What is the Fate of the United States?

What is the Fate of the United States? - Dr. David Reagan - www.lamblion.com

 

Bible-believing Christians are being alienated from society and are being increasingly subjected to persecution. The speed at which this has happened in recent years is absolutely breathtaking.

 

Jim Garlow is a Nazarene minister who pastors the Skyline Church in La Mesa, California. He is considered to be an expert on Church history. In a recent presentation to the National Religious Broadcasters, Pastor Garlow presented a sweeping overview of the relationship between Bible-believing Christians and American society.

 

From 1607-1833, Bible believing Christians were the establishment of this nation. That is for 236 years!

 

From 1833-1918, we were the predominant force. That is only 85 years. Notice how these periods decrease rapidly.

 

From 1918-1968, the sub-dominant force was Bible believing Christians for about 50 years.

 

Then the big turning point came in the 60's, from 1968-1988 we were a sub-culture for 20 years.

 

From 1988-1998, Christianity became a counter culture for 10 years.

 

From 1998-2008, Christianity became an antithetical culture for 10 years.

 

And, finally, from 2008 to the present, Christianity became a persecuted culture.

 

An overwhelming majority of Americans - 85% - claim to be Christians, but the evidence of Christianity in the lives of most of them is almost nil. They purchase lottery tickets, frequent R-rated movies, watch trash shows on TV, purchase pornography, idolize crude and vulgar musicians, frequent abortion clinics and compile a divorce rate that equals non-Christians.

 

They are what might be called "Cultural Christians" - born into a Christian family, raised going to church, but without any personal relationship with Jesus. Another characteristic of Cultural Christians is that they rarely if ever read the Bible. This has resulted in gross biblical ignorance and the undoing of doctrine.

 

Ignorance of God's Word has even become true of Evangelical Christians, the very people whose identity in the past was linked to their reliance on the Bible for their ultimate authority in all things.

 

Surveys by the Barna Group reveal that among those claiming to be Evangelicals today:

 

*         19% are living with a partner outside of marriage.

*         37% do not believe the Bible to be totally accurate.

*         45% do not believe that Jesus was sinless. These are evangelicals folks.

*         52% do not believe Satan is real.

*         And 57% do not believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life despite the fact that He said so.

*         And 57% believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life.

As you can see from these survey results, the term "Evangelical" has lost its meaning.

 

It is no wonder we have professing Christians voting for candidates who promote homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, and casino gambling. Or, professing Christians who vote out of greed for the candidate who offers to give them the most, regardless of the candidate's wretched lifestyle or beliefs about social and moral issues. Or, professing Christians who vote on the basis of race or ethnicity, regardless of a candidate's viewpoints concerning vital moral issues.

 

Public opinion polls concerning the fundamental beliefs of Christianity consistently reveal that the number of true Bible-believing Christians in America today is less than 10%. It's no wonder that during the past 50 years our society has secularized and paganized so rapidly.

 

The Sealing of Fate

 

We are a nation shaking its fist at God. We are literally crying out for God's judgment. God has been very patient with us, as He always is. But consider the words of the prophet Nahum:

 

"A jealous and avenging God is the LORD;

The LORD is avenging and wrathful.

The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries,

And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,

And the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished." (Nahum 1:2-3a)

 

Yes, God has been patient, but His patience is wearing thin. God has sent prophetic voices to call us to repentance. And when we turned a deaf ear, He began sending remedial judgments.

 

But, our faces have become harder than stone, and the result is that we are now wallowing in immorality, violence and greed.

 

The first chapter of Romans reveals how God deals with a rebellious people. He will step back. He will lower the hedge of protection and allow evil to flourish. The first result of that action it says in Romans 1 will be the outbreak of a sexual revolution, which occurred in this nation in the 1960's.

 

If the nation refuses to repent, God will take a second step back, lower the hedge of protection again, and a plague of homosexuality will be unleashed. And that happened in our nation in the 1980's, and it accelerated in the 1990's.

 

If the nation continues in its sin with no sign of repentance, God will step back a third time, lower the hedge again, and the society will be delivered over to a "depraved mind" that will result in its destruction.

