Chapter 1

 

“America’s Last Call”

 

For decades, America has been known as “the land of the free” and “the home of the brave”.  Our “one nation under God” from its inception has had the motto “In God We Trust”.  This country had become the most prosperous and influential nation on the face of the earth in modern times, primarily due to our worship and devotion to the King of kings and Lord of lords.  However, in recent years, the divine light and favor over our nation has dimmed, as we have turned from serving the living and true God to worshipping idols (I Thessalonians 1:9). 

In response to our backslidings, the Lord has beckoned us to return to Him and is now commissioning a new company of prophets to turn the hearts of Americans back to God.  My intention and prayer for this book is to not only clearly delineate, but also successfully propagate this “Elisha Commission” to the church of America.

 

Ordained a Prophet

 

As one of many prophets ordained by God to fulfill this “Elisha Commission” in behalf of our nation, I would like to commence this book by sharing with you my personal experience in receiving this calling (Jeremiah 1:5).

My father was employed as an engineer for a large steel company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In 1967, the company transferred him to a new steel finishing plant in Hennepin, Illinois.  Our Catholic family of four relocated to the small, nearby town of Peru.  My parents purchased a new home and new furnishings, including a popular 20” x 16” picture of Jesus knocking on a door.  That picture was hung in my bedroom over my bed.  Little did I realize that this picture would twenty years later serve as a prophetic sign and clarion call from God for me to preach repentance to an apathetic Church in an America that was becoming increasingly corrupt.

In 1983, I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord while watching The 700 Club.  In 1986, I received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Gannon University, a small Catholic college in Erie, Pennsylvania.  Throughout these years, this keep-sake picture hung over my bed.

In June 1986, I moved to Newport News, Virginia, where I started my first engineering job.  In that same month, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and a divine calling to the prophetic ministry.  In February 1987, I was transferred to Charleston, South Carolina where I joined a non-denominational Charismatic church. Shortly thereafter I began taking correspondence classes through Christian International towards a master’s degree in Biblical Studies.

On one particular evening in 1989, I was up late studying the Bible at a desk in my one bedroom apartment in Charleston.  Upon waking the next morning I sat up in bed and saw something across the room resting on the desk top where I was studying the night before.  I jumped out of bed and found my keep-sake picture positioned across the room on top of the desk!  That picture had hung in the same place over my bed in my apartment for over two years.  I rushed to the front door and to my relief found it still locked.  Astonished and confused, I shared what had happened with my pastor later that morning during a prayer meeting at the church.  My pastor said it was a sign from the Lord.  The following Sunday he allowed me to share with the congregation the prophetic sign and the message of repentance represented in the picture.

I knew the Lord had called me to be a prophetic voice to the church I was attending.  However, I had restricted the prophetic sign’s applicability to that particular church, not realizing that the Lord would one day raise up a company of prophets throughout America to preach repentance to a lukewarm, complacent Church.

 

To the Complacent Church

 

Thousands of copies of the picture of Jesus knocking on a door have been hung in homes throughout our nation for years as a prophetic message to our nation.  The scripture illustrated in the picture is most familiar.

 

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

 

For years this passage has been used by preachers to draw lost sinners to Christ.  However, the scriptures preceding this passage deserve closer examination, clearly addressing the apathetic state of the church of Laodicea, mirrored by the present day American church.

Unlike the other six churches Jesus addresses in the book of Revelation, He has no commendation for the Laodiceans whatsoever.  He identifies their condition as lukewarm, wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.  In other words, the Laodicean church was indifferent, pitiful, spiritually bankrupt, without foresight or insight, and sexually corrupt.  He also identifies the cause of their backslidden condition to be their wealth (Revelation 3:16, 17).

 

Revelation 3:17 “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing . . .’”

 

The Laodiceans’ prosperity and riches deceived them into believing that they needed nothing - not even God.  Sound familiar?  In America we serve the god of Mammon instead of God Almighty, mistakenly believing that our six figure incomes, mutual funds, health insurance and retirement programs will deliver us.  Why then do we need God?

 

The Idol of Mammon

 

The establishment of the Lord’s covenant and kingdom through His saints is a primary way by which the Lord reigns in the earth.  One means of establishing His covenant is through wealth.

 

Deuteronomy 8:18 “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant . . .”

