Israel - America - Isaiah & God's Judgment - A Nation Dedicated To God

America like Israel is a nation dedicated to God.
Do you know that our first president's first official act, along with Congress and Senate was to dedicate the brand new nation, the United States of America, to Jehovah God?
America and Israel are the only two nations who at their beginnings, were and are dedicated to Jehovah God, our creator.
This is an important fact to know and understand because a nation dedicated to God is held to a higher responsibility as opposed to nations that are not.
Now it is true that there are nations who followed biblical standards and at times revival has taken place. For example England in the 1800s had a very strong revival which in turn made its way over to America and great preachers like Charles Grandison Finney, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Dwight Lyman Moody, Billy Sunday and many more preached the gospel.
That was the golden age of the American Revival.
But do you know that our nation was also dedicated to God by a King? This took place in 1606 when King James of England stated in the Jamestown charter to the major investors in the Virginia Company that the spread the Gospel of the Almighty God will be first and foremost.
Here is how the charter opened…

Wee, greately commending and graciously accepting of theire desires to the furtherance of soe noble a worke which may, by the providence of Almightie God, hereafter tende to the glorie of His Divine Maiestie to suche people as yet live in darkeness and miserable ignorance of the true knoweledge and worshippe of God and may in tyme bring the infidels and salvages living in those parts to humane civilitie and to a setled and quiet governmente…

Spreading the gospel was the first goal of the Jamestown settlers. The second part of the 1606 charter is devoted to the rights of the investors to discover and profit from…

“all the landes, woodes, soile, groundes, havens, portes, rivers, mines, minerals, marrishes, waters, fishinges, commodities and hereditamentes whatsoever” in Virginia. They were given instructions to “dig, myne, and searche for all manner of Mynes of Goulde Silver and Copper aswell within anie parte of theire saide severall Colonies.”

So not only in our conception via the Jamestown settlers, but also when our nation officially stood on its own as a nation, we were dedicated to God.
The only other country to be dedicated to God at it's beginnings was Israel.
Even though Israel had two kings prior, it was not till the temple was built that the nation of Israel truly became a nation. It was under the reign of King Solomon who finally built God's temple, which was the symbol, the very heart of the nation.
We read in 2 Chronicles seven we the following…

2 Chronicles 7:11-22 - Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.

12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 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.

15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;

18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.

19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?

22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

There is a lot in these ten verses.
1 - God heard the prayer of the king and accepted the king's dedication of Israel to that of God.
2 - God will chastise, but has promised that His mercy will continue based on the actions of the nation.
3 - God promises to hear the prayers and will be attentive to a humble people and will dwell with them, blessing them and watching over them.
4 - God promises to the king that He will bless the King, His rule and the nation if the King maintains God's statutes, judgments. In other words, Keep God's Word.
5 - God also states that if the nations turns away from God to serve other gods, worship them, then He will pluck the nation up by its roots out of the land and will also cast His house out of His sight.
This is just the tip of the iceberg too. There is a lot more here, but we can cover more later.
What we know is that God is not a respecter of persons, BUT he is a respecter of the office with which that person occupies.
We clearly see that the actions of the king will reflect upon the nation. If the king worships other gods, God's chastisement will "roll down hill." It will be the nation that will feel His hand against them.

1 Peter 2:17b …Fear God. Honour the king.

The office of the king is an office ordained by God and with it comes a huge amount of responsibility to God. But because the office is ordained by God, the king or the leader of a nation has in a sense "God's ear."
We see this in case after case in scripture. When the King sought out God and repented, God heard the prayers of the king and forgave the nation.

