AntiChrist at the Border

Professing Christians should not automatically embrace the message of anyone simply because of his or her reputation or credentials; rather, we must listen cautiously and test the spirit of their words by comparing them to what Yeshua taught. What they say about Yeshua and His Word is of utmost importance.

I don’t address memes on guamblog, though I occasionally share a clever one. But, one particularly wicked meme has been gaining wider circulation as of late. Because I have seen this one shared countless times, yesterday showing up on the social media page of someone widely respected in the Catholic and Christian community on Guam, and because of the potential danger it represents to our understanding of the gospel and God, I thought it was worth a comment.

It’s this: “If Heaven has a gate, a wall, and extreme vetting, why can’t America?” As someone in love with Messiah, what disturbs my soul about this meme is less what it’s saying about immigration, and more about the clear attempt to pervert the Word of God.

The meme first circulated during the 2016 presidential election campaign. In 2017, CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, the country’s “premier” gathering of conservative activists, most of whom ostensibly self-identify as Christians, even made the meme the theme of one of their panels.

Even if we manage to understand this meme in a very narrowly defined way, when we share it we are presenting, especially to the unbelieving world, a picture of heaven that is inconsistent with the gospel, expressed in the mercy of Yeshua.

That same group had also invited to the conference, as keynote speaker, right-wing provocateur has-been, Milo Yiannopoulos — a longtime advocate for Donald Trump, whom he calls “daddy.”

Well, that was until some Republicans found out about Milo’s enthusiasm for man-on-boy sex and worried about the public relations nightmare it could become.

On a 2016 episode of “The Drunken Peasants” podcast, the golden child of the new alt.right movement flippantly espoused that younger boys “discover who they are” through sexual relationships with older men.

An incredulous podcast host replied, “Sounds like Catholic priest molestation to me.”

The ensuing eruption following the Milo affair overshadowed the immigration panel, extending the life of the meme it was based on…and the unholy union of antichristian rhetoric and professed Christians.

Yes, Scripture does clearly reference heaven having a wall. A really yuge one, too. It comes with 12 massive gates, each carved out of a massive pearl. But the gates are always open. And there is a strict vetting procedure in place, as detailed by no one less than the Messiah himself.

So, as the logic goes, if heaven has a wall and entry criteria, then so should the US. That’s the logic of the metaphor, at least. But, there are two profoundly disturbing issues with this meme.

The first being what it implies about the US. This meme equates or compares the US with heaven. The implications are ripe. It implies with all the subtlety of a serpent in Eden, that US citizens are heavenly citizens. Non-citizens are the heathens who have to pass a test to get in.

The government is God, which has the right to do “extreme vetting” however it sees fit. This is nothing short of nationalist idolatry. You can go ahead and get your unholy panties in a wad to defend your joy in sharing this meme, and protest by trying to limit its scope to the border wall analogy. That’s fine, but it’s not all that gets communicated.

This meme equates or compares the US with heaven. The implications are ripe. It implies with all the subtlety of a serpent in Eden, that US citizens are heavenly citizens. Non-citizens are the heathens who have to pass a test to get in.

The meme works backwards, as well (a clue of its demonic origins, no doubt).

The second, and grosser distortion is what the meme implies about heaven: If the US is like heaven, then heaven (and its immigration policies) is like the US — or should be. That’s strikes at the heart of the gospel of Jesus.

For we are not like others who blend the words of God, but according to that which is in the truth and according to that which is from God, before God in The Messiah we speak. 2 Cor. 2:17

Like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the ones who imagined themselves citizens by birthright, heaven, as projected in this meme, is primarily concerned about security and those who want to enter must wait outside and first prove they are not dangerous and they must show how they can contribute. Citizens of heaven, on the other hand, are either in by birthright or because they have already gone through extreme vetting and have shown themselves worthy.

In a nutshell, if this idea is what you are presenting through sharing this meme to the world, and to other believers (whose walk may be weak), then you either don’t understand the Gospel or are intentionally twisting the Word to suit your own worldly political agenda. That is the spirit of antichrist at work.

“Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces! You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matthew 23:13).

Are you even asking the right question?

According to the gospel, when it comes to getting into the kingdom of God, we’re all unworthy asylum seekers. We come without credentials. We come, even, as enemies of God. It is only by God’s radical grace that comes to us and invites us in that we could gain entrance. And then, having been forgiven much, we share that same goodness with the world — a welcoming and hopeful vision of heaven.

Doesn’t sound like America today, does it? But, today, through the lens of the heated debate on Trump’s border wall, we can see what side of the fence professed believers in the Christ truly stand: With God or with the Antichrist.

Spiritual doctrines are promulgated through human agents. Teachers of truth are agents filled with the Spirit of God. Those who push false narratives and pervert the lessons taught by the Christ spread the “doctrines of demons.” Timothy wrote about these days when people would fall away from truth to follow deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.

The apostle John wrote that believers must pay attention and test the spirits. But how do we test the spirits?

If, like the meme so eagerly shared by many self-described conservatives and Christians, you really support vetting based on the teachings of Jesus, then it makes testing the truth in that meme (and your support for it) pretty easy. All you need to do is look to Christ himself.

Real Facts about Refugees: There is a 1 in 3.64 billion per year chance that you will be killed by a refugee-turned-terrorist in a given year. If those odds concern you, please do not get in a bathtub, car, send your kids to school, or even go outside. And be especially careful around white guys in America. Muslims were responsible for 12.4 per cent of the terror attacks in the US between 2011 and 2015 yet received 41.4 per cent of the news coverage. Is it any wonder that when most Americans think of terrorists they picture brown, not white, skins? The threat immigrants and refugees pose to the American public seems to be trumped up out of proportion to the actual threat. Sometimes immigration is even framed as an outside invasion, and not as families desperately seeking to get out of a horrible situation.

You can read for yourself, in the book of Matthew, what Yeshua said about his requirements for entry into heaven, his domain: Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Welcome strangers. Clothe the naked. Minister to the sick. Visit the imprisoned.

And, if you don’t? Well, this is what Yeshua has to say on his extreme vetting , and what will happen to those who doesn’t pass his criteria: “Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

But considering that it’s highly likely that less than 1 in 1,000 of the vociferous BUILD THAT WALL crowd actually do any of the above either, it should come as no surprise then that they would also be callous towards the stranger — in defiance of every lesson taught in the bible on this matter.

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Whoever believes in Him. Whoever. That’s not what you call vetting. It’s an invitation. We are invited to enter heaven. No one is there trying to keep us out. The choice is for the immigrant to come, or not to come into heaven…through the wide and open gates.

Given the vocabulary and memes too many of us are using to speak of heaven, I wonder if American Christians really understand the Gospel or are choosing to follow another — an antichrist gospel.