God's Sovereignty over the Nations

Richard Ritenbaugh reminds us that war has personally touched only a fraction of Americans. Not since the aftermath of the 'Civil' War has any part of the nation suffered the ravages of war and the bitterness of defeat. The offspring of Jacob, for the most part, continues to enjoy a period of relative peace and material blessings. The dire events narrated in the Book of Lamentation seem foreign to our scope of experience. For this reason, the events it vividly portrays help us to vicariously imagine the sense of hopelessness and despair experienced by ancient Israel during this historical period. As we approach the coming self-examination prior to Passover, we can apply six significant lessons learned by these people to our personal lives. As human beings we can learn: 1.) Human life is tough, as exemplified in Christ's agonizing sacrifice for us. 2.) Humans are slow to accept blame, but quick at doling it out to others. 3.) Repentance is difficult and rare. Thankfully, we also learn: 4.) God is sovereign, controlling every aspect of Creation. 5.) God is just and is a Deity of Law, giving us precepts that tell us how to live. 6.) God is merciful and faithful, providing a mechanism for our redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, balancing His "severity" with His "goodness."

John Ritenbaugh, focusing on Genesis 6:5, prior to the Flood, in which mankind's thoughts and intents were evil continually, warns us that a parallel time is on the horizon for those living today. Like our ancient ancestors, we share a habitation with Satan and his demons, evil beings who have been preparing for our demise for thousands of years. The hideous perversions (such as homosexuality and infanticide) did not arrive on the scene instantaneously, but the demonic world has been working to make them the cultural norm for thousands of years. Demons have fostered to the point of fury the ancient conflict between Ishmael and Isaac, and Jacob and Esau. These spirit beings chose to become demons into order to stop God's purpose. They have succeeded to erase all discussion of God out of the public schools by spreading the humanist agenda previously introduced into the universities by anti-God philosophers such as Marx, Darwin, and Nietzsche. John Dewey promulgated this 'progressive' doctrine into the public schools, where it has spread like leavening, fostering a whole generation of individuals lacking any knowledge of God at all. As God's called-out ones, we have entered (through baptism) the same Covenant God made with our forebears before they entered the Promised Land God has not removed the demonic influence which plagued our forebears, deeming it necessary for our spiritual growth. However, God has given us gifts our forebears never received, such as His Holy Spirit, thereby enabling us to advance in the face of massive enemy fire. We are marching to the beat of a different drummer from the rest of the world.

John Ritenbaugh asserts that. despite recent claims from the Evangelical conservatives, America was never established as a Christian nation. God called out Abraham, specifically blessing him, and through him, blessed the nations of the entire earth. The early European settlers of the North American Continent consisted of Israelitish immigrants from Europe—descendants of the immigrants who came from Ur of the Chaldees to the Promised Land millennia earlier. God guided these descendants of Jacob to a virtually empty land. God brought the Israelitish people to certain lands in order to prepare them for the return of Christ. God follows patterns so that His converted children can see His invisible work, including immigration patterns. No one leader among America's Founding Fathers approached the stature of Moses, nor did any feel inclined to implement God's Holy Laws or Covenant. The founders established no single religion to ensure the sanctity of the Sabbath and the Holy Days. If they had established such a religion, it was, and remains, highly fractured. The founders made no covenant between the People of the United States and God. American citizenry never practiced true Christianity, America is still laboring under the curse of I Samuel 8, where Israel asked for a king to be like the nations around them. A human leader seemed more 'real' to them than an invisible God requiring faith to follow. Human governments are nothing but raw force, grasping for control in order to benefit the leaders. Human governments have no faith in God and they do not fear God. Even with the mandates Moses gave to a future king, Israel would always suffer from the rule of a human leader, The faith of physical Israel has been eroded through evil philosophers.

John Ritenbaugh, focusing on Ephesians 1:13-23, reminds us that as God's Called- out ones, we are recipients of the promised seed made to Adam and Eve, the Holy Line, beginning with Seth leading through Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Jesus Christ, the promises given to Abraham which include being a blessing to all nations. The Gentiles would be grafted in as spiritual descendants of Abraham, as was seen in Cornelius' household receiving the Holy Spirit in a similar fashion as on Pentecost. As we examine the obscure details of God's promises to Abraham, we see how He engineered the boundaries for all of Jacob's children, and later the migration patterns for physical Israel, literally filling up a virtually empty continent with people seeking religious liberty and improving their economic status from serf to landowner. Where the Israelitish people are right now came about as the result of God's blessings to Abraham's offspring, even though they did not prove faithful to the covenant. Though the United States was not established as a Christian nation, the Puritan forbears implanted a sense of morality and the founding Fathers established a legal system, based upon biblical ethical standards of British common law. The Protestant Reformation and the revolt against Roman Catholicism ignited the unsettling of Europe and the population of the North American continent. Desire for better economic circumstances motivated the completion of the migration to America. God has a purpose for where He has placed all peoples. In the fullness of time, the reason for the population distribution patterns of God will become clear as final preparations are made for the return of Jesus Christ.

