1. Tuesday September 11, 2001 (9-11)
On Tuesday September 11, 2001, also known as 9-11, terrorists hijacked
several passenger jetliners, crashing two of them into the twin towers
of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one into the ground.
The twin towers of the World Trade Center were built between 1966 and 1973,
were 110 stories high, and housed 50,000 office workers. The United
States was very lucky. Initially, it was thought that tens of thousands
of people had been killed. This estimate quickly dropped to about 6,000
people. Now, the latest number is down to 3,044 people killed.
World Trade Center
|
America Attacked!
|
Pentagon
|
|
2. Who are the "evil doers" today?
American president George W. Bush talked about the "innocent" people
in the buildings that were destroyed, and about ridding the world of
"evil doers." But, who is "innocent" and who is an "evil doer" seems
to be a subjective matter these days. The Bible's definitions of good
and evil certainly are not used. People aren't often called "evil
doers" anymore, not even when they work hard to remove the Bible and
the Ten Commandments from schools and replace them with books that
promote "alternative lifestyles." Even when these "alternative
lifestyles" cause the passing around of deadly diseases that kill far
more people than the terrorists did, it is not considered polite to
call the people behind such behavior "evil doers." In fact, the way
things are going, soon only those who believe in the Bible will be
called "evil doers." For example, in Canada it has already become
fashionable to accuse people of "promoting hatred" if they say anything
against homosexuality. Some polls suggest that the majority in the
United States are not yet quite as godless as the people in Canada,
but that is likely to change soon.
3. American women outkill Osama bin Laden daily
Small-time terrorists like Osama bin Laden must stand in awe of the
women in the United States. American women and their doctors destroy
more than 3,000 unborn babies a day--over a million truly
innocent lives a year!--and won't even tolerate any criticism
of their behavior. Every day they destroy as many lives as the
terrorists did, and the men who got these women pregnant quietly
approve. They say that they "haven't done anything wrong." They
are all "innocent." These "mothers" just sincerely felt that their
lifestyles were in danger. The great social blunder of the terrorists
must have been that they destroyed some private property.
4. American television: promoting perverseness
One can't help wondering just how "innocent" people are when the
television programs that they like to watch are full of what the
Bible calls detestable things. When the television programs
throughout a nation become more perverse all the time, it says
something about the people in that nation. Truly innocent people
would not want to watch television programs full of blasphemy,
violence, obscene jokes, fornication, adultery, homosexuality,
witchcraft, occult nonsense, etc. They would want to
TURN IT OFF! One of the Psalms says,
"I will be careful to lead a blameless
life--when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with
blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The
deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men
of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to
do with evil" (Psalms 101:2-4, NIV). Someone with
that attitude would not be wasting many hours a day watching
the foolish and sinful behavior--including absolutely vile
things--that television stations try to broadcast into people's
private homes. Many people who do not go to porn stores or gay
bars like to happily asssume that it is perfectly all right to
watch similar things when they are on free, local TV stations.
Hollywood never tires of praising itself and trying to stir up
excitement about the smut it produces. Don't believe any of it.
These days, if a movie is said to be "critically acclaimed" and
"the winner of umpteen Academy Awards" you should beware. You can
be sure that some perverts are up to no good. Such is the current
state of show biz in the U.S. that when the reviewers say that a
movie was one of the best movies of the year, it really means that
it was actually one of the worst, most sinful, shows of the year,
lowers all moral standards another notch, and is not fit to watch.
One man made an interesting comment about a movie he had watched.
It was one of those space age science fiction shows. The actors
(hypocrites in Greek) pretended to be astronauts thousands
of years in the future, in a galaxy many light-years away from
the earth. And what were they doing? The man who had watched
the show couldn't help noticing that, "They were still taking
the Lord's name in vain."
It would be wrong to assume that only American TV shows are bad.
For a look at what can come from really sick minds, check out the
twisted trash made by French Canadian producers. Better yet, don't
check it out. Just avoid it. Why become sick in the head like
they are?
