A Prophetic Word for America

1. The Problem
Revelation 2:12-17 (NKJV) The Compromising Church
¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: ¹³ “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.  ¹⁶ Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

¹⁷ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

(Note: The doctrine of the Nicolaitans was a belief in the eroneous teaching of the deacon Nicolas. Nicolas led the church into sexual immorality and sensual temptations. This wickedness was based on teachings that perverted the doctrine of GRACE, replacing the liberty that the believer has in Christ with a license to sin without penalty.)

Revelation 3:14-22 (NKJV) The Lukewarm Church
¹⁴ “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵ “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. ^{20 21} To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

²² “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”

2. The Prophetic Warning (Isaiah 3:8-9)
(NKJV)
⁸ For Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
⁹ The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.

(The Message)
Jerusalem's on its last legs.
Judah is soon down for the count.
Everything people say and do
is at cross-purposes with God,
a slap in my face.
Brazen in their depravity,
they flaunt their sins like degenerate Sodom.
Doom to their eternal souls! They've made their bed;
now they'll sleep in it.

(NIV)
⁸ Jerusalem staggers,
Judah is falling;
their words and deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
⁹ The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They have brought disaster upon themselves.

3. The Prophecy of Healing (2 Chronicles 7:13-15)
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

4. The Purpose of God's Warnings
It is God's desire that none perish:

(John 3:16-17) (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

God warns us so we can take the necessary steps to get back on track, and that path begins with an acknowledgement of our sin. It is then that we can repent and again follow God...instead of continuing down the paths of our own making. It is important to note that the word "condemn" has no reference to the act of pointing out sin. Many today try to define the word improperly, leading to a false exegesis and a false application of the word. Instead of meaning that Jesus did not come to point out and expose sin, the word actually denotes that Jesus did not come to "conquer" or "destroy" the world due to sin: He did not come to bring death. Jesus instead brought life...and the penalty of literal, physical death because of moral sin was being ended. Jesus was now offering GRACE...and mankind is now able to live...even in sin...until the time that Jesus returns in JUDGEMENT. The first coming of Christ was to bring salvation: freedom from the physical judgement of sin that equaled death. The second coming of Christ will be to bring judgement to the world and to rid the earth of the travesties of sin, restoring lost humanity through the purging of sin.