Volume 6, Issue 12
In Christianity, Jesus’ instructions to the Disciples was to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ In Christian theology, this is referred to as the Great Commission.
In the evolution of government structure and ruling authority’s relationship with the governed, civil movements have forced moments of truth. Such demands have caused change resulting in new philosophy in government, the old never to be repeated. This has been the Great Commission of government accommodation.
The History of State
Recorded history begins with Abraham and ancient Israel. The State was a theocracy with the application of secular laws. The people desired a king from God. God advised against it but granted their request. Egypt was the first nation to declare that their leader was a god. Pharaoh’s word was law. Greece advanced citizens’ rights through city-states. Rome developed the concept of a republic. Roman foreign policy dictated subservience of its neighbors to the Roman Empire.
After the fall of Rome in the 4th century AD, the Catholic Church and papal authority was established. The transition from the Roman Empire to nation-states was realized by and through the process and protocol of the Holy Roman Empire. Principalities elected an emperor ordained by the Pope. Later, Europe emerged as the center of power. Kings and queens were the authority of the time. European government after the Dark Ages encompassed all of the lessons learned of government leverage from prior eras.
The first critical turning point in the government commission was in 1215. Nobles rebelled against the Crown of England. They demanded that the king recognize and honor their liberty. The document that set forth the rights of citizens was entitled the Magna Carta. This declaration of rights forever changed the course of the great government commission.
However, European powers continued to exercise Romanesque authority over other nations.
The History of Religion
The great faiths of the world have mirrored governments in historical reference. Every major civilization since the beginning of time has embodied a formal relationship with an almighty sovereign. The eternal question of who is the ultimate authority over the people, a government or god, has been at the heart of constant societal tension.
Ancient Israel established a covenant with God at Jerusalem. For centuries, Jerusalem was a city whose control confirmed authority. Therefore, governments attempted authentication by conquering Jerusalem.
Islam emerged in the 7th century AD. Muslim leaders through the Middle Ages adhered to this strategy of claiming Jerusalem. The Crusades were, in fact, a battle for control of this holy city. Governments and establishment religion were now in direct conflict with each other. Each attempted to do what was necessary to dominate society.
In 1510, Martin Luther made his first and last visit to Rome. He was disturbed to find what he felt were openly corrupt priests who had little respect for the Great Commission of the church. He described his observation thusly: “Rome is a harlot…the Italians mocked us for being pious monks, for they hold Christians fools.” The Catholic Church had instituted the practice of selling “indulgences.” Luther believed in the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “The righteous shall live by faith.” The Great Commission in Christian doctrine means to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. Martin Luther, in defying the ruling religious order of the day, forever changed, in the context of history, the Great Commission.
Martin Luther’s “Ninety-Five Theses” was the equivalent of the English nobles’ Magna Carta in the impact to the accordant Great Commissions.
Current Events Historical Application
These two Great Commissions acting independently of each other, but in relationship with each other culturally, have framed the current events we are experiencing today.
Martin Luther’s proclamation inspired the Pilgrims a century later to leave England for the Americas. The king then still could not grasp the shared responsibility of liberty.
For the first time in the history of the world, the Great Commissions of state and religion culminated in the Declaration of Independence. That declaration was a demand for liberty as originally claimed by the Magna Carta. In addition, with the recognition that all inalienable rights are endowed by a Creator, the American colonists declared, by this official act of independence, that God is sovereign over man and man is sovereign over government. And further, no king has a right to intervene in God’s purpose for an individual’s ordained pursuit of happiness.
A great Revolutionary War was fought. Overcoming what appeared to be insurmountable odds, the peoples’ acclamations were victorious.
Today, the world finds itself again at a historic crossroads of classic Great Commissions. Donald Trump, in his presidency, is challenging every fiber of establishment authority. A shaking is occurring in the order of the elites. The echo of modern aristocrats professing a constitutional crisis drowns out any rational debate for reform.
On the other side of the world, China is laying the groundwork for a new empire led by an emperor. In China, religion is regulated. People’s rights are restricted. The government spends more money on surveillance than on the military. By this, they demonstrate that they fear their own citizens more than their neighboring countries.
Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X for simply advocating an accordance for preaching Christ.
The English nobles who forced the Magna Carta onto King John were later executed.
In Course Corrections of Great Commissions, the struggle between government and people is magnified. Sacrifice and commitment is required.
National news media criticizes evangelicals for their support and lack of criticism of President Trump. Ironically, in justification of their argument, they use the standard of Christianity, a Great Commission they vilify and condemn. They hold Christians fools. This is, in fact, the essence of hypocrisy that knows no bounds.
In these times, China, a totalitarian state, rises. The United States, a government of the people in praise of God, is challenged.
What does this mean to each citizen of the United States?
The same thing it meant to the citizens of England in 1215 or to the citizens of Europe in 1517. Commit to the truth and pledge your honor to defend it.
Quotes are often rendered from the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence:
When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands…
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…
What is less often quoted is the last sentence:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
One may say to oneself that people don’t talk like that anymore. That such conviction was of another time and place.
Truth and conviction know no time and place. For they are eternal.
Whether secularist or spiritual, an individual’s hope rests in liberty. The United States is the last Great Manifestation of the Great Commissions. America’s honor is at stake, and the defense of America’s honor is the definition of our own honor.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?