The Coming Judgment and the Coming Glory
One genuine prophet of God said he couldn’t see the condition of America past September of this year. I took it to mean that something terrible may happen.
November is the time of midterm elections here in America. Could there be a vicious backlash from the angry leftists who have such hatred toward our bold bully president? Could there be an assassination attempt against him? The fight between good and evil in our nation has just begun. The liberal leftists are coming with a vengeance. They are already plotting and planning now for the overturn of Trump’s agenda that they hope will start with mid-term elections. One righteous preacher predicted that barring a miracle in November, Nancy Pelosi may be back as the Speaker of the House again. How loathsome and nauseating that would be! He also predicted that it will be the greatest internal fight and leftist backlash in the history of our government. I submit all this to the reader for prayerful consideration. Some things can still be further delayed or stopped altogether through prayer and repentance. One thing is for sure: The time of shaking is here.
And this statement, “Yet once more,” signifies the removal of those things that can be shaken, things that are created, so that only those things that cannot be shaken will remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us be gracious, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:27-28).
I want to apply this shaking to what is presently happening in America. Donald Trump’s presidency was the beginning of the greater shaking in our nation. Thank God, we who follow Christ belong to a higher kingdom not of this world. To be honest, I was not pro-Trump during the early part of the election season, even reproving those who were. I don’t know the man’s heart now, but he’s never been a godly man. You may disagree with me, but since then, I’ve seen the hand of God on him, and how in God’s sovereignty, he was elected and is actually being used to help restore God’s purposes for America.
Yes, he is rude and crude, but he was the only one with enough clout who could stop Barack Obama’s antichrist agenda of a terrible remaking of America and a big step toward further socialism and possibly a future one-world government. He was the only one who could drain the dirty swamp in Washington. He was the only one who could have come against international corruption. He was the only one who loves all the things that made America great and could push back to restore her greatness. No other candidate matched the demeanor this man has for what God needed done in holding back evil forces intent on destroying our nation in this hour, and extend mercy and opportunity for the real church. Again, you may disagree, but that is how I see it.
Instrument of Judgment
But I believe Trump is also an instrument of judgment, not only on the world’s system, but upon the false church. What do I mean?
The false church tipped the scales to elect Barrack Obama, an enemy of God, the true church and Israel. The false church and professors of Christianity voted for an agenda to infiltrate America with more foreign religions, and many immigrants who would receive government aid to further deepen our national debt. The false church voted for an agenda that would reduce our liberties and increase the hatred for true Christianity. The false church lacked any sort of godly discernment and was too weak and anemic to save marriage, free speech and the lives of the unborn.
The awful escalation of violence, hatred and division in America and her present condition right now is due in great part to Barrack Obama’s presidency. What a disaster! No presidency has done more harm to America’s constitution, morals and liberties than Obama’s. Members of the true church were the only ones who saw through his chameleon colors and smooth lips. They were the remnant who saw war in his heart and a treasonous man who hates America.
Mario Murillo, in a recent article, said this about the false compromising church:
God has waited and been patient. He gave you time to play church. He let you have your blessing toys. He looked away in hopes we would come to ourselves. His blessing and his goodness did not bring you to repentance. No, it became a license to go deeper into counterfeit Christianity. The American church is guilty of great crimes against the Holy Spirit. We told Him to leave and let us grow Christianity incorporated—the worst thing we could have done. It was a mistake—a terrible, incalculable, ongoing mistake—derailing more truth in less time than any moral plague in history.
Wow! What a piercing word.
A Greater Distinction Between the True and False church
God is a God of both unity and division. It seems contradictory that Jesus prayed for believers to be united as one (John 17:20-22) while also stating that He came to bring division.
Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For there will be from now on five divided in one house, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, and mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” (Luke 12:51-53).
Truth and light separate and divide but also creates unity. One day all that’s false will be separated from all that’s true. The weeds will be separated from the wheat (Matt. 13:38-43). The bad fish will be separated from the good fish (Matt. 13:47-50). The goats will be separated from the sheep (Matt. 13:31-46). And the foolish virgins will be distinguished from the wise virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). But this separation is not all relegated to the future, but it is a principle of judgment that has happened throughout the ages and will intensify as the coming of the Lord draws near. God shakes everything that can be shaken and removes it, so only that which cannot be shaken remains (Heb. 12:27). He does this even within the church.
Yes, included in this principle of judgment is our own Christian maturity and sanctification. God reveals what is false in us and removes it or prunes us from it (John 15:2), so that only the true and the holy remain. As an analogy, during the wheat harvest time in Israel, the farmers would collect the harvest and first lay it out on a threshing floor where it was stomped on and crushed in order to begin to separate the inner grain from the outer husk or shell. Then they would take the grain/wheat up on the side of a hill when the night winds were blowing and throw the harvested wheat into the air. The wind would then blow away the residue of the chaff that remained, so that the pure wheat could then be harvested and collected. God does that with us.
He is preparing a bride for Himself who is free of all spots and blemishes. He removes those things that defile us in order to sanctify us and cleanse us with the washing of water by the Word (Eph. 5:26-27).
I see a great process of this divine separation taking place right in our day. There will be more intense times now in our personal lives, the church and the nation that will appear violent as God uses circumstances and situations to sort of crush us with godly pressure, and then He will toss us again and again into the wind of the Holy Spirit to separate us from what must be revealed and removed. Our repeated impacts against the pure truth of God’s Word will cause a breaking. It will appear as judgment, but we must remember that His purpose is not vindictive or punitive but redemptive. He is preparing us for Himself and to be a more effective vehicle of power and mercy to the world. It is when the world witnesses the glory of God in the true Church that they will have a greater opportunity to repent and believe the gospel. But judgment must come before the glory, so that God’s people can stand in the glory. It will work for our good as we continually yield to Him in the process and genuinely worship and obey Him. Let us receive grace so that we can serve God whole-heartedly in these days of shaking.
“ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us be gracious, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28-29).
Some Reasons for the Judgment
- A righteous remnant is praying and contending for a holy church and the power of God, and He is compelled to respond.
- God wants true repentance, holiness and revival.
- The false church must be judged so that power and mercy can be extended to the masses through a holy and consecrated church.
- America has done much good in the world, sown precious seeds of the gospel for many generations and still remains a beacon of light and hope for many people throughout the nations, and for those reasons, God wants to preserve her.
I believe we will see wrath and mercy, kindness and severity, revival and judgment poured out simultaneously side by side. This process has already started and is meant to further distinguish the true church from the false church as the Lord gets the attention of His people and the world. It is time to judge ourselves so we can be on the glory side.
What We Can Expect on the Glory Side
- As the true church shines with increasing glory, persecution will also increase, true believers will be further marginalized and godly preachers hated.
- The true church may be driven underground, but will become an epicenter of glory, power and mass conversions.
- The nameless and faceless generation and those who have labored in obscurity and been faithful in the little will arise in strength, and their voices will echo the true word of the Lord in this hour, and many young people shall see the evil and corruption in our nation as well as the unrighteous persecution of Christians and will favor Christianity and be open to the gospel.
- Every church and ministry that is fueled by the wisdom of man will continue to diminish in effectiveness and power, and those who move according to God’s heart and plan will grow increasingly stronger and flourish.
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. The days of playing church are over as we enter into a season of greater seriousness in the Spirit and in the body of Christ. The increased persecution will bring more churches together as the people of God put aside their petty differences and rally around the lordship of Jesus and His true cause and commission. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad I’m on the Lord’s side. How glorious these days will be for those who truly love and fear the Lord.