George Floyd and Derek Chauvin—Is the heavenly Father speaking?
Last night was the third straight night of protests and rioting in the Twin Cities. It had begun in Minneapolis, but has since moved across the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers into St. Paul. The rioting has now spread to many other cities across the nation.
It was all sparked by the killing of a black man by a white police officer. Anyone with the least bit of decency who has seen the viral video of the Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, would cringe in horror at the sight of Mr. Floyd pleading with Officer Chauvin, “Officer, I can’t breathe.”
I likewise am appalled and shocked by what the video reveals. However, as recent history (in the era of ubiquitous cell phones) has taught us, one cannot leap to any conclusions. There is always more to the story. For example, as I checked the news this morning, there is a story published online less than an hour ago by the Washington Post which reports this:
“Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said George Floyd and fired police officer Derek Chauvin knew each other for many years because they worked security at the same night club. On Monday, Chauvin, who is white, was captured on video with a knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd, who was black, died. Both men worked at El Nuevo Rodeo on Lake Street before their last encounter.
‘They were both bouncers at that restaurant for 17 years,” Jenkins told CNN. ‘So, Officer Chauvin, he knew George. They were co-workers for a really long time.’ ”
So, was there personal animosity involved? It seems quite likely, but that is for the investigative and judicial authorities to determine. My purpose in commenting regarding this incident is aimed at the possible prophetic and spiritual significance of this event.
Despite my going to bed late the past few nights, I awakened this morning at about 4:15 with a sudden thought concerning the prophetic significance of the officer’s last name, Chauvin. I will come back to that in a moment, but let us first consider the black man’s name: George Floyd. Floyd is derived from the Welsh language and it means “gray” (grey = English spelling), as in gray-haired. “George” is from the Greek and is the word rendered “husbandman” in the parable of the vine and the branches.
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Strong’s Ref. # G1092 georgos {gheh-ore-gos'} 1) a husbandman, tiller of the soil, a vine dresser
Putting the two meanings together, we have a picture of God the Father, often portrayed as a wise old man with gray hair and a long beard. So how does that fit the incident in the Twin Cities? Well, let us now consider the police officer’s names. Derek means “the people’s ruler.”
In the American Constitutional republic, we have three separate but equal branches of government (rulership): the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Therefore, we can understand that a police officer (being under the executive branch) can be considered part of the rulership of the people.
But it was the officer’s last name which caused me to hop out of bed at 4:15 this morning. I realized that it was a close match to the name of the great Protestant Reformer, John Calvin. You see, John Calvin (1509-1564), was born in France with the name, Jean C(h)auvin. The name in French is derived from “chauve,” meaning “bald.”
His surname was Latinized as Calvinus (based on Latin calvus “bald”) and thus, in English, he is known as John Calvin. Now, in putting this all together from a prophetic standpoint, we must understand that this has almost nothing at all to do with the two principle actors. But we can see in God’s drama what this might signify on a spiritual level.
On the surface we have the knee of Calvin/Chauvin on the neck of George, the heavenly Father! How does that make sense? Answer: First of all, there is the neck connection. In the mystical Body of Christ analogy, Jesus is the Head of the Body, as is well known by every Christian. What about the rest of the Body? The Israelite tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) is symbolized by the shoulders.
Deuteronomy 33:12 And of Benjamin he said, … and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
What is between the shoulders and the head? The neck. The tribe of Benjamin is associated with the neck. At the time of Christ’s first appearing, all the apostles (except Judas) were from Galilee, a province which was inhabited primarily by Benjamites. Even the apostle Paul said,
Romans 11:1 … For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
How curious then that we are discussing the city of St. Paul. Next, we must learn a primary tenet of Jean Chauvin’s theology. His theology became the basis for many modern denominations such as the various forms of Presbyterianism, along with the Dutch Reformed, Reformed Baptists, etc. One of the distinguishing features of Calvin’s theology was his teachings on the sovereignty of God and predestination. From my book, Sacred Secrets of the Sovereignty of God, I quote:
“This means that God, by His sovereign will, has elected (selected or chosen) some to be saved to eternal life. At the same time, by not electing others, God allows those not elected to suffer the consequences of their sin, which means the non-elect are eternally condemned. Calvin puts it this way:
‘By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.’ ”
Thus, some characterize Calvin’s teaching as “double predestination.” Some Calvinists deny that label, but regardless, it leaves untold billions of souls condemned to “eternal damnation.” I go on in my book to teach what Jean Chauvin was not blessed to understand; namely, that our heavenly Father will ultimately save all mankind in the eons to come. (And I shall begin to lay this all out serially in this webspace in the near future. Meanwhile, it is all available in my oral lecture series, entitled God’s Plan for Man, comprising 38 lectures on CD. Click here for more information.)
Among many other Scriptures, we treasure this one which speaks of the ultimate salvation of all.
Romans 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Thus, Calvin’s theology leaves “no mercy” for billions of “lost souls.” With the above facts, we can see that the tragic incident between George and Chauvin illustrates the tragically shortsighted view of much of Christianity (not just the Calvinists) that God’s Spirit (breath) is being “killed” (made of none effect) by a knee in the neck. Officer Chauvin had “no mercy” with his knee in the neck of George, stifling out the Spirit of the Father.
But out of great sin and tragedy, George, our heavenly Father works great good; for this event may prove to be a foreshadowing of the “fall of Chauvinism/Calvinism” and of all the other denominations which teach a falsehood about God who supposedly creates billions of sentient creatures, knowing full well that 90 percent of them or more will have an eternal destiny of damnation! Is that what you believe of your God!? That hideous doctrine will soon dissolve in a great awakening.
Some of our present-day brothers and sisters with prophetic gifts have foreseen a great wave of awakening from spiritual slumber to commence in America. It will result in the greatest revival ever, a virtual flood of Holy Spirit outpouring! Moreover, some have foreseen that it would begin in the Twin Cities which straddles the Mississippi which was once known as The River of the Holy Spirit! Come soon, King Jesus!