SABBATH

God's Gift to Us

Sermon: Is America a Christian Nation? (Part Two)

#1371

Given 08-Apr-17; 67 minutes

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description: We are recipients of the promised seed made to Adam and Eve, the Holy Line, beginning with Seth leading through Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Jesus Christ, the promises given to Abraham which include being a blessing to all nations. The Gentiles would be grafted in as spiritual descendants of Abraham, as was seen in Cornelius' household receiving the Holy Spirit in a similar fashion as on Pentecost. As we examine the obscure details of God's promises to Abraham, we see how He engineered the boundaries for all of Jacob's children, and later the migration patterns for physical Israel, literally filling up a virtually empty continent with people seeking religious liberty and improving their economic status from serf to landowner. Where the Israelitish people are right now came about as the result of God's blessings to Abraham's offspring, even though they did not prove faithful to the covenant. Though the United States was not established as a Christian nation, the Puritan forbears implanted a sense of morality and the founding Fathers established a legal system, based upon biblical ethical standards of British common law. The Protestant Reformation and the revolt against Roman Catholicism ignited the unsettling of Europe and the population of the North American continent. Desire for better economic circumstances motivated the completion of the migration to America. God has a purpose for where He has placed all peoples. In the fullness of time, the reason for the population distribution patterns of God will become clear as final preparations are made for the return of Jesus Christ.


transcript:

We will begin this sermon in the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 1:13-23 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Therefore, I also, after I hard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 2:19-22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.

The book of Ephesians was written following the conversion of Gentiles. The apostle Paul is doing his best there to help them to understand some of the glories that came upon him as a result of being in Christ. I am using these scriptures as a prelude to help remind us that when we left off at the end of my previous sermon (which was a month ago), I was not quite done with the central subject, at least as far and as detailed as I planned for that day.

In that sermon we followed the overview God provides in the Bible of the promised seed, which first appears as early as Genesis 3:15. We then added to that promise of God, knowledge regarding what researchers call the holy line. Very much of the Bible is involved with the holy line. Then the holy line begins in Genesis 4, right after chapter 3, and continues on through chapter 5, with God gifting Adam and Eve with the birth of Seth to replace the murdered Abel in Eve’s heart.

Seth’s descendants include Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of the Israelitish nations that continue on to this day. We do not hear much about Seth, but he was an important cog at the beginning of this holy line.

We then added to those two revelations, Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 4 and 5, of the beginnings of God’s purposes, His promises to Abram, contained within the “I wills” given in Genesis 12:1-3. Only twelve chapters into Genesis, the first book, and the foundation is laid for thousands of years of history. It is going to involve these three major subjects.

Involved in Genesis 12:1-3, I was most interested in the final promise of those seven promises there, which states, I will make you a blessing to all nations. How many people have lived on earth? And Abram is given a promise like this.

I began this way because I believe it was not only a different, but a good foundation for the series that I was beginning for a second look at the question of, “Is America a Christian Nation?” This second series has a somewhat different look at this question. All three of these major foundational revelations and their promises, culminate in the birth, then the work of Jesus Christ, which has produced the church, the true Israel of God, which is also the spiritual Family of God to this point in time.

Does that tell you in a concise way how important these prophecies are? The judgment regarding the promised seed, then the holy line, then there are the “I will” promises to Abraham. The whole Bible revolves around these three promises of God.

Jesus is the promised seed of Genesis 3. It was primarily Him the holy line was sustained for in order to produce Him. He is the descendant of Abram, who is the blessing to all nations, and most of the Bible revolves around these three issues. Even though they are not frequently specifically named, the whole Bible revolves around them.

In my previous sermon we reached the point in time where I was showing you the beginning of the spiritual effects of a major fulfillment of the Genesis 12:3 promise to Abram. For approximately 2,000 receiving the benefits of that promise has been a blessing only to the Israelitish nations. However, beginning with the incident God records that took place in Cornelius’ home in Acts 10, that event opened the door to the spiritual salvation of the Gentiles.

What Peter and the group experienced, along with Cornelius’ Gentile family and friends, was to the world of religion, a truly momentous event.

Acts 10:28 [Peter is speaking] Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision, Jews, who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

Recall that God faithfully recorded that the Jews, who made the journey from Joppa to Cornelius’ home with Peter, were astonished at what they witnessed. It appears that those Jews understood somewhat of that prophecy. How much I do not know. It astonished them, because it was obvious to them that the Holy Spirit had been given to them. They witnessed not only the literal fulfillment of that specific prophecy relating directly to the conversion of Gentiles, and that by itself was astonishing because of the effect the Gentile conversions had on the church.

