Personal Judgment VS National Judgment
When most people talk about God's wrath, they talk about the flood of Noah, the plagues of Egypt, hailstones of fire and brimstone, the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the terrifying plagues found in the book of Revelation. But a thorough examination of God's wrath in the Bible shows that there are different types, levels and manifestations of God's wrath that are much more subtle than what we would commonly think of as the wrath of God.
PERSONAL JUDGMENT:
God's wrath toward individuals is something that He has chosen to postpone until after their physical death. God's perspective from outside time observes all things in all individuals, including all the purposes of their heart, all inner thoughts, all motives and possibilities. He sees all potential good and evil within every living human being. God's role as Judge requires from all of us an atonement for transgressions against His Moral Laws. Since all of us in some way have broken His laws, all of us need atonement. That's what the atonement of the Cross is all about. God chose to transfer the debt of all transgressions to an alternative target to bear the wrath of God. The alternative target that God chose was Himself in human flesh. This way, God could satisfy His perfect justice and His perfect love at the same time. Whenever anyone accepts God's balance transfer, they become a new creation that is forever forgiven of all their sins. The former relationship of the guilty before their Judge becomes the relationship of a child before their loving Father. This is what it means to be "reborn in the Holy Spirit."
Individuals who will spend their entire lives rejecting God's balance transfer cannot ever be part of God's Kingdom and what's worse, will be sentenced to God's wrath after they die. Fortunately for them, God postpones this as long as possible while simultaneously working privately within their inner thoughts to bring them to the truth. God isn't unreasonable. He knows all about the massive deception on this earth and how much confusion there is toward the subject of God and the afterlife. He also knows how heavily infiltrated the religious organizations are of false prophets and deceptive hypocrites. Thank God that He doesn't rely completely on human wisdom and Christian outreach to get the truth to people. He will PERSONALLY do whatever it takes within the inner consciousness of every human heart to bring them to the full truth before they die.
It isn't God's Will that anyone should perish under His wrath. Whenever anyone receives the truth and accepts it within their place in the time-domain, then God from outside time can see that the blood of Christ has covered their entire lives and so He adopts them in Christ before the foundation of the world. But, when anyone receives the truth and chooses to reject it within their place in the time-domain, then God from outside time will see a lifetime filled with rebellion and wickedness and so use all the events of their own wicked lives to fulfill His ultimate purpose in other ways. When they die, their soul will go to the supernatural prison known as Hades where they will await their final judgment.
For Christians, God's wrath isn't something to worry about because the Bible explains to us in graphic detail how Jesus bore the full weight of God's wrath on our behalf. Since we've allowed God to transfer our debt to the cross, we've been assured via 1st Thessalonians 5:9 and so many other passages of Scripture that we are now no longer, nor will we ever be again, the subjects of God's wrath. As children of a loving Father, we may be subject to His corrective discipline from time to time, but not His wrath.
NATIONAL JUDGMENT:
The subject of God's wrath toward governments and nations have different applications than God's wrath toward the individual. The blessing and prosperity of nations depends upon their devotion to the One Whom they worship. All human beings collectively will worship something or someone even if it's only themselves. The main problem is that Satan can bless too! So just because a government is prosperous doesn't mean that it's prosperity comes from God.
According to the examples in Scripture, all governments prospering outside the Will of God have a destined appointment with God's wrath. The intensity of that wrath depends upon several key factors. Some forms of God's wrath are designed to warn the population of future judgment if they don't repent of their idolatry. Warnings of this nature usually involve an increased level of criminal violence, threats from enemy nations, financial downturns and natural disasters. These are God's warnings. Even in the Old Testament where you'll find most of God's catastrophic wrath, you will also find God using a nation's enemies to bring them down as He did with Nineveh in 612 BC or Israel in the following century. This form of judgment has a different goal and objective than God's catastrophic wrath. When God pours out His supernatural catastrophic wrath, it's to punish the wicked, dispense justice and uphold His Holy Name. But when He chooses to allow a nation's enemies to bring them down, it's a form of discipline to produce repentance and revival.
Many Christians believe that since we now live in "The New Testament Age of Grace", that God no longer judges nations as He did in The Old Testament and never will again until the prophetic time of the Great Tribulation described in Revelation. But they forget that most of the entire New Testament was written and completed before Jerusalem fell in 70AD. The Christians living in Israel at the time hadn't fallen from God's Grace, but since the land of Israel itself had nationally turned it's back on God and rejected her Messiah, then God withdrew His blessing from the land and allowed her enemies to take her down. Both times Israel fell to foreign enemies, it was first announced and proclaimed by God Himself in the words of the prophets recorded in the Bible. Each and every time it happened, God first told them why judgment was coming and gave them plenty of time to repent.
