NOTES ON GOD’S PRIME DIRECTIVE FOR 2021: LESSONS FROM THE BIBLE’S LAST PROPHET

SCRIPTURE. “Then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.” – MALACHI 3:18, AMPC

QUOTATIONS

ON WARFARE. “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an Ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to Wage War…with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a Monstrous Tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.” – SIR WINSTON S. CHURCHILL, “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat,” his first speech as Prime Minister to the House of Commons on May 13, 1940; quoted by Jeffrey R. Holland in ‘However Long and Hard the Road,’ January 18, 1983; edited

ON VISION. “When Prophetic Vision fails, obedience to the Law is the best or only substitute for it, both being forms through which Divine Wisdom is revealed. Very striking in the midst of ethical precepts is this recognition of the need of a yet Higher Teaching, without which Morality passes into worldly prudence or degenerates into casuistry [false teaching]. The ‘wise man,” the son of David, has seen in the prophets and in their work the condition of true national blessedness. The darkest time in the history of Israel had been when there ‘was no open vision’ (1 Samuel 3:1); at such a time the people ‘perish,’ are let loose, ‘are left to run wild.’” – ALBERT BARNES, Commentary on Proverbs 29:18, ‘Notes on the Whole Bible,’ 1875; edited

ON INTEGRITY. “Let the whole world tag you wrongly, brand you with evil and create a different you, and let God give you a solemn tag of Dignity and see you differently, you have no problem at all!” – ERNEST AGYEMANG YEBOAH, author of ‘Religion, Philosophy and Life: The Reasons Behind Action,’ 2016; edited

Selah.

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

During last December, the very last month of epochal Year 2020, two curious and seemingly insignificant things happened. I broke my eyeglasses, and my old watch stopped working. Some old friends of mine from down in Texas during the Regent University days in the 1980s once shared this with me about such matters.

“Dr. Kelly, when something like this happens, it can mean God is speaking to you about CHANGE coming about.”

While we can quibble about whether or not that is a sound aphorism, it is clear that God does speak through natural events and circumstances, and often. Founder of ‘In the Word Ministries,’ EILEEN EPPS-HAMILTON, for example, writes this: 

“God still speaks today through circumstances.  He will use conditions and situations from our everyday life to place us in a position to hear His voice.” – February 14, 2017

TO THIS POINT. I believe it is plausible that the ‘Broken Glasses’ could mean that a ‘Refined Vision’ is being dispensed from Heaven to the Church. Further, that the ‘Broken Watch’ likewise suggests, in the words of Bob Dylan’s iconic song from 1964, “The Times, They Are a-Changing.’”

Both meanings are reasonable, in the context of America’s swiftly moving Seismic Shifts currently underway in such areas as religion, politics and culture. So that is my Starting Point today: 

God desires to Speak to us in fresh New Ways about the Changes coming to us in 2021.

Or in the phrase I post on my business cards just above a reference to JOHN 9:4, “Something’s Coming.” And God wants His people to be ready and fully equipped for it. Because He loves us, He will use every device at His command in order to reach us.

Most especially, the Pastors. Selah.

2. A NEW ERA

A number or people I greatly respect have argued that the Election of Joe Biden will bring a weary and divided America a period of much needed Rest from the viciousness and chaos of the Trump Presidency. And I think it’s possible to some extent, to ‘Regroup’ as they say.But you will recall my recent Commentary on the ‘Roots of American Order,’ that have been badly injured, ‘Fouled’ if you will, by the last two presidencies. I remain deeply concerned about the extents of the damage, in conjunction with a largely failed Church and increasingly corrupt State.

A PARENTHESIS? So, between these two extremes, I see Biblical Examples of God ‘Hesitating’ between Judgments, as if to allow the people to, as a good friend recently wrote to me, “Grab a breath,” before the Next Wave comes.

Here are just TWO EXAMPES of those Divine Parentheses, appropriately, both from the Book of Judgments – Revelation.

