This is what Brannon Howse of World View Weekend Radio used to preach before The Harbinger was released in 2012. If it sounds like it supports what The Harbinger has been warning about all along, it is because it dovetails the warnings that The Harbinger is bringing to America.
The problem is that Mr. Howse’s close associations with T.A. MacMahon, Jimmy DeYoung, David James, and others of the Cessationist Brand of Christian Evangelicals have had a corrosive effect on his thinking, that has made him take a fork in the road where he would either support his own writings and interpretations of the times as he wrote them before there was a book called The Harbinger, or he would have to abandon almost everything he wrote and compromise his own core beliefs of the times as he expressed them in the article he wrote below, and join with his colleagues and associates who have come against The Harbinger, and have worked hard to discredit and squelch its prophetic warning, because of their Cessationist theology that forms the basis for their critical assumptions against the book.
Today, Mr. House avoids being identified in any way with the groups outed and targeted by the “Discernment Ministries” of the Berean Call, the Alliance for Biblical Integrity, and Herescope, DiscernIt, and other self-appointed avatars of “Evangelical purity.” Thus, his change of heart on a good many things with regards to America and End Time Prophecy and Eschatology.
But wait, Brannon Howse and others like him who oppose the NAR (New Evangelical Reformation) Movement, Dominionism, and what the Far Left calls the Christian Right now has new allies and friends in the People for the American Way, an anti-christian far-left organization founded by the Hollywood radical Norman Lear about thirty years ago. On a blog site called Rightwing Watch, put out by Lear’s group; there are articles under the heading BRANNON HOWSE: Brannon Howse Posts Archives, citing how Howse and other “Discernment Ministries” oppose what the Left calls the “Christian Right,” that is, Christians who are politically active conservatives and TEA Party Activists, who may on occasion sit alongside people of other faiths in common opposition to such horrors as government funded abortion on demand, late term abortion, same sex marriage, and other social causes important to conservatives and people of faith.
The self-appointed so-called “Discernment Ministries” have now created convenient epithets to place on these Christians who are socially conservative and active. They are now employing such terms as NAR, Dominionism, and other titles to lump these conservative-minded and active Christians into these groups without them even knowing the meaning of these terms, let alone having heard of them. But that doesn’t hold these people back.
The “Discernment Ministries” run rough-shot over anyone who gets in their way, and will destroy to the utter end anyone who appears to them to be “compromising” what appears to them “the faith” when Christians join causes and rallies against trends and political agendas that God’s people and all people who have a common moral and ethical, yes even religious ground to stand together on.
This is not Ecumenicism, it is being a salt and a light to society for God’s kingdom; of bringing the moral values based upon God’s Word to our society and not sitting idly by in false piety and religious apathy, allowing everything to run its course, “because we’re waiting for Christ’s return and everything is prophesied to fall apart in the last days,” as one hears so many of them say, and use as an excuse to have faith without works.
Others of them will even go so far as to misuse the Great Commission, to say that this is all that is expected of US, while forgetting every other teaching of Our Lord and His Apostles equally as important within the pages of our New Testament. There is a great war, a spiritual battle now, for the hearts and minds of God’s people among Christian Evangelicals. At the forefront of this great battle are those who believe Christians who complain that society is going “to hell in a hand basket” and Christians should not get involved in fighting the trends because it’s already prophesied in the Scriptures that these things will come to pass in the end time, just before Christ’s return.
The other groups of Christian Evangelicals are those who see all of the trends in our society, speak out against them, but feel compelled by what they see in the Scriptures as their responsibility to take an active part in being used by God to reverse these trends in society as much as possible, and do it by being socially and politically active on what is important to what some call conservative causes. Oftentimes this while require them to attend or organize rallies with groups that are not Christian, such as Mormons, Jewish groups, and other groups of other faiths in common cause to support either a candidate or a cause that all of these disparate groups hold common cause with on several political and social issues of importance to patriotically inclined people of traditional moral values.
This of course, has made them a target of the Left, who now employ the attacks from these “Discernment Ministries,” such as Brannon Howse’s and others to promote their own Far Left agendas. On the web site, we see such titles as the following: NAR Critic Slams James Dobson and ‘Pro-family Leaders’ for For Giving Credibility to False Teachers, AFA Threatens to Fire Any Host Who Partners With NAR Critic, Barton’s Show Dropped by Christian Radio Station Over Ties to Glenn Beck, Right Wing Roundup, Howse: Glenn Beck Is a New Age Pagan Promoting the Anti-Christ, Anti-Islam Activists Have Equally Negative Views of Mormonism, Mormonism Is America’s Islam, Faith 2 Action Issues Its Own ‘Beck Is a Mormon’ Warning,
Howse and his colleagues at the Berean Call, the Alliance for Biblical Integrity, Challies, Rapture Ready, and other “Discernment Ministries” have branded Christians whom they disagree with as “apostates” and “heretics” because the Conservative Evangelicals whom they have targeted in hit piece after hit piece as apostates have common cause with American Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jews, and others who either are not of the Christian faith, or not according to them “true Mainline Orthodox Evangelicals.”
They accuse them of apostasy from the faith because these Evangelicals have joined with other groups outside of the Christian Evangelical Sphere in combatting rampant homosexual agenda in government and popular culture, federally subsidized taxpayer funded abortion on demand, a social radical humanistic agenda in our public school system, and other trends that should alarm every Christian. Guilt by association. They persist in opposing these Evangelicals because they lack the understanding for the reasons they have in working together to combat the trends in America they see around them, and for this purpose they have allied themselves for that purpose.
