Five Consequences for a Nation that Rejects God

http://worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-4908/Brannon-Howse/Brannon-Howse

This article was written by Brannon Howse, and is published at the above URL. I am reposting it here scriptural citations from the AV1611.

The Roman Road to Wrath

Five Consequences for a Nation that Rejects God

By Brannon Howse

Ideas-and the actions they produce-have consequences, and the Bible is very specific about what a nation will reap when it rejects God. America is already experiencing the results of the ideological path it has been wandering. Lawlessness and disorder have their roots in our continually snubbing the God of the Bible.

Chapter 1 of Romans delineates five specific national consequences for denying God. To be sure, there are others outlined in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and elsewhere in the Old Testament, but in this article I will focus just on Paul's warnings because they are so explicit and frighteningly relevant to what is happening in America today.

1. The nation that continually rejects God becomes a nation of fools.

Romans 1:21-22:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

According to verse 21, people become futile, vain, and useless. Their hearts become darkened, allowing them to be seduced into accepting spiritual lies.

Verse 22 points out that even though they profess to be wise, they actually become fools. This refers specifically to the extremes men will go to in order to justify their sin and false beliefs about God. Situational ethics, moral relativism, and postmodernism are all methods used to justify rebellion against the character and nature of God. (And remember Psalm 14:1? It tells us that it's the fool that says in his heart there is no God. America has denied God and the need for His existence in every area of life.)

2. The nation that continually rejects God accepts pagan spirituality.

Romans 1:25:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Pagan spirituality centers on the worship of nature, yet its ultimate goal is to sidestep feeling guilt-for anything. Our world has moved from theism to atheism to pantheism, the belief that "god is all and all is god and all is one." The Denver Post in June 2008 reported that pagan spirituality is doubling in America every 18 months.

3. The nation that continually rejects God accepts homosexuality as
normal.

Romans 1:26-27:
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle as "normal" is evidenced in our nation's schools, television programs, movies, and even some churches. Courts throughout the nation seek to legalize same-sex marriage. A number of states have implemented "hate crimes" legislation that allow legal action against individuals for publicly sharing their objections to the homosexual lifestyle.

4. The nation that continually rejects God becomes debased and
violent.

Romans 1:28:

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

A blatant example of our cultural debasement, in 1993 Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed by a 99 to 1 vote of the U. S. Senate to serve as a Supreme Court justice. The bizarre worldview of this woman seemed to make no difference to the proceedings. Earlier in her career while serving as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, Ginsburg wrote a paper entitled "Sex Bias in the U.S. Code," prepared for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in April 1977. Among its perverse conclusions, the paper recommends lowering the age of consent for sexual acts to 12 years old.

An article in U.S. News & World Report further reveals just how off-base we've become. In John Leo's "No-fault Holocaust," he reports a remarkable observation about how college students perceive the World War II Nazi genocide:

In 20 years of college teaching, Prof. Robert Simon has never met a student who denied that the Holocaust happened. What he sees quite often, though, is worse: students who acknowledge the fact of the Holocaust but can't bring themselves to say that killing millions of people is wrong. Usually they deplore what the Nazis did, but their disapproval is expressed as a matter of taste or personal preference, not moral judgment. "Of course I dislike the Nazis," one student told Simon, "but who is to say they are morally wrong?"[1]

5. The nation that continually rejects God produces judicial, legislative
and executive branches of government that approve of and encourage
immorality and corruption.

Romans 1:32:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Numerous examples point to America's judicial, legislative, and executive branches approval of immorality and corrupt behavior, but two court cases in particular make clear this point:

(1) 1973-The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is protected by a legal right of privacy.

(2) 2003-The U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the Texas law that makes homosexual acts illegal. The decision struck down sodomy laws in 11 states.

My point in outlining these five indications of national moral failure is not that I want God to judge our nation. I fear His wrath too much for that. However, there is hope in knowing that a just Judge is in charge and that He will not wink at sin. He holds everyone accountable which means that all have the potential to repent. We can pray God's judgment will cause people to turn from their sins and trust in Jesus Christ. We can also pray that His call to accountability will purify the American church and ultimately take our country on a new road, to God's glory and honor.

---

[1] U.S. News & World Report, July 21, 1997, p. 14.

One million attend tea party rallies

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=95230

Many say the mainstream media attempted either to ignore the protests altogether or characterized tea partiers as disgruntled Republicans unable to accept that "they lost" the 2008 presidential campaign or as "rich taxpayers" unwilling to pay their fair burden of taxes.

