Rise and Fall of America

 

By Nick Bibile

 

In 1534 King Henry VIII, wanted to get a divorce and the Pope did not allow. Then King Henry of England declared the Church of England to be the true Church of England and the parliament declared the King as the head of the church; he got his divorce authorized by the church. Then the Pope excommunicated King Henry VIII from the Roman Catholic Church but he did not care. 

In 1517 just 17 years before King Henry VIII, the protestant reformation began in Germany led by Martin Luther, protesting the Roman Catholic Church and bringing the word of God back to the people. John Calvin the great protestant Reformer began his works in 1536.  Although King Henry VIII fell away from Rome, most people were still Roman Catholics in England. As the Reformation came to England, the puritan movement began; the Puritans rejected the compromise of Church of England and wanted to bring Christian purity what is taught in the Bible. In 1547 King Edward VI came to the throne after his father’s death, he was only nine years of age.  He was the first protestant king in England but he died at the age of 15. Then queen Mary succeeded her half brother. Queen Mary was a Roman Catholic, she saw the spread of Christianity in England and she hated the Reformers. Queen Mary burned 300 protestant Reformers alive to death and she was called bloody Mary.

In 1558 Queen Elizabeth I succeeded, queen Mary. During this time, the Puritan movement began to grow in England. Protestant/Puritan religious freedom flourished this time. Then 1603 King James I became the king of England. He forced the Puritans to conform to the Anglican Church. Puritans were persecuted and many Puritans fled England.  On Wednesday, September 6, 1620, 102 brave people — including 34 children — crowded onto the Mayflower to build a colony in a new land. After more than two months, the Pilgrims arrived at what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  Ten years later, John Winthrop led another group of Puritans to the same general area, only this time with the plan of setting an example for the church back in England.

In 1630, while still aboard the ship that brought them across the ocean, John Winthrop—though a layman—preached a sermon entitled "A Model of Christian Charity." Just as one would avoid shipwreck at sea, said Winthrop, so they must avoid similar calamity on land. The only way to do that was to follow "the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man." If they would so conduct themselves, "the Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us." They were "entered into covenant with God for this work."

Winthrop saw the Puritan venture as a way of demonstrating how nations could prosper and be blessed. God, Winthrop said, would "make us a praise and glory," so much so that "men will say of succeeding plantations: 'the Lord make it like that of New England."' In short, "we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us."

 

Our Puritan Founding Fathers established the law of God as a foundation in this new land, America. Their goal was to advance the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though many dark times in our nation’s history the guiding, Light has been the Lord God and his law. Puritans began to build schools. It was the Puritan’s build Harvard University. Harvard College's first presidents and tutors insisted that there could be no true knowledge or wisdom without Jesus Christ, and but for their passionate Christian convictions, there would have been no Harvard.

Harvard's "Rules and Precepts adopted in 1646 included the following essentials: "Every one shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life. Seeing the Lord giveth wisdom, every one shall seriously by prayer in secret seek wisdom of Him. Every one shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day that they be ready to give an account of their proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of languages and logic, and in practical and spiritual truths...." 52 percent of the 17th century Harvard graduates became ministers!

By the turn of the century in 1701, Christians in the Connecticut region launched Yale as an alternative to Harvard as Harvard was too far for them.


Between (1741-1744) there was the Great Awakening in which began in 1741 as God poured out his spirit upon this nation during the time of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield’s preaching as a result towns, cities and states were converted to Christ. In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached one of the greatest sermons called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. He had to pause his sermon, as he had to pause while the people wept and cried out in terror upon hearing about God. People were awakened by the spirit of God as they realized how they have offended God and sinned against their Creator, there was true repentance. It was like a great wave of the spirit that awakened sinners masses were converted to Christ. The university Princeton was born from the impact of the First Great Awakening.

Then there was the second Great Awakening, which began in 1791. People traveled as far as 100 miles to hear the Presbyterian minister James McGready, the power of God fell from heaven and there hundreds and thousands were saved.  That was the golden era of America.

But there was a change and the change began with Charles Finney (1792-1875) who preached from God centered religion to a man centered religion.  But God used Asahel Nettleton (1783-1844) to show the errors of Finney’s theology. There were as many as 30,000 converts in Nettleton’s ministry.

Finney’s false teaching, which centered on man and pleased the flesh, did not die. It was Charles Finney who brought human efforts and human manipulation to the church, and today our theology is shaped by the influence of Charles Finney (1792-1875). Finney was a Pelagian, and denied the original sin. Charles Finney was an evangelist and became very popular in America. His 'Systematic Theology' is still one of the most popular manuals on theology in the Pentecostal Churches today. Finney was very critical of Martin Luther and John Calvin with respect to their teaching on Justification by faith through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. He was not holding to what the reformers preached and taught. His preaching led people into an emotional experience. Many Christians in the church are not aware of this, as they do not study the history of the Church. In 1800s, liberal theology came into the pulpits. Finney’s doctrine gave birth to counterfeit Christianity and errors in Christian theology. Dispensational theology began during this time with John Darby and Scofield. We see the birth of Mormonism (Began with Joseph Smith 1830) Seventh Day Adventism (Began with Ellen White 1844) and Christian Science (Began with Mary Baker Eddy in 1879) and Jehovah’s Witness (Began with Charles Taze Russell in 1884).

