Spiritual Blindness: Find Your Spiritual Eyes and Open Them

By Mark Allison

The New Testament teaches three specific things how individual Christians in the church are to conduct themselves;

o Love one another as Christ loved us

o How men and women treat each other outside of marriage

o How husbands and wives treat each other inside of marriage.

These three basic human relationships serve as a witness to those outside the church as an evangelistic tool. How we deal with each other has ramifications for how we conduct ourselves spiritually before a lost world. We have failed in these three basic relationships. We need someone to step unafraid from the background and face down criticism and perhaps ridicule, even persecution from the self-righteous who continue to lead the church away and resist the necessary course corrections in these final days. Who will be willing to confront the issues head-on in order for the world to know Christ? Are you, as part of His church, ready for the second coming of our Lord? Would you be willing to face discomfort and ridicule if you knew that God had called you to such a fate? What discomfort are you willing to endure for the cause of Christ?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490867342

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Copyright © 2015 Mark E. Allison.

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6735-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6736-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6734-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015901809

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/11/2015

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Does God Have an Indictment Against the Church?

Chapter 3 The Church has lost the Argument with the World on Loving our Fellow Man

Chapter 4 The Church has lost the Argument with the World for Proper Sexual Behavior

Chapter 5 The Church has lost the Argument with the world on Christian Marriage

Chapter 6 Imminent Danger

Chapter 7 Our Only Hope

Bibliography

DEDICATION

In consideration of who to dedicate this work I thought of those in my life that have over the years declared themselves my enemies through the positions and actions they took against me. Although I will not mention any of their names, I owe them a great debt. Through their actions, they opened my eyes to God’s Spiritual truth. In reality, what they had intended for evil, God intended for good. I also feel that solely dedicating this work to them would give them way too much credit, because it was not their actions alone that brought about these ideas. Instead, God allowed their nefarious deeds and plotting to be a counterpoint, a dark background that highlighted more effectively the gracious gifts and blessings God has provided. God chose for me true friends that showed God’s love in ways they may not have even recognized at the time it was given. I could not possibly mention them all, but deserving special recognition would be my mother, my brothers, my children and especially my wife Susan, whose constant and ever-present devotion and dedication is beyond anything I could ever repay. But I also must include those who have demonstrated that they are really a member of Christ’s church by showing His love in their lives poured into ours through the years. This list would be way too long to mention every name, my travels have been extensive. All on the list are important to me, but the list would definitely include David Dykes, Patrick Smith, Jack Lea, Dewayne Thompson, Mike Underwood, Larue Stephens, Tom Belcher, Raymon Leake, John Temple and Alf Nuzzolo, whose comradeship during our long walk through the Afghanistan desert was indispensable.

FOREWORD

Dr. Mark Allison is one of my heroes. He served our country for 28 years in the U.S. Navy, including a deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan. But more importantly, he is on the frontline of the spiritual battle that is being waged in America. This book is a clarion call for the Church to awaken from her slumber and mobilize for the battle.

Dr. Allison writes with the informed mind of a scholar and the impassioned heart of an evangelist. He skillfully points out the dramatic parallels between the conditions in Israel and Judah during the ministry of Isaiah and the conditions we face as a nation. He doesn’t sugarcoat the issues, but drives home the point of the impact of the dramatic moral decline we have seen in America. Our enemies consist of those outside the gate (including the threat of radical Islam); the enemy within our gates (our own moral decay); and the enemy that is to come because of God’s impending judgment.

He addresses important issues such as racism, homosexual marriage, and theological liberalism. He correctly infers that the Antichrist will most probably be the Muslim Mahdi. This book is NOT politically correct, but it speaks the unvarnished truth.

Some books are a blessing and make the reader feel good. This book is a wake-up call to complacent Christians. It is well-researched and expertly written. May God use this book to stir us from our spiritual slumber and send us forth into the battle for Christ.

Dr. David O. Dykes

Green Acres Baptist Church

Tyler, Texas

PREFACE

The days we live in are difficult, that much is certain. A poor economy, a growing threat from militant jihadists and unrest over racial inequalities fill the news. But difficult days are not new. Many of us can remember difficult days in our lives. I read through the book of Isaiah for a class I was to teach on the prophet and was struck by the resemblances of what he faced with what we in the church face today. How Isaiah framed his assessment of Israel’s difficulties from God’s perspective and inspiration showed that the difficulties they faced were due in large measure to their lack of faithfulness to the Lord in how they lived their lives as a nation. The northern kingdom, Israel, had been conquered by the Assyrian king and he was poised to do the same to the Judah in the south. Although Judah would be spared by God from this threat, Isaiah warned that unless they make some course corrections, there would be a greater destruction in the days ahead from another king in Babylon. As I read through Isaiah, he jumped from speaking God’s word on the contemporary times to prophecy of the coming Messiah.