Jonah 3:6-10 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Because the King of Ninevah humbled himself before God and ordered the people to follow his example, God spared Ninevah from complete destruction.
God is not a respecter of persons, but He does respect an office of responsibility which a person holds.
The birthplace of Israel is upon the temple mount in Jerusalem, but do you know where the birthplace of our nation took place?
It wasn't in Washington DC nor was it in Philadelphia in 1776. Our nation was conceived in Philadelphia, but we did not become an official nation until April 30th, 1789.
That was the day that George Washington was sworn in as America's first president. In fact there is a very famous statue marking the very spot where he was sworn in.
He was inaugurated on the island of Manhattan, New York City, in front of the Federal Hall located on Wall Street.
Wall Street is where our nation actually became a nation. Federal Hall was the then current home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The building is still there and there is a statue of George Washington standing with his hand stretched out taking the oath of office. Why was his hand stretched out? His statue was portrayed that way so that people could see and remember that George Washington took the oath of office while resting his hand on God's Word.
On this day things were planned out and seemed to be going smoothly, but as the parade was nearing Federal Hall carrying Washington in a horse drawn carriage, it was suddenly realized that a Bible had been needed for administering the oath. Why? Because it was written into the law and a bible was required to be part of the ceremony. History shows that it was Parade Marshal Jacob Morton who hurried off and soon returned with a large 1767 King James Bible, and it was that bible with which Washington swore his oath of office.
The same King James who's charter ordained this country to sharing the gospel also gave the English speaking people the only authorized bible in history, the King James Authorized Version of the Bible.
So on April 30, 1789 our first president was sworn in at Federal Hall, our first seat of government located on Wall Street, Manhattan New York.
On April 23, it was announced to the nation that at 9:00 AM the church bells across the nation will ring for a half hour, calling the entire nation come to their house of worship and to commit our new government to the Most High God.

The Daily Advertiser reported the following…

[O]n the morning of the day on which our illustrious President will be invested with his office, the bells will ring at nine o’clock, when the people may go up to the house of God and in a solemn manner commit the new government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy protection and blessing of the Most high. An early hour is prudently fixed for this peculiar act of devotion and . . . is designed wholly for prayer.

The Daily Advertiser, New York, Thursday, April 23, 1789, p. 2

After being sworn-in, George Washington delivered this nation's first “Inaugural Address” to a joint session of Congress.
In it, Washington declared:

"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."

As the newly inaugurated President, George Washington's first act as President was to lead on foot, the Vice President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives, proceed to St. Paul’s Chapel.
It was at St. Paul's Chapel that our nation was dedicated to God. Our newly founded Government joined our President, along with the rest of the nation, upon bent knee and in solemn prayer asked for God's favor and blessing upon this nation. It was at that time that our nation was committed by our leader and the people to God Almighty.
It is at that very moment that the ground with which our nation was dedicated, became hallowed ground.
This ground was from that point on, became a special landmark to our nation and to God.
Like the temple mount where Solomon dedicated Israel and her people to God, so did our first president. Following Solomon's example his first official act as our nation's leader was to dedicate our nation and her people to God.
Saint Paul's Chapel and the land upon which it sat, is a kin to Israel's temple mount.
The ground is hallowed to our nation.
Saint Paul's Chapel
The chapel of the Parish of Trinity Church, St. Paul's was built on land granted by Queen Anne of Great Britain. Land owned by one who holds an office, recognized and ordained by God.
The land owned by the chapel was of good size. In fact it is recorded that The "Hearts of Oak", a militia unit organized early in the American Revolutionary War, and comprised in part of King's College (later, Columbia University) students, would drill in the Chapel's yard before classes. (1)
Another fact about St. Paul's that Washington regularly attended services at St. Paul's during the two years New York City was the country's capital.
Remove Not The Ancient Landmarks
In scripture we are told about "the ancient landmarks." In fact we are warned in Proverbs of the following…

Proverbs 22:28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

Over the years the land upon which our nation was dedicated to God, slowly became forgotten.
Today, barely anyone except for a few history books, remember that the land which St. Paul's stands is the very same land which our nation and her people were dedicated to God.
The ancient landmark was not moved, but something worse happened… it became forgotten.
Many people have no idea what St. Paul' Chapel means to this nation. Her history, her meaning, her hallowed ground has been totally forgotten by most of the nation and her people.
Israel Turns From God
In 2 Chronicles 7 we read what will happen to Israel if she turned her back upon God.

20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?

Because Israel turned to false gods and turned her back upon God, God did exactly as He said he would. He pulled the people up by the roots and destroyed the temple.
The hallowed ground with which the temple was built was defiled and destroyed. God's hand of protection was lifted and the enemies of God came in and destroyed the very symbol of the nation, that being the temple, the heart of the nation.
The people lamented and asked "Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land?"
Again, just as God said it, the people wondered "WHY?"
It is because the nation and her people who were dedicated to God, by their king, turned their backs upon Him.
So He destroyed the temple because they forgot the ancient landmarks and their promise to God once given on that hallowed ground from which she was dedicated.
God began His judgment upon Israel on the very ground she was founded, the temple mount.
Our Hallowed Ground
Our nation has faced God's Judgment, just as Israel's hallowed ground was stricken. So has our hallowed ground been also stricken.
Our hallowed ground with which St Paul's sits and where our nation was dedicated to God Almighty is none other than Ground Zero.
The land that was once used to practice marching and military drill, was the same land with which the twin towers stood.

