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IT IS GETTING BETTER? IT IS GETTING BETTER!
Here is a reality Check.
I have recently began telling everyone that things are getting better. If I
have any chance to bring up the subject I tell them that I have came to the
conclusion that it would be good for me to spend the rest of my life telling
people just how good it is. After they quit laughing and if I am able to
continue I began to tell them why I think this is true. I then began by saying
things are much better today then they were 100 years ago.
This is what I am going to try to do in this article. Please bear with me
for just a few pages and I may be able to give you some very positive things to
think about. Now, as I have said to others, when I give them one of my articles
on eschatology, if you will read this it will make you will feel better.
(I am not speaking of the short term fluxes. Things have gotten worse and
better again many times.)
To insure my credibility I must refer to historical facts. But first let me
tell you about an observation I have made while visiting rest homes.
I have noticed a great difference in perspective between those elderly who
appreciate the care they receive and those who think they are living in hell.
One lady who had worked as a waitress up into her seventies loved being
catered to. She told me she did not understand why anyone at her age who was
suffering from the after effects of several strokes would want to go back home.
She would help set those who were unable to get around and would grab a bar
towel and wipe off the tables. She told me she enjoyed not having to make her
bed or wash or iron her clothes, or cook just for herself. She said that if she
went home she would have to do all of that and would be by herself.
I have visited several others over the years who were confined to wheel
chairs and yet they too had a good perspective, while others around them, some
in far better shape, were never able to tolerate where they found themselves.
(If you are old enough you may remember the terrible drab dark and stinking
conditions that used to be common in rest homes.)
In my trying to convince people of the fact that things are progressively
getting better I find this same problem. Some will agree and admit that we are
all very spoiled and that we need to be very thankful for what we have. While
others seem to be annoyed that I would even suggest that things are better.
The negative ones are forever pointing to the terrible calamities that are
happening and relate how it is so terrible and that it seems that the most of
the youth are growing up wicked and into drugs, etc.
These negative perspectives are how the media and many Churches portray
conditions, and yes, many of these things are true and need to be dealt with.
However, there are great numbers of children that are turning out to be very
good people.
It is very unfortunate, but Christians all seem to think this negative stuff
is what the Bible said would happen and so it is useless for us to do anything
but set around and moan about it and wait for the Lord to come. It is also very
unfortunate but most of these same negative Christians refuse to vote.
Dispensationalists of the past have actually taught that Christians should not
vote.
The Bible is filled with victory. The Church is to be victorious and fill
this world.
I want you to know that the majority of Christians have been told lies in
this area. Not only that, but it appears they want to stick with these negative
lies rather then study their Bible's and pray. We all know that it is far easier
to just set around and watch things go bad then it is to get up and do something
that will improve the situation. Yes, the bible speaks of soon coming terrible
things awaiting the Church and especially Israel. The question then becomes when
were these terrible things to happen?
We know that Christians will always suffer persecution. If they are not
being rejected by some of their neighbors, relatives and friends it is probably
because they are not being Godly in the sense of being active witnesses for the
truth. All of which means they are probably not into reading their Bibles,
praying, witnessing or voting and standing up for righteousness.
There is a resurgence of the "averted gaze." This is similar to
the thought "out of sight out of mind." If you just do not listen to
filthy language, or do not look at the nakedness, then you are not taking
part in promoting it, or so they say. Meanwhile Christians are turning to
pornography in their homes, renting x-rated movies, attending or shopping for
items, the producers of which openly support anti-family and anti-Christian
agenda, such as Disney and Levi, and the Churches have incorporated so they say
nothing. They have now emphasized the emotional and neglected
objectiveness.The results are that a hand full of the ungodly are swaying the
youth and the world at large to just follow your desires and forget morality.
This has nothing to do with end times, but everything to do with ignorance and
lethargy.
According to history there were numbers of terrible
calamities that fell on the early Church and then in turn fell on the nation of
Israel. Many of the earliest bible scholars believed those happenings fulfilled
most all Old Testament prophecies concerning the end of the world. They
understood the terms world, earth, age and land to be interchangeable. The land
of Israel was to become as burned earth, the very elements of that system were
to melt. The Mosaic system was to be no more. The stars, and moon were to fall.
This was symbolical of the leaders of that religious system. (Stars
falling to earth? Impossible for they are far bigger.)
The Elect of Israel were to come out from among apostate Israel and follow
the Messiah.
