Civil Government: Power, Nations, and Constitutional Order: War in the Gates

Marked For Death Governmental Destruction - Part 1 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2013-12-31

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines 2 Chronicles 36:10-17 to identify biblical marks indicating when a nation is under God's judgment and destined for destruction. He argues that God, as the sovereign judge of all nations, brings down governments and empires for their rebellion. The first mark is a failure to honor God's representatives—mocking and rejecting His preachers. The second is a failure of civil rulers to humble themselves under the Word of God. These two marks were evident in Judah before the Babylonian captivity and serve as warnings for any nation today.

[John Weaver] 2 Chronicles 36 verses 10 through 17. The title of the message, listen carefully, is Marked for Death, Governmental Destruction. And this will be the first part of a two-part series. So 2 Chronicles chapter 36, look in verse 10. And when the year was expired, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him, that is, Joachim, to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord and made Zedekiah his brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one in 20 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, his God and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear by God. but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen and polluted the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] And the Lord God of their father sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with a sword, and the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young men or maiden, old men or him that stooped for age.

[John Weaver] He gave them all into his hand." So the title of the message is marked for death. governmental destruction. Around 1990, Steven Seagal, the martial artist, made a movie which was entitled, Marked for Death. And it dealt with drugs and drug dealers, obviously, and drug running. And as I read this passage in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, the title of that old movie just simply popped in my mind marked for death, and it dawned on me that God in His sovereignty not only marks individuals for death, but He also marks governments and nations for death as well.

[John Weaver] The rise and fall of empires have been observed and recorded throughout history. No matter how great and how glorious some empires were, they are now gone, diminished, dissolved, and destroyed. So you could ask what has become of mighty Egypt. The Roman and Greek empires were magnificent and yet they're no more. The Persian and the Assyrian empires have vanished. And a few of the countries that still remain that were great in times past are now just simply mere shadows of their greatness. So have you ever wondered how empires, how governments, and how nations die? Historians will give many and varied reasons as to the death of governments and nations. However, from a biblical and theological standpoint, all nations dissipate, dissolve, and die due to their rebellion against God.

[John Weaver] He is the judge of all the earth. Men are not only judged in time and history, but they're also judged in eternity. Nations are made up of individuals. But nations do not have souls per se. They are not necessarily punished in eternity. So therefore they are punished in time and in history. You have to remember that God is the judge of all the earth. And governments, empires and nations are just as accountable and answerable to God as individuals are. Let me just give you a few verses. Psalm 22 and verse 28 says this, For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is governor among the nations. Notice God is called the governor among the nations. In Psalm 66 and verse 7 the Bible says, He ruleth by His power forever. His eyes behold the nations, Let not the rebellious exalt themselves." So God is not only the governor of the nations, His eyes behold the nations. So God then is the sole judge in determining sickness or health concerning a nation, or determining life and death concerning a nation.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold 2 Chronicles 36. But I want you to look in the book of Job very quickly and hold the book of Job because there are several passages I want you to see in this book. But in Job chapter 12 and verse 23, there's a very interesting verse. Job 12, verse 23. Look what Job says. Job 12, verse 23, in talking about God, he says, He, God, increaseth the nations and destroyeth them. He enlarges the nations and straighteneth them again. So God then is the sole judge of the earth. It is God who increases. It is God who decreases. It is God who brings them to largeness or it's God who straightens them.

[John Weaver] The Bible declares in Psalm 147 in verse 6, The Lord lifted up the meek, but He casteth the wicked down to the ground. Now let me give you an interesting passage. Did you know that God is called the King of Nations? In Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 7, the scripture says this, Who would not fear Thee, O King of Nations? For to Thee it doth appertain. For as much as among all the wise men of the nations and all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee. But notice what He said, Who would not fear Thee, O King of Nations? For to thee it doth appertain." What appertains to God? Literally everything.

[John Weaver] Especially the life and death of a nation. Most of you can probably quote Psalm 75 verses 5 through 7. If you can't, I want you to turn there just momentarily. So hold the book of Job, but turn right over to the book of Psalms and look at Psalm 75. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Psalm 75 and verse 5. I want you to note particularly the power that is ascribed to God. And notice if you would also how that power is applied. So Psalm 75, notice verse 5. God says, lift not up your horn on high.

[John Weaver] Speak not with a stiff neck. That is, don't be rebellious. Why? For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge. He put it down one and set it up another. So God is the judge. God is the one that puts down one and sets up another. That is true individually. That is also true governmentally. It is also true nationally.

[John Weaver] Now if you'll look back in your Bibles to Job 12. Job 12 and let's begin reading now with verse 13 and read through verse 23 that I quoted earlier. Job chapter 12 and let's begin reading with verse 13. So we're talking about God. Notice if you would verse 13. With Him is wisdom and strength. He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, He, God, breaketh down, and it cannot be built again.

[John Weaver] He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up. Also He sendeth them out, and they overrun the earth, or overturn the earth. With Him is strength and wisdom, the deceived and the deceiver are His. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled. He maketh the judges fools. He's done a mighty good job in that. Watch verse 18. He looseth the bonds of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and wickeneth the strength of the mighty.

[John Weaver] He discovered the deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them. He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again." I want you to note in the context, this is all the power of God, and it is all the doing of God. God is the one who is doing this.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to turn to Job 34, and look at verse 29. Job 34. And notice verse 29. Look what the Bible says concerning God. This would apply individually, governmentally, ecclesiastically, nationally, any way you want to apply it. It's the same truth. Job 34 verse 29, When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hideth His face, now watch, who then can behold Him?

