THE PROGRESSION OF EVIL

 Greetings,

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?  Genesis 18:25

An Absolute truth of God -- God is Judge.

Genesis 15:14; 16:15; 30:6; 31:53; 
Exodus 5:21; 
Deuteronomy 32:36; 
Judges 11:27; 
I Samuel 2:10; 3:13; 24:12; 24:15;
I Kings 8:32;
I Chronicles 16:33; 
II Chronicles 6:23; 20:12;
Job 9:15; 21:22; 22:13; 23:7; 
Psalm 7:8;

Consider and See some of the most severe judgements by God 

Genesis 3 - we are introduced to the sin of men;  They disobeyed God.   And when men disobey God, there is a price to pay.   We see that that God dealt with each one that was involved in this trespass against God.    God cursed all 3.   The serpent, He took away his legs and made him crawl on his belly.  And God added that there would always be enmity between men and Satan, it is not just between woman and a snake.    God cursed the woman with pain and travialing in childbirth.   Bearing forth a child into this world is not the curse, that is a blessing, for it gives life.   The curse is in the pain that she has 'to bring forth' the child into this world.  Literally she has to go into the valley of the shadow of death.   To bring forth our deliverance from sin, did not Christ to into the valley and die for our sins?    God is paralleling the man, womans and serpent curse with the reality of the warfare for the souls of mankind and their relationship with God.   God also put upon the woman that she would know service, as she is made to serve her husband.   And we will know service, as we surrender ot Him and obey Him.  He is the husband, His church, we, His saints are His bride and wife in marriage.   And God curse the man for his choice to disobey and choose sin.    God placed that he would work by the sweat of his brow to toil and sustain by labor for life.   No longer the benefits of Divine relationship and provision in the garden of Eden, but now to work for food.   

And the affects of this choice of sin, death entered in.  'For in the day that you eat of the fruit of this tree, you shall die.'  And upon eating it, sin entered into the flesh, and the flesh lost its sustaining of everlasting life in God, because it was separated from Him, the giver of life.  And now they would be born, to live to die.   'for the wages of sin is death'.  

Genesis 18 -- 19    God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah.  In chapter 18, God reveals to Abraham what He is about to do and why He is about to do it.   These cities have sinned so wickedly, so perversely that it had ascended in its evil the throne of God.   God comes down to sent His angels to see if it is as wicked as what has been revealed.   Now God is Omniscient, and He knew all these things.  Yet, HE also knew Abraham's nephew, Lot and family were in Sodom.   The only purpose for God to come down was to reveal to Abraham, to provoke, solicit a response from Abraham to intercede for the cities.  Abraham seeks in God's presence, Divine leniency for their lives.  That they be not destroyed in this judgement.   IT is a judgement of complete decimation.    

Exodus 3 - 14      God destroys Egypt.   Egypt had enslaved the covenant children of Israel.  They had held them 400 years and their treatment of them had only worsened.   When the children of Israel's cries came before the Lord for the anguish that they were enduring by the abuse of Egypt, God responded.  "I have seen and heard their cries".   And God judged Egypt for enslaving them; for abusing them (their bondage was severe); and they murdered and shed the innocent blood of God's people.   They sought to do more against them by having the midwifes kill all sons of Israelite women.   God sent 10 plagues upon Egypt
1.  Water to blood;
2.  Frogs;
3.  Lice;
4.  Flies;
5.  Murrain;
6.  Boils;
7.  Hail & fire;
8.  Locusts;
9.  3 days of darkness;
10.  Plague of Death upon first born;

And at the end of these 10 plagues, the people and the land of Egypt had been severly judged by God.  They were filled with death, destruction and brought to the place of final judgement - Desolation.

I Kings 14 -- Jeroboam's epitaph is 'the king that made two false golden calf's and caused Israel to sin against the Lord in worshipping these false idols.'   Not the epitaph any of us would want to be known for in history.  And again, God responds to the choices of men to sin against Him.   Jeroboam was given the kingdom when God took it away from Solomon and Rehoboam for their sins against the Lord.   And Jeroboam did not respond rightly tot he Lord but did evil in the sight of the Lord.  Thus, God met him in his evil and prophesied through Ahijah the prophet, that not only would God remove the kingdom from Jeroboam's family, but God remove his entire lineage from the earth.   God creates, and God can uncreate.    In chapter 14, the prophesy is given; and in chapter 15 Baasha is made king over ISrael and destroyed all the line of Jeroboam, cutting off that pissed against the wall, meaning all males were killed and that there was none left to carry on the lineage of Jeroboam.  He was removed from the earth.

I Kings 16  -   Baasha learned nothing from the demise and removeal of Jeroboam, but did the same sins against the Lord and caused Israel to sin against Him.   Thus, God removed Baasha from being king and removed all of his line from the earth.   

I Kings 21  -   Ahab's father, Omri, was titled with the worst epitaph from God, 'and he did more evil than all that were before him"   And now comes his son, Ahab, who is credited to doing worse than all that were before him.  And because of his wickedness and that which Jezebel, did, God meets him through the prophet Elijah and tells him, that his fate shall be that of Jeroboam and Baasha, your entire family lineage shall be removed from the earth, because you sought to do wickedly against the Lord ot provoke Him to anger.   And God did so.

