May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day, if you are a Republican.

Happy Partner's Day, if you are a Democrat.

Earlier this past week, North Carolina became the 30th state to pass a constitutional amendment affirming a biblical definition of marriage. This caused VP Joe Biden to take a stand in the opposite position. This, in turn, forced President Obama to gingerly take the same stand.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-05-09/obama-gay-marriage-election/54866752/1

So what is going on with this? Isaiah tells us that this is one of the marks of Israel. That is unfortunate, but true. Isaiah 1:9, 10 says,

(9) Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. (10) Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, Gen. 19:5 shows that Sodom and Gomorrah were known for their traffic in opium and their homosexuality.

"Righteous Lot" is a type of the Church living in Sodom. He chose that area in order to enjoy its economic benefits. Abraham is a type of the overcoming remnant, which is the primary theme of Isaiah's prophecies. Abraham interceded for Sodom, and if there had been even ten righteous men there (as a remnant of grace), the city would have been spared. However, they were not there.

Isaiah compares Israel to Sodom, but he makes one distinction. He implies that there was indeed a remnant in Israel, whereas there was none in Sodom. For that reason, Sodom was destroyed by fire.

God promised a remnant would remain in Israel, and that it is because of the remnant that the nation would not be utterly destroyed. Hence, the fire that is coming upon America will not destroy it as it did Sodom. The fire will be the baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit that will completely transform the nation into the righteous nation that God has called it to be.

It is not so much the existence of the remnant that is important, but the fact that they fulfill the remnant calling. That calling is to pray, intercede, and engage in spiritual warfare until the Holy Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. This is precisely what we (as aspiring overcomers) have attempted to do, for this is what we believe the remnant is called to do.

If we believe that we are overcomers, then we ought to do the work that they are called to do. Many claim to be overcomers, but they do not do what overcomers are called to do. Claims are meaningless. Let's claim less and do more.

Abraham and his 318 men (Gen. 14:14) were types of the overcoming remnant. Sodom was destroyed, essentially because they did not live in Sodom. We have the advantage, however, because every modern Israelite nation has a remnant of grace in it. De Toqueville noticed this in the early 1800's and attributed America's greatness to it. I recall also in my early life an African preacher who visited America and came to the same conclusion, because he found at least ten believers in every city where he went.

The Western nations were established by the ex-Israelites of the dispersion, when they migrated north and west when Assyria collapsed. The Assyrian records, many which were discovered when Nineveh was excavated in the year 1900, refer to those ex-Israelites as Gimirri, or Ghomri, Khumri, or even Humria. We know them today as the Celts.

The Persian records of Darius, written on his tomb at Behistun, translate Gimirri into two other languages by the terms Saka and Sakka. The Greek historians spelled it Sacae, Skuths, and Scythians. The Roman historians spelled it Saxons.

These are the people who founded the Western nations, now known as Sodom and the center of Babylonian culture and finances.

Isaiah points out their faults but also their strength. Their fault is their rebellion against the laws of God, and so the prophet says, "give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

Their strength is the overcoming remnant, whose intercession is guaranteed by the prophetic word to bring about real "change" in the hearts of the people. A national repentance is coming, but not before we have fully proven that we are Sodom.

It was necessary, therefore, that President Obama should be the spokesman that reveals the lawless heart of the nation. All things must be exposed, and we must testify against ourselves in the divine court one way or another.

For most people, the solution is to vote. The problem with voting is that ungodly men in hidden positions of power control both of the major political parties. Hence, we are told to vote for one oftheir choices. We get to choose whether we want immorality or endless war and torture. We can vote for the Whore Party or the War Party. Frankly, I don't like either choice, and I prefer not to play their little game of voting for the lesser of two evils.

As aspiring overcomers, we search for God's answer in the word. We step back and look at the bigger picture to see what God is doing in the earth. He has presented His law as the standard of righteous behavior. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, so that we know how to apply that law by the mind of Christ.

Homosexual behavior is still sin by biblical definition, even if some try to find a way to reinterpret Scripture to affirm their lawlessness. The law of God calls it an abomination, or an abhorrance (Lev. 18:22; 20:13). Paul upheld the law in Romans 1:24-32, calling it "vile affections," or "passions of infamy" (Bullinger).

Many in the Church have cast aside the law in their theology. Most, however, contradict their own theology by affirming certain laws as having relevance today. The problem is that when they come to laws that they do not understand, or that they find disagreeable, they feel free to cast them aside and keep only the ones that agree with their flesh.

I find this to be hypocritical and inconsistent. James says that if we are guilty of violating one law, we are guilty of violating ALL of them (James 2:10). It is hypocritical, in other words, to take a stand against homosexual marriage, while practicing the sin of usury. How can we denounce fornication while supporting the prison system? We either agree with God or not. This Laodicean luke-warm theology is unacceptable to God (Rev. 3:15).

Let us be either hot or cold. If we are against God's law, then let us rejoice at the President's affirmation of homosexual marriage. If we take God's side in this matter, then let us live by "every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). As much as I despise the lawlessness of the Whore Party, I think the hypocrisy of the War Party is worse.

We are no different from Israel and Judah in ancient times. Israel was the Whore Nation in those days. See the prophecy of Hosea. Judah was the hypocritical nation, pretending to be believers, but engaging in secret lawlessness. See Jeremiah 7. So what was God's verdict? Jer. 3:11 says,

(11) And the Lord said unto me, "The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah."

America as a nation is Israel, the harlot who advertises her wares. The Church is Judah, the secret harlot behind closed doors. It is only the overcoming remnant that makes the difference between national destruction and national salvation. Isaiah makes that very clear.

(Perhaps I should re-read the book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." I don't mean to be insulting. I was just reporting on the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah.)