We are living in a time of moral, spiritual, and civilization polarization, where Western civilization is decoupling itself from the faith and the worldview to which it has been joined for nearly two thousand years. Its mainstream culture is purging itself of Judeo-Christian values, beliefs, laws, practices, worship, ways, and culture just as God prophesied would happen in His Word, the Bible before Jesus’ second coming to Earth.

Children that should be in school marching in Sydney, Australia: “Stop Israel’s Genocide Now”? Hamas had invaded Israel and killed innocent people including babies, women, children, and the elderly.

We see it, in its deification of the material world, its desanctification of life, its religious syncretism, its moral relativism, its sexualization of popular culture, its abuse of life, its worship of images, and its overturning of biblical standards, values, and precepts.

So, it was in the days of the man known in the Bible as Josiah. Josiah was born into a kingdom, Israel, that had known God but had fallen from His ways. It had come into existence for the purposes of God but had detached itself from those purposes. It became a civilization turned in upon itself and against the foundation of which it stood, an inverted kingdom, a civilization in a state of spiritual schizophrenia. It still invoked His name but lived in opposition to His ways. Such is the culture in which we now live. American civilization was founded on the reality of God and established for its purposes (In God We Trust on its bank notes). But, as with ancient Israel, it has fallen and now exists in a state of spiritual schizophrenia—as does its parent, Western civilization.

Josiah was not afraid or intimidated by the evil that had taken possession of his culture because he knew that the power of God was far greater. Spiritual darkness did not discourage Josiah from acting, rather it inspired him. He could never have accomplished what he did, had he sought the approval of man or feared the wrath of the majority. He broke customs, conventions, and the status quo. He did what others had thought to do, had felt to do, and believed to do, but of fear, did not do. 

The people of God must now make the most of every moment and circumstance to impact their world—in their homes, their workplaces, their schools, in their positions of power and influence, their skills and abilities, their experiences and resources, their coming and going, all times and places. They must use all means and resources at their disposal to fulfill the purposes of God. And they must always remember that their most powerful of means are not of this world but spiritual—that of prayer, the Word, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In times of repression or persecution, there may be no other power. If then, their only means are spiritual, it will be enough. For no instrument of man, no force of government, no power on earth is strong enough to stop the means given by the Spirit of God.

Post adapted from a section of Jonathan Cahn’s book The Josiah Manifesto.