We need more fire and brimstone preachers in this country. So, with all the problems and challenges America is facing today, I want to add this vital need to the list. It isn’t an unreasonable petition. I simply want to see the resuscitation of uncompromised Godly convictions. In the light of watered-down ho-hum sermons and feel-good pats-on-the-back, we need to brave these stagnant waters and rescue the drowning flocks with the hard and fast truth and nothing but the truth... And we need the silenced, battered, rejected prophets of God to stand up and step forward. More than at any other time, the truly called prophets of God must rise to their calling, rebuke their attackers, expose the self-exalting false prophets and, taking up the mantle of Elijah, or John the Baptist, whip this country into an old-fashioned fear of God whether it wants it or not. We’ve regressed from the faith of our first three centuries back to 17th century Europe where the system and gods of the Babylonian pagans, embraced by the ruling scarlet-robed ecclesia, polluted and tried killing the power and anointing of God’s Holy Word. Then we welcomed, even fraternized with the marketing and political vultures that came into this country a hundred or so years ago, not realizing the price we would someday have to pay. The influences of these godless voices are still in the land today, and the heirs to their thrones threaten our freedom, our wealth, and the free exercise of our faith. They are the flagrant thieves in the open markets and the ambitious politicians of the one-world-government clique. The Living Word of Our God can destroy the influence of the gods of the heathen just as the Ark of the Covenant destroyed Dagan, the god of the Philistines (1Samuel 5:4). The Godly prophet Elijah slew four hundred of Jezebel’s prophets of Ba’al without blinking an eye (1 Kings 18:40), because he knew the dark evil and dangerous consequences their very presence in the land presented to Israel. Like the prophet Elijah, we have to know God’s Word, believe His Word and act on it. And, we need to post watchmen in the Church to expose these confronting forces, cast them out and keep them out... At the same time, as soon as possible - we need to retake and restore our independence from the global markets and global politics that conspire to take over our land and our peoples. We are in great danger my friends, our enemies plot while we play the flute and dance. The greatest danger at this moment is that no one is listening… We are a sovereign republic, fought for, prayed for, bled for, sacrificed for and God-blessed from sea to shining sea. We are not a ribbon-tied grab bag up for global sale or grabs by the UN or any other bully on the block. I have had it with their greedy, smug and corrupting biased haughtiness and I am quite prepared to thumb my nose at the WTO and the UN as I rush home to enjoy a “Grown and Produced in America” supper. Israel, England and America are spiritually joined at the hip, and all three are currently in deep trouble with the Father. Judgment is coming, with crashed economies, famine and depression sweeping across the dazed world in late summer 2009, and these three nations will not escape the suffering these judgments will bring. England will fall first… Israel will know the Father’s wrath during the tribulation. America has only tasted the judgments that are decreed for her – there is much more to come. We know we will be removed from the earth before the antichrist walks across the stage, but that too is just around the corner, according to the events now happening in the Middle East. (Russia has re-established a naval base in Tartus, Syria, on the Mediterranean Sea and deployed 10 war ships to the area. Our ships are in the Persian Gulf as well as the Mediterranean area. This is happening now…) The invasion of Gog/Magog and all their hordes into Israel, striking our East Coast with missiles as they march, could happen simultaneously with the Rapture, or they can happen independently of one another. In any case, one or both could happen anytime. So, with whatever time we have left, before Jesus calls the Church home, before we run out of opportunities, let us be about our Father’s business… There will be obstacles and opposition all the way. But unless we take a united stand and make the effort now, tomorrow may be too late. We must reach the people on the street, in the market place, in the business place and in the ghettos and slums of the cities. We must reach the world through the internet, and we must reach the youth everywhere. It will bring the biggest challenges of our lives, and the most rewarding… Therefore, get out there and fill all those down-home preaching slots that others (who think they are more qualified to judge a slot) have left by the side of the road. I will throw my hat in the ring with yours and run to retrieve my dusty old wooden soap box. You see, I’m 76 years old. I've been around long enough to know the difference between worship that draws fire down from heaven and the Broadway shows they put on today. And I've been around long enough to know the difference between the Gospel truth and the otherwise subtle and latest rebuttal... I refer to the New Age Tolle book that a popular TV talk show hostess is pushing. With this book, and her strong endorsement of it, the talk show hostess and the author are leading millions of gullible men and women into the eternal fires of hell - and the gullible follow - that is the scary part - they follow without asking meaningful questions. Consequently the blind are leading the blind. Unless they toss the book into the fire, repent, and turn to God for forgiveness of their rebellion and spiritual adultery, they will all fall into the ditch that is commonly called, “the pit,” and there they will stay forever. We’re accountable for the company we keep and for the influences the wrong crowd can have on us. This is why the Lord told the Israelites not to socialize or have anything to do with the heathen tribes. This is why many of the first ten-generational patriarchal descendants drowned in the Great Flood – they fraternized with the cursed Cain descendants and polluted themselves. We are supposed to be examples to both sinner and saint. Remember there are baby Christians out there watching us, not to mention the older finger-pointing pew warmers that see and hear everything. This is why it is so important to give them truth, without the space to judge or speculate. Former