Yeah, I've wondered about that, the straining through world events can get overwhelming. I'll share my experience.
There was something about the covid 19 hysteria that formed part of my reasoning. My church had a Bible reading plan that was up to 20 chapters a week. My pastor had me leading that class and most who tried it couldn't do the homework, except one couple. When church closed we held the Sunday study as a conference call. As covid started threatening life as we knew it, our studies took us through the books of Job, Lamentations, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The three of us were no longer studying the Bible for the sake of studying; the warnings, plagues, judgements, catastrophes, and underlying promises of deliverance were real time. We saw how deserving we were of those events, how the whole world deserves the coming judgements. It drove us to lots of prayers.
After that experience I had to grapple with deep feelings about what God's wrath means to me. That got me into a deep waters and it was Andrea and Adrian who came alongside to pull me out of a sense of dread that I couldn't shake.
God's wrath is terrible, and I needed to dig deeper and honor Him in every way. That's when Isaiah and the Psalms began to show me how to anchor my faith in a growing confidence that Jesus will be glorified and God's will is thoroughly good.
Thanks Hol for sharing that. I can understand what you are saying. In some circles the American Reformed camps are kind of known as "the angry Father" view camps. I did not know that for decades. Looking back, it makes sense. Jonathan Edwards has a well known sermon one of the pastors over a ministry I attended memorized it, and delivered it as if Jonathan was standing before us. It was called "Sinners in the hands of a angry God."
A friend of mine there is known for the biblical cliche from Ecclesiastes: "Better to attend a funeral than a wedding." And merged that with how it is virtuous to be self loathing. Nouthetic counseling is based on this premise. And is "the biggest" counseling model taking the world by storm (as a reprise to the generic approaches of mixing psychology with biblical counseling). It makes sense why this has occurred. But Nouthetic counseling is tracked with Reformed Covenentalism (beleiving that God's covenant with Adam was a covenant of works for salvation). So in theory, a huge percentage today of biblical counseling the world over is filtered through Reformed Confessions (like the Westminster confession: which although espouses to be biblical is merely a Reformed perspective on commentary and has some rather strange doctrine attributed to it).
In some ways what this has done is brought psuedo superstitions about God from a Catholic lite motif filtered through and sold as biblical counseling. Making it harder and harder to discern the line between commentary and biblical meaning. At the end of the day, escalating Puritan thought to be socially acceptable. With that there is of course some value in honestly considering the genuine fear of God. But when we look at Hebrews 12:18-24 -- and what is meant by coming to Mount Zion...now. For me, repentance is often repenting from how I could not possibly have right motivations limiting thought upon how great a salvation has been offered by such a huge hearted God. And the main host of my problems stemming from not recognizing the goodness of God: Romans 2:4. Which is hard to do if the morbidity of self reflection and the awesome fear of God seem to have a slightly grander place than healthiest in America Reformed thought in general.
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In a way American Reformed thought fits nicely with my melochaly disposition. And I have had to work very hard at understanding just how much faith depends on knowing and understanding the true character of Christ revealed in scriputre. Thanks also for sharing your observations of COVID worldwide effects. When I saw that, I was already well underway out from under the American Reformed spell. And what I primarily saw was two things. 1) God was allowing the whole world a moment to stop and think. Almost like the day the earth stood still. A global tap on the shoulder. And 2) This did not appear to me as much as a judgement from God as it was the product of how we have allowed the world to be so corrupted that it thrust upon us such a deception. Likely the failed grand overture for global reset part 1.
In those days, if there were anything that could undermind the US Constitution, the power of the WHO could have implemented vaccine passports. Which did not work. And something the evangelical watcher movement is having a hard time getting over. For it would seem more fitting to see evil increase and with it the darkest of days ahead. And with all of that, a need to prove scripture by how dark it gets. Or another way of saying that is: We need to see things get worse or else Revelation is not true. And in our lack of better judgement, holding the character of God hostage to our insistence upon how prophecy must look and unfold for us to affirm His word. This is where the philosphical crutch of Hagelian Dialectic seems to be owned by certain segments of evangelicalism to be valued as some kind of reasonable, soberminded, 3rd eye like gnostic church awareness of how to look at end times. Dark, dark, dark. In some ways I would see this as being punked by our own bad theology. Not that we should not have consideration for the book of Revelation and its warnings. But just that we don't own them. Mistaken that we do, I believe. While in contrast, "But God."
