On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 10th, 2025, the people of America reached a turning point in the story of our nation.
Christian apologist, conservative political commentator, and college campus activist, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. UVU was one stop on Charlie’s The American Comeback Tour. He made a career out of debate and discussion of the biggest sociopolitical issues of our day: abortion, gun control, gay and trans rights, etc. To many, Charlie was a hero of the faith, a champion of truth, a staunch patriot, and a defender of classic American ideals. By others, he was labeled a nationalist, fascist, bigot, misogynist, and oppressor. By many, the news of Charlie’s injury and subsequent death was received with shock, horror, and mourning. By others, the news was met with excitement and even joy. From many, prayers for healing, peace, comfort, and protection for the Kirk family were lifted up to Heaven. From others, there came the sound of cheering and celebration. Many refer to this tragic event as an assassination and have given Charlie the honor of a martyr. Others refuse to agree even on this.
According to a simple Google search, the definition of assassination is: The murder of an important person in a surprise attack for political or religious reasons. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary website defines assassination as: to muder a prominent person by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons. Cambridge Dictionary says: to kill someone famous or important. Oxford Dictionary gives the following definition: To murder a person, especially a prominent or famous person, in a planned attack, especially with a political or ideological motive. Also to murder a person on behalf of another, especially as a hired professional killer.
According to a simple Google search, the definition of martyr is: A person who is killed because of their religious beliefs. Merriam Webster: A person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion. Cambridge Dictionary: A person who suffers very much or is killed because of their religious or political beliefs, and is often admired because of it. Oxford Dictionary: A person who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce faith in Christ or obedience to His teachings, a Christian way of life, or adherence to a law or tenet of the Church; also a person who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce the beliefs or tenets of a particular Christian denomination.
So, was Charlie assassinated? Is he a martyr?
The man who is, as of 11:48pm on September 12, 2025, in custody and accused of committing this heinous crime, comes from a normal, suburban American family. Neighbors and friends of the family have gone on record expressing shock and disbelief, saying that he was a good kid and they are such a nice family. Reportedly, the family has never been particularly political or religious. However, in the time since leaving home for a public-university education, the suspect, whom I will not dignify by naming, began to develop an interest in politics. Reportedly, at a family dinner shortly before that tragic September day, the suspect brought up Charlie’s upcoming stop at the nearby UVU and expressed his feelings of dislike of Charlie personally and resentment of Charlie’s political viewpoints. After the shooting, local police and FBI recovered the weapon alleged to be the one used to commit the crime, as well as four additional rounds of ammunition with engravings on them referencing anti-fascist sentiments, bombing, and sexual perversion.
The inclusion of these anti-facsist sentiments engraved into bullet casings, as well as the suspects reported mislike of Charlie and his politics indicates that the suspect’s planned execution of Charlie Kirk was in fact motivated by politics, and thus motivated by an aversion to the religion which informed Charlie’s political beliefs. So, I would argue that yes, Charlie was assassinated and is a martyr.
Revelation 6:9-11
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said until them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
On Wednesday afternoon, I sat in my office, staring at the screen of my computer as I half-whispered a prayer for Charlie, his wife, and his children. In that moment, and even now, my heart breaks for what they must be going through. I never had the privilege of knowing Charlie personally, but nevertheless I feel the loss of a brother in Christ, an image-bearer of God, and a powerful force for good and truth on the college campuses and among the young people of our nation. I mourn with the Kirks, with Turning Point USA, and with the millions of members of the family of God across the globe. I am sad. It feels wrong to me to laugh, to joke, to share memes on Instagram right now. But I keep coming back to these verses in Revelation. In my spirit, I hear the blood of the martyrs crying out for justice. How long, O Lord, will you not judge and avenge the blood of those who were slain in Your name?
Deuteronomy 32:35- 39
“‘Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them.’ For the Lord will judge His people and have compassion on His servants, and when He sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining, bond or free, He will say: ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge. Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, and be your refuge. Now I see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.’”
