Message 33 - By Leroy
Surface
O America, America
Writer
Note: This message was
first published in 2004 just prior to the presidential elections of that
year. The Lord had spoken to me in January
of 2001 that the duration of George Bush’s presidency was given to America for
a time to repent and return to Him.
Obviously America did not repent, and God has begun to give America the
just reward of a nation that turns away from Him. We believe this message to have more meaning
today than when it was first written. L.S.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto
thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth
gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is
left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until
the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord.
Luke 13:34-35
I
can hear “weeping” in the voice of our Lord as he spoke these words over
Jerusalem. I can feel his broken heart as he foretold her destruction.
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept
over it, saying, If thou
hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto
thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come
upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee
round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground,
and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon
another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44
Jerusalem
would never know the wonderful things that were prepared for her. Her “fullness
of times” had come. Her “Messiah” was teaching in her
streets. The hour that all the prophets of God since the beginning of
time had prophesied of had arrived. The time of God’s visitation upon
Israel had come, and they knew Him not. He would have gathered them into
Himself, but they would not. The Apostle John said it this way; “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John
1:11). Nothing remained for Jerusalem but desolation and
destruction. Only forty years later, all these things were
fulfilled.
Nineteen
hundred and seventy four years later (2004), I can once more hear the weeping
in His voice. This time His message begins with….
O America,
America, “...how
often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her
brood under her wings, and ye would not!”
There
is a perfect parallel between God’s dealing with Old Testament Israel and
modern day America. Just as the “land of Canaan” was a land prepared
for the children of Israel; a land called “A Land of Milk and Honey,” so
America was to those brave men and women that crossed the ocean seeking a place
of freedom to worship God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Just as Canaan was
the “Land of Promise” to the Hebrew, so America became the Land of
Promise to multitudes from every nation who came seeking freedom from
oppression. When our American forefathers declared our independence from
England, they wrote these words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” With these words the
fathers of our nation acknowledged that it is God that bestows “rights”
and “liberties” upon the people. With this in mind, the Law of
God, while not explicitly expressed, became the basis for our Constitution and
government. From the beginning, every branch of our government honored
both God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible was a text from which our
children were educated in the schools of the land. Our Christian heritage
is literally “carved in stone,” as any visitor to our national monuments
in Washington D.C. will quickly see. Our presidents are sworn into office
with their hand on the Bible, as is every other elective official, swearing by
the Word of God to uphold the Constitution of the United States, concluding
with these words, “…so help me God.” Any official that would not
take this oath, could not serve. Every session of Congress even to this
day begins with an “invocation,” invoking the blessings of God upon that
day’s work. From the beginning, until recent years, every person bearing
witness in a court of law at any level of government was “sworn in” with
his right hand on the Bible. This was a Christian nation. Even the
Supreme Court of a hundred years ago found it to be so.
When
Jesus wept over Jerusalem, it was because He knew what “could have been”
(Luke 19:42). He also knew the
things that were coming upon the city because of its sins (Luke 19:43-44). In Revelation
1:19 He instructs the Apostle John to, “Write
the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which
shall be hereafter.”
Beginning in the second chapter of
Revelation, Jesus gives John seven messages to deliver to the seven
churches in Asia. In each of these the Lord “examined (I know thy
works etc.)” the works of the ministers and churches. These messages revealed
the “present” condition of the churches in John’s day. These were
the “things which are.” The “things which shall be hereafter”
are always based upon “things which are.” Because of the spiritual
condition of the churches at the end of that first century, the
entire world was brought into a period called the “Dark Ages” for over a
thousand years. Today, America is about to reap a terrible harvest
because of the condition of her church at the end of the twentieth century. This is the law of sowing and
reaping. The things that have been sown in America for the past
generation will bring a harvest of sorrow; and even now, it is beginning.
A Space for
Repentance
If I shut up heaven
that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I
send pestilence among my people;
II Chronicles 7:13
It
was God Himself that spoke these words to King Solomon. Modern theology
does not allow that the God we serve would ever “shut up the heavens that it
rain not,” or, “command the locusts to devour the land,” or, “send
the pestilence among His people,” yet these were the most common
disciplines that God used upon His people Israel in the Old Testament.
Only in rare instances did He give them into the hands of their enemies.
There were times that the land of Israel was literally destroyed by a
combination of drought, locusts, fire, pestilence, etc. In those times,
repentance was the only remedy. God called on the people to “Turn
ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with
mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the
LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil” (Joel 2:12-13).
Even when the drought was in the land; when the locust were devouring every
green thing; or when the pestilence was among the people; God always said…
If my people, which
are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.
II Chronicles 7:14
This
is the only remedy God gives for the condition America is in today. The “heavens”
have been shut up. There is no national revival. The “locusts”
have attacked our land. Fear of terrorism is everywhere. The “pestilence”
is among God’s people. Hordes of demonic spirits have invaded the land
and have even found a place in many churches in America. In II Thessalonians 2:10-12 the scripture
says, “…because they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Did you notice that it is God that sends “strong
delusion” to those who do not “love the truth?” Those people
in the “church” who have “pleasure in unrighteousness” refuse the
truth of God. They will believe the lie of the devil, and they will be damned.
