THE ATTACKS ON SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON ARE ATTACKS ON AMERICA'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

"I am a Bible-believing Christian."

If he had identified himself as a transgender, bisexual, socialist Democrat, the mainstream media would have showered him with accolades and commendations. But when the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, described himself as a "Bible-believing Christian," the Left had a total meltdown,  

MSNBC host Jen Psaki called Johnson a "religious fundamentalist" and mocked his faith. The Daily Beast compared Johnson to the "Taliban and the mullahs in Iran." Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority leader in the House, ripped into Johnson, calling him an “extreme, right-wing idealogue.” Others referred to him as "dangerous" and a "threat to democracy."

These attacks, however, merely reveal just how clueless the Left is about America's history, Johnson’s Bible-based faith and Christian worldview are eerily similar to that of Washington, Adams, Madison, and the entire founding generation. These attacks on Johnson are, therefore, attacks on the very principles that made America the most free and prosperous nation in human history, Consider the following.

The Bible in the Lives of the Founders

The Bible was, in fact, the most read book in America at the time of its founding. America’s founding generation found in the pages of the Bible its moral compass, its guide for ethics, and its Christian worldview.

This was confirmed by a 10-year study to determine where America’s Founders got their ideas for her founding documents. This study, which included the examination of thousands of historical documents, concluded that the Founders quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 13).

It is, therefore, not surprising that when the First Continental Congress opened on September 5, 1774, it opened with an extended time of Bible reading and prayer. Rev. Jacob Duche read the entire 35th Psalm and it had a powerful impact on  everyone present, John Adams, who became America’s second president, wrote to his wife, Abigail,

I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 108).

Every succeeding session of the Congress was then opened with Bible reading and prayer. 

The Founders’ respect for the Bible was also highlighted by their endorsement of the first English Bible printed in America in 1782. The producer of the Bible, Robert Aitken, called this Bible, “a neat Edition of the Scriptures for the use in schools.” Congress enthusiastically recommended the Bible, saying,

Resolved: That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken . . .  and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 15).

George Washington daily prayed and read his Bible. Robert Lewis, Washington’s nephew, lived with him and served as his secretary while Washington was president. Lewis said he accidentally witnessed Washington’s devotions morning and evening and that he was kneeling before an open Bible. Lewis believed that praying with an open Bible in front of him was a daily practice for Washington.

It, therefore, was neither strange or unexpected when Washington insisted on taking the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible. A person swears by that which is greater than himself, and for Washington, the Bible was the greatest tangible authority by which he could swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.

James Madison, America’s 4^th president and chief architect of the U.S Constitution, respected the Bible as a revelation from God. He studied at the College of New Jersey under the president, Rev. John Knox Witherspoon, who once said, “Cursed is all education that is contrary to Christ.” After graduation Madison remained at the college where he worked on a project translating the Old Testament from Hebrew into English and the New Testament from Greek into English. The late Dr. D. James Kennedy said, “Madison’s political worldview was one shaped by the Bible more than any other source” (Hyatt, 1726: The Yearthat Defined America, 143).

Andrew Jackson, America’s 7th president, once gestured toward a Bible and said to the person with whom he was conversing, “That book, sir, is the rock on which our Republic rests.”

In a December 1982 article in Newsweek entitled “How the Bible Made America,” the authors declared,

For centuries [the Bible] has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 7).

Summary Statement

It is the modern Democrat Party and their accomplices in the media, not Speaker Johnson, who have departed from the faith and vision of America’s founding generation. Their attacks on Speaker Johnson are attacks on America's founding principles. Speaker Johnson's simple, yet profound, faith in God and biblical principles are refreshing and offer hope for America's future.

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s groundbreaking book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, which documents the direct bearing of the First Great Awakening on both the founding of America and the ending of slavery on the American continent.

