America's Suicide - Part 3

Blessings to Israel presents Discerning the Times, a program committed to encouraging you to view current events through the lens of the Bible.

Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, please join us for today's program. Americans are in trouble because Americans cannot justifiably say to God, I haven't heard it. In America, the gospel is everywhere. We have a church almost on every corner. The word of God is streamed. The word of God is beamed. The word of God is on radio, it's on television, it's in books, Bibles are everywhere. It's everywhere. Amen. We're inundated with it.

As a matter of fact, we have so much word that we tend not to pay attention to it. But I want you to know that God holds us responsible for what we know. And he holds us responsible spiritually. He holds us responsible physically. He holds us responsible politically in every way.

See, what we know is supposed to affect what we do, how we behave, how we vote. The United States of America is in trouble because our nation is turning its back on God. Welcome to the program.

My name is Brian Thomas. So glad to be with you once again this week. That was the voice of Bishop Patrick wooden, the pastor of the upper room church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina. And he is sounding the warning that our nation is turning its back on God. And we are asking for God's judgment. That is the theme that we've been looking at for the past several weeks, as we have been honored to be joined by Dr. David Reagan to discuss his recent book, America's suicide.

So if you missed the first two parts of our interview, please visit our website, blessings to Israel.com. Go to the media section and look for America's suicide part one and part two. So without further delay, let us rejoin Dr. Reagan for part three and the conclusion of America's suicide. Yeah, we see Romans one playing out right in front of us in our nation is, is, is really, really troubling to see. But I agree with you totally. I do not see a revival coming on the horizon. I do not see that.

Uh, but Dr. Reagan, is there any hope? Let me develop that point for just a moment. But look, the Bible tells us what the church is going to be like in the end times. We should not be surprised that the church today is full of apostasy because the Bible says that everything the Bible says about the church in the end time is negative. It says it will have doctrines of demons. It says it will have pastors who are tickling the ears of the people instead of telling them the truth. It talks about all kinds of, of heresy and apostasy in the church. It just says the church is going to be a total mess in the end time.

And Brian, I'm sure you agree with me a hundred percent. We're in the end time. For the first time in all of history, all the signs of the times have converged.

We are living on board time. We're not going to see some great revival when we're living in a time when the Bible says the church is just going to go continual to spiral downhill as it tries to gain the acceptance of the world. The number one apostasy raging through the church today is the teaching that there are many different roads to God. That Christianity is not the only road.

And they're doing that because, as they put it, we want to be tolerant. Who are we to say that the Muslim road is not a road to God? Or that the Hindu road is not a road to God? Or that the rabbinical road is not the road to God?

Well, we don't say that. Jesus said it. Jesus said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the only way to God. And when these people say there are other roads, let me tell you, they're lying through their teeth and they're calling Jesus alive. Wow. Wow. That is so true.

That is so true. So, Dr. Reagan, is there any hope in light of all of this? Is there any hope for us as individuals? Where do we look? Where do we go from here? Hope as a nation?

No. But, boy, we have overwhelming hope as individuals. And as Robert Jeffress is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and a great pastor, and as he often says, it's in the darkest times that the light of Jesus shines the most bright.

He says, why do you think when you go to a jewelry store, the first thing they do is they put down a black cloth and then they put all those diamonds on the black cloth because it makes them shine? He said, when it's the darkest is when there's the greatest hope. And he said, we have great hope. He says, we have incredible hope because we have the hope of Jesus Christ. Yes, we have individual hope.

We have individual hope. Any person who puts his hope in Jesus as his Lord and Savior is born again, receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and receives the promises, becomes an heir of the promises of God. And as you well know, Brian, one of the greatest promises of God in these dark and terrible times is what is called the rapture of the church, the promise of First Thessalonians 4, that a day is coming when there's going to be the blowing of a trumpet, the shadow of an archangel, Jesus will appear in the heavens and everyone who is dead in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has died, will be resurrected from their graves and go up to meet the Lord in the sky. And all of those living who are truly born again believers will follow them and on the way up, both the dead in Christ and the alive in Christ will receive new glorified bodies, immortal bodies forever, will be taken back to heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ, where he will judge us of our works not to determine our eternal salvation, but to determine our degrees of reward. And after he's handed out all those rewards, we're going to sit down and celebrate with him the greatest feast in the history of the cosmos, what's called the marriage, feast, and the lamb, where we will celebrate our marriage as the church, the bride of Christ, to our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and then he's going to get up and say, let's go, and we're going to break from the heavens and he's going to come back to this earth and reign for 1000 years, and we will see this earth flooded with peace, righteousness and justice as the waters cover the sea.

That is my hope. And every time, let me tell you, every time I watch the news, and I begin to get down in the mouth and discouraged about what's going on, I think of Psalm two, which says that God sits in the heavens and laughs at all of the nonsense that political leaders of the world are doing today. Not because he doesn't care.

