Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 11-23-22: Generational Decline

As we survey the debris in these last days of this lost, dying, and radically unbelieving world, there are many causes and explanations for the decline that is leading inevitably toward God’s wrath and judgment that will culminate in the 7-year Tribulation.  Today I want to briefly discuss just two of them which aren’t often cited.

The first – which is a Biblical cause of what we’re seeing and experiencing – is that of what I call generational decline.  It has to do with the sad fact that following a strong and faithful generation which has revered God, it is often succeeded by children that fall away from Him.

The second – which is a partial explanation from the secular world – of that which is taking place – is the phenomenon of the Fourth Turning.  This intriguing perspective – which I’ve spoken of several times previously – looks at the world and sees the cycles it predictably goes through, much like what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9:

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

 

 

Transcript:

As we survey the debris in these last days of this lost, dying, and radically unbelieving world, there are many causes and explanations for the decline that is leading inevitably toward God’s wrath and judgment that will culminate in the 7-year Tribulation.  Today I want to briefly discuss just two of them which aren’t often cited.

 

The first – which is a Biblical cause of what we’re seeing and experiencing – is that of what I call generational decline.  It has to do with the sad fact that following a strong and faithful generation which has revered God, it is often succeeded by children that fall away from Him.

 

The second – which is a partial explanation from the secular world – of that which is taking place – is the phenomenon of the Fourth Turning.  This intriguing perspective – which I’ve spoken of several times previously – looks at the world and sees the cycles it predictably goes through, much like what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9:

 

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

 

As I’ve said in the past, you can call me Mr. Gloom & Doom if you’d like, because in one sense, all this that I talk about is seemingly quite pessimistic.  This would be particularly true for someone who doesn’t believe in the solid doctrine of the pre-Tribulation Rapture, i.e. a person who thinks we have to endure the horrors and ensuing suffering which will occur during that awful 7-year period.  However, for those of us eagerly anticipating Christ’s soon return to remove us from this world before the proverbial fecal matter hits the fan – or as it’s known by the initials SHTF – this is the second most glorious time ever to be alive on the earth.  Of course, the first would have been when Jesus walked among us and to have interacted directly with Him in the flesh.  This second greatest time precedes His glorious appearing in the clouds to whisk us out of here to join Him in His Father’s House as His beloved Bride.

 

For now, let’s discuss these couple aspects of this end-times world which paint the picture of its sorry state of affairs.

 

Before that we’ll pray, read a Scripture, and then proceed.

 

<PRAY>

 

Scripture

 

Judges 2:10-12

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.  And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.

 

Judges 17:6 & 21:25

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

 

 

Generational Decline

 

Biblical Cause

  • What brought us to this point of world affairs is as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning
  • The Old Testament shows us a disturbing pattern which we have followed to a tee in our modern world
  • Perhaps the most distressing of the Biblical accounts that I’ll mention is the one most well known
  • Following the Exodus and the 40-year trek in the wilderness under the guidance of Moses, the second generation actually learned its lesson and was generally obedient to the Lord
  • Those children had seen what happened to the disobedience of their parents and decided that following God was a pretty good deal
  • When they remembered to consult Him, He acted on their behalf
  • In the aftermath of Moses, Joshua led them into the land of Canaan, and they took much territory – although, as we know, they fell down in that effort and failed to capture all the land God had promised them
  • This failure meant that pagan tribes remained in what became Israel
  • This resulted in the Israelites being influenced by the pagans, and through their poor choices, they followed other gods than the Holy One of Israel
  • Inevitably this led to the next generations literally forgetting about God until life became unbearable
  • Those sons and daughters which had learned the lesson of their parents from the wilderness didn’t replicate that knowledge of God to their offspring once they claimed the Promised Land
  • This pattern happened again and again:
    • Israel forgot God
    • Israel became enslaved to pagan tribes
    • Israel remembered God and called out to Him
    • God raised up a Judge to lead them out of slavery to deliverance
    • After a time, Israel neglected to teach the children about God and once more descended into bondage
  • It never failed
  • What also occurred was that because of Israel’s neglect of God, He remained silent
  • If His people didn’t want Him, He had no obligation to speak prophetically into their lives
  • This continued until the time of Samuel
  • Integral to this narrative is another instance of generational decline, namely the account of Eli and his sons
  • Eli was the priest who effectively raised Samuel, and obviously must have done a good job with his young protégé
  • But in those same years, Eli failed to teach and restrain his own sons
  • 1 Samuel 2:22,25 describe the situation:

