Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Something Happened - Something Bad

This was Marvin Rosenthal's summation of the deterioration of America's moral standards from the time of WWII to our present age as found in his article entitled Discernment.
To those of you who are not familiar with this ministry may I suggest strongly that you become familiar with the Zions Hope website for up-to-date commentaries re. Israel, the International community and the appropriate Christian response to such matters.

My response to the article will not be easily explained.  For approximately twenty years I have been declaring to the Christian community  -   and especially to those who are like-minded to me  -   the essence of Rosenthal's conclusions.  I agree with his conclusions completely and thus have been compelled to pass on the core thought of the article.  Here are some of his thoughts under Taking a Stand:

It is right that believers in Christ raise their voices to protest America's meteoric descent.  It is right that they stand against godless trends.  It is right that they join the urgent battle to save unborn lives, fashioned in the image of God.  To do less is equal to surrender; it is capitulating to Satan.

However, at the same time, believers must understand that America has, in my opinion, passed the point of no return.  To whom much has been given, much is required.  There will be consequences for America's actions.  There will be no national revival.  Calls for such will be like throwing water into the wind.  When humanity seeks to wrest control from God, things crumble and humanity begins heading toward a cataclysmic crash.  (The bold has been added by me; the author emphasized the word "no")

Although I have agreed with the author, he may not totally agree with me.  I have chosen to be as brutal in my proclamations as I feel necessary in order to cause some degree of pause in our community concerning the gravity of the time in which we live.  I find that our Christian community is not sufficiently sobered by the moment in which we live.  Can you perceive the frustration of the author as he is forced to state what I think should be obvious?  Indeed, we are to raise our voices in protest, to stand against godless trends, to be urgent in our battle to save unborn lives and to not surrender.  Why is he even required to write such a paragraph?  Obviously the charge of defeatism has been, more than once, hurled his way.

So, with such thoughts in mind, here are some of my "brutal" claims:

  • The Church is not going to heal the World.  The coming of Christ in power and violence is going to heal the World.
  • There will be an apostasy in the man-made church; we will experience it and it will be ugly and heartbreaking.  In the midst of that process Christ will be calling-out His true and remnant Church (Mt. 24:9-11; II Thess. 2:1-3). 
  • The translation ("rapture") of the Church will be at the Coming of the Lord and we may very well experience the wrath of man at it's very worst before that Coming (Mt. 24:21). 
  • In the natural realm it seems as though we have already lost the battle, however,  in the spiritual realm we will be triumphant forever.  Fight the good fight.
Brutal enough?  Excessive beyond repair?  Probably.  Have you at least paused?  There is more to life than our local sports team.  We have not been called to a life of comfort and ease, but rather to a life of spiritual sobriety and action (I Peter 1:13-19).  I default to the theme of this blog:  Beloved, there's a freight train coming  -  and we are not ready.

The prophet Joel appealed to his people 2800 years ago.  The appeal should be spiritually magnified in our minds today:  Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants...Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers weep...(Joel 2:15-17) Sobriety is demanded of us in this present age.  This is a message of victory and not one of defeat.  This present age is soon to bear its fruit;  the fig tree and the vine are soon to yield in full (Joel 2:22) and then He will call us home.

To Mr. Rosenthal's activist community he would say "raise your voices, stand against godless trends, and join the battle to save the unborn".  "Do not stop" he is saying, just understand that America may have very well passed the point of no return in its godless thrust toward disrepare and that we are to serve in that condition of spiritual darkness.  Be sobered might be his conclusion.  To the activist community that surrounds me, I would appeal in the same manner.

As sobered and alert Christians let's seek out, with vigour, the well being of our families.  Let's determine to surrender to His lordship, to battle dark forces if that is the call of His Spirit in our lives, to seek out and to save the lost and to gather together as never before in the koinonia love of His Spirit to form the everlasting called-out community that He died for.

The Day of the LORD may soon be upon us.