Part One
As America celebrates Her independence from Great Britain she faces a greater enemy than any foreign power could pose. America is facing judgment and wrath from God if she continues to sin and does not repent as a nation. BLOOD is on our hands and the Lord is called the "revenger of Blood." When He comes to take account of America's national sin we are going to pay an awful price. Such is the time we are living in and facing in 2002.
By Chris McDonald
Numbers 35:19 - The revenger of blood himself shall
slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
Numbers 35:21 - Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that
smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of
blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.
Numbers 35:24-25 - Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer
and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: [25] And the
congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood,
and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was
fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was
anointed with the holy oil.
Numbers 35:27 - And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of
the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not
be guilty of blood:
We are
living in perilous times. Mankind continues to sin without any sense or need of
repentance before a Holy and Just God. I fear tonight for this nation more so
than at any time in the past. Since September 11, 2001 America has continued to
flex her rebellious hand and heart before the Almighty despite constant efforts
by the Lord to get our attention through "warning judgments" from heaven.
As I write this several things are happening in America right now:
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Massive wildfires are scorching thousands of acres in the Western part of the country, namely Arizona and Colorado
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Flooding rains continue to pound Texas forcing thousands to flee from their homes
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Southern California is experiencing one of its worst droughts EVER in the history of the state. Water rationing is a daily occurrence.
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The country as a whole continues to monitor threats to our national security via terrorist cells both within and outside the United States
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What seemed to be a wave of patriotism in the wake of 9-11 has turned back into bitter political arguing in Washington, D.C.
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A recent U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals struck down the U.S. Constitution saying that the words "One Nation Under God," were a violation of church and state principles in the constitution. Of course when 9-11 happened we were not afraid to say "OUR FATHER WHICH ARE IN HEAVEN!"
In addition to this just this past month during the end of June we celebrated "Gay Pride Week" again in this country which now goes back to over 10 years. We do this without conscience and without blushing any more. We do not get the picture that God is not happy with our sin. We do not get the picture that God has not changed and He is not "the man upstairs" or the "higher power" but HE IS GOD. He is Yahweh! He is our RIGHTEOUS banner that screams to us in these last days to REPENT and come back to Him before He must move in judgment.
In Israel's history every time God judged her there was a cycle preceding that judgment that always took place. First, God would send prophets to WARN Israel of her sin and impending doom. Secondly, God would give a season of grace to give her space to repent. That space of grace at times was months, sometimes years, but if Israel continued to refuse to listen to God eventually God would send a foreign power into her land and captivity, bloodshed, destruction, murder, rape and carnage ensued.
Many Bible prophecy teachers believe 9-11 was America's clarion warning to repent. Since 9-11 we have not had a terrorist attack so we have in essence been in a time of grace since that time. The question has to asked when will the hammer fall again and judgment comes a second time. And when judgment does come a second time how severe will the judgment be? Many prophetic voices (who are being drowned out sadly by the so-called institutionalized church) are saying America is headed for destruction and a loss of her freedom and identity.
America has always known how to pray during a crisis but we have forgotten how to REPENT! America did not repent after 9-11. America did not tear down her idols after 9-11. America continued to abort babies, promote homosexuality, promote a God-less, atheist society that degrades God and everything Godly in spite of what happened to nearly 3,000 of our citizens. Their blood cries out to us tonight from the soil saying "REPENT!" and come back to GOD! It is interesting to note that this is actually a foreshadowing of events during the tribulation. During the first half of the tribulation men will be willing to give up their lives for Christ and testimony. But during the latter part, the Bible teaches that men will NOT repent of their evil deeds. God allows intense judgment to bring men to repentance. When men are no longer willing to repent, then the wrath of God will be unleashed without restraint!
Repentance is acknowledging your error, taking responsibility for it, and MAKING restitution, or turning around. It is not just saying "I'm sorry." Many people say "I'm sorry" so much without really meaning it those words have become just lip service to God.
The Northridge Earthquake Of 1994 - A 9-11 Foreshadowing
Several years ago, a devastating earthquake hit the Los Angeles area. The epicenter of the quake was located in Northridge, which just happened to be at the heart of America's pornography center. To date, it is the costliest disaster in U.S. History at a staggering $44 billion in damages. In human costs, 22,000 were left homeless; 9,000 were injured and 58 people died. Instead of being moved to repentance America, just like she did after 9-11, adopted an attitude of ridiculing those who determined the quake was a sign of God's disfavor. They simply rebuilt their factories and continued making pornography. In San Francisco, men and women march with signs proclaiming "God is gay" even as the earth quakes beneath them! They do no fall to their knees in repentance. To the contrary they only laugh at those who believe the trembling ground to be a divine wakeup call.
