God our Saviour, too

 “...shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” (Titus 2:10).

Nevertheless, Christ showed us in this 4th promise from the Mount of Blessing that before we can come to Him, we must follow after righteousness, that is, we must follow the Law of God. It may seem counter-intuitive to come to the Law before we can come to Jesus; but that is God’s sole method for our salvation, as revealed in the Bible. Then, when we are reconciled to Jesus, He brings us to be reconciled to the Father and His Law. “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me,” Christ said. (Jn. 6:37). “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:23-26). “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.” (Jn. 6:53). “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10).

Are you having a hard time coming to Jesus? Are you not surrendered to Him like you want to be? Have you tried the law, the word of God? There, you will find plenty of firepower to propel you to the Savior’s feet. Are you burdened down with the conviction of sin because you’ve gone to the Bible and haven’t seen the love of Jesus shining out of it, enough to arrest your attention from the world’s business? Is it possible that you aren’t really reading the Bible, communing with God through it? When a person is hungry enough he will go in search of food. When a sinner is desperately hungry for a Savior from sin’s power and guilt, then the Holy Spirit will reveal Him. Christ is the rewarder of all who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6). When we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him and His love all through the Bible. The words from God will truly become the joy and rejoicing of our hearts. All who seek out the love of God as manifested in His Son, will be given as much as they can take. Nothing will be withheld from the soul who genuinely desires a Friend in his Mediator. The longer one spends sinking the shaft deeper into the mine of truth and grace, the clearer views of Jesus and His love will be seen. This will be our happy study through all eternity.

What does the Bible say about gun control?

“For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.” (Isa. 9:5).

America has an amazing system of government. The U.S. Constitution is a document like no other for balance of power, disconnection from religion, for rights of the people, for power of government residing in the governed.

The second amendment of the Bill of Rights gives the people the right to bear arms, or to carry a fire-arm. The purpose of this freedom wasn’t for the right to hunt—that was already a right. Much more than today, hunting was a staple in the 1700s. The second amendment was for protecting the people from a run amuck dictatorship government. Everyone had guns in those days, and the right to carry a weapon would create a real discouragement for a dictator to send armies throughout the land. Even today, a dictatorship doesn’t come about in any country until the dictator removes all weapons from the masses. The dictatorship would be entrenched in a stalemate against the people if the people had fire arms and ammunition. But, the second amendment is under fire now, and I suspect one day it will be rescinded. Not too long ago some government department ordered a million rounds of ammunition.

https://offgridsurvival.com/dhsammopurchase/

“The Department of Homeland Security has placed yet another solicitation for millions of rounds of ammunition. Late last year we outlined a number of large ammo purchases from DHS, including one for 750 million rounds of high-power ammunition and another large-scale procurement of 450 million rounds of .40 caliber hollow point ammo from Alliant Techsystems.

The newest bid for ammo requests 10 million .40 caliber 165 Grain, jacketed Hollow point bullets; 10 million 9mm 115 grain, jacketed hollow points; and 1.6 million 9mm ball bullets. That means in the last 10 months, the department of Homeland security has requested over  1.625 billion rounds of ammunition.”

Such a situation shows how a constitutional right can remain in place, yet due to a political maneuver, that right can be essentially nullified.

Should the issue of Constitutional gun rights vs. government undercutting gun rights be of concern to a Christian? Should a person fight for that right who is looking for and hastening the coming of the day of Jesus Christ in power and great glory? Pardon the pun, but this is probably a loaded issue full of incendiary filibusters.

Nevertheless, the Bible has much counsel for this subject.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: 

Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” (1Pet. 2:9-11).

Before we look more closely at this text, just as an aside, might the phrase, “shew forth the praises of Him” hark back to 2Chron. 20:15,17? “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s…. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.”

So what did Jehoshaphat do? With great comfort and confidence from the words of Jehovah’s prophet, he did an astonishing thing. He put singers, instead of archers, in front of the armies of Israel.

“And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 

And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 

And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper. 

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for His mercy endureth for ever.” (2Chron. 20:18-21).

