A couple of posts ago, I made the statement, "Pray that we as people, and a nation, make the right choices. Now is not the time to be disobedient and ignore God's warnings". Yet that seems to be exactly what we are doing. We have no excuse for continuing to rebel against God and yet hoping that [somehow] our country will be saved and get back on track. In His Word, God has plainly told us what is required to maintain His blessings and favor ...
Do you recall the story of Solomon, son of King David, who inherited his father's throne and God's favor? When Solomon was anointed as king, the only things he asked of the Lord were wisdom and understanding to judge and rule God's people in a righteous manner and to discern between good and evil. Because Solomon did not ask for a long life or wealth, God was pleased with his request, and granted him those very gifts of long life, wealth, and in addition, honor. So, Solomon built a magnificent temple for God -- a remarkable edifice surrounded by spacious courts with magnificent approaches, and lined with carved cedar and burnished gold; and garnished with precious stones. It presented an appropriate symbol for the House of the Lord and a dwelling place for His Presence.
When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he prayed that it would be God's resting place; where He dwelt on earth in the midst of His people. After Solomon finished his prayer of dedication, fire came down from Heaven and the people understood that God's Presence [and His power and strength] resided with them in the existence of the Ark of the Covenant. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon one night and told him that He, the Lord, would look kindly upon Israel and His people and forgive them when they sinned against Him -- IF they met His criteria. God's promise is one that we often quote, ourselves, in these times of darkness... [If] My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek [crave, require as a necessity] My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.
That has become our national "go to" prayer as we discern the wrong paths that this nation has [and is] going down. Somehow, we think that's all that is required ... ask and you shall receive. But we've forgotten that this promise from God also came with a warning at the same time. It applied to Israel and it applies to us. Here is the stern warning: But if you [people] turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and you go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from My land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have consecrated for My Name, out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and an object of scorn among all nations.
Part of our American heritage is the tradition that God consecrated this land as He did Israel. And, actually, historians often credit America as being "the new Israel". I don't necessarily believe that, but I do know this... He has greatly blessed this nation, and we were founded on His statutes and grounded in His laws of morality. So, we know that God never changes, and if His promise and warning to Israel were a mandate for their obedience, that holds true for us, too. We have clung to His promise, but ignored His warning, and now, my fellow Americans, I'm not sure we can escape the consequences!
I know that many of you don't want to hear that, and out of fear will hold tightly to God's character of Mercy and Grace. But He is also our Righteous and Just God, and doesn't extend His warnings haphazardly. He gives us the opportunity to repent and change our ways, but instead, this country is going further down the tubes! And if you still can't see that, let me give you some reasons why I want you to pay attention to this warning... both mine and His!
One of our biggest stumbling blocks, and most grievous sins, has been the practice of abortion. It is no different than the sins of those who burned and sacrificed their babies at the altar of Molech. In God's eyes abortion is a blood sacrifice just as wicked and evil. We can fool ourselves and say, "But the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022! We changed our direction back to God"! That just shows me how shallow our national discernment is. It's a false image that Satan dangles before our eyes to convince us that we've done enough; we are succeeding in turning away from that horrendous sin.
The truth is that the number of abortions during the 12 months immediately following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was actually higher than the 12 months preceding the decision. In an article entitled, Has America Run Out of Time?, a new report by reproductive health firm Guttmacher Institute, shows that the abortion rate in 2023 was the highest it's been since 2014! But here's an interesting fact... more abortions are being accomplished by the use of a pill rather than the standard medical procedure. So, somehow this is supposed to be more humane, and lessen the sin of terminating one of God's creations? God will not be mocked!
In addition, the number of Gen Z women who identify as LGBTQ+ [almost 30%] continues to grow. And that doesn't take into account the growing number of young people who are changing gender, or those who are increasingly identifying as animals! You read that correctly -- I have actually witnessed a preteen in my local hardware store dressed in a full cat costume; lounging on the floor in a furry full length garment, from head to toe. Only her face was visible. At first, I thought she must be attending some kind of costume party, but the store employees informed me she identifies as a cat now, and her parents support it.
