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Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffers and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Ladies and gentlemen, the only way we're going to change America is by changing the hearts of Americans and no political party can do that. The Democrat Party and the Republican Party are corrupt and spiritually bankrupt. They have no answers for our country.
Only the Church of Jesus Christ has the answer. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffers. America is celebrating 250 years of freedom this year. And while there is much to be grateful for, there's also much to consider.
What does God's Word say about the future of our nation? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffers takes a hard look at where America has been. and where America is headed. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.
Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. This coming Saturday, July 4th, America turns 250 years old. And yes, it's a time for celebration. But it's also a time for honest reflection. You see, here's the question.
Do you think America can survive another 250 years?
Well, in a few moments, I'm going to guide you through the Bible to see if we can answer that question. There's no debating the fact that American patriotism is under attack. Many classrooms in our public schools have abandoned the Pledge of Allegiance. The Ten Commandments are no longer displayed on the wall. Children once would bow their heads in prayer.
Not anymore.
Well, for 30 years, Pathway to Victory has shown the light of God's Word far and wide, and we understand, like you do, that our only path to true freedom is found in Jesus Christ. This is the essence of the $1.5 million In God We Trust matching challenge that's active for a few more days. This matching challenge gives you a fabulous opportunity to double the impact of your donation. By giving today, you're amplifying God's truth across the country we love through radio, television, and the internet. More details are coming later on, including a keepsake we'd like to send to your home with our thanks.
So please be ready to take down our contact information. But right now, it's time to open God's Word together. I titled today's message, America at the Crossroads. Can we survive another 250 years? On July the 3rd, 1776, The portly 40-year-old John Adams sat in his candlelit room in Philadelphia.
and wrote these words to his wife Abigail in Massachusetts. He wrote, the second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, shows, games, sports, guns, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore.
Well, Adams may have gotten the day wrong by a couple of days, but he certainly caught the spirit of celebration we should enjoy. On July 4th this year, we are recognizing the 250th birthday of our country. And yes, it's a time for celebration, but it's also a time for solemn acts of devotion to the God who has so richly blessed America. And as we come to this 250-year mark, it's also for us a time to contemplate our future. as a country.
Do we have a future? Can America survive? Another 250 years, that's what we're going to talk about today. Briefly, let's look first of all at America's past. It has been one of undeniable blessing.
You know, throughout the Bible, we are told to remember, remember, remember the past. We're to remember from where we came. We're to remember the God we serve. We are to remember what God has done for us. I've talked in other messages about America's indisputable Christian foundation.
This nation was founded as a Christian nation. Don't let woke theologians tell you differently. All you have to do is look at the past and see the firm Christian foundation of our country. And our leaders recognized that, and they were not hesitant to call out on God for help. I think about Abraham Lincoln on September the 18th through 20th, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War.
Our country endured the worst loss next to Gettysburg itself in the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18th through 20th. During those three days, we lost nearly 35,000 soldiers who were either killed or severely injured. And yet, just a few weeks after that devastating loss, on October the 3rd, 1863, Lincoln issued his first proclamation of thanksgiving, encouraging the Americans to look upward and remember God's blessings. He talked about in that proclamation the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, has nevertheless remembered mercy. You can go back further than Abraham Lincoln to see our leader's devotion to God.
In 1787, that was 11 years after we secured our independence from Great Britain. 11 years later, a group of men met in Philadelphia to forge out a document that would govern the new country that had been established, to establish a constitution. It was not a pleasant meeting. For days, the delegates were involved in divisiveness and controversy, and our newly born nation faced being torn apart that early in its existence. But in the midst of that debate on June 28th, 1787, Benjamin Franklin stood up and he addressed the president of that Constitutional Convention, George Washington.
And this is what Franklin said. In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. Have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?
And then Franklin got to the heart of the matter. He said, I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see. That God governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?
We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that built it. Franklin then went on to ask that every morning from that point forward, before they ever got into business, they would ask for God's guidance, God's help in creating that document. And today, we enjoy a Constitution. That guarantees our freedom of access and assembly, our freedom of speech, but most importantly, our freedom of religion. All of that came from a document that was born out of much prayer from our nation's leaders.
Yes, we have been a nation blessed in God because of our dependence upon God. But what about America's future? What does the future hold for our country? I wish I could give you an encouraging word, but the future does not look encouraging, especially when you look at scripture, at what the Bible says. and what it doesn't say about America's future One of the questions I'm most often asked in Bible prophecy is this, where does America fit into the end times?
What part do we play in the end times? And the truth is, as you look at those last seven years of Earth's history, detailed in the book of Revelation, chapters 6 through 19, as you look at the Old Testament prophecy of Daniel, you see mention certainly of Israel. of Iran that was called Persia. of Egypt. Allusions to Russia, but there is no reference allusion anywhere to the United States of America, which can only mean that America will either have ceased to exist by that final seven years of history, or its influence will be so little, so inconsequential, that it's not ever mentioned.