He laughs because he has it all under control. He has the wisdom and the knowledge to orchestrate all the evil of mankind through the triumph of Jesus Christ. That's hope. And I tell you what, we have got great hope. Amen. Amen and hallelujah.

That is something that we must have the right perspective on things. What a fitting way to end things. Dr. Reagan, how can our listeners get a copy of this book, America's Suicide? Well you can go to the ministry's website at lamblion.com. That's lamblion.com.

No and in the middle, just lamblion.com. And you can order it there or you can call the ministry at the telephone number you'll find on the website. And the book is only like, it's a short, I write short books and I write them for that way on purpose because I know that people don't read anymore much. So this book runs about 150 pages maximum and it's written for the person and the few. It's not written for theologians. It's easy to read.

And I think the ministry sells it for $20 including the cost of shipping. All right. And listeners, if you've never read any of Dr. Reagan's books, I highly encourage you to do so. They are very well written.

Not only this book, but all 17 of the books that he's written. So I encourage you to go and pick them up. They will be a blessing to you. Another blessing of this book is it's the only book we've ever, well, it's the second book we've published that has color illustrations in it throughout. Absolutely.

Yes. It's very well put together. So Dr. Reagan, thank you so much. It is always a blessing and an honor to talk with you. Thank you so much for coming on and speaking with us today. And I pray that God will just continue to bless you as you continue doing work for his kingdom, even in your days of retirement.

Well, thank you, Brian. And all I can say is that I have enormous respect for you and your ministry. You are one of the most erudite speakers around on Bible prophecy.

You know how to talk where people understand you are right on base with regard to what the Bible says about end time prophecy. And I congratulate you on the fact that you've never wallowed in sensationalism like so many Bible prophecy teachers have done. Thank you so much, Dr. Reagan. That means so much to me.

God bless you. Well, folks, that is going to conclude our prerecorded interview with Dr. David Reagan, always a blessing to speak with him as he is a man of such discernment and wisdom. So I encourage you to please pick up a copy of his book, America's suicide. Again, if you want to listen to the entire interview, if you miss the past two weeks, please visit our website, blessings to Israel.com. Go to the media section and look for America's suicide part one and part two. We're going to pause for a brief announcement, but on the other side of the break, we'll be back with a message from Dr. David Reagan that he delivered at a conference titled a nation begging for judgment.

Please don't go away. We'll be back with more on the other side of this brief announcement. You are tuned into discerning the times.

You are tuned into discerning the times. If you believe in what we stand for, would you consider partnering with us? Our partners program is based on Genesis 12 three. I will bless those who bless you for a recurring donation of $12 and three cents per month. You can help us share the message of discerning the time as we await our Lord's return to Israel. For more information please visit our website, blessings to Israel.com. Or write to us at, Blessings to Israel, Keo Box 266, Knightdale, North Carolina 27545.

Now, let's return to the conclusion of today's program. Because he is under tremendous attack. He has spoken out against homosexuality, same sex marriage, transgender restrooms, abortion, the legalization of drugs, gun control, and the coddling of Muslims. He has even strongly denounced cowardly ministers who are afraid to take a stand against the sins of society.

In fact Don Wildman often says, the greatest problem in America today is 300,000 silent pulpits. Where people are afraid to speak out for fear that somebody's feelings will be heard. Here is one of his recent statements, we are experiencing a full scale assault against Christianity and the followers of Christ. When prayer is banned from the public square. When our President fails to defend biblically defined marriage and he openly and zealously advocates for gay rights. When legislators rush to overrule existing laws to promote gay marriage. When schools and courts consistently suppress religious freedoms. We know we are locked in a war against the Christian faith. And folks that's what this is all about, it's a war against Christianity.

As gone blank on his name, the former Governor of Arkansas. Yeah, he just recently said, what we are witnessing in America today is the criminalization of Christianity. In addition to raising up prophetic voices to call our nation to repentance and to warn us of impending destruction, God has sent remedial judgments to call us to repentance. Let me just mention a few of these.

One was the Vietnam War which occurred on the hills of the Cultural Revolution, the sexual revolution of the 1960's. Then there were the 9-11 attacks. God allowed the terrorists to be successful in attacking the two symbols of American pride.

I don't know if you ever thought about that. Who did He allow them to attack? The towers in New York that represented our pride and our wealth. And the Pentagon which represented our pride in our military power. God was calling us to repentance.

And like a sleepy man we just rolled over, hit the snooze alarm and went back to sleep. Then there was Hurricane Katrina in 2005, undoubtedly God's response to our immorality and our forcing Israel to abandon the Gaza Strip. It is an amazing hurricane.

