Notes

[1] Judd Greg (R-NH), interview by Greta Van Susteren, “America on Track for Economic Implosion?” Fox News, September 16, 2010, http://video.foxnews.com/v/4340596/america-on-track-for-economic-implosion/.

[2] Aaron Task, “Rubin Warns of Bond Market ‘Implosion’: U.S. in ‘Terribly Dangerous Territory,’” Yahoo News, November 17, 2010, http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/update-rubin-warns-of-bond-market-%22implosion%22-u.s.-in-%22terribly-dangerous-territory%22-535621.html?tickers=C,TBT,TLT,UUP,FXI,EWH,EWS. For more on the event itself, see the press release issued by the Concord Coalition, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/senator-kent-conrad-to-receive-concord-coalition-award-and-discuss-americas-fiscal-outlook-107269293.html.

[3] David Walker, interview by Steve Kroft, “U.S. Heading for Financial Trouble?” 60 Minutes, CBS News, March 4, 2007 (updated July 8, 2007), http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/01/60minutes/main2528226.shtml.

[4] Task.

[5] See Nicholas Ballasy, “Ryan: Debt on Track to Hit 800 Percent of GDP; ‘CBO Can’t Conceive of Any Way’ Economy Can Continue Past 2037,” CNS News, April 6, 2011, http://cnsnews.com/news/article/rep-ryan-obama-s-budget-path-do-nothing.

[6] See Dana Bash and Deidre Walsh, “Behind the Scenes: How the GOP Is Selling Its Budget Plan to Itself,” CNN, March 18, 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/17/gop.budget.plan/.

[7] Louis Jacobson, “Paul Ryan Says CBO Model of Economy Self-Destructs Due to Rising Deficits in 2037,” PolitiFact.com, March 21, 2011, http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/mar/21/paul-ryan/paul-ryan-says-cbo-model-self-destructs-due-rising/.

[8] See Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House (New York: Center Street/Hachette Book Group USA, 2007), p. 48.

[9] Ibid., p. 52.

[10] Ibid., p. 108.

[11] Winston Churchill, “Sinews of Peace,” (address to Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, March 5, 1946), http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/winstonchurchillsinewsofpeace.htm.

[12] Robin Wright, Sacred Rage (New York: Touchstone, 1985, 2001), p. 257. Bin Laden made the statement in a May 1998 interview on ABC News.

[13] Alireza Jafarzedeh, The Iran Threat (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), p. 25.

[14] Steve Stalinsky. “The Iranian Threat: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” New York Sun, February 9, 2005.

[15] “Ahmadinejad Says Israel Will Soon Disappear,” Agence France-Presse, June 2, 2008; see also, “Ahmadinejad: Iran, Japan Should Be Prepared for a World without U.S.,” Islamic Republic News Agency, June 4, 2008.

[16] “President Ahmadinejad: U.S. Collapse Imminent,” Fars News Agency, June 4, 2011, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9003143193.

[17] See “Ahmadinejad Says Israel, U.S. Will ‘Collapse’ in Near Future,” Haaretz, June 4, 2011, http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/ahmadinejad-says-israel-u-s-will-collapse-in-near-future-1.365843.

[18] “Satisfaction with the United States,” Gallup, http://www.gallup.com/poll/1669/general-mood-country.aspx.

[19] Frank Newport, “Americans’ Satisfaction at All-time Low of 9%,” Gallup, October 7, 2008, http://www.gallup.com/poll/110983/americans-satisfaction-alltime-low.aspx. Also see Gallup data: “Satisfaction with the United States,” http://www.gallup.com/poll/1669/general-mood-country.aspx.

[20] The poll was taken September 19–22, 2008. See NBC News/Wall Street Journal historical polling data at www.pollingreport.com/right.htm.

[21] The poll was taken December 11–14, 2008. See ABC News/Washington Post historical polling data at www.pollingreport.com/right.htm.

[22] Dana Blanton, “Fox News Poll: 79% Say U.S. Economy Could Collapse,” FoxNews.com, March 23, 2010, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/23/fox-news-poll-say-economy-collapse/.

[23] Specifically, 78 percent said they were dissatisfied, while 20 percent said they were satisfied. The poll was taken June 9–12, 2011. See Lydia Saad, “U.S. Satisfaction Dips to 20% in June,” Gallup, June 16, 2011, http://www.gallup.com/poll/148070/satisfaction-dips-june.aspx and Gallup historical polling data at www.pollingreport.com/right.htm.

[24] Specifically, 39 percent of Americans feared a permanent decline of the American economy in June 2011, up from just 28 percent in October 2010. The polls were taken on June 24–28, 2011, and October 21–26, 2010, respectively. See New York Times/CBS News poll, http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/213045/nytcbspoll.pdf.

[25] Specifically, 48 percent of Americans believe a Great Depression is coming. See “CNN Poll: Obama Approval Rating Drops as Fears of Depression Rise,” Political Ticker (blog), June 8, 2011, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/08/cnn-poll-obama-approval-rating-drops-as-fears-of-depression-rise/.

[26] An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll in November 2011 found that 73 percent of Americans believed the country was on the wrong track. See http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/A_Politics/November_Poll.pdf. An ABC News/Washington Post poll in September 2011 found that 77 percent of Americans believed the country was on the wrong track. Only 20 percent believed the country was on the right track. The poll was taken August 29–September 1, 2011. See “Obama’s Approval Ratings Skid to New Low; Economic Stewardship in Question,” The Washington Post, September 5, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/obamas-approval-ratings-skid-to-new-low-economic-stewardship-in-question/2011/09/05/gIQACwxH5J_graphic.html. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken in August 2011 found 73 percent of Americans believing the country was on the wrong track. See Steve Holland, “Most Americans Say U.S. on Wrong Track: Poll,” Reuters, August 10, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/10/us-usa-poll-idUSTRE7794EX20110810.

[27] See Keith Olbermann, “Beginning of the End of America,” MSNBC, October 19, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15321167/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/t/beginning-end-america/.

[28] See Glenn Beck, “Beck insists audience ‘must not allow’ health care bill to pass, warns it would mean ‘the end of America as you know it,’” video, Media Matters for America, from The Glenn Beck Program, Premiere Radio Networks, November 19, 2009, http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200911190012.

[29] Former VP Gore was speaking on threats to American democracy; see “Text of Gore Speech at Media Conference,” Associated Press, October 6, 2005, http://www.legitgov.org/transcript_gore_media_conference_071005.html. With regards to the planet facing an emergency, see Al Gore’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Oslo City Hall, December 10, 2007, http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/gore-lecture_en.html.

[30] See Charles Krauthammer, comments on Fox News All-Stars, Fox News Channel, June 8, 2011, quoted in “Krauthammer’s Take,” The Corner (blog), National Review Online, http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/269140/krauthammers-take-nro-staff.

[31] See Noel Sheppard, “Paul Krugman: The American Dream Is Dying,” NewsBusters, September 26, 2009, http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/09/26/paul-krugman-american-dream-dying#ixzz1Oj9ALtky.

[32] See Peggy Noonan, “A Separate Peace: America Is in Trouble—and Our Elites Are Merely Resigned,” Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2005, http://www.peggynoonan.com/article.php?article=289.

[33] See Chalmers Johnson, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, (New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2006), p. 71.

[34] See Thomas Sowell, Dismantling America: And Other Controversial Essays, (New York: Basic Books, Perseus Books Group, 2010), pp. vii–viii.

[35] See Cullen Murphy, Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America, (New York: Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007), p. 197.

[36] See Pat Buchanan, “Pat Puchannan: Overextended U.S. Empire Is Coming Down,” video, Real Clear Politics Video, from Morning Joe, MSNBC, July 6, 2011, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/07/06/pat_buchanan_overextended_us_empire_is_coming_down.html.

[37] See “Health Care Law Signals U.S. Empire Decline?” CNBC, March 24, 2010 http://m.cnbc.com/us_news/36013573/1.

[38] See Thomas L. Friedman, “The Earth Is Full,” New York Times, June 7, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html?_r=1.

[39] See Rick Newman, “9 Signs of America in Decline,” U.S. News & World Report, October 26, 2009, http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2009/10/26/9-signs-of-america-in-decline.

