During this election season, most have bought into the erroneous idea that society should be run purely from a secular mindset. This is a far cry from before 1954 when federal laws were changed by the Johnson amendment, which essentially made it illegal for churches to endorse political candidates under the threat of losing their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status (although the U.S. Constitution already guarantees tax-exempt status for churches, with or without the 501(c)3).

When people ask me if Christians or the church should be involved in politics, I laugh at them and tell them that, as a minister of the Kingdom of God, I am more of a politician than a religious person. This is because religious people are only spiritual when they are in church, but kingdom people are spiritual in the marketplace since the Bible says all of creation is sacred because all of it reflects the image and glory of God!

In this article we are going to see the real reason why Jesus Christ was crucified. This will show us how we cannot separate politics, culture, and society from true biblical Christianity. (Actually, the Bible speaks of Christendom more than mere Christianity.)

(Dr. Martin Luther King showed us that when you speak to power your life is at risk. And sometimes, even when the oppressed come into power, they sell out and oppress the oppressed a well!)

The Purpose of Jesus’ Coming

Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 must be understood in order to fully know the purpose of why Jesus came.

Psalm 2:8-12 teaches that Jesus came into the world to inherit all the nations (not just Israel) and that the kings of the earth were to bow down and pay homage to him. You cannot get more political than this!

Psalm 110:1-3 teaches that Jesus is waiting in heaven until this happens (the nations and kings pay homage to Him) and that the rule of His power will come through Zion, which is His church.

(New Testament passages such as Hebrews 12:22 and Galatians 4:24-26, 6:16 interpret many of the Old Testament passages speaking of Zion bringing the nations to God as referring to the church. Compare Amos 9:11-12 and Acts 15:15-19 in which the Apostle James speaks of the church as the rebuilt tabernacle of David.)

Thus, Jesus came to redeem and reclaim back the world He made for His own pleasure through the church. This is why He told His apostles before His ascension into heaven to go into all the world and disciple and baptize all the nations (Matthew 28:19).

It seems as though right after His resurrection all the nations and kings who had already gone to Sheol were brought to Him to worship and acknowledge Him. Read Daniel 7:13-14, which is why Jesus said all power in heaven and earth was already given to Him in Matthew 28:18. Even when Jesus was born it scared the king ruling in Judea because all the Jews knew the political implications of His appearance based on the prophecies of the Messiah. (Read Matthew 2:1-6; Isaiah 2:1-4; 9:6-7; 11:10.)

John 18:37 and 19:12-16 clearly show us that Jesus was not crucified because He preached a different religion but because He was proclaimed as the true Caesar. Thus, those who followed Him could no longer acknowledge the Roman Caesar as Lord. Greco-Roman culture was similar to the culture we have today: very cosmopolitan, they worshipped and equally respected the many gods of the people, and they sneered upon any person who would dare say there is absolutely one true God.  As a polytheistic, multicultural society, the only thing that held the Roman Empire together was the worship of the Roman Caesar. Thus, there was a political clash between the Caesar of the dominant world empire and the true Caesar from heaven.

The similarity in the political language used by both Jesus and His followers to proclaim the coming Kingdom of God and that of the secular kings of His time was intentional. For example, the kings of the East in those days called themselves “King of Kings and God of Gods.” (The movie “300” which came out several years ago depicts how Persian King Artaxerxes gave himself this title.)

Furthermore, when a first-born son of a Caesar was born, there were messengers sent throughout the empire proclaiming the “gospel” or good news that the next king was born. Hence, all humanistic political systems are rival systems to the One True God as manifest in Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, we find in Revelation 1:5 that Jesus is called the ruler of the kings (presidents, prime ministers) of the earth; in Revelation 19:16 Jesus is called the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; in 1 Timothy 6:15-16 Jesus is called the only true Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the only one who dwells in immortality and in unapproachable light that no one has seen or can see.

Consider this: Jesus is not called the King of the Church; He is called the King of Kings. This means that He is the President of presidents, Governor of all governors, Prime Minister of all prime ministers. Whether they believe or not, they will all stand before Him one day as He judges them to see if they ruled according to His ways and laws, which He decreed over the earth for nation-building.

(The Ten Commandments are still in effect today in which to base civic law in principle.)

The Kingdom of God is not based on a man-made, two-party system that is largely about money and power (not virtue). Money and power are two things that God does not need or is impressed with. Men may compromise their souls to be elected, or for a committee chair, or a seat on an influential committee. But God transcends this and will judge those who violate His commandments. (They are commandments, not options!)

The Kingdom of God transcends being a Democrat or Republican. It is based on principle, not party affiliation. There are some who will vote for a person just because he or she is a Democrat or Republican–even if what they stand for violates the word of the living God!  We need to vote for people, not party. Kingdom politics trumps earthly politics!

The church must stop playing the red state/blue state game, the left/right game, and the Democrat/Republican game. God is neither a Democrat nor a Republican! He is high above all the petty squabbling of people.

Joshua 5:13-14 shows us that God is never going to be categorized as being on the side of one political entity or another.

