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TENDER MERCY AND THE PROPHETIC WORD: FROM MALACHI TO JOHN THE IMMERSER
The ancient prophecy of Malachi said the next prophet to come would be a forerunner to prepare hearts and would announce the Messiah through the prophetic Word.
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The Messiah is always announced through the prophetic Word. That is why there is no Messiah wherever there is no prophetic Word.
JOHN
John the Baptist—I prefer to call him John the Immerser because this title is both accurate and illustrative in the original Hebrew—was a mere man. Yet he was a man with a powerful spiritual anointing. His anointing was so powerful that it was aligned with the anointing of the ancient prophet Elijah. This is what the prophecy in Malachi actually entailed. It did not refer to a mere man or to a return of Elijah but to a particular powerful prophetic anointing which would show up in the Last Days.
MALACHI
He was the last prophet of Israel before the prophetic Word ceased. For roughly four and a half centuries until John there was no prophet in Israel. Imagine that. For perspective, if we traveled back through time from now for 450 years we would arrive at the year 1572. This was way before anything America. It predates Plymouth (1620) and Jamestown (1607). It even predates the Lost Colony of Roanoke (1585-87). Hence, Israel was prophetless for an incredibly long time.
Malachi’s ministry occurred in the late fifth century BC and ended at some point prior to 400BC when he spoke his last and passed from the scene. His voice was stilled. Having no successor, the prophetic Word went silent. One may wonder how or why this happened but it likely had something to do with an age-old fight between two elements meant to work together but were often effectively at each other’s throats. This ancient battle between priest and prophet continues to play out in our day but’s that’s another story for another time. Suffice it to say that the priests won their battle against the prophets when Malachi breathed his last.
We get an indication of the timing by taking a closer look at Daniel’s prophecy of weeks. He speaks of a distinct division in time that occurred after forty-nine years (seven weeks) which coincided with the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem in approximately 407BC. One can easily read into this as a time when the priests had taken full control of the city of Jerusalem and the second temple. They had everything going their way though they achieved it in part (likely a major part) through guile, mammon, and self-serving determination. Now they no longer had to worry about that confounding variable of God speaking to His people and stirring them up against their dead religious order. They had finally eliminated their great nemesis the prophet who was ever exposing their corruption. Does this sound familiar?
The anti-prophet effort had been brewing especially during the time when what was left of the nation of Israel was in Babylonian Captivity almost two centuries before. The nation had been banished there due to its great sin and faithlessness. A defiant faction of the priestly element never did repent but grew further from God and more rebellious. They also picked up some bad demonic stuff while in Babylon and incorporated it into their teachings. When they finally returned to the land after their 70 year penalty phase it was only a matter of time before their evil hearts would overtake the dutiful priests honorably adhering to the Law of Moses and the pure honesty of the prophets and rid the land of not only the prophetic Word but the edifying and preserving influence of God Himself.
Thus, the words of Malachi have special import. Imagine a friend or relative at the end of life speaking his or her final words. This person would never be heard from again. One would therefore want to spend time with the passing one whose speech would soon cease forever. Whether Malachi knew this or not we may not ever know but I think he did. He was a prophet after all. Unlike the priests who performed routine quotidian tasks and ceremonial duties, prophets had to stay close to God at all times or would not be able to fulfill their callings. They could never fake it. Their lives were not composed of man’s order but the comparative wildness of spiritual warfare as reflected in nature when one may not know what may come next—crashing oceans, great thunderstorms, raging blizzards and the like—but had better be equipped and able to deal with it. They were given a most difficult task to achieve that demanded the crucifixion of flesh. They were often greatly humbled. It sometimes appeared that God had little concern for their welfare or physical comfort. They were driven to be the best and to achieve their calling against great odds. These were tough men. Very strong. God demanded of them a high level of spiritual discipline and the outworking thereof because the people needed to hear from Him for their direction and salvation and this could only happen through the prophetic Word delivered through humanity.
