America The Beautiful? - 8

 1 of  15 America the Beautiful? January 19, 2019 adairsvillesda.org Where we are at in this series… Bible is a book about how the world and civilization interacts with God and His friends or followers - Sodom, Egypt, Ninevah, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Papacy, …. Today we are going to talk about America and the purpose for which it was founded… The Old World…is ending - Why? To those who were looking to go back to the primitive church - the apostolic church - the King of England is quoted as saying “conform, or ….harry them out of the land, or else worse” - George Bancroft, History of the United States of America pt. 1, ch12 -J.G. Palfrey writes “Hunted, persecuted and imprisoned many could see only dark days ahead. For those who wanted to serve God according to the dictates of their conscience “England was ceasing forever to be a habitable place” -J.G. Palfrey - History of New England - They fled to Holland, left their homes and lands because of religious persecution. They became known as the Puritans, a Protestant group where their motto was “to walk together in all His ways made known or to be made known to them.” - J. Brown , The Pilgrim Fathers p. 74 This was the true spirit of Protestantism and the Reformation. Men like their pastor - John Robinson were teaching that Luther, Calvin, Knox and others would have kept the reformation progressing. He said “were they now living, [they] would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they first received.” - D Neal, History of the Puritans vol. 1, p. 269  2 of  15 He goes on “Remember your promise and covenant with God…to receive whatever light and truth shall be made known to you from His written word…..for it is not possible the Christian world should come so lately out of such thick antichristian darkness and that full perfection of knowledge should break forth at once.” Martyn , vol 5, pp. 70-71 It was with this creed that they set sail for the shores of the new world and a new life. They had seen the evils of religion seeking to define and punish heresy and saw the value of keeping church and state separate. But sadly not long after they arrive, many begin to mandate that only church members can serve in government and it was not long before persecution arose…in the new world. Before they left the shores of Holland Robinson said to them “I am very confident the Lord has more truth and light yet to break forth out of His holy word.” - Martyn, vol. 5 p. 70 Roger Williams Another man of faith arrives to the shores of the new world. He agreed with John Robinson that “it was impossible that all the light from God’s word had been received.” He is known as “the first person in modern Christendom to establish civil government on the doctrine of the liberty of conscience, the equality of opinions before the law.” -Bancroft, pt. 1, ch 15 When Williams arrived in America - he found church attendance was mandated by law. This disgusted him. He was respected and loved as a faithful leader and minister, a man of rare gifts, integrity and kindness shown to everyone he met. But as he kept teaching and preaching tolerance and freedom of speech and  3 of  15 freedom of conscience he was accused of “subverting the government and society” - Bancroft pt. Ch 15 He was sentenced for a crime - as an enemy of the state - and to escape arrest - he was forced to flee in the cold stormy winds of winter into the deep forest. He wrote later “For fourteen weeks, I was sorely tossed in a bitter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean - but the ravens fed me in the wilderness and a hollow tree served as a shelter.” -Martyn Vol. 5, pp 349-350 He continued through the snow and the forest until he found refuge with an Indian tribe whose confidence and affection he won while teaching them the truths of the gospel. Finally he made it to the shores of Narragansett Bay, he laid the foundation for the first state in the new world that would recognize religious freedom - “that every man should have liberty to worship God according to the light of his own conscience.” Martyn vol 5, p 354. That state would become known as Rhode Island and became the asylum for civil and religious liberty - the cornerstones of the American Republic. The Declaration of Independence would eventually state: “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And the Constitution guarantees, in the most explicit terms, the inviolability of conscience: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” A land of Freedom? Word begins to spread around Europe and the world - There is a land where every man might enjoy the fruit of his own labor and obey the  4 of  15 convictions of his own conscience - and thousands came to the shores of America. The French would gift us a statue - The Statue of Liberty - where on it today it reads - in a poem - that Lady Liberty is called The Mother of Exiles - “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” A land set up to give men and women the freedom that deep down we all desire. ———————— Revelation 13 - Would the Bible mention this nation? The first verses of Revelation 13 identify a power that comes up out of a populated area i.e. the Sea. The Bible uses water to symbolize people - population. Revelation 17:15 - The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. We learned last week, The harlot/beast/kingdom rules for 1260 years, guilty of claiming the power to forgive sins, guilty of changing the 10 commandments, persecuting those who kept the Sabbath of Creation and who prized liberty of conscience. Verse 10 says - This power that led others into captivity would be led into captivity. The capture of the pope and Napoleon taking himself into exile fulfilled this prophecy. The kingdom, most Protestant scholars along with scripture identify this power as the Roman Church. But another power begins to rise once this previous power begins to fall. It is good to note that Daniel 7:23 interprets a beast as a kingdom or empire. So when this passage describes one beast falling and another rising it’s talking about kingdoms or empires. So the Roman church is represented like other nations before it by a predator - a carnivore. Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome - all of these world powers had to conquer and kill another kingdom to become the new superpower on the earth.  5 of  15 But this new nation, a new empire is not rising out of a populated area symbolized by water. 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb… New Kingdom, coming up (or growing up) in an unpopulated area of the world symbolized by a lamb - an herbivore - not an animal that eats or kills other animals. So this kingdom would not conquer or overcome another power in the territory it would rise in. It would grow up slowly and innocently like a lamb. The lamb may also be a symbol of the values of Christ - represented in scripture. The words ‘coming up’ are also translated as ‘to grow or spring up as a plant’. G.A. Townsend describes it like this - “Like a silent seed we grew into an empire.” - The New World Compared with the Old p.462 How about the horns? Lamblike horns? It’s not a sheep with horns, but lamblike horns. A lambs horns are still Innocent, gentle - not dangerous yet. When we see other horns in the Bible - horns represent power. Horns often like in Revelation 13:1 - have crowns on horns. Crowns in the old world were on kings and pontiffs. But what would these two sources of power be in this new nation? History reveals that Republicanism and Protestantism - are the fundamental principles of the nation. Many identify these principles as the secret of its power and prosperity. Separation of church and state. A country was forming marked with peace and prosperity where you could have a “church without a pope, and a state without a king.” A new world, a new civilization, a new country - where Protestantism could flourish.  6 of  15 But Revelation 13:11 ends with something strange…. And he spoke like a dragon How could this lamblike innocent nation become the most fearsome of all monsters on the earth - a dragon? How could this new nation transform from a lamb - a symbol of Christ into a dragon - the symbol of the fallen angel Lucifer - the Devil himself? How does that happen? Not all at once. If we are being honest we have some sad realities in our past - Indian genocide, slavery, racism - These were not the reason this country was founded. The motto of John Robinson and Roger Williams and of the Puritans and Protestants that founded America - that Truth is Progressive - The Protestant Churches of America stopped believing and stopped practicing. But God was not done yet… Another Reformer was raised up - a farmer, a military man, a Patriot and a man who doubted the Bible’s inspiration and validity - William Miller @ the age of 34. He was turned off from Scripture and Christianity. The doctrines of the old world were still badges of slavery of the dark ages and the medieval church. Doctrines that most of the churches still held to included: Burning Hell Fire for bad people -rising teaching of a secret rapture - not a visible second coming -the dead moved on to the next life -prophecy was sealed - God and the Bible were a mystery the millennium was to be on earth - not heaven -that Israel was the country to look to in prophecy rather than the United States  7 of  15 But the biggest thing that caught Miller’s attention was the accuracy of the time prophecies of the Bible. He began to study the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel, 2300 day prophecy, 1260 days, He was curious as to why the Jewish leaders had pronounced a curse on all who studied Daniel 9. After years of study - he was convinced and convicted that the imminent second coming of Jesus was near and that sometime around 1843-1844 Jesus would return to the earth at the close of the 2300 year prophetic time period. Miller decided to spend his wealth and devote his life to telling all in America of this long hoped for Advent. Those who believed his message would become known as Millerites or Adventists. Miller was not alone in this understanding. Like the beginning of the Reformation in the 16th century, Around the world something was happening -a great awakening in the first half of the 19th century. The Middle East, Europe, South America, England but America becomes the center of where the Reformation continues. The majority of the churches reject the idea of an imminent second coming and further reforms in Protestant belief. God was trying to complete the Protestant Reformation in the land of the free and yet a battle was raging for the soul of the nation. A few years later - A civil war would break out. After all - divide and conquer from within is the most seditious of all threats to any institution. Abraham Lincoln had this to say about the civil war: “This war would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the Jesuits. We owe it to Popery that we now see our land reddened with the blood of her noblest sons….It is the promises of the Jesuits… the money and the arms… The Protestants of both the North and South would surely unite to exterminate the Jesuits, if they could hear…the  8 of  15 plots made in Rome to destroy this Republic. - A Letter - June 8, 1864 - Abraham Lincoln The church begins to slip back into the superstition and persecution of the dark ages. A Professor at Oberlin College said “churches generally are becoming sadly degenerate…” Many wanted to follow what they knew to be right but they trusted their pastors who forbade them or they couldn’t endure the persecution they would get from family and fellow church members. Ellen White, one of those who began to listen and follow Miller stated - “He who deliberately stifles his convictions of duty because it interferes with his inclinations will finally lose the power to distinguish between truth and error.” Men like Thomas Guthrie, a Presbyterian, began to write on the separation of protestant churches “300 years ago, our church, with an open Bible on her banner, and this motto ‘Search the Scriptures’ on her scroll, marched out from the gates of Rome…But did they come clean out of Babylon?” Thomas Guthrie , The Gospel of Ezekiel, p. 237 “The Church of England,” says Spurgeon, “seems to be eaten through and through with sacramentarianism; … Those of whom we thought better things are turning aside one by one from the fundamentals of the faith….I believe, the very heart of England is honeycombed with a damnable infidelity which dares still go into the pulpit and call itself Christian.” -GC 384 Howard Crosby states “It is a matter of deep concern that we find Christ’s church so little fulfilling the designs of it’s Lord.” - The Healthy Christian: An Appeal to the Church, p. 141-142 Only a few today cling to the idea that truth is still progressive. That God is calling people out of the confusion of Babylon - confused religion - back to the primitive simple faith of the early christians. Revelation 12:17 - And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. two key identifiers - those keeping the commandments of God and those who Revelation 19:10 says kept the flame of prophecy alive and burning. Our challenge is to find that group and stay close.  