Volume 52 | Number 5 | September–December 2024

Inglés Español

The Radical Change of End-Time Culture


By Dr. H. T. Spence

One of the great declarations of absoluteness found within the biblical Gospel is that it is a universal Gospel to be preached in all generations to all peoples, kindreds, tongues, and nations. The Great Commission given to the apostles before Christ’s ascension is found in Matthew 28:18–20:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

These verses clearly declare that all power was given to Jesus Christ: all authority both in heaven and earth. The disciples were appointed to take this Gospel to all the nations (Gr., ethnos, the ethnicities) of the earth. This declaration excludes no nation. The command was to teach them all things whatsoever Jesus had commanded them. There would be a “baptizing” or a common identification of all Christians. Jesus also promised He would be with them to the end of the age. Paul gives his personal testimony of his conversion and his calling in Acts 9, 22, and 26; his calling included being sent to the Gentiles, or all other ethnicities and nations outside Israel.

There are enough writings in the New Testament to bring us to the understanding that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be taken to all the nations. No nation or ethnic group is to be excluded from this universal Gospel! Note Revelation 5:9:

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

In the second chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul gives a description of depravity throughout all humanity. In 2:14, Christ Jesus is declared to be the power that broke down the middle wall of partition that existed between the Jews and all the ethnic groups of the Gentiles.

When the Bible speaks of the nations, it takes the reader back to Genesis 10 and 11. It was the city and the tower of Babel begun and led by Cush and his son Nimrod that brought the judgment of God. God forced a scattering of the people by diversifying their speech and vocabulary in many languages. However, we should note the perspective provided in Deuteronomy 32:8, “When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” Acts 17:24–31 reveals that God made all mankind, and He is the God of every nation, of every ethnic group. There is only one God for all the human race.

Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 12) and dwelt among other nations while maintaining his distinctiveness. Even in the New Testament, Jesus was among His own, though now and then He met with Greeks and Phoenicians. Paul ministered among the nations bringing the Gospel while also partaking with them in their living and provisions of life.

The Distinction of Cultures

A most identifying distinction of nations is their culture. It is important to consider the biblical topic of culture at this time in the history of the world. One of the great influences being used today in postmodernism is this matter of culture. It is an integral part of the mindset of postmodernism.

The word culture, from a secular perspective, can be defined as “the fineness of feelings, thoughts, tastes, manners, etc. of an individual or of a civilization of a given race or nation at a given time or over all time.” This includes a people’s customs, arts, and conveniences. Culture also includes the development of the mind or body through education or training. This indicates that culture makes up a very real part of a person’s life in many facets. Postmodernism declares that all cultures must be accepted and tolerated by all. Often in history when certain cultures were transplanted by conquering powers into a foreign country, these cultures isolated themselves in a geography within the country in order to continue their culture. This is seen both in the Old Testament and New Testament of colonies of Jews coming into another province. Large cosmopolitan cities often have, for example, a Chinatown or some other ethnic community within the larger city community. Even today in the city of Jerusalem, there is an Arabic, an Armenian, and a Jewish section of the city. City-states like Singapore have many ethnic groups that maintain their cultural identity. This cultural preservation throughout history is natural and appointed of God.

However, if a people choose to adapt to a foreign culture in which they find themselves, they know they must somewhat adopt this new country’s culture. They must learn their language and explore their foods, manner of living, and local business practices. In years gone by, when one came to America he had to learn some English; he had to become American to a certain degree. If one travels to Mexico and desires to live there, he becomes Mexican in culture and learns their language. The same would be true whatever country one chooses to move to. This is both proper and often necessary.

Postmodernism, an atheistic, anti-God, antichrist philosophy and mindset, now pervades America and the rest of the world. It seeks to destroy cultural distinctions in an attempt to bring about a single worldwide culture. But beyond our normal view of culture is a growing culture of mindset, lifestyle, and philosophy. Postmodernism is out to destroy the individualism and cultural distinctiveness of all countries by forcing a blending of all. It forces everyone to accept the language, music, and living of all cultures, especially the sins of cultures. It is one thing to accept a culture’s foods, clothing colors and modest designs, formal protocols, ethnic music (to a degree), and architecture. It is another thing, however, to accept false views of God (or gods) and Jesus Christ, of unbiblical laws governing a community or nation, of unbiblical standards of right and wrong, and of the lifestyles that promote iniquity and anti-God living.