These reasons are not, as Howse, MacMahon, Ice, James, Olsen, Challies, Rosebrough, and other colleagues of theirs would have you believe; that they are united for a one world cause in combining their personal faiths into one. This is actually what these people want you to believe. What’s more, they do not believe that God hears, much less; answers the prayers of Christians, Jews, and others who join together to pray for our nation to the God of Israel in the name of Jesus Christ, for time and again Christians have invoked the name of Jesus Christ in their presence. I don’t speak for all Evangelicals here obviously, but those who have invoked the name of Christ while praying with non-Christians.
But because these people have a doctrinal belief that the Lord does not hear or answer the prayers offered to Him by believers and unbelievers praying together, they deem Evangelicals who pray with these people to be apostates from the faith just for this act alone. Where do these people get this?
So if anyone who is alarmed about what is happening in the United States, and wants to do something about organizing with other Americans against these trends, regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity, or social and economic status to combat these trends; if they are Evangelical Christians, they must cease and desist from such activities, because to do so would compromise their personal Christian faith!?
Christian Evangelicals, according to these people, are to stand aside and allow the flagrant violation of Constitutional Law, the growing and alarming Police State, the signing into law by President Obama of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) granting the president almost total dictatorial powers and removal Posse Comantatus from the books – a restriction placed on the US government from using our military in policing our streets, highways, bridges, and roads, as well as cities, towns, and airports, seaports, etc., as well as other alarming trends in recent years following 9/11!? Because to do so, according to them, would be to compromise one’s faith with “Mormon agents and missionaries,” “Jesuits in sheep’s clothing,” Jews, and all sorts of Non-believers (according to them)!?
This is outrageous! Let me ask you something for a minute. If the devil would look upon American Evangelicals, perhaps the largest Christian group in the United States today, and strategize to “bench them” from becoming active, what do you think he would do? I’ll tell you. It’s very easy and very simple. First, he would:
1.) Have them disagreeing over whether or not Christians can and should join with others in the national debates on the issues and topics that most concern Americans in general and Jewish and Christians in particular.
2.) Have them fighting amongst themselves by creating one or more watchdog group against another group or groups with whom they disagree.
3.) Have them write books and articles focusing primarily against other Christians to warn them of the others’ “apostasy,” even calling out longtime Mainline Christian leaders, pastors, and evangelists whom they accuse of apostasy and compromise, even heresy in some extreme cases.
Putting these three strategies to work, he would have today’s Christians in such confusion and such division that nothing effectively would get done to bring the nation back from the moral and social depravity that it has fallen into precisely because another generation of Christians stood by and did nothing to stem the tide of immorality and social decay that began to spread across the land at that time.
It would do US good then to take to heart the following observations as penned by noted theologian Dr. Macolm Yarnell of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he posits the following about Christian theologians who have differing points of view on a topic:
“Of course, then these diverse theologians begin to argue and classify each other's ideas and each other with categories. Historically, in the Dark Ages names started being thrown about, such as "Augustinian," "Pelagian," "Semi-Augustinian," "Semi-Pelagian," and later, carrying on the medieval fascination with scholastic systems, "Calvinist," "Arminian," "Modified Calvinist," "Moderate Arminian," etc. Of course, there were also the terms "error" and "heresy" too often loosely scattered.
“Mind you, and here we are being overly charitable, these Christians at their best are each attempting to be responsible theologians and arrive at some conclusion to the matter in order to maintain the coherence of their theology. But also mind this, most departed from direct biblical claims and began to build theological inferences upon both the theological inferences of men and the theological claims of the Bible. This way of doing theology is also tied up heavily with Roman claims for the infallibility of councils and popes. This stacking of inference upon inference and claim upon yet more inferences and claims results in what we call systematic theology. (Yes, I do this type of thing for a living. And, yes, it is something that all Christians should necessarily do, for it is part of submitting our minds to God.)
“However, in spite of the necessity of systematic theology with its structure of inferences and claims, it would be beneficial if we remembered that the human theological inference and the biblical theological claim are not of the same status. When God's Word speaks, it is incumbent upon every Christian theologian to say, "Amen!" When a preacher speaks about God's Word, and the listener's heart is prompted by the Spirit to affirm that that too is God's Word, then say, "Amen!" However, not everything that a preacher says about God's Word may itself be God's Word. (Jesus warned us about this, and those noble Bereans in Acts 17 understood this well, for they judged Paul's preaching by the Word.)
“Part of what this theologian or that preacher says may be an inference, an inference to which my own heart has not been prompted by the Spirit to say, "Amen!" Why would I not say, "Amen!"? The possibilities are (1) that the Holy Spirit has not illuminated that biblical truth to me; (2) that I am in rebellion against God's Word and Spirit; or (3) that the theological inference is itself a human inference that God's Word really doesn't teach. How then do we arrive at the truth of the matter?
“In such cases, humility and community must, among others, step in and have their say. Humility with a theological inference means that I must recognize that my theological inference, such as "free will" or "effectual calling" or "prevenient grace," may have a tenuous biblical basis. Indeed, the latter two inferences strike me as being more difficult to establish than the inference of "free will." This means that there is actually a hierarchy of inferences: on one end are such doctrines as the Trinity and inerrancy, which are soundly based in the scriptural witness, and on the other end are such doctrines as effectual calling and prevenient grace, which are based upon a system of inferences and claims. As one of my fellow faculty said this morning, some theological inferences are legitimate as walls, but not as "load-bearing" walls. This is a very good point!”
