Welcome on this New Year’s Eve 2006 as we embark on our twelfth annual prophecy update study. Some people may say, “Where is the sign of His coming?” Folks, you have to be living in a bubble if you are thinking that way because the signs are everywhere! I believe the days we are living in are very exciting because we could be that generation that closes out church history!
But, tragically we are seeing Bible prophecy being either ignored or downplayed in the church today. Listen to some of these changes we are seeing in this new church movement called “The Emergent Church.” And this practice that we see happening in this movement, the altering of the Scriptures, is a deadly practice.
Pastor Rick Warren also teaches that we should not be concerned about Bible prophecy, it is none of our business. On pages 285-286 of Purpose Driven Life he states:
“Speculating on the exact timing of Christ’s return is futile, because Jesus said, ‘No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ Since Jesus said He didn’t know the day or hour, why should you try to figure it out. . . . If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.”
Tony Campolo in his recent book, Speaking My Mind suggests that these types of end-time thinkers are even the cause of wars. He says, “Their doctrines are a major factor in determining a far-ranging set of consequences that include American policies regarding militarism, the emergence of evangelical Zionism, attitudes toward Palestinians and the role of American geopolitics.” (p. 207) He later says their “impact on geopolitics can only lead to war.” (p. 215).
Richard Abanes, author and speaker, in his book End-Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon criticizes many Christians who believe we should discuss prophecy and that there is indeed a coming Armageddon. He puts solid, Bible-based Christian leaders in the same category as cult leaders such as David Koresh, who led his group to an untimely end.
Folks, if I listened to the so-called movers and shakers in the church today we would not be here tonight studying Bible prophecy nor would we be studying the book of Revelation on Thursday evenings. I really don’t care what some in the church are saying and teaching, I am more concerned about what God’s Word has to say because I know it is truth, it doesn’t just contain truth. What I mean by that is from Genesis through Revelation we have the Word of God. Now, if I said that the Bible contains the Words of God, I would have to pick and choose which ones He said and then the ones He didn’t. But all of it is from God – period!
One of the passages that shows me the importance of prophecy is given to us in Luke chapter 19 as Jesus is coming down the Mount of Olives being proclaimed as the one who will “Save now” or Hosanna! And we are told beginning in verse 41, “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’” Luke 19:41-44.
Jesus rebuked them for not knowing what this day was all about. They were looking for someone to save them from the Roman bondage they were in, not the Messiah to save them from their sins. And if they had known the Scriptures, they would have known what Daniel was told in chapter 9. You see, it would be 173,880 days from the going forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, that the Messiah would come, to the exact day! Nehemiah chapter 2 tells us that the command went forth by King Artaxerxes to Nehemiah on March 14, 445 BC and if you counted off 173,880 days from that point you would come to April 6, 32 AD. We call it Palm Sunday and that is the exact day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the Messiah the king, the only day!
Here is my challenge to you as we embark on this study tonight and we prepare for the New Year, that you are like the sons of Issachar. What do I mean by that? In
I Chronicles 12:32 we are told, “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do . . .” May we have an understanding of the times we are living in and realize the Lord’s return is drawing close.
This evening we will be looking at seven strategic trends and how they relate to Bible prophecy. So with that said, let’s dig into the news and see how it relates to what God has said in His Word as the time of His return draws closer!
1. THE APOSTASY
The Bible teaches us that the last days church will depart from the truths of God found in the Word of God and thus, this strategic trend we will be looking at is the apostasy. You can read of a letter that Jesus wrote to the church in Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 that represents the apostate church of the last days. You see, before the Antichrist is revealed, before we are taken to be with the Lord, this apostasy will burst onto the scene.
In II Thessalonians 2:1-3 we see this played out as we are told, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
Folks, I am here to tell you as I listen to what is being taught in many churches across America, we are seeing this falling away occur right before our eyes. Now I am not going to spend a lot of time with this because we covered this in our II Peter study and when Roger Oakland was out here. But I want to lay some groundwork because I believe this apostasy will lead into a one-world religion that takes place in the Tribulation Period.
Now what I am telling you may offend some of you but here me out. Out of the Seeker Friendly movement we have moved into the Purpose Driven movement and now we have quickly moved into the Emergent Church movement that downplays the Word of God and replaces it with experience driven spirituality. You see, the Seeker Friendly movement edited out the offensive words that were in the Scriptures like sin and Hell and judgment and-so-on. The Purpose Driven movement uses paraphrases of the Bible that help promote their agenda but these are not the Words of God. Thus, we have people that have become Biblically illiterate and it makes them pray for the Emergent Church, which I see as the Apostate church of the last days!
And within each of these movements and even outside of these movements we see entering the church New Age teachings and Eastern spirituality. We see Yoga in the church, we see contemplative prayer, labyrinths and practices that the Bible warns us against and this is setting us up for a one-world religion. Listen carefully to what they promote and you can see how they are preparing their people for a one-world religion.
Now this is just a small part of what is going on, but I want you to see that this door is now wide open and these practices are being promoted by church leaders across the nation. And as we are going to see in our next section, this is leading not only the church but the world into this one-world religion.
In his book, A Time of Departing, Ray Yungen tells us:
“Christian” yoga, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, the silence, sacred space, and contemplative prayer – do any of these sound familiar? If you haven’t heard of them yet, chances are it’s just a matter of time before these terms start showing up in your own church. And very possibly you will not realize the implications such concepts can have.
A new Age spirituality has infiltrated much of the Christian church, and an attempt to reorient evangelicalism is taking place outside the radar of most believers. Prominent Christian leaders are now making unprecedented statements, urging followers to practice meditative techniques. Big-name pastors are attending conferences where yoga workshops and labyrinths (maze-like structures) are part of the program. The term New Age itself is rarely explained from most pulpits and only then as far-out belief system practiced by gurus and Hollywood celebrities.
While many Christian leaders have given the impression that nothing is amiss, a New Age, mystical spirituality has become intricately woven into the fiber of countless churches, youth organizations, and Christian educational institutions.
Listen to these quotes, and you will see exactly what I mean:
Zen Buddhism should be taught in every 5th grade class in America. – M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled.
I do yoga, tai chi which is a Chinese martial art and three kinds of meditation – vipasana, transcendental and mantra (sound) mediation – Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
I began practicing meditation, specifically breath prayer, once again. I integrated the use of Tai Chi and yoga. – John M. Talbot, Catholic monk and musician.
I look for inspirational messages from a variety of sources besides Jesus. Our folks get to hear words of wisdom from great prophets and spiritual leaders like Buddha, Mohammed . . . Yogananda and the Dalai Lama. – Ken Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager.
I must add, though, that I don’t believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish contexts. – Brian McLaren, a leader of the Emerging Church movement.
We need to become aware of the Cosmic Christ, which means recognizing that every being has within it the light of Christ. – Matthew Fox, author of The Coming of the Cosmic Christ.
- Ray Yungen, A Time Of Departing, pp. 9-10
Folks, New Age mysticism, Eastern mysticism is not coming into the church, it is already in the church! And church leaders are not only buying into it, they are promoting it. Men like Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Ken Blanchard, Youth Specialties president Mark Oestreicher, Bill Hybles, Dan Kimball, Richard Foster, Morton Kelsey, Thomas Keating, the late Henri Nouwen, the late Thomas Merton, the Late M. Scott Peck, Tony Campolo, Eugene Peterson and many others from all denominations and non-denominations and they are leading the way into this apostasy.
Charles Spurgeon rightly wrote: “Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrine of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved tastes of fallen nature; instead, however, of improving the gospel carnal wisdom pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel, and not the truth of God at all. All alterations and amendments of the Lord’s own Word are defilements and pollutions.”
And listen to this warning that Pastor and author John MacArthur gives to us in his book, Reckless Faith. He wrote: “The evangelical consensus has shifted decidedly in the past two decades. Our collective message is now short on doctrine and long on experience. Thinking is deemed less important than feeling . . . the love of sound doctrine that has always been a distinguishing characteristic of evangelicalism has all but disappeared. Add a dose of mysticism to this mix and you have the recipe for unmitigated spiritual disaster.”
The reality is, what you have is an apostasy that continues to grow stronger and stronger because many have moved away from the truths of God found in the Word of God! People are Biblically illiterate and the Emergent Church has picked up on that and they now tells us that words have no meaning and we should not be concerned with them, but it is all about the experience that we as individuals have! Now, if this is the beginning of the apostate church of the last days, where is it all going to lead? That is our next strategic trend that we will be looking at and I will give you a hint at what will be driving this move; all roads lead to ROME!
2. ONE-WORLD RELIGION
According to Revelation chapter 13 there is going to be a false prophet who comes on the scene and unites the world’s religions together to worship the Antichrist. We are told, “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.” Revelation 13:11-14.
Notice, he is a wolf who is in sheep’s clothing but his words are that of a dragon, they are deceptive, he speaks forth lies and he gets people to believe these lies. Who is this leader that can have that kind of influence, that kind of power over people? Some speculate that it is the Pope, maybe not this one, but a Pope who has that kind of influence, that kind of power over people. I think they might be right, it could very well be a Pope who is the false prophet. Again, that is speculation but there does seem to be evidence to suggest this is the case and let’s explore that and see where it is leading.