The Contemporary View of Culture

The definition of culture in some countries includes the powerful interweaving of the religious lifestyles as found in Roman Catholicism or Islam. This potential interweaving is why separation was needed in Genesis 4. Cain had to leave the rest of his family. His lifestyle, feelings, thoughts, and manners would draw other family members away from God and potentially set them against God. A culture that promotes a lifestyle set against God is dedicated to a destruction of any belief in God in a society. Thus, there arises a clear and needed demarcation of a culture of an ungodly with a culture of a godly line.

By Genesis 6, these two different and divided cultures began mixing themselves with each other. From this mixture arose a more destructive culture. This is why Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 that we are not to mix such cultures and ideologies together. We are to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” The Book of Psalms opens declaring this needed separation from the culture of the ungodly. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” What is the culture of the ungodly, of the sinners, of the scornful?

Today, we are told we must accept the culture of these many, many people who are being brought into our country; we must accept their ways, their religions, their languages, their customs, and their laws (even if these laws are against our country and our God). Postmodernism strongly believes that the birth of America was based upon a colonialism of the past, forged by certain men’s perspectives that were forced upon the rest of society. They declare that now we have come to a generation that must do away with all previous laws of America, the colonialism, the Constitution, its morality, and become a nation of a diversification of the concepts of law.

The Islamic culture, for example, goes beyond clothing, food, and architecture; its culture is based upon its false religion. It is against a republic, a democracy; it is against the American ideal. It is against the God that gave the basic principles that birthed this government.

Our Supreme Court, as it was first instituted, was for a unified country; it was established to interpret a unified view of right and wrong, God versus heathenism, and the God of Christianity versus the gods of other religions. Though the country permitted the presence of differences of opinions and beliefs of religion, there were still unifying principles of right and wrong that must rule the new nation. America was born with a conceptual belief of natural righteousness in society.

Now our leadership declares this can no longer be. All cultures within this country must be permitted to live with their unique laws and lifestyles. Yes, it may be debated that Islam is a religion; but also it is a way of life, a culture that controls its people. This concept is far more intensified within that religion today than is found in the mongrelization of contemporary Christianity. Sadly, the public face of Christianity gives no evidence of intensity of belief or lifestyle, although the Bible demands this. Postmodernism declares that such people must be permitted to live according to their all-encompassing regulations, sharia law, foods, holy days, prayers, governments, courts, clothing, and family polygamous marriages.

Who is to say that the killing of a child is not permitted in certain cultures? Who is to say the oppression of women is wrong? Who is to declare that if one leaves the life of Islam that he cannot be put to death? Who is to say that Jihad is wrong? Who can define what is a terrorist? Post-America is forced to accept them with open arms and without one word of condemnation or any law of restriction. Thus, through postmodernism the cities must get in harmony; the prison menus must do away with anything intimidating (such as pork); the public schools must accommodate the teaching of the culture of Islam.

The Bible’s Condemnation of Certain Cultures

We must remember that rape, sodomy, pedophilia, polygamy, rock music, Satanism, pornography, etc. all have their own culture. These cultures are demanding and non-discriminatory in every aspect. Now we are witnessing new breeds of postmodern cultures that demand no distinction of genders, public restrooms, marriage, and family concepts.  It is not only that we must permit them to live their culture publicly, but also that we must provide them public benefits to assist them to give no offense to their mindset and culture. God’s Word condemns certain lifestyles; in fact, they must be extricated from the culture of humanity.