I would caution my brethren – be they Jewish or Christian – that one need not compromise one’s faith to stand for truth, and those who stand with others with whom they may have a disagreement over matters of faith, to fight against the forces arrayed against our nation at this hour; are not compromising their core beliefs, but are practicing precisely what Christ enjoined all people of character to do, and that is to be a light unto the world, and the salt of the earth. Food without salt is tasteless and bland, but with the right amount of salt to season it, the food gains new life. So it is with the Christian and the Jew; people who love and fear God.
If Americans of moral character, regardless of personal religious convictions, do not stand together – there is strength in numbers – to combat the rising moral decay and depravity in our government, our civil institutions, and our popular culture, they will be held accountable for having the responsibility to do and be the watchmen on the wall, and not sounding the alarm when danger approached. America became great because the blessings of Almighty God shone on our great land and nation because its people honored God and revered His Word, and kept His commandments even within civil law.
America arose because of the bedrock of its Judeo-Christian foundation, this even in spite of the activities and beliefs of many of its founders. If the day comes when America passes into history as just another great civilization that saw its rise only to fall within three centuries, it will not be because God had anything to do with it. It will be because when He sounded the alarm through some of His people, most of those who could have made a difference to turn the nation around, sat idly by, while others of their number, even opposed those shouting the warning; calling them “apostates and false brethren,” for joining with “unbelievers” who saw the danger and tried also to stop it.
I do not know what god other people pray to, but of this I stand on the assurance of the Holy Scriptures as contained in the Bibles that Christians and Jews read, be it the Hebrew Bible – the Tanakh, or the entire Bible – Old and New Testaments alike; I write here of the Bible, and therefore refer to it when I say this, because it is based upon what it teaches from cover to cover; I know that as for Jews and Christians alike, there is but One God, and it is the God of the Bible, the Living and Awesome God who created the heavens and the earth, the Only God; and it is to this God that both Jew and Christian – believing Jew and believing Gentile – pray, and the Word of Almighty God declares the following:
“If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
(2Chronicles 7:14)
Who are God’s people? Jews and Christians, for the Hebrew Bible declares the following of the Jewish people:
“And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods?”
(2Samuel 7:23)
With God Himself testifying clearly that Israel is the nation that He has chosen for Himself; the nation that He will never forsake, or abandon, though He has chastised it severely through many afflictions and exiles, but has preserved to this very day, because of His love for His people. Thus to those who would say that God has finished with His people, hear what the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah says:
And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. Thus says the Lord, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.’”
(Jeremiah 33:23-26)
God has preserved and protected His people, though great numbers have perished by persecution, by conversion to Roman Catholicism, and by assimilation and intermarriage with Gentiles, though the greater number have thrived in the midst of all of this, because of the faithfulness of God, without which no flesh would live. For this reason, the Apostle Paul under the Holy Spirit prophesies that the day will come when all Israel shall be saved. (Romans 11:25-26) And what of the nations that are not Israel, not the physical descendants of Abraham, but whom have placed their trust and their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? This is what it says of those nations and the people who come out of them:
“Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people.”
(Zechariah 2:11)
Many nations will come and say,
“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Micah 4:2
“but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
(Acts 10:35)
And He makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile with regards to His righteousness, For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Romans 10:12-13) and the Proverb declares the following and intentionally does not mention any nation, but leaves the name ambiguous so that it may apply to any nation and any people, where it declares under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:
Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.
(Proverbs 14:34)
And we see God’s reward to an Ethiopian Eunuch in the king’s court, warn King Zedekiah that unless Jeremiah was taken out of prison, out the large cistern he had sank into and would have been smothered to death in the mud without water to drink and without food to eat; Jeremiah would die; saved Jeremiah’s life, being used of God to save His prophet from certain death, because this stranger from a stranger land; this foreigner in the camp of God’s people, feared and trusted the Lord His God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. (Jeremiah 38) So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured. (Jeremiah 38:28)
Therefore when Nebuchadnezzar went up against Jerusalem to take it by storm, and indeed took the city and all of the rulers of Judah captive and slew them, slaying also King Hezekiah’s sons right before his eyes, God had mercy on an Ethiopian who trusted in the name of the Lord. God, who sees into the hearts of all men, looked into the heart of this one foreigner, and kept him from harm. And so the Scriptures have as a testimony, the story of how God dealt with this Ethiopian. We read:
Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying, “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day. But I will deliver you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread. For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”
(Jeremiah 39:15-19)
How is it that this one foreigner who lived in the midst of Israel find grace, while all of Israel’s leaders were either led captive or died by the sword? He trusted and called upon the name of the Lord, and they did not, but when the Babylonians came up to lay siege on the city, only the very poor were spared. Among them was this foreigner who trusted in the God of Israel, and along with him Jeremiah the prophet, through the word of the Lord came specifically for this foreigner; was also spared. (Jeremiah 39:11-18)
This was a man who understood what God has spoken through the mouth of the Psalmist, when He promises to everyone:
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
(Psalm 50:15)
I have lived this all through my life, the Lord has proven Himself time and time again, and He has shown me personally that I can trust Him implicitly with all things in all situations at the proper times of His deliverance, and He will always deliver those who trust Him and have made Him their trust.
How blessed is he who considers the helpless;
The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble.
