How far has this nation fallen? We see the sinfulness of our citizens and it grows worse every day. As a Christian, we mourn the direction that the American citizenship has been led astray both spiritually, morally, and one day, physically and taken captive. A minority in our country have forsaken the principles this nation was founded on and led the majority into darkness.  I wonder what it will take to open our eyes to the calling and discipline that God will no doubt bring upon this land. Remember 9/11 and all the horror of being attacked on our own soil? We saw the masses of people that flooded the churches seeking God. I thought, is it out of fear or was it a new commitment to live our lives according to His will? Sadly, it was out of fear, but that fear passed within a few months, as we relied on our government to keep us safe. To an extent, they have, but I see it crumbling all around us, as new threats are mounted everyday from an enemy that is very patient and is biding it’s time from within and without.

Now trouble is brewing on our southern border as drug cartels are waging war on the masses that cower in fear as they try and dominate the economy of our Mexican neighbor. Recently, it is spilling over into Texas and Arizona and other border states. What about the member of our own military that yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he shot scores of his fellow servicemen, before being shot himself? Or how about the nut job who shoots a congresswoman in the head in Arizona, and she may never fully recover to her former life? I can go on and on about how our general population is exposed to evil we have never witnessed, at least not in my lifetime.

 

AMOS SPEAKS JUDGMENT

 

I turn to the book of Amos in your bible,  and read the passages that could have been pulled from the headlines and wonder if Amos had Fox News back in his time. Of course, they did not, but it is like it is happening all over again. Amos was one of the first writing prophets that warned Israel of impending doom that finally came and destroyed the nation. Amos begins by God revealing what will happen foretold in this time of ancient history. It starts in:

Amos 1:3  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: …” And God lays out what was their transgression and His punishment.

 

He speaks then to Gaza, then onto Lebanon, and then Jordan which are the modern day inhabitants of the lands mentioned. You can read the passages in the first few chapters of Amos and his prophecy concerning the nations of the ancient Middle East.  He continues until God addresses every one of them, but they are all still here.  He finally gets to Judah and Israel:

2:4  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

2:5  But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

He speaks of Southern Israel kingdom known as Judah and finishes with the northern kingdom of Israel in the north:

2:6  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

2:7  That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

2:8  And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

What is God saying here? Why are the nations listed here in Amos, that are still here and it only seems like God passed judgment only on Israel?  Understand, that Israel was the nation that the Lord God had made a covenant with. It was a blood covenant that would not be broken, as long as the two participants remained true. Who were those participants? God and His people, Israel!

He did not make a covenant with the Arab people mentioned, but His judgment will never the less come and will commence soon. Even now we see in our national news, so Amos’ prophecy will be fulfilled, as the whole Arab world is in upheaval and are killing each other. But in Israel’s case, God had blessed that nation as no other. They were a special people unto Himself. He did battle with them against all the people that inhabited Canaan when they arrived with Joshua in the Exodus. God delivered the inhabitants of Canaan into their hands. God didn’t come down and destroy them Himself and do Israel’s work for them. Israel had to fight, but God was on their side and in their camp. They could not be defeated as long as they held to God as their benefactor and kept His commandments and honored the covenant relationship. They were called to be a priestly nation. They were to be a nation set apart as an example to all nations round about them of the blessings of a right relationship with God Almighty.

But what did Israel do? They did exactly what God told them not to do. They became perverted in their beliefs and dishonored the covenant they had made with Jehovah. In Deuteronomy, God lays out blessings and ends with a warning:

“When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, "How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise." You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. (verses 29-32)

 

Israel was guilty of transgressions against what God had specifically told them not to do and He sent prophet after prophet to warn them. If you look at all the minor prophets that God sent from Amos, to Isaiah, to Jeremiah and onto Obadiah, Zechariah and all the prophets in between that can be found in your bible,  each came to warn them. God ends with Malachi and if you read Malachi, then you get a sense of just how bad it was in Israel.

