Levitt Letter Extra News

By Wayne Stewart, www.PalestineHerald.com

I had every intention to continue to look at the personage of the Antichrist this week, but a strong urging by the Holy Spirit has made me have to put it off for a week. Instead, I feel called to make a call for repentance, not just personal repentance, but for national repentance before the hour gets too late.

Before I jump into this, there is something about which we as Americans must be very sober — there is not even a hint of us being an end-time player on the Day of the Lord. There are some who will debate this point, but they cannot prove America will be there (at least in strong national force sense.)

There may be many reasons for that; one could be a large chunk of the Bible believing Christians in the world call the U.S.A. home; and after the rapture this country could see millions of its people gone in an instant.

Even if America is not in scripture, it doesn’t mean there are not warnings for a people such as us that cannot be found in Scripture.

“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the pride of your heart you say, I am a god; I sit on a throne of a god in the heart of the seas. But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god. Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you? By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.’” — Ezekiel 28:2-5

This prophecy was written about the city of Tyre, the great Phoenician city and merchant class of people that made fortunes trading with other countries.

In Israel’s early days, Tyre was a friend of the nation and paid tribute to David and to Solomon and provided much of the materials that were used to build the Temple and Solomon’s palace.
Greed spelled doom as the people of the great trading nation desired possessions and material over anything else. The Lord said the sword would come against Tyre in Ezekiel 28:6-10 as God promised to bring the country low and humble them.

Those prophecies came true as Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, laid siege to Tyre for 13 years. Alexander the Great finished the job in 332 B.C. when he destroyed the island city.
God’s word is true, but could this warning for an ancient city also be a warning for another great country of traders and business people? Has America forsaken God in the chase for wealth and possessions? As a whole, you bet it has.

Pay attention to Ezekiel’s lament for Tyre.
“Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub from the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.” — Ezekiel 28:12-18

We must first ask ourselves an honest question as Americans; what nation in the world has ever been as materially blessed as the U.S.? We have been given every advantage imaginable, in large part due to our dedication to God.

Here is an emphatic declaration of Christian principles from the great Patrick Henry: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations. The battle is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God? Give me liberty or give me death!”

Whether or not you want to admit it, the U.S. was founded on the principles of God and our forefathers put the gospel of Jesus Christ ahead of all things.

Now, if you want to get chills, think about this, God surely allowed us to become a great nation for two specific purposes, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the entire world, and to be the midwife at the rebirth of Israel.

It is America, over the last century, that has sent Christian missionaries throughout the world to spread the Good News of Christ; and it was America that was there at the birth of Israel, who helped free Jews from Nazi concentration camps, and up until recently, was a somewhat reliable friend of Israel.

I am afraid those days are gone.

Instead we pressure Israel to give up lands to an enemy bent on her destruction. In our incessant lust for wealth and material, the country has mortgaged itself to other nations in order to satiate its ungodly passion and has spread our love of money above all things to other countries.

We have set up commerce as the national god and all knees of this country must bow before it. What heretics we have become.

Now, we know from the gospels that Christ spent some of his ministry on earth in the region of Tyre. For those in Tyre, there could be repentance and forgiveness, so it can be for us.
“Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.” — Matthew 11:20-22

America will not escape judgment, but we can repent and if we present the true Word of God to people then there will be some who will be saved from the coming judgment.

Christ desires that all people repent and come to him and acknowledge him as God. We all must acknowledge that God created us, just as God created and blessed America.

Remember, all the U.S. has obtained was gained through God’s blessing. Now, we are in decline, morally, economically and in terms of our strength.

Now, we must ask ourselves another question, are we Americans, or are we Christians?
I hope the answer is Christian, because there will not be an America without the protecting hand of Christ. It seems, though, we have forsaken Christ. We have kicked him out of our schools, government, homes; and in some cases we have kicked Christ out of our churches.
There will be a penalty for this, now let’s finish up our look at Ezekiel 28.
“All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.” — Ezekiel 28:19

I pray that all repent before this becomes our fate. We have fallen so far from the principles men like Patrick Henry and George Washington once espoused. It may be too late to save America from judgment and the terrible Day of the Lord, but it doesn’t have to be for us personally.

Repent, confess your sins to Christ. “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Don’t throw your lot in with the world. Don’t rely on the worthless pursuit of wealth to save you. Salvation only comes through Christ.

There is only one message of the day. Repent!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 6:17 am and is filed under Editorials, Prophecy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.