9 of  15 —————-————-————-————-————-————-————- Revelation 13 continues on and the scene changes… 11 and he spake as a dragon. How does a nation speak? Through its legal and judicial system and laws. In history what is the process by which the religion of God falls from having power to wielding persecuting power? It is when the church and it’s adherents are really no different than the world. When they lower the standards and dilute it’s brand identity When the church loses its power it turns to power. When the church loses its power - it turns to those in power. When the church loses its power from God - it turns to the power of men. Paul says it this way - talking about a sign of the closing moments of time - a picture of those in the church - 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. What does the Bible predict for America? 12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Quoting from the book the Great Controversy on this passage that The Bible foretells that America will develop “the spirit of intolerance and persecution of the empires and superpowers that came before her. Revelation 13:13 goes on to say that it will be through signs and miracles that the United States and eventually the whole world will be deceived into persecuting those that don’t fall in line with the majority.  10 of  15 1 Timothy 4:1 - Now the Spirit expressly says that in last days some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. —-In other words, the fallen angels have been warned to begin disseminating deception around the world. That the day would come when -Verse 14 - “that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” That America should honor the Papacy that was wounded and yet has been regaining it’s influence in the world. The phrase “they should make” denotes a country where legislative power rests with the vote and voice of the people. Verse 15 … [America would force] those who don’t worship the image of the beast should be killed. What is the image of the beast? What is an image of something? When you hear the phrase in the south - you’re the spitting image of your father, mother etc. Something that closely resembles something else. That America would closely resemble the Roman power -a state influenced by the church - that ruled the world and men and women’s consciences for 1260 years…. Could it be true? Could this happen? It goes on … 16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: Some method to identify people by what their choice is 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Some way to track everyone to the extent that you can limit someone’s ability to buy or sell anything.  11 of  15 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. More symbols, more details….for another time. When we talk about Marks of authority, cattle are branded, cars are branded, clothing is branded, Does anyone claim to have something that is their mark or brand signature? In the last message, we described two churches represented by two women - one the Bible calls a harlot, unfaithful who has attempted to change the law of God and one a hero, faithful and keeping all of the commandments of God. We learned that Constantine, the Roman emperor, in order to unite the world - the pagans and Christians, created a new holiday, a rest day on the first day of the week - the Sunday. Speaking on that change of the weekly day of rest: Priest T. Enright says - “It was the holy Catholic Church that changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday, the 1st day of the week. And it not only compelled all to keep Sunday, but at the Council of Laodicea, AD 364, anathematized - condemned those who kept the Sabbath and urged all persons to labor on the 7th day under penalty of anathema.” John A. O'Brien, The Faith of Millions: the Credentials of the Catholic Religion Revised Edition (Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 1974): 400-401: But since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn't it curious that non-Catholics, who claim to take their religion directly from the Bible and not from the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? C.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons on October 28, 1895: “Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [of Sabbath to Sunday] was her act…And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.  12 of  15 —————- So the Bible predicts that America would abandon the secrets of her power, her lamblike horns, like Samson cutting off the secret of his power, America would see the sunset of - Protestantism and Republicanism and church and state would unite. Ellen White, author of the book the Great Controversy writes, “Our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and Republican government.” - Testimonies Vol 5, P. 451 When Jesus was asked by his disciples about what life would be like just before His return, He tells them some signs to look out for: Let’s look at both those and if we have reason to be concerned about the future or Protestantism or The Republic. The Signs of the Times Jesus says in Matthew 24 - Verse 4 - Deception or Fake News will be everywhere Verse 5 - People claiming to be Christians will be guilty of not telling the truth Verse 6 - There will exist the threat of war Don’t be afraid, these are just leading up to the final events… Verse 7 - There will be disasters - famines, disease, earthquakes Verse 8 - Persecution Verse 24 - Deception signs and wonders Harvard Historian - Charles Meyer on America since 1971… “We have switched from an empire of production to an empire of consumption” We began living on credit as soon America went off the gold standard and in essence the world economy became attached to the fiat currency of America. Fiat currency is as good as the entity says it is, not inherently of value. The fall of Rome - why did the Republic fail and fall? Mike Duncan - author of The Storm before the Storm  13 of  15 Many people ask me ‘Is the United States Rome? Are we following a similar trajectory?’ If you start to do some comparisons between the rise and development of the U.S. and rise and development of Rome, you do wind up in this same place. What preceded the fall of the Republic? -mos maiorum began to falter -the code of conduct and normalcy for society - the heirarchical family structure began to break down. The traditional home led by fathers disappeared. Society was in a place to make sure social pressure was there to hold men accountable - Hölkeskamp, Reconstructing the Roman Republic, p. 33. it also depended strongly on the ruling influential class adhering to the consensus of society and the norms of society, not undermining it. Law began to be used to change culture rather than persuasion and consensus rising political tensions and factions -unprecedented wealth began to be had across the empire. -Growing gap between the rich and the poor classes -Poor are having to sell their land -Rich are buying up large tracts of land -small farms are disappearing - Land ownership really became the wealth determinate -“At the founding of [The United States Republic] our republic, everybody’s a farmer, and now everything is owned by what, Monsanto?” Review & Herald Magazine - October 3, 1912, - In God's plan for Israel, every family had a home on the land, with sufficient ground for tilling. Thus were provided both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, and self-supporting life. And no devising of man has ever improved upon that plan. To the world's departure from it is owing, to a large degree, the poverty and wretchedness that exist today. -“People felt like the state was no longer working for them, that the Assemblies and Senate weren’t passing laws for the benefit of anyone but a small group of elites. This resentment was threatening the legitimacy of the Republic in the eyes of many citizens.”  14 of  15 Another issue Duncan says was citizenship - everyone wanted to be a citizen of the Republic Camille Paglia states - the movement towards androgyny (removal of the distinction of gender and gender roles) occurs in late phases of a culture. As a civilization is staring to unravel. In the Greek art, the sculptures of handsome nude young men and athletes that used to be very robust, suddenly begin to look like wet noodles. This applies to the Hellenists, the Romans, Weimar Germany. People that live in these moments feel they are very sophisticated, very cosmopolitan - saying homosexuality, heterosexuality - anything goes - you can see from a distance that this is a culture that no longer believes in itself, and then what you invariably get are people who are convinced of the heroic power of masculinity - that could be the Huns, Barbarians, Vandals - ISIS today. There is disconnect between the fascination of the transgender with what is taking place at the fringes. I am concerned and I think it’s ominous. 6 - protracted wars, crumbling infrastructure, rising national debt, “These are all examples of a society that is completely unmoored” “Pay attention to the warning signs, If you ignore it, you risk the whole thing collapsing into civil war and a military dictatorship.” Rome went from a Republic quickly to a democracy to anarchy to dictators, tyrants. Author Chris Hedges describes current underemployment, rising debt, growing sexual abuse, rising gambling addiction, opiod and drug addiction, people are feeling alienated, depression is rising, loneliness is increasing. Disintegrating societies resort to violence. “Never forget that within American society, we are a deeply violent culture. - awash in weapons.”- An Estimated 40% of all guns in the world are in the United States. 400 Million Guns to a population of 328 Million. When national discourse is no longer rooted in fact, then facts are interchangeable with opinions. Then the truth is whatever you want it to be. -Chris Hedges (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk9HSLagVg) "A growing segment or majority of the Christian Right does not have the standard of living that they once did and is being marginalized. " There is currently an ideological vacuum in America which is quickly being filled by the Christian Right. The christian right is organized. They have their own universities, their own media platforms, systems of indoctrination, huge amounts of money behind them. Unless there is sustained mass civil disobedience to put pressure on the two party system and corruption then what’s coming Noam Chomsky “You may want Trump out but Michael Pence will be worse.” A republic protects the minority despite what the majority wants. A democracy is guided by the majority, the mob, the popular vote… Once people see their government and leaders cant be trusted or they lose that trust….we see what happened in France - Revolution  15 of  15 Today, Multitudes are thus led to believe that desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself. Education p. 227.6 “…anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution—all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France. Education p. 228. Automation threatens jobs, unions still hold significant power. Hebrews 13:5 - “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” FOR FURTHER STUDY Artificial Intelligence and unions Growing gap of the rich and poor The peril of cities and the data EW - Out of the cities is my message. Matthew 24, disasters are coming. Dead are coming, satan coming as Christ heathen gods are coming. Digital currency. No buy or sell. Mark of the Beast. Loss of freedom of speech and religion.