To determine whether God’s Chosen People truly had faith in Him, the Lord allowed pagan nations to remain in the land of Canaan as the Exodus concluded so that the next generation of Israelites might experience war. Judges 1:1-2 tells us:

“Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.”

Why, we might ask, would God want to subject His children to the violence associated with war? What kind of a loving God would do that?

After listing the nations that would confront them, Judges 4:4 goes on to tell us why:

“They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

So, war was the mechanism for God to determine if Israel would trust Him by obeying all the laws that He had set forth in order that they would live righteously for Him. How did circumstances get to this point that Yahweh had to test the peoples of Israel in this way?

The first generation to leave Egypt had significant issues. They were delivered miraculously by the hand of God time and again. Their failure to trust the Lord was largely due to their having been conditioned for the last 400 years to glorify the pagan Egyptian gods. These gods were visibly represented by idols. Then Moses came along and told them they had to worship an invisible God who was Spirit only. The giving of the Ten Commandments solidified this quandary, as they were instructed to worship no God but Yahweh, and they couldn’t even represent Him through the making of an idol.

That didn’t work out so well, and their lack of trust in this God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – despite the overwhelming miraculous evidence – resulted in this entire generation sentenced to death in the wilderness because of their unbelief.

The second generation learned the lesson. They were generally faithful to God by obeying His Word. Several incidents cropped up that caused them grief, but God knew their hearts and their faith in Him. He ushered them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. However, part of their duty was to take out the giants of the pagan nations inhabiting Canaan.

They had mixed results, but that was probably to be expected by frail, sinful people. All in all, they generally did what God intended, i.e., to devote these other nations to destruction and to possess the land.

As their leader, Joshua knew – just as Moses before him had – that the Israelites were a stiff-necked people and subject to disobedience. He warned them that other gods would be a snare and that they would have to choose between Yahweh and the pagan gods. It’s why he made his famous declaration in Joshua 24:15:

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Surprisingly, the people heard him and responded positively. In fact, following the death of Joshua, they continued working at their appointed task of driving out the inhabitants of the land as God directed, again having mixed success. But then … trouble!

Judges 2:10 describes what happened in the following years:

“And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”

This new generation, the third counting those who left Egypt, i.e., the grandchildren, completely lost it.

Judges 2:11-13 shows what happened:

“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.”

Is it any wonder that God determined He had to test them?

What happened? The second generation learned their lesson pretty well.

They saw the unbelief of their fathers and realized something had to change. They needed to have faith in the God who delivered them from bondage. All well and good. But look at what they neglected. They didn’t teach their children, despite what God had commanded they do. Recall that Moses declared in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 as the Lord had instructed:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

And if the children didn’t learn and propagate the Word, how then could their children know it? Is it any wonder that the time of the Judges was one of great apostasy, as ignorance of God was passed on for many generations?

Is there a lesson for us today?

Of course. It’s what makes the Bible as relevant as it is – ALL of Scripture, from the Old Testament through the New Testament.

However, we want to describe the faith of the World War 2 generation in America (i.e., the Greatest Generation) and those following. There’s little doubt that the teaching of God’s Word has dramatically declined since then with the resulting Biblical illiteracy that consumes our culture today. People are more inclined to believe in aliens from other planets than they are in the God of the Bible and their absolute need for salvation. In fact, many believe their redemption will come through these visitors from outer space. Given the examples we see in the Old Testament, we know that doesn’t bode well.

These examples also show what God tends to do in order to test His people to see if they really believe and trust in Him. He brings war and difficult times. Why? So that we can learn to rely on Him – or not.

Over the last twenty years, we’ve had a pretty good run at this testing. Starting with 9/11, the serious financial difficulties in 2008, and certainly the last two-plus years of COVID and its aftermath, all these and more have greatly tested the church, not to mention the secular population.

And how have we done? The church embraced Islam, the prosperity and other social gospels have risen greatly, and a large contingent of Christianity decided to trust the government and its authority figures rather than God.

