As I look back over this rather gloomy portrayal of the American Church and its prospects, I am reminded of Nineveh. Though I do not claim any of Jonah's prophetic likeness, I can see the possibility of my being placed in a similarly embarrassing position. America's Christians could repent and God could respond in kind. From a limited vantage in the last few months, I have seen some things to indicate the possibility of a genuine, sovereign revival. The indicators are tiny and sporadic and could flicker away any moment. But then, God could fan it into a wildfire.

The question for me is: Will I stand back and watch or allow God's Spirit to overcome me? It's is not as foolish a question as it may first appear. Publishing a book like this-like Jonah's prophesying in Nineveh-places upon one a great notoriety and a great need to see some sort of fulfillment or embarrassment.

I could cavalierly (and magnanimously) say, -I don't care if a revival makes me appear to have been wrong so long as there is a true revival but honesty demands that I admit that something in my carnal nature doesn't feel that way. In my heart-of-hearts I long for a personal revival on the order of that which I hope to see in the American Church. I can only pray that-if God grants mercy to this nation-that my pride will not lead me into the grudging response that Jonah felt. For better or worse, you now have this tome in your hand and I must accept whatever use to which God may put it.

Portland, OR
February 16, 1992

CHAPTER 1

1. In-Perspective, 4-4-91, a publication of The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

2. KJV

3. There is another tool -- a vertical level -- but the function is the same. I use plumb line because it's use in Scripture make the illustration less confusing.

4. An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W.E. Vine, Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, New Jersey

5. The actual story is true. "Jim" is a fictitious name and the details of the potato chip display and the frozen food section were added for effect.

6. The Best of Tozer, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1978, p. 132

CHAPTER 2

1. The institution of slavery in the United States was a clear reversal of the concept. Slaves, just as in pagan cultures, were not permitted to defend their own lives against "more valuable" members of society (i.e., white people).

2. Deuteronomy 21: 7-9; 2 Kings 27: 16; Psalm 10: 8, 11-14, 17-18; Psalm 94:21; Proverbs 6: 17-18; Proverbs 24:11-12; Isaiah 59: 17; Jeremiah 4: 31; Jeremiah 7: 6-7; Jeremiah 19: 4-6; Jeremiah 22: 3, 17; Ezekiel 22: 1-16; Matthew 27: 4, to name a few.

CHAPTER 3

1. I recommend George Grant's Third Time Around (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991) for more information on this.

2. The Battle over Abortion, Newsweek, May 1, 1989, p. 28, 31.

3. The Extermination of Handicapped People in World War II Germany, Ethical Issues Revisited, ca 1980, date unknown.

4. The Cost of Discipleship, New York: Collier Books, 1949, 1963 ed., p. 85.

5. Reference: Franky Schaeffer, Bad News for Modern Man, Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1984, p. 53- 54.

6. Brave New People, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984. Quoted in Whatever Happened to InterVarsity Press, Jan Dennis, The Christian Activist, Fall 1984, p. 9.

7. The Christian Mindset in a Secular Society, Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1984, p. 103. Quoted in Sincere People, Franky Schaeffer, The Christian Activist, Winter 1985, p. 1.

8. Cathy Ramey, The Wichita Killer, Life Advocate, September 1991, p. 6.

9. There is little practical difference between "passive" and "active" euthanasia. In both cases the goal is a dead person. Recommended reading: Unholy Sacrifices of the New Age, Paul deParrie & Mary Pride, Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1988.

CHAPTER 4 footnotes have been lost

CHAPTER 5

1. Asleep in the Light, No Compromise, (Waco, TX: Sparrow Records, Inc.) 1978

CHAPTER 6

1. Matthew 23:13. Clarance Jordan, The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John (Clinton, NJ:

   New Win Publishing, 1970) p. 77. Jordan was the founder of Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, a pioneering interracial farming community in the deep South -- and heavily persecuted for the effort. Jordan also had degrees in Agriculture and New Testament Greek.

2. Thanks to John H. Gerstner, PhD., Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth. (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt) 1991, p. 211. This book has challenged me to think in many areas. I do not endorse all of its conclusions but recommend it to serious -- and mature -- Bible students.

3. Lewis Sperry Chafer & John Walvrood, Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan) p. 214. Quoted in Ibid. p. 219.

4. Ibid. p. 220.

5. Harold Barker, Secure Forever, (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux) 1974, p. 131. Quoted in Ibid. p. 223.

6. A.W. Tozer, Divine Conquest (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications) 1940, p. 35-36. Quoted in John H. Gerstner, PhD., Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth.

7. For a full treatment of this issue, read The Useful Lie, William L. Playfair, M.D., (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books) 1991.

CHAPTER 7

1. There are many such verses. Try looking in a concordance under fatherless, orphan, poor, needy, oppressed, afflicted, and widow. That will qualify as a good start.

2. The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications) 1982, p. 13.

CHAPTER 8

1. This phrase is actually the title of an unpublished manuscript by Steve Gallagher ((c) 1991) from Pure Life Ministries. I use it here with permission of the author.

CHAPTER 9

1. Sarah Sullivan & Jon Trott, Facts and Fables of Christian Colleges, Cornerstone, Vol. 18, Issue 89. Issue 90 also contained confirmations in the Letters column.

2. Gustav Niebur, Mighty Fortresses: Megachurches strive to be all things to all parishioners, Wall Street Journal, May 13, 1991.

3. This was heard while I was doing a 1991 radio interview on another book.

4. In another way, this attitude comes through in the prosperity and divine health doctrines. These "seize the inheritance" by "demanding what is rightfully theirs as sons of God." In doing so, they "kill the Son" in the sense that they will not submit to His Lordship.

CHAPTER 11

1. While the most common Greek word used for lord is kurios, this other is indicative of God's absolute nature which is described in many other Scriptures. Despotes appears in Luke 2: 29; Acts 4: 24; Revelation 6: 10; 2 Peter 2: 1; and Jude 4.

2. It is possible that there are still people who think that the tower was designed to reach "heaven," as opposed to being a ziggurat designed to observe the heavens for astrological religious purposes.

3. From a January 21, 1992 letter from Randall Terry quoting from a book by J.S. Conway, The Nazi Persecution of the Churches 1933-45 (publisher not cited).

4. This point is well made in Matthew Henry's Commentary.

5. Mark 10: 46-52; Luke 18: 35-43

6. Matthew 19: 13-15; Mark 10: 13-16; Luke 18: 15-17

CHAPTER 13

1. Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

2. Thanks to Garry Friesen for these observations.

CHAPTER 14

Francis Frangipane, Exposing the "Accuser of the Brethren," Marion, Iowa: Advancing Church Publications, 1989 (1990 revision), p. 1
1. I use the term "hysterical optimism" with apologies to Richard Weaver who used it in his book, Ideas Have Consequences. Oddly, this optimism of "all is right with America" underlies even the thinking of those who simultaneously believe that the end of the world is upon us. It is almost as if the whole world will be under the Antichrist -- except America, which is even now on the upward path and will continue so. Those who most ardently speak of being in the last days also are great believers in the American system.