1 00:00:02,899 --> 00:00:08,119 Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,939 moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith, 3 00:00:13,099 --> 00:00:19,660 excuse me, and today I want to challenge you to think through whether Romans chapter 13 4 00:00:19,660 --> 00:00:26,079 is the only Bible text that speaks of the church's relationship to the state and the 5 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:33,219 individual Christian's relationship with the state because it is that which is triumphed by most 6 00:00:33,219 --> 00:00:40,079 evangelicals as that which speaks exclusively to our relationship with the state. And Romans 13, 7 00:00:40,420 --> 00:00:47,560 if you're not familiar with that passage, speaks of subjection to the ruling authorities. Verse 1 8 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:53,119 says, for example, let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority 9 00:00:53,119 --> 00:00:58,640 except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. And the impression can be 10 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:06,959 that indeed we are to submit to whatever such a state says, right? The fountainhead of all false 11 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:13,620 biblical interpretation, says Oscar Kuhlman in my favorite book on this topic, my new favorite 12 00:01:13,620 --> 00:01:21,959 anyway, which is The State in the New Testament, published in 1956. And there, in part, Dr. Kuhlman 13 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:27,799 says, the fountainhead of all false biblical interpretation and of all heresy is invariably 14 00:01:27,799 --> 00:01:35,500 the isolation and the absolutizing of one single passage. This applies most especially in the 15 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:43,659 interpretation of Romans 13, unquote. Oh, boy, this has been bugging me for years. And I finally found 16 00:01:43,659 --> 00:01:51,939 one very talented scholar who agrees with me on this, as do others, but Dr. Kuhlman does just a 17 00:01:51,939 --> 00:02:00,500 fantastic job of laying this out in his book, The State in the New Testament. And one of my favorite 18 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:11,219 observations on his part is that there's not only Romans 13 in the Bible, but there is also another 19 00:02:11,219 --> 00:02:19,500 13, and that is Revelation chapter 13, two 13s, which speak to the same topic, but from different 20 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:27,599 points of view. Now, last week, we saw that even when taken in its entirety, Romans 13, that says, 21 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,939 let every person be subject to the governing authorities, that does not occur in a vacuum. 22 00:02:32,259 --> 00:02:38,659 And we covered that last week, that even under these circumstances, Romans 13 is heavily qualified. 23 00:02:38,879 --> 00:02:43,900 For example, by Paul's experience of Roman justice, all through the book of Acts, we see 24 00:02:43,900 --> 00:02:53,539 that Roman justice cleaves very closely to biblical justice. Roman jurisprudence in the colonies, and 25 00:02:53,539 --> 00:03:01,240 we're talking here about Asia Minor and the Greek provinces, all through those provinces, Roman justice 26 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:10,219 was administered evenly and biblically in accordance with natural law. And natural law we see in the 27 00:03:10,219 --> 00:03:15,639 writings of Cicero. And as we compare those writings with scripture, we see that though not perfectly, 28 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:22,979 of course, and though not dovetailing cleanly at all times with biblical notions of law, nevertheless, 29 00:03:23,259 --> 00:03:30,319 the idea of biblical jurisprudence dovetailed very closely with biblical jurisprudence. And that is why 30 00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:36,699 Paul could say that every person be subject to the governing authorities. And we also saw that the 31 00:03:36,699 --> 00:03:48,360 entire context of Romans 13 occurs in the context of the law, Old Testament law. And if indeed a 32 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:55,240 governing authority, if a magistrate then steps outside of the biblical notion of law, he is no 33 00:03:55,240 --> 00:04:04,080 longer to be obeyed, but rather resisted. That is indeed part of what the Bible tells us too, 34 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:11,699 is that we need to resist those who break the law. Proverbs 28, 4 says, they that forsake the law 35 00:04:11,699 --> 00:04:18,959 praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them. And that is what we are commanded to do, 36 00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:25,920 to contend with lawbreakers. And that includes ruling magistrates. And the other 13 at the polar 37 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:34,000 opposite end of this understanding, of course, is Revelation chapter 13. And the point I want to make 38 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:41,920 with you today is that indeed understanding Revelation 13 in its context will go a long way towards 39 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:49,040 responding to the state and its authority over our lives. Okay, last week we looked at Romans 13. 