Facing Ground Zero from St Paul's Chapel.

Like Israel, God has judged our nation, a nation dedicated to God Almighty.
Like Israel who was briefly invaded by Assyria, our nation has also been briefly invaded by the very same terrorist ancestors.
Like Israel's hallowed ground being destroyed, our hallowed ground has also been destroyed.
We have been warned, and God's hand of providence has been lifted.
But on that day did we humble ourselves?
No we did not.
In fact, our leaders spoke a curse upon our nation right from the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 9:10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

This verse in the days and months after our nation's downfall will be repeated over and over again by our elected officials.
This verse is the very attitude that Israel took after Assyria invaded the land.
Instead of humbling themselves and repenting as God told them to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14, they became hardened and prideful.
They became defiant in the face of God.
God has been warning out nation. But instead of heeding His warning the people of our nation continue to be boastful, proud and defiant in the face of God.
In my next article I will show how we have followed in the same steps as Israel, as well as show the signs of God's continued judgment upon our nation.


By Ray Gano






End Notes
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Chapel

Israel - America - Isaiah & Judgement

Over the past week or so I have been reading Isaiah.
To be honest I am blown away at the similarities mentioned about Israel and then looking at modern day America.
I am not promoting some replacement theology idea or anything like that; but I do believe that when people or nations turn their backs on God, the laws of nature, God's Law, comes into play.
I am one who firmly believes that our nation was brought about by divine providence. King James, the very same king who put his name to the only Authorized version of the bible, also sent people to "the new world" to spread the Gospel and claim the land for God in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the basic tenants of the James Town Charter claiming America for His Glory.
We are not God's chosen people and in no way replace Israel, but I believe we have a special place in God's plan and because we have remained a Christian nation up until about 40 years ago, God has blessed us immensely.
Our nation has done more to further the gospel, protect the innocent, stood for what was right, and against what was wrong than any other nation. We have defended the weak, opposed tyranny and tyrants.
On July 4th 1776 we declared our freedom beginning with these words…
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
At the base of the Statue of Liberty it states,
"Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"
We are a nation built upon the principals of God and His Word.
But somewhere on this journey, our great republic strayed and instead of being good, we have chosen the path of evil.
I look around at what is taking place here in the US as well as globally and I see man working towards his own demise through the pleasures of the world and of the flesh.
Instead of exporting the Gospel, we export pornography.
Instead of saving the innocent, we kill millions of our children through abortion.
Instead of standing for God, we work to eradicate His existence from our lives, our monuments and our schools.
Instead of the holy matrimony between husband and wife we have sodomites, pedophiles, hedonism, practitioners of bestiality and necrophilia, all becoming the norm.
Instead of caring for our fellow man, greed and selfishness are what has taken its place. The natural affection of man is gone, brutality is its replacement.
Many people ask is America in Bible Prophecy? I do not see her directly there, but recently I have been studying Isaiah 5 again and as I mentioned I have noticed some very interesting correlations in God judging Judah and where we are in America today.
Please, take the time to read this….

Isaiah 5:8  Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Isaiah 5:9  In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.

Isaiah 5:10  Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.

Isaiah 5:11  Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

Isaiah 5:12  And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

Isaiah 5:13  Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

Isaiah 5:14  Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Isaiah 5:15  And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:

Isaiah 5:16  But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

Isaiah 5:17  Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

Isaiah 5:18  Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Isaiah 5:19  That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

Isaiah 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:21  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Isaiah 5:22  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:

