Woe to America

April 22, 2003

[Tract]GP 31048/93

(This prophetic message is published by The Family, a worldwide fellowship of Christian missionaries.)

"O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us" (Jeremiah 6:26).

THE EARLIEST MEMBERS of the Children of God held dramatic demonstrations in major cities throughout the United States in 1969, wearing red sackcloth, ashes and yokes. Likewise‚ current members of The Family in the U.S. are again holding sackcloth vigils‚ mourning America's sins and warning of her impending doom. God has shown us that the Bible's Book of Jeremiah is His message for America today. Jeremiah was backslidden Israel's prophet of judgment and woe. He bewailed his country's fallen state and coming fate, for God had told him in no uncertain terms,

"I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness‚ who have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands" (Jeremiah 1:16).

God told Jeremiah to wear an ox yoke around his neck as an illustration to his nation of its coming bondage to the rising world empire of Babylon‚ led by King Nebuchadnezzar:

"Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck" (Jeremiah 27:2).

Similarly, the yokes we wear today when conducting sackcloth demonstrations symbolize America's coming bondage to the rising New World Order‚ which according to Bible prophecy, will be led by the soon-to-be–revealed Antichrist world dictator.

When proclaiming this warning message we are often asked, "Why would God judge America?—Isn't the U.S. better than most other countries?" Our answer is simple: Because the U.S. has had more light, more true Gospel‚ more genuine Christianity than any other nation on earth, she is more accountable to God. And because she has rejected that light and forsaken her faith, she is in the same state today as backslidden Israel was in the days of Jeremiah.

THE BIBLE PREDICTS that in the Last Days "evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13). This is surely the case with America. Since we began petitioning her to repent almost 25 years ago, we have seen her go from bad to worse, which is why we believe her final judgment is at hand. In fact, we believe America is already being judged for her backsliding!—By natural disasters, economic ruin, runaway crime, etc.

In just the past 30 years the U.S. has seen:

* a 560% increase in violent crime

* a 520% increase of student crime committed in schools

* a nearly 400% increase in juvenile arrests

* more than a 400% increase in illegitimate births

* a 400% increase in divorce

* a 300% increase in the number of children living in single-parent homes

* more than a 200% increase in teen suicides

America was founded as a Godly country, and as her citizens loved the Lord and placed their faith in Him, He blessed them and caused them to prosper. But sadly, as a nation she has turned her back on God, and ravaged and polluted the land He gave her:

"I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered‚ ye defiled My land, and made My heritage an abomination" (Jeremiah 2:7).

Although there are still many true believers in the U.S., as a nation she has forsaken God. This is her most grievous sin:

"My people have committed evil; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters" (Jeremiah 2:13).

"Thou hast forsaken Me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out My hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary of relenting!" (Jeremiah 15:6).

One of God's incontrovertible laws is, "Whatsoever a man [or nation] soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). God blesses or judges individuals or nations by letting them reap what they themselves have sown. When He judged ancient Israel, He told her,

"Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 2:19).

As a judgment on people that have forsaken Him, God will cause the things they once gloried in to become things of which they are ashamed:

"As they increased and prospered, so they sinned against Me: therefore will I change their glory into shame" (Hosea 4:7).

So many of the things that America once gloried in have now been turned into shame! America gloried in having the strongest economy in the world. Her manufacturing base is now collapsing and the economy is in shambles. In the past ten years America has gone from being the world's greatest creditor nation to the number one debtor nation. America gloried in her freedom and her religious heritage. Now those freedoms are being eroded and taken away, one after another. America once gloried in her educational system, which has now fallen far behind that of most other industrial nations.

WHY IS AMERICA SO BESET with seemingly insoluble problems today? Why has she lost God's blessing?

"Your iniquities have turned away these things [God's blessings], and your sins have withheld good things from you" (Jeremiah 5:25).

When people turn their backs on the Lord and His Word, the Bible, they are often unable to even tell the difference between good and evil.

"For My people are foolish, they have not known Me; they are senseless children, and they have no understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge" (Jeremiah 4:22).