The Lord will protect him and keep him alive,
And he shall be called blessed upon the earth;
And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
(Psalm 41:1-2)
It is interesting that when the Word of God is stripped of all theological pretensions and doctrines of men developed through the multiplicity of inferences based upon the opinions and consensus of other multiple inferences; the clear message of God is that He does not play favorites, though He has chosen one nation for His express purpose to bless all the others through the coming of the Messiah, through whom He has extended the blessings of Abraham to all nations under heaven whose people call upon Him and trust Him implicitly.
Therefore what men limit in their theology by settings standards God’s Word does not set, things like, God hears only the prayers of believers; He does not hear or answer the prayers of believers and unbelievers when they pray together, and other beliefs such as these – Yet it is the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who comes to the defense of the defenseless, when he asks, Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also. (Romans 3:29)
But, how is that so, you might ask? Didn’t God establish His covenant with Abraham only? And then with Isaac, and then with Isaac’s son, Jacob, whom He renamed Israel, from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel? Yes to all questions, yet the promise of God that He would bless all of the nations of the earth through him was because of this covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for He extended through Christ to include all nations under heaven, thus, Abraham became the father of many nations, and has been to this day.
It is because of this covenant and the Lord Jesus Christ that the blessings of Abraham apply to all who call upon the name of the Lord, be they Jew or Christian, and others who also call upon this name and receive salvation through it. For it says that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
I would counsel those who because of God’s grace and election, who were chosen before the foundation of the world to be grafted onto His Olive Tree, not to be so quick to dismiss the prayers of Christians and those whom they rightfully call “unbelievers” as not being answered if the two pray together, because it is this precisely that happens when one leads the other to Christ. Otherwise the Lord would not hear a good many prayers of salvation, because they were uttered by a believer and repeated by an unbeliever receiving Christ as Savior.
This is not NAR, this is not Dominionism, nor is it any of the other fancy epithets that have been conveniently created to disparage a good many Christians who don’t even know what these are, but who are genuinely concerned over their country and where it is headed and want to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and again restore this great nation to be the “city on a hill” invoked by President Ronald Reagan, who quoted the term from the words of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He spoke them. (Matthew 5:14)
Christians can become so detached, so apathetic, so complacent – like anyone else that they run the risk of becoming tasteless (Mark 9:50a) with no evidence whatsoever of the faith they claim to have, just as James in the Holy Spirit writes – you claim to be a Christian? Show me by your behavior, by your actions, by your words that you are, but what are you doing attacking and passing judgment on your brother in Christ? Read what James writes in the Scriptures; read it slowly and digest it in:
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
(James 1:19-27, 2:8-26, 3:1-18, 4:1-12)
What is it about this Scripture that these people do not understand!? We are not to drag our brethren before the court of public opinion and defame them, marginalize them, treat them with the utmost contempt, and slander them as false teachers, false prophets, and worst over tertiary doctrinal differences we may have with them over eschatology and hermeneutics. And we must not be quick to label our fellow brethren of wrong doing before we have first inquired from them about the matter. What’s more, we must impact our families, friends, communities, societies, and our nations, and indeed the world for Christ, and perform every civic duty required of that does not compromise our faith.
Indeed, we must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to the Lord what is the Lord’s (Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25) and if this is what we must do then we have both a duty the God to serve Him effectively in this life and to do our civic duty as citizens of this great nation. You can be absolutely certain that if Christians in Pre-Nazi Germany would have done as the Scriptures command, they would have spared their nation the horrors inflicted upon countless numbers of their fellow Germans and others who were caught up in the bloody war that ensued.
If we are not careful, we too can all become so tasteless and useless that we will be no good either to God’s kingdom or to our society, and evil loves a vacuum to occupy. (Luke 14:34-35) Jesus commands US to “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:50b) These people have neither salt in themselves, nor are they at peace with their brethren whom they incessantly lie in wait to attack theologically in public.
This is part of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. It is all-inclusive; it is for Jew, it is for Gentile, for black, and for white, for English, Spanish, German, Polish, Russian – all nations and all people – a good many people hailing from different faiths coming to faith in Him through repentance and renunciation of their idolatries, and coming with sincerity to the Father of Lights through the Son of Almighty God, by the Holy Spirit’s convicting work through whom? Through His servants meeting with and speaking to these people and sharing with them something they do not know. This is what Brannon understood before religion got the better part of him through the clever teaching and theology of men that shut God’s kingdom from others.
The Pepster
"In the New England Confederation of 1643, the Pilgrims stated: '[W]e all came to these parts of America, with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.'”[10]
Posted: 09/14/09
Is America At a Dangerous Tipping Point for Receiving God's Judgment?
I believe America is at a dangerous tipping point for receiving God's judgment for two reasons. The first reason is America's withering support for the nation of Israel. This began under the Bush Administration but has rapidly advanced under the Obama Administration. In early June of 2009, President Obama traveled to Egypt to deliver an address to the Muslim world. In his speech President Obama cited what he called the holy Koran numerous times. This is the very book that calls for Muslim to murder the Jews as well as Christians.
Days before his trip to the region President Obama declared that Iran has the right to a nuclear facility for energy. Why do they need a nuclear facility for energy when they have all that oil? We all know they want a nuclear bomb. Obama has clearly thrown Israel under the bus; by weakening Israel's national security and making them vulnerable to a nuclear strike by Iran. In addition he has increased Iran's threat to America's national security. Since 1998, Iran has been practicing shooting a missile off a cargo ship. If one missile, with a nuclear war head, was launched from international waters over the United States and detonated only a few miles above the center of our nation, an electronic magnetic pulse could very easily put America back in the mid 1800s technology wise by damaging vital electrical devices such as America's power-grid and our military defenses. Military experts and scientists have testified before the U.S. Congress and declared that the only way our enemies could bring us down militarily is through an EMP bomb.
