Feast of Pentecost, The Last Trumpet, and The Rapture

Last year I wrote a 4-part blog on the harvest feast of Pentecost, which in 2014 is June 3rd on the Jewish Calendar, and Sunday June 8th on the Christian calendar.  I will not post all four blogs again, but instead will put links to all four below. It is quite an in-depth study, enough so that I re-read the entire four posts myself. But first ....

The Trump of God at the Rapture is Not the 7th Angel's Trumpet  

This is a good time to clear up the confusion of the last trumpet. By the way, I have found more than one site of the "dark side" which look like they were set up for the purpose of defending the 7th angel's trumpet and other prophecy errors (IMO). This is exactly how they twist the Bible to confuse Christians. While the demonic side studies the scriptures more than most Christians, in order to thwart God's plans, what they can never get through their heads is that God's Word reveals itself only to His people.  This is a general principle of the Bible. Many mysteries were kept hidden from Satan the first time around, and the same is true for these end times. There are certain things they will never understand. In fact, I highly suspect them of going to Christian sites for more enlightenment (good luck with that)!

6 “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

⁷ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

⁸ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

I Cor 2:6-8

 

There are many articles on this subject. I decided to use this one:

The Last Trumpet

by Thomas Ice

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

- 1 Corinthians 15:51- 52

It is not unusual for some posttribulationists to think that they have fired a silver bullet which they believe destroys the possibility of the pretribulational rapture teaching. That shot is usually thought to be in the form of the argument relating to " the last trumpet" as found in 1 Corinthians 15:52. Even though some think they have found a slick and simple solution to the timing of the rapture, they fail to realize that the New Testament teaching concerning this issue is more sophisticated than that.

Scripture Or A Survival Guide?

I recall years ago meeting and talking with the late Jim McKeever at a Christian Book Sellers convention in the early 90s. He made the " last trumpet" argument to me at that time. Later I read his book entitled Christian Will Go Through The Tribulation.[1] Judging from the title, I thought it would be a biblical treatise providing thorough reasoning to support the book' s title. It was any thing but that! He basically presented a single argument, (the last trumpet argument), in just a few pages and drew the following conclusion:

If a Christian will put out of his mind all of his preconceived ideas about a Rapture occurring at the beginning of the Tribulation, and will look objectively at what the Scriptures have to say, I believe he will conclude that the Rapture will occur at the end of the Tribulation. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and that the dead will be raised at the " last trumpet." In Revelation, at the LAST trumpet we see the beginning of Christ' s reign and the FIRST resurrection. Nothing could be simpler. There are no complications, if you accept the fact that the Rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation.[2]

First of all, I arrived at my pretribulational beliefs through the study of the Bible, thus, I am not going just put them out of my mind when I am challenged to examine the beliefs of others. I doubt the Bereans put their understanding of the Bible out of their minds when " they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). So we are to do just the opposite of what McKeever and others like him when they suggest that we approach any issue with an open mind. I do not want to be open-minded when examining issues, I want to be biblically-minded.

Second, we should not use a reductionist approach to Scripture, as McKeever suggests, when an issue involves a degree of sophistication. Such an approach is often used by opponents of the Trinity and the hypostatic union of Christ. If one applies a reductionist approach to Scripture in relation to the Trinity and the hypostatic union, it would only lead to heretical conclusions.

Third, McKeever frontloads his own approach to the matter by taking the phrase " last trumpet" and equating it with the seventh trumpet in Revelation (11:15- 19). (This is an erroneous assumption that I will deal with later.) McKeever says, " A significant thing is that verse 52 tells us WHEN all of this will occur, and this " at the LAST trumpet. . . . It would then seem reasonable to turn to the book of Revelation to find out something about this ' last' trumpet." [3]

Other than a fraction of this single chapter, which very weakly argues for his " last trumpet" view, the rest of the book (17 chapters and about 350 pages) is a survival guide on how to make it alive through the tribulation. It just so happens that McKeever was a key player in the survivalist movement and he provides great detail, something lacking concerning His biblical arguments for posttribulationism, for how to prepare to survive the tribulation. I have often thought that if one really believes in posttribulationism, then, logically it should lead to survival preparation that would aid the church in going through the tribulation. I am sure that there are a few posttribulationists who have made some preparation, but such preparation appears to be generally lacking with those who hold this view.

