To better appreciate the roots of this special season for us as a people, let’s unravel the chain of events that helps us understand the implications of what led to the divinely innovative beginning of a whole new national identity.
Nobody I know does that better than my friend Bill Federer – Listen as he describes parallels between the treacherous 16th century time of the Pilgrims and our time 400 years later.
Could the result of today’s sharp divisions in human society in the ‘free world’ lead to an historic reformation matching the one beginning in 1517?
The last day of October is Reformation Day in some protestant circles. It’s obscured in our misguided culture by the more modern celebration of ‘Halloween.’ But election day in America is just around the corner, a few days later on the first Tuesday of November.
The 31st of October each year began to be celebrated as Reformation Day in the late 17th century, a hundred years after a turning point event. It all began when a passionate 34-year-old Catholic priest nailed his 95 critiques of Catholic controversial practices onto the church door in a town called Wittenberg Germany in the Holy Roman Empire. His name was Martin Luther.
Ten years earlier, Luther was ordained in 1507, and earned a doctorate in theology from the University of Wittenberg in 1512. Then he became a professor of biblical studies. But it was his own personal theological crisis regarding salvation that led him to his discovery of the Bible concept of justification by faith alone. That culminated in his 1517 publication of the Ninety-five Theses which challenged the sale of indulgences by Catholic promoters of the renovation of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. And that sparked the revolution that became the Protestant Reformation. It changed the world and culminated in generations of wars and the redirection of the history of Western nations.
Proverbs 28:1 tells us that “The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” … It goes on to say in verse 2, “When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.”
What a thought-provoking observation of contrasts! Do you see it? The upstanding Righteous leaders who are bold as a lion… are as different from the wicked who are fearfully looking over their shoulders, because of all the wicked deeds that have earned them many enemies… as the wise, discerning, and organized ruler is peculiarly distinct from the multitude of bureaucratic rulers of a land of cowering rebels.
Benjamin Franklin wrote that “A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins.”
When you return from a day at work, or out shopping, or driving on the highways, or just interacting with the general public, would you say that the God-fearing, morally pure population of your country is “flourishing” and increasing in authority over the land?
Remember… all that must happen for evil to flourish in a culture is for the good people to keep quiet and do nothing. Light dispels darkness. It’s not the other way around.
It’s no wonder the enemy of humankind successfully deceives so many to think they should just let their little light be hid under a ‘basket’ and cower in the shadows of the evil influences. That’s how to keep low-information voters in the dark, ignorant, and fear-filled by whatever demonic deception they think they can’t overcome by faith in the Giver of all good things from above.
Did you know that the word Halloween can be translated as holy night? But holy for whom? What happens when a night meant to be sacred is hijacked by rituals of death and darkness?
The word Halloween comes from something that sounds sacred. It means ‘All Hallow’s Eve,’ meaning the evening before All Saints Day. In the medieval Christian calendar, November 1st was chosen to honor believers who had died as martyrs. The night before became known as the eve of this holy day. When church leaders chose November 1st for All Saints Day, that date was already marked by ancient peoples across Northern Europe. It was a time for rituals far older than any Christian observance. The church tried to overlay a holy remembrance on top of existing pagan celebrations.
It’s important that we understand the impact of a concept called GRADUALISM
“Gradualism” is a term often used regarding biological evolution in place of uniformitarianism, but the intended meaning is usually the same. Slow processes of genetic change, gradually going on generation after generation, through immense spans of time, are assumed to be the ultimate cause for virtually every living thing in nature. As a modern zealot for Darwinism insists:
“Gradualness is of the essence. In the context of the fight against creationism, gradualism is more or less synonymous with evolution itself. If you throw out gradualness you throw out the very thing that makes evolution more plausible than creation”
In other words, you don’t want to accept the miracle of God creating so you accept the miracle that gradual, slow, long processes, drawn out for millions and billions of years can somehow perform miracles. That’s what it amounts to.
How long were the days of creation? You might wonder why some people would even ask that question after reading the first chapter of Genesis. Each of the first six days described there is clearly separated by the phrase, “the evening and the morning were the first day… second day…” and so on. Those descriptive boundaries certainly make sense to us. Is there any reason to suspect it wouldn’t have been quite clear to Moses as well? But what is the condition that makes an evening and a morning? You might say “the sun.” But on day one the sun wasn’t created yet. And reading the text of Genesis, we discover that God didn’t create the sun until the fourth day along with all the other stars. Here’s a question for you. Even without a sun, how would you determine the length of a day? Is it not by the rotation of the earth? If you were on another planet the length of your “day” would be determined by the rotation speed of your planet, right?
Of course, with only a modest knowledge of Bible history, the implication of this idea would lead any reader to very naturally conclude that God said “let there be light” for the very first time only about six or 7,000 years ago. Well, that’s quite a thought. But, some find this far too implausible. But why? Is it because of their pre-conceived idea that the universe must surely be much older than that? If that’s the only kind of information about earth’s ancient history you were ever taught, well then naturally we would expect that kind of reaction. But, to follow it up, if they’re trying to show agreement with the Bible, you might hear them ask: “Isn’t there some place in the Bible where a day is described as a thousand years long?” Do you suppose they might be thinking they have to find a way to help the Bible get itself out of trouble with its credibility?
Marks of a recovering society begin with the bold declaration that truth, transparency, and discernment have increasing proclamation in the public square. Even more encouraging is that more and more people, whose loved ones around them have been battered down by destructive lies, are willing to stand up to question the narratives of those who’ve overtaken society’s trusted institutions of information. They’re willing to challenge the “sacred cows” of their corrupted society.
What’s the backstory of the book that is like no other? Have you ever thought about what God’s direction for you might be for this stage of your life? You might be like many people…
Today’s generation can hardly imagine what it was like in the local schools across our nation in the past. Before the dawning of the “age of Aquarius” in the 1960s nobody would have imagined the subsequent plundering of public education by secular atheists. American society once considered it normal to focus on the development of the inner man and personal integrity. Morality in culture was highly esteemed. So was an intense pursuit of Scriptural wisdom. The school teachers and communities of Early American school houses deliberately prioritized those concepts. At their hearts, American communities believed that the education of their children was built on the premise that virtue is absolutely essential to freedom.
The ridiculous problems that every common-sense American sees corrupting our society’s institutions today realizes the source. Even if President Abe Lincoln didn’t really originate the idea, who can doubt the fact that “The philosophy of the classroom today will be the philosophy of government tomorrow?”
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Phil. 2:4
Imagine how refreshing it would be to be surrounded by people who really think like that and actually live that way.
How would you like to work for a company where that is the resounding mission that resonates from every coworker? How would you like to have a church family where that is the conviction of every leader and every parishioner? How would you like a community where that is the code of ethics practiced by all your neighbors? How would you like a family where that is the lifestyle from morning until bedtime? How would you like to be the embodiment of that concept and participate in a complete reformation of your culture? Imagine… thoughtfully and intentionally helping people reach their goals. What a relationship-building concept. And it all starts with you. Could this be hidden in the Bible for those who pursue the righteous path of the LORD’s “chosen fast?”
“And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” Isa 58:11
Sounds like a pretty good result doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want that for themselves? So, how does this manifest? Check out the verse immediately preceding that promise. Like most promises from God, there is a condition… it starts with the little word “if.”
“And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday.” Isa. 58:10
But a charitable attitude is something you can have toward not only destitute people. Why not have that attitude toward those we interact with on a daily basis?