John Ritenbaugh, describing an ongoing "bloodless coup" in which a major political party and a complicit propagandistic media are feverishly trying to high-jack the controls of governmental power, taking choices away from the individual and giving them to the government, maintains that we are reaping the consequences of the episode recorded in I Samuel 8:4-7, in which Israel demanded a king instead of trusting in God as their ruler. As unsettling as current world events may be, we know that the invisible God actively inserts Himself into the affairs of men, working out all events for His purpose. As we look through the history of the offspring of Jacob, we can see God's hand in preparing godly seed, a holy line from Seth to Noah to Shem to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Mary. Jesus Christ was the Seed promised to Adam and Eve who would crush Satan. God admonished us in Deuteronomy 32:7-9 to remember the thread of events from the Garden of Eden to our current state, recognizing the artful way in which God distributes people over the face of the earth. God's separating physical Israel from the gentile nations was phase one of His master plan. His creation, at the time of Christ, of spiritual Israel, which recognizes faithful gentiles as full citizens, is phase two. The founding of the United States and the other nations of modern Israel was not random or accidental, but purposely orchestrated by our Creator. Indeed, God is moving the entirety of world affairs toward the day Christ will establish His Kingdom on the earth and crush the head of Satan, in doing so destroying no only his destructive ideas but his life.

Kim Myers, lamenting the aftermath of the Presidential election, in which two candidates with extremely high negatives (evidently the best America had to offer) conducted (with the help of a dishonest media) one of the dirtiest campaigns in the history of America. Nevertheless, God Almighty is sovereign over the political affairs of this earth, appointing to office and removing from office as He sees fit. God's selecting a particular candidate does not necessarily mean He has given America a reprieve from the results of her sins or that God has given His called-out ones more time to get their act together. God's people must not abandon the sense of urgency which typified saints living before them. Satan knows that when people think they have all kinds of time, they lose all sense of urgency, becoming derelict in their spiritual chores (prayer, meditation, and Bible Study), lax in overcoming. Jesus forewarned His people that He would come unexpectedly as a thief. World conditions can change in the blink of an eye. God has always given the people of His churches urgent warnings, as seen in the examples of Sardis, Ephesus, Pergamos, and Philadelphia. As First Fruits, we must stay focused on God's overall plan, remembering that no one knows the time of Christ's return. If we stay vigilant, we aren't going to be caught off guard. The metaphor of a thief appears only in New Testament prophecies, suggesting that this message is intended for people living at the end of the age. The hand of God has been active in history, as during the attack on Pearl Harbor, occurring as it did when all three American aircraft carriers were safely out at sea. Likewise, the hand of God extended up north later during the Battle of Midway, where America attacks, as improperly coordinated as they were, still led to the destruction of three Japanese aircraft carriers, with almost their full complement of planes and pilots. Knowing that God actively intervenes in world events should give us the sense of urgency the foolish virgins lacked.

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the recent decision to not bring felony charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Head of the FBI, James Comey, in spite of overwhelming evidence, illustrates the gross miscarriage of justice at the highest levels of government in the land. The ire of the courts instead is directed against photographers and bakers who refuse to soil their consciences by accommodating disgusting sexual perversions such as homosexual weddings. As the leaders of Israel in Micah's time despised justice, distorting all that is right, judging under the influence of bribes, the leaders of modern Israel have also perverted justice, giving a pass to the guilty and condemning the righteous. God's Law condemns all forms of partiality, whether tilted toward poor, wealthy, or famous. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey specifically points to one Federal law, Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. One would think that this law would apply to both the rich and the poor, but in sin-sick America, this apparently is not the case. Sadly, our leaders do not realize that their brazen crimes have driven God's hedge of protection away from our land.