What else does Peter say that might steer the Christian away from gun use? Wouldn’t “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” give the strong impression that we have been called out of darkness to function as priests, holy and different from the rest of the common world?

I’ve had this discussion with a friend and he objected with Luke 22, verses 36 and 38.

“Then said He [Jesus] unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one^(G3162). 

For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in Me, And He was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning Me have an end. 

And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords^G3162. And He said unto them, It is enough.” (Luke 22:36-38).

I am surprised to find that the swords Jesus apparently approved of were the same size weapon that the Roman soldiers carried as they policed the whole empire.

“For he [the ruler/magistrate] is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword^G3162 in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” (Rom. 13:4).

But, my question about Luke 22:36 is, Why then did Jesus say in Luke 22:35 that when He sent the disciples out during His ministry, they were not to take a sword? Did a sword misrepresent His mission as the Holy One/ Messiah? Would carrying swords have given the wrong impression to a nation that had long been chomping at the bit to rise up against the Roman soldiers and to overthrow the empire?

“At the time of the birth of Christ the nation was chafing under the rule of her foreign masters, and racked with internal strife. The Jews had been permitted to maintain the form of a separate government; but nothing could disguise the fact that they were under the Roman yoke, or reconcile them to the restriction of their power.” Desire of Ages, p. 30.

Wouldn’t swords have forced the Roman military to suspect a rising sedition and to promptly end Christ’s ministry? Howbeit, Christ never needed a sword for His work, and never resorted to earthly weapons. His weapons of war were not “carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2Cor. 10:4,5).

Neither did Jesus “wrestle … against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12).

Given all of the above, swords need to be out of the question during Christ’s ministry to reconcile the hallowed Father and the unholy human race. When one looks at the grand theme of redemption from Genesis to Revelation and takes in the scope of a heavenly sanctuary for the dispensation of the Spirit of God for our rebirth, where does an earthly toy have a place in the continuing work of the Messiah, the God of His grand universe, and the great controversy between Christ and Satan?

From heaven’s perspective, what changed between Christ’s two ministries, His 3 ½ year earthly ministry and His 2,000 year heavenly ministry since He ascended to the heavenly sanctuary? Should earth’s perspective of warfare enter into the equation? If Jesus taught His disciples that he who saves his life shall lose his life, then, after Jesus left the earth, should His disciples have renounced that lesson, and donned swords?

“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matt. 16:24,25).

Should the above principles cease to be central to the gospel?

“Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” (Matt. 27:41,42). What if Jesus had saved Himself? Would there be any hope for the human race? No. He could not save Himself because His single greatest desire was to save us from our sins.

Jesus could have called on 12 legions of angels, none bearing their swords in vain. But that would have ended the plan of salvation and given Satan the victory over the human race.

Then, why did Jesus, the God of the Old Testament, authorize Israel to bear a sword.

“They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.” (Neh. 4:17,18).

“Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: my goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.” (Ps. 144:1,2).

“It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. 

He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. 

He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.” (Ps. 18:32-24).

But, the next verses shows that David wasn’t a warmonger.

“Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great.” (Ps. 18:35).

“Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! 

My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. 

I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” (Ps. 120:5-7).

Joab couldn’t conceive of such an army of war and peace, of deterrence being the motive for war. He was a warmonger and thrived on killing, finally ending his long career as destroyer by an early death. See 1Kings 2:30-34.

Solomon knew his father, and the mixture of truth and grace in his father’s heart that enabled David to make correct international policy and right decisions in state and religion matters.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:... 
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;…

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;…

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” (Ecc. 3:1,2,3,5,8).

Yet, even with Solomon’s balance of justice and mercy, there was an extra leaning to the side of mercy. Being that we have all been “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) and all naturally tending to vengeance, we would all do well to adhere to this bit of wisdom:

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Prov. 16:32).

Sword bearing was seen in godly men such as the judges of Israel, even by Samuel when Saul lost the ability to render due justice upon the malicious Amalekites.

“Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.” (1Sam. 15:32,33).

