God is sovereign over all of history and time, without exception. All of history, from the time of creation (Genesis 1:1), until the very end of time (Revelation 21:1), is laid out before God! History is not a series of independent events, but everything fits into God’s Providential plan; both good and evil. God is not the author of evil, nor is evil a surprise to God. Evil is the consequence of man’s sinful thoughts and deeds. 

We don’t generally think of history as God’s Providential plan, but it is from Adam and Eve in Genesis to the very End Times in Revelation, all of history including the rise and fall of empires and nations is deemed by God’s Sovereignty. Is today's America on a different path than historic America, one without God's guidance and blessings? 

Let’s begin here. Alexander the Great conquered the regions shown on the map, making Greek a common language for the entire area, which made sharing the New Testament Gospels and Epistles, written in Greek, possible for sharing Christ across what would become the Roman Empire, and beyond. Just as English is generally spoken and understood throughout much of the world today, Greek was universally understood and spoken across the entire region at that time, which paved the way for spreading the biblical message of Jesus Christ and sharing the written Word via the Epistles (N.T. letters). But God went a step further….

Afterwards, God gave rise to the Roman Empire as shown on the map, where the Greek language was more common than Latin used mostly for formal occasions, government business, and legal documents.  

Rome conquered the region and established a standard of Roman justice and peace under Roman military protection. 

Not only did Rome build an empire, they also built a network of roads (red lines) across the Empire as shown on the map (red arrow). The very roads traveled by Paul in his missionary journeys that made sharing of the Gospel possible. Without the roads and Pax Romana, the Gospel never would have left Judah in the Middle East. God’s sovereign decree? Absolutely, 

Many of the conquered people across the Roman Empire became an integral part of the Empire, with many even serving in the Roman army. The city of Rome itself became a cosmopolitan metropolis of many ethnicities and tongues many of whom, if not most, spoke Greek, even the Roman elite. Just as we see in certain large cities like New York and London in Great Britain. 

God used both Greek and Roman conquests to lay the foundation for the New Testament written in Greek, and as such, sharing of the Word of God across the entire Roman Empire and beyond, and much later via the Greek Orthodox Church spreading the Gospel far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire. 

Map shows the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys, all of which followed the Roman roads and sea lanes protected by Rome, as had been determined and decreed by God. 

Mary and Joseph lived in the City of Nazareth, yet the birth of the Jewish Messiah as prophesized in the Old Testament was Bethlehem, situated within the Tribe of Judah (Micah 5:2). The second chapter of Luke tells us that Roman Emperor Augustus ordered a census throughout the Roman world that every person had to travel to the town of their ancestors for the census to be taken. Both Mary and Joseph were of the tribe of Judah. Again, God used Rome to fulfill Micah’s messianic prophesy.  

As shown on map, Joseph and Mary with child, traveled around Samaria, as did the other Jews, making the trip that much longer. Map on left shows modern day Israel. Today, Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, with a 53.9% Muslim population.   

Man’s evil demands for self-promotion, demanded the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, routed in religious and political pride and hatred against anything that could interfere with their authority and prestige, yet it was part of God’s Providential plan for salvation. Without Roman occupation of Israel/Judah, Jesus may have been stoned to death by the Jewish leaders. Crucifixion was of Roman authority. Without Rome, the symbol of Jesus’ death may have been a rock and not a cross; God deemed otherwise.

They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. From the beginning of time that was God’s plan for us, to provide Himself as Savior because we were incapable of doing so ourself, just as Adam and Eve, even under perfect conditions, failed to abide by one single command. There is no way we could have done any better. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen. 

In the early centuries of Christianity, while Christianity spread across the Roman Empire, many believers in Jesus Christ faced persecution and even martyrdom. Why did God allow it? How did God use man’s evil for good? During those years, man did not join the church for social reasons or fellowship, only those who truly professed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, even under the threat of death. So, where’s the good? Only those who truly professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, under the power of the Holy Spirit, joined the Church, the Body of Christ. They shared the true Gospel message. It was neither watered down, not made user friendly. It challenged the pagan culture with the true Gospel of saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 

With the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans, and tearing down of the Jewish Temple, the entire nation of Jews was destroyed with many of them being sold into slavery, and many more dispersed across the entire region. Israel basically disappeared from the map. What was God’s Providential plan? To punish the Jews and write them off? Or to restore them after a couple of thousand years? Does the USA have anything to do with God’s plan for Israel?

Jews attempting to escape from Jerusalem’s destruction with their lives and even to avoid Roman slavery, spread across much of the region, and even beyond, as shown on the map, with subsequent persecutions, and century later, even Nazi Germany death camps. A new wave of antisemitism is beginning to raise its ugly head across much of the world, even here in the USA (something we will explore at a later time).

Nazi Germany’s conquest of Europe was almost complete in 1942, until the intervention of the United States in WWII that changed everything. God’s plan? Absolutely. 

Adolf Hitler brought a reign of terror across the Western world! Satan meant it for evil, yet God used it for good not otherwise possible as noted on the following slides. 

