There is a grand and glorious shaking occurring throughout the West. It is most evident in the governments of the would-be gods, but this is to be expected. For these governments are but the fading shadows, rotting corpses, and worn-out legacies of Enlightenment thinking. The Enlightenment heralded the exaltation of science over divine revelation, man’s law over God’s, the secular state supreme over all. It was, is, and has always been an attempted resurrection of the Tower of Babel. And these governments are shaking, especially here. Europe has already experienced devastating judgment for its contribution to the Enlightenment construction project. The French Revolution, followed by two major wars, destroyed the vestiges of its older faith commitments and medieval order of life, leaving it as we know it today: godless, childless, bureaucratically stifled, a barren wasteland of men who have forgotten their past, make havoc of their present, and have little future. Our turn has come.
Wherever we may be in God’s unfolding government of men and nations, it seems evident that the Lord of hosts is shaking us. This is the warning of Scripture against unbelieving men and nations: “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:6-7). Again: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isa. 9:6-7). Thus, when our Savior came, all the world’s institutions were shaken. Heaven was shaken. A new order of his reign was established. All power was given into the hand of the resurrected Son of God and Savior of sinners. The government now rests upon his shoulders. From his seat of power at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens, he continues to shake those nations that turn away from him. He is shaking ours.
His shaking is evident in the litany of our government’s failures and crimes, which providentially matches the depths of our apostasy. They need not be repeated here. What must be stressed is the ignored interpretation. Our tottering, our corruption, our seeming helplessness to find a way out of the morass created by our unbelief: these are the signs of his march against us. These are the curses of his covenant upon a people that once professed to know and serve him, a people now so consumed with their own well-being, prosperity, and convenient way of life that they have been his enemy. We are surrounded with lies, plots, and intrigues, perpetuated by the architects of the city of man, aimed at overthrowing the kingdom of God and of his Christ. The people love to have it that way, for it justifies their personal rebellion, their private little wars against the risen Savior. Our foundations of hubris have become a nemesis to our liberties, to our very survival. There is no other conclusion to be drawn from current events; this is the way they should be read and interpreted. They are not the result of bad public policy, murderous foreign wars, and a faltering economy. These are the fall out of the Lamb’s war against us. He will not be mocked forever.
For we live in God’s world, not man’s. He has enthroned his Son at his right hand as the Prince of the kings of the earth. The government rests upon his shoulders, not man’s; the increase of his government will never end; the city of man’s will. If we do not kiss him, we will know his wrath. What we are witnessing is undoubtedly, for God’s word is infallible, yet a further shaking of the heavens and the earth, the Son’s displeasure upon those men and nations that refuse to bow the knee to him. Yes, I know this seems like a fairy tale version of history, for the vast majority of the men in our nation believe Jesus Christ is a myth, at least the Jesus Christ of history, of dominion, and of power. He is not. We are feeling his displeasure. He is striking us with national blindness, intensifying our rebellion as a precursor to deeper judgment, and giving us over to reprobation. He is causing us to believe a lie; he is exposing ours as a culture of lies, of scams, individual and collective, for this is exactly what the Enlightenment was and is. It is a scam of white-coated priests of Baal masquerading as scientists, professional thieves as financiers and politicians, atheistic states as benevolent institutions of toleration and freedom. Choosing these, we now have the joy of partaking of their fruits. We will not fight for the restoration of God’s law, so we shall perish under the tyranny of man’s. You see, some reformations work inversely. When wickedness has prevailed for a long time, when the rights of the Son of God are contumaciously trampled, he sends a reformation of destruction. We cannot escape living in God’s world and under the dominion of the Crucified One. He is the King, and while he may long suffer his rule to go unrecognized, while he keeps his people in the incubator of historical suspense and refining fire, there reaches a point where, for the sake of his church, his name, and his covenant, he more immediately intervenes to expose, topple, and shake the city of man. Evidences of his war against us are everywhere evident. Where we are in his march, I do not pretend to know. It does not matter. It is at once painful and thrilling, challenging and hopeful to see him march through history with the a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth and his garments stained with the blood of his enemies (Rev. 19:11-15).
But this is not a time for fear. We must remember that there is another city, another kingdom, which will continue to grow as a mustard seed until all the birds come and lodge in its branches, until all the mountains of the city of man are made low and the nations flock to Mount Zion, his Church. His shaking of the city of man points to the absolute stability of his city, the heavenly Jerusalem, which has now come down out of heaven (Heb. 12:22; Rev. 21:2). It meets each Lord’s Day to confess its faith in his sacrifice, its allegiance to his reign, its dependence upon his power. Yes, it feels the effects of his work against the city of man, often painfully. It is in the world and cannot insulate itself from the effects of Messiah’s march. It sees and feels the underlying spiritual battle for the souls of men. Yet, it also remembers that he is ruling over all things for the sake of the church, his body. He cannot be separated from his Bride. He will destroy the city of man progressively throughout history, its every manifestation, for her sake. Thus, she stands beautiful and unmoved. Count her pillars; they will endure. She has a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). Her destiny is certain for her Lord is sovereign; he is the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. She loves and adores her Husband, anticipating and longing for his promised return, his eternal kiss of peace and joy. But who can abide the day of his coming, for he is like a refiner’s fire. We know he comes to refine us.
