A sign and a symbol

Here am I . . .  a sign and symbol in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion. (Is. 8:18)

One night, just over four months ago, I woke in the early hours struggling to breathe. I immediately sensed the Lord telling me that something had ‘landed’ on me that it would prove challenging and would require prayer. It was a new experience to hear the Lord tipping me off the moment a virus settled on me. It was kind of Him to keep me in the loop but, without wanting to be ‘super-spiritual,’ was there something more to it?

Many friends did indeed pray as ‘it’ quickly developed into a virus that has all too often felt as though I have a hurricane raging in my nose and chest, with a great need for box after box of tissues. All the while, it has been accompanied by a truly vile smell and taste such as I have never even remotely known before, something like the smell of rotting garbage or eggs.

As a known symptom of long covid, the chances are that all this has a purely natural explanation, but a few people have wondered out loud if perhaps this physical condition could be pointing to a spiritual parallel. Could it possibly be a ‘sign and symbol’ of the extremely turbulent and ‘smelly’ circumstances surrounding the American political scene which has so long burdened me? I have certainly known the Lord burden me on occasion with physical signs and symptoms that are of spiritual significance. Usually this involves nothing more than a simple word of knowledge: I feel a sudden twinge in some part of my body by which the Holy Spirit alerts me to an issue someone else is suffering with, and which the Lord wants to touch. That is Him ministering to individuals, of course, but can it also apply to the soul of a nation?

I am reminded of how Catherine of Siena quite literally ‘smelt’ the presence of adultery in certain people whom she met, as well as the vanity, greed, and promiscuity of all too many members of the clergy. Her spiritual sensitivity to the impurity of those around her broke her heart so that she wept and prayed (often to quite staggeringly good effect) for their misled hearts to come to repentance. I find something similarly deep going on in me as I watch events unfold in America – albeit it often finding it a challenge to bear these burdens in the spirit rather than in the soul when I hear threats being uttered and complete untruths told as if they were gospel truth.

Whether or not this physical ailment in my nose has any spiritual meaning, I am certainly aware of much that smells seriously ‘off’ in the American political scene, and in this extended heart-cry, I want to try and express something of the burden I am carrying. May we hear what the Lord wants to say about these things, and how He would have us pray.

Some 300 years ago, the biologist Carl Linnaeus described the American plover (common name, ‘killdeer’) – whose call is characterised by a plaintive and penetrating two-syllable cry – as charadrius vociferus, that is ravine cry.

In this presentation, I feel like I too am sounding a penetrating cry from the ravine, because I am aching with the burden to combat misguided beliefs and statements that are being taken on board by myriads of gullible and partisan people – rather as Peter and Jude were highly explicit in warning people about against false teaching, just as Jesus Himself had done repeatedly concerning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

With the 2024 American election just days away, I feel a burden to share my heart with you concerning many concerning aspects of this. To help in the whole process of gaining discernment into this crucial matter, we will be sending out several subsequent posts before the election looking at such specific matters as why we believe that democracy itself is important enough as a form of government to be worth praying to save, as well as taking an in depth look at the relationship between Trump and the millions of evangelicals who are so fervent for his cause, and looking at just some of the things that would characterise a second Trump presidency.

In this present edition, which is focused on issues surrounding the too-close-to-call race for the White House, our heart’s concern is to pray for the heart, mind and spirits of believers to be as focused as fully on Christ as possible – and for soul of the nation to be set free to the greatest extent possible through the word of His living and active word (Heb. 4:12) from the soulish influences that are currently overlaying it – despite the presence of so many deeply godly elements, which makes it all but impossible for many who are caught up in its web to perceive certain aspects of what is really going on, even though it is being outworked in broad daylight.

When I expressed my concerned that I might be coming across as too partisan in this matter, members of our team reassured me the ‘call of the prophet is to sound the alarm.’ Contrary to what so many Christians in America and elsewhere believe, my sense is that a second Trump presidency would prove a very dangerous thing indeed, firstly because of the character flaws of the man at the centre of things – which, as so many of his own immediate past entourages have trumpeted, make him manifestly unfit for office – but secondly because of a whole strings of untruths that are constantly flowing from the mouths of senior members of a party that has become as much a Trump-loyalty outfit as one of his hotels or golf clubs. With the polls currently tied, and Trump having a history of outperforming the polls and therefore looking likely to emerge as the more likely victor, my heart is to say with Tennyson,

More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of:
Wherefore, let thy voice,
Rise like a fountain . . . night and day.”

May I urge you, whatever your political affiliations, to take the time to come before the Lord and to consciously consider the particular issues we are raising here, and which we will continue to do in the follow up to this edition. Though we may see and interpret certain ones from different angles and in different lights, every point matters. God’s colour spectrum is great – but He will not praise or uphold deliberate fabrications. For what Trump is doing in grossly exaggerating stories of migrants behaving badly in Springfield, Ohio and Aurora California sits very much in the line and tradition of perpetuating the sort of racial prejudice that led to such terrible things as the Tulsa race massacre, just over a century ago.

