Our beloved nation is in the midst of what appears to be “The Perfect Storm.” First came the pandemic, then the stock market crash followed by the collapse of our economy. And now, violence and looting in our streets. Radicals of all types and colors are calling for revolution.
The Judeo-Christian values this nation was founded upon have been rejected. We are waving our collective fist at God and His Word, saying, “We will do as we please.” It appears that God has turned us over to what theologians call “abandonment wrath.” That’s when God steps back, lowers His hedge of protection around a nation and allows sins to multiply.
An Unfounded Hope?
One thing I have noticed in the midst of all the chaos is that several Evangelical leaders whom I greatly respect have proclaimed their belief that the frightening events all around us will drive people to their knees seeking God, and the result will be a great spiritual revival that will bring our nation back to God. I hope they are right, but I personally believe it is a false hope.
They have based their hope on what has happened in America in the past. Each of these Christian leaders have pointed to the fact that our nation has grown cold in the Lord several times in the past, and each time people were driven to prayer, and the result was a great spiritual revival.
These revivals have usually been referred to as “Great Awakenings,” each of which lasted several years. The first began in 1730, the second in 1800, the third in 1890, and the final one in the late 1960s.
The problem with this argument is that our nation has not simply grown cold in the Lord. During the past 60 years, we have become militantly hostile to God and His Word. Today, we are aggressively mocking and blaspheming God, and we are jettisoning our Christian heritage.
The number of people in our nation claiming to be Christian is at an all-time low (65%). And half of those could most likely be classified as “Cultural Christians,” meaning they are Christians in name only. Recent polls by the Pew Research Center have revealed that only 17% of those who claim to be Christian can be classified as “Bible-believing.” Meanwhile, weekly church attendance has plummeted to its lowest point ever (23%).
The Point of No Return
Our nation has clearly become a secular, pagan nation that has rejected God. What a tragic development this is! We have cast aside the very One who blessed us with unparalleled freedom and prosperity. And the Scriptures clearly reveal what our future will be because the history of Judah shows how God deals with a rebellious nation which He has so richly blessed:
- He raises up prophetic voices to call the nation to repentance. And, if there is no repentance,
- He places remedial judgments upon the nation.
- If the nation repents, He forgives and blesses. But if there is no repentance,
- God destroys the nation when its rebellion becomes entrenched, reaching a point of no return.
Yes, the Bible teaches that there is a point of no return when a nation turns its back on God, particularly a nation that God has richly blessed. That point is referred to in the Scriptures as the stage in a nation’s revolt when “the wound becomes incurable.”
Jeremiah declared that Judah had “an incurable wound” (Jeremiah 30:12). Jeremiah was even told to stop praying for Judah. (Jeremiah 7:16). Ezekiel was told the same thing, but in even stronger terms. Ezekiel was told that if the most righteous men who have ever lived — Noah, Daniel and Job — were to intervene for Judah, it would be of no avail, except for themselves and their families, because the nation had reached the point of no return and was going to be destroyed (Ezekiel 14:12-21).
People laughed at the warnings Jeremiah gave. Their response was to chant, “The temple, the temple, the temple.” This chant meant that they did not believe that God would ever allow anyone to destroy His temple, regardless of how sinful the nation might become. But God sent the Babylonians and used them as His hammer to destroy the nation of Judah, its capital city of Jerusalem, and the temple.
Two of the saddest verses in the Bible describe Judah’s destruction. They are found in 2 Chronicles 36:
15) The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;
16) but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy.
Even when dealing with the evil Assyrian Empire, God sent Jonah to warn of His impending wrath. When the king and his people repented, God withheld His wrath. But 150 years later, when God sent a second prophet, Nahum, the message was, “Your wound is incurable.” That time there was no repentance, and the empire was overthrown by the Babylonians.
All of which reminds me of some words of the prophet Nahum that should be sobering to our nation (Nahum 1):
2) A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; The LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
3) The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In the second part of this series determining what the Bible has to say about a future revival or revolution in America, we will apply God’s lessons to Israel to the United States.
Our small group has been studying the minor prophets; we are in Micah now. It seems as though we are studying current events. One verse that caused us to ponder is Amos 5:13. “Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.”
While I respect David Jeremiah’s words I wonder if we need to take heed that the Age of Grace goes on till the Rapture and therefore His Revival for America may be imminent.