A New Babylon Is Coming
This is going to be an interesting post, folks, because both Vince and I (Chaim) are writing it together.
To the Jew, the Babylonian exile was a pivotal moment in our history. It was one of those times when G-d physically – and publicly – brought massive judgment upon a nation because its leaders and its people not only failed to follow G-d’s law, but openly rebelled against it, worshiping idols and playing the hypocrite with their faith.
Ripped and Persecuted
If you’re a non-Jewish-heritage Christian (aka, not a Messianic Jew like Vince is), you may not be aware of the significance of being literally ripped from your homeland, forced to march many hundreds of miles from all that you have ever known, and placed in servitude to the whims of those who practiced idolatry, and living under restrictions to your personal and religious freedom.
Despite some modern revisionist historians trying vainly to paint the exile as “actually pretty good for many of the Judahite deportees”, they would think differently if they were actually Jewish (I contend that none of them are).
Stages
Now, there’s much more detail to the Babylonian exile. But here’s one interesting fact that a lot of non-Jews don’t know: it wasn’t just one massive deportation of an entire kingdom (Judah). It occurred in stages.
The first Babylonian exile saw King Jehoiachin ripped from his land. The second deportation of much of the remaining population was accompanied by the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem itself.
The prophet Jeremiah was a key man in the attempts to warn the king and the people about the impending danger, all to no avail. The king didn’t listen. The people wouldn’t listen, and the people even threatened Jeremiah’s life.
But in the end, Jeremiah’s prophecy was realized. The temple was destroyed, and the people were forced into exile.
Old Testament Stuff?
Ho-hum? “That’s Old Testament stuff,” you say?
Wrong. The sociopolitical state of our country today is much like that of ancient Judah (and the northern kingdom of Israel that was exiled by Assyria previously).
People are doing whatever they want, worshiping whatever they please, and ignoring the principles of godly faith.
Christians Are the Worst Offenders
Now, while millions are engaging in these very practices, the worst offenders – and the subject of our discussion here – are Christians. Specifically, those Christians who profess support for Donald Trump are the focus here – and are America’s current problem.
Exposing the Truth
In our GOP Downfall series, we exposed how a previously-marginalized group of right-wing extremists, led by Trump, completely took over the Republican party, turning it into a sham of its former glory. Trump’s MAGA sub-party turned the GOP into a full-tilt Nazi-like far-right, pro-fascist, pro-white supremacy, and pro-exceptionalist/isolationist cult.
Read the first “GOP Downfall” post if you want to claim that we’re being disingenuous. By the standard definition of the word, MAGA does indeed qualify to be called a “cult.”
We’ve also exposed Trump’s catalogue of lies and errors. The vastness of his narcissism-fueled criminal and near-criminal actions have been more adequately and completely documented by many other writers of all political persuasions (not just left-wingers or progressives), and we cited many of these sources throughout that series.
Dismissal?
But, the Christian would probably say that all of his sins can be overlooked because, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of G-d” (Romans 3:23).
However, there are a few problems with this dismissal of his well-documented past and current comments and actions, much of which Trump himself hasn’t just admitted, he’s openly and unashamedly bragged about.
The main problem is that we’re not talking about forgiving some poor schmuck who’s committed a massive amount of sin.
We’re talking about the person who wants to be elected as leader of the “free world.” We’re talking about someone who, despite being a politician with all that such a moniker comes with, is supposed to represent all of us – not just to ourselves, but to the entire world.
Reveling In Vomit
So the point here is, forgiveness is one thing. But forgiving a dog who, after being forgiven, continues to return to his vomit (Proverbs 26:11) and indeed boasts about it, is another matter – and a huge red flag for Christians and religious Jews.
That’s not Christian (or Jewish, for that matter) behavior; certainly not behavior that Christians and Jews should be supporting.
We as Christians and religious Jews should have stood up against the evil continually displayed by Trump (for it is, by the very definition, evil) and at the very least refused to support it; and at the most actively voted against it.
“But Trump is Better”
Right now, I can hear someone saying, “but Trump is better than Harris”.
Is he?
