The Religious Right versus the Woke Left

By Pastor Aubrey Duncan

Prescription for the formation and establishment of the Image of the Beast.

Recognizing the Times

One of the most profound analysis of contemporary America is Chris Hedges’ book, American Fascists … The Christian Right and the War on America. Mr. Hedges was a foreign correspondent for more than twenty years for the New York Times and other publications. He is a Pulitzer Prize winner, a university professor, the author of six books on the American Experiment, and an up-close observer of the rise of totalitarian Fascist regimes in the Mideast and Latin America. In American Fascists, he examines and reports on the scope, power, and danger of the Religious Right in its relentless push to establish and, as many in the movement believe, to return America to its Christian roots. He concludes that their methods, message, and tactics are emblematic of would-be Fascists dictatorships.

In his very insightful treatise, Mr. Hedges writes: “Radical Christian dominionists have no religious legitimacy. They are manipulating Christianity, and millions of sincere believers, to build a frightening political mass movement with many similarities with other mass movements, from fascism to communism to the ethnic nationalist parties in the former Yugoslavia. It shares with these movements an inability to cope with ambiguity, doubt, and uncertainty. It creates its own “truth.” It embraces a world of miracles and signs and removes followers from a rational, reality-based world. It condemns self-criticism and debate as apostasy. It places a premium on action and finds its final aesthetic in war and apocalyptic violence” (Chris Hedges, American Fascists, pg. 38).

Perhaps, quite unknown to him, Mr. Hedges’ observations and research are elucidating what the prophet John foretold two thousand years ago regarding the transformation of the American Experiment from a bastion of civil and religious liberty to one of bloody suppression and obliteration of those rights (Revelation 13:11–17). America, exactly as foretold in Bible prophecy, is experiencing the swinging of the political/religious pendulum from the liberal left to the restrictive right.

The Prophetic Record

Peter, the dedicated apostle of Jesus Christ, who is grossly misrepresented in some Christian circles, gives us the only clue that can help us clearly understand where the current American and world conflict of ideas is headed. He writes: “We have also a more-sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19). Jesus’ disciple is pointing unmistakably to the exclusive prerogative of Bible prophecy to help us understand not only where we are today, but verily where we are headed. Peter is assuring his readers of the absolute veracity of the writers of the Holy Bible, under the inspiration of the Creator God, to predict the future with unerring accuracy. Take, for example, the prophet Isaiah as he declares: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me … Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9–10). Jesus Christ would later exclaim: “And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe” (John 14:29).

The prophecies of Daniel in the Old Testament and John in the New Testament are irrefutable evidence in regard to the fact that only a God who knows the future can accurately predict it. In John’s prophecy, the matter of the formation and the workings of the Image of the Beast are revealed. Daniel clearly reveals to us what the symbolic language of a ‘beast’ refers to. God’s messenger writes, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth” (Daniel 7:17, 23). Through the imagery of beasts, Daniel accurately identified those nations and the part they would play on the world stage from his time in Babylonian captivity until the end of the world as we know it.

John picks up the story as he focuses on the final two beasts (nations) that would play prominent roles in the final scenes of the Drama of the Ages. Looking back on Daniel’s prophecy, John reveals to us humanity’s future: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:1–3). A careful study of the Biblical narrative will reveal, as all of the Protestant Reformers discovered and believed, that this beast is none other than the Roman Papacy, the religious/political behemoth of world renown.

John then goes on to identify another beast [nation] that would arise after its temporary demise [deadly wound], which in profession, would be characteristically different from this first beast [the Roman Papacy]. John the Revelator foretold, “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13:11). The sure word of prophecy declares that that nation is the United States of America. Unlike the first beast, it is a nation that is established upon the principles of civil and religious liberty, which constitute the foundation of its strength and greatness. The First Amendment provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Neither its superior military might nor its economic dominance are the sources of its power.

However, John prophesied that this nation would ultimately become exactly in character as the beast that came before it, a religious persecuting power. America will subsequently form a confederacy with the Roman Papacy in the persecution of Jesus’ true followers who keep all of His commandments. Thus, it becomes the Image of the Beast.

As one surveys the religious, cultural, and political landscape through God’s prophetic lens, it becomes inescapable that the formation of the Image of the Beast is well on its way. On the left side of the political/cultural spectrum, we see the apostle Paul’s prediction of the state of affairs in these closing scenes of earth’s history being manifested before our eyes. He foretold, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1–5).

