I am truly saddened that so many souls were harmed and killed in Orlando, recently, but my humanly regrets will not change the truth of what has happened, nor will all the anti-terrorism and anti-gun clamoring alter the facts of history and God's calling upon our lives. Political opportunists are seizing this moment in history to trot out, yet, more additions to their 100+ years of failed 'gun control' legislation, with which they have pretended to want, or try, to control the sin nature of humanity that is prone to violence. BUT, where are their public outcries against the 8 times greater anti-personnel crimes of violence that have been committed with people's hands and other instruments of violence, to the exclusion of firearms? There is a far greater calling and Divine Principle at issue in our Nation, than these murders, or the manner in which they were committed. That Divine Issue is whether we, as a Nation, are going to repent of our personal and collective evildoings and return to the Living God of Creation, our Maker.
Many people shall hate me for saying these things, but, I’m just a messenger, and the truth of what I share is straight from the Bible that God has given to us. God has cajoled, warned, invited, cautioned, and tried to teach us, over and over, about what He wants for us. Yet, in response to all of God’s loving patience, He says that most people in this life fail to heed His calling, and that most people perish in their sin and rebellion.
We, as human beings, often worship what we love to do, AND we love to say, “NO”, to God, either to get our own way or just to spite Him and His Word, in some cases, even daring Him to strike us dead, as I've heard some people say. Too often, we play at religion and think that our rebellious or formalistic religiosity will somehow placate God Almighty. We lie to ourselves, thinking that we can live lives steeped in sinful rebellion, but, that somehow God might accept our so-called good works (which are all tainted by our sin) instead of punishing us as we have taunted and tempted Him to do. Simply put, we humans, as a whole, do not want God telling us what to do (rebellion) or which of our actions are wrong in His sight (sin).
Regarding that Orlando nightclub shooting, whereby so many souls have died and been wounded, it is tragic that so many people were killed in that nightclub, but it is far more tragic that those who died in their sin are now in fiery torment forever, rather than enjoying the joys of eternal life with God and His Christ. What most of the world will fail to learn from this is the wake-up call that comes to each of us, to be doing what is good in God’s eyes, rather than indulging our sin nature: we need to be ready, according to His Word, to meet our Maker and Judge.
For the unrepentant person, after death, there is no remission of sin. God yearns for us to all repent of our sin in this life, before it's too late, because, after our bodies die and our spirit leaves our bodies, there is no bailing anyone out of Hell or the Lake of Fire that God has promised for those who love their sin and despise His plan of salvation; for those who have done their own thing in rejection of His Word and His Christ.
Read your Bible prayerfully from cover to cover and see these truths revealed to you, page after page. As we near the end of this era of human self-rule, remember God’s warning and invitation in 2 Peter 3:9-10:
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
As those of us who love God’s Word continue to read it throughout our lives, we often notice things in the Bible, by His grace, that we had either forgotten or never noticed before. Such is the case for me, this morning, as I read Ezekiel 30, and came across this passage:
Ezekiel 30:15-16
15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
Yes, this is an Old Testament prophecy. It all came to pass a long time ago... and, the words "Sin" and "No" are referring to towns or cities by name. BUT, God does NOT leave information lying around just for laughs. He does NOT tell us these things to annoy us. And, He did NOT forgot to wipe off the chalk board.
God places information squarely in our paths for His glory AND for our education, to alert us that if we follow the same paths as former illustrious, yet sinful, cultures and kingdoms, that we shall also fall for the same sinful reasons, unless we learn from the lessons that God provides, and we then repent and trust His Christ, before we die. The fall of Sodom and Gomorrah are included in the Bible for that very reason, that we might avoid similar judgment against sin, for God hates all sin and rebellion, even though He wants to see each sinner turn from our pet sins to God’s way of doing things (repent) and get saved (trust God’s plan of salvation).
I shall be so bold, here, as to challenge any combative or angry soul to prayerfully read the Bible’s books of Genesis, Psalms, John, Romans (ESPECIALLY Chapter One), and Revelation (ESPECIALLY Chapter 21 & 22)… then, prove to me, from God’s Word that I have erred in any of what I am saying. This is NOT a word game. This is NOT a religious exercise. This is NOT my attempt to feel better than anyone else. This is about whether you and I take God seriously and repent of our sin so that we can live forever with God’s Christ in joy and peace, instead of living forever in the darkness and torments of Hell and the Lake of Fire: This is a choice that you and I make for ourselves, and we shall live with the consequences of that decision forever.
I’m not calling anyone else something that I don’t also admit about myself. Like it or not, WE are ALL sinners. We ALL need to repent as God says, in genuine sorrow for our sin and a desire for eternal relationship and life with Him, or we will have chosen the only alternative, that is eternal death and suffering. There are no second chances after our bodies die. God set the standard. God paid the price for our forgiveness, IF we choose to accept it on His terms. Anything less is not acceptable to Him.
If you’re still reading this, either you are boiling angry or you are allowing the Holy Spirit of God to urge you to seek further understanding of these things. It is fascinating how God takes words from one era of history and applies them pointedly and accurately in another generation. Look how God guides Ezekiel to use the words “NO” and “SIN” in reference to Egypt (which is an apt description of the sin and rebellion of much of these United States of America and the rest of the world, today).
Today, far too many so-called Christians are howling that homosexuals were slaughtered in that nightclub, when, INSTEAD, people should be howling about lost souls dying in their sin, and their rebellion against the One and Only Holy and Righteous God that “created them male and female”, as the LORD says in Genesis 1:27, 5:2, and Mark 10:6… for God cannot lie.
I have to wonder whether any Christians ever tried to warn those lost souls that they did not have to choose a path of sin. The neglect of God and His Word, among those of us who call ourselves believers, is a rebellious and horrible perversion of God’s commands, of faith, of so-called religion in our society! What a terrible denial of Christ and His Gospel, and what a terrible exaltation of rebellion and sin, that the great hue and cry of our day is about sexually perverse choices that are condemned by God, but not about lost souls burning forever in Hell! What a humbling condemnation of Christian failures among those of us who refuse to speak out against all sin. At the same time, this is a very humbling assurance that when people fail to take a stand against sin, but have embraced and institutionalized sin, that God allows even anti-christs, such as that Muslim sympathizer, to rise up to judge that sin among us, just as God did repeatedly in the Old Testament.
We do NOT get to dictate to God what sin He is going to tolerate, or for how long He will tolerate it. He knows what is best for us. He, also, knows whether we even care about the sin and lost souls around us, or if we are spoilsport Christians, such as Jonah. Too often, we Christians neglect to tell forth God's full message about His condemnation of sin and His full plan of salvation. Because we fail to share God's warnings about eternal destruction and His invitation to Life, so Christians help the world to plunge deeper, and faster, into the violent furtherance of its own sin and degradation.
"Even so, Come, Lord Jesus."
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