God's Destroying Army

John the Baptist preached repentance and ate locusts for lunch.

Our God has destroying armies that he has prepared to bring his people to repentance. In the Bible these armies are referred to as "locusts". The locusts are destroyers that take away our earthly possessions and leave us desolated and desperate for help.

Locusts may come in the form of actual armies, or in the form of actual locusts. They may be financial disasters or natural disasters brought upon us by divine appointment. They are intended to strip us of our worldly ambitions and turn our eyes upon Jesus. Locusts are commanded by God because of sin, and are defeated by repentance and cleansing from sin.

The plagues of locusts and darkness were the last two plagues on Egypt before the destroying angel took the firstborn of Egypt, and the precursors to armies in the book of Revelation.

In the book of Exodus, the plagues of hail and locusts each brought Pharaoh to confession of sin and repentance though not for long.

In the prophecy of Nahum the Assyrian armies are compared to an army of locusts.

In II Chronicles 7 God promises Solomon that if He sends drought or locusts or pestilence on the land because of sin, and the people humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, that He would hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land. Forgiveness corresponds to the removal of the destroying locusts.

In the final apostasy described in Revelation 9, the locusts of the destroying angel inflict pain on those who have rejected God. The armies that follow them destroy 1/3 of mankind, but the people who remain still do not repent. This is the last time repentance is offered before the final trumpet blast.

In the prophecy of Joel there are four waves of locusts (destroying armies) that successively destroy the land of Israel. The last destroyer (Rome) leaves Jerusalem completely desolate, but those with understanding find the greatest gift of God written on their hearts.

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,

            “Return to Me with all your heart,

            And with fasting, weeping and mourning;

      And rend your heart and not your garments.”

            Now return to the LORD your God,

            For He is gracious and compassionate,

            Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness

            And relenting of evil.

Joel 2:12-13 NASB

Don't Play the Trump Card

I woke up this morning with this disturbing thought. What if Donald Trump were really elected president?

What is it people like about the Donald? I don't think it's his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

I think conservative Americans have a deep anxiety about our lack of leadership and feel that the executive branch is no longer protecting them. I'm not even sure we have connected all the dots.

• Our children are under assault from the corrupting influence of entertainment and technology
• Our homes are under assault from criminal gangs that operate with impunity in sanctuary cities across the nation
• Our police are under assault from a justice department that undermines their authority
• Our jobs are under assault from cheap foreign labor and automation technology, made worse by an anti-employer government bureaucracy
• Our religious liberty is under assault from anti-family organizations that have been empowered by the president and his party
• Our state governments are under assault from a Supreme Court that has assumed powers not granted by the constitution
• Our standard of living is under assault from a government addicted to deficit spending and unsustainable debt
• Our national defense is under assault from a commander-in-chief that believes our military power must be reduced, restricted and in some cases eliminated
• Our civilization is under assault from medieval savages intent on the destruction of western culture and lifestyles, both from outside and inside our borders

Against all these fears comes one who promises to solve these problems by virtue of being "the Donald". Many people embrace this man because they feel he is the only one smart enough and strong enough to overcome the entrenched powers of both parties. In a small way the Donald appeals to the same desperation that brought the Nazis to power in the failing Weimar Republic.

I am uncomfortable with someone who travels the world with his name emblazoned on his helicopter, who shoots from the lip like a nineteenth-century cowboy, and who celebrates materialism and self-indulgence with unfettered bravado. Are these not the traits of the Babylonian harlot in the Bible?

Surely among the ranks of conservatives we can find a candidate who would serve with unselfish dignity, who has proven leadership skills and the brains and personality to sell herself or himself to the general electorate. I think a few candidates fit this bill, and I will support any one of them over the Arkansas mafia couple or their socialist peers. It's time for these candidates to rise up and show how they will defend us from the assaults listed above, and it's time for us to pray that God will have mercy on us and give us the leadership we need, not the government we deserve.