© 1971 by Walt Kelly

      You say it can’t happen here? It’s been happening here. Great Awakenings and Christian persecution always go together.

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           All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. [2Timothy 3:12]

         The difference between Christian persecution in America and the rest of the world is that in America Christians persecute Christians.

         Notwithstanding the fact that there is certainly a multitude of cases in which the government and other secular institutions have attacked Christians and Christian organizations for their Biblical beliefs, most persecution does not come from that direction. Even though the United States Constitution has been shredded and cast aside by very powerful people who will never let the law of the land stand in their way from doing whatever their money and influence grant them, and though this has been going on for a very long time, government itself has rarely or never been the main perpetrator.

         For one thing there is the vast Christian voting bloc that candidates must have to one degree or another to have success. But most Christian voters are uninformed and Biblically illiterate or they would never support so many successful candidates. When they do support them and believe the untruths from the campaign trail, the vast majority of voters never hold the successful candidate’s feet to the fire once they gain office. The candidates know this, of course. They know all they have to do is put on a big show when running for office and then switch gears once they gain office. They know Christians will almost never hold them accountable and that they would never be able to do much after the fact anyway. The candidates know that once the big show is over the voters will have exhausted themselves and must return to normal life. The voters may feel they have done their part and must now leave it up to whatever is going to happen. They also want to keep the newness of new office holders and administrations fresh because it gives them a good feeling.

         This happens every election. Yet, over the last few years America has certainly adopted a new “throw the bums out” approach that has not happened before. One can see this in the large turnovers that have been taking place every two and four years. What Americans still do not comprehend, however, is that even though they do this nothing substantial ever changes. I and many others have been saying for many years that there is effectively no difference in the two major political parties. Both are sold out to the money powers and are much more influenced by lobbyists than voters. That is who they cater to. Also, there are some very powerful member organizations in which the members thereof, many of which are office holders, see to it that their interests always come first. These people have taken over a long time ago. They are the people most often in office. They were selected before they were elected.

         The current administration has shown great promise and it could be the case that a few good things may keep happening long term. It is probably too much to hope for, however, to see such continue as would happen in a real reform effort. Great change for the better usually only happens over a relatively large length of time. Real reform of this kind does not happen fast because there is so much evil to weed out. The greater concern for now, however, is that any reform which has begun may be cut short due to the powerful interest and control of those who strike back. They took over long ago and most American Christians either don’t know they exist, feel powerless against them, or are simply too apathetic to sustain a drive.

         Nevertheless, the Great Awakening has already begun and sides are being chosen. This is also happening among Christians.

CHINA

         I have written about the Christian Great Awakening in China several times on this site. Forty years ago, China was in very bad shape from a Christian perspective. It was a vast non-Christian swamp. Christianity in China had been severely persecuted under the Chinese Communist regime and effectively wiped out. Most American Christians don’t know this or care much if they do, but the Chinese Communists had murdered roughly forty million Chinese, a staggering number. But after Mao died in 1976 a miracle began. The Christian presence in China began coming forth. It was obviously very small at first and, as usual, the early spiritual pioneers paid the biggest price. But the underground church has grown exponentially and overall current numbers of Chinese Christians indicate approximately 200 million. Trends indicate that China will soon become a Christian nation.

         Christianity, of course, is illegal in China, except for those Christian organizations that receive the Chinese government stamp of approval (and are thus government controlled). Conversely, raids on underground house churches and others continue in force.[1] Regarding government control, the same thing has long since happened in America. Only those churches and Christians organizations approved by the government are free to be what they are and they largely escape any persecution. The 501c3 boys made a deal to limit their effectiveness and their voice, and are thus hopelessly compromised. We have the same licensing process here as they do in China though it appears much less obtrusive. Any Christian group in America that neglects to gain this government approval will subject itself to scrutiny. Most of these never make it to the radar screen because they are far too small and inconsequential. They are also mostly independent, scattered, and unaligned. They represent little or no threat.

       If they grow large enough or become connected enough to gain a voice they will certainly show up on the radar. For example, there was much persecution against many Christian groups under the prior administration when government agencies were weaponized against them. Many of these were destroyed as a result as were the lives of the people involved. As a real Christian, do not ever think the Freedom of Religion right as guaranteed in the Constitution will protect you. Yet, it is there and will certainly act as a protector if enough real Christians get involved and protect one another. But American Christians almost never do this. There will always be a few selected causes and individuals that Christians will defend if such causes gain enough attention and notoriety. That which happened with an American pastor’s recent release from a Turkish prison is a great example. But these causes can often act as brakes on the overall cause of all Christians undergoing persecution here because it makes them that much more invisible.

LURKING JUDAS

         For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? [1Peter 4:17] [2]

         Churches and denominations protect themselves. They will always fight believers who do not believe as they do and do not strictly believe and obey all their church doctrines and denominational bylaws. It does not matter that most of these churches and denominations never preach the full Gospel or that they teach non-New Covenant doctrines. The only thing that matters to them is protecting their swamp and the people who run it. This is why the people with the real power to do something never do anything to press real reform. It is the same reason the Old Testament prophets were always disassociated single individuals with no protection whatsoever except that which came from the Lord. The kings would never protect them, of course, or only very rarely. The prophets were always persecuted.

         If they came for a mega church pastor in America, well, then, everybody in the country would know about it. But when has this ever happened? And why is it not happening?

         This proves beyond anything else, perhaps, that the bigger the church the bigger the compromise and the bigger the odds are of a pretender or compromised minister in charge. There are far too many Christians, churchgoers, and “pastors” in this country that if they decided to demand that reform must come then I guarantee you reform would come. But they never do this. They have a different agenda. They would rather protect themselves and let all the struggling persecuted Christians in America fend for themselves. This is why it is not the government that is the overall problem. If anything, though there have certainly been documented cases of abuse by government entities directed against Christians, the government really doesn’t care what you do as an individual Christian as long as you obey the law. And when the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion you are not violating the law by preaching and teaching the real Gospel!  

        No, the bulk of Christian persecution in America does not come from government, it comes from other Christians. This reveals that the most effective Christian enemy is not in that other swamp in need of draining, but most likely in one much closer.

         © 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.

[1] 100 Christians Snatched in Overnight Raids on Underground Chinese Church

[2] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

LINK: Exactly eight years ago, in late August of 2010, the Lord spoke to me very clearly: “WE ARE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF A NATIONAL GREAT AWAKENING.”