Many have labeled this form of judgment, "God's Passive Wrath" or more precisely, "God's Abandonment Wrath" in which God doesn't destroy or punish the land, He merely steps aside and allows the people of the land to destroy themselves under the weight of their own foolishness. A Biblical example of this toward an individual was when Sampson woke up one morning to find that all of his supernatural strength had been removed from him after he betrayed God to Delilah. Sampson never lost his salvation, but he did lose God's provision of protection from the Philistines.
An example of this in more recent history might be what we saw happen to the MRS Titanic in 1912. God did not sink the Titanic, the Titanic sank on it's own after colliding with an iceberg. But it's difficult to dismiss the fact that the Titanic sank on it's maiden voyage after publicly boasting of such superior design ingenuity that "God Himself Couldn't Sink This Ship" they boasted as if they had declared war on God and defeated Him. How ironic that she not only sank, but sank during her very first voyage. Another tragic irony is that after colliding with the iceberg, there were hardly enough lifeboats needed to save the entire crew because their pride wouldn't allow them to believe that the Titanic would ever need lifeboats. Did God sink the Titanic in judgment against her? No. Human arrogance and pride is what brought down the Titanic. And since "God could not sink her" as they had boasted, then He chose to remove His hand of protection.
Before every occasion of God's catastrophic wrath recorded in Scripture, God always gave several chances for the people to repent. The way He often did this was remove His hand of protection so that the people would notice it was missing and seek after Him to get it back. When they did, God postponed judgment and healed their land. When they didn't, God gave further and louder warnings of coming judgment and then waited even longer for the people to repent. God's patience is always recorded as long-suffering. The preaching of repentance before The Great Flood, for example, had begun around 1000 years prior. For an entire millennium, God warned of coming judgment and the people continued to sexually mingle with fallen angels that they worshiped as gods.
But what about faithful Christians who are living in a land that God is about to judge with His catastrophic wrath? During the time of preliminary warnings, Christians should be doing what God has always told His people to do during these times. And that's recorded for us in II Chronicles 7:14 which says,
Fortunately, whenever God's people are living in a land that He is about to judge with His catastrophic wrath, God will always provide a way of escape for His children before the fireworks start. When God destroyed the earth with a flood, Enoch was first "raptured" outta here long before the flood came. Noah and his family were given escape via the ark that he built under God's instruction. Before God wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah, He first sent angels to Lot and his family to get them outta town before the fireworks started. Before God begins judging the entire planet during the reign of the Antichrist, He will first pick up His Bride before those incredible fireworks get started. Unfortunately, until then, we may have to endure the sorrow of living in a land that God has abandoned...
ROMANS 1:18-32:
Due to many recent horrific events in our own nation's history, many are beginning to wonder if the United States isn't currently undergoing God's "Abandonment Wrath" right now. Looking at Romans Chapter 1, it's hard to ignore the parallels between what's described there and what we've seen in our own land in the past 100 years, climaxed in the past few. As for the entire book of Romans itself, the first three chapters are a sweeping overview of how all humanity has condemned itself into a desperate need for God's salvation, which has been provided for us and explained in the rest of the book. But verses 18-32 of the first chapter describe the characteristics and the pattern of corporate sin which results in God's "Abandonment Wrath".
OUR ONLY HOPE: IF ANY
I say "If Any" in the heading for this segment because Bible teachers have been hammering this verse to American Christians for decades and things only continue to go from bad to worse. Why is that? It can only be because His people which are called by His name, have not yet humbled themselves, they have not prayed, they have not sought His face AND TURNED FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS. That's the only explanation, despite the number of signs and bumper stickers which proclaim II Chronicles 7:14.
God isn't addressing the pagan left, the corrupt politicians or the corrupt judges in our courts. He's addressing YOU AND ME, those who are called by HIS NAME. It is WE who need to humble OURSELVES, and PRAY, and SEEK HIS FACE.
In other words, "Quit thinking you'll find Me at church or in some daily devotional. Get real and get serious!! Get Me FROM ME & MY WORD, not your pastor. Humble yourself before ME and PRAY, SEEK MY FACE from ME!!!" and then the most important factor in this is for you and me to TURN FROM OUR WICKED WAYS.
