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Biblical Reason
No 1
Gods Full Cup Principle
This
principle tells us each person and nation, as
well as the world, has a cup of iniquity.
This principle is a policy that God, who is a God
of love, consistently uses to manage groups of
people.
The
full cup is based on the idea that God measures
the actions of mankind. Every time we do wrong,
we add a sin to our cup of grace. When all of Gods
grace has been displaced by willful sin, our cup
becomes full of bitterness and we have to drink
the consequences of our actions. When God forces
people to reap what they have sown, He is
returning to them what they deserve. (Galatians
6:7) The Golden rule is an iron-clad rule. It
says: As we do unto others, the same will be done
to us. (Matthew 7:12; Obadiah 1:15) Because
God acts on this principle, He is said to have
vengeance. (Romans 12:19; Revelation 2:23)
In a
similar way, God measures the actions of
nations. When the cup of transgression is nearly
full, God breaks His silence by sending a warning
through His selected messengers. If the warning
does not work, He then uses one or more of His
four methods of judgment (sword, famine, plagues
and wild beasts) Ezekiel 14:21; If the
situation is redeemable, His judgments are
redemptive. If the situation goes beyond
redemption, His judgments are totally
destructive.
Here
is the consistent pattern God has followed for
dealing with mankind:
- When people or nations
become corrupt, God first sends a warning
with His servants, the prophets.
- People and nations
typically reject the messenger and the
message.
- God then responds by
sending a destroyer
.then when the
dust settles
- God begins a process of
restoration.
- God then brings
destruction upon the destroyer because of
his pride and arrogance.
- But, Gods ultimate
purpose is to bring about everlasting
life and an earth made new.
The
destruction of Jerusalem is an example. Jesus
explained the full cup principle in a discourse
with the Pharisees. After pronouncing seven
curses on the Jewish leaders for their religious
bigotry and hypocrisy, Jesus said, Fill up,
then the measure of the sin of your forefathers
How
will you escape being condemned to hell? O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you
Look, your
house is left to you desolate. (Matthew 23)
When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by
armies, you will know that its desolation
is near
For this is the time of punishment
in fulfillment of all that has been written
And Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
(Luke 21:20-22,25)
God
extends His mercy and grace until there is not
longer hope for redemption. You can see this
pattern in Noahs day, the Amorites (Genesis
15), Belshazzar (Daniel 5:26-28), Sodom (Genesis
18:20,21), Jerusalem (Jeremiah 25:7-17), and
Israel (Ezekiel 7:2-8)
God
never changes. This pattern will continue to the
end. Therefore, Before Jesus returns we will
experience the redemptive judgments of Revelation
8. (Read the complete Full-Cup Principle in our
September Newsletter)
How
can God bless America when corporately speaking,
its national behavior is an insult? We are
in a state of moral and financial decline. The
nations leaders (both political and
religious) are corrupt. Love for money and
pleasure has displaced God and His Word.
Integrity has disappeared. Honesty and
transparency in business and government has
faded. Sexual immorality is rampant. Clergy have
become multimillionaires and priest have sexually
abused thousands of children. This nation no
longer exalts our Creator with our actions.
Christians are entertained with sinful behavior
that is constantly glamorized on television and
in the movies. Our printing presses produce more
filth than the populations can digest. Radio
stations spew hate talk and music that glorifies
drugs, sexual immorality, and violence. The US
has offended and lost its international friends,
squandered its wealth on selfish indulgence, and
the country will fall, just like all of the 21
great former nations have fallen in history.
Does
it seem to you that the cup of iniquity
for America and the other nations of the world is
almost full or even overflowing? Like no other
time in Earths history, those He [Jesus]
has created have gone their own way, putting
aside His Law of Love for their own gain and
pleasure. This has resulted in a world full of
chaos and misery. How much longer do you think
God is going to be silent?
Reason
number 1 leaves us with Conclusion
number 1:
The cup of iniquity for the
United States as well as the rest of the world is
full, running over with evil. Gods pattern
shows us when this happens He sends his
redemptive judgments.
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