[40] See Alfred W. McCoy, “How America Will Collapse (by 2025),” Salon.com, December 6, 2010, http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/12/06/america_collapse_2025.

[41] See Fareed Zakaria, “Are America’s Best Days Behind Us?” Time, March 14, 2011, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2056610,00.html#ixzz1PNPJ3xm5.

[42] See Ray B. Williams, “Why America Is In Decline,” Psychology Today, March 13, 2011, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201103/why-america-is-in-decline.

[43] See John Barry and Tara McKelvey, “Gates Says U.S. at Risk of Losing Global Supremacy,” Newsweek, June 19, 2011, http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/06/19/the-defense-rests.print.html.

[44] Naomi Wolf. The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2007), p. 19.

[45] Ibid., pp. 1, 14, 151, 152.

[46] Mark Steyn. After America: Get Ready for Armageddon (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2011), p. 2.

[47] Ibid., p. 4.

[48] Ibid., p. 5.

[49] Ibid., pp. 6, 22. See also Steyn’s conclusion on pp. 347–349.

[50] Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World: Release 2.0 (New York: Norton, 2011), pp. 1–2.

[51] Ibid., pp. 4–5.

[52] Zakaria noted in the original edition of his book that “the Mall of America in Minnesota once boasted that it was the largest shopping mall in the world” but “today it wouldn’t make the top ten.”

[53] Ibid., p. 3.

[54] Ibid., pp. 241–242.

[55] Ibid., p. 243.

[56] The phrase “leading from behind” comes from an unidentified advisor to President Obama, quoted in New Yorker magazine. For a link to the original reference and some of the controversy ignited by the remark, see Ryan Lizza, “Leading from Behind,” New Yorker, April 27, 2011, http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/04/leading-from-behind-obama-clinton.html. See also Charles Krauthammer, “The Obama Doctrine: Leading from Behind,” Washington Post, April 28, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-obama-doctrine-leading-from-behind/2011/04/28/AFBCy18E_story.html and William Kristol, “A Leader from Behind,” Weekly Standard, May 9, 2011, http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/leader-behind_558488.html.

[57] Barack Obama, “President Barack Obama: Why I’m Optimistic,” Smithsonian, August 2010, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/President-Barack-Obama-Why-Im-Optimistic.html.

[58] Ibid.

[59] William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators: American Society at the End of the Twentieth Century (New York: Broadway Books, 1999), pp. 5–6.

[60] William J. Bennett, A Century Turns: New Hopes, New Fears (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2009), p. 275.

[61] Larry Kudlow, “Never Sell America Short,” National Review Online, September 18, 2008, http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/225720/never-sell-america-short/larry-kudlow.

[62] Larry Kudlow, “No ‘End of the World’ Stock Market Trade,” National Review Online, April 12, 2011, http://www.nationalreview.com/kudlows-money-politics/264529/no-end-world-stock-market-trade.

[63] Joseph S. Nye, “The Misleading Metaphor of Decline,” Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358704576118673650278558.html.

[64] Charles Wolf Jr., “The Facts about American ‘Decline,’” Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704415104576251292725228886.html.

[65] Walter Russell Mead, “The Future Still Belongs to America,” Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450604576419700203110180.html.

[66] See Thomas Jefferson et al., Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, transcription of the original document at the National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html.

[67] Washington Irving, George Washington: A Biography (New York: Doubleday, 1976; abridgement of original book published in five volumes from 1856 to 1859), p. 202.

[68] Ibid., p. 202.

[69] Ibid., p. 203.

[70] Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), pp. 143–144.

[71] Ibid., p. 307.

[72] Ibid., p. 156.

[73] Ibid., p. 374.

[74] Ibid., p. 347.

[75] Ibid., p. 481.

[76] Ibid., p. 673.

[77] “Gettysburg,” CWSAC Battle Summaries, Heritage Preservation Services of the National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/pa002.htm.

[78] See Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address,” November 19, 1863, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/gettyb.asp.

[79] Goodwin, p. 346.

[80] Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression (New York: Harper Perennial, 2008), p. 15.

[81] Ibid., p. xiii (timeline).

[82] Ibid., p. xiv (timeline).

[83] See “Timeline: A Selected Wall Street Chronology,” “The Crash of 1929,” American Experience, PBS, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/crash/2/; David Goldman, “Great Depression vs. ‘Great Recession,’” CNN Money, http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/recession_depression/.

[84] Goldman.

[85] Shlaes, p. 144.

[86] “The suicide rate in the United States rises when the economy slumps, and falls when economic times improve. And this has been the case at least since the Great Depression, which started with the stock market crash of 1929, the CDC says in a new study. ‘Knowing suicides increased during economic recessions and fell during expansions underscores the need for additional suicide prevention measures when the economy weakens,’ James Mercy, PhD, of the CDC’s Injury Center’s Division of Violence Prevention, says in a news release. ‘It is an important finding for policy makers and those working to prevent suicide.’ . . . The largest increase in the overall suicide rate occurred in the Great Depression of 1929–1933, surging from 18 per 100,000 people in 1928 to 22.1 per 100,000, an all-time high, in 1932, the last full year of the Great Depression. That four-year period witnessed a record increase of 22.8 percent compared to any other four-year period in U.S. history. The suicide rate fell to its lowest point in the year 2000.” Bill Hendrick, “Suicides Go Up When Economy Goes Down,” WebMD, April 14, 2011, http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20110414/suicides-go-up-when-economy-goes-down.

[87] Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “First Inaugural Address,” March 4, 1933, http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres49.html.

[88] Shlaes, p. 392.

[89] See online historical charts for the Dow, including Yahoo! Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ta?s=%5EDJI&t=my&l=on&z=l&q=l&p=&a=&c= and StockCharts.com, http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/historical/djia1900.html.

[90] William Grimes, “Christopher Lasch Is Dead at 61; Wrote about America’s Malaise,” New York Times, February 15, 1994, http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/15/obituaries/christopher-lasch-is-dead-at-61-wrote-about-america-s-malaise.html.

[91] Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1979), p. xiii.

[92] Ibid., pp. 3–4.

[93] Kevin Mattson, “What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?”: Jimmy Carter, America’s “Malaise,” and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country (New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2009); Steven Hayward, The Real Jimmy Carter (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2004); and Jonathan V. Last, “Malaise Forever: A Review of The Real Jimmy Carter,” Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2005, http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.977/article_detail.asp.

[94] Jimmy Carter, “Crisis of Confidence,” nationally televised address, July 15, 1979, transcript at “Primary Resources,” American Experience, PBS, 2002, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/carter-crisis/.

[95] Jimmy Carter, “Report to the American People on Energy,” nationally televised address, February 2, 1977, transcript at Miller Center, University of Virginia, http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3396.

[96] Carlos Lozada, review of Kevin Mattson, “What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?” Washington Post, July 10, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/10/AR2009071002343.html.

[97] Ronald Reagan, An American Life: The Autobiography (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990), p. 227.

[98] Dinesh D’Souza, Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader (New York: Free Press, 1997), p. 89.

[99] See Table 5.24, “Retail Motor Gasoline and On-Highway Diesel Fuel Prices, 1949-2009,” U.S. Energy Information Agency, http://www.eia.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0524.html.

[100] See Jad Mouawad, “Oil Prices Pass Record Set in ’80s, but Then Recede,” New York Times, March 3, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/worldbusiness/03cnd-oil.html/.

[101] Robert D. Hershey Jr., “How the Oil Glut Is Changing Business,” New York Times, June 21, 1981, http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/21/business/how-the-oil-glut-is-changing-business.html.

[102] “Ronald Reagan TV Ad: ‘It’s morning in America again,’” YouTube video, posted by “avmorgado,” November 12, 2006, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-IBF8nwSY; text of the ad available at Wikipedia, s.v. “Morning in America,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_in_America. (Sites last accessed January 12, 2012.)

[103] Reagan, An American Life, p. 317.

[104] D’Souza, p. 110.

[105] Ibid.

[106] Ronald Reagan, “Radio Address to the Nation on Proposed Natural Gas Deregulation Legislation,” February 26, 1983; see transcript at The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40982#ixzz1VExHr0rg.

