07-Jan-05

Essay: Answering the Queen (Part One)

Every year on December 25—the day that much of the world celebrates as Christmas Day—a short, recorded, informal speech by Queen Elizabeth II of England is broadcast to the Commonwealth countries and, of course, to anyone else who cares to tune in. (The complete transcript of her message can be read here and a video viewed here.)

I always make a point of listening to her annual message—not because I like to indulge in a little Christmas cheer—but because the Queen's public words are rare and important. Why are they important? Why is she important? Is she not just a figurehead in the twenty-first century? Is she not a mere puppet of the British government?

No. She is much more than that. She is—as Charles Whitaker details in his January 2005 Forerunner article, "The Migration of a Monarchy"—a direct descendant of the kingly line of Zerah, son of Judah, and a "great-niece" of the Perezite kings of ancient Israel, and through these lines, she is even related by blood to Jesus Christ Himself! Whether she knows it or not, Queen Elizabeth II sits on the throne of Israel. Thus, she is not only the monarch of Britain and its dwindling commonwealth, but also of all the modern nations descended from ancient Israel. Yes, even of the United States!

I like Queen Elizabeth as a person, and I respect the office God has given her (I Peter 2:13-17). If we look at her fifty-two-year reign and compare it with the other British monarchs that have reigned over "this sceptred isle" during the past, war-torn millennium, she looks pretty good. However, when we compare her with the kings of ancient Israel and ask ourselves whether she is one of the few righteous monarchs or of the many unrighteous ones, we must sadly put her in the latter group. Why? Because, even though she refers to herself in her 2004 message as "a Christian," her subsequent words clearly reveal that she has failed to lead her people—the people of modern Israel—out of the ways of the Babylon of Satan's world. Instead, her speech indicates that she is giving in to the modern, idolatrous scourge of multiculturalism.

Here are a few snippets from her speech, along with some interspersed comments:

Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others.

But how many of these religions practice what they preach? And how many—even within our own borders—are preaching violence, hatred, and intolerance?

For me, as a Christian, one of the most important of these teachings is contained in the parable of the Good Samaritan, when Jesus answers the question, Who is my neighbor? It is a timeless story of a victim of a mugging who was ignored by his own countrymen but helped by a foreigner, and a despised foreigner at that. The implication drawn by Jesus is clear.

The implication cannot be so very clear, because the Queen gets it wrong! Jesus Himself says that His parables were not given to make His teachings clear to the unconverted (Matthew 13:10-16).

Everyone is our neighbor, no matter what race, creed, or color.

This is not what Jesus was implying! He asked the rich young man who had questioned Him on the subject, "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" (Luke 10:36). And the man answered correctly, "He who showed mercy on him" (verse 37). The Queen says, "Everyone is our neighbor," but Jesus says that only those who are good to us are our neighbors. The priest and the Levite were not neighbors to the man who had been attacked.

The need to look after a fellow human being is far more important than any cultural or religious differences.

To some extent, yes. But we can take this concept too far by continuing to look after those who hate us and take advantage of us. This is exactly what is happening in our Israelitish nations today!

Most of us have learned to acknowledge and respect the ways of other cultures and religions, but what matters even more is the way in which those from different backgrounds behave towards each other in everyday life.

It may be true that we should not actively oppose the growth of foreign culture and religion in our modern Israelite nations; but only because God forbids His children to participate in the world's governments. This may be a means God is using to bring about the times of the Gentiles and modern Israel to her knees before Him. A true Christian should love all men of all races, but he certainly is not to respect the ways of heathen religions! God does not and commands His children not to!

It is vitally important that we all should participate and cooperate for the sake of the wellbeing of the whole community.

True Christians should cooperate to keep the peace, but only within the framework of God's law. We should not be participating in the furtherance of multiculturalism within our nations.

We will consider more of her speech next time.

- Staff

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