Age of Government

I explained in my previous post that the church is going into a new era of powerlessness. The old era of Christian privilege and power is gone.

This change is hard to understand because the world itself is not going into a new era. Rather, the old era is rising to a climax. We live in the age of government power. For most of the last century, the scope of government power has been increasing as governments take up responsibility for economic and social problems that governments in the past would have considered too tough for political leaders to deal with. Governments are now expected to solve every social and economic problem that emerges in their nation. (Covid is just the most recent example). They believe that they can use the tools of modern science and technology to improve the lives of everyone.

To accomplish this vast and enormous task, governments have sought and been given immense powers. They now need to control every aspect of human life. There is no aspect of life that is beyond their reach.

Modern governments have taken responsibility for doing something that is not possible because they don’t understand the influence of the spiritual realms on life on earth. Intensification of political power always increases the power and authority of the government-spirits that control the nation and the spiritual powers of evil that work with them. So, every increase in government responsibility and power inevitably leads to an upsurge in disasters and calamities.

In the modern world, political power is being centralised and consolidated as never before. Expectations on political leaders are greater than ever, and they have demanded the power to deliver. This concentration of political power leverages the authority of the powers of evil. By attacking the people at the top of the political hierarchy, the spiritual powers of evil gain authority over all the people submitted to them. They have gained immense authority on earth, despite their total defeat on the cross, because people submit to leaders they control. By supporting political power, we have strengthened the powers of evil, when they should be weak.

When disasters multiply, governments will ruthlessly expand their power in a desperate attempt to bring the situation under control and restore their peace and prosperity. The majority of people will welcome their increasing control because they trust their government to bring back the comfort and wealth that they have lost. All opposition to government plans will be brutally suppressed with the support of the people who put their faith in government.

A vicious cycle will develop.

Widespread disasters give opportunities for increased government power and control to prevent them, but they will actually give the spiritual powers of evil great ability to do harm. The government will need more power to deal with the harm that they cause, which only empowers them to do greater harm.

Christians seeking to get different political leaders into power are participating in this process, because they still trust government power, just not the current government. True followers of Jesus do not trust any human government, because they understand the influence of the spiritual powers of evil.

Government power will eventually collapse under the weight of its pretensions and the troubles that it produces. Governments will unwittingly amplify the power of the spiritual powers of evil will be destroyed by the spiritual powers that they have empowered. The spiritual powers are arrogant so they will overstep the mark and turn against the human government that have empowered them and destroy them.

When political power eventually collapses and crumbles, politicians will flee their posts and sneak away. The destruction of human government will be so horrifying that the people of the world will never trust human political power again. Faith in political power will vanish forever.

Big government will shrivel, shrink and disappear. The principalities and powers that have amplified their power by controlling political authorities will also lose their place. The powers of evil will have lost their last scraps of authority on earth. The vicious cycle described above will go into reverse. The collapse of big government will undermine the power of the spiritual powers of evil. Their rapid decline will open the way for the advance of the Kingdom of God (See What is it Like).

The end of the era of government power will be a huge opportunity for followers of Jesus, but only if they have learned to live without the need for political power, and outside the scope of government authority on the edge of society. The governments of the world will disappear and be replaced by the Government of God.

Christians who are still hankering for the old era of privilege and power while ranting about the evils of their government and seeking to get a better one elected will be totally unprepared for this wonderful opportunity when it arises.

Political Power

The date for the NZ general election in October has been set. Many New Zealanders seem to be a bit bored by it, but Christians are really stirred up about the election. Most see it as an opportunity to use political power to push back on the Big Four Social issues. The big four social issues are:

• Abortion
• Euthanasia
• Marijuana
• LGBTQ

These issues are symptoms of the state of our society; they are not the cause of these problems. Focussing on political power to push back on social change is a a distraction for followers of Jesus that stops them doing what is really important.

• The reason that evil is spreading in our society is that sin has become widespread. The reason that sin is widespread is that we have not shared the gospel of Jesus effectively. We cannot blame the world for sinning, if they have not heard the gospel clearly. We must not blame the world for failing to obey a God they don’t know. We should not expect sinful people to behave responsibly, if we have not shared the good news of Jesus with them.

