Section 1, Clause 1
Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Except for additional power granted to an unbiblical congress, Clause 1 contains nothing particularly unscriptural.
Section 2, Clauses 1-2
The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.
A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
Cities of Refuge
Had the framers intended to be biblical, in addition to Article 4’s provision for interstate extradition, they would have included a provision for cities of refuge:
…ye shall appoint you … cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment…. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither…. Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest…. But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. (Numbers 35:11-28)1
This may be a difficult statute to apply today, but it is nonetheless a part of Yahweh’s2 perfect law. Yeshua3 is the antitype and fulfillment of the Old Covenant high priest and will never die again. Nevertheless, under the New Covenant, the same protection from a blood avenger can still be afforded the person who accidentally kills someone.
The cities of refuge are a part of Yahweh’s judicial system. Evidence that Yahweh expects Christians to set up His judicial system under the New Covenant is found in Romans 13:1-7, 1 Corinthians 6:1-6, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, and 1 Timothy 1:8-10, as discussed in Chapter 6. Under the Old Covenant, the Levitical priests often served as judges (Deuteronomy 17:9-12, 21:5; 1 Chronicles 26:20, 29; 2 Chronicles 19:5-8; Ezekiel 44:24). Therefore, the stipulation regarding the death of the high priest could be applied under the New Covenant with a similar provision concerning the death of the high judge of the refuge city.
The use of a city of refuge would be an extremely rare occurrence. A court of law would settle most cases, and a city of refuge would not be required. But for manslayer unawares whose life might be in jeopardy from a blood avenger, a refuge city would provide protection.
Section 2, Clause 3
No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to who such service or labor may be due.
This Clause refers to runaway slaves:
This is the last of three compromises respecting slavery. Time has made it obsolete. It related to the fugitive slave. It was designed to over come [sic] the decision (1722) of Lord Mansfield, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, fifteen years before in the celebrated case of the Negro, Somerset, that a slave brought by his master from Virginia to England became free…. To apply that principle in America would liberate the slave who might flee to a northern State.4
Although this Clause has been made obsolete by Amendment 13, it is nonetheless worth noting that it is entirely unbiblical:
Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee. (Deuteronomy 23:15)
Section 4, Clause 1
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government….
Sovereignty vs. Sovereignty
That the framers did not have Yahweh’s government in mind could not have been stated more clearly. Upon leaving the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked by a woman, “Well, Doctor, what have we got – a republic or a monarchy?,” to which Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”5 A republican form of government and a Christian theocracy are two entirely different types of government:
republic 1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. 2. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch and is usu. an elected or nominated president….6
theocracy 1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme ruler….7
As was demonstrated in Chapter 3, both of these forms of government are ultimately theocracies. Nevertheless, they are incompatible and, in fact, hostile to each other. How can it be otherwise? A republic looks to the people as its sovereign and a Christian theocracy looks to Yahweh. The very definition of a sovereign, or supreme ruler, excludes multiple simultaneous sovereigns.
The following definition from James Madison confirms that the sovereignty of a republic resides with the people:
…we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior.8
Not only is the United States Constitutional Republic unbiblical, it is adversarial to Yahweh, His sovereignty, and His government.
The Pledge of Allegiance
Most people are unaware of the idolatrous ramifications when they recite, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands….” Someone is likely to object that the pledge is taken “under God.” But the question seldom asked is: Is such a phrase enough to excuse Christians9 from making pledges to kings, governments, countries, or the flags that represent them? Should Christians pledge their allegiance to anything other than Yahweh, the God of the Bible? Nothing in the Bible indicates we should be making such pledges. In fact, when men, governments, or anything that represents them is ungodly, it is treasonous to Yahweh to pledge allegiance to them. To do so is to place adversarial men, governments, or their emblems above or on equal footing with Yahweh, which is a clear violation of the First and Second Commandments:
I am YHWH10 thy God…. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I YHWH thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:3-6)
Most Americans are uninformed concerning the history of the Pledge of Allegiance, which was not composed until 1892. In other words, for one hundred and sixteen years after the founding of this nation, Americans did not consider themselves any less loyal to their country without an official pledge.
