It is around 8 AM here on Wednesday and according to FoxNews there are about five hours before the Eastern States close their polls in the USA. (NZ is 19 hours ahead). So as I write I do not know what the result will be.
What I do know is that the boys are growing because I had to double my breakfast size.
So this is not an election post. It is about something a little deeper than if a donkey or elephant wins in the voting that is going on as I type.

Revelation 16:1-11

1Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

2So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and a foul and painful sore came on those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.

3The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.

4The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5And I heard the angel of the waters say, “You are just, O Holy One, who are and were, for you have judged these things; 6because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” 7And I heard the altar respond, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just!”

8The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch them with fire; 9they were scorched by the fierce heat, but they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.

10The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony, 11and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.

Now, Revelations is a most difficult book. The literary form it is in — the Apocalypse — was popular in those days and used (as Dante used the epic poem) to encode messages. It was a useful tactic in times of persecution: like embedding teaching within a Vampyre novel or Romantic Comedy.

So the beast is some form of ruler that wants worship. These people have existed in the distant or recent past: Max Weber coined the term cult of personality for this.

And God punishes them. The Bible does not repeat much, but it does allude, and the bowls are akin to the plagues that afflicted Egypt (that home of the ‘divine’ Pharaoh). We are told that this punishment is just because they killed the saints and the prophets. Because they shed blood, blood was given to them.

Now, without getting into the theology of saints (for all those chosen are saints, but some people are more worthy of emulation) the persecution of the faithful occurs when there is a cult of personality or a party in power with that tendency. For the government is a jealous God, and will not accept the worship of anything greater than itself.

And… these people will not change. They will continue to do evil. No argument, no circumstance will lead them to repentance. (Now, I believe that God makes an effort at all times and with all people to raise and preserve those who are righteous. God is not unjust. Again, this theology becomes quite speculative fast, and I will defer to those who are good at that. I prefer to stick close to the text). Although they are being punished, these people are not Alexandr, who repented in the gulag. They will drag others with them, and will suffer for their actions.

So I will not give advice about how to vote. I am in New Zealand. I note that the Catholic Bishops, and some prominent protestant preachers have done their duty and carefully weighed the ethics of both parties. Their analysis is worthwhile for all believers (the truth is not owned), and they are living in America.

But do not expect those who have shed the blood of the saints and prophets to ever go quietly.