 

Then after Malachi, suddenly God went totally silent. For 400 years, He said nothing through His prophets…not a Word, till Gabriel the arch-angel announced the birth of one, John the Baptist to Zacharias his father while he was in the temple ministering unto the Lord in his priestly duties. Until then, God seemed to have quit talking until He spoke with the announcement of John’s birth as being the one to proclaim the coming of the Savior.  With John the Baptist being born of Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, it led to the coming of the greatest Prophet who ever lived and our Messiah, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have not had a prophet since Jesus left this earth. There has been no need, because God sent the greatest of all…His Son to proclaim what will be the future of all mankind, the good and the bad.

 

ISRAEL PROPHECIED FOR JUDGMENT OF THEIR SINS

 

What had happened in the years since God went silent those 400 long years between Malachi and the New Testament? Before that time, Israel was the most feared nation on earth. They were the superpower of their day. No one could defeat them. King David had conquered the whole land and even into his son, King Solomon’s reign.  They had more riches, more power than any nation in all of the Middle East. No one could come against them, as God was on their side. Until judgment came when God went silent and Malachi relayed what God had on His mind. God was fed up. He had had enough. They had broken their covenant so many times with Jehovah that God must have thrown up His hands and said “it is enough. I’ve had it.” As Amos recorded in the following verse, “3:2  You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

God was saying that they could not walk together anymore, as they were at polar opposites of being in agreement. So He walked away from a covenant they had broken. Eventually, Israel was totally destroyed. They were first conquered, then in the ensuing years of 70 A.D., the temple was destroyed and they were scattered to the four winds. God’s judgment had finally come in the form of the Roman legions.

 

GOD’S JUDGMENT ON ANOTHER SUPERPOWER

 

As time passed, God honored another nation that came into being. During the founding of our nation, our forefathers envisioned a country where men were free to worship as they chose. This grand experiment in liberty was to set men free from tyranny and oppression and built on one thing that was lasting. What was that lasting foundation? God’s Ten Commandments and our Holy Bible was the cornerstone of this nation. Upon the precepts that govern righteous men, our forefathers made a plan to honor God in our Judeo-Christian heritage. In that plan they wrote these words that formed this nation:

“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.”

It is the preamble of our Declaration of Independence that was the beginning of the foundation of the United States of America. From humble beginnings, our fledging nation defeated the most powerful military on earth at that time, the British Army. You can make any case you wish that our signers of the Declaration of Independence were deists, but history proves that being in error, as most of the men who were there when this document was written, were God fearing men. So, as God spoke to Israel, God also speaks to us NOW. Deuteronomy chapter 28:

28:1  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: (a shining city set on a hill)

28:2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

28:3  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

28:4  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

28:5  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

28:6  Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

28:7  The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. (they are totally scattered with God’s help)

How did a little rag-tag army defeat the most powerful force on earth in our revolution of 1776 until independence was won and the British admitted defeat? It was because we honored God and He was with us. From that time forward, God has blessed us. I can imagine God thinking, and I don’t suppose to know what God is thinking, but from what our history shows, it seems that the verse in Amos 3:3 comes to mind, “3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” God may have thought, “Ok, if you will honor Me and walk in my ways, then I will honor you.” And he has honored us and made us into the most powerful nation on earth, or the lone superpower of modern times. As He made a blood covenant with Israel, He has made a blood covenant with the individuals that made up a vast portion of this new land, embodied in the Christian men and women who had made this new covenant in their hearts and minds.  They had as a belief on the Lord Jesus Christ as their benefactor and Savior. Christian men and women built this nation, and God blessed us mightily, as we honored and worshiped Him.

But lately, I fear for our country greatly in this post modern era since World War II. We have done everything that Israel was told not to do. We have cast our God out of our schools. We have made idols of everything imaginable and putting those things before our worship of God. We have denied prayer and teachings of basic Godly principles to our heritage, the children. We have thrown the Ten Commandments out of our court houses.  We have embraced the sin of homosexuality and all its perversion and are attempting to make it equal with God’s institution of marriage between one man and one woman. We have made what is right in our own eyes, but an abomination unto our Holy God. We have slain the innocent on the altar of convenience to the sum total of 40+ million babies to the butcher’s scalpel and other hideous tools of abortion. We have done great sins and God proclaimed what would happen in these last days. Isaiah 5:20-24:

5:20  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

5:21  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!