It was God that sent an evil spirit to King Saul when he was rejected for his
disobedience (I Samuel 16:14-16, 23;
I Samuel 18:10-11). It was God
that sent a lying spirit into the mouth of King Ahab’s prophets when God
determined to destroy the wicked king (I
Kings 22;20-23). In every case, God was preparing these for
destruction; it was because of their rebellion against Him.
America’s
sins have reached up into heaven. They have come up before God, as an
insult to the “grace” He has bestowed upon our nation. His
greatest anger is reserved for those who have “despised” His
grace. The writer in Hebrews
10:28-29 explains this; “He that despised Moses' law died without
mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye,
shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Who among us can rightly answer this
question? The writer continues; “For we know him that hath
said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And
again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:30-31). Our great
nation is about to “fall into the hands of the living God.”
The
first day of the third millennium A.D. was January 1, 2001. The year 2000
was actually the last year of the second millennium. It was also the last
year of a very corrupt administration in American government. For almost
forty years a cultural war has been waged in America, although it has been a
very one sided battle. It seems that most of the church, as well as “moral”
America was asleep while the enemy crept in over the wall. The secularist
had their agenda from the beginning, and patiently pursued their goals, winning
victory after victory while men slept. During the latter part of the
nineties, our federal courts were filled with secularists, atheists, and
otherwise amoral men and women. The stage was set for the most immoral
and corrupt group of politicians I suppose this nation has ever seen to
accomplish a complete takeover of American government through the legal
processes. Only the hand of God in His mercy kept their plans from being
brought to full fruition. For the first time in history we had a
presidential election, in the year 2000, that was so close that it took six
weeks to determine who the next president would be. During that period of
six weeks, I saw that America was being “weighed” in the balances.
I believe with all my heart that it was the mercy of God that gave us a man
that professed Jesus Christ as his saviour to be our president. The
Spirit of God spoke to me, as I wrote in a message titled “Space for
Repentance,” that the duration of the presidency of George W Bush would be
a “space for repentance” for America. We could be assured of only
three and a half years to affect America for Jesus. If this did not
happen, the things coming on America would be too horrible to even speak
of. I tell you, that day has come. The Lord spoke these things to
me over nine months before 9-11. The things coming upon America today are
too horrible to speak of, but we must.
Fitted for
Destruction
What if God, willing
to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction….
Romans 9:22-23
The
scripture speaks of peoples, cities, and nations that were “fitted for
destruction.” God literally “prepares” nations for destruction
before His wrath is poured out upon them. America fits in that category
today. We, as a nation, are being “fitted for destruction.”
It is the nature of God that He does not destroy “good” nations, and
America has been a good nation, but we have rejected God, and He must reject
us. In Genesis 15:16, God
explained to Abraham that it would be four generations before his children
would possess Canaan. The reason given was, “for the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet full.” God will not destroy even the heathen
nations until their “iniquity is full.” America is presently being
filled to the brim, and, if there is not godly sorrow and repentance soon, we
as a nation will drink to the fullness of God’s wrath.
The
fact is, America has been on the way of destruction for the past forty
years. It began slowly, but we have reached the snowball effect. We
are witnessing an “explosion” of iniquity across our land. Several
things are established in the first chapter of Romans concerning how God dealt
with Israel, and how He is dealing with America today. First, in Romans 1:18, Paul says, “For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” . Notice, the “wrath of God” is
revealed against those “who hold the
truth in unrighteousness.” Some say, “…who hold back the truth
in unrighteousness,” but it matters not which is correct, for either
version fits America perfectly. We can understand why Peter told us that “judgment
must begin at the house of God (I
Peter 4:17),” for it is at the “house of God” that the truth has
been either “held,” or “held back” in unrighteousness. In
reading II Chronicles 7:14, notice
that God begins the verse saying, “If my people…” and ends with “…heal
their land.”
Notice closely: He said “My people,” and “their land.”
America is our land. It belongs to Jesus Christ, and He says it is our
land. We are to keep our land. We are the salt and the light of
America, but sadly the salt has lost its savour (Matthew 5:13), and the light has been darkened (Matthew 6:23). Church!
Child of God! We have a great responsibility to our home land,
America. We cannot wait for the pornographer, the abortionist, the drug
pusher, or the secularist politician to repent and pray; they will not.
God said if we, who are called by His name would humble ourselves and pray, He
would hear. If we will seek His face, He will forgive, and if we will
turn from our wicked way, He will heal our land. Child of God let us weep
in the altar of God for the sins of both the church and the nation. Call
for God’s mercy to be shown upon this great nation, by turning us from our
sins.
In
the first chapter of Romans it is revealed that the sins which bring God’s judgment
are always spiritual. God’s response is always to either give them up,
or, surrender the people to the desires of their own heart. Due to the
fact that the “land (the nation)” belongs to God’s people, it is the
entire nation that suffers because of the sins against God. We will show
several examples of this in the scriptures.
