The Perfect Storm
Our Society in Chaos
[read in Lamplighter | Spanish (pdf)]
The first time I can remember hearing the term, “perfect storm,” was in 1991 when a very strong storm off the coast of Nova Scotia was given that name by meteorologists. The storm was produced by a cold front from the northwest that converged with a cyclone surging down from the northeast. The storm headed south toward New England where it converged with Hurricane Grace. This convergence of a cold front, a cyclone and a hurricane produced the “perfect storm.”
The storm got a lot of publicity because it produced waves up to 30 feet tall that flooded President George H. W. Bush’s vacation home in Kennebuckport, Maine, causing major damage. It got even more attention when it veered back up to its starting point off the coast of Nova Scotia where it produced waves as high as 100 feet. It was in this area that the fishing vessel, Andrea Gail, sank, killing her crew of six. This tragedy inspired the book, and later movie, The Perfect Storm (2000).
(Associated Press Photo by Julio Cortez)
Our Societal Storm
Today, we here in the United States are experiencing another “perfect storm” of a different type that is far more dangerous. It is a storm that hit us suddenly and overwhelmingly. First, came the coronavirus pandemic which produced a stock market crash of 8,000 points. Then, came a shutdown of the economy, followed by widespread rioting and looting in the streets. Millions have been thrown out of work, thousands of businesses are declaring bankruptcy and millions of people are defaulting on their rental and mortgage payments.
One moment our nation was sitting on top of the world enjoying one of the greatest economic revivals in history. Then, in what seemed like a moment’s notice, we plunged into economic, social and political chaos.
I once witnessed a similar overnight societal collapse in Russia in 1992. When I arrived in Moscow, I could hardly believe my eyes. The nation was in absolute chaos. Only a few months previously, this had been the most powerful nation on planet earth, with more nuclear weapons than any other country.
I found all the stores in Moscow empty — and I mean completely empty of both food and clothing. Thousands of people were standing on the sidewalks with card tables full of items to barter. People were trading food products like milk and potatoes for blue jeans, shirts and underwear. At the first class hotel where I was staying, the only food they had to serve was potatoes, and a Coke had to be shared with three other people.
As I viewed this heart-breaking spectacle, the Lord spoke to my heart and told me to go back to America and share the devastation that He can pour out in an instant, no matter how powerful the nation may be — just as He did with Babylon in Old Testament times.
He said for me to emphasize that His judgment on our nation would be much worse. After all, the Russian people had been under a totalitarian dictatorship for 70 years during which time Christians had been severely persecuted and the distribution of Bibles had been outlawed.
In contrast, during that same time period, God had poured out abundant blessings on our nation. Further, we have churches on every corner, an average of five Bibles in every home, and we have the Gospel being proclaimed on radio and television.
In short, unlike the Russian people, we have no excuse before God for our wanton rebellion against Him and His Word. The verse the Lord laid on my heart for this nation was Luke 12:48 which says that to those to whom much is given, much is expected.
Public Scoffing at Prophetic Warnings
I have been proclaiming that message far and wide since that time — in books, magazine articles, sermons, television programs and video productions. And I discovered early on that people did not want to hear the message.
That’s nothing new. The prophetic voices God sent to nations throughout Old Testament times were treated the same way. People mocked them, scoffed and jeered at them, harassed them and even tried to kill them.
When Jeremiah started warning the people of Judah of God’s impending judgment, they did not repent. Instead, they laughed at him and responded by crying out, “The temple, the temple, the temple!” (Jeremiah 7:4). What they meant, of course, was that they did not believe God would ever allow anyone to destroy the temple. After all, the Shekinah Glory of God resided in the temple.
Likewise, I have found that Americans tend to respond in the same way to warnings of God’s impending wrath on this nation. “Never America!” they chant. I’m convinced that many believe God is sitting on His throne draped in an American flag!
How God Deals with Rebellious Nations
The Bible clearly reveals a definite pattern of how God deals with a nation He has blessed when it starts turning against Him. First, He sends prophetic voices to call the nation to repentance. In our case, God began to do that in the mid-1970s when He raised up voices like David Wilkerson, Francis Schaeffer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Donald Wildmon. Since that time, the Lord has demonstrated great patience with us as He has continued to send prophetic warnings, despite our refusal to repent.
