ON THE FLIP SIDE

By Rick Lange
http://bibleprophecybyricklange.blogspot.com/
Posted with authors permission

On the flip side of how bad America has become and how judgment is coming and a great shaking, as I mentioned in my last article “2019 A TRANSITION YEAR” there are many good things to say about America. Our forefathers literally sat down with a Bible in one hand and a blank sheet of paper in the other and wrote our Constitution according to Judeo/Christian principles. They instinctively knew that a government cannot last unless it is built upon moral and spiritual principles and faith in God.

The truth is that unless a people govern themselves, a government will become top heavy and oppressive as it seeks to do what upright people should do on their own accord if guided by sound principle. So, even though many of our founding fathers were not exactly Christians as we evangelical types would define Born Again Christianity, they knew what a people must be if a nation was to survive and endure.

On the good side, in spite of the fact that we make up only 5% of earth’s population, we send out more humanitarian aid than all other nations combined. We send more missionaries into foreign and impoverished areas of the world and not only do we preach the Gospel, but we dig wells and build houses and schools and hospitals. We bring medicine and food and relief from many of the diseases that plague those without sanitary conditions and Oh yes, we teach sanitation as well. We dig latrines and teach aseptic technique much like Israel did in days of old, when they didn’t suffer from the diseases that the pagan nations suffered from.

For those who really understand God’s Word, God is interested in the entire being, spirit, soul and body and the Bible contains principles that minister to all three parts of the human being with equal greatness. To the extent that many churches completely ignore these principles, we have become sick just like the rest of the world. Unfortunately Pentecostal people are especially bad at this, for even though they believe in divine healing, they completely ignore God’s means of divine health.

Oops, I have diverted to another track here, but I will just say one thing about divine health. We should eat everything as close to the way God made it as possible and we must know that clean water, fresh air and exercise (especially the one where you push away from the table) and trust in divine power, will do much to keep a person healthier than most. (Processed foods are killing us)

Now back to the main track: On the good side of America, the vast majority of people across the heartland are God fearing, hard- working people, with families and jobs. They mind their own business and they are the backbone of all that is good about America.

Unfortunately it is the lunatic fringe that makes the most noise, gets the most news coverage and populates the coastal and cultural centers on both East and West coasts... And since they are the ones in the news and the ones promoted by the news, we tend to feel outnumbered. But the liberal globalists who thought they had their agenda all wrapped up, discovered that when America wakes up, miracles still happen.

Right now the globalists are in a frantic survival mode as they watch certain parts of their global structure being exposed and dismantled. Have you ever seen so much hatred and intolerance? They have been pouring billions, maybe even trillions of dollars into their global agenda and yet we have Brexit, and chaos in Europe. We have Venezuela as a living example that socialism/communism simply doesn’t work. In fact, in our lifetimes we have seen communism and socialism fail in country after country, leaving blood and ashes on the ground.

There can be no explanation for why they are trying to revive these failed regimes other than the fact that Satan wants to rule the world in the place of Christ. He wants complete and sovereign power over every nation, kindred, tongue and people just like the Bible says.

So, for all of its weaknesses, America still stands as a shining example to the world of what a nation can be that builds on the Word of God, provides freedom and capitalism and education for its people so that anyone who has the will to do it may prosper. Christian America with its Bible based constitution may be that power that is keeping the Antichrist at bay, until the falling away of Christians makes a pathway for the antichrist to enter. 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

Unfortunately the liberal and globalist agenda has infiltrated and taken over the education system, rewriting history, dumbing down people’s ability to think outside the box, introducing godless principles and morals in ways that please the flesh but destroy the spirit of America. God has rescued us momentarily by putting a speed bump in America’s highway to hell and so we are being weighed in the balances. Will we repent like Ninevah and turn back to the Lord, or will we continue our downward plunge like Sodom and Gomorrah and end up in destruction?

Ultimately we know that Bible prophecy is going to be fulfilled. The global antichrist system will come and “He (The antichrist) will be given power to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation will be given him… and everyone will worship him, whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Lamb’s book of life.” Rev. 13:7-8.

Just how much time we have left is largely up to us. Last day prophecies are conditional to a certain extent. They will happen, but there are conditions in which it can be delayed. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14.

This is the perfect example of a conditional promise. God says, “If you do this, then I will do that.” Israel lived under many of these conditional promises and we see them play out over and over again throughout their history. God said that if they would keep His commandments and walk in His ways and worship only the one true God, then I will bless you. We see this in Deut. 28, where both the blessings and the curses of the Law are listed. To obey God reaps a good harvest of blessings, but to turn from God, to worship idols and to fall into immorality and sin, it will reap a harvest of curses, destruction and captivity.

But as we discovered in 1948, God also makes irrevocable promises not based upon our performance, but upon His sovereign will and name. These promises god made to Abraham by putting him to sleep, so that we would know that they are not contingent upon Abraham’s or anyone else’s obedience. They are based upon God’s eternal purposes; for in eternity, Heaven and earth will come together and become the center of the universe forever… and God will tabernacle among His people and HE shall be our God and we shall be His people. Romans 11, Ephesians 2 and the design and purpose of the New Jerusalem found in Revelation chapters 21, 22 give us glimpses into the Jew/Gentile oneness of God and man for eternity.

