What Have We Done?
by Bill Rudge
We are at a pivotal point in the history of this nation and world. The mounting sins of those who refuse to repent are about to result in an outpouring of divine wrath upon the earth –– a time of severe testing and intense judgment.
As at the time of Noah and other flashpoints of judgment in history, the cup of abominations is nearing the rim. Divine patience is almost exhausted and judgment is about to overtake the earth, which is ripe for the day of God's vengeance as prophesied by the Hebrew prophets and book of Revelation thousands of years ago. The cup of His wrath will soon be poured out full strength on a rebellious world that has denied Him, mocked Him, and flaunted their wickedness in His face.
Let us take a brief look at what God intended – and what we have done instead.
-The Creator revealed Himself in Scripture as the only God, but the world has refused to give Him that honor and instead prefers many gods –– or no God.
-He tells us not to take His name in vain, but in most movies and conversations, His name is profaned.
-He intended marital purity between one man and one woman and commanded us not to commit adultery, but sexual immorality and every perversion imaginable is rampant.
-He is the author of life and forms the baby in its mother's womb, but millions are aborted every year.
-He tells us that life is precious and that we should love our enemies, but the world is filled with violence and bloodshed. Some who claim to oppose violence choose to save a seal and kill a baby or place the greatest blame on those who are most justified in using force, like law enforcement and soldiers fighting for a just cause.
-He tells us not to steal or bear false witness, but thefts and deception permeate our society and far too many corporate, political, and religious leaders are corrupt.
It seems anything that mocks God's Word and Jesus Christ is being embraced today. This generation is willing to accept and tolerate virtually any belief or behavior –– except allegiance to the biblical Jesus Christ and living by the truth and principles of Scripture. No wonder the book of Revelation reveals end time believers will be persecuted because of their testimony for Jesus and the Word of God.
Even in the midst of God's judgment being poured out during the Tribulation period, He will extend mercy to those who repent. Although Scripture indicates the majority of people on earth will refuse to repent, and instead, curse His name, there will be the greatest revival in history as millions of Jews and Gentiles come to faith in Jesus Christ, and in spite of fierce persecution, proclaim His Gospel throughout the whole world.
Blessings Because of Obedience and Curses for Disobedience
America has been the most blessed nation in the history of the world, but what is happening as we experience one calamity after another? Deuteronomy 28 –– although initially written millennia ago for Israel –– provides amazing insight for America now.
Read the following excerpts of Deuteronomy 28 as your Bible study today, and you will know what the focus of your prayer time needs to be.
Blessings for Obedience
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you.
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.
The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity –– in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground.
The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail.
If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
Curses for Disobedience
However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.
The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad.
The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees He gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you.
The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. They will devour your livestock and the crops of your land. They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land.
If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name –– the LORD your God –– the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.
Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods –– gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. Among those nations you will find no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.
You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"–– because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.
