Lamplighter Sep/Oct 2015 - David Wilkerson

Transcription

Observations by the EditorRebellionark clouds have settled upon our nation as we have become entrenchedin our rebellion against God. As I pointout in the main article in this issue, ourSupreme Court’s legalization of theabomination of same-sex marriage hassealed our doom, and we are now a walking dead nation.DThe Lamplighteris published bi-monthlyby Lamb & Lion MinistriesMailing Address:P.O. Box 919McKinney, TX 75070Telephone: 972/736-3567Email: lamblion@lamblion.comWebsite: www.lamblion.combbbbbbbbbChairman of the Board:Gene HuntFounder & Director:Dr. David R. ReaganWeb Minister & Evangelist:Nathan JonesAssistant Evangelist:Tim MooreMedia Minister:Trey CollichChief Operating Officer:Rachel HouckDirector of Finance:George Collich, Jr.Director of Operations:Leo E. HouckMedia Associate:Brett EverettMedia Assistant:Jack SmithMedia Assistant:Heather JonesFinance Associate:Kay BienFinance Associate:Reva FryeMinistry Associate:Cathie GrubbMinistry Associate:Jana OlivieriMinistry Assistant:Tony PrivittMinistry Assistant:Joyce ShurtleffWeb Assistant:Steven StufflebeanThe Lamplighter can be viewed free ofcharge on the ministry’s website at www.lamblion.com. It can also be received free ofcharge via email. The printed version isavailable by subscription. Contact us forinformation on rates and the publicationschedule by calling 972-736-3567.page 2God hates rebellion, and He punishesit harshly. When King Saul tried to justifyhis violation of God’s commands, Samuelresponded with a strong rebuke (1 Samuel15:22-23):22) Samuel said, “Has the LORDas much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeyingthe voice of the LORD? Behold,to obey is better than sacrifice,and to heed than the fat of rams.23) “For rebellion is as the sin ofdivination, and insubordination isas iniquity and idolatry. Becauseyou have rejected the word of theLORD, He has also rejected youfrom being king.”When God called Ezekiel to be aprophet to Judah, He did so for the purpose of warning the nation that He wasfed up with their rebellious spirit (Ezekiel2:6-7):6) “And you, son of man, neitherfear them nor fear their words . .for they are a rebellious house.7) But you shall speak My wordsto them whether they listen ornot, for they are rebellious.”And when the nation set its jawagainst God, refusing to respond in repentance to the words of His prophets andthe calamities of His remedial judgments,God sent the Babylonians to conquerthem and take them into captivity. Thisact of destruction on God’s part is described in 2 Chronicles 36:15-16. As youread the passage, you can almost hearGod weeping:15) The LORD, the God of theirfathers, sent word to them againand again by His messengers,because He had compassion onHis people and on His dwellingplace;The LamplighterDr. David R. Reagan16) but they continually mocked themessengers of God, despised Hiswords and scoffed at His prophets,until the wrath of the LORD aroseagainst His people, until there wasno remedy.That is precisely where we are today. AsI show in the main article in this issue, we asa nation have scoffed at the prophetic voicesGod has sent in the past and is still sending.And we have failed to repent in response tothe remedial judgments that have afflictedour nation.Instead of repenting, we have accelerated our rebellion, and in the process, wehave sealed our doom. The “shining city ona hill” has become a darkened slum in amoral swamp. ]Revised WebsiteBy the time you receive this magazinewe should have a completely new websiteup and running. Our Web Minister, NathanJones and his assistant, Steven Stufflebean,have been working on this project for over ayear. The site has many new features. Oneof the most important is that it has been constructed so that it will adapt to any type ofmobile device.Check out the site at lamblion.com orchristinprophecy.org. ]Blog: lamblion.usFacebook: lamblion.com/facebookTwitter: christnprophecyYouTube: youtube.com/user/ChristInProphecyLamb & Lion App: lamblion.mobiSeptember - October 2015