Martin Collins, focusing on the Prophet Habakkuk, whose name means "one who embraces" or "one who clings," suggests that a major theme of the Book of Habakkuk is the importance of clinging to God regardless of the vicissitudes of life. Habakkuk's prophecy seems to be up-to-date when describing God's called out ones today, who are compelled to cling to God as evil change agents threaten to destroy our civilization. Habakkuk evidently lived following the times of Josiah's massive reforms, a time of spiritual decay following the bright times of Josiah, a transitional time something like we are experiencing today, a time the law is powerless and justice no longer prevails. We should never be tripped up when we see bad things happen to good people or vice versa, realizing that history is indeed following God's timetable. God's timing is perfect. We should never doubt the justice of God, remembering that terrible events cannot separate us from the love of God. When we feel overwhelmed, we need to (1) stop and think, refraining from rash speaking, (2) calmly restate basic principles, (3) put events in their right context, and (4) return to God for further clarification. Habakkuk followed this formula as he reflected upon every attribute of God, realizing that God had been continually faithful to His people and that the impending invasion of the Babylonians was not the last event in God's plan, but only a tool in bringing about God's ultimate purpose. Like Habakkuk, we must detach ourselves from the problem at hand, return to the ramparts and seek God's counsel, staying in the watchtower, seeking God in prayer and study until God gives us the answer, remembering that the just shall live by faith.

John Ritenbaugh, comparing the events of the day of Noah with today's society, suggests that the explosion of knowledge taking place has an enervating and wearying effect. While the world's never-ending news is distracting us, Satan has another scheme operating, diluting Israel's integrity and power by the illegal immigration schemes devised by liberal 'progressive' and 'humanistic' mindsets. Foreigners that European countries invited in to help with the labor shortage brought in the radical Islamic culture, destabilizing the host culture. Economically, the alien has enslaved modern Israel by becoming the lender, putting an iron yoke around the necks of the people in the host nations, as described by the curses in Deuteronomy 28. The Tower of Babel provides a record of what happens when people mass together, combining their skills for an evil purpose. God set the Israelitish people in the choice parts of the world, giving them instructions to dress and keep it, giving the Gentiles other portions of the world, distributing the population in an orderly manner. Barack Obama has proved himself a Gentile leader, not qualified to serve as king over modern Israel, a leader loyal to Muslim principles, hostile to America, hostile to biblical principles and the covenant made between Israel and God. By voting in this regime, we have laid the groundwork for Israel's destruction. If things continue the way they are, Americans will be prisoners in their own homes, as Gideon was in the face of the Midianites. A precursor already took place in Paris, with the Muslims rioting in France in 2005. ISIS is on our doorstep, attempting to make America a Muslim nation under Sharia law. There is a spirit, steeped in abject hatred for the 'host' country, influencing the Jihadist mind. The Muslims know who they are; secular Americans (who have glommed onto multi-culturalism) do not have a clue. Strangers who assimilate into God's way of life are considered as natives.

The Bible's most comprehensive prophecy about Edom appears in the twenty-one verses of Obadiah. Richard Ritenbaugh introduces this "minor" prophet and his inspired predictions concerning the descendants of Esau.

Human beings, even those who have been called to be children of God, have an innate fear that God will not always provide for us. John Ritenbaugh contends that this fear originates in doubt about God's power—a doubt that falls to pieces before God's revelation of Himself in the Bible.

John Ritenbaugh reminds us that all power belongs to God, including health and wealth. We must perceive ourselves as part of God's plan; we are being brought to a state where we will see ourselves as transformed in Christ's image. At the present time, we are going through a period of hopelessness, but must believe that all things work together for those who believe and are called for His purpose. Even though being fearful is natural, God has the necessary power to fulfill His purpose. As very difficult times are coming, we will need to draw close to God for a more intimate relationship with Him. Satan cannot do anything except as God permits. There is no authority except as God ordains. For God, things are not out of control. The events which currently take place in the world are under God's direction. All power was given from the Father to Christ. When Jesus needed help, He went directly to the Father. God calls us, gives us repentance, faith, His Spirit to overcome, His love, and sanctification, writing His laws on our mind, preparing us for membership in His family. God is the source of everything pertaining to our salvation.

John Ritenbaugh, focusing upon Matthew 17:13 and clearing up some misconceptions about the resurrected Elijah coming before the arrival of Christ (a mission fulfilled totally by John the Baptist in Christ's time), cautions us to apply duality of prophecy carefully and cautiously rather than indiscriminately. With this admonition in mind, the sermon focuses upon a major world event even secular historians have termed a dramatic axial period, occurring within the sixth century B.C. -a time faithfully described by the prophets beginning with Jeremiah- a time sometimes referred to as the time of the Gentiles- reckoned to be the origin of the present Babylonic system or world order. Paradoxically, this system has been embraced and perpetuated by the modern house of Jacob. A new axial period, beginning with the testimony of the two witnesses, will again turn this world upside down, replacing the present decadent Babylonian system with God's government.

