The idea that governments are automatically bowed down to, is an idea that God prohibited in his first two commandments. 

The word secular means "without God." Bible believers will not automatically obey secular government. Imagine how easy life would have been if we had obeyed secular authority. 

• Daniel would not have been thrown into either the furnace nor the lions' den.

• Moses, while he was a civil servant, killed one of his government's law enforcement officers. 

• Israelites would not have rebelled against Pharaoh. 

• Peter would not have said in Acts 5:29 "We must obey God rather than men." 

• The apostles would not have been hunted down and executed, except for one who was exiled. 

• William Tynndale would not have been executed for the crime of translating the Bible into English.

• Christians would not have risked death on the Mayflower's seven week voyage to bring fourth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty. 

• A Quaker preacher named William Penn, while he was a British subject in a British Colony, would not have been arrested for preaching a Quaker sermon. 

• Patriots would not have started the American Revolution. They would not have risked death to kill their government's law enforcement officers. 

• Rahab, a career criminal, would not have helped overthrow her government, and would not be considered righteous (James 2:25) and listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the all-time faithful. 

• And today, the Church in China could exist peacefully if it registers with their government, but refuses. Because regulation IS persecution.

Romans 13:1 (KJV) "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."

Did the very same author of the above words change his mind in 1 Corinthians 6:12 when he wrote "all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." ?

Romans 13:3 continues with a comparison between legitimate and illegitimate rulers: "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:"

It cannot be both ways. You cannot claim that verse 1 refers to all powers, if tyrants are excluded in verse 3.

And, by the way, I support Bible smugglers. I do this to obey authority ordained of God.

1st Peter 2:13-16 (KJV) "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."

Read that again. Peter is recommending that you obey government in order to silence the rumors of foolish men who are saying that your liberty from their laws is a guise for maliciousness. Peter even used the term "foolish," yet Christ said we would be in danger of hell fire if we called anyone a fool. Matt 5:22.

Titus 3:1 (KJV) "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,"

Hebrews 13:17 (KJV) "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."

It is irrelevant that Christians are required to obey legitimate authority. No law or court has ever required you to get a Social Security Number.

If you are not yet convinced that you have the Mark of the Beast, then you must eventually decide where you will draw your line in the sand. Most people flippantly say they will refuse to take an implant in their right hand. They give it no further thought. If government controls buying and selling, will you disobey? Will it be voluntary or mandatory? To what extent will you obey government? Some say we must obey a Hitler, others say we must obey authority up to, but not including, a Hitler. Others say civil disobedience is necessary if our convictions require us to disobey. How can you say that a Christian must cooperate with evil?

You are the one that must decide whether or not to cooperate with evil. There are a dozen New Testament verses that tell us to stand firm. The word `apostasy' means failing to stand firm. This is not legal advice. I am NOT telling you to take a stand. Those who refuse to compromise with evil will lose their homes, jobs and family. Isaiah 59:15 he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. You must choose your battles wisely. We are in this predicament because people over the last 70 years refused to take a stand. They willingly gave up their rights, until there are none left. Ben Franklin said that those who give up some liberty for safety deserve neither.

Government employees are allowed to deceive you (See Appendix B) and the law requires you, just like Adam and Eve, to accept the consequences if you are deceived. Do not obey a lie. Jeremiah 17:5 If you trust men, you are under a curse.

If you ever need to be deprogrammed from the error that we must obey tyrants, read Martin Luther's Secular Authority: To What Extent It Should be Obeyed, published in 1523. Jesus himself tells you in Matt 10:17-22 to beware of those who will turn you over to authorities, and to stand firm. The persecuted church for 20 centuries, ever since Acts 4:26, knew that governments conspired against Christ. Or read the sermons of the American Revolution. Or James 2:6-7: those who blaspheme the one that called you, are the ones taking you to court. Jesus told us to agree with our adversary so we will not be cast into prison, Matt 5:25 and Luke 12:58. Does that sound like Jesus was pro-Government? The same biblical principals that require us to obey legitimate government require us to disobey illegitimate government. If you want to know if a government is legitimate read Romans 13:3. Legitimate Government is not a terror to good works, but to evil. Also 1st Peter 2:14. Your US government upheld these principles against national socialists at Nuremberg. The "we were just obeying orders" excuse did not work at Nuremberg and it won't work here.

