Posted by Pastor Joey Faust in Warnings to Our Nation | Comments Off
Repent America: Lest A Worse Thing Come Unto Thee
REPENT AMERICA: LEST A WORSE THING COME UNTO THEE
It is amazing how different modern America is from the America of just 100 years ago. Today multitudes of women look and act like men and many men look and act like women. Our modern nation, by and large, even condones blatant sin against the laws of conscience, which are clearly written in the heart of every man. But one change is significant in light of the anniversary of 9-11-01. Only a century ago, any national calamity was immediately seen as a reason for national humiliation, confession of sin, repentance, and prayer to the God of the Holy Bible. However, today, a national calamity is a time to offer a pitiful, self-centered, lazy, fast-food, “moment of silence” to nothing. Prayer to the God of the Christian Bible is now seen as bigoted and narrow-minded. And to preach that any national calamity is a NATIONAL JUDGMENT is to commit the unpardonable sin. But the Christians of America, and throughout the world, need to ignore these politically correct, emotion-driven “standards.” The preachers of this country have had too many “moments of silence.” It is time to cry out and call every man to repentance. 1. God uses calamities to punish cities, nations, and kingdoms that get lifted up in selfishness and sin: Jonah 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for THEIR WICKEDNESS is come up before me. 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. Matthew 11:20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not… When Rome continued to ignore the light of conscience and fall into debauchery, God sent BARBARIANS to TERRORIZE their kingdom. These attacks by the Goths continued until proud Rome fell. Does not this serve as a warning to proud, gluttonous America?: “The Pagan historians of Rome have branded and immortalized the vices and crimes of the Caesars: the misanthropy, cruelty, and voluptuousness of Tiberius; the ferocious madness of Caius Caligula, who had men tortured, beheaded, or sawed in pieces for his amusement, who seriously meditated the butchery of the whole senate, raised his horse to the dignity of consul and priest, and crawled under the bed in a storm; the bottomless vileness of Nero, ‘the inventor of crime,’ who poisoned or murdered his preceptors Burrhus and Seneca, his half-brother and brother-in-law Britannicus, his mother Agrippina, his wife Octavia, his mistress Poppaea, who in sheer wantonness set fire to Rome, and then burnt innocent Christians for it as torches in his gardens, figuring himself as charioteer in the infernal spectacle; the swinish gluttony of Vitellins, who consumed millions of money in mere eating; the refined wickedness of Domitian, who, more a cat than a tiger, amused himself most with the torments of the dying and with catching flies; the shameless revelry of Commodus with his hundreds of concubines, and ferocious passion for butchering men and beasts on the arena; the mad villainy of Heliogabalus, who raised the lowest men to the highest dignities, dressed himself in women’s clothes, married a dissolute boy like himself, in short, inverted all the laws of nature and of decency, until at last he was butchered with his mother by the soldiers, and thrown into the muddy Tiber. And to fill the measure of impiety and wickedness, such imperial monsters were received, after their death, by a formal decree of the Senate, into the number of divinities and their abandoned memory was celebrated by festivals, temples, and colleges of priests!….The wives and mistresses of the emperors were not much better. They revelled in luxury and vice, swept through the streets in chariots drawn by silver-shod mules, wasted fortunes on a single dress, delighted in wicked intrigues, aided their husbands in dark crimes and shared at last in their tragic fate…From the higher regions the corruption descended into the masses of the people, who by this time had no sense for anything but [circuses] and, in the enjoyment of these, looked with morbid curiosity and interest upon the most flagrant vices of their masters…No wonder that Tacitus, who with terse eloquence and old Roman severity exposes the monstrous character of Nero and other emperors…foreboded the fearful vengeance of the gods, and even the speedy destruction of the empire. And certainly nothing could save it from final doom, whose approach was announced with ever-growing distinctness by wars, insurrections, inundations, earthquakes, pestilence, famine, IRRUPTION OF BARBARIANS, and prophetic calamities of every kind.” (Schaff, “History of the Christian Church,” chapter VIII) Even pagans philosophers, with only the light of conscience, could see God’s JUDGMENT in national calamities. There was certainly a time when practically every God-fearing Christian used every destructive “act of God” to call the world to repentance. For example, D.M. Panton, in the 1920′s, provided a BIBLICAL response to the great earthquake in Japan: “In comparably the greatest visible act of God since the War has been the earthquake in Japan (Sept. 1, 1923), another ominous thunder – an earthquake among the greatest recorded in the history of the world….The number of deaths at the lowest is estimated (“Times,” Sept. 14, 1923) at 165,000….a million and a half people were rendered homeless…It is tragic to listen to the Church assuring Science that the world has nothing to fear… ‘On the third day,’ an eye witness writes, ‘a heavy storm visited the capital, and millions of refugees had no shelter, nor food…It is right that we should not shrink from seeing what God intends all the world to see – its horror…. ‘Tokio,’ says one eye-witness, ‘was a living hell,’…’Many thousands,’ says yet another eye-witness, ‘were roasted alive.’