Nearly Two Thousand years ago Peter said the end of all things was at hand
and he did not lie, nor was he mistaken. The end he was speaking about happened.
He also spoke of the very elements burning completely up. The key here is the
meaning of this word "elements." He was speaking of systems and
principles. This had to do with the world systems of that era. Specifically the
Mosaic system, the temple form of worship, etc. Unfortunately, many
present day bible teachers are into demonizing the future. They do this by
failing to study history and because they are looking for Christ to come down
and once again walk this earth in a physical body. Just like the people of the
prophet Samuel's time they want a king with skin on him.
Why should Christ have to do that over again?
The last few Chapters of Revelation tell of terrible calamities falling on
the enemies of God while at the very same time great things were coming to His
Church. In fact we see His Church descending from heaven as a great city
prepared as a bride. Remember this city, His church, is coming down out of
heaven. She is not heaven. This is a very simple fact, but this has escaped
multitudes of prophetical preachers. Again, this city is not heaven. She comes
to us from there and resides on earth. She resides in the hearts of God's
people. From there she provides healing for the nations here on earth. `Our
citizenship is in heaven, but we minister here. Christians and the Church are
the last temple that will ever be built for an habitation of God. The cross and
the resurrection ushered in far more victory then we can imagine. Jesus said we
are not to fear this world for he had overcame it.
Numbers of scriptures tell us that Christ came to save the world. Have you
ever read this? Have you ever been taught that we are to disciple the whole
world for Christ?
Enough said about this. I may be unable to convince you with such a short
mention of my eschatological beliefs, but I have other articles on that subject.
Back to history.
I must lay a foundation of historical facts so as to convince you of how
much better we have it and then I must try to prove to you that this is the
fulfillment, not doom and gloom.
What about Nero and the conditions the early
Christians faced soon after the Day of Pentecost? Nero was for having all
Christians killed, preferably by lions, etc. He was possibly the most depraved
person who ever lived. He had his senators choose sides and fight to the death
for his pleasure. He had a young boy castrated and wanted to marry him. He had
most of his relatives murdered. He also had Christians dipped in wax and stuck
on poles and lit like candles to give light for his evening orgies. He also had
himself carried into the ring in a cage, clothed in skins, with metal claws on
his fingers. He then would rage about and claw at and chew on the private parts
of the naked people who had been tied to posts, until he killed them. Many of
whom were Christians, if not all. In an attempt to save her life his mother
tried to seduce him and later when he viewed her naked body after he had her
murdered, he openly gazed upon her nakedness and touched her and spoke of how
beautiful it was. The world became sickened by the bloodletting in the ring
where people were made to fight to the death or were attacked by animals.
What about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple
on AD 70? Approximately 1.2 million Jews died inside the walls. Three
religious factions fought to the death, until the streets were flowing with
blood and piled up bodies. This would be like all of California having a civil
war and killing everyone, while a huge army had the state surrounded. This is
because then there were only about 200 million people in the world, while today
there are 6 billion.
Just before Christ was born the major nations of the
world were ruled by twenty five percent of their people while the remaining
seventy five percent were slaves. It is no stretch to say that this was the way
it had been for thousands of years.
In several instances one wealthy man would have thousands of personal
slaves. In one case 10 thousand slaves were owned by one person. (Recorded in Augustine's writings)
By the time of Christ's ministry or during the so called "Glory of the
Roman Empire," this improved to a 50/50 split. Only fifty percent were
still slaves to the other fifty percent.
The, so called glorious empires of the past were all built on the bloody
backs of slaves. However, these percentages were not to remain the same.
Slavery is an immoral situation.
The picture of slavery in the ages past often made the conditions of the
slaves in this country look like a Sunday School picnic in comparison. Being
tied to oars and to wooden seats in the galley of a ship until you died would be
near to hell.
Augustine wrote in "The City Of God," concerning the debauchery of
Rome, as it had been prior to the time of Christ, and mentions the following
situations.
"..... let there be provided the most sumptuous banquets, where every
one who pleases may, by day or night, play, drink, vomit, dissipate. Let there
be everywhere heard the rustling of dancers, the loud, immodest laughter of
the theater; let a succession of the most
cruel and the most voluptuous pleasures maintain a perpetual excitement.
If such happiness is distasteful to any, let him be branded as a public enemy;
and if any attempt to modify or put an end to it let him be silenced,
banished, put an end to."