But, is Samuel’s use of justice and vengeance different from the cry we hear today of a potential future run a muck dictator that would require a need for the second amendment? Is today’s defense of the second amendment along the same lines of the work that Oliver Cromwell did in England to free his Protestant nation from popish rule? Samuel’s dispensing of justice was an act of the state, not of an individual. Do you have the qualifications for the act of executing an enemy that Samuel had. How many of the present generation of baby-boomers and gen-Xers have his qualifications? Our Protestant nation is fearfully corrupted and weakened, and swaying, soon to fall over drunken.

True, the U.S. Constitution is already in the throes of being overthrown. We have already lost half of the Bill of Rights, haven’t we? Should we take up arms, take over the government, and clean up our society and government actions in Cromwell style, who said, “Keep your faith in God, but keep your powder dry”?

Should we turn our farm implements into weapons and bring on Armageddon?

Would that really fix our problems as happened for the early judges and King David, or would we end up worse off than the later Israel did under the supposed “holy” Maccabean Revolt—with a Roman crackdown such as we have never seen?

When a people are no longer worthy of God’s blessing

“How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” (2Sam. 1:27).

“For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood.” (Isa. 9:5).

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 

And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.…

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Gen. 6:5-7,11-13).

Anarchy, chaos, violence, cruelty, self-indulgence, selfishness, self-exaltation, giant intellect for committing the greatest evil and calculating the most grievous of tortures. These are the words that describe the end of the pre-flood race of Adam made in God’s image.

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 

They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30).

Jesus prophesied of a repeat of the antediluvian giants of evil.

Americans have a Bill of Rights. It contains special liberties guaranteed to every citizen. Those freedoms have exalted America in the world. It has made us a powerful nation with a powerful draw to the people every other nation, especially from the Jesuit created, despotic countries. But, freedom is a privilege that God gives to those who obey Him. Obedience to God leads to self-sacrificing love for Him and His family. His privileges go to a nation that has His Law written in their hearts, to a people who have suffered for His name, and have surrendered to His condemnation and grace. Thus, they receive His gift of a new heart and of His Spirit newly quickening their dead spirit. They receive the “Spirit of His Son”, crying, “Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6). They receive the Word made flesh, Jesus in Spirit, through His holy Writ. The principles of righteousness are imparted and infused into their characters. They rise to walk in newness of life. They represent Him in all that they think and say and do. They glorify God through their Lord Jesus Christ, individually, and especially in a group.

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34).

But, few among Protestant America have really had this experience, and the remnant of Protestant America is growing very small. Therefore, but few today are worthy of the privileges promised to the sons of God. Protestant America is definitely repeating the history of ancient Israel.

We, as a nation, have betrayed our God of the Reformation. We have left His righteous Law and religion and Holy Scriptures, and have followed after the ways of the heathen, especially Catholic Europe. God is no respecter of persons or of nations. If His people fail to uphold His righteousness in the earth, then He takes away their privilege of self-government. That is what He did in the past, and it is what He is doing today to Protestant America.

His warnings to the northern kingdom of Israel:

“Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 

And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 

And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 

And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.” (Isa. 5:1-7).

“And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 

And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” (Isa. 6:9-13).

“The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 

And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.” (Isa. 7:17-19).

His warning to the southern kingdom of Judah:

“The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew Me not: the pastors also transgressed against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. 

Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead. 

For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 

Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. 

For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.…

Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts….

Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me? 

For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord GOD.” (Jer. 2:8-11,19,21,22).

“The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. 

And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto Me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 

And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. 

And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.” (Jer. 3:6-10).

“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against Me, saith the LORD…. 

Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. 

Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 

And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.” (Jer. 5:11,15-17).

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” (Dan. 9:24).

Both northern and southern kingdoms of Israel were severely punished, and eventually cut off. Yet, for centuries the Lord Jesus remonstrated with each kingdom. With mercy He anew set the old boundaries again and again. But, to no avail.

“What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? 

As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 

Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 

But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 

And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 

And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 

He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 

Hath walked in My statutes, and hath kept My judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.” (Eze. 18:2-9).

