Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today, I want to ask you, how do we successfully wage a righteous revolution? A righteous revolution. But before we deal with that question, it's part of a continuing series that we're doing, of course, on the Christian millennium.

And we've been covering a variety of topics that have led us to ask this question, how do we successfully wage a righteous revolution? But before we deal with that particular question, I want to invite all of you to our study on the book of Revelation, our community study, Bible study on the book of Revelation, that we're beginning to start again. Now, we stopped it in the middle of the COVID crisis. But since the COVID-yacy is beginning to die down a little bit, and people are feeling a little more comfortable about getting out and congregating together, we want to begin again our community Bible study on the book of Revelation.

And that is going to start on October 8th, Thursday night, October 8th, at 7 o'clock at Leo's Place in Idaho Falls. And we had a good turnout right up until the very end. And it was really exciting to be with all of you and to share in our unpacking of and our revelation of the book of Revelation of the apocalypse, as it's called in the Greek. And we want to begin to take up that study again and see if we might be able to recreate that sense of fellowship and learning and knowledge and coming to know God a little bit more fully and deeply in our study of the book of Revelation.

And that's, once again, the community Bible study on the book of Revelation. We invite all of you to come and join us at Leo's Place at 7 o'clock, beginning October 8th, Thursday evening, October 8th, each Thursday evening thereafter until we finish the book. And look forward to meeting some of you, perhaps that weren't able to join us before, and other old friends who are familiar then with that study. All right, let's take up then our question, how do we successfully wage a righteous revolution?

If we are to have a successful revolution that overthrows the present deep state of America and replaces it with a Christian constitutional republic, as we've been laying out, both of these assertions we have been justifying over the last few weeks. There is indeed a deep state of America that is slowly undermining and now suddenly, quickly undermining our constitutional republic. And we have seen the necessity of replacing it with a Christian, an overtly explicit Christian constitutional republic. If we're to do this, how are we to do it according to biblical and constitutional principle? Is a righteous revolution an oxymoron?

Mutually conflicting terms. Well, what would such a revolution, a righteous revolution, what would it look like? Who would be the participants? How would they go about their mission? Now, for the last few weeks, we've laid out the necessity for the complete destruction of the debauched, corrupt deep state and its replacement by a Christian constitutional republic.

We have also noted several inescapable truths. We've noticed we have as much reason to overthrow the tyranny of the deep state that has metastasized throughout the American body politic as much reason as our founding fathers did, the tyranny of the British crown and parliament in 1776. And we meticulously examined the 29 particular complaints, not just the soaring rhetoric of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence that Jefferson listed. He listed those 29 particular complaints, and they were just a short list of complaints.

And behold, those particular instances we saw, those particular instances of tyranny, bear an eerie resemblance to the complaints of patriots in our own generation. It's deja vu all over again. Because although names and faces change over the centuries, the nature of tyranny does not. Just as wisdom is known by her children, as Jesus said, so tyranny is known by her evil spawn that always bears the same family traits. And we have also seen that our present constitutional republic is one in name only and has been so thoroughly co-opted by the deep state that it cannot be reformed.

It must be destroyed. The majestic eagle of the republic has morphed into the deformed dragon of the deep state. The cancer of the deep state has so infused the vital organs of the constitutional republic that to cure the disease is to kill the patient. We have also seen that that which must replace the deep state of America is an overtly Christian constitutional republic. Christ must be openly, explicitly acknowledged as king.

Christ the king, Christ the king, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, etc., etc. And additionally, we must swear our oaths of office in his name. We must arrive at a national consensus as to what Christian means in a Christian constitutional republic. Our rationale for this Christian constitutional republic is laid out in the last four or five messages that we've shared with you. But today, how do we then successfully wage a righteous revolution?

How do we get from point A to point B, a Christian constitutional republic in the United States of America? And once more, history provides us with many lessons in this area. If we're not going to be doomed to repeat the history of failed, disastrous revolutions, then we must learn from them. Four of the most important, let me share with you. First of all, number one, we must exhaust all peaceful legal avenues of redress of grievances.

