The Nero Trap

 

 

The Nero Trap: The Plot to Extinguish Christianity

 

A spiritual battle is playing out that threatens to extinguish Christianity. 

 

March 13, 2024

By Jesse Smith

Reprinted from Truth Unmuted

 

It’s no coincidence that many at the forefront of resistance to the burgeoning new world order are Christians. The foundations of the new global order are being built on ideologies that either outright dispute or subtly deny Biblical teachings indispensable to Christianity. In the current climate, opposing issues such as homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, war, critical race theory, illegal immigration, and the sexualization of children may brand you a domestic terrorist and land you on a government watchlist.

The prosperity, freedom, infrastructure, and ascension of Western civilization is largely due to Christian principles and ethics serving as the foundation of society. However, today’s Christians and fellow sympathizers are ironically being set up to take the blame for the destruction of the West, like first century Christians were blamed for the terrible fires that swept through Rome in 64 A.D..

Nero was the Roman emperor from 54 to 68 A.D.. He considered himself a descendant of Apollo and desired to be worshipped like a god. Far from divine, he was a narcissistic murderer, pervert, a glutton, and was obsessed with power and wealth. He participated in orgies with young girls, boys, and just about anyone. He murdered his mother, first wife, and possibly even his second wife.

On July 19, 64 A.D., a devastating wave of fire began sweeping through Rome, destroying as many as ten of its 14 regions. Nero faced a great challenge as deaths soon totaled in the hundreds, homelessness became the plight of thousands, and looters ravaged what was left intact after the inferno ceased. As the survivors took stock of their losses, the backlash was immediate. Rumors began to swirl that Nero himself had set the fires hoping to rebuild a more glorious Rome and curry great favor with the people. Though Nero was believed to be outside of the city in his villa at Antium when the fires took place, suspicions of his involvement continued to grow, with some believing that he callously played an instrument while overlooking the destruction. To deflect the accusations, Nero and his advisors devised a plan to place the blame on Christians, who were despised by both Jews and certain Roman factions.

Nero views the burning of Rome. Carl Theodor von Piloty (1826-1886), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>

 

A record of these events was preserved by Tacitus, a Roman historian, who wrote the following in his Annals (Book XV):

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.

Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

Nero’s Torches by Henryk Siemiradzki – The National Museum in Kraków Digital Collection, Public Domain

 

Besides being blamed for the fires that destroyed much of Rome, Christians were also condemned for a perceived hostility to society and hatred of the world. In addition to these heinous acts committed against the innocent, Nero is also believed by historians such as Eusebius to have ordered the beheading of Paul and the crucifixion of Peter, two of Christ’s most prominent apostles.

The persecution of Christians continued under Domitian, who blamed them for famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and all manner of societal troubles. Domitian had the apostle John boiled in oil and exiled to the island of Patmos. He enforced a harsh new law proclaiming, “That no Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted from punishment without renouncing his religion.”

After Domitian, a continuous succession of Roman emperors targeted Christians for extinction, a campaign that began when Stephen became the first martyr in 36 A.D.. The persecution of early Christians didn’t cease until emperor Constantine became a convert and signed an edict making Christianity the official religion of Rome in 313 A.D.. Prior to Constantine, Christianity was viewed as a perpetual nuisance and enemy of the state.

Though times have changed, much is still the same regarding opposition to Christ and his followers. Throughout the world and increasingly in the West, Christians are being subjected to violence, discrimination, and censorship. A report by the Family Research Council issued in February revealed that in 2023, there were 436 incidents identified against churches including vandalism, arson, and bomb threats. This is more than double the number reported in 2022 and more than eight times the incidents in 2018.

Earlier in January, the Council also published Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West, a report documenting increasing violations of religious freedom toward Christians. Providing a brief overview, the Executive Summary states:

Intolerance toward Christians appears to be on the rise in the West. One very dangerous symptom of this upward trend is government officials and entities targeting Christian churches, organizations, and individuals for prosecution or punishment based on their religious beliefs.

Our initial report, published in June 2022 and covering January 2020 through June 2022, identified 99 incidents across 14 countries. Since that time, we have continued to identify incidents of government intolerance toward Christians. As of the close of 2023, we have identified 168 incidents across 16 countries, all occurring over the past four years.

Some Christians in Western countries were arrested or fined for preaching or praying in public spaces. Others faced punishment for expressing their biblically informed beliefs in the public square. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some local governments imposed restrictions on houses of worship that were more stringent than those placed on secular institutions and businesses.”

In case you missed the memo, we are living in a post-Christian world to the delight of many desiring a more liberal society. While seemingly incongruous to liberalism, statism and authoritarian rule are ascending as the centralization of government power rapidly accelerates. As a result, a new collective religion is also crystallizing. However, it is rooted in past ideologies such as Marxism, Communism, and technocracy. The current twist emphasizes a spiritual form of global oneness and unity based on worshipping caring for the earth (or “Gaia” as it’s called in some occult and scientific circles). This modern Tower of Babel project is spearheaded by global organizations like the United Nations and World Economic Forum, among many others. By combining social justice, environmental activism, and new age philosophies, a new global religious consciousness has been birthed with the aim of supplanting Christianity. Peace, freedom, justice, and equality are promised for all who assent to the utopian vision while pesky Christians refusing to capitulate will have to be dealt with.

Though caring for the planet and designing a more just society for all are noble goals, they are merely subterfuge for the primary aim of establishing a global government. Once in place, a permanent power structure completely overriding national sovereignty would be enshrined. All nations would act in accord with the global authorities and no dissent would be allowed.