WHY ISRAEL HAS A BIBLICAL AND MORAL OBLIGATION TO DESTROY HAMAS

We live in a fallen, sinful world where evil abounds. We just saw a startling demonstration of this evil with the violent attack of Hamas on innocent Jewish citizens. According to reports from those on the scene, women and children were raped, beheaded and their bodies burned.

One woman who observed the grisly aftermath of the attack told how she is the daughter of Holocaust survivors and heard their stories of the Nazi concentration camps. “This,” she said, “Is even worse!” Perhaps we should not be surprised, for the Hamas Charter calls for the killing of individual Jews and destruction of the Israeli state.

What would be a Biblical response to this massacre? Does the Sermon on the Mount apply to this situation? Is Israel supposed to “turn the other cheek?”

When it comes to individual, personal relationships, we are not to retaliate and seek revenge. We are to treat others the way we want to be treated. This is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about. It is the civil government to which God has given the right and responsibility to use force in dealing with evil.

This is made clear in Romans 13:1-4 where Paul lays out the role of civil government in using force to protect those who are good from those who are evil. He wrote,

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities . . . For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

This passage makes clear that civil government exists for the people--to protect its citizens from evil. When a government thinks the people exists for it, and uses and abuses its citizenry for its own ends, it has become an illegitimate government.

This is the situation with Hamas and Gaza. The people of Gaza elected Hamas to be their governing authority, but Hamas does not care for the people they govern. They are obsessed with destroying Israel, and they are willing to use and abuse the Palestinian people to achieve their goal.

America’s Founders understood the reason for civil government as delineated by Paul in Romans 13:4. In their 1776 Declaration of Independence, they clearly stated that human governments exist to secure for the people their God-given rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. They wrote,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government . . .. 

Israeli citizens have a God-given right to live securely in peace. The Israeli government exists to secure this right for its citizens. Since Hamas is committed to destroying the people of Israel, the Israeli government has a Biblical right and obligation to protect its citizens from those evil intentions. They must, as Paul said in Romans 13:4, execute wrath on him who practices evil (Romans 13:4).

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, historian, and Bible teacher. His books are available on Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. His book 1726: The Year that Defined America, documents America's Christian origins out of the First Great Awakening and offers hope for her future.

DEBUNKIING THE CESSATION THEORY

I read with interest James Lasher’s excellent review of the Cessationist movie. I also noted that earlier this month, Pastor John MacArthur hosted a Cessationist Conference at his Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA. I was reminded of an interesting encounter I had years ago that highlighted how flimsy is their argument for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I Challenge A Seminary Professor with Historical Facts

I had just published the first edition of my book 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity (now published by Charisma House) and was attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. ETS is an academic society whose members are, for the most part, cessationists.

I attended a workshop attended by about 200 pastors and college professors in which a white-haired seminary professor presented an argument for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. His argument centered around I Corinthians 13:9-10 where Paul said, For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

He argued that the “perfect” to which Paul refers is the New Testament canon. Therefore, when the New Testament canon was completed in the final decade of the first century, the miraculous Spiritual gifts were no longer necessary and were withdrawn from the Church.

When it came time for questions, I raised my hand. Based on the documented evidence in my book, I asked, "How does your cessation theory deal with the fact that church fathers, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Augustine, all speak of miraculous gifts in their midst, including speaking in tongues?"

Being a well-known theologian, I expected him to have some sort of answer. I was, therefore, surprised when he said, "I can't answer that," and quickly moved on to the next question.

No Historical Evidence for the Cessation of Miracles

Indeed, the cessation argument from the Bible is very flimsy. That which is “perfect,” on which the professor based his argument, is not referring to the New Testament canon, but to the Lord Jesus Himself when He comes the second time in power and glory.

In addition, there is absolutely no historical evidence for a cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those who succeeded the Twelve Apostles as leaders in the Church express no knowledge of a cessation theory and they report healings and miracles of which they are personally aware.

