“Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’”
Psalm 2:1-3 NASB
A band of zealous NATO evangelists appeared in my hometown recently to promote their religion. They proclaimed a gospel that said, “Trust Nato to bring about peace and justice on the earth.” One NATO representative was an Atheist, the other a hippie (aka a Hindu who doesn't know he is a Hindu), and the other was a self-proclaimed “born again Christian.”
I was in my hometown downtown on this particular day to be an evangelist myself but of a different gospel than NATO. I came to preach King Jesus.
Can a Christian support NATO? The Apostle Paul said this,
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
Galatians 1:6-9 NASB
When Westerners think of “another gospel,” we think of someone proclaiming another way to get to heaven like Opra saying there are “many paths up the mountain to God.” We think of false doctrines, like someone saying that Jesus isn't God. We have this philosophical view of the Gospel because many Christians understand “the Gospel” to be the good news about how to get to heaven, which is not really news but advice. In short, we don't technically know what a gospel is, and so we don't recognize “another gospel” other than the one Paul preaches.
NATO preaches a gospel, and it is a satanic message because it attempts to rival and supplant the gospel of Christ.
The Gospel
After John’s arrest, Jesus came into Galilee, announcing God’s good news. “The time is fulfilled!” He said; “God’s kingdom is arriving! Turn back, and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:14-15 NTFE
Most Western Christians consider “the Gospel” to be a message about how Jesus’ death on the cross made a way for our sins to be forgiven so we could go to Heaven when we die. But here, at the beginning of Mark’s gospel, we find Jesus preaching “the Gospel” long before He was crucified or before anyone knew or understood that He would be crucified, much less raised from the dead. What could Jesus possibly tell people? Mark says the Gospel Jesus proclaimed was, “The Kingdom of God is arriving!”
Jesus did not come to give us an option for post-Morten existence. Jesus came to establish God’s rule and reign on the earth as Isaiah the prophet predicted:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB
The good news of the Gospel is the fact that the Messiah has arrived, and the government will rest on His shoulders. Peace and Justice come through the Messiah’s government, not through an axis of Western powers. That doesn’t mean nations shouldn’t work together or have treaties. But it does mean those treaties must be based on truth, and Jesus is the Truth.
The NATO Religion
The NATO representatives effectually told me that my Christian views were a problem and could not be brought into NATO because NATO works with Muslims, Hindus, and Communists, and they “don’t see things the same way.” And indeed, they don’t. Here is the problem with NATO: By the time we submit our worldviews and powers to NATO, who is in charge? They told me that “all the nations have representation,” and they vote. Setting aside the fact that political power games occur in such settings just as they do anywhere else, we all know that at the end of the day, someone or some agenda is pulling the strings and making final decisions. What if, for example, I was a member of NATO, and I objected to the persecution of Christians in one of the countries of a NATO ally? Who would be told to back down? Me or the country doing the persecuting? Who or what at NATO decides who’s the bad and the good guys? On what basis do we accept admission into NATO? Who is making these moral judgments?
The self-righteousness of the NATO representatives I spoke with betrays their sense of moral superiority. NATO is a religious cult that presents itself as being the solution to the problem of evil, and the Christian Gospel must be subservient to it in their view (including the view of the man who was a self-proclaimed born-again Christian.)
NATO is anti-Christ because it puts itself in the position of Messiah and demands that the genuine Messiah bow to its dictates. NATO is another Gospel.
Does this mean that a Christian nation cannot have a seat at the table of NATO? No, but it means that the Christian nation must represent Christ above all else and be loyal to Him. After all, the nations belong to the Messiah, as God spoke to the Messiah through the Psalmist:
“Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.”
Psalm 2:8 NASB
NATO needs to hear and submit to the Gospel of Jesus. Only then will NATO reach her professed aspirations of peace on earth.
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace…
Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB
If the nations enter a treaty with King Jesus, we will get the peace and justice for which the world hungers and thirsts. King Jesus trumps NATO and a Christian cannot submit to another gospel.
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