In this keynote address of the 2002 Feast of Tabernacles, John Ritenbaugh focuses upon the prophecy of Deuteronomy 28:42-49 concerning the curse of the stranger rising higher and higher above us, displacing our Israelitish culture with an alien Gentile culture. Like leaven in bread dough, the minority alien cultures, further corrupting the integrity and fabric of the majority or indigenous culture, putting a tremendous strain on the economic resources, our educational, social, and religious institutions, displacing the Israelite population, rapidly rendering it a dependent minority culture. Third world immigration into America and Europe is greatly diluting and destroying the white, English- speaking culture, making America, Canada and Britain the world's colony. The bounds of habitation that God has originally established are being destroyed in this curse. We march to the beat of a different drummer, having our citizenship in God's Kingdom.

John Ritenbaugh assures us that God is involved in the minute details of every converted person's life just as much as He is in the major historical world events. As a new creation of God (II Corinthians 5:17) we receive continuous, meticulous, detailed attention through the creative activity of His grace which never stops. God, as Creator, takes the initiative (as the potter over the clay) for the elect's salvation, enabling us to build the repertoire of habits called character. In this process, bringing certain things together in the lives of the called, both calamitous as well as positive, God fulfills His purpose. Even though we don't at times know where we are headed, we need to develop the faith or trust in God's vision for us.

In this in-depth examination of globalism, Charles Whitaker sees it as a force to bring about widespread dispersions of peoples before the end to bring about "the time of Jacob's trouble."

The September 11 bombings were certainly tragic and terrible. Some have since asked, "Was God involved? Is He to blame?" John Ritenbaugh soberly answers some of these tough questions, concluding that God certainly allowed them to occur for our ultimate and eternal benefit.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that the calculated Hebrew calendar reflects God's faithfulness in providing His Spiritual offspring a reliable calendar. To concoct one's own calendar with errant human reason and assumptions equates with the presumptuous way of Cain. Some of the bedrock American values such as competition and individualism, when applied to changing established doctrine and established ordinances, bring an automatic curse of scattering and a seared conscience upon those who do these things. We cannot take the community's laws into our own hands, tweaking them for our own advantage, and still be a good Christian. Challenging the calendar is tantamount to challenging the laws of the Commonwealth of Israel (including its calendar) and challenging the sovereignty of Almighty God.

Is God sovereign over angels? mankind? John Ritenbaugh explains that God's sovereignty is absolute as He directs events toward the culmination of His plan.

God's sovereignty is one of the most important issues a Christian must consider. Is God supreme in all things? Have we acknowledged that He has total authority over us in particular?

When we think of messiah, we think of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Bible, however, has a much broader definition of the term. Richard Ritenbaugh shows that the pagan emperor Cyrus the Great was also a messiah!

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that spirit in the vast majority of biblical contexts refers to the invisible, immaterial, internal activating dimension of the mind. It is repeatedly linked and used synonymously with heart, mind, and thoughts. Spirit (as activated by such things as cheer leading and marching bands) has the capacity to contagiously influence behavior. Satan's spirit as well as our own carnal minds (Ephesians 2:2, James 1:13) constitute compelling and impelling motivations to sin. Fortunately God has provided resources to His called-out ones, interfacing with their minds, predisposing them to hear His voice, to know what He is doing and to develop a relationship with Him, preventing temptation beyond what they can handle (I Corinthians 10:13)

A reason lies behind the devastating wars that have plagued mankind since the beginning. John Ritenbaugh gives the uncomplicated solution: Men have broken the sixth commandment!

What is in store for the nations of Israel? Is their future promising or bleak—or both? This article concludes a three-part series on the people of Israel.

John Ritenbaugh focuses upon God's management of mankind. God has consistently moved His creation toward its ultimate purpose, setting the bounds of nations, motivating rulers (Proverbs 12:1) to pursue a certain course of action, sometimes against their will. It is God's will that we submit to governmental authority (legal or illegal), obeying God, of course, rather than men (Acts 5:29) to the end that by doing good, we provide a good example, silencing the foolish accusations of men. God has chosen a tiny fragment of weak individuals, rescuing them from Satan's rebellious mindset (Ephesians 2:1-3) to fashion into obedient and submissive vessels of glory.

John Ritenbaugh focuses on God's meticulous management of all living creatures, including insects, animals, humans, angelic and demonic beings. All conform to His ultimate spiritual purpose-which overrides all other concerns. A converted person, accepting God's sovereignty, accepting that He takes specific care with His children, realizes that both blessings and curses, prosperity and deprivation, should be considered tools in the Creator's workshop, crafting out a magnificent spiritual purpose. This insight, not available to everyone, should instill a deep profound peace, trust, and faith.