Isaiah 5:23  Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

In this chapter God shows His people their sins as well as the judgment’s to be brought up them for their sins.
There Are Six Woes That God Proclaims
1. verses 8-10 – This is the first crime, the covetousness and financial greed which shall be punished by famine.
2. verses 11-12 – This is the second crime, living for rioting, reveling and drunkenness which shall be punished by captivity.
3. verses 18-19 –This is the third crime, ultimately defying God and His justice. They parade their sins around for all to see and also defy God to hurry up and hasten his work of judgment.
4. verse 20 –This is the fourth crime, calling evil good and good evil. We know the effects of this, it is prevalent today.
5.  verse 21 - This is the fifth crime specified. It refers to those who are inflated with a false opinion of their own knowledge, and who are, therefore, self-confident and vain.
6. verses 22-23 – Again drunkenness but also due to their drunkenness they pervert justice rewarding the wicked and punishing the righteous.
God has allowed us to prosper as shown in the parable of the vineyard found in Isaiah 5, and we have turned against Him and taken His blessings for granted.
We no longer serve Him and we have become a pagan nation worshiping mammon and a multitude of false gods.
Think about this for a moment. When we lived within God’s economy, business was done on a handshake and a man’s word was a man’s word. Today we live in mammon’s economy with all its clutter, confusion, trappings and ability to steal all with a stroke of a pen.
Today we need contracts that are 20+ pages long and what the big print giveth the small print taketh away.
Read what Isaiah says in Chapter 5, verse 8, this very issue is addressed.

Isaiah 5:8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible explain this verse the best.

Isaiah 5:8 - Woe unto them ... - The prophet now proceeds to “specify” some of the crimes to which he had referred in the parable of the vineyard, of which the Jews had been guilty. The first is “avarice.”

That join house to house - That seek to possess many houses; or perhaps that seek to live in large and magnificent palaces. A similar denunciation of this sin is recorded in Mic_2:2; Neh_5:1-8. This, together with what follows, was contrary to the law of Moses. He provided that when the children of Israel should enter the land of Canaan, the land should be equitably divided; and in order to prevent avarice, he ordained the “jubilee,” occurring once in fifty years, by which every man and every family should be restored to their former possession; Lev. 25. Perhaps there could have been no law so well framed to prevent the existence, and avoid the evils of covetousness. Yet, in defiance of the obvious requirements and spirit of that law, the people in the time of Isaiah had become generally covetous.

That lay field to field - That purchase one farm after another. The words ‘that lay,’ mean “to cause to approach;” that is, they “join” on one farm after another.

Till there be no place - Until they reach the “outer limit” of the land; until they possess all.

That they may be placed alone - That they may displace all others; that they may drive off from their lands all others, and take possession of them themselves.

In the midst of the earth - Or rather, in the midst of the “land.” They seek to obtain the whole of it, and to expel all the present owners. Never was there a more correct description of avarice. It is satisfied with no present possessions, and would be satisfied only if all the earth were in its possession. Nor would the covetous man be satisfied then. He would sit down and weep that there was nothing more which he could desire. How different this from that “contentment” which is produced by religion, and the love of the happiness of others!

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary states basically the same thing too.
Does this not describe corporate greed and the serving of mammon today?
But that is not all.
It seems that which gender one is having sex with is now more important in the halls of congress than the wholesomeness and protecting the family unit. We care more for this world and justify its shallow perspectives more than the things of God and His eternal perspective.
Do you know that there is an epidemic of teachers accused or convicted of having sex with their students? Hundreds of them, mostly female too (1).   Has this come to the forefront of national and international news in recent years? No.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

I read many articles where so many of these child predators are just given a slap on the wrist. Where liberal judges reward the evils and yet lock up those who are righteous. A prime example of this is the 2 border guard agents who spent time in jail for doing their job and yet a drug smuggler is on the loose coming and going in and out of our country.
Sins of the flesh are being taken to a new high. At a past Sundance Film Festival not only did we have a movie where the main highlight was the raping of a 12 year old girl, OH YEA…but it was all in the name of “ART.”
But get this…
There was also a film called “Zoo” which primary focus was sex with animals.

Leviticus 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

But that is not all. More and more television shows are portraying homosexuality in a very positive light. Showtime was touting their hot show “ The “L” Word” It is a show that glorifies and is about life as a lesbian (2).

Romans 1:26 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:

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

But here in Isaiah 5:18 it talks about this very thing which the Lord deplores.

Isaiah 5:18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

Here in the US, we not only openly revel in our homosexual sin, but we parade our sins to God shoving it in His face. I am reminded of a literal example of this, the Gay Pride Parades with the floats and people all reveling. Here is an abomination to God and proudly it is displayed and celebrated.
But, if you are in the world, of the world or even one toe in the world, much of this sounds fine to you, you are “tolerant” of these things and when the day is finally over, and one guesses it is all ok.
But what no one is addressing, with all these things taking place, no one is talking about what to do if the Lord tarries.

Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Very few are occupying. ...
Do you see this too? When did we stop living for God and His economy and allowed ourselves to enter mammon’s and flesh’s debauchery?
But you know what; the scary thing is how God corrects and judges these things.
In reading Isaiah and how God deals with a sinning nation, a nation that was dedicated to Him, His Glory and The Proclaiming of the Gospel, He has no choice but to judge the nation and chastise it in hopes that they will turn from their wicked ways and return to God.
For a while people have been saying that God will judge our nation and believing judgment is coming.
I am sorry, I do not believe this.
Why?
Because I believe Judgment is already here and has begun to take place.
What have we done as a nation?
The very same thing that Israel did, they stood in defiance against God, instead of humbling themselves and seeking forgiveness.
God Warns First, Hoping For Repentance, IF NOT…Then
In Isaiah we see God do the same thing over and over again. He warns, then hopes for repentance, He warns, then hopes for repentance.
Finally God has to act and what is the first thing He does in judgment?

Isaiah 5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:

He lifts His hand / hedge of protection.
In doing this, it is His enemies that then come in and start to destroy.
I believe that God has lifted His hand of protection. I believe that we have been given a chance and we have ignored it.
Our hedge of protection has been breached and the enemies of God have come in.
When did this take place?
Think about it.
Never in our history have we been attacked, never has the enemy landed upon our soil, never has the enemy breached our walls.
Why?
Because we have always had His divine protection.
But that changed and now our hedge of protection has been breached.
When did that take place?
September11th, 2001.
On that date the hedge of protection around our nation was breached.
This is why I say that judgment is not coming, it is already here.
Learning From Isaiah
Over and over again we see in Isaiah how God judges the nation.

Isaiah 5:26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

Isaiah 5:28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hooves shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

Isaiah 5:29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

The nation in Isaiah 5 was judged by an enemy; an enemy with purpose, drive and motivation. An enemy who does not seek sleep, is not weary, and always ready for the attack. Their weapons are at their side and at they are ready to be used at a moment's notice.
Here is the interesting part. In the case of Israel it was Assyria. Today we know much of this land to be modern day Iraq.  Do you know that today we are effected by one of Assyria's greatest invention?
Do you know that it is the Assyrians who are given the credit for inventing terrorism?
Assyrians were one of the most warlike people in history, lovers of the violence of the war and hunt. Amongst the people of the ancient Middle East, they were famous for their cruelty. At the peak of its power, Assyria stretched from Egypt to Persian Gulf. Their aggressiveness was partially attributed to their location: Assyria was in northern Mesopotamia, north of Babylon. As no natural bounders like shores or mountains were found there, they were vulnerable to attacks from any direction. This required the presence of a strong and mobile army. (3)
Who in today's modern world maintains such a hate that they would not sleep, have high motivation and just waiting for the attack?
I believe that the same enemies that were part of divine providence then, have risen again today. They are the very ancestors of the enemies of Israel, the worshipers of Baal / Moloch / Ashur. He is the war god, cruel with the enemies and merciful with his believers.
What is interesting is that his symbol was that of a disk or ornament as identified by strong's…

H7720

sah-har-one'

From the same as H5469; a round pendant for the neck: - ornament like the moon.

H5469

Sahar

sah'-har

From an unused root meaning to be round; roundness: - round.

Today these enemies still worship the same god, his name is Helel Ben Sahar, literally meaning crescent moon / Morning Star. הילל בן־שׁחר
This is the very same name we find in scripture, in fact in Isaiah. But in English we call him Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Who attacked and breached our hedge of protection? The ancestors of the enemies of Israel, the worshipers of the enemy named Helel Ben Sahar.
We have the final words from the black box found at the wreckage of flight 93, the flight that did not hit its target.
What were those final words? They were a declaration - a war cry. The words were " Allahu Akbar."

Allahu Akbar (Arabic: الله أكبر) is a phrase, called Takbir in Arabic, meaning "God is greater" or "God is [the] greatest" (4)

What is this god's symbol?
The crescent moon / morning star.
Due to the fact that we are a nation who have turned her back upon God, His divine hedge of protection has been breached by the very same enemies that attacked ancient Israel. The terrorist ancestors mentioned in Isaiah, the ones who invented terrorism the worshipers of the enemy of Jehovah God.
Do you see it?
But That is Not All
9-11 was a warning and I believe a major call to repentance.
But what has our nation done?
Instead of repenting, we have stood with our heels dug in.
Instead of being humble, we have become proud.
Instead of turning to Him, we have stood in defiance of Him.
Out of 9-11 we have said that we will rebuild, become stronger, stand in defiance against the terrorists.
But more than that, we stand in defiance against God Himself because we have rejected His warning.
That warning was the breach in the hedge of protection.
And something that people have also forgotten, the breach is still there.
What should we have done?
The proper course should have been to humble ourselves, seek His face and sought out forgiveness.
If we would have done that, God would have healed our land as promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14

