The abysmal and disgraceful failure of Christian leadership during the coronavirus scare-demic – Part 7
Part 7: By being ignorant of history, or pretending to be so, the vast majority of the churchmen are either not seeing, or pretending not to see it being repeated to the detriment of their own flocks and society at large. In this they are further aiding the demonization of Christian faithful who refuse to blindly submit to government tyranny, and who thus defy godless rules which forbid that which God commands (church meetings), and allow that which God forbids, hates and abhors (murder by abortion, economic genocide and establishment of idolatry by the enslavement of the people to a dictatorial system which demands blind and unquestioning obedience)
In Part 3 of this series of articles I noted that when a nation reaches a point at which its citizens can no longer criticize the government for the fear of being criminally prosecuted, then that nation is well on the road to tyranny. But how did we get at this point here in Canada? And who is most to blame for the current state of lawless (i.e., godless) authoritarianism that legalizes iniquity (Psalm 94:20) and currently rules over our and many other countries? The blame can only be at the door of those who profess to be the salt and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-15) – i.e., Christians.
“Only the church, only Christians, can topple such an idol [= the idol of anti-Scriptural statism], we must speak to the [civil] magistrates. A revived mission to the magistrates is needed in our day. We have abandoned the civil realm and the consequences in our land are evident. The law order of wicked men is now public policy. Their worldview reigns through law and institutions. We must instruct the magistrates in their God-given function [see Part 1]. We must teach them what their duty is in the side of God regarding their office. We must rebuke, exhort, call to account, pray with, plead with [and] instruct from the Word of God.” – Matthew Trewhella (pastor, Mercy Seat Christian Church, Wisconsin, The Reformation & Civil Government)
“Because the church avoids confrontation and goes along to get along with the culture, wants no part in public policy matters the American church no longer calls the institutions of our culture to repentance or reform when they do wrong…Herbert Schlossberg in his magnum opus Idols for Destruction said it this way –
Civil religion eases tensions where Biblical religion creates them. Civil religion papers over the cracks of evil, and Biblical religion strips away the covering exposing the nasty places. Civil religion prescribes aspirin for cancer and Biblical religion insists on a knife.” – Matthew Trewhella (A White Lie and Black Death: Why Does the Church Believe the COVID19 Lie? Part I)Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. – Matthew 10:34-36.
Those who claim to know the Bible ought to recognize that Biblical religion not only creates tension and conflict, but also refuses to cry “peace, peace” where there is no peace. And for this reason it does not cover lightly the mortal wound of sin and apostasy in the nation (Jeremiah 6:10;14; Jeremiah 8:5-11; Ezekiel 13:8-16), even when it resides in the high places of the government. And this is precisely why pastor James Coates is now in jail – because he exercised that kind of religion – i.e., Christianity in substance not just in mere appearance. He therefore, as I have noted before (see Part 5), is not a public health risk but a political prisoner of a tyrannical regime that cannot stand any opposition to its pseudoscientific and totalitarian policies. He is in fact criminalized for following the truth of God’s Word, his conscience and true science, and for rebuking the government of Alberta for its overreach, and reminding them of the fact that they are not above the Law of God but subject to it. He, unlike the vast majority of the churchmen, refuses to perpetuate the great lie – the government’s and the mainstream media’s narrative on COVID-19 – on the basis of which Canadians are being enslaved to a new totalitarian technocratic pseudoscientific fascist state-cult which demands of them brainless and unquestioning obedience, and the surrender of basic civil liberties (see Part 6). We should not however lament that persecution of faithful Christians is now afoot in our nation because, as it has always been the case in church history, this is but the Lord’s means to separate the wheat from the chaff (Matthew 3:12), and to expose the hypocrites in our midst.
“…he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. – Matthew 13:20-21.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. – 1 John 2:19.
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. – Malachi 3:16-18.