 

The time has come for God to deliver us over to a depraved mind - to deliver us from judgment to destruction. We have reached the point of no return, which is identified by the biblical prophets as the point where "the wound cannot be healed."

 

Only one other nation in history has been as blessed as ours, and that was the ancient nation of Judah. Like us, they rebelled against the God who had blessed them so richly. And, as with us, God sent prophets to call them to repentance. When they refused, He hammered them with remedial judgments.

 

When they persisted in their rebellion, God delivered them from judgment to destruction, allowing the Babylonians to conquer them and take them away from their homeland into captivity.

 

The fate of Judah prompted two of the saddest verses in the Bible they read as follows:

 

"The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy."

 

We may experience a temporary revival, as ancient Judah did when the righteous king Josiah succeeded the monster king Manasseh, but when Josiah was killed the nation plunged right back into spiritual darkness and soon ceased to exist. Evil had just simply become too ingrained in the fabric of the nation.

 

Like ancient Judah, our fate is sealed. Our collapse will be just as sudden and overwhelming. Why should God treat us any differently? We can be assured that He will not.

 

The Nearly Unbelievable Truth of What America's Become - Shane Idleman -      http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/57427-the-nearly-unbelievable-truth-of-what-america-s-become

 

Newsweek magazine, on December 27, 1982, in an article entitled, "How the Bible Made America," made this revealing statement, "historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document."

 

To understand the core values of a nation, one must simply look to the beliefs set forth during its conception, and, in the case of America, during the transitional years of the American Revolution. Judge for yourself how far we have drifted from the original intent of early Americans. Consider the following:

 

Then: If a proposed article for the Constitution was not supported by, or rooted in the Bible, it was not considered. In their early writings, many of the Founding Fathers quoted or referenced the Bible nearly four times more than any other source.

 

Now: Even though creation screams "Creator," the Bible is mocked, ridiculed, and discarded. To suggest that the universe was created by random chance and that humans came from primordial ooze, is the height of arrogance. "Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1).

 

Then: First introduced in 1766, William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws, served as the legal reference for the Founders, as well as for many early American lawyers. Blackstone's commentaries were deeply rooted in biblical principles. It's been said that Blackstone was the first to use the phrase, "the laws of nature and of nature's God."

 

Now: "It is unconstitutional for students to see the Ten Commandments since they might read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them." Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980).

 

Then: John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, said, "Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved Son."

 

Now: Students can't pray in the name of Jesus during school graduation ceremonies, the military is removing the cross from many base churches, and the courts are trying to eradicate God from all areas of life. God help us!

 

Then: Noah Webster, the Founding Father of American Scholarship and Education, said, "In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed. ..."

 

Now: Many students are criticized when they read their Bibles in public, or at school. Christianity is challenged, mocked, and ridiculed while most other beliefs are accepted and embraced. Sadly, in order to be politically correct, Noah Webster's Scripture references have been withdrawn from recent editions.

 

Then: The Delaware Constitution initially required that everyone appointed to public office must say, "I do profess faith in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ his only Son. ..." Many other Constitutions such as Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Connecticut all acknowledged their reliance on God.

 

Now: Those who run for office and profess a faith in Jesus Christ are viewed as fanatical and/or extreme, and are often criticized by the media.

 

Then: In 1790, Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, said this about public schools, "But the religion I mean to recommend in this place is that of the New Testament. ..."

 

Now: Most public schools avoid doctrines of the New Testament. In Roberts v. Madigan (1989), for example, the court ruled: "It is unconstitutional for a classroom library to contain books which deal with Christianity, or for a teacher to be seen with a personal copy of the Bible at school." (Granted, courts have ruled that the Bible can be used, in some cases, for historical and literary purposes.) But the message is clear: "Get God out and Darwin in."

 

Then: "The first and primary duty of government is to protect innocent human life" (Thomas Jefferson). "Nobody has the freedom to choose to do what's morally wrong" (Abraham Lincoln).

 

Now: If the names of all the babies who have been aborted since the early 1970s were placed on a monument (much like that of the Vietnam Memorial Wall), it's been estimated that the monument would span over 35 miles. Although many protest guns and war, very few speak out against abortion. The womb is no longer the safest place, but one of the most dangerous. Planned Parenthood is not an asset to the community; it's a liability. It's a travesty!