The simplest way I tend to boil this down, and of course not without struggle and some confusion of course (for it is not that easy or seemingly straight forward), is that America should be judged, but then so should a lot of other nations too. In contrast to that, America has been syphoned by globalism and the things we let happen to this country had reached its fever pitch. And instead of seeing how we got here through decades of globalist manipulation through the alphabet organizations (like CIA, FBI etc), America has become a nation worthy of judgement by appearance of where we allowed that plane to land. But preachers who view things like this don't seem to take into account America got this way by being tricked and seduced by globalist enterprise certain to collapse her should we let them. And what the church is not able to do (see the source of the modern problem), God might. And looks like He had and is doing. By trapping globalism in its own game (the Haman/Esther effect). John Macarthur has aligned American culture with the escalation of depravity found in Romans 1. And as a cessationist, prophesied America is done because of his "certainty" to how America has become depraved without recovery. Which aligns with so many other thoughts of America not being around for end times. Or with much power. Kind of like, to me, the church leftist view of how to look down upon America (although obviously from more sincere and honest meaning hearts, amen).
This view is very popular. But I would align it with a worldly view. A view that sees a God approaching the tribulation to also be in the mood to judge America beforehand. And if this is His testimony to end of the age of grace, it is of course His sovereign right. But is that the story being told right now? Because the story we are witnessing is globalism getting massive push back. And America becoming stronger. And even lauded by the world at the moment. Like a good parent, it would seem that God noticed a bad "glabalist" neighbor got into the family and caused harm. So instead of just judging America for that, it would seem God holding the globlaiist neighbor accountable. Come to think of it, I don't really recall globalism being all that well understood at Macarhtur's church. But even those that notice that both the left and right are manipulated by globalist enterprise, they tend to downplay its role. And hold the left and right responsible. I'm not saying there is no blame there. For sure there is. But its almost like a teenager that discovers something novel about their situation and thinks by that awareness they now understand the secrets of the universe. But understanding that left and right have both been infiltrated, in my estimation, is the beginning of the issue. Not the end result. Because although we have left and right politics both influenced by globalism, it would seem that God has also left a remnant of clear thinkers in both parties to have interest to address the corruption of the left and right by globalism. And go after its core strengths. As a political administration, this remnant need not be believers (although I am sure some would be). But just people with understanding of how the world works. And in practicality address the real problems of our day. That a criminal regime wants to control the world by eroding American sovereignty. So if we like real mature men study the issue from this place, we can go after globalisms core power structure. And if we can, we an actually help other countries do the same.
This schematic seems very foreign to the modern believer who would be more comfortable in seeing things through a different filter. A filter primed at where we would understand where things go biblically. But even on that front, Ez 38 formations seems to escape most calculations in that. It is very measurable and understandable. Yet, its not a shiney object. So it loses luster in consideration. And off to the races goes the rest of evangelalism. Off into the sensational. Where its fun to do prophecy. And even make a name. But I think a lot of this is done in innocents. And being unaware. But if we just take a step back and soberly look at what is going on without reading our views all up into it, I believe what we can see is God desiring to demonstrate His goodness to the generation primed to go through the tribulation. In hopes that in seeing His goodness more might rapture. Including Israel. And although we can understand none of us has done end times before...so its kind of all new to all of us...don't we find it strange that no ministry thinks this way at all? lol Especially when it is actually unfolding this way right in front of us? Yet we seem confident to armchair quarterback the play by play events with our old school paradigms nonetheless. Only God knows where this all goes. But it just makes the most sense to me that America gets powerful. The Constitution wins over globalism . Globalism collapses. Israel gets peace and safety...and then we are out of here. I am sorry to break the news to the church that God might want to display His great goodness. But if we could just be patient and tolerant of Him getting all that goodness out of His system one last time, we will have tons of savory moments by which to feast our views upon 7 years of solid judgement. And have our fill. I just don't think we'll be all that satisfied with His version of what it looks like approaching that. Likely. But God. And in that, I guess I would just encourage us to consider this position. For God is good. And we just might have to face that. I know it seems wrong. I know the focus on horror is far more appealing. But maybe the boring peace and goodness of God might have its place in the end times too. As ridiculous as that might sound (tongue-in-cheek).
Very blessed by your thoughts brother. Hope this makes some sense or is at least kind of fun to read and consider (in all its padantics). And may find encouragement also in you...whether it is completely accurate or not. Certainly worth a thought or two. I believe. Blessings.
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How hard sometimes it is to align those two together for me...but yet...yes. There is an aliance. At least in American versions of that. But I guess the difference in hindsight is just that I don't think really anyone in the church is going: "Wow...did you guys see how close we came to a global reset?" Like that over COVID said no one ever. But i'm saying it. So now we have part 2 with Russia/Ukraine (an obvious WW3 upstarter--as 2014 during Obama was Russia involved back then too and Obama gave Putin the middle east). So this, to me, would be part 2. And the deeper clutches of the global reset...of which we won't be entering it either.
