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What's up with the weird Wolf with sheep horns for the Imperial Wool logo? This article briefly explains the  prophetic inspiration behind our Imperial Wool designs. This article is also available as a printable trifold for sharing (download link at end of article).

“Take America Back for God”

Christian Nationalism is on the rise. Churches in America are tired of “godless liberals” ruining the government, and they believe it is time to “take America back for God.” Here are some of the things they’re saying:

• Churches: “We decree that America’s executive branch of government will honor God and defend the Constitution. We decree that our legislative branch (Congress) will write only laws that are righteous and constitutional. We decree that our judicial system will issue rulings that are biblical and constitutional…”[“Watchman Decree,” https://tinyurl.com/mpvcbve7.]

• NAR Leader: “We must marry these two arenas — the civil and the sacred… there is coming a great partnership of the church and government.” [Tim Dickinson, “Meet the Apostle of Right-Wing Christian Nationalism” (September 1, 2022), Rolling Stones, http://tinyurl.com/5ybksedz]

• Influential Worship Leader: “‘well you’re Christian nationalists, you want the Kingdom [of heaven] to be the government’—yes! ‘You want God to come and overtake the government’—yes!... We want God to be in control of everything! We want believers to be the ones writing the laws? Yes, guilty as charged…” [Right Wing Watch, “Sean Feucht Proudly Admits to Being a Christian Nationalist,” YouTube video, April 21, 2023, https://tinyurl.com/2e576d5r.]

Politicians see what the churches want, and they are ready to cater to them if it gives them more votes:

• US Representative: “The church is supposed to direct the government… I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk…”[Cornerstone, “Cornerstone Christian Center welcomes US Congress Representative Lauren Boebert.” YouTube video, June 26, 2022, https://tinyurl.com/yawd2ctn.]

• Donald Trump to Evangelicals: “If I get in, you’re going to be using that power at a level that you’ve never used before.” [Jon Queally, “Trump tells right-wing Christians they will have power at ‘level you’ve never used before’ (Feb. 25, 2024), Raw Story, https://tinyurl.com/4sd5ufpw]

Make Rome Great Again

The idea of enforcing one’s religion through the sword of the State has a long history, going all the way back to Constantine “the Great.” This happened when Rome was beginning to decline for a number of complex reasons (many of which have modern parallels), such as: the debasement of currency (reduced coin value by lowering its silver content and clipping coins, leading to inflation), heavy taxation (to fund military campaigns and imperial expenses which strained citizens financially), and government handouts (providing free or subsidized food to citizens burdened the imperial treasury). On top of all that, when Constantine came on the scene in the early fourth century, the Empire was incredibly divided, both politically and religiously.

Constantine was on a mission to “Make Rome Great Again,” and he decided to unite the Empire through religion. He claimed to have a vision where Jesus told him to wage war with the sign of the cross at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. He won the battle, claimed to convert to Christianity, legalized Christianity, and because of its acceptance by the Emperor, it exploded in popularity. Soon the Roman clergy “entered the innermost royal courts” of the Emperor, and finally had a seat at the political table [Eusebius, Life of Constantine, bk. 3, ch. 15]. Within 70 years Christianity became the official religion of the State, making it illegal to not be a Christian. Thus Constantine “took Rome back for God.” But at what cost?

Mixing the Sacred and Profane

Constantine waged war with the sign of the cross, and for the first time Jesus’ religion of non-violence and self-sacrificing love became associated with force, violence, and nationalism.

In the centuries that followed, the Roman Church rose to political dominance in the Empire, and the Pope in Rome took over the imperial seat of Caesar and began persecuting people who transgressed their religious dogmas with the sword of the State. Thus began the Dark Ages where millions were burned at the stake, beheaded, and tortured in the name of the One who said, “love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44-45 (NLT).

How many people have rejected Christianity because of this history, thinking it was an accurate representation of the religion of Jesus? How many foreigners see Christianity as simply religious justification for imperial expansion and oppression?