David WilkersonAmerica’s Prophet of DestructionThe Radically New AmericaDr. David R. ReaganThe America I grew up in is gone. It is dead. And there is nohope of its resurrection.The America of today is radically different, and the changeshave taken place with startling rapidity.I was born in 1938, making me 77 years old, and when I wasgrowing up in the 1940s and 50s:Incredibly, in just over 50 years since the decade of the1960s, we have become a nation in full-blown, open rebellionagainst God. Today:We went to church three times a week — Sundaymorning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening —and we had four week-long Gospel meetings each year— one each quarter.! We worship the Almighty Dollar.! Greed has become our national motivator.! Sex is our obsession.All but the most essential businesses — like hospitals,pharmacies and gasoline stations — were closed onSundays. No secular events, including sporting events,were scheduled on Sunday or on Wednesday evenings.! Gambling is our national past time.! We are the world’s largest consumer of illegal drugs.! We have banned God from our schools.We had daily prayers and Bible readings in school, andwe celebrated Easter and Christmas with special playsand musicals. We also used readers in our Englishclasses that contained Bible stories. And at graduationtime, we had special baccalaureate services where aminister would deliver an inspirational sermon to thegraduating class.! We have declared God off limits in the public arena.! We are teaching our children the fantasy of evolution.! We are slaughtering babies in the name of “freedom ofchoice” for women.! We have glamorized homosexuality.Every public event from court proceedings to citycouncil meetings and PTA meetings were opened witha prayer.! We have legalized same-sex marriage.! We are in the process of legalizing marijuana.! And we have become the moral polluter of planetearth with our violent, immoral and blasphemousmovies and TV programs.Movies and television programs were strictly regulatedby strong moral codes.Our local, state and national leaders talked openlyabout God and their Christian faith and often ledprayers, as President Franklin Roosevelt did on D-Dayin 1944 when we invaded the European mainland.In summary, we are a nation that has rejected its Christianheritage and has replaced that precious heritage with a crude,paganized culture. We are a rebellious nation that is thumbing itsnose at the Creator God who showered us with unparalleledblessings for over 300 years.I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.America was not a perfect nation. Racism was still rampantand materialism was gaining momentum, but we were still anation that honored and recognized the Christian principles ofour forefathers and the founders of our nation. And we were stillvery aware that our blessings came from God.September - October 2015Here’s how I summarized it in the new 2nd edition of mybook, Living for Christ in the End Times: Coping with Anarchyand Apostasy:1The LamplighterWe have expelled God from the life of our socipage 3

He unleashed his pentup concerns in a sermon delivered in 1944 at a church inNew Orleans. The sermonwas titled “Trial by Fire,”and it focused on the spiritual battle portrayed in theBible between Elijah and theprophets of Baal.ety, and the result is an avalanche of wantonviolence and immorality. We have lost our moralcompass, and we are raising a generation ofmoral pygmies.The same is true of the raging apostasy within theChurch. The term, Evangelical, has lost its meaning, as some who claim to be Evangelicals areproclaiming that there are many roads to Heavenand there is no Hell.He began the sermon byquoting William Penn, theQuaker founder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:“Men must be governed byGod or they will be ruled bytyrants.”3A Second Reformation is going on in the Churchtoday, but unlike the first, which was based on acall to return to the Bible, this new reformation iscalling people to jettison the Bible in behalf oftheir own feelings and beliefs.As the Church grows increasingly weak from itsinternal rot, society continues to plunge intodarkness.I would therefore assert without hesitation that we are anation begging for destruction.How God Deals With Rebellious NationsI say that because the Bible clearly reveals that God has adefinite way of dealing with rebellious nations.2First, He calls them to repentance through prophetic voices.And if the people refuse to respond in repentance, then God willsend remedial judgments. If the rebellion persists, there comes apoint of no return when God will deliver the nation from judgment to destruction.America’s Prophetic Warnings: Peter MarshallMarshall proceeded to express his concern that our nationwas getting caught up in the moral drift and confusion thatcharacterized the ancient Israel of the prophet Elijah when thatnation became captivated by idolatry and turned its heart awayfrom God.Over and over in the sermon, he declared that the time hadcome in America for us to take sides — to decide whether we asa nation were going to follow Yahweh or Baal. Each time, he putthe challenge in the words of Elijah (1 Kings 18:21):4If Yahweh is God, follow Him; but if Baal,follow him.In the middle of his sermon, Marshall called for propheticvoices: “I suggest to you that America needs prophets today whowill set before the nation the essential choices . . .”5Let’s take a look at God’s prophetic warnings to our nation.He then proceeded to speak prophetically:6The first I would cite camefrom the heart of a great ScottishAmerican preacher named PeterMarshall. He came to this countryin 1927 when he was 25 years oldand died in 1949 when he was only47.Love of power and authority has enslaved thehearts of many Americans. The seeds of racialhate and intolerance have been sown. And wewill reap a bitter harvest . . . Our moral standardshave been lowered. And no nation makes progress in a downward direction . . .”He developed his point further by saying:7During his 22 years in thiscountry, he went to seminary inGeorgia and distinguished himselfas an eloquent preacher. He quicklybecame the pastor of the prestigiousPeter MarshallNew York Presbyterian Church inWashington, D.C. in 1937 — the church that was known as “theChurch of the Presidents.”In 1947 he became the Chaplain of the United States Senate.At that time, our nation was on top of the world. We had wonWorld War II and had emerged from the war as the world’s mostpowerful nation. Our economy had been revived and was generating unprecedented wealth. Our potential for the future seemedunlimited.We must decide and decide quickly who is chief,whom we will serve. Millions of people in America live in a moral fog . . . Modified immoralityon the basis of cleverness guides millions ofpeople. Modified dishonesty within the letter ofthe law is the practice of millions more.Surely the time has come, because the hour islate, when we must decide. And the choicebefore us is plain — Yahweh or Baal. Christ orchaos. Conviction or compromise. Discipline ordisintegration.”Marshall then concluded his sermon with a startlingproclamation:8But Peter Marshall was spiritually unsettled. Even before thewar ended in 1945 he sensed in his soul that America washeading in the wrong direction — toward a secular, pagansociety.page 4The LamplighterWe need a prophet who will have the ear ofAmerica and say to her now, “How long will youhalt and stand between two opinions? If Yahwehis God, follow Him, but if Baal be God, followSeptember - October 2015