“As government policy moves further away from biblical principles, and as legal and political pressures against the church intensify, we must recognize that the Lord may be using these pressures as means of purging to reveal the true church.” – John MacArthur (pastor, Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Christ, Not Caesar, Is Head of the Church: A Biblical Case for the Church’s Duty to Remain Open)
The Lord is indeed using government tyranny to test our hearts, for crisis reveals character, and currently, what is being revealed is not a pretty sight, since iniquity abounds and the love of many waxes cold (Matthew 24:12); yea, truth faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey (Isaiah 59:15). And one such man is pastor Coates, for he dared to act like Daniel, and like Daniel has suffered the consequences for openly defying the anti-Scriptural command imposed upon him by the evil civil magistrates – in his case, the government of Alberta, which ordered him to close his church GraceLife, west of Edmonton. GraceLife has been subject to an executive order from Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw to close, because the church does not require congregants to wear masks and has not limited worship services to the provincial mandate of 15% of fire code capacity.
“At the end of the day, the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded His church to meet [Hebrews 10:25] and pastor James Coates has enough conviction to act on it, with or without Cesar’s permission.” – Jacob Reaume (pastor, Trinity Bible Chapel, Waterloo, Ontario, Pastor James Coates Arrested: His Lawyer Explains)
James Coates therefore did not comply with Deena Hinshaw’s executive order to close and has paid a high price for His faithfulness to God. Since the 16th of February he has been held in the Remand Centre, which is a maximum security prison where the worst of the worst criminals are held because they do not qualify for bail, being too dangerous to be released while they await trial. It is hard to see how Canada’s government is not sending a clear message by this appalling action, and one that is very consistent with Justin Trudeau’s extreme liberal anti-Christian policies. Nonetheless, today we are not so much concerned about criticizing our government, or other countries’ governments that have similar policies, but rather, the Christian response to their governments’ ungodly and unlawful actions.
“The church has been complacent for far too long. In countries where persecution has been rampant and deadly for the same period of time, Christians are far more careful and watchful. They have to be; their lives depend upon it. They take fundamental principles very seriously and continue to meet in homes under a government ban on meetings. However, the western church has become slothful, lukewarm and careless. Now that the government has treacherously acted against the Word of God as well as the word of the constitution the church has simply complied without any question or remorse. It is tragic that even secular people have reacted better to this draconian fascism…But without even a whimper, the government closes churches and even prohibits marriages and the church just complies.
The command of God is that the church must not comply with the world when it compels disobedience to Christ or the testimony of Christ. The church must always focus upon Christ above all else. It looks to Christ first and to the government second.” – Paul Fahy (Christian minister, An Alert to Believers)“…a pastor was arrested this week, and he is in jail, as you know. And his crime was opening his church. That’s his crime. And I see that as an ominous event, an ominous event…And when a faithful pastor ends up behind bars you know it’s bad. It’s a sign of trouble. And when churches and their pastors are silent, or when they cold-heartedly debate whether it’s real persecution and when they sanctimoniously condemn the man for violating tyrants you know it’s bad…Evangelical organizations, so called evangelical organizations, have been reduced to propaganda arms of medical tyrants whereby they dismiss the arrest of a pastor and the imprisonment of a pastor as “problematic” to religious freedom. That’s the strongest we can hear from some, and it is [apparently] scandalous that a church would open its doors to sinners and embrace the Lordship and the sovereignty of Christ over the church instead of Cesar.” – Jacob Reaume (The Problem Behind Our Problems: Where Are the Shepherds?", Ezekiel 34:1-10)
What is scandalous, and not only scandalous but plain treacherous, is not that a handful of faithful men kept the doors of their churches open, but that the vast majority have done the very opposite. For it is in fact pure and unadulterated treachery to disown the Lordship of Christ and embrace the lordship of Cesar instead.
