Freemen in Bondage

The Heartbeat of the Remnant
October/November/December 2009

In April 1992, an angry resident of Sanilac County, Michigan, wrote a letter to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He was announcing his rejection of the “Corporate State of Michigan and the United States.” He was denying his citizenship and their authority over him. And, he was expressly revoking his signature on any hunting or fishing licenses that they had asked him to sign, which he viewed as contracts that fraudulently bound him to the government. Three years later this man would become known to the world as Terry Nichols, friend and accomplice of Timothy McVeigh, the man who bombed the Oklahoma City Federal Building.

These men subscribe to a very unique set of beliefs. Their system of beliefs arose in the 1970s, out of the anti-establishment movement, developing more fully in the 1980s into anti-government movements. There are various groups within this movement with varying degrees of involvement in anti-governmental actions, from vigilante groups and White Supremacist groups, to groups that profess to be Christian (some closely paralleling Anabaptists in certain ways), as well as Islamic and pseudo-Jewish groups. Their doctrines are promoted by tracts, vigilante courts, seminars, and shortwave radio, as well as Internet “Schools of Common Law”, YouTube videos, and through preaching.

Their tactics vary greatly. Obviously, most of them do not blow up buildings, but in varying degrees they despise and deny the secular government’s right to have authority over them. They believe they are standing for their rights; they are “freedom fighters,” using many tactics against the “great beast” of the U.S. government. Typically, they reject driver’s licenses, mandatory auto insurances, vehicle registrations, Social Security numbers, birth certificates, marriage licenses, and even the use of ZIP codes! They are known for using all sorts of methods to hinder the government, such as employing fraudulent liens, lawsuits, bogus financial documents, fake auto IDs, misuse of IRS forms, threats to government officials and their families, and various financial scams. Some even occasionally resort to armed standoffs with law enforcement. They call themselves by different names: Sovereign Citizens, The Posse, Ambassadors of Heaven, or most often… Freemen. They would say they are true patriots, standing for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Some would say that only Yahweh is their authority and Him alone will they obey.

Really, none of these things are altogether new. I’d like to jump back 2,000 years and ask a few questions to stir our memory. Who were the Zealots? Why did they end up not following the Lord Jesus Christ? Why did they, for the most part, miss the salvation that God had sent for them?

Zealots

The Zealots were a fanatical right-wing sect who were alive and well when Jesus was teaching and preaching in Israel. They were a political party of the Jews who (along with many others) despised the Roman dominion over them. They were very nationalistic, militantly opposing the Roman government. Their name means “Jealous” or “Zealous” in the Aramaic language. They were self-professed followers of Levi and Simeon (who avenged their sister’s rape upon Shechem), Phinehas (who speared a Jewish man and Moabitish woman for their fornication, thus stopping the plague in the camp), and Elijah (who slew the 850 prophets of Baal and Ashteroth).

Masada, pictured above, was a Zealot fort near the Dead Sea. The name Masada comes from a Hebrew word meaning “stronghold.” Are we defending strongholds upon false conceptions of God, strongholds that will some day fall just like Masada did?

They believed they were truly devoted to God and His laws alone. Though they held some similar views with the Pharisees, they were distinctly different on a few points. Zealots felt it was treason against God to pay tribute to Rome, since God alone was Israel’s King. They were willing to use any method of guerilla warfare to fight for Jewish independence. Although they were His contemporaries, sadly, most of them never accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, nor their God-sent Messiah!

Their movement eventually degenerated into a band of cut-throats called Sicarii (dagger-men, in Latin). Their increased fanaticism provoked the Jewish-Roman war of the first century. In 66 A.D., they attempted to take full control of Jerusalem. This led to the horrible siege and destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Roman general Titus in 70 A.D. This was what Jesus had warned would come to pass (see Matthew 24), before he was crucified. The last Zealot stronghold was the highly fortified Masada, which fell to the Romans in 73 A.D. when some 900 Zealots committed mass suicide, rather than surrender to the Roman authorities.

Since the Zealots were so desirous to serve God, to know and do His will, why did they miss becoming followers of the only true Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ?

The problem was that they had a totally false concept of what true freedom is in the Kingdom of God. Like many other similar movements since that time, this false belief became a mighty stronghold in their lives. They failed to understand that true freedom comes when:

• I am submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
• I am submitted to Him in all my ways.
• I am subject to earthly authorities when I am not asked to disobey Christ.
• Like Jesus, I accept suffering for being obedient to the Father, patiently.

