SHATTERING SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH (ACTS 2:19)
THE CROSS WAS RIPPED FROM THIS CHURCH STEEPLE IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA AS PERFECT PROOF OF GOD’S ANGER OVER WICKEDNESS. Our world is on a crash course against the Creator Himself. Even worse, when He reveals “His Holiness” against the Church’s wickedness, they ignore Him. I just learned of a plainly divine response to the wicked compromise in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. It occurred almost four years ago and cannot be dismissed.
The picture above is of the hanging cross that was ripped from the steeple. This happened at the exact time that the representatives of the church were meeting to decide to ordain active homosexuals as ordained ministers. They did not even care what the “God Of Heaven” had to say. THE CROSS RESPRESENTS THE SACRED SPLENDOR OF THE SACRIFICIAL DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE SINS OF ALL MANKIND. THE FATHER REFUSED TO LET IT REMAIN ABOVE SUCH BLATANT GODLESSNESS.
(Here is the report) “An unexpected, violent storm damaged a convention hall where a church body was discussing ordaining openly homosexual ministers and giving sanction to same-sex marriages. It had to be a coincidence, right? S. T. Karnick analyzes the implications.
Most reasonable human beings profess, quite correctly, to be skeptical toward very improbable coincidences. In such cases we are wisely inclined to look for a author’s hand behind the events. In evaluating novels and films, for example, we tend to frown on too-obvious and convenient coincidences that move the plot forward or convey too clear a meaning. The same is true of our understanding of reality: when we see too strange a coincidence, we look for an underlying cause. For example, when we run into someone quite unexpectedly, we look for reasons they might have been there, instead of just accepting that coincidences happen. That is indeed the right way to look at things. We recognize that cause-and-effect is a central truth of life, and we naturally look for causes when something seems far out of the ordinary.
Thus it’s difficult to dismiss the very odd thing that happened just as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was voting to approve a “social statement on human sexuality” designed to open the way for congregations to be led by openly homosexual ministers and to make way for ELCA to perform same-sex marriages. A fierce storm described by many as a tornado unexpectedly ripped through downtown Minneapolis, where the ELCA convention was taking place, and damaged the convention center where the meeting was taking place, along with the ELCA church across the street–even knocking over the church’s steeple in a bizarrely symbolic occurrence.
An eyewitness described the storm as a “fast-moving, misshapen, unusually-wide funnel over downtown Minneapolis.” The statement on sexuality passed by the exact number of votes required, just reaching the necessary two-thirds majority. On Friday the assembly approved, as expected, a rule allowing congregations to be led by open homosexuals.
As the Washington Post reported, jokes that the storm was a sign of God’s wrath “proved inevitable” at the convention hall. The attendees clearly were looking for a causal connection, and not finding an appealing one, understandably resorted to dismissive humor.
Others don’t think the situation is such a joke. Gerald Kieschnick, president of the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, addressed the ELCA assembly on Saturday, the day after ELCA’s vote to allow openly homosexual clergy, expressing dismay at the ELCA decision and directly stating that it contradicted the explicit teachings of the Bible: “The decisions by this assembly to grant non-celibate homosexual ministers the privilege of serving as rostered leaders in the ELCA and the affirmation of same-gender unions as pleasing to God will undoubtedly cause additional stress and disharmony within the ELCA. It will also negatively affect the relationships between our two church bodies. The current division between our churches threatens to become a chasm. This grieves my heart and the hearts of all in the ELCA, the LCMS, and other Christian church bodies throughout the world who do not see these decisions as compatible with the Word of God, or in agreement with the consensus of 2,000 years of Christian theological affirmation regarding what Scripture teaches about human sexuality. Simply stated, this matter is fundamentally related to significant differences in how we [our two church bodies] understand the authority of Holy Scripture and the interpretation of God’s revealed and infallible Word.”
In a published statement, Kieschnick cited specific Scripture passages in making his point: The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod has repeatedly affirmed as its own position the historical understanding of the Christian church that the Bible condemns homosexual behavior as “intrinsically sinful.” It is therefore contrary to the will of the Creator and constitutes sin against the commandments of God (Lev. 18:22, 24,20:13; 1 Cor. 6:9-20; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and Rom. 1:26, 27).
In that same statement, Kieschnick acknowledged that ELCA has a right to decide what it wants to do, but he stood firm on the position that positions that contradict the Bible cannot be characterized as Christian: We respect the desire to follow conscience in moral decision making, but conscience may not overrule the Word of God.
