KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF!

by General James Green, April 11, 2011

ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8 SPEAKS OF seasons and times for every purpose (or matter) under the heaven. The writer speaks of history as “a cycle of events and their opposites.” He uses the phrase “vanity of vanities” (1:2), which from man’s point of view, indicates the “fruitlessness, aimlessness, emptiness, and transitoriness of all that happens upon the earth” (2:26d).

     If we’re to believe that the preacher/writer penned 3:1-8 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then we must conclude that God works by seasons and times.

     How does this relate to His WARNINGS/ PUNISHMENTS? We do find in His Word where it says that God gives sinful men and nations a time and season to REPENT before He punishes.

     Ezekiel 3 is a good chapter to read: “Nevertheless, if thou WARN the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doeth not sin, he shall surely live, because he IS WARNED; also thou hast delivered thy soul.” This was warning to the righteous, and it continues: “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the Word at my mouth, and give them WARNING from me...” Then He WARNS the wicked.

     We can find dozens and dozens of examples whereby God WARNS—and if it’s not heeded, He judges/punishes. My point is this: The LORD has every right to bring punishment upon individuals or groups or upon whole nations. My second point is this: What right has man—secular or religious—to INTERFERE with God's doings? Is man greater than God? Is man more loving? Is man more merciful? When a time/season for repentance has passed—and God deals with men/nations whether you believe it or not!—then JUDGMENT is pronounced and PUNISHMENT is executed. This is done in order for true repentance to come forth. If men/nations won’t repent under His merciful time/season, some might repent under His punishment time/season. This is the hope, and this is the love of God.

“Warning Every Man”

PAUL NOT ONLY preached the “Good News” (Gospel) out of love, he also did the same (work by love) in “WARNING EVERY MAN” (Col 1:28). In Acts 20:30, Paul tells us that there would be men “speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Well, we’ve got plenty of those perverts in the Emergent Church, speaking perverse things that go completely contrary to Scripture...to draw disciples. These DD’s (Devil’s Disciples) are not interested in what God's Word declares, for they make up their own Scriptures (see our “Recreant Philosophers” booklet), all to their damnation. Paul, in verse 31, tells his disciples (who are Christ’s disciples), “Therefore WATCH, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to WARN every one NIGHT AND DAY with tears.”

     You see, it is our DUTY to WARN men (as the Spirit directs); it is God's business to punish if men do not take heed to warnings.

Disasters = Big Business

WE ALL KNOW this (or at least we should by now!). When God brings forth His WRATH, FURY, and INDIGNATION against nations, “religious” men (who are DUMB concerning God's mode of operations) run to UNDO what God has done. Oh, they all believe they are doing the “loving” thing, but there is a time to punish, and in that time we’re to KEEP OUR HANDS OFF!! It is up to God, not man, when we are to “help.” Out of season we only hinder what God wants to accomplish.

     “...a time to kill, and a time to heal...” so says Ecclesiastes 3:3. If God wants to tear down and break up a nation (because of their SIN!), ALLOW HIM TO DO IT...for there might be a time to rebuild/build up what He tore down—IN HIS TIMING/SEASON. It is God who brings nations down and raises nations up—let Him do His work without our interference.

The Impenitent

LET US RECALL to mind some Scriptures where the LORD TURNS AGAINST THE IMPENITENT. (1) Resisting much reproof brings sudden destruction — Prov 29:1. “He, that being OFTEN REPROVED hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be DESTROYED, and that without remedy.” The key is “often reproved”: that means God has warned and reproved but to no avail—except destruction! God is fair.

     (2) God's wrath rises against such as despise His Words — 2 Chron 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 (COVENANT) PEOPLE TILL THERE WAS NO REMEDY.”

     Again we find God WARNING His wayward people until there was no remedy but PUNISHMENT. This principle of warning and punishment also applies to pagan nations. (Read verses 17-20 where God once again had mercy upon His rebellious people. Obviously they had repented enough to soften the heart of the LORD God.)

