Encompassing Destruction
By John Gavazzoni
It ought not be thought of as unspiritual to be keenly aware that one is living in a time and place when destructive forces and circumstances have reached a level of danger that is nothing less than encompassing. I find myself thinking that if many of my brethren were to be transported back in time to A.D. 70 in Jerusalem, with their mentality of repugnance at anything that smacks of what they reactively write off as "gloom and doom" negativity, they would have serious difficulty believing Jesus' prediction re: the impending destruction of Jerusalem, and particularly, the magnificent Jewish temple applying to them in that here and now.
It's only natural to resist thinking that we might be faced with such upheaval, that life as we have known it will never be quite the same again. It's what psychologists refer to as the normalcy bias. But the entire believing community in Jerusalem, without exception, was enabled by God to believe what they needed to believe, gathered up what belongings they could, and got out of town with godly haste to a place safe from the terrible scourge of Titus' armies. In terms of a very-localized holocaust, what followed was worse than anything that had ever happened before in human history or would in the future. The populace that remained in the city were reduced to such inhumanity that mothers were cannibalizing their children.
At least 10 years ago, I heard the Spirit whisper to me, "now is the time of America's humiliation." I could not help think of the proverb: "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." I've only shared that message a time or two, and then only to a small gathering of believers, and to a couple individuals in private. The very fabric of our Judea-Christian-influenced culture is being shredded to pieces. Ideological insanity pervades the highest places of pseudo-authority in the nation. As it was in those days preceding the events of A.D. 70, the corruption of religion is pervasive. We are imploding as a nation that once had some semblance of a holding-center of rationality and decency.
We watch and listen to the talking heads of television, as they manipulate fact and fancy to combine in such a way that they end up deceiving us as to what is really going on. We've become an empire given over to inciting wars supported by lies. It ought to be considered a sick joke, to any longer think of our country as exceptional among the nations of the world given that we rank high on the list of those specializing in the killing of innocent civilians by our war-mongering. We have, in fact, abused every precious gift that God in His sovereignty has showered upon us in days past. The noble professions of education, journalism, public service, medicine, science, jurisprudence, AND the Christian pulpit, have been horribly compromised.
We talk too glibly of God being in control, and indeed He is, yet we draw back from facing what He is presently controlling. Jesus promised to give us His peace, NOT as the world gives, but in order to keep our calm, we look to this world's voices to hide from us what's really coming down. This is a day of great crisis, but also of great opportunity to shine as lights in this present evil world. Entire nations, behind the scenes, are in a state of desperation, and the adage applies: Man's extremity is God's opportunity. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us.