• The majority of the NZ population is not Christian, so we should not expect them to elect Christian MPs. If the majority of MPs are not Christian, we should not be surprised if they change laws in a way that Christians don’t like. Politicians follow the way of the world because that is the pathway to power. Forcing them to apply Christian principles is not an option. The solution is to change hearts by proclaiming the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.

• The gospel of Jesus and political power do not go together. Political power is coercive power. The state has the ability to force people do things that they do not want to do. Jesus refused to use force and coercion to get his will done. He wants people to be free, so his followers cannot use coercion either. The Kingdom of God comes by the Holy Spirit changing hearts; it does not come by coercion (Luke 22:25). Jesus does not want his people "lording it over" the rest of society, so we cannot use political power to advance the kingdom. Those using coercive political power to advance the kingdom are serving the devil, because he is the master of domination and coercion.

• Using laws to outlaw behaviours that we do not like is “salvation by law”. Christians know that salvation by law does not work, and they do not believe in it, so it does not make sense that they are trying to use political power to bring social change. Advocating salvation by law is wasted effort.

  The church has an amazing gospel, and the Holy Spirit. These together are far more effective for bringing social change. The gospel can transform human lives and society. The gospel and the Spirit are effective tools for changing lives and transforming society. They deal with causes, rather than just supressing the symptoms.

• A law does not make people good. A law does not stop people doing bad things. Rather, a law provides for people who do bad things to get punished. When Christians push for laws that punish behaviour that they do not like, it gives people the message that the Christian’s God does not like them and wants to punish them. This undermines the gospel, because when Christians say that their God loves people and will forgive them, it does not ring true. That is sad, because when people put their trust in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, they stop doing the things that upset Christians.

• Using the power of the law to force people to stop doing things that Christians claim God does not like makes people hostile to God, which make it hard for them to receive the message that Jesus loves them.

• Christians hate it when secular politicians pass laws that force them to do things that they believe are wrong. Christians want freedom to live according to the standards of their religion, but they do not seem to want other people to have the freedom to live according to their beliefs. This is hypocritical.

• The “moral horse” has bolted in New Zealand. Society has already decided where it wants to go, and it is going the other way. Most people are glad that the shackles of religious constraints have been thrown off. They do not want to go back to the old world of religious condemnation and shame.

• The four big social issues are often used to sucker the church into supporting right-wing political parties. They will use these “wedge issues” to entice voters to gain power, but will give very little back. Political power will always be a trap that brings disappointment for the church.

• God does not care about the big four social issues as much as Christians do. He is sad when people reject his love, but he is not surprised when they sin or do evil. The big four social sins that concern Christians so much are normal in societies that have turned away from God. The solution is proclaiming the gospel in the power of the Spirit, because God’s heart is to rescue lost sheep, not to punish them.

In the New Testament, Jesus did not challenge the religious and political powers to bring in laws to eliminate abortion, euthanasia and sexual immorality. Instead, he went around proclaiming the good news and demonstrating God's love by healing the sick and casting out demons. Paul explained to the Roman Christians that increasing sexual immorality is the normal in a society that has rejected God's presence (Rom 1:23-27).

With thousands of Roman soldiers tramping around Judea, unwanted pregnancies would have been common in Jesus time. Many young women would have been seduced or raped (people assumed that Mary had been in a liaison with a Roman soldier). A secret abortion would have been the only way for a Jewish family to avoid terrible shame and ostracism. Homosexuality was common amongst soldiers too.

Jesus did not agitate for the Roman senate to pass laws that would stop these practices. Instead of advocating changes to the law, he urged his followers to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that people's lives and society would be transformed.

Jesus was far more concerned about a different set of sins. He was particularly concerned about the sins of religious people and religious leaders than the sins of the world. When challenging sin, Jesus focussed on:

• Unrighteous wealth (Luke 6:24-25; 16:13).

• Religious leaders colluding with political power (Mark 3:6; Luke 23:2: John 19:12).

• Imposing legal burdens on people to solve problems without doing anything about the underlying causes (Matt 23:2-4).

If the church persists in agitating on the big four social issues, there will be a harsh and hostile reaction. Persecution will be persecuted quicker than expected.

If pastors push hard on these issues in the lead up to the election, there will be a backlash from the media and activists that see them as a threat to their agenda. They have political support, so the fight could get really nasty. The social activists who have pushed these causes are tired of being pushed around and put in their place by the church. They feel like they have escaped that pressure in recent years, and they will do anything to avoid losing the ground that they have gained.