 

However, when riches increase, the temptation for many Christians is to rely on and horde money, instead of trusting in God and giving to His work.  This tendency is reflected in our monetary giving to the kingdom of God.  The Biblical standard for giving is referred to as tithing, which is sowing ten percent of one’s income or increase to God by giving to churches or ministries.  In our nation, less than 6% of all professing Christians practice tithing. According to the prophet Malachi, 94% of American Christians are robbing God and their money is cursed!

 

Malachi 3:8-9 “Will a man rob God?  Yet you have robbed Me!  But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.  You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.”

 

Because we have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon, the Lord cannot entrust us with true riches.  Instead of enabling God to open the windows of heaven to pour out upon us an uncontainable blessing, we have left a gate of hell open for the thief and devourer to steal, kill and destroy our fruit (Luke 16:11, Malachi 3:10,11).

 

“In America, we serve the god of mammon instead of god almighty.”

 

Of the Christians who do practice tithing, some give with wrong motives.  A distorted prosperity gospel, promising 30, 60 and 100 fold returns to those who sow their “best” seed faith gifts, has been a means for greedy preachers to “line their pockets”.  This warped prosperity gospel also is largely responsible for misdirected giving amongst covetous Christians.  In this country, we have tried to serve God and mammon, which is a contradiction. As a result, our love for God has waned and our growing love for money has been a root for all kinds of evil (James 4:2, 3, Luke 16:13, I Timothy 6:10).

There is a remnant of Christians in our nation who do pay tithes and offerings with pure motives.  However, if riches increased in their lives, the Lord knows that some would be deceived by them.  Setting their heart on riches would not only destroy their relationship with God, but also position them for a fall.  Our intimate relationship with God is more precious to Him than anything, and He will withhold riches to protect it.  This is one reason why there are not more Christian millionaires today (Psalm 62:10, I Timothy 6:17, Proverbs 11:28). 

Instead of seeking first His kingdom and righteousness, many Americans have sought to establish their own kingdoms and righteousness.  We have foolishly exchanged our kingdom calling to influence the nations for Christ, for the fleeting pleasures of affluence and monetary wealth.  In contrast, Mother Teresa is an example of one of the most influential Christians that ever lived, yet was one of the least affluent among us.

 

Proverbs 30:8-9 “Give me neither poverty nor riches – Feed me with the food You prescribe for me; Lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.”

 

We would do well to follow Mother Teresa’s example and adopt the preceding prayer out of the book of Proverbs as a kingdom standard regarding money.

 

 

Gold, White Garments and Eye Salve

 

After Jesus identifies the condition and cause of the Laodicean church’s sin, He counsels them, providing a prescription for a cure for their spiritual diseases.

 

Revelation 3:18 “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”

 

Gold, white garments and eye salve are the spiritual commodities that Jesus indicated would deliver the Laodiceans from greed, sexual corruption, and spiritual blindness.  Natural riches are deceitful in that they promise happiness and fulfillment, but fail to deliver.  On the contrary, gold refined in the fire of His presence, which are the spiritual riches of His glory, not only supply but also satisfy our every need (Mark 4:19, Philippians 4:19).

There was a day in this country when we would have been ashamed of our nakedness and graciously welcomed the white garments Jesus offered the Laodiceans.  Unfortunately, that day has passed us by.  Instead, pornographers unashamedly flaunt and exploit thousands of men, women and children every year, defiling millions of addicts and producing a generation of fornicators, adulterers and homosexuals.  Pornography leads to adultery, which has contributed to a dysfunctional culture of divorce in our nation, where the divorce rate among Christians and non-Christians is virtually identical.  Similarly, pornography has led to rampant fornication, producing a corrupted culture of youth, disillusioned with the concept of covenant marriage.

To comprehend the enormity of our degeneracy, the following startling pornography statistics are provided below.

 

-         60% of all websites are pornographic.

 

-         52% of Americans spend between 1 to 11 hours a week viewing pornography.

 

-         The average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old.

 

-         The largest consumer group of Internet pornography is 12-17 year olds.

 

-         More than 70% of men between the ages of 18-34 visit a pornographic site every month.

 

-         47% of families admit that pornography is a problem in the home.

 

-         29% of U.S. “born-again” Christian adults say it is morally acceptable to view movies with explicit sexual behavior.

 

-         A 1996 poll revealed that over 50% of men were involved with pornography a week or less after attending a Promise Keepers event.

 

-         70% of Christians say that their habit is a secret.

 

The church has been caught with its pants down!  Surely, it is high time for judgment to begin in the house of God (I Peter 4:17).

