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America On the Precipice
 
By J.R. Ensey


Proverbs 28:2; 29:2,3: “When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.... When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.”

Those truths, laced with wisdom, were put into the Word by God’s direction for just such a time as this. I believe we are expected to apply them to our current situation today. They were originally given to apply to the new nation that God had established—a theocracy called Israel. The word theocracy is the English translation of the Greek theokratia, from theos (God) and kratia (rule). Israel was not a democracy, nor even a republic.

In a theocracy, the laws are not generated by a group of people but are handed down from God. In other words, God rules through those He appoints and approves. That is the form of government God established for Israel. Israel was the only theocracy established by God.

The United States is not a theocracy. Some say the USA is spoken of in the Bible when it mentions the eagle in reference to a nation. However, there are 27 countries of the world that use the eagle symbol in their heraldry or coat of arms. The USA is an amalgamation of aspects of both a democracy and a republic.

Definition of Democracy

The word democracy is a combination of two Greek words: ‘demos’ means people, and ‘kratein’ means to rule. In short, it means ‘the rule of people’. It is a government that is ruled by the citizens of the country, also known as “the system of masses.” Majority rule is the essence of this system.

In a democracy, there is active participation of the general public in the political and decision-making process of the state. Free and fair elections are held to choose and replace the government. People get equal rights in a democracy, and the law, which a majority of the people approve, applies to all the citizens of the country in an equal manner.

Definition of Republic

The term republic is a Latin origin, made of two words: ‘res’ meaning “a thing,” and ‘publica’ meaning “public”; therefore, the people are bound to and by the public thing, i.e. law. It is ruled by the citizens’ representatives chosen by them through voting. The government leaders can exercise their powers only according to the rule of law.

A republic is the representative democracy where there is an elected chief of the state, who serves the state for a certain period, known as the President. In this political system, the government establishes the inalienable rights of the individual, which cannot be overridden by the masses.

In a pure democracy, the majority of the people rule. In a republic, the law that was constitutionally established takes precedent. In a Democracy, minority rights can be overridden by the majority. In a Republic, certain rights are inalienable.

What are inalienable rights? These are specific freedoms that each individual in republic has which cannot be transferred to another person or surrendered except by the individual having those rights; i.e., cannot be infringed upon by individuals or government entities, without changing the law. Fundamental rights of United States citizens include right to practice religion, equal protection of laws, and the freedom of speech.

In a democracy, mobocracy can prevail. In a republic, mobs cannot prevail. Conversely, A republic system protects the rights of minority groups or an individual. In a democracy, the power rests with the population; however, in the case of a republic, the power is in the hand of its laws, which are created to safeguard the interest of the people.

The democratic system can be financed through illegitimate or arbitrary taxes, fees, fines and licenses, unlike a republic, where legitimate taxes and fees are established by those representatives that are elected to write laws and taxing policies. Both the systems have their positive and negative aspects. Democracy gives equal rights to all the citizens of the country. As opposed to, a republic where all the citizens have the right to vote to select their representative.

The United States of America was founded as a republic with democratic aspects. Our Pledge of Allegiance to our flag notes that America is a republic. Republicanism is the guiding political philosophy of the United States. It has been a major part of American civic thought since its founding. It stresses liberty and inalienable individual rights as central values, making people sovereign as a whole. It rejects monarchy, aristocracy and inherited political power, expects citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption. American republicanism was founded and first practiced by the Founding Fathers in the 17th and 18th centuries. For them, according to one team of historians, republicanism represented more than a particular form of government. It was a way of life, a core ideology, an uncompromising commitment to liberty, and a total rejection of European and old world aristocracy.

The Current Political Drama

Now we are locked in a powerful political battle for the very soul of America. Forces are in play that could continue to reduce our nation to little more than a “banana republic” where the powerful are maintained in office through bribes and manipulation of the masses. We are not the nation we were fifteen years ago when the twin towers were toppled in New York City. We seem to be lying in the rubble and dust of that fateful day in September 2001.

Our military has been feminized. We are becoming a nation of wimps and wusses. Our basic freedoms are being challenged. There are those who want that to happen because wimps and wusses can be pushed around and easily toppled, as the Bible says. We are being diluted by an influx of those who want to see American exceptionalism reduced, who want to see her wallowing in the dust and rubble of 9/11. They want to make the mobs who can stop pipelines, construction of highways and bridges, and who can force our institutions of learning to change course, the absolute rulers of this country. They want dilute the rule of law and law enforcement. They want absolute power to be centralized in Washington.

They want to teach our children how to become perverts. They want our schools and colleges to become little more than sites for the propaganda of a social system and an agenda to transform this nation from the individualism of republicanism to a mosh pit of writhing humanity without morals and without appreciation of where we came from and who we are. Long ago someone said that it will be the abuse of our founding freedoms that will bring us down.

Forces are in play that want to abuse the liberties that birthed this nation and install other forms of legal standings, such as Shariah Law. When we are governed by those who wish to erase the memory of every good and decent thing America has done and bully her into a corner where every positive aspect is removed, including her wealth and her dignity, we will fulfill several of the passages we read in the Book of Proverbs and other places in the Scriptures. If you think I am overstating the situation, here is the Bible:

Proverbs 11:14 – “Without wise leadership, a nation falls.”

