The Shadows of a What May Be?

As we have looked back at the past, examined the present and taken a glimpse of the future and saw the devastation that debt and entitlements and moral decay will lead to we ask ourselves as did Ebenezer Scrooge “Are these the shadows of what will be or the shadows of what may be only?”

Let us make no mistake if the course of the nation remains unchanged the end will not be pretty. Debts will be paid one way or the other. Eventually their will not be enough producers to supply handouts to the takers. If we continue to surrender our self reliance to the government then we necessarily surrender our freedom as well, If the right of all individuals (born or unborn) to live remains subjective rather than inalienable than the nation cannot continue as a free or prosperous land.

This is really not opinion. The specifics the times of these events, the shape that they take the suddenness or slowness which with they transpire is anybodies guess but the principle that we reap what we sow is a constant. We can therefore ascribe truth to the first part of Scrooge’s statement “Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends.”  This is equally true of nations.

There is another consideration. All the predictions of man are guesses, but the prophecies of scripture are as certain as the rising of the sun. There is no direct mention of the United States in the scripture, though some theologians have linked us to Rome or “spiritual Babylon”. It is of great interest to examine the nations that do figure prominently in prophesies of the end times, Egypt, Babylon (Modern Iraq) Persia (Modern Iran) and of course Israel, clearly God does know the end from the beginning. All the end times’ events all the focus of the end of all history revolves around a country roughly the size of New Jersey, and to one city, Jerusalem and to one plot of land the temple mount, yet no mention of Reagan’s “shining city on a hill”. Some take this to mean that the fall of the US is inevitable and we can only brace to survive it. This is true in one sense, II Peter 3:10 warns us  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up”. On the last day, the Day of Judgment all the works of man including the marvelous constitution of the United States will pass away. Only the nation of Israel is guaranteed to survive right up until the end of time and Christ is set to return to the Jewish temple and establish his thousand year reign. So the question for us becomes not rather these prophesies are true, to reject them is to reject the Bible itself, the relevant question is what happens to US in the meantime.

There are two other events focused on the end times, the Rapture of the Church, or the calling away of believers in Christ to be spared the pouring out of the wrath of God, and the Great Tribulation, the last seven tumultuous years of human history. We do know that the coming of the tribulation will be associated with the rise of the Ant-Christ or the world’s” Messiah of peace” as he may call himself (purely speculation on my part), when this happens the political systems of the world corrupted since the day of Adam’s fall will finally bow their knees to the adversary of God, appearing as a man and uniting the world in his unholy purpose, a coordinated effort to cause the whole of the Earth to shake its collective fist in the face of Creator God. This hardly seems like something “One Nation Under God” would do. One theory as to how this comes about is the view of a majority of Christians that the Rapture occurs prior to the Great Tribulation. If all influence of Christianity were suddenly removed from the United States then the nation would no longer stand for the founding principles it was established on and what survived of the military and economic strength of the United States would be easy pickin’s for the “New World Order”.  I am one of a minority of Christians that hold a different view of the Rapture, it was only in the last couple of years that I became aware that any other Christians saw things as I do or that this view even had a name- I hold to a pre-wrath view of the rapture. I could write for days on all the interpretations of Biblical prophesy that lead to the various views but in truth there are probably only half a dozen or so less qualified people on Earth than myself to do so, so I will continue on with a concept that our pre-trib friends bring to the debate. What if America ceases to be one nation under God?

You can make a legitimate argument that we are already there, that our culture is already post-Christian. Certainly public education has attempted to create a non-Judeo-Christian culture. The horrendous court decisions that reinterpreted the separation of Church and State to mean the exclusion of Christianity and with it the teachings of basic morality, from the educational system coupled to the teaching of evolution as a scientific fact rather than theory has led to a culture that has no anchor with which to hold itself from floating adrift. Then there is the popular culture. We see in Hollywood a decadence that is as epic as the great movies of the past, sweeping and devouring. Even if you limit viewing of TV to “family oriented” programming your kids will be watching commercials that could be called soft porn by the standards of yesteryear. The sexualizing of the culture has caused women to be objectified, a thing to be used rather then a treasure to be loved cared for and protected. Meanwhile the feminization of education and society has left men confused and “impotent” as to what they are and need to be. Husbands and fathers to provide and protect their wives and to mentor and guide their children, wives and mothers to support and nurture their families, these are the things God designed and we as sinful man cannot improve upon it. This is not to mention the crushing burdens of regulation that limit the standard of living or the ridiculous level of taxation that forces people to spend four months of the year working to feed the beast that is Washington spending. The question is not are we on the wrong road but are we passed the point of no return. This is the best encouragement I can offer; we may be speeding towards the cliff but we haven’t driven over it just yet!

