This blog is in response to a variety of emails that I have received from readers about many imminent threats to the future of the USA and to Christians in America. Based on a variety of “doom and gloom” links sent to me, I think that fear and anxiety is taking over where faith should be found among modern Christians. This blog will offer Christians a reason to put faith back in the driver’s seat and help take back our nations from those who are leading them into destruction.
Some of the “doom and gloom” links I’ve received recently predict such things as a planned (or unplanned) economic collapse, the imprisonment of Christians in a network of “concentration camps” across America, the imposition of martial law in the USA, the end of free-speech, the end of free access to the internet, etc. These (and many more rumored) calamities are predicted to lead to the destruction of the USA itself and its slavery to foreign nations. Some of these things are possible. Some are claimed to be “God’s impending judgment” on the USA. I am not an authority to determine which rumors and prophecies are really “from God” and which ones are not. This blog proclaims that God did not intend that you be a helpless observer who merely watches these evil events unfold. The scriptures actually indicate that God expects you to “do something” to help stop it. Let’s examine some biblical examples and injunctions.
However, let us first consider the question: Should we pray for our nations? After all, our nations are increasingly sinful and falling away from God. A church I was in many years ago cited Jeremiah 14:11 (“Pray not for this people for their good”) as a biblical reason for not praying for the well-being of the modern USA (or the nations in which other readers of this blog reside). However, that viewpoint did violence to the context of this prophecy in Jeremiah. Jeremiah 14 has no language indicating that it has any applicability to the latter days. It was written around 610 BC when Jeremiah was warning the ancient nation of Judah that its judgment was drawing nigh (Judah did fall a few decades after that prophecy was written). Jeremiah 14:11 applied to a nation that existed 26 centuries ago. There is no language in that chapter that it was ever intended to apply to our time or nation. Now let’s examine biblical examples of what God expects from his people in any human time context and also specifically in the latter days.
When Moses was on the mount with God and receiving the Ten Commandments, all the tribes of Israel rebelled in the golden calf incident. God was incensed at their rebellion and told Moses: “…let me alone, that my wrath may consume them…and I will make of you a great nation.” Think of this! If God were standing visibly in front of you and audibly spoke such words to you, would you “stand back and shut up” and let millions die? Moses could have done so, but he interceded for the entire nation of the Israelites and pleaded with God to forgive and spare them. Moses “stood in the gap” for them. God changed his mind and cancelled his intended destruction of the Israelites due to the prayer of one man, Moses.
Approximately 760 BC, the prophet Amos was sent to the ancient kingdom of Israel when it was sinning more and more against God. Amos 7:1-6 relates that God confided to Amos that two imminent Divine calamities were about to befall the kingdom of Israel due to their sins and unrepentance. In each case, Amos (whose message was rejected by the Israelites—the ten tribes) interceded with God to cancel his intended punishments. Amos “stood in the gap” for ancient Israel, and God cancelled his intended calamities.
How often do you think Jesus Christ has “stood in the gap” for you and me as our High Priest in heaven when God could have judged us more severely for our sins (Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:25)? Shouldn’t we emulate Jesus’ example and “stand in the gap” for others and for our nations?
In Ezekiel 22, God pronounced judgments upon “the house of Israel” (verse 18) and “Jerusalem” (the capital of Judah) for their sins. However, God was dismayed that he could not find one single person who would “stand in the gap” between those nations and God by asking God to cancel or defer his judgments (verse 30). God tried to find such a person! Because no intercessor could be found, judgment was decreed (verse 31). The strong implication here is that God himself indicated that he would have spared the nation if he could have found a single person to make intercession for it!
When Elijah was despairing that he was the only person left in ancient Israel who served God, God surprised him by telling Elijah that there were still “7000” people (unknown to Elijah) in Israel who didn’t follow Baal worship (I Kings 19:8-18). Because of those 7000, God delayed ancient Israel’s national destruction for more than a century! This is an important example. Don’t think God doesn’t notice you as an individual when you try to obey him! Your righteousness makes a difference in how God deals with our nation (Proverbs 14:34). God does count the righteous in a nation, and their numbers impact God’s decisions about those nations. We do not know what “critical mass” of righteous people in a nation will cause God to defer his judgment, but consider this. The post-birth infant sacrifice of Baal worship was one of the most malignant sins of ancient Israel that provoked God’s judgment on that ancient nation. The pre-birth infant sacrifice (abortion) practices of modern America are surely one of our most malignant sins because God does not change his views on a subject (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). If God deferred his judgments upon the ancient kingdom of Israel because of a mere 7000 righteous people who did not participate in Baal worship rites, can we not ask God to defer his judgment against modern America when perhaps 100,000,000 Americans (or more) still oppose abortion in our nation, and this national sin of abortion was not chosen by the people or any Congress, but was imposed on the USA by a radicalized Supreme Court? You can be sure that if our founding fathers had dreamed that future generations of Americans would have considered legalizing the human sacrifice practice of abortion, it would have been explicitly forbidden in the Constitution!
Let’s consider a specific example that God has prophesied re: the attitude that he wants his people need to have in the latter days toward their respective nations. Joel 2 is a prophecy about the “day of the Lord” (verse 1). That is the climactic time at the end of our age and it will conclude the latter days of our age. Warfare and heavenly signs are prophesied in this chapter, but God tells his people to repent in verse 12-14 because even then it is possible that God might defer his judgments and “leave a blessing” instead (verse 14). God commands in verse 15-17 that his people (priests, ministers, elders and laymen) in the latter days “stand in the gap” for their nations and plead with God to not destroy their nations with his judgments for sin. God commands his people to fast and weep before his altar, so it is evident that God wants his people to plead passionately that mercy instead of judgment be given to their respective nations. Verses 18-32 prophesy that God will respond to those passionate appeals by intervening to save and bless his people at the end of this age, removing “northern invaders” (Ezekiel 38:15 is a parallel latter days prophecy), restoring harvests and prosperity, etc.
Think about this for a moment. God instructs all of us to plead for our nations so God will rescue and defend them, but what if the ministers and people disobey God’s instruction and refuse to do so? If no Christians “stand in the gap” for their nations, then we may face the same situation cited in Ezekiel 22:30 where God was dismayed that he couldn’t find anyone interceding for the nation so he went ahead and smote it with his judgment. Remember the above examples that one person’s fervent intercession can save nations. I Peter 5:16-18 reminds us that the fervent prayer of a single person “can avail much” in changing events and destinies of people and nations.
Have you been obeying God’s commandment in Joel 2:12-17 to pray for God to spare his people, avert disasters for Christians, have mercy on our nations, etc.? I have done so and I ask you to join me on “the front lines” in praying for God’s mercy on our modern nations. We know the traumas of the latter days will eventually arrive, but if our prayers move God to even delay and defer them to allow more time for national repentance, we have “availed much.” If Christians collectively and passionately pray for God to spare our nations and send mighty servants of his to move the nations to repentance, we just might be surprised what God is willing to do. When Jerusalem was besieged by a massive Assyrian army, King Hezekiah of Judah offered a passionate prayer for God’s deliverance, and there were 185,000 dead Assyrian soldiers the next morning (Isaiah 37). Prayer makes a huge difference! So, when you see the “doom and gloom” links that are sent to your computer, remember the many biblical examples of how the prayers of even one person can save a nation, defer God’s wrath and alter the course of history. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “boldly” approach God for grace, and you can “boldly” ask grace for your nations as well as for yourself and other individuals. Don’t be shy about going to God in prayer and asking him to “change things.” As Joel 2:12-17 confirms, he’s been expecting you.
