Is Father Listening?

Isaiah 59
1  Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden [His] face from you, So that He will not hear.


Christians in America today are stubborn beyond all reason.  We have eyes to see but we can't discern, ears to hear but we don't understand.(Isaiah 6:9)  We've been taught our whole lives that if we trust in Jesus (Yeshua) then we are friends of God.  BFF's!  Best Friends Forever.  And this notion applies to the full spectrum of churches today.  From churches that teach that the Bible is only a collection of nice stories to the more fundamental churches that actually ask for and believe the Spirit of God shows up every Sunday to attend their services of heartfelt, emotional worship.

Unfortunately, there's no evidence. 

A pastor once told his congregation that God had, yet again, woken him up at 2am.  And after 20 minutes in prayer it was as if God had sucked all the air out of the room.  He had a hard time even finding words to describe the glorious experience.  Hmm, OK, let's see.  Is the preaching hard against sin in this church?  No. Does the preaching dig deep into the word of God? No.  Are people being healed at this church?  No.  Does this church have an active outreach program to widows? No.  Orphans? No.  Homeless? No.  Hungry? No.  Foster care system? No.  Prison? No.  Single moms? No. Do they preach the whole word of God, like keeping the Sabbath?  No.  Are all those serving in the weekly service living clean lives according to the word of God?  No.  Are the needs of the members at least being taken care of?  No.  Does the church even have a food pantry?  No.  Well, is the church being mobilized to go out and serve the community?  No.  Was the church just started yesterday?  No.  Why again was this church started? 

Ah, OK, so God shows up at 2am to give this pastor goosebumps.  Interesting.  I'm sorry to say that this was only an emotional experience.  Something may have shown up at 2am for this pastor but it certainly wasn't the God that I read about in the Bible.  "Well, how do you know, are you so holy and righteous?"  No, what I'm telling you is a fairly new revelation to me.  To my shame I have to admit that studying my Bible and living a clean life is actually a fairly recent development too.  Folks, just compare this story to the early church.  What kinds of things are described in the New Testament?  Let's see: great signs and wonders performed (even by a lowly deacon named Stephen), people being raised from the dead, all kinds of infirmities being healed. 

And today's churches?  Not so much.  Don't take my word for it.  Go online and find some random church's website in any city in the U.S.  Download and listen to the sermons.  See for yourself what the pastors are telling their congregations...and compare that to the Bible...the whole Bible.

I'm not saying that God no longer answers prayer today.  What I'm saying is that there is very little power in the church today.  So little power that the church should be seriously questioning what's going on.  But they aren't.  By and large churches in America are continuing to operate as if nothing is wrong.  All churches...from the one-hour-photo kind of churches...get in, get out, get on with your life...to the four-hour plead-before-God-until-I-get-goose-bumps-or-I-pass-out-from-exhaustion kind of churches.  


But where's the real power?  I'd like to know.  Are people being miraculously and instantly healed at your church?  Has it been verified by a doctor and published in your newspaper?  Send me the link.  Certainly such a thing is newsworthy enough to make it into a local paper.  And please don't write to tell me about the (fake) healing you see on TBN.  By their fruits you will know them.

Is God listening?  Are his mercies restrained? (Isaiah 63:15)  Is he even attending your services?  Look, I'm not seeking after a sign like a wicked generation that must see a sign before they'll believe.  My faith doesn't depend on seeing someone raised from the dead.  But I'm also not buying the line that says Mark 16 "was only for that time".  You know, these signs follow those that believe...

Maybe God isn't listening to us because we're not listening to him.  Could this possibly be talking about us?:

Zechariah 7

11  "But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.

12  "Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

13  "Therefore it happened, [that] just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts.

Is this happening today among believers?  Are God's people covering their ears so as not to hear?  Yep.  I can attest to it first hand.  I've lost friendships because people, by and large, DO NOT want to hear the word of God from the Bible unless it's about grace and peace.  Their necks are like iron sinew.(Isaiah 48:4)  They refuse to become pliable before God's instructions to us.  They are bent on going their own way.  And not only going their own way but also twisting the word of God in some cases to give themselves permission to rebel.  As if they can somehow reverse the meaning of God's words.  And these are born-again, Christ-professing Christians.

Not only is Father not listening to us, he's not showing up to our services held on his behalf. (Let that sink in for a minute.)  And not only is he not showing up, he spoke thousands of years ago to our generation, our nation,  and wondered aloud if anyone would be so bold as to lock the doors of the churches so people would stop giving him offerings in vain (Malachi 1:10)...and to stop singing to him because he won't hear the melody of our lovely stringed instruments.(Amos 5:23)  Why?  Because we're only making him more angry.  Why?  Because our worship is not the kind that he accepts.  It's polluted.  How is it polluted?  Because we are polluted. 

