According to the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a lady asked Dr. Franklin this at its conclusion: “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy.” Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic… if you can keep it.”

This quote has been ringing in my ears since I heard about the election fraud taking place in many states. If this coup succeeds in ousting our legally elected president from office, we will be well on our way to losing our republic, our freedoms, and our way of life. The foundations of our freedoms are crumbling as I write.

I feel similar to how I felt on September 11, 2001, as I watched the two towers of the World Trade Center fall to the ground. Within our trust of the Lord, I believe there’s room for sadness as we watch political corruption prevail in the country we love.

Psalm 11 has come to mind several times this week. There David, the anointed king of Israel, gives us a window into his heart as he faced great danger from King Saul and his armies who wanted to kill him.

At the end of Psalm 11, David voices confidence in the Lord, and it’s a hopeful message for me, and I suspect for many of you as well.

The Attack of the Wicked

In Psalm 11, David’s advisors tell him to run away; they say, “…for behold, the wicked bend the bow; / they have fitted their arrow to the string / to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart….” (Psalm 11:2). The picture here is of the wicked operating in the dark looking to ambush the righteous. Is this not an apt picture of what happened in several states as we slept in the early hours of November 4 under the cover of darkness?

Things have not changed much since the days of David; the wicked still attack the righteous with greed in their hearts.

The language in Psalm 11 is similar to Psalm 37:12-15 but includes a much different outcome. There, David says that “the Lord laughs at the wicked, / for he sees that his day is coming” (v. 13). Then he adds that “their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken” (v. 15). Those intent on making anarchy a way of life will ultimately fail, although they may succeed for a while.

The Bible tells us that the agenda of the globalists will eventually succeed in making their New World Order a reality. This is the final form of the beast in Daniel 8 and in Revelation 13 that will dominate the world under the direction of the antichrist. Could the attempted coup to oust our duly elected president be a part of their plan? I believe it is.

Although the wicked may succeed for a while, the message of Psalm37:1-20 is that, in the end, they will do more harm to themselves than to the righteous.

Trust in God Versus Limited Options

Those advising David saw no way out of his current predicament other than to run far away, “…if the foundations are destroyed, / what can the righteous do?” (v. 4). In other words, they told him his options were limited, if even that. He needed to flee from the danger.

Bruce K. Waltke, in his commentary on Psalms for The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, states that “foundations” in this verse represent a “metaphor for the order of society… the established institutions, the social and civil order of the community.”

Is this not what we see this week in the United States? Make no mistake, the election fraud is an attack against the “civil order” of our nation, and if those behind it succeed, they may do irreparable damage to the basis of our liberties. If we cannot trust states to accurately report the results of the elections in their states, then we are surely in danger of losing our republic as Benjamin Franklin warned about so many years ago.

David, however, did not let his limited options shake his confidence in the Lord.

The LORD Remains Sovereign

David did not place his confidence in what he could see, but rather in the One who sees everything and remains in control of all things. In Psalm 11:4 we read, “The Lord is in his holy temple; / the Lord’s throne is in heaven; / his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.”

David responded to his dire situation by voicing his trust in God’s absolute sovereignty. Nothing escapes the notice of our all-knowing and all-powerful Lord. The One who loves justice (Psalm 37:28) sees all the corruption and violence that we see and so much more!

David continued by saying that the Lord’s “soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” Bruce Waltke adds this about God’s hatred for the wicked: “The holy God may not immediately judge the wicked, but his holiness excludes any love for those who ‘love violence’” (v. 5). We may not see the end of those seeking to wreak havoc on our freedoms, but God sees their fate as though it’s happening now.

The word for “violence” in verse 5 includes the implication of “unjust gain.” The ESV translation captures this usage of the Hebrew word in Proverbs 1:19, “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; / it takes away the life of its possessors” (emphasis mine). While violence may be the means of those seeking unjust gain (Prov. 1:11-18), their ultimate motive is to steal what does not belong to them.