So let me get this straight ... abortions are on the rise; young women aren't interested in procreating; and our children identify as animals! Can you see Satan's strategy of eliminating the number of human babies that are born? Wouldn't all this seem to strengthen his position of having dominion over the earth? And how many well-meaning Christians are totally unaware of these statistics? Yet, they keep repeating the mantra that there's a world-wide revival coming and we win in the end. I am not doubting that God can bring about a revival in a remnant of His people, and I absolutely know the faithful are victorious in Jesus. But that doesn't mean America survives this gutting of our core identity!
And if none of this is enough to convince you we are in deep trouble, let me point you to Revelation 18. The Subhead of this chapter is Babylon Has Fallen. We are told that an angel comes down from heaven, possessing great authority, and he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, "fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is Babylon the Great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclear spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird. For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her [sexual] immorality, and the kings and political leaders of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth and economic power of her sensuous luxury".
Revelation 18 goes on to say, "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not be a partner in her sins and receive her plagues, for her sins [crimes and transgressions/rebellions] have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and crimes [for judgment]... for in her heart she boasts, I SIT AS A QUEEN [on a throne] AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never, ever see mourning or experience grief! For this reason in a single day her plagues [afflictions, calamities] will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire and completely consumed; for strong and powerful is the Lord God who judges her".
I highly recommend that you take the time to read the entirety of Revelation 18 and see if you do not see America in this judgment of God. It tells us that the merchants of the world will "weep and grieve over Babylon" because no one buys their merchandise anymore. [We no longer make our own merchandise, but buy it from others]. And they weep and mourn for "the great city" who was robed in fine linen, gilded with gold, with precious stones and pearls because "in one hour all the vast wealth has been laid waste". [New York has been the center of world commerce, and Wall Street has controlled the economic currency of the world]. But perhaps the most damning judgment is called The Divine Sentence upon Babylon.
The Bible tells us that a single powerful angel will pick up a boulder like a great millstone and fling it into the sea, saying, "With such violence will Babylon, the great city, be hurled down [by the sudden, spectacular judgment of God], and will never again be found.... Commerce will no longer flourish, and normal life will cease. Never again will the light of a lamp shine in you -- [there goes our claim of being a shining light upon a hill for the whole world to be drawn to] -- and never again will the voice of the bridegroom and bride be heard in you; for your merchants were the great and prominent men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived and misled by your sorcery [your magic spells and poisonous charm]. And in Babylon was found the blood of the prophets and of saints (God's people) and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth". This speaks of the persecution coming against Christians, wars, and the abominable practice of abortion.
Now, you may declare that there's no way to prove or know who this great city, Babylon is, but Scripture indicates that whoever it is describes a human civilization that is arrayed in opposition to God and ready to be judged. America certainly could be in the running. We have been the driving force in commerce since WWII, and we have tempted the nations with our immoral businesses of trafficking, child porn, and drug use. We fight for our rights to kill our own babies, and we have led our nation's children away from God and taught them to hate each other through educational policies that divide us. Furthermore, we have sponsored and profited from wars around the world, and we have raped and stolen natural resources of developing nations. Yet we continue to believe the lies of ungodly leaders and even lie to ourselves, declaring that "We are America! Nothing is going to happen to us"! Sounds like the Queen of Babylon sitting on her throne and boasting that she will never, ever experience mourning or grief, doesn't it?
So, I ask you ... Are we the master of our own demise? Even if you choose to dismiss the possibility that we deserve [or will receive] the judgments prophesied against Babylon, I just don't see how we can deny that we've done all that is accorded to this wicked entity. Yes, God has given us a way out, but I do not discern that the nation is unified in humbling itself, or praying and seeking His face, turning from our wicked ways. We are actually increasing in them! So, I have to ask, will God save the remnant that does seek Him? Or are we going to be subject to His judgment and wrath that rains on the just and the unjust? I will never give up hope that a miracle can happen in our nation! But I'm also a realist. I will live my life as righteously as I can, and I will praise Him continually in the midst of whatever comes, good or bad. I pray that we are not Babylon, because the warning that comes in Revelation 18:6 is chilling ...
Revelation 18:6 Repay to her even as she has repaid others, and pay back [to her] double [her torment] in accordance with what she has done; in the cup [of sin and suffering] which she mixed, mix a double portion [of perfect justice] for her.
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