In another place ..
"I see I must now speak of those evils which alone are dreaded by the
heathen — famine, pestilence, war, pillage, captivity, massacre, and the
like calamities, already enumerated in the first book. For evil men account
those things alone evil which do not make men evil; neither do they blush to
praise good things, and yet to remain evil among the good things they praise.
It grieves them more to own a bad house than a bad life, as
if it were man's greatest good to have everything good but himself.
But not even such evils as were alone dreaded by the heathen were warded off
by their gods, even when they were most unrestrictedly worshipped. For in
various times and places before the advent of our Redeemer, the human race was
crushed with numberless and sometimes incredible calamities; and at that time
what gods but those did the world worship, if you except the one nation of the
Hebrews, and, beyond them, such individuals as the most secret and most just
judgment of God counted worthy of divine grace?"
Again -
"... while such disastrous wars were being waged, a terrible disease
broke out among the women. For the pregnant women died
before delivery. And Aesculapius, I fancy, excused himself in this
matter on the ground that he professed to be arch-physician, not midwife. Cattle, too, similarly perished; so that it was believed that
the whole race of animals was destined to become extinct. Then what
shall I say of that memorable winter in which the weather was so incredibly
severe, that in the Forum frightfully deep snow lay for forty days together,
and the Tiber was frozen? Had such things happened in our time, what
accusations we should have heard from our enemies! And that other great
pestilence, which raged so long and carried off so many; what shall I say of
it? Spite of all the drugs of Aesculapius, it only grew worse in its second
year, ..."
Again -
"What fearful battles there were, and how often did the defeat of the
Romans shed luster on the arms of Hannibal! And what shall I say of the
wonderfully crushing defeat at Cannae, where even Hannibal,
cruel as he was, was yet sated with the blood of his bitterest enemies, and
gave orders that they be spared? From this field of battle he sent to Carthage
three bushels of gold rings, signifying that so much of the rank of
Rome had that day fallen, that it was easier to give an idea of it by measure
than by numbers and that the frightful slaughter of the common rank and the
whose bodies lay undistinguished by the ring, and who were numerous in
proportion to their meanness, was rather to be conjectured than accurately
reported. In fact, such was the scarcity of soldiers after this,
that the Romans impressed their criminals on the promise of impunity, and
their slaves by the bribe of liberty, and out of these infamous classes did
not so much recruit as create an army."
Here is
something to think about
It needs to be remembered that the population of the world is estimated to
have been less then 200 million in the First Century. Ten thousand slaves and
hundreds of thousands, 800, 0000, in one instance, of deaths from plagues or in
battle are hard to comprehend if thought of in a comparative sense, now that
have Six Billion people. Augustine speaks of these things in defense of
Christianity, for they happened earlier, before Christ had been born.
"What a sea of Roman blood was shed, what desolations and
devastations were occasioned in Italy by wars social, wars servile wars civil!
Before the Latins began the social war against Rome, all
the animals used in the service of man — dogs, horses, asses, oxen, and all
the rest that are subject to man — suddenly grew wild, and forgot their
domesticated tameness, forsook their stalls and wandered at large, and could
not be closely approached either by strangers or their own masters without
danger. If this was a portent, how serious a calamity must have
been portended by a plague which, whether portent or no, was in itself a
serious calamity! Had it happened in our day, the heathen would have been more
rabid against us than their animals were against them."
Speaking of the victory of Sylla, Augustine gave the following report.
"Sylla entered the city victorious, after having slaughtered in the Villa Publica, not by combat,
but by an order, 7000 men who had surrendered, and
were therefore unarmed; so fierce was the rage of peace itself,
even after the rage of war was extinct. Moreover, throughout the whole city
every partisan of Sylla slew whom he pleased, so that the
number of deaths went beyond computation, till it was suggested to Sylla that
he should allow some to survive, that the victors might not be destitute of
subjects. Then this furious and promiscuous license to murder was
checked, and much relief was expressed at the publication of the proscription
list, containing though it did the death-warrant of
two thousand men of the highest ranks, the senatorial and
equestrian. The large number was indeed saddening, but it was consolatory that
a limit was fixed; nor was the grief at the numbers slain so great as the joy
that the rest were secure. But this very security,
hardhearted as it was, could not but bemoan the exquisite torture applied to
some of those who had been doomed to die.
