NOTES ON GOD’S CHRISTMAS EVE 2025 CALL TO AMERICA: ‘TAKE STOCK NOW OR PAY THE IRON PRICE!’ (WITH VIDEO)

THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “Collect your thoughts, yes, unbend yourselves [in submission and see if there is no sense of shame and no consciousness of sin left in you], O SHAMELESS NATION [not desirous or desired]!

The TIME FOR REPENTANCE is speeding by like chaff whirled before the wind!] Therefore consider, before God’s Decree brings forth [the Curse upon you], before the time [to repent] is gone like the drifting chaff, before the fierce ANGER of the Lord comes upon you—yes, before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you!

SEEK THE LORD [inquire for Him, inquire of Him, and require Him as the foremost necessity of your life], all you humble of the land who have acted in compliance with His revealed will and have kept His Commandments; seek righteousness, seek humility [inquire for them, require them as vital]. It may be you will be HIDDEN in the day of the Lord’s anger.” – ZEPHANIAH 2:1-3, AMPC

THE IRON PRICE. “‘The Iron Price’ is a cultural concept from George R. R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire,’ 1996, (and Game of Thrones) where: Possessions, status, or anything valuable are TAKEN BY FORCE, usually through raiding or killing (rather than being bought, traded (the ‘Gold Price’), or inherited. it signifies forcefulness and martial prowess, contrasting with the perceived ‘weakness’ of peaceful acquisition [as with ‘true righteousness or godly humility’]” – AI Overview, ret. Dec. 5, 2025; edited

KEY TERMS.

“ANGER.” ‘Charon’ [חֲרוֹן֙]: “From a root term, ‘To blaze up or burn with jealousy; Divine fury or [unmitigated] wrath.’” NOTE: “חָרוֹן describes an intense, burning anger. It occurs about forty-one times, chiefly in conjunction with אַף (‘nose,’ a Hebraism for anger), forming the idiom ‘burning of anger.’ The word appears in the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Psalms, and the Prophets, with a single use in Jonah. The great majority of references depict: ‘The Righteous Indignation of the LORD;’ a smaller group records the anger of human beings.” – S. Zodhiates, 2008; J. Strong, 1895; edited

“HIDDEN.” ‘Sathar’ [תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּ]: “A primitive root, ‘To hide by covering or being absent; to keep close or secret.’ NOTE: “סָתַר pictures the act of hiding, covering, or concealing, either reflexively (‘to hide oneself’ [in the Lord]) or transitively (‘to hide something or someone’). The verb occurs about eighty times, stretching from the Books of Moses to the post-exilic Prophets. TWO DOMINANT THEMES: (1) The ‘Self-Concealment of God’—either in Judgment or in Mercy, and (2) The ‘Divine Protection’ that flows from being ‘Hidden by God.’ Around these poles, Scripture also describes human efforts to hide from God, to hide evil, or to hide the righteous in times of danger.”

COMMENTARY. “‘The people still had time to AVERT God’s Judgment, but that time was running out quickly.’ They simply had to turn from their sins, humble themselves, and OBEY GOD. The Old Testament Prophets announced News of Destruction, but they also offered the only means of escape and protection – ‘Turning’ from sin and ‘Walking’with God (see also Micah 6:8).

God’s Judgment against JUDAH came with Ample Warning, so the people had no excuse. God told them to: (1) Pray together (‘Gather yourselves together’); (2) Beg to be saved (‘Seek the Lord’); and (3) Humbly do what is right (‘Seek righteousness, seek humility’).

‘As God warned Judah, He also warns AMERICA concerning the Final Day of Judgment.’ We must: (1) Pray for forgiveness of our sin; (2) Ask God to bring us into His Heavenly Kingdom; and (3) Humbly obey Him. At the End of Time, when God comes to Judge, you won’t be able to say, ‘But no one told me!’ [Therefore], Turn to God TODAY for Salvation!’” – RONALD A. BEERS, Life Application Study Bible, 2022, pp. 1999-2000; edited

II. TEACHING

We turn our attention now to THREE ISSUES that we must address in order to grasp what the Lord is calling us to as we catapult to the End of 2025. Their relationship to one another will become clear as we briefly go through each one.

