Jesus is God's Amnesty Program
Jesus is God's Amnesty Program
With some of the recent notable deaths of neoCONs, it's worth reflecting on the fate of those who are "powerful" in this world. Of course, they're not really that powerful... like beasts, they all die. Real power is God's power, which is power even over death itself. And no one but God has that power.
The neoCONs seem to be responsible for a lot of the war-mongering of the last few decades. Countless deaths of innocents have resulted from these wars of aggression. It's easy to say, "Yep, and they're all going to burn in hell", but we must defer to the power and wisdom of God -- God is more powerful than we understand.
This applies equally to those with political power or wealth (or both).Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:23-26)
Amnesty is a favorite word of the Left. They use the word "amnesty" as a euphemism for law-breaking. The way they are using it has nothing at all to do with the original meaning of the word. "Amnesty" just means "we'll bribe the right people to look the other way while you break the law". I just want to clarify that I am not using the word in this sense.
Amnesty sounds nice and cozy but the history of amnesty is directly linked to imperial takeover -- an invading empire will set a deadline for all local political officials, military officers, etc. to turn themselves in for amnesty. After being processed, these officials will be dispatched using a variety of different techniques meant to disrupt informal power networks and reduce the likelihood of future uprisings. All officials who do not turn themselves in by the deadline are treated as outlaws and may, in extreme cases, even have bounties placed on their heads.
As we approach the very end of history, we are going to enter a spiritual amnesty phase. The deadline will not be extended for anyone, and the time must be kept short because delay only encourages the conquered political network to attempt to mount a coup or regroup and organize a last-ditch attempt at routing the incoming imperial government by force.
God's amnesty program isn't about "getting off scot-free" or even getting off easy. See above -- it is so hard for the rich and powerful to be saved, that Jesus left the disciples wondering how it is even possible at all. "With God, all things are possible" -- only God can pull off such unbelievable feats.
As the power of God descends upon the Earth at the end of the Age, it will become increasingly clear to every individual that they are facing a left-right choice between good and evil. The Apocalypse is the ultimate fork-in-the-road. The name of Jesus is the infinitely-sharp razor that divides the world between left and right. Absolutely nothing and no one will stand in some kind of ambiguous "middle-ground" -- all will either proclaim their faith in Jesus, or will expose that they are servants of Satan. And all without exception will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, both in heaven and in earth. There is no doubt about it!
As those in power who have "sold" themselves into Satan's service (whether explicitly or not) are faced with the terrible reality of God's absolutely unlimited power, they are going to find themselves in a bind -- if they abandon their "contract" to Satan, then they might fear he will demand fulfillment (claim breach-of-contract). This is one reason that Jesus went to the cross -- he has the power to annul even a contract with Satan. That doesn't mean that anyone gets off scot-free... everyone who comes to Jesus will suffer for his name's sake. And there's plenty of suffering to go around for wrongs done. However, the power of God is not only greater than you imagine, it is greater than you can imagine. That is what Jesus told the disciples above -- this situation seems hopeless and inescapable to you, but with God, everything is possible.
Those in positions of power who are beginning to understand that there is not even the slightest conceivable hope of escape from the limitless power of God should think back to the call of the Gospel, whenever and wherever they heard it: run to Jesus! Will you suffer? Yes, you will suffer in this life and, in the judgment, you will give an accounting for your sins. There are no exceptions, no one gets white-glove treatment! But Jesus is literally God's amnesty program. If you want to escape the unimaginable horrors of the Antichrist world order -- a bargain whose terms no one could possibly have truly anticipated!! -- then escape immediately and run to Jesus! There is salvation for anyone who hears the Gospel and runs to him in repentance and faith -- once again, no exceptions.
