Bible Study

Jesus was fed up with politics, too.
As we see the world becoming more and more political, we as God's children must be careful that we do not follow what is going on between political parties. People think you must vote to be a good Christian, to be a good American, etc. Where in the Bible does it state that "we" have to vote commanded by God? We are commanded to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4). In terms of politics and leadership, there is evidence in Scripture that God has been displeased with our choices of leadership at times (Hosea 8:4). God states we are to obey legitimate authority unless it contradicts the Lord’s commands (Acts 5:27-29; Romans 13:1-7).

I could go on, but you see how complicated it gets when we take scripture and try to align it with the world? I pray every day that we all over the world would have Biblical leaders who sought God night and day to do right by their people. But we are dealing with a world that is influenced by Satan. Greed, power, money, even the Godliest men have fallen prey to Satan when it comes to this. How many times as a voter have you regretted your vote? Or did that person you voted for obtain power and that person did nothing of what they campaigned on? Man, he will let you down every single time. This is why we do not seek man to fix our problems. Case and point, Donald J. Trump, America is seeking him like a messiah to fix America's crisis right now.

In Jesus’ time, communities were deeply divided by bitter differences in religious beliefs, political positions, income inequality, legal status, and ethnic differences. Sound familiar?

Jesus lived in the middle of a culture war, too. And though the political systems were different (not exactly a representative democracy), the greed, hypocrisy, and oppression different groups used to get their way were very similar.
Let’s set the scene.

Jesus was born at the height of the Roman Empire’s power. They’d conquered most of the known world, and Israel was no exception. Unlike previous empires that would try to destroy cultures by displacing conquered peoples’ leaders, the Romans didn’t force people to change their religion or customs as long as they kept their obligations to the empire. Rome would install a client king (a puppet government) and exact tribute (cash) in lots of different ways. Families were charged taxes per person—farmers on crops, fishermen on catches, and travelers were charged fees to use the roads. This was in addition to local business and religious taxes charged by priests.

In Israel, political and religious factions were the same. Back then, it was Pharisees and Sadducees. Today, we have conservatives and liberals.

The Pharisees were the most religiously conservative leaders. They had the most influence among the common working poor, who were the majority. They believed that a king would come one day to conquer Rome with violence and free their nation. Some preyed upon a mostly illiterate population by adding extra rules and requirements that were designed to force the working poor into a posture of subjugation.

The Sadducees were wealthy aristocrats who had a vested financial interest in Roman rule. They were in charge of the temple, and they didn’t believe any savior king was coming. They made themselves wealthy by exacting unfair taxes and fees from the labor of their own people and by contriving money-making schemes that forced the poor to pay exorbitant prices to participate in temple sacrifice - a critical part of their religion.

There were Zealot groups who hid in the hills and violently resisted Roman occupation, and then there were the Samaritans, often oppressed and marginalized because of their racial and ethnic identities.
And so, the common farmer, fisherman, or craftsman’s family lived through a highly volatile political period. Overbearing religious leaders who despised and oppressed them, wealthy elites who ripped them off, racial and ethnic tension with neighbors, and sporadic violent outbreaks between an oppressive occupying army.

So where was Jesus in all of this? Did he align with the religious elites? With the wealthy and powerful? Or did he start an uprising to overthrow them?

None of the above.

He went from town to town, offering hope, a new life, and modeling a different way to live and to change the world. Instead of pursuing power, money, or religious authority, he shared a loving and sacrificially generous way of living. He chose not to go along with the schemes others used to impact the world. Instead, he championed a better way.
And so, each of these political groups saw him as a threat. The Pharisees recognized his movement as an affront to their authority exposing the hypocrisy of their practices. The Sadducees saw Jesus as a threat to their power and wealth because he exposed their money-making schemes. The Zealots violently rejected one of the essential themes of Jesus’ movement: love your enemy.

In the end, it took all three of these groups to have him killed. A Zealot (Judas) betrayed his location to those seeking to arrest him, the Sadducees brought him before the Romans to be executed, and when the Romans couldn’t find a crime committed, the Pharisees rallied the people to force Rome’s hand.

Isn’t it funny how political foes can come together to destroy a common enemy that threatens their designs? But despite their best efforts, his execution was only the beginning of a movement that continues to impact the world thousands of years later. Jesus’ movement was so impactful because he actively resisted and rejected participating in culture-war politics.

Pay close attention to all the history that was laid out, this is not my opinion it is history, and in the Bible. If you see above the two parties involved in those times in Israel, you can see a lot of things going on today. Not just in America but all over the world, you can draw a very fine line of how deception is going to happen. We all know the Antichrist will rise and have his time. He must be a savior he has to save us all from what is going on. Things will be demanded to shift to protect us from it so it will never happen again. Someone is coming along who will be like Jesus to go from town to town, offering hope, new life, and modeling a different way to live and change the world. Instead of pursuing power, money, or religious authority, he will share a loving and sacrificially generous way of living. He will choose not to go along with the schemes others used to impact the world. Instead, he will champion a better way. The EXACT same way our savior did. But it will be a lie, deception, once the whole world is deceived and he has the world in his snare he will clamp it down and he will reveal who he really is and will demand to be worshiped as a god.

God has given us His written Word to protect us, we must follow the one true Messiah, not man or a political party. We can vote it is not a sin if you do or do not. However, it will not change the outcome of prophecy. The Antichrist will rise, and Satan will have his time on this earth working through political parties ALL OF THEM, ALL OVER THE WORLD.