The Lord is the Ultimate Judge

Not only does the Lord see everything that happens, but He will also judge the wicked, those who remain hostile to Him. In verse 6, David describes the end of the wicked. “Let him rain coals on the wicked; / fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.”

While David’s desire sounds quite harsh to modern ears, it rightly portrays the fate of the wicked who persist in rejecting the Lord. So many today refuse to accept the idea of God’s final judgment, but the Psalmist here correctly depicts the fate of all those who reject Christ and His sacrifice for their sins.

It’s only by God’s grace and abundant mercy that we escape the fate of the wicked and inherit the very righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). The words “But God” in Ephesians 2:4 sum up our salvation. Because of our place “in Christ,” Paul says that in the “coming ages” the Lord will “show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

I often think Ephesians 2:7 is the most overlooked verse in the Bible. It’s good that we emphasize the truths of Ephesians 2:8-10, of course. But so often we forget that the Lord intends to shower us with kindness through all eternity. That’s over-the-top joyful news regardless of our lot on earth.

Final Thoughts

Although the election drama in the United States remains out of our hands, here are a few thoughts that I have as we face the peril that the election drama may pose for our freedoms.

1. Prayer is essential. This is perhaps the most important thing we can do as we wait for a resolution to the election drama, and it may be a very long wait. Pray for our president and for a just resolution to this serious crisis facing our nation. Let the Lord know how you feel and what you desire.
2. Spending time in God’s word is vital for us in such a time as this. I cannot emphasize this enough. It’s in Scripture that we find our hope in Jesus’ appearing and know that someday we will reign with Jesus over the very nations that now reject Him and repudiate His Word.

I read Psalms 37 and 73 when I feel tempted to fret over the injustice and violence I see in the world. Righteous indignation is not sinful, but it can become something dark when we hold on to it and do not let the Lord minister to our soul through Scripture along with the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 4:26-27).

3. It’s okay to be sad. As I write this post three days later, I remain quite sad over the events of the past week. This morning, the Lord reminded me of Nehemiah’s sadness after learning of the dire condition of Jerusalem. His sorrow appears to have lasted for over a month (Neh. 1-2). The Lord, however, used his grief to spark his desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
4. It helps to read passages that assert God’s sovereignty. I often turn to Psalms 46-47 when I feel sadness over what I see in the world. It helps me to recite Psalm 46:10 and imagine the Lord Jesus ruling over all the nations of the world as described in Psalm 47. We will reign with Him over the nations that now grow in their hostility to Him.

I do not know what will happen in the coming months. I dare not even hazard a guess. Perhaps we will see a just result to the election, perhaps not.

The Bible says that a world government will arise in the last days that will include all the nations of the earth, including America. I believe the attempt to steal the election in the United States is a part of the globalists seeking to make this happen. President Trump rightly stated at his campaign stops that as long as he remained the president, the socialist agenda for America would not succeed. This perhaps explains the concerted and well-planned efforts of the left to see that he no longer remains in office.

The wild card I see for us is the timing of the rapture. Scripture tells us that our departure from earth will happen before both the seven-year tribulation and the rise of the antichrist to world dominance. We know the rapture is imminent, but we do not know how much more of the world’s rush toward the New World Order we will experience before Jesus comes to take us home to the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:2-3).

The road ahead may become difficult or even perilous for those of us who love the Lord and have also long valued the freedoms we have enjoyed in the United States. We are very much in danger of losing the republic as Benjamin Franklin warned about long ago.

The foundations of our nation crumble a little bit more with each vote fraudulently counted in favor of Biden.

Despite what we see, never forget that God remains sovereign and is a safe refuge for our soul when all looks lost. Proverbs 18:10 assures us of this, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

Jonathan Brentner

Website: Our Journey Home

Please consider signing up for my newsletter on my website. Thanks!

E-mail: Jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com

After the posting of “Falling Over a Moral and Political Cliff…,” some people communicated with me wanting to know a little more about conditions in Australia, and I then put this together.