Because that, when
they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Romans 1:21-23
This
can only speak of a people who once knew God. America has not glorified
God as God, even in the days we as a nation yet knew Him. The problem,
however, issues from the church. Over thirty years of continuously
preaching “material prosperity” from the pulpits of America, has turned the
people from the “glory of the uncorruptible God” to “corruptible”
things. Instead of seeking God, we seek corruptible things, or, we seek
God in pretense, in hope of receiving corruptible things. We, as a nation
and as a church, have worshiped the corruptible things of this life.
God’s judgment for these things is given in the next verses.
Wherefore God also
gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies between themselves.
Romans 1:24
We
look at America’s popular culture and it is unclean. Americans have
sought entertainment after “the lusts of their own heart.” The
comedians, the singers, the movies, even the TV advertisements; the subject of
almost all is the “body;” that is, the “naked body.” Some
would say that this generation has “glorified” their bodies: God said
they have “dishonoured their own bodies between themselves,” and He has
given them up to do so. Stephen told us that when Israel worshiped the
golden calf, God “gave them up to worship the host of heaven”
(the stars and the planets; Acts 7:41-43).
God does not restrain the people from the “desires” of their own heart
nearly so much as He “gives them up” to them (Psalms 78:29-31). The uncleanness that is filling America is
God’s judgment against our spiritual sins. America has forgotten God, but
He has not forgotten America. Adultery is commonplace in America because
God has given us up to it. Over fifty percent of America’s “firstborn”
are born outside of marriage, because God has given us up to uncleanness.
Name any of the many immoralities found in America today, and they are
here because we, as a church and as a nation, chose to worship the corruptible.
The
next “sin” that has brought even greater judgment from God is found in Romans 1:25.
Who changed the truth
of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed forever.
Romans 1:25
The
gospel of Jesus Christ (as it is preached today), because it has been so
twisted and perverted by man’s philosophies and traditions, does not have the
power to save a single soul. They have changed the truth of God into a
lie. The “believers themselves” are the object of all things in
today’s church. Both the nation and the church, have become the “me”
generation. The “gospel that is preached across America today is
not the gospel, but, is another
gospel; Galatians 1:6-7. It leaves the sinners just as it found them;
in sin, in a struggle, and in bondage. It seeks to give a good “self
image,” a “positive confession,” and hundreds of “principles”
of “self improvement” to its believers. It promises “liberty”
to the believer, but holds them prisoner to the “bondage of corruption”
(II Peter 2:18-19). The “twisting”
, or “wresting” of the gospel of
Christ into the “lie” of the “man-centered” gospel of today has
brought a second severe judgment of God upon our nation. It is revealed in the next two verses.
For this cause God
gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural
use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the
natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men
working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of
their error which was meet.
Romans 1:26-27
Clearly,
the “vile affections” God has given America up to is manifested in
homosexualism, lesbianism, sodomy, oral sex, and every other perversion that is
filling our nation today. Again, it is easy to look at these perversions
which are so rampant in today’s America and warn that God is going to judge us
for these things. The truth is, these things are the judgment of
God against us. Man has perverted God’s word and the gospel of Jesus
Christ. The “just recompence” is that God has given our nation up
to perversion.
Why Would God Do This?
We,
as a nation, are being “fitted for destruction.” Every nation that
has once known God and forgotten Him has been turned into hell (Psalms 9:17). America will be no
different. Look back in history. Find the nation that was given up
to uncleanness and vile affections, that did not come to its end. Did any
nation continue long after it approved sodomy? Did Sodom and
Gomorrah?, Rome?, Jerusalem?, (I
Kings 14:24; II Kings 23:7)?
When you see marriage approved for two men, or two women, you can know that
God’s anger against this nation is being kindled. He has “given us up”
to those things which will destroy us. Reading on to the end of the first chapter of Romans gives us a final
description of our nation:
And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;
whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors
of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding,
covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Romans 1:28-32
In
reading and understanding these things, it is clear that our iniquity is being
filled to the fullness. How long can it be before God says it is
enough? How much precious time will be wasted before God’s people weep in
the altars before God for their land?
The Locusts
And the fifth angel
sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given
the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and
there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the
sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And
there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given
power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Revelation 9:1-3
And the sixth angel
sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is
before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four
angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels
were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a
year, for to slay the third part of men.
Revelation 9:13-15
I
received a vision from the Lord in 1987. In the vision I was
laboring in a harvest field along with numerous other men and women.
Throughout the morning, I would occasionally see a giant “grasshopper” of
a variety I had seen when I was just a child on the farm. They were large
and colorful, and in a strange way, pretty to look at. At the noon hour,
the owner of the field gathered the workers for a short meeting, and this is
what he said; “We have just one day to get this harvest in the barn, because
when night falls, great swarms of locusts are coming, and there will be nothing
left.” I could not understand, in 1987, what this vision meant.
I did know that it had to do with the locusts that would come out of the pit at
the sounding of the fifth trumpet,
but I did not know exactly what they would be. Today I know we are living
in the “night of the locust.” The “pit” has been
opened. The “smoke” has ascended, and out of the smoke has come
the locusts.
