The charismatic church is not monolithic....it's anything but monolithic in that there are apostles and prophets everywhere.....who support each other at conferences and in sharing book blurbs....but are pretty much free to teach whatever strange doctrine with which they can imagine. This same church was more than instrumental in leading evangelicals astray in 2015....culminating in Donald Trump's eventual nomination. Thirty people in the Oval Office.....praying with their hands on or extended towards President Trump.....was all we needed over the past few years to keep us in tow.....when all the other evidence pointed to serious problems....for we would take America back....through prayer marches....and formulas.
The charismatic church thrives on what it believes is the supernatural....and the megachurch specializes in offering a multitude of ministries for which everyone to get involved. It is this shallow at best American age that would plead if it could for us to take seriously the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation....for this is not simply one extended passage of Scripture that contains truth and can be helpful....for these are warnings for us today more than any previous church age.
The MAGA evangelical of today is Laodicea....."....I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing..." That was us a year ago anyway....during President Trump's State of the Union address from February 4th which contained these words.... "This nation is our canvas, and this country is our masterpiece. We look at tomorrow and see unlimited frontiers just waiting to be explored. Our brightest discoveries are not yet known. Our most thrilling stories are not yet told. Our grandest journeys are not yet made. The American Epic, the American Adventure, has only just begun. Our spirit is still young; the sun is still rising; God's grace is still shining; and my fellow Americans, the best is yet to come. Thank you, God bless you. God bless America." We did not know that we truly were...."wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked."
The following post is from June of 2017
"....But Who Are You?"
The book of Acts in the 19th chapter details the actions of seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva who saw the miracles that Paul was doing....and that evil was being expelled....surely they could do the same thing by using the same name of Jesus. Candidate and now president Trump was going to come in and do miracles....and he would use the formula....'God bless America!'The seven sons of Sceva demanded....using the name of Jesus....that an evil spirit come out of a man. The evil spirit looked at them and said..."Jesus I know....and Paul I recognize....but who are you?" The evil spirit then overpowered them all and the seven sons ran away naked and wounded. President Trump has the forces of hell against him right now....but they are in effect saying...'Jesus I know....and we recognize a once God-fearing America.....but who are you?'
An interesting thing happened to the people of Ephesus where this had taken place....to both Jews and Greeks....as Acts puts it...."Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of Jesus was magnified." Many had become believers and even many others burned their adult Harry Potter books. They had had enough of magic in light of the power of the name of Jesus through his emissary Paul. Acts concludes this passage with...."In this way the Lord's message flourished and prevailed."
There's also a passage in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus tells of an evil spirit that leaves a man only to return later to an empty house with..."seven other spirits more evil than itself"....an empty house.... as Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary....where Christ is not there to keep them out!
If President Trump has success for a time....but we remain a nation without God.....then that evil would return many times over. Our prayers thus should not be that President Trump makes America great again....but that Christ once again takes residence in the hearts of its people. This should be our primary concern!