When we dug in our heels and stubbornly resisted the calls to repentance, the Lord began to bombard us with remedial judgments to get our attention — judgments like the 9/11 attacks (2001), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Stock Market Crash of 2008 and the election of Barack Obama in 2008. And now, the “perfect storm.”
God’s Grace Toward America
When President Trump was running for election in 2016 on the motto of “Make America Great Again,” I warned repeatedly that no one could make our nation great again as long as we were thumbing our nose at God. I pointed specifically at several things in particular:
- The gross apostasy in the Church.
- Our legalization of the slaughter of babies in their mother’s wombs.
- Our legalization of same-sex marriage.
- Our flooding the world with violent, immoral and blasphemous movies and television programs.
- Our overwhelming addiction to drugs.
- Our determination to kick God out of all aspects of public life.
- Our leading the world in the production of pornography.
God orchestrated the election of Trump and gave us a window of grace. God allowed Trump to launch an “economic miracle,” but I believe He allowed it in order to dramatize His destruction of it overnight.
God wanted us to be fully aware that we are experiencing His wrath. The problem is that most Americans have become so secular that they cannot perceive the spiritual any longer. So, they dismiss God’s wrath as “bad luck.”
Destruction from Within
We are reaping what we have sown (Galatians 6:7). As I pointed out in my book, God’s Prophetic Voices to America, we began surrendering our nation’s Christian heritage at the beginning of the 20th Century when our mainline churches started treating the Bible as Man’s search for God rather than God’s revelation to Man. These churches abandoned the true Gospel for the Social Gospel, and the churches began to die.
This apostasy began at the same time that Humanists were beginning to organize and push their atheistic agenda, calling for the secularization of our society.
Very quickly, Humanism (faith in Man) became our religion. Materialism (the love of money) became our God, and our lifestyle became Hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure). This was in fulfillment of prophecy. In general terms, the Bible says that in the end-times, society will become as evil as it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37) — a time that was characterized by immorality and violence (Genesis 6:5 and 11).
Specifically, the Apostle Paul prophesied that in the end-times men would love three things — self, money and pleasure (2 Timothy 3:1-5). That’s precisely where we are in America today. But God cannot be mocked (Galatians 6:7). When those three things converge into a “perfect storm,” the result is always Nihilism — which is a fancy philosophical word for despair. And thus, we find our society wallowing in despair as people seek meaning in all the wrong things — like sex, money, drugs, alcohol and the pursuit of power.
Basically, what we are witnessing today is God allowing us to destroy ourselves. Theologians call it “abandonment wrath.” It is outlined in detail in Romans chapter one. That chapter says that when a nation becomes characterized by ungodliness, unrighteousness and the suppression of truth — and when it begins to worship the creation rather than the Creator — God will step back, lower His hedge of protection around the nation and allow evil to multiply.
When this happens, Romans 1 says the first manifestation will be a sexual revolution (verse 24). If there is no repentance, God will then step back a second time and lower the hedge further, producing a plague of homosexuality (verses 26-27). If the rebellion persists, God will lower the hedge a third and final time, delivering the nation over to a depraved mind (verses 28- 32). That’s where we are.
Evidence of Depravity
So, we should not be surprised that people are demanding a Socialist government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave. Nor should we find it unbelievable that people are in the streets demanding the removal of the statues of some of our greatest historical figures. Nor should we be shocked by the following goals of the “Progressives:”
- To overrule all of Trump’s executive orders that enforce Judeo-Christian principles.
- To expand hate crime legislation to include speech against abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and transgenderism.
- To promote the Sexual Perversion Movement to include legal protection of polygamy, polyamory, prostitution and other deviant sexual behaviors.
- To defund our police departments.
- To gut the Second Amendment by sharply curtailing the right of Americans to own arms.
- To impose taxes on churches and ministries that refuse to endorse the sexual revolution.
- To impose draconian taxes on middle class Americans to provide reparations for blacks and homosexuals.
- To socialize major aspects of the American economy in order to bring about a “re-distribution of wealth.”