     (3) Those belie the LORD who say that evil shall not visit the ungodly — Jer 5:11-12. “For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against Me, saith the LORD. They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine.”

     This spirit prevails in most churches today here in America. One minister even called us a BIGOT for saying that God brought destruction upon Japan. WAIT AND SEE WHAT HE DOES TO AMERICA!!

     (4) Some refuse to hear, and make their hearts as adamant (stone) — Zech 7:11-13. “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts...”

     HELLO AMERICA!

     (5) GOD SAYS, “I have called, and ye refused” — Prov 1:24-25. “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.” Isn’t He therefore justified in bringing forth His punishments? Stop thinking in terms of humanism and/or “political correctness”—these two WILL END YOU UP IN HELL!

     (6) The LORD says to such as have continually refused Him: “I also will laugh at your calamity” — Prov 1:26-27. I have already written on these verses, but I can hear our “liberal,” “backslid,” “HELL-BOUND” church critics scream over this one! BUT NO APOLOGIES!! “I also will LAUGH AT YOUR CALAMITY; I will MOCK WHEN YOU FEAR COMETH; WHEN YOUR FEAR COMETH AS A WHIRLWIND; WHEN DISTRESS AND ANGUISH COMETH UPON YOU.”

     (7) —...And their prayers then will bring no answer — Prov 1:28-30. “Then shall they call upon me, BUT I WILL NOT ANSWER; they shall seek me early, but THEY SHALL NOT FIND ME: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.”

     We have known persons like this. One such fellow,—a one-time ACMTC officer who backslid and became our enemy—upon approaching death (several years ago), called us for prayer. He confessed that he could not get through to God no matter how long he prayed, how hard he prayed. God told us that he would GO TO HELL, for He (God) had plead with him for years...but to no avail. Shortly after that pitiful phone call, the hospital pulled the plug of the life-giving machine. Sad but true!

     (8) —...And God leaves them to destruction in THEIR OWN WAY! — Prov 1:31-32. “Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of THEIR OWN WAY, and be filled with THEIR OWN DEVICES. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” How many are in HELL RIGHT NOW because of THEIR WAY?

     (9) But those who hear God SHALL DWELL SAFELY! — Prov 1:33. “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Where are you living, reader?

“Dignified Dummies” (DD’s)

HOW MANY DD’s occupy important Ecclesiastical positions that don’t know the first thing about how the Spirit of God operates? ...DON’T COUNT!

     How many degreed ministers of God (?) are “hailed” as “Bible scholars,” “Bible experts” and “dynamic teachers and preachers” who wouldn’t know the Holy Spirit if He personally appeared to them?

     You see them on TV (with their beautiful setting and background)...there they are... BIG TITLES before their names...BIG DEGREES following up afterward...looking oh, so dignified, important, even “spiritual.” Indeed, millions of their viewers judge them entirely by their appearance (the women ministers are beautifully decked out, painted up, lots of expensive jewelry, I mean, “a real dish to behold!”). Many, too many of these “dignified darlings” are looked upon as “divine” till they are exposed in their kinky sex-affairs, many frauds, etc. One minister, not of this type, said, “We have known ministers to look so dignified until good people were mortified, no one seemed to be edified, God was not glorified and friends become horrified!” But there they are, hands outstretched (FOR YOUR $$!), faces uplifted, music low, lights dim...very unrealistic, to say the least.

     Now we have these same DD’s begging for $$ for relief to nations struck by disasters (which God sent, of course, but they’re too “DUMB” to know that!)—“Please help!” goes the pitch; “Give! Give! Give!”...and we all know that 90-PLUS PERCENT of what is given really goes into THEIR pockets for THEIR expenses and pleasures: $$ for jet fuel for THEIR personal jets; $$ paid to all THEIR staff workers (many of which are unnecessary and overpaid); $$ paid out for all THEIR personal/extravagant traveling, TV time, special “disaster clothing” that is currently in style...$$ for this, $$ for that. We’ve seen this time and time again. God told us years ago that DISASTERS are a BIG business for both “Christians” and non-Christians. Its all run by “bleeding hearts” who really COULDN’T CARE LESS for the poor, the punished, the perishing. Folks, it is all ONE BIG DIGNIFIED SHOW!