[John Weaver] whether it be done against a nation or against a man only. So, the question is asked, when God gives quietness, who can make trouble? The answer is no one. And when God hides His face, who can behold Him? Whether it is done nationally or whether it's done individually, it does not matter. You see, our founding fathers and those individuals who established this country, understood this principle. That God is in absolute control, not only of individuals, but of governments and nations as well. You remember Benjamin Franklin was the oldest man at the Constitutional Convention. I think he was 81 if I remember correctly. You know Benjamin Franklin is always called a deist. And Benjamin Franklin used to love to hear George Whitefield preach. In fact, he would walk or ride, whatever the case may be, for miles just to hear Whitefield preach. And Benjamin Franklin is held up as a deist. And a deist is someone that believes that God created the world and kind of wound it up like a clock and just sits back and never intervenes until the clock runs down.

[John Weaver] Listen to what Benjamin Franklin said. at the Constitutional Convention. He said, addressing George Washington and the convention, in the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence, we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity.

[John Weaver] And have we forgotten that powerful friend? I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. And I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.

[John Weaver] We shall be divided by our little partial local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse? Mankind may, hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest. Listen, I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings upon our deliberations be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business and that one or more of the clergy of the city be requested to officiate in that service. And do you realize it's from this request that down through the ages, there's been prayer every day before our Congress. is in session.

[John Weaver] Unhappily, they have left the men of God and now have Muslims and everyone else in there. But this principle was established at that particular time. Because our founding fathers understood that God does build nations. He also destroys them. When you look at our text in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, God is going to destroy the nation of Judah. He's going to destroy the southern kingdom. He's going to bring that kingdom to its knees exactly as He did the northern kingdom. Death, devastation, and destruction is going to reign over the land for 70 years because of Judah's rebellion against God. If you look in 2 Chronicles 36 verses 20 and 21, note what happens. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 20, And them that had escaped from the sword, carried he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths. For as long as she lay desolate, she kept sabbaths, to fulfill three score and ten years so for 70 years the land was desolate there was death reigning there was destruction reigning because people had been killed by the thousands upon thousands and the survivors were carried into Babylon into captivity and just a

[John Weaver] few just a handful of the poorest of the people were left in the land. Now I asked you earlier Have you ever wondered how governments, empires, and nations die? I would also ask you this. Have you ever asked or considered to ask, are there any discernible marks upon a nation that is marked for death? I could ask this another way. How can we tell when a government or a nation is in its death throes?

[John Weaver] You look at one of your family members that's dying. He gets weaker and weaker. And then usually a day or two before death, they get what is known as the death rattle. in their throats, difficulty breathing, fluid filling up their lungs. And we know when we hear that death rattle that it's just a matter of time. Well, the answer is yes, there are marks that clearly indicate when a nation is marked for death. There are five marks given in our text. I'm only going to cover two of them today. Before I get started, I want you to remember this, that God is immutable. He does not change.

[John Weaver] And I might add, neither do his judgments. They're the same from generation to generation, and therefore, The marks of destruction are also the same. So when you see these marks, you may know for a certainty that that government, that nation, is marked for death.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you the first mark. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 12. We're reading about King Zedekiah. Verse 11 tells you that Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years. Now watch verse 12. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. Here it is. The first mark of death for a government or for a nation is a failure to honor God's representatives. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet.

[John Weaver] Now listen carefully what I'm about to tell you. Like it or not, believe it or not, God does have his preachers and he does have his representatives. And the scripture teaches us that a true and faithful man of God represents the king of kings and he is an ambassador and a representative of God's eternal kingdom. So he is an ambassador for the highest unto which all must be judged. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said concerning himself and the preachers of his time?

[John Weaver] He said this in 2 Corinthians 5 in verse 20. Listen carefully.

[John Weaver] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us, we pray ye in God's stead be you reconciled unto God. Notice what he said. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ. Yes. Diplomats. Representatives of Christ. And he said, moreover, as though God did beseech you by us. We're here in God's stead. We're here as God's representatives. We pray you in Christ's stead. We also represent Christ being reconciled unto God. So Jeremiah then was God's representative. He was God's ambassador. He was God's prophet. So here's the first thing I want you to notice from verse 12. King Zedekiah did that which was evil and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet.

[John Weaver] Now you've got to remember something. In order to repent and turn from evil, one must humble himself. The opposite of humility is pride. You remember Proverbs 16 and verse 18? The Bible said pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. So why then would Zedekiah not humble himself before Jeremiah? Well, the answer is pride. You see, Zedekiah thought like this, I have the power. I have the prestige. I have the throne. And in his mind, his little puny, finite kingdom and throne and power was far greater than that of Jeremiah and far greater than that of the God that Jeremiah represented. Consequently then, Zedekiah disdained Jeremiah and paid no attention to his admonitions or to his preaching. I want you to kind of underline this in your mind.

[John Weaver] When God's preachers are mocked, ridiculed, despised, and rejected, it is a mark of destruction. So you're going to ask me, how is that a mark of destruction? Well, let me tell you what our Lord said in John 13. In fact, turn there, hold 2 Chronicles. I want you to see this. Look in John chapter 13 and verse 20. John 13 and verse 20. Look at what our Lord said. A very interesting verse. John 13 verse 20. Look what our Lord said. Our Lord says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. Now, what did our Lord say? He said, if you receive me, you receive him that sent me, that is the Father. And if you receive whomever I send, you receive me.