Multitudes come into these churches every Sunday with blood on their hands.(Malachi 2:16, Isaiah 59:3)  You treat your spouses like retched enemies.  You divorce them and then marry unbelievers.  Because of this your children are just as lost as the pagan kids across the street.(Hosea 5:7)  Your homes are dysfunctional and without true love.  You celebrate all the pagan holidays.  There's constant cursing instead of blessing.  There is very little true compassion.  You aren't feeding the hungry and caring for the widows, orphans and the downtrodden; instead you go on shopping trips to make yourself feel better.  Multitudes of men are committing adultery within their hearts on the internet...and women too...and your children, by lusting after the ritual harlots of our day.(Hosea 4:14)  And many of you are committing actual adultery and fornication and aborting your innocent ones.(Jeremiah 2:34, 19:4)  


Some of you have even made idols out of your gifts and talents...even talents performed in these very same churches.  Others of you have made idols out of your  possessions and lifestyles.  Many of you would rather waste away for hours on end in front of the TV instead of  pick up your Bible.  You are gossipping and backbiting and lying and spewing out all kinds of hatred to one another. Garbage is constantly flowing into your homes via TV, radio, internet and video games.  Some of your churches spend all your tithes (of those who actually still give tithes) on salaries and the mortgage (for a building that will soon be destroyed) and have none left over to even stock a food pantry.  Why?  What's more important: another trip to the buffet to hear Ephesians taught yet again, for the tenth time this year, or to go out into the community and serve?  And don't get me started on our pride and arrogance.  We are so hypocritical that we feel compelled to tell the world, through political demonstrations and the media, how sinful they are.  And we are so full of pride that we actually believe we will escape judgment when the Day of the Lord begins...a lie perpetuated by the false prophets of our day and believed by the church who listens to lies. (Ezekiel 13:19)

The people of God have cancer and it's being treated like a scrape on the knee (Jeremiah 6:14) by all the preachers drunk on grace (Isaiah 28) and the false "rapture" prophets of our day proclaiming peace when there will be no peace (Jeremiah 23, Ezekiel 13).  These blind teachers will receive the stricter judgment (James 3:1).  But is God blind too?  Do you really think God doesn't see all this wickedness among his people?  Do you really think none of this matters to him?

Hosea 7:2

They do not consider in their hearts [That] I remember all their wickedness; Now their own deeds have surrounded  them; They are before My face.

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the church of America is the laughing stock of the world.  And rightfully so.  And we have so little faith that when the moment of truth comes, trust in God or go with the enemy, two-thirds of us will profane the name of the Lord by going with the enemy.(Zechariah 13)  They will have survived the first fire (destruction of America) but the second fire will consume them. (Ezekiel 15:7-8)

2 Chronicles 7

13  "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,

14  "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

15  "Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer [made] in this place.

People, the judgment on America is set.  It's going to happen.  Whatever it is that blots out the sun is assuredly on its way.(Amos 8:9)  And the army from the north is being prepared for that day.(Isaiah 13:4)  However, for you, right now, there is still hope.  Do you want Father to listen to you?  Then you must listen to him and obey.  Study his word.  Repent, cast off your idols and besetting sins and live clean lives before him.  Do those things that please the Father and stop doing those things that displease him.  Only then will he hear us.

Hiroshima: BBC History of World War II

Around minute 52:

The morning sunshine was gone.  The whole city was dark and shrouded with smoke.  The streets were full of corpses. "The words 'City of Death' came to mind. There were only dead people.  We were the only living souls."

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I realize this is a very bleak topic.  I don't enjoy dwelling on this.  But I persist because I believe Father has called me to warn.  The end is coming to America.  We're told how it will end.  Please study your Bibles, people.  Don't take my word for it.  Wake up out of your sleep...out of your complacency.  The Bible gives us ample information to understand how those days play out, when Jehovah stands up to judge this world.  Please don't believe the false prophets today who are deceiving people with a message of peace (rapture) when there is no peace.

Repent now while there is time.


Amos 8:2
..."The end has come upon My people Israel*; I will not pass by them anymore.


verse 3
And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day," Says the Lord GOD--"Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in silence."


verse 9
"And it shall come to pass in that day," says the Lord GOD, "That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;


verse 10
I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only [son], And its end like a bitter day.


* Who's he talking about?


Isaiah 48:1
"Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the LORD, And make mention of the God of Israel, [But] not in truth or in righteousness;


Who came forth from the wellsprings of Judah?  Yeshua (Jesus).  The One sent after the lost of sheep of the house of Israel.  Who did he find?  The Church. (The remade vessel. Jeremiah 18:6)


Wake up, Church.  Wake up out of your complacency.  Repent, cast away your idols, and learn to do good. (Isaiah 1:17)


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Why will America be destroyed with nuclear bombs?