Perplexing Problems

ONE CERTAINLY NEEDS the guidance of the Holy Ghost to deal with all the perplexing problems inside the (so-called) Church and outside of it.

     “We do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Jesus...” (Heb 2:8, RSV). We live in a fallen world dominated by satan and demons (yet God oversees it all). We must labor, FIGHT, PREVAIL! Our War Captain has already been crowned with Glory and Honor (Heb 2:9), meaning that all the evil powers are doomed to defeat in the end—but until “all things” are put under His rule/authority, we must work and FIGHT IN THE SPIRIT in a hostile environment. And because of this environment, God MUST bring forth His judgments and punishments when needed. Sadly, some of the problems have come from His very own people: their pride and rebellion equals (or SURPASSES!) that of the world; thus we are faced with very perplexing problems.

Times and Seasons

THERE ARE TIMES and seasons in which periods of great intellectual and moral change bring in great rebellion and disdain against God's rule; we live in such a time whereby we can discern a dominant TREND, a prevailing WIND!...it is INCOHERENT in nature and CHAOTIC in spirit, standing against God’s standards. The people of the world are being grouped into opposing warring camps. Even in the “Church,” the “battle lines” have been drawn—“politically correct” vs. the “Biblically Correct.”

JUDGMENTS

ISAIAH PENNED: “WHEN thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa 26:9). So why despise His judgments? They are, as Isaiah says, to “learn righteousness,” and we must agree that this present world NEEDS this! But I’m afraid that this “blessing” has not yet fully come to us. Intoxicated as most Americans are, they do not (yet!) comprehend the tremendous impact God’s judgments will have, spiritually and socially...with the “Church” not being excluded from them.

Material and Superficial

THIS PRETTY MUCH sums up today’s world. Materialism and superficiality will end any nation in ruin.

     We, as born again Christians, live between two worlds: one built upon the recognition, worship, and service of the God of Hosts (Armies); the other, the opposing world, built upon the insistence that our God is a “myth” and that immortality is a “hoax,” or that God is a “bully God” who DEMANDS His subjects to love Him out of “fear.”

     The fallen world is the world we presently live in, where Christian morality has been EXPELLED from government (and in America is presently in the process of being EXPELLED from many CHURCHES!). We are currently seeing Socialism set up its banners in many, many places where the Christian banner once flew. And the purpose of this Socialism is to drive Christ and His true ones off the field of battle...and YOUR president is working STEALTHILY to BRING THIS ABOUT...along with many liberal churches.

Nations Being Tossed

MANY NATIONS OF the world are right now being tossed to and fro—VIOLENTLY I might add! GOD IS BRINGING FORTH HIS JUDGMENTS/PUNISHMENTS, and NO MAN or GOVERNMENT is going to PREVENT them. DON’T EVEN TRY!!

     It is at this time that we who are ambassadors of Christ need to stand with God and declare His Truth whether man or nations want to hear or no. Sadly, the humanistic Church is robbing men and nations of the chance to REPENT and be truly SAVED.

     No ebb or flow of the tides of history can ever cancel or modify the Commission, yea, the COMMAND given to us by our Lord Jesus. Biblical Truth is needed NOW, not churchianity. It is God's unadulterated Truth that will challenge men, give warning, give hope in this time of paralyzing fears and demoralizing futility. His Truth is the sole claimant in reference to “a moral substitute for war.” It is the only “accredited messenger of Good News” to a bewildered and battered world, and the “lone champion of real love and good will in a world of hate and war.”

     Consider: Any lowering of God's standards, or lessening of His Power, or cheapening of God's motives is a “betrayal of the human race and yielding of the only fortress that flies the powerful Blood-stained banner of Christ Jesus.”

