The Cancel Culture

And The Rising of His Remnant

“You have meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” Gen. 50:20.

The aforementioned scripture speaks specifically to the sons of Jacob by their brother Joseph after they sojourned to Egypt because of the drought in Canaan. It demonstrates the mercy of God upon His people that Joseph having been given up for dead by His father Jacob because of the lie told to him by his other sons after they sold him into slavery reveals eternal plan of God.

            Throughout the history of God’s people, the Lord brought about circumstances in the lives of the Israelites that was determined by their enemies. The sinfulness in the land and in the Israelite culture opened the doors to spiritual attacks that affected them in the natural by way of defeat and enslavement. In many cases, the Israelites were removed from their homeland and brought into foreign lands in order to be assimilated into pagan culture. However, even in the midst of turmoil and the determined destruction of their culture and inheritance by their enemies there always remained a remnant that never caved to the onslaughts of the enemies of God and His people. This remnant remained faithful to the cause of God, to His Word, and to the feasts He commanded them to celebrate. As much as, the result of these defeats and diaspora acts were a travesty to the Jewish people, the Lord purposed to keep His covenant alive and active in their lives.

The Pride of Life

            To the nation of Israel, the temple worship with its sacrifices and offerings to the Lord was a pride of their culture and daily life. To practice the continual Law of Moses meant a life of righteousness and prosperity and was a constant reminder to them that God was the author of their salvation and the lifter of their heads. The very heart of the Jewish life was to be a shining light upon a dark world. Israel was the chosen nation of God and they were His people. The whole of their existence was to bring witness of the greatness of God and His mercy upon a sinful world. The Gentile nations, deep in pagan culture and the evils of the enemies of God, were a lost and dying people. The Lord chose Israel to be an example of God’s hope to a dying world. Israel’s purpose was to show the darkness of the Gentile world that there was a way to eternal salvation and that the Messiah, Savior to the whole world, rested in their culture and way of life.

Prevailing Covenants

            Even though the nation of Israel was judged because of having turned throughout history from the ways of God, the Lord would never break from His covenant promise to them. The covenants were living and active movements in the heart of God toward His people. They were not subjected to just one place, one time, or one temple made of brick and mortar. Wherever God’s people dwell so did His covenant promise to them. He rested His law in their hearts.

            In the great dispersion of the Jewish people when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon laid waste to Jerusalem and exiled God’s people to Babylon [2 Kings 24:14], the purpose of God was not to end His covenants or destroy His promise to Israel. He was committed to bringing about His established will in their lives while showing His mercy to the Gentile nations. Out of the Jewish exile to Babylon came the powerful prophecy of Daniel, the fourth man in the fire that saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Lord dealing with Nebuchadnezzar to show him who had absolute power in the world. And out of Babylon, the Lord prophecies to His people of the coming Messiah and the salvation of the whole world. What Nebuchadnezzar meant for evil, the Lord turned to good. The desire in the heart of the Babylon king to make the whole world Babylonian, worshiping their false gods, and assimilating into Babylonian culture, the Lord kept His remnant alive and thriving in that pagan culture.

The Cancel Culture of the 21^st c.

            History repeats itself but the Lord remains steadfast. In our society of the 21^st c. the pagan culture is disguised in the name of many different ideologies [i.e., intellectualism, enlightenment, racism, white privilege, Antifa, BLMers, LGBTQ, the woke left movement, and the like] to destroy the message of the Gospel and indeed biblical Christianity. It is the antichrist spirit even from the time of Nebuchadnezzar. In the natural, it is the erasing of history, the changing of language definition, and intolerance to any resistance. The Cancel Culture movement arms themselves through political, economic [the green deal], socialist values, and judicial activism. Spiritually, it is the activity of the antichrist spirit that was alive in the days of the exiled Jewish people through the works of Nebuchadnezzar. The Cancel Culture movement is determined to erase traditional Judaeo-Christian values from the face of the earth. They are using any means necessary.

The Steadfastness of the Remnant

            Just as the Israelites kept the covenant promises of God alive during the exiled days of Nebuchadnezzar, so will the Church continue to honor the covenants, worship the Lord by His Holy Spirit, and keep the Gospel active in ministering to this lost and dying generation. No matter what the antichrist has planned in the days to come, the victory is still the exclusive right of the Church [John 19:30, “It is Finished!”].

Press In!

            We must continue to do the following things in order to hold back the forces of darkness and usher in the next great harvest:

• Preach the Gospel.
• Press in against the wiles of the enemy.
• Pray for the sick.
• Feed the homeless.
• Take care of widows.
• Baptize those who have come to Christ.
• Adhere to righteousness and pursue holiness.

Dr. Steve Rocco