View of the End

Volume 3, Number 1


… Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. (1 Sam 8:7)[1]

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Tim 2:1-2)

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, America made her will known and elected a new President. Irrespective of the vote you cast, Barack Hussein Obama will be our next President. As Mr. Obama offered his victory speech, thousands of tear-stained faces adoringly hung on every uttered word although nothing of substance was really said. The entire oration oozed of empty rhetoric and idealistic platitudes. The hypnotic effect that Obama held over the crowd was remarkable – foreshadowing, I think, what is to come.

If one can believe the prophecies of the media heralds, President Obama will govern from the “middle” meaning that, while he will not be conservative, he will not be as liberal as his past record might otherwise indicate. Such misplaced optimism is symptomatic of a people deceived into believing that government has the responsibility of making their lives better. Any promise of free services – health care, housing, tax “credits,” etc. readily rallies the masses expecting entitlements. Never is there consideration given to the fact that there is a hidden cost to all of these services and someone will have to pay. Oh yes, the big rich companies will pay for it all. Never is there consideration given to slippery slope toward socialism which our country has taken. Never is there any consideration given to Obama’s prior indoctrination in Socialist and Marxist ideologies.[2] Never is there any consideration given to his antagonism toward the founding document of our nation, the Constitution,[3] which he has sworn and will have to swear to uphold and defend. No, none of this matters as long as he gives us the pie in the sky by and by. One Dallas teenager was quoted as saying, “I feel like he really cares about us, and about the future.”[4]

There would be those that come to Mr. Obama’s defense pointing out that he has disavowed his radical associations, but to them the Bible would say, “for as he thinks within himself, so is he.” (Prov. 23: 7) Rhetorically, God’s Word challenges: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?” (Jer 13:23). Obviously the answer is no. President-Elect Obama will say anything for political expediency, and given his amazing talent for oratory, the masses are swallowing it hook, line and sinker. However, what he says and what he thinks are not necessarily the same. Consider the warning given in the book of Proverbs:

1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat, if you are a man of great appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies, for it is deceptive food.
4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.
5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings,
like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, or desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, "Eat and drink!"
But his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, and waste your compliments
(Prov 23:1-8, NASB[5])

For about the first 300 years of their existence as a nation, Israel was without a king. They were governed (as they gave allowance) by God through judges. Due to their frequent reprobation, God punished them by sending marauding nations to castigate them. At last they cried out for a king. “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, ‘… Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’” (1 Sam 8:4-5) Samuel was much distressed over the request, but “LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.’” (1 Sam 8:7) Later on, Israel’s first king was chosen. When Samuel brought Saul before the people the Bible says, “[H]e was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.’ So all the people shouted and said, ‘Long live the king!’” (1 Sam 10:23-24) I cannot be sure, but I feel like Samuel was egging them on in pointing out his physical appearance. As it turned out, Saul was a sorry king. His problem was that he trusted in his own abilities rather than in God. Once God had his fill of Saul, He selected another king for the nation.[6] Samuel was directed by God to go to the house of Jesse in the little town of Bethlehem. Jesse had twelve sons and they were paraded before Samuel so that one could be selected. When Eliab, the oldest was brought in, Samuel thought that surely this one had to be the one. He was tall, strong and handsome, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’” (1 Sam 16:7)

“The LORD looks at the heart.” We see the outward appearance. We hearken to well rehearsed and well delivered speeches that ebb and flow in perfect rhythm to the lust of our flesh. We want to have our ears tickled with empty promises of better tomorrows, but God looks at the heart. Our next President is a handsome man. He is young. He is tall, dark and handsome. He has a captivating smile. His speech is smooth as butter and he radiates before the television cameras. But God looks at the heart. Obama’s ability to captivate and mesmerize the masses foreshadows a world leader that will rise and captivate the whole world. The prophecy of Daniel tells of one who is to come: “a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue. … In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, (Dan 11:21, 24) The Revelation of Jesus Christ as recorded by John the beloved apostle describes him in these terms: “… And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’ There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” (Rev 13:3-5) I’m not ready to proclaim that Barack Obama is the Antichrist, but his mass appeal, considering the lack of substance in his message, at least can give one an idea of what the Antichrist will be able to do.

God looks at the heart, and “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Prov 21:1) God has given America what she has asked for. God has given America what she deserves for her ingratitude for all of His blessings. She has spurned His love and rejected His laws, and God has removed His hand from our nation. Yet a remnant of His people still remain, and to them He commands “that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (1 Tim 2:1-3) His promises are not nullified by any earthly authority and He promises that, “[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)

Barack Hussein Obama was not my choice for President of the United States. I have several serious and justifiable doubts about his qualifications for the office, but the people have spoken. Furthermore, God has spoken, and God has set up Mr. Obama to lead our nation. Our part is to lift up him, his staff, the Congress and Senate and our justices in daily prayer. Pray for God’s mercy on our land.

