2023-11-09
American Flag
Shutterstock.com

In Jeff Kinley’s new release, The End of America? Bible Prophecy and a Country in Crisis, he investigates the historical and Biblical perspective of our country’s moral decline, the impending return of Christ and how Christians should respond to live a more fulfilling and purposeful life. Here are 8 insights that will make you wonder where we stand as a nation. Here are Kinley's thoughts on this important and divisive subject.

Why do you believe our country is in a critical state of decline?

"There are many convincing and compelling reasons why I, along with many other evangelical and secular leaders, believe our country is in a state of decline and rapidly approaching critical mass. Two of the primary contributing is a declining spirituality and a decaying morality. Church attendance is on a historic downswing, with less than half of Americans now in attendance on Sundays. Additionally, 25 percent of unchurched adults now identify as atheist or agnostic. Morally-speaking, aside from a 15 billion dollar a year porn industry, we are also experiencing a homosexual revolution. Same-sex marriages are now legal, accepted, recognized (and celebrated) for the first time in human civilization, with perhaps the exception of Noah’s generation just prior to the global Flood judgment. Violence against the unborn has claimed the innocent lives of 53,000,000 babies from 1973-2011. A just God cannot wink at or ignore such immoralities and atrocities."

Why are so many Christians intimidated or fearful by end-times discussion?

"Much of their fears and intimidations are understandable, as few pastors touch the subject in the pulpit. In the book, I give 10 reasons why I believe pastors are reluctant to do so. So, lack of sound teaching on the subject would be a big cause. There has also been a lot of sensationalism and speculation regarding Bible prophecy and the end times. Authors and speakers, capitalizing on moon phases, planetary alignments, or obscure geopolitical events, make outlandish claims and predictions, communicating more fear and confusion than faith and clarity. This book’s objective is to help the reader face tough truths about where we are as a country, and how to respond with courage and hope."

Share some of the facts that America was founded as a Christian Nation?

"When we say the words “Christian Nation,” we must be careful to define our terms as to what we mean and what we do not mean. And what we do not mean is that America was founded as a theocracy or that every citizen is required to be a Christian. What we do mean, however, is that the Christian worldview was instrumental in shaping our country’s beginning. Despite what some revisionist historians may claim, America was founded upon principles and values that find their origins in a Biblical framework. God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence 5 separate times, and Scripture is literally sandblasted into America’s monuments and buildings in our nation’s capital. These indelible markings were not the work of random street artists, but rather were the intentional inscriptions of leaders who understood that without God, a nation cannot sustain itself but will perish from the earth. The founding fathers certainly were not thinking about Confucius, Buddha or Allah when they penned and signed our historic documents. Obviously, not all of our founding fathers were what we would describe as “right-wing, conservative, evangelical Christians.” Nevertheless, The End of America? contains numerous references and quotes from Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, James Madison, early Supreme Court justices and other notable founding fathers’ public writings and personal journals. The undeniable fact is that our country owes its very existence to a Christian worldview. The values, morals, freedoms and way of life we have enjoyed stem from the ancient Scriptures and the God who inspired them."

Tell us about the four principles that detail God’s relationship to America and other Gentile nations?