…The reasons of any earthquake can be fully apparent only to God….Nevertheless probably no great earthquake has been without its moral clues….Japan, which, in the exhaustion of Europe and the chaos of China, threatened a possible world-dominance, has been reduced for decades, by this act of God, to a second rate, harmless power…Two or three months before [this earthquake in Japan], Dr. Chas. Inwood said: ‘While I was in Tokio one of the leading journals of the city declared, in reference to the reading books in the hands of the people: ‘Most of the books being read by the people, men and women, are so obscene that they could not be translated into English.’ Dr. D.S. Spencer, a missionary of forty years’ standing in Japan, says: ‘Japan alone among the leading nations publicly licenses prostitution. Social vice fostered by the government is undermining the family…endangering the church, destroying the life of young manhood and womanhood, and eating out the heart of Japan.’…As the home of idolatry, India, with its 350,000,000 gods is also the house of famine, so the home of emperor-worship for two thousand years, Japan, is also the home of earthquake and convulsion. In the last fifteen centuries Japan has had an earthquake every ten years; in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, she has one every five years. A Japanese gentlemen in London, not a Christian, exclaimed: ‘This has come from Heaven! Japan was sunk in materialism, and something had to happen!’” (D.M. Panton, “The Panton Papers,” 1928) How far we have strayed from this type of preaching! Today, most preachers in the public eye are puppets. They are paid and praised to make men feel comfortable as they rest in only a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3). When calamity strikes, they are immediately brought forth to comfort a whole nation in its sins. 2. Often, the specific judgment is in the form of human enemies the Lord raises up to terrorize and afflict the nation under judgment: Judges 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. Judges 13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 Chronicles 21:16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: 1 Kings 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 14 And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom. Isaiah 10:1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. 3. The proper response to these attacks is self-examination, confession, repentance, and forsaking of the national sins – even though specific individuals who are harmed in a national calamity may or may not be culpable: Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some that TOLD HIM of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. The Lord did not watch the murders on TV, again and again! They came and told Him. I have never seen a plane crash into the buildings. I have not seen video images of the destruction. But today, we have millions of people who can’t wait to get home to turn on the Roman Circus in their living rooms. If God has not provided them with images of a suicide or some other live destruction, they will turn over to HBO and watch a “simulated” version. With modern technology, it appears real enough to momentarily satisfy their lust for blood. These images, repeatedly replayed as entertainment, or to satisfy carnal curiosity (Acts 17:21), only cause people to become increasingly desensitized to the horrors of violence. But Jesus answered these people. He was aware of the horrible tragedy: Luke 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Therefore, we are to realize that individuals who perish in national tragedies are not necessarily worse sinners than those who escape them. We must not make the mistake of Job’s friends. However, what is important here is that Jesus USED the horrible tragedies to PREACH REPENTANCE! The “Jesus” of many of these modern preachers, in the public eye, would never have used such horrible tragedies as a sermon-text to preach repentance and the fear of God! Yet these modern preachers are not only out of touch with Jesus 2000 years ago, they are out of touch with their OWN COUNTRY JUST OVER A CENTURY AGO! In the 19th century, families in the U.S. were devastated by the Civil War. How did the government leaders respond to the national tragedy? Did they offer up a pathetic moment of silence? Did they pretend to salute Allah or Buddha? Did they pray to God for comfort without repentance or confession of sin? No! On March 2, 1863, Senator James Harlan introduced the following Resolution in the Senate. The Resolution beseeched President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of prayer and fasting. It was adopted on March 3, and signed by Lincoln on March 30. Read the words of this Resolution and see how different they are from the politically correct, hypocritical, smooth-talking dribble of our nations leaders today. Remember, the following Resolution was signed by the President: “Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and HUMILIATION. And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to CONFESS THEIR SINS and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine REPENTANCE will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are SUBJECTED TO PUNISHMENTS and chastisements in this world, MAY WE NOT JUSTLY FEAR THAT THE AWFUL CALAMITY OF CIVIL WAR, which now desolates the land, MAY BE BUT A