[John Weaver] Now, the opposite is also true. We could aptly read this, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that rejecteth whomsoever I send, rejecteth me. And he that rejecteth me, rejecteth him that sent me. Same truth. Truly a nation's attitude or a government's attitude toward the preachers of the Most High God is indicative of the state of the nation as well as being indicative of the state of the hearts of individuals. So if you'll go back to 2 Chronicles 36 and look at verse 16, notice if you would just the first phrase, but they mocked the messengers of God. They mocked the messengers of God. If you read the book of Jeremiah, you'll find that Jeremiah was mocked, he was ridiculed, he was threatened, He was thrown into a dungeon and left to die. Yet God had sovereignly ordained Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. I want you to turn, hold 2 Chronicles, but I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 1. I want to show you two verses.

[John Weaver] And I want you to think about this because it's very important in light of what's happening today. Look in Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 10, and remember we're talking about Mark for destruction. Jeremiah 1 and verse 10, I'm sorry, verse 5 it is first. Jeremiah 1 verse 5. Look what God tells Jeremiah. He says, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. So God chose Jeremiah before he was ever born. Before he was ever conceived, God knew him, God chose him. He says, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, watch, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Wow. Now skip down to verse 10. Look what God says to Jeremiah. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, now watch, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build and to plant.

[John Weaver] So Jeremiah had three times as much destructive work to do before he could begin to accomplish any of his restructive work or reconstruction. See, what many people do not perceive is this, before any nation can be rebuilt, All that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed. And the problem we run into is this, those who have erected their petty kingdoms upon humanism do not wish to have their little kingdom and their little work destroyed, yet it must be done in order to accomplish and to build on a solid foundation. When you consider that we in this country, we in this nation, when you consider how far away we have traveled down the paths of rebellion, and how we have erected the kingdom of man and built our own little tower of Babel, it should not surprise us to try to comprehend the amount of work that must be done in order to restore ourselves in light of God's law and the totality of His word.

[John Weaver] Every one of you have heard these slogans. Reclaim America. Let's take America back. Let's restore America to her greatness. Let me tell you something. You can never take America back. You can never restore her. You can never reclaim her unless you're going to tear down all of the humanistic edifices that have been built and come again and build on the solid foundation of God's law and God's word. And you've got to consider the fact that our nation right now as a whole despises God's preachers. It is also true that our nation as a whole despises God's chief preacher and prophet and king, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Do you remember in Isaiah 53 and verse 5? He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed Him not. He is still just as despised today as He was in Isaiah 53.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold 2 Chronicles, but I do want you to turn over to Matthew chapter 21. Because I want you to see, and I want you to remember now that God has destroyed Judah and Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles. I want you to understand he had already previously destroyed the northern kingdom and put them into Assyria. Now, in Matthew 21, I want you to notice what our Lord says beginning there with verse 33. And he's speaking to the rulers in Jerusalem. Watch. Matthew 21, verse 33. Hear another parable.

[John Weaver] There was a certain householder which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the first.

[John Weaver] And they did unto them likewise. But the last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and let us seize upon his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. Now what's the question? When the Lord, therefore, of that vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They said unto him, he will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen which shall render unto him the fruits in their due seasons.

[John Weaver] Jesus said unto them, did you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. This is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you. And it was. And given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. Watch. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

[John Weaver] And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. You got it, bub? The light came on. And what did he do in 70 AD? He wiped them out. What was the mark of destruction? They rejected the chief prophet, priest, and king, the chief preacher of the Lord Jesus, and they rejected those whom He sent. And He destroyed them.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to listen. The Father sent His Son. The Son sends His preachers. I want you to look in your Bibles to John 5. John 5 and verses 22 and 23. I know I've already told you this, but I'm telling it to you again. I want you to understand this point. Look in John 5, verse 22. The Bible says, For the Father judgeth no man, but hath commanded or hath committed all judgment to the Son. Why? Why has the Son been given the authority to judge everything? Here's why. That all men should honor the Son even as or equally as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent Him.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. If it is true that if you despise the Son, you despise the Father. because the Father sent the Son. Is it not equally true that if you despise the preachers that God the Son sends, you despise God the Son? I pointed it out already in John 13 in verse 20 when our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth them that sent me.

[John Weaver] Now one may read through the Bible and notice all through the Old Testament and the New Testament, how governments and nations die when they persecute, prosecute, ignore, and disdain the preachers and the representatives of the Most High God. I want to give you two examples. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles, but look in Jeremiah 7 first. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7, and let's begin reading there with verse 25. Jeremiah 7 and verse 25. Look what God says. Jeremiah 7 verses 25 through 28. God says, Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.

[John Weaver] Yet they hearken not unto me, nor incline their ear, but hearten their neck, and did worse than their fathers, Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them, but they will not hearken to thee. Thou shalt also call on them, but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, this is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction.

[John Weaver] Truth is perished and is cut off from their mouth. What did God do to them? God judged them. Why? Because they received not his prophets. They did not humble themselves before the preachers of God. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 26. Very quickly, Jeremiah 26. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 4. Jeremiah 26 and verse 4. Here it is. Jeremiah 26 verse 4, And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, If you will not hearken to me to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants, the prophets whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them.

[John Weaver] But you have not hearkened, that I will make this house like Shiloh and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Now it came to pass when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him, speaking to the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, And this city shall be desolate without inhabitant. And all the people were gathered together against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house in the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets and the princes to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die, for he hath prophesied against this city, as you've heard with your ears.

[John Weaver] Then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you've heard. Therefore now mend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he pronounced against you. And it's for me, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you, but know for a certainty, if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon the city and upon the inhabitants thereof for of a truth The Lord has sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." I want you to notice, they still did not listen to Jeremiah.