• IMPLIED. “Then I saw another angel coming up from the rising of the sun, holding the seal of the living God; and with a loud voice he called out to the four angels to whom it was granted [to have authority and power] to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth nor the sea nor the trees until we seal (mark) the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.’” – REVELATION 7:2-3, AMP

• SPECIFIED. “When He (the Lamb) broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour [in awe of God’s impending judgment]. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them … Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them [initiating the judgments].” – REVELATION 8:1-2, 6, AMP

IN SUM. Hopefully, if this is reasonably accurate, America could possibly have some time to ‘Rest and Regather’ for a short period of time. The Nation did in fact vote Trump out of office, and that may well have sent the proper signal to God that a majority have had enough of the Corruption and Deception.

However, where Donald Trump is concerned, one never knows what he will do, except for one thing: Oppose the Law, both God’s and Man’s. Thus, the upcoming January 6 Electoral Challenge he plans to execute, in order to overthrow the Election Results of November 3, 2020 could turn all this into chaos, though I pray not.

Barring that, or even worse – War – then we may well expect a Period of Reflection and Rebuilding for a brief time. Or not – so much for my being some sort of ‘prophet.’

THE CAVEAT. In all of this, again, recall that America inexorably remains under Judgment, for Two Reasons, primarily.

1. AMERICAN REBELLION. I have argued at some length in previous essays that our Nation has been in sustained and increasing Rebellion against God, without Repentance, for the past 120 years – from 1900 to 2020. “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive and remain with man forever, because he is indeed flesh [sinful, corrupt – given over to sensual appetites]; nevertheless his days shall yet be a hundred and twenty years.’” – GENESIS 6:3, AMP

2. CHURCH APOSTASY. Vastly more seriously, based on the Scriptural and Political Algorithm that America’s blessing is wholly contingent upon her obedience to the Principles of God’s Order, the Church has catastrophically failed this test, especially in the last four years, since 2016. “At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another.” – MATTHEW 24:10, AMP

IN SUM. In the Short Term then, barring a political bombshell from Trump, we might indeed expect some Relief, albeit Temporary, from the long siege of 2020. And for that we shall be ever so grateful. But in the Longer Term, so long as my assessment that we remain Under Judgment is valid, the picture is not as rosy at all.

3. PERILOUS TIMES

Here is what Paul the Apostle wrote to young Timothy about the Hour in which we all now find ourselves. Hard to read, but nonetheless true – unless this is not ‘that Hour.’

“But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear].

For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, [and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them.” – 2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5, AMP

Sound familiar, beloved? Of course, it does. We are there, and cannot change that short of a massive, Nation and Church-wide Penitence in the days just ahead. My own conviction is that America has already ‘Crossed the Rubicon,’ and must get ready for God’s Responses in the year to come – and beyond.

TO THE HOUSE OF GOD FIRST. Starting with the Church Leadership. Think Jerry Falwell, Jr. here. Think Ravi Zacharias here. Think Ted Haggard here. And Bill Hybels, Jim Bakker, Carl Lentz, Bill Gothard, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, Richard Roberts, and a host of others, with many more to come in the coming months and years.

 Make Note: Jesus Christ is Judging His houses and Removing Lampstands. 

“For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God?” – 1 PETER 4:17, AMP

PERILOUS TIMES ARE COMING. This key phrase is taken from the Greek, ‘Chalepos’ [χαλεπός], meaning: “Harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, hard to deal with; troublesome; furious; has the effect of reducing one’s strength. The word describes a society that is barren of virtue but abounding with vices.”

Welcome to the America and World of today. I truly wish it were not so; all of us want desperately to ‘Get back to Normal.’ I am just not at all convinced that we shall ever see that again on this other side of The Rubicon.

So is all lost, beloved? Are we destined now to only suffer and then expire? Not in the least. But before we endure and master The Times, we are first commanded to ‘Understand the Times,’ in order to know what to do about them. As with, once again, the Sons of Issachar during their own Times of Challenge. – cf. 1 CHRONICLES 12:32

4. THE TEACHING

“Then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.” – MALACHI 3:18, AMPC

And that, dear friends, is the “Prime Directive” that I used in the title of this Commentary: To develop the ability to DISCERN TWO THINGS: (1) The Nature and Spirit of the Times; (2) The Nature and Spirit of Individuals. 

