"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are
like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like
crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you
shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will
be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it."
(Isaiah 1:18-20)
"Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing
on it except leaves. "May you never bear fruit again!" He said.
And immediately the tree withered."
(Matthew 21:19)
The fig tree condemned by the Lord which withered away is symbolic of
the nation of Israel, a restless and carnal nation which bore no fruit for God.
While professing an outward form of religion and ever mindful of the law
and the ordinances of it, the nation, like the fig tree, was barren, and
apart from Christ, whom they ultimately rejected, devoid of all hope.
In many ways, the fig tree represents present day America. We are
a nation which was founded under the Judeo-Christian principles of
the Holy Bible. The original founding fathers and mothers,
whose names are known only to God, were ordinary people with
extraordinary faith, willing to depend on their faith in Christ
alone, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to lead them across
the treacherous waters of the Atlantic to a new land, where they
could worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, without persecution
or hindrance from the twin tyrannies of government and
organized religion, or what Christopher Columbus once
called, the "(spiritually) dead church of Europe."
In this nation's 246 years of existence we have come very far,
very fast, in our growth and economic prosperity. There is no
other nation on this earth like the United States of America.
Yet, with every passing year, our spiritual condition as
"one nation under God" has given way to immorality and
corruption, specifically in the high places of power, both
within our government and unfortunately, within
much of the professing Christian church.
However, as with ancient Israel, there is a remnant of
Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-led believers in America today.
Our main focus at this point is to concentrate on revival,
and I am not speaking of some kind of televised hoopla
with a popular evangelist screaming and jumping around
onstage to the cheers of an emotionally charged audience.
I am more inclined to call it a quiet revolution, using
our God given abilities and talents in bringing
the soul-saving message of the gospel to thousands of
lost and hurting people in this land, who are perishing
in their sins due to ignorance of the truth.
The greatest human tragedy is for a person to
die in their sins. Jesus came to save everyone.
"For the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
(John 14:6)
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