Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God

Jonathan Edwards preached this message on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut after having already preached it to his own Massachusetts.  History records that the Enfield church was not responding to the moving of the Holy Spirit and that the Pastor invited Edwards to preach with the hope that his congregation would be stirred to take hold of God.

The sermon’s theme, "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God,”  was central to the Great Awakening and permeated the sermon in its entirety.   We are told that Edwards was interrupted several times with people crying out such questions as, “What must I do to be saved,” and “Mr Edwards, is there no hope for me?”

Beyond the central theme, Edwards put forth ten propositions to prove his theme.  I think today’s culture needs be reminded of these important issues:

    1.    There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment.
    2.    They deserve to be cast into hell.
    3.    They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell.
    4.    They are not the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God that is expressed in the       torments of hell.
    5.    The devil stands ready to fall upon them and seize them as his own, at what moment God shall permit him.
    6.    There are, in the souls of wicked men, whose hellish principles reigning that would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire if it were not for God’s restraints.
    7.    It is no security to wicked men for one moment that there are no visible means of death at hand.
    8.    Natural men’s prudence and care to preserve their own lives, or the care of others to preserve them, do not secure them a moment.
    9.    All wicked men’s pains and contrivances which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from hell one moment.
    10.    God has laid himself under no obligation, by any promise, to keep any natural man out of hell one moment.

I believe that Edward’s sermon ought be declared across the depth and breath of America during these dreadful days we are entering.  God has given us a period of mercy during which time He is calling out to sinners to come to Him, however, He is under no obligation to extend that call one moment.  Should you sense the realization within yourself that you are in need of His mercy and grace, turn to Him with He still calls, lest the time be past and you enter eternity without Him, and as the eternal subject of Satan, whose abode is the lake of fire.

PONDERING AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP TO ISRAEL

Many Bible Students have wondered why no reference seems to exist concerning America in “End Times Prophecy.”   It just might be that America will no longer be a world power during the last days, that she lies in ruins, testament to her secularism and her rejection of God as her ultimate Sovereign.  Even now, President Obama is maneuvering to set the United States against Israel’s best interests by hinting that his administration will not back Israel when the United Nations adopts a resolution pushing for a two-state settlement of the Palestinian issue.

Such a position would severely change the dynamic America has enjoyed as the nation has historically, wholehearted supported Israel, thereby obtaining, I believe, the blessing of God as per His pronouncement in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Should America, already under the judgement of God for her blatant legalization of perverted sin according to Leviticus chapter 18, now become Israel’s antagonist; the discerning Believer should recognize the imminent destruction of America looming on the horizon.

The growing secularization of America’s universities, schools, and churches is leading to a multiculturalism which by its very nature rejects God and His Word as the absolute authority.  Since America’s stand with Israel is based upon the influence of a significant number of Bible Believers whose vociferous support has, heretofore, carried the day; how much more diluted can that voice be and still influence national policy? 

In the book of Genesis, Abraham attempted to intercede for Sodom six times.  Abraham obviously understood the nature of Sodom because he seemed to fear that very few righteous persons resided in that hell hole of a city.  Estimates of Sodom’s population range from 1200 to several thousand, but even so Abraham’s final request would have been less than 1% of the population.  I don’t know what percentage of America’s two hundred million plus citizens are genuine Believers.  Certainly it is far less than the percentage of cultural Christians.

One man has declared, “Sin that once slunk down the back alley, now parades down Main Street.”  It is worse than that.  About one hundred years ago, the Fabian Socialists infiltrated American Universities and educated generations of government school teachers.  Today, the fruits of that education system have created an environment conducive to the election of a wholly socialist President, and the abandonment of Biblical authority.  The subsequent abandonment of Israel to those inspired by the prince of this world system, Satan, might just be the straw which breaks the back of the proverbial camel.

Secularists and liberal theologs will deny this hypothesis, but those who genuinely seek to be led by the Holy Spirit of God will know that this nation’s only hope lies not in her armed forces, nor her diplomatic maneuvering, but in a revival of true religion in the hearts of genuine Believers which drives them to fall on their collective faces at the feet of Jesus, crying for mercy.  Such revival will probably precipitate such a spiritual awakening that sin will no longer be celebrated, and Biblical authority will once again be the basis of local and national governance.



©                 Mike Rasberry            2015

Rosenberg analysis of Netanyahu's speech to Joint Session of Congress

Joel C. Rosenberg gives an analysis of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress.
Following the link below to read that analysis.  Definitely worth your time.  PM Netanyahu appears to be everything our President is NOT.   He also seems to have a very clear grasp of the danger facing this world today.

America teamed with our enemy, Russia, in the war against Nazi Germany and the result was that half of Europe was consigned to impoverished slavery for nearly half a century under the hammer and sickle of the Russian Bear.  We must recognize that just being the enemy of our enemy is not sufficient cause for embracing a sworn enemy.  The enemy of our enemy is still our enemy.

Please take the time to read the Rosenberg analysis.