So now let’s go to The Teaching to find out more.

• RETURN. Taken from the Hebrew word, ‘Shub’ [שׁוּב], it means: “To turn back; return to the leader or king; a revival from death [or dying]; change in course or action; to repent (absolutely); denotes repetition; to restore or refresh; to relinquish one’s sin or error; bring back one’s heart; to turn toward God (again); reverse or revoke [a wrong way]; too  rebuild; movement back from the Point of Departure” [JUNE 21, 2016].

• DISCERN. The very CRUX of God’s Command to us for 2021. Listen ever so carefully to its Definition. From the Hebrew, ‘Raah’ [רָאָה]: “To see; to learn to know [what God sees]; have the power of vision; to look carefully (by direct volition); to observe, watch; to act as a lookout; examine, as in an investigation; to reflect (thoughtfully); importantly, to ‘Distinguish’ [the truth from the lie about a situation].”

• THE RIGHTEOUS. The word used here is, ‘Tsaddiq’ [צַדִיק]: “The just, blameless or right in conduct and character; vindicated (by God’s truth); that which is correct; tolerant; to be straight or honest; adhering to God’s standard of ethics and morality; however, not even a just man is sinless, but he is contrite.”

• THE WICKED. From the Hebrew, ‘Rasha’ [רָשְׁע]: “The criminal, the lawless; guilty of hostility toward God; deserving punishment; ungodly; morally wrong, therefore condemned by God; makes trouble; violates or distorts God’s order; a bad person; to depart or fall away; evil in principle or practice; accursed; baneful, pernicious; unreconciled to God.”

• TO SERVE. Finally, a vital aspect of Righteousness, the very opposite of proud or selfish, is taken from the Hebrew, ‘Abad’ [עָבַד]: “One who works as a dutiful slave to a master; labours (to honor the king); a servant to the good; compelled [not coerced] to serve, as with a bondservant; an act of worship, but does not refer to the conventional ritual of Christian worship; i.e., worship by honorable service.”

IN SUM. The Divine Call for the Year 2021 and beyond, more than anything else in my view, is to be able to enhance your ability TO DISCERN:

• Right from Wrong.
• Truth from Falsehood.
• Good from Evil.

And here is precisely why. Pay the closest of attention, especially all you Pastors and Teachers.

“But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning].” – 1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2, AMP

DOCTRINAL CALCULUS. The Reasoning here is razor sharp and unambiguous: If you cannot Discern the Real from the Counterfeit in the Last Days, you are perilously incapable of swept away by the Ocean of Lies that the Enemy, his false teachers, prophets, doctrines and all hypocrites will mass around you every single day.

It is clear to me, beloved, that The Remnant Church must be more akin to the ‘Church Militant’ than the Church Light (Timid) in the days just ahead of us. Not just for mere survival, but for our ability to remain salty, even gritty (authentic) and illuminating midst all the surrounding Darkness.

Jesus’ very words Command it.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery]. You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.” – MATTHEW 5:13-16, AMP

There will simply be no room for the ‘In Between’s’ – the double-minded, the confused, the uninformed or misinformed, nor especially for ‘the naïve.’ King Solomon drove this point home ever so clearly: “The naive or inexperienced person [is easily misled and] believes every word he hears, but the prudent man [is discreet and astute and] considers well where he is going.” – PROVERBS 14:15, AMP

You savvy, boys and girls? Good.

THE COMMENTARIES. Because this is such a topic of Incomparable Importance to our walk in the coming days, I take a little time again to offer Two Interpretations of Malachi’s powerful Prophecy.