PUNISHMENT, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become TOO SELF-SUFFICIENT to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, TOO PROUD to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion. All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh. – By the President: Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, Secretary of State.” (“The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln,” Roy P. Basler) 4. Obedient Christians must lead the nations and help them to understand the ways of God: Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and TEACH ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matthew 5:14 Ye are THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 5. Spreading false assurances of comfort and safety, regardless of any true confession and repentance, is sin; it is not the role of God’s people to give messages of false hope and comfort: Jeremiah 8:11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Isaiah 57:21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. 58:1 CRY ALOUD, SPARE NOT, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, AS A NATION THAT DID RIGHTEOUSNESS, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Many of the leaders of America are using God’s name in public speeches (“God bless America,” etc.), and offering up token prayers, while in the next conversation they take His holy name in vain. They act as if we are a nation that does not DESERVE to be destroyed! But how can this be? We are a nation that has embraced sodomy and perfumed the killing of infants in the womb. The entertainment of the deluded masses is perverted and debased. Shall we pretend to offer up prayers to God with no confession of sin, no repentance, no humbling of ourselves as a nation? 6. In the past, God has used the king of Babylon to punish the proud, rebellious nations of the earth for their sins. He will do so again in the last days: Jeremiah 25:5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: 8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the KING OF BABYLON, MY SERVANT, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and AGAINST ALL THESE NATIONS round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. 32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. Jeremiah 27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: Jeremiah 37:8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. 10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. Habakkuk 1:6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that BITTER AND HASTY NATION, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. 9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 10 And they shall SCOFF AT KINGS, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. These Scriptures are double prophecies. They speak of the old king of Babylon AND the king of Babylon in the last days. Saddam Hussein may, or may not, be the last days’ king of Babylon (which is distinct from the final Antichrist of Revelation 13). Yet, he is certainly in the spirit of this ancient, bitter and hasty king! 7. The four Kingdoms of Daniel’s prophecy will be restored again in the last days. The first Kingdom God uses to judge the world in the tribulation period will again be Babylon: Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4 The FIRST was like a lion… 17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which SHALL ARISE out of the earth. Daniel 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 44 And IN THE DAYS OF THESE KINGS shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and CONSUME ALL THESE KINGDOMS… Many of the prophecies of Daniel are dual. Iraq will once again be used to PUNISH the world. How far this goes in the present, depends, to some degree, upon how mankind responds to God’s warnings. 8. God has specifically promised judgment upon every nation that turns from the light of truth: Psalms 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and YE PERISH from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. 9. God will often show mercy to a condemned city or nation in response to mass repentance, and will postpone its final overthrow: Jonah 3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and CRY MIGHTILY unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the VIOLENCE that is in their hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Jeremiah 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. America has been warned. One day, perhaps tomorrow, the tribulation period will begin. Iraq will once again be used as God’s hammer. Will you not seek God for His mercy upon our nation? It is a nation with bloody hands. It is time to be an example to the lost and get on our faces before the Lord and repent. Church-going Christians can begin by repenting of their gluttony, lack of prayer for national leaders, gluttony, lack of discipline and sacrifice in tithes and offerings, friendship of the world, indulgence in worldly TV and movies, railing, sowing discord, gluttony, sending the mother out of the home to work, lack of standards, gluttony, lack of Biblical separation, immodest and perverted clothing, disobedience or disrespect to husbands, fathers, bosses, pastors and other leaders, sharpness toward wives and children, gluttony, adultery, fornication, lack of deep Bible study for the purpose of growing in personal holiness, lack of regular soul winning, lack of regular family devotions, etc. Perhaps this article has made you mad because you have poison that needs to come out of your heart (see 2 Timothy 4:3 and Titus 2:1-15). This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting!
