“The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” (Daniel 4:32)
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.” (Zechariah 4:6-7) (ESVUK)
There was more to this election than meets the eye. This dirtiest of campaigns, featuring flawed and imperfect candidates represented more than a clash of personalities, ideas or even philosophies, though it did represent that. Looking back one can see it clearer. There was something deeper going on. One layer, of course, was the political. The one that is always there; that rears its’ head every four years….but it was more than that. There was also the Movement. In fact there were a couple…..feeding from the same trough; one on the Left and one more to the Right. In some small sense, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump shared the same anti-establishment pedigree with entirely different results; much like Isaac and Ishmael.
Yet there was something more. The meaning of this election can only be found when one pushes past those artificial paradigms. Despite the dirt and the lies and the corruption – there was something spiritual about what occurred. And perhaps it was demonstrated by what happened in in Time’s Square – in Manhattan – the center of New York City – the financial and power capital of the world – just prior to the election. Tens of thousands of Christians gathered in Times Square to pray and sing and worship God. The highlight of the event was the singing of ‘How Great Thou Art.’ Then there was the signal event in Jerusalem. On November 7th, the day before the election, “thousands of believers from all over the world gathered for the Jerusalem Global Gathering (www.watchmen.org). The powerful first session of this global gathering culminated with all of the Americans that were present being asked to gather on the stage in order for all the nations represented to intercede for the US and her national elections. This was not just a polite prayer of blessings but rather the nations began to cry out, pray in the Spirit and declare freedom over our nation. The Americans on stage dropped to their knees, many weeping, as the Chinese rushed to the stage front to push in prayer. One of our Israeli hosts, Asher Intrater (a Messianic Jewish leader), began to pray out prayers that broke through the spirit realm with power and authority.”[i] The world understood the importance of America’s decision. We’ve been hearing it in our church for a while now. Where once America was the light to the nations; the missionary nation – we’ve now become the nation in need of prayer; a nation in need of transformation.
**** ****
This election was not about what it seems. It was not about personality – though it wrapped itself in a cloak of personality politics. The underlying irony is this: That though Hillary Clinton claimed to care so deeply for the American people, to fight for women and children over her 30+ year career – the reality was something else. Though she had wrapped herself in a practiced façade of false compassion, in the end, Hillary Clinton was taken down by one overwhelming reality. She couldn’t hide the ‘Big Lie’ that was behind it all. To Madame Secretary this was always all about her. Clinton’s only real investment was herself. And in end, enough American people found that out. The requisite number of voters in the right states discovered what her campaign may have been aware of all along – something that perhaps she is incapable of processing herself: The Campaign was all about her. It was about the coronation of Hillary Rodham Clinton to the office of the presidency of the United States of America. It was all about her being the first woman president – breaking that most formidable of all glass ceilings. It was about continuing to draw funds to the Clinton Foundation, – about selling influence in governmental decisions. It was all about the accumulation of power.
So in the end the pitch for a Clinton presidency was even lacking that compelling raison d’etre for its existence. Devoid of real accomplishments on which to build a case, her pitch devolved into a minor social crusade; electing that first woman president. Clinton’s campaign attracted support from a good number of Americans – (mostly women) – who saw her ‘plumbing’ as the central and essential qualification for the office. They told us their reasons in short, vapid little interview snippets devoid of cogent thought. In the end, this was not enough to rally the electorate.
But the Trump-hate ginned up by the media and organized by activist groups like Washington CAN brought tens of thousands of people to the streets to protest Trump’s ascension to the office. FOX reported: “From coast to coast, demonstrators are burning flags and effigies of the president-elect while declaring that they refuse to accept Trump’s victory. But observers online are claiming that, in some cases, protesters were bused to the scenes – a telltale sign of coordination.” Tweeters in Austin provided photographic evidence of protesters arriving at the scene in buses. “‘Anti-Trump protestors in Austin today are not as organic as they seem,’ one local in the Texas capitol tweeted Wednesday, along with photos offered as evidence.” Railing against the supposed racism of Trump and his supporters, the protests took on a violent racist tone of their own. “Some of the most troubling dissent was in the city of New Orleans where protesters wound up defacing the Lee Memorial, spray painting ‘Die Whites Die’ and ‘F— Trump’ and ‘F— White People.’”[ii] In Portland, Oregon, the demonstrations turned violent, stoking what police called a full-fledged riot. CNN offered this description. “The anti-Trump rally in Portland, Oregon, revved up as protesters confronted police. What started out as a peaceful march, with more than 4,000 people, quickly turned violent. Over the course of the evening, ‘anarchists’ from within the crowd began throwing projectiles at officers, vandalized local businesses and damaged cars.”[iii]
On the other side, the Trump victory was not really about him – or his personality. Don’t get me wrong, it took every ounce of that ‘damn the torpedoes’ courage; of that refusal to be stopped to chalk up an election victory. The Donald had to overcome the relentless, unforgiving, often unreasoned assault by a press determined to derail his candidacy. He had to rise above the double standards of the Mainstream Media operating in collusion with the Clinton campaign as they willingly compromised whatever was left of their integrity by passing on debate questions, seeking her approval for articles and quotes (NY Times), crafting questions to be put to Trump and designing polls that oversampled key demographics in order to boost the appearance of support for the Democrats.
