Covid-19 has exposed that we live in a paper palace and that our economic strength hangs by a thread. Leaders are feeling the pressure and nothing is going well. Like Nebuchadnezzar, our government is in search of a unifying power to unite the people under an image. If the story of Daniel offers us any insight into our present moment, then what we should see is that attempts to reclaim the glory of a nation is a thoroughly religious activity. In moments of panic, nations have the potential to attempt to unify their people under a new form of religious devotion, a religious system that attempts to assert itself against the Lord and against his anointed (Ps. 2).

While many Christians appear to spend their time expressing outrage over mask and vaccine mandates, a larger mandate has already come upon us that has inaugurated a revolution that few seem to appreciate. It’s not the kind of historical revolution with which we are more familiar. This is a far different kind of revolution. And until Christians are more spiritually minded to appreciate exactly what is happening, the battle will be fought over the wrong issues, kind of like a soldier who argues over the uniform he is required to wear rather than actually stepping onto the battlefield.
What in the world is going on? Everything seems to be unraveling at the seams. Something very demonic is at work before us in our present moment. Dr. W. Robert Godfrey teaches the adult Sunday school class the Escondido United Reformed Church and he has started a new series titled, “What is Going On: Sex, Race, Politics and Power.” In the class, Godfrey has made the assertion that Christendom has come to an end in America.
This is not suggesting, of course, that Christianity has come to an end. Christianity is the faith of those who follow Christ according to his Word. Throughout history, Christianity has survived under the most brutal of all regimes. Christendom is a far different concept with which to evaluate our current moment. Christendom is the enshrinement of Christianity to be the favored religion in the governments of the world established in cultural dominance and law. That we have enjoyed the complete freedom to practice our faith due to a Constitution that enshrines the free exercise of religion is without question a most remarkable blessing.
Godfrey makes the case that for seventeen-hundred years in the West, Christianity has been the favored religion protected under law and cultural dominance. But something specific, says Godfrey, has happened in America that brought Christendom to an end. I will return to this point, but it’s important to say that until we appreciate Godfrey’s basic proposition, confusion will remain as to exactly what is happening and how Christians are to handle themselves.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image
Let’s begin with a biblical story to demonstrate that we are up against is not a new phenomenon. Imagine with me for a moment that China invaded the United States and hauled us all over by boat to live under their oppressive regime. Without any opportunity for dissent or rebellion, imagine being taken from our country and assimilated into nation that had no tolerance of our faith. This is exactly what happened to Judah in 597 B.C. when king Nebuchadnezzar, a wicked and abusive tyrant, destroyed Jerusalem and took captive Judah by uprooting them from their beloved land with the goal of assimilating them into the kingdom of Babylon.
When Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams were interpreted by Daniel, a surprising prophecy was made that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would soon fall, and “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.” Daniel was speaking of “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:11).”
In response to this dream, Nebuchadnezzar set up a ninety-foot golden image in the plane of Dura, the very place where the Tower of Babel once stood. It was a direct act of defiance to Daniel’s projection of the future. When the music played, all the kingdoms of the earth were commanded to bow down and worship the golden image.
This must have been a devastating moment for Israel. Up to this point, they were free in Babylon to practice their faith without threat. With one lawless decree, Nebuchadnezzar makes the power-grab of all power-grabs as Israel was now threatened with fire if they refused to bow down to this newly fashioned golden image. We can only imagine the fear and the sense of helplessness on the part of Israel as Nebuchadnezzar’s new law required their obedience at the pain of death for defiance. Nebuchadnezzar had resurrected an image that stood in direct defiance of God, through the idolization of power, by demanding Israel’s worship of the Babylonian image.
This story from Daniel should help Christians to appreciate what is happening in our current moment. When a kingdom or nation begins to crumble and its leaders feel the pressure to retain their nation’s impending loss of power, they respond with desperate attempts to save their kingdom from imminent fall. The trajectory of Babylon is “Fallen! Fallen! (Rev. 17).” Falling kingdoms desperately attempt to assert their power over their citizens in a unifying manner.