This history not only affected non-believers’ view of Christianity, but Christians themselves had their perception of God and His Kingdom distorted as well. Because of the fusion of the Church with the Empire, God was no longer worshiped as the self-sacrificing Creator, but as a self-exalting Caesar! His laws weren’t like the laws of nature with inherent consequences, but they were like imperial decrees with external penalties.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible actually warns of the union of Church and State, the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdoms of this world. In Daniel 2 & 7 we read of the rise and fall of worldly kingdoms. Each successive power is symbolized as metals (Dan. 2) and beasts (Dan. 7). 

What do the feet of iron and clay in the statue represent?

If we combine the iron, which represents Rome—the State—, and clay, which represents God’s people—the Church (Is. 64:8; Jer. 18:6)—we end up with the Roman Church—a fusion of the kingdom of God with a kingdom of the world.

Yes, the Roman Church tried to fuse these kingdoms together, but prophecy says it is impossible for them to mix (Dan. 2:43). Why? Because the kingdom of heaven is comprised of Christians—people who follow Christ’s example of loving their enemies, turning the other cheek, blessing their enemies, and even dying for them! The kingdoms of the world, on the other hand, only exist if they preserve and promote their self-interests, even if it’s at the expense of others. In other words, 

God’s Kingdom = Self-Sacrifice

Worldly Kingdoms = Self-Preservation

Thus, by their very definitions, it is impossible for these two kingdoms to be mixed together any more than we can mix together water and oil or iron and clay. When the Church tries to convert the State, the Church adopts the methods of the State, not the other way around.

An End-Time Warning

Revelation, like Daniel, offers another warning of the dangers of uniting Church and State:

Revelation 17:3… and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast…

A woman in prophecy, like clay, represents God’s people (Jer. 6:2 + Is. 51:16; 2 Cor. 11:2; etc.)—the Church. According to Daniel, beasts represent worldly kingdoms (Dan. 7:23). Thus, prophecy informs us that towards the end of earth’s history we will see the churches join up with “the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:2), and, like the Dark Ages, persecution will be the inevitable result (Rev. 17:6, 14).

How could this happen? Revelation 13 tells us this system that mirrors the medieval Papacy will be setup by a “beast from the earth” that had “two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon.”

Since a beast in prophecy represents a kingdom (Dan. 7:23), this second Beast (1) represents a kingdom.

If waters represent “masses of people of every nation and language” (Rev. 17:15), then the earth—the opposite of the sea—must represent a sparsely populated area (Job 38:25–26; Jer. 2:6; 51:43). Thus this kingdom would be (2) established in a sparsely populated area.

Since this beast has horns like a lamb, which is a baby sheep, this nation is (3) a relatively young country. A Lamb also denotes the character of Christ, “The Lamb of God” (John 1:29). If a kingdom looks “like a lamb,” we can conclude that (4) this nation identifies with Christianity.

The Bible says that this kingdom will eventually force the world into a false system of worship (Rev. 13:12), and a nation can only do this if they are (5) a dominant superpower with a powerful military.

Only one nation fits this description: the United States of America.

Unfortunately, America is prophesied to make an “image,” a “spitting image of,” the Roman Church-State (Rev. 13:14). In other words, America will become a theocracy, mirroring the Papacy’s reign during the Dark Ages.

This may have sounded impossible a few years ago, but when we hear so many Christians and politicians in America talking about establishing explicitly Christian laws, is this interpretation really that much of a stretch?

Want more evidence supporting the claims in this tract and details on America’s prophetic fate? If so, checkout my book, Forbidden Fruit, for free!

The above interpretation of the second beast of Revelation 13 is the foundation for the Imperial Wool designs. The contrasting imagery of a ravenous beast with horns like a sheep sharply brings out the paradoxical nature of America's past and present. It reminds me of one of Jesus' warnings:

Matthew 7:15 (NLT) “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

Christianity has been used like sheep clothes, cloaking atrocious things such as slavery, imperial expansion, and oppression with a Christian guise. This is why our Imperial Wool logo depicts the prophetic Beast with sheep horns as a wolf with a wool mantle. 

Prophecy warns us of the dangers of uniting Church and State, and the Imperial Wool designs are geared towards sparking constructive conversation around this timely topic. When the Church colludes with the State, both suffer, for multiple reasons (which we will discuss sometime later).

Want something to handout to people who ask the meaning behind the Imperial Wool designs? This article has been formatted as a printable trifold to share with people, and can be downloaded at the link below:

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