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Divinity God Holy judge & justifier
By Ed Johnson, Chicago
Vol 2/ No.8 - Nov 2001

In light of 9-11-2001 as I pondered this tragic event and all the effort, compassion, unity, and out pouring of charity; I wondered why something like this happened. I didn't question God; why He would let this happen? Like many did. I noticed all of a sudden that there was compassion for all mankind, towards one another, and how so many turned to God out of their desperate and uncertain future, which is now plagued with fear and in some cases hopelessness. Where, before this attack on innocent people, that people here in America were not thinking of or about God and in many cases had no faith in God. I pondered what good could come out of such a tragedy? I wondered if there was anything in the Bible that could shed some truth on what had happened and possible why?

I heard many cries to God for help, mercy wisdom, justice, protection, and strength, to name a few, I to prayed these things, but then I considered this; there was no thought to cry out to God in confession of the sin that America has turned its back on God and allowed evil not to be stopped, but has increased. There was no searching of our hearts and souls as a nation to see if we our offending Holy God and His commandments. If only one would cry out and remind people of this nation of the millions of innocent unborn babies that are murdered each year, the blood shed of the crime in our country that goes free, where the ten commandments and prayer are removed from schools and government, were we deny God by teaching a godless science of evolution, where we now are accepting homosexuality as a life style, were we accept same sex marriage in the church, were we accept no fault devoices, were we exploit sex and violence and call it entertainment and the list goes on. We as a nation have turned not only our backs on God, but believe that are prosperity was our doing. When we are in danger we cry out to God otherwise when all is well we don't consider Him much. O God have mercy on us as a nation, through this tragic event cause an awakening of the eyes and hearts of this nation to confess and repent of our sins, and raise up God fearing prophets to proclaim the truths that are found in your word the Bible.

As I said in the opening of this paper I turned to the Bible to shed some light on the tragedy. The first Scripture I read was Habakkuk all three chapters. An especial chapter 1 & 2, for the last chapter is Habakkuk's prayer to God. In the first two chapters, Habakkuk argues with God over His ways that appear to him, in man's eyes unfathomable, if not unjust. This letter written by Habakkuk, no doubt it represented the voice of the godly in Judah, struggling to comprehend the ways of God, just like many today with the tragedy in New York and the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. God's answer spoke to all who shared Habakkuk's troubled doubts, and may be we can learn from Habakkuk. Habakkuk was perplexed that wickedness, strife and all kinds of evil were rampant in Judah but God seemingly did nothing. When told that the Lord was preparing to do something about it through the godless and ruthless Babylonians- "I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor." (1:6-7); )sounds like the terrorists of our day). O Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment; ....you have ordained them to punish..." (1:12); "...Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves." (1:3). Could this be compared to what is happening in America? Listen to Isaiah 55:6-9; "Seek the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." So could God be allowing this to happen to awaken a nation and to chastise them to repentance, for the turning away from Him? God speaks to boastful nations the same way He does to individual people; listen to Jeremiah 9:23-25; "This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I Am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. The days are coming, "declares the Lord, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh..."

Another Scripture I was lead to read is found in the Gospel of John 13: 1-5. Here in this passage is the urgency of repentance taught by our Lord. For today is the day of salvation for you may not see tomorrow. "But unless you repent, you too will all perish." These people who so tragically lost their lives and so sudden, they were just like all of us that day, just preparing to start work no thoughts of death, but then it was ended.

History itself shows that many nations have risen to greatness only to eventually collapse. Why? The thing that ruins nations is sin, which is godlessness. America has risen to greatness. America has risen to greatness in this present day, why; because it was founded on God and His precepts. And this nation has been the recipients of the benefits and blessings for over two centuries based on Christianity. But there is every sign just now that, largely speaking, our nation is rejecting the very thing that has made this nation greater than ones that preceded it. Divinity God and the Holy Bible have been and are under attack in our country, being rejected, flounted, laughed at, and called uninspired. God's Word I now being tabooed, (taken out of the schools and government), it is being sneered at, and kept from the hearts and minds of the rising generations, If this continues there can be no other consequence than collapse. The only safety, the only Salvation, the only hope, of our nation is in the teachings, the ethics, the standards, and the experiences of the religion of Jesus Christ. Whenever a nation, or people, or a person embraces these, they begin to climb, however; if they ignore and drift away from Divinity God and His Word, they begin to doubt God; which leads to rejecting Him; which leads to a decline and ultimately if not changed will lead to destruction, this has been witnessed times without number to nations, peoples, and individuals.

The greatest need of all humanity is to be reconciled to Holy god again. This is why Jesus Christ came into this world, to save His people from sin, which divides people from Holy God. Jesus taught that the chief purpose of coming was not to make bad men good, but to solve the sin problem-to make spiritual dead men alive again. Jesus was noted as the greatest preacher and marvelous miracle worker, and healed many of diseases, yet He declared that He did not come to heal men's bodies, but to heal their souls of the plague of sin. To save from sin here and now through His blood atonement, the offering of His body, (the Lamb of God) His life to give us life (spiritual life) through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension Jesus concurred sin, death Satan, and hell. This is the message of reconciliation to the whole world, for "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Even Jesus disciples claimed that Jesus who save them could save anyone if they would meet the simple conditions. The Church of Jesus Christ needs to stand up in this hour and proclaim His message of reconciliation and love and follow our Lord's commandments. We need to be as He was. We need a prophet to preach in holy boldness the full council of God unadulterated. The devil is not worrying about most of the preaching; he can sleep while we are preaching, for he knows that nothing much will happen because of it. We need a voice like John the Baptist to speak up and say, "Repent!" A holy man is a holy horror in the hands of God. We need and must be messengers to this present world who is in need to hear the truth according to the Gospel, not man. God blesses obedience not disobedience. Are we ready to meet our maker if today He would call us to eternity? And do you know were you will spend eternity? I would say, "seek the Lord while He may be found". For there is no salvation after we depart this physical life. "For there is No other name under heaven were by we may be saved.