THE APPROACHING STORM

The wicked shall be turned into hell,

And all the nations that forget God.  (Psalm 9:17)

A little over two centuries ago, a new nation was born.  It was founded upon the bedrock of Scripture—its system of laws based on the Judeo-Christian ethic—meant to be one nation under God.  Yet, as the late President Ronald Reagan warned, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”  That is where we are today—the foundations have been undermined and the structure is cracking—the whole building now teetering.

There is a storm approaching.  Dark clouds have been gathering, but what was a rumble in the distance is now booming, as lightning flashes overhead.  For America, it seems judgment is imminent.  How can it be otherwise?  It is the fate of every nation that forgets God.  Why do we think we will be the one exception?  Perhaps it is that we do not think at all.  In a spiritual stupor we stagger toward the abyss in moral darkness of our own making, laughing all the way.  When an old preacher dares to raise his voice in warning, he is dismissed as a crackpot, his words drowned out by the party going on.  I do not know when, but some day God will say, “The party is over!”

A careful reading of the Old Testament prophets reveals sobering parallels between ancient Israel and twenty-first century America.  The political, religious, and moral climate that unleashed the wrath of God upon Israel is being replicated in our time.  God is no respecter of persons—or nations—and will judge us as He judged them.

I hope that I am wrong in my understanding of the timing of this.  I am not in error concerning the principle stated.  Sooner or later, the nation that forgets God will receive a woeful reminder of His righteousness and wrath, and I fear it will be sooner.  The storm clouds are ominous.

The record of Israel’s demise was marked by moral collapse and political turmoil.  There was a crisis of leadership.  As problems grew, the Jews looked to the nations about them for aid instead of repenting and crying out to God for mercy.  Can we not see the same pattern for us?  Perversion is paraded, scandals are no longer the exception but the rule, we expect political leaders to be dishonest, and increasingly we are connecting the nation’s future to globalism.  The prophets describe the degradation of Israel as a culture of violence, sensuality, avarice, drunkenness and debauchery.  Our generation mirrors this as we butcher babies and sell their body parts for profit, extol sodomy with government’s stamp of approval, cloud our brains with the smoke of marijuana and inebriation.  Civil unrest, economic disintegration, and natural disasters will rock America, even as they descended on Israel.  Meanwhile the religious voices that ought to sound storm warnings are leading the cheers, “Love wins!”

When those meant to speak God’s Word depart from the truth, the moral compass is abandoned and the ship of state is about to strike the shoals and sink.  False prophets became the dominant voices in ancient Israel’s culture, and the few who still spoke truth were persecuted.  The mark of the false prophet was how he told the wicked what they wanted to hear.  These last days have brought a departure from the faith that is becoming epidemic—even as the Bible predicted would occur.

The only shelter from the storm is Jesus Christ.  Run to Him!