They witnessed the beginning of the fulfillment of one of the most important prophecies in the Bible. How many Gentiles are there out there who could be converted? Compared to the number of Israelites, the number of Israelites are minimal by comparison to the number of Gentiles that are out there. Not only that, those Jews who traveled with Peter, also witnessed basically the same signs and wonders that God showed on Pentecost, in Jerusalem, a few years earlier when God gave His Holy Spirit to the Israelitish people. They must have been standing there with their mouths dropping open, especially if they understood a bit about what they had witnessed.

I then showed you more specifically through Paul’s teaching account in Ephesians 1 and 2, what the event opened to the Gentiles. Paul teaches a quick overview summary of some of the fullness of the blessings of being converted and in Christ.

The major thing for all of us to remember is that all the blessings from heaven above, from God the Father, come to us only because we are in Christ. Thus, Gentile converts too, were made members, not only of Christ, but brothers with all Christians within the Family of God that He has been creating since Adam and Eve.

I am going to give you a brief listing of some of the extremely valuable elements that come to all who are in Christ, including the Gentiles now being converted, that the apostle directly names here in this first chapter.

Paul does not go into everything, he is just hitting some high points here.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

That is a lead in to some other things that he is going to mention, but that one thing opens the way to anything that God wants to bless us with. It will come to us only because we are in Jesus Christ. Now remember, he is teaching this to Gentiles.

Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

Gentiles are now adopted into the family of God, beginning with Cornelius himself and his family, according to the good pleasure of His will.

Ephesians 1:7-9 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.

Another blessing God has opened to us and the Gentiles, the mysteries of what His will is, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.

Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

We are accepted into the church because of Christ. That is an amazing gift.

Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Gentiles are now converted, they will inherit the earth too, along with Christ.

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

We were sealed, and so were the Gentiles, given the Holy Spirit of God.

I said as I began this specific message, that I was not quite finished with that sermon one month ago. I do not believe that what I have already told you from Paul is anywhere near the total end of those united with Christ. This too now includes the Gentiles as well. I believe that there is one more major step that needs to be shown.

Revelation 14:1-5 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. [they belong specifically to Him] And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.

They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

I believe that this may be the ultimate destiny of those united within the Holy Seed before His return. This group consists of both Israelites and Gentiles united in Jesus Christ. At the time shown here in Revelation 14, they have been transformed by the resurrection, and are sharing responsibility directly from within the work of Jesus Christ, going wherever and doing whatever assignments He has given, and then passes on to this group as responsibilities to them.

I have gone through the Holy Seed, and “I wills” in some detail for four reasons. First, because I want us to more fully grasp a number of some that others may consider of a more obscure details of God’s over all purpose. Those three promises are what the whole Bible is involved with.

Second, I want us to see more fully God’s faithfulness to His purposes through the centuries, for the sake of our appreciation of Him, and therefore the strengthening of our salvation.

Third, it is for us to grasp His faithfulness—which directly ties into the main theme of this series of sermons—as a foundation for whether the United States of America ever was, and still is a Christian nation.

Fourth, I want us to appreciate more fully the blessings that have come to us unbidden, and largely unannounced, including that we have been blessed to live in an Israelitish nation. This does not mean that we are better than others, but we certainly are more blessed than any other people on earth.

Overall, I want us to grasp, as full a measure of the consistent and watchful care God gives to the purposes that He is working out, despite all the stressful events underway worldwide these 6,000 years. This will help to give us focus so that we can avoid being turned aside by distractions.

I am fully convinced that where the Israelitish people are located now, just before the return of Jesus Christ, was planned and carefully accomplished as was Israel’s location in Deuteronomy 32:7-9, as Moses spoke to them on the borders of the Promised Land. God did not stop planning and moving people around whenever His will deemed that was the thing to do.

Considering theses things, my personal conclusion is that America was planned for by God. That is why as the immigration to this land began, this continent-sized nation was virtually empty of people and waiting to be settled by the Israelitish immigrants. He left it empty for our ancestors to just move in. It was God who said it, so He had already separated the immigrating Israelites to European nations, having moved them where He willed and for His purposes.

The history of the Israelitish migration goes all the way back to Abram, as God began moving him from Ur to Canaan. He started moving the Israelitish people right from the beginning. Later He moved Abram’s descendants from Canaan to places where they were held captive, following the splitting apart of Israel into two kingdoms after their defeats at the hands of the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and lastly, the Romans.

From that point on the Israelites immigrated northwest, and on into Europe where the British Isles were already set aside for the Ephraimites. From that location Ephraim grew into an empire on which the sun never set. God formed them into a nation and a company of nations.

