Biblical Refutation of NAR Dominionism Obsession with Politics - by Rev. Anthony Wade

Found here. Our comments in bold. 

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Reverend Wade is upon us again with another sulfurous polemic. We have considered a number of his previous screeds in the past, and have found him to be a poor Bible exegete and an even worse logician.  

As is typical with the Reverend, he comes out axe-swinging against his theological opponent, demonstrating no nuance, no understanding his adversary's position, and no redemptive thrust that would justify calling it a "devotional."  

Having said that, we happily agree with Rev. Wade that the Gospel does not contain a mandate to exercise political power. But in all the quotes Rev Wade provides, we do not see any evidence that the NAR wants to take over the political systems of the US, despite his continual accusations. We see references to influencing politics, but not calls for theocracy. We see initiatives to be active in our institutions, but not to take them over. 

Further, we should note that we have no intention of defending Mr. Mattera, the NAR, or dominionism. We are only interested in Rev. Wade's presentation.

Lastly, it has become increasingly clear to us that Rev. Wade is particularly obsessed with the NAR and dominionism, neither of which he accurately explains.  

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Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. - Genesis 1:26-31 (ESV)

Joseph Mattera: God, Politics and the Kingdom of God -- Charisma News

It is difficult sometimes to discern what we should believe and what we should not. There are crazy false Christians like Jennifer LeClaire who are low hanging fruit. We should be able to discern for example that someone suggesting there are sneaky squid and wild-ass spirits probably should not be considered in least bit serious. On the other side of the spectrum however are slicker, more well-polished charlatans who have more biblical chops than the LeClaires of the world. Even in the realm of dominionist and the NAR we have those who are easier to expose such as Kris Vallotton and some who require a bit more work. Joseph Mattera is one of the latter. He is the leader of the US Coalition of Apostolic Leaders, whatever that is. He is a stark dominionist who is unapologetic in his beliefs that the church should conquer the world. (This is not dominionism, at least the way Mr. Mattera explains it. The reader will be directed to notice how Rev. Wade "interprets" Mr. Mattera's words to suit his theological hit-piece agenda.)

His knowledge of the bible requires us to do our work as Bereans to see behind what he is saying and find what God is actually speaking through His word. The above linked article is the latest attempt by Mattera to incorrectly link politics to the kingdom of God. (We await the proof that Mr. Mattera is indeed linking the takeover of politics to the Kingdom.)

Let us reason once more together.

"Whether Christian or non-Christian, any group that has an unbalanced concentration of power (e.g. the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, or certain points of corruption in Western European history that compromised the Roman Catholic church, such as the Inquisition) will eventually be decentralized by God so that proper checks and balances can prosper both the civil liberties of people and the aforementioned jurisdictions. As far as I am concerned, the key verse in the entire Bible that explains the mission of the church is Genesis 1:28: "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" Many theologians have called this passage the cultural mandate because this original covenant with Adam, the federal head of the human race, gives the human race the responsibility of stewarding the earth, which involves managing every aspect of life and society. After the fall, God recapitulated this same command by giving it to Noah in Genesis 9:1-2: "Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Every beast of the earth and every bird of the sky and all that moves on the earth and all the fish of the sea will fear you and be terrified of you. They are given into your hand.'" This proves that the cultural mandate was still in effect after the fall. - Joseph Mattera

The Tower of Babel more rightly represents the age-old sin of Lucifer. The very same sin he successfully tempted Eve with, in the Garden. It is the sin of wanting to be God. Ironically, it is of course at the heart of many NAR dominionist teachings. The very notion that God cannot send Jesus back to earth until we, the created, conquer the earth for Him is indeed this very sin. Word faith is also the belief that we have God's power of creation in our words when we most certainly do not. (None of these accusations have anything to do with the matter at hand. None of them were mentioned by Mr. Mattera in the quoted paragraph.)