5:22  Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,

5:23  who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

5:24  Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”

AMERICA ON THE BRINK!!

Does this not proclaim the sin filled majority that make up our governing body and our elected officials? Has it not filtered down, or has led astray the masses of the voters of this nation? America has become Israel in all her ancient depravity and abominations. We, as they, have been richly blessed, but God’s wrath is close at hand. Right now, we see the economic forecast that everyone warns us about coming full steam and I wrote about it in my last message “Our God is a Consuming Fire”. It is projected that when the dollar collapses because of our lust for credit and spending like drunken sailors, then forecast are that the USA will collapse from within first, and the rest of the world will teeter on financial ruin and spiral into the blackness of famine and pestilence. The USA will no longer be a superpower, or be in a position to do anything to prevent the world going into anarchy. I see the only thing that is keeping the dark forces at bay right now, are the Christians who refuse to abandon their first love, a belief and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. But it seems that we are becoming more and more the minority.

What will finally open the eyes of the whole population of our nation? Will another catastrophe unleashed by a demon inspired enemy drop us to our knees? If we do, then how long will we return to seeking God? Will it be for a few months or less? Can what happened to ancient Israel be the same outcome that we will experience? God used another warring nation to bring Israel to its knees several times. Will it also be our conquest and the destruction of our way of life, as it was to Israel? What evil empire will drive us into slavery and servitude as the Romans did the Israelites?  Don’t think it can happen? The annals of history are against you. It’s happened many times before to other great nations, and it can happen to us.

AMERICA TURNS AGAINST ISRAEL?

Fast forward. What has become of Israel? Israel has reconstituted itself into basically the same nation as it was before God scattered them. It was foretold in prophecy and has come to pass right in front of our eyes. Israel made many mistakes in ancient times   some 2000 years ago, but I submit that God is not done with Israel by any stretch of the imagination and will save them all. God has His hand on Israel and will sanctify them because of His Holy Name and the promises made to their fore-fathers. What did God say when He was pronouncing blessings upon Israel? “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen 12: 2-3).

For half a century, Israel had no better ally that the USA, but that seems to all be changing in the last two decades as it becomes more and more that we are in conflict with the only real friend we have in the Middle East, our friend, Israel. We have stood beside her, supported her and been a close ally and friend. Would you have ever dreamed in your wildest dreams, that the USA would be embarking on splitting up God’s land, the land of Israel, to an enemy that is also our enemy? Is it any wonder that the USA has had disasters one after another in the last 20 years? Reread the above verse and ponder what follows. Do you think Katrina was just a stroke of bad luck for those folks? I looked online to see if there was any correlation between our national problems and our treatment of Israel. I don’t claim to know that its God’s punishment, as I don’t speak for God, but it gives you pause when you meditate on the mentioned verses in Genesis and look at the destruction that has come our way because of misplaced priorities toward Israel. Let’s review some of the problems we’ve experienced, and how we have treated Israel at this same time period.  These are actual events and what we were doing in international foreign policy as related to Israel. Is there a correlation?? You decide.

(Relating to Israel’s Covenant Land)

1.       October 30,
1991: The Perfect Storm—As President George H. W. Bush is opening the Madrid (Spain) Conference to consider “land for peace” in Israel’s Middle East role, the
“perfect storm” develops in the North Atlantic,creating the largest waves ever recorded in that region. The storm travels 1000 miles from “east to west” instead of the normal “west to east” pattern and crashes into the New England Coast. Thirty-five foot waves crash into the Kennebunkport home of President Bush.

2.      August 23, 1992: Hurricane Andrew—When the Madrid Conference moves to Washington DC and the peace talks resume, Hurricane Andrew, the worst natural disaster ever to hit America, comes ashore and produces an
estimated $30 billion in damage and leaving 180,000 homeless in Florida.