First, we must exhaust all of the peaceful legal avenues of redress of grievances. A son who strikes his father across the face for a wrong when that father is willing to correct it, that man is a fool. Who breaks into a neighbor's house by smashing a window when that neighbor stands at an open door ready to welcome him? Well, so it is. Citizens are fools when they commit revolution when they have legal, peaceful avenues in which to redress grievances.

Our founding fathers provided this for us in the First Amendment. But when those avenues have been closed and even violently turned away, then there is little option but to bring about salutary change by means of revolution. We need not go over this ground again since we have covered it quite thoroughly in our four-part series on the particulars of the Declaration of Independence. For the sake of argument of this broadcast, suffice it to say that we, the American people, have exhausted all peaceful legal avenues of redress of grievances.

And secondly, we must also assert, in order to wage a righteous revolution, magistrates who occupy offices of legitimate government authority. These are the ones who must lead bona fide revolution. Here we take exception with Marxists. Magistrates who occupy offices of legitimate government authority, they must lead bona fide revolution. This is a Christian principle.

It's a pillar of Christian political action from the earliest days of the church when St. Augustine insisted that a just war can only be waged by legitimate authorities of the state. By extension, then, from the arguments of a just war, the principles of a just war, by extension, it stands to reason and biblical principle that righteous revolution can only be waged by legitimate authorities of the state. The Apostle Paul puts succinctly what the whole Bible bears out concerning government authority when he says, For there's no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God, from Romans chapter 13.

And once more, we have seen this principle borne out in history, too. Our founding fathers were perhaps the best example of this principle. They were all public servants in the respective colonial governments who either had served or were then serving in some capacity. George Washington had been an elected member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and he was also a delegate to the Continental Congress.

The same could be said of Thomas Jefferson, who was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia, or John Adams, who was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Massachusetts, and John Hancock, who was president of the Continental Congress, and on and on a week ago. So, these were no impetuous hotheads who were making revolution for light and transient causes, as Jefferson warned against in the Declaration of Independence. Rather, they were legitimate authorities who had pursued all peaceful legal avenues of redress for many decades prior to the revolution.

And when that was found to be impossible of attainment, the only recourse is, as Jefferson puts it, to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security, the Declaration so eloquently asserts. And once again, in contrast, the French Revolution exemplifies what happens when the mob prosecutes revolution instead of legitimate magistracy. What results is anarchy, as in the French Revolution, anarchy, tyranny, and a wholesale bloodbath, culminating in what the whole period is known as the reign of terror. There were no restraints on the vicious, vindictive impulses of the mob.

We see that today in the streets of many of our major cities. There were no courts to deliberate justice. There were no legislatures to mediate law. There were no executives to fairly administer justice. There was only a bloody anarchy that eventually consumed even the original instigators, exemplified by its chief proponent, Robespierre, who was himself beheaded by colleagues who considered themselves more pure in revolutionary fervor than himself, even as the fires of the Revolution extinguished themselves in tyranny at the end.

The American Revolution gave us George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The French Revolution gave us Robespierre and Napoleon. This is such an important principle that it is impossible to overemphasize. The civil magistrate is God's servant for your good, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. We must subject ourselves to such for the sake of conscience, as Paul says.

As a result, revolution becomes not an option only for the hothead, bent on anarchy, but rather legitimately, righteously, in complete contrast, it becomes necessary for the Christian patriot, in subjection to other patriots in positions of authority, who recognize injustice when they see it, and who are willing to stand to correct it. In such cases, revolution is warranted and legitimate. This must be recognized. So often, biblical passages like Romans 13, let every person be subject to the governing authorities, is what Paul says.