For example, Augustine (354-430), considered one of the greatest of church fathers by both Catholics and Protestants, describes various miracles of which he is aware. These include healings of blindness, gout, hemorrhoids, and even one person raised from the dead. He then says, “I am so pressed by the promise of finishing this work that I cannot record all the miracles I know” (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 44-45).

The Contextual Reason for a Cessation Theory

A Cessation theory did eventually emerge in the Church after the time of Constantine to explain the absence of miracles in most of the Church. With Constantine’s conversion and the church becoming the “official” religion of the empire, she became obsessed with her newly found wealth and political power. This, in turn, had a devastating effect on her spiritual condition.

For example, John Chrysostom (347–407), patriarch of Constantinople, complained that the character of the church of his day was no different from that of the marketplace or theater. He wrote,

If anyone is trying or intending to corrupt a woman, there is no place, I suppose, that seems to him more suitable than the Church. And if anything is to be sold or bought, the Church appears more convenient than the market. Or if any wish to say or to hear any scandal, you will find that this to be had here more than the forum without (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 34-35).

It is, therefore, not surprising that when he came to I Corinthians 12 in his commentary, Chrysostom admitted to having no knowledge of these miraculous gifts. He says, “The obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and their cessation.”

This correlation between the moral corruption of the Church and the absence of miracles was pointed out in a humorous manner by the famous theologian, Thomas Aquinas (1225-74), when visiting Rome and being shown the church’s wealth by Pope Innocent IV. Innocent said to Aquinas, “You see that the Church is no longer in an age in which she can say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Aquinas replied, “It is true, nor can she say to the lame man, ‘Rise up and walk.'"

John Wesley made this same point after reading a book published in 1713 by John Lacy who presented a powerful Biblical and historical argument for the continuation of the miraculous gifts in Church. Lacy also defended the Montanists, a 2nd century prophetic movement, that was declared heretical by the Council of Constantinople. After reading the book, Wesley wrote,

I was fully convinced of what I had once suspected: (1) That the Montanists, in the second and third centuries, were real Scriptural Christians; and (2) That the grand reason why the miraculous gifts were so soon withdrawn, was not only that faith and holiness were well nigh lost, but that dry, formal, orthodox men began even then to ridicule whatever gifts they had not themselves, and to decry them all as either madness or imposture (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 29).

This was the also the of argument of the noted Baptist pastor, A.J. Gordon (1836-95), founder of Gordon College in Wenham, MA. In his book, The Ministry of Healing, he wrote,

It is not altogether strange that when the Church forgot her citizenship in heaven and began to establish herself in luxury and splendor on earth, she should cease to exhibit the supernatural gifts of heaven (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 36).

The Conclusion of the Matter

The modern cessationists are wrong, without a leg to stand on, either Biblically or historically. They seem to try and make their case by cherry picking the most bizarre examples they can find of charismatics supposedly expressing gifts of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, they have a lot to choose from.

However, examples of charismatics acting in a fleshly and eccentric manner does not invalidate the real gifts of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the false does not call for a rejection of all Spiritual gifts, but a call to be more diligent in testing the spirits as we are admonished throughout Scripture, including I John 4:1.

Indeed, miracles have been a part of the life of the Church throughout history. Their presence has waned at times in history, not because of some fiat from God, but because of the backslidden condition of the Church. When times of revival have been fanned into flame, and the lost passion for the Lord renewed, miracles and answers to prayer once again have become a part of the life of the Church.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt has created a course on the continuance of Spiritual gifts throughout Church history. It consists of the textbook, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, and the 20-Lesson Study Guide entitled Revival History. Both are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. To access a video discussion of this issue, click this link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChHxRXr3vaE

HERE'S WHY REAL CHRISTIANS LOVE ISRAEL

Imagine a world with no Bible, no Ten Commandments, and no Psalms. Imagine a world with no Abraham, no Moses, no Mt. Sanai, no King David, and no Elijah. Imagine a world with no Isaiah, no Jeremiah, or other prophets who prophesied such wondrous and glorious things to come.

