Sound The Midnight Cry

“Bizarro World USA”

For those that may not be comic book aficionados, the concept of “Bizarro World” was introduced by DC Comics in the early 1960’s. It is a cube-shaped  fictional planet [in case you weren’t sure]known as Htrae [Earth spelled backwards]which is home to Bizarro and his companions.

In the Bizarro world, society is ruled by the Bizarro Code which states, "Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!" In other words, everything is the opposite of what is considered right or correct.

In looking at the world events of the past few months, I’ve wondered at times if we didn’t all go to sleep one night and the next day woke up in Bizzaro World.

Consider the following:

• In the past few weeks, we have seen several mainstay institutions on Wall Street wiped out—gone! In many cases, weeks or even days before these events, they stated that they had no financial problems. To fix the current financial mess, the U.S. government is considering the best way to buy the most toxic junk in the portfolios of banks, investment houses and insurance companies—a deal that no respectable investor would make.
• The U.S., the “land of the free and home of the brave” is now trying to prevent Sharia Law which deals with things such as stoning for adulterous women, amputation for thieves and the death sentence for converting from Islam from becoming a threat to the U.S. So much so that HR 6975, the Jihad Prevention Act, last week. If made into law, the bill would allow American authorities to prevent advocates of Sharia law from entering this country, as it has in the U.K and Canada. One has to wonder if it has a chance of passing considering that HR 5616 has been stalled for six months [a bill that would reverse the law making it possible for consumers to purchase incandescent light bulbs instead of the mandated CFL bulbs which are filled with toxic mercury]
• This week, the NBC network allowed a program to broadcast a skit that suggests that the husband of Sarah Palin, GOP V.P. candidate, is sleeping with his daughters and cannot understand why anyone would be upset by it and stated that it was humorous.
• This week, Iran’s president Ahmadinejad stood on the platform of the U.N. in New York City and railed against the U.S. and declared that its end was in sight. Interestingly, 22% of the U.N. general budget is paid by the U.S. and Iran, which has been the focus of constant U.N. resolutions due to its defiance in building nuclear capability, contributes 1/10 of 1%.

This list could continue for pages but it wouldn’t change the fact that what once seemed the norm has been turned on its head.

As baffling as these kind of situation may be to the average person on the street, it really shouldn’t surprise Christians. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” In mankind’s attempt to make things better, it will only get worse. Hence, fulfilling the scripture, "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after the things which are coming upon the earth . . ." Luke 21:28

This could be real depressing if not for God’s promise that tells us, “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

“When It Rains, It Pours!”

The old adage goes, “When it rains, it pours.” It refers to the idea that it hasn't happened for a long time, and then it happens all at once. Another rephrasing of the saying is, “It never rains, but it pours.” The latter phrasing is what I would liken the past two weeks in the United States.

• First, we have not one but two hurricanes hit the gulf coast.
  
• Second, we have a financial hurricane hit Wall Street and banking world [and it’s not over even though the U.S. government has now put the taxpayer on the hook for trillions of dollars].
  
• Third, the church world has been hit by a hurricane of revelations in the past few weeks of “leaders” of prominent standing.

Now let me state that of all the above situations, each and every one of them is a grave concern. However, the one that grieves me the most is the latter of the three—let me explain why.

Of the three mentioned, the first two are temporary. What I mean is that they are not of eternal consequence. Jesus told us that it rains on the just and the unjust. He also told us that storms would come in this life and only those that had built their house [their spiritual life] on the rock would survive. He even mentioned that when the storms of life came that the fall of many would be great. So it shouldn’t surprise us when events in the everyday course of life come along. After all, when this life is over, the failing of a banking system or the devastations of nature will have little effect on our souls.

This brings me back to the third issue impacting the Church and ultimately wreaking havoc upon the world.

In the past few weeks, we have seen the following:

• The exposure of a “false” evangelist [Todd Bentley] overseeing a meeting with world coverage that has now collapsed. It was revealed that he was having an affair with a staff member and had been seen drinking excessively. It later learned that this wasn’t the first time--but his oversight board decided to not “oversee” the first time. He is now divorcing his wife with plans to continue in 'ministry'. Link
• A pastor in Australia that faked having cancer but not after he had written a major song and appeared on stage and DVD’s that went around the world. The reason for his fraud: an addiction to porn. Link
• Now a 3-time Dove Award winner with songs that have saturated the church world for years, coming out of the ‘gay’ closet. Ray Boltz admits that he is now living a “normal gay life” and feels closer to God than ever before. Article in Washington Blade - Gay Magazine

All the while the secular world is watching this circus of events [among many others on the local and international level] and the Church seems to simply shrug it off.

So why are we angered when a political cartoonist Pat Oliphant in the Washington Post publishes a cartoon poking fun at Pentecostals and Sarah Palin? Link  

Yes, I know it was over the line and yes, we should be indignant about it. But in a way, hasn’t the Church brought this on itself by its own indifference to what has been going on for years within its own sanctuaries?

If these events do anything, I pray that they will cause the Body of Jesus Christ—the Church to fall to its knees and cry out for forgiveness and mercy. It’s time to clean up our own act and our own attitudes towards what God calls sin, and pray for a rain of revival upon our country—and I hope it pours!

"If Ike Could Talk"

I wrote a few years ago that in his book, "Eye to Eye" how White House correspondent Bill Koenig has shown that every time the U.S. pressures Israel toward making actions in violation to God’s declaration of His purpose for Israel and the land that He gave them, natural catastrophes have affected the United States.

The Bible tells us that God will bless those that bless Israel and curse those that come against it. With this in mind, consider the recent devastating hurricane Ike that FOX News reported as the 4th worse disaster in American history.

