Tag cultural division

His Truth Is Marching On

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A Nation Divided Then and Now

There are seasons in a nation’s life when the fractures become impossible to ignore, when the ideological divides grow so deep they begin to feel like canyons, when political tensions, cultural confusion, racial wounds, and spiritual drift all converge into a single heavy fog that settles over the land. We are living in such a season now, and in many ways it mirrors another moment in our history, a moment when America was not merely divided by opinion but torn apart by war, a moment when brother fought against brother and the future of the Republic trembled under the weight of its own contradictions. It was into that moment, into the darkness of 1861, into the early days of the Civil War, that God stirred the heart of Julia Ward Howe and gave her a hymn that would outlive the war, outlive the century, and outlive the nation itself. It was not a patriotic anthem. It was not a celebration of national pride. It was a prophetic declaration of divine justice, a reminder that the Lord of Hosts still walks among the nations, and that His truth does not falter, does not waver, and does not bow to the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms.

His truth is marching on.

The Birth of a Prophetic Hymn

Julia Ward Howe had visited Union Army camps near Washington, D.C., where soldiers were singing a rough marching tune called John Brown’s Body. A minister suggested that she might write better words for that melody, something worthy of the moment, something that lifted the eyes of weary soldiers beyond the battlefield and toward the throne of God. In the quiet hours before dawn, she awoke with a stirring she could not ignore, reached for a pencil, and wrote the entire hymn in one uninterrupted flow. What she wrote was not a song of America. It was a song of the coming King. It was a hymn saturated with Scripture, drawn from the imagery of Isaiah 63:1–3, where the Lord treads the winepress of judgment; from Revelation 19:11–16, where the Rider on the white horse comes with eyes like fire; and from Joel 3:12–14, where the nations gather in the valley of decision. It was a hymn of warning, a hymn of justice, a hymn of truth.

And in the middle of that hymn, she wrote the line that still carries prophetic weight today: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” It was not the march of an army, but the march of truth. It was not the triumph of a political cause, but the triumph of the Lamb who was slain and who lives forevermore.

His truth is marching on.

The Scriptural Backbone of the Hymn

The Scriptures speak clearly about the unshakable nature of divine truth. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8). Nations rise and nations fall, but the Word of the Lord does not bend beneath the weight of cultural change or political upheaval. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34). The moral fractures we see today are not new; they are the same fractures that have appeared in every nation that forgets God. And yet, even in the midst of these fractures, even in the midst of this cultural fog, even in the midst of this national shaking, one truth remains unshaken.

His truth is marching on.

The Battle We Face Today

The battles we face today are not fought with muskets or cannons, nor are they waged on open fields or marked by lines of infantry. They are fought in the unseen realm, in the spiritual trenches where truth and deception collide, where righteousness and unrighteousness contend, where the love of God confronts the love of the flesh. Scripture tells us plainly, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12). The cultural battles we see are merely the surface ripples of a deeper spiritual war.

Paul writes, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other.” (Galatians 5:17). And again, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). The great divide in our nation is not merely political or ideological; it is spiritual. It is the clash between truth and deception, between holiness and rebellion, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

And yet, even in this battle, even in this conflict, even in this spiritual war that rages beneath the surface of our culture, one reality remains unchanged.

His truth is marching on.

True Liberty vs. National Liberty

The Fourth of July reminds us of the cost of earthly freedom, but the gospel reminds us of the cost of eternal freedom. One was purchased with the blood of patriots. The other was purchased with the blood of Christ. One can be lost. The other cannot. One depends on the stability of a nation. The other depends on the sovereignty of God. One rises and falls with the tides of history. The other stands unshaken from everlasting to everlasting.

America celebrates independence, but the believer celebrates deliverance. America celebrates freedom from tyranny, but the believer celebrates freedom from sin. America celebrates the birth of a nation, but the believer celebrates the resurrection of a Savior. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36). Political liberty may falter. Spiritual liberty does not. Political freedom may be threatened. Spiritual freedom cannot be touched.

His truth is marching on.

A Prophetic Word for a Fractured Nation

President Reagan once warned, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” We are watching that warning unfold in real time, not because God has abandoned the nation, but because the nation has abandoned God. But the believer does not lose hope, because the believer knows that the march of truth does not depend on the stability of earthly kingdoms. It depends on the sovereignty of God.

The hymn Julia Ward Howe wrote was not a patriotic anthem but a prophetic declaration. It was a reminder that Christ is coming, and that His truth does not bow to the rise and fall of nations. It was a warning to a divided America then, and it is a warning to a divided America now.

His truth is marching on.