“We’ve seen our premier [Jason Kenney] and bureaucrat [Deena Hinshaw] behave like Pilate and wash their hands of the injustice, but most troubling for me has been the response of the professing Christians who have handed over the headship of the church to the provinces’ premiers and unelected chief medical officers. I’ve heard church leaders in this province ask our premier and the chief medical officer – “Will you allow us to sing? Would you be willing to give us 30%? Will you allow us to teach our children in Sunday school?” It’s shocking to hear church leaders, first – praise these people for what they are doing, and then to ask allowances of them.” – Jacob Spenst (associate pastor, GraceLife, Spruce Grove, Alberta, GraceLife Supporters Call on More Churches to Reopen as Pastor James Remains in Custody)
It is astonishing indeed to see so many Christian leaders praising the government and health officials for forbidding that which God commands (Hebrews 10:25), and bowing their knee in blind compliance to their arbitrary and hypocritical decrees, thus essentially signing off to their own destruction. This reprehensible capitulation of Christian leaders to government bureaucrats and health officials has not gone unnoticed by the non-Christians, some of whom have been far more disturbed than the Christian community itself over the self-abolition of Christian worship in the name of “public safety.”
“Christian church has been tortured and martyred and attacked…this lockdown is nothing compared to what the Church has faced before. Nothing compared to what the Church is facing today in Iraq, China, Nigeria…Christians are being murdered…I’ve been to Iraq where Isis comes in and marks the doors, saying ‘Christians submit, pay the jizyah or be killed’, I’ve seen it in my eyes. So you got a church in Canada and you shut down because some mayor said so based on junk science?…You know, I am not a Christian, I am a Jew, so that is not even my story…The story of Christianity for centuries was that of a persecuted faith. You are a Christian and you maybe know some of that? And then the first time some jumped up little torp says – “ah you cannot have your church”, you say – ah, OK, what am I going to do, the mayor said so and I guess I better shut down this church after 2020 years...” That’s pitiful. The casino is open – check, Walmart is open – check, Costco is open – check, NHL players and their gyms – check, [pubs, restaurants and coffee shops also], but not a church.” – Ezra Levant (Ezra Watches Passion of the Christ, Calls Out Canada's Churches For Shutting Down)
In another news report entitled Practice on Christians First: Why Are the Cops Targeting Churches? aired on December the 2nd 2020, Rebel News founder Ezra Levant said to his reporter Drea Humphrey, “you know, I am madder than they are Drea”, to which she replied, “You know, I’ve said that before to some Christians…Why is my Jewish boss more concerned about the Christian churches being targeted than the Christians themselves?” It is indeed a dark day for Christianity when an unbelieving Jew is more concerned for the cause of Christ that the Christians themselves!! And when he can plainly see that Christian churches are being particularly targeted by the COVID-19 related public health orders, but the vast majority of Christian leaders either do not see this or pretend not to see it, “they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14).
“We've heard of outbreaks from gyms in our area...it definitely seems that gyms are spreading [COVID] more, and then yet we saw them get some restrictions in B.C. with the last order, but they weren't completely shut down like religious gatherings.” – Drea Humphrey (Typhoid Temples? COVID Chapels? B.C. Blames Religious Services For Outbreaks)
Now, if you dear Christian reader do not see that there is in fact something very sinister with these COVID-19 restrictions since they very evidently disproportionally target religious gatherings, then you are not seeing reality. The following excerpts from an open letter addressed to B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix on February 11th 2021 by pastor Samuel Chua illustrate very competently the sheer extent of hypocrisy and double-standards displayed by our government and health officials towards religious communities:
“Perhaps the strangest discrepancy is that religious organizations that provide food to people in need, or run support groups, are permitted under the current health orders to have up to 50 individuals on-site. Indeed, our own church distributes food to the needy. While doing so, we can host up to 50 persons. Inexplicably, the same persons cannot gather for worship even under the most careful COVID-safety protocols. This glaring disparity has not gone unnoticed and begs the question: why are such gatherings, within the same building, and many times in the exact same space, considered COVID-safe—whereas religious services are not?”