First of all, listen to the new strategy of the Roman Catholic Church to help unite the church back to Rome. Now, keep in mind that it was the Roman Catholic Church that called the reformers heretics and killed them by the tens of thousands, confiscating their property from their families. In fact, unless they returned to the Mother Church, they would be cast into Hell! According to Mike Gendron, this is their plan:
Now, how effective have they been in implementing this strategy among Evangelical
Leaders? Listen carefully to what is being said:
It seems like this unity will focus upon the Eucharistic Jesus. What does that mean? You may have never heard of this before but it is something that is spreading beyond the Roman Catholic Church. The monstrance, which is a cross, a sunburst and a moon decorating an object that has a circular glass window that contains a chamber that contains a wafer.
Roger Oakland tells us:
In November of 2003, I visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. There, I was able to observe a monstrance up close. A group of people were kneeling before a monstrance and “adoring” a “Jesus” they believed was contained in the monstrance. This is called “Eucharistic adoration,” a practice that has been encouraged by Pope John
Paul II, but not found anywhere in the Bible.
Now, do people really fall for this, do they join or return to the Roman Catholic Church because of seeing Jesus in this wafer as they worship it? Listen to this story that Roger Oakland tells us regarding how this is affecting people. We are told:
The St. Charles Herald Guide reported that a petroleum geologist by the name of Andy Petty experienced a manifestation of “Jesus” at the Adoration Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Quoting from the article:
It all started when Petty visited Our Lady of Perpetual Help Adoration Chapel in Rivertown. Little did he know that someone was waiting for him there. Petty, who belonged to the Worldwide Church of God, was only attending Our Lady of Perpetual Help to be with his fiancé, Ina. When Ina said, “Let’s go to the chapel” he thought she meant wedding chapel.
For those not familiar with this topic, adoration of the Eucharistic Jesus that takes place in adoration chapels is a major part of the New Evangelization program. In order to understand what this means, some basic terms and concepts need to be defined.
First, a priest performs that act of transubstantiation. This is when it is believed that a host (wafer) actually becomes the presence of Jesus – the Eucharistic Christ. Second, the host is placed in a container called a monstrance. Third, the monstrance is placed in an adoration chapel where the faithful come to worship and adore the Eucharistic Christ.
Now back to the article:
“I had never been to an adoration chapel, never heart of it,” acknowledge Petty. He had seen the Eucharist before in the church when Father Miles was showing it around so he knew what it looked like. The 56-year-old said he was so unfamiliar with the host that he called it a cracker at the time.
Petty’s life was forever changed following the experience he had at the Adoration Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help:
When he looked at the host, he was surprised by the image of a “bearded man” looking at him, clear as the day. Petty didn’t realize he was having a vision considered by the faithful to be a blessing.
Petty was dumfounded, coming from a scientific/geological background. He was not inclined to believe anything that could not be proven. Immediately he began promoting the experience he had encountered by telling others they too could “see Jesus.” Finally, he converted to the Roman Catholic faith.
These appearances of the supposed face of Jesus are called Eucharistic miracles and are beginning to take place world wide. For example, following is the testimony of parish priest Johnson Karoor from St. Mary’s Catholic church in Southern India:
I exposed the Holy Eucharist in the monstrance and we started the adoration. During the adoration I saw three dots on the holy Eucharist. I stopped reciting the prayers and as if from some sort of an inner inspiration I just stood looking at the Eucharist. Then I invited the attention of the Faithful to the monstrance and they testified that they saw three dots on the Eucharist. I asked the faithful to remain in prayer and I kept the Holy Eucharist in the tabernacle.
Two days later the priest describe what he and others saw when he opened the tabernacle (the place where the Eucharistic Jesus was placed in storage):
I vested myself and opened the tabernacle. Immediately I noticed the figure of a human face in yellow color in the Eucharist. I was at a loss what to do. I just stood there for a few seconds. I asked the faithful to kneel down and pray. I thought it was something which I alone experienced. I kept the holy Eucharist in the monstrance and asked the mass server whether he saw something in the Eucharist. “I see a figure”, he said. I saw the faithful looking intently at the monstrance observing the figure.