The
fifth and the sixth trumpets of the ninth
chapter of Revelation are directly connected, the one following the other
after a short period of time as the “locusts” reach the “swarm”
stage. I am totally convinced that the “locusts” of Revelation
9:1-3 are the Islamic terrorist. The “first” sign of the locusts
was in 1979 when the Islamics in Iran took the American Embassy and held our
people hostage for over a year. ABC’s “Nightline” broadcast with
Ted Koppel originated at that time with a nightly newscast titled “America
Held Hostage.” This took place in the last year of President Jimmy
Carter’s administration. Several incidents took place during President
Reagan’s watch, including the bombing of military quarters in Lebanon,
resulting in the deaths of dozens of our young men. The main event of
President Bush’s administration from 1989-1992 was the invasion of Kuwait by
Iraq, which triggered “Desert Storm.” During President Clinton’s
administration, 1993-2000, there was an increase in terrorist activity,
including the first bombing of the twin towers in New York City, the bombing of
several of our embassies around the world, and the bombing of our warship in
Yeman. Then came “9-11,” less than nine months into George W.
Bush’s presidency. The pictures are forever burned into the minds of
every American that saw them. The planes flying into the towers; the
smoke ascending; the towers collapsing; the “pit” opened, and the smoke
ascending out of the “pit.” Do I believe this was literally the “pit”
of Revelation 9:1-3? No! I do not; but I do see “9-11” as a
visible sign to all who have eyes to see, that the pit is opened and the locusts are swarming.
The
Locusts Are Swarming: Since 2004, when this message was written,
radical Islamist have spread into every nation on earth. Watch the insurrection that is taking place
in the Muslim nations at present. If the
radical elements of Islam are successful, (and I believe they will be) Israel
will be soon be completely surrounded with nations that seek her
annihilation. Certainly the fifth
trumpet is sounding, and the sixth trumpet is prepared.
Mohammad, according to ancient Arab
tradition, believed that he was the leader of the “locust army of God.”
He related several incidents in which messages from Allah were sent to him
written on the wings of a locust. The first of these “locusts” was
said to have the words “We are the locust army of God” written on its
wings. This of course, is a direct reference to the second chapter of the book of (the prophet) Joel. Hear the
description Joel gives of the day of the locusts:
Joel 2:1-11 KJV
1. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and
sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land
tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2. A day of darkness and of gloominess,
a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the
mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like,
neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3. A fire devoureth before them; and
behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them,
and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4. The appearance of them is as the
appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5. Like the noise of chariots on the
tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that
devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6. Before their face the people
shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7. They shall run like mighty men; they
shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his
ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8. Neither
shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when
they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9. They shall run to and fro in the
city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they
shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10. The earth shall quake before them;
the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars
shall withdraw their shining:
11. And the LORD shall utter his
voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that
executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and
who can abide it?
Daniel
tells of a “time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation even to that same time” (Daniel 12:1).
Jesus spoke of that same time period in these words; “For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). In the gospel of Mark it is described in this way; “For
in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the
creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be” (Mark 13:19). Now notice the words
we read in Joel 2:2; “there
hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it.” Certainly each of these prophets and our Lord Jesus Christ
were speaking of the same time period. We are living at the beginnings of
that horrible day. It will no longer suffice for the believer to deny the
events in the world around us by covering themselves with doctrines which say, “It
can’t happen until we are gone.” Oh church, awaken to the fact that
we are still here, and “it (that
day)” is also here.
In
Joel 2:8, the last phrase says, “…and when they shall fall upon the
sword, they shall not be wounded.” This is an amazing prophecy. It speaks of the “suicide
bomber” of today. To “fall
upon the sword” has been a term used for thousands of years for taking
one’s own life. King Saul died by “falling on his sword” (I Samuel 31:4-5). The term never
speaks of an accidental falling on a sword: it is a deliberate act of taking
one’s own life. The scripture says, “they shall not be wounded,”
but, according to Strong’s Concordance, this phrase should be translated “they
shall not be stopped.”
At
the sounding of the sixth trumpet, four “angels (principalities?)” are
loosened that were bound in the river Euphrates. These are prepared to
slay “the third part of men” (Revelation
9:14-15). In verse sixteen
(16) the number of their army is
revealed as two hundred million. In verse
seventeen (17) it is said that
they wear “breastplates of fire, jacinth, and brimstone.” What an
amazing prophecy. Just as Joel had revealed five hundred years before,
John’s Revelation reveals the “suicide bomber” that would come in our
day. The word “jacinth” is the color “blue.” We know what
the “fire and brimstone” is. What could better describe the
suicide vest than “breastplates of fire… and brimstone?”
God Commands the Locusts
God Commands the Locusts: The
prophet Joel tells us that the “locusts” are the “army of God’s judgment.” America must accept the fact that her
controversy is not with Islam; it is with God.
It is God that calls for the locusts, and it is God who would destroy
the locusts if America would repent (Joel
2:20). If there is no repentance, the
advance of Islam will not be stopped.
This present conflict will escalate until the sixth trumpet sounds, and
one third of all men will be slain. The
world has never seen such a calamity as that which will soon take place, if the
nations do not return to God.