“In November, Vancouver’s Catholic Archbishop, J. Michael Miller, indicated that there had been no reported cases of COVID transmission in Catholic churches and noted, “In light of this record within the archdiocese, it is puzzling, to say the least…why our facilities can be used—and we are delighted that they are—for meetings such as AA in the basement, while not even limited worship can take place upstairs in the church.”
“B.C.’s health orders treat religious and non-religious group activities differently, but not because their respective public health risks are demonstrably different. How is transmission risk any different when multiple tables of people are listening to a live band playing in a pub, separated by 2-3 metres (as permitted in your orders), compared to when multiple families are listening to a pastor lead a church service, separated by 2-3 metres (as currently prohibited)? Likewise, I cannot see how a group fitness class of 25 people can exercise in a room more safely without masks (as permitted in your orders)—despite their increased respiratory rate—than a congregation like ours, which wears masks at its gatherings and merely sits quietly. If it be argued that singing in church poses a significant risk, I think it is only reasonable to ask whether merely a few minutes of singing once a week—even accompanied by wearing face masks (as our church has practiced)—is as dangerous as multiple, random groups of people exercising in a communal space, every day, all week long, and without face masks. Would our congregation be eligible to meet together if it refrained from singing, or if it added some light physical stretching on Sunday morning, and followed the exact protocols of a local gym?”
“The B.C. government has explicitly (and commendably) acknowledged in B.C. Regulation 204/2020 that religious organizations provide essential services in B.C. But if religious organizations are deemed to be essential, it begs the question: how is it that non-essential services can operate with the government-approved safety protocols throughout the week, all day long, whereas a church cannot provide a core part of its essential services under any safety protocol, even if it occurs only once a week and for a short period of time?”
“Thus far, our argument has not expressly invoked Charter rights; rather, our argument is based on widely-accepted notions of fairness and the equal treatment of all citizens. Nevertheless, we noticed that the latest version of the public health order entitled “Gatherings and Events” (dated February 5, 2021) acknowledges, for the first time (in paragraphs 9 and 10), that your public health orders implicate the constitutional guarantees in s. 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“the Charter”). But insofar as paragraph 10 attempts to defend the limits you have imposed, by calling them, “proportionate, precautionary and evidence-based restrictions to prevent loss of life, serious illness and disruption of our health system and society,” we respectfully disagree. As explained above, the public health order permits organizations to perform non-religious group activities, while denying religious organizations the right to do activities that have similar, or even lower, risk profiles for COVID-transmission.”
“Ironically, the B.C. government’s restrictions on religious activities inadvertently communicates to the public that religious activities are less valuable to society than non-religious activities, thereby contradicting the government’s own recognition, in B.C. Regulation 204/2020, that religious activities are “essential” and have “the purpose of benefiting the community.””
“Moreover, the B.C. government’s unequally-applied public health policies are inadvertently contributing to a growing level of prejudice, negativity, suspicion and distrust in our society that is directed towards not just Christians, but religious people in general. What public perception is fostered by the fact that religious organizations have had stringent limitations imposed on them that severely undermines their ability to operate, while pubs, restaurants, businesses, gyms and group exercise classes continue to operate?” – Samuel Chua (An Open Letter From a Pastor to Dr. Bonnie Henry & Minister Adrian Dix re: COVID Restrictions on Religious Gatherings)