 

It's unbelievable how far we have drifted from the truth. And we've only touched the tip of the iceberg.

 

Clearly, most of America's founders and early settlers wanted the Bible, prayer, and biblical principles so entrenched within society that nothing would remove them. This is why John Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, rightly said, "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were ... the general principles of Christianity."

 

The list could go on and on: From Harvard to Yale, from the Supreme Court to the local courts and the public school system, historically, the theme remained the same-God's Word was to be the foundation on which America was built!

 

As yet another example, consider the 1642 Rules and Precepts of Harvard University founded by Reverend John Harvard: "Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3)." The Rules continue, "and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."

 

What would those at Harvard say today? America-then vs. now. It's almost unbelievable.

 

 

Dozens Shot Over Memorial Day Weekend as The Collapse of Chicago Accelerates - By Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/dozens-shot-over-memorial-day-weekend-as-the-collapse-of-chicago-accelerates

 

Chaos and violence threaten to spiral out of control in America's third largest city, and nobody seems to have any idea how to solve the problem.  After decades of control by the radical left, many parts of the "Windy City" have become rotting, decaying, gang-infested hellholes.  Just like Detroit, the city of Chicago is rapidly becoming a joke to the rest of the world, but a horribly corrupt political culture likely stands in the way of any type of major reform any time soon.  And just like much of the rest of the nation, a spirit of violence and civil unrest is rising in Chicago.  So far this year, the number of shootings in Chicago is up 50 percent compared to the same time period last year, and that was before we even got to Memorial Day weekend.  As of Sunday morning, at least 40 people had already been shot, and authorities were bracing for even more violence as the holiday weekend stretched on...

 

A string of nearly two dozen shootings on the West Side has pushed the number of people shot during the Memorial Day weekend to at least 40, with two more days to go.

 

As of early Sunday morning, the toll stood at four dead and 36 wounded across the city, including a 15-year-girl shot to death as she rode in a Jeep on Lake Shore Drive near Fullerton Avenue, police said.

 

The cries to fix what is wrong with Chicago are becoming increasingly desperate, but at this point the city is drowning in debt and is pretty much flat broke.

 

So the options for doing anything about this growing crisis are quite limited.

 

But that isn't stopping prominent city leaders from speaking out.  According to the New York Times, Rev. Corey Brooks believes that "we could be looking at a blood bath" this summer if nothing changes...

 

 

"If something doesn't change, if we don't get jobs for these kids, if we don't change the economic situation, I'm worried that we could be looking at a blood bath," said the Rev. Corey Brooks, a pastor on the city's South Side, a mostly African-American area where some of the shootings have been concentrated. "If something doesn't happen, I fear that we're potentially looking at one of the worst summers we've ever had."

 

As of Friday morning, homicides in Chicago were up 52 percent in 2016, compared with the same period a year ago, and shootings had increased by 50 percent, though the pace of violence had slowed in recent weeks, the police said.

 

I believe that Rev. Brooks is correct, but he isn't identifying the core of the problem.

 

Thanks in large part to unchecked illegal immigration, gang membership has been surging in Chicago.  Back in 2012, the Chicago Crime Commission estimated that there were 150,000 gang members living in the city, but of course by now that number is likely far higher.

 

No city in the United States has a higher population of gang members than Chicago does, and hundreds of factions are constantly battling for turf.  The police in Chicago insist that they have the situation under control, but everyone can see that they do not.

 

And how could they?  There are only 13,318 law enforcement officers of all types in the city of Chicago.  They are outnumbered by the gangs by much more than a 10 to 1 margin.  There is no way in the world that they are ever going to be able to stop the gang violence.  All they can do is hope to contain it.

 

Sadly, they are fighting a losing battle, because with each passing month thousands more gang members cross our southern border illegally and head directly for our major cities where they are warmly received by their gang brothers.

 

Perhaps this helps to explain why 3,000 millionaires left the city of Chicago last year.

 

Do you want to know somewhere else that has been controlled by the radical left for decades and that is now seeing chaos and violence spin out of control?

