5 Cycles of Discipline (Leviticus 26:14-39) For God’s Chosen Nation & For God’s Client Nations Hosea 4:1-6 • Definition – National judgment for disobedience to the Word of God. The curse upon rejecters of the blessing. • Definition of a Client Nation – a national entity under Divine Institution #4 responsible for the custodianship of Bible Doctrine & for being a base for missionary activity. • Verse 1: “There is no truth or mercy (chesed)…” – there is no character in the people. • Verse 1: “There is no knowledge of God…” – religion & legalism had replaced doctrine & grace. • Verse 6: “Rejected” – not just neglected, but despised, scorned, abhorred, loathed. Hosea 4:1-6 • As the nation accumulates disobedience & rejects the Word of God, the judgment (Divine discipline) increases. • They begin rejecting the 4 Divine Institutions (#1 Free-Will, #2 Marriage, #3 Family, & #4 Nationalism) & thereby bring discipline upon themselves. • Cf. Nehemiah 10:29; II Chronicles 24. • See Leviticus 26:14-39 for the 5 Cycles of Discipline. 1st Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:14-17 • • • • • • • • A strike on their persons. “Appoint” (vs. 16) – governors of a disobedient people. “Terror” (vs. 16) – fear instead of calm, serene peace. Because of terrorism, violence, unrestrained criminality, hostility from other nations, etc. Results in a frantic search for security. Causes many laws to be passed (such as the “Patriot Act”) for the “social betterment” of the people. These laws turn around, trapping & suffocating the people. Big emphasis on life insurance, health insurance, welfare plans, etc. 1st Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:14-17 • “Wasting disease & fever” (vs. 16). • Instead of health & strength, the nation begins to have loss of health – big emphasis on health begins to develop. • The more emphasis on health, the less health the nation enjoys. • Hospitals overflow, mental disorders become rampant. • The nation begins to have “wasting disease & burning fever” (vs. 16) – disease such as AIDS, Ebola, Enterovirus D68, Cancer, Tuberculosis, & mystery illnesses. • Eventually, as this cycle of discipline increases under the other cycles, the medical system begins to fall apart. • “Consume the eyes & cause sorrow of heart” – the physical effects of wasting disease & the psychological effects (“exhausts the eyes because of anxiety & causes depression” – NET Bible study notes). 1st Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:14-17 • The economy begins to fall apart – “sow your seed in vain” (vs. 16). • Crop destruction, inability to compete with foreign markets (petro dollars will eventually collapse our economy). • Can also refer to the Church having very little spiritual impact upon the spiritual condition of their communities. • Believers not walking in victory – not standing spiritually – defeated. • The nation’s enemies will “eat” the profits & the nation’s quality of life will begin to go downhill. 1st Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:14-17 • Vs. 17 - God’s Face will be set against the nation (for cursing) rather than shining upon the nation (for blessing) (cf. Numbers 6:25). • Discipline in the form of defeat on the battlefield (vs. 17) – military begins to have poor leadership, immorality, & cowardice. • We have not won a war since WWII. • We could have won in Korea if the Commander-In-Chief would have listened to Gen. MacArthur • We could have won in Vietnam if we would have listened to soldiers like LTC Anthony B. Herbert. • All we accomplished in Iraq was basically for nothing – the radical Muslims are quickly taking back what we fought so hard for. • The same thing is happening in Afghanistan. 1st Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:14-17 • “Those who hate you shall reign over you” (vs. 17) – sneering authority. • Instead of serving the nation, the leadership will serve itself & their agenda, & only use government benefits to seize more power for themselves. • In our case, they will do all they can to destroy our Republic & free enterprise. • “You shall flee when no one pursues you” – national cowardice. • This becomes painful discipline because it causes damage to the soul & increases torment from neurosis (goes back to “terror” in verse 16). 2nd Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:18-20 • The 2nd Cycle increases the intensity of the 1st Cycle (vs. 18) – “…punish you seven times more for your sin” – a metaphor for “a whole bunch!” • A strike on their possessions. • The people of the nation are characterized by pride & selfrighteousness (vs. 19) – religion (not Christianity) usually begins to predominate. • The land & the environment becomes the enemy of the farmer (vs. 19) – severe drought begins to spread. • California is facing one of the most severe droughts on record Intensity: • • • • • D0 - Abnormally Dry D1 - Moderate Drought D2 - Severe Drought D3 - Extreme Drought D4 - Exceptional Drought 2nd Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:18-20 • An application of the “drought” goes far beyond just what is happening in the land – • it includes raw materials from which products are made; • advertising; • marketing; • whatever brings a production of profits. • The people will work hard, but it will be in vain (vs. 20). • The nation goes into an economic recession (vs. 20). • Poverty increases. • The beginning of famine (have you seen how they stock the store shelves lately?!). 3rd Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:21 & 22 • The 3rd Cycle increases the intensity of the 1st & 2nd Cycles (vs. 21) – “…seven times more plagues …” – a metaphor for “a whole bunch more!” • A strike on their children & cattle (wealth in an agricultural economy). • “Wild beasts” (vs. 22) – people revert to being like animals as they move away from God. Unisex becomes more & more the norm. • What are some “wild beasts” that endanger our nation & our children today? Societies attitude toward traditional families Drugs (pharmakia) Homosexuality Abortion Pornography Educational system “Wild animals” Child molestation Medical/Legal system Bible & God taken out Evolution DSS No Spanking Humanism Isaiah Rider Chicago Justina Pelletier Boston The 10 Points of Humanism (From “The Philosophy of Humanism” – 8th edition by Corliss Lamont pps 13-15) First, Humanism believes in a naturalistic metaphysics or attitude toward the universe that considers all forms of the supernatural as myth; and that regards