President Harry Truman once advised his staff, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." Well, this may come as a shock to some of you but, if the God-fearing Harry Truman, whom I loved, had not been so everlasting aware of those raised eyebrows, he might have advised them even further, "But beware where you go when you leave - its a lot hotter in hell than it is in the kitchen." Harry Truman would have made a great fire and brimstone preacher. He talked plain – with a little heat… The late great evangelist, Billy Sunday, would have loved that line. He was also a powerful plain-talking preacher - with a little heat! He drew crowds everywhere he went and he told them the straight of it – “Repent or burn!” Billy Sunday, born in 1862, was an evangelist in the first half of the 20th century (1897-1935) just as Billy Graham and Oral Roberts were evangelists in the last half. Their styles were different but their messages was rooted and grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Billy Graham was a bit more refined, stately, a Christian ambassador for a country that had survived the Great Depression and World War Two. Oral Roberts would get so hot under the anointing he had to remove his suit jacket. Then he would loosen his tie and roll up his shirt sleeves. Then he would sit down on a stool or the altar partition before praying for the next one in line. It was TV in the early 50s – black and white – small screen, and powerful… All three of these great men were sent to the world by God. All three were given Divine missions, all three dug in their heels and all three bowed only to God… Billy Sunday set the stage and prepared the way. He was the light that shone through WW1, prohibition, the women’s right to vote and the early years of the Great Depression. Billy Sunday was more the fire and brimstone preacher, as opposed to the stately Billy Graham and the charismatic Oral Roberts, and he was known to be a bit more physical in his home-grown dramatics. He had no problem crawling across the stage or leaping up the sawdust aisles if the message required the emphasis, and he didn't care what they thought of him as long as they fell in love with Jesus... Oral Roberts was the voice of faith for healing in the last half of the 20th century. With Billy Sunday now home with the Lord, Oral Roberts and Billy Graham evangelized America and the free world in a time when their messages were desperately needed and greatly welcomed. Those messages of hope and tremendous faith got us through post-WW11, Korea, the assassination of an American President, Viet Nam, the hostages held in Iran and the on-going Cold War. Today, both of these dear saints are looking-toward-looking-upon the gleaming face of Jesus. I remember the word given by Maurice Sklar in November 2005. He declared by the Spirit of the Lord, when God takes Billy Graham and Oral Roberts home, America and the West will have had their last call... As I said, I have lived long enough to remember the rural one-room church, the rural two-room schoolhouse and the outhouses. No phone, no air-conditioning, no automatic washer, dryer, microwave, oven, tractor plow or adequate numbers of electrical outlets – the iron was plugged into the hanging ceiling light with an adaptor – if your iron was electric. If it was a leaded iron, you had three or four you rotated on the cast iron cook stove. It was a different life. We used hand-held paper fans in the sanctuary to cool our warm faces in the summer, and we covered our faces with large tied handkerchiefs when we walked against the winds of winter. We didn’t know there would be a totally different world in just two decades. Even the preaching was different. The church was full to overflowing every Sunday. Even in the bigger churches in the cities chairs were set up along the walls. People looking for God could find Him in any church in America. A man could not get elected to political office unless he was a Christian in good standing in his community and in his church. A teacher could not get a teaching post unless she was a Christian, because teachers were expected to teach, demonstrate by example, and encourage (by note to the parents if need be) the guidelines of moral ethics. Bible was taught in some schools, while the Lord’s prayer, a patriotic song and the pledge of allegiance opened the school day in American schools all across the land. I know – I was one of those little ones from 1938 to 1945. Morning exercises were done away with in high school. It all changed in 1963 when my own little ones were beginning their own lower grades experiences. I recall beloved preachers in the 1950s-60s, and a few into the 1970s. But I don’t recall any fire and brimstone voices calling the people to “Repent” like John the Baptist, Elijah, Samuel, Jeremiah, Enoch and Noah did, except maybe for John Hagee. For the most part the fire and brimstone preachers have faded out – died out or retired out – in any case they have gone… Oh, you want me to correct that, don’t you? You are thinking about some of those preachers on Cable Television, aren’t you? Well, let me rephrase my statement: “I don’t recall any fire and brimstone preachers in the last few decades that didn’t include the abominable prosperity trap in their sermons.” Yes, God blesses, and Yes, God wants His children to prosper (Abraham, Job, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, etc.) But remember, these Biblical men of God did not fleece the flocks with promises they had no authority to make or to keep. God will decide how best to bless you according to your needs and your faith. No preacher can do that and we need to correct those that try… A fire burns in me. I am ready to spit and spew the only truth there is to anyone who will hear (or read) the fruit of these fingers. I offer the infallible, unpolluted, uncompromised and holiest Word of God, for the edification of the saints and for exalting the Triune God. One more thing – and this is important - Please support John McCain and Sarah Palin with your vote in November. They are the real thing. They are on the Lord’s side, and I truly believe they have been chosen for such a time as this… Barak Obama is extremely dangerous, even extremely poisonous for America. He must not – MUST NOT – sit in the Oval Office… Go back to Previous Articles and read, “Dream Warning” from June 2008. It is a powerful warning from the Lord of Hosts – who knows these things and will not withhold them from His prophets… Joan Krempel |