Do you want God to remove corrupt judges from our courts outlawing righteousness and enforcing wickedness? Then you need to allow God to remove the corruption in your own judgments and your own decisions that usurps your own will over God's Will!!
Do you want God to stop sexual promiscuity and unlimited abortions in our nation? Then guys, you need to quit looking at porn!! Human wisdom says one has nothing to do with the other. Wisdom of God says, "you turn from YOUR wicked ways, then I'll heal your land of it's wicked ways."
Do you want God to stop the government from confiscating everyone's income and spending it on things that go against your faith? Then you need to quit blowing $100 a month on lottery tickets to get rich or anything else you know in your heart you shouldn't be investing your money which God has given you.
Before God will fix our nation, you gotta let God fix you. NOW!!! Before it's too late!!!
PERSONAL JUDGMENT:
God's wrath toward individuals is something that He has chosen to postpone until after their physical death. God's perspective from outside time observes all things in all individuals, including all the purposes of their heart, all inner thoughts, all motives and possibilities. He sees all potential good and evil within every living human being. God's role as Judge requires from all of us an atonement for transgressions against His Moral Laws. Since all of us in some way have broken His laws, all of us need atonement. That's what the atonement of the Cross is all about. God chose to transfer the debt of all transgressions to an alternative target to bear the wrath of God. The alternative target that God chose was Himself in human flesh. This way, God could satisfy His perfect justice and His perfect love at the same time. Whenever anyone accepts God's balance transfer, they become a new creation that is forever forgiven of all their sins. The former relationship of the guilty before their Judge becomes the relationship of a child before their loving Father. This is what it means to be "reborn in the Holy Spirit."
Individuals who will spend their entire lives rejecting God's balance transfer cannot ever be part of God's Kingdom and what's worse, will be sentenced to God's wrath after they die. Fortunately for them, God postpones this as long as possible while simultaneously working privately within their inner thoughts to bring them to the truth. God isn't unreasonable. He knows all about the massive deception on this earth and how much confusion there is toward the subject of God and the afterlife. He also knows how heavily infiltrated the religious organizations are of false prophets and deceptive hypocrites. Thank God that He doesn't rely completely on human wisdom and Christian outreach to get the truth to people. He will PERSONALLY do whatever it takes within the inner consciousness of every human heart to bring them to the full truth before they die.
It isn't God's Will that anyone should perish under His wrath. Whenever anyone receives the truth and accepts it within their place in the time-domain, then God from outside time can see that the blood of Christ has covered their entire lives and so He adopts them in Christ before the foundation of the world. But, when anyone receives the truth and chooses to reject it within their place in the time-domain, then God from outside time will see a lifetime filled with rebellion and wickedness and so use all the events of their own wicked lives to fulfill His ultimate purpose in other ways. When they die, their soul will go to the supernatural prison known as Hades where they will await their final judgment.
For Christians, God's wrath isn't something to worry about because the Bible explains to us in graphic detail how Jesus bore the full weight of God's wrath on our behalf. Since we've allowed God to transfer our debt to the cross, we've been assured via 1st Thessalonians 5:9 and so many other passages of Scripture that we are now no longer, nor will we ever be again, the subjects of God's wrath. As children of a loving Father, we may be subject to His corrective discipline from time to time, but not His wrath.
NATIONAL JUDGMENT:
The subject of God's wrath toward governments and nations have different applications than God's wrath toward the individual. The blessing and prosperity of nations depends upon their devotion to the One Whom they worship. All human beings collectively will worship something or someone even if it's only themselves. The main problem is that Satan can bless too! So just because a government is prosperous doesn't mean that it's prosperity comes from God.
According to the examples in Scripture, all governments prospering outside the Will of God have a destined appointment with God's wrath. The intensity of that wrath depends upon several key factors. Some forms of God's wrath are designed to warn the population of future judgment if they don't repent of their idolatry. Warnings of this nature usually involve an increased level of criminal violence, threats from enemy nations, financial downturns and natural disasters. These are God's warnings. Even in the Old Testament where you'll find most of God's catastrophic wrath, you will also find God using a nation's enemies to bring them down as He did with Nineveh in 612 BC or Israel in the following century. This form of judgment has a different goal and objective than God's catastrophic wrath. When God pours out His supernatural catastrophic wrath, it's to punish the wicked, dispense justice and uphold His Holy Name. But when He chooses to allow a nation's enemies to bring them down, it's a form of discipline to produce repentance and revival.