The Woke Left

Just as prophesied almost 2,000 years ago, no one can deny the rapid moral declension, rejection of and turning away from traditional Biblical values by a large segment of the American citizenry. This movement is popularly referred to as the Woke Left. Over the past several decades, the trend has become increasingly steadfast in making America more liberal and averse to traditional Christian values. ABC News reports: The definition of “woke” changes depending on who you ask. The term has recently been used by some conservatives as an insult against progressive values.

The term, however, was originally coined by progressive Black Americans and used in racial justice movements in the early to mid-1900s. To be “woke” politically in the Black community means that someone is informed, educated, and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality, as Merriam-Webster Dictionary states.

One of its earliest uses was in a historical recording of the protest song “Scottsboro Boys” by Lead Belly. In that recording, it was used as a term about staying aware of the potential for racist violence as a Black person in America.

The term, in one of its contemporary meanings, began to gain more popularity at the start of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The term has since been co-opted by some Republicans as a pejorative term this midterm election cycle to signify the identity-based social justice issues that some Democrats and progressives push for, representatives from the Democratic Governors Association and Working Families Party tell ABC News.

“Woke” has been used by former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and several Trump-backed midterm candidates, including Kari Lake and Mehmet Oz (Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, January 20, 2023).

The Religious Right’s agenda is in large measure a pushback to the “woke” culture. There seems to be no letting up of the political and cultural divides in the United States, and around the world. Compromise has become an ancient relic. Accommodation appears to be an unreachable goal. The battle of the left versus the right continues to intensify at an alarming rate. Each has its opinions, but very few appear to have any clue as to where this conflict of passions is headed. More frightening, however, is the source from which this tension emanates.

The Religious Right

On the other side of the spectrum, referred to as the Religious Right, we see the push for returning the nation back to its Christian principles. Many are passionately working to make America the Christian nation it used to be. There are, however, two significant and potentially dangerous ideas incorporated into the Right’s pursuit of its idealistic goal.

The first is the false premise upon which the Religious Right’s agenda is built. Nowhere in the founding documents of the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave can be found the remotest reference of America being formed as a Christian nation. Quite to the contrary, the Founding Fathers, having intimate knowledge of the consequences of such a declaration, decided instead to establish the new nation as a secular republic. This concept is in total contradiction to the so-called ‘Christian’ nations from which the early settlers fled. America was a revolutionary idea that prescribed that the majority rule with respect for minority rights, allowing each person to worship God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience.

Of course, no one can deny the sociological notion that the populace did primarily embrace certain elements of the Judeo-Christian religion. But this by no means made America a Christian nation, as the Right purports it to have been.

The second is the Old World idea that the state should be empowered to determine the religious moorings of the nation. James Madison, a prominent Founding Father, eloquently addressed such a concept. Said he: “The experience of the United States is a happy disproof of the error so long rooted in the unenlightened minds of well-meaning Christians, as well as in the corrupt hearts of persecuting usurpers, that without legal incorporation of religious and civil polity, neither could be supported. A mutual independence is found most friendly to practical Religion, to social harmony, and to political prosperity” (James Madison, Letter to F.L. Schaeffer, Dec. 3, 1821). His compatriot, Benjamin Franklin, makes a simple but rather profound comment to which the Religious Right needs to take heed: “When religion is good, it will take care of itself. When it is not able to take care of itself, and God does not see fit to take care of it, so that it has to appeal to the civil power for support, it is evidence to my mind that its cause is a bad one” (Letter to Dr. Richard Price, October 19th, 1790).

It is the mission of the church, imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit, to work for the transformation of human lives from sin to righteousness, from wickedness to holiness. Such a task is not accomplished by the laws of the state but by the exemplification of the character of Jesus Christ in His word and in the lives of His followers. That regeneration, called salvation, is the only instrument that can change lives, left and right, and enhance society. It’s what the world needs most. The Bible teaches that by beholding Jesus, we become changed into His image of love and selflessness. Political activism is totally incapable of achieving that Divine purpose. However, the Right, claiming to be Christians, seems to have a radically different view.

The Religious Right has hijacked the pure religion of Jesus Christ and has transformed it into a lethal weapon for the institution of oppression, intolerance, and tyranny. Legal scholar, historian, and cultural commentator Joyce Vance wonders out loud: Can we call it Fascism yet?