40 00:04:49,199 --> 00:04:55,620 Today, let's look at Revelation 13. And of course, that chapter is about the beast, isn't it? The beast 41 00:04:55,620 --> 00:05:01,740 from the sea and the beast from the land, where John says, I saw a beast coming out of the sea. 42 00:05:01,740 --> 00:05:07,660 He had 10 horns and seven heads and with 10 crowns on his horns and on each head, a blasphemous name. 43 00:05:08,519 --> 00:05:14,240 And if you have been listening to our broadcasts on the book of Revelation, I've been preaching 44 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:21,800 through Revelation, you understand indeed that without question, despite the Revelation red heifer 45 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:29,779 rapture ranters, Revelation chapter 13 speaks of Nero as the beast. Very clearly, the number being 46 00:05:29,779 --> 00:05:38,100 666 of his name and that despite all challengers, that still stands as the name that can be translated 47 00:05:38,100 --> 00:05:49,480 via Gematria into Nero Caesar's name, numbering 666. And then the beast from the land, where John says, 48 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:55,100 then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 49 00:05:55,100 --> 00:06:03,240 And we saw indeed that this was none other than the emperor cult that developed in Rome, 50 00:06:03,379 --> 00:06:10,920 which commanded the worshiping of the beast, i.e. Nero. And if you didn't, if you did not send 51 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:21,500 your token coins and a pinch of incense on the altar of the emperor and confess Caesar is Lord 52 00:06:21,500 --> 00:06:27,660 rather than Christ is Lord, well, then you couldn't buy or sell. You did not get your certificate to buy 53 00:06:27,660 --> 00:06:34,279 or sell your receipt, so to speak. So that understanding is utterly necessary to understand 54 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:42,079 Revelation 13 and why it also speaks to our relationship to the state because Revelation 13 55 00:06:42,079 --> 00:06:51,240 councils' resistance, councils' resistance to the state. There's a beautiful symmetry between Romans 56 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:59,660 13 and Revelation 13, which makes for an apt contrast between submission to properly constituted 57 00:06:59,660 --> 00:07:06,139 government and resistance to improperly constituted government. And thus, we have our title 58 00:07:06,139 --> 00:07:15,199 two 13s. There are indeed two 13s. There's Revelation 13 and there's Romans 13. Well, how does 59 00:07:15,199 --> 00:07:23,120 Revelation do what you say then, Mr. Smarty Pants Preacher, you might say, in saying that we should 60 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:30,060 resist improperly constituted government? Well, John doesn't use the direct language of the apostle 61 00:07:30,060 --> 00:07:37,480 Paul in Romans 13, which makes a comparison and a contrast a little less obvious, but nevertheless, 62 00:07:37,699 --> 00:07:44,100 it's there because we might expect the apostle John in Revelation to say something like, let every 63 00:07:44,100 --> 00:07:49,720 person resist the governing authorities, for rulers have been a terror to good conduct while approving bad 64 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:55,939 conduct, right? For he bears the sword against you, right? That might be the language you might expect, 65 00:07:55,939 --> 00:08:06,000 but no. And that's because Romans and Revelation are two distinct genres of literature. Romans is an epistle, 66 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:14,779 that is, a letter, while Revelation is of the genre of apocalypse. Now, each genre that is a letter has its own 67 00:08:14,779 --> 00:08:22,060 distinct rules for understanding what is being written, as apocalypse has its own distinct rules for understanding 68 00:08:22,060 --> 00:08:27,100 what is being written. And if you've been with us through our series on the book of Revelation, 69 00:08:27,319 --> 00:08:33,840 you understand that there are 10 primary rules for interpreting apocalyptic. And rule number three 70 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:43,179 reads like this. Apocalyptic uses vivid, imaginative, and sometimes bizarre metaphors to portray contemporary, 71 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:50,759 that is, near or soon to be fulfilled, historical realities, not far off future events. 72 00:08:50,759 --> 00:08:58,679 Oh, dear listener, not far off future events. But apocalyptic uses these vivid, sometimes bizarre 73 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:05,539 metaphors to portray near historical realities, not something far off in the future. That's just of 74 00:09:05,539 --> 00:09:12,120 the nature of apocalyptic. And Revelation 13, and all of Revelation, for that matter, does precisely this. 75 00:09:12,759 --> 00:09:17,700 Beast from the sea and the land, signs from heaven, the mark of the beast on the forehead and the hand, 76 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:25,539 and the cryptic number 666. These are, indeed, vivid, imaginative, yea, bizarre metaphors, 77 00:09:25,539 --> 00:09:35,000 but they do portray contemporary, that is, near to John's time, not ours, near contemporary historical realities. 