- To pack our Supreme Court with judges who have utter contempt for our Constitution.
- To try to amend the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College.
- To isolate and endanger Israel by giving maximum support to its enemies.
- To maximize our support for the United Nations and other world organizations in order to move us toward the establishment of a One World Government.
President Trump’s Personality
Another factor that has contributed to our current “perfect storm” is one that most conservatives do not want to recognize. It is President Trumps’s monumental ego. Again, I have warned repeatedly that although President Trump’s policies are in accordance with Judeo-Christian principles and should be applauded and supported, his constant bragging about his wealth, his wisdom and his greatness constitute a danger to himself and the nation because God hates pride. Consider the following scriptures:
Proverbs 16:5 — “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”
Jeremiah 9:23 — “Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches…'”
Isaiah 2:12 — “For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased.”
Proverbs 16:18 — “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”
Proverbs 26:12 — “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Matthew 23:12 — “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”
James 4:6 — “…God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
These are awesome and sobering warnings. Again, God hates pride. We cannot expect Him to bless the prideful person. Remember King Nebuchadnezzar. As he was congratulating himself on his greatness, he was reduced to insanity.
A second personal problem that characterizes President Trump, and which is responsible for much of the hatred and division in our nation today, is his juvenile responses to his critics. Instead of dealing with their criticisms, he attacks them personally in tweets that are often crude, rude and even vulgar.
One of God’s modern-day prophetic voices is Albert Mohler, Jr., the President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He recently spoke to the problem of President Trump’s personality. In June, in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, Mohler called Trump “a huge embarrassment” to Evangelicals because of his “misbehavior” and the “glaring deficiencies in his private and public character.” Nonetheless, Mohler said he was going to vote for the President because “the alternative is unthinkable.”
One favorable thing about Trump, in addition to his conservative values, is that he has kept his word concerning the political promises he made in 2016. In fact, I think it would be very difficult to find any President who has been as faithful to his promises. We have become so accustomed to politicians lying about what they will do if elected, that it is particularly refreshing to find one who actually means what he says.
The Nature of Our Constitutional Government
But let’s get back to the “perfect storm” of mindless violence we see all around us. It reminds me of the fact that our Founding Fathers purposefully did not create a democracy because they believed that pure democracy would result in mob rule. That belief was based upon God’s Word and its teaching about the fallen nature of Man and his corrupt heart (Jeremiah 17:9 and Matthew 15:18-19).
Instead, they created a representative form of government with checks and balances. It was one in which the only directly elected officials on the national level were the members of the Congressional House of Representatives. Senators were selected by state legislatures, and the President by an Electoral College.
The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, provided for direct election of Senators. And now the “progressive” forces of evil in our nation are determined to abolish the Electoral College. The result will be mob rule and the demise of our representative system of government.
Our Founding Fathers emphasized over and over that our Constitutional form of representative government could prevail only if there was a foundation of religion and morality. Consider the following statements:
Samuel Adams (1722-1803) — Governor of Massachusetts, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and organizer of the Boston Tea Party:
A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when they lose their virtue they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.
He further added:
Religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness.
Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) — Signer of the Declaration of Independence, attendee at the Continental Congress, physician, and first Surgeon General:
The only foundation for…a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments.
Patrick Henry (1736-1799) — First governor of Virginia and member of the Continental Congress:
The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, and this alone, that renders us invincible.
John Adams (1735-1826) — Member of the Continental Congress, one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence, and second President of the United States:
We have no government armed in power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion… Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. [Emphasis added].
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) — Governor of Virginia, first Secretary of State, principle author of the Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States:
No nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has ever been given to man, and I as chief Magistrate of this nation am bound to give it the sanction of my example.
James Madison (1751-1836) — Political philosopher, considered the “Father of the Constitution” and the “Father of the Bill of Rights,” member of the House of Representatives, and fourth President of the United States:
We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.
What these men are saying is that the form of government created by our Constitution depends for its success on a foundation of religion and morality. Without this foundation, we will have mob rule which will lead to martial law and ultimately to a dictatorship.
The Destruction of Our Nation’s Foundation
This necessary foundation for our Constitution has been eroded beyond recognition. We as a nation have rejected God in the public arena, and our churches have perverted Christianity beyond recognition.
