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Evidence and History or Claims and Wonders

Evidence and History or Claims and Wonders

In my blog last week, The Imminent Collapse of the United States: Lessons from the History of Empires (And More Evidence that Jesus Is Coming Soon) we examined the historical lessons from the rise and fall of empires.

It is well known that:

  • “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” —Winston Churchill
  • “The best prophet of the future is the past.” —Lord Byron

As the blog last week described, the great empires of history rise, progress, and fall in a repeating pattern, because human nature doesn’t change; humans continually repeat the same patterns of behavior that lead to the destruction of their societies, and these patterns of behavior are rooted in sinfulness, selfishness, greed, pride, and arrogance—in the rejection of God and His design laws for life.

  • “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.” —Niccolò Machiavelli
  • “Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature.” —David Hume
  • “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”—Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

We don’t learn from history because human nature deceives itself:

The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9 New English Translation).

The unconverted human mind wants to deny the truth of our sinful condition and the inevitable self-destruction that will occur without Jesus. The corruption of human nature and the fallen propensity to deny truth have been understood by many deep thinkers throughout history:

  • “We learn from history that we don’t learn from history!” —Desmond Tutu
  • “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.” —Aldous Huxley

One of the purposes of the Bible is to connect us to history, to reality—the reality of our origins, created in the image of God, of the fall into sin, of the terrible results of fear and selfishness (sinfulness), of God’s plan of salvation, and how when God’s Spirit is not transforming our hearts, the sinful traits of the me-first drives of survival of the fittest take control and people repeat the same patterns of self-destruction over and over again. But when we remember history, remember our Creator, His methods, principles, and eternal design laws for life, and are surrendered to Him, then we have nothing to fear for the future because we are living out the reality God has designed for us.

We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history (Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 196).

But the godless, those who are controlled by the satanic spirit of selfishness, want to divert our minds away from reality, away from history, away from evidence and facts and onto authority—to believe because someone in power says so—or onto signs and wonders, onto things that incite strong emotions, that wow us. Both tactics are designed to disconnect the mind from objective truth and disempower the individual from being able to make their own informed choices, thus making them vulnerable to the control of others. God has warned against this:

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer (Deuteronomy 13:1–3 NIV84).

Signs and wonders, technology, fantasy, false science that claims there is no God, the goddess of reason, the god of evolution, the new green earth worshipers, the gods of money, power, and control—all of these false gods thrive on turning the minds away from God’s truth, away from reasoning and thinking, and inciting strong emotions—particularly fear.

The people of God are not to base our beliefs upon the claims of powerful people nor upon wonders or signs, but upon evidence, truth, and historical facts—the inspired Word of God, which records the history of humanity and God’s plan of salvation. But Satan wants to turn our minds away from truth, evidence, facts, and history. Recently, I observed two events that revealed ungodly forces working to divert minds away from reality and onto either signs and wonders or the authority of office.

The first event was when I was visiting various Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. I typed “Museum of Natural History” into Google maps, but the app listed the site as the Smithsonian National Museum of… Renowned Collection of Natural Wonders. However, the official name posted at the entry is the National Museum of Natural History. (See images below.)

 

 

I don’t know the motivation for this name used in Google maps. I am not alleging that this is a conscious plot; it may very well be the unconscious result of the impact of godlessness and the move away from objective reality being taught in our schools, social media, and society in general. But that is the point. History requires us to study objective facts, evidence, scientific measures, and real people who did real things. But signs and wonders are designed to wow, to impress, to cause a sense of stunned silence and a willingness to comply without thinking. Does calling the museum by this different name subtly move minds away from “history” and toward “wonders”?

One of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist church, supporting God’s directions in the passage from Deuteronomy cited above, warned about moving away from solid evidences of God’s Word:

Let none cherish the idea that special providences or miraculous manifestations are to be the proof of the genuineness of their work or of the ideas they advocate. If we keep these things before the people, they will produce an evil effect, an unhealthful emotion. The genuine working of the Holy Spirit on human hearts is promised, to give efficiency through the Word. … the Bible will never be superseded by miraculous manifestations. … We shall encounter false claims; false prophets will arise; there will be false dreams and false visions; but preach the Word, be not drawn away from the voice of God in His Word. Let nothing divert the mind. The wonderful, the marvelous, will be represented and presented. Through satanic delusions, wonderful miracles, the claims of human agents will be urged. Beware of all this. … We must not trust the claims of men. … Nor can we trust impressions. … The man who makes the working of miracles the test of his faith will find that Satan can, through a species of deceptions, perform wonders that will appear to be genuine miracles. … If we accept not the truth in the love of it, we may be among the number who will see the miracles wrought by Satan in these last days, and believe them (Manuscript 43, 1907).

God never asks us to believe, without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His Word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. Yet God has never removed the possibility of doubt. Our faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration. Those who wish to doubt will have opportunity; while those who really desire to know the truth, will find plenty of evidence on which to rest their faith (Steps to Christ, p. 105).