Finding a good church is a major challenge these days, i.e., one that actually preaches and teaches God’s Word as written. Eastern mysticism is rising exponentially as New Age dominates the spiritual realm of many people’s lives. Children have little to no idea of who the God of the Bible is, the fact of their sinfulness, or why they aren’t good people like they’ve been conditioned to believe.

In the time of Judges, the Lord had to raise up a deliverer who would rescue Israel for a brief period, then they’d slip back into apostasy. What can we expect in this day and age?

I think God has clearly shown that judgment must come because there is soon to be an end to things. In the past, that meant subjugation by pagan nations. Now, that means God is getting ready to wrap up the Church Age and history as we know it in order for unbelievers to be under the subjugation of Antichrist in the Tribulation.

Ultimately, in Israel, as the years rolled by, the people were ruled by kings, and they fell further away from God. It meant the absolute destruction of the nation – initially at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians, and finally again by the Romans. Judgment fell because it had to.

Are we so special in this nation that we think we’re immune to God’s judgment? Apparently, many people think so. But we’re not. This world – led by the example of America – has been on a downward trajectory for a long time. The blood we’ve shed and the abominations we’ve propagated are a stench to God.

Who is our deliverer in this new time of Judges on the cusp of the Tribulation? None other than Jesus Christ. Mankind has shown that it is incapable of delivering itself from the troubles it brings on through its anti-God actions. We need a true Savior, and we have Him in Jesus. In this world gone rogue, we need the One who will remove us from its midst.

Many of us who name the Name of Christ realize how alien this world has become to us. (Sadly, many Christians don’t, and they’ve decided to embrace the world.) Because of this world’s hostility, such destruction is coming that will make the past violence and oppression of the pagan nations against Israel look like child’s play. Thankfully, God knows all this and will remove those of us who have called upon Him.

Why? Why the pre-Tribulation Rapture? It’s all because of Jesus! It’s His merciful gift to us who believe. We’ve already proven through faith our need for Him and trust in Him. We have no further requirement to demonstrate how thoroughly we can gird up and stand against the horrors of God’s wrath upon this earth. God’s grace is sufficient.

Soon, the Lord will show us this very fact.

—

Gary Ritter website: books & blog

http://garyritter.com/

Kindle Vella story: Tribulation Rising

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099Z462WD

 

Who would believe that hard-core agnostics and atheists are repenting and receiving Christ? Yes, arrogant and self-serving actors and celebrities are receiving Christ under the end-times prophecy, “In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh…”

Even Shia LaBeouf just became a ‘Christian’! The once obstinate actor was an agnostic until he played the role of Padre Pio, a famous Roman Catholic priest of the 1800s – a man who garnered worldwide acclaim for possessing healing powers as well as what Roman Catholics term as exhibiting “stigmata.” Stigmata is the bleeding in the areas where Jesus would have bled during the crucifixion.

In undertaking the role, Shia researched the life of Padre Pio at different Roman Catholic churches near his home in California. Then, later, he went to the actual convent in Italy where Pio served, where he could get a “feel” for the demanding role. After months of preparation, during which he learned all he could about the role that he would undertake and underwent rigorous Catholic training as well, he began to pray for insight into the priest. He then underwent an inward transformation after much introspection. The hardheaded intellectual actor is well on his way to cleaning up his act and living the Christian life – or so he says.

As I watched Shia’s interview on YouTube, I was looking for any indication that he was being untruthful, but he claims to have at least read the book of Matthew in the Bible.

Back in the day, Catholics didn’t read scripture at the church services and only heard the Mass in Latin. They mostly read secondhand explanations of scripture in pamphlet form called the Catechism. The Catholic Biblical Canon is the Douay Reims version of the Bible which contains other questionable “books” such as Tobias, Abdias, and Sophonias. Who or what is Sophonias, pray tell?

