NOTES ON THE RAGE OF NATIONS AGAINST GOD AND HIS PEOPLE IN THE LAST DAYS

SCRIPTURE. “Why do the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme?”– PSALM 2:1, AMPC

QUOTATION. [Re: Covid 19] “In the days leading up to the moments when we found ourselves choking on disbelief while watching streamed images of corpses being loaded into freezer trucks, emergency room attendants scrambling to save lives, nurses sobbing frustration over feeling overwhelmed and abandoned, and U.S. citizens on the march to take control of their own fates, Americans witnessed something foreboding. It was the formation of a Dominating Political Culture which would prove fatally lacking when put to a test of ‘unprecedented severity.’” – ABERJHANI, Greeting Flannery O’Connor at the Back Door of My Mind, 2020; edited

FIRST THOUGHTS

It comes as no surprise to any of us that as I pen these opening lines, I can nearly hear the screams of rockets, the brutal explosions tearing human chattel into pieces in both the Gaza and Israel. Worse, I hear the high pitched, agonized squeals of little children calling for rescue that cannot come midst the horrified cries from both Jews and Arabs in the background, as the October 2023 War in Israel rapidly accelerates in its intensity and in its breadth.

Once again, the World teeters on the Precipice of a massive, Middle-East War.

All around the planet from country to country, both Western and Eastern, national leaders are frantically “assembling with commotion,” to cope with and grasp the immensity of these events to determine how to respond to them. Israel for its part at this writing (Fri. Oct. 13) is preparing a massive 300,000-troop ground assault on the Gaza in order to, in the words of Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, “reduce it to rubble.”

As I have been reporting to you for more than three years running, the Law and the Prophets and the Messiah and the Apostles have been warning us that these Last Days Tumults are very near to us all now. We need not wring our hands about what comes next or what we shall do so long as, I say again, so long as we stay close to the Author of The Book and especially that we read His Book as if or lives depended on it.

Because they do.

Thus are we to become very much like those desert dusted Sons of Issachar, whose wisdom was found by a keen understanding of their times, so that “they could tell Israel what to do” (2 Chronicles 12:32). You will note that there were not many such individuals. The Scriptures record that they were ‘a mere 200,’ yet “all their brethren were at their command.”

During the Time of David at Hebron and later, historical records show an estimated population of up to 5,000,000 Jews. That is 000.4 percent of the people.

THE REMNANT. “‘Remnant’ means that which remains of an original body or substance. In reference to God’s people, it means ‘those who are faithful’ to His original Truth despite apostasy and opposition (Isaiah 1:9). ‘Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should have been like as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.’ Among people professing religious faith, ‘the Remnant is a relatively small minority’ (cf. Romans 9:27).”

The EDITORS of the Bible Info. Website, from which the above quotation is taken (ret. Oct. 11, 2023; edited), rightly conclude with this warning: “You can be among that Remnant ‘IF you respond faithfully and obediently to God’s call’ (cf. Revelation 22:14,16,17) ‘Blessed are those who do God’s Commandments, that they may have the right to the Tree of Life, and enter through the gates into the City … I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things.’”

These are the Sayings of our King. They are inviolate. Yet I tell you loud and plain: They desperately need to be preached from every Pulpit in America, beloved, but ‘they are not!’

II. THE RAGE OF A NATION: 2023

Once again without any apology whatsoever I turn to the brilliant journalism of The Atlantic, this time in an article penned by senior editor RONALD BROWNSTEIN entitled: “America is Growing Apart, Possibly for Good” (June 24, 2023; edited).

THESIS. Citing progressive political analyst and activist MICHAEL PODHORZER: “When we think about the United States, we make the essential error of imagining it as a single nation, a marbled mix of Red-and-Blue people. But in truth, we have never been one nation. We are more like a Federated Republic of two nations: Blue Nation and Red Nation. This is not a metaphor; it is a geographic and historical reality.”

And if you are still wondering why I resort to Atlantic Magazine so often that boasts a stable of brilliant liberal, moderate and a few right-of-center and some Christian authors, it is because there is a virtual dearth, a desert land of real conservative Christian scholarship across our entire literary and theological landscape today.

That said, let me again Bullet Point his major ideas for the sake of brevity and grasp of his ranging analysis.