 

Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting . . . But [his sons] would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

 

  • Eli knew better but he didn’t have the will or the authority with his sons to discipline them and to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord
  • This resulted in God declaring the death sentence for them and for the removal of the ark – as the glory of the Lord – from Israel
  • Even Samuel – this astounding prophet and man of God – repeated this same sin with his own sons
  • You’d think with the examples before him of the necessity of raising his sons properly that he’d do so
  • More than that, the very commands of God received by Moses required this obedience from one generation to the next
  • Speaking of the Israelites’ teaching about God to their children Deuteronomy 4:9 says:

 

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— 

 

  • Deuteronomy 11:19 also says about imparting the commandments of God:

 

You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

 

  • Yet here is what is said about Samuel’s sons in 1 Samuel 8:1-5:

 

When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

 

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

 

  • This failure as the verse says, led to Israel demanding a king – so as to be like other nations
  • God intended for Israel NOT to be like other nations, rather to be ruled by Him
  • But He acquiesced to their demand, knowing where this would lead with its disastrous results
  • Right out of the chute after Saul’s ruinous reign, God raised up David but he hadn’t learned the lesson either
  • His sons Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah all foolishly decided each in turn should inherit the throne from his father David, even if it meant usurping his kingship and killing him
  • That didn’t turn out well for any of them as David at God’s direction had promised the throne to Solomon
  • What it does show is that something was lacking in the upbringing of those young men
  • From there we turn to Solomon, but once more the father failed the son
  • God gave Solomon the gift of wisdom that exceeded any man before or since because – at the time – he revered God and did as he commanded
  • But the kingship itself was such a temptation because of Solomon’s excesses of wealth and power, that he too raised a foolish son
  • It was a result of Rehoboam’s folly in listening to the advice of his peers rather than to the wisdom of the elders of Israel that quickly led to the tearing apart of the kingdom
  • Inevitably this brought about the complete destruction of Israel as a nation until God graciously restored it after 70 years in exile

 

 

Secular Explanation

  • This brings us from the Biblical cause of decline in Israel – which shows us a pattern – to the secular description of the Fourth Turning that instructs us in the seasons or cycles that occur in history
  • You can watch my prior teachings on the Fourth Turning at the links I provide below on the Rumble page
  • There is also a current article from Zero Hedge which discusses the inevitability of this historical phenomenon
  • Solomon nailed it when he continued with his discourse in Ecclesiastes 1:11 that history effectively repeats:

 

There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after.

 

  • I think it’s this lack of remembrance that leads to the same issues and problems from one generation to the next
  • We’ll talk about this shortly, but consider what’s been going on in public-government schools for a number of years
  • History is not taught – purposefully
  • Only social constructs and interactions are deemed worthy of a student’s time in class
  • Was this deliberate ignorance of history the reason for the OT examples we cited?
  • I don’t know about that
  • The one thing I do know is that it takes a lot of effort to remain focused on God so as to walk with Him day-by-day
  • Each of us has that responsibility – it’s on our shoulders to obediently follow hard after God
  • Of course, when our heart is right and we expend that effort, because the Holy Spirit lives within us as believers, He then helps us
  • But we have to remember Him each day and take the first step
  • Regarding the Fourth Turning, the authors of the book, which was written in 1997 and is every bit relevant today, looked back in history about 500 years and concluded that it is very cyclical and predictable
  • They found that history runs in approximately 80-100 year cycles
  • Each full cycle is broken up into 4 distinct periods – that very much resemble the four seasons of the year
  • Each of those 4 periods is about 20-25 years in length before a change occurs propelling the world into the next part of the cycle
  • These cycles or seasons – also known as saeculums – are described as follows:
    • First Turning – High (Spring)
    • Second Turning – Awakening (Summer)
    • Third Turning – Unraveling (Fall)
    • Fourth Turning – Crisis (Winter)
  • Once a Forth Turning has passed, that leads once more to the First Turning
  • And so the cycle begins again
  • If you’re not familiar with this idea of these turnings in history, please be sure to watch my prior messages
  • I won’t repeat all that now
  • What I will say is that the last Fourth Turning – the prior crisis period in the world, or wintertime, so to speak – occurred during World War 2
  • That was a very dark time as war raged and many people died
  • That led to a renewal around the world in its various forms but then eventually into decline once more
  • Suffice it to say that we are in – and have been for a number of years – the Fourth Turning again
  • I don’t need to tell you that our world is in severe crisis
  • It’s so bad that a nuclear winter is on the horizon
  • Almost every day we see references to World War 3 that will consume the earth
  • From the book, but also quoted at a link below, is the following that the authors said:

