For Such a Time as This: Standing for Truth When Leadership Stands Against It

Copyright © 2020 Daniel J. Pacheco.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9159-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9160-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9161-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020908847

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/09/2020

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. That Was Then, But This Is Now

2. A Tale of Two Nations?

3. When Our Bill of Rights Is No Longer Self-Evident

4. The Gambit to Undo a Constitutional Judiciary

5. When Moral Wrongs Become Protected Rights

6. Education or Indoctrination? The Incubator of Public Education

7. The True North of Leadership

8. When the Foundations Are Destroyed …

9. What Are the Righteous to Do?

10. A Globalized Society: A Sign of the End-Time

11. Taking the Narrow Road on Eschatology—Literally

12. The Mystery of the Rapture

13. The End-Time Tribulation: Daniel’s Seventieth Week

14. The Valley of Decision

Notes

This book is dedicated to my grandchildren, for they are the ones who will need to understand the times in which they live. A time that has witnessed an ever-growing degradation of spiritual values in our nation. A nation that once held up the banner of one nation under God in response to those who thought otherwise. A nation that was truly blessed by God but now seeks to silence Him in the halls of leadership and education. A nation that is rapidly turning away from the source of its inalienable rights and embracing the depravity of the human heart when it no longer gives credence to Him with whom we have to do. In such a time we live and for such a time as this, my prayer is that my little ones will draw near to their Savior and walk with Him in a time of great deception and in anticipation of His calling us home. Until then, looking forward to the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ!

INTRODUCTION

The winds of change are upon us. Whether we like it or not, the political, social, and moral underpinnings of our nation have been evolving for decades. We now stand on the precipice of a time where the inalienable rights of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights to our Constitution are being challenged in the halls of government, our educational institutions, our media outlets, and the next generation of our citizenry. You may be asking yourself, What set this all in motion, and where is it leading us to? In the following pages, we will try to piece together many of the contributing factors that have brought us to this place and explain why we are rapidly evolving into a nation that may soon be quite different from the one that existed during its first two centennials.

The interesting thing about societal changes is that they tend to be tethered to the kind of leadership that is, as in our case, elected by the people being governed. With this in mind, we will observe today’s leadership as a reflection of the values of our voting electorate, the basis for electing fundamentally sound leadership, and why this is becoming a great challenge in our day. We will also observe the repercussions of the kind of leadership that we are embracing more and more as we navigate the future of our nation among other nations, given these trends.

It should become quite clear as you read this book that my intention is not to simply regurgitate the good and bad of today’s leadership. More important is to take a step back and evaluate the moorings of our leadership in the light of scripture. You see, it’s only by applying biblical truth in the realm of human behavior that we can hope to successfully navigate the topic that is before us.

Come journey with me through the dynamics of our current leadership’s state as we apply the wisdom of scripture in assessing what is happening now and where it will lead us to in the future. As we shall see, the essence of great leadership is not inherent in the natural state of humankind. As we venture along the path of a global society, humankind will naturally gravitate to and elevate one who will rule over all—but to their own destruction. In his wake will come one from eternity past: Jesus Christ, who will rule in righteousness. As we await His coming, let us do so with an understanding of the times in which we are living. For such a time as this, we are witnesses to the growing deception that will mark the end-time.

CHAPTER 1

That Was Then, But This Is Now

Much has changed since I was a child. How much change became poignantly clear as I was preparing a presentation for a group of high schoolers. As I contemplated what to say, I was struck by just how much change I had actually lived through. My parents and grandparents had lived through phenomenal change as well. The changes I saw were in some ways similar in scope yet, in other ways, more profound. I was also amazed by the brevity of time in which these changes occurred. To think, as I told my students, I held hands with a man (my grandfather) who was born in 1902 and now hold hands with my grandchildren—born over one hundred years later. Given the fact that there were people alive who were born in the 1700s at the birth of my grandfather and, should my grandchildren live a normal life, there will be people alive at the same time my grandchildren are who will live well into the twenty-second century, I personally have touched hands with those who may be connected to over three hundred years of our nation’s history. Yes, our lives are a vapor, and the proof is in the pudding.

My grandfather was born in a time when farming transcended any other livelihood, when the staple for travel was horse and carriage, when dirt-paved roads outnumbered paved roads, when candle and oil lanterns served the lighting needs of most since electricity in the home was still a few decades away, and when antibiotics and life-enhancing surgeries were yet to be tapped. The list goes on, but I think you get the gist. Yes, we are used to a rapidly changing world, and the confluence of technology and communication is hastening the pace of change on a global scale.

I remember how much I enjoyed the Carousel of Progress ride in Disney World, because it allowed me to get a glimpse of life in bygone eras. Even now, I think about how commonplace dial telephones, vinyl records and albums, and cassette recorders were and how AM radio ruled the airwaves when I was a child. Given the rapidity of change in our times, one can only wonder if the incorporation of such change proved too cumbersome as the once contemporary ride is now considered somewhat archaic with its last update coming in the early 1990s.

