Chapter 14 of the book:
The Failure of the Great Amish and Conservative Mennonite Dress Experiment
Why Christian Conservatism Isn’t the Answer and What to Do
God’s judgment upon conservative churches for putting their church’s rules and regulations ahead of Christ’s commands, and the judgment for sexual perversion, fornication, adultery, and the cover-up of sin, is certain and is happening. Sexual sins and sexual perversion have always been high on God’s list of sins that receive His stiff punishment.
There are many in conservative churches who are financially very successful. Many think that God is therefore blessing them. That may be true of certain individuals, but it is not necessarily so of everyone. Financial success and wealth is not an indicator of God’s blessing. Financial success can be part of God’s judgment on a person or group of people. God tells us that sometimes He causes the wicked to prosper financially as part of their judgment: “When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever.” (Psalms 92:7) “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.” (Luke 6:24) “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” (James 5:1-3) “And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:24-25)
Are you looking for something more than just the same old concepts, interpretations, explanations, and perspectives you have heard regurgitated over and over again? This website will give you some new insights and things to think about. You may not agree with everything you read, but Biblical Research Reports will stimulate your thinking. Our goal is to help you to formulate in your own mind what is Jesus’ truth as you look at the research we share on the various subjects facing the Church.
God’s judgment is different than what most people are looking for or expecting. How many professing Christians suspect that their financial prosperity may be a judgment from God?
God brought judgment upon the Canaanites for their sexual perversion and sexual immorality. In Leviticus 18:22-29 God said: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.”
God warns us that there are ungodly men in the church who are hiding their secret sins and that their judgment is certain. Read the following passage in light of the sexual abuse that is happening among conservative churches:
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
“These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
“But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” Jude 1:4-19
God warns us in the above passage that there are ungodly men in conservative churches who are secretly hiding their wickedness. They are like the people in Sodom and Gomorrah who were involved in gross immorality and going after “strange flesh”. Their punishment will be eternity in hell. Verse 19 describes the Amish and conservative Mennonite men and women who are involved in pornography, sexual abuse, and incest. They have separated themselves with their distinctive dress, and are walking after their ungodly lust, sensual and not having the Holy Spirit.
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Sexual abuse and other sexual sins are serious sins that God says will prevent a person from entering heaven unless it is repented of and forsaken.
God tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 that He takes up the case of any Christian who is sexually abused and will punish the perpetrator for their actions. “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.”
The Greek word translated “despiseth” can also be translated “violate” which is what happens in sexual abuse. It is one thing for a person to sexually abuse someone’s child and then be brought before the judge. It is even more serious to sexually abuse the Judge’s son or daughter and then be brought before that Judge – Jesus Christ himself. God tells us that the person who sexually abuses (violates) one of his children does not just sexually abuse the child. In God’s perspective, God takes the matter personally like a father; it is the same as if the perpetrator sexually abuses God Himself! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!
Again, God tells us that those who have pleasure in unrighteousness, which includes sexually abusing others, will be punished by God. In addition, God allows them to be strongly deceived and believe a lie as truth. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
One of the things that has stood out to me is how unhealthy many Amish and conservative Mennonites are. For a group of people who live “clean” lives – most don’t smoke, or drink – one would expect them to have a significantly lower incidence of serious illness. But that is not the case. Dr. Carey Reams, who helped many very sick people get well in the 70’s and early 80’s, commented that the Amish were some of the sickest people he knew.
An Amish man harvesting tobacco on his farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Amish grow a lot of tobacco, and it is not uncommon for them to smoke as well. But even worse than tobacco are all the chemicals that Amish and Mennonite farmers put on their crops – herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, and chemical fertilizers. These chemicals contaminate the drinking water and the food that their fellow human beings ingest causing untold health and mental problems.
God’s judgment on conservative churches for putting their conservative church rules first and for the hidden sexual abuse in their midst has already begun. Oh, that professing Christians would repent of their double minded ways and turn to Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind and strength!
Next Chapter 15: Christian Conservatism: The Need For Repentance
See also: God’s Judgment on America
Why Biblical Research Reports uses the KJV
When I started in-depth Bible research, I was using the NIV translation. I was not prepared for the deception and misguiding information that I found coming from Christian scholars. I did extensive research into Bible translations and into the Greek manuscripts themselves that the various versions are translated from.
I soon realized that the most significant subject facing the Church today is the Bible, what version is used and preached from, the Greek text it is translated from, and the way it is translated. Every Christian doctrine is based on the Bible. The way the Bible reads, the words that it has and the words that it does not have, the way the Greek words are translated or poorly translated, all affect the beliefs and teachings of the Church. At one point I thought that most translations of the Bible were basically the same except for the modernization of the old English in the KJV. This is not the case. Most of the modern translations do not have everything that the KJV does, as a result of changes in the Greek texts from which they are translated. In addition, significant changes have to be made in each new Bible version in order to copyright it. As a result of that research, I switched to the KJV. To read more about my Bible translation research check out these Research Reports:
Evidence the NIV is Not the Best Bible Translation
Evidence the NIV is not the best Bible translation (Condensed)
What is the Best Bible Translation?
I highly recommend the powerful, Free E-Sword Bible program for your computer, cell phone or other mobile device. Make sure you also download the free Treasury of Scripture Knowledge – cross references for each Bible verse to other verses on the same subject. For a cross reference database that is much larger and more complete consider purchasing The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury (in the dictionary category).
