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This is David Bay, Director of Old Paths Ministries.
And this is the Cutting Edge, a radio program dedicated to warning and informing God's people. We are committed to the study and exposition of the inerrant, inspired and authoritative Word of God. The views expressed belong to us, and are not necessarily shared by this station.
Our society is deteriorating, and Bible-believing Christians are ill-prepared to face that deterioration. This radio program is dedicated to preparing God's people to meet the challenges of the Day, and to encourage obedience to the Word of God in being separated from worldliness and false doctrine.
The moral bankruptcy of our society is well-documented.
Few people understand why we have become morally bankrupt. However, when we look at society through the eyes of God, through the Bible, we can easily see why we are facing the unprecedented troubles today. This study of America through the eyes of God is what we will always do try to here; stay with us for some eye-opening truths.
Since we started our Cutting Edge Radio programs, we have consistently attempted to show you scenes of current American life of which most of you probably were not aware. These scenes involve some of the most pernicious sins and some of the most anti-Christian values imaginable. Of course, we have done more than just inform you of what is happening, or threatening to happen; we have also shown you why. We have shown you that the driving force behind most of these heinous sins in America today is the New World Order, the kingdom of Anti-Christ. Before this kingdom can come into power, the original Western civilization, based upon Judeo-Christian values, has to be destroyed.
This destruction is apparently coming to its desired goal, as evidenced by President Bush and other world leaders announcing, in late 1990, that the world was entering into a New World Order. These repeated pronouncements would not have been made if the world's leadership had not been convinced that it was time to begin the final phase of establishing the New World Order. Thus, we stand at a most critical moment in world history. The occultic leadership of today's nations is mightily attempting to overthrow God's system of individual sovereign nations, and establish their coveted New World Order. True Christians are attempting to fight back, finally realizing the type of battle in which we are engaged. In the epoch of history, this time is simply a snapshot; the Old Order is not yet fallen, even though under intense attack from all angles. The New World Order is straining, waiting to rush forward to eradicate the hated enemy and to establish their rule and their values upon the world.
The key question of the hour is simply this: Will Sovereign God allow this imposition of the Satanic New World Order with the resulting appearance of its Christ, Maitreya? Or, will God intervene again in world history to prevent such an occurrence, much as He did at the Tower of Babel? This question could be accurately framed in yet another way: Is God's time table for the end of the age now, or at some future date? This is the focus of this message today. We are going to look at this specific snapshot of world history in which we are living, to attempt to determine whether sufficient evidence seems to exist which would point to one conclusion or the other.
Remember the snapshot which we are examining. The Old World Order, based upon Judeo-Christian values, is under attack by the forces of the New World Order, but not yet fallen. The forces of the New World Order, based upon Satanic values, are straining to rush forward at the first opportunity to eradicate their enemy and establish their own system and values. This is our snapshot we are looking at today.
Let us examine relevant Bible prophecies as we begin our study. Such an examination would present the proper framework for this study. Let us begin with the words of Jesus Christ, in Matthew 24, as He talks about that snapshot of world history, the approach of the end of the age. In verses 4-31, Jesus gives His disciples the various prophetic events which would herald the approaching end of the age. Then, in verses 32-36, Jesus says, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
The key understanding from this Scripture is that all these signs must be occurring together before they qualify as fulfillment of these prophecies.
"So also, when you see these signs, all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors."
Here, Jesus is telling us several pertinent things.
We have repeatedly stated during this program our strong belief that we can know Jesus is at the very doors because we can see all Jesus' prophecies in Matthew 24 coming to pass together. We are at that particular snapshot of world history where the end of the age is nearly here, where the forces of Satan are nearly ready to take temporary control of the world away from the Old World Order established upon the foundation of Christianity.
The Apostle Paul casts further light upon this snapshot. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul talked of the appearance of Anti-Christ, which we know will occur at the very beginning of the transition between the Old World Order and the New. In chapter 2:3, Paul states, "Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition)..."