So often, this is taken at face value as if it is the only Bible verse that deals with the believer and his relationship to government. But unlike the modern evangelical Christian, who treats it like a written excuse from mommy to skip class on government so that he doesn't have to think seriously about it or potentially risk anything in his own life, but just submit without conscience, this is not the final word. Romans 13 is not the final word. What is required today is a network of magistrates, legitimate authority, local, state, national authorities dedicated to creating a Christian constitutional republic.

They must be men and women of integrity and skill and courage. This is no time for the timid. In the future, magistrates will be required to be in firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, as Jefferson puts it in the Declaration of Independence, who are mutually pledging to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Unquote. As the Declaration of Independence concludes.

Without them, without the legitimate magistrate with authority, there really is no possibility of a righteous revolution. If you are an elected magistrate and you're listening today, if you are an elected magistrate at any level of government, you are essential. And you must step up now and be identified. You will immediately become a target of the deep state and all which that entails, but you will also become a linchpin of liberty that is critical to the making of a new republic. Linchpins kept wheels from spinning off colonial carts and carriages or sails on colonial ships from flapping aimlessly in the wind.

And so the righteous patriotic magistrate keeps a righteous revolution from having the wheels come off of it or having its sails flap aimlessly in the winds of change. Christian magistrates. Christian magistrates have also been fathers of freedom throughout history. We see this borne out time and time again. Pick up a history book.

Oliver Cromwell, for example, a Christian magistrate elected to the English parliament prior to the English Civil War in the mid-17th century. He rose through the ranks to lead the armies of parliament against the tyrant King Charles I. He is the only general in history to never experience a defeat in the battlefield. After defeating the king's army, the royalists, Cromwell helped to establish the English Republic called the Commonwealth of England that prevailed during the period known as the Interregnum.

He is an immensely controversial figure in history, unsurprisingly, since he was a fervent Christian patriot who saw things in black and white with very few shades of gray. But he is clearly an example of a Christian magistrate who became a linchpin of liberty, a father of freedom. Or another example would be Frederick the Wise, who was a lector of Saxony in the 16th century. He was a German monarch in the 16th century who was famous for protecting the great reformer Martin Luther, protecting Luther from Pope Leo X. The pope declared Luther a heretic and liable to be burned at the stake.

But the magistrate, under whose authority Luther came in Wittenberg, Germany, was this just and fair man, Frederick the Wise. And although Frederick remained a Roman Catholic until his very deathbed, he was a stickler for fair trials for all of his subjects and the rule of law in his kingdom. He vehemently protested the pope's treatment of his subject, Dr. Luther, and he shielded and protected Luther for years at various places throughout his realm. Without Frederick the Wise, Luther surely would have been captured and killed and the Reformation and Revolution aborted before it had even begun.

Frederick the Wise, too, is a linchpin of liberty, a father of freedom. If we are ever to see the deep states of America destroyed and a United States deep in the principles of liberty established, then you, Christian, you, Christian magistrate, must step up. It is impossible without you, but glorious with you. And I am so proud and I'm encouraged by the patriots within our Idaho state government, especially several of the women who have stepped forward during Governor Little's ill-considered shutdown. My own state representative, too, seems to be a man of constitutional principle.

There is much to be encouraged by in the great state of Idaho, men and women who are already taking their place as linchpins of liberty, fathers and mothers of freedom, too. And thirdly, we must also realize that a significant number of the people must understand and support those magistrates and the revolution. This is utterly necessary. We can't leave them hanging in the wind. A significant number of us, the people, must understand and support those magistrates and the revolution.

What do we call brave, principled magistrates who stand up against tyranny all alone, without the support of the people? What do we call them? We call them martyrs. No righteous revolution ever succeeded without the sacrificial support of at least some of the citizens of that nation. It doesn't have to be all, but at least some.

Historians estimate that during the period of the American Revolution, approximately one-third of the colonials were patriots, one-third Tories that is loyal to England, and then another one-third indifferent to the outcome. This may come as a surprise to many who might get the impression that except for a few stick-in-the-mud boneheads, loyal to England, Americans were all rah-rah patriots, waving the red, white, and blue, ready to die for freedom. But that was far from the case. In fact, that is true for most revolutions in history.

