Human beings are crisis oriented when it comes to things spiritual. With extremely rare exception man will seek God when in trouble, but as soon as the trouble ends, it’s business as usual–until the next crisis. Everyone has heard of “foxhole conversions.” When the bullets are flying man tends to get religion. Once the lead stops whizzing by, its back to the real world. Nations are no different. This includes so-called “Christian nations.”

Following victory in WWI the Allied nations quickly reverted back to the norm. The crisis was over, it was time to get back to the things that really mattered, most of which involved self-aggrandizement. The religious fervor that had sustained the victors during the war crisis quickly faded as people turned away from the church and to more enjoyable, self-serving pursuits. As quickly as the light of God faded from the hearts of men Satan replaced it with a decade-long period of spiritual darkness that came to be known as the “Roaring 20’s.” During this time he raised man’s level of debauchery to an all-time high. When viewing the attitudes and actions of the man on the street during the “Fabulous Decade,” the Words Jesus spoke to Satan recorded in Matthew 16:23 come to mind: “Get behind Me, Satan; you are an offense to Me, for do not seek the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.” The devil knows that the best way to win men is to give them what they want–self-direction, self-control and self-determination. In order to accomplish this, he must convince man to look beyond the God-centered Holy Scriptures. This attitude toward the Lord and His Word, hidden behind church and home walls for some 1700 years, has of late begun to be known publically. This fact was recently stated by a Texas pastor when he announced that his church was “… stepping outside the Bible” in order to determine real “truth.” He made it clear that his church’s way was much more successful than the Biblical way. Ironically, because they had left God and had begun to follow their own leanings, God was “… doing a beautiful thing here.” And his god smiled.

The 1920’s brought good, well-paying jobs. This gave people the resources to enjoy life as never before. During this time people lived on their own terms and under their own power. God was reserved for Sunday morning when His name would be brought up inside steepled buildings. For some, Wednesday night brought the same routine. Instead of being the only thing as He had a few years earlier, the Lord had been relegated to being one of many things, most of which out ranked Him on man’s “must have” and “must do” list.

The Industrial Revolution had rushed the world’s advancing nations into the Machine Age. Now machines and metal took the place of man and animal muscle. One machine did the work of a hundred men, leaving man with ever more leisure time in which to do what he wanted to do instead of what he had to do. The 8 hour day and the 6 day work week were coming on the scene world-wide. For the first time in human history man had time to pursue his interests. The one thing he was not interested in was his Maker and His will, way and Word. As man would soon realize, where God is not in charge, conflict always arises. As Winston Churchill would later say, the history of man is the history of war. Because man’s priority is not his relationship with God, war is always a matter of when, not if. Because of man’s rejection of God and his worship of self,  all advancements in the post-war world were not of a positive nature.

Weapons of war advanced rapidly in terms of kill-power. America became the world’s chief weapons exporter. Man had become not only his own provider, but also his own protector. America and the West had weaponry; God was no longer needed. Having won the “war to end all wars,” America was now indomitable. Who would be so foolish as to challenge her? America was self-sufficient. America was not only number one on the world scene, she had gotten there on her own power. Even so, during this time the vast majority of Americans claimed to be Christians. However, the lives they lived revealed another reality. For the majority of Americans and the rest of the “Christian world,” the will of God as expressed in His Holy Bible was not a top priority. It was at this time that “I” became the center of man’s world, including the church world. While holding up the Bible, the church proclaimed globally that, because she was “saved,” she could defy it and get away with it. God, if He even noticed their sins, was helpless to do anything about it because He “could not see through the blood of Jesus.”

Over time it became clear that the world, including the Christian world, had not learned its lesson. Another warning was in order. But let us not forget that God has always had a remnant–a tiny, rejected, socially insignificant group of true saints who continue to stand for Him and His Word in the face of all the religious fervor Satan’s church and governmental systems can muster.  L.J.