In last month’s Gleanings, I used the imagery of the sand tables to discuss the increasingly intense battle of Christianity against atheism and agnosticism. Sand tables are topographical depictions of a field of battle used to prepare soldiers for combat. Metaphorically applying this imagery to the battle against atheism and agnosticism helps to see prophetically so that one can prepare accordingly.

A scriptural example of a sand table is Proverbs 1:20–33. In this text, there is a warning about future calamity. When the calamity comes, those who did not prepare will suffer the consequences. This suggests that one cannot wait until calamity comes to prepare; one must develop a plan in advance. Note God’s words recorded by Solomon in Proverbs 1:26-31:

I [God] also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you,

when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof,

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,

and have their fill of their own devices. (ESV)

The Lord graciously sends signs of coming calamity¹ so that people can prepare. Waiting to prepare will be futile. Can you see the signs of the times? Can you see what the current sand tables are predicting?

The atheistic and agnostic tsunami sweeping the world today is impacting societal norms and seeking to remove all vestiges of Christianity from the world.

Atheism and agnosticism first appeared when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden.² During the past one thousand years, atheism and agnosticism gained increasing credibility through the metaphysical concept of nominalism. Simply stated, nominalism assumes there is no transcendent universal reality; therefore, reality is best viewed by mankind in the tangible realm. Nominalism presumes that the natural realm is the primary reality and the spiritual realm, if it even exists, is secondary. Consequently, mankind assumes the role of the primary being because God may not even exist. Furthermore, the Bible may not be divine revelation. Therefore, mankind may have to define societal norms apart from divine guidance. Though the majority of global population still profess to be theists, most are increasingly comfortable with agnostic and atheistic presuppositions.

These presuppositions have consequences. Consider some examples that have already occurred. Emboldened by nominalism, mankind has redefined marriage and sexual relationships. Biblically, marriage is a monogamous lifelong divine covenant between a man and a woman. Culturally, marriage is now an optional relationship and cohabitation is the preferred relationship. Biblically, sexual relationships are moral only in the context of Christian marriage. Culturally, sexual relationships are human choices based on mutual consent.

Now let’s consider some possible future changes to societal norms.

Pedophilia will be legalized. There is nothing in atheism and agnosticism that can deny pedophiles’ claim that they were born with a sexual desire for children. Homosexuals make a similar claim; they assert that they were born with a preference toward the same sex.

As marriage declines in popularity, procreation will be increasingly disconnected from marriage. Parenting by heterosexual couples will decline; more children will be raised by single people and same-sex couples.

Public display of risqué behavior and addictions will escalate. Alcoholic beverages and mood-altering substances will be ubiquitous in public. Prostitution will be legalized and readily available. Overtly sexual acts, both homosexual and heterosexual, will become common in public restrooms, in all forms of media, and in public areas, such as parks, theaters, and malls.

Governments will become statist. Socialism will be widely accepted. Free health care, free education, and free basic income will be normative. Largesse will contribute to the soaring cost of government. Taxes will not be able to cover the soaring costs and therefore public debt will escalate.

Health care will be administered by the state based on survival of the fittest. Infanticide and euthanasia will be used to reduce the cost of health care. Eugenics will be used to eliminate children with genetic flaws.

Education will be the purview of the state; the atheistic and agnostic worldview will be normative. There will no tolerance for alternative perspectives. To eradicate any resistance, home schools and private schools will be eliminated. State-controlled education will be mandatory.

Everyone will receive a basic income as determined by the state; being gainfully employed will not be a requirement. However, the free basic income will not eradicate poverty; rather, poverty and inflation will soar.

Democratic government will give way to socialistic statism and then socialism will migrate to dictatorships. A decade ago, Chuck Colson predicted the process in the United States based on historical patterns.³ He explained that the average democracy goes through nine stages. In 2009, he thought that the United States was in stage seven—apathy. The rise of socialism will lead to stage eight—dependence—that will lead to stage nine—bondage. Bondage means a dictatorship. What drives the migration from stage seven to eight is publicly-demanded largesse. And what drives the migration from stage eight to stage nine is a financial crisis that the government cannot manage. In stage nine, dictators emerge as white knights who claim to be able to solve the financial crisis.

As the government morphs away from Christian values, crime will increase. Police and armed private security will be overwhelmed. In many cases, martial law may be required. The culture will be riddled with addictions, abuse, scams, bullying, tormenting, gangs, cartels, theft, prostitution, human trafficking, hopelessness, and suicides. Personal security will be problematic. Even liberals, like Rahm Emanuel, are beginning to acknowledge these trends.⁴

Churches will be viewed as a risk to the atheistic and agnostic worldview. Various measures will be employed to muzzle the church.

• First, the tax-exempt status will be revoked, which, most likely, will reduce the giving to local churches. Financially weak local churches will collapse or merge with others.
• Second, for those local churches that survive, the state will view any speech that opposes the atheistic and agnostic worldview as hate speech. Those who publicly oppose the state’s view will be incarcerated.
• Third, local churches will survive publicly only by compromising their message.
• Fourth, the true church will be driven underground.

As statism emerges, the cost to run the government will soar as it did when ancient Israel rejected a theocracy and embraced a monarchy.⁵ Because of their rebellion against God, the tithe for Israelites (their taxes) increased from 23.3 percent to 43.3 percent. Dramatic tax increases will be inevitable. Government workers will be financially secure as the tax burden to pay for the cost of the state will fall on private-sector workers. The middle class will shrink in size and groan under the tax burden.

Trust in the economic systems will erode. Credit card companies, banks, and investment companies will be unsafe. Fraud and identity theft will be out of control.

Businesses of all types will struggle. Regulation will increase. Quality workers will be difficult to find because of the widespread addictions in the culture that impair their motivation. Hiring standards will decline. Production error rates will increase. Absenteeism, tardiness, worker conflict, and overall morale will decline. Efficiency and excellence will be impaired. More than ever, the warning encapsulated in the phrase caveat emptor⁶ will be important.

All of this will happen because of the rejection of God and his norms. The Scripture explains how God responds to rebellion against him. His response is judgment. This can be seen in texts such as Isaiah 5:20:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (KJV)

Increasingly, the societies of the world are calling good evil and evil good. This atheistic and agnostic initiative to redefine societal norms will only lead to judgment.

If these signs of the times are anywhere close to what will happen, we need grace to prepare. We need to read and study the sand tables very carefully in preparation for the coming battle. May the Lord grant us the grace to see the sand tables correctly, understand the message, draw the right conclusions, and make the right choices.

________________________________________
1. Proverbs 1:20.
2. Genesis 3.
3. http://www.breakpoint.org/2009/08/breakpoint-rejecting-apathy.
4. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/17/rahm-emanuel-under-increasing-fire-for-linking-chicago-violence-and-morals-in-minority-neighborhoods.html.
5. 1 Samuel 8.
6. Buyer beware.

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