"While it is clear from Scripture that God has a special covenant relationship with the nation Israel, the Almighty has no such similar agreement or relationship with Gentile nations. However, that does not mean that Gentile nations have no responsibility to mankind’s Creator. What we observe in the Bible is that God judges nations based upon their moral conscience and their national character. We see the administration of His judgment on the nations of Noah’s day, on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, all because of their immorality and refusal to acknowledge Him. Jesus also speaks of His future judgment of Gentile nations in Matthew 25:32. Secondly, God judges Gentile nations based upon their treatment of the nation Israel, according to Genesis 12:3. Third, if God did not withhold judgment from his own covenant people, Israel, He will certainly not withhold judgment from Gentile nations such as ours. Finally, and most importantly, God’s worst judgment fell on his Son, Jesus Christ, so that all the nations could be blessed with salvation through Him. God’s wrath can be defined as His “divine displeasure and deliverance of judgment toward sin and sinners.” It is His righteousness in action. And why should we even discuss it? Because it is an attribute of God, just as real and valid as his grace, mercy, or love. God is a wrathful God. Secondly, the Bible talks about God’s wrath, and therefore so should we. Judgment is often a healthy deterrent to sin. There are many expressions of God’s wrath as revealed in the Bible. Apart from eternity in hell, the wrath we see unleashed in the book of Revelation during the last days, and catastrophic events happening such as what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, we also see Abandonment Wrath outlined for us in the first chapter of Romans. There, we see the well-defined stages of wrath upon a nation that chooses to reject and ignore God after having suppressed His truth and reality. The result is that God gives over a nation to its own desires and basically abandons that country."

You write that abortion is the greatest human injustice in the world today.

"This was a very difficult chapter to write because it dealt with the selfish slaughter of millions of innocent children. Abortion is the underbelly of America. It is our national shame. Sadly, this heinous sin does not bother us. Apart from directly worshiping satan, I believe that abortion is the most pagan, barbaric act that a human being can choose to do. In the book, address the most popular reasons given for why women have abortions in our country and answer each of them with a logical in a recent response. In 2015, the hashtag #shoutyourabortion gained national popularity among women in our country. What kind of civilization slaughters its young and then publicly brags about it? A nation that exalts self to a goddess-like status. Abortion is the devil’s business, and business is good. The blood of some 55 million babies that have been butchered or burned alive in genocidal “health clinics” across America is crying out for justice. And one day Heaven will deliver that justice. This was a controversial and unpopular subject to address, but I felt compelled to do so as it directly related to America’s demise."

Although America is not specifically mentioned in prophecy, how can we determine that America is even included in Scripture’s end-times narrative?

"There is no direct mention of America in any end times Bible prophecy. However, some scholars still believe there are allusions to the United States in some of those prophecies. It seems unthinkable that the world’s greatest superpower and force for good would not show up on prophecy’s radar map in the last days. And yet, that appears to be the case. I give the reader 4 possible scenarios that might explain why we do not see our country as a major player in the end times."

Will persecution reach America?

"Currently, there are 65 countries around the world that are actively persecuting believers in Jesus Christ. Out of the top 10 of those countries, 9 of them have a 50 percent or higher Muslim population. The greatest source of persecution for Christians today is Islam. Here at home, because of her Christian roots and traditional Biblical values, American Christians have, for the most part, gotten a pass on persecution for the past 241 years. However, with the current seismic cultural shift in morality and thought that we are experiencing in our present day, I believe the fires of persecution are starting to heat up on Christians in this country. I outline in the book both the sources and stages of this persecution that may soon come to American believers. And though we may never reach the point of martyrdom, I do believe it will become increasingly more difficult for Christians in this country as we ramp up to the Rapture and the book of Revelation."

What is your response to those who say Jesus was a “doomsday prophet?”

"Jesus Christ was the quintessential truth-teller. Sometimes His truths were comforting, while at other times they were decidedly confrontational. When a doctor diagnosis a patient as having cancer, he does not sugarcoat or downplay that diagnosis, but rather speaks straightforwardly about it and offers possible treatment and/or solutions to the patient’s problem. Jesus acted in this way regarding the truth about Earth’s last days and about how dark and degrading they will be. The message He gave His followers was that though they would suffer persecution, He would be with them until the end of the age. I cite Jesus’s five primary reasons why the world will hate His followers in the last days. But Christ also gave us one primary mission to occupy us until He returns. That mission is to herald the good news of salvation made possible through his sacrifice for sins and his victory over death."

Christians need to be a “light to darkness” and unapologetically declare Jesus’ message of repentance and hope to a great nation in rapid decline.

more from beliefnet and our partners