In one of his 2021 sermons, Shadow Mountain Community Church lead pastor Dr. David Jeremiah examines how communist practices and biblical prophecy are linked, as well as what God's people may do to counter them.
Dr. Jeremiah began by examining how today's society has come to accept cancel culture as the norm.
"In our society, canceling someone is a punishment for doing something, seeing something, even thinking something that violates a set of unwritten rules currently in play throughout much of the liberal world," he said.
"These punishments are typically carried out in three stages," he continued.
"First of all, there's an attempt to publicly humiliate the person by flagrantly exposing the suppose he or she committed. And then once the person has been exposed, he or she has pushed mercilessly to confess and apologize. Whether that person has actually done anything that requires regret is irrelevant. Simply to be accused means a retraction and apology is expected... attempts are made to remove that person from public life and from all public conversation once and for all."
Dr. Jeremiah then discussed how socialism is infiltrating the United States in the second half of his sermon.
"You will hear it discussed under four different names. Some people call it socialism, communism, Marxism and Cultural Marxism. Socialism seems to hold some sort of hypnotic power over many thinkers, and it's spilling into the common culture," he said.
He then quoted a 2020 survey indicating that 40% of Americans favored socialism. This is up from 36% in 2019, with 47% of millennials and 49% of Gen Zers supporting socialism.
On why this is alarming, Dr. Jeremiah referenced the example of Hugo Chavez's socialist playbook being applied in Venezuela when he came into office. It has been claimed that Chavez has rewritten the country's constitution so that people might enjoy the so-called "free" benefits of government-provided health care as well as free university education.
On numerous critical occasions, the Supreme Court ruled against Chavez, prompting him to choose 12 more judges who were firmly in his camp - like how "court packing" works.
When Chavez was re-elected in 2006, the judiciary and the legislature were completely under his authority. He rapidly consolidated the media, erasing any dissenting voices. Venezuelan residents have had their private money and property stolen by several government institutions, all in the name of fairness and equity.
"Socialism is tailor made for the Antichrist appearance. It creates building conditions that bring great stress and trouble difficult days that will be hard to bear. And it demands a one world system of government, which scripture says will be established before the end of history," explained Dr. Jeremiah.
Further clarifying what socialism entails on the ground, he said that under socialism, the government becomes the exclusive authority and regulator of the means of production. Unfortunately, governments are often influenced by certain individuals, often those who crave authority, are greedy and selfish. As more authority is transferred to the government, the few at the top become authoritarian. This, he said, is how socialism is understood in contemporary society.
Following that, he addressed the founder of Marxism, Karl Marx, who according to his own family was possessed by a demon for making claims that "he wasn't just a hater of God; he was a cheerleader for the devil." Marx is said to have died of despair on March 14, 1883. He was buried in London's High Gate Cemetery, which is considered the heart of Satanism.
Dr. Jeremiah then added that Marx despised Christianity because he saw it as an oppressive force. To him, religion was the opium of the people, and devotion to the church had to be replaced by loyalty to the state if communism was to thrive. At one point, he characterized the church as archaic and in need of scraping.
"In spite of what many claimed believably proposed, Marxism is incompatible with the free expression of religion. I don't think you can be a Christian socialist. Christian, Marxist are things that are involved in these two understandings that are totally opposite. They contradict each other," he said.
Dr. Jeremiah contrasted them with what the Bible teaches, giving a rapid review of texts that demonstrate the socialist ideas are completely untrue. Exodus 22, Exodus 20:15, and Exodus 20:17 all uphold private property. Additionally, the Bible promotes ownership, as Proverbs 20 and Acts 4 demonstrate.
"Just because somebody in power says it's true doesn't mean it's true. What the Bible says- that's a good thing," he stressed.