The truth is, most people have enough on their plate trying to make ends meet and put food on the table for their families, living their daily lives. They have little time, few resources, to sacrifice on behalf of some revolution, even though they may like the idea of liberty and freedom. The truth is, most revolutions have been successful with only a handful of well-organized, committed citizens.

Once again, historians estimate that while perhaps a third of the colonials supported the American Revolution, and may have done a few things around the edges to actually further the revolution, it was a core of about 3-5% of the population who actually fought the war in the army, made the decisions in the legislatures, and sacrificed with time and money to support the troops in the field. The important point is, these 3-5% were there, and this will be required to establish a Christian constitutional republic in our day.

The Christian magistrate simply must have the committed, unwavering support of patriots in the population if he or she is ever to succeed. There is a real, substantial symbiosis, a reciprocity which must develop between the magistrate who represents the people and the people to whom the magistrate is ultimately accountable. The magistrate must understand that he or she is but a servant of the people for whom he or she makes good and great and glorious sacrifices, and the people must understand that they must render equally sacrificial support, loyalty, and obedience to their magistrates without whom they would have no constitutional republic.

There is an organic interdependency, which must develop between the people and their representatives. This is best achieved when those magistrates are from the people, known by the people, and in connection and communication with the people. Oliver Cromwell had that with his roundheads, that is, his soldiers, and the people from whom he came. Sam Houston had that kind of relationship too with the citizens of Texas, leading the army to victory at San Jacinto and becoming the Texas Republic's first president too, for that matter, revolution against Santa Ana, the tyrannical Mexican government.

Well, when that kind of dynamic does exist, revolutions succeed. And so, Americans, Idahoans, we must do our part too. When brave, patriotic magistrates step forward to risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for us and for our liberty, well, let's make sure that when they do, they're not just, won't just hear crickets and look behind them and see no one there. Well, I hope that you are already a part of that one-third plus who support a Christian constitutional republic.

I hope that you are prepared to be a part of the three to five percent or more, hopefully more, who fight the battles and make the personal sacrifices of time and resources to ensure the success of our magistrates and ultimately the 21st century revolution of liberty and freedom all over again against the deep state. We have our own deep state, do we not, as did our founding fathers in Great Britain? Fourthly, we must also see the defeat and dismantling and judgment of the deep state. Justice goes begging in our own day, does it not?

We've already seen that there are two levels, two tiers of justice in America, one for us and then one for just us, right? Justice for just us. That is, the few who inhabit the swamp. We must establish indeed tribunals that will indeed bring justice to the defeated deep state. We must see a wholesale restructuring of government and then a revival and reformation of the American people.

None of this will happen without a spiritual revival and reformation of the American people. We'll deal with that in more detail, but we look back once again across the history of successful revolutions and none of them are accomplished without indeed a spiritual revival and reformation of the American people. Well, this has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church and we invite you to join us in worship at New Geneva.

We meet for holy worship at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings and then we also want to make sure that you feel welcome to come to our community Bible study which is tackling once again the book of Revelation. We were in the middle of it before COVID-19 cut us off and short-circuited that study but we're taking it up again in the fall and that first meeting will be October 8th at 7 o'clock at Leo's Place and we'll be spending some time in reviewing what we had covered before bringing us right up to where we had left off but we have good fellowship there and the time flies by we learn a lot and we have a good time together so I invite you to join us if you've been wondering who we are as a church and as a people and who I am as a teacher I just invite you to come and join us then on Thursday nights kind of set that aside for the rest of the year Thursday nights at 7 o'clock at Leo's Place and it's going to begin on October 8th then and we hope to see you there but until then please come and join us Sunday worship at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard perhaps you've been listening for a while and considering crossing our threshold we invite you to do so even this Sunday and you can call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196 that's area code 208-523-0196 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th