Obviously very few men qualified to be prophets, not necessarily because God was partial or particularly choosy but because He had a hard time finding those who would willingly submit to the rigors of the calling. I cannot imagine how hard this process must have been for the Lord but I get a pretty good clue whenever I think about the working out of my own walk and its hopeful effectiveness and how the Lord must be forever patient but also demand commandment-keeping, curriculum-learning, calling-achievement, and having something great to show in our lives for what He did for us on the cross. He built a great foundation which gave each real Christian a tremendous head start. I would think He expects us to strive to be the best we can be. This is how it was for the OT prophets, though to the nth degree.
The book of Malachi has been described as “a beautiful expression of God’s love for a nation that continues to disobey Him,”[1] and in one sentence: “The Great King will come not only to judge his people, but also to bless and restore them.”[2] It is composed of four chapters. The verses we are concerned with in this paper come from Chapter 4 and describe that distant time four and a half centuries from Malachi’s era into the future when the great closing prophetic events occur in the final generation of Israel in the first century AD. Here is Chapter 4, the last verses of the Old Testament, in full:
Final Admonition
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.
3 “You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the LORD of hosts.
4 “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” [Malachi 4:1-6][3]
Those who are aware of the final conflagration of the nation of Israel will see in this passage the absolute accuracy of the prophetic Word of the Lord spoken through the prophet Malachi. This man was given a pure vision of the future by God and he captured it in written form. As I wrote earlier, the vision within this short passage directly refers to the final generation of Israel and the “Last Days” spoken of in the New Testament writings. They were the days of the next prophet after Malachi, a man named John, who the Lord Jesus referred to as the greatest man born of a woman. And of course, right after John arose the greatest Prophet, a Man excepted from the former description since He is truly the greatest, who was the long waited Messiah as referred to by Malachi in verse 5, “the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.” This day was great primarily because He would arrive and save all believers from their sin and grant them eternal life. But the day was terrible in that:
V1: It would burn like a furnace and all the arrogant and every evildoer would be chaff; the day that is coming will set them ablaze and leave them neither root nor branch.
V3: The wicked would be tread down and be ashes under the feet of the righteous on the day “which I am preparing.”
In the last verse the Lord speaks of one final chance for the nation. If not heeded He would “come and smite the land with a curse.” Of course we know it was not heeded. The prophet John was rejected. The Messiah was rejected. The prophetic Word was rejected. Every warning ever spoken was rejected.
The nation crashed and burned, as did the great city of Jerusalem, the city of David. And the brand new sparkling gold-laden and gold-filled third temple was also burned to the ground and every last trace of it vanished.
For the righteous believers who welcomed John and welcomed the Messiah and respected the prophetic Word we have:
V2: “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.”
We see this prophetic truth mentioned once again as reflected in the next passage from the Gospel of Luke when John’s father Zechariah spoke the following prophecy at baby John’s circumcision ceremony:
“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of His servant David, just as He promised through His holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering His sacred covenant—the covenant He swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.
“And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell His people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” [Luke 1:68-79 NLT]
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] city.org.nz/kit/bible-overview
[2] biblestudytools.com/books-of-the-bible/
[3] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (4-Part Series)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. [2 Timothy 1:7 KJV]
March 12, 2020: PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (Part 1)
The Lord Jesus came to save His people. But many of His people had already sold out to their religious leaders. They did this in part because they were deathly afraid of them…
March 12, 2020: PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (Part 2)
Regarding the sinning priest problem, some argue that the Catholic Church is not actually as guilty as claimed, in that such episodes are only rare sporadic events. This is simply more window-washing to minimize the charges…
March 13, 2020: PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (Part 3)
It all started in Babylon during the Captivity in roughly 600 BC. It continued to develop over the next four centuries. It came to its full fruition with the emerging Pharisee Party two centuries before the Lord…
March 14, 2020: PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (Part 4)
What I have presented with this four-part series goes beyond surface truth. There is a parable at work here revealing destructive forces. For the few who have ventured thus far, you are ahead of the curve…
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (Part 3)
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It all started in Babylon during the Captivity in roughly 600 BC. It continued to develop over the next four centuries. It came to its full fruition with the emerging Pharisee Party two centuries before the Lord.