Dress-Parade Church

A FORMAL, FAINT-HEARTED, pampered, self-indulgent, self-loving, dress-parade churchianity will not suffice for the Church in a time like this (nor any other time, really!). We MUST, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim 2:3), press into His COMMAND—“Take Jesus To All The World!” The evil forces turned loose in the world do not discredit Christianity, as they say: they demand it!

Under God's Judgment

JAPAN. “WHEN GENERAL Douglas MacArthur stood on the deck of the battleship Missouri, in Tokyo Bay, to receive the formal surrender of Emperor Hirohito’s army and navy, he declared: ‘It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge.’ By his foresight and wise handling of the innumerable problems affecting every phase of the nation’s life, he transformed Japan from a beaten, floundering country into a peaceful nation. The military dictatorship which ruled Japan so ruthlessly was uprooted, and in its place there was planted in the Japanese mentality the will and energy for its own rehabilitation.”

     Sadly the Japanese never gave up their idolatry: it went from Emperor worship to MONEY WORSHIP.

     “General MacArthur, recognizing that a great vacuum had been created in the life of the people, urgently called for more missionaries to strengthen the Church in Japan. Christian schools [became] over-crowded, fine congregations [began attending] the Churches, and given the resources in personnel and funds with which to wage a great spiritual offensive, the Church [was given] the opportunity to win Japan for Christianity.”

     But Japan never gave way to Biblical Christianity, so now God is bringing upon her all this...to free the people from their dependence on $$ to depend upon Him. Most Christians don’t even see this; they are angry with us for even suggesting such a thing, but Japan will receive more JUDGMENTS in order to free those who are crying out to be delivered. PRAY THAT SHE REPENTS!

     WE LOVE THE JAPANESE PEOPLE, and that is why we tell them the truth. We desire to see them all saved and come to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We wish for none of them to go to Hell forever.

Opportunity and Opposition

BOTH ARE CHALLENGES—take the opportunity to testify about God's judgments; push through the oppositions that want to prevent this—THIS IS WAR! Times like these, dear Christians, are unprecedented opportunities to STAND UP FOR JESUS. Get involved in a more AGGRESSIVE evangelism—we’ve been doing it for 40-plus years. Yes, we’ve earned several purple hearts in this great WAR FOR SOULS.

     There are many ugly realities on every hand that beckon one to run, but grim realities are just that—grim realities. As we have personally traveled this world in God’s service, we’ve seen enough to discourage the best, but we refused to join those at rest, refusing to concede to COMPROMISES which tone-down the soul-winning Gospel in order to “make things easier for us.” Thank God!

MOVE OUT!!

WE MUST MOVE with DETERMINED, MEASURED, and STEADFAST ADVANCEMENTS into the enemies territories. Cease firing? Never. Retire? NO...RE-FIRE! We cannot lose our “Gospel fire” nor lose the “spirit of urgency”!!

     Let me end this article with Isaiah 26:9 — “...for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”

     Americans moan and groan, desiring for the “good ol’ days” to return. Let me tell you something: it was during the “good ol’ days” that Americans backslid on God! It was during those days of abundance and prosperity that God's professing people looked to the world, lusted after the world, ran after the world—it was then that the world SUCKED the spiritual life out of the Church!

     Men seldom seek the Lord when they’re living in prosperity; they are apt to rest and trust in the arm of flesh. But God, in MERCY, engenders men to seek Him through adversity. It is in adversity that we see a general cry after Him as Lord.

     America has put her trust in her government, giving mere lip service, at best, to God. Sorry, this will not do! We’ve got to get back to HEART SERVICE, folks. If we don’t, America WILL suffer horrible things, things that she has not seen before.

     It is God's love that He brings His punishments: without them, men and nations perish—no salvation, only DAMNATION!

     So, when we see God judging men or nations, KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF and let God be God...lest you incur His Wrath, fury, and indignation.

[ * Study notes have been adapted from their original sources. ]