Dear reader, this is where we are today: a total destruction of anything that does not permit the abnormal or the wickedness of sin within a nation. We are being forced both to accommodate and to believe it is all right. Yes, God made the races, the ethnic people, and all have their manner and ways of living in the light of their geographies, their nativity, and their peoples. But sin can pervade any culture, no matter who the people are. The Christian must preach not only the Gospel to all men, calling them to Christ the singular Saviour, but also the life-changing power of that Gospel to be conformed to the message that Gospel proclaims. Cultures may continue with those redeemed people, but any sin found within those cultures must cease! These sins may arise in dress, principles, concepts, addictions, mindsets, images, signs, proclivities of thought, laziness, strains of religion, the occult, and music. The Christian culture must triumph in all national cultures as true Christianity. A Christian does not do certain things; he does not go to certain places; he does not give allegiance or permissibility to sin. The pastor of a church, no matter the nation where that church is located, must preach against the powers of sin that pervade the cultures of that country or the ethnic population. To the Christian, biblical culture must always triumph within the culture of the nation.

How Cultures Change Over Time

The globalist culture of postmodernism has resulted from a long journey of existential wandering. It is beyond reason. Honorable reason was a friend to truth, though it came to a point in the Enlightenment of the 1600s and 1700s that it rejected God and His revelation, the Bible. World history has gone through several cultures that have been the product of ideologies and philosophies. The culture we are now in is one that is without foundation, without truth, without absolutes, without right or wrong. In this present culture of the End Time, man lives for the existential moment.

Postmodernism is capable of confronting a truth and simply calling it a lie, and replacing the truth with a lie. Yet they angrily refuse any attack about their changing truths into lies. A great danger of living in postmodernism is the eventual loss of sight concerning what is truth in one’s culture and society.

An old Chinese proverb says, “If you want to know what water is, don’t ask a fish.” Why is this? Because the fish does not know any other kind of life. It is submerged in the monotony and single vision of a watery existence. To the fish no other existence is possible; hence, one cannot conceive of anything by which to measure its own existence. It is the same with our present society: men have become blind to what is happening all around them, and they have no understanding of what they are becoming in this present philosophical culture. Sometimes a culture can be imperceptibly absorbed and then interwoven into the consciousness of its people. When this happens, it is difficult for those within the culture to be objective. When you have known another culture, comparisons can be made. One can be in a context of a culture, move away for a season, and then a year later return and see the changes; those living in it day after day will not see the changes. This is the sad reality of the times in which we live. After a while one becomes accustomed to his environment (both naturally and philosophically) and over a process of time accommodates it in his thinking.

One can observe such environmental effects over time within countries. Certain countries are known for being impeccably clean. Other countries are known for the trash on the side of the roads; over a period of time there is so much trash that most ignore the grievous sight.

This is the way political cultures begin—a man or woman thinks a certain philosophy should be the correct one and the best for the people. That one will believe so strongly as to go to any length to bring that mindset to everyone, even to the point of destruction and murder in order to get it enacted.

Looking back to the 1800s, Karl Marx, especially his Das Kapital, tried to create classes of people and declare that they were in constant struggle with one another. He also created a struggle against capitalism that he purported was found among the various classes of the people. Thus, communism was considered the only answer to these struggles. His writing contained over two thousand pages. This cultural thinking of the nineteenth century finally took over the world in the twentieth century.

Then, Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (“My Mind” or “My Struggle”). This political manifesto of ideological hatred against the Jews became his hope of taking over the world. From 1925 to 1945 some 12 million copies of his book were sold.

These beliefs above have continued to build over time, changing gradually until they finally have taken over more and more of society’s cultural mindset. As its influence deepens into the fabric of social presuppositions, a nation’s culture becomes utter wickedness, unconsciously woven both in the thinking and the lifestyle of evil. And when this happens, the culture cannot be changed; the consequences are unalterable. Dear reader, again, this is where we are now in America. Every facet of government is riddled with evil, corruption, lust for money, and deep perversion of moral living. Our nation has gone from morality, to immorality, to perversion, to inversion. We have left honorable marriage and entered adultery, sodomy, and transgenderism. What will the next frontier reveal about the postmodern culture of future America?