Mattera opens here with the greatest flaw in all dominionist theology and that is simply not understanding Genesis and then blowing it way out of proportion to the rest of scripture. The usage of the word dominion in verse 28 is in fact where dominionism gets it name. I have included the entire context in the key verses so we can examine what Mattera is proposing. In the same second God creates man in His own image and gives him dominion. The question for us is dominion over what? God provides the answer within the context. To rule over the fish, birds, every living thing that moves, every plant yielding seed, and every tree that bears fruit. He even says why - you shall have them for food. (Actually, nowhere does this passage tell us that the animals were given for food. And we note that Rev. Wade discusses the word "dominion" but not "subdue the earth." The theological implications of that phrase might come to bear on the discussion, but he glosses over it.)

Now, today's deep theology is what is NOT listed. Humans! There were no other humans yet! ("Deep theology?" Is the reverend trying to be wry? He wields this proclamation like he has the trump card, but it only makes sense humans wouldn't be mentioned for the very reason Rev. Wade supplies: There were no humans. Duh.)

The context clearly reveals that the dominion God is giving is over the rest of creation and for the purpose of sustenance. Mattera and the dominionists however believe this is some form of "cultural mandate" to manage every aspect of life and society. (Mr. Mattera never uses the word "manage" or suggests any sort of concept related to the word.)

Mattera then doubles down on his poor interpretation by citing Genesis 9:

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. - Genesis 9:1-3 (ESV)

The dread of man will be in every bird, fish, beast and all the creeps on the ground but again no mention of humans. No mention of a covenant agreement to rule all societies. Now granted at this time there were no other societies after the flood but God sees all time. The hard truth for dominionists such as Mattera is there is no cultural mandate. All one needs to do is look at the life of Christ while He walked this earth. His people were under the thumb of the pagan Roman Empire! They were oppressed! They were in fact the opposite of exercising dominion. (Jesus' mission and actions on earth is a matter apart from promises made to Adam and Eve. But Rev. Wade tries to connect these two unrelated concepts. 

We can illustrate the folly of this by doing the same thing, but substituting elements. "David danced before the Lord, and Michal was offended. Similarly, Jesus healed on the sabbath and the Pharisees were offended." 

You see, simply naming two elements and comparing them do not demonstrate any sort of connection. So Jesus came with a specific mission, to offer Himself as the sacrificial lamb for our sins. This is completely irrelevant to the idea of dominion.)

Yet did Jesus lift one finger to change this status quo? (Yes, He did. Here's a sampling of the political boats Jesus rocked:

Mt. 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Mt. 15:2-3 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"

Mt. 23:13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."

Mk. 7:6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

Beyond that, the ultimate mission of Jesus was to to gain victory over death, ascend to the Father, and exercise dominion as the King of kings. The fact is, what He did on earth was part of His overall desire to save mankind, and the way that was expressed was according to His perfect plan. So He did not become an earthly king 2000 years ago, but even then He was Lord of heaven and earth.)

Of course not because He was there to address a far greater dominion problem and that was the dominion of Satan over the earth. (One is a subset of the other.)

If dominionists could ever switch their gaze from this world to the kingdom, their theology would finally stand bare for correction.

"Furthermore, Mathew 28:18-20 has been called by some theologians the Second Commission instead of the Great Commission because Jesus as the second or last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) gave the godly seed (the church) another form of the cultural mandate when He told the church to disciple the nations. Discipling whole nations must include applying the commandments of God to all of practical life: politics, business, art, science, history, education, sociology and so forth. Thus, it is a recapitulation of what God told the first Adam in Genesis 1:28." - Joseph Mattera

Except there is no mention of politics, business, art, science, history, education, or sociology in the first chapter of Genesis. Likewise, there was no mention in the ninth chapter either. The flawed rationale expands with the notion that discipling all nations, which is in the bible, must include applying the commandments of God to the "practical" areas of life, which is not in the bible. This is what makes teachers like Mattera slippery. There are slivers of biblical reference surrounded by entirely made-up theology. We do not see this cultural mandate anywhere in scripture nor the life of Paul as he evangelizes the world. (We can certainly debate the scope of making "disciples of all nations... and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you," but the author will have none of it, only managing a summary dismissal without proof, reference, or discussion.)

