By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
In the Book of Revelation, the writer, John The Beloved , describes seven churches in Asia Minor that were indicative or reflective of the state of the Christian church at that time.
What is also prophetic is that some of the characteristics of those seven Asia Minor churches speak to the mindset of those believers who, for the reasons stated therein, “left their first love” (Jesus, the Christ) due to facing tremendous oppression by the Roman governmental powers or just plain apostasy.
Some of those churches were fighting the good fight of faith and some were being diluted in their faith pronouncements due to the stealth infiltration of the wickedness of the surrounding culture and the deceit of false brethren.
Some of the churches were encouraged to rid themselves of their flagging faith and moral depravity and to re-center themselves in the doctrines that were first delivered to them by the early church apostles.
Only the church members at Philadelphia were richly affirmed by the writer of Revelation for their uncompromising stance on what was right and what was evil. And this boldness was in spite of the fact that they were suffering intensely for their stand on righteousness.
Jesus commended them and encouraged them with the statement that they will be richly rewarded for their resolution to stand fast, and they would soon inherit the eternal prize for their striving to follow the marked-out racecourse.
When you read the Book of Revelation, you will notice that the church at Ephesus was infiltrated by a godless sect of people who were hell bent on destroying truth, which subsequently caused that church body to be of no effect in their witness.
Those church members were infected with a doctrinal poison of being told that their beliefs were of no consequence and as such they should adopt the beliefs of the influential and worldly heretical group, the Nicolaitans.
In spite of their laxity in not adhering to proper doctrine, those church members still had a choice to remain faithful and true to the message of the Apostles or they could seek out and find other personalities that would speak into their itching ears, heresies that were more compatible than holding the line by speaking truth to error.
Now, get in your time machine (the RJ-3 model now available at Amazon Prime) and travel from the time of Revelation to the current date and witness the bizarre posture of portions of the white evangelical church members as they spin out of control and have exalted Donald Trump to a nigh savior status.
A cursory reading of some of their literature articulates a Bible heresy that Donald Trump is God’s man for the hour and for this nation. No facts just their repeated mantra that Trump will be that personality who will deliver them into a New Promised Land where white evangelicals will reign supreme over those “others” who have been told by Trump that they are poisoning America.
The sum and substance of their fervent hope is that Trump will restore all things to their “natural state” and that MAGA will morph into male White Christian rule (as they define it), even though the Scriptures clearly indicate that such an entwinement with earthly political machinery is not their mission or job description.
For the MAGA/white evangelical, equating Donald Trump with near sainthood, despite his life and character that bespeaks of evil personified, is their way of soothing their compromised conscience that maybe, just maybe, God is on the side of Trumpism.
For without Trump and his cult of Maga-ism, too many white evangelicals are left without political influence and power and the only alternative is to return to a life of submitting to the Word of God; and which Word does not empower or authorize them to get what they want and when they want it.
A god created in their image is fine for them because they want access to power, and they need an avatar who will be their general/messiah and who will thus smite their modern-day Philistines (aka: Democrats and left-wing media).
And what is God doing in all of this political and moral madness? He is allowing the free-will of any person, believer or otherwise, to choose their own crafted worldview; but also, to suffer the consequences of those choices. And if that choice means searing one’s conscience and elevating Trump as God’s man for this hour, so be it.
The Jesus as exemplified in the Gospel of Matthew, is for many MAGA “believers” a nice guy prophet spouting softie parables of, “loving your neighbor,” “giving comfort to the alien” and “turning the other cheek.”
Such statements, in their opinion, show weakness and thus are outright rejected.
But now. Too many white evangelicals have gone over to the religious dark side and, now, are at ease with searing their conscience and thus justifying their support of a person who Is, for all practical purposes, according to his lifestyle and vile statements, a spawn of Satan.
Too harsh, you say? Read both the Book of Revelation and the Gospel of Matthew and then compare the verbiage and conduct of Trump and his belief that he is God’s man for this hour.
Then reconsider your adoration and support of Trump, while at the same time you are professing a belief in Jesus the Christ.
Who now is winning your heart and mind?
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@juno.com