In addition to her general apostasy‚ some of the major sins for which God is judging and will judge America are:

* Her official banning of the Bible and prayer in public schools

Anti-Christian forces have stretched the First Amendment's guarantee of religious liberty to ridiculous extremes never intended by the Founding Fathers. They have goaded the courts to not only banish Bible reading and prayer from public schools, but they've now made it a legal offense to sing Christmas carols, to display nativity scenes‚ for a teacher to wear a cross on a necklace, to bring a Bible to school, etc.

Thomas Jefferson's interpretation of the First Amendment makes it clear that a de-Christianization of government-funded institutions‚ such as we see happening today‚ was never intended. He said, "The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall. It keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government."

It was the 1962 Engle vs. Vitale case in which the Supreme Court removed prayer from public schools. The 1963 Worldbook Encyclopedia noted that this was the first time in America's history that we had separation of religious principles from public education.

What you choose to give your children is what you are!—And what your children will become. Why have so many of America's children today become so violent, drug-ridden and immoral? Because America removed God and the Bible from her youth's education, she has "sown the wind‚ and they shall reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7).

"The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken. Behold‚ they have rejected the Word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?" (Jeremiah 8:9).

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [debased] mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1:28).

* Her wanton murder of millions of unborn children

Over 1.5 million government–sanctioned abortions are performed in the U.S. each year, with nearly 30 million babies killed since the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling of 1973. It is estimated that 46% of American women will have had an abortion by the time they are 45. The modern science of fetology makes it undeniably evident that human life begins at conception. The wholesale carnage of unborn children in America is a crime against humanity which the Creator cannot ignore:

"In thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these" (Jeremiah 2:34).

* Her acceptance and promotion of sodomy

Although the Bible makes it very clear that sodomy, or male homosexuality, is an abomination to God, it has increasingly gained acceptance and even popularity in America today. The homosexual community has achieved political clout in recent years, with more than 9 million voters. There are currently more than 70 openly homosexual elected officials around the U.S., compared with fewer than half a dozen in 1980. Congressman Barney Frank, of Massachusetts, disclosed his homosexuality in 1987 and was re-elected the next year by a 70% majority. The Human Rights Campaign Fund, a homosexual lobbying group with 60,000 members, was the ninth largest independent PAC (political action committee) during the 1992 presidential election. As in the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, "gay power" is rapidly gaining ground in America. When Colorado recently voted against granting special rights to homosexuals, almost the entire Hollywood establishment went into action, boycotting that state.

Efforts by the current administration to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military and appoint homosexuals to positions in the government are making it increasingly clear what Bill Clinton meant when on May 18, 1992‚ he told a group of gay activists, "I have a vision, and you are a part of it."

"They walk in lies, they strengthen also the hands of evildoers . . . they are all of them unto Me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah" (Jeremiah 23:14).

"The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves" (Isaiah 3:9).

* Her cruel and unjust wars against others

"He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword" (Revelation 13:10).

[We cite but three examples:]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: In August, 1945, the U.S. obliterated these two Japanese cities, killing between 120,000 and 140,000 people. History has revealed much that contradicts the rationale originally given for the first and only use of nuclear weapons against civilian populations. Admiral William D. Leahy, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, opposed the use of the bomb, and later recounted, "The use of this barbarous weapon was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender." General Dwight Eisenhower confirmed this in his memoirs, stating that weeks before Hiroshima, the Japanese had been seeking a way to surrender: "It wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing." Truman's Secretary of State Byrnes gave insight into why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuked: "Demonstrating the bomb would make Russia more manageable."

Vietnam: While American forces suffered the loss of 58,000 lives and 365,000 wounded, South Vietnamese military losses exceeded 1 million, and North Vietnamese losses ranged between 500‚000 and 1 million. U.S. bombing in Vietnam was four times greater than the combined U.S.-British bombing of Germany in World War II. America dropped 6 million tons of bombs on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Indiscriminate use of "anti–personnel" bombs and napalm on civilian targets horrified the rest of the world! The war uprooted and made refugees of up to 10 million South Vietnamese‚ roughly half the country's population. The bombing and unprecedented use of chemical defoliants scarred the landscape and damaged Vietnam's ecosystem immeasurably.