God’s prophetic clock will stride midnight at some point, but what time is it now? Could it be 11:55pm? Yes, it could, the final moments of human history may be ending even as we live out our everyday lives. But what if its only 9:00pm, what if the night is still young? Do we want to loose the “last best hope of man on Earth for freedom” as we approach the coming dark times? The founding of America was not merely a political revolution nor was it strictly military; it had a definite spiritual element. Where does just government derive its power? Prior to the founding of America in western culture the belief was that the Province of God placed authority in the hand of “titles” hence it was God’s will that the “Dread Sovereign” king ruled as his interpretation of justice dictated.

Our founders did not dispute that rights originated with God but rather than endowing those rights on the crowns of state God endowed them upon all men. This is mind blowing. I believe that there has always been and remains now a spiritual root in the American struggle for freedom. (Perhaps in the near future we’ll examine the Biblical role of government) this is relevant because if indeed America’s founding was at least partially spiritual in nature then the forces that oppose the first principles of the founding must be spiritual as well. This is tricky ground, someone will ask “Are you saying Barrack Obama is working for the Devil?” and while I do not have one suspicion that Barrack Obama has a single cultic belief I do not believe his stands on most issues reflects the foundational principles of this country or of our Judeo-Christian heritage. I do believe that liberalism, socialism and secularism are all ideas that did not originate with a Biblical world view, they are deceptive and the author of all deceit is the Devil. Do liberals work for the Devil? Not on purpose.     

To turn America back from the brink the first most important thing is spiritual renewal. The founding principles were based in a Christian worldview. We are endowed by our Creator…yet our schools stand forbidden to even mention the concept of creation. John Adams warned   “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  Yet the courts do not allow even the posting of the Ten Commandments and the teaching of moral relativism is adhered to like the Iranians hold to Sharia law. Unlike many though I believe this time of revival is at hand.

In ancient Judah a king rose to power who was a despot unlike all who preceded him his name was Ahaz. He was a bad one, worshipped false gods ruled with a disregard for justice, and even sacrificed children to his idols. It would seem that the predictions of Judah’s coming destruction were at last to take place even as they were about to in Israel proper. But Judah’s story did not end there, following the dark days of subjugation and cultural depravity that the nation was experiencing a new golden age was about to fall on them like a thief in the night. I am persuaded that a “Hezekiah time” is coming up on our nation. Next time we will detail how this may be.

Until then keep on the firing line.

PS over the course of summer I may be posting every two weeks instead of weekly 

in the mean time

in completing my 4 part look at the America through the prism of a Christmas Carol, ie the past present and future i ran into a delay- lost a draft to the computer gremlins, as not to have a big gap between posts here are some things I've done recently for the local tea party group.

Barrack Obama claims to have put America back to work. To quote a famous talk show host liberals are dangerous in power and hilarious when not. As part of our efforts to make Obama hilarious again let’s look at 10 facts concerning unemployment:

1)      In March of 2003, George Bush’s 3^rd year, unemployment was 5.7% this was actually high for the Bush years as the country was still struggling following the 9/11 attacks. Historically though 6% was considered exceptional. President Obama is at a seasonally adjusted 8.2%.

2)      Ronald Reagan is the only modern president to use raw unemployment rather than seasonally adjusted- the current raw number is 8.4%

3)      The raw number for men 16 and older is 8.9% for teenagers 24.1% and for African Americans  13.7%  African American youth 37.9%

4)      The Keystone Pipeline could create as many as 20,000 long term construction jobs but the Obama administration is blocking it. (all from Bureau of Labor Statistics)

5)      Barrack Obama’s own estimates showed that his offshore drilling ban would cost 23,000 jobs, and some estimates say it could slow job growth by 1 million by 2015

6)      EPA regulations on gas and coal powered energy could cost 183,000 jobs and raise the price of energy (NERA).

7)       There is no hard count on jobs “created or saved” by the 797 billion dollar stimulus as jobs saved is a subjective number but using the administrations 3 million job estimate (which is questionable at best) the Stimulus took in taxes out of the economy 278,000 per job. Most of the funds went to “save jobs” in President Obama’s ranks of supporters such as public sector unions or to create short term “green” jobs that did not spur long term growth.

8)      In fairness, Obama-care has created 16,000 new jobs at the IRS! Why a health care law needs a whole brigade of tax enforcement officers is another story altogether.

9)      Most administrations use seasonal adjustments on unemployment stats but the Obama administration has gone to new lengths- they have simply changed the work force participation number, to get a number they like- a dismal 8.2% if the work force was the same as it was in 2009 then unemployment would be 11.3%. this is a more accurate number than what is reported. Underemployment which includes people settling for part time work and those whose benefits are expired is 17.9%.