In Genesis 12:3 God says that He will curse those that curse Israel and bless those that bless Israel. I believe one of the only reasons God's wrath has been delayed for America is because of our support for Israel and now America has almost completely withdrawn this support and I believe it puts us at great risk for being cursed by God.
The second dangerous national tipping point that is inviting God's wrath is found in the book of Nahum. The prophet Nahum shows up in Nineveh about 150 years after Jonah to tell the nation that God is not going to give them the chance to repent this time but His wrath is going to come upon them. Why? Because in Nahum 1:11 we read that the people had begun to "plot evil against the Lord." Rejecting God is one thing; plotting evil against him is the tipping point for national judgment. In fact in Nahum 3:19 we read, that their national "injury has no healing, your wound is severe." One translation says, "Your wound is incurable."
In fact, when God finally chooses to bring His judgment on America, it would be a waste of time to even pray for mercy. No need for a national day of prayer. In Jeremiah 7:16 God Himself declares to Jeremiah not to pray for Judah. "Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or a prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me: for I will not hear you." In Jeremiah 15:1 God tells Jeremiah, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people." Then in Ezekiel 14 God says that when a nation sins against God in persistent unfaithfulness He will stretch out His hand against it. In verse 14 God says, "Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves."
On June 1, Obama signed a proclamation that declared June as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Pride Month, 2009." Combine America throwing Israel under the bus and our nation plotting evil against the Lord, and I think we may be at, or near, that tipping point. The next few months will reveal whether this is true or not. But it has become very clear that America is not on the side of God when our nation has murdered nearly 50 million unborn children, states are rushing toward homosexual marriage, God is outlawed in our nation's public schools, the criminalization of Christianity is greatly increasing, only 1% of adults have a Christian worldview and false-teaching and pagan spirituality has become mainstream.
Abraham Lincoln said, "I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."
In 2 Corinthians 3:17 the Apostle Paul writes: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom". The question for America is have we rejected the things of the Lord and thus His Divine providence and protection? In other words, is God judging America? I think the answer is yes.
Founding Father Dr. Jedidiah Morse wrote:
"Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them."
Engraved on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. are these words of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and our third president:
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."
George Washington wrote: "We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself have ordained."
George mason, The father of the Bill of Rights, speaking at the Constitutional Convention declared: "As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities."
I believe God uses the same template to judge nations and I believe that template can be understood by studying what God said would happen to the nation of Israel if they did not obey God and follow His precepts and principles. I believe God always warns nation's before He judges them and in doing so gives them the chance to repent. However, if the nation does not repent, God's judgment will become more severe. In reading what God said He would do to the nation of Israel if they continue in their rebellion against God as found in Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26, and Isaiah 5, it is in many ways like reading the newspapers here in America.
Deuteronomy 28
For disobeying God, Israel would not be blessed with prosperity and abundance both in regards to their economics as well as in their agriculture.
V. 24 describes drought: |
Many states in America are dealing with severe drought.
V. 28 describes confusion of heart:
Americans are spiritually confused and are mixing Christianity with pagan spirituality.
V. 29 the nation shall not prosper in her ways:
Look at the state of America's economy, educational system and legal system.
V. 30 Lose of Homes:
America is experiencing historic home-foreclosures.
V. 38 You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in:
Recently I watched a Fox News Channel reporter standing on the side of a tractor as the farmer tilled his perfect crop of tomatoes back into the grown because it would cost him more to bring the crop to market than what he could sell it for and thus he was saving money to plow the crop under. Watch and see if America's famers experience poor yields or crops being damaged through drought or storms.
V. 43 speaks of an invasion of illegal aliens:
One study reveals that illegal aliens cost Americans $346 billion per year.
Leviticus 26:
V. 16 I will even appoint terror over you:
America continues to live under the threat and fear of terrorism.
V. 19 I will break the pride of your power:
America is no longer a super-power as our military is stretched thin around the world and massive national debt impacts our financial stability and dependability which is causing nations to call for a new reserve currency to replace the American dollar.
V. 20. Speaks of famine:
V. 26 Speaks of famine:
Let us pray this does not happen.
V. 22 Speaks of extreme economic distress:
America is bankrupt. When you combine all our off record debt and unfunded liabilities like Medicare and Social Security we are over 99 trillion dollars in debt. The federal government could tax Americans 100% of their total incomes and not cover 2009 federal deficit.
V. 31 Speaks of invasion by enemies and destruction of their cities:
Intelligence officials and experts admit that terrorist sleeper cells are here in America and they are simply waiting for orders to carry out acts of terrorism upon our cities as did those that carried out the attacks on 9-11, 2001.
Romans 1 clearly states that a nation that rejects God over and over will suffer five specific consequences and America is experiencing all of these now.
Romans 1:21-32
1. A Nation of Fools: V. 21-22
This verse declares that a nation that rejects God over and over will become vain, useless, futile or foolish in their thinking. Despite claiming to be so wise and so smart, the nation will become so foolish in their thinking that they will succumb to spiritual deception and accept spiritual lies and false teaching.