[John Weaver] So the very first mark that God gives us when a government or a nation is marked for death is the mark of their disdain and despisement of God's preachers and God's ambassadors. I'm not talking about the hirelings now. I'm not talking about the men who are Mama called and Papa sent. I'm talking about the ones that God has ordained to preach and teach His Word. So the first mark of death is a rejection and a refusal to hear God's preachers.

[John Weaver] Secondly, I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 12 Here's the second thing in this verse. Watch. We're talking about King Zedekiah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. So the second mark of death for a government or a nation is a failure of civil rulers to humble themselves under the word of God. Not just under the preacher of God, but under the Word of God. Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 12. They did not humble themselves before Jeremiah the prophet.

[John Weaver] But here is why it was such an atrocious offense. Because he was speaking from the mouth of the Lord. The words were not those of Jeremiah. The commands were not those of Jeremiah. They were the words of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. So put it down like this. God's word is not just simply good advice that men, government, and nations may accept or reject at their pleasure. The truth is they despise and reject His word at their peril and at their destruction. Let me just read some verses.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen. Isaiah 1 and verse 10. Listen. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. He's talking to Jerusalem. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear unto the Lord of our God, you people of Gomorrah. He calls Judah and Jerusalem, Sodom and Gomorrah. But he says, hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear unto the Lord of our God, you people of Gomorrah. In Isaiah 28 verse 14, Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. What did God call the scornful men?

[John Weaver] But what did they do? They ruled the people in Jerusalem. in Jeremiah 17 and verse 20, and say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that enter in by these gates. Notice what he said, Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah. He's talking to the civil rulers. Jeremiah 19 and verse 3, and say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, The witch whosoever heareth his ear shall tingle. But notice he's talking of civil rulers. In Jeremiah 21 verse 11, And touching the house of the king of Judah say, Hear ye the word of the Lord. Wow. Do you realize that God not only expects, God demands and commands civil rulers to listen to him. He ordained government. He established rulers. They are obligated to listen to Him. They're answerable to Him.

[John Weaver] They are accountable to Him. Now I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles 36. I want you to see how these two things work together. Look if you would please in verse 15, 2nd Chronicles 36 in verse 15. Help me out now. Watch. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending because he had compassion on his people, on his dwelling place. Now stop there. Whenever God is going to have compassion upon his people, what does he do?

[John Weaver] He sends them a preacher. He sends them His messengers. He's going to instruct them. He's going to teach them. So you have to put it down very pointedly in your mind and in your heart. God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His truth. By sending His Word. Okay?

[John Weaver] Now I want you to notice what happened. Look in verse 16. the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, till there was no remedy." Now watch. There was no remedy. "...Therefore He brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age, He gave them all into His hand." Now I want you to go back to verse 16. See this tied together. Now watch. But they mocked the messengers of God. Note messengers is plural. Skip down and notice and misused His prophets. Prophets is plural. Now go back. Watch this. But they mocked the messengers, plural, of God and despised His, that is singular, God's words. and misused His prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people till there was no remedy. Do you see that in verse 12? What did Zedekiah do?

[John Weaver] He refused to humble himself before Jeremiah, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. He not only despised Jeremiah, he despised the Word of God. It is not It is not the preacher's words, it is God's words. And the Bible says, they despised his preachers and mocked his messengers and despised his words till there was no remedy. Therefore, he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword of the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion upon young man or maiden or old man or him that stooped rage, He gave them all into His hands." What did He do? He wiped them out.

[John Weaver] Whenever you have a civil government, whenever you have a nation, that refuses to honor God's preachers, and refuses to humble themselves before the Word of God, put it down, here are two marks for certain destruction. Ahab wouldn't listen to Elijah. What happened to Ahab and Jezebel? What happened to Israel? Over and over in the Bible, this is true. Governments, nations are marked for death when they refuse to honor the men of God and humble themselves at the Word of God. The result in Judah and Jerusalem here was total destruction for rebelling against God. And it all began with the despisement of their preachers and refusal to hear and obey the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now let me make some applications. I want you to listen carefully. First of all, you should know this. I've already said it. But underline it in your heart. Atlanta, Georgia, the capital of the state of Georgia, is responsible to and accountable and answerable to God. And they will give an account. Those politicians. Washington, D.C. is answerable and accountable to God, and they will give an answer.

[John Weaver] You're going to see some more marks next week. And how big of an account many of our so-called politicians are going to give. Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God. He's answerable. He's accountable. He's responsible. And I will tell you this, you just stop and think of the millions of men and women and children that have been killed in wars that were useless and worthless except for the benefit of the military industrial complex and the oil companies Are you talking about blood on politicians' hands? They will answer.

[John Weaver] The second application is this. It is our responsibility to declare the truth. It is their responsibility to hear and heed the truth. One thing that is really a frustration for any true preacher is this. I can tell you the truth, but I cannot make you obey the truth. I cannot obey for you. I cannot do right for you. If you do not obey, if you do not hear, if you do not heed, God is going to destroy you. I have seen countless numbers of divorces just because either one or both would not listen. I've seen young people thrown in prison Because they would not listen. I've seen teenagers and children suffer. Why? They thought they knew more than mom and dad, the preacher and everybody else. And they would not listen.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn to the book of Hosea, if you would please. Right after Daniel, you have Hosea. I want you to look first of all at Hosea 7 and verse 13. Hosea 7 and verse 13. I want you to look at this verse. Hosea 7 verse 13. Look what God says.