Now, here's the question. How will such a diminishment of American stature, how will it occur? How will it go from being the superpower of the world that it is today to being an inconsequential nation if it even exists? I want to suggest to you that as I look through God's word, I see three different components that could contribute to the demise of America. First of all, the moral disintegration of our country.
The moral disintegration of our country. Listen to 2 Timothy 3, verse 1. Paul was writing to his protégé Timothy, and he said, But realize this: that in the last days, difficult times will come. What are the last days? We've seen before.
That refers to the time between Christ's ascension into heaven after his resurrection and until he comes again. That period of time is the last days. We're living in the last days. We're in that in-between time between the first and second coming of Christ. We've been in the last days for 2,000 years.
But every day that passes gets us closer to the end of the last days and the beginning of what we call the end times.
Now, the end times is a very specific time period, seven years that begins after the rapture of the church. It begins when the world dictator known as Antichrist will sign a peace treaty with Israel. But halfway through, he will break the peace treaty. And then will come Armageddon, the final world war that will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ. Paul is talking about now.
What should we expect now in these last days? And he says in verses 1 to 5, he gives us 19 characteristics of the last days. Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to parents, and on and on it goes.
Now, you might honestly say, well, Pastor, look at the culture. It's always been that way. There have always been dishonest people and people disobedient to parents. What's different now? Just look at America today.
I'm not talking about the last six months, but look at the trend. I know we're supposed to say we're in a big revival in America. There's no such big revival going on in America. There are pockets, perhaps, of revival, but the trend in faith is downward in this country. The fact is, in the last 25 years, this is amazing, in the last 25 years, there are 40 million less people going to church today than 25 years ago.
The point is, during the last days and certainly the end times, that downward spiral will accelerate. It's going to get worse and worse and quickly. And one reason it's going to accelerate is because of an accelerant that's going to speed up the demise of our society. What is that accelerant? It is going to be the rapture of the church.
Look at 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 7 to 9. Paul is talking about the coming of the Antichrist, but he says, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Who is the one who is restraining evil? Who is the restrainer of evil?
Who is the one keeping things from being even worse today than they could be? He is the Holy Spirit of God. He is the Holy Spirit of God in the lives of individual believers. Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. We are like a giant dam holding back the flood of evil that's about to come into this world.
Imagine what it's going to be like in the world when every Christian is removed. There will be no restraints whatsoever. In 2 Timothy 3, 1, Paul says, realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. That word difficult, kalipas, means unrestrained. Right now, as bad as things are, there's a limit to how bad they're going to get with Christians still in the world.
We are like a giant dam holding back a flood of evil. But Paul is saying, when believers are taken out of the way, and that is the Holy Spirit is gone, just watch. It will only take seven years for this world to completely unravel. That's what he's talking about here. There is a moral disintegration that is occurring right now, but will accelerate in the last days, and that will impact the destruction of America.
There's a second component that could add to the demise of our country, and that is military confrontation. Military confrontation. Listen to me: the next event on God's timetable is the rapture of the church. Paul describes it in 1 Thessalonians 4. He says, For on that day, the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up, harpotzoed, snatched away to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord. What does that have to do with God's judgment that America will face? I want you to consider the implications of the rapture. I'll confess to you, I really had not given it that much thought until this past week. Think of the effects, think of the economic impact of the rapture on our country.
Just think what it would be like, for example, to have Christian CEOs or executives suddenly removed from the running of our great companies, or workers on the assembly line who are taken away. There'll be a shortage of workers. Think about what will happen to the economic system in our country. For example, think about all of those who have mortgages or paying every month on their mortgage, and then they're suddenly gone. And there's nobody to service those mortgages.
The bankers, they'll be left behind, will have difficulty. It's cheap shot, I know. Really, think about what will happen when there's nobody left to service those debts. Think about the stock market. Can you imagine the impact on the stock market when one day people wake up and there are millions of people removed?
It's not going to help things, I'll guarantee you. Just look at COVID and threats of war and what it does to the market. Think about the chaos when you have planes falling out of the sky because there's no pilot and the death that's going to cause. Think about cars on the freeway that will suddenly become driverless, not because of Tesla. But because of the rapture of the church and all of those crashes you'll have and lawsuits and so forth.
Think about grocery stores. What's going to happen to our food supply when farmers, multitudes of them, are removed? Nobody to plant the harvest, nobody to reap the harvest, nobody to process the food. Do you remember during COVID the panic? Absolute panic when people thought they were running out of toilet paper.
They were rioting in parking lots over that. Imagine the riot when there is no food for people to have to feed their family with, the chaos there. But here's one thing I had never thought about before. Think about the effect the rapture will have on our military protection. Think about the effect on the military.
Only 2% of those in the military register as atheist or agnostics. That doesn't mean the rest were Christians, but nevertheless, we had the highest concentration of Christians in the military of any nation in the world. The greater percent of our military are Christians than in any other army or military force in the world. Think of the impact of every Christian man and woman being removed from the military. Think what our nation will suffer as a result of that.
