“The habit of saying smooth things and uttering pious platitudes and sentiments to gain applause, without relation to the underlying facts, is more pronounced now that it ever has been in my experience.” Those words were written by Winston Churchill during the Nazi military build-up following World War I that would eventually lead to World War II. While Germany armed herself for war the British people foolishly assumed that if they listened to their leaders, particularly Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and remained non-judgmental and quiet, maintained a “stay calm, carry on, keep a stiff upper lip” demeanor and took no action, that herr Hitler and his Nazis would not follow through on their threats of revenge. The British were convinced that by smiling and looking the other way they would remain safe, and that British life would continue in its post-war condition. They would soon learn that neither ignorance, nor naivete, nor appeasement works when dealing with evil whether it abides in individuals, nations or religion.

The world’s “Christian nations” assumed that because they acknowledged the reality of God during the war that He would keep them out of any other deadly conflict. World War I had brought all God-professing people to their spiritual knees. After much blood and treasure had been sacrificed He had, after all, allowed the “good guys” to win the war that Satan had thrust upon them. Three deadly beliefs guaranteed the Christian world more troubles in the future: their belief that because they had gotten religion then won the war that they were Christian nations; believing that Satan had caused the war; believing that placating Hitler would bring “peace in our time.” They also suffered from short-term memory loss that prompted them to forget the God that had saved them. They soon came to believe that they had won the war by their own power. Within a couple of years they had returned Him to shelf where He had spent the pre-war years. As self-professing Christians would soon learn, their Satan-inflicted memory problem would cost them dearly.

The sin-soaked “roaring twenties” revealed that the lesson God had taught the world during the war had not been thoroughly learned. The world quickly returned to the “it’s all about me” mind-set that had prevailed during the pre-war years. Knowing very little about God’s Word, and believing very little of what little they did know, and obeying very little of what they did believe, the post-war Christian world soon found itself easing back into the same spiritual lethargy that had caused the problem from which it had just recently escaped. The danger having passed, the people quickly returned to their comfort (religious business as usual) zone. Due to the fact that “As goes the church, so goes the nation,” the world soon followed the church’s lead. Neither church nor state had learned the lesson God had taught them, therefore He had to re-teach it by casting them back into the crucible of war. Within little more than two decades the same people were once again fighting and killing each other, this time with much more powerful weapons which produced much more death and destruction. The religious surge that had brought about the end of WWI had sputtered out like an airplane running out of fuel. Once the fear dissipated churchman’s true character came to fruition. The church quickly proved that she was Christian in name only. But, as the following will reveal, false religiosity was not a new phenomenon.

Before continuing with this series let us be reminded that the New Testament Church was founded on the teachings of both the prophets and the apostles (Eph. 2:20), and that what happened to the Old Testament Israelites was recorded and preserved as a teaching instrument for Truth seekers living at the end of he age. This was brought out in First Corinthians 10:11: “Now all these things happened to them (Israel) as examples (for the New Testament Church). They were written for OUR instruction upon whom the ends of the world have come.” Paul wrote in present tense (“have come”) because he believed that Christ would return during his lifetime. We must understand that though Isaiah was writing directly to people of his day, he was preserving his words for those living in the last days of the present world.

Anciently, “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38) refused to hear what God’s “holy prophets of old” (2 Pet. 1:21) said to them. In Isaiah 30:9-11 we find him describing ancient Israel (and the modern church) as “… a rebellious people, lying children who will not hear the Law of the Lord, who say to their ministers: ‘Prophesy not unto us right things: speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits ….” In Revelation 3:14-17 Jesus, speaking through the Apostle John, described the final (Laodicean) church era: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm … I will spew you out of My mouth because you say, ‘I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing,’ and not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor  and blind and naked.” This perfectly describes the modern day (Laodicean) church. L.J.