[John Weaver] Now remember, He's talking about Israel. Okay? Look what He says. Hosea 7 verse 13. Woe unto them, for they have fled from Me. Destruction unto them, because they have transgressed against Me. Though I've redeemed them, yet they've spoken lies against Me." Now, look back at verse 1. When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria. So we're talking about Israel. So go back to verse 13. Now look. Woe unto them, for they have fled from Me. Destruction unto them, because they've transgressed against Me. Though I've redeemed them, I've brought them out of the land of Egypt, yet they have spoken lies against Me."

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question, folks. If God will bring destruction upon His own professing people for their rebellion against Him, how much more easily and readily and willingly will He destroy the wicked for their rebellion?

[John Weaver] You can mark her down. There are evidences, there are manifestations, there are signs when a government, when a nation is marked for death. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hosea 4 and verse 1. Hosea 4 and verse 1. Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel. For the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." Wow! God has a controversy. God has a controversy not with just the civil rulers, but with the inhabitants of the land. Why? Because most of the inhabitants of this country, just like Israel of old, are just as ignorant of God and His truth as are our civil rulers.

[John Weaver] God has a controversy. Let me tell you something. If you are not humbled and repentant and obedient and bringing your life continually and constantly and conformity to the Word of God, you're part of the problem and not solution. God requires obedience from you. God requires that you speak the truth and show mercy and share the knowledge of God. So he says the Lord has a controversy with the children of Israel and with the inhabitants of the land because there's no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land. And I will tell you this, folks, when you speak the truth, most people do not want to hear it.

[John Weaver] Most will despise it and reject it. But one thing you must remember, some will hear and some will heed. And no matter how few or small that number is, that it's still our responsibility to declare the word. It's our responsibility to preach and teach the truth if no one ever hears and if no one ever heeds. and no one ever obeys. But we must make sure that we hear, we heed, and we obey.

[John Weaver] Is our government, is our nation marked for death? Well, you just heard two of the marks. The other three will be next week, Lord willing. Unless we do, like Jeremiah said, repent and amend our ways and our doings, certain destruction will fall. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We are so thankful for Your love, for Your grace, for Your mercy, for Your goodness, Your kindness. Help us, O Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, to repent, to be humble, to submit, and Lord, once we learn the truth, to speak the truth. Lord, we pray for those on our prayer list. Lord, so many in need. And Lord, we pray for our nation, for our country.

[John Weaver] Lord, God, that you'd open our eyes, open our ears, and grant us repentance. And as David said, turn us, O God, and we shall be turned. Turn us, O God, and cause Thy face to smile upon us, and we shall be saved. Give us grace, Lord, to honor Thee in all that we say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Marked For Death Governmental Destruction - Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	TDM5mgVAe8o
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Power, Nations, and Constitutional Order: War in the Gates
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-12-31
Dictation Name
Book	Book 016: Marked for Death - Governmental Destruction — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	66

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: God Judges Nations

Weaver introduces the topic by reading 2 Chronicles 36:10-17 and explains that God marks governments and nations for death due to rebellion, just as He does individuals.

2 Chronicles 36, verses 10 through 17. The title of the message, listen carefully, is "Marked for Death: Governmental Destruction." And this will be the first part of a two-part series. So 2 Chronicles chapter 36, look in verse 10:

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:10-17

"And when the year was expired, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him"

—that is, Jehoiachin—

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:10-17

"to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem." "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age." "He gave them all into his hand."

So the title of the message is "Marked for Death: Governmental Destruction." Around 1990, Steven Seagal, the martial artist, made a movie which was entitled "Marked for Death." And it dealt with drugs and drug dealers, obviously, and drug running. And as I read this passage in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, the title of that old movie just simply popped in my mind: "Marked for Death." And it dawned on me that God in His sovereignty not only marks individuals for death, but He also marks governments and nations for death as well.

The Rise and Fall of Empires

Historical examples of fallen empires (Egypt, Rome, Greece, Persia, Assyria) are given to show that all nations die because of rebellion against God, who is the governor and judge of all nations.

The rise and fall of empires have been observed and recorded throughout history. No matter how great and how glorious some empires were, they are now gone, diminished, dissolved, and destroyed. So you could ask, what has become of mighty Egypt? The Roman and Greek empires were magnificent, and yet they're no more. The Persian and the Assyrian empires have vanished. And a few of the countries that still remain that were great in times past are now just simply mere shadows of their greatness. So have you ever wondered how empires, how governments, and how nations die? Historians will give many and varied reasons as to the death of governments and nations. However, from a biblical and theological standpoint, all nations dissipate, dissolve, and die due to their rebellion against God.

He is the judge of all the earth. Men are not only judged in time and history, but they're also judged in eternity. Nations are made up of individuals. But nations do not have souls per se. They are not necessarily punished in eternity. So therefore they are punished in time and in history. You have to remember that God is the judge of all the earth. And governments, empires, and nations are just as accountable and answerable to God as individuals are. Let me just give you a few verses. Psalm 22 and verse 28 says this: "For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is governor among the nations." Notice God is called the governor among the nations. In Psalm 66 and verse 7 the Bible says, "He ruleth by His power forever; His eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves." So God is not only the governor of the nations, His eyes behold the nations. So God then is the sole judge in determining sickness or health concerning a nation, or determining life and death concerning a nation.

God's Sovereignty Over Nations

Scriptural evidence (Psalm 22:28, Psalm 66:7, Job 12:23, Jeremiah 10:7, Psalm 75:5-7, Job 12:13-23, Job 34:29) demonstrates that God increases and destroys nations, sets up and puts down rulers, and governs all affairs.

