Thoughts on How God's Judgement is Working Today.

Does God judge nations and cities through sending disaster as was recently [falsely] predicted for Christchurch?

In scripture he tended to leave nations alone UNLESS they mistreated Israel*. I see the same thing indicated in end time prophecy. It is mistreatment of His people (church and Israel) that brings about His end time outpouring of wrath.

Romans 1 and 2 give a graphic view of how God judges sin in the present day. He gives people over to their sin so they "stor[e] up wrath ...for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed."

That is a very sobering passage of scripture as well as enlightening regarding the nature of God's judgement today (more subtle than blasting cities).

Those He loves He chastens - how tragic for those He ceases chastening and hands over to the "sinful desires of their heart". THAT is the most terrible judgement we could receive prior to that day of His wrath.

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* Israel has a unique position, being the only nation with whom God made a covenant with promises of blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.
Blessing and cursing of other nations was stated as being conditional upon their treatment of the nation God promised from among Abraham's descendants. (Gen 12)

Christchurch "Prophecy" the aftermath.

The deadline for the predicted Christchurch disaster has passed without the promised destruction.

Reports from Christchurch reveal that many stayed away from work and left the city for the day. Many school students didn’t attend class. Many were in fear of what could happen on the day.
Remember, this is a city that suffered terrible destruction and loss of life at the beginning of the year; where constant aftershocks are a reminder of what happened. Most citizens suffered personal loss or at least know someone close who did.

What has happened since the failure of the “prophesied” destruction on the 28th?

1) Some have taken the predicted route and claim credit for their intercession averting the disaster.
2) Others continue as if the failure presents no real problem and they stick with their view that Christchurch is due for another disastrous “shaking”, that only the timing was wrong
3) Some (praise God) have confessed to their error and are seeking God, genuinely repentant for their involvement.

One factor that clearly helped the Christchurch prediction to be circulated as “prophecy” was the preconceived idea that God intended to judge Christchurch, or at least the “disobedient church” in Christchurch.
Were these expectations being voiced PRIOR to the two major quakes, the second of which led to massive loss of life? Or were these “prophetic” voices informed BY the two quakes – Prophetic “insight” AFTER the fact? Is this why so many latched onto the false 28 September prediction? They saw it as a validation of their own alleged prophetic insight?

I know of some who publicised the 28th prediction but expressed doubts about the dating; accepting the rest of the "word" because of a conviction that God WILL “shake Christchurch” again – not as a judgement on the city but as a judgement on the church!

Is that the way God acts? To cause death and massive destruction among unbelievers to punish disobedient believers?

Do we kick the dog to punish the cat that has torn the curtains? Maybe we do – but would a God of justice do that?

Sept 28 Christchurch Prophecy

One of the most maligned spiritual gifts is prophecy. It is either dismissed as being obsolete or it is approached so casually that it is not surprising many people have convinced themselves that it is obsolete.

An example of how little REAL respect is given to prophecy is being demonstrated as I write. A prediction has been made of yet another catastrophe in Christchurch New Zealand. That city seems to draw attention from a sector of the “church” which delights in the idea of God pouring out His wrath on other people. Christchurch seems to be a favourite target for a few reasons. It has already been the victim of disaster and its name makes it a handy metaphor for those critical of the state of the church. Put the two together and we have God showing His displeasure with Christ’s church.

The current prediction has been very specific – giving today as the day when terrible things will happen again to the city. It has had a polarising effect within the Christian community. Some reject it out of hand because they reject the validity of all present day prophecy. Others have embraced it without question, appearing to take delight in the idea of God’s judgement being demonstrated against others.

I take a different view. I am totally accepting of the validity of prophecy today but I strongly reject this particular prediction. I find nothing in it to indicate it is a true prophetic word.

Yesterday, 27th September, I resigned from my role as the moderator of a Christian forum because of the way this prediction was being addressed. As a result I have been asked not to contribute to that forum for three months.

It is clear that the forum owner accepts the validity of the prophecy in part. The only aspect that troubles him is the dating of the predicted disaster. A few other members have been more supportive, accepting all of it as a true message from God. They expect disaster to strike Christchurch today. Maybe even more disturbing than this expectation is the impression that they won’t even have their certainty shaken when the predicted event fails to happen. They will merely latch onto the next “word of prophecy” and run with that one until it also fails.

These people are more than willing to see Christchurch take the brunt of God’s wrath because of the state of the church (as they see it) and yet they are blind to the fact that THEY are no less disobedient, wilful and misled. They are no less guilty of error and stubbornness –all demonstrated by their refusal to test the “prophecy” according to God given, scriptural principals.

Prophecy is something that we can not afford to take lightly. We can not be casual with it. In the Old Testament false prophets were given no leeway. According to God’s instructions, they got it right – or they lost their lives.