I am not an alarmist, I do not think of myself as a prophet or that I have special knowledge. But Isaiah’s message resonated with me because it is my conviction that the second coming of Jesus is very near. I know that many have thought and voiced this over the years, but the tribulation of their time passed and Christ did not return. So today, many are chilled when they hear people speak of Christ’s second coming and see it as manipulation or coercion for right behavior. This is the similarity between what Isaiah prophesied and today. Many in Israel had grown cold to God’s will for them, they were happy to perform religious rituals, but they had long lost any zeal or fresh faith in His impact on their lives. Isaiah used the prophecy of the Messiah as a backdrop for his message nonetheless.

Although it is not my intent to manipulate anyone into right behavior, I looked at disturbing things happening in our society today and felt that I had to do something, The United States has endured difficult times before. I remember well the attitude of the nation at the end and shortly after the conflict in Viet Nam. But today we see our nation on the verge of bursting under the weight from our own shortsightedness. Not only have we international concerns, but internal strife is being experienced in the streets of our own country over racial issues that should have been decided long ago. Because of these issues and many more I felt as though that the Lord called me to write this book. Let me point out that what is written in this book is not intended to misrepresent anyone or challenge their legitimate faith. Freedom of religion is a cornerstone of our rights as Americans, even those who choose non-faith. But, joined together Christians can use what Wayne Grudem calls significant Influence, which is what he defines as:

Christians should seek to influence civil government according to God’s moral standards and God’s purposes for government revealed in the Bible (when rightly understood). But while Christians exercise this influence, they must simultaneously insist on protecting freedom of religion for all citizens.¹

We in the Christian church should do what is God’s will for the church because it’s Him that we worship. Like Isaiah, I cannot help but use the 2nd coming of Christ as a backdrop for what we should be doing for the Lord. If He does not return, then we should make the course corrections I speak of in this book because it is the right thing to do and it may even bring revival worldwide, perhaps even a Third Great Awakening, and difficult days will abate to some degree.

Early in my Christian walk, I had a very vivid dream that was difficult to forget. I don’t usually remember my dreams for very long, but this dream was different. In this dream I was observing a grave yard from the vantage of the front porch of my home. There was a grave covered by a concrete slab. I observed the slab slide off the grave revealing a bright glow, fiery red. An image of a man emerged from the grave and then turned to stare at me. The image was that of the Antichrist; an imposing military figure. Deeply impressed, I have never forgotten the chill of the scene. It would be easy to dismiss this as an over active imagination, but am I seeing the same scene in the news today?

• A growing lawlessness of our society with its preoccupation with fulfilling its own desires above all else.

• The United States, however well-intentioned, has institutionalized poverty and racism, leaving millions trapped by government regulations and entitlements, creating an ever-increasing distrust of government. Racially guided protests over what happened in Ferguson, MO and New York City create a distrust in the very system of justice that have guided us since the inception of our country and those we have selected to protect our streets and homes.

• An outbreak of potentially devastating plague of Ebola that could ravish even the United States.

• We in the United States banter back and forth with political partisanship, while the weightier issues escape our notice. Issues such as the disintegration of the family, marriage and an ever increasing single parent households.

• We are seeing today a time of a completely ineffective Legislative Branch of our Federal government, an inconsistent, misguided, and often unconstitutional Judicial Branch and we are also seeing a time for what many Americans call a lawless US President.

• Internationally there is a growing threat from radical Islam that seeks to destroy civilization and laws, replacing them with a caliphate that will dominate every country and home. Could this caliphate be in its genesis with the current threat from ISIS?

Do all these developments mean that the time of Christ’s return is more eminent? Are we seeing the coming to fruition my dream from long ago? What should be our response if the Lord’s return is near? It is no stretch to see that we in this country have abandoned the theological principles from which the founders of our country established this great nation. The biblical principles from which the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence were framed had definite theological import and we have cast them aside as unimportant in our modern era. There are few chances for the United States to survive much less the world but through revival and renewal that is only possible through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Not only did I see the growing realization that Christ’s return was more imminent, but that many of the challenges we face today could have been prevented if the Church had been faithful to its calling. Instead of addressing the challenges we face as a united Church, we have splintered our efforts and blunted our message masking our lack of faithfulness with religious ritual while we devote our attention toward temporal pursuits and useless arguments. The church seems preoccupied with building bigger buildings and attracting bigger crowds than reaching the lost. We use theologies to hide our lack of conviction. Sometimes I wonder if Calvinist thinkers use their theology so they can rest comfortably behind their church walls where they can focus on sports and politics rather than dirty themselves with God’s work. I wonder if Arminian thinkers focus more on their programs, budgets and marketing schemes than on the work of ministering for the Gospel. I could list more but the result is the same; we are making great efforts and seeing no substantial impact on our society. With the resources the church has today, why is racism such a caustic issue in our society? Why is Christianity remaining stagnant while non-Christian faiths grow in impressive rates? Why are there still so many poor people and why are there still abortions killing so many unborn children?