Australia and the United States have been relatively close, especially since WW2. We both have a similar origin, a common heritage (though we find some American things strange like the attention to status, class and breeding, your football, the obsession with celebrities, the way some Americans don’t stop talking, and other examples). We share a Pacific destiny, which is why the links were forged in WW2. You term us as the people “down under,” and many Americans think we all have kangaroos running around (that depends on where you live).

Very close to me, there are hundreds of wallabies. Australia has 7 of the world’s 10 most poisonous snakes. It has the most lethal creature in the world – the box jellyfish (marine stinger). The whole country used to be covered in eucalypts and strange animals. I had an American write to me, “My friend, [name given] lives in Melbourne. Perhaps you know him?” Sorry, Melbourne has about 3 million people and is about 2,500 miles away from me.

The State I live in is about 700 miles east to west and 1,670 miles north to south. You might have Texas, but Texas is just a town in Queensland, and this State is about 2.5 times the size of Texas. The United States and Australia are part of a military alliance called ANZUS formed after WW2, and now also part of a loose Quad Alliance to combat China’s expansion right through Asia and the Pacific – US, Japan, Australia and India. That alliance could be disbanded if the Democrats take control, and that will give China free reign.

Last time, I spoke about the impending State election here. Sadly, the Australian Labor Party won that with an increased majority. These people are so far to the left, almost Marxists, some of them climate change activists, supporters of all deviant behaviors, and very anti-Christian. What is disturbing is that people now go along with all this without question. Society has been browbeaten to the extent that there is general acceptance of all these things. About three decades of very left governments have killed enterprise, ambition and free will.

Many people are just compliant with this socialism. This is a great warning to the USA. We have gone down that path, and the Democrats will take you down the same road. I can see this is just the way the world will be when the World Leader (Antichrist) comes (after the Rapture). The world (like my State now) will be deceived and run after the beast.

Moving on. We all share the fallen nature and the need of redemption in Jesus Christ, but we seem more and more to be sharing the same political catastrophes. The destructive influence of the radical left is becoming more and more evident in both nations with consequential departure from Godly values, intolerant behavior to Christians, and the desire to world conformity that some might term as a one-world government. I am going to write about a few things here, mainly observations and my thoughts on some subjects. This will give some of you a little more insight into Australia.

The March of the Feminist Agenda. It is Satan’s aim to destroy the masculinity of man and the femininity of women because God created man in His own image, and the devil has degraded that image. For that reason, we see conflict between the sexes and role confusion so that the harmony God set in place with “they shall be one” is absolutely fractured.

We all know of the destructive forces at work in schools to destroy and confuse human gender and sexuality among children, and the wicked creatures of government have set their sights on children.

For nearly all my life, I have gone to barbers (would some of you call them “hairdressers”?) who were men, and we recognized that men cut men’s hair and women, women’s. Yesterday in a walk through the shopping center, I saw several barbershops catering to men, and in all, there were about a dozen or more workers, all of whom were women.

I cannot find a man who cuts men’s hair anymore. It has been taken over by women. In the primary schools in my State, you almost look in vain now to find a male teacher.

The feminist movement and left-wing activists have maligned men with sexual charges and opposition, walking over them. Children can go all through their lives from babies through childhood and school years and not have any interaction whatever with a male. Some women brought up this way even fear men.

This is what homophobia really is (fear of the male species), NOT the false call against someone who opposes homosexuality or gay marriage. This is very serious because God established definite roles for men and women.

My State has a female premier (USA = governor), as does the adjoining State.

Before that, there was a woman after a short break of a man, and both failed miserably. If the opposition wins the State election this Saturday, there will be yet another woman as Premier. (That has passed, and evil established itself once again. The existing government was returned.) This is not unique to us. New Zealand has a female prime minister returned to office a week ago, and we all know about the American situation where three women will have control, not Biden if he wins, which seems almost certain. I will talk about leadership shortly. In a whole host of ways, the masculinity of men has been stripped away. Sadly, the femininity of women is not enhanced by political power and having authority over a man. I believe it is mutant. The whole of political correctness is secular humanism — man in the place of God.

