What’s the End Game?

 

After the results from Super Tuesday, Dr. Ben Carson now appears to have dropped out of the presidential race. Despite his political defeat he stated, “this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue . . . I remain committed to Saving America for Future Generations.” [a]

Committed to Saving America.

With the upcoming election I’ve increasingly heard similar things such as, “Restore America,” “Reclaim America,” “Make America Great Again,” “Return to our Judaeo-Christian Roots,” and now “Saving America.”

I wonder, what does this “saving” and “restoration” for America mean for us as Christians? The idea has been bothering me really, so I’ve started asking some questions:

1) Are we expecting King Jesus to someday take over the presidency and establish His Kingdom in America – keeping Constitution, democracy and the whole kit and caboodle? 

When Jesus returns to the earth the Apostle John tells us that, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron.” [c]

Not very democratic. Jesus will not rule by election or by delegation, He will rule by self-appointed and complete authority. The perfect despot. A good and just King. For many, this will end their pursuit of happiness.

2) Are we expecting Jesus to rapture us from Utopian America?  . . .and would we be disappointed if He did?

A Utopian America seems very nice, in theory, but a society with high morals without the Spirit of Jesus would only be outwardly law-keeping and inwardly dead. . . a white washed tomb as Jesus called it. All the centuries of Mosaic law speak to forced morality being powerless to transform people’s hearts and minds, so why would we expect anything created by men to do better?

Jesus asks the question, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”[b]  The fact that Jesus poses this as a question implies that faith will be scarce when He returns. If America were full of Christian faith then when would Jesus come? I wonder if we would rather have the perfect American society or the return of Jesus.

3) Are we hoping Jesus will postpone His return until a future generation?

When the prophet Isaiah told king Hezekiah about the future Babylonian captivity we are told two things about Hezekiah’s response: what he said and what he thought. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” Hezekiah thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

I wonder if we’ve unwittingly taken a similar approach as Hezekiah, hoping that the time of the end were not in our days but in the days of our unknown descendants so that we could live in peace and security now. If this is indeed the case, then it reveals that our true affection is for this life rather than the Lord and His will. “Maranatha” is not in our hearts.

4) Do we believe what the Prophets, the Apostles and Jesus Himself have said?

Here is what we have been told about the “last days.”

• “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” [d]
• “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.” [e]
• “Remember the predictions of the holy prophets . . . that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” [f]

The Scriptures must be fulfilled. Jesus has told us that the world would spin out of control in the clutches of evil and that nothing would make it stop except His return.

Brace yourselves for this one, oh patriots: All the kingdoms of the earth will be reduced to dust, including the United States of America [g]. We have not been asked to preserve America or its morals, though it may be sad to see its decline. Instead we have been given a better and holy commission: to make fellow disciples of Jesus. But rest assured, abandoning this misplaced hope for America’s “saving” is no cause for fear, for our King has told us, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” [h] So instead of fear, “let us be grateful for receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.” [i]