3.      January 16, 1994: Northridge Earthquake—President Bill Clinton meets with Syria's President Hafez el-Assad in Geneva. They talk about a peace agreement
with Israel that includes giving up the Golan Heights. Within 24 hours, a powerful 6.9 earthquake rocks Southern California, This quake, centered in
Northridge, becomes the second most destructive natural disaster to hit the United States, behind Hurricane Andrew,

4.      January 21, 1998: Lewinsky Scandal—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Clinton at the White House and is coldly received.
Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright refuse to have lunch with him. Shortly afterwards on that day, the Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks into the
mass media and begins to occupy a major portion of Clinton's time.

5.      September 28, 1998: Hurricane George—As Secretary of State Albright works on the final details of an agreement in which Israel would give up 13 percent of
Yesha (Judah and Samaria), Hurricane George slams into the United States Gulf Coast with 110 mph winds and gusts up to 175 mph. The hurricane hits the coast and stalled. On September 28, Clinton meets with Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu at the White House to finalize this land deal. Later, Arafat addresses the United Nations about declaring an independent Palestinian state by May 1999, as Hurricane George pounds the Gulf Coast, causing $1 billion in damage. At the exact time that Arafat departs the country, the storm begins to dissipate.

6.      October 15-22, 1998: Texas Flooded—On October 15, 1998, Arafat and Netanyahu meet at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland. The talks are scheduled to last five days with the focus on Israel giving up 13 percent of Yesha. The talks are extended and conclude on October 23. On October 17, awesome rains and tornadoes hit southern Texas. The San Antonio area is deluged with rain. The rain and flooding in Texas continue until October 22 and then subside. The floods ravage 25 percent of Texas and leave over one billion dollars in damage. On October 21, Clinton declares this section of Texas a major disaster area.

7.       November 30, 1998: Market Capitalization Evaporates—Arafat comes to Washington again to meet with President Clinton to raise money for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital. A total of 42 other nations were represented in
Washington. All the nations agreed to give Arafat $3 billion in aid. Clinton promised $400 million, and the European nations $1.7 billion. On the same day, the Dow Jones average drops 216 points, and on December 1, the European Market had its third worst day in history. Hundreds of billions of market capitalization were wiped out in the U.S. and Europe.

8.      December 12, 1998: Clinton is Impeached—As Clinton lands in the Palestinian-controlled section of Israel to discuss the “land for peace” process, the House of Representatives votes four articles of impeachment against him.

9.      May 3, 1999: The Powerful Super Tornado—On the day that Yasser Arafat is scheduled to declare a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital, the
most powerful tornado storm system ever to hit the United States sweeps across Oklahoma and Kansas. The winds are clocked at 316 mph the fastest wind speed ever recorded. The declaration is postponed to December 1999 at the request of President Clinton, whose letter to Arafat encourages him in his "aspirations for his own land." He also writes that the Palestinians have a right to "determine their own future on their own land" and that they deserve to "live free, today, tomorrow and forever."

10.  Week of October 11: Hurricane, Earthquake and Dow Collapse—As Jewish settlers in 15 West Bank (Israel) settlements are evicted from the covenant land in Israel, the Dow-Jones financial averages lose 5.7 percent in the worst week since October 1989. On October 15 the Dow lost 266 points, and a hurricane slams into North Carolina. On the next morning, October 16, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocks the southwest in the fifth most powerful earthquake in 20th Century. The earthquake was centered in the California desert and did little damage but was felt in three states.

These disasters are recorded for years of the 1990s leading into the 21^st Century. Can we also, point to the following as judgment because of treatment of Israel in the next ten years since 2001?

11.  Tornado outbreak April 31, 2003. 401 tornadoes, More severe weather broke out this week alone than any other week in U.S. history. 48 deaths, $1 billion damages. Roadmap for Peace to divide the land of Israel begun the day before this disaster.