This is no less true of the United States which is, at present, the greatest expression of Babylon on earth. The response of Nebuchadnezzar to his kingdom’s imminent fall is similar to what we have begun to experience in the United States. The rulers of America are sensing that their kingdom is being broken into pieces, just as Daniel said would happen to Babylon. In response, as Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden image to save his kingdom, so too, America is desperately grabbing for a unifying power to unite the people and revive the strength of the nation. Every totalitarian nation throughout history has done this, using its sources of law and cultural influence to reestablish their nation’s greatness in times of decline.
Covid-19 has exposed that we live in a paper palace and that our economic strength hangs by a thread. Leaders are feeling the pressure and nothing is going well. Like Nebuchadnezzar, our government is in search of a unifying power to unite the people under an image. If the story of Daniel offers us any insight into our present moment, then what we should see is that attempts to reclaim the glory of a nation is a thoroughly religious activity. In moments of panic, nations have the potential to attempt to unify their people under a new form of religious devotion, a religious system that attempts to assert itself against the Lord and against his anointed (Ps. 2).
This is what the book of Revelation is describing when kingdoms go beastly. What Christians are not appreciating is that an image has already been set up and that the power grabs on the periphery are only serving to strengthen the devotion to this golden image that has already risen tall before us. While Christians remain on the periphery and assume that the battle lies in the political fight of the right and the left, a giant image stands before us that has already been codified into law and cultural influence.
Godfrey says the specific event that brought an end to Christendom in America is the 2015 Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage. But it wasn’t simply the decision that marked the end of Christendom, it was the fact that by and large, the masses bowed to it without dissent—collectively. This is a remarkable moment. This mandate, codified into law, has entered all facets of life and demands our submission. Our nation has made a desperate attempt to regain control and power to make us bow before this image. The fundamental difference with this image is that it is an ideological one, overtaking law and cultural dominance as a requirement for adherence from every citizen.
What Christians have to appreciate is that what is before us is a thoroughly religious revolution taking shape, an ideological image under a call to religious devotion. It should be no surprise, historically speaking, that Babylon would erect images for its citizens to worship. First century citizens of Rome were soon faced with emperor worship and were called upon to bow to Caesar as Lord. But it’s a far different thing when a nation requires God’s people to bow and accept a new religion, with all of its subservient tenants, that stands directly opposed to the “faith once delivered for all the saints (Jd. 1).”
If Christians do not appreciate that what has been inaugurated in 2015 into law is a new religion being imposed upon us, we will not appreciate what we are up against. Obviously there are many tenants to this new religion. Original sin appears to be questioning that one can follow the desires of his heart. Sinners are those those who say that homosexuality is wrong. Saints are those who embrace the new sexual norm. Heretics are those who question the new orthodoxy. Penance is found in finding sympathy with those who practice what the Bible calls evil desire and tolerating the new sexual norm of the culture. And everyone is commanded to bow and celebrate what has now been enshrined into law. Obviously there are other theories at work that land in the same trajectory.
Until we appreciate that a religious system is being imposed upon us, we will be like a soldier fighting over his mandated uniform rather than engaging the true battle that enables all of these others power grabs. How many Christians are fighting Covid-19 mandates and yet have done little to help their people engage with the newly religious sexual revolution?
We Worship No Other God
A great encouragement is given to us in Daniel 3. The confidence of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is meant to inspire us. Indeed, they would not bow to the image and were immediately thrown into the fire. When Nebuchadnezzar looked in the furnace, he saw four men freely unbound and walking around freely. Believers in Christ are the truly free ones, even when governments attempt to bind us. Christ was with them, and the fire could not touch them. “The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.” The story is meant to encourage us to stand strong in our faith. We have a promise, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isa. 43:2).”
At present, we have not yet reached the point of being threatened with fire for refusing to bow to the new sexuality. That day may certainly come. But there still is a lot to celebrate, we have the freedom to come every Sabbath and worship at the feet of the true king of kings. Are we worshipping at the feet of Christ every week?
