The Judgement Of America - Part 2

Fear.
Disease.
Labor without benefits.
Enemy activity on our own soil.
Hatred from our own rulers.
Cowardly behavior

After seeing God's first six warnings, it's clear that this country has begun to see the consequences of our disobedience. From here, it only gets worse!
Christians, we need to repent of our sin and turn back to our first love! This nation will rise or fall based on the spiritual lives of believers. Many Christians claim to love this country, but they fail to realize that their half-hearted commitment to God is largely to blame for the spiritual climate throughout America. God holds us responsible for the fate of our nation – it's time to wake up!

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will “forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Leviticus 26

18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

If we don't learn, if we continue to disregard the warnings that God has given us, it only gets worse. When we look at the next six consequences for disobedience, the correlation to modern events only gets more clear.

19 I will break the pride of your power;

While we were once the most competitive economy in the world, our present financial crisis has pulled us down to fifth in the list – and still falling. It is interesting that another Christian nation that is in a backslidden state, Great Britain, is also free-falling in this economic crumble. Topping the list of competitive economies are nations like Singapore, Finland, and Sweden!
While it's true that we haven't always been liked by other nations, we were respected. Our military was powerful, our resolve was firm and we were the envy of the world. Now we're being overtaken by nations that were never in our league!
Remember when we had an illegal immigration problem? Latin Americans were pouring into this country for a better life. Now the trend is slowing down rapidly. Fewer and fewer people are seeing a better life in this country than they have in theirs. If this trend continues in that direction, we'll soon have an emigration problem!
Once, an educated public was our pride and joy. We were the home of inventions, the source of scientific breakthroughs, and the leader in technology. Now, out of 34 nations studied, American schools rank 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math!
Our pride and influence in the world is waning – teetering dangerously close to the edge.

I will make your heavens like iron...

A serious lack of rain.
Thirteen of America's states have been in an official drought since 2010. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina were already in a severely dry condition when 2012 rolled in. In 2012 this drought has spread to 80% of the continental United States.

...and your earth like bronze.

A severely hardened and unforgiving soil that refuses to provide what is planted in it.
In 1936, the United States senate declared: “The alarming fact is that food – fruits and vegetables and grains – now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain needed nutrients, are starving us no matter how much we eat of them.”
That was then. Now things are even worse. Since 1962, the amounts of nutrients and minerals in our fruits and vegetables has dropped 50%! We are literally being provided with only half the vitamins and minerals that we had in our food fifty years ago. Call it over-farming and under-rotation if you want – the simple fact is that the earth isn't yielding the nutrition that we need anymore.
To combat this, we've voraciously consumed vitamin pills and nutritional supplements. Food industries have begun to fortify their products to make up for the general lack of nutritional value in our raw resources. Examples of this include:
Iodizing salt to avoid iodine deficiency
Adding folic acid to flour
Adding niacin to our bread
Adding vitamin D to milk, butter and margarine – even to vegetable oil!
And many, many others...
I believe that this is an effect of a “earth of bronze.”

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

Our current lack of rain is on track to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. More disastrous than hurricane Katrina, more costly than any earthquake, and more serious than any tornado that has ever hit our country.
Crops across the nation have failed or been drastically stunted. Farmers everywhere have thrown up their hands, having worked all year for a nonexistent return. By the middle of August, 1,700 counties across 36 states were declared federal disaster zones because of the lack of rain and failed crops.
Sadly, unless things change and the rain comes, our winter seeds for next year's crops won't even germinate.

21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.

Can you see how God pleads with us? Can you see how many chances He gives to repent and turn from sin? At what point will a nation wise up and realize that these things that are happening aren't normal or coincidence?

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number;

In other words, internal violence spreading through the nation. Animals would be robbing children, destroying property, and taking lives like never before. 

I believe this is happening more now than ever before! Two major beasts robbing our children are pedophilia and human trafficking.

Listen to these startling statistics from America's children:
1 out of every 7 sexual assault has a victim less than 6 years old
58% of violent sex offenders in prison had victims less than 12 years old
There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the united states – and between 80-100 thousand of them are missing
The typical sex offender begins his deviant lifestyle at 15 and molests an average of 117 children – most of which never report the incident
These next two statistics are mind-boggling:
Only 10% of sex offenders receive a lifetime sentence – the average sentence for a child molester is 11 years.
Once they get out of prison, 50% of sex offenders are arrested again for similar crimes.

Pedophiles are devouring our children!