Finally,
in Joel 2:11, we are told, “...the LORD shall utter his voice before his
army.” This we must understand. Even though it is
God who “commands” the locusts, the locust are not his people; but
his army of judgment. Notice II
Chronicles 7:13. God says, “If I command the locust to devour the
land.” In Exodus 10:4 God
brings the locusts into the land of Egypt because of the hardness of Pharaoh’s
heart. The land was being devoured by the locusts when Pharaoh called for
Moses with this repentance: “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and
against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once,
and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only” (Exodus 10:16-17). After Pharaoh’s “repentance,”
God took the locusts out of Egypt, and “there remained not one locust in all
the coasts of Egypt” (Exodus 10:19). It is God who commands the locusts. He can
bring them in, and He can take them out. He is in control, even when
things seem so out of control. Psalms
105:34 says this: “He spake, and the locusts came, and
caterpillers, ...without number....”
Sealed by God: According to Revelation 9:4, the locusts have power to hurt, “…only
those men which HAVE NOT the seal of God in their foreheads.” Ephesians
1:13 speaks of being “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” which Jesus
indicated in Acts 1:4-5 is the
baptism with the Holy Ghost. Those who
are filled with the Spirit, with the Holy Ghost working in them will not be
hurt by the swarming of the locusts. Do
not be deceived. The judgment will begin
at the house of God, and only those who are “sealed by God” will be safe. Read the ninety
first Psalm.
Is
it hard to accept the fact that it is “our God” who commands the locusts?
No, it is rather a cause for rejoicing on the part of the child of God.
In Revelation 9:4 we are told, “And it was commanded them that they
should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any
tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” The locusts are “commanded”
not to hurt those with the seal of God in there foreheads. In Ezekiel 9:4-6, before Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed Jerusalem, God sent His angel to place a mark on the forehead of all
those that “sighed,” and “cried,” for all the abominations that
were committed in the land. When the destroyers came, God commanded them
to “Slay utterly old and
young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man
upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary” (Ezekiel
9:6). Please notice that it was those who “sighed and cried”
because of the abominations that were identified as God’s own people. It
wasn’t their position in the religion of the day that saved them. In
fact, it was the abominations that were committed in the Temple of God that
raised the anger of God to the point of no return. When the slaughter
began, it began at the house of God, but not even one person that wept before
God because of Israel’s sin perished that day. Our God is in control.
Why the Locusts
Come
Why the Locusts Come: The
five sins that will bring the destruction of every nation that once knew God
are listed in Revelation 9:20-21. We have warned repeatedly for many years of the
judgment of God that is coming to America because of these five sins. There is no possibility that America can be
restored to her former glory and prosperity as long as these sins remain. It is because of these sins that one third of
all men will be slain in the coming time of trouble.
And the rest of the men which were not killed
by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they
should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone,
and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they
of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,
nor of their thefts.
Revelation 9:20-21
This
text projects to sometime in the future after millions of people have been slaughtered
on both sides. The scripture says “a third part” of men shall be
slain. After a holocaust of unprecedented proportions, these scriptures
say that those who survive will still refuse to repent. In Revelation 9:20-21, five sins are revealed as the reason
the “locusts” have come. They are listed below, and are the most
predominant sins of America today.
1.
Idolatry
America
has forsaken God, the Father of Jesus Christ. The secularists in America
even seek to change our history to deny that we were ever a “Christian
nation.” The truth is, America was not only founded on Godly and
scriptural principles, but God Himself inspired many of our founding fathers in
laying the foundation of this great nation. They sought the blessing and
guidance of “the almighty” and received it. If ever a nation was
birthed with a Godly heritage, America was. We were a nation with a “birthright”
from God, but as Esau of old, we have “despised” our birthright.
Until
about a generation ago, America was considered to be a “Christian”
nation. Our immigration laws were such that very few “non-Christians”
were permitted to enter. In fact, until 1965, only about 300,000
immigrants per year were allowed to enter this nation, most of which came from
northern Europe. The testing for immigration was such that the average
immigrant was as highly educated as the average American. Often it was
the “brightest” and the “best” of the European nations that came
to America. For whatever reasons, mostly economic, almost no immigration
was allowed from Africa, Asia, or other “third world” nations. In
1965 congress changed our immigration policy, dropping virtually all barriers
of economic or literacy testing. These changes opened the floodgates of
immigration from formerly prohibited nations. Since 1965 we have seen a
steady flow of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. coming into America, bringing
their heathen “gods” with them. From our foundation as a nation
until 1965 we were a “monotheistic” nation. We were “…one
nation, under (one) God, indivisible….” Today America is a “polytheistic”
nation, meaning in the simplest terms, we are an “idolatrous”
nation. America serves many “gods.” We are a “divided”
nation, and the lines that divide us cannot be erased by the legislative efforts
of mans lawmakers. We have broken the first commandment of the one true
God, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Hath a nation changed
their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for
that which doth not profit.
