Volume 18 Issue 9 - September 2003 MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA "It is time for you to act, O Lord, for they have regarded Your law as void." (Ps.119:126)
CHIEF JUSTICE ROY MOORE "Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." One of the great treasures of being in Montgomery during this defining moment in American history was the honor of shaking hands and talking briefly with Chief Justice Roy Moore. The Lord privileged me to be there when he courageously gave his defense for defying the tyrannical order by Judge Myron Thompson. These are just some of the gems that he spoke at that historical press conference. Justice Moore stated,
Some Christian leaders, the other state officials who were served, and the enemies of the cross all publicly lamented his refusal to remove the monument. They demonized him as a law breaker, as one who thinks that he is above the law, and for political grandstanding. What has sustained him through these cruel assaults from within and from without? He is a Christian in the highest order who believes to remove that monument is tantamount to denying his Lord and that, my friends, is not for sale. There is no compromise, no reaching across the aisle, and no negotiating with this man’s faith. He does not, like so many Christians today who serve in public office, deny his faith and his beliefs in order to be promoted by this increasingly Anti-Christ government. Plus, to remove the monument is to betray his oath of office. Something that his sense of duty, honor, and integrity will not allow him to do. His stand and sacrifice is so foreign to us today. We don’t understand it, so we attack it, because it shines the light of courage upon our cowardice. C. S. Lewis once declared, "In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid geldings be fruitful." Chief Justice Roy Moore has not removed any of his organs through the seduction, intimidation, and the persecution of this age. Therefore, he is functioning as a godly statesman, a true patriot, and a principled leader. He has a man’s chest, meek before God and bold before men. His example of virtue shines forth to bring conviction upon the church, our culture, and government. While many laugh at him and his honor, we awake to find federal tyrants betraying our nation. Unfortunately, we are still not shocked. They are now seeking to castrate him, Biblical Christianity, and God’s law from our nation and then still expect America to bear the fruits of freedom, protection, and prosperity. To believe this is possible is to hope for something that never was and never will be. PROPHETIC WORD AND WARNING "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life." (Prov. 6:23) After the press conference where Chief Justice Roy Moore made his stand for the Lord and for His Word in the public life of our nation, the media interviewed me. They probably were aware of the tears that were flowing down my face as my heart was bursting within me. They asked for my reaction and I did all I could to suppress a Charismatic fit right there in the rotunda. I responded to them by asking them to picture a man wandering in a desert for thirty years and suddenly someone brings him a cool drink of pure water. "Do you know how long we have waited for someone like this to make a righteous stand in America? We are overwhelmed!" Three hours after the press conference 50 million Americans were plunged into darkness. Was this a mere coincidence? Could there possibly be a connection between Montgomery, Alabama and New York City that fateful day? These were the questions Flip Benham, Pastor Daniel Thompson and I determined to ask God. We all committed to pray to enquire of God if this was just a coincidence or was this the Lord speaking to our nation through the worst blackout in our history? The next day the headlines read "BLACKOUT MISERY." As soon as my eyes beheld that headline the word of the Lord came unto me saying, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life. America, if you are hell-bent on removing My Law, My Lamp, and My Light from your nation, you will be plunged into BLACKOUT MISERY." This was no coincidence. Chief Justice Roy Moore, like Elijah of old, was used of God to declare to America, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." He drew the line in the sand and the fire fell (BLACKOUT). The headlines in Wichita, Kansas where Pastor Daniel Thompson resides read "POWERLESS." If there is no such thing as a transcendent God to cry out to or a higher law America can look to, then there is no basis for the freedoms we enjoy. We are left powerless to defend our liberties. We are also still a rouge nation that is in rebellion to a lawful authority, i.e. England. It was to the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God that our Founding Fathers cited as the basis for America to seek Independence from England and become a free nation amongst the nations of the earth. Our Founding Fathers understood we could not be a free and independent people unless we were dependent upon God. Benjamin Franklin, who many consider a deist declared this non-deist statement, "I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages...I therefore beg leave to move-that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven..." Benjamin Franklin gave this speech during the bitter Constitutional Convention that was embroiled in a debate over how each state was to be represented in the new government. It was at the moment of crisis when the delegates were actually abandoning the Constitutional Convention, that this senior statesmen stood up to give this charge as a call to prayer. Notice, he invoked the word of God and called them to pray to help save our Constitution. In spite of this, today we have government officials and especially the courts penning decrees and issuing orders that deny and seek to remove the self-evident truth concerning the Christian foundations of our Republic. They would have us believe that to acknowledge God in the public life of our nation is unconstitutional. That it would violate