Now, for all his commendable effort in exposing the gross double standards of COVID-19 restrictions pastor Chua is sadly not part of a proper godly solution to this crisis but rather a part that perpetuates it, for sadly, he belongs to the group of Christian leaders who praise the government public health officers for their unscientific and un-Biblical COVID-19 restrictions and policies, and go out of their way to comply with them (see the first page of his letter); and then when they are ordered to shut down they virtually beg the public health overlords for an allowance to keep on worshipping under these same Covidiotic restrictions that go flatly against God’s own Word, which not only commands unrestricted worship (Hebrews 10:25), but also instructs us that in case of contagion we isolate only the symptomatic – i.e., the truly sick! (Leviticus 13, see also Part 3). Moreover, by mandating masks, social distancing and obligatory health checks on all congregants and by saying to the B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry that his church does not wish to be treated differently than gyms and restaurants and other facilities that are permitted to operate, but only be allowed to conduct church worship services under the same COVID-19 restrictions that apply to everyone else, Chua is, however unwittingly, declaring that he has no lord but Caesar! And what makes this worse in his particular case is that he clearly recognizes that the COVID-19 restrictions are disproportionally and grossly hypocritically targeting the churches. And yet they are coming from the government-appointed “public health experts”!! Are we to think that this is just some kind of unwitting and unintended oversight on their part? You have to be exceedingly naive if you think that is the case. And further, Chua says that although he can sympathise with the frustrations of public-health order non-complying churches and pastors, he cannot condone their actions. And so in essence he sides with Pilate and the angry mob against Christ and his faithful servants! He and others of like mind are in fact too blind to see that which is crystal clear to an unbelieving Jew!! But please, don’t just take my naked word for it; let us rather hear the matter from the Rebel News founder:
“…for me it is a day of fury that he [pastor James Coates] has been in there for a month, and that the various charges against him were dropped so casually by the Satanic prosecutor. I say that because putting a pastor in prison while releasing violent criminals, that’s right out of the Bible [thank you Mr. Levant for knowing the New Testament better than so many Christian pastors!!!], that’s – who would you want to free – Barabbas or Jesus? That’s right down to what that is.” – Ezra Levant (Gov't Will Have to Prove Charter Violations Justified – John Carpay Joins Ezra Levant)
Rebel News reporter Sheila Gunn Reid was also able to recognize the sheer travesty of justice perpetrated by the Alberta’s government in jailing pastor Coates. In her report aired on February 23rd 2021, she noted the following:
“Now in a turn of evil irony the Alberta legal system has released over 500 non-violent prisoners from the Remand Centre and has given early release or early parole to hundreds of others from other facilities across the province, a full one-third of prisoners from Alberta jails have been released because it has been deemed too dangerous for them to be held behind bars either awaiting trial, or serving other sentences, because of the threat of the coronavirus. And yet that same legal system has deemed it fit to imprison a Christian pastor for holding services at his church where there has been no instances of coronavirus transmission.” – Sheila Gunn Reid (Protests and Prayers for James Coates, the Christian Pastor Held in Max Security Centre in Edmonton)
In advertising the Rebel News petition FreePastorJames.com, Ezra Levant perfectly highlighted the evil irony of Alberta’s legal system when he tweeted, “At least we got that Christian pastor in jail so everybody’s safe from him and his church services.” And again, judging from his zeal I am sad to conclude that this unbeliever was so outraged at the jailing of pastor Coates that he launched a petition for his release while most of the religious leaders have sided with his accusers!! And in doing so these present-day Pharisees have, whether wittingly or unwittingly, condoned the abhorrent action that deemed the release of criminals (and not merely non-violent ones), and jailing of a pastor a policy in the interest of public health and safety!!! Truly, I can hardly think of a more Satanic legal action than that, and those who have perpetrated it along with those who condoned it are an abomination before the Lord.
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. – Proverbs 17:15.
What is happening before our eyes is indeed right out of the Bible – history repeated – though most churchmen are too blind to see it as they are too busy worrying and keeping their congregants “safe” from a virus that has a 99.74% survival rate!!
“Moving on to our contemporary scene, I will now introduce you to a few more characters. I will make no specific concluding remarks, thus allowing the reader to draw his/her own conclusions.
First and foremost is an Alberta pastor. He was a righteous and peaceful man who stood trial before a human court [just like Jesus in His day]. His prosecutors could find no charge against him, except that he claimed that Christ is the Messianic King of Psalm 2, especially that Christ is Head of the Church. He had the courage to apply that teaching, invite his community to worship Christ, and offer the Gospel of hope to a city in despair. In the eyes of public health departments, that meant that He “opposes Caesar.” For that, he was thrown into jail.