One could claim that Trump is no worse – or better – than the Democrat candidate, Kamala Harris. It’s an accepted fact in our country that many politicians, regardless of party, have engaged in lying, conniving, and corruption to get their way, and very often (particularly on the campaign trail) schmooze the electorate and tell them just what they want to hear, not how things are or really need to be.
As Christians and religious Jews, should we just simply accept this as a fact of life, shrug our shoulders and say “oh well, there’s nothing we can do about that”?
Condemning Graham
I contend that this is the very thing that seemingly esteemed Rev. Franklin Graham is doing. Graham is only one of a number of respected Christian leaders who have said very little that’s critical of Trump’s anti-Christian behavior, and said much that’s only complimentary of him.
Graham leaves people – especially evangelical Christians – with the impression that Trump is the only sensible vote for a Christian, and deliberately ignores all of the crimes and falseness that embodies the Trump persona, allowing the mistaken impression that not having Trump in the White House would cause the downfall of society.
Now, come on, Rev. Graham – try to deny that.
What Graham and other Christian leaders aren’t saying, is that their tacit acceptance and alignment with an antichrist is causing G-d’s judgment upon the very people to whom they preach.
Destruction
Vince and I have said for years that no one administration would necessarily cause the total and irrevocable downfall of the USA. After all, this country has survived for nearly 250 years through good and bad presidents, lawmakers, and court judges; and despite all of the bad people in government over the centuries, we’re still here.
Because of this, it could be claimed that four years of a Harris administration, or four “more” years of a Trump administration, is not going to cause the total downfall and destruction of the United States of America.
While this could very well be true, the problem we face is: what will our country look like, four years from now?
Will it be the same? Better? Worse?
Experience Is The Best Teacher
We know from past experience that, despite all of the alt-right rhetoric calling Biden, Harris, and indeed the entire Democrat party “communist”, that the alt-right are simply using scaremongering phrases. I contend that many of them have absolutely no clue what communism actually is, since even a cursory view of the modern Democrat party reveals that it looks absolutely nothing like actual communist parties such as in China, Cuba, and the former USSR.
What we also know from past experience is that Trump will not cede power willingly. The fact that, to this day, he continues to falsely claim that he actually won the 2020 election and that it was “stolen” from him, exposes his narcissistic psychopathy. It also portends more alt-right extremist violence after the upcoming election results, as it’s clear that neither Trump nor his MAGA crowd would agree with another defeat.
We could be looking at another “J6” riot.
This experience is also what legitimizes the concern that, should Trump actually win in November, that he will become more authoritarian in behavior in order to change the laws to keep him in power at the end of what would be his final legal term in office.
While such an attempt would very likely not succeed, the effect of the attempt in the first place would be very damaging to America’s reputation around the world, and serve to further cement public opinion against the whole Republican party, even though there are many Republicans (like both of us) who are firmly and publicly against Trump and his MAGA fascist cult.
Did They?
So, what does this all mean for the Christian who wholeheartedly, and for whatever reason, supports Donald Trump and has argued against, ridiculed, and debased those who do not support him?
Did these Christians, who are called as Christians to love unconditionally, preach the Word of G-d in and out of season, respect authority, and bring people to the loving arms of G-d and of Yeshua (Jesus), actually demonstrate that unconditional love, did they exemplify a godly lifestyle that the unsaved would admire and want to be part of, or respect the authority emplaced by G-d Himself (Romans 13:1), over the last eight years?
No, they did not. They continued to go along with the dangerous alt-right agenda, believing in and spreading debunked conspiracy theories about everything from vaccines to climate change, and ridiculing the very leaders that G-d allowed to be put in office. They continued to insulate themselves from the unsaved, creating an “us-versus-them” class division by all of their actions and words, refusing to engage with those with whom they disagree. All of this only served to further push the unsaved away from G-d, not to Him.
Did these Christians actually call out the sin and evil of Trump and his MAGA cult for the anti-Christian fascism and greed-fueled isolationism and exceptionalism that it embodies?