In the U.S. between 100,000 and 300,000 children are recruited for some sort of sex trafficking. The average age of entry for a prostitute is 12 years old! Besides asking what kind of person would sell a 12-year-old child for sex – we need to ask what kind of people are buying them! Why is child prostitution such a massive money maker?

We're being robbed...

But this animal behavior is also destroying the things that belong to us. Violent robberies and thefts seem to be everywhere. Just like literal animals were consuming their livestock, animalistic people are devouring what doesn't belong to them.


Violence is everywhere. There are over 10,000 murders every year. In 2012 alone there have been 11 mass shootings, with 137 victims - 43 of them fatal. People are terrified to leave their homes for fear of another mass shooting.

and your highways shall be desolate.

Did you know that 33% of major roads in America are in disrepair? Did you know that one-quarter of our 600,000 bridges need major repairs? Did you know that states across the country are turning their ashphalt roads into gravel so they can maintain them cheaper? In Michigan alone, 38 counties have replaced many of their paved roads with gravel. South Dakota is another example – having replaced over 100 miles of paved highway with gravel.
Bankrupt cities and states simply don't have the money for road repairs and maintenance.

23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

If America refuses to listen to these domestic issues – the next step for us is collapse. From verse 25-39, we see military overthrow, social chaos, and the complete loss of national identity. I pray that the consequences we're facing now wakes us up before that!

What's the answer? It's the same as it's always been – repentance!
Staying in Leviticus 26, let's move back to verses 3-12
“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing;
you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.
You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;
your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”

The answer for drought isn't a cap on “greenhouse gases”
The answer for pedophilia isn't more 11-year prison sentences
The answer for our failing schools isn’t more money
The answer to our enormous tax burden isn’t a different political party
The only permanent solution for our nation's society is to turn back to the God of our fathers!

Buried!

There are few things as interesting to study as a fossil. To have a once-living, now dead and buried organism in front of them can be captivating for some people. It’s very easy to get caught up in imagining what this creature looked like when it was alive. How did it live? What did it eat? What would’ve eaten it? How did it die? The nature of this field of science (paleontology) is that these questions have to answered with a mixture of science and imagination. As a result, many of today’s paleontologists are among the most creative of scientists.

Fossils are literally everywhere. From deep below the water to high in the mountains, from the scorching deserts of Africa to the frozen land of Antarctica - fossils can be found in rock layers in nearly every area in the world. Where did they come from? How did they get there? It’s not surprising that the answer to those questions depends on the assumptions one starts with.

Scientist who start with secular evolution as their premise will say that these creatures were buried gradually. According to them, the geologic column (that is, the different layers of rock around the world) were laid down over the course of hundreds of millions of years. Each layer of rock represents a different era in the past. Although some fossils may have been buried rapidly in an isolated catastrophe, the vast majority of them were buried after they died and then fossilized.

Scientists who start with biblical creation as their premise will say that these creatures were buried very rapidly. According to them, the geologic column is a record of a rapid, watery burial during the worldwide flood described in Genesis seven and eight. Around 4,500 years ago, millions of creatures were quickly drowned and buried in water-borne sediment (such as sand). The different layers of the geologic column were formed under the water and eventually hardened into sedimentary rock, along with the fossils they contained.

Because I believe that the Bible is true, I hold to the second interpretation of fossils. After all, if the world was once wiped out by and completely covered with water - wouldn’t you expect to find dead creatures around the world buried in rock that was formed by sediment and water?

There is an enormous amount of evidence that the creatures that formed these fossils were buried extremely rapidly. When an animal dies today, it quickly decays and is picked apart. Very little of it, if any, is buried naturally. Yet we continually see complete and intact fossils being dug out of the ground! Many of these fossils still have preserved skin, organs and other soft tissue. Fossilized jellyfish have been found in Australia. Fossilized insects have uncovered, still in their burrows, with all of their intricate details preserved. Fossilized plants are uncovered all around the world with every detail of their leaves preserved. You tell me, isn’t the simplest explanation that they were buried in sediment before they had a chance to decay?

An enormous amount of the fossils we find are from aquatic animals, including fish. Are we really supposed to believe that these fossilized fish - many of them whole and intact - died, sank to the bottom of the sea, and were then buried in the sand? Isn’t it common knowledge that fish float when they die, and are picked apart by scavengers? So the fact that many complete fish fossils shows that these fossils must have been buried quickly. Fish have even been found buried while in the process of eating other fish!

Did you know that there are even fossils on the tops of the Himalayan mountains. These are the tallest mountain ranges on earth, yet there are still creatures buried in rock at their peaks. And these aren’t just any fossils - they’re aquatic fossils. Fish, clams and other shellfish can be found throughout the rock on the Himalayas. How could there be fossilized shellfish on a mountain unless it was under water at one time?