ONE: DOES GOD STILL JUDGE NATIONS? We would be hard-pressed to answer this question in any way but in the affirmative. Yet many White Evangelicals believe we are on the brink of, indeed: “Making America Greater than Ever Before” under what they perceive as the bold leadership of PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP.

I shall take a fully opposite position of course, and will begin our Rebuttal by the work once again of DR. JOHN PIPER in his recent podcast essay: “Does God Condemn Nations?” (Desiring God, July 17, 2025; edited).

INDIVIDUAL SALVATION. “‘Well, let’s start by laying down the pervasive New Testament Reality of Radical Individual Responsibility:’ Responsibility before God for Salvation and Personal Holiness and Final Judgment. There is such a thing as Corporate Reality — I’m not denying that. The Church is a Corporate Reality: It’s a Bride; it’s the Body of Christ. I get that. I love that. I don’t want to minimize that. ‘But pervasively in the New Testament, God deals with Individuals for Salvation (and whether they are part of Corporate Realities), for Holiness, for Final Judgment’ … “If you confess with your mouth [singular; one mouth, one head] that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart [singular; one heart, not two hearts, not a corporate heart] that God raised him from the dead, you [singular] will be saved … [But just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead]” (Romans 10:9; James 2:26).

CORPORATE JUDGMENT. “‘The first part of the answer is that statements about Corporate Judgment can be Judgments of Devastation in this World … or at the End of the World in a Day of Eternal Judgment. For example, Jesusclearly predicted the Destruction of Jerusalem, which took place forty years after he had gone back to heaven. It was in history. It wasn’t at the End of Time. Luke 19:41-44: ‘When He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! … For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side … because you did not know the time of your visitation’” … So, that’s an example of Divine Judgment in this World, before the End comes. But in Matthew 11:22, when Jesus pronounced judgment upon the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida, He said, ‘It will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.’ That’s an example of Final Judgment, at the End of History, at the Day of Judgment, that results in Damnation or Salvation.”

SOLID SALVATION. “‘Every individual who BELIEVES in his heart on the Lord Jesus for Salvation [and OBEYS His Commands!] will never be damned, ever’ (John 5:24). It doesn’t matter what group he’s in or what city he’s in or what nation he’s in. He will never come into Judgment. He has passed from death to life. He may live in Chorazin or Bethsaida, but he’s not of Chorazin, to use the language of Jesus (John 15:19). He’s not of Chorazin or Bethsaida. He’s not counted as part of that Corporate Group that perishes, because ‘he has individually been saved by God already.’”

PURIFYING VS. PUNISHING. “‘Genuine believers may indeed ENDURE the destruction of their property, even lose their lives, in God’s historical judgment on a city or a nation. They will not experience that Judgment as Punishment, but as Purifying.’ God’s Design is not the same when His Judgment falls on His enemy as when His Judgment falls on His child. They may die — the child may die. The same disease that kills the unbeliever by Way of Judgment may kill the child. Now, here’s the reason I say that. In 1 Peter 4:12, 17, it says this: ‘Beloved [that’s Christians], do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you … For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.’ There it is. ‘And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?’”

WAY OF ESCAPE. And the third way individual Christians relate to Corporate Punishment of cities or nations is that God may make a way of escape. For example, Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, and he told his followers how to get out. He said in Luke 21:20-22: ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.’ ‘So, God has PLANS for His people often to escape the very situations where he’s bringing judgment.’”

READING THE TIMES. “‘In Summary: If God pronounces Final Judgment on a city or a nation and destines them for Final Judgment and Destruction, no Christian who lives among them will share that Destiny.’ They’re justified and will never be condemned. They will enter Eternal Life. Second, if God pronounces historical judgment on a city such that, say, the Black Death or Ebola or COVID is going to wipe out three-fourths of the population for the sins of the city or the nation, many Christians may perish of that disease. Indeed, we have seen this in history. ‘Sacrificial Christians stay in the dangerous places and care for the dying and catch the disease and die themselves.’ They’re not being punished. And third, God may warn His people to flee from a particular city because historical judgment is about to befall them. ‘It’s like Lot’s family was saved’ (Genesis 19:15-17). All three of those situations are true today, and we need to saturate our minds with God’s Word, the Bible, so that we are discerning when we seek to read the Signs of the Times.”