No, they did not. Instead, they thoroughly embraced the evil, called Trump the next “messiah”, and openly supported well-known white supremacists and racists, and falsely claiming that G-d has blessed Trump as the only savior of America. They blaspheme G-d by depicting Trump praying (which he himself has frequently mocked), and they create and distribute fake photographs of Trump being protected by angels, with some even appearing to show Trump personally directing angels (when that is clearly G-d’s job, not Trump’s), Trump as the Lion of Judah, and many other depictions that equate Trump with Jesus Christ.
Did these Christians, when the opportunity was ripe to push Trump off of the campaign stage and promote and elect a candidate who actually has a sense of morality, was not corrupt and was not a criminal, in an effort to restore the reputation of the Republican party that has been so horribly tarnished by Trump and his fascist minions?
No, they did not. Instead, they willingly went along with the modern-day Nazi jackbooted thugs that are the MAGA cult, and even blasphemed Yeshua Himself by comparing Trump’s legitimate criminal trial to Yeshua’s sham trial. They promote false narratives that everyone who disagrees with Trump is in a huge conspiracy to get rid of him, and have even claimed – without a shred of evidence to support their claims – that the so-called “assassination attempts” were orchestrated by the Democrat party.
Multiple Chances
G-d has given His people who were tossed to and fro by every wind of Trump doctrine (Ephesians 4:14 – the second part of this verse is an apt description of the Trump’s practices), ample opportunity to repent and come back to the pure faith of Yeshua.
G-d has given us every chance to stand up to the evil, call it out for what it is, denounce it to the world, and force Trump from consideration.
G-d has waited for His people to demonstrate our resolve by using our electoral system to vote Trump out, so that a better candidate with an actual moral compass, even if they weren’t a professing and practicing Christian, to take the nomination.
G-d has given sufficient warnings about a time when He will say “enough is enough” and call down judgment on His people.
Rebellion
But despite all of the chances He’s given His people, a great many of these Christians have thumbed their noses at G-d and have followed the path of evil, openly rebelling against biblical doctrine.
We grant though, that some are not firm enough in their faith to be able to properly discern the spirit of what Trump says and does (1 Corinthians 12:10), and so rely on the word of “more mature” Christians under the mistaken assumption that “they’re Christians, they couldn’t be lying.”
It doesn’t matter if a Christian supports Trump out of some naive belief that everything he says, and that other Trump supporters say about him, is somehow true.
It doesn’t even matter if a Christian supports Trump despite fully discerning the complexity of the evil he exudes, casting aside the Spirit of G-d imploring said Christian to reject the evil and expose it for what it is.
Two-Faced
The sad thing is that these same Trump-supporting Christians are typically the same ones who scream at the tops of their voices for a total and complete ban on abortion, claiming that all abortion is “evil” and we have to “expose the evil.”
These are also the same Christians who scream loudly against the LGBTQ+ community and its concepts, demanding their persecution and marginalization from society.
These Christians forget that it was the church’s failure to uphold and live godly lives, that allowed the rampant and unchecked spread of such lifestyles and practices in our society in the first place. To coin a phrase, “the horse is out of the barn” and that legislating abortion and attempting to “criminalize” gender and sexuality concepts is too little, too late and is a completely improper approach to addressing these issues.
They will whine and scream and preach and rail against such perceived evils, YET they have no problem with supporting and aligning themselves with the pure evil inherent in Donald Trump.
Condemnation
The fact is, that these Christians have literally ruined it for all of us. Under worse condemnation are those Christians who have the discernment, know the evil, but don’t care – and go so far as to lead their fellow Christians astray from the faith with their apostacy of what can only be properly described as Trump-worship.
When a Christian supports such evil, that Christian becomes an apostate, a heretic.
Enough Is Enough
It is now too late. It’s clear that G-d has had enough.
Just as G-d had enough of Israel’s evil, and later Judah’s evil, casting both into death, destruction, and exile for their unrepentant sins, G-d is calling down judgment on American Christians.
He is not calling judgment on America as a whole. He is calling judgment on US, because WE Christians and religious Jews have not just failed to uphold his principles, we actively rebelled against them by aligning with evil.