 

“THE church IN AMERICA has been caught with its pants down!”

 

In Scripture, light symbolizes revelation and darkness represents ignorance.  The light of the knowledge of the glory of God can only be found in the face of Jesus Christ.  If we are not seeking and seeing His face, we will be in darkness, devoid of the knowledge of God and spiritually blind (II Corinthians 4:6). 

Whatever we behold we will eventually become.  In other words, our focus determines our future.  If our eyes behold the King, we will be full of light and revelation and become like Him.  If we habitually behold pornography and focus on money, we will ultimately become idol worshippers and ambassadors of darkness.

 

Matthew 6:22-24 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

 

Our nation is in desperate need of the eye salve the Lord prescribed to the Laodiceans, especially preachers!  Many American preachers’ eyes are not single upon the Lord, and therefore have little hope of fulfilling their commission of preaching recovery of sight to the blind.  In this country, we have blind preachers leading blind people into spiritual ditches of darkness, where they are being left to die.  Indeed, where there is no prophetic vision or revelation, people perish (Luke 4:18; 6:39, 40, Proverbs 29:18).

 

A Divine Transaction

 

While pondering Jesus’ counsel to the Laodiceans, I found it very strange that He asked them to “buy” from Him the gold, white garments and eye salve.

 

Revelation 3:18             “I counsel you to buy from Me . . .”

 

How does one “buy” from God?  In the book of Acts, Simon the Sorcerer offered Apostles Peter and John money to buy spiritual gifts, for which he was severely rebuked.  As I continued to seek the Lord about this, I heard Him say, “You have to spend something to buy from Me, but it is not money. You have to spend time with Me.” (Acts 8:17-20) 

We must first hear Him knocking on the door of our heart, and respond to His voice by opening the door of intimacy to commune with Him.  Quality intimate fellowship time with God through prayer and worship is therefore the medium of exchange or currency by which we buy gold, white garments and eye salve from the Master (Revelation 3:20).

Like Isaiah, we must see the Lord face to face, experience His holiness, which will lead us to a conviction of and repentance from our own uncleanness.  The subsequent eradication and purgation of our sin by the Spirit of judgment and burning qualifies us for greater service in the kingdom of God (Isaiah 6:1-8).

 

Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent.”

 

In America, we have often short-circuited God’s process of preparation and qualification for ministers.  Instead of looking for the fruit of holiness, humility and heart-hunger in ministers that have been with Jesus, we look at the outward man.  We appoint the tall, handsome, charismatic, eloquent ministers with seminary degrees who can tell good jokes.  As a result, we have a harvest of self-commissioned, blind preachers leading blind people.

 

The Key to Heavenly Treasure

 

Throughout our nation, repentance messages have been heard repeatedly for years, yet our spiritual condition has not improved, but instead has steadily worsened.  The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, provides insight into the root cause and remedy for America’s depravity.  Interestingly enough, Israel, in Malachi’s day, shared in the same sins as the Laodiceans during New Testament times, as do Americans today.  They dishonored God by not paying their tithes, by divorcing their wives and by offering God their worst fruits instead of their first fruits (Malachi 3:8-12). 

Between 1960 and 1990, divorce has doubled in our nation.3 Since 1960, cohabitation has increased eleven-fold,4 and babies born to unmarried parents has increased six-fold.5 As a nation, our men have forsaken and “dealt treacherously with” the wives of our youth, dishonoring the covenant of marriage and thereby bringing devastation to our seed -  the next generation.  As a result, the foundation of America is cracked and in dire need of restoration (Malachi 2:13-16).

Instead of offering the first fruits of our day to the Lord by seeking Him, Americans offer them to L.A. Fitness, Starbucks, USA Today, CNN, or Google, leaving the Lord with our crumbs.  We have failed to diligently seek His face in the first place, thereby forfeiting the reward of His presence and blessings over our lives (Malachi 1:7, 8, Psalm 63:1, Matthew 6:33, Hebrews 11:6).

Despite Old and New Testament prophets’ attempts at bringing transformation by preaching on tithing, divorce and prayer, we have not seen substantial change.  Why?  There is one common theme sewn throughout the fabric of Malachi that provides us the answer.

