Are religious leaders cherry-picking the Scriptures for the reason the nation will be judged and ignoring some of the weightier matters? You may have heard various reasons for why America will be judged but here are some of the most notable reasons mentioned:
- the gospel of accommodation – meaning that the gospel has been watered down
- the culture taking prayer and the Word of God out of schools and public places
- abortion
You can count on one hand the number of leaders who say the nation will be judged for another reason. The hot-button topic that white America refuses to deal with is America’s sins against humanity. In reading the Scripture from Isaiah 58:1-3, we notice that the Creator is pointing out the hypocrisy of Israel. They’re being religious. They have a form of godliness and they highlight their religious acts like fasting and praying. So, in a sense, they’re focusing on the first commandment – their relationship with the Most High. But the Most High is taking notice of how they treat others – which is the second great commandment highlighted by the Messiah, love your neighbor as you love yourself. So, why am I pointing out this particular Scripture in connection with America? It’s because a large percentage of Americans believe that this is a Christian nation and that its laws are modeled after the laws given to the ancient Israelites.
Now you may have heard of a book called, A Miracle That Changed the World – The 5000 Year Leap by Dr. Kleon Skousen. The ideas expressed in this book will explain why many white evangelicals think the way they do. This book proclaims that America prospered because its Founding Fathers put principles in place similar to those passed down from common law and traditional Judeo-Christian morality. It says that the Founding Fathers were guided by the Bible and this explains the connection to the state of Israel and why the United States is so supportive of Israel. I highlighted two of the principles from the book that are in direct contradiction to how America has treated people of color since the founding of this nation.
- Principle 6 says, “All mankind are created equal. The Founders knew that in these three ways, all mankind are theoretically treated as: equal before God, equal before the law, equal in their rights.”
- Principle 28 says, “The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race. The Founders sensed from the very beginning that they were on a divine mission.”
This manifest destiny seemed to be a contradiction to the doctrine of discovery that I shared with you in previous lessons. The doctrine was adopted before the Declaration of Independence and it is what brought Europeans here in the first place. This doctrine was sanctioned by the Catholic Church and approved European enslavement and exploitation of people of color and non-Christian. This doctrine is still on the books today. So, just to refresh your memory about what this doctrine is, the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ is the name for a body of Catholic law that granted land rights to whichever European Christian nation settled territory in the new world. It considered as terra nullius (which means “nobody’s land” – they were to consider that there’s nobody there; the land is empty) any territory occupied by “heathens, pagans, and infidels” – in other words, the original inhabitants of the Americas. The United States is autonomous; it’s supposed to be an independent country. Why then would it need to go to the Vatican to request that this doctrine be rescinded? It’s as I said in a previous video, there is no real separation of church and state folks. This law came from the Catholic Church over 500 years ago and it is why Christopher Columbus came here in the first place and it is still being used today.
I want you to understand what is at the root of this resistance of those who are saying that America is going to be judged but they seem to ignore these sins against humanity. Let’s take a look at some of the sins and the Scripture that condemn it because these are the sins the Creator is looking at and why judgment comes. Not saying that the other things are not important as well but we can’t pick and choose the commandments that we’re going to obey.
- Jeremiah 22:3 says, Thus says the Most High: Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the pondered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
These are the standards the Creator is looking at. We also see Scripture about not paying the workers their wages.
- Deuteronomy 24:14-15 says, You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day before the sun sets, for he is poor and counts on it, lest he cry against you to the Most High and you be guilty of sin.
- Jeremiah 22:13 says, Woe to him again judgment who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor’s service without wages and gives him nothing for his work
I’m showing you all of this because pastors who are not speaking out against America’s sins against humanity, you are preventing people from repenting. It’s not the Father’s will that any should perish but all would come to the knowledge of truth. But if they are not hearing a word that’s going to bring conviction, they feel justified in their actions. The simplest way to explain cognitive dissonance is basically they are the lies we tell ourselves to prevent our conscience from convicting us (see Matthew 25:35-40). I shared with you that many see the founding of this nation as a miracle that changed the world. They believe that the nation was founded on laws similar to the laws given to the ancient Israelites. Keep in mind that the ancient Israelites could not accept blessings and not the curses when they didn’t keep the laws statutes and commandments. They were punished and kicked out of the land. Is America deserving of the same? Learn more when you view the accompanying video, The Judgment on America l Crimes Against Humanity.