Do not listen to the Pharisees in clerical robes, singing the siren's song of how you have done so many righteous deeds and God will be quite impressed with how generous you have been. God never had any need for anything from you, least of all your "wealth" or any of your other gifts, which he himself created and gave you to begin with! Whether you are a powerful CEO, a President, or a lowly groundskeeper, you are but a steward in the Kingdom of God -- we are all but groundskeepers. (Isaiah 2:17, Psalm 84:10)
Do not listen to the Pharisees when they tell you that God is really impressed by how well you have followed "the rules" -- you didn't break the 10 commandments (not with your own hand anyway!), you obeyed all local laws, you obeyed every lawful command from a police officer, you filed all permits and government paperwork, on time, you paid all your taxes, and so on and so forth. None of that matters in respect to the final accounting -- you will never meet the divine standard of holiness on the basis of how well you believe you obeyed all the rules!
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." (Romans 3:20)
It is not easy for people who are not in a position of wealth/power to correctly understand the real decisions that face people in those positions. Many actions that disinterested people throw around as possibilities are actually impossible because of the real constraints on those occupying that position. For example, people might suggest "the queen should sell her properties and help the poor!" In reality, the queen cannot simply sell the royal properties because they belong to the Crown which, in turn, is controlled by Parliament (or, in any case, cannot make any large decisions such as selling properties without involving the Parliamentary government). These kinds of distributed restrictions on holders of wealth and power are the rule, not the exception. They are Gullivers tied down by countless Lilliputian cords. This is true in countless ways of Presidents, CEOs, or any such position you care to name.For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” [Deut. 27:26] Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Gal. 3:10-14)
Even for people we would otherwise call "independently wealthy", once you hold any kind of non-trivial amount of wealth, you become a target for takedown -- your wealth becomes intrinsically political because the wolves are always seeking to take down fresh prey. Those tracts of land you purchased could end up in someone else's hands if there were a sudden increase in property taxes and you were, for some reason, unable to keep up with the new taxes -- the lands go to auction and a family relative of one of the county commissioners who helped raise the land tax rates conveniently happens to win the bidding. This is the rule, not the exception, in all politics.
The point of these stories is that people without a lot of wealth or power tend to project the freedoms they themselves have to tell the world to "stuff it" onto those with wealth and power who, in many cases, have lost that freedom by virtue of the wealth/power they hold.
Given that so many actions of the wealthy and powerful are constrained by these invisible shackles, it is easy for them to psychologically wash their hands of much of the damage they are doing. After all, it is not they themselves (personally) who are responsible... they just happened to be the cog in the Machine that signed on the dotted line. And I don't believe that God holds anyone responsible beyond the extent to which their choices/actions were the deciding factor in the eventual outcome of things. In his unlimited wisdom, God is actually able to know such things, which are strictly unknowable for mere humans.
No one in this world of evil and sin can claim to be clean and spotless. It's as silly as a man standing in a pig sty which has never been mucked, claiming he is spotless because he never laid down in the muck, while he is covered head-to-toe in muck that has been splattered on him, and every step he takes covers his feet in more muck. The only solution to his predicament -- and it is the same solution for all of us, regardless of rank, status, birth, life story, etc -- is to run to Jesus for salvation. Then, the sinner is translated out of the pig-sty and back into his father's best robes, and a feast is prepared. This is the joy that God has in the return of all of his prodigal children. The path is not easy, but it is right, and the end of that path leads to true, enduring joy and happiness.
The alternative is unthinkable. The innumerable hosts of heaven are standing just at the frontier of Earth, their swords drawn and glittering with the glory and wrath of almighty God. They will respect no appeals to your good works, your shows of piety, your charity to the poor, your obedience to rules, and every other way that people convince themselves that they can escape the wrath of God while reserving some seed of rebellion within their hearts. They will harvest the earth and thresh it out with an efficiency and thoroughness unimaginable to the human mind. Not a single empty word will go unaccounted for, and every plot laid by wicked men, however deeply buried in the darkness it may be, will be rooted out, dragged into the daylight, and trumpeted from the skies. No one who does not accept amnesty before the deadline will escape destruction. The angels come bearing the sword, and fire. They do not bring God's forgiveness or mercy, which can only be received through Jesus.
Get amnesty! Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus! You must be saved, or you will perish!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by ClaytonB
Site Information
About Us
- RonPaulForums.com is an independent grassroots outfit not officially connected to Ron Paul but dedicated to his mission. For more information see our Mission Statement.
Connect With Us