To What Extent Will God Permit the Heathen to Attack Us?

"Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, and against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, to seize the spoil, to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." --- Isaiah 10:5,6

As the celebrations continue over the death of Osama bin Laden it is time to consider an issue which only a few are willing to think about and/or discuss with others. That issue is God's use of heathen peoples as instruments in His purposes to judge those who claim to be His people but at the same time they play the hypocrite by rejecting His standards and principles for a sane, sensible, serene, stable, and secure nation with a positive hope for the future! Corruption in political and religious leadership is a major contributing factor in such a circumstance.

A lot of history reveals that God in times past used heathen peoples to chastise and in some cases ultimately judge those who claimed to be His people. The ancient Israelites were a people to whom God had revealed Himself and then were chosen to represent Him as the true God in a world engulfed in ungodly practices, even to the point of human sacrifices in worship rituals.

There were times that the Israelites adopted the practices of their heathen neighbors. In the Old Testament book of Judges we observe a "roller coaster" experience. For a time the people were obedient and under the blessing of God. But then they abandoned the way of obedience and God would respond in a very negative way. Terms used to describe these experiences are: "forsook God", "did evil", etc. God's actions are described as: "delivered them into the hands of...", "sold them into the hand of...", etc.

And so it went for centuries as kings came and went. Some were good kings who truly feared God and sought to be obedient, but many others were not and succumbed to evil influences and the worship of false gods. Often a part of this again involved human sacrifice, such as throwing an infant or young child into a roaring fire as an act of worship. It is actually reported that some kings who are clearly identified engaged in this horrendous practice!

But the time comes when evil, like an out of control cancer, reaches a terminal state. God no longer raises up prophets with an appeal to repent and come back to Him for mercy and forgiveness. The message of the prophets changes dramatically and basically warns of impending judgment.

The ancient northern kingdom of Israel was invaded and destroyed by the Assyrians in about the year 721 BC. The southern kingdom of Judah hung on a bit longer, but eventually time ran out for it and the Babylonians totally destroyed the proud city of Jerusalem in about 586 BC. In both cases God reveals that it was persistent disobedience and refusal to repent that led to these disasters.

In both cases God's "instruments" of judgment were the Assyrians and the Babylonians -- both were about as heathen as it is possible to get. It later turned out that these heathen kingdoms were judged by God with a lot of detail given as to what would happen before their respective judgments actually took place.

Now consider this: God does not change in His way of dealing with members of the human race and the nations which they establish through time. The United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and the Bible was quite prominent in the experiences of the founding fathers as well as successors in decades to follow.

The nation was identified with the Christian faith -- that is, most of the citizens professed to be Christian in their faith. From time to time there were some significant "awakenings" in which people in rather large numbers actively sought God's mercy and forgiveness, with faith centered in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

But as the republic entered the 20th Century something not good was happening. The seeds of doubt and skepticism were being sown within the ranks of Christianity. This new "trend" was eventually referred to as "liberalism" -- a "pseudo-intellectual" view and interpretation of the Scriptures! It was the "in thing" to question the information reported in Scripture concerning the works of God, the miracles, and of course, the Person of Jesus Christ and everything related to His life here on earth, including His sacrifice for the sins of the human race and His literal resurrection from the dead following His crucifixion.

The rebel seed has taken root over time and is producing "fruit!" The United States has taken on the characteristics of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The main difference is that we have technology that those people did not have and consequently we can sin quickly, massively, and in ways those people could not even have imagined! As a result we are ripe for judgment action on the part of the Creator of this mighty universe.

Could His instruments of judgment at a certain point involve heathen peoples set on revenge because of our involvement in, our bragging and our intense celebrating the death of one of their own who was world famous? Most will instantly reject this possibility and if for no other reason, in ignorance declare that God would never do such a thing or allow such a thing to happen to the United States. Oh, and on what basis does that bit of speculation rest -- any Biblical authority to confirm that as fact?

Almighty God has yet to make a full response to the ungodliness that permeates this nation from one end to the other. It will not be pleasant to be living within its borders when that response does come, and it may come sooner than any of us want to honestly recognize!

It remains a solid truth -- the only thing we learn from history is the fact that we fail to learn from history and as a result are doomed to repeat the tragedies of previous cultures whose ruins lie in the dust and rocks of the earth!

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He also did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. --- 2 Chronicles 36:11-19

There Was a Time When....!

"I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land and made My heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; the rulers also transgressed against Me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit." --- Jeremiah 2:7,8

There was a time in this republic when a majority of persons had exposure to the holy Scriptures and the Lord's Prayer. All students as they attended public schools for an average of 12 years engaged in the spiritual exercise of beginning the day with some portion of Bible reading followed by a prayer which began, "Our Father, Who art in heaven..."

