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“And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.” (1Sam 4: 21-22) When Israel lost the physical representation (The Ark of the Covenant) of God’s presence they declared that the glory of God had departed from their nation. The physical representation of God’s glory is today the cross of Christ, a representation now disdained, destroyed, and generally ignored by America. Does that mean that the glory of God has already departed from this once blessed nation? People have been fired from their jobs, lost coaching and playing positions in major sports teams and had their fortunes depleted and their names besmirched all for their overt and fearless representations of their faith under the sign of the cross. Homosexual organizations are on the cusp of engineering lawful means to criminalize the preaching of clearly defined passages of the Bible that indicate, without doubt, that God has proclaimed homosexuality and transgenderism as gross sin and a clear path to personal and national judgment. The spirit, doctrine and general proclivity for all things perverse and clearly anti-Christ prevails from the White House down to the streets of our nation. Confusion, terrors, social upheaval and inexplicable behaviors are what have now resulted as a direct concomitant to these trends. Whether people can connect these results to our plunge into reprobation, or if they even care to hear about it – have no bearing whatsoever – the days of confusion are upon us. American churches are plagued with apostasy (falling away) and scandal and controversy (falling apart) not to mention a general apathy (falling asleep) that has left the once powerful soldiers of the cross staggering under the drunkenness created by political correctness, misguided social structuring, consensus driven immorality, materialism and self-indulgence. Yes, it is a long list and it is a long fall! There is no longer a moral front in our nation. Immorality is vogue and transference of guilt has reached an entirely new plateau as is witnessed by the attempt to shift blame for the recent shootings in a Colorado Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. Liberal media is putting forth the idea that it is the rhetoric of the pro-lifers is what sparked the deadly shooting. Let’s see… it’s not the bloody drain of healthy human blood and the wasting of healthy body parts and the slaughter of innocent babies that’s causing all the disgust – it’s the fact that we talk about it too much! Perhaps, I will be found guilty of quoting this saying too much, but it is here that I am forced to use it once again. If we insist that talking against murder, slaughter, terror and all other gross sins is what causes sin and death. Then we can see why Jesus said “…wisdom is justified of her children.” (Lu 7: 35) This is why, if Planned Parenthood and her justifiers have their way; America will soon arrive at the gates of her first childless generation. There will be no wisdom and no children in our time. Repentance has been replaced with denial, political correctness and obfuscation, both in our personal and collective lives. Politics is no exception. After eight years of Barack Obama’s feckless foolishness we are about to skip over the chance to seat a president with the deep rooted faith of our founding fathers, like Ted Cruz with a loud mouth billionaire like Donald trump who cannot quote a single verse of the Bible. Popular things make a poor substitute for responsible choices and actions. We may get what we want, yet again, as we did in 2008, but it is a long way from what we need. That God can and will remove the blessings and the benefits from a nation or a church are absolutely guaranteed and it is revealed in the following two New Testament passages. One was spoken to Israel when she refused the revelation of the Messiah even though he was in their midst. The second was spoken to the first century churches of Asia which were already slipping into faithlessness and false doctrines, not to mention idolatry which they picked up from what might be called the church’s first attempts at producing religious diversity and inclusion. To Israel he said… “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” (Mt 21: 43) To the Church he said… “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Rev 2: 5) What to do? Some would say just move to Russia! It is in the old Soviet Union that one of the biggest renewals of the Christian faith is taking place on a scale unknown since the great revivals in America under preachers like Jonathan Edwards and others in a period from 1720 to 1760. The revival in Russia is spearheaded in part by the renewed open faith of President Vladimir Putin who has openly declared his faith in God and subsequently has undergirded the leaders and ministries of the Coptic or Eastern Orthodox Church of Russia. He has created a climate for all Christian churches to expand and flourish. In fact, Franklin Graham says that under communist rule a meager 50 Pentecostal churches could be found throughout Russia, now there are over 2000 such churches. In a recent visit to Russia, Evangelist Franklin Graham visited and spoke in some of Russia’s Coptic, Baptist and Pentecostal churches. In a wonderful article found in BGEA’s Decision Magazine, Graham describes his visit in detail. Remarkable pictures of Graham, meeting with Putin and Church leaders, such as the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church while in Russia are displayed in the Decision Magazine article and are well worth a view. The churches are packed and Graham says that is always the case, whether he is speaking or not. This happens in Russia, while church attendance in America is dropping with the exception of the ‘feel-good’ trendy churches that draw tens of thousands of people who may, or may not, be saved or live by the Bible. The drive in the former Soviet Union is to know Christ, not to fly high on the American pie. Graham declares, “The message of the cross is transcendent wherever it is preached. Deep in the heart of every man, woman and child in every culture or people group, there is an innate awareness of sin and rebellion against Almighty God. Though many seek to suppress or deny the guilt of sin, the preaching of God’s Gospel and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit work powerfully together to redeem those who respond in repentance and faith in Christ.” A most serious question is posed by the great renewal of faith in the former communist country. Who would be the most likely to fall under the judgment of God as a nation, America or Russia? Since Christianity was crushed under the boot of Godless communism for over 60 years in Russia it is apparent that the country of the czars has come to its senses and cannot be charged with actively creating an atmosphere of antichrist. Russians did not willingly give up under communism. There is no communist boot on the neck of Americans; they are foolishly and willfully tossing their fathers founding faith in the trash. Observe what Christ said about casting off his grace and the treasures of his everlasting riches and you can decide for yourself. “And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12: 47-48) Michael Bresciani is the publisher of American Prophet.org since 2005. The website features the articles and reports of Rev Bresciani along with some of America’s best writers and journalists, news and reviews that have earned the site the title of - The Website for Insight. Millions have read his timely reports and articles in online journals and print publications across the nation and the globe. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
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Ichabod for America, blessings for Russia, Revival in land of Czars, Franklin Graham, Graham in Russia, Coptic Patriarch, Pentecostal church in Russia, 1Sam,
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