God was following His pattern. “Remember past history” was Moses’ charge to the Israelites. Let us do the same now regarding Israel’s more resent history, so that we will perceive God’s faithfulness in our time. I want us to be fully aware that God is moving, directing, manipulating, nations all over the world.

Turn to Joshua, where we get one of these examples that we can make part of our thinking and know that God has not stopped doing things like this.

Joshua 13:1-2 Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him; “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. This is the land that yet remains all the territory of the Philistines and all that of the Geshurites.”

Joshua 13:7 “Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

As you can clearly grasp, it was God who oversaw the distribution of the land that He provided in His promise to Abram. He did not just give it to Abram willy-nilly, He gave it to Abram and his descendants and He decided where He wanted those descendants to live within the land. Understand that God follows His patterns. Let us to do the same regarding Israel’s more recent history so that we will perceive what God is doing.

Joshua 14:1 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them.

We will also see as we advance in this, there are some differences between what happened here under Joshua, and what happened later on at the founding of the United States of America, and probably a similar thing happened in England, as well as the other Israelitish nations. What I am trying to pick up for you right now is the thought, God was involved in the whole thing.

Joshua 14:2 Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half tribe.

The divisions were by lot, that is, in direct appeals to God for each tribe.

Joshua 15:1 So this was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families: The border of Edom at the wilderness of Zin southward was the extreme southern boundary.

Joshua 18:1-4 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received the inheritance. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel; “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance and come back to me.

Do you remember something like that from America history, where the people went out West and claimed land? And eventually cities and states formed around this empty land that God set aside for the Israelitish people.

Joshua 18:5-8 And they shall divide it into seven parts, Judah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. You shall therefore survey the land in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.” Then the men arose to go away; and Joshua charged those who went to survey the land, saying, “Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”

So we see actually the way it was done the first time around. There was a cooperative effort between the people who were crowding into the land of Canaan from the Israelitish, and God, and the leadership of the Israelitish people. Even as God allotted specific areas anciently within the Promised Land through Moses and Joshua to specific families, the same general pattern was used as God prepared for Christ’s return. He set aside land for the Manassite people, He set aside land for the Ephraimites, He set aside land for the Benjaminites. Do you understand? He set them apart. One of the big differences on this end time occasion is that it is on a much wider geographical scale than it was the first time around.

Note especially the biblical testimony. It shows that there was active participation between God and the Israelites as to who went where. It was probably a statement like this that made Mr. Armstrong decide that he wanted to find out, who are we? Are we Manassite or Ephraimites? I think we got reasonably close in regard to that.

However, during this end time occasion, the Israelites did not know who they were. The Israelites in Joshua’s day knew that they were descendants of Abraham. All these immigrants flooding into the United States, primarily out of Europe at this time I am speaking of, they had no idea that they were Israelites.

This is why I said there is a difference between what happened under Joshua and what happened now. Those people knew who they were, they had a relationship with God. As fractured as it might be, they nonetheless had a bit of relationship. The people coming over from Europe to the United States, immigrating, did not know who they were, so the cooperation between them and God was not the same as it was in those days.

Those Israelites did not know who they were, and did not know God to the extent the Israelites under Joshua did. But know this truth (we see the principles scattered throughout the Bible): God is not careless in the uses He puts to His creation and its purposes. (We will see more of this as we go along.) He provides clues in His Word, and also from profane histories, where the Israelites are actually fairly easily found if one knows what to look for in terms of identifier and believes what they read and see in the way of evidence.

Here is a real obvious one. Did not the tribe of Dan leave his name virtually all over Europe? Of course! But how many people believe that those names of Dan are Israelites? You can be sure that the Danites knew who they were.

I want to enforce this on your mind again and again, that I am saying that events, especially as massive as these immigrations, did not and do not happen randomly.

What is it in the Bible to confidently assert by quoting Scripture, that God by His authoritative Word specifically moves the Israelitish people into those areas, those areas that I confidently assured you that He did? If any of you have not read “The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy,” it would be good for you to be reminded what Mr. Armstrong searched out and put into that history that he gives. He followed patterns that are in the Bible that showed God by Scripture shows to those who need to know that He moved the Israelites here, there, and wherever He wanted to.

I have to admit that the number of specific scriptures is not overwhelming, however, there is a specific principle that He Himself gave so that we can rely on it with considerable strength of conviction like I am doing right now.

Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I, do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”

The Jews changed, they were human. But God does not change, and once He starts in a direction, He already has His mind made up, and He is going to move in that direction without turning. What this means is this: God is faithful to not deviate all over the place, and in every direction concerning the patterns of His operations.