I want you to hold 2 Chronicles 36. But I want you to look in the book of Job very quickly and hold the book of Job because there are several passages I want you to see in this book. But in Job chapter 12 and verse 23, there's a very interesting verse. Job 12, verse 23. Look what Job says. Job 12, verse 23, in talking about God, he says, "He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again." So God then is the sole judge of the earth. It is God who increases. It is God who decreases. It is God who brings them to largeness, or it's God who straightens them.

Scripture Reading — Job 12:23

The Bible declares in Psalm 147 in verse 6, "The Lord lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground." Now let me give you an interesting passage. Did you know that God is called the King of Nations? In Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 7, the scripture says this: "Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee." But notice what He said: "Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain." What appertains to God? Literally everything. Especially the life and death of a nation. Most of you can probably quote Psalm 75 verses 5 through 7. If you can't, I want you to turn there just momentarily. So hold the book of Job, but turn right over to the book of Psalms and look at Psalm 75. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Psalm 75 and verse 5. I want you to note particularly the power that is ascribed to God. And notice if you would also how that power is applied. So Psalm 75, notice verse 5. God says, "Lift not up your horn on high."

"Speak not with a stiff neck." That is, don't be rebellious. Why? "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another." So God is the judge. God is the one that puts down one and sets up another. That is true individually. That is also true governmentally. It is also true nationally.

Now if you'll look back in your Bibles to Job 12. Job 12 and let's begin reading now with verse 13 and read through verse 23 that I quoted earlier. Job chapter 12 and let's begin reading with verse 13. So we're talking about God. Notice if you would verse 13:

Scripture Reading — Job 12:13-23

"With Him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again." "He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With Him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are His. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools."

He's done a mighty good job in that. Watch verse 18:

Scripture Reading — Job 12:13-23

"He looseth the bonds of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty." "He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again."

I want you to note in the context, this is all the power of God, and it is all the doing of God. God is the one who is doing this. Now I want you to turn to Job 34, and look at verse 29. Job 34. And notice verse 29. Look what the Bible says concerning God. This would apply individually, governmentally, ecclesiastically, nationally, any way you want to apply it. It's the same truth. Job 34 verse 29: "When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hideth His face, who then can behold Him?"

"Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only." So, the question is asked, when God gives quietness, who can make trouble? The answer is no one. And when God hides His face, who can behold Him? Whether it is done nationally or whether it's done individually, it does not matter. You see, our founding fathers and those individuals who established this country understood this principle. That God is in absolute control, not only of individuals, but of governments and nations as well. You remember Benjamin Franklin was the oldest man at the Constitutional Convention. I think he was 81 if I remember correctly. You know Benjamin Franklin is always called a deist. And Benjamin Franklin used to love to hear George Whitefield preach. In fact, he would walk or ride, whatever the case may be, for miles just to hear Whitefield preach. And Benjamin Franklin is held up as a deist. And a deist is someone that believes that God created the world and kind of wound it up like a clock and just sits back and never intervenes until the clock runs down.

Historical Acknowledgment: Benjamin Franklin's Testimony

Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention is cited to show that the founding fathers recognized God's governance over nations and the necessity of prayer and divine aid.

Listen to what Benjamin Franklin said at the Constitutional Convention. He said, addressing George Washington and the convention, "In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence, we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity." "And have we forgotten that powerful friend? I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. And I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel."

"We shall be divided by our little partial local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse? Mankind may, hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest. Listen, I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings upon our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of the city be requested to officiate in that service." And do you realize it's from this request that down through the ages, there's been prayer every day before our Congress is in session. Unhappily, they have left the men of God and now have Muslims and everyone else in there. But this principle was established at that particular time. Because our founding fathers understood that God does build nations. He also destroys them. When you look at our text in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, God is going to destroy the nation of Judah. He's going to destroy the southern kingdom. He's going to bring that kingdom to its knees exactly as He did the northern kingdom. Death, devastation, and destruction is going to reign over the land for 70 years because of Judah's rebellion against God. If you look in 2 Chronicles 36 verses 20 and 21, note what happens. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 20: "And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years." So for 70 years the land was desolate. There was death reigning. There was destruction reigning because people had been killed by the thousands upon thousands, and the survivors were carried into Babylon into captivity, and just a

Judah's Destruction as a Case Study

The destruction of Judah and the 70-year captivity (2 Chronicles 36:20-21) are presented as the direct result of rebellion, setting the stage for identifying the marks of a nation marked for death.

few, just a handful of the poorest of the people, were left in the land. Now I asked you earlier, have you ever wondered how governments, empires, and nations die? I would also ask you this. Have you ever asked or considered to ask, are there any discernible marks upon a nation that is marked for death? I could ask this another way. How can we tell when a government or a nation is in its death throes?

Mark 1: Failure to Honor God's Representatives

The first mark is despising and rejecting God's preachers. Zedekiah did not humble himself before Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36:12). Rejecting God's messengers is rejecting God Himself (John 13:20).

Now, let me give you the first mark. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 12. We're reading about King Zedekiah. Verse 11 tells you that Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years. Now watch verse 12:

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:12

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord."

Here it is. The first mark of death for a government or for a nation is a failure to honor God's representatives. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet.

