Article 2 "The Invincible Strategy"
Preface
This series is being written in “book form”. There is an “Introduction” written earlier. You can access that article here.
In this article I will introduce myself in a personal way. In my bio you can see that I am a “Retired Electronics Engineer”. This is true, but incomplete. I made my living as an electronics engineer, but my passion was in fulfilling my responsibilities as a bi-vocational pastor. That means I was a full-time pastor to several small church congregations over the years, who could not afford a salaried pastor, and therefore I did not receive any compensation for the services given.
“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
This quote comes from a sermon given by William L. Watkinson, a Methodist minister from England in the 19th century, but was published in 1907. Watkinson was summarizing the thoughts of Thomas Carlyle, an English essayist, who wrote a lot about the folly of complaining about the way things are rather than offering some ideas about how we might resolve the problem(s).
Interestingly, the title of his sermon was “The Invincible Strategy”. Can you see the connection?
Today we are so beset with worries that seem endless. In this article I will begin to light a candle for the darkness is unbearable.
If you read my first Article 1 you know that I am a seminary-trained thinker, competent to write about biblical topics, so, I will begin with this.
If there is a God, Who is true, faithful and just, then we have great hope. If we do not have a faithful God, we are in deep trouble. But, fear not, we do not have Him. Rather, He has us. I hope that you can see the difference.
In Matthew 24 Jesus is talking to His disciples about the end times. This was the spring of 30 AD. Before I go on, allow me to insert that the “end times” began no later than 70 AD. This was the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, including the Jewish temple. (Matthew 24:2) The Roman army under Titus completely destroyed Jerusalem in a siege that began in 66 AD. and concluded in 70 AD.
OK, so we have the time period when the end times began, now the substance.
[Matthew 24:2-14 WEB]
2 And Jesus said to them, See ye not all these things? verily I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? and what [will be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and will deceive many.
6 And ye will hear of wars, and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.
8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then will they deliver you up to be afflicted, and will kill you: and ye will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then will many be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will rise, and will deceive many.
12 And because iniquity will abound, the love of many will become cold.
13 But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations; and then shall the end come.
Did you get all of that? There have been endless persecutions ever since, but the end has not come. There are more things to come. So, do not fall victim to the fear-mongers, who sell you books about some end time prophecy (secret knowledge). They have been doing that for decades.
Let me shift gears here.
Do we really comprehend who we truly are as a country. The truth is stranger than fiction.
For 5000 years (approximately) the gross domestic product of the earth (all nations combined) was negligible. But, then the U. S. Constitution was framed, ratified and enacted. Ever since that momentous event, prosperity began to break out all over the globe. Do you understand the significance of that? If not you will soon.
Some pre-America history.
One might think it strange that there is a direct connection between Martin Luther’s protest of the excesses of the Catholic clergy of his time and the arrival of the pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. It goes something like this.
(I am only trying here to establish the broad transformation of popular opinion and the motivation of the various people groups of the time period between 1517 and 1620.)
Martin Luther posted his writing of the 95 Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Saxony Germany in 1517. This protest led to the Protestant Reformation. That resulted in bitter feelings at the time between Protestants and Catholics. We will see how that affected history.
King Henry VIII, King of Scotland, (1509-1547) divorced his current wife and married another, seeking a male heir to his throne, his former wife having not produced a male child.
The Pope did not recognize his new marriage as being legitimate. The English king broke with the Catholic Church and formed the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church. But as we shall see the Protestant-Catholic conflict would affect most of England from then on.
Mary was the only child of King Henry VIII’s first marriage. She was a fervent Catholic and tried vigorously to reverse the Protestant Reformation in England. She became known as Mary I Queen of Scots. She also became nicknamed “bloody Mary”. During her reign as Queen of Scotland she persecuted her Protestant subjects. History records that her hatred towards Protestants was so intense that she ordered the burning, by some accounts, 280 Protestants at the stake.
During her reign many Protestant Christians fled to other countries to escape the persecution. Many fled to Switzerland. Some of these located in Geneva and combined their talents and resources to produce a Bible named after Geneva, the city of its origin.
The Geneva Bible was first produced in 1560. There were several revisions made with the final publication in 1599. It was a very popular Bible being the first one to have chapter and verse designations. It also featured copious study notes. It is recognized as the first study Bible.
Mary’s son, James, became King of Scotland. He would later consolidate his power over England, Scotland and Ireland. Being king, he was also the head of the Anglican Church. He attempted to establish conformity with Anglican doctrine, but many thought his principles heretical. Those opposed to him were called Puritans. He vigorously persecuted them. Some even left England and migrated to the Netherlands. They were called “separatists”. Some of these would become the pilgrims. You can read about pilgrims here.
