A voice

Easter, March 23, 2008

American Christians are about to be refined by fire. The Lord says the whole nation is descending into fire, some in judgment, some into refining, but all will experience what He is only beginning to do in this nation. He prepared the nation for leadership in the beginning and His people walked softly with fear and respect before Him, but we have lost our respect for God and are engaging in not just sin, but in degradation by worshiping strange gods as ancient Israel did. And as God spoke to Jeremiah, those God speaks to today must cry out a warning. No one wants to be the bearer of such scorching news, and no one wants to hear it, but it must be spoken! As God protected Jeremiah, so He will protect those who hear and prophetically speak His words today. As Jeremiah went through great trials, so will today’s prophets. This is a message specifically for America because other nations are already experiencing the purging and preparation of believers through greater persecution than the world has ever known until this time. Believers in other countries know that to be a follower of Christ is to lay down their lives so they sanctify themselves purposefully with courage that only comes from a commitment and passion American Christians, generally, do not have.

As the economy spirals downward rather quickly, people will lose their homes and jobs and become cold and hungry. Youth and young adults will form gangs and pillage without restraint. I am not speaking of city gangs but small town and even rural gangs who will break in and steal food, clothing and shelter because they believe society owes that to them. This is a common belief now and when hunger and lack of shelter become a fact, they will act on their unspoken belief of entitlement.

Another situation that is already in process and will escalate is mental illness caused by unforgiveness, extreme fear, bitterness, hatred, and the desire for revenge which will become increasingly expressed in twisted thinking. Those who deny having hatred and a desire for revenge will claim that their anger is only reasonable. They will commit grisly crimes and claim insanity when actually the problem is spiritual. Standing before a church congregation to preach God’s antidote, Christ as the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, already is an exercise in courage and commitment. No wonder people are traveling from sea to sea to hear God’s word preached and taught in its entirety. The present famine of the Word in both preaching and hearing will increase because of compromising, fearful pastors and Christian leaders.

This solemn message is not cast in concrete; it is a warning of what is about to happen if things continue as they are. As when Jonah preached to the heathen at Nineveh, the Lord’s desire is for people to take warning, repent, and turn from their wickedness to Him.

At some point in the future, among other disasters, the New Madrid Fault will produce an earthquake of devastation beyond anything America has ever faced. Gas and electrical lines will be broken from the Mississippi River to the East Coast and from the Gulf Coast into Canada. Fires will break out from broken gas mains and storage tanks. Bridges will be broken and high-rise buildings will crumble. The disaster will be too far-reaching for our nation to recover even after many years, thus setting us back into the 1800s. In order to survive we will be forced to work together to help one another do the simplest things, such as drawing water from closed wells, planting crops with the aid of horses and backbreaking human labor. Crops will not be distributed all over the nation as they are now because the transportation network will have been severely ruptured. People in large American cities will suffer most because they will have inadequate access to food, heat and shelter. The death toll will be high and disease will be rampant because of floods caused by broken levees and unburied dead. In the midst of economic chaos the Lord will perform miracles for those who are faithful to Him just as He did for the widow of Zarephath in Elijah’s day and others who were politically or economically insignificant but humble and obedient before their Lord. (see I Kings 17 and II Kings 4)

Many years ago, I was asking the Lord how He could possibly protect His little children as persecution and natural disasters increased, and He gave me this dream:

I was in an empty apartment in a very high building, looking down at the street below. Most of the building was empty because Christians had been searched out and killed wherever they were found. The apartment door opened stealthily and half a dozen people of various ages entered, looking very frightened. They told me they were being pursued. Was there any place in the apartment to hide?

I shook my head, “Only closets and cabinets.”

“Oh, what will we do?” they cried fearfully.

“Stand here in faith and ask the Lord to hide us,” I suggested.

“We can’t do that,” they gasped. “That would be fool-hardy!”

“Alright,” I snapped, “hide in the cabinets and closets. The soldiers will sweep the space with their bayonets.”

So the people scattered and hid as best they could while I stood quietly in the middle of the floor and prayed for us all to be unseen.

The soldiers finally reached our floor and began a methodical search of apartments, reaching ours at last. They clomped in, swung their bayonets about in the closets and cabinets, and tromped out again. Timidly the people crept out of their hiding places and exclaimed in wonder, “He hid us. He did what you asked. Thank you for praying for us and having faith in the Lord’s goodness to us!”

They were so relieved that they realized they were hungry, so we all trekked down stairs to a back alley and the large waste bin of a nearby restaurant. Much of the food thrown out was still good so we ate, all the while watching for police.

I woke up then and understood that no matter what the situation, God is more than able to keep us safe and meet our needs according to His will, even in dire circumstances. I am convinced that He is exceeding abundantly able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day when I will meet Him face to face. Until that time, I will not step aside for anything, but I will follow Him, simply trusting that He knows the way. He is worthy of our confidence in Him.