Now listen carefully what I'm about to tell you. Like it or not, believe it or not, God does have His preachers and He does have His representatives. And the scripture teaches us that a true and faithful man of God represents the King of kings and he is an ambassador and a representative of God's eternal kingdom. So he is an ambassador for the highest unto which all must be judged. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said concerning himself and the preachers of his time? He said this in 2 Corinthians 5 in verse 20. Listen carefully.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Notice what he said. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ." Yes. Diplomats. Representatives of Christ. And he said, moreover, "as though God did beseech you by us." We're here in God's stead. We're here as God's representatives. "We pray you in Christ's stead." We also represent Christ, "be ye reconciled to God." So Jeremiah then was God's representative. He was God's ambassador. He was God's prophet. So here's the first thing I want you to notice from verse 12. King Zedekiah did that which was evil and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet.

Now you've got to remember something. In order to repent and turn from evil, one must humble himself. The opposite of humility is pride. You remember Proverbs 16 and verse 18? The Bible said,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:18

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

So why then would Zedekiah not humble himself before Jeremiah? Well, the answer is pride. You see, Zedekiah thought like this: I have the power. I have the prestige. I have the throne. And in his mind, his little puny, finite kingdom and throne and power was far greater than that of Jeremiah and far greater than that of the God that Jeremiah represented. Consequently then, Zedekiah disdained Jeremiah and paid no attention to his admonitions or to his preaching. I want you to kind of underline this in your mind.

When God's preachers are mocked, ridiculed, despised, and rejected, it is a mark of destruction. So you're going to ask me, how is that a mark of destruction? Well, let me tell you what our Lord said in John 13. In fact, turn there, hold 2 Chronicles. I want you to see this. Look in John chapter 13 and verse 20. John 13 and verse 20. Look at what our Lord said. A very interesting verse. John 13 verse 20. Look what our Lord said. Our Lord says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." Now, what did our Lord say? He said, if you receive me, you receive him that sent me, that is the Father. And if you receive whomever I send, you receive me.

Now, the opposite is also true. We could aptly read this, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that rejecteth whomsoever I send rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent me." Same truth. Truly a nation's attitude or a government's attitude toward the preachers of the Most High God is indicative of the state of the nation as well as being indicative of the state of the hearts of individuals. So if you'll go back to 2 Chronicles 36 and look at verse 16, notice if you would just the first phrase: "But they mocked the messengers of God." They mocked the messengers of God. If you read the book of Jeremiah, you'll find that Jeremiah was mocked, he was ridiculed, he was threatened. He was thrown into a dungeon and left to die. Yet God had sovereignly ordained Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. I want you to turn, hold 2 Chronicles, but I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 1. I want to show you two verses.

And I want you to think about this because it's very important in light of what's happening today. Look in Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 10—I'm sorry, verse 5 it is first. Jeremiah 1 verse 5. Look what God tells Jeremiah. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:5, 10

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee."

So God chose Jeremiah before he was ever born. Before he was ever conceived, God knew him, God chose him. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:5, 10

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,"

watch,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:5, 10

"and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

Wow. Now skip down to verse 10. Look what God says to Jeremiah: "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms," now watch, "to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant."

So Jeremiah had three times as much destructive work to do before he could begin to accomplish any of his reconstructive work or reconstruction. See, what many people do not perceive is this: before any nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed. And the problem we run into is this: those who have erected their petty kingdoms upon humanism do not wish to have their little kingdom and their little work destroyed, yet it must be done in order to accomplish and to build on a solid foundation. When you consider that we in this country, we in this nation, when you consider how far away we have traveled down the paths of rebellion, and how we have erected the kingdom of man and built our own little tower of Babel, it should not surprise us to try to comprehend the amount of work that must be done in order to restore ourselves in light of God's law and the totality of His word.

Every one of you have heard these slogans: "Reclaim America." "Let's take America back." "Let's restore America to her greatness." Let me tell you something. You can never take America back. You can never restore her. You can never reclaim her unless you're going to tear down all of the humanistic edifices that have been built and come again and build on the solid foundation of God's law and God's word. And you've got to consider the fact that our nation right now as a whole despises God's preachers. It is also true that our nation as a whole despises God's chief preacher and prophet and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember in Isaiah 53 and verse 5? "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." He is still just as despised today as He was in Isaiah 53.

Now, I want you to hold 2 Chronicles, but I do want you to turn over to Matthew chapter 21. Because I want you to see, and I want you to remember now that God has destroyed Judah and Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles. I want you to understand he had already previously destroyed the northern kingdom and put them into Assyria. Now, in Matthew 21, I want you to notice what our Lord says beginning there with verse 33. And he's speaking to the rulers in Jerusalem. Watch. Matthew 21, verse 33: "Hear another parable."

"There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first." "And they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons."

"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you," and it was, "and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. You got it, bub? The light came on. And what did he do in 70 AD? He wiped them out. What was the mark of destruction? They rejected the chief prophet, priest, and king, the chief preacher, the Lord Jesus, and they rejected those whom He sent. And He destroyed them.

Now I want you to listen. The Father sent His Son. The Son sends His preachers. I want you to look in your Bibles to John 5. John 5 and verses 22 and 23. I know I've already told you this, but I'm telling it to you again. I want you to understand this point. Look in John 5, verse 22. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

Why? Why has the Son been given the authority to judge everything? Here's why:

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

Now let me ask you a question. If it is true that if you despise the Son, you despise the Father, because the Father sent the Son, is it not equally true that if you despise the preachers that God the Son sends, you despise God the Son? I pointed it out already in John 13 in verse 20 when our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." Now one may read through the Bible and notice all through the Old Testament and the New Testament, how governments and nations die when they persecute, prosecute, ignore, and disdain the preachers and the representatives of the Most High God. I want to give you two examples. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles, but look in Jeremiah 7 first. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7, and let's begin reading there with verse 25. Jeremiah 7 and verse 25. Look what God says. Jeremiah 7 verses 25 through 28. God says, "Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:25-28

"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction." "Truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth."