Many Christians believe that since we now live in "The New Testament Age of Grace", that God no longer judges nations as He did in The Old Testament and never will again until the prophetic time of the Great Tribulation described in Revelation. But they forget that most of the entire New Testament was written and completed before Jerusalem fell in 70AD. The Christians living in Israel at the time hadn't fallen from God's Grace, but since the land of Israel itself had nationally turned it's back on God and rejected her Messiah, then God withdrew His blessing from the land and allowed her enemies to take her down. Both times Israel fell to foreign enemies, it was first announced and proclaimed by God Himself in the words of the prophets recorded in the Bible. Each and every time it happened, God first told them why judgment was coming and gave them plenty of time to repent.
Many have labeled this form of judgment, "God's Passive Wrath" or more precisely, "God's Abandonment Wrath" in which God doesn't destroy or punish the land, He merely steps aside and allows the people of the land to destroy themselves under the weight of their own foolishness. A Biblical example of this toward an individual was when Sampson woke up one morning to find that all of his supernatural strength had been removed from him after he betrayed God to Delilah. Sampson never lost his salvation, but he did lose God's provision of protection from the Philistines.
An example of this in more recent history might be what we saw happen to the MRS Titanic in 1912. God did not sink the Titanic, the Titanic sank on it's own after colliding with an iceberg. But it's difficult to dismiss the fact that the Titanic sank on it's maiden voyage after publicly boasting of such superior design ingenuity that "God Himself Couldn't Sink This Ship" they boasted as if they had declared war on God and defeated Him. How ironic that she not only sank, but sank during her very first voyage. Another tragic irony is that after colliding with the iceberg, there were hardly enough lifeboats needed to save the entire crew because their pride wouldn't allow them to believe that the Titanic would ever need lifeboats. Did God sink the Titanic in judgment against her? No. Human arrogance and pride is what brought down the Titanic. And since "God could not sink her" as they had boasted, then He chose to remove His hand of protection.
Before every occasion of God's catastrophic wrath recorded in Scripture, God always gave several chances for the people to repent. The way He often did this was remove His hand of protection so that the people would notice it was missing and seek after Him to get it back. When they did, God postponed judgment and healed their land. When they didn't, God gave further and louder warnings of coming judgment and then waited even longer for the people to repent. God's patience is always recorded as long-suffering. The preaching of repentance before The Great Flood, for example, had begun around 1000 years prior. For an entire millennium, God warned of coming judgment and the people continued to sexually mingle with fallen angels that they worshiped as gods.
But what about faithful Christians who are living in a land that God is about to judge with His catastrophic wrath? During the time of preliminary warnings, Christians should be doing what God has always told His people to do during these times. And that's recorded for us in II Chronicles 7:14 which says,
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."In other words, we Christians should get serious about our relationship with God via personal prayer time and Bible study. Most importantly in this is to turn away from our own personal and private sin that we know God has never condoned, He's never liked it in our lives even though He's always forgiven us. Whatever that things is, we know what it is. We've all done our own part in contributing to our nation's immorality and idolatry. Whatever that thing is, we need to lay it down and get real about our relationship with the Lord and then see what God does. Part of that is speaking the truth when people ask about what's going on. People will blame guns, video games, global warming, fracking, racism, political parties and everything but the kitchen sink before identifying the real problem. If we do our part via II Chronicles 7:14, then God is obligated to do His part, which is to heal our land. If God doesn't heal our land and things go from bad to worse, then it will only be because His people which are called by His name, did not humble themselves, they did not pray, they did not seek His face AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS.
Fortunately, whenever God's people are living in a land that He is about to judge with His catastrophic wrath, God will always provide a way of escape for His children before the fireworks start. When God destroyed the earth with a flood, Enoch was first "raptured" outta here long before the flood came. Noah and his family were given escape via the ark that he built under God's instruction. Before God wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah, He first sent angels to Lot and his family to get them outta town before the fireworks started. Before God begins judging the entire planet during the reign of the Antichrist, He will first pick up His Bride before those incredible fireworks get started. Unfortunately, until then, we may have to endure the sorrow of living in a land that God has abandoned...