Of course, Paul has just described the Anti-Christ, the one who will lead the world as dictator for the seven-year Great Tribulation. Paul continues, describing the many attributes of Anti-Christ in verse 4. Then, in verse 6, Paul gives us tremendous insight, when he states, "And now you know what is restraining him [from being revealed at this time]; it is so that he may be revealed in his own appointed time. For the mystery of lawlessness...is already at work in the world, but it is restrained only until he who restrains is taken out of the way."
Thus, Paul uses the key word "restrain" twice in two sentences. Before we go on, we must examine the meaning and implication of this word. Since the core word of restrain is strain, I looked up the meaning in my "Webster's Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary". Strain, the verb, means "to stretch or force beyond the proper, reasonable, or legitimate limits", or to injure or impair by overuse or overexertion". This meaning totally fits the current situation with the forces of the New World Order; they are attempting to "stretch" or "force beyond the proper, reasonable, or legitimate limits".
But, Webster's adds one more meaning, "to pull forcibly or violently". As an example, Webster's uses the phrase "straining at the leash". Now we are getting very close to the truth: The New World Order plans to use any means, especially force, to overthrow the Old Order and establish their New. These forces are like rabid attack dogs, straining at their leashes, waiting for the leashes to be removed so they can relentlessly move to the attack.
Webster's then defines "restrain" as "the act of holding back...to limit or restrict". Some force is holding back the forces of the New World Order, so that they have not yet attacked in full fury. Who is that force? The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit restrains evil so that it cannot reach a level which God does not allow. This Holy Spirit restraining power operates at both the individual and the national level. Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has worked primarily through his believers, the corporate body of believers, the Church. Throughout Western, and especially American, history, the Church has exercised tremendous influence upon people and institutions, to restrain evil.
However, since World War I, the influence of the true Church has been steadily declining, to the point where many people have concluded that the Church is no factor any more. Today, we shall take a quick look at current American society, to determine whether forces of evil are straining forward mightily, chaffing at the leash, anxious to destroy the old system so they can institute their New World Order. This is our snapshot of American society.
1. Value of Human Life
The Bible emphatically teaches that God has bestowed upon mankind a very special value which is to be respected by all other men in every age. Only man is so valued; no animal, fish, or fowl are bestowed with this God-given value. Why is man so valued? God gave the answer in Genesis 1:26-27: "God said, Let Us make mankind in our image after our likeness..So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them."
Therefore, God set forth very special, and detailed, rules by which men were to treat other men. Men were not to lie to one another, or to steal from one another, and especially not to kill one another. Man was made in God's image. But, this is not the only reason God demands that we place a very high value upon human life. Since only God could create life, God demanded that only He be allowed to take it. Only two exceptions were made: during war against enemy soldiers and after proper judicial proceedings were followed in cases involving crimes for which God demanded the death penalty.
In all other instances, God demands that He alone determine when and how each person dies. Do we see the forces of evil straining at the leash, attempting to overthrow this ideal? Indeed, we do, and they are of unprecedented power.
* Consider abortion, the killing of the unborn baby inside the womb. Presently, much of America allows this killing to occur at any time in the 9-months of pregnancy. We are now killing 1.6 million unborn babies every year. This means 3 babies are dying each minute in this country. Since the Roe vs Wade decision in 1973, we have killed over 30 million unborn babies. Adolf Hitler killed approximately 18 million people in his holocaust. This "Christian" nation has not only surpassed Hitler's "accomplishments", we have gone far beyond. As horrible as these statistics are, they do not represent the final goals of the people who are championing the New World Order. Their final goal is the elimination of two-thirds of the world's population so a "sustainable" permanent population of only 2 billion people is maintained. After this goal has been maintained, abortion will continue to be practiced for the entire two thousand years that the New World Order is envisioned.
Abortion is thus planned to kill billions of unborn babies. We have barely scratched the surface.