Today false prophets are not faced with stoning. Some may see this as God’s mercy at work. I see it slightly differently. Maybe the Old Testament way was more merciful – it made people more aware of the seriousness of saying “God said” when God had said nothing of the kind. Maybe the freedom for “prophets” to speak without immediate consequences is itself a judgement on the church, separating the wheat from the chaff, separating those with a love and desire for the the truth from those who prefer baseless sensation.

There are still several more hours of the 28th (NZ time) to go. As yet I’ve heard no news of destruction in Christchurch. I’ll stick my neck out a little right now and say the rest of the day will pass with a similar absence of news, and then tomorrow the excuses, self-justification and back tracking will begin: anything to avoid accountability for the lies that have been promoted and supported.

AWFUL SHAKING in CHRISTCHURCH – Andrew Strom

Andrew Strom wrote the following article about yesterday's earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand.

In the continuing news coverage I have seen a few severely damaged church buildings. I think what Andrew says might shed some light on a reason for this.


AWFUL SHAKING in CHRISTCHURCH – Andrew Strom

It was with terrible sadness that I learned yesterday of another huge earthquake hitting the New Zealand city of Christchurch. It has only been 2 months since we left that city and we have many dear friends there. The first earthquake last year had no fatalities but this one looks to have many dead and injured.

I want to share a few things about our time in Christchurch that left me quite disturbed and concerned when we left. But I want to be sensitive because of the terrible sadness associated with this new quake.

As some of you know, one of the main things that I hoped to do in Christchurch after the first quake was to organize a large open worship event in the city – to praise and glorify God that nobody had been killed even in a huge 7.1 earthquake. I found that no such event was being planned, but there were thousands of evangelical Christians in Christchurch, and I felt very strongly that it was important for us to publicly glorify God for the miracle of surviving such a disaster with no-one killed. The place was traumatized and it was obvious that a sensitive Worship event would do much good – and even many non-Christians would likely attend. But sadly it was not to be. And this is the disturbing part.

I have organized large events before, so the Christian Radio network knows me – and quickly agreed to promote the event for free. The PA sound people also agreed to supply excellent sound for a very low cost. And the Christchurch City Council couldn’t have been more helpful. Everything was looking good. But then we ran up
against the Christian leaders.

One of the main “networking” Pentecostal leaders in the city told me that we could count him OUT of any support for the event. Then I spoke personally with the Dean of Christchurch Cathedral who told me that we could NOT use the main Square in Christchurch for a worship event for the whole Body. (Today this man’s Cathedral
lies in ruins. It had survived the first quake, but it did not survive
this new one).

I called a number of prominent pastors and worship bands around Christchurch. I said we had the support of Radio, the Council, the sound and everything. No response. Worship bands not interested. Pastors not returning calls. (You might think they were busy after the quake – but remember no-one died and Christchurch was up and running pretty fully after only a couple of weeks). I simply couldn’t understand it. The evangelicals of Christchurch had made no public acknowledgement of God at all – no public worship for this miraculous escape – no public glorifying of Jesus. Even the secular News and the politicians were calling it a “miracle”. People were traumatized everywhere. Wasn’t it a “no-brainer” that we should be doing such a thing? Doesn’t God deserve public praise after protecting so many people from harm?
In fact, it was such a no-brainer that the secular people themselves decided to do something. A number of the top bands and musicians from New Zealand came down and gave a free concert in the park for the traumatized city. It was heavily advertised on Radio – and 20,000 people showed up. Of course it was a secular event – not
Christian. The Pentecostals, Charismatics and Evangelicals of Christchurch had made virtually no public sound at all.

I felt strongly that I could not push things any further without some basic support from the church. We managed to hold a couple of outdoor concerts for the homeless, and got involved with distributing “care packages” and things, but I was so disappointed. In fact I was more than disappointed – I was alarmed and deeply disturbed. I even told some friends that it was “dangerous” to offer no public praise
after God has just so obviously saved your city. I felt so strongly about it – and deeply saddened for the state of the Body of Christ.
But I could do nothing more.

On December 17, 2010, my family departed from Christchurch. OnDecember 28th we boarded a plane for Australia. I believe it may be some time before we ever return.

My heart truly goes out to the people of Christchurch – and to all the world so poorly served by the church of our day. This was truly one of the worst “lost opportunities” that I have ever witnessed in all my years with the church. And Christchurch was truly one of the most beautiful cites I have ever seen. The people are so dear to us. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, my friends. May God bless and protect you all in these dark times.

Yours with great sadness,

Andrew Strom.

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/2011/02/23/awful-shaking-in-christchurch-andrew-strom/#more-894

Illustrating photos from gallery here:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/news-gallery/a/-/article/8882846/image/1/devastating-earthquake-strikes-christchurch/



See also:

http://onefiles.blogspot.com/2011/09/sept-28-christchurch-prophecy.html

http://onefiles.blogspot.com/2011/09/christchurch-prophecy-aftermath.html