2. The Nation Accepts Pagan Spirituality V. 25
The Denver Post in June of 2008, reported that pagan spirituality is doubling in America every eighteen months. Pagan spirituality is the worship of nature, the belief in pantheism which proclaims that god is all and all is god. Whether you call it Cosmic Humanism, the New Age Movement, the New Spirituality or pagan spirituality, this worldview is becoming the dominate worldview in America with the help of people like Oprah Winfrey as well as the leaders of the Emergent Church.
3. The Nation Accepts Homosexuality V. 26-27
Whether it is states that have approved homosexual marriage, the curriculum in many of America's public schools that teach the homosexual agenda, or the non-judgmentalism of a postmodern generation. Laws are seeking to give special rights to homosexuals and homosexuality continues to become an acceptable life-style to an ever increasing percentage of Americans.
4. The Nation becomes violent and debased V. 28
A study by David Barton of Wallbuilders reveals that since the 1962, and 1963, U.S. Supreme Court rulings that outlawed prayer and Bible reading in America's public schools, our nation has seen a spike in the rates of murder, rape, child abuse, unwed pregnancies, and violent crimes.
5. The Nation's leaders are corrupt and immoral V. 32
This verse declares that when a nation continually rejects God, they will have leaders that are not only immoral and corrupt in their personal lives but they will also approve of and encourage immoral behavior in the people. Whether at the state or federal level, the leaders in our legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government are continually passing laws, handing down legal rulings, and signing executive orders and sponsoring legislation that is against the righteous judgments of God.
A quick look at Isaiah chapter five further reveals a few of the unrepentant and continual sins for which God will bring judgment to a nation. God warned Israel for these sins and America should also consider itself warned.
Isaiah 5
V. 8-10: Materialism:
Money is not the root of all evil but the love of money is the root of all evil and at the heart of materialism is the love of money. Materialism is a form of idolatry, it is the worship or love of money that also includes knowingly disobeying God's principles and standards in order to obtain money.
V. 11-12: Hedonism:
Hedonism says that the purpose of life is not to seek God but to seek pleasure. Hedonism rejects the absolute truth of right and wrong based on the character and nature of God and instead proclaims that if it feels good do it, you only live once, or eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.
V. 12: Apathy and Foolishness:
Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have bad consequences. Apathy has led Americans to take their freedoms for granted, to become intellectually lazy, to reject reason, logic, and context. The Bible speaks over and over about the need to acquire knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, yet Americans have done the exact opposite and have rejected knowledge. Wisdom is the acquisition of truth and knowledge is the application of truth. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is truth, that His Word is truth, yet Americans have developed an apathy toward God that has now turned into disdain toward His character and nature and this has made us a nation of fools.
V. 20: Moral Relativism:
Since the late sixties, millions of American public school children have been educated with values clarification courses that proclaimed moral relativism which is the belief that all values and beliefs are equal because there is no absolute truth or standard of right and wrong.
V. 21: Arrogance leading to spiritual deception:
This fits right in with Romans 1:21-25 where the nation becomes so arrogant and foolish in their thinking that they accept spiritual lies such as pagan spirituality.
V. 21-23: Corrupt leadership and rulers drunk with power and enriching themselves with brides
and ill-gotten gains:
The examples of this are everywhere. Americans are beginning to realize that the majority of our local, state, and federal leaders are only interested in power, using their position to enrich themselves and their special interest groups so they receive kick backs, under the table payments, and political contributions for their re-election. A judge recently made national news because he had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to sentence minors to a private, juvenile detention center. The judge was thus sentencing minors to this juvenile facility for the smallest of offenses.
A Christian response:
Christians must occupy till the Lord returns. Sadly, as America goes under, Christians that were only committed to the reconstruction of America or building a Christian America, will retreat from the culture and become defeated. This is not how Christians should respond. Duty is our and the results belong to God. If indeed God is judging America, (I believe He is) and if His judgment is going to greatly increase, (which I believe it will) then we need to use His judgment to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. As I stated in an earlier article, we need to see God's national judgment of our sins as an opportunity to speak in the natural realm and then swing into the spiritual realm. Explain to the unbeliever what sin is, why God must judge sin, and that the judgment that nations experience in this life is nothing compared to the eternal judgment that unrepentant individuals will receive in the next world. Share with them that grace and mercy is only extended to those that repent and that Jesus Christ has provided the way for us to pass from judgment into life.
American Christians cannot rate our success on how Christian we make our culture because we may very well see a drastic increase in the persecution of Christians in America. American Christians are not exempt from even the kind of persecution that our brothers and sisters in Christ have experienced in China, Cuba, and many other parts of the world. Our faithful fulfilling of the Great Commission must be our standard for success as Christians, not our popularity in the culture, the balance of our bank accounts, the house we live in or the car we drive.
Peter Marshall put it this way: "It is better to fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed, than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail."Dr. Erwin Lutzer added to this by saying: "Better to fail within the church than to be successful outside of it…God wins even when the church appears to lose."
To God be the glory.
This is one article in our new, 48 page, free, full-color magazine you can order here:
Posted: 05/05/09
26 Similarities Between America and Nazi Germany
Three Forces Destroying the America We Know
By Brannon Howse
This article was published in the January 2008 Worldview Weekend Digest and was only available to those that ordered this free publication from our website. However this magazine is now out of print after distributing an estimated 100,000 copies in just 16 weeks. Our next magazine will be released in June and the theme of this next magazine is "Understanding the Perilous Times and A Christian Response". You can order your free copy or copies today but when they are gone they are gone. To place your order now please click here: http://www.worldviewweekend.com/digest.shtml
Even the most nominally aware person knows all too well that our nation-and the world-is engulfed in a major economic catastrophe. Thanks to the variety of factors at work, some observers have characterized it as the perfect economic storm. Yet this drama is a mere thunder shower by comparison with a far more devastating potential that threatens to wreck not just the American dream but the entire American ideal. If this maelstrom reaches its full power, liberty and justice for all-to say nothing of the pursuit of happiness-will be wiped from the face of the earth.
