Whistle Stop #3 The No Kings Movement Is Doomed

The No Kings movement sweeping across America, and apparently in other countries, is doomed to fail, and for a reason none of the protesters would imagine.

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Transcript

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Greetings. I'm Ed Potter, and I thank you for joining me on this whistle stop. My train of thought came to a sudden stop this week as I watched an episode of The House of David on television. The way the fighters saluted their king brought to mind a Bible passage, and I thought, The No King's protesters have no idea what awaits them. I've watched the first two seasons of The House of David on television, and each episode starts with a warning that the events depicted are not necessarily true to what the Bible or history says. Now that is an understatement. But in the last episodes I watched, there were a couple of scenes that stopped me on my train of thought. Soldiers demonstrated which king they were loyal to, Saul on the one hand or David on the other, by dropping to the ground and bowing on one knee. My thoughts went back to the five years on Medada Island that it took me to teach from Judges to Nehemiah, chapter by chapter. I remember the passages that describe the reigns of the kings of Israel, beginning with Saul and David, and I was impressed by the absolute power wielded by kings. And that was reinforced by what I read in books on the history of civilizations that I was reading at the time. Emperors commanded absolute obedience. The era of absolute monarchies is past, in Europe at least. While Arab countries still operate under strong tribal lines, the monarchies of European countries are constitutional monarchies. Now there are dictators in some countries that may exercise powers reminiscent of the absolute monarchs of old. I think of Kim Jung jung and Putin. But the old regime of dynasties that determines succession to the throne is no longer in play. The monarchy in Portugal ended in 1910, although there are still remnants of the old royal lineage, and theoretically there is an heir to the throne. The monarchy still exists in Spain, and in England, of course. Americans demonstrate a keen fascination with the English royalty. For forty years we lived in close geographical contact with Great Britain, and we made countless friends with British citizens. We observed their reactions to events in the lives of their royalties. I saw that the differences between us Americans and our British friends go deeper than what the parts of our motor cars are called. The windshield hood and trunk for us are the windscreen bonnet and boot to them. In England, the pavement isn't the street, it's the sidewalk along the side of the street. And you get to the pavement on the other side of the street using the zebra crossing, or zebra crossing as they would say it. The differences go deeper than the vocabulary. When an American president put his hand on the Queen's back, it was almost an act of war. There's no way we Americans prepared to deal with or relate to a monarch, even the weak form of monarchy that still exists in many European countries. Setting aside the obvious political connotations of the No Kings movement currently sweeping through America, it is on one way, in one way, a genuine expression of our American way of being that's been formed over the two hundred and fifty years of separation from monarchy that we commemorate this year. As I watched the soldiers on the TV show House of David kneel in submission to their leader, I thought to myself I can't see Americans taking the knee before a king. We don't even know how to bow or curtsy properly. As a nation we're no king's people. But you don't say no to an absolute monarch. They have the power of life and death in their hand. Their word is law. That's not the American way. Then I thought of Revelation nineteen, verse sixteen that says that when Jesus returns he will have these words emblazoned on his robe King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In Isaiah 45 23, God says, By myself I have sworn, truth has gone from my mouth, a word that will not be revoked. Every knee will bow to me, every tongue will swear allegiance. Now those words are echoed in the New Testament by Paul in Philippians 2, verses 10 through 11, as he explains the work of Jesus. He concludes by saying, God has given him a name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will swear allegiance. And that includes us, the no kings Americans. Now I wonder how many Christians who are quick to proclaim Jesus as King even understand what being subject to a king really means. That's something to stop and think about. Thanks for stopping by with me on this whistle stop. Be sure to listen or watch as I present God's Word for our world on my other podcasts. Give me this mountain. These things were written, and in times like these. There's a lot more of God to learn about.