Some of the separatists had fled to a city in the Netherlands called Leiden. They established a church there. The pastor of that church was a man named John Robinson. His brother-in-law was a man named John Carver. He was a deacon in the Leiden church. He would be intimately involved with the pilgrims. He would even become the Governor of the Mayflower.
As a result of the intense persecution of the separatists in Leiden, several of them decided to pool their resources and book passage on two ships to the new world.
One of these two ships was named the Speedwell, the other the Mayflower. There were two separate groups who combined to set sail for the new world on September 6, 1620. When the two ships sailed out into the North Atlantic they encountered heavy seas. The Speedwell suffered damage to the hull, taking on water. They both decided to turn back. A month later 102 of them set sail aboard the Mayflower.
After a very treacherous voyage across the North Atlantic in late fall, the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth on November 11, 1620. They had intended to sail to Virginia, but were blown off course, arriving at Massachusetts instead.
As mentioned earlier John Carver had been selected to be the Governor of the Mayflower. He was also selected to be the Governor of the Plymouth Colony. As they went about the process of ordering life in Plymouth, John Carver set his hand to write the Mayflower Compact, the first government document of the new world.
John Carver died the following year. William Bradford was selected to be Governor of Plymouth Colony in April 1621.
Many of the pilgrims died that first year of exposure and disease. Did you ever ask, “What drove these people?”. What inspired them? What was it that kept them going in spite of seemingly insurmountable hardships?
The answer is simple and yet profound. They were determined to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the new world
Over the next few years many other pilgrims came to the new world and began to spread out and populate the land.
In 1638, one Reverend Thomas Hooker wrote the first constitution ever written in human history. He is known as the Father of Connecticut. His writing of a government document known as the Fundamental Orders became adopted as the State Constitution of Connecticut in 1639.
This act of history led to the state of Connecticut being called the Constitution State for it was the first state to have a constitution.
Fast forward to 1787. Delaware became the first state to ratify the US Constitution. Then seven states followed suit, each ratifying the constitution in turn. By 1788 there were eight states having ratified. A ninth state was necessary, two-thirds of the states were required. Then on June 5, 1788 Samuel Langdon, a pastor of North Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the 13th president of Harvard, preached a sermon at Exeter, New Hampshire, titled “The Republic of the Israelites: An Example to the American States”.
This was such a powerful and persuasive sermon that the legislative body of New Hampshire met and ratified the US Constitution on June 21, 1788, sixteen days later.
So, why have we waded through all of this history? Simply because we must know our history. We are told that if we do not learn from the mistakes of history, we are doomed to repeat them. I am not focusing upon the mistakes of history, but rather upon the struggles and the successes.
Christians have struggled and triumphed over evil ever since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in 30 AD. Today is no different. Our struggles today pale in comparison to the struggles of our brethren who have gone on before us. The very same God who delivered them will deliver us.
Christians have always been the minority down through history. Even General George Washington only had the support of about ten percent of the people in the colonies. He and his faithful soldiers had to steal food to avoid starvation. Endless miracles have accompanied Christians down through history.
Remember “The Invincible Strategy”. It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. This strategy is invincible to which many of the people of God down through history can attest.
It is always the darkest before the dawn. Remember nothing can stop the sun from shining.
God is testing us. Our faith is being tried. Isn’t that glorious?
Are we in this struggle by ourselves? Hardly.
Matthew 28:18-20 WEB
18 And Jesus came, and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to me in heaven and upon earth.
19 Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the world. Amen.
We are not alone.
The Father in Heaven is sharing all power with His Majestic Son, Jesus Christ… and He promised us that He would be with us even to the end. We are not there yet. If we were the Kingdom of God would be here in all of its glory.
Just a recap.
Christians have been persecuted throughout history, but always victorious
The pilgrims fled “bloody Mary” and produced the world’s first study Bible
The pilgrims fled to the new world to proclaim the gospel to the new world and were very successful
The new world’s first governmental document was written a Christian deacon
The world’s first constitution was written by a Christian minister
A Christian minister’s sermon inspired the ratification of the US Constitution
The Framers of the US Constitution credited Divine Providence with their success
Divine miracles have accompanied us throughout time
God IS with us.
Allow me to comment on “The Invincible Strategy” immortalized by Watkinson. “Invincible” suggests divine power. “Strategy” suggest a course of action. We must dedicate ourselves to educating others. Seek to inspire. Never denigrate or attack. It worked for Mahatma Gandhi as he led millions to peacefully resist the British. It took awhile but the British, the most powerful country on earth at the time, left India in 1947.
Patriots are winning the battle for the soul of America. It is painful, frustrating and costly but, we are winning.