[107] For more on this important topic, I would recommend an excellent resource: John F. Walvoord, Every Prophecy of the Bible (David C. Cook, 1990, 1999, 2011). Walvoord was one of the most respected scholars of prophecy in the twentieth century. Before his passing in 2002, Walvoord served on the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) for half a century. He was the president of DTS from 1952 to 1986, and he later served as chancellor.

[108] Survey for Joel C. Rosenberg, “American Attitudes toward Bible Prophecy,” National Omnibus Survey, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates on February 13, 2006, of 1,000 likely voters. Margin of error +/- 3 percent. For detailed survey results, see Joel C. Rosenberg, Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006), Appendix 2, pp. 303–305.

[109] See “WWI Casualties and Death Tables,” resource for The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, PBS, http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html.

[110] The 46-million figure comes from British historian Martin Gilbert, though he himself acknowledges the number could be significantly higher. See Martin Gilbert, The Second World War: A Complete History (New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1989), p. 746. American historian Gerhard L. Weinberg believes the number of total deaths worldwide was at least 60 million. See Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 894.

[111] See “Historic World Earthquakes,” U.S. Geological Survey, accessed September 2, 2011, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/historical_mag_big.php.

[112] See “Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths,” U.S. Geological Survey, accessed September 2, 2011, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/most_destructive.php.

[113] See “Historic World Earthquakes,” U.S. Geological Survey.

[114] The deadliest quake in all of recorded human history occurred in AD 1556 in China. See “Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths,” U.S. Geological Survey.

[115] See “Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths,” U.S. Geological Survey.

[116] Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House (New York: Center Street/Hachette Book Group USA, 2007), p. vii.

[117] The JESUS Film Project, “History,” accessed on September 1, 2011, http://www.jesusfilm.org/aboutus/history.

[118] See Lawrence O’Donnell, The Last Word, video segment discussing Glenn Beck and the End Times, March 17, 2011, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42141858#42141858 and Jonathon M. Seidl, “Wacky MSNBC Segment: Lawrence O’Donnell Begs for Viewers While Blasting Beck & Bible,” The Blaze website, March 18, 2011, http://www.theblaze.com/stories/wacky-msnbc-segment-lawrence-odonnell-begs-for-viewers-while-blasting-beck-god/.

[119] Gershom Gorenberg, The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount (New York: The Free Press, 2000, updated by Oxford University Press in 2002), pp. 1–4, 223.

[120] Bill Moyers, On Receiving Harvard Medical School’s Global Environmental Citizen Award,” speech, Harvard University Center for Health and the Global Environment, New York City, December 1, 2004, http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1206-10.htm.

[121] Kevin Phillips, American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century (New York: Viking Books, 2006), pp. vii, 252.

[122] Nicholas Guyatt, Have a Nice Doomsday: Why Millions of Americans Are Looking Forward to the End of the World (New York: Harper Perennial, 2007), p. 63.

[123] Ibid., pp. 18, 91–92.

[124] Clark Clifford (with Richard Holbrooke), Counsel to the President: A Memoir (New York: Random House, 1991), p. 3.

[125] Ibid., p. 3.

[126] Ibid., p. 4.

[127] Ibid.

[128] Ibid., p. 5.

[129] Ibid., p. 10.

[130] Ibid., pp. 10–14.

[131] Ibid., p. 14.

[132] For example, in his 1997 book, Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers), Michael T. Benson of the University of Utah wrote, “The role President Truman may or may not have played in lining up votes supporting partition is still a matter of considerable controversy. Even vocal critics of Truman’s alleged ‘arm-twisting’ concede that if the president did give the order to step up lobbying efforts days before the U.N. vote, no records of such an injunction can be found anywhere” (p. 105).

[133] David McCullough, Truman (New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1992), pp. 601–602.

[134] McCullough wrote, “It was in late 1947, on Saturday, November 29, over the Thanksgiving weekend, that the United Nations, at the end of a dramatic two-and-a-half-hour session, voted for partition by a narrow margin, the United States taking a lead part behind the scenes to see the measure through. . . . Eddie Jacobson recorded in telegraphic style his own chronicle of the unfolding drama: ‘Nov. 6th—Wash.—Pres. still going all out for Palestine. Nov. 17th—Again to White House. . . . Wed., 26—Received call from White House—everything O.K. Nov. 27—Thanksgiving. Sent two-page wire to Truman. Friday, received call from his secretary . . . not to worry. Nov. 29th—Mission accomplished.’ Truman, Jacobson noted, had told him that ‘he [Truman] and he alone was responsible for swinging the votes of several delegations’” (pp. 601–602).

[135] For more details on the Partition Plan, including the full text of the resolution and the list of countries voting for and against, see the website of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/UN%20General%20Assembly%20Resolution%20181.

[136] Clifford and Holbrooke, p. 15.

[137] Ibid., p. 22.

[138] Truman gave this speech to the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in March 1952. The speech was cited by Samuel W. Rushay Jr., “Harry Truman’s History Lessons,” Prologue, Spring 2009, http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2009/spring/truman-history.html.

[139] Billy Graham, Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham (New York: HarperCollins, 1997). See the introduction for Graham’s description of President Truman.

[140] Clifford and Holbrooke, pp. 7–8.

[141] Benjamin Netanyahu, “Address at Auschwitz Death Camp,” January 27, 2010; see transcript at Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2010/Address_PM_Netanyahu_at_Auschwitz_27-Jan-2010.htm.

[142] Tim LaHaye, Understanding Bible Prophecy for Yourself (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), p. 94.

[143] Thomas Ice, “Imminence and the Rapture: Part I,” accessed December 29, 2011, http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Ice-%28Part1%29ImminenceandT.pdf. As part of his definition, Ice cited Gerald B. Stanton, Kept from the Hour: Biblical Evidence for the Pretribulational Return of Christ, 4th edition (Miami Springs, FL: Schoettle Publishing Co., [1956], 1991), p. 108.

[144] Justin Berton, “Biblical Scholar’s Date for Rapture: May 21, 2011,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 1, 2010, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/01/BA8V1AV589.DTL&type=printable; see also Guy Adams, “U.S. Preacher Warns End of the World Is Nigh: 21 May, around 6 p.m., to Be Precise,” Independent, March 27, 2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-preacher-warns-end-of-the-world-is-nigh-21-may-around-6pm-to-be-precise-2254139.html.

[145] Jay Kernis, “Camping Prepares for Judgment Day,” In the Arena (blog), CNN, May 17, 2011, http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/17/harold-camping-prepares-for-judgment-day-may-21-2011/.

[146] See Annalyn Censky, “Doomsday Church: Still Open for Business,” CNN Money, May 19, 2011, http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/19/news/economy/may-21-end-of-the-world-finances-harold-camping/index.htm.

[147] Jesse McKinley, “An Autumn Date for the Apocalypse,” New York Times, May 23, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24rapture.html?_r=1.

[148] See David Morgan, “Rapture Predictor Harold Camping Suffers Stroke,” CBS News, June 13, 2011, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/13/national/main20070762.shtml; see also Angela Woodall, “Doomsday Herald Harold Camping’s Radio Show Goes Off the Air at the End of the Month,” Oakland Tribune, June 23, 2011, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2738817/posts.

[149] Harold Camping, 1994? (New York: Vantage Press, 1992), p. 532.

[150] Edgar C. Whisenant, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 (Nashville: World Bible Society, 1988), p. 3.

[151] Ibid., pp. 48, 50.

[152] Ibid., p. 69.

[153] Edgar Whisenant and Greg Brewer, The Final Shout: Rapture Report 1989 (Nashville: World Bible Society, 1989), p. ii.

[154] Ibid., p. 1.

[155] Hal Lindsey and C. C. Carlson, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), p. 54.

[156] Hal Lindsey, The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon (New York: Bantam Books, 1982), p. i.

[157] See Gary Wilburn, “The Doomsday Chic,” Christianity Today, January 27, 1978.

[158] Hal Lindsey, Planet Earth 2000 A.D.: Will Mankind Survive? (Palos Verdes: Western Front Ltd, 1994, 1996), sixth page of his unnumbered introduction.

[159] Ibid., pp. 307–308.

[160] For more details on the prophecies of Ezekiel 38–39, including historical research that helps us identify Russia as Magog and the modern-day identity of Russia’s allies, please see my book Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006).

