CENTURY OF GENOCIDE 1850-2000 AD

Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

During the 19th century we saw one of the greatest expansions of Christianity in world history. In the 18th century we saw a man by the name of William Carey who left the shores of Great Britain and went to India. He felt an overwhelming responsibility for the people who had never heard of the Gospel.

At a ministers’ meeting in 1786, Carey had raised the question of whether it was the duty of all Christians to spread the Gospel throughout the world. J. R. Ryland, the father of John Ryland, is said to have retorted: “Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine.”

William Carey published a little book called: AN ENQUIRY INTO THE OBLIGATIONS OF CHRISTIANS TO USE MEANS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE HEATHENS. It was divided into five parts. The first part consisted of a Biblical basis for missions; the second part was a history of missions from the beginning to the present time; the third part consisted of statistics of what still needed to be done; the fourth part dealt with answers to objections that were raised, and the fifth part called for a mission society that could meet the practical means of seeing missions being accomplished.

Carey became famous for his saying: “Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.” In 1793 William Carey, along with his wife Dorothy and a missionary doctor by the name of John Thomas, arrived in Calcutta, India and began their missionary work. Later their son Peter died of dysentery which caused his wife Dorothy to have an emotional breakdown from which she never recovered.

William Carey started what was known as the “Modern Missionary Movement.” New mission societies were formed, missionaries were sent out and the kingdom of God began to spread. In 1793 William Carey left for India and he died at the age of 73 in 1834. During those years of discouragements: no Indian convert for seven years, debt, disease, a deterioration of his wife’s mind, death – the grace of God and the power of the Word continued to conquer for Christ through William Carey.

By the time Carey had run the race he had started what is known as a “Modern Missionary Movement,” and seen the Scriptures translated and printed into 40 languages, and founded a college at Serampore, been a college professor and started schools for girls. The Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom was beginning to go out all over the world. An Indian theologian said about William Carey that he did more for India than Mahatma Gandhi did. Gandhi is known as the father of India. What a testimony of William Carey.

This was the first wave of the modern missionary movement. About 100 years later another young man (age 21) by the name of Hudson Taylor went to China and instead of working on the coast (as most missionaries were doing) he decided to dress like the Chinese and go into their interior. In so doing he started what is now known in mission history as the “second wave” of the Modern Missionary Movement. New societies were born, new endeavors were taken and the word of God began to spread into the interiors of the different nations and continents of the world.

The third wave, and possibly the last wave of nations in reaching this world, started in the 1930s when another young man was handing out Spanish Bibles in Central America. He met an old man that he gave the Bible to and the old man asked: “If your God is so great why can’t he speak my language?” This young man, William Townsend, realized that in the boundaries of what we now call “nations” there are different groups of people who speak different languages, having different cultures, dress, etc.

He saw the need to get the word of God into these different languages and to see a church planted in these different people groups that could then evangelize their own people. At the beginning of the 21st century we now have an understanding of what it takes to get the job done (world evangelism), where we stand at the moment in completing that task and what it will take to finish. It is an exciting time to be alive!

However, during this time there are many other evil forces at work which we will look at.

KINGDOM OF GOD

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1650-1850 A.D.

Psalms 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”

We cannot go into all the details now regarding the founding fathers, but one thing that stands out is that there was a sense among them that God’s hand was upon this new continent. Listen to the words of Benjamin Franklin:

“In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understanding?

“In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor.

“To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?

“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God Governs in 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 build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel…

“I therefore beg leave to move — that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business.”

The question now comes: How will the colonies respond? Will they deteriorate into anarchy and senseless violence, like France would do a decade later? Or, would they respond to the admonition that Benjamin Franklin gave to call upon divine help in laying the foundation of a Biblical nation, a nation that is based on Biblical law and order?

In the American and French Revolution we see that both extolled the ‘virtues’ of human rights. The difference between the American and French Revolution is that the American Revolution believed that human rights came from God, whereas in the French Revolution human rights came from the government. In the Western world today, this is the way that we are moving; that our government gives us our rights and not God.

What are the foundations that were laid by our founding fathers here in the United States of America?

1. An aggressive acceptance of Biblical Christianity. We see this in the words of Benjamin Franklin quoted above. President Obama made the statement that we are not a Christian nation but a nation made up of many different faiths. Was he right in saying this?

What is a Christian nation? Stephen McDowell said in his book Liberating the Nations: “A Christian nation is one that is founded upon Christian principles, whose laws and institutions reflect a Christian worldview.” Have we been founded on Christian principles? The answer is a definite yes!

2. An in-depth knowledge of the Bible by citizens. Our founding fathers were men of the book and as Stephen McDowell goes on to say: “The Bible teaches, and history confirms, that to the degree that nations have applied the principles of the Bible in all spheres of life – it is the degree to which they have prospered, been free, and acted justly.” If we do not recognize God as sovereign, then there will be someone or something else – most usually the government or some individual that we recognize instead.