• Hurricane Ike hit Texas two days after Israel National News reported, "The United States has turned down Israeli requests for military assistance in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities." Link
• The hurricane hit two days after it was announced that the U.S. would "guarantee" a Palestinian state. Link
• The hurricane hit just a few days after the news that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been pressing Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would divide Jerusalem. Link
• Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas coast [the native state of our president]then headed northward passing over President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, TX.

It seems that God is trying to get our attention—the question remains to be answered: “Has anyone noticed?”

Update: Maybe someone has noticed in as much as today, the day after the storm hits Texas, "The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers to Israel, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities."

"To Tell The Truth"

When I was a child, there was a game show that adults watched with interest called, “To Tell The Truth”. The basic premise of the show consisted of a panel of four celebrities correctly identifying a contestant from a choice of three possibilities. One of the contestants normally held an unusual occupation or had done something noteworthy, and it is this person whom the panel had to attempt to identify. Two of the people will tell lies, while the real person has sworn "to tell the truth." Finally, the panel would cast a vote for the person of their choice. After the votes were cast, the famous line, “Would the real [name of the person] please stand up” would reveal the correct contestant.

Of course, what determined how good the show was dealt entirely with the individuals chosen to deceive the panel into making a wrong conclusion and ultimately the wrong choice.

The idea of deception in a game show is fun; deception in any other format is another story.

At the time of this writing, the U.S. is remembering the horrible attack upon the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. That day, nineteen Saudi men boarded aircraft under false pretense; not in identity but in purpose. They had no intention of flying to the destination punched on their tickets; their intent was to become martyrs for their faith. And their deception cost the lives of almost three thousand people.

Seven years later, when looking back at that day, what amazes me are the numbers of people that are deceived and blind to the actual events of that day. Across Europe, the Middle East and in the vast conspiracy corners of the America, millions are convinced that the attacks were staged by the United States and Israel. Even a recent New York Times article stated, “Seven years later, it remains conventional wisdom here that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda could not have been solely responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that the United States and Israel had to have been involved in their planning, if not their execution, too.” Who was this source of “conventional wisdom”? According to Andrew E. Kramer of the New York Times, "There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth…”

Consider the following: In the years leading up to the invasion in Iraq, there had been no discernible oil shortage, neither had there been any production problems in almost twenty years. In early 2003, before the invasion of Iraq, the price of oil per barrel was hovering around $27.00 per barrel. Today, the price is around $105 per barrel with the highest price recently hitting almost $150 per barrel. If the U.S. was behind the 9/11 attacks for the purpose of invading Iraq to take hold of cheap oil, the plan has obviously failed.

However, consider this scenario: the Saudis whose state religion is Wahabbi jihadist Islam and sworn to destroy the U.S., Israel and other nation with like ideologies, aided in the attacks in order to…

• Eliminate the threat posed to Saudi Arabia by Saddam Hussein's Iraq
• Quadruple the price they could charge for a barrel of oil
• Direct the blame on the U.S. and Israel

Which one seems more plausible?

The Bible says that when the antichrist comes to power, he will do so under the power of deception. It is obvious that spirit is already at work in the world with so many people today at ease with the idea that their government is capable of not only committing wholesale murder and effectively covering it up. They know it’s a lie but they prefer the lie to the truth.

Former CIA Director George Tenet stated, "Of all Al-Qaida's actions…they understand that bombings by cars, trucks, trains, and planes will get them some headlines, to be sure. But if they manage to set off a mushroom cloud, they will make history.”

On this day when the words, "Never forget" ring across the airwaves, America needs to remember that it's the truth that sets us free. And if America forgets…if America deceives itself, it will have no one to blame but itself.

"I Read Your Book!"

George C. Scott yelled that gleefully in the 1971 movie “Patton”.  History tells us   that Patton’s preoccupation with his opponent's strategy had given him a leg up, and when Rommel obliged him with an offensive, Patton was able to counter him effectively.

Shortly after the fall of the old Soviet Union, a Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky published a book under the title, “Last Dash To the South”. He cites the necessity for Russia to gain access by military conquest to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Viewing this “last dash” as the “task of saving the Russian nation,” he argues that Russia needs to secure access to these warm water routes to thrive and that it needs to conquer its southern neighbors in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan to eliminate threats posed by pan-Turkism and pan-Islamism. He also suggested that a military conquest to the south would be the basis for a revitalization of the Russian military which has fallen on hard times.

In the Prophet Ezekiel's vision described in chapters 38-39, the territories that correspond with Ezekiel's alliance, while formerly part of the Soviet Union, now consist of a number of independent breakaway republics, beginning with Georgia and heading south. Together, these territories comprise the land of Magog and the House of Togarmah described by Ezekiel 2,500 years ago.

The recent invasion of Georgia by Russia’s military strikingly mirrors Zhirinovsky's “Last Dash to the South”. According to emerging intelligence reports, the invasion of Georgia had been on the Kremlin's war planning table for several months, awaiting an excuse to set it in motion. I can almost hear the words of Russia's Vladimir Putin yelling, “Zhirinovsky, I read your book!”

The war with Georgia appears to be part of the preparatory process that calls for the alliance to come storming on the mountains of Israel. However, there is one major difference between Zhirinovsky's scenario and the Prophet Ezekiel. In “The Last Dash” Israel collapses like a house of cards ridding the world of the Jewish state. In Ezekiel's scenario, things turn out a bit differently. Ezekiel 39:3-4 declares in that moment God “…will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.”

Vladimir Zhirinovsky's “Last Dash to the South” may mirror Ezekiel 38-39 so closely one would almost think he used it as a template. A copy may be good—but for my money, I’ll stick with the original book. Maybe Putin should read it too!