Whose forces are opposing abortion? The Christian Church under many different banners, plus millions of born again believers who do not actively march against it, but who daily pray against it. The attitude of the pro-abortionists is so passionate, it borders upon a religious conviction. It is religious conviction -- a Satanic force.
If the Christian Church and other Christian organizations were suddenly removed, the forces for abortion would instantly surge forward to take control.
* Consider Infanticide, the killing of the newly born baby after it has been born. Since this heinous practice is so shrouded in secrecy, we do not know how many babies are being killed in this manner; however, the numbers are serious enough for Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to address this issue strongly in his book, "Whatever Happened To The Human Race?" Koop clearly stated that Infanticide was being regularly practiced in the United States. And Why are we killing these babies after they are born? For the same reasons we are killing them before they are born.
Once again, if the Christian Church were suddenly removed, the forces promoting this evil would surge forward, to not only intensify their efforts, but to move its practice out of secret and into public view.
* Consider the movement to convince people to kill themselves. The best-selling book, "Final Exit" has been on bookshelves for less than a year. Many people have followed the simple instructions on how to commit suicide. For right now, the emphasis is on those people who are terminally ill, or who are elderly. But, soon, people who are just handicapped in a certain way, in societies' view, will be targeted. Even now, according to Holocaust survivor, Dr. Wolf Wofensberger, certain American hospitals and nursing homes are killing people in ways which are medically disguised. The last people to systematically do this kind of medical killing were the Germans, who started in their hospitals and nursing homes some ten years before Hitler came to power. Once Hitler conceived his Holocaust, he selected the doctors who had been secretly killing people to run his death camps. Dr. Lifton, who wrote an expose' entitled, "The Nazi Doctors", Hitler's death camps would never have been able to kill so many people so quickly had it not been for the conditioning process of the general public which general Euthanasia had produced. America is trodding down precisely the same path, but why should we be surprised, because the New World Order is simply temporarily sanitized Nazism.
But, Dr. Wolfensberger states that American medical institutions are killing more people per year than the Nazis killed from 1939-45. Wolfensberger further says that the situation has deteriorated so badly that if any family is thinking about admitting any loved one into a medical institution, they had better be prepared to post a 24-hour guard at the bedside. Times are much later than we think.
* Consider organ donation. At our seminar, we use the very pertinent Omni Magazine article of September, 1987. The lead article of this prominent New Age magazine was entitled "Redefining Death: Last Rights". This most revealing article was entirely on the subject of the organ transplant industry. As I read this material, I was reminded of the Scripture in Romans 6:23, that the "Wages of sin is death". Remember, Western man has been taught Darwinian evolution now for well over 100 years, that there is no Creator, that man has simply evolved from lower animal life forms over a period of many millions of years.
A natural corollary to this nonsense is that man is no better than the animal, that his life has no special value which must be greatly respected. The life of a human being has no more intrinsic value than that of a cow.
The article describes organ transplants in vivid detail. It describes how persons who are involved in an auto accident, for example, and who suffer brain damage are prime candidates for the removal of all their transplantable organs, a procedure called "Organ Harvest". This murder is more likely to happen if the accident victim has no relatives who can be readily located. Also, if you have an organ donor card or have the sticker on your driver's license, you are more of a candidate for organ harvesting. Of course, the cause of death will be listed as something totally medical, which will be logically an outgrowth of the auto accident.
The major problem facing this Godless organ transplant industry is that there is so much of a demand and so little of a supply, especially a quality supply from people who have not abused their bodies. In order to attempt a solution, doctors have continually revised their definition of when death occurs. The Judeo-Christian definition of death is when the heart stops beating, a very simple condition which doctors can easily and readily determine. However, doctors have been able to move the public, over the past 20 years, to a very ill-defined definition of death. First, death was redefined as brain death; later, death was redefined as arousal, awareness, so that people who were in a vegetative coma could be declared dead. These people are highly valued by the organ-transplant industry, because their bodily organs are still perfectly healthy, even though their minds are apparently gone. The author of this article boldly stated that, soon, an entire supply-side industry would be created which would artificially keep these people alive in their coma, until the time had come to harvest their organs. Wall Street, the author continued, would eagerly pump millions upon millions of dollars into this venture because they would recognize the profit potential.
