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INTRODUCTION
The history books tell us that in the year 2004, there were two wars; one against terror and one over who would control the culture! But looking back now, utilizing hindsight's 20/20 vision, there was really only one war fought on two fronts. It was just another phase of the age-old conflict between spiritual principalities and powers. The war against terrorism was based on the 'fear of the unknown' tactic employed against man since his creation, and the culture war was nothing more than the enemy's competitive jealousy against God for the hearts of men. The words of Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) are entirely appropriate at this point, “We live in two universes: the universe of common sense in which we come in contact with things by our senses and the universe of revelation with which we come in contact by faith. The wisdom of God fits the two universes exactly, the one interprets the other. Jesus Christ is the expression of the Wisdom of God.”
THE SECRET WEAPON
It has been said that you are defined by your enemy, but in 2004, the lines had become so muddied, we didn't always know who the enemy was any more. Statisticians found that there were no longer any moral differences between Christians and non-Christians. The salt had lost its flavor! The culture was no longer being preserved and was deteriorating rapidly. But God had a secret weapon. The historical movie, "The Passion of the Christ" made by Saint Mel Gibson (who several years after the film's debut became one of the first Catholics to be canonized as a saint while still alive), had almost single-handedly pulled America, and much of the world, back from the brink of massive spiritual collapse. Saint Mel's canonization was bestowed by a somewhat reluctant church that had acquiesced to the huge public support for him, but it was also received with reluctance by him because of his own humility.
D-DAY REPEATED
The movie was a major 'D-Day' type assault against the secular side of the culture war, who, not having much spiritual awareness, had been completely taken by surprise by the impact it had on the waning spiritual condition of the nation. Not having any 'prepared' defense, they resorted to wild and irrational bouts of character assassination mainly aimed at Saint Mel. The power of the 'Passion' was profound and awakened the sleeping giant of mainstream America, who finally had enough of minority interest groups shoving their particular agendas down its throat.
GOD 7, DEVIL 0
Several other 'God-instigated' events happened around the same time as the 'Passion's' release, which clearly indicated that the Spirit of God was on the move in America. Shock jock Howard Stern was finally reined in from his public profanity and debauchery on radio and television. Janet Jackson never dreamed that her breast-baring incident on Super Bowl Sunday 2004, which completely backfired, would spark off a revolt for righteousness. The annual Oscar Award Ceremony showed a definite shift to conservatism. The mayor of San Francisco that year ignored state law and condoned thousands of marriages between gays and lesbians, which led to the constitutional amendment for marriage being recognized only between a man and a woman. Every effort of the enemy was being frustrated by a sovereign move of God's Spirit. It seemed that many of the long-term prayers of Christians around America were being answered all at the same time.
LOOKING BACK
Looking back, 2004 was definitely a turning point in the Tale of Two Wars! It was a year of major release and increase for the forces of light, truth and righteousness. As it often does, part of the church recognized the opportunity God was giving them and capitalized on it to the great benefit of the Kingdom of God by ushering in a major harvest of souls. The other part completely missed the window that was offered and just went on with 'business as usual'! May the Lord benefit the account of the former and give the latter their due!
* The above account is purely fictional, although based on certain facts.
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