My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of Liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside let freedom ring.

My native country, thee, land of the noble free, thy name I love:
I live thy rocks and rill, thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song.
Let mortal tongues awake, let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty, to Thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright with freedoms’ holy light;
Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King.[7]


Notes:

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are taken from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE UPDATE. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation.
[2] Note his associations. Bill Ayers, Nadhama Auchi, Louis Farrakhan, Tony Rezko, Moussa Marzook (author of the Hamas manifesto), James T. Meeks, the Black Panthers, etc.
[3] Barack Obama, 2001 interview with WBEZ 91.5 FM in Chicago.
[4] “Barack Obama: President-Elect of the United States” The Dallas Morning News, Sunday, November 09, 2008, Special Commemorative Section, Section M, p.4M.
[5] The Bible text designated (NASB) is from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, (The Lockman Foundation, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977). Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[6] 1 Samuel 16
[7] Smith, Samuel F. (1808-1895), “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” The Baptist Hymnal, (Nashville, Convention Press, 1991), Hymn 634.

A Nation Guided by the Word

Volume 2, Number 29

Then in the third year of his reign he [Jehoshaphat] sent his officials … to teach in the cities of Judah; … They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the LORD with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. (2 Chron 17:7,9)[1]

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching … (Acts 2:42)

In the history of the nation of Israel, Judah in particular, Jehoshaphat was one of the better kings. “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments and did not act as Israel did.” (2 Chron 17:3-4) Because of this, “the LORD established the kingdom in his control” (v. 5)

One of the advantages of a monarchy is the absolute authority of a king. A king does not need the approval of a legislative body in order to establish a law. The laws he decrees need not the ratification of a judicial court. His word is law, and the dictates of his own conscience determine the law of the land. If the king is benevolent, his subjects will enjoy the benefits of a good life. If the king is malevolent, his subjects suffer. If a benevolent king seeks the LORD’s guidance, the nation will prosper. Jehoshaphat, for the most part, was such a king.

In his desire to follow the LORD, Jehoshaphat purged the nation of pagan temples and destroyed all the idols. He understood that the worship of pagan gods was a curse upon the nation that withheld God’s blessing upon His people. He also understood that he could not take something away without replacing it with something better. He wisely handpicked a group of officials and Levites to go throughout all of Judah to teach God’s principles. “And they taught in Judah, having the law of the LORD with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.” (v. 9) The Bible does not say if all the people bought into the “state religion,” but indications are that they did not since they readily fell back into idolatry when less godly kings followed. Still, Jehoshaphat set the standard for his reign and God blessed him and the nation for it.

Our nation was founded on the principles of the Bible although revisionist historians would have us think otherwise. The framework of our Constitution has as its foundation the Word of God. The Bible was of such great import that on “September 10, 1782, the Continental Congress … responded to the shortage of Bibles by authorizing the publisher of The Pennsylvania Magazine, Robert Aitken … to print America's first English language Bible – ‘A neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools.’”[2] In so doing the Congress stated: “Resolved, That the United States in Congress assembled highly approve the...undertaking of Mr. Aitken...and...recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation.”[3]

Those words are no longer heard in the ivory towers of academia. No, instead the opposite is true. The deconstructionists shamelessly slander our founding fathers, and cultivate the lie that our country is not and never was a Christian nation. They twist the words of our Constitution in attempts to banish the Christian religion from the public square. They foster the lie that our Constitution calls for a strict separation of church and state, when the words never appear in the law of the land. Instead, the very first amendment unequivocally affirms that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free practice thereof.” And when our founding fathers spoke of religion, they meant the Christian religion in whatever denominational form it may appear. Never did it cross their minds that this would come to include pagan religions. In his General Principles of Constitutional Law, 1890, Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Thomas Cooley wrote: “It was never intended by the Constitution that the government should be prohibited from recognizing religion, or that religious worship should never be provided for in cases where a proper recognition of Divine Providence in the working of government might seem to require it, and where it might be done without drawing an invidious distinction between religious beliefs, organizations, or sects … The Christian religion was always recognized in the administration of the common law of the land, the fundamental principles of that religion must continue to be recognized in the same cases and to the same extent as formerly.”[4]

Much more could be said on this subject, but suffice it to say that our nation has moved so far away from those principles that it breaks the heart of any thinking individual, especially when that thinking individual filters his worldview through the lens of God’s Word. Jehoshaphat’s government emphasized the Word of God, and took measures so that everyone in the nation was taught the Law of God. The result was that God blessed and protected the nation. Our nation has spurned the Word of God and deemed it of no account. Rather than using it to teach our children, we ban it from our schools. It may be too late for our nation. Already the evidence is clear that God has taken His hand of blessing away from our nation. Unless there is national repentance and a return to the God of our fathers, this nation will perish. The writing is on the wall, but it is not too late. There is yet hope, but it lies with the people of God.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Ps 33:12)


O day of God, draw nigh in beauty and in pow’r,
Come with your timeless judgment now to match our present hour.

Bring justice to our land, that all may dwell secure,
And finely build for days to come foundations that endure.

Bring to our world of strife your sov’reignword of peace,
That war may haunt the earth no more and desolation cease.

O day of God, draw nigh as at creation’s birth,
Let there be light again, and set Your judgments in the earth.[5]

Notes:
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are taken from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE UPDATE. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation.
[2] Federer, Bill, “American Minute” http://www.americanminute.com/ July 15, 2008.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., September 12, 2008.
[5] Scott, Robert Balgarnie Young (1899-1987), “O Day of God, Draw Nigh,” The Baptist Hymnal, (Convention Press, Nashville, 1991), Hymn 623.

Election

Volume 2, Number 31

… the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes, and sets over it the lowliest of men. (Dan 4:17)[1]

… there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Rom 13:1)

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, America will have a new President Elect. If one gives any credence to the promulgation of the liberal media, Barack Hussein Obama will be our next President. This heretofore unknown is, in the words of one, “an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, nothing but abstract, empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.”[2] He claims Christianity for political expediency having sat for over twenty years at the feet of Jeremiah Wright, a far left wing social extremist fully indoctrinated in the religion of black liberation theology. Obama is in league with the likes of Bill Ayers, Nadhama Auchi, Louis Farrakhan, Tony Rezko, Moussa Marzook (author of the Hamas manifesto), James T. Meeks (another Black Liberation Theology preacher) and the list goes on. Senator Obama, who is sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and who will be required to take an oath to that effect when he is sworn in as President, views the Constitution as “fatally flawed” in that “it is a charter of negative liberties that says what the states can’t do to you, says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf.”[3] This was in the context of the courts’ limitations with respect to redistribution of wealth, a Marxist idea contrary to the ideals and individual liberties secured by the Constitution of the United States.

I could say more, but my purpose here is not to make a political statement, but rather to proclaim a great biblical truth in order to diffuse the ominous spectre of the dissolution of our nation. From the founding of our great country, God has reigned supreme in our land. He is, in the words of the great American hymn, “Great God, our King.”[4] It is God who establishes and deposes rulers. Throughout history, rulers, both good and evil, were put in place by God. Some, like Nebuchadnezzar, were set up to punish God’s people for their rebellion. Others, like Cyrus, were established to bless God’s people and dispense His mercy upon them. The book of Proverbs tells us, “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Prov 21:1) Men may think they are in control, but it is God who is ultimately in charge of events here on earth. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings …” (Dan 2:21)


God has blessed the United States of America solely because our nation was dedicated to Him from its inception. The psalmist says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” (Ps 33:12) It should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer that this is true. One just has to look at the nations of the world, see who or what they worship, and note their economic and social condition. Until very recently, our country claimed God as provider and protector, and Christianity as our national religion. I still recall within my lifetime that morning routines in elementary school consisted of the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States, a daily Bible reading and a prayer. Those days are long gone. We have despised the LORD our God. We have spat in His face. We have thrown Him out of our schools and ejected His laws from the courts of our land. Now God says, “Where now is your king that he may save you in all your cities, and your judges of whom you requested, ‘Give me a king and princes’? I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath. (Hos 13:10-11) Should not God give our nation what we deserve? “‘For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,’ declares the LORD; ‘but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another's power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.’” (Zech 11:6)

We, as a nation, stand in the face of God’s judgment. We must therefore plead for His mercy. We may cast our vote, but this is God’s election. If Barack Hussein Obama becomes our President, it may well be the judgment of God upon our nation. Even so, as the proverb says, “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Prov 21:1) We, as God’s people, must fall on our faces before God, willing to submit to His perfect will, but pleading for mercy in His will. Whether Obama or McCain is elected, it is urgent “that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (1 Tim 2:1-3) Remember, it is your vote, but it is God’s election.


My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of Liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside let freedom ring.

My native country, thee, land of the noble free, thy name I love:
I live thy rocks and rill, thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song.
Let mortal tongues awake, let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty, to Thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright with freedoms’ holy light;
Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King.[5]


It may be God’s election, but the vote is your responsibility.

Notes:
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are taken from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE UPDATE. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation.
[2] Dr. Jack Wheeler http://www.tothepointnews.com/content/view/3227/44/
[3] Barack Obama, 2001 interview with WBEZ 91.5 FM in Chicago.
[4] Smith, Samuel F. (1808-1895), “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”
[5] Smith, Samuel F. (1808-1895), “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” The Baptist Hymnal, (Nashville, Convention Press, 1991), Hymn 634.