Biblical Trumpets

Paul does teach in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that the rapture will take place at the last trumpet. Do posttribulationist like McKeever have a point or is there a better explanation that takes into account the whole counsel of God on this matter? How does Paul' s last trumpet statement harmonize with pretribulationism?

Throughout the Bible there are a number of trumpets being blown. For example in Numbers 10 there are trumpets being used in order to give commands to the people of Israel. For example, a trumpet is used to assemble the people for their journey and another trumpet that signals the start of their journey. There were trumpet sounds that would tell the people to stop and another sound telling them to assemble. Depending upon whether the people were moving are getting ready to move, the last trumpet would signal them to move or if moving, a second last trumpet sound would tell them when to stop. So even in this context, for example, there are multiple " last trumpets."

Trumpets in Revelation

Some midtribulationist and posttribulationists attempt to equate the " last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:15- 18. Revelation 11:15, does not say specifically " last trumpet." Instead, the Revelation passage says " the seventh angel sounded." The seventh trumpet is the seventh in a series of judgments. The seventh trumpet is the last in a series of trumpet judgments but it is not the last judgment in the series, seven more judgments (bowls) follow.

The " last trumpet" of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is singular, referring to one judgment, not a sequence of seven. Ellicott notes, " There are no sufficient grounds for supposing that there is here any reference to the seventh Apocalyptic trumpet (Rev. xi. 15), or to the seventh and last trumpet." [4] 

Henry Thiessen agrees:

If he had thought of this trumpet as one of seven, he would undoubtedly have said something like the following: " For when the trumpets will be sounded and the time comes for the last one to sound, the dead in Christ shall be raised." At any rate, there is no ground for identifying the " trump" in 1 Cor. 15:52 with the seventh trumpet in Rev. 11:15. Those in the Revelation introduce fearful judgments upon the world and mankind; this one calls the dead in Christ out of their graves and summons both the ones raised and the believers still living into the Lord' s presence.[5]

If the seventh trumpet in Revelation and the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 are supposed to be a reference to the same thing, then why are there many more months of judgment that follow the supposed last trumpet in Revelation 11. The view that equates the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the seventh trumpet of Revelation does not harmonize in any way.

1 Corinthians 15:52

The context of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is very different than the context of Revelation 11:15. 1 Corinthians 15:52 better harmonizes with 1 Thessalonians 4:16, which says, " For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Both passages speak of the rapture, and judgment is absent from both. The trumpet in both are the last or final command that the Lord gives to the church, resulting in the translation of all Believers. Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost cites the following reasons as to why the " last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is different from any of the trumpet judgments in Revelation.

There seem to be a number of observations which make it impossible for one to identify these two trumps. (1) The trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52, . . . sounds before the wrath of God descends, while, . . . the chronology or Revelation indicates that the trumpet in Revelation 11:15 sounds at the end of the time of wrath. . . . (2) The trumpet that summons the church is called the trump of God, while the seventh trump is an angel' s trumpet. . . . (3) The trumpet for the church is singular. No trumpets have preceded it so that it can not be said to be the last of a series. The trumpet that closes the tribulation period is clearly the last of a series of seven. (4) In 1 Thessalonians 4 the voice associated with the sounding of the trumpet summons the dead and the living and consequently is heard before the resurrection. In the Revelation, while a resurrection is mentioned (11:12), the trumpet does not sound until after the resurrection, showing us that two different events must be in view. (5) The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians issues in blessing, in life, in glory, while the trumpet in Revelation issues in judgment upon the enemies of God. (6) In the Thessalonian passage the trumpet sounds " in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." In Revelation 10:7 the indication is that the seventh trumpet shall sound over a continued period of time, probably for the duration of the judgments that fall under it, for John speaks of the angel that shall " begin to sound." . . . (7) The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians is distinctly for the church. Since God is dealing with Israel in particular, and Gentiles in general, in the tribulation, this seventh trumpet, which falls in the period of the tribulation, could not have reference to the church without losing the distinctions between the church and Israel. (8) The passage in Revelation depicts a great earthquake in which thousands are slain, and the believing remnant that worships God is stricken with fear. In the Thessalonian passage there is no earth quake mentioned. . . . (9) While the church will be rewarded at the time of the rapture, yet the reward given to " thy servants the prophets, and to the saints" can not be that event. The rewarding mentioned in Revelation 11:18 is seen to take place on the earth after the second advent of Christ, following the judgment on His enemies. Since the church is rewarded in the air, following the rapture, these must be two distinct events.[6]