the rule of law and the hellish doctrine they concocted called the "Separation of Church and State." The term "Separation of Church and State" is not found in our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, nor the Bill of Rights. It was a phrase written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. President Jefferson was simply writing to calm their fears and to quell a rumor that Congress was in the process of choosing a single Christian denomination as the national Church. He wrote to assure them that America would not create that which our Pilgrim Forefathers fled from, the Church of England. The Church in England utilized the sword of civil government to coerce people to worship in the national church. The Pilgrims believed the Church of England violated the Scriptures and as such violated their consciences. By God’s grace, they escaped the Church of England’s persecution, spent a few years in Holland, and eventually came to America "in ye name of God," "for ye glorie of God," and "for the advancemente of ye Christian Faith." The National Public Radio called for me to do an interview as I was heading into the Governor’s mansion in Montgomery. My purpose for being there was to deliver 150,000 petitions to Governor Bob Riley. These petitions called upon Gov. Riley to stand by Chief Justice Roy Moore and to defend the acknowledgement of God’s word in the public life of our nation. As the interview proceeded the dreaded subject of the "Separation of Church and State" came up. I gave them this brief history lesson that debunks our current deception on this subject and then shocked them by saying all true Biblical Christians believe in the "Separation of Church and State." Though that phrase is not in our founding documents, it’s doctrine is found in the word of God. God has ordained the state with a sword and the church with the keys. We don’t want the church running the state, nor the state running the church. They have separate functions and a different set of Biblical principles by which they are to govern. However, there is no man, no entity, no institution, and no government that is separate from God. He is the supreme authority and self-government, family government, church government, and civil government are delegated authorities that find their basis, their function, and their legitimacy in Almighty God. How many times in the Scriptures did the prophets of God and the priests of God rebuke kings and civil magistrates for interfering with or for trying to usurp the role of the church? The prophet Samuel tore the kingdom from Saul for performing the sacred duty of sacrifice that was to be ministered by the prophet and not the king (1 Samuel 13). King Uzziah busted into the temple to burn incense upon the altar of God. Azariah the priest confronted him and reminded him it was not lawful for the king to burn the incense, but the priests of God alone. King Uzziah infuriated with civil power was struck with leprosy, and was cast out of the temple by 80 valiant priests (2 Chronicles 26). King Jeroboam created a false, alternate altar for Israel to sacrifice upon. A man of God cried out against this unlawful and unholy activity. He pronounced God’s judgment upon the false altar and King Jeroboam stretched forth his hand to arrest him. He drew back a nub. His arm withered. Obviously, the Lord takes very serious the separation of church and state. Most of the time, however, the Lord erects the wall of separation to save the church from the interference of the state. This is something our Founding Fathers were mindful of and that is why they gave us the 1st Amendment. The following diagram will demonstrate the contrast between the historical view of Thomas Jefferson’s statement and our modern interpretation that has muzzled the Church and removed the knowledge of God from America.
THE 1ST AMENDMENT Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. First off, notice to whom the 1st Amendment is addressed to, Congress, not to a Chief Justice of a state. Chief Justice Roy Moore is not a Congressman working in the Federal government, but a Chief Justice serving the Alabama Supreme Court. Secondly, Congress is forbidden to make any law for or against religion. They are not to trifle with, interfere with, or to dictate anything as it relates to the establishment of religion or its free exercise thereof. So, where is the violation of the Constitution? Where is the violation of the rule of law? Who is the law breaker and who truly is the law keeper? I would submit to you that Chief Justice Roy Moore is the law keeper and Federal Judge Myron Thompson is the law breaker. He had no business, no lawful authority, no Constitutional basis whatsoever to force Alabama to remove that monument. The prohibition of the 1st Amendment is against the Federal government, not the states or "We the People." May these tyrannical judges that legislate from the bench be impeached and may the Second American Revolution commence in Jesus’ Mighty Name! THE BATTLE "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." (Psalm 33:12a) vs. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17) While there in Montgomery, I had the opportunity to confront the atheists with the claims of Christ and the truth of His Word. I told them that God was powerfully using them for His sovereign purposes. They have done more to awaken the sleeping giant and to galvanize the Church of Jesus Christ more than any preacher could dream possible. I challenged them to understand that they are serving God mightily. Unfortunately, they are serving Him as an enemy, but I implored them to serve Him as a friend. For some reason, they were not pleased with my presentation and soon left the premises. It is one thing if an individual is foolish enough to want to live life on his own terms, a life without God, but it is an entirely different matter if our nation desires to live without God. Hell is life without God. That is true eternally as it relates to individuals who refuse God’s offer of salvation and are cut off from God’s heaven, and it is also true