The only reason this information isn't more widely reported is that the public isn't quite ready for it. Also, the Christian Church would react strongly against it for the same reasons it is now acting against abortion. But, the dogs are straining at their leash, waiting for the precise moment when they can leap forward to establish their new industry, their new definitions of death, and their values.
* Consider "fetal tissue" research. Medical researchers have reportedly discovered that the tissue from unborn babies' bodies contain high levels of certain chemicals which are later lost as the child grows older. These chemicals are supposedly very helpful in treating diseases such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimers. If the tissue from an unborn baby were to be removed and transplanted into the body of an adult suffering from one of the above diseases, the disease could either be cured or the sufferer could experience dramatic improvement.
Of course, the medical researchers are quick to point out that they do not kill unborn babies for this tissue, but rely upon the carcasses of aborted babies. Even if this were true, if medical science were to discover more uses for baby tissue, there would be even more clamor for aborted babies or for babies to be grown for the express purpose of killing at the right time for the tissues. Wall Street would most definitely be most interested in this industry. I can just see the dogs straining at their leash.
2. Christian values are under attack as never before. People who still hold to such values are ridiculed and are demeaned horribly. The media has developed a technique of asking questions in such a manner as to be demeaning, with a certain look of the eyes and a tone of the voice, which instantly demeans the person under attack. Consider just a few instances of Christian values under attack.
* God has revealed that He is an unchanging God, Who has written an unchanging document called the Holy Bible. Jesus said that, even though all heaven and earth would pass away, His Words would never pass away. This belief has spawned the concept that God's values and commandments were eternal, and were to be obeyed by generation after generation. Today, however, the New Age Movement has succeeded in teaching that there are no absolute values, no absolute right or wrong. Rather, what is right or wrong depends upon the situation in which one finds themselves, or depends upon the person(s) involved. We call this "situational ethics", and believe me, it is Satanic to the core. God speaks to this issue directly in Isaiah 5:20-21, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil...Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes..." This is precisely what the New Age Move-ment has done in redefining all the traditional values and words to more properly set the stage for the kingdom of the Anti-Christ.
Today, our society is experiencing such great distress and crime because so many people have bought into this lie. consider some of these problems:
* Murder -- not only is this type crime a direct outgrowth of not holding to God's absolute command, it is a crime reflecting the hatred which Satan has toward the man who was created in God's image. I am convinced that Satan's ultimate goal is the total elimination of all men on this earth. Jesus seemed to speak to this subject in Matthew 24:22, when He said that, if He did not return when He planned, no human being would be left alive on this earth.
However, as bad as murder has now become, the ultimate goal of the New World Order has not been realized. We can see this goal in their writings. The New Age Movement teaches its adherents that there is no permanent death; rather, after physical death, the soul of each person goes into the reincarnation cycle, to await physical incarnation into another body through the birth process. A corollary to this lie is that reincarnation voids any concept of murder. There can be no murder, if all you are doing is releasing that victim's soul into the reincarnation cycle a little earlier than they had expected. This is one of the cardinal teachings of the New Age Movement and the Secret Societies. Any of you who are familiar with history will be chilled to the bone at this point, because you will remember that this was precisely the teaching from the Nazis during the German Holocaust. Nazism taught reincarnation. Therefore, no Jews, for example, were being murdered; rather, they were just being made to experience, as an entire race, their accumulated Karma, so that when their souls came back into incarnation through the reincarnation cycle, they could come back as Aryans. This is why the "cleansing action" in which the Nazis were engaged was beneficial for both the earth and the victims.