Jeremiah 2:11
2. Murders
(abortion)
Never
in the history of the world has there been such senseless murder of innocents
as has taken place in America in the past generation. I speak, of course,
of abortion. Nearly fifty million
of our children have been violently destroyed in the past thirty years, and not
one person has been arrested or given account for these murders. The
scriptures say that, “If we would judge ourselves, we would
not be judged” (I
Corinthians 11:31). It is not the murderers that sit on death row
that angers God; instead, it is those “murders” that are “approved”
by our national laws. We must hear the cry of fifty million innocent
souls, crying (if I may impute the cry of the martyrs of Revelation 6:10), “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost
thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” The time is at hand.
3.
Sorceries (drug culture)
In
today’s America it seems the “answer” to every personal problem of man
is “another drug.” No longer do we believe man’s problems to be “spiritual”
in nature, it is just a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. Our
public school systems have long ago ruled against “corporal punishment
(swats)” for discipline; instead, they have forced our children into the “drug
culture” as a control mechanism. Tens of thousands of our children
have been drugged into “zombie-like” states rather than have the
teachers and principals mete out punishment as in past generations.
It
was in the late fifties or the early sixties that the medical community began
to discover so many “miracle drugs.” I am speaking specifically of
the “mood altering” drugs that were prescribed for depression, anxiety,
etc. I remember that many people, especially young wives and mothers,
became “hooked” on Valium and other drugs, prescribed by their doctors
to help them “cope” with life. People took pills to go to sleep;
pills to wake up; pills to calm them, and pills to energize them. Diet
pills and pain pills alike were addictive, and many honest, decent people
became addicted to legal drugs, prescribed by their doctors. Then we
experienced a strange phenomenon. The children of the sixties suddenly
began “craving” drugs. It is the opinion of this writer that they
were born that way, not by “genetics,” but by “sharing” the
addictions of their mothers while yet in the womb. Very often it was
pregnant women who most relied on Valium, and other drugs, to help them
cope. It was our “legal” drug culture that produced the illegal
culture of the sixties and seventies which destroyed an entire generation of
our youth.
The
“drug culture” is the third sin of five that have destroyed
America. God calls it “sorcery.” The Greek word that was
translated “sorceries” in Revelation
9:21 is “pharmakeia,” and simply means “medication (Strong’s
Concordance).” Our English word
“pharmacy” is derived from the same Greek word. The same word is
translated as “witchcraft” in Galatians
5:20. Please understand this: this is not meant as a message to cause
anyone to throw away their medicines, such as those for blood pressure,
diabetes, etc. Our society, however, has become dependent on drugs.
One of the major political issues in the land today is which party will give
the most “drugs” to American citizens. Drugs are so much a part of
our culture that many seem to think free access to them is a “constitutional
right.” God have mercy on us! They have weakened our society,
and they destroy us.
The
use of illegal drugs in America is totally out of control. Drug usage is
the number one cause of the breakdown of the family unit in America.
Millions of young men across our land cannot function in society. Their
brains have literally been “burned up” by the drugs they have
taken. They cannot get a job and could not keep it if they did.
They often have “fathered” children by several different women, and
cannot support a wife, much less the children. Today there is a
generation spawned by the drug culture that has literally taken on the nature
and appearance of devils. They are “mutilating” their bodies,
cutting them with knives (the manner of the Baal worshipers in I Kings 18:28), covering them with
tattoos, and piercing them in every conceivable place. Our nation’s
children continually feed on “music”
that glorifies rape, violence, murder, incest, rebellion, and every evil
thing. There is a totally demonized generation in America today. It
is the natural byproduct of our “drug culture.” God calls it “witchcraft,”
and “sorcery.”
4.
Fornication
Fornication: The trend among America’s young people not
to marry, but to “cohabit” with their sexual partner, is fornication. It is a trend that is being accepted in many
churches through a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, just like our nation has had
for gays in the military (now that seem to have changed to, we don’t care
anymore). To have Sexual relations before
marriage or without marriage is fornication.
It is destroying our families, but not only our families, but our
nation also.
The
Greek word translated “fornication”
is “porneia.” Strong’s Concordance gives its meaning as “harlotry.”
My English dictionary goes into some depth defining the word “harlotry.”
It includes vulgar language (ribaldry), vulgar body language and jesting
(buffoonery), adultery, incest, prostitution, and lewdness. Our word “pornography”
is derived from the Greek “porneia.” Every sexual act other than
the natural relationship between a man and his wife is included as
fornication. All “unnatural” sexual activity, hence,
homosexuality, sodomy, oral sex, masturbation, etc., comes under the judgment
of God in this text. America, only in this generation, has given approval
to things which God judges as fornication.
5. Thefts
Our prison system in America overflows because
of those young men who steal to support their drug addictions. Our prison
population is presently larger than any other nation on earth, yet we still do
not have room enough for all those being brought into the system. We are,
beyond any doubt, a violent and immoral society. It is not, however, the
men and women who are presently serving time in our prisons that stirs the
anger of God. Instead, it is those murders, sorceries, fornications, and
thefts that are “approved” by
American law that brings the anger of God against our nation. We ought to
know that, the scripture tells us, “If we would judge
ourselves, we should (would)
not be judged” (I Corinthians 11:31).