[161] The nation of India is also mentioned twice in the Bible (in Esther 1:1 and Esther 8:9, in defining the size and scope of the ancient Persian Empire under King Ahasuerus), though not in the context of Bible prophecy.

[162] E. G. White, America in Prophecy (Jemison, AL: Inspiration Books East, Inc., 1888, republished in 1988), pp. 410–411.

[163] Herbert W. Armstrong, The United States and Britain in Prophecy (Worldwide Church of God, 1942), pp. 3–4.

[164] S. Franklin Logsdon, Is the U.S.A. in Prophecy? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1968), pp. 11, 13.

[165] Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, The Truth about America in the Last Days (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1998), p. 9.

[166] David R. Reagan, America the Beautiful? The United States in Bible Prophecy (McKinney, TX: Lamb & Lion Ministries, 2003, 2006, 2009), pp. 76–78.

[167] Michael D. Evans, The American Prophecies: Ancient Scriptures Reveal Our Nation’s Future (New York: Warner Faith, 2004), p. 5.

[168] Terry James, The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible Prophecy? (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), p. 19.

[169] Mark Hitchcock, The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals about America’s Last Days (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2009).

[170] David Wilkerson, America’s Last Call (Lindale, TX: Wilkerson Trust Publications, 1998), p. 17.

[171] A. P. Watchman, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Imminent Judgment of Babylon America (Xulon Press, 2010), pp. 246, 268.

[172] Hitchcock, The Late Great United States, p. 15.

[173] Jeffrey Gettleman, “Babylon Awaits an Iraq Without Fighting,” New York Times, April 18, 2006.

[174] Ali Abdul Ameer Allawi (Iraqi finance minister), interview with the author, April 26, 2006.

[175] Joel C. Rosenberg, “U.S. to Help Rebuild City of Babylon in Iraq,” Flash Traffic (blog), February 14, 2009, http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/14/us-to-help-rebuild-city-of-babylon-in-iraq/. See also Khalid al-Ansary, “Babylon’s Future Written in its Ruins,” Reuters, February 11, 2009, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/02/11/us-iraq-babylon-idUKTRE51A0MM20090211.

[176] See Steven Lee Myers, “A Triage to Save the Ruins of Babylon,” New York Times, January 2, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/arts/03babylon.html?_r=2; Joel C. Rosenberg, “Iraqi Efforts to Rebuild Babylon & Draw Tourists to Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel’s Tomb Focus of New York Times Article, Videos This Week,” Flash Traffic (blog), January 6, 2011, http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/iraqi-efforts-rebuild-babylon-draw-tourists-to-hebrew-prophet-ezekiels-tomb-focus-of-new-york-times-articles-videos-this-week/.

[177] Myers, “A Triage to Save the Ruins of Babylon.” See also Steven Lee Myers, Stephen Farrell, Shiho Fukada, “A Tour of Iraq’s Ancient Sites,” New York Times, January 2, 2011, http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/a-tour-of-iraqs-ancient-sites/?ref=arts.

[178] For more detail on why some authors and teachers have argued these points and why they are incorrect, I recommend Mark Hitchcock, The Late Great United States (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2009), pp. 11–33.

[179] Dana Blanton, “Fox News Poll: 79% Say U.S. Economy Could Collapse,” FoxNews.com, March 23, 2010, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/23/fox-news-poll-say-economy-collapse/.

[180] Specifically, 48 percent of Americans believe a Great Depression is coming. See “CNN Poll: Obama Approval Rating Drops as Fears of Depression Rise,” Political Ticker (blog), June 8, 2011, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/08/cnn-poll-obama-approval-rating-drops-as-fears-of-depression-rise/.

[181] See Steve Holland, “Most Americans Say U.S. on Wrong Track: Poll,” Reuters, August 10, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/10/us-usa-poll-idUSTRE7794EX20110810.

[182] See Ciera Lundgren, “Bowles: ‘These Deficits Are Like a Cancer,’” CBS News, September 13, 2011, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20105714-503544.html; see also Dan Balz, “Obama’s Debt Commission Warns of Fiscal ‘Cancer,’” Washington Post, July 12, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/11/AR2010071101956.html.

[183] Michael Crowley, “Deficit Dilemma: Will Washington Finally Tackle the Sacred Cows?,” Time, December 2, 2010, http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2034358,00.html#ixzz1Xw37VXIh.

[184] Testimony of Professor Simon Johnson to the Senate Budget Committee, February 9, 2010, http://baselinescenario.com/2010/02/09/revised-baseline-scenario-february-9-2010/.

[185] Nouriel Roubini, “A Presidency Heading for a Fiscal Train Wreck,” Financial Times, October 28, 2010, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/dd140d16-e2c2-11df-8a58-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1XJFgtU82; see also “U.S. On Track for ‘Fiscal Train Wreck’: Roubini,” Reuters, October 29, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/29/us-roubini-idUSTRE69S0ZJ20101029.

[186] Testimony of Alice Rivlin to the Senate Budget Committee, March 15, 2011, http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2011/0315_senate_budget_rivlin.aspx.

[187] Stuart Butler, et al, “Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity,” The Heritage Foundation, Special Report #91, May 10, 2011, http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/05/Saving-the-American-Dream-The-Heritage-Plan-to-Fix-the-Debt-Cut-Spending-and-Restore-Prosperity.

[188] Paul Ryan, interview by Evan Harris, “Rep. Paul Ryan on Budget Work: ‘I Sleep Well at Night,’” ABC News, April 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/rep-paul-ryan-budget-work-sleep-night/story?id=13499775.

[189] David Brody, “Speaker Boehner to NRB Tonight: National Debt Is a ‘Moral Threat’ to America,” The Brody File (blog), CBN News, February 27, 2011, http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2011/02/27/speaker-boehner-to-nrb-tonight-national-debt-is-a-moral.aspx.

[190] “Employment Situation Summary,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, September 2, 2011, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm.

[191] Dan Levy and Prashant Gopal, “Foreclosure Filings in U.S. May Jump 20% from Record 2010 As Crisis Peaks,” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/u-s-foreclosure-filings-may-jump-20-this-year-as-crisis-peaks.html.

[192] Les Christie, “Foreclosures Up a Record 81% in 2008,” CNN Money, January 15, 2009, http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/15/real_estate/millions_in_foreclosure/index.htm.

[193] Lynn Adler, “U.S. 2009 Foreclosures Shatter Record despite Aid,” Reuters, January 14, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/01/14/us-usa-housing-foreclosures-idUSTRE60D0LZ20100114.

[194] Corbett B. Daly, “Home Foreclosures in 2010 Top 1 Million for First Time,” Reuters, January 13, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/13/us-usa-housing-foreclosures-idUSTRE70C0YD20110113.

[195] Leah Schnurr, “Foreclosure Filings Hit Four-Year Low in 2011,” Reuters, January 12, 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/us-usa-housing-realtytrac-idUSTRE80B08H20120112.

[196] John Gittelsohn and Kathleen M. Howley, “U.S. Home Prices Face 3-Year Drop as Inventory Surge Looms,” Bloomberg, September 15, 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-15/u-s-home-prices-face-three-year-drop-as-inventory-surge-looms.html.

[197] Floyd Norris, “For Home Prices, It’s Back to At Least 2004,” New York Times, July 1, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/business/02charts.html.

[198] Charles Riley, “Fed: Household Down 23% in 2 Years,” CNN Money, March 28, 2011, http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/24/pf/financial_crisis_outcome/index.htm.

[199] See chart, “Annual Business and Non-business Filings by Year (1980–2009),” American Bankruptcy Institute, http://www.abiworld.org/AM/AMTemplate.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=63164&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm; also, John Hartgen, “Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase 9 Percent in 2010,” American Bankruptcy Institute, January 3, 2011, http://www.abiworld.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=62756.

[200] Richard McCormack, “The Plight of American Manufacturing,” The American Prospect, December 21, 2009, http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_plight_of_american_manufacturing.

[201] Blake Ellis, “Food Stamp Use Rises to Record 45.8 Million,” CNN Money, August 4, 2011, http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/04/pf/food_stamps_record_high/index.htm.