3. Rejected the influences of the Renaissance.

4. A keen understanding of history and its causes and effects with obedience to God. They recognized that history was God’s story and not just a lot of isolated incidents, dates, places, etc. It was God working out his plan and purpose.

5. No toleration of pornography.

6. Voting with secret ballots.

7. An economy based on the Puritan work ethic.

8. A media dominated by religious writings.

9. The days of fasting and prayer for battles, elections, and by pastors and civil authorities.

When I look at these foundations I think of the words of Benjamin Franklin when he quoted the Scripture: “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” (Psalms 11:3) “If the foundations should be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” This is the question that we need to be asking ourselves.

 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1650-1850 AD)

Psalm 2:1 “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?”

When Paul was in Athens he was invited to speak in a meeting of the Areopagus. In the midst of his discourse he said: “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

One of the things that we see is that every nation has a relationship with God whether they know it or not. Nations can choose to walk in God’s ways or not to. By the 18th century nations in Europe were making their choice. Some ran towards the Creator, but others did not. Some of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe decided to go their own way.

France was one of the nations that decided not to go God’s way. Instead of going for the reformation they went for a revolution with the model of “libert`e, fraternit`e, equalit`e.” Would the French revolution succeed where Rome had failed in freeing the human nature of its brutal propensity to murder, theft and slavery?

We see that the revolution killed or exiled its leaders, kept the masses ignorant and set the stage for their own downfall. We see that the temptation to have power and the excitement of the guillotine overwhelmed the model of liberty, fraternity and equality. It is said that at the time of the French Revolution there was such a sophistication of deception that the world is still deceived after 200 years.

It is important for us to see what some of the foundational stones were in the French Revolution. Later on we will be looking at the American Revolution and in all honesty there is no comparison. The reason this is important because we see some of these same foundational stones in our own Western civilization today. We need to learn from history so that we do not repeat those mistakes.

Foundational results of the French Revolution:

1. A violent rejection of Biblical Christianity. When we see today how God is kicked out of our schools, businesses and our courts we see this same rejection in our own society.

2. Ignorance in respect to God and the Bible. A survey was taken in one particular denomination to find out why so many pastors were dropping out of the pastorate. They came up with four reasons, but the last was interesting and highlights this second point. They dropped out because of “Biblical illiteracy.” They did not know the Word of God!

3. The “Enlightenment” filled the vacuum created by unbelief. Man is a religious person. If we do not believe in God then that vacuum needs to be filled with something else. What is filling the vacuum in our Western Society today?

4. Historical revision bred shame of French heritage. I think of the chant given at a demonstration at Stanford University: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Western Civilization’s got to go!” Yes, there are problems with our Western Civilization, but we still have the freedom to demonstrate, etc.

5. The reversal of the true nature of man. Instead of the recognition that the problem is sin, the explanation for the problems was that man was tied in knots by rules and laws, etc. It seems today in our Western society that nobody takes responsibility for their own actions. It is always someone or something else that is to blame.

6. A destruction of all order and established institutions.

7. Rejection of moral standards. They had moral anarchy. Anything goes today as well. Since there is no absolute truth everybody does what he/she thinks is right. The history of all societies is not class warfare, but ethical warfare against a sovereign God.

8. Christianity is persecuted while the occult is promoted. I left the USA in 65 and did not come back home for seven years. When I did I was surprised to see how many occultist shops had been opened in those seven years. 9. Crime, vice, indulgence and socialism destroyed the French economy. In our Western world today we are seeing the destruction of our economy because of the same thing. 10. Circuses were given as holidays just like they did in the days of Rome. We have the same today with football, basketball, etc. If we do not turn our worship to God then we will turn to something else; it’s our nature to worship.

Like I said, the one thing we can learn from history is that we do not learn from history.

KINGDOM OF GOD

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1650-1850 AD

Luke 16:16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John (the Baptist). Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.”

After the French Revolution another man by the name of Napoleon came upon the scene and eventually brought death to over 20 million people. It is estimated that two generations of men between the ages of 15 and 25 lost their lives.

This eventually brought in communism, Nazi-ism, Statism which in turn eliminated millions of people in the 20th century. (We will look at this later.) We also see a shift in the enemy’s tactics. We now see Paganism in our day, using different ideologies to try to destroy the truth.

After 5000 years of human history a new continent opened up that became a bed of evangelicalism so that after 1600 years the kingdom could flow throughout the world. Our problem is that we do not see history as God’s story; the story of His kingdom coming into full fruition. The American colonies, 3000 miles west of Europe, had developed a model of liberty which was unique in human history.

