Surely I had not heard those words coming from an American politician.  Surely I had slipped into the ethereal, wishful-thinking, make-believe world of American politics.  But no.  What I had yearned for had actually come to pass.  I had voiced on a number of occasions my dream that someone having a national platform would actually tell the truth about the myriad of problems that plague this nation.  The Bible-proven Truth is that all of our problems, both individual and corporate, are spiritual in nature.  AND I HAD JUST HEARD THAT “HEADLINE”  SPOKEN ON NATIONAL TELEVISION BY A MEMBER OF THE NATION’S RULING BODY.  I anxiously awaited the politician’s next words.

But my hopes were immediately dashed as I listened to the speaker’s “FINE PRINT” designed to identify our problems and explain how to solve them.  What I heard was the same business-as-usual religious verbiage that is proclaimed from pulpits, podiums, stages, radio and television speakers throughout the nation on a continuous basis.  The nation was assured that we just needed to recognize the mutual value of all of God’s children and to respect one another, even when we disagree.  The emphasis was not on solving the nation’s problems, but rather how to live with them in peace and harmony.  That, the smiling lady assured us, is the human solution to the nation’s problems which, she had admitted, are spiritual.

The speaker was right about the headline: ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS ARE SPIRITUAL.  But she was wrong in assigning a human solution to them.  This error brings to mind an old adage that one has “gotten the cart before the horse.”  In order to solve any problem permanently one needs to know the cause of the problem.  We cannot solve a problem permanently unless we know its cause so that we can right the wrong and prevent it from arising again.  The politician’s solution is the internationally-agreed upon method for solving mankind’s problems.  The common response is 1) to ignore the cause and 2) continually deal with the problem generation after generation after generation ….

If the problem is national in nature and is not addressed and solved, the nation will eventually fall to her enemies, suffer defeat, slaughter and the enslavement of the survivors.  The nation will cease to exist and will be erased from the world scene.  This is where America is headed, as I have been warning for years.  Recent governmental decisions and actions have proven that America’s military defeat, slaughter and enslavement in the nations of the victors is imminent.  Many years ago I asked the Lord to allow me to live to see the return of Jesus Christ.  I have witnessed the manifestation of the final signs He has given us that the end is near, even “at the door.”  Only one sign remains to be fulfilled.  The recent debacle in Afghanistan tells me that the final sign will soon materialize.  The Lord tells us that the sign that will take place just prior to the beginning of the end is found in Luke 21:20.  When we “see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” we will know that the end is near.  This military movement will ignite World War III and mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation which will be followed by the most horrific year in the history of mankind–the Day of the Lord (Lk. 21:20).  I am certain that my prayer will be answered and I will witness the return of Jesus Christ to earth where He will establish the Kingdom of God in the area He promised to give to the obedient descendants of faithful Abraham–the Holy Land.

As we are told in the Holy Bible, God’s dealings with ancient Israel were recorded and preserved to be used as the example for those “upon whom the ends of the world have come” (I Cor. 10:11).  We are living in the end-time.  Like the five wise virgins, we must have our lamps filled and our wicks trimmed for we do not know the exact moment when the Bridegroom will arrive to take us to the marriage feast.  We must not be like the foolish virgins (sinners saved by grace) who, when they arrive at the marriage feast, will be sent into outer darkness.

A perfect example of what is about to happen to the “Christian nations” called America and Britain, along with the Jews of the Middle East, is found in the Book of Jeremiah.  Beginning in chapter 38 we find that, due to the sins of the Jews, Jerusalem and the rest of the kingdom was about to be attacked by the Babylonian/Chaldean army against whom the Jews had no chance for victory.

Jeremiah was the Lord’s prophet to the Jews, specifically to King Zedekiah.  The prophet had repeatedly given the king a bad report from the Lord because of his and the nation’s sins.  The prophet’s words were not appreciated, nor were they heeded: “Neither he (the king), nor his servants, nor the (Jewish) people of the land hearkened to the words of the Lord which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah” (37:2).  Instead the king had thrown the prophet into prison where he had remained for “many days.”  When the enemy began preparing to attack, the king brought Jeremiah from the prison and asked him for a word from the Lord.  Jeremiah relayed God’s Words to him, telling him that he (Zedekiah and the nation) would be defeated by their enemy, Babylon/Chaldea.  For this the prophet was thrown into a dungeon where he would starve to death.  After being warned, the king had Jeremiah removed from the dungeon and brought before him.  Once again he asked the prophet for a word from the Lord.   Again Jeremiah told him what he did not want to hear–that if he and the people obeyed Him they would live.  But if they disobeyed Him, they would be defeated, slaughtered and taken into slavery.  Jerusalem, Jeremiah added, would be destroyed (vss 17-23).  In the end the king and the people disobeyed God.  The nation was defeated and enslaved.  Zedekiah was taken captive and forced to watch as his sons and princes were killed before him.  He was then blinded and taken to Babylon where he died.

This is a perfect illustration as to why the ancient Jews suffered so much.  The same thing happened to their Israelite brethren who had earlier been defeated and enslaved by the Assyrians, and for the same reason–disobedience toward God.  In the cases of the ancient Israelites (the 10 northern tribes) and the Judahites (tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi called “Jews”) who were defeated and enslaved by Assyria and Babylon respectively, the United States, Britain and the Jews of the Middle-east will also be defeated and enslaved in the near future.  Why?  Because of their sins.  They are being warned.  They are rejecting the warnings.  They will suffer the consequences.  Those nations will one day soon become nothing more than memories.

So what is the cause to our individual and national problems?  Sin–the transgression of God’s Law from Genesis to Revelation which He condense into Ten Commandments.  If we would obey that Law our problems would be solved supernaturally and we would live in peace and joy.  Those who obey Him now live in peace and joy.  Though Satan attacks continually, they are surrounded by God’s armor (Eph. 6:11,13) that repels Satan’s “fiery darts” (Eph. 6:16).  Having obeyed the Lord and having received His “armor,” one is ready for whatever Satan sends his way.  And having done all he can do, one stands.  And “though a thousand fall at your side and 10,000 fall at your right hand, you will not be moved” (Ps. 91:7).  “Your enemies will come at you one way and flee seven ways” (Deut. 28:7).  For God’s Very Elect, this life is filled with conflict, rejection, hatred, persecution, and even death, as was the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the prophets, the apostles and those in the early church, many of whom were persecuted and killed.  Read Hebrews 11:35-38.  Through it all, God’s peace reigned in their lives, for they knew that this existence was only temporary, that there is a new day coming which will last forever.  This life is where we qualify for the next life.  This life has no other meaning.  L.J.