America has entered a season when the Wicked are to be Judged.
I say Hallelujah! And if you think I have a "mean" attitude, then you need to shut up now so that you won't look like a fool later.
I say "Hallelujah!" because I am in full agreement with God. I am not saying it from any sense of of schadenfreude where I am delighting in another human being's failure. I am not saying it to be unkind. I say "Hallelujah!" because I want God to show Himself strong in Justice!
We Are In A Season When The Wicked Are Being Judged
Notice that the section heading says "The Wicked." It does not say "America." God is preparing to judge the wicked, not take down the United States. Throughout the past couple decades, and particularly throughout the Obama years, I kept running into people who were convinced that America was doomed. They'd point to abortion. They'd point to homosexuality. They liked to quote Ruth (Mrs. Billy) Graham's 1965 observation, "If God doesn't judge America, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology." And they were ready to line up to get smacked. I don't think pedophilia among the elite was on their radar or they've have wanted to be smacked even harder.
I never really got that. America has always had a right-to-life voice that included compassionate resources for healing women who had come to regret their choice. A lot of people had supported DOMA¹ and lost friends and jobs/income over after Obama lit up the White House with a pilfered rainbow. It never settled with me why—if God would spare Sodom for 12, and since America certainly exceeded that ratio—these "church people" were so gun-ho on God judging America AND AT THE SAME TIME, the SAME PEOPLE would be the first to attempt to shame me for calling people who were sinning on purpose "bad." Perhaps they will find some comfort in knowing that I no longer do that. I have graduated to calling those who intentionally choose to repeat sins "wicked."
It took a long while, but it now seems that God honored the petitions and repentance of those minority voices: that Judgment will be selective on the wicked and America will be saved.
The Role of The Church
The main role of the church, the role that applies to every individual in the body, is the Exodus 14:13 mandate. That is when Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord." There are three dynamic/action verbs in that assignment. 1. Don't fear. Just don't. 2. Stand firm. As opposed to lazy lounging, standing requires use of the backbone. 3. See the Salvation. God wants witnesses. It appears simple, but this third one may be a challenge for intermittent and lukewarm believers who are largely unaware of happenings in the spirit realm. For example, have you *seen* that allowing Joe Biden to be named president-elect without any proof has reduced much of the planned riots? If an arctic cold front blows through the day that the courts decide that President Trump was reelected, will you *see* that as the Lord's providential hand in slowing the rioters? On on the other side of the spirit-coin, did you *see* the pictures of Democrats meeting in the Capitol last June to release demons? The news stations probably told you that was a memorial to George Floyd, but it was an occult ritual to those who could see it.
Additionally, some individuals will be called to report evidence of election fraud—to officials if they witnesses it, but also to share the evidence that the media suppresses so that the people they care about will not remain ignorant. Some Christian soldiers may be called to organize a fast for protection of whistle blowers, inspire others to steadfastness with psalms of worship, lead a communion service with prayer for the justices and officers of the court, or to speak out in some manner, possibly as a witness, maybe as a teacher, or any number of ways that God would use a person's talent and position.
When truth come out, it is often blunt. It tends to rankle people. But the church, God's voice on Earth, must not keep silent; she must speak. Are the Christians who prefer Jesus as the shepherd who cuddles lambs and goes off to rescue lost sheep going to get offended when the Judge seems uncaring and unkind? I mean, shouldn't we just show mercy to liars and cheats and all of us try to get along? No. That would be defiantly opposing God in the name of being nice. Scripture calls such rebellion against God's intended purpose "witchcraft." And the arrogance of being offended by the Lord is like the wickedness of idolatry. 1 Samuel 15:23
To answer the title's question, "is the church ready to meet God as judge of the wicked?" my best-guess answer is, "Not entirely."