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JUDAIC ROOTS OF UNREAL CHRISTIANITY
In the first century AD, the Lord Jesus called that last generation of Israelites the most wicked of all. Much of the wickedness, though, was being performed by, you guessed it, a few, those few not in the pew. Whether it was the vaunted Sadducees who controlled the temple and worked hand in glove politically with the otherwise hated Romans, or the ultra-casuistic Pharisees who created an entirely new “word of God,” the Oral Torah in which they themselves were the god and which was designed to suit themselves and gain and maintain power, the Jewish religious leaders lived to lord it over the people. The millions of Israelites at that time, whether at home in Judea or abroad, were under the absolute authority of such leaders, most especially the Pharisees, the Separated Ones. This was largely the genesis of rabbinical Judaism.
The people had no say so. They were told what to believe. They were held to extremely strict standards. Those who refused the authority of the Pharisees were utterly despised by them as mongrels and traitors to the commonwealth. What does that tell us? This is why the Pharisees had such disdain for Galileans and utter disgust for Samaritans.
They saw themselves as God’s highest and best. They were so “aware” and “in-tune” they legitimized an unwritten minutia-ridden oral law code that overstepped the Law of Moses and no one knew the finer abstract workings of this code than them.
They created it, taking upon themselves the guise of God, though God had nothing to do with it. And they then browbeat their constituents into compulsory acceptance under threat. This put everyone else on the defensive, both due to ignorance of the law and because one could never know for sure if they had violated it until confronted with the violation. It should be clear then, that Israelites lived on the edge and were often in a state of worry.
Yet the Lord indicated that the scribes and Pharisees inherited the seat of Moses, and He said one must do as they teach. The inference is that one must obey them as it regards the Mosaic Law. He also said, however, that one must not follow their example because they only talk the talk and do not walk the walk.
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:13][1]
Who else other than the Lord Jesus had the boldness to instruct disciples in this way? Who else dared to use his position of authority to tell Israelites that the Pharisees set a rotten example? We know that answer is next to no one because if one did he would have an ugly fight on his hands in seconds.
It is why the nation was so afraid of the religious leaders. Their entire lives were subjected to whether or not a person was in good standing in the synagogue and only the few at the top had absolute control of their fate. The people thus must make sure they crossed every yod and dotted every tittle or the man would come down on their head. The most successful obeyers developed the worst attitude and became sideways browbeaters in league with the top-down browbeaters. If you kept trying to succeed at this idiocy but couldn’t pull it off (because you were normal), you got it from everywhere. Those who hated the entire insufferable enterprise, however, knew they best keep their opinions and facial expressions to themselves or word would get out. You couldn’t trust anybody. They would out you. You could get ratted out by any number of Judases in a heartbeat.
Here we have another of those amazing traits regarding humanity. Why not rise up? Why not make the attempt to throw off the yoke? There were only a few who fit this category, for one thing. But those who actually did it and meant to make something of it eventually began banding together. Their effort was not necessarily against the religious leaders but for national Israel. They couldn’t see how playing church would oust the Romans. But they were not about to do it God’s way. These were the Zealots. They were otherwise known in the New Testament as robbers. A faction of these, known for hidden daggers in their cloaks to be used on a moment’s notice, was the Sicarii.
The Zealots grew more ruthless over time. They developed a few key leaders who held sway over thousands of Israelites. In the end they would bring forth the Great Revolt that brought down the nation.
Another major sect was the Essenes. These were for the most part monastics that had long before rejected the authority of the corrupt temple priests and created their own highly-controlled aesthetic order. This too, of course, was run by an elevated religious caste.
What was a first century Jew to do? There was little escape from the suffocating lack of personal liberty and freedom in the Lord. Much of everything God did in the very beginning in the times of Abraham and Moses to create a people for His Name eventually got twisted and subverted. It developed into heavy-handed domination by a ruling cabal of autocratic religious despots and political subversives given over to money and power.