“If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 

And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, 

Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 

Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.” (Eze. 18:1-13).

“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 

All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 

Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” (Eze. 18:21-23).

We, Protestant Americans, were a righteous nation during our difficult colonial days. We grew up on the King James Bible. An abundance of idiomatic expressions from that Version are, to this day, still used in our conversations: Job’s “skin of my teeth”; the prodigal son home again, “safe and sound”; Balaam falling “flat on his face” before the angel with drawn sword; Jesus in the garden praying “a stone’s throw” distance from His disciples; etc. Although so many millions of atheists hate to acknowledge it today, these phrases are a witness against them of a holier time in American history.

The Lord rewarded the Protestant colonialists with peace and protection. Have we recognized that divine act of love? Or have we done like atheistic Israel in the past? The reward of peace and protection has continued down to our generation not due to our cleverness and technology, but because of the faithfulness of our forefathers to the living God.

“For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. 

He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. 

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 

So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. 

He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and He made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; 

Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.” (Deut. 32:9-14).

But, the whole tone turns after the 14th verse of Deuteronomy 32.

“But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation….” (Deut. 32:15).

“When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” (Eze. 18:24).

That curse that was pronounced upon Israel is about to be pronounced upon America.

 “But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 

They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him to anger. 

They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 

Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 

And when the LORD saw it, He abhorred them, because of the provoking of His sons, and of His daughters. 

And He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. 

They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 

For a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 

I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them. 

They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. 

The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. 

I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men.” (Deut. 32:15-26).

When a nation no longer orders its operations aright then it can no longer responsibly receive God’s gifts. Whenever a people that He has graciously brought to Himself and raised it up to be a blessing and to glorify Him in the world, and then their later generations find pleasure only in the gifts of God without being a blessing, then that nation no longer deserves the privileges and gifts of God. The priveleges come and go with the responsibilities. This doesn’t make them slaves to His every whim, because all that He asks to bring Him glory is to love each other and to respect and take care of each other.

This was the case with ancient Israel. Sacred history is plain for any honest soul to see that God took away every right even the right of national sovereignty. He took away every privilege and gift, even the gift of life. He removed their right to defend, their right to fight. The dispossessing of blessings was not an instant, out of the blue, event. Jehovah gave the people many warnings and appeals through men who endangered their lives to give those messages. Many prophets lost their lives. But, they were glad to pour out their heart that if it might turn their beloved nation back to their Creator and Redeeming King.

It took centuries and generations before the Lord brought His punishment against them. He removed their privileges slowly, always with many warnings of more privileges to go away. But, those warnings were very descriptive of the punishment that still lingered. And they were not empty threats. They always eventually arrived. In the case of Isaiah’s day, the ruthless Assyrians came down and took away the child sacrificing, wicked northern kingdom of Israel. A century later, after Jeremiah’s long ministry of condemnation and warning, the Babylonians came against the Jews for all the wickedness they copied from their northern brethren and their neighboring cousin nations. He calls it His strange act because it was long in coming and because punishment and desolation are not commonly His action, neither is it ever His pleasure.

“Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death [flagrant transgression of every holy statute], and with hell are we at agreement [spiritualism and necromancy]; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tried Stone, a precious Corner Stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 

Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 

And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 

From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 

For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. 

For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act. 

Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. 

Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.” (Isa. 28:15-23).

After Moses, almost a thousand years of grace passed before they had learned of Jehovah’s readiness to police His holy land.

“Ye shall keep My sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD. 

If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; 

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 

And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 

And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. 

And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 

And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 

For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you. 

And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. 

And I will set My tabernacle among you: and My soul shall not abhor you. 

And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be My people. 

I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.” (Lev. 26:2-13).

A beautiful picture painted of the children of Israel and of colonial America! But, would they, would we, hold the beginning of our confidence in Jesus steadfast to the end? Is Protestant America keeping faith today? No. We have broken our covenant with Him. Therefore, the curses from the past abide on our heads.

“But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; 

And if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but that ye break My covenant: 

I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 

And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 

And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 

And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 

And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 

And if ye walk contrary unto Me, and will not hearken unto Me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 

I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. 

