Godlessness Leads to Violence Then Divine Judgment

Judgment Starts when The Population has No concern for God in thought or deed

 We know that from Genesis chapter six that the earth had become so corrupt, God had to destroy it with a worldwide flood:

 II Peter 2:5

“5 …and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” (KJV)

Jude 15

“15 …to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (KJV)

 He spared only one family with eight people out of population of about 6-8 billion. Can this be far off today? The world, or nation, that denies God is headed for divine retribution.

At the 2012 Democratic Party (DNC) national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina the DNC was ashamed to amend their party platform to add a mention of God and declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. When the convention chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, brought it to the convention floor, he seemed surprised by the reaction of the delegates, many of who booed when he ruled to add God and Jerusalem back into the platform.  He called for a vote three times before ruling, and re -instating it in the party platform. This was a revelation of the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, and a substantial portion of the American public. (www. realclearpolitics.com)

One of the most prominent atheist nations of all time, besides North Korea and China, was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or the Soviet Union. Being a communist nation, it was an atheistic godless government.  From the late 1920s to the late 1930s, such Soviet organizations as the League of Militant Atheists ridiculed all religions and harassed believers. The league was a “nominally independent organization established by the Communist Party to promote atheism”. It published its own newspaper, and journals, sponsored lectures, and organized demonstrations that lampooned religion and promoted atheism. Anti-religious and atheistic propaganda was implemented into every portion of soviet life from schools to the media and even on to substituting rituals to replace religious ones.

Within about a year of the revolution, the state took all church property, including the churches themselves, and in the period from 1922 to 1926, 28 Russian Orthodox bishops and more than 1,200 priests were killed (a much greater number was subjected to persecution). Most seminaries were closed, and publication of religious writing was banned.[1]

The United States now has “hate speech” laws that protect those who live a promiscuous lifestyle.  One President of the United States is supporting this when he said that America is no longer a Christian nation.

 Widespread Violence

Genesis 6:11,13

 “11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with

  violence.

 13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (ASV 1901)

 Before the Flood the Bible says that “the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” This is given. But what is the view today of man’s violence?

 Violence has always been a part of the human condition because of our sin nature (Romans 3:23). Modern families are exposed to even more violence than previous generations because of the widespread availably of media. With the competitiveness of the media outlets and their 24/7 availability, the average viewer can see levels of violence exceeding the Roman Gladiator games. Modern society, in spite of all its technological and scientific progress, is morally degenerate compared with past generations. Now even warfare technology is deadlier because of computerized inter-continental missiles, biological agents and nuclear armaments. One of the most observed human behaviors is that society is becoming more and more violent. For example, the 20th century is often mentioned as easily the most horrifying century in all of history, with two devastating world wars, the Jewish holocaust, the Armenian holocaust, and the Cambodian killing fields of Pol Pot. At the dawn of the 21st century, we have incidents such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, countless suicide bombings, and riots in many cities.

Jerry Bergman of Answers in Genesis, which operates the Creation Museum, specifically blames Darwin’s theory of evolution for the Jewish holocaust [Bergman1999] Of the many factors that produced the Nazi holocaust and World War II, one of the most important was Darwin’s notion that evolutionary progress occurs mainly as a result of the elimination of the weak in the struggle for survival. It is known that to Hitler and his supporters, Darwinism-inspired eugenics clearly played a critical role in their desire to kill. Darwinism justified and encouraged the Nazi’s supremist views on both race and war.

 There is a lot of anger and frustration out on the streets of America right now, and the moral decay that has been eating away at the foundations of our country is really starting to manifest itself.  On both the local and national levels, many decry the increasing violence seen on streets. Neighborhood groups as well as politicians lamenting mass shootings, everyday robberies and burglaries, as well as lone gunman massacres. One trend that is extremely alarming is the growth of gangs in the United States.  According to the FBI, there are now 1.4 million gang members living in America.  Unfortunately, the federal government appears very unconcerned about genuinely stopping illegal immigration even though it has been one of the primary factors fueling the astounding growth of criminal gangs in this country. Further many local governments appear uninterested in stopping the violence but discuss defunding the police instead.

God Will Pour Out His Spirit

Isaiah 32:15

15until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest (ASV, 1901).

At the end of the greatest display of violence this earth has ever seen our Lord will pour out His Spirit and take back the earth. He stated this to His prophet Joel.

Joel 2:28–32

 28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. 30And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. 32And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call (ASV, 1901)

It is when a Spirit from on high will be poured out that there will occur a reversal of the present condition of the earth.  No longer will a spirit of sleep be poured out upon the people, but the Spirit from on high, the Spirit that is to be contrasted with mere flesh (Isaiah 31:3), the Spirit who brings rich gifts (Isaiah 11:2). This Spirit is poured out from the height of heaven (Isaiah 24:21). The wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forestreferences the plentiful produce that will be forthcoming when God renovates the world in the Messianic Kingdom. This will be the consequence, fruit, and the effect of the out pouring of His Spirit at the end of the Tribulation. Most of the world was like a wilderness, barren and unfruitful, producing nothing but the briers and thorns of impiety, infidelity, superstition, and idolatry, should now become like a fruitful field. The Gospel will be announced everywhere, starting with the 144,000 evangelists in the Tribulation. Multitudes of souls converted, and these filled with the fruits of imputed righteousness. The high degree of fruitfulness in word and works, will be abundantly more obvious, and look more like a forest, for number of trees, than a barren field.