Also, those who spoke for God, such as Elijah and Elisha, ministered both to the Jewish and non-Jewish kings and leaders as prophets representing the Most High God. For example, read 1 Kings 19:15 when Elijah was told to anoint Hazael king over Jewish enemy Syria; in 2 Kings 5 Elisha ministered to Naaman, the commander of the army in Syria; and in 2 Kings 8:9 the king of Syria referred to himself as Elisha’s son.

I have had Democrats and Republicans wanting me to join their parties. I have declined because I do not want to prostitute my calling and compromise my message. I do not want to owe anyone political favors!

(I am close friends with, and minister and advise, both Democrats and Republicans. Both want me in their parties but I refuse to join their systems, although I reserve the right to endorse them as individuals.)

For example, in New York City, City Action Coalition is made up of key Black, Caucasian, and Hispanic leaders who represent 10,000+ churches in the state. In 2008 half of us voted for President Obama and the other half for Senator McCain. But we all agree on the kingdom and together we have held rallies and press conferences, and met with top political leaders like Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Patterson, and state senators calling them back to the Judeo-Christian values of life, especially in regards to traditional marriage. In May 2009 our Hispanic leaders organized a rally of over 30,000 in front of the Governor’s office when he was about to legalize same-sex marriage. God intervened and at that time stopped every political leader that had attempted to legalize it!

Why those who preach the Kingdom of God are still a threat today to those in power today

In Acts 17:5-9 we see the church was persecuted because it proclaimed Jesus as the true King over the false king, Caesar. (False kings are those who do not submit to, and hold to, the decrees of the true King.) Furthermore, in Matthew 16:18 Jesus called His followers the “ekklesia.” This was a political term used to denote the Greek citizens who came together to enact public policy. (Read Acts 19:32, 41 when the secular ekklesia came together to decide what to do with Christianity; the word “assembly” here in these verses is really the same Greek word for “church.”) Thus, the word “church” was not a religious but a political name used for about two centuries before Christ was born! The word “church” literally means “to come together to rule.”

Jesus chose His words carefully. He referred to His followers as the new Congress or Parliament that would rule with Him as the True Caesar: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus also told His new Congress that their assignment was to assail the “gates of hell.”

The word “gates” refers to the fact that, before and during the time of Christ, the centers of political power were called the gates, which would be equal today to City Hall, or the White House, or the Kremlin, etc. (read Proverbs 31:23).

When Jesus said to Pontus Pilate in John 18:36 that His kingdom was not of this world, He was not saying that He was not involved in the political affairs of this world but that His power does not originate with the social constructs of this world!

Would Jesus and true believers be persecuted today if He were to come during these days instead of 2,000 years ago?

Picture this imaginary scenario in the U.S. (a supposed Christian nation):

Heralds or preachers of the good news (the gospel) go all over the nation announcing that the true President of Presidents is now here and will have a huge rally on a certain day. (This announcement is made via text, Facebook, Twitter, email, radio, television, and other websites.)

When that day comes, Jesus has 500,000 to 1,000,000 people around Him in Washington D.C. in front of the White House with all of the major television news outlets and bloggers present as He heals the sick, raises the dead, and proclaims that the Kingdom of God is now at hand!

With cameras all around Him, He declares that He has now come into the world as the true President of the President and over every prime minister and king of the earth.

Furthermore, He calls all of His followers the “church” or the “true Congress” and calls upon them to overthrow all the satanic political power bases of the world because they are not in alignment with His word. (Even the founding document of this nation is biblical: the precepts of the Declaration of Independence state that human rights originate with God. Thus, they are not a social construct originating with men.)

He then says that God is calling on all elected officials to surrender to the Only True Caesar, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And He is calling upon His church to be the true Congress that brings His kingdom on the earth in every area of society!

In light of this, I think the world would still execute Him for being politically subversive and a threat to national security if He came today instead of 2,000 years ago!

Finally, Christianity is not a threat but a blessing to the world!

(I tell homosexuals that my fight for traditional marriage is also a fight for them because traditional marriage stabilizes society and helps the quality of life for every citizen in every community economically, in terms of crime and education.)

Christianity is not like Islam, which is spread by the sword, manipulation, or political coercion. Christianity is spread by serving our communities, loving our enemies, composing the best music, writing the best books, producing the greatest problem solvers the world has ever seen, and by using the creative gifts endowed by our Creator to serve and love humanity, which is made in His own image and likeness.

True Christianity is never a threat to a society but a blessing to it! As we have seen in this nation, which was founded as a Christian commonwealth, Christianity also gives a lift to all people!

The concepts of love, romance, and respect for women as partners in marriage were revolutionary in the homosexual, narcissistic, patriarchal world of the first-century Roman Empire. Furthermore, the world’s greatest composers, the concept of natural science, and education, starting with Christian Monarch Charlemagne who started the first universities, down to the present-day Ivy League Schools, have all come out of the Christian worldview! Since the nineteenth century alone, Christianity has been the motivating force behind the abolition of slavery, women’s voting rights, child labor laws, and the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. King, which was driven solely by churches and Christian clergy!

We are also called to vote according to conscience and principle, not according to party loyalty. Let’s do this together and have a revolution of kingdom power and love!