Ramon Arias | May 6, 2013
More often than not, I hear and read about people’s concerns for America’s future beyond the economy. People are aware of the many enemies the nation has, however, the ones that concern them the most are the internal ones. At the top of the list is the federal government.
Why are people becoming more concerned that we may be heading toward a possible revolution? Why have the minds of many Americans even conceived that idea? In the past, people were aware of how big the federal government had been growing. Certainly with this administration it is more evident of the many liberties Americans have lost and the determination for greater control over every aspect of people’s lives. Many are beginning to believe that George Orwell’s (his real name, Eric Arthur Blair) 1984 novel is going to be fulfilled.
Last week, I was reading an article that caught my attention. The heading read, “Will American Soldiers Fire on U.S. Citizens?”
The article is by no means meant to be alarmist. Rather, it has good questions and concerns, especially when the federal government is so determined to come against the Second Amendment. The fueling of those concerns is what people are witnessing with the fight taking place between the states that are legislating laws against the federal government in order to stop their gun grab. Case in point is the unfolding battle between the DOJ and Kansas. Eric Holder has stated that such law violates the Constitution, yet Gov. Sam Brownback is saying the Constitution’s 9th and 10th amendments, including their own state’s Bill of Rights, protects the new law in Kansas. The Kansas Bill of Rights states, “A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose.”
Throughout history, oppressive governments have waged war against its citizens; this is nothing new under the sun, history continuously repeats. Cycles of wars and revolutions remain with us until today. America has her personal history of wars when they took up arms to fight their own: first, their cousins, the British and in less than a century among the states with staggering casualties.
Human nature is very predictable in the way it is heading. Do not believe the statement that humans by nature are good; history proves them wrong. In spite of those who ridicule or disbelieve the biblical account, it is the sole document humans have that accurately describes the reason individuals, and nations have been destroyed for thousands of years. It is also the only document that explains in detail how humanity can truly transform their evil ways and bring about true peace, social stability and progress.
Adam and Eve were created with the ability to understand their purpose for this world until they willingly decided to rebel against God, their Creator. They decided to interpret life their own way only to find what a terrible decision that was, it brought so much misery not only to themselves but also to their descendants.
The first human killing registered in the history of the world was a fratricide. Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve, had opposite worldviews. Cain’s interpretation of God was different than Abel and this angered him. In Genesis 4:6 –7 we read, “The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why does your face look sad? You know that if you do what is right, I will accept you. But if you don’t, sin is ready to attack you. That sin will want to control you, but you must control it” (Easy-to-Read Version).
Self-government is very important and can only be understood and acted upon by embracing the revealed truth of God to us. It is impossible to do what is right when human lives are controlled by sin. Sin is a well-organized force inside of us. We need something far greater than our own superficial and flawed intellect to see us through, otherwise, it will control us instead of the other way around. The result of acting upon our out-of-control tendencies is never good: “Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” So they went to the field. Then Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him” (v. 8). Did Cain get away with not receiving consequences to such a horrific act? Absolutely not, every action has an equal or greater reaction.
It is easy to deny the existence of God or interpret the universe, the world and life from man’s worldview even to the point of blaming God for allowing so much misery, destruction and evil and never accepting our personal responsibility. “Later, the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ Cain answered, ‘I don’t know. Is it my job to watch over my brother?’ Then the Lord said, ‘What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground” (vv. 9-11). We only fool ourselves by thinking that our evil sinful actions are without any consequences.
In this life and in the one to come, we give an account of every word and action, whether good or evil. As we seriously study the Bible, we learn not only that God judges individuals, as in the case of Cain, but He also judges nations:
“For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head” (Obadiah 1:15 ESV).
“He will judge the nations. The ground will be covered with dead bodies. He will punish the leaders of powerful nations all around the world” (Psalm 110:6 Easy-to-Read Version).
In the 1730’s and 1740’s, the American colonies experienced a considerable movement known as the Great Awakening. This came as a result of applying an effective biblical worldview that brought them to repentance and back to the moral law and right living before God and men. That generation became aware of the importance of applying the full counsel of God in all areas of life and having the biblical moral law as the foundation for all institutions. It also prepared them to be courageous in demanding righteous preaching and teaching from the pulpits. Once again, they understood the responsibility of self-government and not to be ruled by any other religious authority. The founding fathers grew up with this understanding and it prepared them, and most of the colonists, for the War of Independence, as they understood that political power was not a monopoly of the king of England. If you read the Declaration of Independence you will gain a better understanding.
During the war against Britain, they relied upon prayer, fasting and great trust in God’s sovereignty. Throughout the war, God’s divine intervention brought them through to victory. Even during the War of 1812 once again they saw the delivering hand of God.
Numerous mistakes were made after that; social evils were not corrected, and wrong doctrines crept into the church. God judged the nation and from 1861 to 1865, Americans were killing each other by the hundreds of thousands. Since then the nation has been drifting away from the biblical worldview. Once again, America is facing a great decision. Is she going to return to the God of the Bible in repentance for all the evil committed to have a greater future or fall under God’s judgment?
God controls the future among the nations, and according to His revealed truth, generations in the future will understand the importance of acquiring God’s knowledge. “Then God will act as judge to end arguments between nations. He will decide what is right for people from many lands. They will stop using their weapons for war. They will hammer their swords into plows and use their spears to make tools for harvesting. All fighting between nations will end. They will never again train for war” (Isaiah 2:4 Easy-to-Read Version).
In the meantime, our generation has to decide whom are we going to follow and what price are we willing to pay? Are we going to fear man or God? Who has our best interest at heart man or God?