Dark clouds are rolling in from the sea and over the land.
The season of favour and privilege has come to an end.
A season of hostility, hatred, harm and harassment is beginning.

A sword of persecution will come against preachers
who go hard against sin with salvation by law.
When church leaders campaign hard against their freedom,
the people of the world will react with hostility.
Preachers will be accused of stirring up hatred and hostility
towards those who are hurting and helpless.
Pastors will be labelled as lacking in kindness and compassion.
If fear, anger and hatred squeeze out their love and empathy,
the world will react with hostility.

When church leaders use the sword of the state against sinners
and forget that sin carries its own punishment,
they will find that sword turned back against them.
A sword of persecution will rage against preachers
who go hard against sin with salvation by law.
A sharp division will come between political leaders and church leaders.
Hostility will rise up between them and feed into hatred and harm.
Some facilities will be closed to voices speaking loudly against sin.
Some Christian leaders will be hounded from their position.

When their pastors fall,
sheep will be scattered across the city,
afraid to return to big meetings.
After an explosion of anger and hostile threats,
some Christians will be afraid to come together in crowds.
When the sheep hide together in their homes,
something amazing will happen.
The Holy Spirit will make his home amongst them.
He will heal those who are sick and broken
and many people will choose to follow Jesus.

God will raise up helpers from within their homes
to watch over them
to teach them the way of Jesus
and to bond them into his body.
They will gather to love and support each other in their homes.
Elders with balanced giftings will arise from within their midst to watch over them.

God of the Age

Government power is the god of our age. As faith in God has declined, faith in human government has grown massively. They will not admit it, but many Christians have more faith in the ability of political power to transform and restore society than in their God. Very few believe that society can be transformed by the gospel and the spirit without a massive intervention of political power.

Whenever a problem arises in modern society, people say, “The government should do something about it”. When people are in trouble, they expect the government to rescue them. I remember during the Christchurch earthquake, very few people looked to God, or his church, for solutions to their problems. They expected the government to come up with solutions.

The situation is the same all over the world. Government power is the spirit of the age.

We take this for granted, but it is not normal. For most of history, governments did very little for their people. They mostly looked after their mates and protected their own power. Doing things for ordinary people was considered wasted effort. Ordinary people relied on God, their family and friends to deal with the crises of life.

During the last few generations, this has all changed. People began to expect their political leaders to solve all their problems. Politicians were quite happy to respond to these demands, but in return, they demanded the power they needed to do what people wanted. We have been caught up in a spiral, with people demanding more and more from the political system and the politicians grabbing more and more power in order to fulfil their role. The result is more and more laws and massive numbers of regulations; so many that people can’t know them all.

We have now arrived at a place where governments hold powers far beyond their wisdom to use it. People are still disillusioned because their needs are not being met, despite massive government powers. People in business are frustrated as governments impose massive constraints on their ability to operate, but they still want the government to solve the problems in society that concern them.

No one seems to understand that the problem lies with political power itself. Both those who are disillusioned because their needs are not met, and those who fear government control, still believe that the solution is changing the government. They believe that getting better people into power will make things better. Actually, the problem is faith in modern government.

The only solution is for people to lose faith in government (that is happening) and put their trust in God and begin living by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. People will have to get together with other followers of Jesus and learn to support each other through the crises that lie ahead. When God’s people start doing this, the Kingdom of God will come closer.

When Christians attempt to gain political power so they can restrain evil or transform society, they are aligning with the spirit of the age. The New Testament explains that human governments and political power are controlled by principalities and powers in the spiritual realms (Eph 6:12). I call usually call them government-spirits to make their role clear. When followers of Jesus engage in political activities to bring change, they are submitting to the government-spirit that controls the government in their nation. While they are endeavouring to bring about change, they are actually strengthening the kingdoms of this world. When the government changes everything remains the same because the same government-spirit.

The Kingdom of God is different. Jesus brings in his kingdom by changing hearts. People will choose to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit because they love him. There is no room for coercion or control in the Kingdom of God. Political power has no place in the Kingdom of God, because it relies on force and coercion to achieve its objectives. The Kingdom of God expands as Jesus followers love and serve the people living around them. As they hear the good news of Jesus, they will be drawn into the kingdom. I explain how this will happen in my book called Government of God.