida’s score is in the mid-70’s. R-naught, or “R0,” is the measure of how infectious the virus is. If the R0 is 1, then one infected person in turn infects one other person, and the virus is stable. If the R0 is 2, then one infected person in turn infects two other persons, and the virus is spreading. Here’s the latest dashboard for my county in Florida, in the midst of “Delta variant” hysteria:
   
    

   You can see where it peaked at around 1.7 in July, but is now down to 0.74. Note the language in the description: “It it’s below 1.0, COVID-19 cases will decrease in the near future.”

   Here’s where things start to get difficult. In early August — this month — the CDC announced ominously that Covid-19’s R0 was “the same as chicken pox.” Chicken pox has an R0 of 10.0 — one of the highest recorded viral R0’s of any virus, ever recorded. This was such a bizarre and blatant distortion of reality that even NPR had to call out the CDC:
   
    

   So keep this question in mind: If we can’t count on the CDC for accurate information, then who can we count on?

   5. We now know that the vaccine immunity is NOT long-lasting. It’s short-lasting. Even Pfizer and Moderna say so. Dr. Fauci just announced that boosters might be needed every five months:

   

   Every five months. Wow. That’s not very long. And we haven’t known about this short-lasting vaccine problem for very long, either. Just since early this month, in fact:

   

   Three weeks ago the U.S. government was calling for booster shots every eight months. Last week they shortened it to every six months. Now it’s at five months. We’ve lost three months of protection in two weeks. But even worse, in countries that are far ahead of us in vaccination rate, vaccinated people are getting serious Covid-19 in large numbers:

   

   

   Oddly, Covid-19 infections in Israel (80% vaccinated) are spiking, while Covid-19 infections in the neighboring Palestinian territory (11% vaccinated) are flat:

   

   6. But we have also learned that natural immunity IS long-lasting. Many scientists predicted this, but the CDC initially rejected the idea. In February, 2021, Dr. Fauci said that vaccine-induced immunity was “longer, broader, and more durable than natural immunity.” But now we know that vaccine immunity wanes quickly, and has to be refreshed as often as every five months. But on the other hand, natural immunity is looking very long-lasting:

   

   

   

   

   What does this mean? We should be focusing on a strategy to protect vulnerable people by sheltering them, while letting the healthy population get through Covid-19 as quickly as possible, treating them for serious cases. Maybe boosting everyone with a brand-new vaccine for the rest of their lives is not the best strategy. Just saying.

   7. Vaccines were sold to us on the theory we’d use them to get to “herd immunity.” But that ship has now sailed and fallen off the edge of the Earth. In late 2020, Fauci, the CDC, and large news agencies were all telling us that the vaccines would help us reach herd immunity, where the virus has nowhere to go because so many people have been immunized:

   

   Whoops. Since we now know that vaccinated people can still get and transmit the infection, there is no way we can ever reach herd immunity through the vaccine:

   

   Back in March of this year, CDC Director Rochelle Walenskey said:

   The data suggests that vaccinated people do not carry the virus.

   But this month, on August 6, she told Wolf Blitzer:

   Our vaccines are working exceptionally well, they continue to work well for delta with regard to severe illness and death, they prevent it, but what they can’t do anymore is prevent transmission.

   They can’t prevent transmission of the virus. Can’t. No herd immunity.

   At this point, you might be wondering, what IS the plan now? What ARE we trying to accomplish with the vaccines? Jabbing people every few months forever? I am concerned that there IS NO PLAN now. No plan except to continue doing what isn’t working. And you know what they call that.

   8. It’s even worse than that. The Covid vaccines are leaky. Leaky vaccines make viruses mutate faster and become more deadly. A “leaky” vaccine is one that provides some health benefits but doesn’t immunize the patient. So the virus can keep living inside the vaccinated person, and mutating. It mutates to try to “escape” the vaccine’s limited protection. Take a look at what one recent study says about leaky vaccines.

   

   

   We have known for some time that leaky vaccines push viruses to mutate faster:

   

   

   

   9. Forget about mutations. Because the vaccines are leaky, and because animals can catch Covid-19, we can NEVER get rid of it. Never. In early August a new study of white-tailed deer, which live in 49 states in the U.S., showed that almost half (40%) of them had Covid-19 antibodies. Almost HALF:

   

   We now know of up to 20 species of animals that can catch the virus, including household cats and dogs. The technical terminology for this phenomenon is that the Covid-19 virus has an “animal reservoir.”

   

   Even if we could vaccinate every single man, woman, and child in the world all on the same day, we still couldn’t get rid of Covid. The animals would re-infect us. And you can’t vaccinate the animals, because they don’t respond to shaming or threats of loss of employment.

   What does all this mean?