“To Podhorzer, the growing divisions between Red and Blue states represent a reversion to the lines of separation through much of the nation’s history. The differences among states in the Donald Trump Era, he writes, are ‘very similar, both geographically and culturally, to the divides between the Union and the Confederacy.’ And those dividing lines were largely set at the nation’s founding, when Slave states and Free states forged an uneasy alliance to become ‘one nation.’ Podhorzer isn’t predicting another Civil War, exactly. But he’s warning that the pressure on the country’s fundamental cohesion is likely to continue ratcheting up in the 2020s.”

“All of this is fueling ‘The Great Divergence’ now under way between Red and Blue states. This Divergence itself creates enormous strain on the country’s cohesion, but more and more even that looks like only a way station. What’s becoming clearer over time is that the Trump-Era GOP is hoping to use its electoral dominance of the Red States, the small-state bias in the Electoral College and the Senate, and the GOP-appointed majority on the Supreme Court to impose its economic and social model on the entire nation—with or without majority public support. As measured on fronts including the January 6 Insurrection, the procession of Republican 2020 election deniers running for offices that would provide them with control over the 2024 electoral machinery, and the systematic advance of a Republican agenda by the Supreme Court, the underlying political question of the 2020s remains whether Majority Rule—and Democracy as we’ve known it—can survive this offensive.”

“The hardening difference between Red and Blue, Podhorzer maintains, ‘empowers’ the 10 Purple states (if you include Arizona and Georgia) to ‘decide which of the two superpower nations’ values, Blue or Red, will prevail in presidential and congressional elections. And that leaves the country perpetually teetering on a knife’s edge: The combined vote margin for either party across those Purple states has been no greater than two percentage points in any of the past three presidential elections, he calculates. The increasing Divergence—and Antagonism—between the Red Nation and the Blue Nation is a defining characteristic of 21st-century America. That’s a reversal from the middle decades of the 20th century, when the basic trend was toward greater Convergence.”

“The core question that Podhorzer’s analysis raises is how the United States will function with Two Sections that are moving so far apart … It seems unlikely that the Trump-Era Republicans installing the policy priorities of their preponderantly White and Christian Coalition across the Red states will be satisfied just setting the rules in the places now under their control. Podhorzer, like [political scientists] Mason and Grumbach, believes that the MAGA Movement’s long-term goal is to tilt the electoral rules in enough states to make winning Congress or the White House almost impossible for Democrats. Then, with support from the GOP-appointed majority on the Supreme Court, Republicans could impose Red-state values and programs nationwide, even if most Americans oppose them. ‘The MAGA Movement is not stopping at the borders of the states it already controls. It seeks to conquer as much territory as possible by any means possible.’”

DK. To be blunt, this is the most lucid and wise cultural analysis I have read in a decade or more concerning why America is shattering into shards, and where it is likely headed in just the next few months and years. Lest you think this is all about politics, the discerning reader will look just beneath this surface layer to discover the very Heart of a Nation, including the Christian Nation, is tearing itself apart over whether or not it wants to do the right thing, or just exert raw and even bloody power over the opposition for total control.

The Ultimate Sedition. Almost unbelievably, it is America’s White Christian Church that is encouraging this entire historic ‘Coup d’état,’ the end of which can only result in the utter Collapse of American Order, Worldwide Chaos and the violent suppression of true Christian Orthodoxy.

Now can you understand why I continue to shout rather than whisper?

III. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “Why do the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme?”– PSALM 2:1, AMPC

KEY TERM: “COMMOTION.” ‘Ragash’ [רָגַשׁ]: “A primitive root – To be tumultuous; to rage; a verb meaning to be in commotion or rage against; this word denotes the uproar and plotting of the wicked against the righteous; the image of a gathering lynch mob conveys well the action suggested here; it derives from a similar term meaning a tumultuous crowd; i.e., ‘a company of insurrection;’ the basic meaning of the word is that of a thronging mass of people and the riotous scheming that can result from a large gathering of people whose minds were not directed toward God.”

COMMENTARY. “We are here told who would appear as Adversaries to Christ. As this world is the Kingdom of Satan, unconverted men, of every rank, party, and character, are stirred up by him to oppose the Cause of God. But the Rulers of the earth generally have been most active. The truths and precepts of Christianity are against ambitious projects and worldly lusts. We are told what they aim at in this opposition. They would break asunder the bands of conscience, and the cords of God’s Commandments; they will not receive, but cast them away as far as they can.