  

Here is a microcosm for how we are to carry out the Great Commission:

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. - Acts 19:8-10 (ESV)

We are to speak the Gospel boldly. We are to reason with people and persuade them about the kingdom. When people resist however the story changes. When people become stubborn in their unbelief or begin to speak evil of the Gospel, then we are to pick up ourselves up and move on to where the Gospel will be received. In this snippet we see that because Paul did this all of the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord. Paul did not stay because he thought he had some form of dominion over those who were stubborn. (Again the author puts two things into an equation and proclaims it to be the rule.)

"When someone wonders whether or not the church should be involved in politics, they are missing the bigger picture of the cultural mandate, in which the church is called to be the center of all of culture by influencing every discipline and jurisdiction with the biblical worldview.

Second Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive to the knowledge of God. This is not just an individual but a corporate command for the created order. Although I believe in the separation of church and state, I do not believe in the separation of God and state because we are called to bear fruit, multiply, replenish the earth (consecrate the earth to God), subdue the earth (disarm the enemies of God) and have dominion (work for the reformation of every system and institution on earth so that it reflects the biblical ethos)." - Joseph Mattera

Now this first sentence may sound pious but it is actually heretical to the core. Nowhere does God call for a worldwide theocracy. (Mr. Mattera did not use the word theocracy, and in fact explicitly stated he believes in the separation of church and state.)

Narrow is the path and few are those who find it. The command in Corinthians is most definitely a personal command. There is no contextual indication of anything to the contrary. Notice the duplicity in the theocracy Mattera has created. Replenishing the earth from the key verses today have nothing to do with consecrating the earth to God. Absolutely nothing. Read the verses above! Bear fruit, multiply and replenish the earth. Scholars have all determined that this simply means to fill the earth. As you use, replace. Likewise, subdue the earth does not mean disarm the enemies of God! Where do you see that in the key verses? Nowhere! (Does the Bible have anything to say regarding this? How about:

Ro. 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

1Jn. 2:13 I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

1Jn. 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

1Jn. 5:4-5 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Remember the context is that God gave humanity control over the other forms of creation, for the purpose of sustenance. The notion that one can read the key verses and conclude that God meant that the usage of the word dominion means we should work for the reformation of every system and institution on earth so that it reflects biblical ethos is logically absurd and scripturally criminal. It is straight up NAR dominionist fantasy.

"Many Christians have an unscriptural belief that the spiritual world is important and the natural world is unimportant.! Jesus told us to pray that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Luke 11 and Matt. 6). This shows that God wants us to focus on the earth in our life and prayers; even though, the present "last days" focus emphasis is on "escape, retreat and get caught up to heaven" indicates the church currently emphasizes the opposite of this! My book Ruling in the Gates shows that the cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28 was never annulled but is the common theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments in regards to God's mission for His covenant people." - Joseph Mattera

Except there is no cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28, which has already been discussed. Mattera then misrepresents the Lord's Prayer. This prayer is personal. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our trespasses. As we forgive others. The line about His will is simply that our will should give into His. It is not a focus on the earth, which is once again absurd. (It is amazing to us that Rev. Wade will dismiss a thought out of hand without so much as an explanation. More damning is that he simply refuses to quote the passage. He quotes around it. He paraphrases it according to his interpretation. But he refuses to quote it. Here it is:

Mt. 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Now with the text before us, does the reader see anything about "our will should give into His?" The text is not even discussing our will! Here's the entire Lord's prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name

your kingdom come, your will be done 

on earth as it is in heaven

Give us today our daily bread

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors

And lead us not into temptation 

but deliver us from the evil one.

Does the reader see how egregiously Rev. Wade misrepresents the text? There is no mention of "our will." There is no mention of "giving in." The prayer is not personal at all, instead referring to "us." But that begins AFTER the "on earth" part. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven is a statement of supplication that has nothing to do with our personal situations. 

We find these kinds of misrepresentation quite often among the Doctrinal Police. They will do almost anything besides quote the Bible, especially at crucial points in there arguments. This is a manipulation technique used to force their interpretations onto Bible passages, sidestepping the need to actually quote the passage.)