One "Traditional" Problem
Whenever the Lord does a new thing, (and I am maintaining that we are moving into a new season where the Lord will be showing His Judge side) our church traditions become a liability. It is not that they were bad; it is that over time we gave them lopsided importance, or worse, indifference. Here's an example:
In my lifetime, I have encountered a disproportionate quantity of preaching, teaching, group studying on Romans 12:18, If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Commonly, this was taught as: So far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. The "If possible" part was usually treated like an introduction to the rest of the verse. I am certainly not knocking the notion of doing what we can to live in peace with others, but only very rarely was the question of "What would make it impossible to live in peace?" ever addressed. In other words, what things should we NOT be willing to compromise on? What things are worth fighting for? What is worth being ostracized over?
Mostly, I have had to dig out the answer to that part in real life. Meanwhile, another result is that a whole lot of I-save-God-for-Sunday people think that peace is more important than defending biblical principles, and their definition of peace is "absence of outward conflict." So when I meet these people, they usually think that I am rigid, or too judgmental, or simply strange. 😂
If the church is going to fulfill her destiny as the voice of God on earth in this new season, then she is going to have to hone up on what is worth fighting for and not allow herself to be gagged.
A Second Problem, this time Non-Traditional
I am still talking about the Church and her role as the voice of God on earth. I am talking about the importance of The Decree. Roughly 45 years ago, the Lord was doing another then-new thing. In the 1970s, most church prayers fell into one of two categories: thanksgiving or petitions. When the Holy Spirit began revealing more layers to prayer, one of these, the Decree, took off like a rocket,² and it was quickly attacked by the enemy. Almost as soon as what came to be known as the "Word Church" or the "Word of Faith" movement was born, it was attacked as "Blab it and Grab it" or "Name it and Claim it." Simultaneously, a second front of attack found televangelists often rightly, but sometimes falsely, being accused of greed. The level of intensity of these attacks probably ought to have been a clue that there is a real nugget of Truth getting buried by all the flak.
One of the several scripture bases for the Decree is Job 22:27-28.
You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; And you will pay your vows. You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways. NASB³
Americans that had grown up in WASP⁴ churches that taught all the miracles had gone away with the death of the apostles had a hard time believing that one could take scripture at face value. Who could believe that simply speaking to a mountain would cause it to be cast into the sea? Mark 11:23. Or was John serious when he said to ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you? John 15:7. One minute I was told to "be like Jesus" and then the next minute I was told I could not speak to the storm⁵ and expect results.
The fact is, making a decree is part of the voice that God has given to the Church; at the minimum, believers ought to be able to agree on this decree: "Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." It really is a declaration and not a request.
"They" Want the Church to Shut Up and Go Away
Surrendering our voice would be a grave error. We do not need to apologize for agreeing to hate what God hates. A list of seven things God finds despicable⁶ are in the footnotes. Jesus did not worry about proper manners or about hurting someone's feelings when the offense to His Father was of greater import.
...and for those who don't know, in Luke 13 when they tried to suppress Jesus and told him to leave because Herod wanted to kill him, and when Jesus replied, "Go tell that fox that I will keep on..." It may not come across in the English, but fox had a double meaning. He wasn't only calling Herod sly; it was also a slur referencing Herod's sexual proclivities. Jesus kept it real.
♦ ♦ ♦ America has been in a full-on spiritual battle for some time. The Church's role is to raise a standard of awareness, clearly delineating between good and evil. The world needs the Church to tell them that fraud is not "just politics," fraud is a commandment-breaker and is evil committed by wicked persons. We have entered a season when the Wicked are to be Judged and we cannot get mushy now and attempt to remain politically correct, or worse, allow the wicked to muzzle the Church.
Footnotes
¹ Defense Of Marriage Act
² "took off like a rocket" is true in regard to public perception. When the history of the Word-Church movement is more fully studied, one finds substantial, practical foundation work was laid; it wasn't just a launch pad.
³ New American Standard Bible
⁴ White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant
⁵ There was an evil entity behind the storm; it was an unnatural phenomena.
⁶eyes that are arrogant,
a tongue that lies,
hands that murder the innocent,
a heart that hatches evil plots,
feet that race down a wicked track,
a mouth that lies under oath,
one who spreads strife among brothers
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