temporally as it relates to the destiny of nations. Why do you think our Founding Fathers demanded we be "One Nation Under God?" Why do you think our national motto is "In God We Trust?" Why do you think the last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem decrees, "Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’ And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!" They knew what we have forgotten to our own demise. If this nation continues to expunge the knowledge of God as we have done in our schools, our culture, and our government, we will be turned into hell. There will be darkness unmitigated, the smoke of America’s torment will rise as a warning to the nations, and the chains of abject bondage will be our children’s inheritance. The battle in Montgomery is the same battle that has ripped through the pages of Holy Writ and the pages of history. It centers on who is Lord and whose laws are to govern in the affairs of men (Acts 17:7). If God is not the Sovereign, that leaves man with two disastrous options. The state will claim Sovereignty. Historically, this has led to tyranny, oppression, bondage, and murderous regimes. If the individual claims Sovereignty, it will inevitably lead to chaos and confusion. Only God as Sovereign provides the delicate balance and divine tension between the authority of government and the liberty of the people. Remove that basis from America and the government becomes despotic and the people become licentious. Both are evident in America and both are enemies to our freedom. The Scriptures declare that only where the Spirit of the Lord is, can liberty be possible (2 Corinthians 3:17). Now more than ever, America needs to be reminded that our liberties are the gift of God and are to be protected by our government. It is, however, the freedom to do as we ought and not the abuse of freedom to do as our depraved hearts would please. LIVING STONES "You are our epistles written in our hearts, known and read by all men." (2 Corinthians 3:2) The last several decades has witnessed the capitulation of the Church of Jesus Christ to almost every form of perversion, bloodshed, and tyranny in our beleaguered nation. The wretched condition of our nation indicts us and reminds us of what has transpired under our watch. Precious few men of God and Christians have made a public stand to resist evil, and to speak out against the godless direction our nation is heading in. Those who have stood have become the objects of scorn. They are despised by this world, ridiculed in the press, considered an embarrassment to the church, but prayerfully are still highly prized in heaven. Yes, a tiny remnant has fought the good fight of faith in the midst of this adulterous and perverted generation. They have tried to prune the fruits of America’s idolatry with very little support. The Church in America by silence and inaction has inadvertently strengthened the hands of the oppressors, victimized the weak, and emboldened the powers of darkness. Little do we realize that this very posture is what is pouring fuel upon our enemies. It has inflamed them to now strike at the very root of our liberty. Thomas Jefferson once declared, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." Our Founding Fathers, our Pilgrim Forefathers, the Reformers, the Martyrs, and every righteous spirit that has been justified by faith have sowed the blood, sweat, and tears to pass on a legacy of freedom. We are living off the fumes of their legacy. The capital of liberty they invested is being squandered and the demand for another investment is now crying out to us. Will we heed the call, will we make an investment to insure freedom for our children’s future, or will we allow the government of the people, by the people, and for the people to perish from the earth? They that have gone before us have faithfully run their lap of the race, fought the necessary battles, made the righteous stands, and were willing to sacrifice. If their godly heritage is to continue, we must realize, it is our turn now! While fighting the battle in Montgomery, it is important to note that we were in a defensive posture that was reactionary to the threat of judicial tyranny. It was a needful, right, and proper stance. However, it is more needful that we go on the offense and become pro-active in this battle for the souls of men, the lives of our children, and the future of our nation. Operation Rescue/Operation Save America in the light of this demand has introduced a way for the Church to become like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. It is called the Ecclesiastical Court. On Thursday, September 25th, in the year of our Lord 2003, Christians in cities throughout America will be going to the federal court buildings to hold the federal judiciary in contempt of God’s court. Every evil decision the courts have made that has defied the authority of Almighty God, trashed His Law, and unleashed hell upon our nation, we are delaring publicly that they are no longer binding upon us, our children, or our nation. Then on Monday, October 6th, in the year of our Lord 2003, we will all meet in Washington DC to hold the Supreme Court in contempt of the court before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Those of you in Texas who would care to join me on September 25th, I’ll be leading the Ecclesiastical Court in Austin, Texas. Be sure to contact me soon for more details. For those of you who cannot make it to Washington DC, would you please consider financially helping to send my four older girls and I to make a stand there? We are needing about a thousand dollars extra to go on this mission trip. Make checks out to Elijah Ministries and on the memo mark Washington DC. In our next newsletter we will go into more detail about becoming a living stone and monument in America and how we as Christians should Biblically submit to tyrannical authority. IN KING JESUS' SERVICE, Rusty, Liz, and the Thomas Nation P.O. Box 3126 Voice: (254) 836-1037 E-mail: elijahmin@ifriendly.com
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