These Enemies can show no good cause for opposing so just and holy a government, which, if received by all, would bring a Heaven upon Earth. They can hope for no success in so opposing so powerful a Kingdom. The Lord Jesus has all power both in Heaven and in Earth, and is Head over all things to the Church, notwithstanding the restless endeavours of His Enemies. Christ’s Throne is set up in His [True] Church, that is, ‘in the hearts of all [sincere] believers.’” – MATTHEW HENRY, An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited

DK. Although this short essay began as a simple Précis, I decided to develop it into a full Commentary due to its power and momentousness for the United States and her Church. For this reason: America is deconstructing herself at nearly light speed in arrogant and increasingly violent Insurrection against the Godhead.

To repeat the point until someone in the Church hears it: January 6, 2021, was the American Rubicon with no possibility of Return to Order, as she is hellbent on establishing her own Rule and her own Ruler: DONALD JOHN TRUMP, the American Anti-Messiah.

Aberjhani, the author of the quotation for today’s study said it best and most sharply: “The only thing we knew for certain was the American Civil War was not a prelude to a kiss.” A Prophecy for American Suicide by no other name. Selah.

IV. LAST THOUGHTS

As we continue to watch the nearly indescribable horrors taking place in Israel recently, we are increasingly reminded of the many Scriptures admonishing us to keep a close eye on that special nation.

As I write in my upcoming book, The Sixth Seal II (2023), I am particularly concerned with what I refer to as THE PSALM 83 WAR.

“Keep not silence, O God; hold not Your peace or be still, O God. For, behold, Your enemies are in tumult, and those who hate You have raised their heads.They lay crafty schemes against Your people and consult together against Your hidden and precious ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be in remembrance no more!’” – VV, 1-4, AMP

More specifically, the reason I posited this as the Second of Five Last Days Wars is because of a New Arab Coalition described in verses 5-8: Edom (Esau’s descendants); Moab, Gebal, and Ammon (Jordan); Ishmaelites and Hagrites (Saudi Arabia); Amalek (Egypt); Philistia (Gaza, Palestine); Tyre (Lebanon); Assyria (Syria and Iraq); and the Children of Lot scattered throughout the entire Middle East (Kelly, 2023, p. 149).

THESIS. I proposed further that: “These nations are likely defeated by Israel before the next wars [Isaiah 17 War of Damascus; Ezekiel 38 War; and the Revelation 16 War of Armageddon], serving again as a “Trigger” to those subsequent battles. You will note that this Coalition is in fact, not part of the Last Wars, having been eliminated from the historic contest between the Arab nations and Israel. This is admittedly speculative, but it does fit the larger Middle East Scenario that has been roiling since the Lord gave the Land of Promise to the Jews forever (cf. Genesis 15:18; Exodus 6:8; Deuteronomy 34:1-12). Further, Israel at this point has pretty much had enough after some seventy-five years or more of incessant militant and military aggression against the Jewish State” (pp. 149-150).

A growing number of political analysts have weighed in on this most recent and acutely perilous, “RAGE OF NATIONS,” warning that this could easily expand into a Global Conflict just down the road. Which is precisely the Thesis of my book that was drafted well before this recent conflagration with the Gaza.

Here are just a few as I close.

“‘This war will be a long one,’ said AARON KARP, a master lecturer of political science and geography at Old Dominion University. “We don’t know what’s going to happen and we can’t begin to guess,” as it appears Israel is preparing for what could be an extremely risky ground assault on densely populated Gaza.” – REGINA MOBLEY, “ODU Expert,” Wavy TV, Oct. 12, 2023

“‘Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and Syria represents a potential flashpoint in the conflict that erupted over the weekend’ — one that experts say bears watching over the next several days because it could be a harbinger of a wider regional war in the Middle East. One thing is certain: Israel’s military is paying close attention to that border.” – MURRAY BREWSTER, “Israel Anxiously Watches its Northern Border,” CBC News, Oct. 11, 2023

“An Israeli lawmaker has urged her government to consider using nuclear weapons in their war against Hamas. ‘Jericho missile! Jericho [nuclear capable] missile! A strategic alert, before we consider introducing our forces. A Doomsday weapon!’ REVITAL ‘TALLY’ GOTLIV, a member of the Israeli Parliament, wrote in a post on X on Monday. ‘This is my opinion. May God preserve all our strength. Only an explosion that shakes the Middle East will restore this country’s dignity, strength, and security! It’s time to kiss Doomsday.” – KWAN WEI KEVIN TAN, “An Israeli Lawmaker is Urging Her Government to Use Everything Available in its Arsenal, Including Doomsday weapons, against Hamas,” Business Insider, Oct. 11, 2023; edited