This photograph speaks volumes about evil under Hitler and the Nazis. Hitler’s Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews, including children and infants, was influenced by Satan, and intended for evil, yet God used it for good that would not otherwise have happened. It was this very evil that led to the creation of the State of Israel. Europe’s Jews were successful and comfortable as Europeans and would never have seen Israel, mostly barren desert land, as an alternative lifestyle or desired destination. I see much of the abortion industry in the same way, a willful killing of innocent children. How long will God tolerate it? 

Coming out of the Depression, and with recent memories of the cost in wealth and lives lost in WW1, most Americans strongly objected to entering the war in Europe. But those opinions were changed on December 7, 1941. 

By God’s Sovereign decree, America did enter the war. What brought America into the War was Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, yet God would use the United States to destroy the evils of Nazi Germany. 

On December 11, 1941, just a few days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Adolf Hitler, an ally of Japan, declared war on America. Little did he realize or understand the consequences of that decision. America was not a superpower at that time but became one as a result of that war. 

Without U.S. intervention in the war, experts believe Nazi Germany would have defeated the European allies, including Britain, resulting in the ultimate conquest and occupation of Europe and beyond, including the Middle East with total annihilation of any remnant of Jews in the region. 

On June 6, 1944, a combined force of 156,000 US, British and Canadians landed on five beaches of Normandy, France, a 50-mile stretch heavily fortified by the Germans, which led to the ultimate conquest of Nazi Germany. 

Without America’s intervention, all of the Jews in the countries and regions conquered by the Nazis, would have been systematically exterminated. But God determined otherwise with America’s entry into the war. I can’t help but wonder, is that the very reason God created and richly blessed America as an independent and sovereign nation, just as He gave rise to the ancient Roman Empire? Perhaps the next slides will shed some light on that question. 

By the Sovereign Decree of God, Satan and Hitler meant the Holocaust for evil, but God deemed it for good, to return the Jews, destined for death in the Holocaust, to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on that same day. Which brings us back to the very existence of the United States. Because of America's power and prestige on the world stage, it was the American president’s recognition of Israel that gave the new State of Israel legitimacy. Was this God’s plan for America? 

God’s conversation with Job. Everything, and I mean everything, is in accordance with God’s decree and Providential plan, even that there is a United States. Are we still under His guidance and protection as "One Nation under God"? 

The Apostle Paul tells the signs of the culture in the last days. Is America moving in that direction? We need to continue praying for America, that God does not withdraw His mercy. The attached link will take you to the "End Time Signs" in our Generation (10.5 minute video). https://youtu.be/k9lwfrGBfck 

The birth of the United States came at great cost and personal sacrifice by those early generations of patriots. God placed just the right people, in just the right place, at just the right time in history. Was it an accident of history or part of God’s providential plan? Is there a connection with the rebirth of Israel? We will explore that further next week. 

Could we have become a sovereign nation without God, without Him decreeing it as such? Will we continue as "One Nation under God"?  Will we realize how we got here and how turning away from Him has brought an increase in all kinds of evil? We will continue to explore God’s sovereignty over man and history next week. 

The End! 

Tune in Next Week 
for a continuation of this topic 

Texas school shooting: death toll has risen to 21, including 18 children

A high-level political leader in Texas questioned the shooting, asking, "How did we get here," and further stating "how can we prevent it from happening again."

The reality of how we got here can be traced back to a 1962 Supreme Court decision handed down 

SCROLL DOWN

In light of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, have you wondered, “How Did We Get Here?” as a nation and as a people…

God is sovereign over all of creation, yet evil exists in the world, even the worse kind like the recent Texas school shooting taking the lives of 19 young children and two teachers. 

Where does such evil come from? Angels were created perfect in every way and resided in a perfect place called heaven. Yet, of their own free will, 1/3 sinned against their Creator, and were driven out by Michael the Archangel and his angels. Therefore, it should not surprise us that evil exists. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul explains the extent of evil prevailing in the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms—Satan’s demons. As we get closer to the End Times in Revelation, the extent and intensity of evil will increase steadily. 

 

The Texas tragedy is considered the second deadliest school shooting ever, when an 18-year-old, fatally shot and killed 19 young children and two teachers, before he was killed by a law enforcement officer. Is the issue guns as professed by some, or is it a lack of God in our culture and diminishing respect for human life, all of which has given Satan and his demons a correspondingly increasing foothold?  The shooter was described as a troubled youth. Where does such evil originate? 

Some may wonder, what is the eternal state of those children whose lives were cut short at such a young age?  I certainly pondered it, as I’m sure many others have. Did they go to heaven? Our only answer is to turn to Jesus’ own words in the Gospels (next slide). 

The only solace for those parents, and anyone who loses a young child, is Jesus’ own words here in Luke18, also in Mark 18:14 and Matthew 19:14.

While being interviewed in regard to the shooting, after expressing his faith as a Christian, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pondered the shooting with a question, “How did we get here?” Something that most Americans would undoubtably ask and wonder.  