When judgments such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods no longer cause us to humble ourselves and repent friend we are in serious trouble. The Tribulation will be the full measure of God's wrath upon the earth. The end result will be that God will "destroy sinners from off the earth." (Isa. 13:9). The sins of the world are accumulating before God in the heavenly winepress. When the winepress is full, then the vengeance of the revenger of blood will be loosed upon planet earth and as Yeshua warned us in Matthew - if it were not for the elect of God - NO FLESH SHOULD BE SAVED!
Isaiah 13:9 - Behold, the day of the
Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate:
and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Rev. 14:19 - And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God.
The Ultimate Reason For God's Judgment Upon America And Planet Earth
Many people ask the question, why would God judge America? That question is so
often asked and so often answered in general terms. Sin is certainly the answer
but the Bible gives us specifics concerning reasons why God judges nations. The
most clear account of judgment in scripture is found in Genesis 19 concerning
the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The men of Sodom were so wicked and vile in
their heart they banged on Lot's door and demanded he turn over to them the
strangers that had come into town, so they may have sexual relations with them.
The next morning the city and all its inhabitants were reduced to ashes. It
would seem pretty clear that God's judgment upon Sodom was over homosexuality
but a deeper reading of the Bible gives us FOUR specific sins that were rampant
in those cities that brought God's wrath upon them.
Ezekiel 16:49 - Behold, this was the iniquity of
thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her
and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
It is very
interesting that nowhere in this scripture is the sin "homosexuality" mentioned
even though we know from scripture that that evidently was a scourge upon Sodom.
The reason is that sexual perversion was not the ROOT of the problem no more
than sexual perversion is the root of America's problem. Homosexuality is a root
of a far deeper and more grievous problem in this nation that must be rooted out
if we are to survive another decade. These four sins in Sodom that I believe are
also very rampant in the USA were:
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PRIDE
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FULLNESS OF BREAD
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ABUNDANCE OF IDLENESS
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LAKE OF COMPASSION FOR THE POOR AND NEEDY
PRIDE
Psalm 10:4 - The wicked, through the
pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his
thoughts.
Psalm 73:6 - Therefore pride compasses them about as a chain; violence
covereth them as a garment.
Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit
before a fall.
There is no room in the heart of the proud for God. To acknowledge we need God and are fallible and in need is something a proud heart will never do. Pride seduces us into think that we along can accomplish anything set before us. Pride was what filled the heart of Nebuchadnezzar as he looked upon his capital city Babylon and proclaimed, "IS NOT HIS GREAT BABYLON? that I HAVE BUILT FOR THE HOUSE AND THE KINGDOM BY THE MIGHTY OF MY POWER and for the HOUSE OF MY MAJESTY. (Dan. 4:30). The Bible says that while the words were still in his mouth he was struck DUMB for seven years. The once most powerful man on the earth crawled around on the ground like a common animal because of his pride and haughty spirit.
There is an arrogant sense even after 9-11 here in America that nothing destructive or catastrophic will ever happen to us. Our forefathers declared independence from a tyrant nation but the professed DEPENDENCE upon an ALMIGHTY GOD and interdependence upon each other. Family and community were REAL words in those days unlike they are today in this selfish society we live in.
Certain Bible teachers believe a prophetic word from the prophet Obadiah in the 3-4 verses of his tiny book may have prophetic implication for America:
Obadiah 1:3-4 - The pride of thine
heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwells in the clefts of the rock, whose
habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the
ground? [4] Though thou exalt thyself as
the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I
bring thee down, saith the Lord.
The eagle is the symbol of America.
Even though America is not mentioned during the Tribulation, this passage could
very well be a warning to our nation about her pride. This root is ugly and it
is growing in our society. The Lord says through Obadiah - "I WILL BRING YOU
DOWN."
Fullness Of Bread
What was intended to be, and should have been, a blessing to a nation became a sin. When God blesses us with things such as wealth, prosperity, etc. it is human nature to stop being thankful for those blessings and allow pride to cause us to misuse them. Sodom had "FULLNESS OF BREAD" - in other words, they ha an abundance of food and wealth. Yet, it became a curse to them. They indulged themselves in the abundance of their nation and forgot from whom these blessings had come. Besides being sexual perverts and fornicators, they had become drunkards and gluttons.