Truly I say unto you, all those who mourn, the day of their calamity is at hand. Vengeance belongeth to the Lord alone, and recompense, revenge, is His. He will make right the wrong that has been committed by those lovers of evil, even today. The world feels dark right now. This is not the only atrocity we’ve been made to witness even this week. A young woman, a Ukranian refugee who came to America to escape the violence and bloodshed of her homeland, was stabbed in the neck and killed on public transit while the rest of the people there sat and stared. Another school shooting happened in Dever the very same day as Charlie’s assassination. A few weeks ago, 2 children were killed and 21 people injured by a shooting at a Mass in a Catholic church in Minneapolis. These are heavy events. Weighty burdens. It is easy so to get caught up in the sadness and mourning. It is easy to doom-scroll these hours of tragedy hours away, in search of the next hot of dopamine to chase away our feelings and numb our spirits. It is easy to do these things and more. But I caution you, believer:
Ephesians 5:15-16
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
We do not get the luxury of succumbing to our vices. We must never allow our feelings to dictate our reality. We must push back on the darkness of our days, we must fight those forces which seek to oppress us and we must walk circumspectly—this means with great caution, prudence, and discretion, considering all outcomes and consequences—we must be wise and discerning and use the precious little time we have on this earth to further the Kingdom of Heaven, because these days are evil. We cannot allow ourselves to despair away our designation—we are envoys and emissaries of the Most High God and King.
Rest assured, Christian, that the blood of the Martyrs, the blood of Stephen, the Apostle Andrew, Joan of Arc, Simon Peter, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jim Eliot, the Apostle Paul, and the blood of Charlie Kirk… it all cries out to God and He will not ignore their plea. He promises us all that vengeance is His, and He will avenge. The day of their calamity is at hand. And when the day comes that He returns in glory, He will ask those who committed these unspeakable acts of evil, where is their god to rise up and save them now?
Do you think that feeling and comfort will manifest in a body to stand against my Father? Can Mammon defeat the Almighty Lord? Will earthly power, fame, and reputation stand a chance against the Living Flame? I think not.
Christian, despair not. For the hour of the Lord is at hand and is even now, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. But how can they confess who have not heard, and how can they hear if there is no one to teach, and how can one teach if they are not sent?
Matthew 28:19-20
“Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you, and Lo! I am with you always, even until the end of the age.”
Isaiah 6:8
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.”
Isaiah 30: 19-21
“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it. ‘“
Christian, this is the call. To go out into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth and to make Christ and His Gospel known—that the Infinite, Almighty, and Invisible God saw the wickedness of His once-perfect Creation, saw the evil and hurt being wreaked upon the earth and was moved to compassion for them—for us—so much so that He lowered Himself, not in deity or station, but in physical position, by coming into the earth He created, in the form of a baby, vulnerable and helpless. A child born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the seed of His Holy Spirit, not by the seed of mankind so that He may be without the original sin that so taints all men born of the seed of Adam. And because He was born of incorruptible seed, the man Jesus lived a life without sin. He kept the Law of Moses in its entirety, a feat which no man prior to or since has managed. The man Jesus lived the life of a nomad, traveling from place to place, preaching the message of God—to know and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then from the overflow of God’s love and mercy, to go and show love and mercy to your neighbor. Jesus preached against sin and wickedness, teaching that a part of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength meant to renounce the flesh and all its twisted desires. He taught that we are all of us deeply flawed, but that there is a way to be reconciled to God despite our sin—and that is to believe on Him, Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah, the One Way, Truth, and Life. And when the people of His day refused to hear His message, they crucified Him—a form of execution so shameful and gruesome it was reserved for only the worst of criminals. A man who had committed no wrong chose the shame of the cross gladly, because it was the only way that the sin of mankind could be atoned. Once upon a time, God had instituted a system of sacrifices and offerings, seeing then that His Creation would never be able to keep His Commands. Because of His awesome holiness, this ineptitude of mankind meant that His beloved Creation must be separated from Him, so in His loving kindness, He made a way for mankind to be reconciled to Him despite trespassing against His Law… until they broke it again, at which point they would have to bring another animal sacrifice. Then Jesus. When He chose His death on the cross, His innocent blood shed, something supernatural happened. The sky darkened, the ground shook, and the temple veil, which separated the inner court from the Holy of Holies where the presence of God resided among the people, tore from top to bottom. The power of God was unleashed upon the world like never before. Like the blood of an innocent animal made atonement for the singular sin of the man who brought it, the innocent blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the visible Image of the invisible God, the second figure of the Trinity, and the Logos of the Almighty, made once and for all atonement for the sin of all of mankind. He became the propitiation, the means of appeasing the wrath of God which our sin earned. God Himself bore the punishment of our crime because He loved us and wanted a way for us to be reconciled to Him so that we might not be separated from Him for all of eternity. You see, God is only goodness, and kindness, and light, and peace, and holiness, and righteousness. Thus, sin, darkness, badness, and evil cannot exist in His presence—they are utterly destroyed. Hell is not a punishment for not following the rules, but a consequence of unrighteousness. The unrighteous, the sinful, cannot enter into His presence, so they must go where He is not. And where He is not, there is no goodness, kindness, light, or peace. This was once the eternal destination for us all. Until Jesus made a way. And all one must do to accept this reconciliation is to believe on Him. To confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord God, that He is the Supreme and that He owns it all, and to believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You must truly believe that after three days in the grave, another supernatural feat occurred. The stone which sealed His tomb was rolled away, and it was revealed that the man Jesus was no longer inside. His body had not been stolen, it had been resurrected by the Almighty hand of God. Jesus had descended into Hades, but because He bore no sin, He faced no deserved consequence. Instead, His innocence trumped the power of sin and of the grave, and He rose to live again. Because of this, there is now a way for us to defeat death as well. To confess, and to believe. To plead the blood of Jesus over your own life as a covering. And at the moment one accepts this Gospel, this good news, the Word of God tells us your name is written in the book of life and your spirit which was once dead in sin, is revived and sealed by His own Holy Spirit, marked for the day of Salvation where God will come for the ultimate judgement of the living and the dead.