The human race is born with Adam’s DNA, and fallen nature, as such, people are prone to certain types of evil, some with greater propensity than others. Many things influence and stir up evil in today’s culture. When looking at the world from a biblical perspective, watch the evening news and it becomes readily apparent, that behavioral norms are descending. What was once considered sinful, appalling and immoral has become increasingly acceptable. 

On April 20, 1999, Columbine H.S. in Littleton, Colorado, was the first major school shooting by students. It wasn’t the last. Estimates show that more than 311,000 have suffered gun violence in schools since Columbine.

Images taken of the Columbine shooters while in the school. Many have asked, and many more have wondered, why does God allow such evil? Evil is inspired by Satan and his demons, as we are told in Ephesians 6:12, but like Satan’s rebellion against God, the evil in man comes from within. Yet, we are to be mindful that in spite of man’s evil deeds, God is ultimately sovereign over all things, even history itself. Something we will look at next week.

The following link provides a list of school gun shootings in the U.S. since 2000. All of which raises that same question: “How did we get here?”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States

Congress and the President are demanding stricter gun laws. Some believe stricter gun laws will make everyone safer. The difficulty is that criminals do not obey laws, only law-abiding people do, who are not the cause of shootings. Is the problem guns? Will elimination of the 2nd Amendment as demanded, prevent future shootings? Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws anywhere in the country, and yet it has some of the highest gun crimes in the nation. All of which turns us back to the original question: “How did we get here?”

Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but has one of the highest rates of homicides from illegally obtained guns. 

Food for thought: If all law-abiding citizens are forced to surrender their guns, as is being proposed in Canada, only criminals will own guns. Combine that with current efforts to disarm police, and we can be certain that it will open the door for a crime wave against unarmed and defenseless residents, especially with limited police availability to prevent it. Truly a wave of evil will be turned loose.

Published in BREITBART: Younger Americans are reshaping the country with a philosophy of life that rejects faith in God and organized worship at the same time defining success and morality in terms of personal happiness and economic social justice—which is based on a survey from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University. All of which raises the question noted on the following slide…

The first thing tyrants do is make the people defenseless, thus easily controlled, which of course was Hitler’s goal. The German Jews were disarmed by the police state, the Gestapo, beginning in 1933. We know where that led, because they were easily rounded up and shipped off to concentration camps with no means of defense for themselves or their children. We can be certain that the Antichrist will use similar tactics to rise to power and control the people. 

The noteworthy answer to “How did we get here?” began in 1962, as shown on the following slides…

In a 1962 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that daily recital of prayers in public schools, even though non-compulsory, was unconstitutional. The court held that the recital of such prayers in schools financed through public taxation violated the religious freedom guarantees in the Constitution. The decision was handed down in a New York case. It has since affected all public schools throughout America.

In the decision of Engel v. Vitale handed down on June 25, 1962 , the US Supreme Court ruled that state-sponsored prayer in schools was unconstitutional. The court did not outlaw prayer in school entirely - only school-sponsored prayer. Sadly, many schools have even rejected student led prayers or allowed Bibles in school. Perhaps another Supreme Court case is needed. 

President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 message to the Nation rings just as true today, and after viewing a night of evening news, even more so today. But the root causes then and now, are closely related. 

Shootings v. years is relevant in response to, “How did we get here?” Is it a gun problem or a morality problem? 

For many decades, guns were readily available in the Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, bought by many average young Americans, none of which were used in school shootings. Why is that? Because we were a Nation that believed in God, a belief that infused the very fabric of our culture. Once all reference to God was removed from the schools, evil filled that void with many other teachings and ideologies, none of which were based on biblical standards. 

Does America still cling to the value of life that we profess in our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights? Or in the Bible?

Our independence as a Nation and as a people, began with these words. Are they still as relevant in today’s United States of America? Is this something that today’s children are still learning in school or not?

“Pro-choice” is a politically correct term for “pro-abortion”, which is the killing of an unborn child. What message does it send regarding the sanctity of life? 

What does the Bible tell us about the unborn child? Psalm 139 describes the yet to be born “child”, not as a thing or extension of the mother’s body. But as a unique individual with a individual soul created by God. 

The pregnant woman is the host for the unborn child, who is a totally separate individual with the same right to life as its mother. 

This was posted before, but in light of the value of life debate, definitely worth repeating. It shows three individuals, one yet unborn. 

The sign states that it is the woman’s decision “to kill” or “not to kill” the unborn child. Sadly, it is the unborn child’s fate they are deciding. 

America’s Holocaust? Sixty-three million unborn lives were taken in America. Where then is the sanctity of life, or even respect for life in general? What message does it send to our youth, when even the President and members of Congress are strong advocates? Abortions are the consequences of careless sexual encounters—for convenience. Thank God for the young ladies in the photo. I call it a ray of hope! 

In 2 Chron 7:14 the Lord God tells us, if my people , who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

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