Change is constant may be an oxymoron, but how true it is in our day. For example, the Federal Register, in addition to publishing our signed laws of the land, serves as the official journal of all government agency rules, regulations, orders, and notices, which are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. Since its inception in 1935, the Federal Register has grown from its initial 2,600 pages into a publication that was over 97,000 pages long in 2016.¹ Much like our national debt, this burgeoning document has grown exponentially over the past several decades. Certainly this growth in federal laws and regulations through the years is a by-product of the profound changes in scope and complexity of our commercial and governmental enterprises.

While we expect the laws of our land to change and reflect the realities of a growing society, what we seem to be dismissing are the changes in behavioral and societal norms that are now being given legislative and legal credibility and protection at the expense of the once acceptable norms of days gone by. In fact, the momentum and impact of these changes are accelerating in the halls of the government, in public education, and on social media to the extent that the Judeo-Christian understanding of social norms, and the First Amendment protections that were afforded at our nation’s founding, are now being attacked and marginalized with unfettered regularity.

So what are some of these behavioral or antisocial trends that are sweeping our nation, and why now? Here again, I go back to my presentation to my students, and as I shared with them, I now share with you. The following points are obviously a sampling and not all-encompassing, but they certainly reflect just how far we’ve traveled down the path of moral relativism.

When I was born, abortion was considered morally wrong. (I’m glad that my mom did not have a choice and that my life was protected by law.)

When I was born, marriage was between a man and a woman. (And make no mistake: it takes both to create a family.)

When I was born, the term transgender didn’t have any application. (Even if you didn’t believe in the Bible, it was foolish to argue with natural law.)

When I was a child, my public school classroom began the day with prayer. What God do you think we prayed to? And because we were taught to respect His authority over our lives, respect for our parents, teachers, and ourselves was ingrained in us at an early age.

When I was a child, Christmas break was all about Christ; we gathered as a school in the main gym and sang numerous Christ-centered hymns and songs to reflect the true meaning of the season. It was a wonderful time for nearly all. (It wasn’t the role of the ACLU or the government to play the Grinch and interfere with the First Amendment rights of the majority.)

When I was a child, Sundays meant going to Sunday school and learning about Jesus Christ. (On my way to and from church, I remember most community businesses were closed for the day and church parking lots were full, as families and businesses respected the day for what it was.)

When I was in high school, The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie were among the top-rated TV shows and reflected strong family values based on biblical principles.

When I was in high school, there was a moral line that most media could not and would not cross because the values and principles of the majority would not allow it and politicians took note.

When I was in high school, I never dreamed that we would turn those principles and standards of society on their head and embrace those things that we understood (with parental and governmental backing) to be deviant and abnormal and associated with spiritual darkness.

As I looked around the room while my students contemplated (or, more likely, tuned out) my words, I was surprised to see so few who seemed to comprehend or care about what I was trying to convey. I began to understand that the social norms inculcated during my formative years had become foreign to the hearts and minds of many of our young people today. Naturally, I began to ask myself, When and how did our social norms get upended?

From a line in one of my favorite stories, The Count of Monte Cristo, I found the answer to be It’s complicated. As I’ve reviewed the myriad of articles, media stories, related books, magazines, and biblical passages, I’ve come to find that most social changes are subtle at first but eventually evolve and pick up steam.

Much like the road to the Third Reich in Germany, society reaches a turning point where it becomes impossible to turn back. The inertia of the majority and eventual silence of the minority lead to a kind of groupthink that is on steroids. Have we reached that point in America? You be the judge. But I hope to show you in these pages that we have traveled far down the road of transformative thinking and the foundations that appeared certain in the past are now eroding beyond repair.

History is one of our best teachers on how we can avoid the mistakes of the past and garner the wisdom to resist the will of those whose actions may prove detrimental or disastrous to us all. To ignore history or to shape an alternative history based on misinformation or outright propaganda is a recipe for repeating them. American philosopher George Santayana put it this way: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

German philosopher Georg Hegel stated it another way. It seems that the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. Whether it’s selective memory or outright brazenness to ignore the truth, we find in the book of Jude an exhortation to believers to remember the things that came before and to recognize those who threaten the Christian faith in our midst.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched progressive politicians stand against the current president’s agenda, which on many fronts has been favorable to the values and faith that were once integral to our nation’s well-being. Despite the fact that their previous positions and sound bites on many an issue proved to be otherwise, I often wonder why the media fails to call them out for their capricious behavior. Then again, maybe because mainstream media is doing the very same thing. Despite their hypocrisies and inconsistencies, I’m equally dismayed when their supporters rationalize or dismiss the character and integrity issues that naturally stem from such contradictory behavior.

