Part 3: The attack on the Christian faith, Judaeo-Christian values and aspects of Western civilisation (Utopian dreams)
Introduction
In Parts 1 and 2 we discussed the trends in society which herald the birth of the New World Order we read of in the scriptures. We raise the issue of how imperative it is to be part of an eschatological community who are looking at these trends in the light of Jesus' soon return and our future hope.
Here in Part 3 we discuss the inevitable result for Christians opposed to mankind's Utopian dreams (their idea of the perfect society).
First we'll remind ourselves that the Utopian ideal has motivated mankind throughout history and was at the heart of the first temptation faced by our original parents. The Devil promised Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree then their eyes would be opened and they would become like God (Genesis 3:5). See also Transhumanism.
This Utopian fantasy was played out on a corporate scale when the people of earth joined together to make for themselves a great tower that reached to the heavens (Genesis 11:4).
When a nation forgets God
On both occasions God entered into human history and judged mankind’s arrogant usurping of his divine attributes. Little has changed since then and today we are beginning to witness the terrible consequences of what happens when a nation forgets God.
Unlike Christians, the non-believer has no ultimate security and finds himself in a chaotic universe of flux that he views as essentially hostile and out of control. Man's supposed freedom thus becomes destructive and only Utopian dreams provide an alternative and necessary source of security and confidence in the future.
And so once again he seeks to build a tower for himself: see our series of articles on the move toward One World Government. The importance of the UN and other global organisations become essential in a world that has rejected God. So too incidentally, does the nanny state.
Persecution of Christians inevitable
Only those who trust in the Lord and who do not look to the proud can ever hope to live beyond the totalitarian tyranny of a culture that has rejected God.
Christian orthodoxy never comes up with Utopian dreams because God has already declared his ideas for human history and the future. Christians can thus rest secure in the knowledge that God is in complete control and that one day, when Jesus returns, he will restore all creation to its original state of perfection. The prophet Isaiah speaks about this when he says:
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on a forever. (Isaiah 9:7)
However, the Bible does not promise that it will be easy. In fact, it says the exact opposite. In a culture hell bent on establishing uniformity it will soon become a moral necessity to first silence and then eliminate those voices that refuse to be collectivised.
Unless our nation returns to the Lord we should expect to be told that in order to finally realise our Utopian fantasies it is the moral duty of people to suppress those who hold to a different vision of the future.
True freedom is ultimately only found in Christ and his future Messianic Kingdom. It is this we must focus on and live for. All Utopian dreams ultimately end in dystopian nightmares and the necessary persecution of the saints. Let us, therefore, take the words of Revelation 14:12 to heart and trust in the word of God that Christ will return to defeat all those powers set up in opposition against him and his people.
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus (Revelation 14:12).
Throughout history mankind has repeatedly tried and failed to achieve Utopia without God’s help. The Utopian fantasy was at the heart of the original temptation that our first parents succumbed to. The Devil promised to Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil their eyes would be opened and they would become like God (Genesis 3:5) . . .