78 00:09:35,799 --> 00:09:41,500 Oh, the Revelation red heifer rapture renters who have cast the book of Revelation into the far-flung future 79 00:09:41,500 --> 00:09:49,899 get this so wrong. Now, I spent four weeks preaching through Revelation 13. I can't do this here, 80 00:09:49,899 --> 00:09:57,519 of course, obviously. And my bottom line, and I agree with Dr. Kuhlman here, is that Revelation 13 speaks 81 00:09:57,519 --> 00:10:06,840 of the debauched, corrupt Roman emperor Nero. And I would just counsel you, if you wish to pursue this 82 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:14,220 notion a little bit further, go ahead and listen to those four messages on Revelation 13. And I think, 83 00:10:14,639 --> 00:10:22,620 I hope you'll be persuaded that, indeed, John was dealing with this phenomenon in the time of the 84 00:10:22,620 --> 00:10:31,000 Roman Empire. Revelation 13 speaks of the debauched, corrupt Roman emperor Nero, whose name figures out 85 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:39,659 to 666 in Gematria, and Nero fancied himself as a divine being, and Nero required his subjects to 86 00:10:39,659 --> 00:10:46,860 acknowledge him as such. He appropriated titles that are reserved for God alone. Theos, meaning divine, 87 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:54,799 soter, meaning savior, and kurios, meaning lord. In fact, the cult of the emperor that stretched around 88 00:10:54,799 --> 00:11:02,659 the known world at that time, enforced this worship by requiring that all subjects offer a pinch of 89 00:11:02,659 --> 00:11:09,539 incense on an altar to Caesar, and then confess with their mouth, Caesar is Lord, rather than, as Paul 90 00:11:09,539 --> 00:11:15,840 says, confessing with our mouths that Christ is Lord. And if you didn't do this, you had no receipt, 91 00:11:16,019 --> 00:11:21,240 that is the mark of the beast, and you could not buy or sell in the markets of the empire. That's the 92 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:29,340 nature of the second beast. And to all of this, our Lord, through John, commands resistance against those 93 00:11:29,340 --> 00:11:36,299 governing authorities. It is not a possible option or a potential alternative. It is commanded. 94 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:45,100 For John says, our Lord says, through John, the one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me 95 00:11:45,100 --> 00:11:51,700 on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. This is the language of 96 00:11:51,700 --> 00:12:06,139 revelation. Not bovine resistance, you bovine Baptists. Yes. And you, you obsequious evangelicals, 97 00:12:06,139 --> 00:12:13,720 and in my own denomination, you pusillanimous Presbyterians, we are to resist, we are to conquer, 98 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:20,500 we are to fight, we are not to roll over and submit. That's all too easy. 99 00:12:22,279 --> 00:12:29,240 No, the Bible is not a written excuse from mommy to skip government class and not to be challenged 100 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:35,019 by it. No, the one who conquers, our Lord says, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, 101 00:12:35,279 --> 00:12:42,519 not one who submits. As I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. Nine times in 102 00:12:42,519 --> 00:12:50,059 Revelation, we, the saints, are said to conquer in resisting and overcoming the governing authorities 103 00:12:50,059 --> 00:12:56,620 of the empire. How is this accomplished, dear listener? How are we to conquer then? Oh, by electing 104 00:12:56,620 --> 00:13:05,200 conservative Christians? No. By organizing malicious? No, the Bible doesn't say that. How about by sending in 105 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:13,840 the Marines? Aha, now we've struck upon it, right? No. Revelation tells us how we conquer. One of the 106 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:20,299 means by which we conquer says so explicitly in chapter 12, verse 11, they have conquered him. 107 00:13:20,299 --> 00:13:25,500 That is, we the saints have conquered him. That is the beast. They have conquered him by the blood of 108 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:32,220 the lamb and by the word of their testimony. For they love not their lives, even unto death. Three 109 00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:38,360 things mentioned here, the blood of the lamb. That is the power of Christ working in us, working in souls 110 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:43,600 that have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Those that have been born again, those that have 111 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:50,700 been brought into the fold of the church. We conquer the beast by the blood of the lamb. And we also 112 00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:56,659 conquer the beast by the word of our testimony. That is, by the power of God's word speaking through 113 00:13:56,659 --> 00:14:04,259 us in the life of the church. Every believer has the power of the speech of Christ as we testify to him 114 00:14:04,259 --> 00:14:10,799 through the word of God. Yes, the testimony of the saints. And then finally, the blood of the martyrs. 