Iraq: Cutting through the official hyperbole and noble verbiage about freedom and democracy in the Middle Eastern monarchies of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia‚ Secretary of Commerce Robert Mossbacher explained why the U.S. had launched the most massive airlift in the world's history. (In six months‚ the Air Force transported more than 577,000 short tons [523,000 metric tons] of supplies and 498,000 military passengers as far as 7,000 miles [11,000 kilometers] to points in the Middle East.) Mossbacher said, "Of course it's about petroleum. Crass or not, it's oil that keeps everybody going."

It is worth noting that contrary to impressions given by the media, during "Desert Storm" only 7% of the bombs dropped on Iraq were "smart." Ninety-three percent were free falling on a largely defenseless population‚ killing tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. The Gulf War employed the highest level of bombing in history (around 100,000 tons of explosives dropped in six weeks)‚ resulting in the deliberate and systematic destruction of Iraq's civilian infrastructure.

Over 100,000 Iraqi troops were killed, many in cold blood, while retreating from Kuwait when U.S. fighter bombers attacked the massive column of withdrawing Iraqis. An American pilot made news by commenting, "It was like shooting fish in a barrel." Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark estimates that the Gulf War killed over 150,000 Iraqi civilians, including at least 100,000 post-war deaths. The figure continues to mount as people, very often children, die from diseases caused by contaminated water, malnutrition and lack of medicines. God says,

"Behold‚ I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, and I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath" (Jeremiah 21:4-5).

* Her trampling on the religious rights of her own citizens

The most glaring recent example of gross religious intolerance is the Federal Government's merciless assault against the Branch Davidians in Waco. While we cannot endorse all of the theological doctrines of David Koresh, we believe that the brutal manner in which he and his followers were handled is an affront to the Constitution of the United States and a mockery of America's professed religious freedom. (It should be noted that the government was receiving so-called "expert" advice from the Cult Awareness Network [CAN] before and during the Waco siege. CAN is an organisation dedicated to "deprogramming" and "exit-counseling" [for exorbitant fees] members of religious bodies which they label with the pejorative term "destructive cults." Not only have fringe or new religious movements been targeted by zealous CAN-affiliated deprogrammers, but members of mainstream denominations, including Catholics, Baptists and Episcopalians, have been kidnapped and deprogrammed as well.)

A widely published joint statement issued in May 1993 by a broad cross-section of mainstream religious organisations cautions the government, "Under the religious liberty provisions of the First Amendment, government has no business declaring what is orthodox or heretical or what is true or false religion. . . . History teaches that today's 'cults' may become tomorrow's mainstream religions. . . . To deny religious liberty to any is to diminish religious liberty for all."

For the American government to self-righteously set herself up as the judge of others' faith, when she has, in effect, abandoned her own Christian faith, is the height of hypocrisy! As Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount:

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you behold the mote [speck] that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam [plank] in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the mote out of your eye;' and look, a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the mote out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1–5).

Does Jesus' stinging rebuke to the self-righteous religious leaders of His day apply to the authorities and so–called "anti-cult" organisations such as CAN who have targeted the Branch Davidians and other religious groups throughout the U.S.?:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' . . . Behold, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city . . . that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth!" (Matthew 23:29-35).

WE BELIEVE THAT ATTACKS against religious groups such as the Branch Davidians are an ominous "sign of the times," a foreshadowing of the persecution that the Bible predicts will come upon all people of faith in the Last Days. Scripture clearly warns that in the days just prior to Jesus' Second Coming, a powerful anti-God One World Government will arise. This New World Order will ultimately be led by a Satan-possessed megalomaniac, known in Scripture as "the Beast" or Antichrist. He will ultimately demand the entire world's loyalty and worship. It will be against the law for anyone to digress from the "norms" of the anti-religious society that this soon-to–arise "Big Brother" will establish.

"In the Latter Time, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king of fierce countenance [the Antichrist] who understands dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power [but by Satan's power]: and he shall destroy fearfully and prosper and thrive . . . and he shall cast down the truth to the ground" (Daniel 8:23-24,12).

"And all the world shall marvel and follow the Beast. And they shall worship the Dragon [Satan] which gives power to the Beast, saying‚ 'Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?’" (Revelation 13:3–4).