Nature as the totality of being and as a constantly changing system of matter and energy which exists independently of any mind or consciousness. The 10 Points of Humanism Second, Humanism, drawing especially upon the laws and facts of science, believes that we human beings are an evolutionary product of the Nature of which we are a part; that the mind is indivisibly conjoined with the functioning of the brain; and that as an inseparable unity of body and personality we can have no conscious survival after death. The 10 Points of Humanism Third, Humanism, having its ultimate faith in humankind, believes that human beings possess the power or potentiality of solving their own problems, through reliance primarily upon reason and scientific method applied with courage and vision. The 10 Points of Humanism Fourth, Humanism, in opposition to all theories of universal determinism, fatalism, or predestination, believes that human beings, while conditioned by the past, possess genuine freedom of creative choice and action, and are, within certain objective limits, the shapers of their own destiny. The 10 Points of Humanism Fifth, Humanism believes in an ethics or morality that grounds all human values in this-earthly experiences and relationships and that holds as its highest goal the this-worldly happiness, freedom, and progress economic, cultural, and ethical - of all humankind, irrespective of nation, race, or religion. The 10 Points of Humanism Sixth, Humanism believes that the individual attains the good life by harmoniously combining personal satisfactions and continuous selfdevelopment with significant work and other activities that contribute to the welfare of the community. The 10 Points of Humanism Seventh, Humanism believes in the widest possible development of art and the awareness of beauty, including the appreciation of Nature's loveliness and splendor, so that the aesthetic experience may become a pervasive reality in the lives of all people. The 10 Points of Humanism Eighth, Humanism believes in a farreaching social program that stands for the establishment throughout the world of democracy, peace, and a high standard of living on the foundations of a flourishing economic order, both national and international. The 10 Points of Humanism Ninth, Humanism believes in the complete social implementation of reason and scientific method; and thereby in democratic procedures, and parliamentary government, with full freedom of expression and civil liberties, throughout all areas of economic, political, and cultural life. The 10 Points of Humanism Tenth, Humanism, in accordance with the scientific method, believes in the unending questioning of basic assumptions and convictions, including its own. Humanism is not a new dogma, but is a developing philosophy ever open to experimental testing, newly discovered facts, and more rigorous reasoning. Secular Humanism Secular Humanism - Excluding God from Schools & Society Secular Humanism is an attempt to function as a civilized society with the exclusion of God and His moral principles. During the last several decades, Humanists have been very successful in propagating their beliefs. Their primary approach is to target the youth through the public school system. Humanist Charles F. Potter writes, "Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American school is a school of humanism. What can a theistic Sunday school's meeting for an hour once a week and teaching only a fraction of the children do to stem the tide of the five-day program of humanistic teaching?" (Charles F. Potter, "Humanism: A New Religion," 1930) Secular Humanism John J. Dunphy, in his award winning essay, The Humanist (1983), illustrates this strategic focus, "The battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: A religion of humanity -- utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to carry humanist values into wherever they teach. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new -- the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism." Secular Humanism Is this what's happening? John Dewey, remembered for his efforts in establishing America's current educational systems, was one of the chief signers of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto. It seems the Humanists have been interested in America's education system for nearly a century. They have been absolutely successful in teaching children that God is imaginary and contrary to "science." Secular Humanism Secular Humanism - Main Tool is Evolutionary Thought Secular Humanism is manifested in Evolutionary Theory. To satisfy the fundamental question of "Where did we come from?" children are taught the doctrine of Evolution. The first plank of the Humanist Manifesto states: "Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created." The second plank states: "Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as a result of a continuous process." Certainly, the public school system propagates the Humanist doctrine (clearly an atheistic "religion"), and thus, condemns the concept of God. Secular Humanism This is an amazing irony. Creation Science has been successfully kept out of the public schools by organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) on the grounds that Creation is religious, and the government should not support religion in any fashion. "In fact, evolution became in a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it, and many are prepared to 'bend' their observations to fit with it." (H. S. Lipson, FRS, Professor of Physics, University of Manchester, UK, "A Physicist Looks at Evolution", Physics Bulletin, vol. 31, May 1980, pg. 138). Secular Humanism Yet Evolution has not been proved. Sir Arthur Keith, a famous British evolutionary anthropologist and anatomist, confesses, "Evolution is unproved and unprovable. We believe it only because the only alternative is special creation, and that is unthinkable." In fact, it seems that the Theory of Evolution is contrary to established science. George Wald, another prominent Evolutionist (a Harvard University biochemist and Nobel Laureate), wrote, "When it comes to the Origin of Life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!" ("The Origin of Life," Scientific American, 191:48, May 1954). 3rd Cycle of Discipline – Leviticus 26:21 & 22 • • • • • Rebellious teenagers. No respect for authority. An increase in crime. Property vandelized. “Highways desolate” (vs. 22) – gas crisis? Commerce declines.