This is precisely the goal of the New World Order, and it can be clearly seen in their writings. They foresee the need to cleanse as many as 4 billion people. The dogs are straining at the leash, restrained only by their perception that the forces opposing them are still too strong for them to fully implement their vision.
* Consider sexual activity. God forbids it except in the boundaries of marriage. However, Americans since the late 1960's have been following the motto, "If it feels good do it". Sexual activity between man and woman outside the bounds of marriage has become so commonplace that the act seems more animalistic than human. Christian values of loyalty to ones spouse has also diminished so dramatically that divorce has become rampant. Families have been torn asunder by the millions, and the children who are caught in the middle suffer enormous permanent damage psychologically and emotionally.
Such open and free sex has also given rise to an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, the latest of which is AIDS. Former Surgeon General Koop warned, just prior to his leaving his position, that this current generation of American teens could be the first generation in history to be wiped out by disease. Yet, even though this is the case, our entire media and entertainment industries continue to actively promote the very attitudes which have created the monster we have just described to you.
And still the ultimate New World Order goal has not been realized: the complete, permanent destruction of the Family as an institution. Their vision is that procreation will be carried out as a program of the Dictatorial State. After birth, the parents would give their children over to the State baby-care facilities as they returned to their jobs. The State would raise the child, educate the child, and instill their values in the child. Communism was only partially successful in their attempts at achieving this goal, but the New World Order will be even more ruthless in eradicating the God-ordained Family.
The dogs are straining at the leash.
The Family is also under attack from another source: the so-far successful attempt to portray the homosexual and lesbian lifestyle as normal, healthy, and as valid as God's ordained heterosexuality. This process has gone so far that many states have enacted special legislation to give homosexuals special rights that the rest of the population does not have. Our entertainment media is actively writing scripts which give validity to homosexuality. Our public school curricula has been rewritten so that homosexuality is taught as being normal and valid. And yet, the ultimate goal of the New World Order has not yet been achieved: To use this issue to finally knock the Family institution to the ground, and to bring homosexuality to the forefront where it is completely accepted publicly and without any restraints. It is no secret that one of the major goals of the homosexual movement is to wipe out all laws against this sex activity between anyone of any age in any location.
The dogs are straining at the leash.
The Bible foretells that the False Prophet, acting on behalf of the Anti-Christ, will force everyone in the world to take a physical mark in their right hands or on their foreheads, without which no one can buy or sell anything. Biblical scholars have maintained this situation could never come about unless the economies of the world have been changed to a cashless basis. Until the advent of the computer, no one understood how this cashless situation could be achieved. Now we understand. Computers are already recording sales in the marketplace through credit and debit cards. New World Order writings have been talking about the ultimate goal of a total elimination of cash since the early 1960's. We are nearly there. Every day, more and more people are being conditioned to the concept of buying and selling without cash.
However, since the New World Order of the Anti-Christ is planned to be the most effective and sophisticated dictatorship the world has ever seen, we should not be too surprised to discover that this advance toward a cashless society will also enable Big Government to keep track of its people in a most sophisticated way. Every person's actions will be recorded electronically every day. No one will be able to carry out any concrete detail without that activity being recorded permanently. The ultimate dictatorship will have been created.
The dogs are straining at the leash.
There are many more instances where the forces of the New World Order are straining at the leash in unprecedented ways and with unprecedented force. Once the Holy Spirit removes His restraining power completely, these forces will surge forward on all fronts simultaneously. At this point, the world will be plunged into the final spiritual and physical darkness of which prophecies foretell. We believe this will final removal of the restraining action by the Holy Spirit will occur with the removal of the Christian believers through the Rapture.
The very fact that we can see such unprecedented evil straining against God's leash in so many different areas is one more indicator that the Rapture of the Church is imminent. When the Rapture takes the Church out of the world, the dogs will be released from their leash.
The Great Tribulation will then be free to begin.
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