If we look at life as it is right now, we will be able to see that the worst curse that God can bring upon us is simply to let us have our way. God doesn’t really need to judge us for as it says in Gal. 6:7; God is not mocked, for whatever we sow, that will we also reap. So judgment is simply a matter of reaping the harvest that we have planted. We often speak of God’s judgments when in fact we are simply reaping what we sow. But as for those who belong to Him, we are not destined for wrath, for there is a time coming when God will indeed come and pour out His wrath on the global kingdom of the Beast and they will be destroyed never to rise again. But we will be attending the marriage supper of the Lamb.

A while back, someone asked, ”Do we really need to know all of this stuff to be saved? And I said, “No, all we have to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be saved. It’s all about Jesus and being in a saving relationship with Him. That’s it! But then I added this: “I think it is mighty wonderful that our Father in heaven has shared His agenda with his children so that we can understand what is going on in the world and where it is all headed.”

It is a marvelous thing that Jesus has taken us into His confidence. He is literally sharing His throne with us and right now He is taking us through whatever training we need to go through in order to rule and reign with Him as mature sons and daughters of God. He gave us His Spirit and His Word so that we can grow into His image and His likeness. We are destined for greater things than we can even imagine, but such power and authority cannot be entrusted to the immature, the greedy and selfish. It can’t be given to those who refuse to forgive others, for our forgiveness of others is directly tied to His forgiveness of us. These lessons we must learn and learn quickly.

Some day we will judge even the angels, but for right now our training includes not judging others because we ourselves are not perfect and so we have not yet earned the right to judge others.

If we could only understand that we are in training, we would also understand why we go through certain trials. We tend not to learn in times of ease. It is when the way gets tough and dangerous that we begin to look to God as our only resource of wisdom and protection.
When things are easy, we tend to become deluded into thinking that we can handle it on our own.

But Adam was created with God on board. God breathed His own Spirit into him and Adam became a complete being… a living soul. We were created to function with God on board. A computer, for instance, can have all the best operating systems and programs, but it is useless unless plugged in, or unless it has an implanted battery. And the moment Adam separated from God, his battery began to die and his spirit died and his flesh took over and he fell from the rest he had as a person empowered by God and he began to live life by the sweat of his brow.

But Jesus brought the battery back to earth! He brought it back in Himself He plugged us back into God by His Holy Spirit, so that we could be restored to His image once again. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the power might be of God and not of ourselves. 2Cor. 4:7

So, guess what our training is centered in? Romans 8 holds the key, for the bulk of our training has to do with learning how to live by God’s Holy Spirit rather than by our fallen flesh. In the cross of Christ we become detached from the world by His death. Our umbilical cord is severed from the world and plugged into heaven so that we can live not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit and by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and that is only possible because we have also been reconnected to His Holy Spirit.

I keep saying this over and over again until we get it. “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14. There is no point in even calling ourselves Christian if we are not being empowered and led by the Holy Spirit. And even though it seems intangible at first, as we walk in it by faith, we begin to recognize His voice and obey His voice and it will always be in agreement with His Word. He will never tell us to do something contrary to His Word.

We must know the Word if we are to know HIs voice, for indeed there are plenty of nut cases out there that hear voices, but if they are not filled with the Word of God, they are likely do go off and do most any crazy thing. They have no discernment. They do not know the ways of God.

And so it is that a large part of the noisy sector of America is choosing to call good evil and evil good. They are perverting and twisting truth into lies. They are enthroning Satan as the god of this world.

So, 2019 is indeed a transition year. America hangs in the balances. What we do with this opportune moment in time most likely will determine the fate of America over the next few months and years.

Alex Jones recently said he believes we have a window of 5 years (from 2019-2024) and then all hell is going to break loose and we won’t know what hit us. In fact it has been said that the Day of the Lord will come upon God’s people as an overwhelming surprise. But why?

Paul tells us why in1 Thess. 5:1-10. The day of the Lord is going to suddenly come like a thief in the night to those who are sleeping, but he doesn’t stop there, in fact he says: “But you brethren are not in darkness that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of the night or of darkness…”

So we need not live in darkness or ignorance for that matter. God has given us His Word and His Holy Spirit. In fact we are given to understand that when God’s people rightly understand what the book of Revelation means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival. A right study of Bible prophecy will bring revival to the church. Can you see why Satan has steered the church away from prophecy? It exposes him and it exposes us to the agenda of our Lord, with understanding so that we can partner with Him in the harvest.

Bible prophecy is God’s agenda for bringing this reign of sin and suffering to an end and destroying Satan and those who follow Him. To the extent that churches have abandoned the study of Bible prophecy, they have been invaded by the enemy; and much of the church is running blind and deaf and dumb in these last days.

If you want to be among God’s Remnant people, then you must study to show yourself approved unto God. You must press in and seek His wisdom and understanding. He will guide us into all truth, for He has indeed promised to do so. We may flounder… we may get it wrong sometimes, but He will correct us as we mature in Him. We are not in this seeking our own opinions but His and sometimes that means breaking long held traditions. But those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. OUR salvation is not based upon a correct interpretation of Bible prophecy, but on an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through His Word and through His Holy Spirit. Selah.