   It means this:

2. Vaccinated folks are probably driving most mutations, not unvaccinated.
3. Natural immunity is far longer, broader, and more durable than vaccine-induced immunity.
4. Vaccination will not stop infections or create herd immunity.
5. Covid cannot be eradicated because of Animal Reservoirs.
6. Covid is here to stay.

7. And it’s because last year I got into the crosshairs, just as He was directing me, in spite of all my fears and anxieties. I’ve never been a public figure, not ever. But I put it all on the altar. And He has blessed me beyond imagination and given me this platform.

   Pastor, this is your time. This is your chance. To be NOT LUKEWARM. You are a wartime pastor and I pray that you, like me, will rise and answer the call.

   Yours in faith,

   Jeff Childers, August 2021

   And the Israel experience suggests that, as we increase vaccinations, serious hospitalizations are going to spike here, too. We have a “complicated” future coming soon. What are you going to do about it?

   

   There is a demonic spirit of fear suffocating the Earth. You know I’m right.

   The Spirit of Fear is destroying relationships and tearing the Church apart. Unvaccinated grandparents are being told by their children that they can’t see their grand kids and not to come around. Bizarrely, vaccinated members of your church are fearful and distrusting of their unvaccinated brothers and sisters. But Christians, in particular, are not supposed to fear. We’ll get to that in a minute.

   Where is all this fear coming from? Here’s a recent cover from Newsweek:

   

   The “Doomsday Variant.” Doomsday! It asks, “How worried should we be?” HOW worried. Not “Should we be worried?” Worry is presumed. But when you read the article, it admits there is no doomsday variant. It says that experts “can’t rule it out.” It’s just speculation. It might have been helpful to mention that on the cover, don’t you think?

   Anyway, I disagree. There IS a doomsday variant. The doomsday variant is fear.

   This Spirit of Fear has caused a tsunami of worldwide terror:

   

   In a huge study, just published, of FIVE MILLION Covid-19 patients, guess what is now tied for first place as the most likely predictor of mortality once someone goes in the hospital?

   

   Number one used to be obesity. No surprise there. But guess what has crept up the charts, and is now tied for number one, with obesity? Fear and anxiety related disorders:

   

   So, your risk of dying if you are hospitalized with Covid is +30% if you’re obese and +28% if you have any “anxiety and fear-related disorders.” Those disorders weren’t even on the list a year ago. I predict they will take first place soon, if they haven’t already. In other words, I expect fear and anxiety disorders to soon be the NUMBER ONE predictor of mortality if a person is hospitalized with Covid-19.

   The Spirit of Fear is literally killing people.

   The scientific literature is BLOWING UP with fear and anxiety-related issues.

   

   

   

   

   

   Worst of all? The children may be the largest single group of victims of the Spirit of Fear:

   

   

   Clinically-elevated symptoms of pediatric depression. Clinical levels. In 25% of kids. Think about that for a minute. Kids are wondering what they have to live for. And nobody’s giving them spiritual counseling or — most importantly—hope.

   Only fifteen children have died from Covid in Florida in a year and a half. But a quarter of them are suffering from clinical levels of fear and depression. Think about that. That is a spiritual problem, not a medical problem. If only we had an organization devoted to tackling spiritual problems. Let me know if you think of one.

   The hospitals are filling up with people who are experiencing life-threatening levels of anxiety. Here’s one example I received recently from a doctor in the largest hospital chain in Massachusetts:

   

   Unprecedented demand for procedural and acute mental and behavioral health services. Unprecedented. In other words, it’s never happened before.

   Here’s the thing. A Spirit of Fear is a SPIRITUAL PROBLEM. It’s not a medical problem. It’s not a biological problem. It’s not a political problem. And it’s not a scientific problem. It’s a spiritual problem.

   If only we had some kind of worldwide organization that was devoted to addressing spiritual problems. We sure could use something like that, for a time like this.

   Jesus told us not to fear. Anything. Ever.

   

   Phillippians 4:4–7

   So park that idea for a moment. The Spirit of Fear isn’t just tearing families and congregations apart. There is a major disconnect between the pulpit and the pew:

   

   I’ve already shown you that the vaccines are becoming more questionable by the minute. But a lot of pastors and priests are still pushing the shot from the pulpit. This is increasing fear, not addressing it. A lot of your members don’t want the shot, don’t trust the ungodly people pushing it, and can’t get even their most basic questions answered by anyone in authority. They are coming to the Church for spiritual comfort and leadership and they aren’t getting it.

   You want a recipe for making the Church irrelevant? This is it, on steroids. Pastors, I love you, you are my brothers, but if I hear one more sermon about five takeaways from the Book of Nehemiah while a Spirit of Fear is crushing the Church, I think I might lose my mind.