We are to examine evidence, reason out facts, and understand the history of human events, especially those recorded in Scripture. But Satan wants us to disregard facts, evidence, and history, and he has multiple strategies to do this.

The second event I recently noted, which exposes another method to divert minds away from evidence, was when a professor at the University of Pittsburg told his students that there is no difference between the skeletal structure of human males and females. When the students laughed at the statement, he was shocked. An article reporting on the event says:

The professor then responded to the laughter with shock, wondering how he could be doubted when he was “the expert in the room.”

“Have any of you been to anthropological sites? Have any of you studied biological anthropology? I’m just saying, I’ve got over 150 years of data, I’m just curious as to why I’m being laughed at,” he said before later declaring, “I have a PhD!” [1]

The professor is advancing the idea that beliefs should be based on the authority of the speaker, their credentials, the office they hold, or the power of their dynamic presence, and not on objective facts or evidence. This same method is behind the entire transgender movement—the claim of those in some office that there is no male or female. Understand clearly, the primary purpose of the transgender movement is not human rights; it is an assault on human minds, a strategy to get people to accept voices of authority over objective reality. After all, if the most basic and obvious natural truth that is observable by everyone (male and female) is denied, then there is no objective truth that an individual can ever cite to hold people in power accountable. They will always be right because they are the “expert” or “office holder” or have “power.”

But this unhealthy methodology is not restricted to secular academia; it also manifests in the church. I once experienced the same thing about 13 years ago when, after disagreeing with the senior pastor of my church over certain theological ideas, one of the associate pastors told me that I had no right to question the senior pastor because he was the “Lord’s anointed.” In other words, I was to believe based on the authority of his office, not because he had truth on his side. But the Bible says that we are to “test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NIV84). And that “a fool will believe anything; sensible people watch their step” (Proverbs 14:15 GNT).

We are living in the very last days before Christ returns, and it is essential that every person develop the ability to discern for themselves the right from the wrong (Hebrews 5:14). It is essential we become thinkers, people who know truth, know history, evaluate evidence in light of God’s Word, and do not believe others based on their office, authority, or charisma and signs and wonder.

So I encourage you to always think for yourself, ask questions, and require evidence—and that evidence should appeal to your reason and be consistent with the history that God has revealed in His Word.


[1] https://www.foxnews.com/media/audience-laughs-professor-telling-riley-gaines-difference-male-female-bone-structure

 

 

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Testimony 59

I’m a native Ghanan, but am currently in France for my master’s degree. Prior to this, during my final years at undergraduate studies in Ghana, I was introduced to your ministry and I’ve been immensely blessed by what you share, especially about the Design and Imposed Laws. God richly bless you for that.

One of the first things I did when I arrived in France was to buy all four of your books. They not only helped me, but those I shared them with. I shared the message with an atheist student and I marveled at how God worked mightily in his life. Today this person shares the Love of God with others and debunks theories of who God is not. I want to share what you present in your “Heavenly Sanctuary and Investigative Judgment” pamphlet, because the message brought rest to my soul and I live today as a healthy person.

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Michael A., Ghana

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 18

The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

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Testimony 72

I am blown away by the truth that you present. God’s Design Law makes so much sense! You have validated my impression that, if God is love, He would not kill those who don’t want to know him. If God gives us choice, then how can He destroy us if our choice is not to follow him. Thank you for opening my eyes and heart to the pure love of God seen through Jesus. The love I now have for Jesus is deeper and free from condemnation. My heart has been opened to love others as Jesus loves me. May God continue to bless your God-given insight into His word and your ministry. The truth has set me free!

H. Miller, Centereach, NY

Testimony 70

I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

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Testimony 27

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 26

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

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Testimony 35

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Clara S., Westfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 24

I wanted to thank you very much for presenting your understanding of God. I’ve always been troubled by this question: Why did Jesus have to die? Since my conversion I understood that The Father & Jesus are one, I did not have issues with that. But was there not any other way to save us than for Jesus to die? I guess I actually had a question about God – if He is so wise, how come He did not find another way? I did not see the real ‘beauty’  in the cross. Only when you explained the picture in the medical context, Jesus providing medicine for my selfishness, have I started to finally ‘see the light’. Thank you so much. Your seminar, “Healing the Mind,” are absolutely marvelous & have shared them with my family and many other people, including colleagues at work. Thanks, thanks, thanks. May God bless you abundantly in your ministry.

M. W., Australia

 

Testimony 51

I Love This Ministry!!!!!!! I see first hand how this message is desperately needed, how erroneous beliefs about God and His Character negatively affect humanity at every level. I thank God for your ministry, as I was searching on my own and was discovering some of your same beliefs and was blown away when I found your ministry. I know you hear it all the time, but it is truly life changing. May God continue to reveal His Will to you and Bless you!

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Testimony 6

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Testimony 37

Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

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Testimony 14

We really appreciate your views on the judgment and they make good sense considering our free choice.

Anonymous