Franklin Graham, a prominent Religious Right player, poignantly evaluates the battle of the Left versus the Right when he declared: “The hostility, bias, and ridicule of Biblical morality is blatant and obvious … I promise that I will raise my voice each and every day against such injustice and wicked behavior … This is the point to which we have come”. He continued, “The war against Biblical values and those who embrace them is full on. The gloves are off, and the radical left would like to crush all who hold to a Biblical worldview.” He is no doubt talking about the lethal political agenda of his seemingly unstoppable juggernaut, the Religious Right.

In considering the power of Franklin Graham’s movement, one commentator observed, “The Religious Right has grown so powerful it enjoys a veto over many national Republican candidates. Any Republican who aspires to the presidency must first get a blessing from the Religious Right” (Rob Boston AU, June 20006). Another writer outlined the plans and objectives of Project Blitz, one of the main strategies of this religious/political behemoth. Similarly, this keen observer shares his insight as he declared, “Evangelical extremists mount “Project Blitz,” a covert campaign to re-create a Christian America that never existed”. The determined purpose of the Religious Right is to establish theocratic rule in America based upon their Dominionist philosophy, contrary to the Bible in which they claim to believe”.

Another potent weapon in the Religious Right’s arsenal is the ReAwaken American Tour. Here’s how the influential PBS Frontline reports on it: Michael Flynn’s ReAwaken Roadshow Recruits ‘Army of God’.

Since early last year, the ReAwaken America Tour has carried its message of a country under siege to tens of thousands of people in 15 cities and towns. The tour serves as a traveling roadshow and recruiting tool for an ascendant Christian nationalist movement that’s wrapped itself in God, patriotism, and politics and has grown in power and influence inside the Republican Party.

In the version of America laid out at the ReAwaken tour, Christianity should be at the center of American life and institutions. Instead, it’s under attack, and attendees need to fight to restore the nation’s Christian roots. It’s a message repeated over and over at ReAwaken — one that upends the constitutional ideal of a pluralist democracy. But it’s a message that is taking hold.

A poll by the University of Maryland conducted in May found that 61% of Republicans support declaring the U.S. to be a Christian nation: “Christian nationalism really undermines and attacks foundational values in American democracy. And that is a promise of religious freedoms for all,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, which advocates for religious freedom.

She said the ReAwaken cause is “a partisan political cause, and the cause here is to spread misinformation, to perpetuate the big lie, and to have a different result next time in the next election.”

The Beast and the Image of the Beast

Without any consideration of or reference to Biblical prophecies, these political and cultural commentators are unknowingly proclaiming what the Bible has long ago predicted. They and many others are unmistakably pointing to a grand movement towards the redefinition of religious liberty and its resultant dire consequences, which ultimately will lead to the desecration of the American ideal and the institution of Papal tyranny.

And what is the historical character of the ‘beast’, the Papacy? It is an amalgamation of pagan religious ideas, offering lip service to the Christian faith enough to make it appear and claim to be Christian. Its religious ideas are held up by state power, which persecutes, maims, and slaughters those who do not abide by and subscribe to the institution’s dogmas and doctrines. Its history is undeniable.

America, the Bible declares, will become the Image of the Beast. Jesus Christ is the expressed image of His Father (Hebrews 1:5). He is full of grace and abundant in mercy, goodness, and truth. He therefore reflects the character and qualities of, and acts like His Father. So it will be, yeah, not too distant, that America, through the agency of the Religious Right, will reflect the character and qualities of the Roman Papacy of old, thus forming the Image of the Beast.

The Left versus the Right, in their relentless fury against each other, is verily the prescription for the establishment of and workings of the Image of the Beast as prophesied by John the Revelator. Each side is firmly saddled in its respective contradictory ideas of what the nation should become, and neither is yielding or seeking a compromise. Physical confrontation is inevitable. Some are going so far as to suggest civil war. The sure word of prophecy has long ago declared that the Right will prevail, if only for a short time, thus establishing the Image of the Beast.

The question is, are you ready? The only way to be ready is to find refuge in Jesus Christ.

Abuout: Aubrey Duncan is the Lay Pastor of Forsyth New Life Mission Church of SDAs and the author of the books, God’s Sabbath Truth and America, the Papacy, and the Signs of the Times. You can learn more about and support his ministry @ www.thesabbathtruth.org