This is the Gospel. This is what Charlie believed. This is what Charlie fought for. This is why I know that someday I will meet Charlie face to face. I will see Him in eternity, and I will rejoice with my brothers and sisters when I watch as the Holy Lord avenges his shed blood. I need not despair now, for my Lord and Shepherd is with me.
1 Chronicles 28:20
“And David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and do it; to not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.’”
Here, David is referring to the building of the Temple. But we know now, that the house of the Lord is no longer confined to just a building in a far off land. The house of the Lord is His Body and His Bride. It is a people. And we have not yet finished all the work for the service of His people, so He has not left us yet.
Matthew 5: 10-13
“‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out underfoot.’”
Across our nation, the sound of cheers rose up alongside that of weeping. Many people on the other end of the political spectrum expressed sentiments of gladness and even joy at the news of Charlie’s assassination. How do we even respond to that?
I would say that there is no cookie cutter answer to this question. Later on in this same chapter in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches to love your enemies and bless those who curse you. This is a call to radical love in the face of tremendous hate. When your enemies laugh and cheer at the death of a brother, we should be moved to compassion for them. Our hearts should break that they are so blinded to the truth, that they are so misled by the enemy, so totally under the power of the principalities and spirits of darkness in the heavenly places.
1 Corinthians 2:14
“But the natural man does not the receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Acts 6: 8-15
“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then ther arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, discputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. They also set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.’ And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.”
Acts 7:54-
“When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the SOn of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him, And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart. This word in the original Greek is diapriō, and means literally to saw asunder—to be rent and divided in two, to be sawed apart, rent apart with vexation. When the people heard the truth that Stephen preached, it cut to the heart of them, and their hearts—their souls: the mind, will, and emotions, were literally ripped apart. For some reason they were literally incapable of understanding, their souls were sent into turmoil. Without the Holy Spirit, they could not discern that Stephens words were touching their own spirits. Without God’s Holy Spirit, they could not discern these things of the Spirit… and so they killed him.
Without the Holy Spirit, the people of today are literally incapable of hearing and receiving the spiritual truth in what Charlie Kirk had to say… and so they killed him. And so they call him names like: racist, fascist, misogynist, bigot, and the list goes on. And so they mock him and celebrate his execution. And they don’t realize how lost they are.
I am angry for my friend Charlie. I am angry that his children will never remember him holding them and kissing their sweet faces. I am angry that his wife has to be mom and dad now. I am angry that such a courageous voice for truth in our world has been silence. I am angry that there are so many boldly blaspheming his character. I am angry.
But I am so sad for those many people, who are so blind. I will admit that compassion is not my natural instinct. I would much rather roll my eyes and call them idiots. It’s obvious that this is deeper than politics. It’s obvious that this policy or that is bad for people. It’s obvious that socialism doesn’t work. It’s obvious… but it’s not to them.
Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Matthew 9:36
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
Charlie may be gone, but his mission lives on. It is the mission of every God-fearing man and woman upon this earth—to make disciples for the service of His house, His heavenly Kingdom. To show the people to their shepherd, that they may hear His voice and know Him and follow His commands. And our God and Father, our good Shepherd who sees and knows us, will stay with us until the work is complete. And when He returns in glory, we will see justice served for our friend and brother, Charlie Kirk.
Emily for Freedom 