   The Pastor is talking about how the Exodus compares to my marriage relationship, and I’m looking around the church and seeing people who are terrified they are going to lose their jobs because they won’t take the vaccine. Parents who are frantic because they promised their kids there would be no more masks this year and now must break those solemn promises. People with chronic health problems who are terrified the hospitals will stop treating them just because they won’t get the jab. Others who are scared because they did get the jab but are now hearing they have to take boosters all the time or they can still catch Covid. Which they were promised would not happen.

   And, meanwhile, just what are you telling all those people seeking spiritual counseling and comfort in your church about all those spiritual and practical fears? Nothing, that’s what. Why not? I’m not sure, but I think it’s because you’re scared too. Scared to take a position. Scared to speak out. The Spirit of Fear is crushing you.

   The Church is ASLEEP! WAKE UP!!

   Take a look at the web pages of mainstream Christian magazines. There’s nothing helpful about dealing with Covid-19 and the Spirit of Fear. Not one thing.

   

   Wow. Top article is about medical marijuana. During a pandemic of fear that is literally killing us and tearing the Church apart. And that one article about Covid saying churches shouldn’t write exemption notes isn’t too helpful to alleviate terrified members’ worries about losing their jobs, is it? I’m guessing reading something like that makes folks more terrified.

   Great job, Christianity Today.

   Here’s the one article in the front page of the Christian Post.

   

   There’s not even anything about Covid close to the top. You have to scroll down the screen to find it:

   

   The “Post-Covid-19 Workplace?” Really? Is the Christian Post in a different dimension in the multi-verse? Could they possibly get any more disconnected and irrelevant? That’s an honest question. We’re not post-anything. Not even close. We’re just getting started.

   The world is on fire! Wake up, Christian Post! Vaccine mandates are erupting worldwide and people don’t like it. They are terrified:

   

   Meanwhile, WHERE IS THE CHURCH?? Oh, they are being so, so careful to toe the government’s line, so they don’t get shut down:

   

   What’s the government’s advice to the Church?

   

   Why is the Church scared of these ungodly men? Why? That’s not what our Savior said we should be:

   

   DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO CAN KILL THE BODY. FEAR HIM WHO CAN DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL. Come on, Pastors! Wake up! Stop fearing and cow-towing to these petty dictators!

   You might be thinking, but what SHOULD I be doing? I’m glad you asked.

   

   We need our pastors and priests to get some guts. There might not be a lot of time left. It feels like we’re in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, and we just realized that we were playing football.

   Have you seen all these great Youtube videos of moms, down at the school board, tearing those officials a new one?

   

   Now, that is some entertaining YouTube material right there, am I right? Good stuff.

   But here’s my first question: Where are the MEN?

   Yeah. They’re nowhere to be seen. Why? Because they’re afraid. If they stand up and stand out, they’ll get cancelled, fired, shamed.

   Okay. Here’s my next question: Where are these moms’ brothers and sisters from the church? Why aren’t their brothers and sisters down there at the School Board supporting these moms? Huh. I guess we don’t support each other anymore. My bad.

   My last, and most important, question: WHERE ARE THE PASTORS??

   Pastors, why aren’t YOU down there at the school board supporting your moms? I thought the kids were the future of the Church and all that? Or is that just a marketing slogan? You want the kids to come to the Church, but you won’t go down to the school board and fight for them. Does that seem fair to you?

   How about Critical Race Theory, pastor? They are teaching kids that the Church is racist. Do you have any problem with that? Do you think it is good? Just? Virtuous? Do you think things are going to work out well for the Church if that goes on for very long? Are you waiting for the women to fix it for you?

   Shame on you.

   Pastor, I love you, but you have lost your way.

   Okay. That was some tough love. What does finding your way look like?

   

   We have to start fighting the Spirit of Fear. The Spirit of Fear has to be vanquished from the Church before it can be defeated in the World. You must start at home. You have to immediately start talking about these issues and pointing out the ungodliness and the fearful spirits and encouraging people.

   You have to start leading.

   I know, I know. But Jeff, you ask, how do I know what to say? There’s so much misinformation out there. How do I know what is right and what is wrong?

   Pastor, I don’t know what to tell you. If only there were some kind of omniscient source of wisdom somewhere that we could tap into. That would be helpful, right? Let’s look around, and see if we can come up with something.

   The Church must immediately become relevant. The only thing people are thinking about right now is Covid. All the problems I’ve already named plus unimaginable fears about what’s coming next. And that’s all you should be talking about, too. All the time. Every day.

   But Jeff, you say, I only have them for a few hours on Sunday. Then the world gets them the rest of the time. So I feel like it’s hopeless, there’s nothing I can do.

   Pastor, PLEASE. That’s the Spirit of Fear talking. You still aren’t getting the idea, are you? If you’ll go down to the School Board and deliver a fiery sermon, someone will record it, and you’ll be on YouTube and get a MILLION VIEWS. You have to get out of the Church. Go to where the people are.