Jesus, our hearts’ desire is to glorify You and see You glorified on Earth. We truly don’t want to see the world through our own eyes, let alone through the lens of party political viewpoints, but as through Yours.

Lord, as You walked the Earth, You saw clearly what was going on around You. You knew what was in the hearts of the Pharisees, the Herodians and the Romans, and You knew what was in the hearts of Your disciples, the poor, the sick, and the marginalised. You gave Yourself freely to them, but steered clear of those whose hearts were full of deceit and hypocrisy. Above all, You knew the heart and plans of your sovereign Heavenly Father, and despite all the pressures that came against You from people and demons alike, You kept Your inner composure and never ceased to reach out in love to touch and nurture every heart that would humble itself to listen and to follow You.

But even while You were on earth, You saw and knew where matters would lead as the result of choices made and opportunities either taken or missed. Empower and enable us to see as You see, to feel as You feel and to move in the power of that same Spirit by which Your Father raised Jesus from the dead. Yes, Lord, by Your Spirit, lead us to that which is good and noble, wholesome and truthful – and away from the temptations of evil and falsehood.

Be on your guard! The enemy’s tactic is to divert the focus of our prayers

There was a powerful series of global prayer movements developing from 2000 to 2020, in which vast numbers of people came together to pray for the world. We can barely imagine what a threat that would be to the kingdom of darkness, but today, we are seeing the church get caught up in prayer that no longer focuses on the things of God, so much as on supporting political manoeuvrings. We will say more about this with regard to certain mass rallies that have recently been held in key swing states where the focus has been split between very genuinely seeking the Lord and urging people to vote for Trump. It is important to realise what may be happening here at the subconscious unseen level, that if the enemy can’t prevent God’s people from praying, then he will try to divert their focus in order to make other things seem the most important, thereby lessening the sharpness of their spiritual service.

A diversion from godliness

In the extreme support the evangelical movement at large is lending to Donald Trump, it grieves me greatly that many are attributing him with godly qualities that he simply does not have – or are trusting that he is suddenly going to acquire them. Which, though possible, is by no means certain, and is in fact, extremely rare amongst ultra narcissists.

One longs to hear Christians talking more about Christ and His Kingdom than about fallible earthly rulers who praise themselves and run down their adversaries, calling evil good, and good evil.[1]

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
(Is. 5:20-21)

It grieves me similarly that I see a similar failure to recognise reality and to call out evil as evil in our own day. ‘There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.’ (Pr. 6:16-19) I see all these things, or the threat of them, in Donald Trump’s election campaign, as indeed I do the reality that lies behind James;’ warning that ‘if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth, because such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder.’ (James 3:14-16)

What can I do but put the trumpet to my lips and sound the alarm?

Sounding the alarm over lies being exalted over truth

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. (Col. 3:9-10)

Churchill once warned that, ‘A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.’ How very true this is. To be sure, political leaders of all shades regularly do fabricate lies to suit their agenda, in the hope that their followers will swallow them, but there comes a point at which these things become incredibly serious. When Trump asserts that the last election result was rigged when all the evidence proves otherwise, and asserts that the biggest ‘free nation’ in the world is an ‘occupied country,’ or that Venezuelan gangs are taking over certain cities, when local (Republican) authorities refute such statements is the beyond of acceptable he is undermining the foundations of democracy – and yielding ground to very strong dark forces.

As Republican and Democrat state agencies laboured to prepare for Hurricane Milton, Trump was warning people not to accept the $750 in immediate relief because, he claimed, the government could thereby seize their land. In consequence, some people held back from receiving the help they were entitled to. Effectively, they were robbed. Likewise, Trump ordered members of Congress to sabotage a perfectly viable bipartisan border bill.

As these egregious lies get ever darker, stoking hatred against immigrant populations with accusation that they are murderers with ‘bad genes,’ and that political opponents are ‘mentally impaired,’ and the monstrous idea is touted that the riots of January 6th 2021 were actually a ‘day of peace and love,’ everything becomes dangerously detached from reality.

Wriggle and protest as much as he likes, facts are facts and Trump has long been guilty of lying on an industrial scale. This article is typical of so many pointing out the dozens of untruths Trump revels in.

Of course Trump is not alone in these things. Elon Musk is currently weighing in every single day with a flood of disinformation on his X account.

Russian and Chinese governments are also amongst those who consistently and continuously spew out lies of one kind or another. So too are the terrible Scams Centres, like the one that Sky News has now uncovered in Cambodia, where thousands of people are obliged to work under great duress to defraud multitudes of their money. Goebbels and Trump – and no doubt many others – are of the opinion that it doesn’t matter in the least what they say because, as long as the lies keep on being repeated, people will eventually come to believe them.

