On Twisting the Word of God
by Dene McGriff
Many of our readers are aware that Doug Krieger and I left a ministry after four decades of association with a dear brother. He has just written something new that I must respond to - not out of antipathy toward the brother or any sense of competition, but out of sadness and anger at the way he is misusing the Word of God and bringing guilt and condemnation to so many people.
I refer to an article, which is so cleverly written. One cannot argue with a single point because what he says is clearly backed by Scripture except for one thing. One of his two basic suppositions is wrong. First, he declares that all American Christians must flee America/Babylon in obedience to the scriptures. (Revelation 18:4) and second, he goes on and on to show how serious this is and that one should not argue with or go against God. This is very serious. I quote, "There's no room here for "playing around" with God's INSTRUCTIONS; no room for being haphazard with regard to them, for being casual in connection with them, for being slipshod or careless with their plain meaning, no matter how uncomfortable or difficult their implementation might be: Our very souls are at stake. Believe me when I say, if ever there was a time for being unequivocal with God, now is that time." The article goes on for pages along this vein and is all quite true except for the original premise.
There is no doubt that now is no time for playing games with God - that we are in the last days and this is serious business. We are entering a period that will be the "worst tribulation the world has ever seen" (Matt 24) with natural disasters, persecution and worse - just as the article says. However, our call is to overcome, to learn to hear the voice of our Lord and obey it - whatever He tells us to do, not to leave one geographic area for another.
Both Doug and I have dealt with this issue many times before. The most critical error is that he is referring to a verse in Revelation 18 that chronologically comes after the Tribulation and during the final judgments, in fact the last judgment. Please see the article on chronology for a complete explanation. The second thing wrong with this argument is that prophetic Babylon, although centered in the United States of America as the nation that dominates the world economically, militarily and even religiously (as a "Christian" nation with a mandate and "calling" from God), its reach extends to the entire western world, including Canada and Mexico. Third, his guilt by association argument - by living in the country, you are guilty of its sins, doesn't hold water either. Daniel was told to keep himself, not flee Babylon. Although what he says about Germany is true - most were compromised by their support of the Nazi's, still there were some who weren't, who overcame in the middle of that great persecution.
My greatest objection to this line of reasoning, and one of the main reasons I left that ministry, is that you can't paint all Christians with such a broad brush stroke. There is no doubt in my writings on this website that the American Church is about as close as you can get to the description of the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3. It is lukewarm while thinking it to be materially wealthy and not realizing that it is poor, blind and naked and in danger of being vomited out of the mouth of God! No doubt at all! But does God say "a pox on you all. Move out of the country while you have a chance" as this website urges. No, He says, "as many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent." (Rev. 3:19).
God's heart is big. He is not willing that any should perish. He offers everyone the opportunity to be an overcomer. But God looks on the heart - not whether we are circumcised or not, eat meat offered to idols, fellowship with unbelievers, live in Las Vegas or Mexico City. Whenever a ministry tries to tell you what to do, what God's will is for your life and uses one Bible verse to do it, you had better be careful. This is not to take away from the other 90 percent of the article. We must take God seriously. We must take prophecy seriously. Meanwhile, we must "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling."