After the November 2004 U.S. elections, reports began to surface about psychologists receiving many patients who were suffering from significant depression and anxiety due to the fact that George W. Bush won the election. In an interview aired on "The O'Reilly Factor" (a Fox News Channel program) on November 18, 2004, Rob Gordon, a member of the American Health Association declared, in a serious and very concerned tone, that these patients were suffering symptoms identical to those of PTS (Post Traumatic Syndrome). He also declared that these patients are extremely anxious because they feel that the "religious right" is taking over the U.S. A Fox News Channel report aired more recently indicated that many of them experience a great deal of emotional turmoil at the mere mention of the word "religion".

The number of patients suffering from this trauma is so significant that psychologists have given it a new name: "Post Election Selection Trauma", or "PEST" for short.

This is the prophetic interpretation:

To be honest with you, my first reaction to this is laughter (I am laughing even as I am writing these words). However, there is a very serious and real spiritual root behind this new psychological trauma. The spiritual reason why these psychologists decided to call it "PEST" can be found in the following passage:

"¹And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul. ²And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, ³ We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words. ⁵For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:1-5)

Notice how Paul was accused of being a "pestilence" (v5), a troublesome man who was stirring up strife and sedition in what would otherwise be a peaceful and "quiet" (v2) society ruled by a "kind and gentle" man like Felix, whose name literally means "happy". In his interview with Bill O'Reilly, Rob Gordon declared that those "stricken" with PEST see George W. Bush as a man who has brought division to American society, which is equivalent to the accusation thrown at Paul. It seems as if PEST sufferers see George W. Bush as a destroyer of the gains in racial and social "tolerance" in America since the 1960s. In other words, Bush came to disrupt their "happy nation".

It can be discerned from Scripture that pastors have a God-given tendency to "unite" and to "soothe". Pastors like to "reach out" to those who are hurting and alone, and they like to "caress" those who are in pain (Luke 15:4-10, Ezekiel 34:11-16). Pastors rejoice in social contact and "soul communion" with others. Therefore, when pastors reject the leading of the Spirit, these God-given attributes are perverted, and they become pursuers of a human unity that emphasizes unity even at the cost of one's convictions. On the other hand, God's righteous unity emphasizes unity through transformation, not accommodation. Instead of adjusting one's beliefs to the taste of others, God's unity emphasizes a spiritual transformation of all persons through spiritual judgments so that all may share God's Righteous and Holy Nature. This brings true, lasting unity because God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4). While human unity promotes adaptation to each other, God's unity promotes adaptation to His True, Eternal Nature. Pastors in the flesh, however, are so bent on achieving unity that they are willing to forsake the "transformation-through-judgments" process in order to achieve it.

Pastors in the flesh also become fierce haters of judgment, because judgment causes pain (Hebrews 12:11), and they hate anything that causes pain. Judgments are also unpleasant to pastors because judgments, by their very nature, cause division and separation. Judgments define boundaries of right and wrong; they create a differentiation between what is righteous and unrighteous:

"¹The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. ²Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." (Psalm 97:1-2)

"Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph." (Amos 5:15)

"¹⁴Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ¹⁵And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? ¹⁶And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ¹⁷Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Notice how a focus on "righteousness" (v14) will inevitably lead to a loss of "fellowship", "communion", "concord" (i.e.- "harmony"), and "agreement" (v14-16). Notice also how judgments and righteousness are associated with not "touching" (v17). This means that any human being who has a zeal for righteousness will value what is right so much that he or she will be willing to lose "touch" or "contact" with those loved by his or her soul. God calls us to value righteousness over soul communion. This does not mean that a righteous person should "not care" for the unrighteous. Those who abide in the "Spirit of Judgments and Justice" will be moved to judge others out of love for them. This love will create a desire to see God's purposes fulfilled in the lives of the other person, and will seek to execute the spiritual judgments that may be necessary in order to remove any unrighteousness or iniquity that may be hindering those purposes.

"²⁰But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, ²¹Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. ²²And of some have compassion, making a difference: ²³And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." (Jude 1:20-23)

The reason why so many people are depressed with "PEST" is because God is releasing spiritual pestilences over the Earth:

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matthew 24:7)

The pestilences mentioned above are "spiritual judgments" released into the Earth through judging vessels, modern-day Pauls (like George W. Bush) who are causing division and pain (instead of "unity" and "soothing"). These pestilences must happen before God's Glory can be seen:

"³God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. ⁴And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. ⁵Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. ⁶He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. ⁷I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble." (Habakkuk 3:3-7)

The word "pestilence" in verse 5 was translated from the Hebrew word deber, which is derived from the word dabar meaning "word"; the word dabar is the equivalent in Hebrew of the Greek word logos, which, as we have said before, is related to the making of judgments. God's pestilences cause "affliction" and "trembling" (v7), which is exactly what "PEST" sufferers are experiencing.

The reason why the victims of PEST cringe at the mere mention of the word "religion" is because their subconscious is perceiving the manifestation of an "uncontainable spiritual force" which their hearts continue to oppose. Their sense of "despair" is because of how helpless they feel as their hearts continue to fight against something that is completely inevitable. God's heavy Glory is coming over the horizon, and no man or institution can prevent It from being fully manifested.

The purposes of God's pestilence is not to torture for the sake of torturing. God's pestilence produce a lasting internal transformation that leads to true and lasting unity:

"I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they" (Numbers 14:12)

The Lord asked Moses to allow Him to strike the rebellious Israelites with pestilence in order to regenerate them into a true and righteous nation. However, Moses did not allow God to judge the people, because he was emotionally attached to them. As we studied in a previous article, this led to 38 years of aimless wandering until all the rebellious Israelites, including Moses, were killed in the desert.

Despite pastors' attempt to stop God's pestilence, it is already here. While the pastoral matriarchy has sought to preserve a "happy nation", God is aiming to produce a "greater, mightier nation", and His purposes shall be fulfilled, because time is up! God's judgments are always inevitable.

"He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth." (Psalm 105:7)