It probably needs to be pointed out here that it is not necessarily
wrong to watch television. Viewing images on a TV screen is not
necessarily a sin. Listening to the sound track that goes with the
televised images is not necessarily wrong either. But, these
activities can both be wrong. This is one of those cases where it
is not the thing (television) that is a sin, but the wrong use of it
that is a sin. Believe it or not, televisions could, theoretically,
be used for good purposes. It is just that in actual practice today
they are usually used for bad purposes. Movie script writers are
experts at cleverly manipulating audiences so that they cheer for
the main character in a show no matter how sinful the character's
words and actions are. If YOU
watch anything on television, YOU should always think about
what the Bible says about the words and actions of the characters on
the screen. No matter how rich, or famous, or popular
someone on television might be, you should not be looking up to
godless perverts as your heroes.
5. American music: noise pollution
One can't help wondering just how "innocent" people are when the
"music" that they like to listen to is actually crazy noise.
When the "music" throughout a nation becomes more perverse all the
time, it says something about the people in that nation. No truly
innocent person would EVER be attracted to some of the
perverse noise that is popular
today. Unfortunately, more and more low-paying workplaces force
the employees to listen to perverse noise on the radio, played at
high volume all day. Immoral people like to force perverse noise
on others as loud as they can. They are not content to keep it to
themselves. As these noise addicts go deaf from the noise, they
want it even louder. Yet, when tragedy strikes, suddenly everyone
is so "innocent." Religious people aren't much help. Most are
going along with all the debauchery, and even producing their own
so-called "christian rock."
It would be wrong to assume that white Americans are the only source
of bad noise that passes for music. One type of offensive noise coming
from the black community these days is called rap. It is dismaying
to see what has been called "white trash" stand in awe of what has been
called "this rap crap nigger noise." (Others prefer hip-hop, which is
supposedly like rap only without all the swearing.) Cover your ears;
save your innocence.
It probably needs to be pointed out here that it is not necessarily
wrong to make music or to listen to it. This is another one of those
cases where it is not the thing (musical instrument) that is a sin,
but the wrong use of it that is a sin. The Bible mentions musical
instruments, and they are not wrong as some very strict religious
groups suppose. The book of Psalms in the Old Testament of the Bible
is a collection of 150 psalms, or songs, that were actually sung in
the original Hebrew language.
After Solomon died, the nation of Israel split into two separate
nations: the southern Kingdom of Judah under Solomon's son Rehoboam,
and the northern kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam. The northern kingdom
of Israel under Jeroboam abandoned God's festivals and instituted other
festivals in their place. Jeroboam also set up idols at Dan and Bethel
for the people to worship at rather than go to Jerusalem. See I Kings 12.
When people go bad, it is often reflected in their choice of "music."
God told these sinning Israelites: "I hate, I
despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. ... Away
with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your
harps." (Amos 5:21-23, NIV).
6. The future of terrorism in America
Unless terrorists go nuclear, or at least learn to do more than just
copy the plots from cheap movies and novels, they won't ever be able
to do much. It is sometimes reported that Osama bin Laden's terrorist
organization might have acquired a nuclear weapon. If they ever really
do get their hands on an atomic bomb, the future of terrorism against
the United States will be so bright that you'll have to wear shades
(sunglasses). So far, the efforts of the terrorists are still so
relatively puny compared to what Americans do to themselves each year
that one might wonder why the terrorists even bother. Still, this
terrorist attack has caused some people from the Church of God
(COG) scene to think about what might be coming to the United States
and Britain in the future if these nations become too bad for too long
and don't repent. Something far worse than the recent terrorist attack
could happen. There are examples in the Bible of what can happen when
too many people become too bad for too long and don't repent.
7. Cause and effect in the Bible: The world flooded in Noah's day
Genesis chapters 6-9 tell the story of the flood in the days of Noah.
"The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on
the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil all the time" (Genesis 6:5, NIV).
People had become so bad that God regretted that He had ever made them.
"The LORD was grieved that he had made man
on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain"
(Genesis 6:6, NIV). So, God told Noah, "I
am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with
violence because of them" (Genesis 6:13, NIV). After
120 years of warning, God sent the flood. Only righteous Noah and
his family were saved in the ark. The flood did not just happen by
itself. God sent it.
Notice that when evaluating the people of the earth, God did not
"curve" their marks to give some of them a passing grade. They
did not get away with their bad behavior just because everybody
else was doing it too. Worldwide sinning brought worldwide punishment.
