Пастор призвал церковь отвергнуть христианский национализм в пользу служения Агнцу

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” — Revelation 5:12 Revelation is not a crystal ball for predicting the future. It is a prophetic mirror held to the present — a challenge to churches tempted to trade allegiance to Christ for empire’s comforts. John wrote to seven churches facing a stark choice: accommodating Rome or bearing witness to the worthy Lamb. That same choice confronts us. Today’s imperial temptation does not march with legions. It moves through slogans, algorithms, and political theology demanding total loyalty. Christian nationalism, especially through its modern self-appointed guardians, trades the Gospel for the idolatry of power. In Revelation 13, John describes a beast “allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them” (Revelation 13:7). The beast does not always arrive with fangs bared. Sometimes the same temptation comes dressed in Sunday clothes, waving flags, and singing hymns. Here in the Upper Cumberland, we have seen echoes of this temptation as Christian nationalists have sought to discredit our public library board and influence local elections — not from genuine moral concern, but to seize cultural power. That is not faithfulness; it is thirst for power, accusation, and slander in religious dress. Micah asks, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). Christian nationalism is neither just nor kind nor humble. When any earthly institution, leader, or movement claims ultimate allegiance, it becomes an idol. Jesus alone is Lord — not any party, flag, or ideology. The seven churches in Asia Minor knew this temptation. Pergamum held fast to Christ’s name where “Satan’s throne” stood (Revelation 2:13) yet was rebuked for tolerating accommodation to empire. Laodicea was “lukewarm,” comfortable in wealth (Revelation 3:15-16). These warnings are for us. When Christians bless white supremacy, we deny Paul’s proclamation: “There is no longer Jew or Greek … for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). When we scapegoat immigrants, we turn from Christ, who said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). A gospel that blesses partiality, exclusion, or contempt is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We know God truly through Jesus Christ, who reveals vulnerable, self-giving love — not coercion. The church’s allegiance is to a crucified Lord, not a flag. Neighbor-love begins with seeing the image of God in every person. As John writes, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars” (1 John 4:20). Recent efforts by groups like the Kairos Christian Alliance have shown how easily the Gospel can be corrupted for worldly gain. But corruption does not excuse our silence. We must refuse the mark of the beast — the demand for loyalty to earthly powers — and bear the seal of the Lamb, whose victory comes through self-giving love, not domination. As Jesus declared, “My kingdom is not from this world” (John 18:36). Revelation’s final vision is “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” before the throne (Revelation 7:9). The Lamb is on the throne, and his victory is certain. Let us bear witness to a different kingdom — marked not by domination but by service, not by exclusion but by welcome, not by fear but by God’s perfect love. For “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah” (Revelation 11:15). May the church be known not by hunger for power, but by witness to the Lamb. The Rev. Michael D. McLaughlin is pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cookeville.