From the time that Columbus discovered America and before the first Puritans came over – 100 years passed by. Benjamin Franklin Morris states in his epoch book The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (written almost 150 years ago) that God did not allow anyone to set foot upon the American soil until His prepared people over in Europe were ready.

The men and women who came over were Christian men and women who were trained and formed by the fires of conflicts raging in Europe. Ideas of liberty and religion were formed and developed through civil and religious revolutions. The persecutions of the Puritans in England for non-conformity, the religious agitations in Germany by Luther and in Geneva by Calvin and in Scotland by Knox – were the preparatory work for those who came over to this new continent to lay down the ground work of establishing the civil institutions of the American continent.

Morris in his book states: “It would, however, be a violence to historic truth not to affirm and admit that they were under the special and constant guidance of an overruling Providence. The Bible, as the divine charter of their political rights, as well as of their hopes of immortality, they reverently studied, and on it laid the corner-stone of all their compacts and institutions. The system of Moses (Mosaic) of political jurisprudence, which contains more consummate wisdom and common sense than all the legislators and political writers of the ancient nations, was thoroughly understood by the founders of the American republic and incorporated its free spirit and democratic principles into their organic institutions.”

When we look back over history we see that ideas have consequences whether good or bad. With these ideas come symbols that characterize a nation or an empire. For example Morris goes on to show that:

1. The Hebrew commonwealth was the symbol of a theocratic government. Its rituals of religion and liberty maintained the form and diffused the spirit of freedom and of a true republican government.

2. The Roman Empire, in its colossal unity and form, was the symbol of law, of the stately grandeur of a strong government, of the reign of military rule and conquest.

3. The symbol of the Greek republic was the ideal.

4. The symbol of the British Empire, from its earliest history till the present, was national aggrandizement and selfishness, originating in the feudal system.

5. The symbol of the French empire is glory. Atheism, practical and theoretical, has ruled the French empire, and its fatal power has more than once threatened the very life of the nation.

6. The founders of the Christian republic of North America adopted the symbol of civil and religious liberty as the great idea and end of all their civil institutions.

It is important for us to understand God’s hand in history so that we might comprehend what He is doing and work along with Him. Since Paul said, “From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:16-28), several things are worth mentioning here.

First, it is God who determines events – whether it is nations or individuals. It is God who is in control.

Secondly, God moves all things so that men might seek Him or come into redemptive contact of Christ’s work on the cross. God is on the throne and we are moving towards the climax of history: His…story.

TRUTH TRIUMPHS OVER TYRANTS 1400-1650 AD

John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

During this time period a new group of liberators were being raised up that would change, not only the course of history, but bring in principles that would enhance and change Western civilization. These liberators were men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Tyndale, Swingli and many others.

They were men of conviction. Their faith in the Lord was not a preference, something they preferred over other faiths, but their faith was a conviction. It was in their very fiber of who they were. The difference between a faith that is a preference and one that is a conviction is that a preference can be changed if enough pressure is brought to bear upon the person. A person with a faith that is a conviction is unchangeable, if necessary is willing to stand alone; the matter is non-negotiable and they do not need to be assured of success before they stand. These were the men that God was raising up ‘for such a time as this.’

Martin Luther was brought before the “diet of Worms.” Worms is a city in Germany.  The Emperor of Germany held a council in the city of Worms. These council meetings were called a “diet” (from the Latin word “dies,” meaning day) because originally the meetings lasted for one day. Here is what Luther said: “Since your Majesty and your Lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes or councils, for they have contradicted each other. My conscience is bound by the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything; to go against conscience is not right or safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. So help me, God. Amen.”

It was also during this time that the printing press was invented and this helped to speed up the Word of God in being released. It was seen to be more powerful than sword or any army that ever marched. The Truth was being discovered and the Truth is what sets us free. Within 30 years a good part of Europe had become Protestants.

At the dawn of the 17th century despotic tyrants were still trying to hang onto their thrones, but the people had a new light that was beginning to shine into the darkest places in the most corrupt cities. This new light was being preached in pulpits throughout Geneva, Edinburgh and England and it was setting the people free.

This freedom did not come without a cost. Bodies were burned and tortured. Thousands were exiled and, in some places, whole towns were annihilated by those who were trying to put out the Holy Spirit fire. However, when England was at its worst, a new reformation was being started. John Knox, as a galley slave, looked out and said: “Give me Scotland or I die.” The Word of God was more powerful in the hearts of these men than the tyranny of the king.

When we trace the advancement of the Kingdom we see the ministry of the Holy Spirit. John Knox discipled John Witherspoon and it was Witherspoon who discipled some of our founding fathers here in America. A foundation was being built over a period of 1700 years.

A strategy that was used then to bring Reformation is also the strategy that we can use now to bring in Reformation today. Not compromising but going out as conquerors in Christ.