The Pledge of Allegiance, in its original form, was written by Francis Bellamy, a liberal socialist, whose intent was to foster allegiance to a centralized federal government as opposed to local Christian government. The phrase “under God” was not added until 1954.
Of greater significance, “one nation under God” is a hollow phrase if our nation is not following Yahweh and His laws. With the government and the majority of people sanctioning infanticide, homosexuality, pornography, and other abominations, America is not even close to being a Christian nation at this time in our history. Therefore, the question is not whether our pledge should include the words “one nation under God,” but whether we should be pledging allegiance to the flag that represents the United States Constitutional Republic in the first place.
Like the United States Constitution, the United States flag has become an idol. Instead of pledging our allegiance to these idols and the man-made government they represent, let us swear allegiance to Yahweh and pursue fulfillment of Yeshua’s prayer – His kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
…there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and Savior, there is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. They will say of Me, “Only in YHWH are righteousness and strength.” (Isaiah 45:21-24, NASB)
Click to Read Chapter 8
Click to order the Bible Law vs. The United States Constitution CDs:
- The e-book (on CD) A Christian Perspective on the U.S. Constitution
- The audio CD The Bible vs. The U.S. Constitution (Pts. 1 & 2)
End Notes
1. All Scripture is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Portions of Scripture have been omitted for brevity. If there are questions regarding any passage, please open your Bible and study the text to ensure it has been properly used.
2. YHWH (most often pronounced Yahweh) is the English transliteration of the Tetragrammaton, the principal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible. For a more thorough explanation concerning the sacred names of God, “The Third Commandment” may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
3. Yeshua (yay-shoo'-ah) is the English transliteration of our Savior’s given Hebrew name. For a more thorough explanation concerning the sacred names of God, “The Third Commandment” may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
4. Thomas James Norton, “The Constitution For the United States: Its Sources and Its Application: Article IV” <http://www.barefootsworld.net/constit2.html>.
5. Benjamin Franklin, Edmund S. Morgan, ed., Not Your Usual Founding Father: Selected Readings From Benjamin Franklin (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 2006) p. 272.
6. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, s.v. “republic” (New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2000) p. 1121.
7. Ibid, “theocracy,” p. 1356.
8. James Madison, Henry Cabot Lodge, ed., “No. XXXIX,” The Federalist (New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1902) p. 233.
9. Not everyone claiming to be a Christian has been properly instructed in the biblical plan of salvation. Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:36-41, 22:1-16; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:11-13; and 1 Peter 3:21 should be studied to understand what is required to be covered by the blood of Yeshua and forgiven of your sins. For a more thorough explanation concerning baptism and its relationship to salvation, “Baptism by the Scriptures” and “Fifty Objections to Baptism Answered” may be read online, or the book Baptism: All You Wanted to Know and More may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for free.
10. Where the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) – the four Hebrew characters that represent the personal name of God – has been unlawfully rendered the LORD or GOD in English translations, I have taken the liberty to correct this error by inserting YHWH where appropriate. For a more thorough explanation concerning the sacred names of God, “The Third Commandment” may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
*We are admonished in Matthew 10:8 “freely ye have received, freely give.” Although we have a suggested a price for our books, we do not sell them. In keeping with 2 Corinthians 9:7, this ministry is supported by freewill offerings. If you cannot afford the suggested price, inform us of your situation, and we will be pleased to provide you with whatever you need for whatever you can send.
Click to Read Chapter 8
|
Most Recent Article
Bible Law vs.
The United States Constitution: A Christian Perspective, Chapter 17
Most Recent Message
Retroactive, Reactive, and Proactive Christianity, Pt. 1
Important Books
Visit us on:
|
Printable version.