One of the presidential candidates has proved that having wise leadership is not an objective. Corruption has surrounded her for decades. I remember lies she told concerning Whitewater, Travelgate, and a half-dozen other investigations when she and her husband were in the governorship of Arkansas and later in the White House. She is willful, self-centered, full of disdain for any who are not on her block of political turf. A trail of alleged “occurrences”—strange accidents, deaths and suicides—transpired among those who did not cooperate with her or who had information that was potentially damaging to her career. Greed and political simony has followed her virtually all of her adult life.

Her Harvard thesis was written about the political power theories of Saul Alinsky, a shadowy figure and Marxist organizer from the 40s, 50s and 60s who has impacted our nation through our current president and now through her. Now she is in alliance with George Soros, an anti-American Hungarian immigrant who is calling the shots behind the scenes because of the huge sums of money he is pouring into her coffers. Once it is discovered you can be bought, the bidders step in and ante up.

Lying has become her trademark. She has lied in her debates. She has lied about her speeches before Wall Street bankers. She has lied in congressional testimony, and she has allegedly perjured herself multiple times concerning her emails. She obviously enriched herself during her four years as Secretary of State through the selling of favors and special considerations. She took huge sums of money from Saudi Arabia and other governments dedicated to the eradication of Israel and America. She came to Beaumont, TX to raise money from the Muslims in that area. The Bible says, “Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap” (Proverbs 21:6). One of the seven things God hates above others is “a lying tongue” (Proverbs 6:17). She even lied before the nation recently when responding to FBI Director’s letter to Congressional committee chairmen regarding reopening the investigation of her emails, saying it only went to Republicans. The letter went to the ranking Democratic members of the relevant committees. Lying is an embedded way of life for her. Some of these lies concern violations of trust and national security that should affect her potential to hold the office of the president.

In July, FBI Director Comey, after examining her emails and her private server, declined to turn the case to a Grand Jury and indicated that she had done nothing deserving of indictment. We have recently learned that a wealthy contributor gave almost $500,000 to the political campaign of the wife of the senior FBI official in charge of the investigation. This is known as corruption. Comey has been under pressure since July because of his handling of the affair. Other agents have risen up and apparently were ready to do something on their own about her violations, putting the director on the hot seat.

On October 28, 2016, the FBI announced it was reopening the email investigation since new material has come to light. Actually, there was already plenty of material to charge her with ethics violations, if not outright criminal intent. The statute governing security measures pertaining to the office she held clearly states that violators are not eligible to hold federal office. The Bible also says,

“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

As USA citizens, we have the right and the responsibility to help install in our nation’s leadership those who abide by the law and have a sense of ethical commitment. Without ethics and morals demonstrated by those who lead us, we are no different from the Congo, Venezuela, or Malaysia. This country was given birth by men who knew how to pray, and they knew to put men in office who espoused values that would build a strong nation—not perfect men, but men who knew right from wrong in ethical matters. They put God and the Bible all over Washington, at the Supreme Court, on the Washington Monument, in halls of Congress, on our paper money and on our coins. Our nation has prospered primarily because of the general absence of corruption.

If we ignore the culture of political corruption that has surrounded this candidate for the last 35 years and decide to elect that person as our president, we should prepare to see the Christian influence in America diminish quickly and drastically. We should expect to see during the next administration the possible striking of our tax deductions for charity, particularly churches. This would have a devastating effect on our churches, our missions programs, and virtually all facets of our Christian life. We should expect to see strong moves in the direction of registration of all firearms, which would be tantamount to confiscation. We should expect to see the global warming issue close so many of our plants and job sources other than fast food joints that a major collapse of several sectors of our economy could occur. We should expect to see an economic downturn unlike any since the 1970s under Jimmy Carter.

The scriptures we read at the beginning and during this article were put there for our information and our admonition. We are responsible to see that they are applied in the context of our experience. As voting citizens we are responsible for who sits in the seat of government. God expects us to vet those whom we ask to serve us. Admittedly, there are no Sunday school teachers in the presidential race. They are not running for General Superintendent of the UPCI or even for Pope of Rome. We can’t choose an apostle Paul for there are no apostles running for that high office. So we have to choose from those who are in the race.

Voting is a private and sacred right here in America. No one is suggesting a name one should vote for. That can remain a private matter with each person. But it is also our sacred right to speak about those who are seeking leadership positions in our government.

Questions we need to ask ourselves is:

• Who would be most likely to be fair to Christians, and fair to our founding faith?

• Who would be most dedicated to a constitutional government?

• Who would be most likely to appoint judges who would lean toward the protection of our basic rights as spelled out in the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights?

• Which one is most likely to be friendly to nations and religions that are opposed to America, who see Christianity and Israel as mortal enemies, wishing to rain death and destruction on this nation?

• Which one is most likely to consider America’s interests and our citizens first in the treaties that will be made?

• Who will be most likely to protect us from the immigrants who are coming into our country with the stated purpose to do us harm?

• Who is most likely to lower our taxes, thus relieving each citizen of undue burden of financing wasteful and irresponsible spending?

• Who is most likely to increase the size of the government’s footprint on our lives?

• Who is most likely to promote a single-payer system for our health and medical services? It is impossible to express at this point just how that will affect each of you, your children and grandchildren. The government will have total control of your life in that situation when they are the ones paying your doctor and your hospital. And it would be something that would probably never be repealed. Weep for your children!!!

It is time we go to God with a prayer born of the admonition contained in II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” That is God’s promise to us. Let’s take Him up on that!

 
 
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