Posted by Pastor Joey Faust in Warnings to Our Nation | Comments Off
NO RESPECT FOR THE SACRED: AMERICA GROWS INCREASINGLY PROFANE
NO RESPECT FOR THE SACRED: AMERICA GROWS INCREASINGLY PROFANE This past week, two events occurred that continue to reveal to us that we are in the perilous times of 2 Timothy 3: 2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the LAST DAYS perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, DESPISERS OF THOSE THAT ARE GOOD, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, LOVERS OF PLEASURES MORE THAN LOVERS OF GOD; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. First, pastor Greg Dixon (Sr.) sat across the street from his former church building (IBT) and watched the bull-dozers begin to tear it down. Such a sordid event, concerning God’s property, has never occurred in U.S. history that I am aware of. Second, WND reported the following story on May 31: “City seizes church’s land – California congregation battles government over property – The city of Cypress, Calif., has authorized the seizure of a local church’s land, arguing that a house of worship is not the ‘best and highest use’ for the property. City officials hope to take ownership of Cottonwood Christian Center’s land through eminent domain. While city officials say that economic development on the property would be better for the citizens of Cypress than a church, the church complains the city is being discriminatory. Cottonwood fears that if it succumbs to city officials’ dictates, a precedent will be set and cities across the nation will be encouraged to seize church property to build businesses that will provide more tax dollars….Belmer said the city is considering approving the construction of a Costco warehouse on the land and that he does not believe seizing the land is in violation of the RLUIPA. Eminent domain laws were originally designed to make way for roads and dams, but cities are routinely using them as a means to build businesses….” What does this all mean? It means Americans have lost RELIGION. They have only a from of godliness at times. They are, as Esau, PROFANE: Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or PROFANE person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Profane: “irreverent to anything sacred” (Web.1828) If so many Christians currently choose money, food or the praise of men over conviction and truth, then what can we expect from these lost worldlings? There was a time when even the average citizen or political leader had some profession of the FEAR OF GOD. But now we have lost it in our country. If Christians would begin to exercise reverence and godly fear before God, perhaps the unbelievers would have some alarm. But if they see the saints without fear, and without fruit, what must they think about our God? Let us pray for our leaders in America, secular and religious. We are in great need of mercy and revival in our churches. The average American sees the local church as simply another American business. Let’s do everything we can to show them that this is not so; that there IS a difference between the holy and the profane.
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WERE THE TERRORISTS A JUDGMENT FROM GOD ON OUR NATION?
WERE THE TERRORISTS A JUDGMENT FROM GOD ON OUR NATION? James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and HE SHALL LIFT YOU UP. To be saved in eternity we must not trust in anything we do. The blessing is free through faith in Christ’s shed Blood. But although national, temporary blessings are often given through God’s grace and mercy, they nevertheless are not guaranteed to us. A nation that needs something from God should be a nation that cleans itself up (relatively speaking) and mourns for its sins: Malachi 1:6 ….if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts… 8 ….offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. If we need God to protect us from our enemies, should we not honor Him with fear, trembling, repentance and obedience? In this sense, it doesn’t matter whether or not the events of September 11 were a judgment from God or not. The proper response should be to wake up and draw nigh to God. I never dealt with this question in last week’s Kingdom Alert. It might be assumed that I feel that the events on September 11 were a direct judgment from God upon us for our national sins. I did state that Americans should respond to this tragedy by repentance; I also mentioned that Billy Graham was wrong for not naming any sins that America should repent of. Yet, I never stated that the tragedy of September 11 was a judgment from God. Last week I mainly dealt with the prophetic significance of the events on September 11 (i.e. mainly stage-setting for Tribulation fulfillment of prophecy). This week I would like to deal with the relationship of these events to God’s Divine Judgment upon our nation. Before we get into this issue, we must first be clear that God DOES (even today) hold cities and nations (made up of unbelievers and believers) accountable as He wills: Daniel 2:21 ….he removeth kings, and setteth up kings… Daniel 4:17 ….that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will… Although God revealed Himself in a special manner to the Jews, He still held Gentile nations accountable for their sins. God held Sodom and Gomorrah accountable: Genesis 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. Genesis 18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; What was the sin of these cities which caused God to become so angry at them and destroy them? One was HOMOSEXUALITY (i.e. “sodomy”): Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. They also had NO SHAME for their sins: Isaiah 3:9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and THEY DECLARE THEIR SIN AS SODOM, they hide it not… Other sins are listed in Ezekiel: Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, PRIDE, FULNESS OF BREAD, and