And if ye will not be reformed by Me by these things, but will walk contrary unto Me; 

Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 

And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of My covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 

And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. 

And if ye will not for all this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; 

Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 

And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 

And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 

And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. 

And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 

And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. 

Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 

As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 

And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. 

And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 

And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 

And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 

If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary unto Me; 

And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: 

Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 

The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised My judgments, and because their soul abhorred My statutes.” (Lev. 26:14-43).

It is not without a massive storm of punishment from our old enemy from the Dark Ages, who proved itself the enemy of Jesus. We have returned to the enemy of God, thus making ourselves God’s enemy. What will God do with His sworn enemy? He will let that enemy on the banks of the Tiber River take over the country that He gave us for the Protestant faithfulness of the 16th century. We have for a long time warranted punishment such as Judah and Israel received from the Lord’s hand. Protestant America is the descendant of the mighty and holy people of the Bible, “remnant of her seed” (Rev. 12:17).

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 

And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. … 

 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” (Rev. 12:1-3,5,6).

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 

 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:14-16).

But, before Jesus would come, Protestant America’s hold on God would be severely tempted during the 150 year first woe. A few years after 1844, the ground zero for faith Bible truth would be attacked, the seal of God would be given to Protestants or the mark of the Beast, while fifth trumpet would blow. And then the Jesuit locusts would continue its blitz of corruption against every facet of life for Protestantism’s full and final departure during the sixth trumpet, second woe. The sign of the mark would be the fifth trumpet’s torment, and the sixth trumpet’s fire and smoke and brimstone, the wrath of God.

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.…

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (Rev. 11:3,6-8).

Because of our infidelity with our God, we are dead of faith and dead of righteousness. Unbelief, atheism, has left us tortured in mind, body, and soul, even in the churches. Every kind of over-the-counter or under-the-counter substance has been tried to remedy our loss of God’s Spirit, “the Spirit of His Son, whereby we cry Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).

We are no longer blessed of God.  We are no longer authorized to fight our enemy because God has is raised up our enemy for correction.

“For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.” (Hab. 1:6,7).

“Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.” (Hab. 1:12).

But only those who will not fight will not die.

“He that abideth in this city [instead of surrendering to the Babylonian army] shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.” (Jer. 21:9).

“Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.” (Jer. 38:2).

“For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.” (Jer. 37:10).

Such a message to the stiff necked  people of Judah was anathema.

“Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.” (Jer. 38:4).

“Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. 

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.” (Jer. 38:5,6).

So, all the men died who fought Nebuchadnezzar’s mighty army, and the rest were taken captive, and enslaved. But, difficulty of the Lord’s correction was providentially tailored to each Jewish heart’s surrender to His punishment. Some ended up in the court of Nebuchadnezzar.

How will we choose? Life being preyed upon, or death? Remember the words of Jesus:

“Though ye had smitten the whole army of the [Vatican/Jesuit shadow government] that [fights] against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this [United States of America old world order] with fire.” (Jer. 37:10).

“And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of My covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 

And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.” (Lev. 26:25,26).

The Lord of hosts will deliver His people

“Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” (Joel 3:10).

We have posed a lot of questions regarding gun control. But, the above verse does not refer to the nation of Israel. It is speaking to the enemies of Israel.

“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 

Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 

Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” (Joel 3:9-12).

And it wasn’t a call to northern kingdom of Israel for war, but to the Gentiles, the Greeks, and men of Tyre and Zidon, the Philistines, “the mighty men”, “all the heathen round about”. The Lord was subpeoning the “heathen” to draw near for their award of justice, along with the vile king of the north and his voracious locust raiders (see Joel 2:1-11,20). Jehovah would judge all and then vanquish them by His “mighty ones” (vs. 11)—His angelic armies, all which “excel in strength” (Ps. 103:20). One angel alone slew 185,000 Assyrian men of war (see Isaiah 37:36). An army from heaven on a mission of justice would blot out all the millions of this world’s brutal wicked.