The vast majority of our children today are being raised in homes where God is either ignored or denied. Those who are attending church are hearing a watered-down, false gospel of pop psychology, without any teaching about the fundamentals of the Faith. Additionally, in the public schools, they are being fed the lie of evolution that teaches them they are just animals evolved from apes. Is it any wonder that they are now in our streets acting like beasts?
As I have said many times before, we are raising a whole generation of moral pygmies who are willing to kill each other over pricey tennis shoes.
And the answer is not the election of more Republicans as many Evangelicals believe. First of all, it is not likely this is going to happen. Our nation has deteriorated to the point that only 23% attend church every Sunday and only 9% have a biblical worldview. Most professing Christians in America today are carnal people who profess to be Christians but who have no personal relationship with Jesus.
And even if we could elect more Republicans, we have to keep in mind that they are just as weak and corruptible as Democrats. That’s the reason that both our national and state governments have so many RHINOs in positions of power — a RHINO being a Republican-in-name-only. President Trump discovered this truth very quickly when he tried to “drain the swamp” in Washington. Many Republicans were a part of that swamp.
I am reminded of my colleague and my designated successor, Colonel Tim Moore. He served in the House of Representatives of Kentucky for 13 years before resigning in preparation to take over the leadership of this ministry. The first time he ran for office, he ran on a very strong pro-life platform. He quickly became the leader of the pro-life forces in the Kentucky House. When the first vote came up on a pro-abortion bill sponsored by the Democrat Governor, one of the members of Tim’s pro-life coalition — a man who had run for office opposing abortion — voted for the Governor’s bill!
When Tim confronted him and asked why he had given the Governor his vote, he said, “The Governor told me that if I would vote for his bill, he would see to it that I got an office with a window.” So, he traded a window for the lives of babies.
The classic example of misplaced trust in politics is the record of Supreme Court justices. Over and over, conservative Presidents have appointed conservative justices, only to watch them migrate to the left over time and give their votes to uphold abominable things like abortion, same-sex marriage and transgenderism. Our current Chief Justice, John Roberts, was appointed to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush because he claimed to be a strong conservative and constitutionalist. Now, he is voting with the liberals.
Christian Involvement in Politics
Does this mean that those of us who are Bible-believers and supporters of our Constitution should withdraw from politics? No! But it does mean we are not to look to political solutions for our nation’s problems when our problems are rooted in the rejection of God and His Word.
I have no idea what is ahead of us in the upcoming election. Will God in His mercy orchestrate the re-election of Trump and allow our current window of grace to be extended? Or, will He see to it that both Trump and our nation get what they deserve?
Whatever the outcome of the election, I know for certain the ultimate fate of our nation — and not because I have been given any supernatural revelation by God. I know our fate because God’s Word reveals that when a nation God has blessed decides to turn its back on the source of its blessings, God will pour out His wrath, and the nation will be destroyed.
That is precisely where we are headed.
Is There Hope for Our Nation?
Do we have any hope? Not as a nation. We have passed the point of no return. The percentage of Americans professing to be Christians has plummeted from 85% in 1990 to 65% today, and probably more than half of these are “Cultural Christians” who have never been born again. Only 9% of Americans have a biblical worldview according to the Pew Research Center. And only 17% of those professing to be Christians can be classified as “Bible-believing.”
Keep in mind, too, that despite being the most unbiblical President in American history, Obama left the office with a 60% approval rating. And his designated heir, Hillary Clinton, received three million more votes than Trump. Most important, those in their 20s — the Millennials who are the future of our nation — favored a Socialist in 2016, and when he did not get the nomination, they voted overwhelmingly for Hillary. They repeated that conduct again this year when they favored Bernie Sanders for the Democrat nomination. Our Millennials are the most secular generation in our history. Few go to church, and they are enamored with Socialism.
No, I do not believe there is any hope for our nation. But there is incredible hope for individuals who place their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They have the hope of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the hope of the Rapture, the hope of Glorified Bodies, the hope of reigning with Jesus during His Millennial Reign over all the earth, and the hope of eternal life with God in a New Jerusalem on a New Earth. Maranatha!
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