[202] See Office of Management and Budget, “Fiscal Year 2012 Historical Tables: Budget of the U.S. Government,” p. 5, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf.

[203] Ibid.

[204] Ibid., p. 22.

[205] See Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020, January 2010, Table F-1, “Historical Budget Data: Revenues, Outlays, Deficits, Surpluses, and Debt Held by the Public, 1970 to 2009, in Billions of Dollars,” http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/AppendixF.shtml#1096834.

[206] Ibid., Table F-2, “Revenues, Outlays, Deficits, Surpluses, and Debt Held by the Public, 1970 to 2009, as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product.”

[207] Ibid., Table F-1.

[208] Ibid., Table F-2.

[209] Cited by Katrina Trinko, “Obama: Not Always a Fan of Upping Debt Ceiling,” National Review Online, January 3, 2011, http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/256199/obama-not-always-fan-upping-debt-ceiling-katrina-trinko.

[210] See Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook, Table F-1, http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/AppendixF.shtml#1096834.

[211] See “Debt Position and Activity Report,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, November 30, 2011, http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debtposactrpt_1111.pdf.

[212] See Patrick Tyrrell, “U.S. Debt Now Surpasses 2010 GDP,” The Foundry (blog), Heritage Foundation, August 5, 2011, http://blog.heritage.org/2011/08/05/us-debt-now-surpasses-2010-gdp/; see also “U.S. Debt Reaches 100 Percent of Country’s GDP,” FoxNews.com, August 4, 2011, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/04/us-debt-reaches-100-percent-countrys-gdp/.

[213] Andrew Malcolm, “New National Debt Data: It’s Growing about $3 Million a Minute, Even During His Vacation,” Top of the Ticket (blog), Los Angeles Times, August 23, 2011, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/08/obama-national-debt.html.

[214] One trillion seconds is 31,688 years; see “Billions & Trillions,” DefeatTheDebt.com, Employment Policies Institute, http://www.defeatthedebt.com/understanding-the-national-debt/millions-billions-trillions/.

[215] Ibid.

[216] Ibid. There are about 500 billion stars in the Milky Way; see April Holladay, “Seeing the Milky Way and Counting Its Stars,” January 2, 2006, USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-01-02-milky-way_x.htm.

[217] Ibid.

[218] Ibid.

[219] See Paul Ryan, “The Democrats’ Spending Spree,” House Budget Committee fact sheet, February 3, 2011, http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/spendingspree.pdf.

[220] See Paul Wiseman, “U.S. Downgrade Raises Anxiety, If Not Interest Rates,” Associated Press, August 6, 2011; see also George E. Condon Jr., “What a Week: Afghan Deaths, S&P, and Debt Limit Debate Challenge Obama,” National Journal, August 6, 2011, http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/what-a-week-afghan-deaths-s-p-and-debt-limit-debate-challenge-obama-20110806.

[221] Zachary A. Goldfarb, “S&P Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating for First Time,” Washington Post, August 5, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sandp-considering-first-downgrade-of-us-credit-rating/2011/08/05/gIQAqKeIxI_story.html.

[222] Ashe Schow, “Our Debt Has Reached 100% of GDP,” Heritage Action (blog), Heritage Action for America, August 4, 2011, http://heritageaction.com/2011/08/our-debt-has-reached-100-of-gdp/.

[223] See Congressional Budget Office, Federal Debt and Interest Costs: A CBO Study, December 2010, p. 20, http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/119xx/doc11999/12-14-FederalDebt.pdf; see also Brian Riedl, “CBO Baseline Shows Staggering Debt,” National Review Online, January 26, 2011, http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258115/cbo-baseline-shows-staggering-debt-brian-riedl; see also Paul Ryan’s comments on ABC News: “Look at these numbers. We are going to have a $25 trillion dollar debt in ten years.” Jonathan Karl and Gregory Simmons, “ABC News Exclusive: eet the Budget Boss, Rep. Paul Ryan,” ABC News, January 26,2011, http://paulryan.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=221696.

[224] Paul Ryan, “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” House Budget Committee, introduction, http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/Plan/#Intro.

[225] Ibid.

[226] These statistics come from the Board of Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds. See Wade Dokken, New Century, New Deal: How to Turn Your Wages into Wealth through Social Security Choice (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2000), p. 62.

[227] “Abortion Statistics: United States Data and Trends,” National Right to Life, January 27, 2011, http://www.nrlc.org/Factsheets/FS03_AbortionInTheUS.pdf.

[228] See “Combined OASDI Trust Funds,” Congressional Budget Office fact sheet, March 2010, http://www.cbo.gov/budget/factsheets/2010b/OASDI-TrustFunds.pdf. For more, see “A Summary of the 2011 Annual Reports,” Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html.

[229] Stuart Butler et al., “Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity,” The Heritage Foundation, Special Report #91, May 10, 2011, chart 2, “Hiking Taxes to Pay for Entitlements Would Require Doubling Tax Rates,” http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/05/Saving-the-American-Dream-The-Heritage-Plan-to-Fix-the-Debt-Cut-Spending-and-Restore-Prosperity.

[230] Ibid.

[231] Ryan, “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” introduction, http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/Plan/#Intro.

[232] Ryan, “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” “Reforming the Budget Process” section, http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/Plan/#budgetreform.

[233] See Butler et al., “Saving the American Dream.” The Heritage Plan quotes CBO projections extensively.

[234] J. T. Young, “The Road to Greece,” Barron’s, January 22, 2011, http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970203676504575618561763058500.html.

[235] Ibid.

[236] Ibid.

[237] Cited by James Pethokoukis, “So How Goes Bin Laden’s War on the U.S. Economy?” U.S. News & World Report, September 11, 2007.

[238] Ibid.

[239] Cited by Randall B. Hamud, Osama bin Laden: America’s Enemy in His Own Words, (San Diego, CA: Nadeem Publishing, 2005), pp. 163–164.

[240] Cited in “Ahmadinejad: Doom Will Befall U.S. Economy,” Press TV, April 23, 2008.

[241] Cited in “Iran Threatens to Close Strait of Hormuz if Attacked,” MEMRI, Special Dispatch #2029, August 19, 2008.

[242] I first heard these five vital interests defined clearly and effectively when I worked at the Heritage Foundation in the early 1990s. I’m grateful to my Heritage mentors on national security: Edwin Feulner Jr., Burton Yale Pines, Kim Holmes, and Jim Phillips. Along these lines, I would commend to your attention the following recent Heritage report outlining threats against the U.S. and how best to defend against them—“A Strong National Defense: The Armed Forces America Needs and What They Will Cost,” April 5, 2011, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/04/a-strong-national-defense-the-armed-forces-america-needs-and-what-they-will-cost.

[243] “Putin Threatens to Aim Rockets at U.S. Bases,” Associated Press, February 14, 2008, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23162722/ns/world_news-europe/t/putin-threatens-aim-rockets-us-bases/.

[244] Alena Chechel et al., “Putin Denounces American Parasite While Russia Increases Treasuries 1,600%,” Bloomberg, August 19, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-18/putin-slams-u-s-parasite-after-1-600-jump-in-russia-holdings.html.

[245] For more details, see my book Epicenter (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006, 2008).

[246] Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev famously vowed to the American people, “We will bury you.” For more details, see the Pulitzer Prize–winning book by William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004).

[247] For more, see “Modernisation in Sheep’s Clothing,” Banyan (blog), The Economist, August 26, 2011, http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/08/chinas-military-power.

[248] See Miles Yu, “Inside China: Spy Chief on Chinese Threat,” Washington Times, June 8, 2011, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/8/inside-china-408425229/.

[249] Patrick Tyler, “As China Threatens Taiwan, It Makes Sure U.S. Listens,” New York Times, January 24, 1996, http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/24/world/as-china-threatens-taiwan-it-makes-sure-us-listens.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm.

[250] Joseph Kahn, “Chinese General Threatens Use of A-Bombs If U.S. Intrudes,” New York Times, July 15, 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/international/asia/15china.html.

[251] For more details on the Iranian threat, see my book Inside the Revolution (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2009).