We will be completely defenseless against an attack by a foreign army, whether it's a literal attack or it's a magnetic pulse that will wipe out our power plants and our water processing stations. We will be defenseless against those kind of attacks. I believe that's going to play a major role in the demise of America. But there's a third component of that demise of America that we're already starting to see right now, and that is Israeli isolation. There is no other way to say it than this.
Americans' support for Israel is plummeting. Did you know a survey in July of 2025 by Pew Research found that 59% of Americans right now have an unfavorable view of the Israeli government, which is up from 51% the year before. It is going down. Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the Israeli leadership. Even more astonishingly, a Gallup poll found that only 32% of Americans supported Israel's attack against Hamas.
That was residing in Gaza. Only 32% believe Israel has a right to protect itself from those barbarians who came into Israel in 2023. And did things to men and women and babies that are unmentionable in this room today. We can't talk about what they did, but it was so horrific, it defies imagination. And yet, in spite of that, Only a few percent of Americans believe Israel has the right to defend herself.
The Bible predicts that in the last days, every nation in the world, including the United States, will turn her back on Israel. It's easy to see how that's going to happen. Interestingly, turning our back on Israel. Will result in the decimation of every country, including the United States, but it will have no impact on Israel. Did you know Israel is the only nation in the world that has the promise of endurance?
Because Israel was a nation created by God. Israel is the nation that is the apple of God's eye. And yet, in spite of that, America will turn her back on Israel. That is going to be a cause of judgment. Don't forget, regardless of what the polls say, regardless of what the politicians say, God made a covenant with Israel.
In Genesis 12:3, he said to Abraham, I will bless those who bless you and your descendants. I will curse those who curse you and your descendants. I believe. I believe one reason God has so uniquely and richly blessed America has been because of our historic support of Israel. Bipartisan support, I might mention.
It was in 1948 that a Democrat president, Harry Truman, was the first to recognize the new nation of Israel. And in 2018, our country showed its support for Israel by moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to say to the whole world, we believe Israel has the right to exist and determine its own capital. One of the great honors of my life was giving the opening prayer for the dedication of that embassy. But make no mistake about it, as we turn away from our support of Israel, we are going to suffer the consequences of it. And I believe it will be the reason for America's demise.
Whether we're talking about moral disintegration, military confrontation, Israeli isolation, America is moving away from God's blessings.
Now, you may be thinking right now, this is the most depressing patriotic message I have ever heard. I want to wave some flags. I'm going to fire some fireworks. We're talking about what God's word says. Does this mean we're to be fatalistic?
Does it mean we're just supposed to sit on our hands until the end comes? No, we've talked about America's past. You can't change it. We talked about America's future. It's already set.
You're not going to change it. But I want to talk about America's present. What we can do to prolong God's blessing on our country, even if it's a temporary time. We're going to talk about America's present, and our present is a time of choice. My message concluded with a cliffhanger, and I don't want you to miss what comes next.
Tomorrow, I'm going to give you four specific biblical action steps that every Christian who loves God and loves this country must take starting today. In that spirit, I want to remind you about the fabulous opportunity to double the impact of your ministry gift through the $1.5 million In God We Trust matching challenge. Our growing network of radio and television stations is reaching America with bold Bible teaching, and we're committed to expanding our outreach. But we cannot do so without friends like you. America is in a spiritual crisis.
The statistics are sobering, but behind every statistic is a person, a family, or a soul searching for hope. Your gift to the Matching Challenge will help us pierce that growing darkness, expanding our broadcast reach, acquiring additional TV and radio time in key markets, and bringing the hope of the gospel to those who are hurting and afraid. I'm going to thank you for your generous gift to the Matching Challenge by sending a fabulous keepsake. Our 250th commemorative edition of America is a Christian Nation is a full-color, beautifully crafted volume filled with inspiring stories, stunning images, and powerful reminders of the Christian faith that has always been at the heart of this nation. It'll be a treasured addition to your home for years to come.
So please request your copy today. Here's David with all the details. When you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory, You're invited to request the brand new 250th commemorative edition of America is a Christian Nation. In addition to the book, you'll also receive In God We Trust, a brand new two-disc set featuring music performances by the First Baptist Dallas Choir and Orchestra, and teaching from Dr. Robert Jefferson.
To request these resources, call 866-999-2965, visit ptv.org, or text PTV to 78800. And when you give $100 or more, we'll also send you the America and the Bible Message Series on DVD video and MP3 format audio disc set. And remember, because of the In God We Trust matching challenge, your gift to pathway to victory will be matched and therefore doubled in impact. But the deadline is quickly approaching on July 5th at midnight.
So be sure to get in touch with us today before it's too late. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You can also send your donation by mail right to P.O. Box 223-609-Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O.
Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. Join us next time for part two of the message America at the Crossroads. Can we survive another 250 years?
Right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible.
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