Malachi 3:6 is an example. As bad as the Jews were, God did not turn aside from His desire, His plan, His purpose, to save them. Men give up, men change, men break their word. God does not! Why does God do that? One major reason He remains constant is so that we can always be sure where He stands on issues of importance to our salvation, and glorifying Him.

We will go back to the New Testament again and I will give you an example of a man who trusted in God in this way. This man was the apostle Paul. He was amongst the Gentiles when this occasion took place.

Acts 17:22-31 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription; TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determine their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings [God determines beforehand where people are going to live], so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ [Remember he is talking to unconverted Gentiles]

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God [including Gentiles], we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

I chose this section here as an example of what I am thinking, regarding the man who believed, that is, the apostle Paul. First of all, right in that context he confirms Deuteronomy 32:7-9, where Moses tells that about God’s plan beforehand, where the Israelites were going to live, and that God not only set the place and the boundaries of Israel long before Israel ever existed, He has done the same in regards to the Gentiles. He put the Chinese in China, He put the Japanese in Japan, He put the Filipino's in the Philippines. It is God’s world and He moves people around according to His purposes.

Do not forget this. I told you at the beginning of this particular section that I believe God planned for the United States of America to be occupying this land at the time of the end, at the time that Jesus Christ is returning. He did the same for the Ephraimites, and Benjamites, Danes, and on and on. God has His creation in mind, and He is moving it to the end that He has determined. He is faithfully working out a purpose. And because you are in Christ, you know what that purpose is, and I want you to be filled with understanding that this land, the United States of America, was planned for by God a long, long time ago, so when the time came that the Israelite’s came into the land, it was practically empty.

The apostle Paul also confirms that all the populations of people on earth have a common ancestry—Adam. We are all from one blood. Who did that? God did. Paul spoke to the Greeks in such a manner that though they did not know God anywhere near as intimately as the Israelites, they were enough aware that they were not completely ignorant of Him. It was a perverted view they had of Him, but there was knowledge there. This of course leads to what I am going to tell you. I want to press on your mind that you need to be faithful to this God who is faithfully working out His purpose, and not think that He has gone way off somewhere and forgotten about what is going on.

Romans 1:18-25 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

I have a leaning for light reading every once in a while, and if I want to read something that is light, I like shoot em ups, cowboys and Indians kind of thing. I read so many of these books and they all have the same plot, and I just zip right through them.

But do you know it is a common theme in most of those books, especially if they are better writers, doing better research, that even many Indian tribes dwelling here when the Israelites began arriving, called God the Great Spirit. They knew of Him, even those unschooled Indians were aware of God. Their specific beliefs of God were twisted by demons, but the general overall concepts of Him were fairly accurate. That is why they called God what? The Great Spirit. Somehow they knew He was a spirit being.

This is why God says here in Romans 1 that they are without excuse. The evidence is there of His existence, in His creation, but men do not want to accept it.

Some of the Greeks among those who heard Paul became converted, thus we can grasp that both Moses and Paul speak of God’s sovereignty over all nations. God made sure that He revealed enough that they could gain, even the Gentiles could gain greatly, therefore He will not hold them guiltless. They should have gotten more out of it than they did.

The first permanent colony in the United States was established in 1607, Jamestown, Virginia. The settlers were Israelites, they were English. This occurred at the very same period of history during which Israelitish scholars in Europe were involving themselves in the Protestant Reformation. There is not a shadow of doubt, even among unconverted American historians, of a direct connection between the ongoing Protestant Reformation in Europe, and the beginning of the colonization of what is today America.

The then ongoing religious turmoil in Europe created persecutions from the already operating national governments, and most especially the already existing Catholic Church, against those responding to and accepting the reformed religious teachings that were being found. This was because those who were accepting what was to them new spiritual teachings, were organizing into what became the Protestant churches, such a Presbyterians, the Congregationalists, the Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, and many more.

However, and this is another element to mark well, the European religious turmoil only barely got the emigration started to the new world, to what became the United States, even though some of this religious reason for emigrating remained in the minds and conduct of those emigrating for a long time. Included in that group are the ones who came to Massachusetts and established the Bay Colony, beginning with Plymouth Rock. That was 1620.

This was because, very quickly, early in the 1600s, and on into the 1700s, the European Israelites emigrated to what became the United States, and why they emigrated. The first groups that came here came for religious reasons, to get away from persecution. But that did not last very long. I think the length of this period of time might have been as short as one hundred years.

This was because very quickly, timewise, in a historical sense, what really moved the emigration invasion to America was the lure of material wealth. The appeal of money, wealth, moves almost everybody. Ever heard of the Gold Rush? The lure of potential great wealth does it very quickly, more quickly than any other motivation, than the raw fear for one’s life.