The battle is fought with the truth and God commands us to speak this truth without fear. We are being bombarded every day with sexual perversion, pornography, and the destruction of creation norms. Denominations find within their ranks those who are deceptively justifying the new cultural norm. With all this comes the pressure on our people to take on new identity’s contrary to our identity in Christ. Our children are crying out for help. Are we doing this in our homes with our children, in our churches, and to our neighbors? Or, are we still on the periphery fighting over masks and other symptoms of the political right and left, parroting that divide, while missing the much greater responsibility to stand on the truth of the gospel?
When we speak God’s truth, there we will find the Spirit accomplishing his work of convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Scriptures tell us that the greatest victory that overcomes the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). Yes, our faith in Christ is the victory that beats down the entire world! This is why we were left on the earth, with the expressed mission to be Christ’s witnesses to his truth.
There are many distractions at the moment to the more important issues, and we are in desperate need for wisdom from God, received through prayer, to distinguish what are truly spiritual issues and what are merely symptoms and power grabs of a kingdom that is fading away as Christ brings in his eternal kingdom that shall reign forever. This wisdom should guide us in how we are to conduct ourselves in our time on this earth with godly fear. The eternal kingdom of Christ is breaking in, and all other nations are crumbling before the feet of our king. We need boldness in our day, more than ever, to speak the truth as those who are truly free.
Chris Gordon is Preaching Pastor at the Escondido United Reformed Church in Escondido, Calif.  This article is used with permission.

Every Christian I have ever met has an interest in and a desire for pleasing God by living in accordance with His will. When it comes to personal decision making—especially in seemingly large, life-affecting decisions (“Is this God’s will for my marriage partner?” “Is it God’s will for me to accept this job offer?”), we want God to give us His counsel, His advice, His direction. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. In especially hard decisions, we want to make an appointment with God and sit down across the desk from Him and explain to Him the situation and the decision we face and then to sit back and listen and have Him tell us exactly what decision to make. Or—maybe even more honestly—what we want is for God to decide for us so that we won’t have to.
The question is, does God direct us when we make personal decisions, and if so, how can I find that guidance? Or, can I know in advance God’s will for me in matters not explicitly spelled out in the Scriptures? While we cannot know God’s infallible will about anything except that which is revealed in Scripture, we are not to think that we have been left on our own with no assistance from God. The issue is not one of God’s willingness to assist but of the methodology by which God has stated He will give that assistance. What we find is that finding God’s will in personal decision making is a process, not an event. It is a process wherein we follow principles that God has given in His Word.
Here, then, are the means by which God has promised to give us the aid we so desperately desire when it comes to making specific decisions for our lives. While they are listed in no particular order (except for the first two, which are necessary and foundational), when woven together they are the means by which God ordinarily directs us in the way we should go.
1. The Bible: God’s revealed will and “our only rule of faith and life.”
God’s speaking in His Word is the only inerrant and infallible source of guidance and counsel concerning any decision. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules” (Ps. 119:105–6). We can know with certainty that any decision that involves violating what God has already said cannot please Him.
2. Prayer: Rooted in faith that God hears and cares.
He is a loving Father and is delighted to help in the decision-making process. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, it will be opened” (Matt. 7:7–8). “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

We see the majestic tenderness of Christ in the first chapter of Revelation. When John beholds the glory of the Redeemer he falls at Christ’s feet as though he were dead (Revelation 1:17). John manifests weakness but Christ reveals much love, tenderness, and skilfulness in dealing with him (Revelation 1:17-18). Our fears can be real and debilitating, Christ graciously observes this and deals with the excessive fears of His people to remove them. In the following updated extract, James Durham shows what we can learn from this.
1. Christ’s Majesty Requires Humility
The effect which the vision had on John, in the beginning of verse 17. For as stately and lovingly as Jesus Christ represented Himself, he could not bear it, but faints when he sees Him, and he falls at His feet as dead. This is the first effect of the vision. “I fell down as dead”; that is, “I was benumbed (as it were) and stunned with the sight of the excellent majesty and glory that I saw in Him, and I was put out of capacity to act in body or mind, as if I had been dead. I could no more exercise or act the acts of a living man, than a dead man can.” It is like the experience of Daniel (Daniel 10:8, 9) and others. This is for two reasons.
