"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.... Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
"Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive.... And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.... All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us." (from the prophecy of Amos)
Recently, a Christian brother rebuked me, concerning an essay I posted on this blog (in which I pointed out the hypocrisy of those that refer to themselves as "holiness" churches, whilst they enforce policies and practices that are decidedly "unholy"). He privately wrote to me, saying: "Your passionate delivery seems cruel and pious.... I am...taken aback by your use of force."
"Whatever 'force' there may be, in that essay," I replied, "derives from the truth of what I wrote ~ and not from any kind of innuendo or ad hominem attacks ~ of which there was none of that in my blog." That was several weeks ago. I haven't heard a word from him since. Rebuked and disfellowshipped for speaking the truth. It's not the first time...
"Whatever 'force' there may be, in that essay," I replied, "derives from the truth of what I wrote ~ and not from any kind of innuendo or ad hominem attacks ~ of which there was none of that in my blog." That was several weeks ago. I haven't heard a word from him since. Rebuked and disfellowshipped for speaking the truth. It's not the first time...
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Today, I learned that the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) presented written and oral arguments to the United Nations Human Rights Council "on behalf of Christians facing genocide in the Middle East." In an article titled, "Defending Christians at the U.N." (at the ACLJ's website, here), an excerpt of those arguments appears, as follows:
"We got the report of a Christian Syrian woman who saw 'Christians being killed and tortured, and...children being beheaded in front of their parents'. She said, '250 children...were put in the dough mixer, they were kneaded.... ISIS tortured a boy while demanding his father and two others renounce Christianity, before executing all four by crucifixion. Eight Christian women were publicly raped and beheaded. There are 'mass graves of Christians'."
I wrestled with the decision whether to use the image which appears at the top of this post. Yet, there are even more shocking images which show not men who are about to be martyred, but there are thousands of photographs of children who actually were martyred. It is heart-wrenching, and sobering, to say the very least, to see such images. (You can go to the link here, and type in "murdered christian children.")
We are living in the days of the Fifth Seal
Astounding to behold! there are very few Bible prophecy teachers who perceive that that is the reality! But why do others not see that?! It is because that most are blind ~ not merely to the deeper things of God's Word, but to the bare historical, statistical facts! During the last century (20th), more Christians were martyred than during any other century since the time of Christ! But wait! the rate at which Christians have been murdered, since the beginning of this century, is more than double the rate of the past century! Even as I'm writing this essay ~ Christians are being killed at the rate of about one every five minutes!! (source, here)
Still, the rate at which Christians are being killed, worldwide, is rapidly increasing:
"The 2016 World Watch List documents an unprecedented escalation of violence against Christians, making this past year the most violent and sustained attack on Christian faith in modern history," Open Doors CEO David Curry explained at a Wednesday press conference introducing the report. 'This research has concluded that after the brutal persecution of Christians in 2014, 2015 proved to be even worse with the persecution continuing to increase, intensify and spread across the globe." (source, here)
We are ~ right now ~ in the midst of that time (just prior to the Rapture) which is, in fact (just as the Bible foretold that it would be), characterized by unprecedented persecution and martyrdom of Christians.
But what are the churches in America doing? For the most part, they are doing pretend church. In my recent essay titled, "unholy," I related a personal experience involving my fifteen-year old daughter, who was not allowed to join the youth choir (at a "holiness Pentecostal" church) ~ because, she wears makeup. In their judgment (as I infer from their published literature, and from their actions), such 'unholy' conduct, on the part of my daughter, would profane the holiness of God in the church ~ were she allowed to "minister" with the youth choir during "service." Although ~ at all other times and in all other settings, her participation with the youth group is evidently not a problem at all.
That is just one, true example I chose to illustrate how petty and narrow-minded, how devoid of understanding and ~ dare I say? ~ how contrary to the Spirit of Christ ~ most churches in America have become. Whilst hundreds and hundreds-of-thousands! of Christians, including little children! have been, and yet are being, tortured and slaughtered, for their allegiance to Christ! Multitudes of whom were first given the opportunity to renounce their profession of faith in Christ ~ full well knowing the consequences, if they did not renounce Jesus. Full well knowing that they had, then and there, to make their choice: either to renounce Christ, in which case they might be spared death; or, else, to cling to Christ, in which case they would surely die ~ but be spared eternal hell and separation from Christ.