Pointing The Finger Where It Belongs
And if you claim to be a Christian and you completely support Donald Trump, than I (Chaim) am pointing my religious Jewish finger directly at you – because while Vince is being generous and saying “we Christians”, the fact remains that the coming judgment is NOT the fault of the thousands upon thousands of American Christians who have accurately and properly discerned the evil and have publicly rejected it and prophesied against it.
It is YOUR fault for seeing the evil, either failing to recognize the evil or (worse for you) recognizing the evil but deliberately siding with the evil, and thus denying Christ and turning yourselves into worshipers of an antichrist.
Am I being harsh here? Is Vince?
Judge Righteous Judgment
Sure, we’re being harsh. But as your New Testament says, Christians are absolutely supposed to judge those INSIDE the church (1 Corinthians 5:11-13). Sha’ul (Paul the Apostle) said that G-d will judge those “outside”, but that it is our business to judge those inside our religious circles.
So, it is ABSOLUTELY PROPER for a Christian or religious Jew to rebuke and call out the sin of another Christian or religious Jew.
Such judgment isn’t “nasty” or “holier than thou” or “un-Christian” as some people in my (Vince’s) former church (that I don’t attend anymore because they’ve gone full-tilt alt-right and have largely abandoned the faith) have claimed of my comments in the recent past on social media.
The Bible makes it clear that this is our responsibility as Christians.
Babylon Is Coming
Because of these massive and openly unrepentant sins of many in the Christian church of abandoning their faith, aligning with and worshiping evil instead of condemning it, a Babylon is coming.
Though the Trump-supporting Christian nationalists would call the following anti-Trump drivel, the fact is that we are joined by many in America who have clearly heard what ADONAI says to the Christian church in America today:
Thus Saith The LORD
“I called you to turn from your evil ways, from the evil of your actions, so that you can live and be prosperous in this land. I called you to follow me and to reject the idolatry of placing others before Me, serving and worshiping false gods. I called you to serve me with all of your heart, reject evil, and live according to my Word, to reject the teachings of those who do not serve me but serve and enrich themselves.
“You haven’t paid attention, and you have provoked my anger by embracing the evil that corrupts all whom it touches, even to my own people.
“Therefore, my wrath and judgment will be poured out against you.
“While you live in the land, your joy and gladness will be turned to sorrow and ridicule because I will cause your enemies to persecute you. They will place chains upon you and cause you to stumble at every step. They will make of you a laughingstock and the nations will revile you. You will be slaves to their desires and their laws against you. The produce of your hands will rot before your eyes, and you will be laid waste in your hearts.
“Then, when your sin has been burned from you, you will bow down before Me in repentance.
“When you cry out for forgiveness, repent of your sin, reject the evil from among you, and stand as men and women of G-d, I will then punish the persecutor, and cause him to stumble. Then you are to be a living representation of Me in the land as I am to be represented and worshiped, in purity of faith, word, and deed.”
The Judgment
This judgment will involve more severe persecution of those who claim true faith in Christ, than we have previously seen. Some will fall away. Others will stand firm. The outcome of the election is immaterial (obviously this is being written prior to the election).
If Harris wins, all Christians will suffer persecution, even those who claim to be Christians, but have more love for things of the world than things of G-d.
If Trump wins, ONLY TRUE Christians (which does not include Trump supporters) will suffer persecution at the hands of Trump supporters, but even these supporters will suffer at the hands of the fascist evil that they have chosen not to see.
ALL of us will be tested harshly, for the church’s sin of open rebellion against G-d, idol worship, and causing their brothers and sisters to fall into sin.
Christians are supposed to know better, and should have recognized the evil inherent not only in many Democrats but also in Trump and his fascist MAGA cult.
We could have, and should have, led the Republican party to choose someone with godly morality and true conservative values to lead the party, but too many Christians were deceived and enticed, and now are just as apostate as Trump and his MAGA horde.
Now, As Then
Jeremiah prophesied against Judah because of its sin and refusal to repent. Babylon came.
Now, as then, for the mass sin of G-d’s people abandoning the faith and siding with evil, and for rebelling against G-d and refusing to repent of these sins, G-d will punish this apostacy.
Babylon is coming. Prepare yourselves. This is a persecution that you cannot stop from happening.