When you study Jesus’ teachings, it is not hard to see why the Zealots could not follow Jesus while still in their stronghold of false belief. Consider the following areas where Christ’s teaching contradicts the “Freemen” mentality:

1. Jesus birth, in fulfillment of the ancient prophecies, was at Bethlehem, due to His parent’s submission to the Roman census and taxation. (Luke 2:1-6)
2. Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek”. Matthew 5:5
3. Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers”. Matthew 5:9
4. He blessed them who accept persecution patiently. Matthew 5:10-12
5. He taught that it was important not only to accept the authority of the Roman soldier who asks you to carry his pack for a mile, but to volunteer to take it a second mile! Matthew 5:41
6. He gave all His followers the calling to “love your enemies; do good to them that hate you; bless them who despitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew 5: 43-48
   1. Regardless of popular belief, He said that these are the qualifications for being called the children of God! Matthew 5:45
7. He taught that the things that are truly valuable are not on this earth. Matthew 6:19-21
8. He gave His followers a formula of how we should respond to every other person when He said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Matthew 7:12
9. He told all His followers that if He is truly their Lord, these things will be a part of their lives. “Not everyone that sayeth unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.” Matthew 7:21
10. Jesus commended a Roman centurion for his great faith and contrasted it with the Jews’ unbelief. Matthew 8:5-13
11. Jesus taught to flee, not resist persecution. Matthew 10:22-28
12. The test of true love for Christ is in our willingness to “take up the cross” of submission and forbearance. Matthew 10:37-39
13. Jesus’ declarations to Peter “the freedom fighter”:
    1. When he rebuked Jesus for talking about His crucifixion: “Get behind me Satan.” Matthew 16:21-28
    1. When He instructed Peter to go pay tax for both Peter and Himself. Matthew 17:24-27
    1. When He reproved Peter for using the sword to resist His arrest. Matthew 26:51-54
14. Jesus consistently taught that His kingdom is not like the world’s kingdom in operations. Matthew 20:25-28
15. He told the Jews who were trying to trap Him in His words “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” – Pay your taxes! Matthew 22:17-22
16. When Jesus taught His followers that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, He warned them to flee, not fight for it. Some notable historians tell us that when Jerusalem fell, there was not one Christian left in it. They apparently obeyed their Lord!
17. Jesus’ open declaration to Pilate, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. -John 18:36
18. Jesus did not resist Judas, His betrayer, though He knew of his plot against Him.
19. The last command Jesus gave was for His followers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every tribe, nation, language and people group. Not only that but baptize them and receive them as equals into the kingdom of God. The early Church understood this well: Jews didn’t become Gentiles, Gentiles didn’t become Jews; they both needed to be born again and be converted to become Christians under the New Covenant. Matt. 28:18-20

All this was unthinkable to the Zealots, whose “stronghold of false doctrine” blinded them to believe that God only speaks Hebrew, only accepts Hebrew culture, only saves Jews, and desires Israel as the only nation.

Barabbas

One of the greatest reasons the Zealots didn’t choose Jesus was that they had already chosen another “Saviour” – Barabbas. It was he who had been arrested for sedition (rebellion to government authority) and murder, yet it was he who the crowd chose in their blind passion. His name ironically means: Bar = “son of” and Abba = “the father”.

When the crowd was crying, “Free Barabbas!” it was like they were saying “We choose the son of the Father!” But God has only one begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and for Him they cried, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” They followed a deceiver, a false deliverer, and a false Messiah. Their end was death, destruction, and bondage to sin, self, and Satan… and for those who never repented, an eternity in Hell.

So, what should I do if I realize that I have believed a lie and have allowed myself to be influenced by the Zealots of our day? Repent and submit to the rightful Lordship of Jesus in your life. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry… -1 Samuel 15:23, and no witch is right with God!

In this day of easy-believism and cheap grace, it is essential to consider whether we have been genuinely born again, surrendering our all to our resurrected Lord, since Jesus said …Verily, verily… Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. -John 3:3. Have you ever seen yourself as hopelessly lost, without a single plea before the crucified Lord Jesus? If your life still belongs to you, you are not one of His.

Believe His word. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. -1 Peter 2:13-17

Recognize that God is the final authority. It is He who raises up whom He will and puts down whom He will. Remember Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and others like them. Many times, God uses the ungodly to chasten His people. God has established earthly government and authority. The home, church, employment, and the government all establish order in society; the opposite is chaos and anarchy (which is really every man being his own lord). -see Romans 13:1-14. Be ready to make godly appeals to the government when asked to do what is against the Lord’s will for us. Be ready to suffer like Jesus did, patiently, resigned to die, if needed, to fulfill the will of God the Father. -see 1 Peter 3: 8-18 May God bless each one with true freedom as the children of God, living as strangers and pilgrims in this world – another kingdom! -see Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11.