The Queen’s latest portrait was recently painted by my Irish friend, Colin Davidson. We were both bemused that the “unveiling” was scheduled for November 8th the same day on which the next President of the USA would also be “unveiled” (Here’s the report by the BBC )
A few days ago my American friend Sherwood sent me A Letter to the American People from John Cleese a very funny piece – at least to those with a more British sense of humour…”No spellcheck – I did spell humour correctly for at least a percentage of readers!
Cleese’s punch line – “It’s time for the Queen to reclaim America!”
Skepticism about the American democratic system is at an all time high, and rightly so. In his landmark documentary Century of the Self Adam Curtis, describes how possibly the most influential man in the past hundred years is someone most people have never heard of. Edward Bernays was Sigmund Freud’s American nephew and the inventor of propaganda (now known as public relations)
Two world wars had revealed the evil that man was capable of. As people turned away from the bible for understanding they looked initially to psychoanalysis which proposed a solution through the repression of self. When this was seen to fail, attention turned to the expression of self in the Human Potential movement. Either way it was “The Self” that came to prominence with “personal fulfillment” now being viewed as the highest goal. We can see the further outworking of this narcissistic trend in the progression from the Baby Boomer “Me Generation” to the Millennials: “The Me Me Me Generation.”
The documentary demonstrates, how this has set people up for manipulation by the elites of business and politics (to which I would add religion) as the ‘fallen’ self’s basic instincts of fear and greed are tapped into in order to obtain the ‘engineering of consent’
A dose of external religion seems to do little to alter this propensity, as a few years ago a poll by Barna demonstrated that there is no difference in marketing to the large ‘born again’ population in America than to the ordinary man in the street. This bears out the warning in the letter to the church of Laodicea which is manifesting in America today. Laodicea, from Gk.’laos’ “the (common) people”, prophetically anticipated this democratic era.
The essential message of Revelation 3: 14-22 is:
…………are being deceived.
Although it now appears that the American Experiment is failing, this has been necessary that the plan of God succeed.
This does not involve a queen reclaiming a lost empire but rather a King coming to establish an unshakable Kingdom. (Heb.12:28) That kingdom involves first an internal spiritual awakening that will I believe then find expression in due season in a new world order called “The Kingdom of God”
Shortly an “unveiling” will take place that all might, “look full in His wonderful face” as “the sons of God” are manifested and creation’s hope fulfilled. (Rm.8:19)
In His coming He will not take sides…..but will take over….. so that in the end “Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord – to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil.2:10-11)
This includes the men and women of power in this world and their propagandists. As it says in Psalm 2:
“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed…….
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them……..
“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain……..
“Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth…………..Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.”