America has lost the ability to judge herself; therefore God must judge
us.
The
Failure of All Things: For many years, beginning in the early
seventies, this ministry warned of the failure of all the things that people
put their trust in, other than Jesus Christ.
We foresaw the day that America’s financial systems would fail, that the
medical systems would fail, and the educational systems would fail. These are the three major problems in America
today. Certainly, what God says will
come to pass in its season.
America
has become a greedy nation. Almost every institution in the land has
corporately taken on that character of greed. Government agencies, all
the way from the federal bureaucracies down through the states, counties,
cities, and townships, all the way down to the local mud districts, have
developed an insatiable appetite for tax money. The power to levy taxes
on the citizens has been so abused that it has, in many cases, reached the
level of “extortion.” Many large corporations have become so
greedy they would sell America to the enemy for larger profits. We have
become a society of people looking for someone to sue. They seek “The
American Dream,” which has been perverted to mean “rich and famous,”
at someone else’s expense. Trial lawyers have carefully cultivated this
mindset among the people. Rather than “work hard, be honest and
patient,” the cry is “I want it, and I want it now.” It makes
no difference who they must step on or hurt in the process, “if it is
legal,” they think “it’s alright.” We have gone beyond the
point of no return on these issues. It will take God Himself to change
this character, and He will; whether it’s through revival, or judgment.
Our
national greed has reached even into the medical community. There was a
time, in my lifetime, that hospitals were mostly non-profit institutions, operated
by religious charitable organizations. A hospital room was ten dollars a
night, a doctor’s visit was three to five dollars, and a working man could go
to the emergency room and afford to pay the bill when he left. This was
at a time when the average man earned about $1.50 per hour. Most often,
the family doctor was the “wealthy” man in town, living in the “brick”
home, and driving the “nice” car. He was also highly respected and
loved by the entire community. Today, it is not uncommon for a “four
hour operation” to cost more than the patient makes in a year’s
wages. Your time in the emergency room may cost a thousand dollars an
hour, and your overnight stay if admitted, two thousand dollars plus. It
is true that millions of people have abused the medical system, but never mind,
there is a government agency somewhere that will pay the bill.
Writer Note: While a visit to the emergency room can cost
a thousand dollars an hour, and the birth of a baby can cost ten thousand
dollars, that same baby can be aborted for less than five hundred dollars. This is only one of the great “shames” in
America that bring the anger of God. L.S.
In
Luke 12:15, Jesus said, “Take
heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Sadly, this greed, this
covetousness, has reached even into the house of God. In fact, it was “birthed”
at the house of God. For many years the number one text that was preached
in American churches was found in III
John 1:2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” The “beloved” mentioned in this text is shown in the previous verse (verse one) to be “the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I... (John, loved)
in the truth.” This was John’s “wish”
for his good friend Gaius. God doesn’t “wish”! It is a gross error to teach a child of God
that, “above everything else, God wants you to prosper in this world.”
That thought has destroyed the American church. That thought, if it were
true, would negate personal holiness, righteousness, and every other purpose of
God for His children, because, personal riches would be above all other things
in the eyes of God. How absurd. Turning the truth of God into this
lie introduced covetousness, greed, extortion, and every other evil known to
man; into the church. It has been preached from the pulpits across
America, and God gave our nation up to greed and extortion. It is a true
saying that Paul tells Timothy in I
Timothy 6:10, “…the love of money is the root of all
evil.”
The
pursuit of earthly riches has once more, produced a “den of thieves” in
the house of God. When preachers “extort” money from the people through
the promise of riches to come, they are “extortionist.” Peter
spoke of false teachers that would be in the church in the last days, saying, “Their
hearts they have exercised with covetous practices” (II Peter 2:14).
The next verse says they “follow
the way of Balaam… who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” Balaam “prophesied” for
money; these “preach” for money. The goal of every service,
message, teaching, or prophecy, is money. Jesus drove them out in the
days of His earthly ministry. The judgment that is coming will drive them
out again, unless their repentance with godly sorrow is heard in the altars of
God.
How Did We Get
Here?
How is the faithful city become an
harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Isaiah 1:21
The
first chapter of the book of Romans
describes the course of spiritual degeneration that Israel took.
Beginning with Romans 1:18, “For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness,” Paul reveals upon who, and why, God’s
anger is so stirred as to destroy nations. God’s greatest anger is held
in reserve for those who have known the truth and have turned away from
it. “For it had been better for them not to
have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn
from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (II
Peter 2:21). “He
that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:28-29)? America is a nation that has known
God. We once honored Jesus Christ in our schools, colleges, and
universities. Many of our universities that now espouse atheism and spew
out amorality upon their students, had their beginnings as schools of theology
with great men of God as their founders and presidents. Every branch of
our government gave honor to Jesus Christ and used the Bible as basis for laws
and judgments. Within my lifetime, even lawyers, judges, and prosecutors
quoted the scriptures in their arguments and/or rulings. This did not
mean they were “born of God,” but they “honored” God and His
word. The testimony of a “man of God” carried great weight in a
court proceeding. America was as the “faithful city” of Isaiah 1:21, but has become the “harlot”
of the same text. We were the land of justice and righteousness, but we
have become the land of violence and injustice. Our lawyers are suing for
greed and oppression. Many among them have become nothing more than
professional “extortionists.” Many of our judges have become,
perhaps, the single greatest threat in America. No power from without
could ever do so much to destroy this nation as our federal judges are doing
from within. They are forcing vast cultural changes upon our nation that
give immorality and amorality the standing and approval of law; while seeking
to brand the God fearing citizens as evil and immoral.