Although Shia loves the mysteries of the Catholic Church, I find these trappings stifling and stunting personal spiritual growth. We believers are admonished to “Study to show thyself approved, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightfully dividing the Word of God.” I began and still study the King James and New King James.

Worse than that, the Roman Catholics worship idols in the form of statuettes – and use the rosary (as do the people of the Muslim faith.) Which begs the question – Didn’t Jesus say not to pray to idols and not to say repetitious prayers – as the heathen do?

Nevertheless, I do hope that Shia is on the path to know our Lord and Savior and continues to be a seeker of truth.

There is the rumor that Elon Musk may have made a profession of faith in Christ, but although he appeared before professing (immature) Christians asking questions, he answered the way most American people would answer, like, “I believe in a higher power, and I am a good person; Jesus was a good person,” etc. These answers are common among those in secular society. His interviewers were novices in proclaiming the Gospel and were laughing throughout the interview, all because they had scored an interview with the richest man in the world. What an obscene interview!

Tom Hanks has made a profession of faith. But we’ll have to wait and see. “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”

Sharon Stone says she is a Christian. Really?

Jane Fonda claims to be a Christian. Who am I to say?

Of course, we all know Kirk Cameron, who has a new Christian movie coming out soon. I hope it’s not as cheesy as most of them are.

Chuck Norris also claims to be a Christian but never proclaims it openly. Incidentally, I worked on a Chuck Norris film called “Invasion U.S.A.,” which his brother Aaron wrote and directed. I portrayed the boat captain in the opening scene, where a Russian cruiser comes up in front of the old vessel I piloted, and they pretended to be the American Coast Guard. Meanwhile, I was having trouble with the outboard engine when they arrived and killed all the people aboard the craft – including me. But at least Chuck invited me and the rest of the cast to his house for a Christmas wrap party.

In any case, all of the above are just as capable of claiming to be Christians as the rest of us. Why, even some politicians are claiming to be Christians. Take Nancy Pelosi, the pro-abortion speaker of the House, for example, who happens to be a Roman Catholic, as are many other career politicians.

And speaking of politicians, “President” Joe Biden (The big guy) gave a state of the union speech in which he sided with the Ukrainians who have the goods on him and his son to the tune of millions of American dollars. (He knows that if he crosses them, they will expose his shady dealings with them via Burisma – his son Hunter’s illicit business enterprise.)

The same can be said of the Chinese Communist Government’s dealings with the Biden criminal enterprise. The Big guy knows that if he says anything bad about either of our mortal enemies, he will, in turn, be exposed for being a beneficiary of the criminal dealings of his son, the hard-core drug addict and sex pervert. If anything untoward is said against either of these two entities, they will expose him for the puppet that he is. Blackmail is a powerful tool, and they wouldn’t hesitate to use it against these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

In his state of the Union address, Biden, with slurred speech, while coughing, addressed the nation from a small gymnasium that holds about 300. Even so, there were at most about 250 in attendance in what was referred to as a rally. The bought-and-paid-for media made much of the partisan speech in which he threatened conservatives with irresponsible rhetoric.

Joe, it seems, would even go as far as to promote civil war just to deflect the talk about his shady dealings with Ukraine and Communist China, as well as protect his criminal son and brother.

If these people had any integrity, they would admit their failures and face the consequences rather than let the country suffer. Incidentally, he is in negotiations with Iran to continue their nuclear arms program. In fact, one of their top leaders will be making a trip to the U.S. to address these issues with Biden soon. What kind of patriot is that?

One last thing you should know: the Chinese Communist Party is making the masks that you wear to guard against the virus they made, and they also make the computer components for our elections. And, oh yes, now they are making the chips for use during the one-world 666 government.

If ever there was a time to prepare to meet your maker, it is now.

YBIC

Jim Towers

Write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit my website at www.propheticsignsandwonders.com or www.dropzonedelta.com