A perfect cultural storm is developing from the convergence of three forces, any one of which would seriously harm our way of life. But together they portend the near certain doom of the most cherished American values. Socialism, pagan spirituality, and pragmatism have come together over the last several decades to produce a cataclysm waiting to happen.
Socialism imposes the redistribution of wealth and private property through an all-powerful, freedom-robbing central government. Pagan spirituality embraces the worship of nature along with occult practices and beliefs. Pragmatism proclaims that the truth or worth of an idea is based solely upon the results it brings (pragmatists believe that truth is relative, situational, and that a desired end justifies any means required to reach it). All three of these political, spiritual, and intellectual systems have taken a dominant place in the American worldview.
Doomsday-Again
It's been said that if we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. There are those who have even compared the rumblings in America today as similar to those in pre-Nazi Germany of the 1930s. While I don't buy the notion that our government might be ready to establish concentration camps, the storm clouds heading this way have brought ideas into our public policy, laws, and national consciousness that bear a frightening resemblance to what has gone before-in the worst of times. This same collection of worldviews laid a foundation for the atrocities and godless government of Hitler's Germany.
Adolph Hitler, you'll recall, established the National Socialist German Workers' Party. He also bought into what I call One World Spirituality, a merging of the three worldviews of evolutionary humanism, Hindu pantheism, and occultism.
Atheism in America is no longer in vogue among our "intellectual elite." It's being replaced by the far more insidious pantheism-insidious because it is more acceptable to the masses than outright disbelief in God. Pantheism is on track to become the dominate worldview in America and around the world in very short order.
Similar Is as Similar Does
Please understand that I'm not sensationalizing when making these observations. First Chronicles 12:32 says men of the tribe of Issachar were called wise because they "understood the times and knew what God would have them to do." To help you make your own assessment of the situation, I've distinguished 26 benchmark issues that clearly define the intensity of the tempest that is nearly upon us. And yes, there are obvious comparisons with the growth of Nazism in Germany. I will point them out unabashedly because it's only reasonable to say so if something that looks similar to an earlier, dangerous historical parallel actually is similar. After all, storm warnings, by nature, foretell bad news.
As you read through my list, I invite you to understand the times and prepare to respond with a Biblical worldview.
1.In 1935, under Hitler's rule, prayers ceased to be obligatory in schools. In 1962, The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school prayer.
2.Hitler eliminated Christian holidays in the schools first by calling Christmas "Yuletide." Most American public schools now call Christmas vacation a "winter break."
3.Hitler took Easter out of schools and instead honored that time of year as the beginning of spring. It has likewise become common for schools in America to refer to time off at Easter as "spring break."
4.Hitler controlled the church using intimidation and threats. A half-century ago, U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson, promoted a bill that included an amendment to use the Internal Revenue Service to remove the non-profit status of a church that speaks against the election of any specific political candidate.
5.Hitler enticed thousands of pastors to promote paganism in their congregations. Neopaganism is one of the fastest growing religions in America, doubling every 18 months according to a June 2008 article in The Denver Post. Many American church-goers practice paganism such as "Christian" yoga, contemplative prayer, and walking a labyrinth. As evidence that church doors continue to open further to aberrant beliefs, a 2008 survey found that 57% of evangelicals do not believe Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
6.Hitler was an environmentalist and vegetarian. Marriages performed by the Nazi state frequently included blessings of "Mother Earth" and "Father Sky." Today Americans increasingly accept radical environmentalism, pantheism, and the celebration of Earth Day.
7.Hitler was fascinated by eastern mysticism. Today an increasing number of American pastors encourage their followers to become "mystic warriors".
8.Hitler believed in reincarnation. He even convinced SS officers that by murdering millions of Jews and other "undesirables" they were allowing them to get on with the reincarnation process and come back more quickly in an advanced status. Americans increasingly accept the idea of reincarnation as well as good and bad karma.
9.Hitler's holocaust killed between 8 and 11 million Jews and non-Jews. Americans have killed an estimated 50 million babies since abortion was legalized through the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. According to a July 7, 2008 article on worldnetdaily.com "An abortionist who claims to have destroyed more than 20,000 unborn children and who once was Hillary Clinton's OB-GYN says he is doing 'God's work' when he terminates a pregnancy…He admits that abortion kills a human soul."
10.Hitler killed 270,000 handicapped people through active euthanasia.[1] America and the courts are rushing toward the same with the murder of individuals such as Terri Schiavo. Oregon voters passed their Death with Dignity Act in 1994 and re-affirmed it in 1997. Washington state voters legalized doctor-assisted suicide on November 4, 2008. In December 2008, a Montana judge ruled terminally ill residents of that state have the right to physician-assisted suicide, and "death with dignity" is gaining acceptance in other states as well.