 

“If I am a Master, where is my reverence?” says the Lord of Hosts. (1:6)

 

“For I am a great King, says the Lord of Hosts, and My name is to be feared among the nations.” (1:14)

 

“I gave them (my covenant) to him (Levi) that he might fear Me; so he feared Me and was reverent before My name.” (2:5)

 

“I will come near you for judgment . . . because they do not fear Me, says the Lord of Hosts.” (3:5)

 

“A book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord . . .” (3:16)

 

“To you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.” (4:2)

 

Americans have lost their fear of God! Therefore, judgment is imminent.  Without the fear of God, we cannot humble ourselves, much less pray, seek His face or turn from our wicked ways.  The fear of the Lord is the key that enables us to hear His voice and unlocks the door to intimacy with Him (Revelation 3:20). 

 

“WE have lost OUR fear of god!   THEREFORE, JUDGMENT IS IMMINENT.”

 

Jesus Himself delighted in the fear of the Lord more than wisdom, understanding, council, might and knowledge.  He knew that the fear of the Lord was not only the key to these heavenly treasures, but also the secret to intimate communion with the Father.  Abraham, Enoch and Moses also walked in the fear of the Lord and as a result, experienced intimate friendship with the Master (Isaiah 11:1-3).

 

Isaiah 33:6 “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

 

Psalm 25:14 “Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear Him.  With them alone He shares the secrets of His promises.”  Living Bible

 

How much more can we, as Christians inhabited by the Holy Spirit, enjoy intimate fellowship with Him, if we will only surrender to and embrace the spirit of the fear of the Lord.

 

Riches, Honor and Life

 

The fear of the Lord not only opens the door to intimate fellowship with Him, but also allows us to purchase from the Lord the gold refined in the fire, white garments and eye salve prescribed in His address to the Laodiceans.  The book of Proverbs gives us even better insight into what these heavenly treasures are (Revelation 3:18).

 

Proverbs 22:4 “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor and life.”

 

Wisdom is the “gold refined in the fire” or heavenly riches obtained by walking in the fear of the Lord.  Wisdom is the principal thing.  Therefore, we must spare no expense in obtaining heavenly wisdom by embracing the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Indeed, through the fear of the Lord we exchange spiritual poverty for the spiritual riches of wisdom (Proverbs 4:7, 9:10).

 

Proverbs 8:18, 19 “Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold.”

 

The Lord clothes us in the “white garments” of honor when by the fear of the Lord we repent of and forsake evil.  Through the fear of the Lord, we exchange the shame of sin’s nakedness for honor.  Surely, the robe of righteousness is reserved for those who have cleansed themselves from the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (Isaiah 61:10, II Corinthians 7:1).

 

Proverbs 16:6 “By the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”

 

The eyes of our spiritual understanding are enlightened and His secrets revealed to us who fear Him. Through the fear of the Lord we exchange spiritual blindness for the Lord’s secrets that bring prophetic vision and life.  Without the Lord’s “eye salve” we remain blind to the His thoughts toward us that give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

 

Proverbs 25:14 “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him and He will show them His covenant.”

 

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelations of God], the people perish.”

 The Amplified Bible

 

My Messengers

 

Malachi in the Hebrew language means “My Messenger”.  The prophet Malachi prophesied of a coming messenger, who in the spirit of Elijah would prepare the way of the Lord, and turn the hearts of men back to God.

 

Malachi 3:1; 4:5, 6 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

 

John the Baptist was that messenger who fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy 400 years later.  John preached a bold message of repentance to prepare Israel for the coming of the Lord (Matthew 3:2).

Similarly, in these last days, the Lord is raising up a company of messengers, prophets who will preach an uncompromising message of repentance to a degenerate Church, in preparation for the greatest harvest of souls in history and the second coming of Christ.  As the spirit of judgment and burning accompanies the preaching of repentance, “the Lord, whom we seek, will suddenly come to His temple”.  Throughout America, “like a refiner’s fire”, He will “purge us as gold and silver that we may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:1:3).

It is crucial in this hour that the Church in our nation not only hears the Lord’s voice, but also humbly opens the door of intimacy to Him.  Only then will we be able to acknowledge our iniquity, and in the fear of the Lord turn from our wicked ways, that He might not only heal our hearts, but heal our land.  This is America’s last call.

 

Prayer:  Lord, forgive us for our apathy and complacency, and for loving money and sex more than You.  Grant us repentance to the acknowledgment of our depravity and send the spirit of judgment and burning to cleanse us of our iniquities.  We cry out for the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, that we might open the door to intimate fellowship with You.  Grant us Your fear, that we might purchase from You the refined riches of wisdom, the white garments of honor, and eye salve that we might see, in Jesus’ name, Amen.