It wasn’t the Dems and their media allies alone that he faced. He also had to overcome his own miss-steps (and they were many), as well as his crassness and a refusal at times to stay on message. And like all who enter the political ring, he had to rise above the inevitable skeletons of his own past.
In the end, however, it was not about him. Despite the necessity of Donald being Donald in order to pull it off: This election was NOT about personality. Now don’t get me wrong, the sinking of Hillary Rodham Clinton was ALL about personality. When it came time to pull the lever – [or fill in the little circle on the paper provided] – just enough of the American public in just the right states recognized her for what she is; a grasping, lying, self-serving politician with a faulty moral compass – or real compassion – or for that matter, a true understanding of what originally made America great. And they saw in Trump a flawed candidate who genuinely cares about the United States of America. That’s exactly what motivated his core supporters as they stuck with him through a myriad of faux pas that would have sunk any other candidate.
But the decision makers – those not reflected in the polls – came on board late. Many held their nose and pulled the lever for the man who came to represent more than himself. This wasn’t about Donald. It was about re-taking America. This was a triumph of the Tea Party folks and the silent conservatives, of those who identified as Middle Americans standing in opposition to the ruling class that that ignored their wishes for decades. This was a vote for the nation state over the globalist agenda of the elites. This was about American exceptionalism and against the emerging New World Order. It was a vote for a return to the founding principles of a nation that has lost its way – and was just a couple of Supreme Court Justices away from never being able to come back. The election of November 8, 2016 marked victory of the Deplorables over the Ruling Class; of the Middle Class over the Establishment. This was a vote for peaceful revolution. We must take note though, that this was and remains a divided nation, split just about 50-50. Clinton did manage to eke out an advantage in the popular vote. Yet with the odds stacked firmly against him, Donald Trump was awarded the victory. ]
That victory did not come through the efforts of man. It is a product of the Divine order. Sensing the import of this election cycle, Christian Americans across the theological spectrum were inspired to pray for this nation, the election and our next leader. Recognizing the sin of abortion, the decline in moral standards and the loss of a common morality, many took to attending mass events or committing themselves to fasting and praying on a regular basis. Throughout this election year, Franklin Graham took his Decision America tour to the capitals of all 50 states to cry out to God on behalf of the nation. Nearly a quarter-million joined him for these gatherings. Dedicated prayer in all its many forms seems to have carried the day.
In the event, we must remember, we have won the battle though not yet the war. We have been given the opportunity to continue the process, to build upon our victory through prayer and repentance and seeking the face of the Almighty. President Elect Trump has made America’s return to greatness the cornerstone of his campaign. It is a tall task. It is best understood when we understand what that really means. There is a quote, wrongly attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville that speaks to what is really needed to achieve greatness. “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”[iv] In many ways we have ceased to be great because we have ceased to be good. It was my wise pastor that was given scriptures from the Book of Ezra concerning America’s situation.
“And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage…. And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments…. O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!” This election was a call for all Christians, all Americans to respond. It was the Prophet Ezra that uttered those words. And this is how the Israelites responded. “Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.” (Ezra 10:1) It is time for America to do the same. It is time for America to repent!
[i] THE NATIONS CRY OUT TO THE LORD FOR THE USA FROM JERUSALEM, Oceans In The Desert, November 8, 2016
[ii] Perry Chiaramonte, Trump protests intensify, as doubts swirl about spontaneity, FOX News, November 10, 2016
[iii] Anti-Trump protesters march for 3rd night; Portland police call it a ‘riot’, CNN, November 11, 2016
[iv] John J Pitney, The Tocqueville Fraud, The Weekly Standard, November 12, 1995
Larry Janda says
Well put, “We have won the battle, but we have not won the war.” The church must not sit back, it is time to press in even harder never forgetting 2nd Chronicles 7:14. If we do not do this, we could easily lose the war. No time to be prideful even “thinking” we have won.
Tina says
Amen!!! I agree!!! We must still keep praying for God to lead this country and especially all of our Leaders in the way that God wants them to go! WE must still have a repentant heart sincerely asking God to rule and reign in our hearts and in the lives of all His people and our Leaders!