Before we begin to unpack this famous verse “Render unto Caesar”, usually quoted to justify our payment of taxes to government, it is well we realize that since the great persecution to eradicate the Early Church, until as recently as the massacre of the Waldenses in 1655, modern Christians have been “rendering unto Caesar”. It is equally important we fully understand accomplished, well educated men holding MBA degrees, indeed men with proven entreprenural expertise, see the only solution to South Africa’s difficulties as being a total tax revolt! Under performance, theft, fraud, and corruption constantly reported in “the news”, the media publishes all the complaints, but remains resoundingly silent concerning a total tax revolt as being the only remedy to oust and remove corrupt “leadership”?!
Well might one ask, “Why does the South African MEDIA not call for a total tax revolt to starve the ANC and their corrupt network”? “Why does the media not adopt a catalytic approach to gather support for this obvious solution”? “Why do the ‘churches’ not educate their congregations that one does not give tribute or honour to thieves, one supports, and lobbies for their being charged and brought to judgment”? “Why is there no Christian calling to deal with criminals to bring them to justice”? “Why is there NO truly serious Christian stand against the farm murders taking place”? “Why are Christians allowing, and supporting state assisted abortions”?
Approaching this vitally important moment, on an appropriate gradient for these most sensitive issues, experienced educators will confirm the best way to teach, is to facilitate allowing students to work things out for themselves. It is through personal understanding, that knowledge becomes ingrained into our memory to become our own. No one in South Africa can possibly dispute our government from the Presidency to possibly every Station Commander in the South African Police Force, right through the political spectrum, has dismally failed the taxpayer, yet ‘Christians’ will continue to “render unto Caesar”!
Yes! Rob Hersov is right! Cyril Ramaphosa should resign! However, how Rob Hersov can call for a coalition of people with a proven track record of corruption in politics, is a joke! Anyone thinking South Africa’s answer lies in any reformed approach to politics, sails close to the wind of being called a fool. Politics IS the infamous “divide and rule” tactic! Known as Machivellianism, politics has been successfully applied by the universal criminal element for thousands of years! Thousands of years of politics have done nothing but place the world in a perpetual state of war, and preplanned decline. Moreover, religion is no different! This too is “divide and rule”, and it is time humanity was taught this truth, to avoid this folly.
IF we could first agree there should be reform in the aforementioned issues, possibly in our personal capacities first, then in our town or city, extending this to our country, and then to the world, we could be off to a fine start. IF we could repent of our apathy to leave things as they are, repent of “leaving it to the politicians” to sought out our country’s affairs, and repent of our arrogance to think we know it all because we have the Holy Ghost, and therefore do NOT NEED to study The Word, we would, as the new nation born of God, see our promised victory! Isaiah 66:8.
It is written, “IF My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; THEN will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Right now (except for the prayers of the saints), God is not listening!
It is well accepted among academics that politics and religion are both tools of The Antichrist! We may with absolute confidence say politics and religion ARE enemy weapons! Both politics and religion keep the people busy thinking something good might happen, and with religion funding hidden agendas, the enemy’s financial resources are truly vast! This is precisely what Yeshua Hamashiach, Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah warned us about when He taught, “See that YOU are not deceived”! Matthew 24:4.
Antichrist has been ruling the world by divide and rule for thousands of years, and we have allowed this because we will NOT study The Truth! This is how God revealed the situation to the prophet Jeremiah. Hear the word of The LORD. “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it”. Jeremiah 5:1. There are several verses in Scripture which clearly reveal men are not interested in executing judgment, nor seeking God’s truth. Daniel 9:13. Hear the word of The LORD. “A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof”? Jeremiah 5:30 and 31.
For the reasoning mind it follows if we are to make sure we are not deceived, we should study truth. We should make work of learning all we can about every facet of Scripture. Calling for serious Bible study, it becomes lamentable and much more concerning than intriguing, that modern “churches” are more focussed on music and their worship ministries than proper Bible study?! Educated believers see this as a misdirected imbalance. This situation is viewed in light of our fragile Earth’s plight, as a placebo provided by the enemy, and prepared by God for those who will be deceived, because they received not the love of the truth! 2 Thessalonians 2:10 to 12.