Level of Severity of Judgement(s)

One of the issues of this day is the level of severity of judgements that we are experiencing as a nation, and upon the church.   Throughout Scripture God reveals and demonstrates His hand of judgements in various ways.  Learning these ways is helpful to see where we are in the sight of God and what is coming next.   

Gradual growth and devleopment of judgements is the norm for God's justice against a people and against His Own people for their sins against Him.  It does not happen all at one time.   Yet, there are instances where God judged in severity quickly upon individuals.  Here are a couple of those moments:

1.  Cain - Cain killed his brother, Abel.  And God judged him with a severe mark and casting him from the presence of men.   

2.  Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu - They were the priests and to offer on behalf of the people before God.  God had given specific instructions and directions to what, how, and when they were to offer before the Lord.  These offerings and sacrifices were holy unto the Lord; it was not trivial nor to be treated as such.  A lesson too often the church and Christians forget.  So when the two older sons of Aaron offered 'strange fire' before the Lord, God judged them quickly and severely.  Fire came out of heaven and consumed them on the spot for what they had done against the Lord.  Enter His Presence with reverence, fear and honor and do things rightly before Him.

3.  Uzza - Uzza was a priest who was given the privilege to carry the ark of the covenant.  God had given specific instructions to them that they were to carry it on two staves.  But the priests thought that they would be innovative and put the ark of the covenant on a carriage and pulled by animals.   Upon a rough terrain and bouncing, the ark was unsteady and Uzza put forth his hand to 'steady the ark'.   God immediately judged him on the spot and struck him dead for touching the ark.  They were not, never to touch the ark of the covenant.  They were not to put it on a carriage, but to carry it.  And because of his folly, he died.

4.  Anaias and Saphira - 

Leviticus 26: 17, "I will set My face against you. . .'
Leviticus 26:18, ". . .then I will punish you seven times more for your sins"
Leviticus 26:21, ". . .I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins"
Leviticus 26:24, "The will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins"
Leviticus 26:25, "And I will bring a sword. . .I will send the pestilence. . ."
Leviticus 26:28, ". . .I will chastise you seven times for your sins"

A series of sermons that I preached in 2012 - 13 and is uploaded to Sermonindex on youtube:  "Seven Levels of Judgement".   This examines the revealing of God's consistent, immutable nature of judgement.   These 7 levels are as follows:

1.  Sin - sin entered into God's creation and paradise;  Sin has always been upon us and it is in our nature to follow after that, rather than follow after Him.   But sin has multiple roots of which we identify.

2.  God response to sin - God has made a way to be forgiven of sin; God gives men invitations and time in His grace and mercy to respond.   God's response is reciprocal to mans' response.  

3.  First Level of Judgement - Against the land, natural disasters that assault and afflict His creation;  God's creation groans;  

4.  Second Level of Judgement - God judges the response of people in their failure to repent and return to Him, by given them ungodly and unwise leaders;  Leaders that are for self and sin rather than for Him;

5.  Third Level of Judgement - God comes against His Own people;  This is so evident in the warnings and impact in Revelation 2 & 3 to the 7 churches;  God allows for Ichabod to come; God removes His power and Presence from His people.   God allows for them to reap what they have sown.   

6.  Fourth Level of Judgement - God assaults man;   Warning in the Old Testament is that God sends judgements against society.   "I wills end the noisome beasts, the pestilence, wars against the rebellious people".   We see their minds are evil affected, in Genesis 6, 'their minds were given to continual evil thoughts'.   One passage of Scripture, 'their only habit for the day was to think how they might do more evil, greater evil,'    God affects their hearts.   God makes their hearts to be alienated from Him, and out of the heart such wickedness grows, multiplies and bears its fruit of evil.   

7.   Final Judgement - Cataclysmic -  This bears record of not dozen or 100's perishing in God's wrath; but in the 1000's and millions;    It is severe.   God's cup of wrath is poured out in response to men's failure to return to Him and fear Him and serve Him.   

 This was a beginning to identify the response of God to the responses of men.   That which we saw in Scripture, and God's reaction to sinful men.   This response of God we see to the individual, to the family, to the church and to society/nation.    And long have we held to the phrase, 'as the church goes, so goes the nation.'  But it is only recently that we have begun to hear from church leaders, 'this is our fault'.    This almost 10 year lack of response has cost us deeply.  

Now as the years have clicked by since 2012, current events, and happenings have revealed a clearer picture to God's judgement.   We see through these things very specific happenings revealing the 7 levels of judgements.   We identified the activity of men and God's judgement upon them through the following 6 EPDIEMICS.

Let us define EPIDEMIC.   Over the last 20 years we have seen judgement happen, that shocked us, stirred us, alarmed us.    When these things began initially, they were 1 time events or happenings.  Then they grew to several happenings, then dozens.      This is demonstrated by school shootings.  In 1999, Columbine rocked our nation.   Then after that began the onslaught of single event to dozens to 100's.   So as these judgements happen, they escalate into 100's and into 1000's.    This goes from just being an 'event', to EPIDEMIC.   Below are the 6 identified EPIDEMICS that is plaguing our nation and the church right now.