him, and go to Hell!”The Cultural ShiftThat was 1944, and just as Peter Marshall feared, we as anation became captivated by materialism in the Post War Years.This obsession, in turn, fueled a spirit of rebellion against Godand His Word.For many years we had been overwhelmed by the sufferingsof the Great Depression, and living through that time, we had felta great dependency on God. But now, we were able to stand onour own, and God and His Word receded into the background.This led to the morally disastrous decade of the 1960s andthe Sexual Revolution it produced. And that, in turn, resulted inGod sending us the prophetic voice that Peter Marshall hadyearned for.That voice arrived on the scene in 1974, exactly 30 yearsafter Marshall had called for it. The voice was that of a remarkable man named David Wilkerson.David WilkersonWilkerson started out as a Pentecostal preacher in ruralPennsylvania.In 1958, at age 27, he felt theLord’s leading to pull up stakes andmove to New York City to ministerto its violent street gangs. Throughmany trials and tears, he succeededin establishing a ministry to thegangs, and in 1962 he published abook about his experiences whichwas titled, The Cross and theSwitchblade.9 It made him nationally famous, and even more sowhen it was converted into a moviein 1970.10The VisionAs a result of the book and themovie, Wilkerson became the darWilkerson in 1958ling of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements — until he published another book in 1974 called The Vision.11 It was advertisedby the publisher as “A terrifying prophecy of Doomsday that isstarting to happen now.”This book presented a verynegative prophecy about the futureof our nation, warning that becauseof our rebellion against God, wewere headed toward major judgments and ultimate destruction.The world, as would be expected, wrote the book off as “insane.” But what proved tragic isthat the Church also dismissed thebook as the ravings of a radical.The Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements responded withstrong condemnation. They wereSeptember - October 2015full of pillow prophets at the timewho were prophesying a great endtime revival that would renew andrefresh America as a Christian nation. They did not want to hear anegative message from anyone,especially from their best knownspokesman.Accordingly, Wilkerson became a pariah overnight. His bookswere removed from the churchbookstores, and he was pe

David Wilkerson America’s Prophet of Destruction Dr. David R. Reagan The America I grew up in is gone. It is dead. And there is no hope of its resurrection. I was born in 1938, making me 77 years old, and when I was growing up in the 1940s and 50s: We went to church three times a week — Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening — and we had four week-long Gospel meetings each .