In Australian public schools, boys are having their masculinity muted down by lack of male expression, conformity and compliance to a oneness. Girls are appointed to leadership positions, and the restriction and abolition of “boy sports” such as football, any contact sports, etc., in the name of “health and safety” is a fact of life. We are generating a generation of wusses (sissies), and dare I say it, feminized boys. Do you know what slippery slides and monkey bars are? Kids for generations loved to play on those items, but in so many places now and in schools, they are removed and forbidden, also in the “interests of health and safety.” Why not wrap everyone up in cotton wool!

In my city, there is an exceptional boardwalk through a tall tropical mangrove forest.

That now has been closed for over half a year, and what is the reason? Well, it is not wheelchair accessible. That means that all the tourists and locals can’t use it just because wheelchairs would find difficulty on it (maybe a half million people a year).

Everyone must be molded the same way.

Yes, dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. Round everyone up in one herd and keep them subdued.

Biblical Leadership. The world has its standards, but Christians should have theirs. It is not surprising that so many of the cults and errant beliefs have originated with women. I am not standing on a sexist platform here, but I do make the following observations: God called Abraham; Moses was appointed by God for the exodus; the tribes of Israel all had as the heads the 12 sons of Jacob; God appointed males as Kings of Judah even though some of them were fully unworthy; the prophets were males who wrote; Jesus called 12 disciples, all male, with wonderful support from the women; each local church had elders as the leaders, and the Greek word is masculine and plural (presbuteroi).

I know some may say there were women in the Judges of Israel, and that is correct, but the faithfulness of men in those days when “each one did what was right in his own eyes” was abysmal. God can compensate. It is also true that too many men have surrendered their biblical authority to women in some places because they have failed as men. It is symptomatic of our age. The world is in chaos over gender and sexuality, and it will get worse, but we must maintain God’s order in all this.

The Trade Union Movement in Australia since 1850 has been strong and extremely influential in Australian politics and in the Australian Labor Party even to this day. In fact, the whole basis of the Labor Party is trade unionism, which supplies huge financial amounts to Labor for electioneering. Many, many Labor politicians come straight from the Union movement. It is true to say the Union Movement runs the Labor Party in Australia. A number of these politicians have never worked in society.

They go from school into a Union office and then try for Parliament as a Labor Party (Democrat) candidate.

There have been some prolonged and bitter strikes caused by Trade Unionism. The Australian Trade Union history has been very influenced by Communism and communist unions and still is today. The worst of these has been the Waterside Workers Union (Maritime Union), which has shut down all the wharves several times, and others besides.

The more militant unions are Marxist (which is why they call each other “comrade” or “brother.” Up until fairly recent times, the Australian Labor Party was very Irish Catholic, disgruntled in a class war against conservative thinking, with a hatred for Britain, and some of them relating to the IRA.

You would be hard-pressed finding a Christian anywhere in the Labor Party.

Yes, some claim to be Christian, as did a former prime minister who ruined the country about 12 years ago, but there is “christian” and CHRISTIAN. The Australian Labor Party is opposed to all the doctrines and behavior of true Christianity. They have introduced abortion, full homosexual rights, advocacy for drugs, and euthanasia. Unions run the Labor Party. If this is resonating with Americans who understand the Democrats, then I am not surprised.

Over its existence, the Union movement has aimed for higher and higher wages. It talks always about wages and conditions and class wars. When wage increases keep happening, the businesses go broke, but that is of no concern to blackmailing unions. Because of the upward push for higher and higher wages, the current minimum wage in Australia is $19.84 an hour. You cannot pay anyone under that amount, and usually, the Industrial Court sets wages throughout Australia. (The minimum wage in the USA is $7.25 an hour.) I looked that up, so forgive me if it is wrong.

Because of these high wages, the Union movement is responsible for the cost of living going up and up in Australia to become one of the highest in all the world. The most disadvantaged, therefore, are retired people and pensioners. Also, almost all Australian industry has closed because it is totally uncompetitive. We are all losers here as a result, and the country is flooded with cheap, nasty Chinese junk that has no lasting value or durability. Why, only yesterday, I was using wood screws, and with a bit of extra pressure from the screwdriver, the heads would break off. Our nation is mortgaged to China. I pray this will not happen to the USA, and Trump was so good in combatting this move to move back industry from China.