Then we have the leaders of Alberta [the Pilate and the Roman authorities of our day and age]. They are wet-noodle types who preside over their province where the pastor is in jail. They faced an angry mob that demanded the pastor’s imprisonment, and they didn’t even attempt to defend the pastor. Because of their spineless frames, they washed their hands of the situation, publicly condemned the pastor for his violation of Alberta’s cleanliness codes, and they passed the buck to the public health workers. The pastor remains in jail, and the leaders try not to talk about it.
Next on our list are two convicted criminals [the Barabbas and his companions of our day]. Both have recently been released from jail. One has a history of breaking into homes to sexually assault women and minors while they sleep. The other is a serial pedophile who molested a 6 year old in 2008 and has reoffended multiple times. The leaders who preside over Alberta do not seem to be afflicted in their consciences over the release of violent sex offenders while a pastor is in jail. The crowd was outraged when the pastor opened his church, but they’ve accepted the release of sexual predators as a normal part of life in Edmonton. They could have the righteous and peaceful pastor who brings the Gospel and love to the people, but they have two sex offenders who are imminent threats to peace and a danger to their families. The leaders, ever the invertebrates, remained troubled that the pastor opened his church.
We now move to the public health department [the Pharisees of our day, along with most churchmen who uphold their Pharisaic cleanliness codes]. Among their many areas of expertise is their knack at nitpicking over cleanliness codes. Shortly after the pastor brought hope to his community—a community they themselves have subjected to despair—they went after the pastor because he did not uphold their cleanliness codes in his great act of compassion when he opened his church. Having forced many of the people out of work, the public health departments have never missed a pay cheque, all the while claiming “We’re all in this together.” They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger [Matthew 23:4]. They are blind guides, straining a gnat and swallowing a camel [Matthew 23:24]. They concocted the plan to arrest the pastor, and they will likely stand as his most vicious accusers at his trial.
Finally, we have the sanctimonious church leaders and their followers. Some were outraged over the pastor’s decision to open his church, some pastors castigated their own parishioners for supporting the arrested pastor, and some dispassionately dismissed the arrested pastor’s actions as “unwise” or “a bad testimony.” Their disapproval of the arrested pastor was much louder than their disapproval of the rapist and the pedophile who the government released in their communities. They accused the pastor of breaking the government’s health rules, while really the pastor was trying to uphold the rule of Christ. Condemning the imprisoned pastor and embracing the rule of public health while forsaking the worship of Christ, many of the church leaders have seemingly declared by their deeds that they have “no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).” – Jacob Reaume (Jerusalem and Edmonton: Give Us Barabbas! No King But Caesar!)
Pastor Reaume’s representation of the state of affairs came only a hair’s-breadth short of being perfect, as he forgot one other class of characters who were present both at the Jerusalem 1st century AD and Edmonton 2021 scene – the false accusers of who testified against the servant of God. In Jesus’ case, these were a few scoundrels from among the people (Matthew 26:59-61). In our present-day case, it is the scoundrels from the mainstream/lame-stream media. They along with their accomplices in the public keep parroting the government’s slander that the church gatherings are a threat to public safety, and super-spreader events, and that despite the fact that there is no objective evidence for it, only slander. In fact, pastor Coates’ congregation has been meeting regularly since last summer, and there has not been a single case of COVID among them, and the same holds true for pastor Patrick Schoenberger’s Baptist congregation in Medicine Hat. John Carpay, the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the legal group representing pastor James Coates, therefore hit the nail when he said that, “it is a travesty of justice to have a pastor in jail for not complying with unscientific and unconstitutional health orders in respect to which the government has not provided any evidence, only theories”, and further, that the government has a theory that church services are a danger to public health, although there is absolutely “no evidence that’s been before any court to support that.” And yet the mob keeps screaming – keep Coates in jail, there has to be repercussion for violating public health orders, and for threatening the public safety of Alberta’s citizens! We cannot allow him to hold another super-spreader event! I actually read a facebook post recently along these very lines. Another post asked – why would anyone give credence, or listen to anything that the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has to say? I cannot even express in words my utter dismay at this comment. Apparently then, according to some vocal segments of Alberta’s society, a legal organization that defends basic civil liberties like freedom of conscience, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement and freedom to earn a living, is apparently the real enemy of the Canadian people!! I suppose following their advice we should accept fascism as a much preferable and superior alternative!! And no doubt that our present-day dictators occupying the government seats would be more than delighted with such an outcome because that is, in fact, another history that is being repeated here!
