Charles Dickens would have been right at home. In a tale of two cities, London and Calgary, police invaded church services during the recent Easter season.

In London, police brazenly entered the church and broke up the service at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Balham, supposedly because there were too many people in attendance. One of the officers was heard announcing, “I appreciate that it is Good Friday, and you’d like to worship, but this gathering is unlawful.” Read about it here.

In Calgary, at The Cave of Adullam, the Polish pastor, Artur Powlowski, confronted the cops when they tried to enter the church in an attempt to enforce Covid-19 restrictions. Refusing to back down, the pastor repeatedly ordered them to leave the church property and not to return unless and until they had a legal warrant.

According to this article,

‘“Police were hesitant to leave but the pastor wasn’t backing down. “Out of this property, you Nazis!” Pawlowski shouted. “Gestapo is not allowed here!” As police left the property, Pawlowski told them “not to come back, you Nazi psychopaths.” “Unbelievable sick, evil people. Intimidating people in a church during the Passover! You Gestapo, Nazi, communist fascists! Don’t you dare come back here!” he shouted as they walked away.’

Update: This article reports that the police have now taken complete control of the church property, fencing it off and using roadblocks to prevent worshippers from accessing it.  

It has come to this.

It would be easy to cast this in the light of the Covid Aberration, but the far more fundamental issue here is that we have arrived at a point in the West where officers of the State brazenly enter churches and shut down services, threatening parishioners and clergy alike with fines, jail sentences, and violence. Covid provides an excuse which is disseminated to a gullible, uninformed public. The real intent is the total takeover of churches everywhere by an increasingly unhinged, voracious, and evil State which seeks to destroy all competition in its drive to become sovereign over the entire world.

The Church of Jesus Christ should be, a protective bulwark against the depredations which civil government visits on its citizens. Unfortunately, this aspect has been lost and all of us are in real danger of losing the freedoms and liberties we have become accustomed to. In the last year, we have seen churches everywhere simply close their doors and kowtow to the rules and restrictions the State imposed on them, all in the interest of “controlling the spread of Covid.” All to “flatten the curve.”

• Limited capacity
• No close contact, like hugging and kissing
• Pews and chairs at least six feet apart
• Water fountains turned off
• Communion, if performed at all, from a distance and absolutely no touching
• No choirs singing.
• No potlucks
• No laying on of hands during prayers
• Masks everywhere
• Complete sanitization both before and after services
• And on, and on, and on…

Unfortunately, too many churches did not have enough courage to stand up and say “No, we will not!” Too many churches have played the whore, worshipping the State instead of the Christ. Too many churches have applied for, received, and spent the PPP money (filthy lucre) which the State offered them as compensation for doing what they were ordered to do. Too many churches preach the message that the State must, according to Romans 13, be blindly obeyed. Too many churches do not, as Solzhenitsyn would have put it, “…love their freedom enough.” Consequently, the State learned that it could simply steamroll over them, as witness the church service in London previously referenced.

Now that we have started down that road, will it ever end? How will it end? When?

My answer, without wavering, is “Yes, it will end…someday.” I do not know how or when, but I am certain that it will. You can quote me on that.

This is a war between good and evil. It is now becoming apparent that there is no middle ground. Either we will stand for the good or we will cooperate with the evil. We do not have any other choices. However, stuck as we are in the middle of the universal struggle, we do have certain promises we can hold on to.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 11:5 (English Standard Version)

“For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.” – Isaiah 9: 6, 7 (New International Version)

“…God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” – Hebrews 13: 5, 6 (Berean Study Bible)

“To everything, there is a season…” – Ecclesiastes 3: 1

IF we believe that Jesus is the King and that ALL opposition to His rule will be vanquished and destroyed, then we can be confident that the current battle we are experiencing will be won. IF we believe that the words quoted above are promises from the Word of God, then there is no room for questioning the outcome. We might die before we see the victory, but there should be no doubt at all as to the end. The human species was created in the Image of God and created to be free, not only from sin, but also from the effects of sin, such as the current situation of lies, deceit, fear, delusion, and manipulation by those who wish to force all of us into their mold. We were not created to be slaves of other men. Jesus has set us free and we ought to act like it.

Which raises a question. Where are all the “good” people of Calgary and why are they allowing this assault to continue? And another question, even more ominous than that. Would the situation be any different if that happened in your own area?

Think about it.