Conclusion

The last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is the final command that Christ provides for His church when He sends the signal to gather us together for the meeting in the sky that we know as the rapture. The contexts of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and that of Revelation 11 are totally different from one another. About the only similarity between the two is that the word "trumpet" is used in both. (Actually the word " trumpet" is not even used in Revelation 11:15- 19. The text actually says, " the seventh angel sounded" (11:15), clearly implying that a trumpet is sounded as noted in Revelation 8:2). The respective contexts are totally different. In 1 Corinthians 15:52, there is the context of things related to the church age, while Revelation 11 speaks of judgment during the tribulation. No such silver bullet argument exists for posttribulationism since I believe that it is clear that the New Testament does not teach such a view. Maranatha!

Endnotes [1] Jim McKeever, Christians Will Go through the Tribulation: And How to Prepare for It (Medford, OR: Omega Publications, 1978).
[2] McKeever, Christian Will Go, pp. 45- 46.
[3] McKeever, Christian Will Go, p. 36.
[4] Charles J. Ellicott, St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians: With a Critical and Grammatical Commentary (Minneapolis: The James Family Christian Publishers, [1887]), p. 325.
[5] Henry C. Thiessen, Will the Church Pass Through the Tribulation? (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1941), p. 56.
[6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958), pp. 189- 91.

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LINKS TO THE FEAST OF PENTECOST BLOGS:

Shavuot - Pentecost - Rapture ?

Shavuot - Pentecost - Rapture - Part II 

Shavuot - Pentecost - Rapture - Part III 

Shavuot - Pentecost - Rapture - Part IV

Common Core Indoctrination: Buddhism

Common Core is a U.N. Agenda of the New World Order. Religion is its primary goal: the Luciferian Religion, which is based primarily on Eastern religions. The same thing has been introduced into the Roman Catholic Church and almost all of the Protestant churches, usually under the name of "centering prayer" and other guises which put the individual in direct contact with 'spirit guides' and/or 'another Jesus'. Parents are ultimately responsible to God for what their children are being taught in the government schools. Mindfulness and meditation on that truth is worth any parents' attention. I highly recommend the booklet, "A Common Core for a Global Community" HERE.  In addition, another article on this subject may be accessed at the bottom of this page. CMR

Mindfulness, Buddhist Method of Indoctrination

By Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh (Bio and Archives)  Friday, May 30, 2014

If you are regrouping, in the massive effort necessary to mount an opposition to the Common Core national “standards” that are socialized dumbed-down education for the masses, add to your watch list Mindfulness Training.
An invitation to attend “Managing Stress:  How Mindfulness Training in Our Schools Can Benefit Students, Educators, and Parents” at the local high school in Fairfax, Virginia captured my attention. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio and author of “A Mindful Nation” is the featured speaker. The event on June 9, 2014 is advertised as a partnership between MINDS, The Josh Anderson Foundation, and Fairfax County Public Schools.

Various sites present mindfulness as a simple breathing meditation of 4-5 minutes at the start of every class, “replacing instant work demands with the expectations that students simply be.”  What is “simply be” and how do you replace work demands instantly by existing?  My indoctrination radar came on. I was not sure yet what “simply be” was, but I did find out that you can get a Master’s Degree in Mindful Studies.

The “secular” practice of mindfulness is “rooted” in Buddhism. Jon Kabat-Zinn established a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. Myla Kabat-Zinn and Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote, “Learning to Breathe:  A Mindfulness Curriculum for Adolescents to Cultivate Emotion Regulation, Attention, and Performance.” As a former educator, the indication that emotion must be regulated into a perfectly attentive automaton bothered me because every child is an individual with a certain attention span, interest, emotion, and level of curiosity. How would calming a person make them excel in life?

Patricia C. Broderick, in “Learning to Breathe,” wrote that “meditation skills help students improve emotion regulation, reduce stress, improve overall performance, and develop their attention.” The program was designed to be compatible with school curricula and could be used by mental health providers. 

The six core lessons, Body, Reflection, Emotions, Attention, Tenderness, and Healthy Mind Habits are obviously not going to let students just “simply be.”  What are these mindfulness skills? A quote by the World Teacher, Krishnamurti (born in 1895 in India) and used in the “Mindfulness in Education, Learning from the Inside Out” video is quite telling:

“You want to have your own gods – new gods instead of the old, new religions instead of the old, new forms instead of the old – all equally valueless, all barriers, all limitations, all crutches. Instead of old spiritual distinctions you have new spiritual distinctions; instead of the old worships you have new worships. You are all depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for enlightenment on someone else; … you must put them all away and look within yourselves for the enlightenment, for the glory, for the purification, and for the incorruptibility of the self…”

Amy Burke mentions in the video that we need to learn to listen to our hearts. Is that a good idea for young people to listen to their hearts when they are already confused and raging with hormones? She advises the use of a chime bar in class to center the students. “We know that it is going to take time to restructure education.” Do we really want or need to restructure education on the tenets of Buddhism?

Debbie DeGroff discusses the video “Mindful Schools:  In Class Instruction,” in which she learned that in June 2010, Mindful Schools has indoctrinated over 8,000 children in 34 Bay Area schools, 74 percent of which were low-income. Children were told to keep a journal of “simply be” and of “notice their breath without judgment.” One entry is full of spelling errors. It appears that students should have spent more time on spelling and less on mindfulness indoctrination.  “what I lrend abo_ot mindfulness is when you have thogh just get your net an cach the buderfly that let it go away.”  Mindfulness is encouraged at bed time as well. (Debbie DeGroff, Catching Butterflies, February 26, 2014) 

Mindful Schools boast 200,000 students in 48 states and 43 countries who were impacted by their program. One course is called Meeting Resistance. Mindfulness is not just a “particular way of paying attention, the mental faculty of purposefully bringing awareness to one’s sensory experience, thoughts, and emotion by using sustained attention and noticing experience without reacting,” it is a much more insidious form of indoctrination. Mindful Schools were even featured in a Time cover story. .mindfulschools.org

Many schools are already using the “Learning to Breathe:  A Mindfulness Curriculum and William Glasser’s Choice Theory.  “Students are motivated more by their internal needs rather than traditional external needs.” “Boss teachers” are the traditional teachers who use the method of rules and consequences, mandated curriculum, and standardized assessments.  “Lead teachers” instruct based on the basic needs of each student. Students actively choose how and what they are taught and the teacher structures the lessons around the student’s desires.  Only good grades are given and, if a student fails, the course is not recorded. What a formula for future failure!

The Mindfulness teachers are promoted as “quiet revolutionaries” who will change the education system by paying attention to the inner life of children and of their teachers. PBS is selling the DVD, The Buddha, a film by David Gruben.  

Dr. Amy Saltzmann describes Mindfulness in the context of global citizenship. “As a classroom teacher, you already know that many of your students are stressed… You have also most likely realized that student stress frequently inhibits their ability to learn, and that the emphasis on academics is neglecting the development of the social-emotional qualities essential for skillful world citizenry… “

She also describes a study of mindfulness group of students vs. a control group in which the mindfulness students showed a significant increase in global assessment of functioning (GAF) scores. GAF is used by mental health clinicians and physicians to rate subjectively the social, occupational, and psychological functioning of adults. 