• JOHN GILL. “‘Then shall ye return.’ Either the Wicked, who will be ‘converted’ as some render the word, and will have a different view of things, and change their minds and language; or they that Feared the Lord, who at the time before spoken of [must] have a new turn of thought, and another and clear discerning of persons and things, and better judge of the dispensations of Providence … ‘And discern between the righteous and the wicked.’ The Difference between such who are really and truly Righteous, who are here meant, even such who believe in Christ, and are justified by his righteousness; and those that are Wicked, as all by nature are.”  – ‘An ‘Exposition of the Old and New Testaments,’ 9 vols., 1746-1763; edited

• WILLIAM MACDONALD. “But there was a ‘Remnant of people’ true to Jehovah. These shall be spared and blessed, and acknowledged as God’s own possession, being made into His jewels. William Kelly comments: ‘The Jews themselves will no longer take the ground of being more than Jews. They will see the Vanity of an outward place; they will value what is of God, they will abhor the more those who are wicked because they are Jews.” – ‘Believer’s Bible Commentary,’ 1995, pp. 1176-1177; edited

DK’S TAKE. To restate it: In the Days just ahead, it will not be enough to just ‘Say’ one is a Christian, since we shall be (and are already) in the midst of The Great Apostasy, wherein ‘everyone’ is a Christian who says so. No! SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT shall be required for us to avoid being likewise Seduced – as they have been. – cf. Matthew 24:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

Without overstating it, these are now become Life and Death Distinctions we must make more and more, as we enter the deeper valleys of The Birth Pangs in rapid runup to the Day of God’s Wrath. 

It boils down to this: Who can I trust, and who must I distrust?

5. AMERICA’S TRAJECTORY

Although I dealt with this in some detail in the last Commentary, I came across THREE REPORTS that will give us even greater understanding of where the Nation is heading – and what we can do about it.

DAVID FRUM. “‘A Shining City on a Hill.’ Ronald Reagan loved the phrase. He used it over and over again, perhaps most notably in his 1989 Presidential Farewell Address. ‘I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind, it was a tall, proud City built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be City walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still’…[But] The City on a Hill does not seem very shiny in the year 2020. Pandemic, economic crisis, and an incumbent president attempting to overthrow the democratic election he undoubtedly lost by a large margin: If the eyes of all people are upon America now, they are not witnessing an edifying spectacle.” – ‘The Atlantic,’ January 1, 2021; edited

GRADY MEANS. “The Year’s End is a time for reflecting on the past year and preparing for the New one. Most people are looking forward to moving past COVID-19 and its lockdowns and returning to “normal life.” But, for Joe Biden, still popping Champagne corks after the Electoral College vote, 2021 may be creeping up to become his worst Nightmare. America was severely broken and fundamentally changed during 2020, and it will take a long time to fix it — a job that President-elect Biden is unprepared to handle…On its current course, the Midterm Elections will be a windfall for Republicans and a death knell for radical Progressives. The same might easily repeat in 2024. My forecast (guess) for 2021: A Dark Night for Joe Biden.” – ‘The Hill,’ December 30, 2020; edited

I was also able to find the following piece, much less cynical, with which I shall end the outside commentary.

NOAH MILLMAN. “Here are Four Predictions] for the coming year, each specific enough to hold me to account, with rationales provided: 1. The next Congress will be surprisingly productive, in spite of divided government, because — much as in the 107th Congress that followed the 2000 election — the leadership of both parties have powerful incentives to show accomplishment. 2. The current delays in vaccine distribution will lead to enormous popular pressure for a faster rollout, and governments will respond. 3. Thanks to both of the foregoing, the economy will be very strong in 2021, a much more rapid and robust recovery than we have observed from other recent recessions. 4. Finally, the Biden administration will face an early and significant foreign policy test from China, which is coming out of the pandemic year stronger and wealthier and increasingly convinced of its superiority, while also aware of the significant demographic headwinds that will start to slow its growth in just a few years.” – ‘The Week,’ January 1, 2021; edited

So take your pick, beloved; these are Three Reasonable Possibilities, in my view. Though I quickly add that each of them, most especially #4, combined with the Russian hacks, is substantially dependent on what will or will not happen on JANUARY 6, 2021, a date and event to keep close by as we approach the day.