Major discipline problems during those years consisted of such things as chewing gum in class, running in the hallways, whispering in class, shooting rubber bands and/or spit balls, etc. You know, the kinds of things which so disrupt school operations that the school has to cease operations for 3 or 4 days until the "crisis" is resolved!

Then came what has to be a first and foremost imbecile quality decision by the United States Supreme Court in which the reading of Scripture and prayer were ruled to be illegal! A few years later the nation's highest court sank to an even lower level than that of an imbecile by ruling that it is a "constitutional right" to mutilate and murder unborn children in the womb!

So then, what great benefits has the republic reaped as a consequence of the actions of 9 black robed people who chose to completely abandon all common sense and wisdom by declaring the public educational system totally off limits to the mighty Creator of this universe? And further, that in thousands of cases each week His work of forming human beings in the womb must be terminated?

Here is how it is:

• We are raising a large segment of our population to be heathen -- even unchurched students used to be exposed to a few minutes of Bible revelation and prayer to God but that has been no longer the case for decades! These in turn passed on their heathen unbelieving ways to their children and these children did likewise -- heathenism is very easy to pass on to the young!
  
  
• Along with the initial 2 rulings on the part of the Supreme Court which have pushed us down the road to sure and certain disaster, in the name of "freedom of speech and expression" our young began to be exposed to increased vulgarity, sexual immorality and graphic violence through many avenues. High profile individuals idolized by the young brazenly displayed their immoral lifestyles. Entertainment sunk to new lows with gutter level language, increased violence and sexually explicit images which leave absolutely nothing to the imagination -- after all, if you see two naked people in bed together, what is there to imagine?
  
  
• And the young have been encouraged in various ways to indulge in use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. "Parties" will feature the foregoing plus engaging in a variety of sexual activities. One mother was extremely upset when informed by school officials that her junior high daughter "competed" with another girl on the school bus as to which could give oral sex to the most boys before arriving at school! A relative of mine is a junior high principal and told me of a recent incident in his school -- some 8th graders were caught smoking pot in one of their classes! This, of course, all carries over into the college and university level in greater intensity.
  

• Problems in the public school system have escalated somewhat since the days of dealing with chewing gum, spitballs, etc. Now it's a matter of assaults -- students against other students and students against teachers -- stabbings and shootings -- the necessity of having police on the premises to try to keep order in a number of school systems!
  
  
• And don't forget -- things are by no means a rosy paradise at the college and university level -- you know, those campuses are supposed to be "gun free" zones, but we have had some very tragic incidents on a few in recent times -- ah, times of progress and advancement -- it is great, but we haven't arrived have we?
  

Yes indeed -- since we told God He is no longer welcome in public schools and that we have the right to terminate His work of forming human beings any time we want to, we've really made progress, have we not? Or is it more proper to say that we have regressed to lower levels of depravity than any society claiming to be civilized would ever want to admit?

What's the point? Simply this -- no one can say that we have made great advances ethically, morally and spiritually since those 2 Supreme Court decisions in particular -- the dates of those decisions hold more than equal weight with the one F.D.R. said would live in infamy -- December 7, 1941!

Yes, some of us do remember back to a time when.... a time much superior in ways that count most as compared to how it is now!

"Therefore I will yet bring charges against you," says the LORD, "And against your children's children I will bring charges.... Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate," says the LORD. "For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns; broken cisterns that can hold no water." --- Jeremiah 2:9,11-13

Skateboarding, Snowboarding, and Pet Boarding, But Waterboarding?

In a news release earlier today it was reported that the Bush Administration attempted to defend the use of an interrogation technique known as "waterboarding" with the claim that it is "legal" rather than "torture" as some persons have claimed, and that by employing this method American lives have been saved! In testimony before Congress, CIA Director Michael Hayden stated that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abdal-Rahim al-Nashiri were waterboarded in 2002 and 2003. --- Information contained in a news release - Feb. 6, 2008

Well now -- what have we here? As mentioned in the title, certain types of "boarding" are quite OK and in some cases most pleasant and enjoyable to experience, but "waterboarding?"

Some may not be familiar with what goes on when a person is "waterboarded" -- definitely it stands in sharp contrast to being on a skateboard or a snowboard!

OK, are you ready? First, you strap the victim down so that he or she is unable to move in such a manner as to remove the cloth which is placed over the face. Now don't jump to conclusions at this point and say, "Well, that doesn't sound too bad -- I can still breathe if I have a cloth over my face!" Wait -- here's the good part as practiced by some U.S. government "interrogators" -- the next step is pouring water over the cloth and getting it well saturated so that the victim goes through the agonizing experience of feeling as though he is drowning and struggling to get his next breath!