For one was torn to pieces by the unarmed hands of the executioners; men
treating a living man more savagely than wild beasts are used to tear an
abandoned corpse. Another had his eyes dug out, and his limbs cut away bit by
bit, and was forced to live a long while, or rather to die a long while, in
such torture. Some celebrated cities were put up to auction, like
farms; and one was collectively condemned to slaughter, just as an individual
criminal would be condemned to death. These things
were done in peace when the war was over, not that victory might be more
speedily obtained, but that, after being obtained, it might not be thought
lightly of. Peace vied with war in cruelty, and surpassed it: for while
war overthrew armed hosts, peace slew the defenseless. War gave liberty to him
who was attacked, to strike if he could; peace granted to the survivors not
life, but an unresisting death."
"How intolerable would their accusations have been, at least so far
as the Romans are concerned, if the Christian religion had been received and
diffused prior to the invasion of the Gauls, or to the ruinous floods and
fires which desolated Rome, or to those most calamitous of all events, the
civil wars! And those other disasters, which were of so strange a nature that
they were reckoned prodigies, had they happened since the Christian era, to
whom but to the Christians would they have imputed these as crimes?
I do not speak of those things which were rather surprising than hurtful,
oxen speaking, unborn infants articulating some words in their mothers"
wombs, serpents flying, hens and women being changed into the other sex; and
other similar prodigies which, whether true or false, are recorded not in
their imaginative, but in their historical works, and which do not injure, but
only astonish men. But when it rained earth, when it rained chalk, when it
rained stones — not hailstones, but real stones, this certainly was
calculated to do serious damage. We have read in their books that the fires of
Etna, pouring down from the top of the mountain to the neighboring shore,
caused the sea to boil, so that rocks were burnt up, and the pitch of ships
began to run, — a phenomenon incredibly surprising, but at the same time no
less hurtful. By the same violent heat, they relate that on another occasion
Sicily was filled with cinders, so that the houses of the city Catina were
destroyed and buried under them, — a calamity which moved the Romans to pity
them, and remit their tribute for that year. One may also read that Africa, which had by that time become a province of Rome,
was visited by a prodigious multitude of locusts, which, after consuming the
fruit and foliage of the trees, were driven into the sea in one vast and
measureless cloud; so that when they were drowned and cast upon the shore the
air was polluted, and so serious a pestilence produced that in the kingdom of
Masinissa alone they say there perished
800,000 persons, besides a much greater number in the neighboring
districts. At Utica they assure us that, of 30,000
soldiers then garrisoning it, there survived only ten. Yet which of
these disasters, suppose they happened now, would not be attributed to the
Christian religion by those who thus thoughtlessly accuse us, and whom we are
compelled to answer? And yet to their own gods they attribute none of these
things, though they worship them for the sake of escaping lesser calamities of
the same kind, and do not reflect that they who formerly worshipped them were
not preserved from these serious disasters."
I cannot go into a lot of depth in this short article, but I do want to get
you to thinking about just how fortunate we are today.
Drugs were used for recreation long before Christ was born. (When Coca
Cola first came out it was addicting and during that time in the history of this
nation many concoctions being sold were addicting and the problem of drug
addiction was well known.)
Homosexuality was in during a great part of the
dominion of the Roman Empire. Numbers of the Greeks before them were into
homosexuality. The remains found in tombs from those periods have been studied
and venereal disease was the cause of death in some cases. Not only that, it
became common for Roman citizens to raise numbers of Children to sell into
sexual slavery. They could make far more money by selling them into
prostitution, then they could be raising live stock. Both sexes were in great
demand for sex slaves. (I believe Augustine also mentioned
this, but I have lost the place.)
Abortion was common, but again it went beyond that. Parents were known to
kill older children for little provocation. Men were able to also kill their
wives for practically no reason. Augustine shames the Roman Empire for these
things as late as 400 AD.
I will mention more terrible historical facts. I pray to God that you do not
skim over these things and forget them.
It is
impossible to evaluate where we are today relative to the past if we just go on
our way and forget history. On what basis can we fairly judge and evaluate the
conditions we live in? Do you dare rate all of past and present by comparing
them with your own small little world of experience, even though you are aware
of very little history? It would be far more sensible to compare your situation
with the actual conditions that existed in the past, and then include present
real world conditions? Some of us seem to wake up in a new world every morning.
The following is based on historical facts.