 

“Reflect on what happens when a terrible winter blizzard strikes. You hear the weather warning but probably fail to act on it. The sky darkens. Then the storm hits with full fury, and the air is a howling whiteness. One by one, your links to the machine age break down. Electricity flickers out, cutting off the TV. Batteries fade, cutting off the radio. Phones go dead. Roads become impossible, and cars get stuck. Food supplies dwindle. Day to day vestiges of modern civilization – bank machines, mutual funds, mass retailers, computers, satellites, airplanes, governments – all recede into irrelevance.”

“Picture yourself and your loved ones in the midst of a howling blizzard that lasts several years. Think about what you would need, who could help you, and why your fate might matter to anybody other than yourself. That is how to plan for a saecular winter [i.e. the cycle or season of the turning]. Don’t think you can escape the Fourth Turning. History warns that a Crisis will reshape the basic social and economic environment that you now take for granted.”

 

  • Here is another quote:

 

“History offers no guarantees. Obviously, things could go horribly wrong – the possibilities ranging from a nuclear exchange to incurable plagues, from terrorist anarchy to high-tech dictatorship. We should not assume that Providence will always exempt our nation from the irreversible tragedies that have overtaken so many others: not just temporary hardship, but debasement and total ruin. Losing in the next Fourth Turning could mean something incomparably worse. It could mean a lasting defeat from which our national innocence – perhaps even our nation – might never recover.”

“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.”

  • The question becomes: Why is it that the world inevitably devolves into such a terrible condition?
  • I would argue that God’s people are largely responsible
  • Are we not as the church to speak to the culture and lead it into righteousness?
  • Wasn’t that exactly what ancient Israel was tasked to do so as to be a blessing to the nations?
  • Since Israel didn’t do, look what happened to her
  • America, as the leading Christian nation in the world, didn’t do it either
  • The church abdicated its responsibility and became like the world
  • Among other neglects, we failed to raise our children ourselves; rather handed that responsibility over to government run school
  • Who has the best interests of children at heart?
  • Their parents or those who have been indoctrinated into communist ideology?
  • This same lack of Biblical parenting has happened throughout history, and we are now in the final throes of our neglect
  • But I maintain that our current Fourth Turning will be unlike any other
  • In the past, the workings in the world and the next generation brought the huge change from a winter-like crisis to a spring-like re-blossoming
  • Things are massively different now
  • We have rejected God
  • We have turned from Him
  • We have given the world over to Satan, our fleshly desires, and to death
  • Our world is ripe for judgment
  • The Tribulation will be the final culmination of this Fourth Turning
  • I personally believe it will coincide with what the world desires, i.e. that the Tribulation will begin right in line with Agenda 2030
  • What do we see that the Bible tells us will happen?
  • World war
  • Famine and pestilence beyond our wildest imagination
  • Massive death counts and most of mankind literally choosing Satan’s agenda and being relegated to the pit of hell for rejecting God
  • And that’s only the beginning
  • It all could have been different
  • If the church had truly been what God called it to be, the cycles of history might well have changed
  • But we’ve done what every past generation has done
  • The parents failed to teach the children, and we’re at this point of final judgment because of that
  • However, just as God has always done, He has raised up a faithful remnant
  • If you are seeking God for all he’s worth and watching faithfully for Christ’s soon return, you are part of that remnant
  • What does that mean?
  • Simply that Jesus will come very soon, but in the meantime, we’re to teach our actual children and to disciple others who are children in the faith
  • Raise them up to look to the heavens
  • Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel; rather boldly proclaim it
  • Speak the name of Jesus and don’t hold back
  • Someone’s very soul may depend on our faithfulness in this matter
  • And where will this Fourth Turning lead?
  • This is the glorious and amazing part of being where we are in this cycle of history
  • The next First Turning will be realized as we enter the Millennial Reign of Christ
  • What a springtime that will be!
  • Can you imagine that as a seasonal high like no other?
  • We have much to anticipate in the near term
  • Because of that we should desire with every fiber of our being to obey the Lord in all things and to do His work in this world until He comes
  • He’s coming!
  • He’s coming!
  • Are you ready?