[252] “Tehran Threatens West with Homicide Attacks,” Fox News, April 16, 2006, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191910,00.html. Marie Colvin et al., “Iran Suicide Bombers ‘Ready to Hit Britain,’” The Sunday Times of London, April 16, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article706132.ece. “Iran: We Have 70,000 Suicide Bombers Ready to Strike Israel,” Associated Press, January 5, 2009, http://www.haaretz.com/news/iran-we-have-70-000-suicide-bombers-ready-to-strike-israel-1.267497.

[253] John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (New York: Gallup Press, 2008), pp. x–xi.

[254] According to a 2007 Pew Research Center poll, 28 percent of Egyptian Muslims say they believe suicide bombings against civilian targets are sometimes or often justified; 17 percent of Turkish Muslims agree, along with 10 percent of Indonesian Muslims, 14 percent of Pakistani Muslims, 29 percent of Jordanian Muslims, and 46 percent of Nigerian Muslims. See Andrew Kohut, “Muslims in America: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream,” Pew Research Center, May 22, 2007, http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-americans.pdf, accessed June 24, 2008.

[255] George Tenet, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA (New York: Harper Collins, 2007), p. 260, citing a Time article from December 24, 1998.

[256] Ibid., p. 269.

[257] See Sheikh Nasir bin Hamd al-Fahd, “A Treatise on the Legal Status of Using Weapons of Mass Destruction Against the Infidels,” May 1, 2003; cited by Tenet, p. 274.

[258] Tenet, pp. 259–260.

[259] Porter Goss, interview with the author, February 12, 2008.

[260] “Mullen: Debt Is Top National Security Issue,” CNN, August 27, 2010, http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-27/us/debt.security.mullen_1_pentagon-budget-national-debt-michael-mullen?_s=PM:US.

[261] See Elizabeth MacDonald, “U.S. Debt a National Security Issue,” Fox Business, October 11, 2010, http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/10/11/debt-national-security-issue/.

[262] See “Some Republicans Press for End to Afghan War after bin Laden’s Death,” FoxNews.com, May 24, 2011, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/24/republicans-press-end-afghan-war-bin-ladens-death/; see also Josh Rogin, “Grover Norquist Calls for Discussion on Right about Leaving Afghanistan,” Foreign Policy, January 12, 2011, http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/12/grover_norquist_calls_for_discussion_on_right_about_leaving_afghanistan.

[263] John McCain, interview by Chris Wallace, “9/11, Then and Now,” Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Fox News, September 11, 2011, http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/2011/09/11/fox-news-sunday-911-then-and-now#ixzz1XyNsV8rt.

[264] Eric S. Blake et al., “The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones from 1851 to 2010,” NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-6, National Weather Service/National Hurricane Center, August 2011, p. 9, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/nws-nhc-6.pdf.

[265] “2011 Record Year for Weather Disasters,” UPI, August 19, 2011, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/19/2011-record-year-for-weather-disasters/UPI-57581313783153/.

[266] Marty Roney and Carolyn Pesce, “Dozens of Tornadoes Kill At Least 297 People in South,” USA Today, April 29, 2011, http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2011-04-28-deadly-tornado-south_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip.

[267] See “Worst Fires on Record Ravage Texas,” Voice of America, September 7, 2011, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Worst-Fires-on-Record-Ravage-Texas-129366213.html; see also “Worst Drought in Texas History Ravages Crops, Livestock,” PBS NewsHour, August 31, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec11/texasdrought_08-31.html.

[268] Katharine Q. Seeyle, “Above All Else, Eastern Quake Rattles Nerves,” New York Times, August 23, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24quake.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all.

[269] John Wesley, “The Cause and Cure of Earthquakes,” first published in 1750, included in a series of sermons of John Wesley posted on the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church website, http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/129/.

[270] “Rare 5.8-Magnitude Earthquake Jolts East Coast, Causing Various Disruptions,” PBS NewsHour, August 23, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/08/rare-59-earthquake-jolts-virginia.html.

[271] Ker Than, “Rare Earthquake Hits Virginia, Rattles U.S. East Coast,” National Geographic, August 23, 2011, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110824-earthquakes-today-washington-dc-richmond-virginia-science/.

[272] Ibid.

[273] Kirk Johnson, “Rare Strong Earthquake Hits Colorado,” New York Times, August 23, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24earthquake.html?_r=1&hpw.

[274] Ben Tracy, “Haiti Revives Fears of ‘Big One’ in Calif.,” CBS News, January 14, 2010, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/14/eveningnews/main6097974.shtml.

[275] William M. Welch et al., “Chilean Earthquake Hints at Dangers of ‘Big One’ for USA,” USA Today, March 1, 2010, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-03-01-chile-quake-lessons_N.htm.

[276] For more on the 1906 San Francisco quake, see “The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake,” U.S. Geological Survey website, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/.

[277] Wayne R. Thatcher, Peter L. Ward, David J. Wald, James W. Hendley II, and Peter H. Stauffer, “When Will the Next Great Quake Strike Northern California?” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 094-96, http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1996/fs094-96/.

[278] Ibid.

[279] “Significant Earthquakes and Faults: Northridge Earthquake,” Southern California Earthquake Data Center, California Insititute of Technology, http://www.data.scec.org/significant/northridge1994.html.

[280] “Forecasting California’s Earthquakes—What Can We Expect in the Next Thirty Years?,” U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet 2008-3027, 2008, http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3027/fs2008-3027.pdf.

[281] John Roach, “‘Supercities’ Vulnerable to Killer Quakes, Expert Warns,” National Geographic, May 2, 2003, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0502_030502_killerquakes.html.

[282] Ibid.

[283] Ibid.

[284] Stefan Lovgren, “Tsunamis More Likely to Hit U.S. than Asia,” National Geographic, January 3, 2005, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/66796484.html.

[285] Ibid.

[286] Ibid.

[287] “Hurricane Irene Kills 10, Prompts Largest Mass Evacuation in U.S. History,” Haaretz/Reuters, August 28, 2011, http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/hurricane-irene-kills-10-prompts-largest-mass-evacuation-in-u-s-history-1.381123.

[288] “Over 5 Million Still without Power after Irene: DOE,” Reuters, August 29, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/us-storm-irene-outage-idUSTRE77S5TQ20110829.

[289] Michael Cooper, “Hurricane Cost Seen as Ranking among Top Ten,” New York Times, August 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/us/31floods.html?pagewanted=all.

[290] Mike Wall, “Hurricane Irene vs. Hurricane Katrina: How They Stack Up,” Live Science, August 29, 2011, http://www.livescience.com/15813-hurricane-katrina-irene-comparison.html.

[291] Nate Silver, “A New York Hurricane Could Be a Multibillion-Dollar Disaster,” FiveThirtyEight (blog), New York Times, August 26, 2011, http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/new-york-hurricane-could-be-multibillion-dollar-catastrophe/.

[292] Ibid.

[293] Ibid.

[294] Ibid.

[295] Ibid.

[296] Eric Blake et al., pp. 7, 9.

[297] Ibid., p. 6.

[298] Wall.

[299] Robert Lee Holtz, “Northern Landfall Puts Storm on Map,” Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903352704576536790143615646.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories.

[300] Ibid.

[301] See “Explore Mount St. Helens” history page, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mountsthelens/home/?cid=stelprdb5199437.

[302] “Economic Impact of the May 18, 1980 Eruption,” U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet, http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/May18/description_economic_impact.html.

[303] Natalie Wolchover, “Keeping an Eye on Yellowstone’s Supervolcano,” MSNBC, June 8, 2011, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43329798/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/keeping-eye-yellowstones-supervolcano/.

[304] Daniel Bates, “Could Yellowstone National Park’s Caldera Super-Volcano Be Close to Eruption?” Daily Mail, January 25, 2011, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1350340/Super-volcano-Yellowstones-National-Park-soon-erupt.html.

[305] See “Supervolcano Docudrama on Yellowstone Volcano—Questions and Answers on Supervolcanoes, Volcanic Hazards,” Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey, http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2005/docudrama.php.

[306] See “Steam Explosions, Earthquakes, and Volcanic Eruptions—What’s in Yellowstone’s Future?” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2005-3024, 2005, http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3024/.

[307] See Strong’s Concordance, harpazō s.v., http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G726&t=KJV.

[308] Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice, The Truth Behind Left Behind, (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), pp. 22–23.