What are we to do when the city of man is being furiously shaken, when its foundations are exposed as so much sand, when the torrents of divine judgment wash over it? First, we must continue to look to the Lamb of God as our Lord and Savior. Primarily, this requires faith – in his person and work, in his purposes for history, in his love and watchcare over his Church, in his infallible word, in his individual wisdom and good in each believer’s particular circumstances, however difficult they may be or become. Without faith, we cannot survive the shaking of the city of man. We will succumb to fear, which always leads to compromise, despair, and abandonment of our post. We will lose our joy and hope, our adulation in the great Captain who is fighting for us. Faith is especially critical when we are caught up in the vortex of events and circumstances from which we cannot extract ourselves. The day is soon coming when “letting goods and kindred go” may become much more personal than at present. If the Lord allows this present push of the city of man for final consolidation of power within its walls, then it will seek to crush dissent. It is already trying to marginalize, even criminalize dissenters as unpatriotic, religious nuts, and dangerous. Even so, we will not fear, for this is part of the King’s plan to bring his people to greater dependence upon him, to refine us. He will do mighty works in our midst as we believe his promises and trust his love and faithfulness.
We also need to speak the word of the King more boldly, which depends upon walking with him more closely. We speak about those things we love, things that are dear to us. Is he? Most Americans have no idea of the gospel. Our ignorance of the English Bible has never been greater. Government schools have been very successful in eliminating critical thinking and fostering absolute trust in experts. Only the word of God can illumine our present darkness. Speak it. Never tire of speaking it. Proclaim the good news of great joy as if your very survival depends upon it, for it does. If there is any hope for us as a nation, it is only in mass conversions to the true Jesus, confessions of faith in the Jesus of Scripture, a new national creed, one we rejected over two centuries ago now: Jesus is Lord. Proclaiming his Lordship is the most relevant public activism in which we can engage. This is especially true since he is moving, shaking the foundations of the city of man. Men need to be confronted with the reason. It is not the current administration, lack of political options, or big government. These are only symptoms of the Lamb’s displeasure. It source is our lack of submission to Messiah the Prince, as individuals and as a nation of individuals.
And we must pray. Our main prayer must be: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Our Father is in heaven; he is the Judge of the earth, and he will do right. Our citizenship is in heaven, and our greatest protection is seeking our Father there, through our Savior, rejoicing in him and seeking all our good in him, our deliverance from him. “May your name be hallowed! Everywhere, Father, men are trampling upon you, speaking your name only in curses, perverting your worship, spurning your law, trampling upon the blood of your Son. Do whatever is necessary to hallow your own name! Send forth your gospel so that your name may be hallowed. Sanctify your church that your name may be revered among men, that they may see our good works and glorify you. As for your kingdom, Father, it is the rule of your Son. You have committed all authority and power into his hand. May it come in gospel power throughout history and in consummated power at its end. Men, Father, are trying to shut out your kingdom. Defend it! Uphold your name, your promises, your covenant, your sacred word! And as for your will, Father, there is nothing higher, holier, or more precious. We are reaping death because we have sown to man’s word and will. Deliver us in your mercy. May all men everywhere submit to your will through the renewing work of your Spirit!” These are the sort of petitions with which all God-fearing men, women, and young people must daily bombard heaven. They will be a sweet-smelling aroma to God. As we pray, “How long?” the Lord will pour our prayers back onto the earth in the form of the judgments he has prepared for the city of man. He has promised. He will shake the city of man to rubble. Who can withstand his wrath? The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform all his holy will to build Christ’s kingdom and grind the city of man to powder (Isa. 60:12).
In the process, there is another vital point to be made. We must not become caught up in the blindness of American-ism. Virtually all the talk show hosts, doomsday prophets, and moderately informed hoi polloi talk as if the real danger of all this is the potential disruption or end of the American way of life. Define this, if you can. I suggest it really means freedom to live as you please with as little government intervention as possible: make your money, pay minimal taxes, keep government out of big business, raise your family as you please, a utopia of self-satisfied, self-focused living. The present war of the Lamb has as one of its primarily purposes to overthrow this way of life. It is practical atheism. Yes, Jesus, the flag, and apple pie seem very sweet, but conservative apostasy is no better than its liberal counterpart. I would suggest that the Lord is and will disturb our comfort in all this. I am not simply referring to job loss, lifestyle changes, and general uncertainty. Our comfort and convenience are deeper idols than most recognize. Comfort and convenience are another way of saying: “Let me live as I please. I shall find my own meaning.” This may be religious or secular, conservative or liberal, patriotic or pluralistic. It is against the Lamb. He is the King. Therefore, expect change. Our way of life is largely artificial, life on a perennial credit card. We need to be toughened up a bit. We need to hear “no” again in our individual and national life. No, you cannot have this right now. You cannot retire to a life of ease. No, others will not clean up your mess and pay your bills. No. We hate this word, for it threatens our sense of self-determination. It confronts us with the fact that we are not gods, making up reality as we go. We are limited, dependent, needy. When the Lamb makes war, he confronts us with reality, his reality. There is “yes” only in him, in submission to his cross, reign, and word.