From a Lamb to a Lion

What I'm going to talk about today comes from personal experience. Lately, I've been discerning an awakening among the family of God. It's not explosive and certainly not widespread, but still, it is undeniable. There is a remnant in the Body of Christ that is realizing that the religious normalcy bias we've been operating in, is not our reality. We've come to know that Scripture speaks plainly that judgment is coming on the nation that continues to rebel against God. In Amos, Chapter 4, God reminds His nation of Israel that He sent famine; drought; plagues of insects to kill their crops and plagues of sickness to kill their people. He also overthrew and destroyed the depraved [as a warning to all], "Yet you have not returned to Me in repentance". And his last statement in Chapter 4 is chilling ... "Prepare to meet your God [in judgment], O Israel"!

That is what happens to an idolatrous and corrupt nation who turns away from YHWH. We should take note. It doesn't matter whether we were founded as a Christian nation or not. Our actions throughout the two-and-a-half centuries of our existence speak louder. And over the last half century, this nation has shown flagrant contempt and scorn for God. He is absent from the halls of Congress, our schools, our entertainment industry, from corporate America, and from many families. It is not enough to say that He is still alive in the churches of America when the churches are run like businesses, the leadership approves of ungodly lifestyles, and Jezebel controls the congregation. 

I know this sounds harsh. And I know there are Godly pockets of the Remnant that seek to establish His Kingdom in this nation. And God will honor that and give us favor! But stop for just a moment and look at the big picture this nation presents to God as He sits on His throne. The corruption, the greed, the immorality, the perversion and depravity, the murders, the disdain for law and order ... all of this threatens to overcome the standards of goodness and decency that were once the hallmarks of our society.

I have been ruminating on these thoughts for awhile, and asking the Lord to show me that what I am discerning is wrong. I desperately want to be wrong! I would love to bask in the belief that we will somehow escape the ramifications of the falling away from God. But the Holy Spirit spoke to me in the early hours before dawn and showed me that unlike the Jews, who rejected Jesus as the Lamb of compassion and mercy because they wanted a Warrior King, the Church of Jesus in the 21st Century wants to reject the idea of Him as the returning Warrior King, in favor of keeping Him as the Lamb of Grace! The Church wants to keep Jesus as the Lamb and keep Him stuck in His role as peacemaker and pacifist. 

As I've said so often, it is difficult when your discernment and Biblical worldview doesn't match the normalcy bias of most modern-day Christians. We are so comfortable with our view of Jesus as our Savior when He's the Lamb. But when He becomes the Warrior King dispensing righteous judgment, that image threatens to destroy the joy in the Lord. You can point out that the Bible, itself, shows us a deteriorating world that will lead Him to return as a conquering Warrior King with His robe dipped in the blood of the wicked for the judgment of mankind [Revelation 19:13]. And you can show them that there will be a sword coming out of His mouth with which to strike the nations [Revelation 19:15], and He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty [Revelation 14:17-20]. Still they cannot accept Him in this role. Anything but the image of the loving Lamb of God brings offense, and I surmise a good amount of fear.

But I take great comfort in knowing that He will finally go to war as the Commander of the Heavenly Host against Satan and his army of fallen angels. I recognize that my Lord is full of compassion and grace and mercy, but when the cup of God's wrath against Evil is full, I know Him to be the Warrior King, who from Genesis 3:15 forward, is the Defender of His bloodline and His people. He appears throughout the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord, with sword in hand, ready to fight to defend those who belong to Him [Joshua 5:13; 2 Kings 19:35; Psalm 35:5-6]. And as Exodus 23:20-33 shows us, when YHWH sent the Israelites into the Promised Land, where lived the Nephilim giants, He sent an Angel [the pre-incarnate Jesus] before them, to "keep them and guard them on the way and to bring them to the place He had prepared". Jesus was a Giant-killer! And since He is the same today as He was then, we have nothing to fear about the Judgment that is coming. 

And don't you think God is going to keep and guard on us on our way to the Millennium Kingdom and eternal life in the new Heaven and Earth? He is sending Jesus, the Warrior King to go before us, defeating Evil once and for all and bringing us to the place God has prepared for us. So, it is my prayer and my hope that the Body of Christ comes to embrace the truth and knowledge that Jesus is coming to judge the world in righteousness and wage war against Evil. Our faith and hope in a glorious future in Heaven must overcome all fear about what might happen in this world. It will be our privilege to do spiritual battle (and physical, if necessary) alongside our Savior. He will be a formidable Captain of the Angelic Army and our Defender! We will see the Lamb of God become the Lion of Judah and Righteousness and Justice will rule the world!

#endtimeswar #endtimesjudgment #jesuswarriorking #endtimesprophecies #dayofthelord

Revelation 19:11   And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who was riding it is called Faithful and True (trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady), and in righteousness He judges and wages war [on the rebellious nations].