ROMANS 1:18-32:
Due to many recent horrific events in our own nation's history, many are beginning to wonder if the United States isn't currently undergoing God's "Abandonment Wrath" right now. Looking at Romans Chapter 1, it's hard to ignore the parallels between what's described there and what we've seen in our own land in the past 100 years, climaxed in the past few. As for the entire book of Romans itself, the first three chapters are a sweeping overview of how all humanity has condemned itself into a desperate need for God's salvation, which has been provided for us and explained in the rest of the book. But verses 18-32 of the first chapter describe the characteristics and the pattern of corporate sin which results in God's "Abandonment Wrath".
THE SEED OF CORRUPTION: (Romans 1:18-20)
Despite the best efforts of any conspiratorial governments working behind the scenes, the United States was founded upon a predominantly, pro-Judaeo/Christian worldview. Whenever our nation endured shame, it was because the nation had temporarily abandoned that worldview. But due to our national Christian heritage, our religious freedoms and freedom of speech, our entire land was populated and governed by either godly men and women, or those who were pro-Christian even if they were not Christians themselves. Our education system was founded and maintained by our churches and Christian organizations.
Unfortunately, a seed of corruption had been planted around the dawn of the 20th Century that would take the next few decades to grow. That seed is the principle of Romans 1:18-20 which speaks of a truth that is repressed and hindered to make it inoperative. According to Romans 1:18-20, everyone can see God's invisible nature and existence through the things which He has created. But men of unrighteousness who see these things will repress the truth and make it inoperative. Isn't it interesting that it was during the latter half of the 19th Century that men who studied and researched the science of creation had begun to slowly advance Darwinian theories of evolution. These men of science advancing evolution knew in their hearts the reality of God's nature according to Romans 1:18-20, but chose to repress that truth, making it inoperative by using scientific theories and jargon to advance what they knew in their heart was not so."For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification]..." ~ Romans 1:18-20 AMPLIFIED
1920s - 1950s: (Romans 1:21-23)
Those who repressed the truth, making it inoperative had made their way into schools and churches. Since the nation's churches and educational establishments were still Christian organizations, people found a way to compromise science and the Bible by teaching Genesis 1 as symbolizing epochs of eons, replacing the literal interpretation of Biblical Creation with Darwinian evolution. The 6 days of creation became symbolic of millions of years and then Adam and Eve became symbolic of the first primitive humans which had evolved from apes. Psychology and sociology also began replacing literal interpretation of Biblical theology even in many churches. The so-called science of Evolution was one of the primary theologies behind Hitler's extermination of the Jews in the 30s and 40s, but hardly anyone mentions that today. It's the theology of racial supremacy by survival of the fittest. Science became the new religion and while there was much controversial debate between scientists and Christians and even between Christian, the compromise of Biblical science to Darwinian evolution had become the predominant theology in most schools and churches by the late 1950s."Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves]. And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles." ~ Romans 1:21-23 AMPLIFIED
1950s - 1990s: (Romans 1:24-25) While God was slowly being replaced in our schools, classic pornography was being reborn into something new. Playboy Magazine released it's first issue in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe on it's cover. This was the first time that pornographic material had ever been given mainstream exposure in the United States. The mainstreaming of porn influenced the look and feel of sexuality in film and television by the late 1950s. Teenagers became new icons of sexuality and sexual expression by the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Since the government had been helping fund our nation's schools and colleges, they were able by 1963 with the stroke of a pen and an edict by the Supreme Court, to strip God and all things connected to God from our schools and colleges as if He were a disease to be cured. When I first heard about this, I thought it only meant people could no longer pray in school or before football games. It wasn't until I saw my grandmother's English book from her youth that I realized just how much God was in our education system before 1963. You didn't have to go to church to learn the Bible, you could learn all about it in every subject of every class in every school across the land. All of it was made illegal by a false interpretation by the Supreme Court of a letter from Thomas Jefferson about separation of church and state. Evolution was no longer taught as theory, but scientific fact. The Biblical interpretation of anything, including it's role in our national heritage was stripped from our education system and outlawed.
The 1960s also gave birth to an explosion of drug-experimentation which defined the decade. Mind-altering drugs were what the 1960s were known for and their place in American culture has never been overthrown.
