IS GOD JUDGING AMERICA?

The week of April 24-30th that Pastor David Wilkerson went to be with the Lord was one of the most devastating weeks in the United States as more than 340 people lost their lives to tornados in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. Prior to these tornadoes, there have been hundreds of them in the same states while in the Midwest severe flooding was taking place.

Since the late 1970’s Pastor Wilkerson has been warning the people in the United States that judgment is coming upon this nation. During the last few years there have been a string of severe weather related disasters like hurricanes, floods and fires. When Pastor Wilkerson published his books, “The Vision” and “Set the Trumpet to Your Mouth,” he was rejected by the majority of Assemblies of God churches in America. Prior to his speaking of judgment, he was welcomed in the mega churches because he drew large crowds. But the wealthy pastors of the mega churches wanted nothing to do with a prophet who would hurt the church offerings. It hypocritical that after his death, everybody wants to get on the bandwagon and brag about how well they knew David Wilkerson and what a great preacher he was.

When I saw the devastation from the tornadoes on television, a fire was kindled in me and it became clear that we need to acknowledge that what we are seeing is not a random weather problem, it is God speaking to a people who are deeply into sin. But I wanted to make sure that what I felt from the Holy Spirit was biblical so I searched the Scriptures.

In Hebrews 10:26-31, the apostle Paul tells us that God will judge His people. The apostle Peter also informs us that judgment begins at the house of God. (1 Peter 4:17) There hasn’t been a nation so blessed with freedom and prosperity as the United States of America. During World War II, with more than 12 million in the armed forces, the people at home filled the churches week after week and pleaded with God to give America victory over Nazi Germany and the Imperial Japanese. God answered those prayers and the soldiers came home to a nation that was bursting with economic growth. Did the American people thank God? No. The people elected leaders that decided Bible reading and praying in public schools was unconstitutional. In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled it legal to murder unborn babies, and as of 2011, sixty million children have been killed in the abortion mills. Then the courts started to issue a number of rulings and released the scourge of homosexuality upon the American people. The entertainment producers have gone beyond violence and indecency in movies and television programming. The divorce rate in the United States is now at 60% and scores of so-called Christian television evangelists and mega pastors are divorced and remarried. Homosexuality is rampant in Pentecostal and Evangelical churches. Millions of couples live together without being married, drugs and alcohol flow freely and few men and women are virgins by the time they reach the age of 18.

If God judged and destroyed the entire world population except for Noah and his family that were saved, why should God overlook America? If God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, why should he spare America? In this short message I will share what I believe God is telling us today. When President Obama toured the devastation in Alabama, all he could talk about was rebuilding. Instead of using the word rebuild, he should have used the word repent! Are you willing to be among those who are seeking the Lord and repenting for your sins and the sins of our nation? My prayer is that this message will not be just a shot in the dark, but that it will bring fruit, and that it will be repeated by other pastors in the world.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor John S. Torell
MAY 1, 2011