 

Judgment Is Prophesied: Even The Stones Will Cry Out and Accuse

 

I recently read a fascinating article by Coach Dave Daubenmire, titled Are The Rocks Crying Out. Known for his fearless and outspoken commentary on the state of our culture and the faith of Americans, Coach didn't disappoint when he called out the condition of the Church. As he said, himself, "Are  you sitting down? America already has enough cookie-cutter Christians". This statement was made in support of his supposition that instead of the lukewarm Church leadership leading the way, perhaps God has chosen Elon Musk and Kanye West (as different as they are) to be the useful instruments of His revelation in this corrupted world.  

Are these the men who we would expect to be spokesmen for God? I'm pretty sure most of us would say "no". Obviously, their words and their methods don't look like they come from God either. In fact, I'm conflicted as to where Elon Musk stands in God's redemptive plan for humanity. While I applaud him pulling back the veil on Big Tech's censorship and violation of our First Amendment rights, I'm suspicious of his work in the area of artificial intelligence and brain chip interfaces in the name of "medical science". I've never heard nor seen evidence that he has a relationship with God. And then what is there to say about Kanye? His inflammatory rhetoric is stirring the conscience of the culture, to be sure. And his declaration of faith is certainly passionate. Yet his justification for both his faith and his rhetoric is causing an uproar in the national dialogue. How can either of these men be representatives for God and his plan for mankind?

But as Coach Daubenmire points out, "God's ways are not our ways". There are many examples in the Bible where God used ungodly men and ways to change the course of history in accordance with His will. Think Nebuchadnezzar, Darius the Mede, King Cyrus, the false prophets of Baal, and the lying spirit sent to King Ahab. Remember, when God's offers for repentance and forgiveness are rejected time and again, His cup of wrath becomes full. And God is not restricted as to who or how He will see His holy purposes fulfilled. He is Sovereign and can use both good and evil men to accomplish His plans and bring glory to His Name. Are Musk and West divine instruments of God? I can't say for sure, but this I know ... they are revealing the ugly underbelly of our culture and pulling the curtain aside to uncover the corruption in all our ways. 

And that's when the Coach calls our attention to Jesus's comment to the Pharisees in Luke 19:40: “I tell you, if these [disciples] were silent, the very stones would cry out.” NOTE: Daubenmire uses this quote to call out the silent leaders in the Church, who have not "led the charge" in summoning attention to the unrighteousness and immorality in this nation. It's been left to God to use unorthodox men like Elon Musk and Kanye West to shake us out of our tepid response to evil. Therefore, he makes this challenge: with the continued silence from the pulpits, will it be left to the rocks to cry out for justice?

But I want to take a look at the context in which Jesus's statement to the Pharisees is made. Jesus has entered the city of Jerusalem on His way to the Cross. The crowds receive Him as a King and the multitudes of Disciples greeted Him with shouts of praise, adoration, and joy. But the Pharisees wanted them rebuked for their boisterous adulation. But in this moment, Jesus exults in His true identity as the Messiah. I love the following commentary provided in the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible regarding this occasion: Hitherto the Lord had discouraged all demonstrations in His favor; latterly He had begun an opposite course; on this one occasion He seems to yield His whole soul to the wide and deep acclaim with a mysterious satisfaction, regarding it as so necessary a part of the regal dignity in which as Messiah He [for this last time] entered the city, that if not offered by the vast multitude, it would have been wrung out of the stones rather than be withheld [my emphasis]. 

What's interesting is that Luke 19:40 is a direct reference to Habakkuk 2:11. And to understand the context in which the Lord speaks in verse 11, we need to back up to verse 9:
“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who obtains wicked gain for his house [and thinks by so doing] to set his nest on high, that he may be rescued from the hand of evil. Verse 10: You have devised a shameful thing for your house by cutting off and putting an end to many peoples; So you are sinning against your own life and forfeiting it. And now, verse 11: For the stone will cry out from the wall [to accuse you—built in sin!] And the rafter will answer it out of the woodwork". 

Read those three short verses again carefully. To how many in the halls of our government and our churches, do these verses apply? How many men charged with the physical and spiritual welfare of peoples have accumulated unclean gain for their own house at the expense of the health, happiness and fortunes of those who have trusted them? Little do they know that their sins do not go unrecognized by the Sovereign God of the Universe, and the wicked gain [profit] they possess will be forfeited [along with their inheritance] in the life to come. And then comes the culmination of the warning: they will not be able to escape the consequences of their sin; the stones of their house -- their enterprise, venture, operation --  will declare that they were built in sin and will cry out in accusation. And the rafters of their house will answer in agreement. 

And this is where I'm afraid we are, my friends. I have to agree with Coach Dave Daubenmire who reminds us that God has promised that "there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed". I think we all feel it ... God is doing something. We must give up our "normalcy bias" and expect that whatever He is doing will look like we think it should look. So, for now, we must not discount the unconventional, the unusual, or the nontraditional as being from God. Judgment is coming and we must not let it catch us unaware. And make no mistake ... should the Disciples of Jesus remain quiet, then God will use other means -- an Elon Musk or a Kanye West; even the stones will cry out! But He will not be silenced!

#endtimesjudgment #thestoneswillcryout #thesilentchurch 

Proverbs 1:18-19  But [when these people set a trap for others] they lie in wait for their own blood; They set an ambush for their own lives [and rush to their destruction]. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; Greed takes away the lives of its possessors.