In addition, he noted, a great many ELCA members disagreed with the church body’s decision, and Kieschnick offered them “our assurance of loving encouragement together with our willingness to provide appropriate support in their efforts to remain faithful to the Word of God and the historic teachings of the Lutheran church and all other Christian churches for the past 2,000 years.” Meaning, of course, that ELCA was no longer a recogizably Christian church in many of its doctrines, and those who wanted to leave would get LCMS support. Which certainly makes sense.
As to the storm, much commentary has arisen stating explicitly that it was God’s judgment and warning to the church. A very good blog post by John Piper outlines the extraordinary event: A friend who drove down to see the damage wrote, “On a day when no severe weather was predicted or expected . . . a tornado forms, baffling the weather experts—most saying they’ve never seen anything like it. It happens right in the city.” The city: Minneapolis.
The tornado happens on a Wednesday . . . during the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s national convention in the Minneapolis Convention Center. The convention is using Central Lutheran across the street as its church. The church has set up tents around its building for this purpose. According to the ELCA’s printed convention schedule, at 2 PM on Wednesday, August 19, the 5th session of the convention was to begin. The main item of the session: “Consideration: Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality.” The issue is whether practicing homosexuality is a behavior that should disqualify a person from the pastoral ministry.
The eyewitness of the damage continues: This curious tornado touches down just south of downtown and follows 35-W straight towards the city center. It crosses I-94. It is now downtown. The time: 2 PM, THE EXACT TIME THE MEETING FOR THIS DANDEROUS VOTE WAS TO BEGIN. THAT’S GOD’S TIMING TO SHOW HIS ATTENTION TO SUCH ACTION BY THOSE CLAIMING TO SPEAK FOR HIM.
The first buildings on the downtown side of I94 are the Minneapolis Convention Center and Central Lutheran. The tornado severely damages the convention center roof, shreds the tents, breaks off the steeple of Central Lutheran, splits what’s left of the steeple in two . . . and then lifts. Piper’s conclusion, shared by many across the nation (as a simple Web search will quickly confirm), is that the storm was indeed a message from God:
The tornado in Minneapolis was a gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and all of us: Turn from the approval of sin. Turn from the promotion of behaviors that lead to destruction. Reaffirm the great Lutheran heritage of allegiance to the truth and authority of Scripture. Turn back from distorting the grace of God into sensuality. Rejoice in the pardon of the cross of Christ and its power to transform left and right wing sinners.
During the Medieval Era, of course, such a thing would have been taken for granted as true. In our more enlightened, sophisticated time, we see through such superstitions. Instead, we believe in bizarre coincidences–as long as it means we can continue to deny God.–S. T. Karnick (END OF REPORT)
In a few weeks, after the present series on the Holy Spirit, I plan to spend a good deal of time on “SIGNS UNDENIABLE IN THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH.” We will document many Biblical proofs that our great God is beginning to judge this world system. The Scripture has promised, “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2: 19-21) It is time to get right with God.
YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING YET.
jaimie
Dear Pastor,
It would appear as we move along that indeed the “Writing is on the Wall” just like in Daniels day
at least they feared!
Seems like we are where satanists want us to be; no commandments just the one that they subscribe to, “There are no commandments”
The Lord will not be mocked. Luther never understood Revelations either.
God Bless
jaimie
Kathy
when the lord wants to get his messege out that he is not pleased about gays and same sex marege he does a good job i love you lord come lord jesus come quickly kathy
Ed Wood
The ELCA is going the same route that TEC (the Episcopal Church) has already gone. It is now the home of openly homosexual clergy and is in the process of developing “same sex blessings” for homosexuals. I got out of this apostate nightmare of a church back in 2007 when it was clear the only change it was making would be for the worse. Today TEC is now heir to an aging and diminishing membership, empty church building either due to attrition or else forcing out Biblicly faithful congregations and their clergy who refused to been the knee to the “Baal” of false doctrine. TEC’s headquarters in New York was reported up for sale at one point. Probably still is. In my opinion, this is one organization that richly DESERVES to be as bankrupt financially as they have been spiritually for over a decade.
That the blind leaders of these apostate churches simply cannot see the writing on the wall is no real surprise when we consider the religious elite of Jesus’ time despite all their “book knowledge” failed to recognize the Messiah their scripture spoke of was in right their midst.
I think Paul really understood the reason for this when he said:
2 Corinthians 4:3- 4:4): But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: {4:4} In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
I believe the extremes of weather, seismic disturbances, economic and political upheavals we are seeing today are very much directly related to humanity’s increasing effort to push God off center stage. Satan is only to happy to fill this vacuum.