   GET OUT OF THE SAFE COMFY CHURCH! GET INTO THE WORLD! DO IT NOW! You have to start publicly pushing back against government overreach, ungodly men, evil, and attacks on people’s freedoms. Why? If you can’t think of a godly reason, how about self-preservation? Once the other freedoms are lost, what do you think will happen to religious freedom? They’ve already shown they are willing to shut your Church and leave the bars, marijuana dispensaries, and strip clubs open. Fight it now before it gets any stronger.

   Pastor, what exactly are you waiting for? An invitation? A sign? THIS is your sign. THIS is the message you’ve been waiting for. Now stop waiting and start acting. God has given you pastors the greatest shield and talent that he’s ever given any ordinary class of human beings.

   

   People — critics— say about me, all the time, “don’t listen to that guy. He’s just a lawyer.” So let me talk to you as a lawyer.

   You are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution better than any other citizen. There are more 9–0 Supreme Court decisions in favor of religious liberty than any other issue. They will come for you last. You can say just about anything with impunity. They can’t officially touch you. They might send thugs to threaten and intimidate you, but if many of you are activated, they won’t bother. And if you organize your church, you can resist the thugs anyway. That strategy only works to silence the one or two vocal pastors who pop up here and there. If there is a large group, there’s no point.

   So, pastor, what are you doing with this awesome First Amendment talent that God has bestowed on you for a time such as this? I’ll tell you what you’ve done with it. You’ve sealed it in a mason jar, hidden the mason jar in a bushel basket, and buried the bushel basket under the olive groves.

   Now, good and faithful servant, what will you tell your Creator on that glorious day when He asks for an accounting of how you used the talents that He gave you? I sure hope you’ll have dug them up and put them to work by then.

   Pastor, we are in a war. It’s here. It’s in our cities, our neighborhoods, and our churches. You are a wartime pastor. Start acting like one. What were good and faithful pastors doing in World War I? In World War II?

   You should be organizing your churches. Get EVERYONE down to the School Board meeting, the county commission meeting, the city council meeting. Get your folks to start working together! Lead them!

   Start getting ready for what everyone can see is coming. The time for churches to provide widespread medical care is nearly here. Unvaccinated people won’t be able to be treated at the hospitals. They won’t even be let in the front door. The CHURCH is going to have to take care of them. Are you ready for that?

   Members are going to be fired. They may have trouble finding any gainful employment. They’ll need help. A kind of help you haven’t ever dealt with before. And there will be a lot of them.

   You are going to be feeding people who will be cut off from food, for one reason or another. Community is going to become a life-and-death issue. Don’t wait for it to get here. Get ready now.

   You MUST start calling out evil and ungodliness wherever it appears. And it’s all over. You saw what happened in Afghanistan. What’s happening here is Afghanistan on steriods. The same ungodly people who orchestrated the Afghanistan debacle are in charge of the pandemic.

   And PLEASE stop calling deaths from Covid in your Church a “tragedy.” That is heretical. Christians don’t believe death is a tragedy. Death has been defeated. We celebrate when our brothers and sisters go to their reward. It is NOT a tragedy. That is the Spirit of Fear talking.

   I leave you with this, two scriptures from the Book of Revelation.

   

   The cowardly are first in the list to be thrown in the the lake of fire. Don’t be in that group. Better to die in this world than experience that fate. God doesn’t want you to be cowardly, even if these ARE the end times.

   And, speaking of the end times, there is another heresy to address. Some people think that the World is coming to an end, so we can just sit back and wait to be delivered from it. But not so fast, Pastor:

   

   WAKE UP!!! Strengthen what remains! Some will fall away, but some, a few, have not soiled their garments! God’s not finished with the Church yet! Wake up, as you have been commanded! Do it RIGHT NOW.

   I have a live version of this presentation that I give to groups of pastors. If you’ve read down this far, then you know that this is a critical message. Get me a group of pastors of any size and I will present the message to them on Zoom. For a big group I will do it live. I’ll move whatever I have to move in my schedule to do it.

   

   For my whole life, I’ve been troubled by the image of the Lord spitting out the lukewarm church. How could I be not lukewarm? What does that even mean? Do I have to go become a missionary in Africa? Do I have to hold a sign on the street in New Orleans?

   I don’t worry about being lukewarm any more. I am ready to talk to Him now, about all my adventures on His mission. It’s done. I have a feeling of peace and comfort that surpasses all understanding.

   Reprinted from the original article by one fearless man to another fearless man. Men on fire and NOT lukewarm. Praise the Lord.

  Jeff Childers

Commercial Litigation Attorney in Florida

1914 translation by H. Rackham

"But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?"

Section 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC

"At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat."

1914 translation by H. Rackham

"On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains."

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