How much does tax really bite? Americans for Tax Reform has worked out some numbers on ordinary consumer goods, showing just how much of the regular price is pure tax. That is, when you buy something, a certain amount pays the manufacturer and the local business, but take into account the hidden excise tax, and the sales tax, and the business tax, and the payroll taxes of the employees who sold you the item, and the taxes on the utilities to run the business, and so on ... virtually all of this is rolled into the final retail price, and they tack sales tax on top of all that. It is typically about 50% and as much as 86.71% for tobacco products. After they've stolen 35% of your paycheck, of the remaining 65% you have available to spend on your personal expenses, they steal about 50% on all the money you spend on day-to-day things. So that runs about 85% of your income if you spend it all. Theoretically, out of a $100,000 gross pay, you're living on $15,000 and giving the other $85,000 to the government. So they've artificially inflated their fiat currency, driving you to earn $100,000 so they can tax all the more income, most of which is needed to pay taxes.

http://www.fiscalaccountability.org/index.php?content=tb

Considering cigarettes, with a tax of 86.71% of the total price, you can see why the govenment likes people to smoke. That's over 5/6th of the price given to the taxman. I sure am glad I don't have a smoking habit. And drinking! Wow. Almost 80% of the money wasted on liquor is stolen by the taxman. So, if you're dumb enough to buy a bottle of poison for $50, you are giving $10 to the distiller and the other $40 is a donation to the taxman for the privilege of "legally" drinking to make yourself a brute.

http://biblebelievers.com/ramsay_cartoons/ramsay010.jpg

Read Billy Sunday and free yourself of that lunacy. http://biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday_booze.html

I wonder what the tax on tea actually was that caused the colonialists of 1773 to throw all the tea in the harbour.

Pre, Mid, or Post Tribulation?

I believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture.

Society will have degenerated very badly, which it certainly has today, but the world will be moving along with what seems normal. The Rapture will then occur suddenly, catching most of us off-guard.

There is some debate amongst Christians as to just where in the tribulation timetable the general Rapture of the church does occur.

The Tribulation itself is seven years long. It is probably slightly less than seven years. Most likely, it is 2520 days, or two stretches of 1260 days. There may be a little gap between the Rapture event and the beginning of the 2520 day run.

Scripture hints at Rapture-like events inside the Tribulation, and some churches think the church must pass through some or all of the Tribulation.

One who believes in a pre-tribulation rapture expects the entire body of Christ to be taken into glory without dying before any of the Tribulation. One who believes in a post-tribulation rapture expects the body of Christ to struggle through all of the Tribulation. It then follows that one who believes in a mid-tribulation rapture expects Christians to get through the first half.

There are different Rapture-like events in the Scriptures. One obvious example is with Enoch,

23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
- Gen 5:23-24

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
- Heb 11:5

Notice that Enoch was taken before the flood. Actually in the Genesis timeline, Enoch is raptured in the year 987 and the flood occurs in the year 1656.

Another example is with Elijah who was taken up to heaven in the famous chariot of fire.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
- 2Kings 2:11-12

(Notice that in both these cases, nothing was ever found of Enoch or Elijah, thus implying that even their clothes went with them.)

The mid-Trib event is the two witnesses, who are almost certainly Moses and Elijah.

11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
- Rev 11:11-12

Also at this time, we know the 144,000 Jewish witnesses are taken. These guys are all males, all virgins - both physically and spiritually, and literal ethnic Jews: 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. We know that they are selected and specially sealed in Rev 7 and they are all in heaven in Rev 14.

So there is a mid-trib Rapture, certainly of these 144,002. After this, over the remaining 1260 days, the wrath of God is poured out.

The main topic of this blog is the general Rapture of the Church. Because the dispensation changes during the tribulation, and works becomes a condition of salvation, the two periods cannot co-exist. Therefore, any Christian or Messianic Jew who is saved by grace through faith cannot go through the tribulation and must be raptured out in advance.

This is an operating premise of my blog.

What is the Rapture?

The Rapture event is certainly Biblical, although the word in itself is not.

The event is a literal sudden vanishing of Christians from the earth. This event will occur in the blink of an eye, suddenly, and without warning.

God has always separated light from darkness, and here he will begin separating saved from lost.

In the New Testament, there are only two kinds: saved and lost. We are all born lost, although very young children are counted as innocent. Beyond a young age of accountability, children are counted as lost.

When a person trusts Jesus Christ as their own Saviour, an irreversible spiritual conversion takes place and that person becomes a born-again child of God, and therefore saved. Salvation is entirely by grace through faith and once obtained can never be lost.

We are now in the Church Age, under the New Testament dispensation and the time of the Gentiles. During that time, anybody can be saved by grace through faith, obtaining salvation as a free gift from God. When this time is over, and God's patience is ended, the Rapture occurs.