The saddest part of this is that IT DIDN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!
And if it is this bad even though the Holy Spirit is still exercising restraint upon the devil, just think of the hell this planet will experience when he leaves along with the believers.
Don Baker
Just wait until Obama goes to Israel and tries to Make Israel give up Biblical Judea and Samaria.
Some bad will happen. San Andreas fauilt. New Madrid fault or maybe some raghead will light a suit case nuke.
EYE TO EYE: FACING THE CONSEQUENCES OF DIVIDING ISRAEL (PAPERBACK) 10 bucks its worth you time.
Peter Legge
Dear Pastor Chambers ,
Thank you once again for a faithful and gripping message. I personally am unable to
find fellowship with like minds and cling to my reading of scripture, past teachings by faithful men and teachings
like yours. God bless you and Paw Creek ministries. I do so look forward to the heavenly rejoicing we will
experience together when Our Lord Jesus returns, Your brother in Him….. Peter Legge.
Keith Black
APOSTASY AND LAODICEAN LOOTERS CHURHCES
Dear Joe Chambers,
The BROKEN STEEPLE is not the first time that God judged churches. Back in 1984 God sent LIGHTNING TO SET FIRE TO THE YORK CATHEDRAL IN NORTHERN BRITAIN, at a time they were holding a meeting to promote EVOLUTION as was taught in schools. That church was partially burned with fire. The LIBERAL CHURCHES DO EVERYTHING AGAINST GOD. They support Sodomites, evolution, Palestinians against Israel, and for decades SUPPORTED RED-DISTRIBUTION POLITICS. ‘Thou shall not steal.’ It is not this: THOU SHALL NOT STEAL EXCEPT, EXCEPT BY MAJORITY VOTE’. The Prostitute Church of Laodicean is not only LUKEWARM. They are also LOOT-WARM because the PROMOTE WEALTH-REDISTRIBUTION POLITICS AND STEALING AT THE BALLOT BOX AS GARY NORTH SAID. This is why the Laodicean Church is called LOOT-WARM, because the promote LOOTING & STEALING at the ballot box. This is how OBAMA WON THE ELECTIONS. Because the LOOT-WARM LAODICEAN CHURCHES PROMOTED STEALING AT THE BALLOT BOX. Yes it is the LOOTERS CHURCH OF LAODICEA. God does not PROMOTE THE LOOTERS WEALTH-REDISTRIBUTION SOCIAL GOSPEL. He condemns it.
SIncerely,
Keith Black
Mark Steiner
You know we are in the end times when vain philosophies of men repace the Word of God. Now we hear of Bible studies where the Bible is not studied, but the Purpose Driven works of Rick Warren and even JK Rowlings “Harry Potter.” Rick Warren approved the idea of putting Potter in the pulpit and moving Jesus and the Bible out.
The strong delusion Paul spoke of in II Thess. 2:8-10 has arrived. Ed Wood’s comment for II Cor. 4:3-4 is another symptom of the age. It is not looking good as long as the Church keeps going that way.
The time may come when you may have to face death just to own and study a Bible. But a Martyrs’ Crown awaits all faithful unto death. May He come sooner than this. Good day.
David
If there has ever been a time for preaching the Gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ in our streets, towns and cities, it is now, great work in this field has been done in the past, but now, there is a greater need than ever before.
Saints willing to put their faith and stand before God on the line before the people, many are crying out for God, but there is nobody available to help.
Our world of people today are blind, deaf and so hard hearted it is almost impossible to see anybody stop and listen to a preacher, I know, I know full well.
33 years ago the Lord called me into openair evangelism, preaching the Gospel to hundreds and sometimes thousands of people who STOP and listen, Today, All I receive is bad language (swearing) insults, jestures with their hands, I am preaching the Gospel to broad roaders going to hell, my heart is now looking for that one who wants to walk the narrow road, just like last Friday, a young man who came to the Lord, all the insults make that young man coming to the Lord, so worth while.
Get out on the streets, I know that God will be with you.
RobiMac
This is righteous anger that I, of course, stand behind 100%.
Jeff Mayo
We should also consider that a hurricane hit New Orleans when a Gay Pride parade was scheduled, and another major storm hit New York after same-sex marriage passed by ballot. Before God sends judgement, He always gives warnings! Are we alert to his warnings?
Ed Branch
“Were they ashamed when they had committed abominations? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 8:12)
Not only are they not ashamed, they are so deceived that they continue to think of themselves as a “church,” while being an instrument of the “Old Dragon.” Our president would be proud.