The Christian Coup Against Christ

One of the definitions for a coup (pronounced “koo”) is “A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.” There are certain instances when a coup can be a good thing. For instance our nation came into existence when the colonies rebelled against England’s heavy hand of rule over them. The desire to be free from their tyranny was not taken lightly by our Founding Fathers. It was only after exhausting every avenue of reconciliation with the King of England that they declared their independence.

Throughout history there have been numerous coups when a certain segment of a society are unhappy with the government that is over them and, usually through military aggression, attempt to overthrow it. Some are successful and some are not. In either case, those who rebel desire a change of those who ruled over them.

In part of their counseling before marriage, I take couples through a teaching regarding the possible negative affects among children that have non-confrontational parents. The biblical application applies to the spiritual children in the family of God as well.

The first example is revealed through the way David dealt with his son, Adonijah;

Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him. His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” (1 Kings 1:5-6/NASU)

David’s lack of confrontation with Adonijah resulted in him becoming a self-absorbed, egotistical man who thought the world should revolve around, and serve, him. Through this we see that the fruit of a non-confrontive parent is self-exaltation in their children. They end up desiring to be the king, the one sitting on the throne of their heart with a sense of entitlement (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

When a Christian is never confronted with their sin and continue in it by not submitting to the lordship of Jesus Christ over them, they too will enthrone themselves within their heart in a spirit of self-exaltation that will cause them, and possibly others, great pain. This Christian coup against the government of God will cause many in the family of God to fall away from Him with an apostate heart at the end of this age before the return of Christ.

Not understanding through correction and restraint what it means to serve one another, these self-centered children/adults desire to have everyone serve them, exalting self above others. Their self-induced issue becomes an annoyance for everyone else they come into contact with throughout society, and the church. They have no respect for authority because they choose to be their own authority, desiring to rule over everyone else. If parents do not bring a little pain into their children’s lives early, they will bring great pain to others, and themselves, when they get older. In the church we refer to this loving confrontation as church discipline. Because of the man-pleasing spirit that has overrun the church, it is rarely carried out. This explains why we have so many, in particular within the church in America, that have fallen away from following Christ.

Another biblical example of non-confrontational parenting is seen through Eli, the priest of God. He was made aware of the sin of his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, but never confronted them. The Lord then said to Samuel;

See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family-- from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible [NAS- …brought a curse on themselves], and he failed to restrain them. (1 Samuel 3:11-13/NIV)

To be contemptible is “to make light, to be of little account, to make despicable, to be cursed.” Eli’s failure to rebuke his sons, restraining them when he knew they were sinning against God, would cost him and his family dearly. It would, in fact, result in a self-induced curse on them. In a blatant act of self-indulgence, the sons were taking the best portion of the people’s sacrifices to God for themselves, much like the prosperity preachers are today. Eli’s lack of confrontational love toward his sons would result in all three of their deaths on the same day. Those in the priesthood of God, whether that be the leader in a church or a family, who make light of the Lord’s command to discipline (Hebrews 12:5 above) bring contempt and dishonor to their name. They cause themselves to become despicable in His sight, even cursing themselves and their family. Without repentance they will die. It is that serious.

One of the definitions for restrain in this passage is, “to grow dim,” or “to be darkened.” In 1 Samuel 3:2 we read that Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well). The Hebrew for dim is keheh (kay-heh'). It means “to be dim, to be dull, to be colorless, to be dark, to be faint.” This sounds very familiar to the definition for restrain. Eli’s lack of external restraint toward his children was a reflection of his lack of internal restraint. The dimness of His eyes matched the dullness of his heart. He had difficulty seeing (discerning) either way. The light of God within him had become darkness (Luke 11:35, Matthew 6:23). He represents the dark parts in the Body of Christ that will soon be removed from our midst.

Hebrews 3:12-13 says, See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. If not confronted, sin can cause a child or even a brother in Christ to turn away from God. This is why it is so crucial to train a child, whether they be a physical or spiritual child, in the way they should go, confronting when necessary so that they will not self-destruct by turning away from the Way, Jesus Christ, in a Christian coup against His governmental rule in their life.