The history of this goes back over the centuries to the Spanish Inquisition and is presently condemned by most nations around the world.

Since Bush and his supporters insist that this isn't "torture," why not have them go through the "procedure" and see what their conclusions are afterward -- about 2 or 3 days of this prolonged "treatment" should do it, wouldn't you think? After all the gagging and choking has subsided may we expect each one of them, president included, to say, "No, that's not torture at all!"

Will it be stopped? Not likely and we don't know the whole story as to how suspects have been or are presently being treated. Some would argue that since they do horrible things to us, we should retaliate in kind -- treat them as they would treat us, etc. That might fly a little bit if we were a nation that makes no claim to being civilized or that we have "In God We Trust" stamped on coins and currency, or that we place hand over heart and in final words of our Pledge of Allegiance, we say "...one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all."

But then again, since we have pretty well regressed to being a rather violent heathen style of culture, the practice of waterboarding is no more offensive -- in fact, less so, than our national practice of brutally mutilating and murdering thousands of unborn children in the womb each week, is it not? Toll so far in the "land of the free and the home of brave" is over 48 million victims!

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.' For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations?'" --- Jeremiah 7:3-10

In Possession of a Whore's Forehead!

"You have had a harlot's forehead; you refuse to be ashamed." -- Jeremiah 3:3b

What a scathing indictment! It is the ultimate of all reprimands -- the Mt. Everest of all circumstances in which a harsh rebuke has been issued!

Here is a culture that prides itself on being identified as the people of the living God of Israel -- the God Who had been their God for centuries dating back to the time when this God had called their ancestor, Abraham, and had established a covenant with him. This covenant assured Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars in the sky in terms of numbers and they eventually would own and occupy territory which stretched from the Euphrates River in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the West. This last part about territory and the future glory of Jerusalem has yet to be fulfilled.

This God had spelled out specific spiritual, moral, and ethical standards which the people were expected to fully implement in their way of life and relationships with each other. How the people responded to this revelation and expectation by God was extremely critical for their ongoing existence and survival.

As time passed they gradually adopted lifestyles and worship practices of the heathen peoples surrounding them. Still claiming to be God's people they began sacrificing their children to a god named Molech and engaged in temple prostitution as well as sexual immorality in their relationships. The day of worship was increasingly desecrated and greed began to dominate as leaders and people focused on selfish desires at the expense of fellow citizens! Idolatry became a pandemic condition with God declaring,

"As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets, saying to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Arise and save us.' But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah." -- Jeremiah 2:26-28

Now then, hit the FF button on your remote and speed into the 21st Century in the United States of America.

There, do you see them? They stand out clearly -- you know, those footprints on the path before us which we are travelling? Those were made by the ancient Israelites in the 6th and 5th Centuries BC!

We are proud of our heritage and it is not uncommon to hear expressions such as "God bless America!" and "We are a Christian nation!"

What other nation has "In God We Trust" stamped on coins and printed on currency? What other nation has citizens placing hand over heart and in pledging allegiance to its flag and to the republic for which it stands repeats a phrase such as this -- "...one nation under God...?"

But as we travel the same path as those 6th Century BC Israelites we find much duplication:

• we too destroy children -- about 100,000 unborn are mangled and murdered each month of the year!
  
  
• we too engage in idolatry with money being but one of many powerful gods to which we pay homage in our culture -- church, government, business, entertainment, and the many professions have all been impacted by the invasion of the "gods" that compete for our time, energy, and loyalty!
  
  
• we too engage in widespread sexual immorality involving many varieties of expression with "sexual buffets" being accepted as "normal" and our young getting sexually involved at younger and younger ages as time passes. An interesting by-product has also been taking place -- it's called STD's (sexually transmitted diseases) with some incurable and a couple or so proving to be fatal!
  
  
• we too desecrate the day of worship having turned it into a day of business activity, fun, and games with less than half our population entering a place of worship on any given Sunday!
  
  
• our professed "religion" too often resembles a trumpet with an uncertain sound which is interpreted by the world to mean, "Sin all you want -- God just wants you to be happy doing what you do and when it's over, He'll welcome you through the pearly gates of heaven!"
  
  
• we brainwash the majority of our young into believing their ancestry is traced back to a couple of wriggly organisms in a slime pit millions of years ago!
  

What objections can you raise as to why Almighty God should not say to us in these United States as He said to those in the ancient kingdom of Judah long ago, "You have had a harlot's forehead; you refuse to be ashamed."?

And we dare not -- in fact, we must not think of the possibility of God bringing judgment on a republic known as the United States, right? It's just too unsettling -- it makes us react like a worm on the surface of a hot skillet!