“All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth.” (Dan 4:35).

Joel’s message against a destroying army, the Assyrians, was the same bold message that we hear from Jeremiah against the armies of Babylon, after it had run its course as chief aggressor nation in the region of the ancient Middle East. By then the Chaldeans were worthless under wretched Belshazzar, and abominable to God. The whole nation needed to be swept into oblivion. But, by whom? Who would wield the battle axe and spear and sword? Their captives? And who today will wield the laser guided automatic weapons and the laser guided missiles? Will it be the modern counterpart of the ancient Israelites, the righteous and patriotic Protestant Americans, desiring the restoration of their unalienable rights and freedoms, their economy based on the gold standard, their original constituted government, the good life that was passed down from the American Revolution?

“The portion of Jacob [Jehovah] is not like them [all the man-made gods]; for He is the former of [He formed] all things: and Israel is the rod of His inheritance [heirloom]: the LORD of hosts is His name. 

Thou art My battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; 

And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider.” (Jer. 51:19-21).

Initially, Jeremiah sounded like Judah was providentially handpicked to overthrow their captors. But, the context says otherwise. They were a holier nation now due to “the punishment of their iniquity” (Lev. 26:41). Once again, they were a kingdom of priests and a peculiar people. They could again sigh and cry when they heard the word of God. “All the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.” (Neh. 8:9). Like never before since the revival of David they could see the beauty of holiness.

Did swashbuckling Jews fight their way out of captivity? Not at all. The Lord raised up nations to do what the Jews couldn’t do for themselves. “[Jehovah] is a man of war: [Jehovah] is his name” (Ex. 15:3). Yet, He did desire them to wield justice. But before they would be responsible with power, they first needed to learn righteousness and dependence on their God, the living God. And, if they would follow after dependence on God, it would open their hearts and minds to learn righteous national defense. Until that day, national dependence would sufficiently compensate for the lack of national defense, and heathen powers must do the work of defending and governing over God’s people.

The ten kings [all the violent world leaderships, “the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:2), “the kings of the east” (Rev. 16:12)] will be available to do the terrible work of justice on Babylon. They will have fallen to the Jesuit false hopes of world dominance that lured them into the New Age papacy, only to revolt later. The gospel has been preached fearlessly, and the preachers now “shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn[ed] many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Dan. 12:3). The kings wake up to realize that their fling with the despotic Church only led to the Jesuits’ satanic control over them. “And the inhabitants of the earth” that “have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Rev. 17:2) also awaken to their lost condition due to the Church’s wicked spell over them, without any time left to be saved. Their wrath upon the Christian religious leaders will be ferocious, without self-control. It will simulate another French Reign of Terror.

“Anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution—all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.” Education, p. 228.

“Says the prophet: “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; ... they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13, 14. Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God.” Great Controversy, p. 561.

“The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” (Rev. 17:12-17).

“And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” (Rev. 11:18).

“Parents were bitterly reproaching their children, and children their parents, brothers their sisters, and sisters their brothers. Loud, wailing cries were heard in every direction, “It was you who kept me from receiving the truth which would have saved me from this awful hour.” The people turned upon their ministers with bitter hate and reproached them, saying, “You have not warned us. You told us that all the world was to be converted, and cried, Peace, peace, to quiet every fear that was aroused. You have not told us of this hour; and those who warned us of it you declared to be fanatics and evil men, who would ruin us.” But I saw that the ministers did not escape the wrath of God. Their suffering was tenfold greater than that of their people.” Early Writings, p. 282.

Not the faithful Protestant people, but the people of the world, will heap judgment upon the Jesuit Vatican and upon its false prophet-front man of deception, apostate Protestant America.

“For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. 

And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD. 

Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; 

Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. 

Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. 

Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. 

Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.” (Jer. 50:9-15).

“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” (Rev. 16:12).

Before the angry people, effeminate priest hands that never exerted themselves in hard labor will wipe sweat from foreheads that never knew perspiration, and will cover bitter mouths that never knew mercy. All will be swept away in the bloody convulsion of societies. All, religious leadership and duped church members, fall before the glory of Christ.