11. By 1938, all private schools were abolished by Hitler and all education placed under Nazi control. There is constant pressure from federal and many state education authorities to require that Christian schools use state-mandated, humanistic textbooks. The Home School Legal Defense Association is fighting numerous battles at any given time to prevent parents from losing the right to educate their children as they see fit. In August 2008, a federal district court ruled that the state of California university system may choose not to recognize the diplomas-and thereby deny college entrance to-students who attended a school using textbooks that express a Biblical worldview in the areas of history and science (i.e., Christian schools).
12.Hitler prevented dissenters from using radio to challenge his worldview. Many powerful liberals in America have made clear their intent to reintroduce the "Fairness Doctrine" that would require conservative and religious radio stations to offer equal time to anti-Christian, anti-conservative worldviews.
13.Pastors who spoke against Hitler's worldview and his murderous regime found themselves on trial and frequently imprisoned for "Abuse of Pulpit." In America, hate-crime legislation has the potential to criminalize Christians and pastors who speak out against the homosexual agenda.
14.Many Christians in Germany justified their allegiance to Hitler through a belief that "Their duty to God was spiritual; their duty to the state was political."[2] Many American Christians now have bought the lie that their worldview can be divided between the secular and the sacred-the politician has one area of responsibility, the pastor another, and never shall the two meet. Yet the Bible teaches that all issues are fundamentally spiritual.
15.Hitler outlawed the cross and replaced it with the swastika. Today many churches, Christian colleges, and universities have willingly removed the cross from their buildings. Numerous court cases sponsored by the ACLU have required the removal of the cross from public grounds. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the Ten Commandments cannot be posted on public grounds for religious purposes.
16.Hitler was fascinated with Friedrich Nietzsche and distributed his writings to his inner circle. Nietzsche promoted Nihilism, the belief that life has no meaning, and he is best known for his position that "God is dead". Nietzsche is presently one of the most widely read authors by American college students.
17.Hitler exploited the economic collapse of Germany to take over as dictator and usher in his brand of socialism. America's financial crisis has given liberals in both political parties the opportunity to grow the size of government and implement freedom-robbing socialism at lightning speed.
18.Hitler was obsessed with globalism, and many of America's most powerful political leaders are willing to subjugate American sovereignty to contemporary globalism.
19.Many Germans responded to Hitler by retreating into neutrality. Today most Americans prefer to remain neutral on moral issues that they think don't affect them personally.
20.On trial after World War II, Hitler's henchmen used the defense that they had not broken any laws. True, they had not defied the laws of Germany since those had been re-written to fit the goals and objectives of Hitler. The Nazi leaders were nevertheless found guilty because the courts at the time recognized a "law above the law." Yet now the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the law of nature and nature's God by claiming that as society evolves, morals evolve, and so the law, too, must evolve.
21.Calling upon Darwinian evolution, Hitler convinced the German people that purging millions of people was acceptable because of the need to create a pure race; also referred to as eugenics. American students across the board have been educated in Darwinian evolution because the Supreme Court has ruled that creation cannot be taught in our schools-even if both creation and evolution are taught side by side.
22.Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood in America became acquainted with the doctors and scientists that had worked with Nazi Germany's eugenics program and had no quarrel with the euthanasia, sterilization, abortion, and infanticide programs of the early Reich.[3] Sanger even published several articles in Birth Control Review that reflected Hilter's White Supremacist worldview. Planned Parenthood now grosses one billion per year.
23.In Germany, pastors often cited Romans 13:1-2 to encourage Christians to obey the Nazis. Today in America, many pastors have a false view of Romans 13:1-2 and have convinced millions that to disobey governing authorities is to disobey God. This poor training would facilitate Christians here doing just as the German Christians did if faced with similar challenges.
24.Germans accepted socialism to avoid pain. Today's Americans are rejecting capitalism in exchange for government-sponsored "free" healthcare, education, and countless other government handouts.
25. Many Americans accept what I call, One World Spirituality. This is actually an amalgamation of the three worldviews of evolutionary humanism, Hindu pantheism, and occultism. I noted earlier that Hitler embraced all of these.26. America is rushing toward government-sponsored, national healthcare. We already have a form of this in Medicare and Medicaid. Hitler, too, expanded and centralized Germany's healthcare system. As Melchior Palyi explained, "The ill-famed Dr. Ley, boss of the Nazi labor front, did not fail to see that the social insurance system could be used for Nazi politics as a means of popular demagoguery, as a bastion of bureaucratic power, [and] as an instrument of regimentation."
If the church in Germany had truly acted like the Church of Jesus Christ, if Christians had understood and lived out a Biblical worldview, Germany would never have accepted Hitler. I believe he would have been rejected and overthrown within weeks of his true worldview coming to light.
Most American church members today are simply reflect the culture instead of correcting and changing it. If we are to quiet the brewing storm, apathy, political correctness, and intellectual laziness must be replaced with a passion for Biblical truth, sound reasoning, logic, and the desire to lead.
Becoming a leader does not mean you must be on the radio, give speeches, or even stand up in front of a group. An effective influencer leads through his or her actions and lifestyle. Lovingly defending and proclaiming truth in a world bent on political correctness is being a leader. Even in private conversation, leadership can take the form of lovingly correcting someone's false beliefs or ideas.
America needs Christians now more than ever to take the lead. If not, the perfect storm is ready, and annihilation is what it portends.
[1] Holocaust Museum Unveils New Eugenics Exhibit by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express, April 22, 2004.
[2] Dr. Irwin Lutzer, Hitler's Cross, (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1995) p. 111.
[3] George Grant, The Family Under Siege: What the New Social Engineers Have in Mind for You and Your Children (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1994), p 62.