Willful Denial of the Sacred

We have come to the point in American culture where we have denounced and evicted the sacred.

One of the symptoms of modern and postmodern change is our large stock of new words or the redefining of old words: user-friendly, downsizing, multiculturalism, politically-correct, woke (the term taking the place of “political correctness”), homophobic, postmodern, post structuralism, deconstruction, reboot, transgenderism, asexuality, bisexual, climate change, dehumanization, discrimination, diversity, equality, equity, inclusion, environmental impact, global citizen, global change, human rights, inclusion, LGBTQ, marginalize, nonbinary, pansexuality, racism, and social justice.

This ever-expanding pop-vocabulary seeks to destroy the truth of God in our thinking; it seeks to evict anything that is sacred from our inclusion in the living of life. We are now also hearing more and more the terms secular and secularization. At one time Western civilization led the world in a consciousness of God. Such a denial of Western civilization is declared as a needed emancipation from the authority of the Church and the dictatorial powers of God as a higher Being. This is why secularism has taken over the cultural thinking of the world leaders. In other words, secularism asserts that public life is to be conducted without reference to religion or to any notion of a power higher than man. Such a mood of thinking in our contemporary is the first step of coming into the realm of evil, an evil that has become uncontrollable. Secularism has truly systematically eliminated all religious belief from the public policies and institutions of the nations. Even science has fully discarded God and Omnipotence from its conversations of physics and the laws of nature.

Conclusion

Amidst the ongoing compromises of contemporary Christianity, there is the matter of contextualization. Contextualization is always a danger when preaching the Gospel to contexts other than Western civilization. Roman Catholicism has contextualized its heresy to the nations and cultures where it has taken its message. The Virgin Mary has been given various names depending on the nation and the ethnicity of the people; Mariology is accommodated to the culture of the varied ethnicities. Even the so-called saints of Romanist history are contextualized to the local inhabitants’ own religions to make their message more palatable and similar. This approach is sadly true with modern Protestant missions. Protestant liberalism has in the past few centuries subtly left out certain truths from the Gospel and introduced false concepts and cultures in order not to intimidate or offend the native culture. In our travels we have noted the intentional mistranslations of certain hymn lyrics from the English in order to accommodate the ethnic context or to quell any deeper-life implications. Contextualization is often used with the motive of cultural accommodation, creating a false non-offensive Gospel message.

But the Gospel is the message for all humanity. It must be preached and taught in its fullness to every creature, no matter the context or culture. The Christian apostasy of America has contextualized so many areas of lifestyle that it has forged out a pattern to introduce this contextualization in other countries. This is what has brought a new breed of Christian lifestyles, especially since the birth of Neo-Evangelicalism and the Charismatic movements. Even the “culture” of “Christian” carnal living has been forced to be an integral part of twenty-first-century Christianity. Such a culture of carnal living has become theologically acceptable in Christian culture. It is very rare that a culture of spiritual living is presented in preaching and teaching. And it is the same with the culture of worldliness versus the culture of holiness. Postmodernism wants to blur the distinction between these worlds, declaring that worldly dress, music, symbols, contemporary versions of the Bible, and worship are equally accepted by God in our time of history. Much of sin has been accepted in any context of living. Even sodomy has been contextualized in the Neo-message. It is sad but true: one will find professing Christians in any context of life, any perverted lifestyle—even a contextualization for transgenderism.

We as biblical Christians must not be intimidated by this aggressive world’s attempt to invade true Christianity. Anything created under the guise of Christianity that is not fully Bible-based has no right to use the title. But again, present-day Christianity has become so elastic and so accommodating that there are those that would even go so far as to call themselves “Christian atheists.” Such a person is a Christian in his existential world while an atheist in his real world. This dialectic title is most strongly condemned by the Bible. Note the words of Christ Himself:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matt. 7:13, 14).

God help us in these days when The Lie has become The Truth and The Truth has become The Lie to a world that has left all of the mores of sanity, both in thought and living.