The Lord of hosts would provide for His people’s break out from their prison. They will go free depending wholly on the protection of heaven, as Jacob did after he was humbled into the dust. “I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.” (Gen. 33:14). “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.” (Gen. 32:1,2).

If the Medo-Persia were the power that overthrew ancient Neo-Babylon, then why was Judah called the Lord’s battle axe? Because, like Jacob, they finally humbled themselves and surrendered to the will and the punishments of the Lord their God. They now were spiritual soldiers, prayer warriors. They would battle to remain patiently following their God’s providential guidance. They could trust His protection, as Jacob did. This is why Babylon was finally overthrown.

“Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people: for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land, and to His people.” (Deut. 32:43).

“For true and righteous are His judgments: for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.” (Rev. 19:2).

“I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land….  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” (Joel 3:2, 16).

As in the days of Jehoshaphat, Judah didn’t fight a conventional war. They fought in a spiritual war—the warfare was against themselves, against their deplorable pride, unbelief, and past unfaithfulness to their holy God, the only true God. The spiritual war would happen again after their 70 year captivity, and surrender and dependence would set the stage for Jeremiah’s final prophecy against Babylon.

It would bear an identical resemblance to Joel’s prophecy and to the apocalyptic war against the final Babylonian vile king of the north.

“In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. 

They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. 

My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. 

All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. 

Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.” (Jer. 50:4-8).

The same would also happen again at the end of the world, as everything in Revelation can only be understood by previous precedents.

“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” (Rev. 18:1-6).

How will the finally released protestants from captivity heap double upon the modern Babylon? With vindictive bullets and chaotic vengeance? Not at all. They will heap mercy and holiness upon their assailants.

“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:17-21).

They will do as their Master exemplified.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.…

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:44,45,48).

“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you.” (Matt. 20:25,26).

 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 

And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 

And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:41-47).

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 

And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:31-33).

“God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, 

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. ” (Eph. 2:4-6).

“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 

And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the Law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. 

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. 

In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; 

And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.” (Mic. 4:1-7).

What Micah preached against Babylon is a repeat of what Isaiah had foretold of Assyria.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.” (Isa. 2:2-5).

“That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7).

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 

Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 

For Thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 

For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 9:2-7).

No, Armageddon will not be the church or holy people shooting at a million man army of cut-throats and hoodlums. Armageddon will not be the blitz of lies and delusions that today’s priests of Baal are teaching from church pulpits and television stations and radio towers. It will not be cavalry and infantry divisions amassing on either side of an empty Euphrates River. Don’t even go to look at that fakery when it actually does take place as massive fraud. Everything of the evangelicals’ deceptive eschatology has been forged by four centuries of wicked Jesuitry, “after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” (2Thess. 2:9). “They are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (Rev. 16:14). Don’t look and get caught up in the forbidden foray. Hear of it from afar, but don’t get involved. Warn people of it. Don’t look, but expect it. Anticipate it. Jesuit deception of every specie has already been instituted since 1844. Even the seven year rapture scenario began in 1590, by a Jesuit theologian. The denominations have left their Reformation forefathers’ protest. Today Evangelicalism is fully devoured by the Jesuit locusts.

“Satan delights in war, for it excites the worst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another, for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God.” Great Controversy, p. 589.

But, the true Armageddon will be what Jesus gave to His messenger, Ellen G. White—the finale of the great investigative judgment—the executive judgment of the sheep and the goats by Jesus at His return.

“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 

The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” (Joel 3:13-16).

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 

And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 

And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to Him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in Thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 

And the Angel thrust in His sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 

And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” (Rev. 14:14-20).

But the people of the Lord, who learned dependence and surrender, which caused their special work of purification, are prepared to meet their beloved Lord coming in power and great glory. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” (Dan. 12:10).

“The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.” Great Controversy, p. 614.

It will be worse than France’s Reign of Terror.

“For true and righteous are His judgments: for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. 

And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 

And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 

And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. 

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. 

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” (Rev. 19:2-8).