“As Israel lashes back forcefully against the massive attack on its soil by Hamas militants, [MOHAMMED] MGHEIS and others fear that an expected ground invasion of Gaza will spiral into a titanic clash that pulls in Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad. Hamas has called on those groups to open new fronts against Israel if the nation’s tanks roll into the Gaza Strip. ‘It won’t just be conflict here, but everywhere — all the Middle East. Hezbollah, Iran, everyone will join.’” – NABIH BULOS, “In Northern Israel, Fears Grow of a War that Engulfs ‘All the Middle East,’” LA Times, Oct. 12, 2023; edited

“‘It’s a trap.’ Hamas’s ruthless and spectacular attack on southern Israel last Saturday was many things: An atrocity, a display of militant ingenuity, and a demonstration of the weakness of Israeli intelligence and defenses. Israel and the Palestinians have a long history of brutality against each other, but the Hamas killing spree outdoes anything since Israeli-controlled Christian militias massacred unarmed Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps outside of Beirut in 1982. It may even have been the single most brutal act by either side in the 100-year-old conflict. ‘But above all, it was intended as a trap—one that Israel appears about to fall into’ … Hamas and its Iranian patrons want to block the diplomatic-normalization agreement that the United States has been brokering between Israel and Saudi Arabia … [Moreover] Iran and Hamas are counting on Israel to attack Gaza with such ferocity that the international sympathy of the past week toward Israel, even in the Arab world, evaporates quickly and is replaced by outrage at the suffering inflicted on the 2 million residents of Gaza.” – HUSSEIN IBISH, “Israel is Walking into a Trap,” The Atlantic, Oct. 13, 2023; edited

CODA. My bottom line, best I can assess it. From an historical and eschatological view, we are pushing hard against the outer edges of the Last Days Reckoning of Mankind’s sin over the last 6 to 7,000 years. Without getting into the theological weeds here, some conservative commentators propose that it is plausible at least that Planet Earth could be within 10 to 12 years of The End of History as we have known it.

Being careful to avoid setting dates, that is my personal expectation for a Divine Timeline, given all that is taking place today among MAJOR PLAYERS in Last Days wartime events: Israel in the Middle East; China in the Taiwan Straits; Russia in the Ukraine. I cannot help but see the geopolitical pieces being assembled into an intensifying “Rage of Nations” described by the Scriptures.

And I am not alone.

I close with a summation by NYU Stern School of Business professor, author and social psychologist, JONATHAN HAIDT writing for The Atlantic, not surprisingly. His piece is titled, “Why the Last Ten Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid” (Apr. 11, 2022; edited).

“‘What would it have been like to live in Babel in the days after its destruction?’ In the Book of Genesis, we are told that the descendants of Noah built a Great City in the land of Shinar. They built a Tower ‘with its top in the heavens to make a name’ for themselves. God was offended by the hubris of humanity and said:

‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’

The Text does not say that God destroyed the Tower, but in many popular renderings of the story He does, so let’s hold that dramatic image in our minds: People wandering amid the ruins, unable to communicate, condemned to mutual incomprehension …

It’s been clear for quite a while now that Red America and Blue America are becoming like two different countries claiming the same territory, with two different versions of the Constitution, economics, and American history. But Babel is not a story about Tribalism; it’s a story about ‘the Fragmentation of everything.’It’s about the shattering of all that had seemed solid, the scattering of people who had been a community. It’s a Metaphor for what is happening not only between Red and Blue, but within the Left and within the Right, as well as within universities, companies, professional associations, museums, and even families.”

DK. Beloved, I shall end with a personal note from a dear and close friend from Damascus who is now working on his doctorate in Eastern Europe. Though of Arab descent, he is now a fervent Greek Orthodox Christian, author, and expert on Middle East affairs.

We shall call him, ‘El-Mesihiyyun’ (or, an Arab Christian).I urge you to heed his words ever so closely and pray for the Peace of the Region as never before. Posted unedited.

“Hello Dear Doctor: I’m not sure you remember but like 7 years ago we were talking about Syria liberating Aleppo from those insane Islamists. You said something like, ‘It’s a good thing Jihadists are no longer in control, but the area won’t see peace.’

Sadly, it seems that your prophecy is coming to fruition. The situation in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, and Jerusalem is basically going to escalate like never before. My heart breaks for all the civilians and innocents on both sides: Christian, Jews, Muslims, atheists, all of them. But I don’t think this is one of those wars we’re used to in the Middle East. ‘I think this may end in destruction we’ve never thought possible.’”

Therefore, beloved: Now make yourselves ready to courageously serve truth in love, but only to those willing to hear it. Selah.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ieWArLWjhvk