If you are into antiques you may be aware of pieces from the era of Georgian
England. Many movies show the wealth and luxury of that period of time. The
fancy coaches and good horses, the mansions and lace and art work and the
luxurious interiors of the good houses, the fancy clothes, hats and etc. This
was the Georgian era.
During the mid 1700s' London was said to be the greatest city in the world.
At that time open sewers ran through the town and of course this made the whole
town stink and at night rats were everywhere. The west part of London was the
good part of town. The east part was a jungle of twisting streets and dead ends,
filled with small shacks. These were built close to the places of employment.
Approximately 60% lived in that part of town. Children
as young as five worked 16 hours in textile mills. The average life
span was less then forty. There were pits used for both burial by the numerous
paupers and for garbage.
Elderly disabled women who were called "Pure
Finders," scrounged around and picked up dog feces in buckets.
This dog poop could be sold to leather tanneries. These unfortunates were then
able to buy some food. Many workers died from lung problems, or were suffocated
by breathing poisonous fumes or went blind and most before they were forty years
old.
Twenty percent of the women were prostitutes, 40%
of the men were thieves, while those who were honest and hard working
were the source of booty for both the owners of the factories and for the
dishonest.
Many starved when the worked stopped, for what ever reason, or when they
were no longer able to work. I cannot go into a description of all of the filth
and disease and the rats, etc. In the 1750s' there was a gin shop for every 120
citizens. (Bars.)
This situation did not come to a complete end until the beginning of the
1800s'. This was happening in a free society. England was only spared the likes
of the French Revolution through the preaching of the Word; such as was done by
the Wesley brothers.
Meanwhile we have the history of France
during this period. Prior to the French Revolution of 1789 there were 40,000
castles that were in control of 85% of the people. These small enclaves of
people which were held as slaves had been isolated from each other for so long
that they had developed dialects so peculiar to each group that they could
hardly understand any other group.
Thirteen % of the population were the wealthy who lived in walled towns and
ruled under the direction of the nobility.
The actual nobility who lived in castles were but
2% of the population. The slave owners in the U. S. used the terrible conditions
of the slaves of France as proof of how well they were treating their slaves
here in comparison. The French did not think of their people as
slaves, however, they were. This situation had started developing in France
nearly 500 years earlier.
It was during this same period of time that the English started using
Australia as a place to send their convicts. Prior to this time England had sent
most of them to this country. However, after 1776 they could no longer send them
here.
When the English first started landing in Australia in the mid 1700s' they
found the native Aborigines to be extremely primitive. These tribes built no
shelter other them to occasionally lay some slabs of bark together. They
continually moved from place to place and wore little if any clothing.
The woman were especially misused. If one group was threatened by another
group they would gather all of their women and send them ahead to their enemies.
If the enemy used them sexually it was a good sign they would not be attacked.
If, however, they did not use the woman and sent them back it meant they were in
for trouble. Very often one group would entertain another and it was customary
to swap the women around with all of the men for their pleasure. If a woman
showed any lethargy or resentment during this time of celebration and sexual
perversion she would at the least be beaten and was in danger of being speared.
If a newborn's mother died, the child was also killed. This was because their
lives depended on their mobility.
In this country in the north east there were Indian tribes who thought
little of cannibalizing their enemies. On occasion they would take a few along
with them and keep them healthy, but if game became scarce during their travels
they would use them for a barbecue. Other tribes hated cannibalism, but when
they began to starve they would reluctantly resort to it. Others practiced
infanticide when game became scarce, and this was always on the female babies.
This would produce a shortage of young females and would then caused the young
braves to steal women, etc.
In one southern tribe a woman was always the Chief and she could have
several husbands. Then when she died they would kill her husbands and burn their
bodies along with hers. During the funeral procession the religiously devout
mothers would throw their babies under the feet of those who were carrying the
bier along on their shoulders and the bearers would kill them with their
feet. This was done in honorarium of their dead Chief.
In some tribes a young maid who was going to choose her husband would go
about sleeping with several of the young braves as a means of choosing her
husband. In another tribe young children were allowed to play sex games, etc.
There were also some very civilized, strict, virtuous, Indian tribes, some were
in the northeast.
There have been many terrible conditions prevailing
among various nations all down through time. There are still backward nations
that are plagued by immorality. Are they embracing the principles of
Christianity. NO! However, as bad as it may seem now, we are very blessed in a
relative historical sense.