The 1960s also brought us the sexual revolution which was renowned. It touched all forms of media: magazines, books, records, radio, television and movies. Teens and 20-somethings everywhere were "making love not war" as the old traditional avenue for sex had become seen as a "sexually repressive doctrine of religious extremists." Then Penthouse Magazine was released in 1969 which turned things up a notch after redefined pornography even more because of it's boldness in comparison to Playboy. People began to define Playboy as "softcore" since Penthouse was more "hardcore" in comparison. Since everyone was having sex without responsibility, the subject of unwanted pregnancies became the topic of much conversation. Women were having their unborn babies torn out of their wombs in back alleys with coat-hangers which led the nation into debating about, not the harms of the sexual revolution, but the harms of the laws which were keeping abortion illegal. Abortion-On-Demand: the murdering of unborn babies was legalized in 1973.
Hustler Magazine was released in 1974 which made Penthouse look like Playboy and made Playboy look like the lingerie section of a Sears Catalog. The Motion Picture Association of America re-invented it's movie rating system which allowed nudity in films that weren't rated-X. It was the new Rated-R for audiences 17 and over unless accompanied by an adult. Mainstream films began slipping in the proverbial boob-shot or simulated sex-scene under the new R-Rating. By the late 70's and early 80's, many softcore porn-films had managed to slip their way into mainstream movie theaters under an R-Rating. During the late 1970s, the subject and talk of sex became normal household conversation on network prime-time TV shows, but usually under a more serious storyline such as a married couple wanting to have kids or an older marriage in trouble. It didn't become comical until the 1980s.
Then the subject of sexually transmitted diseases became the fodder for controversial conversation on daytime talk shows. You could abort a fetus, but you could't abort an STD so that made everybody mad. Christians who promoted abstinence until marriage were told to shut-up, even though it works every time it's tried. Propaganda campaigns were released on television promoting "safe-sex" even though condoms at the time could stop the transmission of STDs about as much as a chain-link fence could stop a bullet.
Then, with the advent of cable television, Playboy started it's own pornography channel which was followed shortly by Pay-Per-View porn and The Spice Network in the 1990s. By this time, sex was talked about and a source of comedy in almost every TV show on every channel with the exception of the proverbial kiddie shows that aired in the mornings and afternoons. Since paid channels aired full pornography, it made the mainstream channels feel like they had permission to air bikini dance programs and edited soft-core porn into goofy Friday night movie-marathons. During these days, sex was so mainstream in every form of media that the kids of my generation as early as 14 years old thought that if they hadn't lost their virginity by then, there was something seriously wrong with you. That was back in the late 1980s!! I can't imagine how bad it must be these days. Then the internet came along in the 1990s with all it had to offer pornography and the rest is history."Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin], Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it)." ~ Romans 1:24-25 AMPLIFIED
1990s - THE PRESENT: (Romans 1:26-27) The 1990s launched the era of domestic terrorism and random, demonic school-shootings. Christians who proclaimed that we need to get God back in our schools were told to shut-up, even by some pastors.
The 1990s also launched an era of porn-on-demand thanks to late-night television and the rise of the internet. No human male in the history of the world ever had access to what the male of the 1990s and subsequent decades have access to now. At the click of a button, an endless supply of women of all races, ages, hair-styles, body-shapes and sizes can be accessed... all for free. The supply is unlimited, the cost is free, and everything is completely anonymous. Men with respectable marriages, holding professional jobs (even Christian leaders) can quietly and privately search through an endless harem of women without spending a dime, and no one need know. The naked female body has become so over-exposed that teenage girls of Christian homes feel guilt-free working at "breastraunts" like Hooters or Bikinis because what's that compared to what we've all been desensitized to on regular TV & internet? That's almost wholesome compared to what we're getting on TV.
The 1990s also launched a homosexual explosion in all forms of media: film, television, radio, magazine, etc... Gay characters began appearing as token representatives of the gay community in every film and television show. It didn't matter that only 7% of the American population was gay, they had to make up at least 30% of characters on every TV show.
The late 1990s launched one of NBC's most popular sitcoms, called "Will & Grace" which totally surrounded the lives and lifestyles of gay men. It was packaged in such a way that even a Christian who had become desensitized to the modern culture would find it fun and entertaining.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 2008 was when eHarmony.com was prosecuted by gays for not including a gay/lesbian section on their dating site. eHarmony.com was supposedly the first Christian dating website ever created. So obviously, the creators of the site never expected gays to be interested. There were plenty of other dating websites that the gays could have joined, but no! They wanted the Christian-ran dating website to get them together. So the Christians at eHarmony.com had to betray their own faith and help the gays get together at their website. eHarmony lost, they were forced to add a section for gays, and are now no longer promoting their site as a Christian dating site.
