Prophecy
Global Rebellion against God’s Law
Last week we looked at what I believe to be the greatest sign of the soon return of Christ. I want to look at the global rebellion against God’s law, which is the result of turning away from God and His Word. We see this when we look at the attitude of many of our political leaders, especially on the left and their hatred for the things spelled out in the Word of God. They are against the traditional family. They are for homosexuality and same sex marriage. They are against parental authority.
They are attacking Christianity as if it were a curse on society. Some leftist governors and mayors have openly stated that they don’t want churches to reopen. Fortunately, for now, the Supreme Court has stood against the closing or limiting churches. If they succeed in stacking the Court with leftist justices, we have no Idea how long this will last.
I want to start with the prophecy as found in Psalm Chapter 2.
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalm 2:1-9).
When we think about prophecy, the Book of Psalms is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, they contain many prophecies, some of which were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming, and many which point to His second coming.
The events described in this Psalm describe what we see throughout the world today. The heathen kings and their people are uniting in rebellion against Jehovah God and His Anointed. The “heathen” are those who reject the God of the Bible.
They “rage” against God. They are trying to cast away His bands and cords, referring to His holy laws. They desire to live as they please without any limitations on their sinful lifestyles.
The heathen have been raging against God since man’s fall and since Cain, the first son of Adam, killed his prophet brother, Abel. The rage has grown in intensity in these last days and will culminate in Armageddon.
Rage against God’s holy laws is the chief characteristic of the western pop culture that has spread throughout the earth. The rage is expressed continually through movies, television, literature, the news media, the fields of education, fashion, and art. The rebellion is seen in the false religions, communism, evolution, militant atheism. The American Atheists paid for billboard ads in September 2012 calling the God of the Bible “sadistic” and Jesus a “useless Savior.” The homosexual rights movement tries to tell us that we are not the gender we were born to be. Some even say there are as many as one hundred different genders.
The gospel has been preached in every nation and at least portions of the Bible have been translated into most languages. In spite of this, the vast majority of the people have turned their backs to God’s gracious offer of salvation through His Son.
The Psalmist says that God will laugh at the rebels, not in joy but in scorn, because puny man cannot pull Him from His throne or thwart His plans.
God will establish Christ’s kingdom with its headquarters in Jerusalem in spite of worldwide opposition, and He will not establish it by a-millennial reconstructionists or by charismatic or emerging kingdom builders, but by His almighty power and a rod of iron.
The Psalmist has warned the ungodly rulers and judges, but they will not listen.
“Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalm 2:10-12).
The kings and judges of the earth are warned. They are to be instructed by the Word of God. They are to serve the Lord with fear. This fear is a fear of offending a holy God. It keeps us from straying from God’s precepts.
They are told to “rejoice with trembling.” As we rejoice in the Lord, we must remember who He is and tremble before His majesty and power. This is a trembling from knowing who He is as we rejoice in His grace.
The expression “kiss the son” signifies, first of all, submission. It was customary in Bible times for subjects to kiss kings.
“Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?” (1 Samuel 10:1).
To kiss an idol was a sign of submission to the god represented by the idol. To “kiss the son” therefore refers to a sinner repenting of his rebellion against God and surrendering to Christ as Lord.
The expression “kiss the son” is also a sign of compassion. A kiss is a tender thing. It reminds us that salvation in Christ is not a matter of cold religious duty; it is a personal and intimate relationship with the Son of God. Compare this with Matthew 11:28-30.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ( Matthew 11:28-30)
Men are exhorted to submit to the Son of God and put their trust in Him now while there is an opportunity. If the Son is angry with someone, he will perish. It only takes a little of His wrath to be kindled to put one in danger of Hell Fire.
The day is coming when all will stand before the righteous Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)
The time of our appointment with death is known only to God, but it is as sure as the sun rises that we will all die unless we are caught up in the Rapture. After our with death appointment, we will all stand before the judgment bar. The saved will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and the unsaved before the Great White Throne judgment.
In light of the fact that our time on this earth is limited, and none of us are guaranteed another day of life, this next verse is extremely important.
“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Our eternal destiny is fixed at death. Those who have rejected God and His Son will be forever lost. They will spend all eternity separated from God in the Lake of Fire.
We are reminded that God delights in mercy more than judgment.