Remember that the false prophet is going to do signs to point people away from the true and living God and towards the worship of the beast, the Antichrist. And think about it, in II Kings 18:4-5 we read of what King Hezekiah did to an idol the people were worshiping. We are told, “He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.” Folks, this is a thing of bread! Don’t worship it but worship the Lord! Roger Oakland concludes as follows:
More and more appearances or manifestations of a counterfeit “Jesus” will occur in places where “Eucharistic adoration” is practiced. These appearances will play a major role in establishing what is called the triumph of the Eucharist or the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus, the unification of “Christianity” and eventually other religions. Thus, the claim will be that the Kingdom of God is being established here on earth.
These false appearances will be accompanied by signs and wonders and miraculous healings. Many will believe they have encountered Jesus because they have had a supernatural experience in the name of Jesus. Many (not few) will be converted to the Roman Catholic Eucharistic Christ but will have not understood the simple gospel of salvation found in the Scriptures. Rather than going to heaven as they believe, they will spend eternity in hell.
Many pastors and church leaders who once taught that faith was based on the Scriptures will be deceived and become part of the delusion rather than the solution. Without knowing it they will be influenced by doctrines of demons. Doctrine will no longer be popular or even tolerated.
As the deception gets greater and greater fewer and fewer will discern what is happening. While it is believed the Kingdom of God has arrived and brought peace to the world with headquarters in Rome, King Jesus has not yet planted His feet on the Mount in Jerusalem. Also we can expect increasing participation of an apparitional woman claiming to be the Queen of Heaven (Catholics call her Mary) who will play a significant role in deceiving the world as she has done throughout history.
Those who understand what is happening and stand for the truth according to God’s Word will not be popular. In fact the cost of taking a stand will be persecution.
As I went through these five points, one thing came to mind. These insights into the future are based on current events that are now underway. We see the warning signs that have been placed in God’s Word as trends that we are presently experiencing.
How close are we to this one-world religion? Listen to this report from July 6, 2006, Religious Leaders Unite to Promote Common Causes Final Declaration Directed to G-8 Leaders, All Believers. We are told:
The World Summit of Religious Leaders ended on Wednesday with a joint message from Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Shintoists to the G-8 leaders and all believers.
“We, the representatives of different religions and confessions, were unanimous in affirming that it is indispensable to put an end to the constant increase of opposition between people, with violence, cruelty and terrorism,” said Patriarch Alexy II, on closing the summit.
“Our mission is to remind the world of the imperishableness of the moral values that each religion and confession professes. Each one of us preaches on this. But today, we say it with one voice, which heads of government, international public opinion and our faithful must finally heed,” said the Patriarch.
According to the summit’s final message, “dialogue and partnership among civilizations should not just be slogans.”
Folks, as we have seen, one of the focal points of the unity of the world church will be the Eucharist. The late Pope John Paul II has called for a “missionary vision” centered on “a rekindling of amazement focused on the Eucharist” to bring the world to the Eucharistic Jesus. That is happening today!
Way back in 1994 we saw Protestants and Catholics sign a document called Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium and I have a copy of the garbage. Here are a few of the movers and shakers in the Christian world who signed that document: Chuck Colson from Prison Fellowship; Dr. Richard Land of the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Dr. Jesse Miranda of the Assemblies of God; Mr. Brian O’Connell of the World Evangelical Fellowship; Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ; J. I. Packer, Pat Robertson, Dr. John Rodgers of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry; Dr. Richard Mouw from Fuller Theological Seminary; Dr. Mark Noll from Wheaton College and many more who see no difference between the Roman Catholic Church who believes in a salvation by works and the Protestant Church in which we believe in a salvation that is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the work was finished by Jesus! You doubt that difference, then listen to this.
The documents of Vatican II begins this way, “It is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, ‘the work of our redemption is [still being] accomplished.’” In other words, the work is not finished! And Rome anathematizes anyone who dares to confess the very assurance of a finished salvation that the Bible repeatedly promises. One example, I John 5:13 tells us, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Folks, as far as I can tell, looking at how things are playing out, it sure looks like we are moving quickly towards a one-world religion and the focus seems to be drawing people into this Eucharistic Jesus. Yes, it is deceptive but there truly is no reason why people are falling for this, especially those who know the Word of God. You see, the Bible tells us, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31-32.
3. MORAL DEPRAVITY
This strategic trend, the decline of morality or moral depravity is basically everyone doing what is right in their own eyes and that will just spiral farther and farther down that path of depravity. Paul warned us in II Timothy 3:1-5, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].”
Let me share this with you to show you how in just some 30 years things have changed.
Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack:
1973 – Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack’s rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.
2006 – School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
Johnny and Mark get into fistfight after school:
1973 – Crowd gathers. Mark wins John and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.