Then just a few years ago, a Christian who runs a nation-wide chicken-sandwich restaurant, was specifically asked how he felt about gay marriage. Since he was a Biblical Christian, he held the Biblical beliefs of a Christian. These beliefs didn't personally affect gays in the least. There are no "straight-only" lines at Chick Filet, nor are there any "straight-only" rules about working there. The founder of Chick Filet wasn't a leader in politics, he wasn't a lawyer, he wasn't a judge, or even a pastor of a church. He was a guy who started a chain of restaurants that made chicken sandwiches. He had no way of persecuting gays even if he wanted to. He had never said anything about homosexuality before. It wasn't on his radar. But because his Christian faith was a matter of public record, his stance on gay-marriage was specifically asked about and then brought out into the light. Lesbian and gay groups across America lashed out and attacked the food chain with threats of boycotts and lawsuits. "WE'LL SHUT YOU DOWN!!!!!!!!" they said. Lawyers and various judges were getting ready. But then something wonderful and unexpected happened. Christians across America showed their support for the Christian founder's courage and filled the drive-thru lines at every Chick Filet in every town for several weeks in a row.
Shortly thereafter, a gay couple brought a lawsuit against a Christian group who baked wedding cakes. The gay couple could have gone to any number of stores that baked wedding cakes, but they specifically chose the Christian's store. Similar cases happened across the nation with various Christian-run wedding stores, shops, planners, etc... Christians were hauled into court, demanded to betray their faith or shut their businesses down and by order of the court, go through sensitivity training.
Then, in various churches across America, gay couples wanted Christian pastors to marry them in their churches. Some churches complied, but many of them did not. It went against the Biblical beliefs of the pastors who would have been asked to perform the ceremony. Many pastors won't perform a wedding ceremony for anyone that they feel shouldn't be married. A church wedding isn't like a civil wedding. A civil wedding is just about licences and laws. A church wedding, performed by the pastor of that church, is specifically being called upon to witness and Spiritually endorse the joining of those being married. If a pastor, for example, feels that a young couple might be rushing into things, he won't agree to marry them. So no wonder, these same pastors won't participate in joining a gay couple in marriage. They have to worry about God's approval first, before the approval of the politically correct.
In 2014, the lesbian mayor of Houston, Texas was so upset about this that she demanded by order of the court, the confiscation of all sermon-notes from Houston's pastors. The pastors jokingly complied saying, "If she wants to read our sermon notes, that's ok with us. We wish everyone was interested in reading our sermons." But the mayor's actions were meant to be a tactic of intimidation. She wanted to make sure those pastors weren't preaching against homosexuality. That's called hate-speech if your a member of the militant gay community.
Then finally in June of 2015, the Supreme Court overruled the laws of all 50 states banning gay marriage. Men can now marry men and women can now marry women. If any Christian has the legal authority to marry people in church, in courts, or hand out marriage licenses, bake wedding cakes, or any Christian with any responsibility of that nature who refuses to participate in the gay wedding, their refusal will be held as an act of discrimination which can be prosecuted in a court of law. The Christians that reacted quickly in condemning the ruling did so because they are already aware of a movement of Christian persecution that has already begun and is about to get worse. Gay militants across the land have already said boldly and publicly, "the churches are next!" This isn't about equality for gays. This is about revenge.
There are no Mosques that will accommodate a gay couple because Muslims don't acknowledge gay-marriage either. Why don't we hear anything about gays prosecuting Muslims? Because gays aren't seeking equality. They're seeking to persecute Christians.
Unfortunately, after the Supreme Court ruling, I actually found myself having to publish this long article in response to Christian bloggers who were upset at other Christians who condemned the ruling."For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, and the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution." ~ Romans 1:26-27 AMPLIFIED
THE PRESENT & FUTURE HORROR: (Romans 1:28-32) Since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, a great number of other spiritual upheavals have taken place on American soil for the first time in our history. Several cities across the land have publicly and officially endorsed the worship of Satan and lifted up statues in honor of Lucifer and Satanism, mocking America's freedom of religion. Thousands gathered together in mocking devil costumes as they praised America's religious liberty.