(a) It is due to the exceeding great distance that is between the infinite majesty of God and finite creatures. The brightness of the glory, excellency, and majesty of God the Creator, burdens and over-burdens the weakness and infirmity of the best of creatures. For if the eyes of creatures be that weak that they cannot look on the Sun, what wonder that flesh and blood is not able to look on the Sun of Righteousness. This new wine is too strong for our old bottles [cf. Matt. 9:17].
(b) It is due to a sense of sin and so a fear to appear before Him, which makes the creature fear they will be undone (Isaiah 6:5). Although before the Fall, when God and Adam were friends, he could have endured God to speak to him, yet after the Fall, the appearance of God is terrible to Him. When he hears His voice, he is afraid and runs and hides himself. And there is something of this fear that raises hesitancy in the best; a fear that rises from the sight of sin, which nearness to God exposes. It is likely that something of both was the case with John, as may be gathered from the Lord’s application of the remedy, and the reasons He uses in comforting him.
2. Christ’s Majesty Requires Reverential Fear
This shows us the great disproportion that is between creatures and the majesty of God. The beloved disciple John, cannot stand before Him when He reveals Himself, but falls down as dead. A little nearness to God should leave a stamp of humility and an impression of the majesty and excellency of God upon us (Isaiah 40:15, 17 and 41:11, 12, 24). This is one of the fountain graces, humility, and a holy awe of the majesty of God. And this is the way to come to it, to get a right sight of that excellent majesty that is in Him.
Reverence and admire God’s wise and well-ordered governing of this world, especially the things that concern His church and people. Wonder that God has ordered such a way in the works of creation and providence, and in the dispensation of the gospel, and the mysteries of salvation suitable to our weakness. This is so as communion may be kept with Him. In Job 26:9, one of the stately steps of His power is that He holds back the face of His throne and spreads His cloud upon it. He draws the veil of the firmament before His throne, to keep His glory from breaking forth and consuming men. And in the dispensation of the gospel, He has chosen the ministry of weak men to reveal His mind to us. He does not speak to us directly Himself, because we could not endure it. If you heard Him speak, as He did on mount Sinai, you would say as Israel did, “Let not God speak to us lest we die” (Exodus 20:19). This way of revealing Himself should make us wonder at His condescendence in hedging Himself up (as it were) for our good. We ought to reverence the one that deals so tenderly with us, when a little glimpse of His glory, a look of His eye, a drawing by of the veil, would kill us and make us as if we had never been.
3. Christ’s Majesty Prohibits Excessive Fear
Humility and reverence even in the best of God’s people, is often ready to degenerate into servile fear and discouragement. Worshiping Jesus Christ in humble reverence was required of John. Yet this excessive fear was not called for. Such is our weakness and the slipperiness of our walking, that we can hardly keep the right path, but deviate to one side or other. Our faith is ready to degenerate into presumption, and our humility to fainting and despondency of spirit, and our fear to discouragement, heartlessness, and distrust. Our corruption is ready to abuse anything. For though there is no excess in these graces, yet there may be in us excess in our exercising them due to the corruption which is in us. There is an excessive fear that God will not allow in His people. Everything that passes for fear and humility should not be admitted.
Christ says to John, “fear not.” This is because:
(a) It is a degenerating fear that breeds mistakes concerning Christ and deters this from Him. It weakens and discourages them in their fellowship with Him. Christ will not allow John’s fear to mar that.
(b) It makes people incapable of hearing or receiving a message from Christ. When He speaks, they are benumbed, senseless and dead, they have ears, but hear not. It locks them up to such an extent that no word takes hold of them. Christ will not allow this in John.
(c) It disables, obstructs and mars in the duty that Christ requires. When John is called to write the vision, he falls as dead. Therefore, Christ tells him not to fear but rather rise up and write. He is required to reverence and fear Him but in a way that helps rather than hinders him in his duty.
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