Imagine a world with no New Testament, no Gospel, no Sermon on the Mount, and no “love your neighbor as yourself.” Imagine a world with no Jesus, no Cross, no Resurrection, and no hope of eternal life.

Remember, Jesus was a Jew according to His natural lineage that is traced through David all the way back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-16). All Twelve apostles were Jews and of the 27 books of the New Testament, 25 were written by Jews. Luke, who wrote the Gospel bearing his name and Acts, was likely a convert to Judaism who then accepted Jesus as the Messiah.

Imagine a world with no Christianity, no Paul the apostle, and no missionaries who sacrificed their lives to tell the wonderful story of Jesus throughout the earth. Imagine a world with no churches, no revivals, no evangelistic crusades, and no Great Awakenings. Imagine a world with no Augustine, no John Wesley, no Charles Finney, and no Billy Graham.

If you can imagine such a world, it is indeed a dark and hopeless world. But this is the world if there had never been a Jew. I am not here talking about individual Jews for there are wicked Jews just as their wicked Gentiles. I am speaking of the Jews as a people and Israel as a nation.

God’s Call to Abram and His Descendants

It was indeed a dark world when, 4000 years ago, God spoke to a nomadic Bedouin named Abram and called him to leave his home and his biological kin (who were idolaters) and come to a land that He would show him. God promised that in this new land Abram would be greatly blessed and that through him and his descendants, all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

Abram came to the land of Canaan long before there were Palestinians or Muslims. God made a covenant with him and promised to give this land to him and his descendants. Genesis 15:18 says, On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.”

God’s call of Abram, later called Abraham, was the beginning of His plan to reconcile fallen and rebellious humanity back to Himself. He would make a covenant with Abram and his descendants, give them a Law, a system of worship, and seek to teach them His ways. One of Abraham’s descendants (according to natural lineage) would be the Messiah and Savior of the world.

This is the key to understanding God’s words to Abram in Genesis 12:3, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. This doesn’t mean that God plays favorites and that Jews are His little favorites. It means that God’s eternal purposes are bound up in Abram and his descendants, so to fight against them is to fight against God.

This does not mean Israel cannot be criticized. God raised up prophets in the Old Testament to rebuke Israel and call her to repentance when she strayed into sin and idolatry. Israel can be justly criticized, but those who seek to injure or destroy her inevitably find themselves fighting against God.

It is this recognition of Israel as the vehicle God has used to bring such blessings to the world that makes loving Israel a natural response for real Christians. I have found that in all parts of the world, where you find true Christians who love Jesus, those same people have a love for Israel.

Two Covenant People in the Earth

Only two people in the earth have a covenant with God: the natural descendants of Abraham--the Jew--and the spiritual descendants of Abraham--the real Christian. Paul spoke of the spiritual descendants of Abraham in his letter to the Gentile Christians in Galatia. He said to them, And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

It is so interesting that the people of the world who hate Israel, also hate true followers of Jesus. For example, a senior Hamas official, Mahmoud al-Zahar, in a recently resurfaced clip, declared that after their successful takeover of the globe, the world would finally be rid of “Zionism” and “treacherous Christianity.”

The opposite, however, is also true. Wherever you find true followers of Jesus, you will find that they also love Israel. I have personally found this to be true in all parts of the world.

God’s Eternal Purposes at Work in Jews and Christians

This is so because God’s eternal purposes are at work in both people, whom Paul says are being reconciled to God in one body. Speaking of the division between Jew and Gentile, Paul says of Jesus, For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation . . . that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:14-16).

Yes, God has worked through the Jewish people to bring so many blessings to humanity, including the Messiah and Savior of the world. Since the Bible, the Messiah, and Christianity itself would not exist without the Jewish race, real Christians will love and support Israel and pray for her salvation.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, revivalist, and ordained minister. His book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, documents how the early immigrants to America, fleeing religious persecution, saw themselves as a new Israel and sought to pattern their lives in their new home after God's dealings with Israel.