Pretend church. Not at 9:20am, on a Sunday morning. But 11:00am sharp. And don't go much past noon; otherwise, a lot of rumbly tummies will begin to be heard above the preaching. Pretend church ~ where everyone (almost) is willing to raise their hands to God, and sing out loud the songs of Zion, and pray, and listen (or at least sit quietly) while someone speaks to them about spiritual matters. Whereas, outside of "church," most of those same people are too embarrassed to raise their hands and sing unto God, or to pray ~ even in the privacy of their own homes! much less are they willing to be seen doing anything like that in public. And do they demonstrate any real interest to discourse about spiritual matters, outside of church? You can talk to such people about most anything at all ~ except, spiritual matters. For most churchgoers in America, it is a road too far, to close their eyes and bow their head, to give thanks to God for their food, in a restaurant.
Meanwhile, in many other places outside of America, Moms and Dads, young men and young ladies, and even little children, solemnly close their eyes and bow their heads ~ to the sword. And they do that openly, for all the world to see (if only they would).
Today is a Tuesday. Which means that, in America, most of the pretend churches will be closed.
Nevertheless, today, this very day, there will be a baptismal service ~ probably somewhere in the Middle East: where the earth is to be baptized in the Martyrs' blood.
Maybe, I'll be getting another text pretty soon, from some brother who thinks that, once again, my "delivery seems cruel and pious." And, how dare I use such force? ~ to call the Church to repentance. Oh, God! and with rivers of tears!
But what are the churches in America doing? For the most part, they are doing pretend church. In my recent essay titled, "unholy," I related a personal experience involving my fifteen-year old daughter, who was not allowed to join the youth choir (at a "holiness Pentecostal" church) ~ because, she wears makeup. In their judgment (as I infer from their published literature, and from their actions), such 'unholy' conduct, on the part of my daughter, would profane the holiness of God in the church ~ were she allowed to "minister" with the youth choir during "service." Although ~ at all other times and in all other settings, her participation with the youth group is evidently not a problem at all.
That is just one, true example I chose to illustrate how petty and narrow-minded, how devoid of understanding and ~ dare I say? ~ how contrary to the Spirit of Christ ~ most churches in America have become. Whilst hundreds and hundreds-of-thousands! of Christians, including little children! have been, and yet are being, tortured and slaughtered, for their allegiance to Christ! Multitudes of whom were first given the opportunity to renounce their profession of faith in Christ ~ full well knowing the consequences, if they did not renounce Jesus. Full well knowing that they had, then and there, to make their choice: either to renounce Christ, in which case they might be spared death; or, else, to cling to Christ, in which case they would surely die ~ but be spared eternal hell and separation from Christ.
Pretend church. Not at 9:20am, on a Sunday morning. But 11:00am sharp. And don't go much past noon; otherwise, a lot of rumbly tummies will begin to be heard above the preaching. Pretend church ~ where everyone (almost) is willing to raise their hands to God, and sing out loud the songs of Zion, and pray, and listen (or at least sit quietly) while someone speaks to them about spiritual matters. Whereas, outside of "church," most of those same people are too embarrassed to raise their hands and sing unto God, or to pray ~ even in the privacy of their own homes! much less are they willing to be seen doing anything like that in public. And do they demonstrate any real interest to discourse about spiritual matters, outside of church? You can talk to such people about most anything at all ~ except, spiritual matters. For most churchgoers in America, it is a road too far, to close their eyes and bow their head, to give thanks to God for their food, in a restaurant.
Meanwhile, in many other places outside of America, Moms and Dads, young men and young ladies, and even little children, solemnly close their eyes and bow their heads ~ to the sword. And they do that openly, for all the world to see (if only they would).
Today is a Tuesday. Which means that, in America, most of the pretend churches will be closed.
Nevertheless, today, this very day, there will be a baptismal service ~ probably somewhere in the Middle East: where the earth is to be baptized in the Martyrs' blood.
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