I am not speaking of things that were going on that far back in time. I am
speaking of things that were happening both here and in other parts of the world
during the settlement of this country. Subtract 1750 from 2000 and you get 250
years. My Great grandmother was born in the mid 1800s'. She was born but 100
years after some of the happenings I am talking about.
Again, the filth and perversion I have mentioned were the direct results of
immorality. The light of the gospel was not present.
The inventions that have brought the stage or theater into our front rooms
have now created a moral crisis. The Roman Empire was noted for the decadence
produced by the theater. All kinds of immorality was acted out and lauded in the
ages past and became the source of decadence. This is now going on in our houses
as we watch increasingly decadent shows on TV. We no longer blush when we see
our Olympiads undressed before us or when we see sex being acted out in front of
us in our front rooms. Our children are now lauded when they show off and it was
only a few years back that they were corrected for doing this. Actors and
Newscasters have became our gurus and heroes. They are predominantly liberal,
having been themselves influenced by the decadence of their industry. They like
Nero really like the applause and to be up front. This evil in secular society
is one thing, but this began to happen in religious circles first. There are the
Bakers, and Brother Swaggert and many other Christian leaders, all across our
nation. It is said that those in leadership must be given more leeway. This
thought is diabolically contrary to godly scriptural morality. Do not forget it
has been worse.
Read what
Augustine reported about the embracing of debauchery by the Greeks and the
Romans. They made any resistance to evil pleasure unlawful, and those who
resisted or who took a stand against such evil were to be killed.
This is
beginning to happen here in this country. The media has help legitimize
homosexuality and abortion and it is becoming evil to resist either. Do you see
the connection? Bestiality and child molestation are becoming more acceptable to
some of the liberal media personalities.
Nero would have those of his senate killed who refused to attend one of his
performances in the theater. Kathy Lee tells how that there is no euphoria like
performing on a stage before an audience. These people are influenced by self
adulation and tend to be decadent. This fact must be taken into account and we
must discipline ourselves so we do not become addicts of entertainment.
Again - it is Unfortunate, but Christians buy things that support companies
that advertise on these filthy programs and think nothing of it. They take their
children to Disney Land and it is openly pro-homosexual and financially supports
pro-homosexual legislation. California has been directly effected by their
agenda.
Numerous productions are aimed at discriminating against Christian ethics in
the name of freedom of expression and yet Christians throw money on the stage as
if they are bent on encouraging their own persecution. This nonsense will lead
to terrible persecution and eventually the Church will repent again and then
Christ's kingdom will be displayed once again. While this works itself out
Christians will at first go on believing that these happenings are proof that
the end is near, however they will eventually wake up and come to grips with
reality. We must count our blessings and repent and walk right? There is no
other viable alternative.
The United States has been plagued by decadence in the past and finally
people turned back to God in droves and revival then changed the face of this
nation. In the late 1700s' colleges had few if any professing Christians as
students. Riots and the burning of buildings happened then. Filthy language was
in and God was out, but then Christians began to pray. This happened again in
the mid 1800s'. Prisons were closed and policemen were laid off. It can and it
will happen again. It has been a lot worse and it will get a lot better when the
Church repents.
There has already been a recent revival in some sense. More Christians have
registered over the last ten years and many are now voting. Here is some more
information that needs to be considered.
What are we to do with the estimates that have been compiled from figures
taken from fellowships all over the world over this last century?
An old article in the Arminian Magazine from the early 90s concludes with
the following -
"Although the Church was supposed to be
in ruins, it experienced the greatest revival since Pentecost during the end
of the 20th century. Peter Wagner declared, "We are in the
springtime of missions." In 1900 the ratio of non-Christians to
Christians worldwide was 27:1. In 1989 that same ratio was 7:1.
Although there were repeated attempts to connect the year 2000 with something
cataclysmic, "wolf" had been cried too many times. Nothing could
revive the old theory and it passed away leaving a host of red-faced prophecy
experts and a huge surplus of obsolete books and charts."
Back to some positive facts concerning present reality. The human
condition has improved.
To suggest that this country is in some way the reason for the terrible
conditions in other nations is nonsense. People must be moral and they must be
free. This is the only way any nation can have lasting peace.
Nicola Tesla came to this country in the mid 1800s'. At that time he said
this country was then 100 years ahead of all of the European countries.