115 00:14:10,799 --> 00:14:15,940 For they love not their lives, even unto death. Marturas, as we have seen all through the book of 116 00:14:15,940 --> 00:14:22,919 Revelation, the word marturas simply means witness. But you hear the root, the English root there, martyr, 117 00:14:22,919 --> 00:14:30,980 do you not, in the word marturas? Because over the centuries, the witnesses to Christ paid more often 118 00:14:30,980 --> 00:14:37,940 than not with their lives. And so that word witness soon became identified very closely with the 119 00:14:37,940 --> 00:14:44,519 shedding of blood, with the giving of life, and less martyr. Yes, this is the heritage of that precious 120 00:14:44,519 --> 00:14:50,679 word, marturas, in the life of the church, in the life of the saints. Because as they did indeed share 121 00:14:50,679 --> 00:14:56,240 their word of their testimony, they often found, more often than not, that they sacrificed their lives 122 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:03,779 unto Christ. So this is indeed that by which we conquer. Chairman Mao has said political power comes 123 00:15:03,779 --> 00:15:09,019 out of the barrel of a gun. The Bible says that spiritual power comes out of the blood of the cross. 124 00:15:09,500 --> 00:15:15,759 This is our victory. This is our weapon, dear listener. It's not. And it's counterintuitive, too. To the 125 00:15:15,759 --> 00:15:23,159 worldling, it's counterintuitive, isn't it? But by no means are they right. By no means are they savvy 126 00:15:23,159 --> 00:15:29,200 to the way of God's workings. This is how God has chosen to work through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, 127 00:15:29,779 --> 00:15:37,080 through weapons that the world rejects, through weapons at which the world scoffs, but which are 128 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:43,639 highly prized by our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation also indicates that we also conquer 129 00:15:43,639 --> 00:15:53,259 in the same vein, in the same means and way that Joshua did as he conquered Canaan in the Old Testament. 130 00:15:53,799 --> 00:16:01,200 Yes, Jesus' name just happens to be, in Hebrew, Yeshua, Joshua. Is that a coincidence? I think not, 131 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:08,919 because he is indeed the new Joshua. He is the antitype to which the type, Joshua, in the Old 132 00:16:08,919 --> 00:16:17,059 Testament pointed. He was the type, Joshua of the Old Testament. And Joshua and Israel, you may 133 00:16:17,059 --> 00:16:23,240 remember, conquered the promised land. That is Canaan. Joshua and Israel conquered Canaan in the Old 134 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:33,580 Testament as the heritage, as the inheritance of the people of Israel. And as well, now we conquer 135 00:16:33,580 --> 00:16:40,779 Christ's inheritance. That's the notion of the seven-sealed scroll. One scholar says that any 136 00:16:40,779 --> 00:16:47,519 first-century Christian would have recognized immediately what a seven-sealed scroll was. That is, 137 00:16:47,519 --> 00:16:59,759 it was a will and testament in which was written the inheritance of the person deceased, bequeathed 138 00:16:59,759 --> 00:17:07,400 then to his son. And the only one worthy of opening that seven-sealed scroll was found to be Christ. 139 00:17:07,759 --> 00:17:14,099 That is, the one who had died the death of the testator. Hebrews tells us that a will does not 140 00:17:14,099 --> 00:17:20,740 become effective until the death of the testator. And it was Christ's death that earned him the right 141 00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:28,019 to open the seven-sealed scroll, excuse me, and thus to inherit all of creation now, not just Canaan, 142 00:17:28,140 --> 00:17:34,460 but all of creation. And we are co-inheritors, co-heirs with Christ. We are his, as Paul says, 143 00:17:34,779 --> 00:17:39,900 and heirs. And if heirs, then co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we conquer with him, 144 00:17:39,900 --> 00:17:46,759 but we don't conquer by means of politics, elective politics, or by organizing militias, 145 00:17:46,759 --> 00:17:52,700 or by sending in the Marines. No, that would be intuitive ways of conquering. Our ways of 146 00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:57,859 conquering are counterintuitive. We conquer by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. 