(9.) The ninth stage moves from moral decay to dependence (America with her growing addiction and servitude to the government—Socialism—has entered this stage). (10.) And the tenth and last stage moves from dependence to bondage.
Terry James | Prophecy Line
Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, is a regular contributor to Fox News and Fox Business channels. The host of one program I regularly listen to on Fox Business is Lou Dobbs. Dr. Jeffress appears on that show weekly.
Dobbs, the program host, recently gave a series of catastrophic possibilities that could soon affect us all:
The coronavirus, he said, was about to blow up into a pandemic. Already, at the time, more than 1,100 people had died. The numbers of those with the coronavirus was exploding in China and had jumped all boundaries to begin proliferating around the globe. The US had at the time only fifteen cases, with no deaths, but the doctors and scientists he had interviewed during the show I last tuned in to and during other programs painted a possibly disastrous scenario even for the US if they couldn’t soon get a handle on how to deal properly with the spread of the disease.
Then, there was the matter of fears of climate change. Many, especially among younger Millennials, fear they have but a dozen or fewer years to live on the planet, because the polar ice caps will melt and drown everyone, or worse. The earth, itself, will be depleted of breathable air due to carbon dioxide emissions and other toxic substances.
Then there is reportedly an asteroid that is to pass near the earth. It probably has done so by the time this article is posted. One pundit said the asteroid was large enough to be a continent-destroyer—capable of decimating all of North America. It was to pass within a million miles of the planet, but that is considered a near miss, according to scientists in the know. It is said to be but one of a number of such space objects headed our way.
Locusts in Africa and other regions are devouring all things edible. They are the largest swarms ever seen in modern history, according to the show’s host and his guests, who speculated what could happen if these creatures ever get to the crops on this continent.
Then, there is the matter of the wildfires and other disasters in Australia that look to be apocalyptic-like catastrophes.
Lou Dobbs then introduced his guest, Dr. Jeffress, by saying, “Pastor, is this the end of days?”
Jeffress, in his usual upbeat way, said something like, “No. It is not the end of days,” then added, somewhat more seriously, something like, “But these are all signals the Bible says will be occurring at the very end of the age before Christ’s return.”
The pastor went on to speak for a few seconds about what Matthew 24 and Revelation have to say about these sorts of signals. Dobbs then talked about the great fear that seemed on the rise, and asked if we should be afraid.
I was very proud of Dr. Jeffress’ answer, which went something like: “The way to not be fearful about these coming things is to make sure that you know the One who controls all these end-of-days signs. Make sure you know Jesus Christ as your Savior.”
I don’t know how many heard the Lou Dobbs program that night. His is program has some of the highest numbers of viewers for its time slot. So, several million at a minimum were listening, I presume.
Regardless of the number of people who watched the program that night, there is a nation and a world full of people who live daily in fear of things coming on the earth. But a more problematic number of people suffer a state of mind that even more egregiously adds to a world pointing in directions other than the one God has prescribed. That mindset consists of almost complete apathy about anything heading down the pike that looks like the age is coming to an end and God’s righteous judgment is on the brink of falling.
Both the fear of things such as climate change, etc., and the apathy infecting the fearless combine to constitute what I call the “end-of-days delirium.” Those who have no fear, especially of God and His judgment, mostly inhabit the Western world. The American populace in particular falls into this category.
The reason? Because of the comfortable, even opulent, lifestyle enjoyed by Americans when compared to the rest of the world.
Europe was, for the most part, long ago given over to the delirium of end-of-days apathy. America is now nearing the end of that exponentially spreading malady.
The progress of this humanistic disease has been eloquently dealt with by Alexander Tytler, a Scottish history professor (1714—1778) who is generally given credit for chronicling the stages of a democracy’s demise. I once filed away its essence as repeated by Kirby Anderson, a radio host and host of Probe Ministries.
If we stay on the road to decay, Anderson relates what awaits us:
The decline of this nation (just as the decline of every other nation) is due to spiritual factors. The political, economic, and social problems we encounter are the symptoms of the spiritual deterioration of a nation…. Each of the great civilizations in the world passed through a series of stages from their birth to their decline to their death. Historians have listed these in ten stages. (1). The first stage moves from bondage to spiritual faith. (2). The second from spiritual faith to great courage. (3). The third stage moves from great courage to liberty. (4). The fourth stage moves from liberty to abundance. (5.) The fifth stage moves from abundance to selfishness. (6.) The sixth stage moves from selfishness to complacency. (7.) The seventh stage moves from complacency to apathy. (8.) The eighth stage moves from apathy to moral decay. (9.) The ninth stage moves from moral decay to dependence (America with her growing addiction and servitude to the government—Socialism—has entered this stage). (10.) And the tenth and last stage moves from dependence to bondage.
Of course, there is the possibility of an eleventh stage, and that would be (11.) total obliteration—full annihilation or Armageddon.
It’s easy to discern that this nation could well be in stages 9 and 10 at this point. The septicemia I term end-of-days delirium has set in.
The only Rx to begin dealing with this disease that is infinitely more toxic than the much-feared coronavirus is that dispensed by the God of Heaven. His Holy Name is Jesus Christ. He will one day make all things right again.
