Witness Him Now
"Tell the whole world, and keep nothing back. Raise a signal flag to tell everyone that Babylon (America) will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced. For a nation will attack her from the north and bring such destruction that no one will lie there again. Everything will be gone; both people and animals will flee." (Jeremiah 50:1-3)
Can I tell you that I do not want to say what I am about to say. No one wants to hear it. No one wants to hear that this country that we love, is about to fall. No one wants to hear that we are about to be attacked. "For I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. They will join forces to attack Babylon (America), and she will be captured. The enemies' arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss! Babylonia (America) will be looted until the attackers are glutted with loot. I, the LORD, have spoken!" (Jeremiah 50:9-10) Who are these armies? China? Russia? I don't know. North. Over and over again God says the attack will come from the north. I don't know who, but I know why. "Listen, Babyon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the LORD. The LORD has opened His armory and brought out weapons to vent His fury. The terror that falls upon the Babylonians (Americans) will be the work of the Sovereign LORD of Heaven's Armies. Yes, come against her from distant lands. Break open her granaries. Crush her walls and houses into heaps of rubble. Destroy her completely, and leave nothing! Destroy even her young bulls - it will be terrible for them, too! Slaughter them all! For Babylon's (America's) day of reckoning has come." (Jeremiah 50:24-27) This country has fought against the LORD. We have thumbed our noses at God again and again, and we said, "We won't, and You can't make me." So the LORD of Heaven's Armies says, "See, I am your enemy, you arrogant people." "Your day of reckoning has arrived - the day when I will punish you. O land of arrogance, you will stumble and fall, and no one will raise you up. For I will light a fire in the cities of Babylon that will burn up everything around them." (Jeremiah 50:31-32) All of this is already happening. Chicago has become a war zone. Seattle. Portland. Cities on fire. Terror is also already here. This terror that has fallen on us is the work of the Sovereign LORD of Heaven's Armies - it is written. The sword has already struck our land. "The sword of destruction will strike the Babylonians," says the LORD. "It will strike the people of Babylon (America) - her officials and wise men, too. The sword will strike her wise counselors, and they will become fools. The sword will strike her mightiest warriors, and panic will seize them. The sword will strike her horses and chariots and her allies from other lands, and they will all become like women. The sword will strike her treasures, and they all will be plundered. A drought will strike her water supply, causing it to dry up. And why? Because the whole land is filled with idols, and the people are madly in love with them." (Jeremiah 50:35-38) Our land is filled with idols, and the people are madly in love with them. Truth. Wise counselors have become fools; treasures are plundered, all because we are madly in love with idols. So the LORD says, "I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Babylon from its land and I will appoint the leader of My choice. For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What ruler can oppose My will? (Jeremiah 50:44-45) Who is like God? Who can challenge Him? What ruler can oppose His will? And yet we thumb our noses at Him. We mock Him. We turn our back on Him for years without end, and we chase after our beloved idols - panting after them. And I am talking to the church. Do we think He doesn't notice? Do we think He doesn't care? I know that some of you are trembling right now. I know I am. You know what I am writing is the truth. But for you who are trembling, I have another message. "In those coming days," says the LORD, "the people of Israel will return home together with the people of Judah. They will come weeping and seeking the LORD their God. They will ask the way to Jerusalem and will start back home again. They will bind themselves to the LORD with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray and turned them loose in the mountains. They have lost their way and can't remember how to get back to the sheepfold. All who found them devoured them. Their enemies said, 'We did nothing wrong in attacking them, for they sinned against the LORD, their true place of rest, and the hope of their ancestors." (Jeremiah 50:4-7) I know that we have not done things right. I know that we have at times lost our way, and we have paid the consequences, but God is on our side. This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: "The people of Israel and Judah have been wronged. Their captors (principalities and powers) hold them and refuse to let them go. But the One who redeems them is strong. His name is the LORD of Heaven's Armies. He will defend them and give them rest again in Israel. But for the people of Babylon there will be no rest!" (Jeremiah 50:33-34). "In those days," says the LORD, "no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah, for I will forgive the remnant I preserve." (Jeremiah 50:20) So what do we do? This coming destruction is upon us. No one is going to change God's plan. It is here, but I say, "Come home. Return to the lover of your soul. Find refuge in His strong arms. Let Him forgive you. Let Him hide you. Let Him defend you. Let Him protect you." There is a place of rest and safety that was prepared for us before the foundation of the world, and the LORD wants to take us there. Let Him. But we also have to do one more thing. The LORD says, "Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don't get trapped in her punishment! It is the LORD's time for vengeance; He will repay her in full. Babylon (America) has been a gold cup in the LORD's hands, a cup that made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank Babylon's wine, and it drove them all mad. But suddenly Babylon, too, has fallen. Weep for her. Give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed. We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. LET HER GO; ABANDON HER. Return now to your own land. For her punishment reaches to the heavens; it is so great it cannot be measured." (Jeremiah 51:6-9) If we continue to fight for our country, we will get trapped in her punishment. Strong is the One who judges her. Let it play out. "In those coming days," says the LORD, "the people of Israel will return home together with the people of Judah. They will come weeping and seeking the LORD their God. They will ask the way to Jerusalem and will start back home again. They will bind themselves to the LORD with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten." (Jeremiah 50:4-5) Can you see the migration? From one kingdom to another. We leave this world and all it has to offer, and we journey home. The LORD goes before us to prepare the way, and He is our rear guard. He is a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide us and to keep us safe on this pilgram's journey. We just follow Him, and under His wings, we find refuge. "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished." "If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and gibe them My salvation." (Psalm 91) This is good news! In the middle of the storm, He is our place of safety. Run and hide. Terri
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