147 00:17:58,619 --> 00:18:03,180 And we also have other weapons of our warfare. They're spiritual. They're not carnal, 148 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:08,579 but they're spiritual to the pulling down of strongholds, as Paul says. And the other weapons 149 00:18:08,579 --> 00:18:14,779 of our warfare are things like prayer and sacraments in the life of the church and worship too. Every 150 00:18:14,779 --> 00:18:20,480 time you worship, dear listener, you take further dominion. You conquer just a little bit more 151 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:27,539 because of your worship. This is one of those counterintuitive tools. This is why Satan so 152 00:18:27,539 --> 00:18:34,319 hates our worship as well, because every time we do worship on Sunday, we conquer a little bit more. 153 00:18:34,319 --> 00:18:40,220 We take a little more dominion than we would have if we didn't every time we gather together. Indeed, 154 00:18:40,339 --> 00:18:46,420 the means of our warfare are these kinds of spiritual things. And consequently, oh, you are 155 00:18:46,420 --> 00:18:54,740 mighty warriors too. I love the Green Berets. I do love our Navy SEALs. They are expert, skilled 156 00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:59,920 warriors. Are they not? Their skills are honed to a sharpness and to a readiness that almost no one 157 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:05,839 outs can match, which is why they're elite warriors. Well, I submit to you that in the 158 00:19:05,839 --> 00:19:13,079 spiritual realm, you are such warriors as well, even more so than our Green Berets, more so 159 00:19:13,079 --> 00:19:17,859 than our Navy SEALs. That little child that you hold in your lap or that's sitting next to you in 160 00:19:17,859 --> 00:19:23,880 the pew on Sunday is waging war. They are taking dominion. Your child is taking dominion more so 161 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:29,420 than any worldling out in the world could take dominion within his own physical carnal sphere. 162 00:19:29,980 --> 00:19:34,960 The spiritual sphere is where we wage war and where we take dominion too. All over the world, 163 00:19:35,039 --> 00:19:41,400 the church has conquered and will continue to conquer on until Christ comes. And we will continue to take 164 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:48,500 dominion. I think of our own little area where we worship, where our sanctuary is in Idaho Falls 165 00:19:48,500 --> 00:19:54,700 at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Come and join us in that little sphere, 166 00:19:55,180 --> 00:20:01,539 in that little sanctuary. Why, 100 years ago, 200 years ago, the name of Christ had not been named 167 00:20:01,539 --> 00:20:07,980 in this area, in that very spot. No, it was a wild and howling wilderness, wasn't it? But now, 168 00:20:07,980 --> 00:20:14,299 here in the year 2020, there is a church with worshipers, with Christians. Christ has taken 169 00:20:14,299 --> 00:20:21,559 dominion of that spot there at 101 4th Street. And Christ has taken dominion of it. And he has taken 170 00:20:21,559 --> 00:20:26,619 dominion of all of Idaho for that matter. And he's continuing to take further and further dominion of 171 00:20:26,619 --> 00:20:33,519 it. And he will continue to do so throughout all of creation until it is all his. Oh, this is our 172 00:20:33,519 --> 00:20:37,640 heritage. This is the heritage of Christ, the will and testament of our Lord Jesus Christ. 173 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:46,599 Since the cross, oh, Christ has been taking dominion of his inheritance increasingly, even as the first 174 00:20:46,599 --> 00:20:54,700 Joshua took dominion of Canaan too. Yes, that conquest then is the type of what Christ is doing 175 00:20:54,700 --> 00:21:02,920 through us today, dear listener. And so, in this very way, revelation becomes a redemptive pattern 176 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:10,940 for history. Revelation is not a dead letter. It's not just a nice academic exercise that we can look 177 00:21:10,940 --> 00:21:18,299 back and say, well, look what happened during the first century under the rule of Emperor Nero in the 178 00:21:18,299 --> 00:21:29,220 years AD 58 to AD 68. And what transpired during that period? No, it's not just an academic exercise 179 00:21:29,220 --> 00:21:35,980 that scholars go through wondering what happened way back when, but rather the things we see in the 180 00:21:35,980 --> 00:21:42,019 book of Revelation become redemptive patterns throughout history. And so, we need to change 181 00:21:42,019 --> 00:21:48,079 our perspective too on the outlook on government because government is being transformed. Government 182 00:21:48,079 --> 00:21:58,059 itself is being conquered. The church must and needs take dominion of government as well as the life of the 183 00:21:58,059 --> 00:22:05,160 church. The gospel transforms not merely the personal individual lives of every believer, but it also, 184 00:22:05,460 --> 00:22:13,640 the gospel was designed to and is meant to transform all that it touches. Since all of creation belongs to 185 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:19,339 Christ and he's taking dominion of it, then we must fully expect the gospel to touch and transform 186 00:22:19,339 --> 00:22:28,039 culture and society and politics and government too for that matter. And as we look into history, 187 00:22:28,059 --> 00:22:34,960 just pick up a history book, even a secular history book that doesn't highlight these features and 188 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:40,900 