 

Why didn't Jesus discuss any of this during His ministry? All of His disciples wanted Him to deliver them from Rome but He was there for something much bigger. Just as the disciples missed it then, Mattera misses it today. This is not about retreat or escape. It is about preaching the Gospel so that the Lord may draw the lost unto Him. Mattera continues to butcher scripture to fit is failed theology of focusing on this world instead of the eternal. (What a curious assertion. The Gospel focuses on the world, which is a focus on the eternal. We do not think Rev. Wade is thinking clearly.)

He finishes this article with some terms that he feels have political implications but this is largely more of the desperate same. I will only highlight a couple in closing.

"This is political, not merely spiritual, because it means Jesus is judging these authorities in regard to public policy, international issues, the economy, taxation, tort laws and so forth. In other words, how their policies and laws reflect the law-Word of God, especially the laws extrapolated out of the Ten Commandments in the civil laws of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy." - Joseph Mattera

This was listed under the term "King of Kings." So Mattera actually believes that Jesus will judge people in authority related to their policies, international issues, economy, taxation, and tort laws. Are you kidding me? Where is this in the bible? 

Micah 4:3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.

He is called the King of Kings because He is above any worldly ruler. The problem with Mattera's theology here is that the interpretation for these "leadership sins" are left to the wickedly deceitful hearts of men like Joseph Mattera. The Great Commission does not instruct us to make sure the tax code of the countries we preach in measure up to a feigned biblical standard. (A claim Mr. Mattera did not make.)

"In Greek culture, the ecclesia were the citizens who came together in a community to enact public policy. Ecclesia, broadly speaking, means to come together to rule. In other words, Jesus called His followers the new congress of His kingdom." - Joseph Mattera

No dominionist NAR screed is worth anything without a clear misunderstanding of the word ecclesia. It means a called-out assembly. We are called out from the world. That is our assembly. We are called out to be a shining city on a hill. To be salt and light to a dying world. Not some authoritative branch of new kingdom government created by Joseph Mattera.

"In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says the church would assault the gates of hell, which are ungodly political and social systems. "Gates" is an Old Testament term that denotes where the elders of a city met to enact public policy, declare war and conduct financial and legal business." - Joseph Mattera

First of all, it says the gates of hell will not prevail against the church not that the church would assault the gates. (The author's summary rejection is again uninformative. The Greek word is katischuó, meaning, not even the gates of Hades — than which nothing was supposed to be stronger — shall surpass the church in strength; absolutely, to prevail... Where there two parties engaged in struggle is the only place where there is a possibility of prevailing. That is, a fight has a victor. That victor is who prevailed. Hell shall not prevail, i.e., hell doesn't win the fight against the church.)

What Jesus is obviously referring to here is His impending death and resurrection. (Obviously? Again we must complain that to simply state the contrary is not an explanation. Let's quote the passage:

Mt. 16:15-19 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

"Obviously" Jesus is talking about the Church. It's the Church that prevails. There is nothing here about His death and resurrection. Rev. Wade is making things up.)

The very next section in Matthew says that Jesus started foretelling His disciples about His death and resurrection! It is the reason the church will prevail!  It is all about Him! (Of course. But the next section doesn't address any of these points.)

Don't we get that today? Apparently not Joseph Mattera and NAR dominionism. Mattera closes out by claiming the crucifixion was because of politics and not religion. Without the religiosity behind why Jesus ended up in the hands of the Romans you never get to the politics of Pontius Pilate. Mattera actually states that one cannot even understand the Gospel itself, without understanding its political implications. What absolute rubbish. (Another summary dismissal.)

The Gospel is not restrained by anything designed in the wickedly deceitful hearts of men. (No one said it would be. Rev. Wade is negating points Mr. Mattera did not make.)

Preach it and men will be saved - so says the word of God in Romans. The Gospel transcends whatever limitations you wish to place upon it. It transcends time as the same exact Gospel saved the fourth century serf that saves the 21st century factory worker. And yes Joseph, it even transcends your petty, carnal politics. Amen and hallelujah to the King of Kings!