It can be argued that Unions have a place because, unfortunately, there are greedy extortionists for employers and industries which have no Christian values.

It is a fallen world, and greed exploits the defenseless, as Dickens tried to feature in his novels. The great battle between employer and employee will never be solved in the current world. Bring on the Millennium!

Hollywood and Disaster Movies. I want to point the finger at Hollywood.

For decades, this film industry has led the way to and condoned sex, drugs, violence, artificial lifestyles, and is one of the greatest vehicles of “superficiality propaganda” in the world. Greed is good. It shows life as a series of great dramas and dramatizes ideas for hostage-taking, murder, terrorism, and corruption, and the portrayal of all that is evil. Just look at the abnormal lives of these screen stars. And what’s with this utter stupidity people have with celebrities?

The United States is worst with this.

Life is now meant to be a drama lived out artificially on a screen while promoting un-Christian values. It devalues life. I know that not every production is like this. Truth matters not to Hollywood, though, and currently, truth is being terribly bent to make movies acceptable to the huge Chinese movie market.

You are what you promote, and it is no wonder that California is the most immoral part of the USA, in my opinion. As well as Hollywood, the greed of the Tech giants is found there where the dollar is worshipped with poor personal service and overpricing, especially in my country. There in CA is located Twitter, Facebook, Google (owns FB, YouTube), Apple, Microsoft, all promoting non-Christian values, and they’re great supporters of the Democrats, I believe. Ask what it is that causes a State to be strongly Democrat as CA is. An outsider’s opinion is that morality and truth and goodness are divorced from the Democrat Party, so then those institutions that support Democrat must ascribe to that sort of behavior. Please understand that the opposite is not true.

The Republicans are not a shiny-white innocent Party either, and corruption exists there, but we talk in degrees here.

By the way, have you ever picked up on the fact of what you might call “disaster movies”? The supernatural, paranormal, and occult are absolutely prolific these days. For example, you have alien invasions, things from space, meteors falling from the sky or about to extinguish earth, giant crabs or sharks even coming on land to eat people, scale 10 earthquakes, typhoons, cyclones, 500-mile-per-hour storms, giant ants, demonic people, the earth turning hot, creatures walking the earth, and hundreds of others. Man-made disasters, natural disasters, airplanes, atomic wipeouts, and “End of Days” movies such as •10.5: Apocalypse (2006) •2012 (2009) •4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011) •Alien Armageddon (2011) •Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) •The Cabin in the Woods (2012) •Category 7: The End of the World (2005) •Crack in the World (1965) •The Day After (1983) •The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961, etc.etc).

Why do you think this movie genre is coming out – just to be scary or entertaining?

I don’t think so. Unconsciously, the world is getting prepared for disasters that will come upon it, the Revelation judgments in the wrath of God after the Church is removed. It is being softened up. There are hundreds of these movies, if not thousands, counting the amateur ones.

All things work together for good to those who love God. That means the bad things are working to fulfill the will of God.

Also, all things work together for destruction for those who are in Satan’s plan. All unsaved are in Satan’s plan, and what they are doing is working towards the end the devil is wanting to achieve. That is why their pursuits are dark and immoral. They don’t understand they are heading to destruction. Some are so deluded they think they are doing good.

These are the days when good is evil and evil is good, when bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. The watchman sees these things coming and cries out?

How many are prepared to listen to the watchman?

There we have the two ways again, the way of light and the way of darkness. There are two paths and two motives and two destinies. That is why we have conflict. Christians are going in the opposite direction from the mass of mankind. “You will have tribulation in the world,” and some dear Christians are suffering terribly.

We are to look up, for our redemption draws near. We are to support one another, encourage one another. May the Lord our Saviour be gracious to both our nations, especially His own treasured people.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au