Confirmed in The Revelation chapter 13 verse 3, “And all the world wondered after the beast”, this is precisely the scenario Rob Hersov speaks into. Rob Hersov is speaking to a world, (not just the South African people), that has all but lost hope that politics and religion could ever make a difference! Universally we are a dispersed, divided, and therefore deceived people globally! In the full understanding of The Scriptures, this indeed is what the The Scriptures accurately teach, and much more! Jeremiah 25:34.
Despite the very encouraging news that the Iranian Islamist regime may be toppled by Christian activism, the truth remains as the year 2026 began, humanity is confused. Presently, mankind is so divided through politics and religion, people are moving from church to church to find the church, and are as headless chickens for want of real leadership, roaming around in the enemy camp!
The enemy has had it ALL his way for the “many days” of Daniel! Daniel 8:26. However, we are now beyond any doubt at the end of the age of Antichrist. We are now in the time that knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:4. Daniel is today an unlocked book. It is open in the angel’s hand, The Revelation 10:2, and mankind can now learn and discover God’s truth, and purpose for the world!
Reaching for the balanced answer, The Lord Jesus Christ brought the Roman regime to its financial demise during His ministry on Earth. This was not religion, nor was this politics. This was the good news of The Kingdom of God, that The Kingdom of God had come, upon Earth!
After raising Lazarus from the dead, the Pharises were exasperated. One cannot but sense their dire frustration. “Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing, behold the world is gone after Him”! John 12:19.
With the increasing intensity of the technological attack on humanity wherein one is not sure photographic report is genuine or AI developed, we must not be surprised The Scriptures have answers. We have so much assurance of victory through truth in The Word and the zeal of The LORD, it will be very foolish to not heed nor consider obeying the Gospel of Christ. Hopefully we will, and if we so much as think to participate to begin to understand The Bible, there is no doubt God The Holy Spirit will be very keen to assist. There are however a few things we should really know before we begin. First we had best buy a Bible and the recommended version is the Old King James. We need to begin to READ it ourselves! It is good advice to join a group of similar likeminded believers so that the very many various scripts may be compared to get to know The Scriptures, and their concealed truth! Proverbs 25:2.
Embarking on a quest to learn the truth of the Scriptures, it is important we understand from the outset that The Scriptures vary immensely in the various versions with differing interpretations of certain verses in several critically strategic places. As we study The Word we must consider at all times The Early Church was crushed, Daniel 7:19, and put to death, Matthew 24:9 to 12. This WAR against the Christian faith has been waged from the very beginning of Christ’s ministry. It has persisted through the Roman persecution, to the massacre of the Waldeneses in 1655, and continues to this day! With this war against the saints, and therefore the faith being prophecied to prevail until the end of the age, Daniel 9:26 and 27, Christians are being killed in real persecution throughout the world into this very hour!
In 50 of the world’s 193 countries, Christians are suffering persecution. This does not make news headlines, but more notably, (lest we forget), the perpetrators of the St James Church attack on the 25th July 1993, were granted amnesty! Instead of being brought to justice, tried, and found guilty of mass murder, and then hanged by the neck until dead, they were set free to do it again?!
Notwithstanding these brazen terror attacks, ‘a brand’ of Christianity has flourished, and survived centuries of violence. This ‘brand’ of the ‘Christian faith’ has made a lot of money, produced differing Bibles, and apparently wonderful books, but with the hidden agenda to deliberately mislead humanity! This is the very first precept of Bible Study we need to lay hold of to understand. In certain vital verses, the various versions of The Scriptures differ, and responsible teachers will teach this as an undeniable truth!
To see this for ourselves turn to Matthew 17 verse 25. The Old King James has the word “prevented” in this verse, and the New King James has the word “anticipated” in the same verse. Two totally different words with two totally different meanings is what must be noted, without losing hope of learning God’s intended truth.
This is how “divide and rule” is implemented. This is known as Machivellianism! This is how Christianity, from being a cohesive faith that took the world by storm, became so fragmented, it has become impotent to make any difference in the world. This is deception! And it is wealthy, being financially well supported throughout the world by a great many people, who ‘think’ they are Christian, and “render unto Caesar”!
