Friday, October 31, 2014

Benjamin Netanyahu a “chicken****” Prime Minister?

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. [Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV)].

A few days ago it was reported that a top official (no identification) in the Obama administration referred to Benjamin Netanyahu as a “chicken**** prime minister!” NOTE: the “****” are used in place of the vulgar term that was actually used!

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu became aware of this and did respond. However at this point in time there has been nothing to indicate any kind of an attempt to apologize and this character’s boss who happens to be the present resident of the White House in Washington DC has not done anything by way of dismissal, suspension, or even so much as a mild reprimand!

For the present administration as it moves further and further towards a hostile anti-Israeli position and a very cozy relationship with many Arab nations, it is going to be “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!” one of these days as Almighty God steps in and interrupts human history by the implementation and completion of His plan for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!

Consider just a few of the dramatic changes which will take place concerning Israel and its world famous city, Jerusalem:

1. God’s intervention – conflict and then His rule established over all the earth --- Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. The remnant shall turn to the Lord. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. [Zechariah 14:1-17 (KJV)].

2. God’s personal return and establishing Jerusalem as a “city of truth” --- Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. [Zechariah 8:1-3 (KJV)].

3. Peace, because now the Lord Jesus Christ is in charge and implements of war are recycled into implements for peaceful purposes --- The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [Isaiah 2:1-4 (KJV)].

4. Radical change in attitude toward the Israelite people! --- Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time. [Isaiah 60:1-22 (KJV)].

At the present time hatred against Israel is increasing with very negative remarks made about the country, its people and its leaders. Ignorant people in the federal government of the United States have demonstrated this most recently!

The covenant which God established with Abraham is still in place though even within the ranks of professing Christianity one can find persons who deny this. I would rather be in the group that is blessed because I take the position of being in agreement with our Creator and His special plan for a people identified as Israelites than to be in disagreement and in that group which will be cursed – read again what God said and promised to Abraham!

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good. [Psalms 122:6-9 (KJV)].

Monday, October 27, 2014

A Call to Prayer out of Washington DC, Perhaps?

And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now unto Jehovah our God for us.” [Jeremiah 37:3 (American Standard Version)].

Things were not going well in the ancient Israelite kingdom of Judah around 600 BC. The Babylonian Empire was threatening to invade and conquer the kingdom just as it had been victorious over many other kingdoms in previous times. God over time had raised up prophets to call the nation and its leaders to repent of their many transgressions against Him, and in so doing avoid military defeat and destruction. But due to corrupt leadership, deceptive religious teaching, and a desire to do things “our way” the nation, its holy city, Jerusalem, and its magnificent temple were totally destroyed in 586 BC. Just prior to this disaster King Zedekiah asked for prayer, but it was too late!

Which brings us to a speculative question – is the day not far off when an appeal to pray will be issued from Washington DC? That appeal may come from the present resident of the White House, or leaders in the U.S. Congress or perhaps a blended combination of both!

Just about everyone in our republic has become aware that things are not going well for us at the present time.

The word “crisis” is being employed more and more in news releases and applied to certain happenings. We have the Ebola issue with persons infected within the borders of our nation. We have the ISIS issue and the question as to what extent these highly dedicated Muslims are within our boundaries and planning a series of attacks!

But for some time highly critical issues have been taking place with no real serious action taken to correct such abominable practices.

First, the ongoing practice of mutilating and murdering unborn children since January of 1973. Thousands are victims of intentional homicide each week – never forget, when you deliberately kill a person, it is a homicide! We are moving toward the number of 58 million victims since the Supreme Court made the very unwise and deadly decision that it is a “constitutional right” for a female to have her unborn child murdered!

Second, we have a pandemic condition of sexual immorality taking place which is encouraged by a lucrative pornography industry and the Hollywood and TV productions also giving assistance. Persons of all ages are pressured to adopt the philosophy that “Sex is fun with anyone (or more than one at same time) anywhere and at any time, day or night!” Sexually transmitted diseases are flourishing in spite of the campaigns stressing the need to have “safe sex!”

Third, we have accepted in growing numbers the abomination of same-sex marriage – sodomites can now legally marry each other in a large number of states and likewise lesbians can marry each other. Even churches, church leaders, and pastors are going along with this declaring it to be a good thing!

Fourth, we have become an idolatrous nation, setting up numerous idols, although it would be denied. But when less than half of our population can make it to a place of worship on a Sunday morning, it is a sign that we are in serious trouble, although from time to time the misleading erroneous statement is made that the United States is a Christian nation!

Fifth, the church (general term applied to all groups professing Christian faith) has become an institution of great confusion due to infiltration by those who deny the integrity and sole authority of the holy Scriptures. It is not that unusual to find pastors denying the miracles of the Bible, the Person and work of Jesus Christ – that is, His atonement for the sins of the entire human race, His victorious resurrection following crucifixion, and His promised return to this world for the purpose of controlling and ruling it! Further, as mentioned earlier, churches with pastors and people are capitulating to the demands of the sodomite/lesbian cartel. To resist is to guarantee that you will be labeled in the most negative terms possible – in fact, it is practically regarded to be criminal in not accepting sodomy and lesbianism as normal and that it is normal for such persons to marry!

Our nation has been experiencing increased calamities of various kinds. There has been an increase in violence erupting in many different places, from privacy of a home, to public places, and in schools and colleges. An unstable weather system is such that we never can be quite sure what a day will hold – many lives have been lost due to violent weather in some places.

With a national debt increasing like a cancer out of control it is guaranteed as well that we are going to experience trouble that is beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend. Government leaders at the federal level have not done a single thing to address this problem much less to take steps to pay off the debt!

Now, having said all the foregoing, again the question – in light of the increased pace of calamities taking place throughout our republic, will the appeal soon be issued for citizens to pray and call on God? And when it is issued, one thing for certain – no mention will be made about seeking mercy in a spirit of repentance – no desire to forsake our sins and abominations and set things right in relation to God – and this being done through His Son, Jesus Christ. In fact it is more than an outside possibility that the name of Jesus Christ will be intentionally avoided when such an appeal is made!

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. [2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James Version)].