Besides the descriptions we're given that sound very much like a nuclear holocaust, there's a recurring theme throughout the Bible.  The way in which we choose to live turns out to be the way in which we're judged.  Those who live by the sword die by the sword.  (Matthew 26:52).  With the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)  In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow.  (Revelation 18:7)  


Ezekiel 22:31
"Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.


Ezekiel 24:14
I, the LORD, have spoken [it]; It shall come to pass, and I will do [it]; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you," Says the Lord GOD.' "

The Delusional Church

I think about things a lot. I spend most of my time in my head.  Thinking, processing, praying.

But some things I just can't shake.  And soon I find myself asking others what they think.

Lately I've been thinking a lot lately why so many people (saved people, born-again people) are dying in their prime despite countless prayers on their behalf.  Odds are you too know of some people who have passed in their 30's, 40's or 50's or are fighting for their lives.  Friends, family, loved ones.  And many of us who aren't in such dire circumstances are battling life-altering illnesses.

A friend passed recently after an agonizing eight-month battle with cancer.  She was in her 50's.  Another dear friend and godly woman recently passed suddenly in her sleep from a massive heart attack.  She too was in her 50's and left behind a young son and a husband who is now fighting brain cancer.  So I began asking some mutual friends why this is happening.  

Why is there no healing power in the church today?

The answers I got back were shocking.  A couple of individuals, who both know the people mentioned above (and attend the same church), didn't even agree with my basic question.  They felt the question wasn't even valid.  They believe there is, in fact, healing power in the church today.

And herein lies my exasperation.  What is wrong with the Church today?!?!  Have our standards sunk so low?  Or do we not even realize that this IS NOT God's plan for us?  Do we not know what his word says?  Are we not even questioning why we are not benefiting from his promises to us??

Recently a co-worker, whose husband has been battling brain cancer for a year, told another co-worker: "We just have to trust God's plan."

God's plan?!?!?!  This is somehow God's plan?  Oh how my heart breaks for the church today.

What exactly IS God's plan?

Mark 16
17  "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Exodus 15:26
and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I [am] the LORD who heals you."

But...

Psalms 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

And Isaiah, speaking of OUR DAY...

Isaiah 28:8
For all tables are full of vomit [and] filth; No place [is clean].

More Faulty Logic and Stretches of the Imagination

A reader wrote in and suggested I take a look at the following article:

http://www.bibletruth.cc/Body_AbominationofDesolation.htm

This brother believes, after having studied Daniel 12, he has unlocked the keys of prophetic scripture, allowing him to accurately pinpoint the year our Savior will return.

It didn't take too long before I stopped reading it.  Not because it wasn't well written and well thought out.  But because it was pointless to continue.  I had already found enough flaws in his argument to disregard his theory.

*  In the two examples he gave the scripture plainly states a year is for a day.  This is not the case in Daniel 12.   Using his logic means we have to apply the year for a day principle to every prophetic number of days given all throughout the Bible.  Do to so would be silly.


*  Second, we don't have accurate enough historical records to pinpoint even the year of our Lord's birth, let alone even further back in history as this author does.  God, in all his infinite wisdom, knew this would be the case.  So he gave us not one, but two distinct periods of time in our day which both point to the year Jacob's trouble will begin.


*  Third, Isaiah 28 tells us how to understand...line upon line, precept upon precept.  We have to take all the prophecies collectively.  Using one text, as this author did, is unbiblical...which is why he and everyone else has failed to this point to accurately predict when the last of the last days begins.  I was guilty of this same thing just last year.  I didn't have all the clues the Bible gives us.  The ones I had lined up with a day in 2010.  Much to my surprise the day came and went and I was left in confusion.  So I got back into the Word to see why I was wrong.  As I searched I came across some additional clues that not only contradicted the day I was looking at, but helped pinpoint the real deal.  Don't take my word for it.  Study your Bibles.


It saddens me to read his intro about the wise understanding...and then to read his article.  I was hoping he really did understand.  I'm not sure why he felt he had to write all of that about the wise understanding.

The Drought of Amos 4 Now Here?

Amos 4

7  "I also withheld rain from you, When [there were] still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered.

8  So two [or] three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.

So here we are, three months till harvest.


Is this article talking about the predicted drought we read about in Amos chapter 4?  I think it could be but it might be a tad early to say for sure.  The article gives credit for the drought to changing weather patterns.  And while that may be true on the surface, ultimately God is in control of the weather.  And the prophecies of the last days describe exactly this scenario: changing weather patterns that result in increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters.  Folks, God is trying to wake us up.  In America we have become fat (Amos 4:1, Ezekiel 16:49, Isaiah 5:17, 10:16) and complacent...and polluted.  Our sins are at a level unprecedented in recent history and we are failing to do those things that God says he cares about; like feeding the hungry and helping the down-trodden.  We live in our own little bubble.