As a result, there came the floodgates of false doctrines. There was Atheism, Agnosticism, Evolution, Freemasonry, Humanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, New Age and a new religion is born almost everyday. Today the dreams of the Pilgrim Founding Forefathers have become a nightmare.  America is sinking gradually to the pit of hell. (Read Romans 1:18-32)

Verse 18) Why is it that wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness? Because they have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness.  What is suppress means? It means to over power, to crush, to destroy, to press down the truth so it will not come up.

We see today many churches are getting bigger and bigger, many evangelistic crusades, many decisions are made for Christ, yet at the same time, there is more crime, murder, rape, robbery, etc. than there has ever been before. America is falling deeper and deeper into sin.  You do not need a rocket scientist to diagnose the problem. Many ministers and pastors are preaching a worldly gospel to attack the world. They used the language of the world to attract the worldly, they copy the worldly tools, worldly tunes but with Christian lyrics, worldly entertainment but inserts Jesus to attract the crowd. Yes, the churches are getting bigger with unregenerate worldly people.

 During the time of our early puritan forefathers, Sunday was a day not for recreation and sports but for worship and meditation. The shops were closed on Sundays only the emergency services were opened. But today the some churches have Saturday services so they can watch the football games on Sunday.  The churches have gymnasiums, coffee shops, people run to church for one hour so they can go back and watch their sports on TV.

Verse 18 says, they knew the truth; verse 21 says they knew God. They knew God but suppress the truth, who knew God? Not the unbelievers, they do not know God but the ministers and pastors. They have taken the absolutes out, lowered the standard of the word of God in order to gain the crowds. They use the worldly gimmicks to gain the world.  Some churches are using worldly entertainment and amusement to please the worldly appetite. Bigness of the church has become the standard for success, while our land is going to hell!! 

During the time of our puritan fathers, they preached a pure gospel, uncompromised gospel that hurt the flesh but profited the soul. Bible was the soul authority and the word of God applied to every area of life. They had a godly fear, which brought godly lifestyle, neighborhoods and society were changed. But today we see the result of the corrupted gospel, a corrupted society.  Corrupted mind brings corrupted actions. Our whole nation is filled with wickedness.

What God calls sin, is not called sin today but a ‘weakness’. What God calls homosexuality is called ‘gay rights’ or ‘an alternative lifestyle’ What God calls perversion is called ‘adult entertainment or pornography, what God calls immorality is called ‘new morality’ what God called cheating is called ‘abnormal social development’

Read Romans 1:24-27. Here we see God giving them up. God withdrawing his face from them, leaving them to their own sinful nature.  Three times, it says, “God gave them up” We see homosexuality here.  Men and women left their natural nature but men having sex with men and women with women, lusting after another with wicked passions.

Le 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Le 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

1Cor 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1: 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit (cheating people, scam artists, id thefts), and maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent (Show off), haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

See Romans 1:32. Not only they practice these things but also they approve them who practice. They applause them who practice. Today there are homosexual ministers who are preaching from the pulpits of the churches. Homosexuality is in the high places, some states are already legalized homosexual marriages, evil judges have been appointed who have taken God out and substituted with humanism.

These people will not acknowledge God; they have some light of God’s knowledge yet they loved their pleasures of sin. Instead of being filled in the Holy Spirit, they were filled in the unholy spirit, a wicked spirit, away from Christ. Appetite for covetousness never satisfied always looking for new material things, getting into debt, credit card debts, financial problems due to covetousness, not knowing how to be content.

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 

Malice is doing mischief to others, so you get a kick out of it. Just imagine the wild fires began by arsonists. Full of envy. People become envy because they do not have what their neighbor has, so they try to compete with the neighbor.

Philip 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Murder – this is where when anger explodes, you take the law into your own hands. You will see abortion as millions of infants are murdered every year, you hear on news how infants are found in trash bags, husbands murdering wives, murder on the streets, murdering cops, gang crimes, murder in schools. While churches are busy in building programs, making their kingdoms big, the nation is dying. Many Christians are sitting comfortably while the nation is drowning.

Mao Tse-Tung, the prominent Chinese Communist leader, he killed 30, million people as there were no absolutes, he did what was right in his own eyes.  Joseph Stalin the communist party leader of Russia killed 30 to 60 million people, as he did not believe in absolutes, the word of God, he did what was right in his own eyes. Hitler killed 15 million, as he too did not believe in absolutes.

Today in our nation, humanism has crept into churches, politics and homes. They have taken the absolutes out; the word of God is the rule of faith. They have taken God out from homes, schools and what can you expect? A moral society? No a corrupt evil society.

There is existentialism, which means be happy today and die tomorrow.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

While you are on this earth, enjoy. Existentialism is in the church today. Some false ministers are preaching God wants you to be rich. The prosperity doctrine is very pleasing to the flesh, these ministers are making money out of the Bible for their own flesh, and these ministers are soul killers.

Then there is relativism, which means the Bible is old fashioned, it was ok for the past but now we are living in a modern era so the Bible is not relevant for today.  Today universities and schools are packed with ungodly teachers who have taken God out and brought evolution; there is a young generation that is coming up who does not know the Lord.

Judges 2:10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

On September 11, 1777, the Continental Congress ordered the importation of 20,000 Bibles for the American troops. Then on Sept September 11th 2001 the terrorist attacked as two jet airliners crashed into the world trade center, killing almost 3000 people. 

Many people looked to God that day as there was a fear in the nation but how soon that fear is gone as people are back to their sinful ways, God is not mocked and he can use pagan nations to bring judgment to those who are living in sin. Our nation can be reached, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God!

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