Did you see that a lot of people don’t want Donald Trump to be the king of America?
On October 18th, there were a lot of “No Kings” rallies around the country, decrying what the protesters say are authoritarian actions by President Trump, whom they claim acts more like a king than a president. One protester in San Francisco held a sign saying, “Hey Trump nobody paid us to be here. We all hate you for free.”
Nice. You can read the Babylon Bee’s list of things accomplished by people like that in the No Kings demonstrations here.
The vast majority of protesters were democrats and leftists (I do believe there is a distinction between the two), and, of course, there were jabs from the right about the rallies, with some calling it “democrat sulk day.” Naturally, those supporting the “No Kings” rallies deny that and say they are simply against the despotic actions of any president who crosses the line of democracy.
Am I the only one calling baloney on that?
Were the situation reversed and it was a leftist president pushing their niche agenda issues onto the nation, what do you want to bet that most of those folks would have stayed home?
The good thing was that the “No Kings” rallies were mainly peaceful, which is a nice change for that side of the political fence. Usually, when the Left doesn’t get its way, it follows in the footsteps of those in 1780-90’s France who birthed the leftist philosophy, as Wall Street Journal writer Jason Willick noted a few years back:
“The French Revolution, in its moderate phase before 1792, drew on America’s ideals in seeking to overthrow the monarchy … The differences, however, proved fundamental. Whereas the Americans began with the individual as the primary unit of moral and political value, [France] wanted to create a collective will. But in order to create a collective will, you have to destroy all those wills that are counter to your vision of the general will. That’s why America’s revolution ended with constitutional government and France’s in terror and tyranny.”
The destruction of “those wills that are counter to your vision of general will” has been carried out countless times in both large and small ways, not just during the past five or so years, but throughout history and, to be fair, done on both sides of the political divide. They practice what Frank Herbert wrote in his work Children of Dune: “When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is according to my principles.”
That robbing of freedom and voice has been done in more of a mob-and-political-puppeteer fashion in recent history than by a single individual and is very much in keeping with the French Revolution’s spirit and its disastrous outcomes. Such tactics have been called out even by the most unlikely of groups, such as the rock band Black Sabbath and their song The Mob Rules:
Close the city and tell the people that something’s coming to call
Death and darkness are rushing forward to
Take a bite from the wall
You’ve nothing to say, they’re breaking away
If you listen to fools, the mob rules
The mob rules
And mobs that go so far as to achieve the majority of thought in a culture show why, as Churchill said, democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. He and the “No Kings” protesters are wrong, though, because the best form of government is absolutely a monarchy, with it only having one itsy-bitsy requirement.
You have to have the right monarch. And I know of only One that qualifies.
The problem is, though, any monarch represents an ultimate authority, which is an affront to the insubordinate spirit we’re all born with. Looking at the “No Kings” protests and reading through many of their comments reminded me of Albert Camus’ famous quote: “I rebel — therefore we exist.”
The Bible tells us that, “there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God” (Rom. 13:1-2). This means that the spirit of authority-resistance running through the “No Kings” rallies and others like them is aimed every bit as much upward as outward, even if they’re unaware of it.
Some have declared that explicitly, though. The atheist Christopher Hitchens is disgusted at the thought that we are the property of any supernatural authority: “Once you assume a creator and a plan, it makes us objects, in a cruel experiment … And over us, to supervise this, is installed a celestial dictatorship, a kind of divine North Korea.” Thomas Paine speaks for most these days, where both authority and human worship are concerned, when he wrote, “My own mind is my own church.”
But no matter what Paine’s or anyone else’s mind tells them, the Bible declares everywhere that God is King overall. Scripture says, “The Lord is King forever and ever” (Ps. 10:16); “The Lord is enthroned as King forever” (Ps. 29:10).
It says the same thing of Jesus, who is coming back as King over all creation, “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15).
The fact is, the rebel spirit of our age won’t accept any king, including Jesus, just like He spoke about in the parable of the nobleman: “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us’” (Luke 19:14). It’s funny and tragic how fickle crowds quickly change their tune; one minute they were “intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king” (John 6:15) and not long afterwards were screaming, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).
Scripture says that the overt kind of rejection Christ experienced in His first coming will happen again in His second appearing, with the psalmist describing the scene like this: “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’” (Ps. 2:1–3).
But they’ve got it all wrong. Jesus isn’t a king that takes and enslaves — He’s one that gives (literally everything) and sets us free. No monarch has ever done that, am I right?
So, if you’re a “No Kings” rally person, relax and take heart. Trump will never be king, but Jesus is, so it’s best you confess Him as Lord now rather than be His footstool (Ps. 110:1) someday.
Robin Schumacher is an accomplished software executive and Christian apologist who has written many articles, authored and contributed to several Christian books, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and presented at apologetic events. He holds a BS in Business, Master’s in Christian apologetics and a Ph.D. in New Testament. His latest book is, A Confident Faith: Winning people to Christ with the apologetics of the Apostle Paul.