He was the one responsible for the alternating current motor, plus many
other near miraculous inventions, that we now take for granted. He had developed
a remote radio controlled boat and gave demonstrations in the very late 1800s.
Much of the communications we have today is based, in part, on his discoveries.
Electric power as it is now present in most every house in this country was
enabled by Tesla's inventions. Yet, his name is virtually unknown.
I have here given some of the conditions of the not to distant past and
mentioned a researcher who only died in 1943, and who was responsible for much
of the convenience we are surrounded with today. We now can reach most any place
in the world with the written word via a computer tied to the Web.
Many Christians today have numbers of bible versions and historical works at
their finger tips, have heat, lights and water in our houses with indoor
plumbing and air conditioning and TV, etc. Unfortunately, we are into denying
that this is the result of an increase in righteousness in this world.
Martin Luther used terrible language when upbraiding those with whom he
disagreed and he said that once you were saved you could fornicate 1000 times in
a day and not lose your salvation. (Or something to that effect.) John Calvin
thought little of attending the burning of a heretic. That so called heretic
might well have been only considered wicked because he was of another Protestant
denomination. The burning of those who preached contrary to the governmentally
approved religion was common. Many Christians have had the cross held up in
front of them while being told that they must either worship it or burn at the
stake. What about King James?
Most Christians used to bow before statues and approached them in worship,
and Mary used to be venerated to the same point. Now this is uncommon. Some of
these things still go on in certain backward nations, however, around the world
there is now a chorus of voices that demand that such be stopped.
We are told that earthquakes have been increasing and that this is a sign of
the end. This is a spin put on the facts by a certain religious publication.
They have taken material out of context, concerning earthquakes, that was
written by seismologists.
Seismologists today are relying on information received from far more
sensitive instruments. They now can detect far smaller quakes. However, they
have estimated that since the first seismograph went on line in the late 1800s
earthquakes may well have actually decreased in both intensity and numbers.
There was a flurry of seismic activity around the turn of the century, late
1800s to the early 1900s. However, this activity decreased and pretty well
remained constant. There is some increase of activity over the last few years,
however, most seismologists see this as being nothing more then a repeat of what
has been going for thousands of years. There are repeatedly periods of increased
seismic activity, followed by less activity Some seismologists have actually
tried to contact these religious publishers so they could correct the record.
But they have received no response. Some of them joke about the preoccupation
with the supposed dooms day earthquake predictions made in religious circles.
Unfortunately, evangelicals have picked up on these same fabrications and think
they are facts. It appears that some of them then embellish the material
even further.
Meanwhile, scientists and engineers have been working on both forecasting
and strengthening structures. Relative to other backward nations this country
suffers very little from such calamities. The United States has had severe
earthquakes here that were just as powerful but with fewer lives lost.
In contrast, other countries have executed building inspectors, and
contractors, after an earthquake - because of shoddy construction. In some
of the pictures taken, after terrible earthquakes, in other countries there will
be a few buildings left standing with little relative damage, in the middle of
piles of rubble that is all that is left of the same kind of building, but where
short cuts were taken in construction, by using inferior material and methods.
We need to be more aware of world history. There have been terrible
calamities in the distant past that few of us are aware of. The eruption of
volcanoes and resulting earthquakes that happened before the time of Christ have
never been equaled since. Terrible pestilences also nearly eradicated all of
humanity prior to the time of Christ. The civil war in this country and
the influenza epidemic in the early part of the 20th century took over 500
thousand lives in each situation, but this was still a very small number
relative to the calamities of the past. Genocide was the way war was waged in
the distant past. Today the world in general is revolted by the thought. In a
relative sense wars are taking far fewer lives then wars of the distant past.
New Information on Earthquakes (Link)
The life span of people has increased dramatically
over the last several hundred years. This appears to have came about because of
clean water supplies, better nutrition and all kinds of preventative disease
controls. There has been a recent dramatic increase in this country and it has
been estimated that if the average life span keeps increasing, at the same rate,
over the next twenty years, it will reach an even one hundred years on an
average by the year 2020. This means that if you are eighty years old or less
you had better hurry up and die, else you might live forever, here. (Please
smile.)
Yes, morality still has a long way to go.
However, we should take heart, for basic morality has increased tremendously
since the time of Christ. The ignorance and wickedness I have mentioned, though
terrible, was actually on the decrease.