2 Chronicles 7:14 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.

But we haven't done that.
Judgment isn't coming, it is already here. Most of the nation missed it or did not get the warning.
3000+ people died, one of our great cities was crippled, our nation wept and was brought to her knees for a season.
But we have stood again in defiance against God and the enemies of God. Our pride has gotten the best of us.
In reading Isaiah God used the same enemies to not only wreak havoc the first time, but when He pulled the hedge of protection completely; it exposed all of the nation of Israel to attacks, destruction, economic downfall and eventually bound and enslaved to the enemies who brought the destruction.
I am not a prophet. I am a watchman, a student of bible prophecy as well as a student of history.
Isaiah is one of the greatest prophetic books and historical books of the bible and I believe that what happened to Israel is coming to pass again here in America.
Why?
Because we are a nation founded upon God, His Word, dedicated and ordained to sharing the hope of His Son to all the world. We have stopped Occupying Till He Returns. We have forgotten to " always be ready to share the hope that is within us." (1 peter 3:15)
Judgment is not coming, it is here and to be honest I fear what is to come in the next phase of His chastisement.
What do I believe is coming?
That is another article based upon Isaiah in light of ancient Israel and America today.
More to come …


By Ray Gano






Endnotes
1 - http://www.wnd.com/2006/09/38108/
2 - http://www.sho.com/site/lword/home.do
3 - http://news.softpedia.com/news/Assyrians-the-Lords-of-the-Massacres-77262.shtml
4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allahu_Akbar_%28disambiguation%29

Escapism vs. Reality - Where Do You Stand?

Recently an article came across my desk that really disturbed me.
To be honest I have tried to push it off multiple times, but it just kept haunting me. The fire in my bones will not let me leave it be.
In this article the author talks about moral decay, the economy, and even makes the statement that "Total and worldwide financial disaster is inevitable."
"Nature - The world can't take much more of this punishment."
"War - The hate cannot be held back any longer."
"Immorality – The restraining force on immorality has all but fled, mostly leaving us to our own self-destructive tendencies."
You know what? I agree with this, but what I cannot agree with is what is to come.
His solution, "The Hopeful Escape" and I guess it is with his lack luster do nothing attitude that caused the fires to burn in my bones.
Here is what the author said..

"Despite the soon break of the gathering storm, and despite the hopelessness about the future that it brings, believers in Christ can know that it is not our future. Our future plays out in the polar opposite. Instead of living in a world gone mad, we foresee a new home in Heaven. Instead of persecution by a crushing tyrant, we face a loving and benevolent King. Instead of living under wrath, we see living under love. And, where there is only hopelessness left on earth, there is hope, peace and joy awaiting us (Rev. 21-22).

The change on our horizon is bright, for the King of Kings is coming to take those who are saved up to live in Heaven with Him forever and ever."

What is troubling is that more and more ministries are taking on an attitude of  "Why should I worry about the evil in the world, I am going to be raptured away."
Folks, you all know that I stand on an imminent return, but it seems that so many who profess a Doctrine of Immanency have pushed it to the side and turned the rapture into a form of escapism instead of something that goads us into action.
We as students of bible prophecy KNOW what we are to expect. We KNOW that there will be hard times ahead, we KNOW that persecution takes place, we KNOW that tyrants abound and many have and will pay the ultimate price in standing for Christ.
I mean are we to expect a wonderful happy world one day and the next when the rapture takes place all of a sudden things are really bad?
The laws of nature, God's law, dictates that things progress from good to bad and from bad to worse. That is because sin is prevalent in the world and is our sin nature. So prior to the tribulation it should be no surprise that things will get worse.
Where did this whole "escape" come from?
Scripture tells us …

Titus 2:11-14  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

I see "looking for the blessed hope" but where is our "zealous good works" for the kingdom?
Have we become a "peculiar people"?
In this God's Word is describing a people who make a difference to the point that they stand out in a crowd.
Problem is that we have become lax and now ministries are giving the people what they want, some 'what me worry" excuse and condoning the church to just sit around and do nothing.
Nowhere in scripture are we guaranteed some easy rosy life.
Christ Himself stated the following…