10)  Most damning of all the number of jobs in existence- actual payroll- has dropped by over 2 million during the 3 years of Obama making him the only modern president to oversee a decline in the total work force.

Facts are stubborn things! All stats as of March 2012.

The truth about Iraq

Barrack Obama claims to have ended the war in Iraq: OK he is President and technically speaking he is correct, but let’s briefly look at his views on the Iraq war from the start.

2003- Not yet a member of the US Senate Pres Obama does not vote on the use of force resolution. He claims that unlike most of his Democratic counterparts he would have voted no. in fact this was a major campaign point verses Hillary who went like most Dem’s for the resolution until it was no longer politically expedient.

2007- Sen. Obama is now a member of the Senate and one of the few substantive things he does is to oppose the troop surge in Iraq that helped stabilize the security situation in the country. A few Obama quotes pulled from his campaign site in 2008 after the success was apparent the surge is not working," Obama's old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/barack-obama-purges-web-site-critique-surge-iraq-article-1.349828#ixzz1u3jUe1X4

Likewise Joe Biden chosen as vice president canndidate for his “foreign policy brilliance” said- September 9, 2007: “I mean, the truth of the matter is that, that the — America’s — this administration’s policy and the surge are a failure”

2010- Pres. Obama intends to leave 50,000 US combat troops in Iraq as trainers and support personnel a number that exceeds the plan of Pres. Bush but due to his administrations inability to negotiate an immunity deal the plans fell through. The Vice President summed up the Obama administration ending of the war like this:

“We’re not claiming victory,’’ Joe Biden said. “What we’re claiming here is that we’ve done our job — ending the war we did not start,

We can only pray that the successes of the Bush era will result in a secure and free Iraq, despite the attempts of Obama-Biden to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

A Liberty Carol: Stave III the Future

Last time we finished the second of a four part series inspired by Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol”. First we went back in time and saw the triumph and struggle of the founding of the nation. We shivered at Valley Forge, saw the driving of the golden spike and reveled in the economic prosperity that ensued. We also saw the nation begin to loose its moral bearings in the hippie movement of the ‘60’s and were distressed anew at the fall of Saigon. Then we moved about the nation today and saw both the lasting exceptionalism the American spirit and the forces that threaten it. Today we revisit those same souls to see what will become of the “last best hope of man on Earth”.

First we return to the streets of Detroit and we find… chaos. Rioters roam the streets, police cars are in flames shop windows are broken and looted, many are hurt, some are dead.  The inevitable has happened the government has run out of other people’s money. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment, food stamps, welfare, all our bankrupt. All the years when the government was “helping” these people they were destroying their ability to take provide for themselves, now that the help can no longer flow these people have no alternative but to act out. The scene is appalling it would once have been un-American, but America is not what it once was, the government’s stash has run out. Then a new wave of concern sweeps over us ….

The scene changes we are once again in the home of the building contractor and his family, but the change is astonishing. On the desk are layoff notices for the last of his employees, his business is done. Taxed and regulated into submission he simply can no longer keep the doors open. The house is dark part of the schedule of rolling blackouts that are the result of severe energy shortages brought on by the government’s energy policies. Unemployment is at record highs which are the new normal, opportunities are rare. Despite all his work to build better life for his family he sees his children go forth into a world that more resembles a Russian Gulag than the land of opportunity. The Star Spangled Banner may still wave but no longer o’er the land of the Free.

Next we go again to the Midwest to the farmer who so impressed us with his diligence and generosity. We are relieved to find that he still has his land, but we find that he is ill, his family has gathered and the end seems near. At first we are touched by the scene but then we see a paper on the table stained with the tears of his children, it is from the Health and Human Services actuary committee. Our friend this hero and patriarch suffers from a treatable disease.100% curable but he does not qualify for the treatment due to age and cost considerations, he can’t even pay for it himself, it’s not legal.  It is little wonder. The government controls health care, incentive is removed production is set not by the needs of the market but by the whim of a government bureaucrat. Shortages ensue, innovation dries up. Life and liberty are now rationed along with health care.

Once again the scene changes and takes us to familiar ground. We return to the church that we visited before but it is dark, the windows boarded the Bibles gone from the pews. Those stalwart warriors who prayed so hard are no longer heard. The words from the pulpit were deemed politically incorrect, then deemed a threat, then a hate crime, now they are outlawed. We sneer at our own ignorance; this all began with the inane debate over religious institutions paying for contraceptives. Freedom lost.

We walk to the alter and kneel, too late to pray, or is it too late… we are come full circle. We recall the words of Scrooge “Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?" "Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me."

For Scrooge the answer was simple. A man makes his destiny, but to change the course of a nation is not so simple. But if the course can be changed so may the ends. Next week we will look more intensely at the necessary steps to change our nations ends.

Until then…keep on the firing line!