Once this New World Order is firmly in place and its control over the nations is consolidated, the Bible says that its leader will abolish all faiths, blasphemously declaring that he himself is God, and that anyone who dares to practice any other religion must be eliminated. An electronic cashless society will be implemented (the "Mark of the Beast"), forcing all members of society to pledge their loyalty to the ungodly One World Regime.

"And the king [the Antichrist] shall exalt himself‚ and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods" (Daniel 11:36).

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb [Jesus] slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:6-8).

"And he shall cause all, both small and great‚ rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark [the 'Mark of the Beast'] in their right hand, or in their foreheads: that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name. ... It is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty six [666]" (Revelation 13:16-18).

The bestial Antichrist will plunge the world into the darkest and most horrendous nightmare it has ever known, a time which Jesus described as "Great Tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:21). (See also Daniel 11:21-45; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 13:1-18.)

THE BIBLE DESCRIBES a great commercial power in the Last Days as "Babylon, the Great Whore, with whom the kings [governments] of the earth have committed fornication" and through whom "the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxuries" (Revelation 17:2,5; 18:3). Scripture also tells us that the Antichrist will form a close confederacy with Babylon's rivals‚ "ten kings, who are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the Beast" (Revelation 17:12-13). Other passages indicate that these 10 "kings" are likely to be the leading nations of Europe.

These 10 nations or "kings" will ultimately unite with the Beast to attack and destroy the great commercial power which they oppose. Their attack on her sounds very much like a nuclear first strike which destroys her in "one hour":

"The ten horns [nations] shall hate the Whore, and shall make her desolate and naked‚ and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose‚ to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the Beast‚ until the Words of God are fulfilled" (Revelation 17:16-17).

"How much she [Babylon‚ the Great Whore] hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, for she saith in her heart, 'I sit a queen‚ and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues shall come in one day; death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her" (Revelation 18:7-8).

"And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying‚ 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.' And the merchants [exporters] of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more" (Revelation 18:9-11).

"The merchants . . . which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city . . . for in one hour so great riches is come to nought!'" (Revelation 18:15-17).

No other nation on earth embodies this prophetic picture of the "Great Whore" as much as materialistic America! God Himself will put it into the hearts of the coming One World Government to destroy her. Why would God allow a nation that once professed to be Christian to suffer a fiery nuclear annihilation? Because she had the Light of God's truth, and rejected it and went her own way.

If God is God and the Bible is His Word, America will be judged. He promises, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). Billy Graham was right when he once declared, "If God doesn't judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!"

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN or rejected God?—Or perhaps you've never really known how to find and know Him? In either case, you can "know Him, Whom to know is Life Eternal" (John 17:3), by sincerely turning to God's Son‚ Jesus. The Bible tells us that "God so loved the world‚ that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus]‚ that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Once you have come to the Lord and given your life to Him, even if there's war and turmoil and confusion and chaos all around you, you can still have peace in your own heart, through the Prince of Peace‚ Jesus Christ. He is faithful and never fails to take care of those who trust Him!

When God's judgments fall on those who have rejected Him, His children are usually somehow either spared from them or kept through them. He encourages us, "I will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10). This doesn't mean that He will never allow us to be harmed. But He won't allow any permanent harm or damage. He promises to deliver us one way or another.—Even if He has to take us out of this life and home to Heaven to be with Him forever!

May God bless you with His truth and salvation‚ and keep you from the horrors to come by His loving protection and provision. If you're not sure that you're the Lord's saved child, you can have that assurance right now by receiving Jesus Christ Himself into your life. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart]‚ and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door‚ I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Jesus will come into your life this minute if you sincerely pray this simple prayer:

"Dear Jesus, I want to know You. I've heard that You are the Son of God, and that You died for my sins, so I ask You to please forgive me for all the wrongs I've done‚ and come into my heart, and give me Your free gift of eternal life. Please help me to love and follow You and Your Words. Amen."

He will give you peace of mind, satisfaction of heart, and love and happiness here and now—and Heaven hereafter! Once you've received Jesus into your life, you will be ready for whatever calamities befall America or the world!—For no matter what happens, He will take care of you!

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