WHAT IS WRONG WITH MODERN AMERICA? : PART 1

Copyright 1994 - 2009 Endtime Prophecy Net

Last Updated : July 23, 2006

Tragedies And Victims?, God's Omnipotence, Divine Will And
Pre-Ordained Purposes, Hardness And Blindness Of Modern Men,
God's Conditional Blessings To Ancient Israelites, Wisdom In
Acknowledging God In Our Lives, New Testament Examples Of
Humility And Bowing To God's Will, Jesus - Our Prime Example
Murmuring And Contentment, Israel's Steep Fall Into Apostasy
Jewish Child Sacrifices, God's Continual Presence And Mighty
Works, Promised Land Defiled, Israel's Whoredom And Idolatry



Every now and then, one of my readers will write to me, and
ask me if I have heard of a certain fatal plane crash which
has claimed a number of lives, or of a powerful storm which
has struck a certain area of the world and left a great deal
of destruction in its path, or of some other event which has
filled the world press. In such cases, these incidents are
sometimes described by the writer as being tragedies, and
those people who have without warning lost their lives, as
poor souls or victims. From a worldly perspective, this is
the normal, natural and acceptable attitude to adopt when we
hear of such news; but is it really the correct one to take
for one who claims to be a Christian? While this revelation
may shock a few of my readers, I personally no longer view
such events as tragedies, or those people involved in them
as being victims or poor souls. Why is this?

Quite simply, as a long-time reader of God's Holy Word, I
have come to recognize that all things, both good and evil,
come from the Hand of God; and I realize that He is in total
and absolute control of His creation and the affairs of men.
In other words, I am fully convinced that nothing happens by
so-called accident, but that all things occur only by God's
Divine Will and Permission. As such, I can no longer view
such incidents as tragedies, but rather as a necessary part
of His Plan in some way, even if I do not understand them. I
am reminded of the following verses which confirm these
points, and which reveal the Omnipotence of El Shaddai; that
is, God Almighty:

"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me:
I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is
there any that can deliver out of my hand."
Deuteronomy 32:39, KJV

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there
is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" Isaiah 46:9-10, KJV

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and
create evil: I the LORD do all these things."
Isaiah 45:7, KJV

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil
and the good." Proverbs 15:3, KJV

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and
power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11, KJV

Truly, our God is the all-powerful Lord of the Universe; and
He will indeed do all His pleasure; that is, whatsoever He
desires, regardless of what we mere humans may think, say or
do. As both King David and King Solomon tell us, God has His
appointed time for all of us; a time to be born, as well as
a time to die. All of the Lord's Divine Purposes are already
pre-established. They are all already written in His Books.
In fact, He told the Prophet Jeremiah the very same thing.
Consider the following sets of verses:

"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in
my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul
knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when
I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest
parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet
being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were
written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet
there was none of them." Psalms 139:13-16, KJV

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every
purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to
die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is
planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break
down, and a time to build up;" Ecclesiastes 3:1-3, KJV

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I
ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
Jeremiah 1:5, KJV

Thus, in my mind, there are no victims, or poor souls, but
only those people whose lives are cut short by the Lord, for
whatever His pre-ordained reasons might be. It is not my
place, or yours, to question the ways of the Lord, but only
to accept them; for as the Prophet Isaiah, the Patriarch Job
and the Apostle Paul were also inspired to write:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9, KJV

"Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, Shall he that
contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth
God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the LORD, and
said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will
lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will
not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. Then
answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and
declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?
wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?"
Job 40:1-8, KJV

"Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast
thou made me thus?" Romans 9:20, KJV

It is only in this modern world of so-called civilized men,
where people have become so spiritually blind, so callous of
heart, and so alienated from God, that they not only do not
recognize the Power, Will and Purpose of God working in each
of their lives, but they are also so lacking in godly fear
and reverence, that they foolishly and quite arrogantly try
to challenge the Almighty, or deny His existence altogether.
As if this weren't already bad enough, due to their state of
rebellion and unbelief, they attempt to attribute the Lord's
Hand of Judgment to other causes; such as to meteorological
conditions which they have dubbed as El Nino and La Nina, or
to naturally-occurring tectonic plate movement, in order to
try to escape the conviction God is trying to place upon
their wicked and rebellious hearts. Again I am reminded of
the following verses of Scripture:

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
1 Corinthians 2:14, KJV

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is
in them, because of the blindness of their heart:"
Ephesians 4:17-18, KJV

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, KJV

In stark contrast to this modern anti-god attitude, the Holy
Scriptures reveal that the ancient Israelites were very much
aware of the Lord working in their lives, down to the most
personal level. Whether a woman became pregnant or not was
viewed as being the Will of God. Whether or not the rains
came and caused the crops to grow, was viewed as being the
Will of God. Whether they were victorious or defeated in
battle was likewise viewed as being the Will of God; and
they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when things went
poorly for them, it was because they were displeasing the
Lord in some way. Consider the following words of the Lord
spoken through His Prophet, Moses:


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files.  We Use Hermes II


--- Hermes Web Tosser 1.1