CURRENT JUDGEMENTS - EPIDEMICS

1.  Drugs/Alcohol - 

2.  LGBT - 

3.  Children - 

4.  Natural Disasters - 

5.  Plagues - 

6.  Great Evil - Homicides; Suicides; & Murder-Suicides - 

All of these current judgements come forth from the original study of 'The Seven Levels of Judgements" upon our land and upon the church.    And in these 6 EPIEDMICS they have mushroomed into millions impacted, and 100,000's dead and dying.   The severity of our judgement is unlike anything we have seen or experienced before.   Such results should trigger the church to respond, yet the church over the last 20 years, was not even willing to admit that we was under judgement.  Failure to understand allowed for the judgement to increase.   Thus the title, that I have longed been plagued with, 'THE PROGRESSION OF EVIL'.   

Upon recognizing that 1000's are dying, and judgement is upon us, the church should respond properly.   This is found in the Solemn Assembly; great cries for prayer; declaration by the church of our offense against Him.   Here is the greater alarm for me:  

    "I have pondered before the Lord, as I have considered these judgement into EPIDEMICS.   After you reach EPIDEMIC proportion of stats and numbers and deaths and souls, "what comes next?"   The answer to that is horrifying, it is the full measure of God's cup of wrath upon the church, upon our nation.    Annihilation and removal from the earth.    You see this several times in Scripture:

--"I will remove you from the earth";  God has power of creation and sustaining HIs creation;  Thus the Creator has the power also to Uncreate.   

--"I will remove your candlestick"    God removes Ephesus candlestick.  Robert Murray McCheyne preaches this truth as he studied this and went to find the church of Ephesus.  His comment, 'I was led to what was supposedly the foundation of the  building that housed the great church of Ephesus.  A corn field had grown over it and only a few blocks remained of its existence.   And I realized that God warned them, and then fulfilled it upon them."    Horrifying and alarming

What comes after you reach EPIDEMIC proportions. . . 
The cup of God's wrath and anger is poured out.   The right response of the church can seek for God to grant more time, 'in wrath remember mercy'.   God may be gracious and merciful;  God may grant more time, like He did for Hezekiah regarding life of 15 years.   But God may also say, 'No, times up.'

Regardless of the above action to seek for delay or restraint from God fulfilling His anger and fury upon the nation and the church; God will proceed with judgement on a people that has forsaken Him and sinned greatly in abominations against HIm.  All of this EPIDEMICS judgement lead to one thing, the final judgement, the worst judgement - DESOLATION.

This term of desolation, is the end result of God rising early and sending His prophet to warn, yet the people would not give heed nor take heed.   And now God brings forth the end.   

Thus, God's end judgement is the most complete, horrifying, details of DESOLATION.    It is the end of a society, a way of life.  IT is the most horrifying accoutns of history that we have learned and read of.   It is the slaying of the young men; the enslaving, and raping of the young women;   the stealing of the children and indoctrinating of them to their evil, wicked ways;  the old men and old women are killed, and dismissed.   Freedoms are gone; conveniences are no more; all that they have known as life, is now only a memory, and a painful one at that.  

It is the going day in and day out of seeking just to exist and live.  Rise to seek water and food, and seek to make it through the day.    

CONCLUSION:

As I have studied these and marked the stats and happenings.   We have seen the escalation of evil to grow from individuals to every house being impacted.   You can't hardly name to me, in the church and out of the church, a family that is not had to deal with the EPIDEMICS.   Every family has walked through a loved one drug addiction and/or overdose; every family has had cancer; every family will soon have or does have a LGBT member.    Every family will lose a loved one to suicide, murder-suicide or homicide, it is the judgement of filling the land with blood so God can judge it.   

The alarm of this should create an 'urgency and fervency"   within and from the church.  But alas, it is a hard thing to find.   WE should hasten all responses to address this.   Because we are at the end of the judgements, and the cup of wrath in full measure is getting ready to be poured out upon us.   Again, 'The Return" was exactly what was needed.   Yet, it came short.   

Two things have I come to a conclusion for myself regarding the response of the church:

1.  Word centered;  this comes from Richard Owen Roberts conversations and preaching on the difference between emotion centered and Word centered instruction and proclamation of the Word.   

2.   Protracted times of prayer, fasting, confession and repentance.   The Concerts of Prayer are monthly calls for local churches, associations to come together with fastings and corporate prayer.    But no doubt, another national event must be called for and done, with days given to address these evils and the needed instruction (Word centered) of our response to God.   "If you return to Me, I will return to you."   This cannot be done in a day, but days are needed to before the Lord for what we are facing.   

Thus, it is a time for urgency, and fervency, because the emergency of our existence is now in front of us.   We won't survive much longer without a proper response before the Lord.   

Until,

dan biser

Started:  November 21, 2020

Continued:  11/23;12/11;

Finished: