Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The Rise of Lawlessness

I had a blog ready to post. It sort of touched on this and I have decided to post this instead. My sentiments exactly. And said so pointedly. So, yes, I'm not the only one who believes the days of Revelation are nearing. Let Your Spirit open eyes to Your truth, O God.

The Rise of Lawlessness 
By Jill Martin Rische 
www.olivetreeministries.org

June 3, 2014

The top headline on a number one news site is a quote from a Democrat:We've Proved Communism Works. Combined with a picture of the infamous Red Communist fist, it conveys a chilling message. Revelation has become part of our every day lives. 

The only comfort there is to be had is from the words of Jesus: And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(Matthew 5)

How bittersweet to remember a time of innocence, a time when America cherished freedom and privacy. No internet, no cell phones, no iPads to lure and bind us to a lawless government. We could travel places and know for a fact that not a single soul watched us. We never had to worry that our cars might betray us -- that someone might actually be able to turn them off. We could laugh at the very idea of someone listening to every phone call we made. 

But today it is only reruns of Andy Taylor's Mayberry or Richie Cunningham's Happy Days that draw us back to a place where privacy mattered and family began with a mom and a dad -- and they were proud of America. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Presidents once believed in the rule of law, and took for granted the fact that it would be followed. Even the days of Watergate reflect a different America--one that actually cared if you were law-abiding -- and called you a crook if you were not.

The rise of lawlessness crept up on us in the 20th Century. It hit God first with Nietzsche's infamous God is Dead as a frontline assault, followed by the attacks on biblical inerrancy, in our own seminaries, because God has to fall before man can take His place. 

America became drunk on power and wealth; it wandered down the very dark road of drugs and sexual immorality, and experimented with all kinds of evil. The church offered soft lights, soft music, and even softer sermons. Much like today with Putin's advance into Crimea, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

Today, we are living in Walt Disney'sTomorrowland, and it's nothing like he ever imagined it. Being human has always been painful but now more than ever before, it is complicated by technological slavery and corruption on steroids. 

We live in a world that believes its own press -- thinking itself kind, compassionate and civilized, when in reality it is intolerant and cruel, deceived by the lie that there is no absolute truth; consumed by everything self-centered, despising self-control. 

Selfies -- quick pictures snapped on smartphones and posted to the internet -- are the banner of the "think not" generation. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Even our children are not safe from the long arm of a lawless government. Hospitals, endowed with taxpayer money, steal children from their parents in the name of "protection" and even have a name for it: Parent-ectomy. 

Harvard's Boston Children's Hospital is a terrifying example of tyranny in motion, deciding in less than three days to toss a respected doctor's diagnosis and experiment on a 14 year old girl. Armed guards escorted Justina Pelletier's parents from the hospital, and a corrupt judge awarded custody of her to the State of Massachusetts. According to Judge Johnston, disliking her parents -- who fought against them -- was an excellent reason to take away their child.
Across the oceans, more and more Christians suffer and die for their faith: 200 young girls kidnapped by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram -- a group well within our power to decimate for their brutal terrorist acts -- but Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton protected them.   

A young doctor named Meriam Ibrahim sits in a filthy jail in Sudan, condemned to 100 lashes and hanging by the Muslim government for refusing to renounce her Christian faith in favor of Islam. She spends every day in chains caring for her toddler son and newborn baby daughter -- both American citizens. History tells us the long story of Islam, and it has never loved its enemies. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Revelation is upon us, and it is not a pretty sight. Christians are no longer the good guys, and those that are have compromised for a bit of popularity, embracing gay marriage or the gutting of Scriptural truth. "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way." (2 Thess 2:7)  

We are at the beginning of the end, and without the power of God we could not endure it. But we wait for the blessed hope -- the return of Jesus Christ; the moment we will be caught up in the air and taken to be with Him. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The rise of lawlessness is a birth pang, a warning, and to those who know the outcome, an instrument of reward:Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
  
We are called to walk in the shoes of Jesus -- to feel His rejection and to suffer as He suffered. The servant is not greater than the Master. But we are not alone and we are not powerless. We must fight the good fight of faith and remember He is our hiding place. (Ps 32:6-8)

In a time of trouble, in a time forlorn 
There is a hiding place where hope is born

There is a hiding place, a strong protective space

Where God provides the grace to persevere;

For nothing can remove us from the Father's love 
Though all may change, yet nothing changes here.
In a time of weakness, in a time of fear 

There is a hiding place where God is near.

--Bryan Jeffery Leech

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