You may have noticed that throughout this study, I did not cite modern prophecies regarding America or the world at large. This was purposeful and intentional. I wanted this study to focus specifically on what the Bible says regarding these things.
Do I believe judgment is coming
upon America as a nation? I wholeheartedly do, and I also believe that all the
necessary components are in place for that judgment to begin. All the alliances
have now been forged, the lines have been drawn, sides have been picked, and
even those we consider allies harbor a sense of resentment and bitterness
toward us, the likes of which are rarely reserved for supposed friends. The
thing we haven’t been able to figure out over the last few decades is that you
can’t buy love or true and lasting friendship. At best, you can hope to rent
someone’s allegiance, and when you’re no longer willing or able to pump legal
tender into their eager hands, the worm soon turns, and their true face is
revealed.
Given that we’re willing to
throw supposed allies under the bus at the drop of a hat, likewise does not
scream integrity or consistency. If I can’t count on those with whom I’ve
allied to watch my back, then the alliance, however flowery and verbose, isn’t
worth the paper it’s printed on.
The reality is this: America has
isolated itself and proven itself disloyal, its leaders have shown weakness and
an inability to lead, and the wolves are circling. You can only play the world
police for so long until someone you’re trying to police realizes it’s all talk
and no fangs.
Do I wish to witness it? No, I
live here, as does my family, but our desires are inconsequential. Yes, I do believe
that at some point between now and the return of Jesus, we will witness
widespread destruction within the United States. It would be a grave oversight
on God’s part not to detail the fate of the most powerful country the world has
ever seen.
Yet, we choose to ignore it
because the Bible's depiction is not flattering. For those who are open to the
Word, you will come across the description of a nation that proclaims herself as
a queen, is not a widow, and with whom all the merchants of the earth trade and
grow rich. Then, in one hour, its destruction. The merchants will mourn, watching
the smoke of its burning because there’s no one to buy their worthless baubles
and trinkets any longer.
The world, however, is bigger
than one country, even if that one country happens to be America. When the
Bible speaks of global events that will affect everyone walking the earth, we
cannot be myopic in our discussion of them. Not only will America not be spared
what is to befall the world, but it will be singularly judged for having
squandered all that God has blessed it with and even gone one step further in
rejecting Him and embracing all that He abhors. The fact that God also hates
should not be a revelation to anyone, for it is in His Word.
Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six
things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying
tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet
that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who
sows discord among the brethren.”
The message of repentance fell
on deaf ears, even though it was targeted toward what calls itself the Church
and not those of the world. Those who deem themselves of His house must first
seek repentance. It is they who must first walk in His way before they can
expect those of the world to do so.
Rather than choosing repentance,
we chose to assimilate with the ungodly, doing as they do, saying as they say,
all the while maintaining that we were the righteousness of God, and none more
holy walked the earth in all of human history. We’ve made a mockery of the
sacred, demeaned Jesus to the point of feeling emboldened to tell Him what He
should accept, validate, and embrace, and if He dared refuse, then we would
fashion our own savior, one more to our liking, and pleasing to the flesh. All
this while boasting about our secret insights and how everyone who came to our
church got an angel feather and some gold dust as a door prize.
It’s not that Christians today
don’t believe the world will end; it’s that they don’t want it to. We’ve got
too much invested in this earth to take seriously the notion that both the
earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Even though the dogs of war
are on the march, the earth is groaning, and the foundations of once seemingly
impregnable societies are collapsing in real time, many still refuse to
acknowledge the times in which they are living or allow for the possibility
that it will get worse; much worse.
We’ve been telling ourselves
that this is as bad as it’s going to get for a good twenty years, both
societally, culturally, and globally, and even though immediately after it gets
worse, we renew our commitment to ignorance of God’s Word and insist that this
really is as bad as it's going to get.
The question of uttermost
importance for us as believers is not when Jesus is returning but what He will
find us doing when He does return. When He returns, he will find both faithful
and unfaithful, the former of which He calls blessed, the latter of which He
will cut in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.
Will He find us ready, watchful,
with oil both in our lamps and in reserve, or will He find us eating and
drinking with the drunkards, having acquiesced to the pressures of abandoning
righteousness and embracing evil?
Time will tell the tale, as it
always does, but I fear there will be enough weeping and gnashing of teeth to
go around, not because people didn’t believe one doctrine over another
regarding Christ’s return, but because they were spiritually unprepared to contend
for the faith when facing resistance. Intense heat and pressure come together
to make diamonds, but they also burn and pulverize the dross and those elements
that are unable to withstand them. What you’re made of matters, and it
determines whether the heat and pressure will make you into a diamond. Are you
His? Have you been transformed, reborn, and imbued with the righteousness of
God, or are you paying Him lip service, hoping He doesn’t notice the duplicity
of your heart?
Yes, these are hard questions
but necessary ones. They are questions only you can answer honestly, and if,
perchance, there are still things that need to be pruned and flesh that needs
to be crucified, there is no better time than now.
The end of the world as we know
it is closely approaching. A season of upheaval and all manner of catastrophe
is at the door, and in light of these things, the question remains: what manner
of persons ought you to be?
Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
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