To counter all of the challenges I mentioned above, I write this book to His Church, no matter what we are called; Protestant or Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Missionary, AME, black, white Hispanic or Asian; whatever distinction man has used to define, or should I say divide believers. I do not suggest that we lose our distinctions between denominations. However, I do think we have used our theological perspectives all too conveniently to separate our efforts. This is a call to open our Spiritual eyes and start loving each other and the lost. Do we all not stand on the moral high ground of God’s word? Is it possible to accept the differences that divide us and begin again to operate as the Church was meant to? We should be standing for what is right and moral, reaching the lost, and finding solutions that work instead of relying on human effort or the government. When you look through the book of Isaiah, you see that Israel faced three enemies:

• The Assyrian enemy outside the wall that threatened to destroy them.

• The enemy inside the wall which was their own lack of faithfulness.

• A third enemy that promised greater devastation in the future that was actually brought on them because of their unfaithfulness to God’s plan for them.

Looking at these issues today, I prayed and asked God what we were to do? Christ may not be poised to come again. Whether we are close to His second coming or years from that blessed time, God’s message is this, the church must be doing what it was created and called to do. We don’t just sit and hope that Jesus’ second coming will happen and take us away from these troubles, we are to work and reach out to the lost in an effort to change society toward a biblical understanding of Christ. To see meaningful change means staring down the forces of evil that emerge against us from the world, sometimes even within the walls of our church or God help us, from our own families. We most certainly are moving into an age where persecution and turmoil will arise, but with God’s help, instead of sitting on the sidelines waiting for something that may not happen, let’s begin the Third Great Awakening and see real change that only Christ can bring in our lives and the lives of the lost.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Rabble-rouser

It was in the early sixties, I had not yet reached my ninth birthday. It was a simple time; I thought we were happy living in a small white house on the West End of Birmingham, Alabama. There were four of us, my brothers and I and my Mama. My mother was a single mom, which in those days was not common. For her three sons, my two brothers and I, we only knew the joy of each other. On a normal day, as we were getting ready for school, my aunt Miriam would bring my grandmother to our home to watch out for us while my she and Mama would head off to work. Shortly after they left, my brothers and I would take a short a short walk for three little boys down the road to our elementary school. We usually walked together along with friends and neighbors we met along the way. Those days for a single, divorced mother under the weight of social judgment from those who did not understand, I imagine were tight and stressful. But I only remember days filled with laughter and joy along with weekly trips to Wham Burgers on Friday night for corn dogs which we took home and ate with lots of mustard while watching Tarzan on our color TV (that only received two channels).

Days would become more complicated as for every growing boy, but I remember the days of talking with these three wonderful ladies that spared no hugs or discipline. On Sundays we attended Berney Points Baptist Church, although my brothers and I could not fathom the importance of going someplace to hear Brother Raymond DeArmand, who, to a small boy, seemed always angry because he shouted so much. We sat in the balcony, I think because my mother thought it would be less distracting to the other worshippers. Perhaps there were other reasons, but I picture in my mind her sitting alone with three wiggly, noisy boys whose bottoms could not handle the hard wooden pew seats. Whatever her plans were did not come to fruition, because it is very difficult to watch one restless boy in church alone, much less three. (I still to this day offer a short prayer for any mother with all boys). We asked many questions she really did not want to answer, like if the preacher was God or Jesus and why we used the hymn book. When we were shushed we turned our attention to other interests, we tossed pieces of paper or blew our noses and then tossed the soiled tissues over the rail and even a paper airplane we constructed from the bulletin, that is, if we could launch before discovery. Church was not where we wanted to go. It meant long periods of time where we must be quiet and also because it usually meant that we were in for a sound whipping just as soon as we got home.

One of my earliest memories of those days was the day that President Kennedy got shot. We watched the black and white scenes played over and over as the commentaries droned on in sorrowful tones. I was only four or five, but after the president was killed, I started asking questions about the outside world, especially asking why it was so sad that this man who we did not know and we never met, was killed. There were other prominent figures in the news we asked about. Although my Mama, Aunt Miriam and my grandmother never spoke in impolite terms about anyone, they did offer their impressions. I do not remember exact quotes, but I do remember that they did not have high opinions of Governor George Wallace nor of Mayor of Birmingham they called Bull Connors. They had much publicized exploits for the television, such as turning fire hoses on Negro protesters or standing in the door to deny a Negro from registering for classes at the University of Alabama. But my impression at the time was that my parents thought it senseless expositions solely for political gain.

I also remember asking my grandmother about Martin Luther King Jr. He was, who was referred to at the time, a Negro preacher that was often in the news that some adored while others hated. I did not understand who this man was. What was it that caused such emotion when he spoke? I remember when I asked her, she smiled and thought for a moment, He is a Rabble-rouser, was her reply. I was 10 years old when he was assassinated. Unlike