It is expected that the Rapture event will snatch away (1) all saved Christian Gentiles; (2) all saved Messianic Jews; (3) all infants and young children. This age of accountability is never stated in specific years, and probably varies from person to person. A reasonable guess would be about seven years of age.

When this happens, all those who are taken will simply vanish. Most Christians assume that they will leave their clothes and personal items behind, as was the case in Left Behind. There is some thought we will also leave our blood behind. If both are true, then the clothes will collapse in a bloody mess on the ground. The sudden removal of flesh and bones body mass will likely cause an air implosion which will have some effect of scattering the blood.

It is also expected that dead bodies of saved people will also vanish. This leads to some thought of having received an organ transplant from a saved person. If you are unsaved and you've got a saved person's liver, it is quite probable that the liver will be taken and you will die on the spot.

Quite a large number of unsaved people will die from the Rapture event itself. Consider those riding in a car or a bus with a saved driver. It is said that some airlines do not allow two Christian pilots on the same flight for that very reason - if the Rapture occurs, then at least one is there to land the plane.

The event will be so horrifying for those left behind that it is expected that many will commit suicide. Husbands, wives, parents, teenagers, will all have lost someone very close to them and will have to grapple with the loss.

For those of us who are in, you'll suddenly find yourself up in the sky, to meet the Lord in the air. I personally think, and it is just my opinion, that immediately before the Rapture, you might briefly hear a trumpet and you may hear the Lord's voice saying either, my name followed by "Come up hither." or, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Sometimes I imagine that all the men will hear the former and all the ladies will hear the latter, but that's just my guess.

At any rate, the Rapture is imminent, and you are either saved or lost.

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
- 2Cor 6:2

The Restoration of Israel

As I've said before, the full restoration of Israel is very strongly testified to in scripture. It is one of the surest events in the Bible.

The covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with regards to the physical real estate of the Land of Israel is unconditional.

It doesn't make a shred of difference what anybody thinks about anything: the Bible testifies absolutely and unalterably that the Land of Israel, by its Biblical definition belongs unconditionally to the Jews. This fact can never be changed.

A popular false doctrine is called Replacement Theology, which assumes that since the Jews killed Jesus Christ, that God's covenants with Israel have been revoked and transferred in full to the [insert your denomination here] church. This is an official doctrine of several mainstream churches, including a few of the cults, but this notion is false, and I will discuss it in detail later.

The truth is that Israel's Messiah is coming back, and Israel will be fully restored, and the righteousness of the entire world will come from Israel.

If the world hates Israel, then Bible prophecy, both Old and New Testaments is right on track. If various pagans have tried to annihilate the Jewish people, then the Bible is right on track. And like the Burning Bush, the Jewish people can never be eliminated.

In fact, during the Tribulation, righteousness before God is defined by protecting the Jewish people. This has often been practiced by Christians during the church age, with a prime example being those who sheltered Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.

At the end of the Tribulation, the Messiah comes back in glory and sets up his Kingdom in the Land of Israel and personally sits on the Throne of David in Jerusalem, and rules the world as a military dictator for one thousand years.

Therefore, if you don't believe in the State of Israel, or you don't like the Jewish people, that's just too bad.

If you think it is your duty to fight the Jews or try to eliminate the State of Israel, then you've chosen the losing side.

In fact, we anticipate a huge military strike against Israel very shortly, bent on total annihilation. And this attack will be totally defeated by God, much like the army of Sennacherib. This prophecy, found in Ezekiel 38-39 is very well-known. In the opening chapter of Left Behind, Tim Lahaye places this event a little over a year before the Rapture. It may occur after the Rapture, or even near the end of the Millennium. What makes for some exciting reading is Ezekiel 37, which chronologically would precede this event.

One thing we do know is that the last several chapters of Ezekiel, from 40-48, are about a fully-rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem complete with animal sacrifices. This is a certainty, no matter what anybody else thinks about claims on Jerusalem.

Introduction

I made this blog to discuss my thoughts on Rapture anticipation topics.

Now the Lord made it perfectly clear that no man can know the day and hour;

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
- Mt 24:36

Any group or individual which claims to know the exact date is an obvious liar. However, given observation of prophesied signs, it is reasonable to anticipate the Rapture. And it is not unreasonable to anticipate that it is probable to occur within the next few months or this year.

I will never, anywhere in this blog, give an exact date.

I do mean to post articles that I come across discussing world politics, with an emphasis on Israel. We do know from the Bible that Israel will be fully restored, even though it will be largely hated and even thrown out of the U.N.

The full restoration of Israel is one of the most (if not the most) testified to events in the Bible.