There is a direct connection between the betterment of the human condition
and spiritual revival. Revival produces spiritual freedom and it is this freedom
with its integral morality that produces the betterment of the human condition.
Morality is inseparable from revival and from lasting peaceful freedom.
There is little that is good that lasts outside of the
influence and control of morality. Basic morality is to both fear and love God
and to love others as yourself.
There are to many Christians today who are plagued by a terrible depth of
evil lethargy. Moral issues are not as important as the promise of financial
support even though it comes from a habitual fornicator and liar.
They refuse to believe the Bible, either because they have been taught error
or because they are to lazy to study it for themselves. Meanwhile they hide
their careless attitudes behind the excuse that the bible foretells the
decadence of this era and so there is nothing that can be done about it.
Many Christians are really into worship, or some other peculiar religious
tradition, but most seem to not be into obeying God, nor are they really praying
to Him. They sing and raise their hands and cry, but ... Listen to the words of
the songs. They speak of terrible temptations and trials and how the Lord is
going to come back and deliver them. Yet these worshipers are in no sense
suffering from anything relative to what Christians in many other places are
going through or compared to the sacrifices of those who gave their lives to
insure the freedom and prosperity we have here today.
Many of these more recent worship choruses are but musical dirges pouring
forth rhymes filled with self pity. We are like a child setting in a room filled
with toys and crying because we do not have the newest one. Many older
Christians are into self pity because they have cancer, or Parkinsons, or heart
trouble, etc. Yet, they have already lived longer then their parents did, and
far longer then their grand parents and suffered far less then any generation
before them.
Others Christians out and about button holing people or they have with drawn
from any activities that would bring them into contact with those who are not of
there faith. Again - Vast numbers of professing Christians refuse to vote.
Many People, including many Christians, actually
become irritated when they are told things can be improved. They do not want to
be awakened to their own responsibility.
The truth is that the Bible projects victory down here in this earth for the
Church. Christ's life and death and his continuing ministry to the world through
the Church is to save the world.
This is another issue and I have dealt with it in other articles. This
victory is to be always interspersed with punishment for the wicked and
persecution and punishment for a lethargic Church. That is until the Church gets
the vision and keeps it.
After all of the devastation and wrath of God fell there was to be a change
and then a continual revealing of the glory of Christ in the ages to come. That
is where we are.
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath He quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come He might
shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. (KJV)
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen. (KJV)
In contrast, or contradictory, to the hope that is found in the Gospel,
today whenever another nation has been brought to the place where it is open to
the gospel, new converts are soon infected with evangelical doom and gloom.
Missionaries from here go there and ... after they have been called
to receive Christ they are very soon taught this world is going to be destroyed
in the very near future. In some nations they are taught that their own country
will very soon be controlled by evil forces and turn against Christ.
This is all done in the name of prophesy, but it is actually contrary to the
basic principles of Christianity. This is sick, sick!
This
demonizing of the future is a sure harbinger of self inflicted calamities. This
is how we create self fulfilling, and evil prophecies.
When we
turn the blessings of the prophesy of the Book of Revelation into doom and gloom
we have effectively changed the message of that book and so do reap those
plagues. This will keep on happening repeatedly until we
accept the fact that Jesus did return and that He is here ruling and reigning in
the heart's of Godly Believers. Read the first three verses and the last Chapter
and take note of to whom it was written and when it was to come to pass.
Again - It appears that a far higher percentage of the world today now claim
to be Christian then at any other time in the past. Oh yes, I would agree that
it is possible that most of them really do not know Christ. This is as always,
but the numbers are still - nevertheless - positive.
If you want to forget what I have said here you can do so. You can go on
agreeing with nonsense and I cannot stop you. However, if you do forget all of
this, someday your children or your grand children or your nieces or your
nephews will wonder why you did not tell them the truth.
It is senseless to deny the present problems. However, Christians have the
answer if they will just repent and accept the morality taught in the Bible.
Again; We need to repent and obey God's basic moral law and be realistic,
(thankful), about the present blessings.
A WONDERFUL TIME TO BE ALIVE
Amid all the ‘bad’ news that we hear endlessly in our media, there are
stories which portend great things. For example, medical and scientific
breakthroughs seem to occur almost daily now.
Your friend Vern Manson
Re edited August 13 1997 / Thursday, December
08, 2000/ Friday,
June 15, 2001 / Sunday, November 18, 2001
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