Luke 9:23-27  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

More and more I am seeing sound ministries trying to sugar coat the real world and what is taking place in it.
Paul told us that perilous times shall come.
Well folks, I am here to say that they are right here, right now in 3D Technicolor staring us right in the face.
Tell me if the following things are not here…

2 Timothy 3:1-5  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Now let me say that I am more than ready for Christ to return, believe me. This world sickens me and I truly understand when the bible uses the word "vexed".
All that Paul wrote to Timothy in chapter 3 is right in our face and in some cases being shoved down our throats.
So yea, I am ready to go home.
But as I have said, I am deeply troubled by the whole "God is not going to let us go through the tough times" idea that is being perpetuated out there.
In fact this whole idea is anti-biblical.
Romans 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Paul himself tells us as Christians we are sheep for the slaughter.
Peter, writing to the Christians who were being martyred he wrote the following…

1 Peter 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Even today, we read of Pastor Yocef Nadarhani in Iran being the latest Christian who will most likely be martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ.
But here is the thing that really troubled me…

"The change on our horizon is bright, for the King of Kings is coming to take those who are saved up to live in Heaven with Him for ever and ever (Jn. 14:1-14; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; 1 Thes. 4:13-18). It will be an event called the Rapture, and it is coming sooner than we think. In fact, it could be argued that it has the potential to happen this very week due to the prophetic significance of the Feasts of Israel.

The Feast of Trumpets occurs on September 29-30, 2011. Will it herald the "last trumpet?" Only God knows for sure. The Rapture is an imminent event, and so we don't know the exact day or hour it will finally occur. I can only speculate that with the rise of major world events tied to the prophetic significance of the Feast of Trumpets, that this week is one I'm keeping a very close eye on."

Folks, I am not disregarding the rapture, no not at all. What bothers me is that instead of using this valuable time to make a difference and share the gospel; more and more ministries are adopting some Kumbayah, let's sit in the lotus position and contemplate our navels attitude.
It has gotten to the point where we think we are doing some great work for the Lord by just holding on the little scrape of battle ground, and maintaining the status quo. While all along we run around and pat each other on the back for such a great job we are doing in behalf of God.
Rubbish!
We are losing the battle while the majority of the church is sitting on their rears doing nothing and using the rapture as their excuse to do so.
What should we be doing?
Christ, speaking to Peter about the coming church stated..

Matthew 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

We as Christ's Church are called to charge the gates of hell, and they cannot prevail against us.
Instead what are we doing? We sit around and wait for the rapture to come like some limp noodle.
If we TRULY believe in the Doctrine of Immanency we would be out sharing the gospel with every creature as Christ commanded us to do.
If we TRULY believed in the doctrine of immanency  we would not waste a moment to make sure that we have spoken to our loved ones, our friends, our co-workers about their eternal souls that will burn in hell if they do not come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
We should be on our knees praying for all those people fervently, knowing that they will be eternally separated from God the Father as well as separated from us.
Friends, the torment, pain, suffering will be unimaginable and yet this is what we are allowing those we know be condemed to; all because we don't want to offend or call people sinners.
Christ Himself painted a small picture for us to give us just a glimpse into hell…

Luke 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Do you want your friends, family, co-workers, heck even your worst enemy to face this and worse for all of eternity?
This is what they will face if we are not out sharing the gospel in some way.
The Doctrine of Immanency is what lights that fire under us. It instills in us the reason to live a holy and acceptable life unto Him knowing that He can return at a moment's notice and without warning.
But what is more troubling is the selling of false hope to the point where it is becoming common place.
Look at the statement that the author made.

" The Feast of Trumpets occurs on September 29-30, 2011. Will it herald the "last trumpet?" Only God knows for sure."