Deut. 21:20-21 - And they shall say
unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will
not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. [21] And all the men of his
city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from
among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Proverbs 23:20 - Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters
of flesh:
The word
"glutton" is associated with the word "drunkard." Both flaws are related to
excessive living. It carries with it the notion of living with every excess and
having absolutely NO discipline or restraint. That is where America finds
herself tonight and it is where Sodom found herself before she was destroyed.
The fullness of our bread has become our curse. It has become a curse to the
American church. We have become so relaxed and at ease we no longer depend on
the anointing of the Holy Spirit to get the job done. We depend on our material
wealth and ability to make money. It's sad but Jesus is outside a "RICH" church
not welcomed in its midst yet we carry on business as usual. Friend, those days
are coming to an end rapidly!
The Abundance Of Idleness
In plain language this means "prosperity of peace." Sodom was wealthy, they had fullness of bread, they were proud and as a result the deficit time spent in labor compared to idle time became greater. In other words the wealthier they became, the more luxury time they had. If a people were righteous that would translate into more time with God and in communion and intimacy with our Savior. For a wicked and proud people it becomes the inspiration to SIN MORE and indulge ourselves into even more debauchery. America is in such a state tonight. But America is in such a state tonight because her CHURCH is in such a state.
Neglecting The Poor And Needy
America has become a society that cares more for itself than for its fellow man. Many Christians even have an attitude that because they pay taxes to the social programs of the government their obligation to the poor and needy is met. In other words, they do not want to be bothered with it. They are in a hurry to get to the golf course, or perhaps, they don't have it to spare because we are saving up for a new swimming pool or new deck. Jesus said that type person is one who is FULL OF DARKNESS no matter what they are saying with their lips!
Luke 11:34
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single
<"Good," Jewish New Testament meaning
"generous">, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is
evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
That was the spiritual condition of
the Sodomites. It is also the condition of America! We are not strengthening the
hands of the poor and needy. We are using them for political purpose and gain.
Many so-called politicians who decry the government's handling of the poor are
the same men who would not give a beggar a dollar if he had 50 in his pocket.
THAT'S HYPOCRISY in the worst degree! Neighbor, this nation is going down
because of our pride which has led to an abundance of idleness, fullness of
bread, which we have not shared with the poor and needy.
America is such a hypocritical nation. We crusade ourselves to the world as a humanitarian nation when we have shed innocent blood. It is that innocent blood we want to look at in the continuation of this article. You see, a proud an arrogant nation immersed in revelry, absorbed with evil thoughts and disinterested in the plight of their fellow man, sooner or later ALWAYS TURN TO VIOLENCE! The men of SODOM were VIOLENT! These two angelic strangers in Lot's house were not their "partners." They wanted to abuse these two. Had they not been struck with blindness, they would have stopped at nothing to have their way. That is where we are as a society. Our abundance and revelry has created a nation of flesh junkies. There is nothing sacred anymore. There is NOTHING that will prevent us from satisfying every CARNAL and animalistic desire we can contrive - even to the sanctity of human life and that is the BLOOD AMERICA has on its hands- HUMAN BLOOD. The two main areas of the shedding of innocent blood has come through abortion and our betrayal of the Jewish people in the Holocaust in the 1930s.
YES you heard me right on that last statement. America has been shoveling judgment into our closet with each act of anti-Semitism we have enacted upon our Jewish brethren and God is going to hold us accountable! That is the foundation for this "short" article - HA-HA! Those four sins are the ROOT of the problem - VIOLENCE and INNOCENT BLOOD ON OUR HANDS.
Neighbor, it's getting late friend. I have said this many times in the past and
I will say it again. I don't know if America as a nation has any hope. I know
some voices say that revival will come. I believe that but I also believe
that revival will come as a result of tragedy and destruction. God cannot seem
to talk to us any other way and that is a sad indictment on our country. I pray
you are ready to meet Yeshua. There is no hope for tomorrow outside HIM. We are
living in such times. In Part Two of this journal we are going to look at
America's shedding of innocent blood and why the Lord has vowed to "revenge"
that blood on our hands. Praise God. IN HIM - BLESSINGS and SHALOM!
Heavenly Father in Jesus name, FORGIVE US LORD right here and right now as a
nation and as individuals who have indulged themselves in pride, abundance of
idleness and fullness of bread. Forgive us for not strengthening the hands of
the POOR and needy. Lord we need your help in removing the curse off this land
before it is too late. Only through the BLOOD of Yeshua can we see forgiveness
and cleansing. Help us to repent and turn back to You before it's too late.
Amen.