The Days Following Kirk’s Death
The preliminary trial for Tyler Robinson, the accused killer of Charlie Kirk, started last week. It has been ten months since Kirk was savagely murdered at Utah Valley University on the early afternoon of September 10th. When Kirk died, it shook the entire nation. Americans and others across the world were in disbelief that a young man, only thirty-one years old and so full of life, could be taken so viciously and suddenly. Some believed he was on his way to being the future President. In the US political conservative scene, his great loss is hard to put into words.
I remember so well the immediate days following his death. While conservative Americans were grief-stricken, there was also hope as to what the Lord might do through the tragedy. Kirk’s funeral was unforgettable, with the gospel proclaimed repeatedly to tens of thousands in attendance and through a livestream to hundreds of millions of people across the world. There were also a multitude of local events, where thousands gathered to remember Kirk and worship the Lord that he lived for. I spoke at one such local event where every seat was taken, and there were many in the overflow section watching on the big screen. As people drove in their cars all across America, they saw signs on people’s lawns that said, “We are Charlie.”
Those early days were filled with much hope that the Lord was doing a mighty work. I wrote three days after his death, addressing the opportunity before us: “What an opportunity for pastors and Christians to see the fruit that came from Charlie getting God’s Word and the gospel into college campuses. He certainly wasn’t perfect in everything he said, but the Lord clearly blessed his work… We have an opportunity before us to wake up a nation toward Christ. We have an opportunity before us as the public hears God’s wonderful law and the gospel. Everyone knows there are deep issues in our nation. Superficial solutions will change nothing. This nation needs a return to the Bible. Charlie understood this, and the Lord’s favor was upon him. May we follow his example of being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).”
The hope and prayer in the days following his assassination were that a great number of Charlie Kirks would rise up and engage the public square with the Word of God, boldly, as he did, understanding that though there is a cost, faithfully following Jesus is worth it.
A Deranged Leftist Killed Kirk
In the early days of this trial, we have seen the formality of what we already knew. The witnesses brought forth by the prosecution have demonstrated that Kirk was killed by a high-powered rifle, and Robinson was spotted on the roof holding something that looked like that weapon immediately following the shooting. Robinson was caught on surveillance video multiple times before and after the shooting. His DNA was found on pieces of evidence on the roof. In a text exchange with his transgender lover, he confessed to killing Kirk because of what Robinson thought were hateful beliefs. We, as Americans, recognize that Robinson deserves a fair trial. Just like anyone else, he is innocent until proven guilty. But the defense will continue to have an incredibly difficult time getting Robinson off the hook. Robinson will likely be convicted of premeditated murder, and the bigger question is what the sentence will be: life in prison or the death penalty. What Robinson almost certainly did reveals a much bigger problem.
Numerous conservative and Christian leaders need security wherever they go because they have received numerous death threats from deranged Leftists like Robinson. When Kirk was killed, he wore a bulletproof vest because receiving death threats was regular for him as he shone the light of God’s Word to bear on the darkness, especially at secular universities. Kirk’s death was a time for Americans and Christians to rise up and say no more to Leftist rhetoric and violence.
Kirk’s death showed that when the truth is spoken, the darkness cannot take it (John 3:19-20). It is the militant Left that cannot tolerate debate, demanding that everyone conform to their radical ideology, or else. Many times, it is hateful insults, but inevitably, as the rhetoric is strong against those “hate-filled Christians,” deranged individuals resort to violence. They actually believe that someone like Kirk is a threat to what they falsely believe is good, as all kinds of immorality have been pushed forth. Kirk’s death was an opportunity for America to acknowledge that the far Left, with their hateful rhetoric, killed Kirk, and their ideology has no place in America.
The Momentum that Satan Quenched
While there was this hope that the gospel would go forth and more Americans would wake up to the danger of the militant Left, Satan was busy at work. One of my Jewish friends predicted the day of Kirk’s death that Israel would be blamed for it. It was a cynical comment by him that he stated because he has experienced firsthand the rising hatred against Jewish people over the last couple of years. He was proved right. Candace Owens almost immediately implicated Israel in Kirk’s assassination. Owens and those like her were already blaming Israel for other things; why not add Kirk’s death to the list? The outlandish conspiracy was that Kirk’s views were changing, and he was about to turn on Israel. Before he finally disavowed his support of Israel, the Mossad had to take him out.
This baseless conspiracy theory was picked up by others such as Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly. Carlson recently said that Kirk, “was not murdered because of his opinions on transgenderism, obviously, but he was, I believe…most likely murdered because of his evolving views on Israel.” In other words, it was not the far Left that killed Charlie, but Israel. But the blame was not exclusively directed against Israel; they also targeted Charlie’s grieving widow, Erika, and others in leadership at Turning Point USA. Supposedly, there was some secret agenda that made them want Charlie out of the way. Owens even went as far as to say that Kirk was a time traveler, among several other fanciful claims. Her views constantly changed, and she kept going, because the more outlandish her statements became, the more followers she received. A few months back, her podcast became the number one in the world.
Furthermore, as Carlson stopped criticizing the Left and Israel became the top priority of “evil” in the world, he too found that he received millions of new followers, many from the Muslim world who desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. As they pushed these narratives without evidence, the internet conversation shifted from revival and awareness of far-Left rhetoric and violence to blaming those who had nothing to do with Kirk’s murder. The great irony is that the ones they implicated were not neutral toward Charlie, but deeply loved the man, whether his wife Erika, the organization he founded and led TPUSA, or even Israel, which viewed Kirk as an important voice for America’s continued support.
Robinson’s Defense will not even mention these because they know full well that they had nothing to do with Kirk’s murder. With their Gnostic “knowledge,” these popular internet voices fooled millions (including even some political conservatives and Christians) into thinking there was a different story to the one that we were being told. All of this was to bring attention to themselves, as they were used by the Devil to distract from the truth that could have brought great good to America.
But, as a dear pastor friend of mine says, “Time and truth go hand in hand.” As time has gone on, the lies have been exposed, and the truth prevails.
The Path Ahead
Even with this great effort by Satan to distract, the Lord has still worked through Kirk’s death these past ten months. I have heard stories of those who were unchurched and started to attend because of what happened on September 10th. They have looked at Kirk’s life and been inspired to follow Christ as Charlie did (1 Corinthians 11:1). It has not been the revival that appeared to be coming, but there are many who can trace their newfound faith to Kirk’s murder.
As the trial takes place in Utah and reaches its conclusion down the road, my prayer is that a multitude of eyes would be opened to see God’s work vs. Satan’s. The Lord desires for the gospel to advance and for people to be aware of the leftist revolution that has grown rapidly in recent years, and what they are willing to do to advance their godless cause. Satan wants to spread lies to keep people from walking in the light and seeing the truth of what is really going on in our nation.
But Charlie Kirk did not die in vain. As the famous quote says, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” These seeds may only have scattered sparingly because of the Devil’s great efforts following Kirk’s murder, but may his efforts be thwarted and God’s work advanced as the truth in this trial in Utah is proclaimed for all to see.