TWO: SHOULD GOD JUDGE TRUMP’S AMERICA? Once again, a thorough sweep of the Internet showed virtually nothing directly addressing this Urgent Question. WHY is that?

Either because of ‘User Error,’ wherein somehow I have forgotten decades of research methods. Or, it is ‘Church Error,’ and the concomitant refusal to write the Truth anymore, lest the writer endanger his current position in the American Christian Community.

Once again therefore, I am compelled to default to an AI OVERVIEW of a number of articles somewhat off the beaten path to address the matter (ret. Dec. 23, 2025; edited). So here we go. All Scripture references rendered in the Amplified Bible Classic Edition.

OPEN. “‘Many religious leaders and scholars have argued that certain Policies and Personal Conduct of Donald Trump are contrary to fundamental Christian and other Faith-based teachings and moral principles.’ The criticisms often center on Themes of Humility, Truthfulness, Compassion, Justice, and Respect for Democratic norms. Specific Policies and Conduct cited by critics include the following.”

HUMILITY. “Critics point to a Pattern of Self-Aggrandizement, a focus on Personal Loyalty, and a Lack of emphasis on Serving Others, which they argue contradicts Biblical calls for Humility.” – “But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, ‘God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).’” – JAMES 4:6

TRUTH. “There are numerous critiques regarding his history of exaggerations, falsehoods, and alleged business fraud, which are seen as violations of the Biblical emphasis on Truthfulness and Honesty.” – “These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren.” – PROVERBS 6:16-19

PURITY. “Critics frequently cite his history of multiple marriages, admitted affairs, and derogatory comments about women (including a civil court finding of sexual assault liability), arguing this is contrary to teachings on marriage, respect for women, and purity.” – “For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain]—for he [in effect] is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” – EPHESIANS 5:5

DIVISION. “Faith Leaders have criticized rhetoric that fosters Division, Hostility, and pits groups of people against each other, arguing it goes against the command to ‘Love your neighbor.’” “I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine (the teaching) which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them!” – ROMANS 16:17

VIOLENCE. “Concerns have been raised over his response to the January 6th Capitol attack, including praising rioters and offering pardons, which is viewed as undermining the rule of law and democratic norms.” – “Do not resentfully envy and be jealous of an unscrupulous,[violent], grasping man, and choose none of his ways. For the perverse are an abomination [extremely disgusting and detestable] to the Lord; but His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him).” – PROVERBS 2:31-32

RELIGION. “Critics argue he has used Religious Symbols and figures for self-interest and political gain, rather than Authentic Faith.” – “Tell us then what You think about this: Is it lawful to pay tribute [levied on individuals and to be paid yearly] to Caesar or not? But Jesus, aware of their malicious plot, asked, ‘Why do you put Me to the test and try to entrap Me, you PRETENDERS (hypocrites)? Show me the money used for the tribute.’ And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and title are these?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s. Then He said to them, ‘Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God.’” – MATTHEW 22:17-21

IMMIGRATION. “The ‘Zero Tolerance Border Policy,’ which led to the SEPARATION of migrant children from their parents, drew widespread condemnation from Catholic bishops and other religious groups as cruel and lacking in compassion for vulnerable populations.” – “CURSED [‘arar,’ (אָר֗וּר)-‘execrate, condemn’] is he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner or the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. All the people shall say, Amen.” – DEUTERONOMY 27:19

REFUGEES. “Broader Immigration Policies are criticized for contradicting the Biblical Command to love and protect foreigners and those in need, as mentioned in passages like LEVITICUS 19:33-35.” – “And if a stranger dwells temporarily with you in your land, you shall not suppress and mistreat him. But the stranger who dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you; and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity.”

HEALTHCARE. “Policies involving work requirements and cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs are seen by some as failing to provide justice and care for the poor and oppressed, which are strong biblical mandates.” – “But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled along, came down to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity and sympathy [for him], And went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” – LUKE 10:33-34

ENVIRONMENT. “His administration’s approach to environmental regulations has been criticized as violating the “Creation Covenant,” the idea that humans are tasked by God to work and take care of the Earth and its resources.” – “And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.” – GENESIS 2:15

COVID-19. “The downplaying of the Pandemic and dismissal of scientific advice were viewed as moral failings for putting countless lives at risk.” – “You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong. ‘So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin’.” – JAMES 4:15-17