Are you aware that the war we call the War of Independence, was in its historical reality, fought over potentially great wealth? What was it that King George the III wanted from the colonies? At first, he lusted after American tax collections. Remember the Tea Party? It happened because King George wanted the tax monies. This is because all human governments have financial problems, and the English government was no different. England’s governmental lust exceeded their ability to buy their desires, and the colonies were a plum, ripe for the picking.

I picked up a few things lately from a fairly resent biography of Benedict Arnold. He was the most noteworthy American traitor during the Revolutionary War. Now according to its author, it was a combination of Arnold’s greed for material wealth. Anger burned within him, even hatred, against the colonies leadership for his failure to be advanced, and a New York socialite wife, who also had strong material desires, that pushed him over the edge. It was a money issue with Benedict Arnold that drove him to be a traitor.

Perhaps you did not realize this, but what researchers have shown over the last twenty or thirty years lately. Are you aware that even during the revolutionary warfare itself, the average colonist in America enjoyed a seriously higher standard of living than the average European? God knows how to attract colonizers without forcing them into emigrating. He feeds their senses.

This was the proposition: if they were willing to work, God lured them here with, first of all, the promise of virtually free land by European standards, and with the consistently strong possibility of a much greater measure of wealth than they would ever achieve in Europe.

Combined with the religious liberty, the lure of a much higher standard of living in the new world was impossible for many to resist, and once the word really got out to the Europeans in general of the wealth available here, the people began arriving here in droves. You could not keep them out.

What kind of people came here? The initial colonists did not come here driven by their desire for wealth. It was part of their picture, but a much smaller lure than those who came later. The first came strongly driven by their religious beliefs, combined with the persecutions in Europe. It was this group that was largely responsible for setting the spiritual tone of the colonies right from the start. This period of time lasted about one hundred years, beginning in 1607.

Their spiritual influence provided moral and spiritual guidance for ultimately the entire nation, from its beginnings, until the last one hundred years or so, in our time, when that spiritual and moral foundation began collapsing under the growing weight of humanism.

Some call humanism secularism. However, that is just a different name for the same basic beliefs. Humanism rejects the influence of God, any god, and very strongly promotes reliance on man’s science. Immigration to this nation continued virtually unabated during the first one hundred years. However, it remained for Native American-born Israelitish people to establish American governments in each colony, and following that, also federally.

I want to make sure you are following me along a general timeline. The emigration from Europe to begin filling what became the United States of America with people, the emigration was Europe, to the United States. The first people who came had religion on their mind. Later on, though, the money got to the people who were coming.

The first group to come here are the ones who set the religious tone in what became United States of America. These were the Plymouth brethren. These are the people who came and settled in Maryland. Most of those people were Catholic at the beginning, but they came over here and established a Catholic colony. Others established colonies in Massachusetts, Virginia, and so on.

I want you to get a general picture of what occurred, and why God did it that way, because we are headed eventually to “Is the United States a Christian Nation?” There is no doubt that the first emigrants here were religious people, sincerely, honestly religious. They wanted to make a living too, but it was religion that drove them here.

I said that period of time lasted for maybe about one hundred years. By that time the religion had begun to fade, in terms of being a draw here, then money and wealth became the lure.

Britain was still the one who was overall running things, but the Americans were growing governmentally sounder than they had under the religious people. It was seen that they needed a government.

When the Americans finally began to establish governments in the colonies, what were they founded upon? They did so on spiritual views and aided a great deal by political leaders’ very thorough knowledge of British common law. They were well-educated men; I am talking about the founders. Why would these Americans possess a thorough knowledge of British common law? I will give you two reasons.

First, remember that America was still a British colony during this period in our history.

Second, most of the schools of higher education were founded by British people, and taught by the British. But none of these people truly grasped what God had in mind. It was a start. But teachers in those institutions thought America would always remain a colony. As a result, the American leadership in America was actually well-educated regarding government, and the citizens personal responsibility to it. They were, at the same time, very moral because of the spiritual base that was under them from the original colonists, at least very moral measured against today’s standards, because of the spiritual foundation laid by the original wave of God-fearing religious emigrants escaping the persecutions in Europe for religious liberty available in the new colonies.

The table in America, in the 1700s, was being set by God for America not to be part of the British Empire. Even as the table is being set in our time for the return of Jesus Christ. This time, in our time, the table-setting involves much dissolution of what has been built in our history. So we had a British base of patriotic Americans, moral people, and they put the governments together in the United States, but as we continue on we will find out that that government never was, in the founders’ minds, to be a Christian nation.

JWR/cdm/drm