Did the same Peter who is quoted in Acts 5:29 as saying that we must obey God rather than men, change his mind in 1st Peter 2:13-4, or is he only referring to legitimate government?

NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE DOES GOD GIVE MANKIND THE AUTHORITY TO LEGISLATE. In fact it is prohibited for mankind to legislate, Deuteronomy 4:2. The only legitimate government among mankind, is the government that enforces Biblical law. Even Jesus corrected the apostles about Moses' law by stating that it was not so, even from the beginning.

There is no power but of God, as Paul wrote in Romans 13. This is NOT a command to obey counterfeit government. The (legitimate) powers that be are ordained of God. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers (as contrasted with counterfeit powers).

The same Paul that tells us that the powers that be are ordained of God, and that every soul should be subject unto the higher powers - is the same Paul who was often in prison (2nd Corinthians 11:23) and who escaped from law enforcement officers in Damascenes according to 2nd Corinthians 11:32. Government eventually executed Paul. It cannot be both ways. Either he was executed for obeying civil government, or Romans 13:1 is the definition of legitimate power. Did Christ tell us to avoid being turned over to legitimate authority (Matt 10:17)?

Actions speak louder than words. There are many people who willingly hand over part of their wages to fund abominations. You are either for Christ, or against him. Choose this day whom you shall serve. Those who choose to be part of the evil system must obey their masters.

Must a Christian pay for vile abominations such as abortion clinics in public schools, punish parents for disciplining their children, punish schools for acknowledging the existence of God, fund pornography for school libraries, pay usury on the National Debt, execute people known to be innocent (Exodus 23:7 says that God will not tolerate slaying of the innocent.), fund the National Endowment for the Arts to publicly display Piss Christ "art," buy condoms for children, pay for UN atrocities, deliberately mis-educate youth, and sodomize your military? Do your civil servants act on your behalf to teach witchcraft at the public schools while prohibiting student prayer?

Thomas Jefferson said that "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." Your founders set up a system that prohibits the collection of a direct tax. There is no need to fund persecution of Christians. Example: On 5/21/93 the Clinton Administration petitioned the Supreme Court to allow RICO racketeering statutes be used against abortion protesters. They claimed that anti-abortion groups comprise "a nationwide criminal conspiracy of extremists ...[bent on] unlawful and violent methods" to drive customers away from abortion clinics. Then, right on schedule, on 1/25/94 the Supreme Court ruled that RICO prosecutions need not prove economic motive. This means that racketeering charges can be brought against any church with a member who shows a pattern of misdeeds (twice praying outside a clinic). All church property can then be seized without a trial of any kind. Another example: The Freedom of Choice Act would make it against the law to suggest to a pregnant girl that she put her baby up for adoption rather than to kill it. Another example: In 1973 homosexuality was officially classified as a psychological illness, and only 20 years later, anyone who questions such lifestyle is a dangerous nut. In 1993 the American Psychiatric Association said that an "irrational fear and hatred of homosexuals is a psychological abnormality that interferes with the judgment and reliability of those affected." Now there is even talk of forcing Christian hospitals to perform abortions, and forcing churches to hire homosexuals. And hate speech laws to prohibit reading the Bible (especially Jude:7, Lev 20:13, etc). If congress is your benefactor, you've agreed to this.

Yes, Romans 13:6 says we should pay legitimate tax for legitimate government. But verse 3 defines legitimate government as not being a terror to good works. I assure you that Satan has a counterfeit authority for you to obey. And once you pay a tax you don't owe to a false authority, the legal doctrine of solutio indebiti enslaves you and requires you to continue paying future taxes. Yes, Christ paid taxes. But did He render unto Caesar that which is God's? Did He fund vile abominations with his own labor? Notice that He didn't pay the Temple tax until Peter blurted out that He pays taxes. Notice that He didn't pay with His own money. More about taxes later.