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May 2025When the governments of men do wrong and foment tyranny, it is the duty of the churchmen to confront their wrongdoing and the pulpits to thunder against the evil.
Recently, I made a post on Facebook that stated – “Contrary to media propaganda, you will NOT need REAL ID to fly in America starting May 7th.”
The REAL ID act was passed in 2005 – yes, 20 years ago – it was in response to the 9-11 attacks in New York. The implementation of it has been delayed all these years – and now the Trump administration is hell-bent on implementing it.
A slew of news articles meant to stampede people to get REAL ID have been saturating the news for the last several weeks – hence, my Facebook post.
When researching REAL ID, it is difficult to understand what exactly it is – and why it is so important to them to convince all of us to get it. So, let’s listen to what they say themselves – what the government itself says.
Kristi Noem – the great defender of freedom during COVID as then Gov. of South Dakota – put out a video from Homeland Security, which she now heads up. In it, she declares two reasons we need REAL ID: 1). for convenience, and 2). for our safety. The government sells many things to the populace under the guise of convenience and safety.
You can get on your plane faster – no more delays she says. And the dopes line up willing to surrender personal data to the state.
And when it comes to safety, Americans might want to remember what Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
What exactly REAL ID is and why they are pushing it can be difficult to actually know – but here’s what you should know: the fact that they want you to get REAL ID so badly should communicate to you that you do NOT want to get it. REAL ID is clearly another step in creating a tyrants paradise.
Just like in COVID, both your average American and the Christians are showing blithe compliance both in comments on news stories about REAL ID and on social media.
As one average American stated, “I don’t get why everyone is so mad at the real id thing. I’ve had one for four years. Had no idea it was an issue. What am I missing?” How about like half of your brain? The REAL ID is part and parcel of the continuing construction of the American surveillance state.
Meanwhile, the Christians are invoking their eschatology to justify their indifference toward REAL ID. One Christian stated it this way when hearing of REAL ID: “The mark of the beast is coming whether anyone’s eschatology allows for it or not. Please wake up! The signs of the nearness of Christ’s return have been all around us.”
The futurist Christians — with their premillennial, pre-rapture escapist thinking — will go along with any state intrusions as long as it isn’t a literal mark in their hand or their forehead. They will help build the surveillance state by virtue of their faulty eschatology.
The number one reason you need to resist and oppose REAL ID is because of what Scripture declares about the nature of man, namely, that he is wicked and in need of a Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 3:9-18 lays out the nature of man. “For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips, Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”
The nature of man is why America’s founders established multiple levels of government and multiple branches on each level within civil government. They wanted it that way so power did not reside in one man’s hands (they were throwing off a monarchy) nor in a small group of men’s hands (like an oligarchy). They wanted there to be multiple levels and multiple branches so that if any one branch or branches began act lawlessly and play the tyrant, another branch or branches would interpose against their evil and check them. They pillared such a government because they held to the biblical view of the nature of man – that he is wicked and in need of a Savior, namely, Jesus Christ.
The nature of man demands that we resist REAL ID – the wickedness of man demands it. If enough people simply refuse to get REAL ID, the government will have to delay it yet again. Understand, you can use your passport or veteran ID card if push comes to shove. But resist at all points! Once they have this plank of their tyranny established, they intend to bring in mandatory facial recognition.
When the governments of men do wrong and foment tyranny it is the duty of the churchmen to confront their wrongdoing and the pulpits to thunder against the evil.
John Knox once wrote: “As touching nature I am a worm of this earth, and yet a subject of this commonwealth; but as touching the office wherein it has pleased God to place me, I am a watchman. For that reason I am bound in conscience to blow the trumpet publicly.”
The Old and New Testaments are threaded with interactions between the people of God and the state authorities. Whether Isaiah or Jeremiah, Joseph or David, the prophets warned government officials of the consequences of ungodly rule and kept them accountable.
If you would like to see from Scripture why the mark in the forehead and right hand do not have to be taken literally, listen to the sermon below on Real ID which I preached on April 27th, 2025. “Real ID, the Surveillance State, and The Bible” —
Youtube.com/watch?v=-I_IQWoa8g4&t=1253s
Matt Trewhella is pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church (MercySeat.net); founder of Missionaries to the Preborn (MissionariesToThePreborn.com); and teacher of the lesser magistrate doctrine (DefyTyrants.com). He and his wife, Clara have eleven children and 35 grandchildren, and reside in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. To hear sermons by Pastor Trewhella, go to the Mercy Seat Christian Church channel at YouTube.com.