 

In Venezuela, we get to see what it looks like when an entire country starts to shut down.  The following comes from the New York Times...

 

The courts? Closed most days. The bureau to start a business? Same thing. The public defender's office? That's been converted into a food bank for government employees.

 

Step by step, Venezuela has been shutting down.

 

This country has long been accustomed to painful shortages, even of basic foods. But Venezuela keeps drifting further into uncharted territory.

 

At this point, more than 80 percent of all basic consumer products are in short supply, and some people have become so desperate that they are actually hunting cats and dogs for food.  My wife and I had a lot more to say about the rapidly deteriorating situation down in Venezuela during a recent episode of our new television show.  It is so important to watch what is going on down there right now, because eventually the same things will be happening here in America too.

 

When society breaks down, people become very desperate, and crime spirals out of control.  The mafia and the gangs are having a field day at the moment, and the police are so overwhelmed that they can't do much to stop them.

 

And if you need medical treatment down in Venezuela right now, you might as well forget it...

 

The Luis Razetti Hospital in the portal city of Barcelona looks like a war zone.

 

Patients can be seen balancing themselves on half-broken beds with days-old blood on their bodies.

 

They're the lucky ones; most are curled up on the floor, blood streaming, limbs blackening.

 

Children lie among dirty cardboard boxes in the hallways without food, water or medication.

 

Without electricity or functioning machines, medics have had to create their own solutions. Two men who had surgery on their legs have their limbs elevated by makeshift slings made out of water bottles.

 

Most Americans would scoff at the suggestion that we could ever see scenes like that in the United States, but just a few years ago most Venezuelans would have probably said the exact same thing.

 

For so long, watchmen all over America have been endlessly warning people to get prepared.

 

But at some point, time runs out.

 

In fact, down in Venezuela time has already run out.  Store shelves all over the country are empty, there are chronic shortages of basic supplies, some people are hunting dogs and cats for food, and there has been an almost total breakdown of public services.

 

I wish that I could say that these kinds of conditions are only going to be limited to Venezuela.  But I cannot say that.  Great suffering is going to eventually spread all over the world, and that is going to include our own nation.

 

I hope that you are using this short period of relative stability wisely, because it will be gone way too soon.

 

Justifying a police state - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com

 

To most Americans it seems to take a suspension of disbelief to see that the United States government is leading to, or even has become, a police state where individual freedom is subservient to the whims of legal interpretations and overreaching regulations. From red light cameras to automated speed cameras to police drones to the ability to assassinate American citizens if they are suspected terrorists, we live in an age of Constitutional deconstruction where the meanings of words are twisted to fit a population control agenda and laws are written that disregard the very freedoms that our government was established to protect. Where does it end?

 

Many Christians have difficulty conceiving of how a beast government could rise to power and require everyone to take it's mark to be able to buy and sell. Yet, right here in America, we are giving up rights on a daily basis to a government that has sold us a bill of goods that this is necessary to protect us from Islamic terrorists--Oh, I'm sorry--check that--I should say "radical extremists" because we are not supposed to be in need of protection from the peaceful religion of Islam. While Islam is a dire threat to the freedom of everyone on earth, it also serves as a wonderful Trojan Horse to justify and establish government control over every aspect of our "free" lives.

 

The government can view our naked bodies before we can fly on a plane. The government has technology to drive by our houses and detect where we are holding weapons. The government, or any other entity that has Google, can view our activities on our very property. The government can freeze our assets if we do not agree with which brand of Islamist terrorists it is supporting in Syria, Iran or Yemen--its a national emergency you know. Islam has given the government justification to intrude into almost every aspect of our lives. And once that foundation is laid, it's an easy step to crack down on your religion, your personal protection, your speech, even the products you buy (i.e. New York and soda).

 

Our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms have made it possible for us to share the gospel and expand the kingdom of the one true God both at home and throughout the world. But when the government uses an entity such as Islam to dictate our very freedoms, it won't be long until the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:9 take hold: "Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." Galatians 5:1 says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith the Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." I believe this is both spiritual and physical. Question is: are we standing fast or losing our standing fast?