“We know from history that disease, plague and sickness…all produce fear and we also know that governments will use that fear for their own ends. We have many instances we know from history where viruses and plagues were used to demonize certain people groups. We even have a recent one we can point to when it came to the Nazis. According to historian and author Alex Alvarez, the Nazis fostered conditions to portrays Jews as natural disease carriers to justify their genocidal actions. Here is what Alvarez writes, “under the Nazis the supposed connection between Jews and disease [and today – the supposed connection between Christians, their worship services and disease!] created the ideal situation for a self-fulfilling prophecy. The segregation [and persecution!] of the Jews from the general population could be justified on the grounds of preventing the transmission of the disease. And once they have been crowded into ghettos, and deprived of enough food and sanitation facilities the outbreak of disease in these places was inevitable. The Nazis however attributed it to the [alleged] Jewish propensity to carry disease, not the conditions in the ghetto. In short, the Nazis were able to portray their discriminatory and genocidal actions as necessary to maintain the health and welfare of German society…Jews were demonized for spreading disease even though bad living conditions and sanitation were the main reasons for outbreaks.” – Matthew Trewhella (COVID-19 & Quarantine Laws)
Here then is a very important lesson from history – Jews under the Nazi Germany were being falsely accused and demonized as disease-spreaders in much the same fashion as Christians are today, which is in fact why they are being disproportionally targeted and penalized under the COVID-19 restrictions, and why church gatherings are being slanderously reported of as super-spreaders.
According to Erin Coates, her husband’s lawyer James Kitchen, who is also a historian, said that Canada of today can be compared to 1936 Germany. I find it very hard to disagree with him on that, though I wish I could do so without committing intellectual suicide at the same time.
So many people however are so ignorant of history, which is precisely why they so easily repeat its mistakes, and fall to the very same deceptions that have been foisted upon unwitting humans by the tyrants of old times. They are so dumbed down by the idiot box (= TV) and the mainstream media that they do not recognize evil for what it is when it is in front of their faces.
And so dear public-health order complying pastor, what will it take for you to wake up to our present-day reality? Don’t you recognize that history is being repeated here? Are you so blind? If so, then you have no business leading the Lord’s flock. People wonder how did Hitler manage to seduce an entire nation into endorsing a great evil, and participating in the national genocide of the Jewish people. The answer is before our eyes – in the same way as it is done today – by perpetuating a great deception, and by fostering fear, thus promoting silence and blind compliance. And by demonizing and penalizing those who refused to comply – i.e., just as it is done today to faithful Christian pastors in Canada.
And please, note also that the Jews from just over a generation ago did not lose all their freedoms overnight, and went from being a free people to being hurdled into ghettos and the death-camps in the space of 24 hours. No, they lost their freedoms little by little, progressively over some period of time, just as we are losing them today. We are in fact the proverbial frog being slowly boiled in the kettle, mostly without even realizing it!! And the silence of the overwhelming majority of the under-shepherds of the Lord’s flock is only aiding our satanically-inspired government’s treacherous and nefarious cause. I am very much afraid that the sheep are being prepared for a great slaughter and most of the under-shepherds are so dull and blind that they think the wolves are the sheep’s benefactors!!!
The only thing that the “experts” along with their media puppets have successfully accomplished is to divide the people of Canada and to pit a large portion of our society against the very ones who truly have their best interest at heart.