I remember years ago one would never breach this topic and throw out some speculative date. Yet it is becoming more and more common place today.
It seems that we have run from crystal ball to crystal ball. We forget that truly only the Father in Heaven knows.
What right do we have to toss out some date just because it is the feast of trumpets? To be honest it happens every year and every year Rosh Hashanah comes and goes.
It was funny while I was at a conference a well known bible prophecy teacher came down on this and in jest said that if he was God he would return the day after Rosh Hashanah.
He then asked how many Christians would be ready for that?
He stated "not many" and I agree with him.
Because we no longer respect or revere the Doctrine of Immanency, and because we no longer have respect for the Doctrine of Immanency we now make the rapture some elitist escape ideal instead of something to spur us on in charging the gates of hell, being the salt and light of the world.
To attest to this fact just look around you, apostasy runs rampant, more missionaries coming home than going out, hedonism, perversion and the list goes on.
Why?
Because we have not occupied till He returns.
I do not see the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled. In other words we have not fulfilled what we need to do as the church, that being to share the gospel.
Do you realize that millions upon millions of people do not have the knowledge of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ?
The Joshua Project shows that 6,889 individual people groups or 2.83 billion unreached people who have no knowledge of God, the Bible or His Son Jesus Christ. (1)
To put that in perspective the world's population is currently estimated to be 6.97 billion by the United States Census Bureau as of July 1, 2011.
That means that 2.83 billion people or approximately 1/3 of the world who has no knowledge of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me remind you what Christ commanded…

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Now when Christ said "nations" this is not referring to countries with boarders. He is speaking of people groups.
Do you know that 2,848 people groups in the world have neither Scripture portions (God's written word) or audio recordings (God's spoken word) available in their primary language?(1)
Scripture says…

Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

6889 people groups (nations) have no idea who Jesus Christ is.
How can they when they don't even have God's word in their own language?
They are not going to learn of God's blood atonement through the stars, the trees or some other all inclusive mumbo jumbo that is floating around out there either.
It is only by God's Word and His Word alone that illuminates the path of salvation. That is a fact because  God's Word states it as so.
So what does this boil down to? It means that not "all the world" has been evangelized for Christ and that we have not gone to "all nations."
Hal Lindsey stated at the Understanding the Times conference back in 2005  that "when the last gentile hears the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, well strap on your rocket packs because we are going home."
Well, to be honest, we have not fulfilled the time of the gentiles with approximately 1/3 of the earth having absolutely no knowledge of God, His Word or His Son.
Folks, God does not lie nor does he change His mind. He has given us the criteria that is needed. What has happened is that we have twisted and contorted His Word to fit our ideas of the way it should be. In other words, we have fallen  short.
We no longer occupy till He returns (Luke 19:13) nor are we ALWAYS ready to share the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15).
We are just sitting on our laurels waiting for the rapture to come along and sweep us away.
Folks, I know that this is rocking a lot of people's boats and I will probably lose readers over this, but we must look at God's Word and stop cherry picking what we want to believe in.
Hard times are coming, that is a fact.
Now we can sit around singing Kumbayah like the grasshopper did with the ants. OR we can start getting ready to weather these hard times so that we are better positioned to share the hope/Gospel that is within us.
Out of hard times the one thing that people are open to is hope, but how can we share the hope if we ourselves are standing in some soup kitchen line or begging on some street corner?
We have got to get away from this escapist idea and face up to the fact that we have made our beds and now we have the consequences to face.
We can wish and believe all we want, but God does not lie. He is not going to rapture out a church that has not finished its job.
Let me remind you also that He is not going to rapture us out just because the US is facing a time of hardship either. This is an elitist idea that some ministries are also gravitating to as well.
It is not our place to be throwing out dates, giving out false hopes, outlandish speculations or sugar coating the truth.
We are here to boldly proclaim the gospel and to let the world know that there are consequences in not accepting Christ as your personal savior. Those consequences are eternal damnation to Hell by a Just and Righteous God.
But the sad thing is that so many ministries out there are promoting this "happy happy joy joy" escapist attitude and so many more are buying into it.
Out of this, who will be the first to be blamed?
It sure won't be those ministries selling the candy coated ideas.
People will blame God because He was suppose to whisk them all away but He didn't and now they (the people who listened to the candy coated ministers) are feeling hardship in their lives.
I pray that people wake up while there is still time to do as Noah did and build an ark for their families.
The storm is coming, but like Noah and his family, we will have to weather the storm.
Now just to make it clear, In this I am not saying that we are in the tribulation. That is a whole different topic for an article at another time and besides we are all still here.
History repeats itself. Empires rise and empires fall, hard times come and go, there is a season for all things. Solomon clearly illustrated that.
So knowing that a season of hard times are coming. And knowing this you still have not built an ark for you and your family, let me ask, "how long can you tread water?"
But more importantly how effective for the Lord will you be when hardship takes place?


By Ray Gano


Endnotes
1 - http://www.joshuaproject.net/great-commission-statistics.php

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Earthquakes / Hurricanes - What Will Hit in Your Area?

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