The truth concerning State Taxation and the matter of Christians paying tithes, (10% of income paid to ”churches”), is that the world has been deceived by both our media, and false apostate “churches” for nearly two thousand years!
From Catholicism and so called Eastern Orthodoxy, every visible “CHURCH” is nothing more than one of the daughters of the Great Whore of Babylon! The Revelation 17:1 to 6. Moreover, the word of The Lord to such as fraternise with the unfruitful works of darkness, Ephesians 5:11, is to flee Babylon! Jeremiah 51:6.
“Come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her plagues”, The Revelation 18:4, is fully supported by Isaiah 26 verse 20. VISIBLE “churches” should be abandoned! “Come my people enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee. Hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast, for The Lord cometh out of His habitation to punish the inhabitants of the Earth, and the earth shall no more cover her slain! Isaiah 26:20.
We need to be very clear on this matter that The Scriptures responsibly taught, urge believers to leave organised religion in all its forms. From Islam, and Judaism, to Buddism and Hinduism, from Catholicism, and Protestantism, to the New Age Interfaith Religion and everything else, including false Charismatic Christianity, people MUST be taught they are being deliberately divided and exploited financially! Religion has become a money spinner for Antichrist, and modern “Charismatic Christians”, had best understand The Early Church lived underground due to the Roman persecution, and the enemy of Christianity is still at large! Daniel 7:21. Indeed the evidence clearly shows the enemies of The Faith once delivered unto the saints, Jude verse 3, are today more active than ever!
Operating in the realm of deception, we had best hear The Word of God. “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger! Zephania 2:3.
Globally, our “governments”, are populated by criminals ruled from Rome, The Revelation 17:9 and 18, and false apostate “churches” amassing great wealth in property, are misleading the world concerning The Kingdom of God! Romans 1:18. These are the undeniable facts those called to obey the Gospel of Christ will agree on, to find true fellowship as together we embrace God’s Truth.
Scripture verily teaches therefore pay ye tribute also, and this must be understood as, “WHEN” tribute is indeed “DUE”! It should also be understood that a man should not bring adversity upon his house, (family), by looking for trouble! This is what these verses are conveying, and to teach we should blindly “render unto Caesar” out of a good, pure Christian conscience, is not the true understanding of this verse in Scripture, simply because this attitude, does not, and cannot align with the rest of Scripture! Christians are forced to pay tax to avoid trouble and do this with difficulty in their conscience. Simply put, they would rather not support the enemy.
Daniel is very clear “a raiser of taxes will arise in his estate”, which comes to its end after few days! Daniel 11:20. This verse must be understood as the foretelling of a false “kingdom of god”, Daniel 11:20, that will arise in Antichrist’s attempt to recover financially from a global abandonment of both false religion, (not only false Christianity), and politics! It is written, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me”. John 12:32.
Romans chapter 13 is the chapter to truly get to grips with when we seek God’s truth from The Word concerning the matter of paying taxes. We may note as we truly STUDY this very practical facet of our faith, that The Word mentions “higher powers”, and “rulers”. It does not mention corrupt public servants!
Teaching around these verses with hidden agendas, wolves in sheep’s clothing have perverted the truth and only when we have made it our business to check The Sciptures for ourselves, do we find the pearls of truth we need to make truly educated decisions on these very important issues.
As we approach Romans 13, we should first understand the previous chapter 12, with the realization that The Early Church TOOK The Kingdom and ran with Christ’s Truth that The Kingdom had come on Earth! It is NOT going to be established with the second coming, but JUDGED, 2 Timothy 4:1, at Christ’s appearing! The parable of the nobleman taking a long journey and giving to each of His servants a gift of money, (pounds in the Old King James Luke 19:13) is very relevant to this study. We must note that the parable explicitly relates to The Kingdom of God, Matthew 25:14, and we will be judged at Christ’s return as to what we have done with God’s unspeakable gift, God’s Son, and God’s Kingdom!
To be continued.