Sound familiar?
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
PHARISEE CONTROL TACTICS: THE SPIRIT OF FEAR (PART 1)
This Present Darkness: The Coming Judgment of Babylon
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” [Revelation 18:2-3]
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Biblical prophecy tells of a time in the Last Days when a great and powerful ruling nation that expanded into a vast international empire will suddenly, from enormously great heights, come crashing down.
We have these images in our minds of the World Trade Towers in New York City free falling into their respective footprints after burning and exploding over a thousand feet in the sky—each taking their turn to crash to earth.
We have seen other nations fall in fairly recent history. Germany and Japan were great nations that quickly expanded and routed the nations of their geographic spheres with relative ease. Germany had taken over Europe and expanded into Russia. Japan was greater than China. Both, however, were thoroughly brought to ruin in World War II.
A CLOUD ON THE HORIZON
Notwithstanding the incredible bombing of German cities, especially Dresden, which included the destruction of great civilian populations, there is yet another image in our minds from that time, 70 years ago, that illustrates pure destruction on an unprecedented scale with an unavoidable hint into the future—the mushroom cloud.
Nuclear weapons have only been used twice in war. Both were dropped on unsuspecting Japanese cities in 1945. Most of the people killed were civilians, including women, children, and seniors. Some were instantly vaporized—their entire bodies, skulls, bones, and all—disappeared without a trace in the great, flashing heat.
I knew a man who was there soon after. He was part of the American forces who went into the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after the bombs fell. He witnessed the vast and utter destruction personally. No one, obviously, had ever seen anything like it. The second bomb ended the war against Japan. A once great nation, the greatest nation in the Far East, was destroyed.
Fallen, fallen was Japan the great.
The same thing happened to Germany. In the first years of the war in Europe, most thought it inconceivable that such an occurrence could ever take place. Germany, allied with Italy, had run roughshod over Europe, both east and west. Its war machine was incredibly vast, well built, well-supplied, and manned by inspired fighters bent on righting the wrongs of World War I. But their incredible success ended relatively suddenly.
Fallen, fallen was Germany the great.
SECRETLY DEGENERATE LEADERSHIP
Regarding both of these nations, however—what people didn’t know, especially the citizens of Germany and Japan—was that the small leadership cabals on top who had wrested control were beyond corrupt—they were infinitely morally bankrupt.
I could get into detail, but suffice it to say that the most heinous, filthy, rotten, disgusting sins—pretty much EVERYTHING the Lord Jesus taught against and that which the Mosaic code strictly forbade—were not only routine but performed as part of their corrupt and immoral leadership cultures.
The people didn’t know. But they certainly obeyed.
Most people still don’t know. But still, they obey. Truth, however, has a way of always being revealed in time. And this should teach us all to learn from history, but most never do.
The very sins engaged in by those formerly great nations are in full swing across the globe at this very moment, and even greater sins due to present technology. Such things are no longer secret though the vast majority remains unaware. There are two reasons for this:
(1) Simple ignorance of the facts, and
(2) The belief in false narratives (fairy tales) which replace the facts.
We have seen the street videos of very stupid people in America that literally know next to nothing. We keep hearing about the stupid index in America and wonder how such a thing happened—that so many people are so ignorant of simple facts.
But the other phenomenon is far worse: Otherwise fairly intelligent people have been thoroughly deceived into believing lies, false narratives, and what amounts to pure fairy tales.
This allows one to clearly see and understand why the majority of German and Japanese citizens unfailingly supported their governments and thought everything their nations were engaged in was good and right. They saw the rest of the world as evil and incompetent and enjoyed immensely the great success their nations were achieving in the early years of the war.
CHEERING FOR THE CHEATING HOME TEAM
Remember the videos of people in the Middle East celebrating on the day the towers came down? It is this kind of mindset that takes over when one is cheering for the home team.