Our government for the first time in our history, garnered a nuclear deal with Israel's enemies while refusing Israel's leaders to have anything to do with the talks. Under the current administration of Barack Obama, we're giving Israel's enemies everything they want and we're even threatening Israel of an attack against them if they attempt to do anything to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. No time in our history has America turned it's back on Israel like we have in recent months. It scares me to death.
Then, as if killing the unborn isn't horrible enough, it's been uncovered that the killers are carefully carving out the body parts to sell on the black market. Victor Frankenstein had nothing on Planned Parenthood. This is no different than what the Nazi's did to the Jews who were tortured and experimented upon for the Nazi's so-called research. This is the United States of the 21st Century.
It would appear that the pattern outlined in Romans Chapter 1 is flawless. So what lies ahead in our future if things don't change? It's found in verses 28 to 32..."And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them." ~ Romans 1:38-32 AMPLIFIED
We've already seen much of this. Every Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) I think of these verses speaking of "grasping and covetous greed" and when I read the rest of the chapter, I see much of what I see on the news every night. People today already seem to be without understanding, conscienceless, heartless, loveless and merciless. Children disobedient to parents? I can't go anywhere in public where I don't hear a child screaming and challenging their parents as if they were his servants and he was their god. The internet and television media is filled with arrogance and boasting; inventors of new forms of evil. Yes, many do approve and applaud others who do things which are deserving of death, even many Christians in the name of tolerance.
These times are also described by Paul in II Timothy 3:1-5 where he says,"But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them]." ~ II Timothy 3:1-5 AMPLIFIED
Every bit of that sounds just like the world I live in today. Paul spoke of people losing their ability to have natural affection toward others. A cruel arrogance has taken over the emotions of most people in the world today, accompanied by an impatient rage. We see this in people's treatment of children, cruelty to animals, children's cruelty toward each other and their parents, etc. The very first word that Paul used to summarize the times we're in was the word "perilous". The Word "Perilous" in that passage was translated from the Greek word, "chalepos" and it's definition found in a Strong's Concordance says that it means "hard to do, hard to take, hard to approach, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous, harsh, fierce and savage." This Greek word is never used anywhere else in the New Testament except for one other time, and it's found in Matthew 8:28 to describe the demoniac who was filled with demons. The definition of his nature was the very same of the "Perilous Times" of the last days that Paul warned Timothy about. I believe these are the times we are living in today, especially with the massive increase of UFO sightings and "alien abductions" and regular readers to this blog know exactly what that's all about.
The biggest twist in the Timothy passage is that those participating in all of this would seem to be promoting themselves as morally good, spiritual, religious, maybe even Christian!!"Woe to Those Who Call Evil Good And Good Evil - Woe To Those Who Are Wise In Their Own Eyes" ~ Isaiah 5:20-21
OUR ONLY HOPE: IF ANY
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." ~ II Chronicles 7:14
I say "If Any" in the heading for this segment because Bible teachers have been hammering this verse to American Christians for decades and things only continue to go from bad to worse. Why is that? It can only be because His people which are called by His name, have not yet humbled themselves, they have not prayed, they have not sought His face AND TURNED FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS. That's the only explanation, despite the number of signs and bumper stickers which proclaim II Chronicles 7:14.
God isn't addressing the pagan left, the corrupt politicians or the corrupt judges in our courts. He's addressing YOU AND ME, those who are called by HIS NAME. It is WE who need to humble OURSELVES, and PRAY, and SEEK HIS FACE.
In other words, "Quit thinking you'll find Me at church or in some daily devotional. Get real and get serious!! Get Me FROM ME & MY WORD, not your pastor. Humble yourself before ME and PRAY, SEEK MY FACE from ME!!!" and then the most important factor in this is for you and me to TURN FROM OUR WICKED WAYS.
Do you want God to remove corrupt judges from our courts outlawing righteousness and enforcing wickedness? Then you need to allow God to remove the corruption in your own judgments and your own decisions that usurps your own will over God's Will!!
Do you want God to stop sexual promiscuity and unlimited abortions in our nation? Then guys, you need to quit looking at porn!! Human wisdom says one has nothing to do with the other. Wisdom of God says, "you turn from YOUR wicked ways, then I'll heal your land of it's wicked ways."
Do you want God to stop the government from confiscating everyone's income and spending it on things that go against your faith? Then you need to quit blowing $100 a month on lottery tickets to get rich or anything else you know in your heart you shouldn't be investing your money which God has given you.
Before God will fix our nation, you gotta let God fix you. NOW!!! Before it's too late!!!