8. More cause and effect: Sodom and Gomorrah burnt in Lot's day
Genesis chapters 18-19 tell the story of the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah and what God did to them when the people there were wicked.
Like some people today, they wanted to force their wrong ways on
everyone else. God had told Abraham that He would spare the whole
place if there were even as few as ten righteous people there. But,
only Lot was righteous, so God had him and his family taken out of the
city. The Bible says that, "Then the LORD
rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out
of the heavens" (Genesis 19:23, NIV). This did not just
happen by itself. God did it. If such people ever surrounded
your house and wanted you to come out and play, you
would probably start praying for God to do something similar today!
Notice that it was not just "consenting adults" doing something in
the privacy of the "bedrooms of the nation." Their mentality led
to people proudly marching down city streets and trying to
force their ways on others. It will be interesting to see if the
Bible has to be edited in the future, or even banned as "hate
literature," for telling this story.
9. Even more cause and effect: Jerusalem taken captive in Jeremiah's day
Talking about Jerusalem, God's own chosen city, God told the prophet
Jeremiah, "If you can find but one person
who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this
city" (Jeremiah 5:1, NIV). But, apparently there weren't
that many good people around. The nation of Judah and its capital city
of Jerusalem had forsaken God and become full of thieves, murderers,
adulterers, idolaters, liars, Sabbath breakers, false prophets, etc.
God warned that, "They have lied about the
LORD; they said, 'He will do nothing!'" (Jeremiah 5:12, NIV).
God insisted that He would do something: "I
have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD.
It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will
destroy it with fire" (Jeremiah 21:10, NIV). This did not
just happen on its own. God gave the city of Jerusalem into the hands
of the king of Babylon, and decreed that it would be desolate for
seventy years. God told the people clearly that it was their own
fault, saying, "Your own conduct and actions
have brought this upon you" (Jeremiah 4:18, NIV). God
told the prophet Ezekiel, "They will come
to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be
consoled regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem--every
disaster I have brought upon it. You will be consoled when you see
their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done
nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign LORD"
(Ezekiel 14:22-23, NIV).
10. Why the churches of America won't help
Some people think that God will always be on the side of America.
And, in one sense, He always will be. But, He will punish for sin,
and therein lies the problem for a sinful nation of hypocrites.
The churches in the United States will not be able to help the country
because they are not on God's side. Many individual Catholics in
the United States support same-sex marriage, abortion, and other evils.
So do many Protestants. Even the few religious leaders who do say
that people should repent of their immorality aren't about to repent
of their own immorality--their own Sabbath breaking (and Sunday-keeping),
idolatry (with hippy pictures and idols that they pass off as
representations of Jesus), and general hostility to God's various laws.
The churches have promoted unbiblical, pagan-based customs like Christmas
and Easter, which they read into the Bible. Like Jeroboam, they have
rejected and turned away from the festivals that God actually did give
in the Bible. As the nation's morals degenerate, religious leaders
will not dare to say anything against the sins of the people. It is
already becoming "unconstitutional" to have God's Ten Commandments in
public buildings like schools and courts. Most religious leaders are
in their positions to feed their own bellies, not to jeopardize their
paychecks. In the future, it is likely to be one of the greatest, most
intolerable of crimes against "human rights" to say anything against
sinful behavior, especially if it is really vile behavior.
11. The worst is yet to come
The teaching of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) under
Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) for about fifty years was that
the United States and Britain were becoming degenerate, and that
God was going to use Germany to punish them if they didn't repent.
As in the days of Jeremiah, it would be a case of,
"Your own conduct and actions have brought
this upon you" (Jeremiah 4:18, NIV). For over fifty
years Herbert W. Armstrong was wrong with his guesses about
when this would happen, and many of his former followers now
doubt that the things he predicted ever will happen. Still, one can't
help noticing that Germany has now recovered from the devastation of
World War II, has reunited, and is actively using the European Union
to pursue its own ambitions. The European Union is already putting
together a Rapid Reaction Force that will be independent of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A document from the German
defense ministry talked about the transfer of national nuclear weapon
capabilities of certain EU countries (Britain and France) so that
they would be controlled by the European defense system.
Cheap Reseller Hosting 
