SPECIAL PRÉCIS ON THE COMING FIRE OF GOD UPON AMERICA: A FOLLOWUP

SPECIAL PRÉCIS ON THE COMING FIRE OF GOD UPON AMERICA: A FOLLOWUP

SCRIPTURE. “Hear this word, you cows [women] of Bashan who are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, ‘Bring and let us drink!’ The Lord God has sworn by His holiness that, ‘Behold, the days shall come upon you when they shall take you away with hooks and the last of you with fishhooks. And you shall go out through the breaches [made in the city’s wall], every [woman] straight before her, and you shall be cast forth into Harmon [an unknown place of exile],’ says the Lord.” – AMOS 4:1-3, AMPC

KEY TERM: “CAST FORTH.” ‘SHALAK’ [הִשְׁלִ֥יךְ]: “A primitive root, ‘To throw out, down, or away.’” Also: “To hurl or pluck [out]; implies the sense of getting rid of something or someone.” NOTE: “The Hebrew verb ‘shalak’ primarily means to throw or cast something, often with force or intention. It is used in various contexts, including the physical act of throwing objects, casting lots, or metaphorically casting away or rejecting something. The term conveys a sense of deliberate action, whether in a physical or symbolic sense.”

QUOTATION. “‘In every Christian’s heart there is a Cross and a Throne, and the Christian is on the Throne till he puts himself on the Cross.’ If he refuses the Cross he remains on the Throne. Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among gospel believers today. We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No Cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little Kingdom of Mansoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar, but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.” ― A.W. TOZER, The Radical Cross: Living the Passion of Christ, 2005; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan!’ — Bashan was famous for its flocks and herds, Deuteronomy 32:14; Ezekiel 39:18. The proud and luxurious matrons of Israel may be here described. In this sense the words are understood by [Hugo] Grotius, and some other commentators. Thus rich, proud, and tyrannical men are compared, Psalm 22:13, to ‘The bulls of Bashan;’ because cattle fed in the pastures of Bashan, which were remarkably rich, were more than commonly large, and wanton, or headstrong, by reason of their full feeding. 

‘Which say to their masters’ — To their husbands; ‘Bring, and let us drink!’ — From these expressions we may infer the dissoluteness and intemperance of the women. And it may be observed here also, that even the women are accused of oppressing the poor, and crushing the needy; from whence we may gather to how great a height cruelty, oppression, and insolence were grown among them, since even the women were guilty of these vices. Some, however, think that the description contained in this verse is not to be confined to the matrons, but that the rich, luxurious, and profligate rulers and nobles are also and even especially intended; and that these might be represented as kine rather than bulls, in order to reprove their effeminacy and cowardice when assaulted by their enemies; while at the same time they crushed and trampled on their unresisting brethren, and sold them for slaves, saying to the masters who bought them, ‘Bring, and let us drink.’ Having made the iniquitous bargain, perhaps, on low terms, they required from the purchaser to be treated with wine. This is Mr. Scott’s view of the passage.

‘The Lord hath sworn by His holiness’ — As sure as God is holy and true, so certainly will He bring the threatened judgment upon you; ‘that He will take you away with hooks’ — ‘The original word in the masculine is used for “thorns;” but in the feminine it signifies “shields.” So that, perhaps, a fishing instrument may be denoted, which, like some now in our use, resembled a shield, or a basket, in its form. Our translators render the word “hooks,” from their analogy to “thorns.”’ — [John] Newcome. ‘And your posterity’ — Or remainder; ‘with fish-hooks’ — Invaders and spoilers are often compared to fishers. The sense here seems to be, that the several invaders of Israel, coming after one another, should make an entire riddance of the whole Nation, so that their posterity, or remainder, which had escaped the first invaders, should certainly fall into the hands of those that came after.

‘And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow,’ &c. — The Prophet pursues the Metaphor taken from the ‘Kine of Bashan,’Amos 4:1, and tells the people, that as cattle strive to get out at every breach they can find in a mound or fence: So should they, with all possible haste, endeavour to make their escape at the several breaches which should be made in the walls of Samaria. ‘And ye shall cast them into the palace’ — The marginal reading is preferable, ‘Ye shall cast away the things;’namely, the riches and ornaments, ‘of the palace.’Or the clause may be rendered, ‘Ye shall cast out yourselves,’ that is, ye shall with haste betake yourselves ‘to Harmon:’ So the Vulgate, ‘Et projiciemini in Armon,’that is, says Grotius, ‘into Armenia.’ So the Hebrews understand it.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

DK’S TAKE. Of all the sins that the people of God are free to commit when following their own lusts is the SIN OF OPPRESSION. It is the one thing that will fuel His Unmitigated Rage more than most others, because it is in severe violation of all that He is: ‘God of the Rescue of the Poor and the Broken.’

As you well know, I have argued relentlessly for the past several years that the American Church is obsessed with material gain and political power. Its sustained, seditious support of President Trump is prima facie evidence of this Betrayal of the True Christ in reckless preference of the Antichrist.

Because there is no hint nor whisper of a Desire for Repentance in the Land, God has reached ‘His End of Restraint’ and has already begun to Judge America in direct response to the will of His people. And it shall be more severe than any other Nations’ punishment, and here’s why.

JESUS WARNS. “As you go into the house, give it your greeting [that is, ‘Peace be to this house’]. If [the family living in] the house is worthy [welcoming you and your message], give it your [blessing of] peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God]. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties].

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger].” – MATTHEW 10:12-15, AMP

Because I believe these things, like you, my message is rejected by well over 90% of my life-long Christian friends. The latest of which occurred just this morning (February 25, 2025). As I continued to warn her that her Pastors were not telling her the whole truth about President Trump, her response was (paraphrased):

“I guess you have a corner on the truth and that the 95% who reject your views are wrong. You won’t listen to them, and that is not loving.”

I have known and ministered to this woman who suffers from diabetes for at least 25 years. She prefers her Pastoral Leadership whose Lead Pastor once told me to my face as we discussed Last Things:

“Oh, I don’t believe any of that stuff.”

CODA. And so it goes in the American Church and the vast majority of White Christians. Whether by their direct ‘Support’ of Trump, or by their ‘Silence’ and refusal to take a stand, they are guilty before the Court of Heaven. The Consequence is nearly too horrible to write, but this is also what JESUS WARNED.

“For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God’s kingdom]? For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” – MATTHEW 8:36-38, AMP

This is, beloved, the Very Word of our Very God, and I dare not change even one jot or tittle. Thanks be to God!