Holy Treason (Obadiah 15, 21)

“The day of the Lord is near  for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you;

    your deeds will return upon your own head....And the kingdom will be the Lord’s." Obadiah 15, 21

TREASON: “the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.”


Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, was penned by a no name prophet. His single message is so short you could read the entire thing in less than a minute. Like every other prophet of old his message is warns the world to dismiss God at your own risk: basically, “God sees what’s going on and before long His justice is going to set things right.” 


Usually this idea of the coming reckoning throughout Scripture is called “the Day of the Lord”, an event of cosmic, political, and spiritual upheaval where “everything that can be shaken will be shaken” where God’s unshakable Kingdom will ultimately be realized once and for all (Hebrews 12:26-28). 


In Vs 15 Obadiah says, “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.”


This Day of Vengeance, the Day of the Lord, is coming upon the world and cannot be stopped. The prideful will be humbled, the powerful will broken, sin will be squashed, and the nations will be subdued by the Lord, the King of all the earth. 


This coming Kingdom will in fact overthrow every single kingdom or government by force. In terms of national security God’s kingdom as described here should be considered the greatest threat known to man. In every sense of the word the Bible promises the arrival of this moment as a treasonous event of the highest magnitude. 


Here are a few other prophets’ descriptions concerning the coming Day of the Lord:


Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.”


Zechariah 14:9 “And the Lord will be king over all the earth...."


Paul put it this way, 1 Corinthians 15:24 “Then comes the end, when [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” 


Yikes. If I’m a person in any position of power that sounds like a pretty bad day. 


But wait, there’s more! 


2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”


But wait a minute. What about American democracy? Aren’t we the good guys? Surely God would never topple our powerful government? Would He? 


Think again.


You’d think that such a treasonous event like the Day of the Lord might just make the nightly news if people actually believed it was coming. If we truly thought the world was on a collision course with God Almighty and that every world government would soon be overturned that this Day would be the biggest breaking news event in history. 


But just as sure as Christ died and rose again, the Day of the Lord is coming, with vengeance on the enemies of God. I don't know about you but I have no desire whatsoever in being on the receiving end of the wrath and fury of the all consuming fire that is Jehovah God.


But if we truly believe God’s Kingdom is coming, and pray as such, Christians are by definition insurrections committing holy treason, whose allegiances are not to this world but to another King whose coming will overthrow everyone and everything that contests His rule and authority. 


Does that mean God wants us to actively work to overthrow the government by force like the ancient Zealots? No, God doesn't need any help in that department. He's got that part covered.


Our calling as Christians is to live like we truly believe the Day of the Lord is at hand and ensure that our highest allegiance is to none other than, "The King Eternal, to Christ, coming with the clouds of heaven, to subdue the nations with the sword of His mouth."


For this reason we should, "set our affections on things above, not on things below" (Colossians 3:2) and pray, "Your Kingdom to come and Your will be done", knowing that our own kingdoms, like the rest of the world, will all bow and confess allegiance to the coming Lord of all the earth. 



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