Shouldn’t schools concentrate on academics instead on the “Still Quiet Place” of meditation found inside you? It is outrageous that, by using Buddhist meditation, our children are diagnosed and treated psychologically without parental consent and, as Debbie DeGroff aptly described, “exposing a wound that we don’t have the skill to attend to.” 

The Department of Education spent $1.2 million on a grant to research mindfulness. Whatever happened to the separation of church and state that liberals scream about when the mere mention of God is made in schools? Why are we allowing Far East mystical practices to come into our public schools under the guise of stress management? Why are our children being constantly experimented on by the latest fad pushed by liberals/progressives who view the classroom and our children’s minds and future as their laboratory? Progressives hope to shape our children’s minds into a more “compassionate” society, brainwashed into overcoming suffering, and recognizing the natural wisdom of Gaia. “Mindfulness is pure religion” and our children are not lab rats.

NOTE For further links and sources read

1 Comments--Comment here Scroll down this page for Disqus Comments Listen to Dr. Paugh on Butler on Business,  every Wednesday to Thursday at 10:49 AM EST Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh, (Romanian Conservative) is a freelance writer (Canada Free Press, Romanian Conservative, usactionnews.com), author, radio commentator (Silvio Canto Jr. Blogtalk Radio, Butler on Business, The Liberty Express, Free Market Radio, and Republic Broadcasting Network), and speaker. Her book, “Echoes of Communism, is available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Short essays describe health care, education, poverty, religion, social engineering, and confiscation of property. A second book, “Liberty on Life Support,” is also available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle. A third book, “U.N. Agenda 21: Environmental Piracy,” is a best seller at Amazon.com under Globalism, Politics, and Environmental Policy. Her commentaries reflect American Exceptionalism, the economy, immigration, and education.Visit her website, ileanajohnson.com. Dr. Johnson can be reached at: ileana1959@gmail.com Another excellent article on this subject, "Legislative Common Core Remedy No Panacea," by Dr. Sandra Stotsky is HERE.

Jeremiah's Words Exactly Fit The Coming Collapse of the U.S.

The Coming Collapse of the United States:

What the Prophet Jeremiah said about Judah

is Frighteningly True of America Today

by Jeremy James

“The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the  enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.”  (Lamentations 4:12)

America is not afraid, but she ought to be. Her Satanic enemies, both inside and outside the US, have been working hard to undermine and destroy her for more than a century. Their progress has been rapid in recent years and the evidence is plainly visible to all who care to look.

The American people have long assumed that God was  on their side. As a largely Christian nation, with a strong commitment to Biblical values, she was once justified in this assumption, but not anymore.

If we examine the writings of the prophet Jeremiah,we will find that the spiritual condition of America today is virtually identical to that of Judah when the LORD destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. The prophet was not speaking about America, but he

revealed in dramatic and terrifying terms the awful retribution that the LORD exacts upon a nation that wantonly and flagrantly betrays Him and turns to other gods.

God is not a respecter of persons. No nation is exempt from His judgment if it persists in rebelling against the simple laws and precepts that He has given them. This in turn can be traced to a barefaced neglect of His very existence:

Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. (2:32)

The Pastors

In America, as in ancient Judah, the rot began among the religious leaders:

For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD. (10:21)

Instead of nurturing the Word of God and preaching  it to their congregations in all its purity, they have failed in their stewardship and allowed the vine to wither:

‘

Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard (12:10)

Instead of preaching the Word truly, they caused confusion and unbelief by speaking from their own hearts – albeit sincerely in many cases – and caused the flock to trust in man instead of God:

Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. (23:1)

Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. (23:16)

They looked into their own hearts and preached from their own opinions about truth. Their dreams and visions took precedence over the Word of God:

Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness [recklessness and boasting] (23:32)

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. (14:14)

Far too many were concerned mainly with material things, and had no real conviction in how they served the LORD. They had style without substance, and lacked any genuine desire to engage the Enemy:

...for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. (8:10)

Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. (48:10)

The People

Sadly, as in Judah of old, the people of America have the pastors they deserve:

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so. (5:31)

Neither do they care much for the Word of God:

Every man is brutish in his knowledge (10:14)

...behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. (6:10)

What is worse, they have turned away from the LORD and refused to know Him. As a result 

...they have no understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. (4:22)

They have lied about the LORD, and said, It is not He; neither will evil come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. (5:12)

And though they say, ‘The LORD lives’; surely they swear falsely. (5:2)

Lacking the ability to distinguish clearly between  good and evil, their unholy actions produce no sense of guilt or shame:

Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush (6:15)

This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God, nor receive correction: truth has perished, and has been cut off from their mouth. (7:28)

Even though they were given many warnings and were  asked again and again to be obedient to the precepts and statutes of the LORD, they would not listen:

Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart (11:8)

Widespread Adultery

The imagination of the average American today is devoted in the main to adulterous fantasies. The people of Judah also spent much of their waking hours on sexual reverie and lascivious thoughts:

They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.(5:8)

They also turned their fantasies into reality:

Because they have...committed adultery with their neighbours' wives ...even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD. (29:23)

I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. (13:27)

...they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. (5:7)

For the land is full of adulterers;... they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. (23:10 and 14)

Widespread Idolatry

Having turned away from God, they began worshipping false gods and indulging in what we today call New Age practices:

Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. (2:11-12)

Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not... (7:9)

Baal is Satan, the prince of this world. He is also the sun god known by various names in different cultures. The fallen angels who  serve him are described many times in the Bible as “the host of heaven”. When judgment comes, the bones of those who have served the fallen angels will be strewn like waste across the face of the earth:

At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out  the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And  they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. (8:1-2)

Those who are not destroyed will be taken captive to Babylon:

Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. (27:9-10)

Their idolatry had two elements that were particularly offensive to the LORD. The first was goddess worship, which is found today in  the New Age movement and the Marian worship practised by the Roman Catholic church:

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. (7:18)

Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate... But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine...And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?..Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day. (44:4,18,19,23)

The other form of idolatry that was extremely offensive to the LORD was child sacrifice. In those days a newborn child was taken  to the great bronze statue of Moloch – another face of Satan – in the valley of Hinnom and cast alive into a blazing furnace. The modern equivalent of this is abortion, where the unborn child (as opposed to newborn) is first killed and then burned:

Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls  of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.(2:34)

And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their  daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.(7:31)

Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; they have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal,

which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:(19:4-5)

It is necessary to study the Word of God in its totality to appreciate the intensely offensive nature of idolatry in the eyes of the LORD. In Jeremiah 44 it is described as“this abominable thing that I hate”. Chapter 3 highlights the awful betrayal that it involves:

Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. (3:20)

The LORD calls for Repentance

Through the mouth of His servant Jeremiah the LORD called the children of Israel to repentance, but they would not listen. On one occasion he even instructed Jeremiah to summon the leaders and elders to the Valley of Hinnom and give them a powerful sermon on their back slidden condition and the terrible consequences for the entire nation if they did not repent and return to the LORD. As a visual aid the LORD asked Jeremiah to bring a ceramic vessel with him and, at the end of his discourse, to smash it in pieces as a demonstration of how suddenly, fiercely and decisively the blow would fall:

Even so will I break this people and this city, as  one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again (19:11)

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see,and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. (6:16)

Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their  ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. (7:26)

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..no man repented of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ (8:6)

A great many professing Christians in America today are just like this, pleading their innocence with the words: “But what have I done?”  Jeremiah issued these warnings over many years, but no one wanted to hear. He was reviled for his efforts and accused of unpatriotic  pessimism, of undermining the morale of the people, and even of inciting them to treason. He was beaten and abused and thrown into prison. His treatment reflected the general attitude among the people, a perverse and obstinate refusal to recognize and acknowledge their wretchedness and depravity.

The LORD warns of the Consequences

As He called upon them to repent, the LORD warned them that their continued sinfulness and disobedience would have terrible consequences:

...lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. (4:4)

...shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? (5:9)

Behold, my anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place (7:20)

...a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goes out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their back slidings are increased. (5:6)

The LORD forbids Jeremiah to pray for Judah

Such was the backsliding, apostasy and idolatry that it was hardly possible to find even one person in Jerusalem who was still true to  the faith. The LORD asked Jeremiah to confirm this for himself by going through the streets of the city and trying if he could to locate even one person who sought the truth:

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh  the truth; and I will pardon it. (5:1)

The spiritual condition of the people is so alarming, their backsliding and apostasy so severe, that the LORD orders Jeremiah to no longer pray for them:

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. (7:16)

It is truly a mark of their wretchedness and depravity that the LORD would not allow the prophet to intercede on their behalf. He set aside any suggestion that this might be a slight on Jeremiah himself when He said:

Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. (15:1)

What is more, when His judgment falls, as it will, He will not heed the cries of the people when they finally turn to Him for protection:

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. (11:14)

And I will dash them one against another, even the  fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them. (13:14)

The People depend on their Own Strength

The coming tragedy will appear all the more awful when it strikes because it could so easily have been averted. But the people believed only in their own strength:

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.(17:5)

Through the mouth of His servant Jeremiah, the LORD exhorted His people to examine themselves and ask what their so-called strength has really done for them:

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? (12:5)

In a time of peace, when their so-called strength should be achieving great things, they can barely do what needs to be done – they have to run hard just to stay where they are. How then will they fare when war erupts,  when their peace is shattered and they must contend directly with their enemies?  –  how canst thou contend with horses? ... then how wilt thou do in the swelling of [the river] Jordan?

Their plight is pitiful, and yet they act as though they are invincible. The great tragedy is that a complete and perfect remedy is at hand, if only they would recognize their sickness and acknowledge their need for a physician(doctor):

Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? (8:22)

These are among the most moving words in the Bible. The region of Gilead was well known for her healing ointments and liniments, as well as healers skilled in their application. This restorative mercy was readily available to all who required it. Alas, the children of Israel, who were suffering from a corresponding spiritual sickness, persisted in refusing the healing balm of the LORD:

Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. (8:5)

The Message to America Today

There are few Americans today, even professing Christians, who would accept that this deeply distressing assessment by Jeremiah of the spiritual condition of Judah is just as applicable to their own nation. And fewer still would conclude that exactly the same terrifying judgment is both warranted and pending. Indeed, to most it would hardly seem possible:

The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of  the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy  should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.  (Lamentations 4:12)

Let’s conduct an audit of where America stands today:

Pastors:

Only a tiny percentage of professing Christian churches in the US preach the full Word of God. Most have abandoned the King James Bible in favour of sloppy and misleading modern translations. Most of them are 501(c)(3) tax exempt, meaning they have accepted money from the government in turn for their silence on political matters, even where that silence conflicts with their Biblical mandate to rebuke evil.

Many of the pastors are homosexual or adulterous or divorced or Freemasons or  regular viewers of online pornography. A very large number preach a prosperity gospel (which has no power to save anyone) or a social gospel (which also has no power to save). Many also teach a positive self-esteem, non-judgmental, no hell, motivational philosophy instead of the gospel.

Virtually none of them condemn sin, roundly and vehemently, on a regular basis. This failure is particularly acute where abortion and sexual perversion are concerned. The fear of God is seldom if ever mentioned. Most teach evolution in one form or another and most reject the inerrancy and literal truth of the Bible.

Furthermore, most teach that the church has replaced Israel in God’s covenant promises and, as a result, they  have little or no understanding of Biblical prophecy. Many support the teaching of yoga, spiritual contemplation and a range of mystical, New Age practices. Most are ecumenical in outlook, which means they are deliberately emphasizing certain elements of God’s Word at the expense of others and reducing the gospel to fit an inter-denominational, inter-faith formula.

They refuse to acknowledge, or even recognize, their true spiritual condition. And when challenged they react just like the people of Judah – “What have I done?”

Professing Christians:

Few professing Christians in America describe themselves as ‘born again’, where that term has the same meaning that it had for their grandparents. A great many admit to not having a personal relationship with Jesus. Few read or study the Bible regularly. A great many are unable to give a  scripturally accurate description of the gospel. The memorization of scripture is virtually unknown. And many are profoundly ignorant of the Old Testament.

Most believe in evolution and reject the unchanging moral values of the Bible in favour of culturally determined norms of behaviour.A very sizeable percentage of their time outside of work is spent on pursuits that not only fail to honour God, but actually conflict with Biblical standards, such as viewing violent and sexually charged television programs or listening to rock music.

Most believe that a just and holy God would never condemn anyone to hell and that almost everyone will be saved, even people who have never heard the gospel. For most of them, it is far more important to be nice than to be godly.

And still they say, “What have I done?”

Christian Society:

America was once a Christian society, but not any longer. What is more, the proportion who are Christian (or who profess to be  Christian) no longer strive to project Biblical values into their community. They  have allowed prayer to be taken out of their schools. They have allowed the Ten Commandments and other evidence of Christian values to be banned from public places. And they both tolerate and practice abortion.

They have allowed the main institutions of state to be controlled or taken over completely by Freemasons, Roman Catholics, atheists, Marxists, and members of the New Age movement. They allow greater protection for the spiritual traditions of Moslems than for Christians. They make every effort to accommodate the demands of other groups, to the serious detriment of their own. Increasingly, the term ‘Christian’ is taken to include Roman Catholics and Mormons. They have long ignored the terrible threat posed to their society by witchcraft and Satanism. And they do nothing when Christians are penalised by the state for professing and proclaiming Biblical values.

And still they say, “What have I done?”

Idolatry and Adultery:

While America from her foundation has been heavily influenced by Freemasonry, the greater part of her early population remained true to the Bible. But this commitment weakened over time and underwent a radical change in the 1950s and 1960s, until it was finally abandoned in 1973 when the Christians of America accepted the legalisation of abortion – the murder  of unborn children – by a Masonically controlled Supreme Court. As a result about a million American children are being murdered every year for the social and economic convenience of their mothers, many of whom are professing Christians.The god Baal is the god of Washington DC and the values of the nation are those of Baal.

The average American Christian has come to think of Christ as a prophet rather than the second Person of the Holy Trinity. His imminent return has been largely forgotten, and the churches have taken upon themselves the task of bringing in the kingdom.

The nation is controlled by the Luciferian cult of  Freemasonry, which in turn has co-opted many other anti-Christian groups to assist hem in the subversion of the American people – Marxists, eugenicists, environmentalists, feminists, humanists, New Agers, and so forth. The Roman Catholic church,mainly through the Jesuit Order, has been very successful over the past century in infiltrating and undermining true Christian churches in America and in subverting and corrupting the political process, to the point where today she controls the Supreme Court.

Sexual promiscuity and perversion are rampant throughout American society. Child rape is common. Sodomy is regarded as a right and the Christian institution of marriage is defiled by legal re-definitions that include same-sex partnerships. The pornography and prostitution industries are booming and the underground circulation of snuff movies (which depict real-life rape, torture and murder) is well established.

Conclusion

There is hardly any need to extend this audit of latter-day America to include the corruption of the government, state and federal officials, big business, or the banking system, not to mention drug cartels, crime syndicates, and other illicit and immoral groups. The situation at grassroots level is more than sufficient to show that the United States today is just as decadent and depraved as Judah was in the time of Jeremiah.

Is it possible that a mere 1% of Americans today are true God-fearing Christians? Only the LORD knows the answer to that. But if it were so, then surely we would be witnessing 2-3 million people protesting loudly and vigorously, month after month, against the abortion and pornography industries alone.

Can you hear them? No?

Neither can I.

Will the LORD spare America if less then 1% of her citizens are true believers? He has to date, but for how much longer? Jeremiah preached his warning of impending catastrophe for 40 years. So far nearly 40 years have elapsed since the judgment Roe v Wade, which legalised abortion in America. Unless the American people repent and humble themselves in significant numbers and turn once again to the LORD, it looks as though their time has almost run out.

And still they say, “What have I done?”

_________________

Jeremy James

Ireland

6 June 2012

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Copyright 2012