2006 – Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests John and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.
Jeffrey won’t be still in class, disrupts other students:
1973 – Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.
2006 – Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
Billy breaks a window in his father’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping:
1973 – Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2006 – Billy’s Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy’s sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy’s mom has affair with psychologist.
Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school:
1973 – Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2006 – Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
Mary turns up pregnant:
1973 – 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special school for expectant mothers.
2006 – Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU. Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent’s consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time.
Pedro fails high school English:
1973 – Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2006 – Pedro’s cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro’s English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can’t speak English.
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed:
1973 – Ants die.
2006 – BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary, hugs him to comfort him:
1973 – In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2006 – Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison.
Now granted, these are a little tongue in cheek but also understand that some of this is not too far from the truth. The times are a changing folks and many are not even aware of what is happening or they don’t care. Here is something from the Associated Press from November 21, 2006:
Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday.
While out-of-wedlock births have long been associated with teen mothers, the teen birth rate actually dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in the 20’s.
The overall rise reflects the burgeoning [growing] number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married.
Now we have a drug to fight cervical cancer in women, which sounds great and it is. But, this human papilloma virus or HPV brings about 6.2 million new infections per year and 20 million people infected with this virus that is spread through sexual intercourse and usually it is with multiple partners. Now the FDA wants to immunize girls between the ages of 9 and 26, Michigan wants to require girls entering the sixth grade to be immunized with this vaccine next year. Now, once again, this is spread through sexual intercourse, why does a sixth grader need this, let alone a girl that is 9! You see, you can eliminate these sexually transmitted diseases, even AIDS by getting back to what the Bible says, sexual relations between a husband and a wife, like it was in the beginning with Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve, end of story!
The leader of the Episcopal Church in America, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori supports ordaining gays and wants to bless them with a ceremony for same sex couples. Homosexuality is being pushed upon our children in school as a normal way to live and it is not. That is not hateful, that is just what God says.
A man in Lincoln, Nebraska was sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting a child but the judge let him go free, do you know why? Because he is only 5 feet 1 inch tall and the judge felt he would be abused in prison because he is vertically challenged, he is short! Can you imagine, a bunch of midgets on a rampage in Lincoln, Nebraska, you can’t put them in jail! You see, the more you move away from the truths of God things get more and more bizarre and our morals go down the toilet!
In California they want to remove “Mom” and “Dad” from the textbooks. Listen carefully to this article from March 9, 2006 from World Net Daily. We are told:
A traditional-values organization in California is warning the state’s residents that a bill pending in the Legislature, if approved, could remove all references to gender in public schools – threatening even references to “mom” or “dad” in textbooks.
If the bill, SB 1437, were to become law, warns the Capitol Resource Institute, “it could potentially require gender-neutral bathrooms in our schools and all references to ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ or ‘mom and dad’ removed from school textbooks as the norm.”
. . . “The reason this is such an outrageous bill is because it is the most extreme effort thus far to transform our public schools into institutions that disregard all notions of the traditional family unity. SB 1437 seeks to eliminate all ‘stereotypes’ of the traditional family so that young children are brainwashed into believing that families with moms and dads are irrelevant. The social experiment pro-homosexual activists have envisioned for our young children is mind-boggling!”
Folks, look at pornography in this country, drugs, violence, sexual promiscuity and-so-on and it is true, a nation that departs from God moves into anarchy! You see, people just do whatever they feel is right, whatever moves them and since the heart of man is evil, what is manifested in their lives will be evil!
Let me close this section with these two powerful statements. U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a disturbing essay entitled “Defining Deviancy Down.” In the November 22, 1993 issue of The New Republic, Commentator Charles Krauthammer writes “Moynihan’s powerful point is that with the moral deregulation of the 1960s, we have had an explosion of deviancy in family life, criminal behavior and public displays of psychosis. And we have dealt with it in the only way possible: by redefining deviancy down so as to explain away and make ‘normal’ what a more civilized, ordered and healthy society long ago would have labeled – and long ago did label – deviant.”
In Charles Swindoll’s book, The Quest for Character, we are told, “sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family and Civilization, recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied: Marriage loses its sacredness . . . is frequently broken by divorce; traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost; feminist movements abound; there is increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general; an acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity and rebellion occurs; there is refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities; a growing desire for, and acceptance of, adultery is evident; there is increasing interest in, and spread of, sexual perversions and sex-related crimes.”
That is only the first 3 of the strategic trends we will be looking at tonight and I think you can see for yourself that we are moving towards something big, things just can’t go on as they are and we will see that as we look at the next four strategic trends!