ABUNDANCE OF IDLENESS was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. And any city or nation that commits the same sins as Sodom is in great danger of being destroyed as the Lord sees fit. If a city or nation filled with sinners has not already been destroyed, it just may be that there are enough righteous people there to stay God’s hand. Sometimes God is simply waiting for the iniquity to become full (Gen.15:16, Dan.8:23). Years after Israel became a Theocracy, God was still holding Gentile nations accountable. God sent His prophet Jonah to cry against Nineveh (the capital city of Assyria) for its sins: Jonah 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. When the leaders of Nineveh led the city to repentance, God was merciful and chose not to overthrow the city: Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. The Old Testament also reveals God holding the Canaanites (Ex.23:23), Egypt (Ex.7:3, Ezek. 29:4, 30:21), Babylon (Dan.5:27), and many other cities, nations, and kingdoms accountable. Did this all change in the New Testament age? Did God fall asleep? No! The New Testament also reveals that God still holds whole cities accountable (Mt.11:21). God also holds governors accountable. He smote king Herod for receiving worship (Acts 12:22, 23). Yet this is still the age of God’s patience. Soon the Tribulation age of Judgment will begin when the whole earth will be held accountable before God (Rev.3:10). Therefore, we must now ask, Will God ignore the sins of America? Does He have to wait until the Tribulation Period (which is probably very close) to judge any city in the U.S.? Of course not! Should we fear judgment from God upon our cities and country? Indeed, we should! Many of our cities have no doubt surpassed Sodom in perversion, gluttony, haughtiness, murder, rape, drunkenness, drug addiction, pornography, infanticide, idleness, idolatry, etc. It would be presumptuous to say that we know that every person who died in this tragedy was a greater sinner than anyone else in the country or world. Jesus taught us how to respond to such tragedies, and that is the way I have responded in last week’s newsletter: Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, NAY: BUT, EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, NAY: BUT, EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH. What do we learn from these Scriptures? We learn that we cannot make the mistake of Job’s friends and assume that we KNOW a particular calamity or affliction is a judgment upon people because they are GREATER sinners than others: John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. However, we also learn something else from Luke 13. We learn that the proper response to great calamity is HOLY FEAR and REPENTANCE! As Christians, after great calamity, we are to do more than preach the Gospel and offer comfort and hope. We are to trust and fear God and repent personally; then we are to call Christians, neighbors, our cities, and our nation to fear God and repent of their sins. Jesus is warning the people in Luke 13 that they may “likewise” experience similar major catastrophes that may certainly be Divine Judgments upon them. Jerusalem experienced just such a judgment a few decades after Jesus spoke these words in Luke 13. It is correct that we need God in this time of trial. But if we need God’s protection and blessing upon us, don’t we have the responsibility to seek it in humble repentance?: Isaiah 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; If the king of Nineveh had enough light to humble himself, repent, and call for national fasting and repentance (Jon.3:6-8), what excuse do the political leaders of America have? And why do many preachers who are in the national spotlight fail to NAME the sins the nation should repent of? Yes, we need to seek God during this time. But we must obey God. The Father commanded us to HEAR HIS SON (Mt.17:5). His Son commanded us to believe the Gospel (Mr.1:15, Jn.6:29). And we must preach against sin (Pr.28:4, Mt.28:20, Acts 17:29, 30). As Americans are reminded that they are not invincible and that another day of life is not guaranteed to any of us, let us use this opportunity to call people to repent of their unbelief in Jesus Christ and His Gospel, to repent of sodomy (or of condoning it), of abortion (or of condoning it), of filthy, blasphemous entertainment, and of simply living lives without a daily consideration, acknowledgment, thanksgiving, and petition to the King of kings. (KA #130)
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THE PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENTS ON SEPTEMBER 11
THE PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENTS ON SEPTEMBER 11 Michel de Nostradamus (d.1566) was a Catholic sorcerer. There is an e-mail circulating that is a fraud. It claims Nostradamus predicted the terrorist plane crashes into the towers in New York. It uses words never written by Nostradamus. Only God, through the Holy Bible, predicts the future without error (Isa.42:9). All other “prophets,” “gods” and religious writings are fraudulent. They cannot predict the future (Isa.41:22-24); they therefore offer no objective verification that they are inspired of God. Does the Bible have anything to say about September 11th, 2001? It certainly does. Notice: 2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the LAST DAYS PERILOUS TIMES SHALL COME. 2 For men shall be… 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, FIERCE, despisers of those that are good… “Fierce” means “violent, savage, unrestrained.” This is what we beheld on September 11. As long as suicide bombers are blowing up other countries many comfortable Americans remain asleep. But when it hits home, many panic. It seems too incredible. But this is not even the Tribulation Period yet! We are to watch and pray to be delivered from what is COMING (Lk.21:36). One of the first things that