Another interesting fact about the fossilized clams on the Himalayas - they were fossilized while they were still closed. Clams have a specific muscle that keeps their shells closed. As soon as the clam dies, their muscle relaxes and their shells open. For these “mountain shellfish” to be buried while closed, they had to be buried alive

Many times we find large groups of fossils that have been jumbled together into a single area. We call these areas fossil graveyards. These graveyards are strong evidence for a watery catastrophe. One possible explanation is that area could have been high ground before the flood. As the waters rose, these creatures crowded there for safety - but were drowned anyway as the water covered even the highest places. A more likely explanation is that these creatures drowned in the flood and were carried by currents to their burial place.

There’s a bigger problem for the rock layers = millions of years theory - they’re called polystrate fossils. These are fossilized organisms (usually trees, but often large animals such as whales) that protrude through several different layers. If these rock layers were supposedly laid down over thousands of centuries, how could these fossils criss-cross them? Wouldn’t the parts of that tree or animal that were sticking above one layer have decayed long before the next layer could be formed?

Then there’s the issue of bent and curved rock layers. In many different mountain ranges, all the rock layers have been curved and bent together. If these layers were already solid rock, they would have fractured, not folded. The only way these layers could have all bended and folded together is if they were still wet - i.e. they weren’t dry rock yet. This means that they must have been formed together, not one by one over millennia.

I believe that the fossil record is a clear record of the biggest catastrophe the world has ever seen. Millions of animals and plants were suddenly swept away and buried, preserved for us to find today. This isn’t a record of era upon era, age upon age - it’s a record of judgement on sin. It shouldn’t really be surprising to a believer  that our modern culture wants to forget that. Peter declared in his second letter that this would happen. Listen to his prediction in 2 Peter 3:3-7:

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires...They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.”

Yahweh Tsidkenu

Jeremiah 23:6 “And this will be his name: ‘Yahweh Is Our Righteousness (Yahweh Tsidkenu).’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.”

God is Righteous. He is completely righteous, there could never be the slightest hint of wickedness in Him. That’s why He stands in direct opposition of sin - He hates it. God is so righteous that He sees the wicked thought in the same way He sees the wicked action. He will punish both of them in the same way.

David couldn’t help to declare God’s righteousness. In his mind, that’s who God is! Look at just a few of the things David wrote about God’s righteousness.
Psalm 36:6 “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.”
Psalm 11:7 “For Yahweh is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.”
Psalm 45:6 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”
Psalm 97:2 “Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”

There are many, many more verses in David’s psalms about the righteousness of God. As far as David was concerned, God’s righteousness and justice were what gave Him the right to rule.

Now, from our point of view, God’s righteousness can be a fearful thing. Our righteousness and His righteousness won’t ever match or line up. The best mankind can do - the most righteous we could ever be - is described in Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is like filthy rags.” We just don’t measure up. We can’t do enough righteous things to become righteous. Why? Because there isn’t enough good deeds in the world to erase a single act of wickedness.

Is it any wonder then that our first reaction to God’s righteousness is fear? Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5), Manoah (Judges 13:22), and David (1 Chronicles 21:16) were all terrified when they saw God. Why? Because their first thoughts were about God’s righteousness and their sinfulness. As Paul preached to Felix (the man who held Paul prisoner) about God’s righteousness, it brought fear to him too. Acts 24:25 says, “As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. ‘Go away for now,’ he replied. ‘When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.’” The righteousness of God makes sinners a little nervous.

But the separation of our wickedness and God’s righteousness didn’t only affect us. One reason God hates our wickedness so much is because of the separation it brings with it! Listen to what He said in Isaiah 48:18 “Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

God hates our wickedness, but He hated our separation even more! This is why He paid such a high cost to eliminate them both. 2 Corinthians 5:21 shows us what He really wanted for the sinner; “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” As much as God hates our sin, He still took it on Himself to destroy the separation between us. This is how it worked; He took our sin and gave us His righteousness.

Romans 3:21-22 agrees - “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law (apart from working to earn it) is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” God plan was to provide righteousness to those who would put their trust in Him. His desire was to become our righteousness!

Incidentally, this was always His plan. The first time you see the word “righteousness” in the Bible is in Genesis 15:6, “And he [Abram] believed in Yahweh, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Righteousness has never come by trying to do, do, do, do....anytime you see it, it has only come by faith.

So then, this should be the response of everyone who has received the free gift of righteousness:

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness”
(Isaiah 61:10)