The March Toward the Coming King

And so we return to the hymn, not as a patriotic song but as a prophetic proclamation. We return to the line that has carried the weight of generations. We return to the truth that outlives nations and outlasts empires. We return to the reminder that Christ is coming, and that His truth is still marching on. Nations rise and nations fall. Empires flourish and empires crumble. Foundations crack and foundations collapse. But the Word of the Lord endures forever, and the truth of God marches forward with a cadence that cannot be silenced by the noise of culture or the chaos of politics.

In a divided America, in a fractured society, in a nation forgetting the God who once blessed it, His truth is still marching on. It marches through the pages of Scripture. It marches through the hearts of believers. It marches through the testimony of the redeemed. It marches through the gospel preached in pulpits and whispered in quiet prayers. It marches through the darkness with a light that cannot be extinguished. It marches through the fog with a clarity that cannot be blurred. It marches through the chaos with a peace that cannot be shaken. And it marches toward the day when the glory of the coming of the Lord will be seen not in a hymn, not in a vision, not in a prophecy, but in the sky itself as the King of Kings returns in triumph.

His truth is marching on.

The Deceiver Who Doesn’t Look Like One

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A Teaching for an Age of Cultural Unrest

We live in a time when people expect evil to announce itself loudly. Many imagine the devil in a red suit, tail swishing, pitchfork in hand, smoke curling around his feet. It is a comforting caricature because it makes deception easy to spot. If the enemy looked like that, no one would fall for him.

Scripture tells a very different story. Genesis describes the serpent as “more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1). Subtle—not grotesque, not terrifying, not obvious. The first deception in human history did not come through fear. It came through beauty, persuasion, and a voice that sounded safe enough to trust.

The serpent did not frighten Eve. He flattered her. He appealed to her desire for wisdom, insight, and elevation. Genesis 3:4–6 shows the strategy clearly: “Ye shall not surely die… your eyes shall be opened… ye shall be as gods.” And when Eve looked at the fruit, she saw that it was “pleasant to the eyes” and “desired to make one wise.”

The serpent did not come with a scythe. He came with a compliment.

The Modern Face of Deception

In our cultural moment, deception rarely marches in wearing a villain’s costume. It arrives dressed in glowing language—words like justice, compassion, identity, authenticity, progress, unity, freedom, inclusion. These words are good in themselves, which is precisely why they are so effective when twisted.

Paul warned the church about this very thing. He wrote that false teachers come “with good words and fair speeches [that] deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). He also said that Satan himself “is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). The enemy does not need horns when he can wear light. He does not need a pitchfork when he can use high‑sounding words.

This is why Paul cautioned believers: “Let no man beguile you with enticing words” (Colossians 2:4). Enticing words are the serpent’s favorite tool. They sound noble. They sound enlightened. They sound compassionate. And because they sound good, people rarely stop to ask whether they are true.

Why Flattery Works So Well

Flattery bypasses discernment and goes straight for identity. It tells people what they want to hear:

  • You’re enlightened.
  • You’re compassionate.
  • You’re morally superior.
  • You’re on the right side of history.
  • You’re brave for believing this.

Once a person receives that affirmation, they will defend the ideology that delivered it—even if that ideology contradicts Scripture, truth, or reality itself. They are not defending ideas anymore; they are defending the version of themselves the ideology promised.

This is why some people react so strongly when confronted. Truth does not just challenge their beliefs; it threatens their identity. Paul described this dynamic in 2 Timothy 3:7 when he spoke of people who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” They are not wicked people. They are unanchored people—people who drift toward whatever voice sounds the most affirming.

Eve was not foolish. She was human. And humans are vulnerable to the voice that tells them what they want to hear.

The Cultural Moment We’re Living In

Our society is not divided because people love evil. It is divided because people have been seduced by beautiful lies. Isaiah warned of a time when people would “call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Paul foresaw a generation that would “not endure sound doctrine” but would instead gather teachers who tell them what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

We are living in that moment.

The deceiver does not need horns when he has hashtags. He does not need a tail when he has slogans. He does not need a pitchfork when he has influencers, pundits, and charismatic personalities who speak with confidence and charm.

The serpent’s wardrobe has changed, but his strategy has not.

The Call for Discernment

Discernment is not suspicion. It is not cynicism. Discernment is the ability to recognize when something sounds good but is not true. Scripture calls believers to this kind of maturity. John wrote, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). Hebrews 5:14 says mature believers have their senses trained to “discern both good and evil.”

In an age where every ideology markets itself as righteous, compassionate, and enlightened, the people of God must learn to test the fruit, not admire the packaging. The serpent’s words were beautiful. The fruit was deadly.

A Final Word

If someone accuses you of being “mean” for challenging deception, remember Paul’s question in Galatians 4:16: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Truth will always feel abrasive to those who have been comforted by lies. You are not being harsh. You are being anchored. And anchored people will always look unkind to those who are drifting.

The deceiver does not come dressed in red. He comes dressed in whatever the culture currently calls good.

The task of the believer is not to admire the costume, but to discern the voice.