• But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. (1:9) - 2 Corinthians 1:8-24

General George Washington was so inspired by Thomas Paine's first essay, "The Crisis", he had his entire army read it. Paine's words were inspirational to Washington and his men during the first bleak winter of the revolutionary war. The British had just marched through New Jersey and New York and the Continental army was facing complete defeat. It has since inspired many. It is worthy of revisiting during a bleak time once again in our national history.

Although there have been other times in my life Paine's quote—these are the times that try men's souls—has been applicable, I can say without question his famous saying has never been so in our world than today. In many of those times of the past, it was the balance of power in the world that was at stake. In our time, the very existence of humankind is at peril. You ask, "What is that threat?" It is two-fold.

First, it is without question science has reached such an advanced stage that powerful and ultra-wealthy people are now trying to play God in the manipulation of human population and the environment of the planet. The world has been attacked by a deadly virus created by those powerful people and all for what purpose? Can anyone really say there is any benefit to the human race for their actions? I can think of none--only diabolical and destruction. It is hard to believe by most of us there exists such evil people with horrific desires. This did not end well in the history of man when our ancestors involved themselves in the Sovereignty of the Creator. Nor will it end well in our time. We have been forewarned.

Secondly, when we examine their own words we discover their plot to reduce the population of the world and reshape it to their liking. The evidence is out there for any who take the time to do the research. In America, we are faced with a choice in the upcoming national election of a choice like never before. It is not the subtle shift of power back and forth between two political parties but an attempt by this corrupt evil group of "elites" who will impose upon America and the world their anti-human agenda. It will be the end of America as we have known it. Take them at their word. They tell us more deadly viruses are to come (how would they know this?) and they will be far deadlier than this first.

My interest in writing this is the role of Christians in such a perilous time, particularly pastors and church leaders. I am disheartened by the lack of sense of urgency in this generation of church leaders. Sure there are pockets of purity in preaching and leadership but the lack of a national call to urgency of our defending the faith and the preaching of the gospel in the face of a judgment to come is appalling! Human souls hang in the balance. It is no time for timidity and shrinking from the first duty of the minister of the gospel. This includes all Christians for all have been called into this ministry of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:18). It is time for Christ's church to stand together and let its bold voice be heard!

Without going into the many reasons I believe are the cause of such a vacuum, I simply want to encourage all those who have not stood up to such tyranny and capture of the church by our governments. I encourage you to stand against those who seek to bridle the church. I encourage you to preach the gospel to a people who are facing an impending catastrophic failure of humanity if this radical element seizes control of our world. If it does, we will fully have entered into the irreversible clutches of the "one world government" that we now see and feel their seizing the reigns of governments across the globe.

I will let the effectual words of one of my greatest mentors speak here.

Recently I read a description of the great Black Plague that swept over London in 1665 and 1666. The wagons went down the street each morning ringing a bell as the driver announced, "Bring out your dead; bring out your dead." There were so many dying that they had no time for funerals. They just gathered the bodies and buried them in vast common graves. In those awful and tragic days, an awesome fire destroyed London. London has fewer marks of medieval times than any of the great cities of Europe, simply because it was all destroyed and burned.

Then I read about the preachers during that time. Many of them fled their pulpits and churches, but those who stayed were not preaching about trivialities, inconsequential, insignificances, and ephemeralities. Those preachers preached to the people about life and death, about God, about the judgment, and about how to be saved.

What is the difference between the preacher who would preach in those awesome days of the Black Plague in London and the way a preacher preaches in the pulpit today? In that day death was imminent. Today it is a little further removed, but nonetheless coming. We have the same responsibility today to point people to Christ, that they might be saved, as Christians were in the days of Paul, in the days of the Black Plague, in every generation. We are a dying people, and we need God.

- Dr. W. A. Criswell (1909 - 2002) Late pastor First Baptist Church, Dallas, TX