you'll see how the church has transformed the West. Much of the book of Revelation talks of the fall 189 00:22:40,900 --> 00:22:49,720 and the collapse and the conquering of the Roman Empire. What happened in the ashes? What was built upon the 190 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:57,359 ruined foundations of the Roman Empire? Oh, the church was the only institution with any integrity at the 191 00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:03,759 time. And the church began to build what we now call Christendom, that is Western Christendom, and all of 192 00:23:03,759 --> 00:23:10,299 the institutions, including science. I can make an argument with you, we don't have the time today, but I can make 193 00:23:10,299 --> 00:23:16,380 an argument with you that all of science was transformed as well because of the Christian context. 194 00:23:16,380 --> 00:23:23,500 And I have traced in other places too, the heritage that we have in government too, in the life of the 195 00:23:23,500 --> 00:23:32,019 Constitution. It indeed is the capstone, the highlight of the Christian West because indeed 196 00:23:32,019 --> 00:23:39,240 government learned its true principles of justice from the Bible. For example, the Old Testament tells us 197 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:45,519 justice and only justice shall you pursue. You shall not play favorites. You shall not favor the rich. 198 00:23:45,519 --> 00:23:52,119 You shall not favor the poor, but you shall pursue justice and only justice. All of these kinds of 199 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:58,140 principles have been derived from the scriptures, and they are what is precious about Western government 200 00:23:58,140 --> 00:24:06,640 and civilization too, which Black Lives Matter and Antifa and the far left and progressives only wish 201 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:13,500 to destroy. You do this and you will usher in a thousand years of darkness, dear listener. There are 202 00:24:13,500 --> 00:24:20,740 two thirteens. There are times when we must indeed submit to legitimately authorized government, government 203 00:24:20,740 --> 00:24:28,039 that follows the biblical pattern of law and justice, but there are also times when we must resist and rebel 204 00:24:28,039 --> 00:24:34,720 and even destroy and even destroy and take down illegitimate government. That is the lesson of Revelation 205 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:44,619 chapter 13. And wisdom comes in discerning which times we are in. There is indeed, as Ecclesiastes chapter 3 tells us, 206 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:51,779 there is a time to build up and there is a time to tear down. There is a time to love and there is a time to hate. 207 00:24:51,779 --> 00:25:00,039 There is a time for peace and there is a time for war. And we, in our wisdom, must decide which is which 208 00:25:00,039 --> 00:25:09,599 and which 13 is the apt 13 to apply. Oh, dear listener, I would submit most willingly to our founding fathers, 209 00:25:10,380 --> 00:25:20,059 Romans 13, that was a legitimately constituted government, or Oliver Cromwell and indeed the new model army 210 00:25:20,059 --> 00:25:24,859 by which he ushered in the English Republic. I would have submitted to him and his government 211 00:25:24,859 --> 00:25:30,440 any day, or even Charlemagne. Charlemagne was a good king who indeed tried to apply biblical principles 212 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:36,720 to government. There are periods in history where indeed submission to properly constituted authorities 213 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:43,500 I would do willingly and gladly. But there are also times when we must resist, when we must rebel, 214 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:50,619 when we must fight. And this is the nature of Revelation chapter 13. Revelation chapter 13. 215 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:56,880 Our founding fathers, for example, fought under the understanding, under the banner, if you will, 216 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:02,920 of Revelation chapter 13, where they were resisting improperly constituted authorities on the shores 217 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:09,579 of the colonies, and they were right in doing so. Oh, dear listener, we must begin then to decide 218 00:26:09,579 --> 00:26:16,460 which of these 13s are operational for us today. And I leave that to you, and perhaps to further 219 00:26:16,460 --> 00:26:22,140 reflection and further messages to come. This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox 220 00:26:22,140 --> 00:26:28,440 Presbyterian Church. We worship on Sundays. We invite you to come. No restrictions now. We indeed are 221 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:34,359 worshiping on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Check us out. 222 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:43,259 And you can also then check out our website, newgenevaopc.org, and call us for further information 223 00:26:43,259 --> 00:26:52,940 at area code 208-523-0196. Area code 208-523-0196.