the world will experience in the Trib will be dreadful wars! Therefore whatever we see now is not the real “monster” at all. It is only the monster’s shadow! If the shadow causes panic and fear, what will the monster bring?: Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth DISTRESS OF NATIONS, with PERPLEXITY; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. “Perplexity” implies not only confusion, but also vexation! Welcome to the 21st century. The looming shadows of the coming perplexity are now upon us. It seems that every few years we hear the line, “This is the worst act of terrorism that has ever occurred on American soil.” To date, September11th is certainly the most tragic day on record as far as terrorism is concerned. No events concerning the Tribulation Period have yet occurred. But that does not mean that current events lack any prophetic significance. Israel’s restoration is significant simply because the Scriptures that speak of the end time Tribulation Period begin with Israel in her land as a distinct nation. Strange, perilous weather patterns, computer technology for the Mark of the Beast, the lining up of the nations, etc. are all significant because we are seeing the shadows or stage-setting of what will soon be according to the Bible. The prophecy that men will be fierce, or violent with no restraint in the last days is being fulfilled. Is America shocked at this new terrorism? Is it horrified? America has been TERRORIZING millions of little innocent infants for years. Mothers abort their babies. This is FIERCE. It is violent without any restraint of natural affection. Children now murder parents in cold blood. Fathers and mothers murder children. The world is growing fierce. The bonds of family, reason, and civility are all ignored. The events on September 11 are only part of the fulfillment of 2 Timothy 3. Mankind is growing fierce as predicted. The events on September 11 are significant in another way. I have been saying for quite awhile that the first nations to rule the world after the rapture will be Islamic. Iraq will come to power first. Then Iran. Then Greece and Syria; and only then will the West temporarily revive under the final Antichrist. Israeli intelligence has claimed that Iraq financed the bombings: “Iraq recruited Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden and his Islamic allies to carry out the suicide attacks around the United States, according to Israeli intelligence…The Baghdad regime has long maintained an alliance with Bin Laden and Islamic groups…In Baghdad, Iraqi state television appeared to welcome the bombings. The television said the spate of attacks demonstrated the vulnerability of the United States…The Israeli Cabinet was informed that the United States might launch a massive attack on Iraq and Afghanistan over the coming days. The sources said such an attack could prompt a regional war…” (WorldTribune, Sept.12) Regardless of who financed it, it is obvious now that Muslims were the ones who carried out the operation. We should not hate or persecute Muslims in this country; but we should realize there are over 7 million of them over here; how many of these have been properly investigated according to wise and just immigration laws? It is would be terribly naive to assume that none of these share the belief that Israel is the “Little Satan” and America is the “Big Satan”. Ashcroft said it is a fact that the pilots who highjacked the jets were trained in U.S. flight schools. Unless Christians in America repent and this nation learns to FEAR GOD, America will be destroyed and blown apart internally by Muslim guerillas. If not, its constitution will be blown apart worse than it already is. In either case, America will cease to be a dominate world power and this will prepare the way for the rise of Iraq as seen in Daniel 2 and 7. I always thought it would be the rapture that allowed Iraq to rise in temporary dominance. It just might be terrorism: “Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is also a terrorism expert, warned on Tuesday that the attacks in New York and Washington could be the harbinger of far worse scenarios, particularly when IRAN AND IRAQ obtain nuclear capabilities…’We must build a coalition against terror today, when our power is unmatched, because TOMORROW IT WILL BE MATCHED’ Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem.”(CNSNews, Sept.12) Iraq was the only official GOVERNMENT that congratulated the murderers. Therefore, the horrible events of September 11 directly fulfill the prophecy in 2 Timothy 3 that warns that perilous times shall come in the last days because men shall be fierce. They also begin to set the stage for the rise of Islamic countries (Iraq and Iran) at the start of the coming Tribulation Period. Let us repent and pray for God’s patience and mercy on our churches and on our country. In His longsuffering and longing for sinners to repent, He just might keep the light on in our country a few more years.
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Report: GRAHAM’S DAUGHTER WARNS LAWMAKERS TO REPENT OR BE DESTROYED
GRAHAM’S DAUGHTER WARNS LAWMAKERS TO REPENT OR BE DESTROYED “The North Carolina Senate honored the Rev. Billy Graham as a ‘favorite son of North Carolina’ this week while his daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, exhorted lawmakers to repent before God, whose judgment, she said, is imminent. Lotz, who lives here, represented her 82-year-old father…’We are living in a wicked world,’ she said, citing abortion, euthanasia, pornography, unscrupulous politicians and the glorification of violence as proof. ‘The lesson of Noah is that there’s a limit to God’s patience,’ Lotz said. ‘At some point he draws the line…We’re drawing close to that line. God is warning us. Repent. Judgment is coming.’” (Raleigh News & Observer, August 09, 2001)
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