So how do I know Amos 4 is talking about America?  Look at verse 11.  "I overthrew some of you as Sodom and Gomorrah."  People, this is a future prophecy and it fits the same pattern that all the prophets describe.  When the Lord stands up to judge, one nation in particular will be completely destroyed like Sodom was.  It will be the nation where the majority of his people are congregated.  It will be the nation the Lord has blessed because of his people...or in spite of them.  (Micah 6:5, Numbers 22:12)  And that nation is America, called Babylon in the Bible. (The blessing given to Manasseh, reverberating down throughout history to become a singular great nation.)  But what has America become?  A dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! (Revelation 18:2)


Look at the context of Amos 4.  Go all the way back to chapter 1.  Do you see all the judgments being spoken against all the different people groups?  That is the Day of the Lord (ie. the tribulation) beginning.  Now look at chapter two when he begins talking about his people.  First he lists Judah, then he begins discussing Israel.  If you notice, God seems especially disappointed with Israel.  Why is that?  To whom much is given much is required.  Judah refers to the Jews...the house of Judah. But Israel (the lost sheep..the lost tribes) was given Yeshua (Jesus).  The house of Israel is Jeremiah 18's lump of clay that God said he had to remake into a different vessel.  Israel is now called the Church. (Galatians 6:16, Romans 9).

Amos 3:2

"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

So who does God know as his people?  The house of Judah and the house of Israel.  If you still think Israel is not the Church then you have to confess that God doesn't know the Church.  "You only have I known."  Where did the Church come from?  Yeshua.  Where did Yeshua come from?  The tribe of Judah.

Isaiah 48:1

"Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the LORD, And make mention of the God of Israel, [But] not in truth or in righteousness;

Not in truth or righteousness.

That pretty much sums up the condition of the Church today.  We are polluted and we don't walk in the whole truth of God...we only walk in part of truth...the rest is ignored, discarded.

Amos 3:3  ...You want me to rapture you?  Uh, sorry, we're not in agreement.  I'm holy and righteous and just and you are polluted.  You want me to reward you for bad behavior?  What would the world think about that?  You think I'm going to reward all my people for living in gross sin and blatantly disobeying My word?  I don't think so.

"But God, we call upon your great name.  We believed on you so we're saved."  Yes, but where's the proof of your salvation? Isn’t faith without works dead? You act just like the world.  Wasn't my saving grace supposed to create in you a clean heart and a clean life?  But you are wallowing around in the pig pen, prodigal.  You eat and drink filth constantly, in body, soul and mind.  Didn't I tell you that you are the temple of God?  Why are you so polluted?  And why aren't you studying My word?  And why aren't you doing those things that please Me?  No, I'm sorry, we can't walk together yet, we're not in agreement.  You have to learn some things first.  Just like the king of Daniel 4 had to learn about Me, so you too have to learn about me. Just as he was lifted up in pride and arrogance of heart, so you too are lifted up.  Just as he was lifted up in all his great power and wealth, so too are my people in America lifted up.  You must be abased.  You must be humbled.


And lo and behold, look what happens after America is destroyed and we return to the land of our inheritance and experience some tribulation:


Zechariah 8:8
I will bring them [back], And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.'

By the time we get to chapter four, the details get very specific.  These are the wake-up calls God is going to send among his people:

* Cleanness of teeth in all your cities. (Sounds like empty grocery store shelves for a time.)

* Drought

* Crops destroyed by blight, mildew and locusts.

* A plague similar to Egypt's death of the first born of man and beast.

* Overthrown like Sodom (see Revelation 18)...the first fire.

* Finally death to those who persist in unfaithfulness (Ezekiel 15:7-8)...the second fire...the Battle of Gog/Magog.

Zechariah 13 tells us two thirds of those whom God preserves out of the first fire will fall victim to the second fire.  Prepare to meet your Maker O house of Israel.  These two thirds who persisted in unfaithfulness will not survive the second fire.  But what about the other one third?  Open the gates that the righteous nation that keeps truth may enter in.  They cross over the Jordan River and enter the land of our inheritance.  Then what happens?  "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh".  Then what happens? Seven times will pass over them until they learn who their God really is and that he gives his dominion to whomever he pleases. (Daniel 4) 

Get ready, people.  Wake up out of your complacency.  We are entering the final phase; his last wake-up calls.  Repent now and let faithfulness and good works be your legacy.


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Update: 8/4/2011
The drought persists...


8  So two [or] three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.

"Some residents wonder if the National Guard can haul in water."
" The city of Llano already has contacted bottled water distributors about supplying residents with bottles for cooking and drinking ..."
http://news.yahoo.com/forecasters-drought-may-persist-another-210555620.html

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Update: 3/1/2012

Images Reveal California's Worsening Drought

by Tom Niziol, Winter Weather Expert

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/california-drought-conditions-worsen_2012-02-27