6. LAST THOUGHTS

Not long ago, I wrote a Three-Part Series, “Notes on the Fight for Nehemiah’s Wall.” To put a ribbon on that Teaching, as it were, I’d like to briefly return to that epic Story and Template for what today’s Church must confront:

The Reality that the American Church ‘Walls’ of Truth and Integrity are all but shattered as of this New Year, 2021, having sustained relentless division and destruction over a massive Doctrinal Infection during the past four years. 

This is substantially Inarguable for any sentient being, in my studied view.

THE TWILIGHT OF AMERICAN HOPE. Though dim to be sure, I still believe there is a glimmer of light on this New Horizon of 2021 – depending of course, upon what the Church will elect to do.

In the words of the intrepid Wall Builder, Nehemiah:

“I answered them, ‘The God of heaven will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.– NEHEMIAH 2:20, AMP

OUR PURPOSE FOR 2021. I rather loved this concise little Coda, if you will, to this Teaching – and to most of those which preceded it. So to a couple of Key Terms to deepen our grasp of this Last Days Calling.

• PROSPER. To the sons and daughters of Obedience only, God promises His blessing for such Times as these. From the Hebrew, ‘Tsalach’ [צָלַח]: “To rush, push forward, advance; cause to be successful [in the building]; to become mighty (by God’s Spirit).”

• ARISE. Taken from the term, ‘Qum’ [קוּם], meaning: “To stand up (after lying down for a time); to bear [one’s duty]; to listen to God’s Word; make a noise, tumult; arise to action; make a move; become established, confirmed of the Kingdom; to endure; be valid or validated; to persist [no matter what]; fulfill and obligation; lift up the shield; to set sentinels in a bold rising.”

•  BUILD! From the Hebrew active verb, ‘Banah’ [בָּנָה], or: “To rebuild or make repair; set back up [from a fallen state]; establish, make permanent; to reframe, construct an edifice; to shape into a familiar form; to increase and strengthen; raise on a firm support of foundation; to cement and knit together; to plant.”

COMMENTARY. “‘Then answered I them, and said unto them.’ With much spirit and boldness, not at all intimidated by their scoffs or threats: ‘The God of heaven, He will prosper us;’ whom we serve, and under whose protection we are, who will supply us with everything we want, and succeed this undertaking, in whose name we engage in it, and on whom we depend, and we care not what man can do to us: Therefore we his servants will Arise and Build; in spite of all opposition, difficulties, and discouragements: But you [the Sanballat’s and Tobias’ and Geshem’s] have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem; no part of the city belonged to them; they had no jurisdiction there; they had no name there, nor their ancestors, in times past; nor had they done anything to perpetuate their memory in it: in short, they had nothing to do with them, neither in religious nor in civil things.” – JOHN GILL, ‘Exposition on the Whole Bible,’ 9 vols., 1746-1763; edited

So does The Great Threshing continue, beloved, through the entire Year 2021, and beyond, as God shows us the Two Choices – Obedience or Rebellion – and their Consequences.

“Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you halt and limp between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.” – 1 KINGS 18:21, AMPC

CODA. I just finished listening to an eloquent and moving video homily by BOB SORGE, “God Could Have Left Job Alone?” (October 21, 2013), whose testimony will give pause to all of us thinking we are suffering far too much. A single line from his conclusion ran something like this:

“God, please love me enough to not leave me to myself. Interrupt my life if You have to. Test me if you have to. Reveal Yourself to me.” 

Embolden yourselves to pray such a prayer, beloved, Giving Him All that you are and have and desire. As Mr. Sorge concludes: “It is the most powerful thing you can ever do,” and will very likely be followed by God turning your world inside out, upside down, and then magnificently positioned in His Perfect Plan.

Risk it! You shall never, ever be sorry that you did.

Ever our servant, DK

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