I’m not saying that our views do not change over time on some things, but what we are seeing is a total reversal of thought on many polarizing issues in the halls of leadership today. What is most disconcerting is that we are then blatantly expected to accept their That was then, but this is now response without due consideration, let alone concern for truth or consequences. But there are always consequences when character and integrity are at issue, yet we appear to be bent on overlooking the obvious when it comes time to vote.

CHAPTER 2

A Tale of Two Nations?

Before the industrial age, the baby boom of post-WWII, and the evolution of technology and communications, America was largely a rural country of indigenous people and immigrants who had left the confines of Europe for a better life, both materially and spiritually. Not all were spiritually motivated; thus, the African slave trade flourished on both sides of the Atlantic, adding another layer of people and culture into the melting pot of America. Even so, our nation prospered and developed into a healthy core of people of faith with a biblical context for living, working, and functioning as a society.

Were we at any point truly a Christian nation? Let’s put it into perspective. A tenet of a so-called Christian nation would be that its leadership, through its people, worship the God of the Bible and would hold themselves to a biblical understanding that salvation is through Christ alone and in His atoning work on Calvary for our sins. With this in mind, our accountability would be to Him, and our laws and Constitution would reflect the same.

Certainly the Pilgrims left an imprint of spiritual proportions at the outset, but they had a colony of people who had long been supplanted by a plurality of people and beliefs by the time of the Revolutionary War. To their credit, we became a nation that possessed and respected the freedom to worship, even sending out missionaries to the ends of the earth and then fighting against the evils of slavery and despotism throughout the world.

Even so, it’s biblically clear that only one nation holds the distinction of being called God’s people, and that is the nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 14:2). Paul makes it clear in the book of Romans that individual Christians are the branches that have been grafted into their root. This becomes even more understandable when you look at the makeup of the leadership of our nation at its inception. A hodgepodge of deists, Masons, freethinkers, and Christians meant that there would be an overt respect for biblical ideals but never a theocratic approach to government, and a review of our Declaration of Independence serves as a reminder that our Creator was never defined to be the Trinity in a biblical sense.

In an article written by Albert Dager, editor and publisher of Media Spotlight, he quoted the following from a Masonic publication:

Into Freemasonry have been poured the irradiations of the mystical schools of antiquity … such as the Scottish Rite, where undeniable traces of Cabalism, neo-Platonism, Rosicrucianism, and other mystical cults are clearly discernible.²

Indeed, to be a Freemason, one only had to believe in a supreme being, much less the God of the Bible. Some notable Masons at the time of America’s independence included the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Ethan Allen, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and George Washington. In fact, among the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, fifteen of them were either Freemasons or somewhat affiliated with this group.³

To put this into proper perspective, when Thomas Jefferson ran for president, several prominent clergy campaigned against his candidacy, noting that people of faith should not support him because of his rejection of the Christian Religion and open profession of Deism.⁴ It’s important to reconcile the fact that our founding documents never define or refer to God in a biblical sense.

In fact, many of our nation’s leaders at the time were duly influenced by the precepts of the Enlightenment era of seventeenth-century Europe and in particular by the English philosopher and political theorist John Locke, whom many consider to be the father of classical liberalism. Much like the metaphysical philosophers of the late 1800s through the early 1900s, some of whom I will touch on later, Mr. Locke’s influence on Mr. Jefferson in the writing of the Declaration of Independence was fairly evident (e.g., the consent of the governed and the natural right to life, liberty and estate).⁵

As with Mr. Locke, who was a theological contradiction of beliefs, Mr. Jefferson considered himself a Christian but only in the sense of a theist—today’s equivalent to a Unitarian (i.e., one who rejects the Trinity). As I cited above, some claim that he was a deist holding the belief that there is a Creator of the universe who is a noninterventionist to the point that creation itself is subject to the laws of nature. What we do know for certain is that he rejected the divinity, resurrection, and miracles of Jesus, and that alone says it all.

Subsequent narratives from the writer of our Declaration of Independence made it clear that a biblical concept of the Trinity was not his concept of our Creator in the Declaration of Independence. That being said, and despite Mr. Jefferson’s flawed system of faith, he expressed his commitment to religious freedom and the protection of those freedoms as outlined in the First Amendment of our Constitution.

Because he agreed with many of the teachings of Christ, we shouldn’t be surprised by his support for the principles and authority of faith in the lives of the faithful. In practical terms, he acknowledged the importance of biblical precepts in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness in order to sustain our nation in the years to come. This also became evident in his concept of leadership when he said, Let men of principle be our principal leaders. Putting these words in the context of his beacon statement that our rights come from our creator, Jefferson’s understanding of principled men carried with it the correlating understanding that one’s motivation, judgment, and actions are to be governed by one’s accountability to one’s