 

 

Give to Caesar and Come Out of the World

 

There is an ongoing debate in our house (as I suspect there is in many homes in the country) as to how we are going to solve the ailments of our nation. Both my husband and I agree that America suffers from spiritual issues, and that politics will never be the answer to a spiritual problem. That being said, we are conflicted over the following scenario: how do we reconcile "Render unto Caesar, what is Caesar's" with "Come out of her, my people"?

Let me break this quandary down from our perspective ... In this world, we are subject to the laws of this nation and a constitution that was written to define the powers of government, while at the same time, protecting the rights and liberties of us, the citizens. In Matthew 22, the Pharisees seek to trap Jesus in a question that had the potential to expose Him as a fraud, depending on His answer. They asked Him, “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” The question was designed to accuse Jesus of either disloyalty to the government of Rome, or disloyalty to the Jewish people and YHWH. Jesus asked to see a denarius, the coin used to pay taxes to the Roman government. He asked, "Whose image is on the coin"? The Pharisees answered, "Caesar's". Jesus's answer was quick, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 

This answer is anything but simple. You see, the Caesar's of Rome were considered "divine" gods, and the coins that bore their images were, in all respects, a form of idolatry. They violated the Second Commandment, Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Jesus understood that men on earth are caught in a battle between two governments -- the government of this world, and the government of Heaven. His statement to give to Caesar what is due him, and to give to God what is His due, is challenging us to know the difference. 

So, I acknowledge that being a citizen of the world, and specifically of the United States, I have certain obligations to its government, which necessarily means that politics will play a part in what those obligations will look like. I also recognize that the state of my nation, in many ways, is in spiritual decline. The unrighteous decisions and laws of my government have led to this downfall and as long as politicians continue to act unrighteously, politics will never correct our spiritual deterioration. That doesn't mean that I can't hope and pray for God to raise up righteous men and women to change the direction of our country.

And I am well aware of the warnings that God gives us in the Bible if we continue to go down the road we're on. Jeremiah lived in idolatrous Babylon and the Lord used him to warn the inhabitants of the vengeance that was His if they did not turn from their wicked ways. God used Jeremiah to issue warnings regarding the idols that Babylon worshiped; that they were false, worthless, and a work of delusion... and a time of punishment was coming in which they would be destroyed. The Word of the Lord, through Jeremiah, was "Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her". Then comes the plea of the Most High God: Come out of her my people! Let every one save their life from the fierce anger of the Lord!

The Lord is saying have nothing to do with the worldly Babylon and her idolatrous ways. And He tells us to do the same thing in these End Times, as stated in Revelation 18! An angel is prophesied to come down from Heaven and declare:

Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
    She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 

For all the nations have drunk
    the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
    and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.

Come out of her, my people! 

Scripture goes on to say that Babylon's sins are piled up to Heaven, and God has remembered all her crimes. She will pay double for all she has done, and she will receive as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. Obviously, we as righteous Christians, will want to separate ourselves from that Babylonian system. I suggest you read all of Revelation 18 and see if you do not recognize this End Times Babylon as our own nation. And if you do, then you will recognize the tenets of the aforementioned debate in my house and among our family and friends.

If we are to come out of the destructive and anti-Christ Babylonian system, [which is of the kingdom of this world], and separate ourselves by committing our lives to the Kingdom of God, "rendering unto God what is His" [as Jesus suggested to the Pharisees], then can/should we do both? If politics is not the answer to a spiritual breakdown in this country, do we forsake politics all together for the sake of fighting the spiritual battle for the Kingdom of God? If we discern that there are righteous men among the worldly government who want to legislate for Godly justice and morality, should we not stand with them, trusting God to lift them up for His purposes? 

Of course, we must also consider that the Enemy is not going to just lay down and abdicate his throne among the halls of Congress. So have the crimes and injustice perpetrated by his minions been heaped so high that God has determined [as is stated in Revelation 18:8, that in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her? Maybe it is to be our time of judgment and it is time we "come out of her". What does that look like? Let me propose this to you: we recognize that without the intervention of God who appoints righteous men to civil service, politics will never be the answer to restore our nation. So we continue to do what Jesus commanded, giving Caesar what is Caesar's -- we vote, we follow the laws, and we pay our taxes as mandated. 

Yes, we are citizens of the world in these fleshly bodies, but our citizenship in God's Kingdom is our greater commission. So we come out of the world's system as much as we can, and transfer to the spiritual kingdom of God on earth; living our lives following His statutes and committed to not sharing in the sins of this world nor receiving any of its plagues. That calls for understanding "the big picture" ... what we are to give to Caesar, even as we come out of Caesar's system. It's just the reality of our existence here on earth. We are in the world, but not of the world. Once we understand that, we do not need to become embroiled in the political arena, but enter the Kingdom of God, yoking ourselves to His righteous government. It is possible to fulfill our responsibilities as citizens of both the world and Heaven, knowing to whom our highest allegiance belongs. It is then that we can join together, declaring "Rejoice, you people of God"!

#givetocaesarwhatiscaesars #comeoutofhermypeople #endtimesjudgment #endtimesbabylon

Jeremiah 51:45-46   Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land,