Yes — a nation that begins with a high level of spiritual light and real knowledge of God can be given over to a lower way of life when it rejects that light.
In Romans 1, people who knew God and then turned to idols were given up by God. Les Feldick shows this same downward pattern repeated in empires, Israel, the Gentiles, and America. The starting point only makes the decline more striking, because the rejection is in response to real light.
Romans 1:24 — This is the key verse showing what God does when people who have known Him turn to idols: He gives them up to uncleanness.
Romans 1:23 — It describes the exchange that triggers the judgment — changing the glory of the uncorruptible God for images of man, birds, beasts, and creeping things.
In Romans 1:23-24, Paul describes what happens when people who had the knowledge of God exchange His glory for idols. Verse 23 says, “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” Verse 24 gives God’s response: “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.” Scripture does not describe every nation’s history in these verses, but it establishes the principle: when people turn from the true God, God’s judgment is to give them up to the consequences of their own choice.
Les teaches that the people in Romans 1 did not begin in ignorance. They had a knowledge of God from the heavens and from Noah and his sons, yet within a couple of generations they followed a humanist into pagan worship. When mankind turned his back on the one true God, God gave them up — and Les stresses that this is an act, not a passive statement. He points out that empires have started with something better and then end on the same downward track. Israel was instructed and nurtured under the Law and the prophecies, rejected Christ, and was dispersed in 70 A.D. The Gentiles who inherited Israel’s place of blessing have done the same thing, casting the opportunity aside. America, Les says, has had tremendous opportunity to know the truth of the Word of God but is rejecting it, and unless there is a turning back, “We’re doomed.” Christianity, he explains, has been the brake on moral decay; without believers and the Holy Spirit’s present role, there is nothing left to hold back iniquity.
Les says “gave them up” is an act — God responded to a deliberate turning away from the one true God. The people involved had real knowledge of God, having begun with Noah and his sons, but within a couple of generations they followed a humanist who set up pagan worship. When mankind turned from the true God to idols made with men’s hands, God gave them up. Les also warns his listeners not to look down on these people, because “but for the grace of God” the same rebellion is in every human nature.
Les says Israel was instructed, taught, and nurtured through the Old Testament under the Law and the prophecies, yet rejected Christ. After rejecting the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Israel was dispersed in about 70 A.D. — losing the Temple, the city, and their homeland — and placed in spiritual blindness. He also traces an earlier failure: God told Israel to destroy the Canaanites because they had degenerated for 400 years, but Israel incorporated them into their lifestyle, and within a couple of generations Israel was headlong after the gods of the Canaanites. Les does add that in the next age, the Millennial reign, Israel will come into God’s goodness and grace.
Les applies the principle directly to America. America has had “so much opportunity” to have the truth of the Word of God, but is throwing it out and rejecting it. He says God is not going to stand for it unless there is a tremendous turning back to the truth of this Book, adding, “We’re doomed.” He also sees Christianity as the reason the Western world has not fallen apart morally. If every believer were removed and the Holy Spirit’s present role were taken away, there would be nothing left to hold back iniquity.
Knowledge Rejected Within Generations
Les shows that the people of Romans 1 had a full knowledge of God from Noah and his sons, yet within a couple of generations they followed a humanist into pagan worship because human nature is bent to rebel.
God Gave Them Up
Les explains that idolatry began at the Tower of Babel and has been downhill since; when mankind turned from the one true God to idols, God gave them up — an act.
Gentiles Repeat Israel’s Failure
Les says the Gentiles who inherited Israel’s place of blessing have done the same thing Israel did — they walked it underfoot, cast it aside, and said “thanks, but no thanks.”
Israel’s Unpardonable Rejection
Les teaches that Israel rejected the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and has suffered for 2,000 years, but will come into God’s goodness in the Millennial reign.
Israel Dispersed in 70 A.D.
Les recounts that Israel, nurtured under the Law and prophecies, rejected Christ and was dispersed in 70 A.D., losing the Temple, the city, and the homeland.
Canaanites and Israel’s Compromise
Les describes how the Canaanites degenerated for 400 years and how Israel, by keeping them as servants instead of obeying God, soon turned to their gods.
America’s Rejection
Les applies the downward pattern to America, saying it has had so much opportunity to know the truth of the Word of God but is rejecting it, and is doomed unless there is a turning back.
Christianity as the Brake
Les teaches that Christianity has been the brake on moral falling away in the Western world; without believers and the Holy Spirit’s present role, nothing holds back iniquity.
Romans 1:23: And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
This verse shows the specific exchange that people made when they turned from the true God to idols.
Romans 1:24: Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
This is the consequence for nations and peoples who reject the knowledge of God they once had — God gives them up to a lower way of life.
Les says empires have started with something better than that and end up on the same downward track. The pattern in Romans 1 is set when people who have real knowledge of God turn from Him to idols; God then gives them up to a lower lifestyle.
According to Les, the first step is turning from the one true God to follow a humanist or pagan system. In Romans 1, the people who had knowledge of God followed a humanist into pagan worship within a couple of generations.
Les says God is not going to stand for America’s rejection of the Word of God unless there is a tremendous turning back to the truth of this Book. Without that, his word is plain: “We’re doomed.”
Les teaches that God “gave them up” — this is an act. When mankind deliberately turned from the true God to idols and images, God responded by giving them up to uncleanness.
Watch the Teaching: Why God "Gave Them Up" — Romans 1 & the Wrath to Come