6 Responses to “Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 11-23-22: Generational Decline”

  1. Reply RobinL

    Gary, I hope you get well soon. You sounded just fine here, so maybe you’re on the mend???

    Your message makes one thing very clear: salvation is an individual event. I know very godly people who have done everything right and yet have children who are unsaved. Nevertheless, Bible makes it clear as parents in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Chances are much better that you remain in the Lord or will turn to the Lord if you have godly parents; I certainly wish I’d had a strong Christian environment in my childhood….faith was, at best, peripheral.

    Solomon was right, nothing is new under the sun. The ‘turnings’ you reference have indeed been occuring since Adam. It is no wonder at all that God has set a firm date for the end of sin, no matter how patient and gracious He is, we eventually betray Him and go our own way. Periods of faithful godly worship are brief by comparison to the periods of falling away that humans engage in.

    Even in the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ Himself is reigning and Satan is bound, sin will persist…albeit much less. Which goes to prove that we are sinners to our core, and sin originates in our flesh, not because of Satan; he is just the master of tempting us.

    I am weary of our world, but pray every day to remain faithful to the end. My greatest regret is that I helped along with the current condition of our world by turning to Jesus so late in life. Before then it was a matter of doing what I thought was right in my own eyes-sigh.I have no room to boast in myself for my amazing redemption and no right to blame others for why we are in this mess.

    Happy Thanksgiving Gary, be well and maranatha!

    • Reply Gary Ritter

      I fake it pretty good – had to do so the last couple weeks as well, but yes, I appear to be getting better, and am hoping this is the end of this garbage. I don’t tend to give much credit to Satan for personal illness – I usually just ignore him – but I’ve been working on something for these last three weeks that he might wish remained unknown. My target for that expose is December 7, and I remain undeterred!

      Fortunately for us late bloomers, God treats us just like the early ones, so we don’t have to beat ourselves up over that fact that we didn’t come to Him sooner. Don’t you wonder what it would have been like to be raised in a Godly household? Oh well, I know I probably would have blown it. Good thing He decided to pursue me until I came to my senses!

      • Reply RobinL

        Ooh, I’m looking forward to that upcoming post!

        Yes I sure do wonder what it would have been like to have been saved at an early age. I was SO rebellious…and God certainly knew that. He brought me to him the circuitous route. As you know, I’m the poster girl for “Fallen Women”.

        All according to His plan, He proves again and again He can save anyone! 😉
        Hugs and prayers

  2. Reply Layne Dewlen

    Thank you for your time and wisdom. I have appreciated it very much. May God richly bless you for all you do. I’ve taught S.S. and written articles for the church newsletter, and have a pretty good idea the amount of time and effort it takes, and again I say thank you. Yours in Christ, Layne

    • Reply Gary Ritter

      It does take a lot of time! But, you know, God gives each of us according to our abilities and what He has set our hands to do. Thanks, and God bless!

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