12. Hurricane outbreak 2004. Charley, Frances, Ivan and Rita. $53 billion in damages, 303 deaths……….Under US pressure, Prime Minister Sharon announces his intention to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip as well as a small number of settlements in the West Bank.

13. Hurricane Katrina , $84 billion in damages, 1836 deaths. New Orleans, Louisiana destroyed 8/29/05, ….Intense US pressure to pull out of Gaza begun by Israel, setting the stage for the rule of Hamas.

14.  Let’s not forget the BP oil spill and our own economic troubles that continue, as our foreign policy to Israel becomes more contentious.

15. I shudder to think,  could  9/11 have happened because of our treatment of Israel? Was it God’s judgment on this land? Is there more coming?

IS GOD TRYING TO GET OUR ATTENTION?

These historical facts should make anyone become concerned for the condition of our country. The moral decay of this nation, the dismantling of our founding father’s bedrock principles and the harsh treatment we have imposed on God’s chosen people and our ally, the nation of Israel. Who would have thought a relatively short time of 25 years ago, that our land would be ensnared with these types of issues and on the verge of total collapse, economically, morally, and spiritually? Not me, and I don’t think any of you would have thought we would be where we are today. Do you even recognize your country? I don’t!!  It’s not the one I grew up with.

America is THE modern day Israel. Not so much in its people, but in taking the same path that they did. Israel was God’s chosen people. They honored God and included Him in all their governing affairs and their daily lives. We also honored God from the start of the beginning of the formation of a new type of an experiment. It has been a human experiment based on honoring and worshiping God and following the principles laid down in God’s Holy Word. It has worked so well, that we have been the light on a hill, a beacon that drew men to our shores for freedom to choose as they were convicted in their own hearts and minds.

But I believe that the grand experiment is failing. Not because God has failed us, but because we have failed God. We have not honored Him in a very long time. He has been patient and He has been merciful. He has continued to bless us richly. Our blessings came from our relationship with Almighty God in each of our lives, as the majority, and we looked to Him, as our benefactor and our Savior. With God on our side, no one could defeat us. We have become the lone superpower and the greatest force in military might that the world has ever seen. But we have turned our back on God. We have forsaken our roots and our heritage in the name of political correctness and sinful lust. God has been complete gentleman and will always allow us to make our own decisions. He will not force Himself on any of us. As we have asked Him to leave us alone, I feel He is doing what we ask. In His righteous judgment, we will experience the same fate as Israel met and it may be our ultimate destruction. There is only one hope.

IT’S TIME TO EARNESTLY PRAY

As a watchman on the wall, take this as a warning to each and every one of us who call upon the name of the Lord, II Chronicles 7:14:

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.

7:15  Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

I call upon every person who fears God and loves their country, to fall on your knees and cry out to God. If we, as a nation would humble ourselves and repent then we might be able to repair our world according to the will of God of what has been broken down. According to His will, might God spare us what befell Israel, as they were no more?  Israel has now been revived, but unfortunately, we are not God’s chosen people. We are a people He has set apart who were not His people, so He could  show mercy on all. I fear God’s judgment may be swift and it may already be set in motion. Only thing that is keeping this nation from experiencing what is happening in third world countries and the carnage we see on our nightly news, is the presence of His people, the Christians found in Jesus Christ. We are the ones who have called upon the name of the Lord and have put our trust and faith in Him, and in Him alone. But when a trumpet call comes and even that is removed, then literally, all Hell will be unleashed on this nation and God help you if you are still here.

How many more years does America have? It is up to each and every one of us to convince God that we are worth protecting from what is coming upon the earth. I fear it may be already too late and all that remains is a removal of the people of God from this earth, so that judgment can begin in all righteous fury. I urge you to pray for the peace of Israel and the return of this nation to its founding principles of one Nation Under God.

This is Pastor Mike Taylor wishing you God speed and being well. If you have any request for prayer, questions about biblical matters, or just wish to have someone listen to your concerns, then send me an email to realteam1999@sbcglobal.net, or visit me online for more God inspired sermons and messages at my website  www.churchofgod-usa.org. God bless you all, till we meet at Jesus feet.