Unlike the deplorable picture presented in the world's religions depicting God as a helpless, effeminate, maudlin, hand-wringing sentimentalist, desperately trying to save the world, repeatedly frustrated and thwarted by Satan, John Ritenbaugh brings into sharp focus the proper picture of God as governor, manager, and controller of all nations from the big picture to the minutest detail, having elaborate back-up plans and fail-safe mechanisms. Nothing and no one can thwart God's purposes. None of us, in or out of the body of Christ, have any control over the gifts, powers, experiences, or events that He prescribes for us. We need to develop the faith to yield and conform to His will as clay in the potter's hands.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates the dominant themes, including (1) Preparing to receive our inheritance (2) Learning to fear God (3) God's grace and (4) God's faithfulness. We will not be prepared to execute judgment in the Millennium unless we are experientially persuaded of God's faithfulness to His Covenant and of His intolerance of evil. God not only wants us separated from the rest of society, but He demands that we develop within us the same kind of transcendent moral purity with which He is composed, not budging one inch when it comes to sin. Because God has redeemed us, we are His property. As we sacrifice ourselves to Him in love, giving ourselves to Him unconditionally, doing what pleases Him with warmth and affection (as is typified by the marriage covenant- a God-plane relationship), we attain holiness.

John Ritenbaugh torpedoes some popular misconceptions about the father of the faithful, revealing that Abraham did not come from a primitive, but a highly advanced civilization, having huge multi-storied dwellings with running water and indoor lavatories. The size of Abraham's retinue indicates that, far from being an ignorant desert nomad, he was a highly influential man of incredible financial substance. It appears that God used Abraham's skills as an astronomer and mathematician and publisher to help build Egypt's infrastructure at a time when it was being unified under one dynasty, enabling Egypt to become a major power. This study also goes into Abram's and Sarai's name change, the deception of Abraham, claiming the half truth that Sarah was his sister, and Lot's fateful choice, leading to a dilution of the Assyrian power.

John Ritenbaugh, expounding upon the sixth commandment, focuses upon the curious aberration of 'holy wars,' killing in the name of religion, or the motivation for waging 'just' wars. God has never given mankind the prerogative to determine whether war is just or not. Because God has supreme sovereignty and authority over all government, we are subject to (the sanctions and penalties of) all governmental authority, but are obligated to obey the highest authority- namely God Almighty. God promised the children of Israel that if they would obey Him, He would fight their battles for them- driving their enemies out. Ancient Israel's choice to go to war was not sanctioned by God. Likewise, God has promised to protect us upon the condition of our unconditional obedience to our covenant with Him. We have the responsibility to trust God unconditionally.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that the false religions embraced by the descendants of Jacob are not preparing God's people for the harsh punishment God will surely bring to modern Israel. Amos indicts rampant dishonest practices in modern Israel, placing dishonest gain above honesty, morality, or ethics, and arrogantly and covetously exploiting the needy for profit. Competition-eat or be eaten- becomes the dominant business ethic in modern Israel. Amos suggests that a major contributory cause of natural disasters (earthquakes, drought, famines, and floods) is the epidemic of immorality omnipresent in the land of Jacob (totally neutralizing the otherwise positive effects of prosperity and technology)Prophecy should serve as a prod or motivation to prepare appropriately for the future, zealously guarding the truth against a counterfeit (politically active or influential) syncretistic pagan religion [patterned after the manner of Jeroboam I], safeguarding against an impending famine of the word. God will demolish this satanic religious-political system, re-gathering a repentant bruised and battered remnant of His people.

John Ritenbaugh discusses the limited window of opportunity recipients of a dire prophecy have to take action. The one who hears the warnings does not have an abundance of time to repent and return to God. A lion's threat is not idle. If no action is taken, the stalking roar will turn into a growl of contentment, the lion having consumed its prey. At the time of Amos's message, Israel was: 1) threatened by the imminent displeasure of God; 2) lacking repentance and true spirituality; 3) full of corruption; 4) departing from the truth; 5) proud, complacent, and self-satisfied; 6) setting itself on a pedestal; and 7) smugly prejudiced against the world. Like ancient Israel, modern Israel (including the Israel of God) cannot see the connection between its own faithlessness to her covenant with God and the violence and tumult of society that mirror her spiritual condition.

The BIBLE—Superstition or AUTHORITY? Did you ever stop to PROVE whether the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God?