Back in 1973 my dear father, Dr. O. Talmadge Spence (who went to be with the Lord in July 2000), began a publication entitled Straightway. He took this word from Mark 1:18 that reads, "And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him." In this context Mark's commentary on two of the Lord's disciples depicts the tonal quality of his book as a part of the harmonious quartet of the Gospels. Mark's Gospel portrays Christ as "the Mighty Worker," rather than "the Teacher" as depicted in the book of Matthew. Mark wrote his Gospel to the Romans, a busy people, always in a hurry, working for the cause of the Empire. …

In our last article we established the need for a Christian to discern through the Scriptures the unique, peculiar generation in which he lives. In light of overcoming this untoward generation, we presented four main characteristics that must mark the fabric of preaching for this generation. In contrast, we must now consider the unique characteristics that will mark the generation just before the coming of the Lord. One must come to know these and to candidly confront them in order to protect his soul, his family, his church, his Christian school, and his ministry from being sucked into the vortex of these increasing and permeating corruptions of Truth. …

I live in the most deceptive generation of church history; signs, wonders, miracles, and works are all seen as from the Lord. Am I in a time of an awakening to God or a time of apostasy? Is Christ coming for His own, or is He not? Am I anticipating the imminent coming of my Lord, or do I know I have a good bit of time? Am I in the Tribulation Period or in the prelude of it? Is Christ coming to the clouds where I will meet Him, or is His next appearance to be at the Mount of Olives coming to fight the Battle of Armageddon? These and other questions are of great importance, for they will dictate how I will live, what I will preach, and how urgent my messages and prayer life will be. …

Luke 2:7 states, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Ancient tradition places the birthplace of our Lord in a cave, for caves were used as stables in most countries with rocky terrain. The Greek word for inn is kataluma, denoting the simplest of inns. It is similar to a Syrian khan—a refuge from thieves, a shelter from the heat and dust, a place where a man and his beasts may lodge, where a trader may sell his wares, and a pilgrim may slake his thirst. However, in such inns the visitor had to do everything for himself.

At the time of this momentous event, the census for the taxation, people had filled the little town of Bethlehem occupying even the most inexpensive of inns. Thus a cave, a stables, an outhouse where waste was disposed of became the divinely appointed place for the Christ Child to be born on earth.

The Holy Spirit led the physician Luke to use this word kataluma, a lowly place that aptly depicts the humble life and death of Christ. The Gospel is heavily freighted with the truth of this word. Why did God pick a kataluma-type birth for His Son? If one reads the Bible with a prayerful heart, he will see that God has been working in the kataluma fashion since the foundation of the world. …

How often in the Christian schools the study of the philosophy of music is conspicuously absent when it comes to the presentation of Christian music. If it is taught, it is usually from the contemporary perspective rather than from a true, biblical perspective. Thus, even the concept of logic becomes questionable by the contemporary mind. The principle task of logic is to investigate the nature of correct thinking and valid reasoning, including the laws of rational thought. Questions related to this study that have often been asked through history include the following: “What are the criteria used to distinguish between truth and error?” “Are there fallacies of reasoning?” “Can truth be attainable?” These questions need to be answered; these principles of thought must be understood before we enter the realm of contemporary music. The sad reality of the present trends in Fundamentalism is that there is a deterioration of secular epistemology and its so-called logic. And finally, we need to see the major influences that lead to the musical concepts of our times. …

Fundamentalism as a movement has commenced a decline away from its legacy by entering the wide river of Neo-Evangelicalism. Considering the increased falling away in recent years, only a mighty revival from God will stop the demise of Fundamentalism. The music now coming from most schools which carry the banner of Fundamentalism verifies what my father announced over twelve years ago: “The battle against CCM has already been lost in Fundamentalism.”

We have witnessed in the past fifty years the public death of true Christianity in America; we are now witnessing the public dying of historic Fundamentalism. The potential public demise of historic Fundamentalism will be the product not only of its pulpits but also of its music, both of which have been crossing over into Neo-Evangelicalism. …

As the United States escalates into a fast lane of dissolution and destruction, there is another debt far greater than the economic one we are facing, and it too will have its day of reckoning. This debt is the overwhelming, ever-increasing, eternal debt of our national sins. Our moral debt has risen to enormous and alarming proportions surpassing the staggering sins of past nations. …

A basic premise today is that those who are offended by a certain kind of music should not be judgmental of those whose “diet” is that certain music. Of course, the frequently used passage of I Corinthians 8 (the eating of meat) is drawn from to prove this point. But in our day and time, with compromise, sin, and error ever beating at our church doors, we must be very careful what we categorize in the “meat” department; for some, “meat” can be infected with spores of deadly bacteria simply by its close “association” with other meat that is spoiled. We can never use these passages to cover up for error and compromise. …

It is imperative that I establish several principles and convictions before presenting the music which is presently the mark of the Fundamentalists. Unless these matters are acknowledged, the content of this article will not be read with the proper heart and spirit. I am writing to my brethren, those with whom I have cast my lot, my companions in the battle against the apostasy. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will enable me to write with sanctified candor on the music found among my own people. …

This present article in Straightway is one of several articles that will unfold the end-time movement for the rise of the State over man through the oppressive powers of “political correctness” and the growing parallel ecumenical powers of the end time in “religious correctness.” The city (political) and the tower (religious) are to be built forcing all people of the world to come under the mighty arm of the State and its counterpart in religion. …