“Trinity Bible Chapel has received at least four threats since last week…Just after Christmas, we opened our church to offer hope to a community in despair. We did so again the following week and then again on January 24.
The media could focus on the harms of the lockdowns. They could report that the former chief medical officer of Ontario has spoken out against the lockdowns. They could advise that more people over the age of 90 have died of COVID than under the age of 80. They might consider reporting that children are statistically at greater risk of dying of the flu than of COVID. Instead of unremittingly pointing out accumulative case counts and death counts, they could highlight that more than 99.9457% of Canadians have not died of COVID since it arrived on our shores over a year ago.
But they don’t do that. No, but they do give incessant attention to our church. Why? Because we had the audacity to challenge the narrative. We offered the lonely a place to gather in person. As consenting adults who love each other, some exchanged warm smiles and greetings and it — scandal! — was caught on camera. We offered hope to the destitute and despairing. We proclaimed the forgiveness of sins by faith in Jesus Christ. And we did what churches have done for over 2,000 years: We gathered for worship. I’d be less concerned about the untiring reporting on us, if they’d spend some more time criticizing the lockdowns.
One wonders to what degree the media’s non-stop reporting has whipped people up to provoke threats of violence against us. Or, perhaps with that, it was the vocal scorn from some politicians? Maybe it was a combination of both.” – Jacob Reaume (Threats Against Trinity Bible Chapel)
Other churches have likewise been receiving threats, even death threats for refusing to go along with the superstitious pseudoscientific COVID-19 public health orders. Thank the Lord that He had raised up the few faithful pastors in our day who are like Daniel and his companions Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and who are able to see our government’s public health policy just for what it is – a great and intolerable evil! And like Daniel and his fellows, they too are willing to say to our “great” kings and overlords – Our God is able to deliver us from your ridiculous and unjust charges and penalties, but even if He does not, be it known unto you that we will not bow down to your destructive and un-Scriptural edicts!
My heart and prayer is with those churches that recognize that Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18), and that we are only to obey governments in so far as the governments themselves do not command that which is contradictory to the Word of God. As the apostle Peter himself exclaimed when he and the other apostles were being prohibited by the religious authorities from preaching the Gospel – we ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 4:19; Acts 5:29). And millions of Christians throughout history have been martyred precisely because they refused to obey their governments which were demanding of them to renounce their faith and worship the heads of state and their anti-Christian orders and decrees. Thank God for the faithful churches in Canada and elsewhere who are refusing to compromise, and may God give us grace to stand on His Word and not move from it a hair’s-breadth, even if all the powers of hell and of the state, and all the discouragement from the false and lukewarm professors try to convince and intimidate us to do otherwise!
“Although we in America may be unaccustomed to government intrusion into the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is by no means the first time in church history that Christians have had to deal with government overreach or hostile rulers. As a matter of fact, persecution of the church by government authorities has been the norm, not the exception, throughout church history. “Indeed,” Scripture says, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Historically, the two main persecutors have always been secular government and false religion. Most of Christianity’s martyrs have died because they refused to obey such authorities. This is, after all, what Christ promised: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).” – John MacArthur (Christ, Not Caesar, Is Head of the Church: A Biblical Case for the Church’s Duty to Remain Open)
“Threats or smears, we must embrace the reproach of the cross with honour. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So that is what we will do.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).” – Jacob Reaume (Threats Against Trinity Bible Chapel)
Now, to those of you who are afraid of men and their slandering words, and what you might suffer for the sake of upholding the truth of the Gospel – such as – the loss of reputation, “friends”, finances, conveniences, and other things that are esteemed much in the eyes of worldly men, I have only one word to say: you cannot serve both Christ and mammon, and you cannot serve both Christ and public opinion!
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? – John 5:44.
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:26-33.
“If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” – C. T. Studd (English missionary who faithfully served the Saviour in China, India, and Africa, 1860-1931, C. T. Studd – Biographies and Information)