DEMOCRACY. “Actions seen as undermining Democratic Institutions, such as challenging the legitimacy of elections and pressuring Law Enforcement Agencies for political ends, are considered by some a violation of the call for leaders to serve as role models and respect authorities.” “For REBELLION is as the sin of WITCHRAFT [‘qesem,’, (קֶ֙סֶם֙)-‘divination, soothsaying’] and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” – 1 SAMUEL 15:23

THREE: JUDGMENTS COMING IN 2026. I will conclude our challenging Christmas Eve 2025 Conversation with a brief summary of THE JUDGMENTS that shall engage more fully in 2026. My Purpose for this and the two more Commentaries that will follow on New Year’s Eve and January 2026 is singular:

‘To PREPARE us for what lies ahead.’ As over against tickling your ears, beloved. We have mountains of that in our Churches already. I do so by reviewing the wise insights of Christian author, blogger and educator ELIZABETH PRATA in her piece: “Is America Under Judgment? (Crossmap, Aug. 31, 2023; edited).

Open. “‘America seems Ripe for Judgment!’ … The Discerners of the Church Body have been saying ‘Judgment in America’ for a while. I know I have. In 2010 I’d written that America seemed to have passed the ‘Point of No Return.’ Before the Economic Crash of 2008, all had been going along like it had been in this country. America was strong and mighty and seemingly invincible. Warning that Judgment was coming soon was met with strange looks and shaking of heads. No brimstone was falling, after all. Just because we don’t see brimstone falling from the sky does not mean we as a nation are not experiencing judgment …

‘The Wrath of God is not One-Dimensional.’ There are in fact many different Kinds of Wrath that God displays. Hosea 5:12 says “He is as a moth to Ephraim or a dry rot to Judah,’ working silently and invisibly. In a 2012 sermon “When God Abandons a Nation,” John MacArthur [before his support of Trump in August 2020 over Covid vaccines] outlined FIVE KINDS OF WRATH the Lord has displayed throughout the Bible.”

ETERNAL WRATH. “That is the punishing, Eternal Judgment God brings upon sinners in their death.” DK: The ‘Lake of Fire,’ the ‘Second Death’ (Rev. 20:14).
ESCHATOLOGICAL WRATH. “God’s Stored-Up Anger unleashed at the End of this Present [Church] Age upon the world, promised by Old Testament saints, outlined at length in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, and seen unfolding through Revelation.” DK: Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 are parallel descriptions of ‘Birth Pangs’ leading up to ‘Wrath,’ exploding in the Sixth Seal (vv. 12—17).
CATACLYSMIC WRATH. “These are tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc., the result of sin and the curse upon the world.” DK: “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring … Watch therefore, and Pray always that you may be counted worthy to Escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:25, 36).
CONSEQUENTIAL WRATH. “This is a person receiving the Just Due for Actions whileon earth, the Sowing and Reaping (cf. Hosea 8:7; Gal. 6:7-8).” DK: This deals with our Obedience: “If you love Me, keep [obey] My Commands …[and] endure to the end” (John 14:15; Matt. 24:13).
ABANDONMENT. “This is the Wrath seen in Romans 1:18-32-33: ‘God will Abandon Sinners to their own choices and the consequences of those choices.’ And just what is this Abandoning Act on God’s part, it is the ‘REMOVAL of Restraining Grace.’ It is when God lets go and turns a Society [or an Individual] over to its own Sinful Freedoms and the Results of those freedoms. No Scripture more directly confronts this abandonment and its consequences than Romans 1 does.”

III. LAST THOUGHTS

MY VIEW: Even John MacArthur in 2012 believed it was fairly certain that God had Abandoned America, with which I strongly agree. “¡Se acabó!” As I heard it clearly on the early morning of June 10, 2021, as I embarked on my very First Circuit Ride: “IT’S OVER!” (‘I am finished with America!’). Selah.

MY PROPOSAL: Between now, Christmas Eve, to New Year’s Eve, 2025, take some of the most serious time you have ever reserved in your entire life, and INQUIRE OF GOD about where you stand.

Areas of Strength.
Areas of Weakness.
Firmness of Commitment.
The Plans He has for 2026.

THE PROPHET JEREMIAH: “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a FUTURE AND A HOPE. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with ALL YOUR HEART!’” – VV. 11-13, NKJV