The United States was founded on the principal of limited government. The founding fathers understood that big governments tend to become corrupt and despotic. The Church is also supposed to serve as a bulwark preventing the government from overstepping its role. But man’s lust for power never ceases, and gradually government has grown beyond its Constitutional mandates. It now wields unprecedented levels of power and authority over every area of our lives. Technology threatens to make this power unlimited and unrelenting. An officially recognized and fully entrenched world government would be the capstone. Though promising world peace, it would fail to deliver like all other previous attempts.

While human governing institutions can limit human chaos, they are incapable of producing global peace and harmony (which they virtually always promise).  

The reason is simple. All human governments are under the influence of ―the god of this world and are therefore inherently corrupt. They are part of the world system, which John says is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19 NIV).”
– Frank Viola, The Origins of Human Government & Hierarchy.

The Christian message is a threat to worldly governments, not because it seeks to usurp their power, but because it does not need them. The Christian relies on a power and authority that supersedes the kingdoms of men. Though Christians respect human systems of government in all forms, they are nonetheless dispensable because something greater has arrived – the kingdom of God with Christ as its King.

…the kingdoms of this world operate in and through worldly culture. As such, they employ fear, deception, physical violence, and military power. The kingship of Jesus Christ, however, knows no such things (John 18:36).”
– Frank Viola, The Origins of Human Government & Hierarchy

For Christians refusing to become disciples of the new global system, the full weight of the government will be directed against them to humiliate, intimidate, discredit, and silence their witness. As in Nero’s day, Christians will be blamed for societal ills and lack of progress toward the promised utopia. People who protest unjust laws, pray in public, define marriage solely between a man and a woman, refuse vaccines, challenge educational curriculum, defy the tenets of “wokeism”, or believe Jesus is the only way to salvation, will be designated as insurgents for whom prison cells may await. According to the new religion, these fundamental views are seen as offensive, intolerant, hateful, divisive, and completely unwelcomed.

Many leaders in every sector of society worship the same gods that ruled over the ancient Roman Empire. They display some of the same murderous and immoral characteristics as Nero. Outwardly they pretend to be innocent sheep, but inside they are ravenous wolves.

The manifold tentacles of our bloated government are working in unison to address the Christian “problem.” Some of their activity is covert, but much is taking place out in the open. Just like 9/11 served as the catalyst to deal with the problem of Islamic fundamentalism, the so-called January 6th insurrection was the spark for tackling the Christian fundamentalist conundrum. The following articles confirm the madness that has ensued since.

I will not deny that there are small factions within society who desire to overthrow the government. I will also not deny that there were some violent -bad actors involved on the day mainstream media labeled worse than 9/11. However, since the January 6th incident, the media-censorship complex has gone into overdrive denouncing the evils of Christian Nationalism, a straw man argument framing every Bible believer as a maniacal Trump supporter planning a coup d’état. The activities of that fateful day have served as the pretext for casting all of Christianity in a negative light. It’s as if the entire country has turned into a modern-day Salem, Massachusetts with the advantage of high-tech surveillance to conduct its witch trials. A peer into some of the headlines from the past few years exposes the ongoing witch hunt of Christians and other dissidents. 

 

 

Let this serve as a warning that a high-tech government Gestapo has cast its nets wide to ensnare faithful believers who dare to comment on our descent into decadence and lawlessness. However, some of the persecution being doled out is self-inflicted. Before getting upset and closing your browser tab, let me explain. A segment of U.S. Christians have fanatically placed all their hopes and dreams in a mere man, Donald Trump. Despite all his faults and broken promises, the level of fervor and support for Trump is nothing short of idolatrous. By hitching their wagon to Trump’s wheel, they have placed themselves in the crosshairs of those desiring their downfall and perhaps God’s judgment. Christians must be very careful not to cross the line by placing more faith in man than God.

 

Today, if we are investing our faith in someone or something other than God—a person, money, organizations, institutions, politics, weapons … (the list could be very long)—then God simply calls us to ‘return’ and ‘rest’ in him (Isaiah 30:15).” 

“Furthermore, decoupled from its biblical foundations, ‘democracy’—now reduced to mere majoritarianism—cannot save the church. The extreme faith invested by many in majoritarianism is merely an expression of their profound faith in humanity. This faith, however, is based on the false presupposition that humanity is essentially good! ‘Give people liberty,’ they say, ‘and they will choose good over evil, benevolence over greed, egalitarianism over selfish ambition, justice over corruption, and so on.’ This might be the position of proud, arrogant fallen humanity which believes it is good, but it is not the position of the Bible, which describes humanity as fallen and in need of spiritual transformation. To trust in humanity is misplaced and futile; so ‘Stop regarding man!’ (Isaiah 2:22).”
– Elizabeth Kendal, Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today

The Nero trap has been sprung again as the world is being reframed in ways that make it difficult or even impossible for Christians to practice their faith in public. This encroachment is to be respectfully resisted regardless of the outcome. Christians in foreign countries – especially in the East – are paying a very heavy price for their loyalty to Christ. It appears the West is preparing a cruel carbon copy as I warned in a previous article.

The scriptures explicitly state that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).” Now is not the time to cower in fear and roll over like sleeping dogs. While on this earth, Jesus warned his disciples that persecution would come as they lived out his teachings. We are no different and must continue to “obey God rather than men.” If the choice is between renouncing our faith to gain favor with the world or standing firm in our convictions while incurring hardship, let us make our Lord proud by choosing the latter.