[309] For updated total population, see U.S. Population Clock, created by the U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html. For the figure 234 million people age 18 or older, see latest U.S. Census figures (2010) in U.S. Department of Commerce, “Age and Sex Composition: 2010,” May 2011, http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf.

[310] William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators: American Society at the End of the Twentieth Century (New York: WaterBrook Press, 1999), p. 4.

[311] See Steven Ertelt, “New Zogby Poll: Americans Are Pro-Life on Numerous Abortion Issues,” LifeNews.com, March 22, 2006, http://www.lifenews.com/2006/03/22/nat-2164/.

[312] See Lydia Saad, “Doctor-Assisted Suicide Is Moral Issue Dividing Americans Most: Pornography, Gay Relations Produce Biggest Generational Gaps,” Gallup, May 31, 2011, http://www.gallup.com/poll/147842/Doctor-Assisted-Suicide-Moral-Issue-Dividing-Americans.aspx. See also Steven Ertelt, “New Poll: 55% of Americans Say Abortion Morally Wrong,” LifeNews.com, August 26, 2011, http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/26/new-poll-55-of-americans-say-abortion-morally-wrong/.

[313] “Abortion Statistics: United States Data and Trends,” National Right to Life, January 27, 2011, http://www.nrlc.org/Factsheets/FS03_AbortionInTheUS.pdf.

[314] Saad.

[315] Jerry Ropelato, “Internet Pornography Statistics,” Internet Filter Software Reviews, http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics-pg2.html.

[316] Ibid.

[317] Saad.

[318] “Estimated Crime in the United States—Total,” Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeStatebyState.cfm. It should be noted that the number of forcible rapes in the U.S. peaked in the early- to mid-1990s, hitting a high of 109,062 in 1992 and remaining over 100,000 per year until 1994.

[319] As of June 17, 2011, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children listed 739,853 sexual predators in the U.S.; see “Map of Registered Sex Offenders in the United States,” http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/sex-offender-map.pdf. This is up from 603,000 in 2007. See John Gramlich, “The Ever-Growing Sex Offender Registry,” Stateline, April 12, 2010, http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=476264.

[320] Some have expressed that caution should be used in assessing the true number of sexual offenders and predators, as there are cases of people who might not truly qualify but end up on the list anyway. Experts and government officials should be extremely careful to make sure no one is put on such a national registry for reasons other than convictions of sexual crimes. Still, few question that we have seen an epidemic of sexual crimes over the past few decades.

[321] “Sex Offenders Getting Younger, More Violent,” Associated Press, June 9, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19143411/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/sex-offenders-getting-younger-more-violent/.

[322] Ibid.

[323] Frank Newport, “For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage,” Gallup, May 20, 2011, http://www.gallup.com/poll/147662/first-time-majority-americans-favor-legal-gay-marriage.aspx.

[324] “Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships: Quick Facts on Key Provisions,” National Conference of State Legislatures, July 14, 2011, http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16430.

[325] For examples, see Psalm 1:1, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 40:4, Psalm 112:1.

[326] George Barna, Futurecast (Carol Stream, IL: BarnaBooks/Tyndale House Publishers, 2011), p. 124.

[327] Ibid., p. 132.

[328] Ibid.

[329] Ibid., p. 35.

[330] These numbers were reported in the “Pastor’s Family Bulletin,” Focus on the Family, March 2000, cited in “Archive of Statistics on Internet Dangers,” Enough Is Enough, http://www.enough.org/inside.php?tag=stat#9.

[331] Ibid.

[332] See editorial, “The Leadership Survey of Pastors and Internet Pornography,” Leadership Journal, January 1, 2001, http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2001/winter/12.89.html. Admittedly, these statistics are ten years out of date. I wonder if today they would be higher. However, I have not been able to find more recent data. Indeed, in an August 2010 article on “Protecting Churches from Porn,” Christianity Today again cited the 2001 statistics: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2010/summer/protectingchurches.html.

[333] Barna, Futurecast, p. 172.

[334] George Barna, Growing True Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001), pp. 35, 41.

[335] George Barna, “The Year’s Most Intriguing Findings, from Barna Research Studies,” Barna Update, December 17, 2011, http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/64-the-years-most-intriguing-findings-from-barna-research-studies.

[336] Jill Lepore, The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity (New York: Vintage Books/Random House, 1998), back cover and p. xi. See also Douglas Edward Leach, Flintlock & Tomahawk: New England in King Philip’s War (Woodstock, VT: Countrymen Press, 2009).

[337] Thomas Kidd, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 2.

[338] See Yale University’s biography of Jonathan Edwards, http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/biography.

[339] Kidd, p. 10.

[340] Ibid.

[341] Jonathan Edwards, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God, published in 1738, and available online at http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Narrative.html.

[342] Ibid.

[343] Ibid.

[344] Ibid.

[345] To read the text of this famous sermon, go to http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Sinners.html.

[346] See biography of Jonathan Edwards, http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/biography. See also Princeton University’s biography of Edwards, http://www.princeton.edu/pr/facts/presidents/05.htm. Regarding the founding of Princeton University: “At Princeton, one of the founders (probably Ebenezer Pemberton) wrote in c. 1750, ‘Though our great Intention was to erect a seminary for educating Ministers of the Gospel, yet we hope it will be useful in other learned professions—Ornaments of the State as well as the Church. Therefore we propose to make the plan of Education as extensive as our Circumstances will admit.’” Quoted in Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion (Princeton University Press, 1978). See also http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/founding_princeton.html.

[347] See Kenneth P. Minkema, “Edwards’ Family,” Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University, http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/family-life.

[348] See Diane Severance, “Jonathan Edwards, America’s Humble Giant,” Christianity.com, http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630188/.

[349] His name is pronounced “Whit-field.”

[350] Arnold A. Dallimore, George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1990), p. 17.

[351] Ibid., p. 18.

[352] Ibid., p. 21.

[353] Ibid., p. 22.

[354] Ibid., p. 46.

[355] Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), p. 47.

[356] Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), p. 91.

[357] Bill Bright, “How to Introduce Others to Christ” (Orlando, FL: Cru Press, 2007). See http://www.centerfieldproductions.com/members/content/crucomm/brighthowtointroduceotherstochrist.pdf.

[358] Richard L. Bushman, ed., The Great Awakening: Documents on the Revival of Religion, 1740–1745 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989), p. xii.

[359] Dallimore, p. 76.

[360] Ibid.

[361] Ibid., p. 82.

[362] Ibid., p. 141.

[363] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 93.

[364] Dallimore, p. 197.

[365] Ibid., p. 201.

[366] Bushman, pp. xi–xii.

[367] Mark Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), p. 83.

[368] Georgia Historical Society, “John Wesley,” Today in Georgia History, http://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/content/john-wesley. See also Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, pp. 83–84.

[369] Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, p. 85.

[370] Ibid., p. 95.

[371] Ibid.

[372] Cited in a profile of John Wesley, ChristianHistory.net, August 8, 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/denominationalfounders/wesley.html?start=1. See also Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, p. 97.

[373] Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, p. 84.

[374] See Profile of Charles Wesley, ChristianHistory.net, August 8, 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/poets/charleswesley.html.

[375] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000), pp. 226–227.

[376] Profile of John Wesley, ChristianHistory.net.

[377] Whitefield and the Wesleys had a terrible falling-out over theological differences that divided them for many years. Whitefield was a devout Calvinist; the Wesleys were devout Arminians. Fortunately, they reconciled near the end of their lives, and John Wesley preached a warm and moving eulogy at George Whitefield’s funeral.

[378] “The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America,” Time, February 7, 2005, http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1993235_1993243,00.html.

[379] Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), p. 166. Noll was a highly acclaimed evangelical scholar and professor at Wheaton College for many years, then moved to the University of Notre Dame in 2006.

[380] Steve Forbes, A New Birth of Freedom (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 1999), p. 138. In the second paragraph of this excerpt, Steve quotes text from Revival Signs by Tom Phillips (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1995).

[381] John Wigger, American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists (New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2009), p. 3.

[382] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 173.

[383] Ibid., p. 171.