Messianic Blessings to Follow

Isaiah 32:16–18

16Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field. 17And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever. 18And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places (ASV, 1901).

In all parts of the kingdom of Christ, the lowest as well as the highest, God’s judgment and righteousness shall prevail. As the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32) had put it, seven hundred years before Isaiah’s day, God works through crisis and death—and then renewal and resurrection. He brings life and immortality to be only after he has totally destroyed the old and the evil (II Timothy 1:10). God’s merciful and renewing intervention will be expressed by the outpouring of His Spirit from on high. His Spirit is shown to be a dynamic force operating effectively both in human life and in nature. In describing the coming of the Spirit, His effect upon the earth will soak the wilderness and the dry land and turn them into fruitful and fertile fields.

His Spirit also revives nature. The dry wilderness becomes fertile and productive, a blessing enjoyed by both animals and human beings. In this new renovation of the earth, mankind and nature together enjoy peace and well-being (shalom), justice and righteousness (Isaiah 32:16). The fertility of the field will be so much improved that it will be like a forest similar to the forests of Lebanon (Isaiah 29:17). Therefore, fertility, justice, and righteousness are closely related to each other. Even in the wilderness, desert, there will be justice and righteousness. This is interesting, because the wilderness is known as a most insecure place, plagued by robbers and wild beasts. The point of this renewal is not the abolition of all wilderness, but the presence of justice and righteousness even there.

In the beginning of creation God created light and order by uttering his Word—not out of nothing, but out of tohu(Genesis 1:2), emptiness or desert, a concept that the prophets recognized. They saw this tohu represented before their eyes in the mystery of the desolation of the wilderness of Judea. That desert could be reached in only a few hours walk from the ordered life of the city of Jerusalem. So, Isaiah here proclaims the faith that God actually uses evil to create the good, while allowing evil to continue to exist.

This will truly be the work of God, and follows upon the pouring forth of His Spirit, and therefore provides His peace. His peace, is one, inward peace of the soul now, and eternal peace hereafter. It is the righteousness of Christ when applied removes the guilt of sin from the conscience. The Lord’s salvation is perfect in that it justifies, and yields a tranquility and serenity of mind, and righteousness now, and it will issue in everlasting peace and rest in the Messianic Kingdom to come.

The Lord through the prophet Isaiah speaks of a true secure dwelling place and a quiet resting place. These are the covenant people who live from God’s love and mercy, and in quiet obedience to him.

To describe the dwelling of God’s people Isaiah uses a word that generally is used to describe a protected pasture. This illustrates the concept that the people of God are His sheep for whom the Shepherd provides. No ravenous animals can enter this pasture to destroy the flock. They will dwell in a place of perfect peace. The pasture is further described by two words quietness and confidence. In the present time the women at ease are confident that nothing will happen to them. They have a security but it is false. In the period of redemption and blessing, on the other hand, there will be found a true confidence, and their dwellings then will be such that nothing can move or destroy them. In verse nine, Isaiah uses the word careless. The places of rest will one day themselves be carefree. So, the contrast is interesting. Presently the women are carefree, and they have no reason for so being, for danger is immanent. In the future their places of rest will be carefree, for then there will be no cares to disturb them. The goodness of God provides the only security, the only true freedom from care and anxiety.

God Reminds That Judgment Proceeds Blessing

Isaiah 32:19–20

19But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low. 20Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass (ASV, 1901).

In God’s discussion of peace, He gives a short interlude to remind that peace can come only when judgment has been accomplished. Isaiah, therefore, again mentions the judgment, continuing the subject where he left off in verse thirteen. Now, he turns from the promise of great peace in the future to the near threat of destruction that hangs over Jerusalem and the world, during the Tribulation. Before the peace can come there must be the hail, a figure of the divine judgment with its destructive force upon the forest; and the city.  The people of God will be safe and secure, when the judgments of God, signified by a hail-storm, shall come upon antichrist, and his armed forces (Revelation 16:1).

While the enemies of the God and His people would be overthrown, they themselves would be permitted to cultivate their lands in security. That is, for the purpose of treading the earth while the water is on it, and preparing it for the seed. In this way the ground would need no ploughing, but the seed would fall into the mud, and be sufficiently covered when the waters should subside. The idea in this verse is, that there would be a state of security succeeding the destruction of their enemies; and that they would be permitted to pursue the cultivation of the soil, unannoyed and undisturbed.

Daniel E Woodhead, Ph.D.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism accessed  July 25, 2020

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