But what if your home team is composed of thugs and wife-beaters and liars and the grossly immoral and arrogant jerks and idiot know-it-alls and snobby elitists and spoiled rotten children in large adult bodies who insist on having their way and see anyone who stands in the way of their moral depravity, evil pride, and rise to power as being the real bad guys? What then?
What if a nation is involved in the worst sins imaginable to mankind? What if such a nation not only condones such sins and has made legal such sins but actually pushes such sins in evangelistic fashion? What if the religion of satan is put forth as the right and best religion? What if half the nation has fallen squarely into the trap of believing such tripe and have been brainwashed and conditioned to see evil as good and good as evil? What if all these millions and millions of people have adopted a policy of hate and abject negativity while believing themselves to be loving and upright?
And what if all these millions have been thoroughly deceived and unknowingly indoctrinated into believing that the lies, fairy tales, false narratives, and counterfeit truths are actual reality, while all those who don’t believe the lies are the real numbskulls? What if they see all those who uphold actual truth as ignorant enemies of enlightenment?
You can bet there were a few people in Germany and Japan who did not agree with the evil actions of their nations’ leadership prior to and during World War II, though the vast majority of citizens, like scared puppies, gave their hearts and lives to their dominating rulers. Some refused to go along. They were there in part to be witnesses against the atrocities and especially against the evil leadership in power. They will be used at the Judgment to help convict those people complicit with evil and send them to hell. Thank the Lord there have always been righteous dissenters who expose corrupt leadership.
It was certainly this way with the ancient nation of Israel. God’s own people—the very descendants of Abraham—had stooped to the exact abject immoral condition. They had rejected YHWH and His righteous leadership and insisted on wicked human kings and all the cronies thereof. It is in part why the Lord sent truth-telling prophets in an attempt to correct the nation and bring it back on course. They were usually thanked for their righteous efforts with death.
THIS PRESENT DARKNESS: THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID
Though it may be very difficult for most people to see and understand present evil reality, it is what it is and is all around us right now. It is far, far worse than most can even imagine. What a strange twist it is that mere illusion has replaced this evil reality in the minds of most to the point that few know it exists and most don’t want to know. Every now and then, however, it leaks out. Scandals happen. But the real scandal is that the leaks are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Most of it always manages to stay hidden and covered up.
Thus, this sinful evil is largely unrecognized and unacknowledged.
It has grown steadily worse over the last several decades exactly as Paul the apostle had prophesied. It has graduated to the top of most leadership pyramids. It has sent forth its directives to the entire populace with most none the wiser. It has learned that most people are ignorant, are willing to believe its lies, and would rather live within the matrix and in accordance with a false reality—a mere illusion—than face the Truth.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:11-14]
Only a few will be saved.
Heaven will be sparsely populated.
Only a relative fraction of humanity will ever find the narrow gate and walk the way of life in its entirety.
THIS IS FACT. THE VAST MAJORITY WILL FAIL SPIRITUALLY AND BE ETERNALLY LOST.
This truth, drawn straight from the pure teachings of the Lord Jesus, is so alarming to most people that they reject it out of hand, including Christians.
Now, the question remains: Why will most people lose their souls? Why does the majority insist on counterfeits?
THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON
In these Last Days, the complete and utter destruction of Babylon will soon take place. It will be the same thing that happened to Germany and Japan in World War II, only far, far worse and much, much more destructive.
Babylon will be destroyed. It is inevitable. This great and as yet officially unidentified entity of the end times will meet its doom. It will be destroyed by a higher power in judgment for its many sins and atrocities, and also because it’s righteous were continually outvoted by a sinful, complicit majority.
I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities…” [Revelation 18:4-5] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Judgment of Babylon
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying,
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
“Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
“But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.” [Matthew 22:1-7]
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“As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
“Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” [Matthew 10:12-15]
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America continues its apparent downward slide into the abyss. Nothing anyone does as a corrective works. In fact, whoever tries to correct the course of the country gets rejected. There are obvious public policy solutions. Many people know exactly what to do to fix the mess but their efforts go nowhere.
In the past, such correctives would have worked. People would have worked very hard to find a solution, they would apply it, and their efforts would pay off. But no more.