[384] Wigger, p. 3. A 2008 article at ChristianHistory.net said the number of sermons was 16,500. See “Francis Asbury: Methodist on Horseback,” ChristianHistory.net, August 8 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/denominationalfounders/asbury.html.

[385] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 173.

[386] See General Commission on Archives & History, United Methodist Church, statistics posted online at http://www.gcah.org/site/c.ghKJI0PHIoE/b.3828783/.

[387] Stephen J. Ahn, “Timothy Dwight and Yale: The Making of a University,” Yale Standard, 2001, http://www.yalestandard.com/biographies/timothy-dwight/.

[388] John R. Fitzmier, New England’s Moral Legislator: Timothy Dwight, 1752–1817 (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1998), p. 15. The student cited was Lyman Beecher.

[389] Ahn.

[390] Brooks Mather Kelley, Yale: A History (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1974), p. 123.

[391] Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), p. 63.

[392] Fitzmier, p. 53.

[393] An article on Christianity.com stated that Dwight “fired all of the faculty members who favored the anti-Christian ideas of French rationalism. Subsequently, about one-third of the student body were converted to Christianity.” See Dan Graves, “Yale Leader Timothy Dwight Died in Harness,” Christianity.com, June 2007, http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630378/. A biography published in the 1960s suggested that Dwight fired those with “infidel leanings” who did not fit into his vision for the college. See Kenneth Silverman, Timothy Dwight (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1969), p. 97.

[394] Kelley, pp. 130–131.

[395] Ahn.

[396] Hansen and Woodbridge, pp. 65–66.

[397] Ibid., p. 66.

[398] Ibid., pp. 66–67.

[399] Ahn.

[400] Hansen and Woodbridge, p. 68.

[401] Ahn.

[402] Kelley, pp. 123–124.

[403] See Noll, A History of Christianity, p. 169; see also profile of Lyman Beecher, resource for God in America, American Experience, PBS, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/lyman-beecher.html.

[404] Hansen and Woodbridge, p. 73.

[405] Charles Finney, The Autobiography of Charles Finney, ed. Helen Wessel (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1977), p. 6. This is an abridged version of Finney’s original 1876 book.

[406] Ibid., p. 11.

[407] Ibid., p. 17.

[408] Ibid., pp. 17–18.

[409] Ibid., p. 31.

[410] Ibid., p. 50.

[411] Ibid., p. 38.

[412] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 175.

[413] Cited by Finney in Autobiography, pp. 164–165. In his book Modern Revivalism: Charles Grandison Finney to Billy Graham (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2005; a republication of the original book published in 1959), historian William McLoughlin Jr. cited Presbyterian statistics from the Rochester area to argue that the number was not one hundred thousand but “more realistically” about sixty thousand. Still, he concurred that the revival had a huge impact on Rochester and beyond. See McLoughlin, pp. 57–58.

[414] Finney, Autobiography, p. 164.

[415] “Charles Finney: Father of American Revivalism,” ChristianHistory.net, August 8, 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/evangelistsandapologists/finney.html.

[416] McLoughlin, p. 57.

[417] Charles G. Finney, Lectures on Revival (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1989, reprint of the original 1835 book), p. 15.

[418] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 176.

[419] Finney, Lectures on Revival, p. 13.

[420] Finney, Autobiography, back cover.

[421] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 170.

[422] Thomas S. Kidd, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 322.

[423] Noll, History of Christianity, pp. 178–179.

[424] Kidd, p. 322.

[425] Ibid.

[426] Noll, History of Christianity, pp. 178–179.

[427] Ibid.

[428] We devoted the 2011 Epicenter Conference in Jerusalem to teaching through the book of Joel, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. The messages are available online for free at www.epicenterconference.com. I have also posted my notes on each chapter of Joel on my blog. Please go to www.joelrosenberg.com, click on the blog, and search for “Book of Joel.”

[429] Governor John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity,” address delivered in 1630 to passengers aboard the Arbella, redacted and introduced by John Beardsley, editor in chief, the Winthrop Society Quarterly, 1997, http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/charity.html; for more, see Francis J. Bremer, John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father (New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2005).

[430] John F. Kennedy, “Address to the Massachusetts General Court,” January 9, 1961, transcript and audio at John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/OYhUZE2Qo0-ogdV7ok900A.aspx; also see transcript at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkcommonwealthmass.htm.

[431] Ronald Reagan, “Farewell Address to the Nation,” January 11, 1989, transcript and video at Miller Center, University of Virginia, http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3418.

[432] Cited by William J. Federer, America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations (Coppell, TX: Fame Publishing, 1994), p. 660.

[433] Ibid., p. 12.

[434] Ibid., p. 324.

[435] Ibid., p. 323.

[436] Cited by Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt Publishers, 1987), p. 127.

[437] Cited by Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), p. 30.

[438] The rest of the citations came from Enlightenment sources, the Whigs, common law, classical literature, or other sources. Donald S. Lutz, A Preface to American Political Theory (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1992), pp. 134–135. Lutz cites a study he did several years earlier. See Donald S. Lutz, “The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth Century American Political Thought,” American Political Science Review 78 (March 1984): 189–197.

[439] See Thomas Jefferson et al., Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, transcription of the original document at the National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html.

[440] See the text of the United States Constitution at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html and the Bill of Rights at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html.

[441] This number is cited here to describe a political reality, not a spiritual one. The number does not necessarily reflect how many Americans in 1976 truly understood the biblical meaning of the term born again found in John 3, believed every element of orthodox Christian teaching in the New Testament, and were fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who had a personal relationship with him. Rather, it simply reflects a pollster asking a voter, “Do you consider yourself a born-again Christian?” and the voter saying yes. Also, it should be noted that these numbers (and those that follow in this section of the book) specifically refer to white born-again Christians, as this is the group the Gallup poll was tracking. See Albert L. Winseman, “‘Born-Agains’ Wield Political, Economic Influence,” Gallup commentary, April 13, 2004, http://www.gallup.com/poll/11269/bornagains-wield-political-economic-influence.aspx.

[442] See Doug Wead, “The History of the Evangelical Vote in Presidential Elections,” Doug Wead The Blog, September 11, 2008, http://dougwead.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/the-history-of-the-evangelical-vote-in-presidential-elections/. Wead was a political advisor to Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush on evangelical political matters. He analyzed the numbers from numerous public and private exit polls, leaning most heavily on Gallup data.

[443] The 39 percent figure comes from a December 7–10, 1979, poll. See Conrad Hackett and D. Michael Lindsay, “Measuring Evangelicalism: Consequences of Different Operationalization Strategies,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 47, (August 28, 2008): 502, Table 1, Gallup Poll Evangelical Questions.

[444] See Sara Diamond, Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right (New York: Guilford Press, 1998), p. 62; see also Wead, “History of the Evangelical Vote.” The New York Times reported Reagan winning 56 percent of the born-again vote to 40 percent for Carter. See “National Exit Polls Table,” New York Times, November 5, 2008, http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/national-exit-polls.html. The differences come from how pollsters define “born-again Christians,” including whether they only include Protestants or also include Catholics.

[445] Wead.

[446] Ibid.

[447] Ibid. The Ross Perot numbers come from the New York Times exit polls. See “National Exit Polls Table,” http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/national-exit-polls.html.

[448] “National Exit Polls Table.”

[449] Winseman.

[450] Wead.

[451] Ibid.

[452] In March 2008, polls showed Senator McCain was losing the Christian vote to an unnamed Democratic nominee (Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were still battling for the nomination), 36 percent to 45 percent, with 19 percent of Christian voters undecided. Among Protestants, McCain pulled even with the Democrats at 40 percent. But the Democrats had a strong 32-point lead over McCain among Catholics. Among white evangelical Protestants, McCain was doing better (51 percent to 28 percent) but had certainly not rallied born-again voters behind him at that point. For an analysis of Senator McCain’s challenges among born-again Christians earlier in the campaign year, see Joel C. Rosenberg, “McCain’s Evangelical Problem,” National Review Online, March 26, 2008, http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/224034. For final numbers, see “National Exit Polls Table,” http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/national-exit-polls.html.

[453] See CNN’s national exit polls for the 2010 midterm congressional elections, posted online at “Exit Polls,” Election Center, CNN Politics, http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2010/results/polls/#USH00p1.

[454] Winthrop.