commentary: In the Wake of an Unnatural Disaster (Part Two)


John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)
Given 26-Dec-15; Sermon #1301c; 14 minutes

Description: (show)

Not only has Satan made exponential progress enslaving people with 'progressive' socialist leadership, but he has infiltrated the ranks of millions of nominal Christians, infecting them with destructive, pathogenic immorality, causing our current society to resemble the time of Noah immediately prior to the Flood. Though Satan has been working feverishly for thousands of years, the most dramatic erosion of spiritual and moral values has occurred in the last 70 years. Recently, the Pew Research Center, conducting a 6-year poll measuring 'Christian' acceptance of homosexuality as a lifestyle, demonstrated wholesale acceptance of this aberration in all major denominations, with the largest acceptance rate appearing among Roman Catholics, and the lowest rate among Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists. The percentage of increases represent millions and millions of adherents, indicating that for many 'Christians' God's Holy Law is not taken very seriously. Consequently, God's wall of protection has been removed from modern Israel.




Revelation 12:9 makes it clear by means of a dogmatic statement that Satan has deceived the whole world. In John 8, Jesus shows that Satan is a liar. In Genesis 3:1-7, the Serpent is more cunning than all the beasts of the field, it is declared there. In that same context, it reveals the overall procedure he uses to accomplish this. The deception of mankind is achieved by influencing people through clever manipulations of the mind to accept what is not true rather than what is true. Commentators in the world have shown that this is the very procedure the Socialist leadership has used to change our governance.

Beginning with Adam and Eve following their expulsion from Eden, Satan had to work on each person individually as they were born in order to develop a core of leadership who would work under him to maximize the deceptions amongst the growing population. He didn’t have to do this for very long. He was very successful, except for a few like Seth, Enoch, and Noah. He was so successful that God reports in Genesis 6 that the earth was filled with violence as man made use of his free moral agency in a way that Satan was undoubtedly pleased with.

His way was supremely successful in gaining adherents because he now had the influence of perhaps even millions of humans who believed regarding life as their invisible leader, Satan, did. Thus, God determined to destroy all mankind except for a few and begin all over again.

Flash forward in thought and think seriously about what we are living in and through. Ted mentioned the time we are in in his prayer. If you think carefully and honestly, you will have to come to the conclusion that we are in a period of history very similar to pre-Flood times. Jesus’ Olivet prophecy is coming to pass.

There is no doubt considering the history of this nation that it is in the midst of a moral, political, and social revolution. The changes that triggered the revolution were instigated hundreds of years ago, but the most obvious changes to us have taken place in the last 70 years or so.

The changes had a guiding hand, but they had to be made in such a way as to seem that they were simply natural occurrences merely effected by an increase in knowledge. The changes were effected by leaders in educational fields and accepted by other leaders in other disciplines.

Some leaders rejected the changes, but most of those who rejected them through the centuries were part of one educational discipline: religion. However, the weight of public opinion of the Western world was so strongly against the religious leaders as generations passed that they were essentially overwhelmed by public opinion.

To me, this overwhelming acceptance by the ordinary citizen gives strong evidence that unless God calls one and gifts those He calls with insightful understanding in order to reject the persuasive and constant bombardment of the course of this world, one is helpless before its influence. Ephesians 2:2 makes this fact very clear. I John 5:19 confirms this by stating, “The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” It takes a miracle on God’s part for one to escape the immoral clutches of the ruler of this world.

Do you appreciate it? Do you realize what has happened to your mind? This Creator that Joe was talking about dealt with you personally and individually so that you could understand.

It seems as though God removed His wall of protection from around the Israelitish people. How effective has Satan been during these last few years at sowing his deceptions? Listen to these statistic compiled by the Pew Research Center, comparing 2007 figures regarding Christian church members acceptance of homosexuality against a survey the Research Center compiled during a later survey conducted between June 4, 2014 and September 30, 2014. We are talking about 7 years between surveys. Do you think something isn't happening? Listen to these figures.

I believe you all know very well that the Bible makes very clear that God labels homosexuality a perversion. It is very clearly stated in the Bible despite people’s attempts to modify it. Thus, if a person desires to be part of the church, the person must repent of it, quit practicing it, and change.

The demand to change makes one understand homosexuality is not passed on through the birth processes. If it were, it could not be changed. Even the head of Johns Hopkins University Science Department said that even though this [Bruce] Jenner guy went through a reconstruction of his personality and sexuality, every cell in his body is still male. It cannot be changed. The sex is there permanently.

The demand to change makes one understand homosexuality is not passed on through the birth processes. It is not passed on by means of DNA. It is acquired after birth, and thus it is not a permanent fixture within the person’s makeup. With God’s help, it can be overcome.

What I want you to grasp by providing these statistics is proof that people are being overwhelmed because they do not believe God's word sufficiently strong to enable them to resist the flood of misinformation that is hitting them in the public. Very simply, they don’t really believe God and His word. Homosexuality is still a question in their minds.

In 2007, 58% of Catholics said homosexuality should be accepted by society. In September 2014, 70% of Catholics now believe homosexuality should be accepted. Their minds are being overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of lies. That is not only the highest percentage increase among all churches, it is also the highest rate of acceptance of any group calling itself Christian.

How about mainline Protestant churches? In 2007, 56% were for acceptance. In September 2014, the percentage for acceptance stood at 66%. Greek Orthodox Christians were 48% in 2007, and had climbed in 2014 to 62%. Notice how the figures have increased for every group.

The average percentage for all Christian groups in 2007 was 44%, but it had climbed in 2014 to 54%. Black Protestant churches were 39% in 2007 and 51% in 2014.

The Southern Baptist Convention is evangelical and at the same the largest Protestant church in America. In 2007 they stood at 23%, but by 2014 their percentage had risen to 30%.

Mormons were 24% in 2007 and 36% in 2014. Here is the best report on here: Jehovah’s Witnesses were 12% in 2007 and 16% in 2014. In both years, they came in with the lowest figures among all churches. Did you notice I did not say "church of God"? They were just ignored. I kid you not.

Interestingly—this is the closest they got—the Seventh Day Adventists, which broke from the true Church about 160 years or so ago, stood at 23% in 2007 and 27% in 2014. Their departure from Scripture was the most modest for which statistics were given.

The group with the greatest percentage of increase was the National Baptist Convention. They had a 19%, increase from 35% to 54%.

Those figures may seem to you to be insignificant because in a way we cannot tell just from a percentage how many people are involved in 3%, 4%, 7%, or 12% (as the Catholic Church figure grew). The figures seem so small. But the percentage increases alone over those six years represent millions of people who are flipping over to the other side. They are abandoning what little faith they had in God in a piecemeal fashion.

It makes me ask two questions: Who really remains on the Lord’s side? And how long, O Lord?

JWR/aws/dcg












 


 
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