America has been reduced to a nation of talkers and takers. Talk is cheap and taking is theft.
The doers are frustrated. They wonder why all their work goes nowhere.
This is the clear evidence of judgment.
The reason the solutions won’t work, though they should, is because something very evil is in the way.
The sin of America has become a massive dark cloud stretching from ocean to ocean and into the atmosphere. It holds everything back. It keeps solutions from working.
And what is even more terrifying, the evil people doing all the evil are allowed to do it. Nothing stops them. They have become arrogant in their power. They know they have free reign to do whatever they want. They know they have been given permission, authority, and a mandate from the people. They have been granted power to wreak destruction and havoc and they know God will not intervene.
Until the sin of the country is dealt with nothing will change. It will only get worse.
The devil has been granted permission in several power centers to have complete control. We see the increasing evidence of this every day. We see more evil, more wringing of hands on the part of those trying to stop the tide, and more of nothing being done to stop it.
Some are certainly trying. But their efforts are failing.
The percentage of those who no longer care about the evil is growing, and these have joined up with the evil tide because it is good for them personally and financially. They cheer the establishment of evil. They look the other way. They shut their ears and eyes. They no longer see evil as evil. The evil has become good. Sinning has become a virtue.
He will come forth and everyone will cheer. He will smile and laugh. In a time when all should be somber and repentant, they will instead rejoice and celebrate. He will take his place. And he will speak with defiance.
“But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.” [Numbers 15:30-31]
As time advances, the only ones who will stand against the evil are those standing with the Lord Jesus.
But just exactly as the Middle Class in America is quickly diminishing before our eyes, so is the middle ground—the place where the undecided have traditionally taken up residence. Those caught in the middle continue to be whittled down. Their weariness grows. Their safe place of refuge is going away. Their substance is being consumed.
Many heard from God several years ago concerning this phenomenon. They prophesied of a future not too far distant when no one would be able to sit on the fence. All people would be forced to take sides. And the ultimate in side-taking involves the separation of the wheat and tares, and sheep and goats.
We have reached that time in America. It is not fully realized but it is effectively realized. We are at a standstill. Some, out of frustration, try to force change for the better. Millions are desperate. Millions are fearful. They can’t understand why everything is going downhill and nothing works. And they are greatly disillusioned at standing up for right and putting forth great effort only to see their efforts wasted and have their motivation and reputation characterized as wrongheaded and backward. Those who speak the truth and attempt to do what should be done (and must be done) are characterized as evil incarnate and are violently opposed.
Pardon the illustration, but it truly is a great wave crashing upon the land. The bad guys have taken over.
This is what happens when people reject God.
Now, the Good News:
Real Christians are growing stronger and more united. They have already partaken of the above scenario many years before and started applying the correct corrective: They surrendered to the Lord. He has cleansed them and raised them up. He has filled them with His power and presence. They are coming forth to do His will. These people are a remnant, but they are a remnant that makes a difference. They pray and see their prayers answered. They believe God and God sees them through. They walk in the power of His Spirit and things get done.
Mere human virtue and a willingness to do the right thing goes nowhere in these last days. The forces of evil have simply become too powerful for humanity. But the forces of evil will never be more powerful than the Lord.
A national Great Awakening is beginning. It will not be stopped. As a result, good and evil will be clearly defined. Hidden evil will be revealed. The devil will no longer be able to hide.
But remember:
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” [Matthew 10:24-25]
The Lord told His disciples to not simply walk on after being rejected, but to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony to the unbelievers and as a witness to their future judgment.
He explained in the parable of the wedding feast that judgment and retribution will surely come upon unrepentant sinners who refuse His grace and kill His children.
Though the devil and his people receive great joy in killing innocent and defenseless babies, they receive much greater joy in killing God’s people. These are his trophies. Yet, if anyone thinks God will not avenge their deaths, he will one day have a very rude awakening.
After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
“I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
“Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.’ For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.” [Revelation 18:1-8] [1]
© 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
