Our country today is radically different from when I grew up in the 1950s. Our nation’s founders were mostly believers in Jesus, and they left us a spiritual heritage that permeated our institutions. We have had our faults, such as slavery, racism, and our treatment of Native Americans, but on the whole, our culture has been one that believed in and respected the Word of God and its moral principles.
The Change
This began to change in the 1950’s when prayer was officially banned from public schools. The constitutional right to freedom of religion, and the concept of the government not favoring any particular religion, evolved into an obsession with removing religion completely from the public square. The “wall of separation between church and state”, not in the constitution but in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, became the new mantra.
When we threw God out of our public institutions, bad things began to happen. The 1950s were known for an increase in materialism, rooted in the prosperity following World War II. This desire for more things has increased steadily since then. In the 1960s, the so-called “sexual revolution” began, which “divorced” sex from traditional marriage. As a result, sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman was no longer taboo.
Consequences
The consequences have been disastrous. Many sexual practices previously considered deviant, especially homosexuality and transgenderism, was at first tolerated, then encouraged, and today even celebrated! Even marriage itself was a casualty: the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex “marriage” in 2015.
The most tragic practice that has grown out of these changes is abortion. It was also tolerated, then made legal nationally in 1973 with Roe vs. Wade, and also celebrated. When the New York legislature passed a law recently allowing abortion up to the moment of birth, most of the legislators stood up and applauded! Now that Roe has been struck down, many states are quickly passing laws to protect the continuation of this barbaric practice.
How could our culture change so rapidly? How could traditional moral standards that existed for thousands of years, change in 50 years?
History
A little history is in order. As the Gospel spread after Jesus’ 1st coming, Western civilization changed for the better in many ways. Pagan practices, including worship of the “gods”, diminished and disappeared where Christian beliefs took hold. I believe that the 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20 is symbolic of the New Testament age, the era between Jesus’ 1st and 2nd comings. And the defeat of paganism and the spread of the Gospel was due to the “binding of Satan”.
Revelation also indicates that after 1,000 years, Satan would be “released for a little while”. I believe this release began in the twentieth century. The world experienced the two most destructive wars in history, and the killing of millions of Jews and others. Godless dictators committed all kinds of atrocities. Persecution of believers around the world is increasing. And, the “sexual revolution”. See my article “The End: Jesus is Coming, But How?” for a more complete treatment of my end times interpretations.
The Ancient “Gods”
With his release, Satan brought his ancient “gods” (really demonic spirits) out of retirement to wreak death and destruction on the world, and especially God’s people.
Jonathan Cahn, a Jewish believer in Jesus, released a book called “The Return of the Gods”. His research into the gods that plagued ancient Israel helps to explain how we got into the mess we are in today. You can find his website and book here: http://www.hopeoftheworld.org/.
There were three major gods that caused Israel’s downfall (Cahn calls them the “Dark Trinity”).
Baal was the chief god in Canaan and in many other areas. He was known as the god of fertility and prosperity.
Asherah was the goddess devoted to all kinds of sexual perversion including homosexuality and transgenderism.
Molech was known for child sacrifice, where children were thrown into the fire.
While Asherah was the chief sex goddess, all three gods included sexual practices as part of their worship.
Scripture References
Judges 2:13, They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.
2 Kings 23:7, And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
2 Kings 23:10, And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
The attraction of these gods stemmed from people’s basic selfishness and desire for a better life. These were gods of the earth, who promised blessings in return for worship and participation in their rites. They appealed to basic sexual instincts and materialism. Worshippers of these gods engaged in ritual sexual practices and sacrificed their children in the hope that their lives would be easier and more fulfilled.
What Should We Do?
The parallels between the sins of ancient Israel and our own culture today are striking. The main reasons for our unrestrained sexual practices and abortion are the same. A better life, career, convenience, and so on. There is truly nothing new under the sun. And we, God’s people, are under increasing persecution even in our country, especially if we don’t agree with the new sexual orthodoxy.
Eventually, Israel was conquered and exiled because of these grievous sins. We don’t know where this will end for our country, but we need to keep in mind that our battle today, as it was then, is not against people, but demonic spirits (Ephesians 6:12). Our warfare must be in the Spirit of God, to destroy the strongholds of evil by his power (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). God’s people need to seek God and repent (2 Chronicles 7:14). Only the Lord can remove the deception that dominates our culture. But it won’t completely go away until Jesus comes again. The time is short; only “a little while”. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!