Conclusion
Savorless
Salt
Light that is Darkness!
A
poll that was released on the “Glen Beck” program recently revealed that the
divorce rate among atheists (23%) is actually lower than among those
“Christians” (27%) who claim to be “born again.” The same poll showed the problems with
adultery, pornography, drugs, and child abuse are the same among those who
claim to be “born again” as among the general population. This is the result of the “deception” that
people believe they will be “born again” by simply repeating a prayer with a
preacher, and not by first “dying” to sin “with Christ” at His cross. No wonder the apostle Peter says, “…judgment
must begin at the house of God” (I
Peter 4:17).
Over
ninety five percent of Americans profess to believe in “God.” Over
ninety percent could be said to be “Christian” in their belief in
God. These statistics, however, do not reflect the realities of the
present American experience. If even fifty percent of Americans were
truly “Christian,” this nation would be a vastly different place to in
which to live. Crime would be almost non-existent. Our
neighborhoods would be safe, as well as our parks and playgrounds. Pornography
would vanish, and teen-age pregnancies would be in the single digits,
percentage wise. Most of our prisons would be torn down. Taxes
would no longer be oppressive. The laws of our land would reflect
Christian values, and no one who denied the Lord Jesus Christ would waste their
time to run for public office. All these things would be true if only
fifty percent of Americans were “truly” Christian. If only
twenty-five percent of Americans were truly Christian, this nation would be a “paradise”
when compared to today. The “true” Christian is “salt” and “light”
to the world around us. Jesus said, “if the salt have lost is
savour, wherewith shall it be salted”? (Matthew 5:13).
And again, the “savorless salt” would be cast out and trodden under
foot of men. Jesus also said, “If the light that is in
thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?” (Matthew
6:23). The vast majority in America who refer to themselves as “Christians,”
are, in fact, “savorless salt” and “light that is darkness.”
Our
problem stems from the fact that we do not “glorify God as God.”
The “god” of most Americans is nothing more than a “fairy-tale.”
They believe in God as a child would believe in Santa Claus, yet never so
fervently. Their “faith” has not affected the way they do
business. It has not changed the things that entertain them. They
believe a gospel that does nothing more than forgive them as they continue to
sin. Our text in Romans 1:22
says, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
Oh
how we need the rain from heaven! The heavens have been shut up to
America for some time and there has been no true revival. The spiritual
drought is devastating. The land is barren and parched for the lack of
the rain from heaven. In reading the book of Joel we notice it is the
drought in the first chapter that prepares the way for the locust army of the
second chapter. The drought, the locusts, and the pestilence were always
the sword of the LORD against His people in the day of their backsliding.
God said, “If I shut up heaven… or if I command the locusts… or if I send
pestilence.” We have been deluded into thinking God will do only good
to America. We are so much like Old Testament Israel, knowing they were
God’s chosen people, and believing that God would never judge them for their
sins. The Spirit of the LORD repeatedly warned Israel of the anger of the
LORD against His nation Israel. The time of God’s wrath did come against
His own people, and their land, their city, and their temple were destroyed and
left desolate. Many of the inhabitants of the land were carried away
captive to Babylon. The rest were slaughtered without mercy by the sword
of the Babylonian armies. Years later, writing the history of these
things, the scribe wrote these words in II
Chronicles 36:15-16; “And the LORD God of their fathers sent
to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had
compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the
messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the
wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.”
There
is yet a remedy for America, but there is so little time. There must be
an awakening throughout the land. We must see a visitation of the Holy
Spirit of God. He will visit us, and His visitation will bring either
revival or wrath; it is up to us. The only remedy God gives for the
problems that face America is found in II
Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land.”
America’s future is held in the hands of God, and thus in the hands of His
people in America. The heavens are shut up to rain (revival), He has
commanded the locusts, and He has sent the pestilence. Our conflict is
not with the nations of the world, or with the Arabs or the Muslims; it is with
God almighty. If God is pleased with America, no nation or people on this
planet can hurt us; but God is not pleased and we will see the basest of
men destroy us until, there is repentance and a return to Jesus Christ our
Savior and Lord.
“...till
there was no remedy.” When I wrote this message in
2004 there was yet a remedy for America if we would have accepted it. Today, I do not know if America has passed
the point of no return, or not. The
prophet Joel probably said it best in Joel
2:12-14. “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all
your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend
your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent,
and leave a blessing behind him;
Message 33 - By Leroy Surface - O America, America
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TOP of PAGE
NEXT MESSAGE
PREVIOUS MESSAGE
Leroy Surface MESSAGES
JDG MESSAGES
Keith Surface
MESSAGES