This didn't come across the Atlantic Ocean. This storm formed suddenly in the Gulf on the last two days of the Gaza Strip. It hit New Orleans just as New Orleans was getting ready to have its annual homosexual festival. September 2008 the stock market crashed.

Again, it was a response I believe to our attempts to strong arm Israel into surrendering its heartland. It occurred on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and it fell, the stock market fell by 777 points. What is the number of man? 666. What is the number of God?

777. It was like God signed off on the stock market crash to get our attention. And then another type of remedial judgment that we have experienced is that God has given us the type of leaders that we deserve. That is one of the greatest judgments that God will put on a nation. He will give them the kind of leaders they deserve.

It is no accident that our current President is the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, pro-Muslim, anti-capitalist, anti-Christian, anti-Israel leader in the entire history of our nation. And his mistreatment of Israel should be a particular concern to all of us because the Bible says God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. Also we are told in Joel 3, verse 2 that God will severely judge those in the end times who are involved in dividing up the land of Israel. Joel 3, 1, for behold in those days, speaking of the end times, and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Valley of Judgment. Then I will enter into judgment with them on behalf of my people and my inheritance Israel whom I have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up my land. When you consider our nation's refusal to repent in response to the prophetic voices and the remedial judgments I am reminded of some of the saddest verses in all of the Bible. You can almost hear God weeping as you read these verses found in 2 Chronicles 36 speaking of Judah where the Temple was located. Yahweh, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place, that's the Temple. But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His word, scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of Yahweh rose against His people until there was no remedy.

Oh, my friends, in Nahum we have the same type of comment. This is the prophet who was sent to Nineveh and look what he says, "'A jealous and avenging God is Yahweh. Yahweh is avenging and wrathful. Yahweh takes vengeance on His adversaries and He reserves wrath for His enemies. Yahweh is slow to anger, great in power, and Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.'" There are Christians in our nation, and I am not exaggerating, there are Christians in our nation who refuse to believe that God will ever touch us, that He will never allow us to be destroyed. They seem to think that God sits on His throne in Heaven draped in an American flag. But, my friends, God cannot be deceived.

He will not tolerate unrepentant sin. The Jews of ancient Judah thought the same thing about their nation when Jeremiah warned them of imminent destruction. You know what their response was over and over? Their response was, the Temple, the Temple, the Temple, they mocked Him with that.

What were they saying? God will never touch us. We've got the Temple. His Shekinah glory resides in our Temple. God will never allow anyone to touch us. But God did allow it. God is gracious. He is long suffering. He warns and warns before He pours out His judgment and ultimate destruction.

But He will not tolerate unrepentant sin. He loves our nation. He was the one who raised it up. He was the one who raised it up on the foundation of His Word. He is the one who has blessed it so abundantly. He is the one who worked through us to spread the Gospel all over the world. But the Word of God says in Luke 12, to those to whom much is given, much is expected.

Our judgment is going to be far worse than the judgment of Russia or any nation that has not been blessed like us. Our nation is in full blown rebellion against God and God is not going to tolerate it much longer. Romans chapter 1 reveals how God deals with a nation that is in rebellion against Him. Look at this passage, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse. Now what in the world do these verses say? They are saying that the wrath of God is reserved for any nation that rejects God in attitude and actions and suppresses the truth about Him. And they further say that there is no excuse for denying the existence of God because God has given to each person an innate knowledge of His existence and has made that existence apparent in nature, in His Creation. Are we a nation guilty of suppressing the truth and unrighteousness?

Absolutely. We refuse to allow our children to be taught the true origin of the universe and the true origin of life. Instead we indoctrinate them with the lies of evolution and teach them that life in the womb is of no value. We have started filtering out of all of our history books the truth regarding the Christian foundation of this nation.

And we are teaching them to worship the Creation rather than the Creator. Meaning with verse 24 in Romans 1 we are told how God deals with such a nation. He steps back, He lowers the hedge of protection around the nation, and He allows sin to multiply in the form of a sexual revolution. Notice Romans 1, 24, therefore God gave them, the rebellious ones, over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. God steps back, lowers the hedge of protection, says, you want to live in that kind of filth?

I'll let it multiply. And the first thing that happens is a sexual revolution which occurred in this country in the 1960's. It is exactly what occurred here in this country during the sexual revolution.

If that action proves insufficient to produce repentance, then Romans 1 says God will take a second step back and lower the hedge of protection again. And look what happens, for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another.

Men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. So, the result of that second step back is a plague of homosexuality and we have been in this second phase here in the United States ever since the Supreme Court struck down all sodomy laws in 2003. Romans 1 continues by revealing what God will do if the rebellious nation sets its jaw and refuses to repent after the outbreak of the homosexual plague. God will step back a third time and it says that if a nation persists in its rebellion God will turn them over to a depraved mind and allow the nation to be destroyed either by themselves or by an outside force. I believe we have reached that point.