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
All men are to serve the Lord in fear and trembling. This is the evidence of true salvation. Salvation is not simply praying the sinner’s prayer, it is a life-changing conversion experience.
What we have dealt with so far tells us the state of leadership in the last days. I want to takes some time to look at the condition of churches and Christians as we approach the end of this age. The second and third chapters of Revelation contain letters from Christ to the pastors of seven churches. These churches represent types of churches that are found throughout history. They also represent seven periods where certain types of churches are the most common. The last of these periods is just before the return of Christ. Let’s look at the letter to the last church which represents the majority of churches of our day.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelation 3:14-22)
The first six churches were addressed as the church in or at a specific town. This church is addressed differently. It is addressed to the Church of the Laodiceans. Laodiceans means the inhabitants of Laodicea, which means it was a church which belonged to the people of the city, not a church that belonged to God. It was a church that had put the Lord on the outside and closed the door.
This letter says that it was neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm. This was a church that would stand for nothing.
It is interesting that there is no mention of doctrinal error, which I think tells us that it was orthodox in doctrine. There are many churches, even Baptist churches, that, when you read their doctrinal statements, are pretty solid. The problem is, they will not take a stand for the doctrine stated in their statements and separate from those in error.
It was also a rich church. It probably had a nice building and had the money to carry out its ministries and care for the needy. It thought this made it rich in spiritual matters. It was not! It made God spew it out of His mouth. When you don’t stand for righteousness, you are in rebellion against God’s law just as those who openly oppose them.
I want to look at one more thing before I close, and that is the condition of the people in the last days.
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)
I don’t have the time to look at all of these so I will just cover those I think are important for this discussion.
People are more selfish today than at any time I can remember. It is all about what’s in it for me. They choose a church home based upon how it takes care of their felt needs. They will reject any teaching that interferes with what they want.
Many “Christians” are blasphemers. They don’t blaspheme with their lips, but with their attitude toward the precepts of God. If there is a Bible teaching that they don’t want to follow, they will go to great lengths to explain it away. When someone points out what the Bible says, they say we all have the right to our own interpretation, so we will just have to agree to disagree.
They are without natural affection. It is natural for a mother to put her children above everything but God and her husband. Today almost everything else comes before children. They don’t have children because they interfere with their desired lifestyle. If they do have them, the mother gives them over to someone else to raise so they and have their career and have the material things they desire.
Many are despisers of those that are good. If someone stand firm on the precepts of Scripture, they are called names like holier than thou, goody two shews, legalistic, and so on.
Almost everyone is a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God. God is not against us having pleasure if it lines up with the teachings of His Word. We should find great pleasure in studying God’s Word. We should find pleasure in hearing the preaching of Scripture. There is great pleasure in fellowship with God’s people. There is also pleasure in some of the things of this world, but we must be sure that they don’t keep us from God’s precepts. If we get pleasure from a ball game, it is fine an proper as long as it does not keep us out of church or cause us to violate some Bible principle. God must come before pleasure.
The result of these attitudes is, they are ever learning, and never able to come to the truth. Most of today’s “Christians” are biblically illiterate and ignorant of Bible doctrine.
When we don’t know what the Bible teaches, we contribute to the rebellion against God’s law. We do so because we cannot answer the gainsayers. We also contribute by not separating from those who are in error. Remember the Bible teaches that if we hang around bad people, their badness will rub off on us. This is why so many who call themselves Christians get angry when you tell them that certain kinds of music is bad, or that they shouldn’t smoke or drink alcohol, or that a woman’s place is in the home, not out working. These are all issues the Bible deals with.
A popular statement used by those who violate these principles is; “We are not under law, but we are under grace.” This is true for salvation, but not for how we live our lives after we are saved. If we are not under the law for the way we live, is murder now OK? How about stealing, or adultery?
We cannot be saved by keeping the law because we all stand guilty for breaking it. Only God’s grace, received by faith in the blood payment of Christ on the cross, can save. Once we are saved, we are expected to live righteous lives. We are to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy.
When you don’t follow God’s precepts, you are guilty of rebellion against the law of God. Remember, judgment is coming, and we will all answer to God for what we do with His law.
God predicted the state of the world today, but we don’t have to participate in it. We need to be a peculiar people that show the world what it means to live righteous and holy lives.