They are reckoning without the Lord. He is very clear that liars will be excluded from the heavenly city. (Rev. 21:8) Lies are not the hallmark of good government, but the language of the kingdom of darkness. Trump and his like are sowing cynicism, and there are no words for it but those of Zechariah:

“This is wickedness!’ (Zech. 5:8a)

Sounding the alarm over injustice

To show partiality in judgment is not good.
Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—
peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come upon them.
(Pr. 24:23-25)

One of the great joys of being Heaven centred is that we know that there is a supreme court in Heaven where the real dictates that affect Earth are made and that will bring about His Kingdom here. (See Daniel 7) It is always a serious sign when leaders of nations pack the justice system with their own followers, who, as we have already said, call evil good, and good evil, and who invariably use this to chip away at social and press freedoms. Has there ever been such a blatantly biased Supreme Court as the recent one in America, which has effectively removed the guard rails to protect Trump from prosecution, and in the process encouraged him to push still further the limits of presidential policy? May the Lord inspire Amy Coney Barratt, the latest of Trumps’ appointees, to continue to act as a voice of moderation.

Sounding the alarm over venality

venal \VEE-nul\ adjective. 1 : capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration : purchasable; especially : open to corrupt influence and especially bribery : mercenary. 2 : originating in, characterized by, or associated with corrupt bribery.

No one is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and he will love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and mammon. (Matt. 6:24)

When we see leaders courting billionaires, and offering them favours in policy and law in return for donations,  and corruption is never far away. It is also a graphic example of what Jesus calls the foolishness of looking for our reward in this life – but the world, with its ever-present moth, rust, and thieves, is no safe storage vault for true treasure. (Matt. 6:19-20; Luke 12:20, Matt. 6:2-3, cf Ps. 17:14) That can only be found in Heaven, and, as Augustine puts it, by feeding ‘the bellies of the poor.’ ‘The rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits,’ says James – and he doesn’t even recognise his predicament. (James 1:10-12)

Sounding the alarm over incentives to violence

With his mouth the godless person destroys his neighbour. (Pr. 11:9a)

It is a great mistake to consider Trump’s violent language to be mere election rhetoric, as he breathes out threats against hecklers and opponents along the campaign trail. By word and action, he has long been stirring up violence and encouraging crowds to throw off restraint. For their part demonic powers have sent a spirit of blindness sweeping over people to push them still further into deluded partisanship. It’s one of the ways in which tyrants win over nations, but who knows to what lengths it could propel mobs? From what we have seen so far in the attempt to kidnap and quite possibly kill the Governor of Michigan and at the Capitol Hill, it just could not be more serious.

It is important to realise how quickly ‘ordinary’ people become incentivised to violence. When women were recruited to work as guards in Nazi concentration camps, it took on average just three days for them to throw off the ‘niceties’ and restraints of their upbringing and to start behaving in the sadistic and brutal ways expected of them. When leaders pedal hate, and institutions expect and demand violence, truly violent scenes unfold – as the reflected in penal systems and under the iron hand of dictators all around the world.

“Blessed are the peacemakers,” said Jesus, “for they will be called children of God.” Even though they all too often pay a heavy price for their peace initiatives.

Give Trump’s fundamental and instability, which is set only to worsen with the passing years, not to mention his deadly serious intentions to circumnavigate the organs of democracy, we should not be side-tracked by his willingness to believe the most outlandish conspiracy theories. There is nothing clownish or random at the heart of what is happening. He is at the helm of a party that he has packed full of family members and which he completely dominates. When Channel Five recently broadcast a programme about him, they called it ‘Trump – should we be scared?’ The answer they proposed was ‘No, we should be terrified.’

Fear has no place in the heart of believers, but a proper spiritual watchman’s concern, reinforced by proper journalistic awareness, is a bulwark against handing the reins of power willingly to one who most certainly will abuse it.

[1] In the early days of Russian Communism, large sections of the West adopted a honeymoon approach towards the regime, exhibiting a remarkable shutting of the eyes against the many excesses of the Soviet regime that were evident from its outset. At a conference in Manhattan in 1946, on the unusual theme of comparing the ‘Democracies’ of the West and the East, for example, there was a complete failure on the part of delegates to acknowledge that what was happening in Russia ever since its Bolshevik revolution was not democracy at all.

It fell to Dietrich von Hildebrand, a German priest and philosopher who had been highly prized for the courageous stand he took against Nazism, to take the role of a ‘knight for truth’ and to challenge the central premise. For this he ended up being roundly booed.

The same thing happened when he warned on another occasion of the consequences in Eastern Europe of countries having their monarchies removed and Russian communism installed. Even a nun heckled him by demanding how he dared to criticise these courageous Russians. But Hildebrand saw clearly that these things would lead to persecution for the Church. Hildebrand sought to be a purifying influence in his generation, just like the saints he had studied and learned to love. He longed to see lives transformed by and in Christ, but there were times when he knew that he needed to speak out.

Photo by Curioso Photography on Unsplash