God in His grace may decide to give us a little more breathing time in order that more might be saved but there is a limit to His patience. You know that is exactly what He did in the history of Judah. The most horrible king in the history of Judah was King Manasseh who ruled for 55 years and burned babies in the Valley of Hinnom. But God raised up a righteous king, a boy king named Josiah who led a nationwide move back to God. It was amazing what this young king did.

He reigned for 31 years. He led a national spiritual revival. But when Josiah was killed on the battlefield the nation immediately fell back into its rebellious ways and God destroyed it. Why did the nation do that?

After the great spiritual revolution that this young man had carried out. Here is why I think it happened. The problem was that evil had become too ingrained in the fabric of the nation, too ingrained. And I believe that is where we are today. Which brings me to a crucial question, is there any hope for our nation?

And my answer is how could there be? We have turned our back on God. We have rejected the very one who has given us our blessings and we need to be clear as to why it happened. It was not due to the attacks of secularists, humanists, atheists or even sexual libertarians. No, it has been due to the failure of the Church to preach the Gospel, call people to repentance and stand for righteousness. In short the Church has sought popular approval and in the process it has gotten in bed with the world. Well, the Bible prophesies in many places that in the end times as our previous speaker pointed out there will be characterized by major apostasy.

And we are literally up to our ears in it right now. It all began in the 1920's when our seminaries were captivated by the German School of Higher Criticism which argued that the Bible is not God's reveal word but instead it is man's search for God and therefore the Bible is full of myth, legend, superstition and eras. This produced the liberal social Gospel that soon came to characterize the mainline denominations as they focused on social and political action rather than preaching the Gospel. This spiritual virus has since spread to the evangelical sector of American Christianity in the form of the ungodly emergent Church movement. Sixty years ago in the 1950's to be an evangelical meant that the Bible was your source of authority for all beliefs and all actions.

Today the term evangelical has lost its meaning because there are professing evangelicals who believe the Scriptures contain eras. Who believe there is no Hell. Who believe there are many roads to God. Who believe homosexuality is a valid lifestyle.

Who believe evolution is the true explanation of life. And who even, I know you are going to find this hard to believe but I can prove it, professing evangelicals who believe that John 3.16 has nothing to do with the salvation of souls, but it has to do with the salvation of the planet. It is no wonder that our nation is wallowing in spiritual darkness and rebellion against God.

How can anyone truly believe there is any hope for a nation in the midst of such gross spiritual apostasy? Here is how I put it in my prophetic manifesto. We have turned our back on the very God who makes us great and showered us with blessings. We have forgotten that God's Word teaches that to those to whom much is given, much is expected.

We have stubbornly set our course. We have determined to live as we please and not as God has dictated. We have chartered a course of self-destruction and God is going to allow us to have our way.

But there is good news in the midst of the growing spiritual darkness and the consequent decay of our society. First of all there is individual hope for those of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God has promised repeatedly in His Word that He will never forsake us.

For example in Isaiah 43 He has promised to walk through the high water with us, and to walk through the fire with us, and consider Deuteronomy 31a, Yahweh is the one who goes ahead of you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. We also have the incredible hope of the Rapture of the Church when true believers will be taken out of this world in the blinking of an eye to be with Jesus forever. There is also hope for those who do not know Jesus. As the darkness deepens the light of Jesus will shine more brightly like a diamond on a black cloth. And more and more people will be drawn to Jesus and their hearts will be penetrated by the Gospel. This is a time for evangelism. The message of the Holy Spirit for believers in this end times, commit your lives to holiness and share the Gospel with as many people as you can, as quickly as you can. The message for unbelievers is Jesus is coming soon. He is returning to pour out the wrath of God on those who have rejected His grace, mercy, and love.

Reach out now receiving as your Lord and Savior before it is too late. I must add that there is an ironic way in which there is good news that can be derived from the collapse of civilization around us. It can be found in the statement of Jesus in Matthew 24 where He said that He would return at a time when society went in full circle back to the way it was in the days of Noah, the immorality and the violence that characterized that day.

In 1996 a federal judge named Robert Bork published a book, this is 1996, about the moral drift of our nation. It was titled, Slouching Towards Gomorrah. Folks, we are no longer slouching toward Gomorrah, we have arrived. And that terrible fact points to the good news that Jesus is coming soon. As we look around the world today we can see that evil is multiplying. I keep having people say, everywhere it just looks like the world is falling to pieces.

The world is falling to pieces. Let me tell you something folks, from the biblical perspective, from the biblical perspective the pieces are all falling into place for the return of Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning into Discerning the Times. Please come back and join us next week as we continue to encourage you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, bless God's great nation of Israel, and seek first the kingdom of God. Discerning the Times is presented by Blessings to Israel.