What did God do to them? God judged them. Why? Because they received not his prophets. They did not humble themselves before the preachers of God. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 26. Very quickly, Jeremiah 26. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 4. Jeremiah 26 and verse 4. Here it is. Jeremiah 26 verse 4:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:25-28

"And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 26:4-15

"But ye have not hearkened: therefore I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears." "Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for a certainty, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears."

I want you to notice, they still did not listen to Jeremiah.

So the very first mark that God gives us when a government or a nation is marked for death is the mark of their disdain and despising of God's preachers and God's ambassadors. I'm not talking about the hirelings now. I'm not talking about the men who are Mama called and Papa sent. I'm talking about the ones that God has ordained to preach and teach His Word. So the first mark of death is a rejection and a refusal to hear God's preachers.

Mark 2: Failure of Civil Rulers to Humble Themselves Under God's Word

The second mark is civil rulers refusing to submit to God's Word. Zedekiah rejected Jeremiah's message because it was from the mouth of the Lord (2 Chronicles 36:12). Despising God's words leads to destruction.

Secondly, I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 12. Here's the second thing in this verse. Watch. We're talking about King Zedekiah. "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord." So the second mark of death for a government or a nation is a failure of civil rulers to humble themselves under the word of God. Not just under the preacher of God, but under the Word of God. Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 12. They did not humble themselves before Jeremiah the prophet.

But here is why it was such an atrocious offense. Because he was speaking from the mouth of the Lord. The words were not those of Jeremiah. The commands were not those of Jeremiah. They were the words of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. So put it down like this: God's word is not just simply good advice that men, government, and nations may accept or reject at their pleasure. The truth is they despise and reject His word at their peril and at their destruction. Let me just read some verses.

I want you to listen. Isaiah 1 and verse 10. Listen.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom."

He's talking to Jerusalem.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

He calls Judah and Jerusalem Sodom and Gomorrah. But he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

In Isaiah 28 verse 14:

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem."

What did God call the scornful men?

But what did they do? They ruled the people in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 17 and verse 20: "And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates." Notice what he said: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah." He's talking to the civil rulers. Jeremiah 19 and verse 3: "And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem." "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle." But notice he's talking of civil rulers. In Jeremiah 21 verse 11: "And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord." Wow. Do you realize that God not only expects, God demands and commands civil rulers to listen to him. He ordained government. He established rulers. They are obligated to listen to Him. They're answerable to Him.

They are accountable to Him. Now I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles 36. I want you to see how these two things work together. Look if you would please in verse 15, 2 Chronicles 36 in verse 15. Help me out now. Watch. "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." Now stop there. Whenever God is going to have compassion upon his people, what does he do?

He sends them a preacher. He sends them His messengers. He's going to instruct them. He's going to teach them. So you have to put it down very pointedly in your mind and in your heart. God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His truth. By sending His Word. Okay?

Now I want you to notice what happened. Look in verse 16: "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." Now watch. There was no remedy. "Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand." Now I want you to go back to verse 16. See this tied together. Now watch. "But they mocked the messengers of God"—note messengers is plural. Skip down and notice "and misused his prophets." Prophets is plural. Now go back. Watch this. "But they mocked the messengers," plural, "of God, and despised his," that is singular, God's, "words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." Do you see that in verse 12? What did Zedekiah do?

Consequences and Applications

When a nation mocks God's messengers and despises His words, wrath comes until there is no remedy (2 Chronicles 36:16-17). Applications include the accountability of all civil rulers to God and the responsibility of believers to declare truth regardless of response.

He refused to humble himself before Jeremiah, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. He not only despised Jeremiah, he despised the Word of God. It is not the preacher's words, it is God's words. And the Bible says, they despised his preachers and mocked his messengers and despised his words till there was no remedy. Therefore, he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, or old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hands. What did He do? He wiped them out.

Whenever you have a civil government, whenever you have a nation, that refuses to honor God's preachers, and refuses to humble themselves before the Word of God, put it down, here are two marks for certain destruction. Ahab wouldn't listen to Elijah. What happened to Ahab and Jezebel? What happened to Israel? Over and over in the Bible, this is true. Governments, nations are marked for death when they refuse to honor the men of God and humble themselves at the Word of God. The result in Judah and Jerusalem here was total destruction for rebelling against God. And it all began with the despising of their preachers and refusal to hear and obey the Word of God.

Now let me make some applications. I want you to listen carefully. First of all, you should know this. I've already said it. But underline it in your heart. Atlanta, Georgia, the capital of the state of Georgia, is responsible to and accountable and answerable to God. And they will give an account. Those politicians. Washington, D.C. is answerable and accountable to God, and they will give an answer.

You're going to see some more marks next week. And how big of an account many of our so-called politicians are going to give. Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God. He's answerable. He's accountable. He's responsible. And I will tell you this, you just stop and think of the millions of men and women and children that have been killed in wars that were useless and worthless except for the benefit of the military industrial complex and the oil companies. Are you talking about blood on politicians' hands? They will answer.

The second application is this. It is our responsibility to declare the truth. It is their responsibility to hear and heed the truth. One thing that is really a frustration for any true preacher is this. I can tell you the truth, but I cannot make you obey the truth. I cannot obey for you. I cannot do right for you. If you do not obey, if you do not hear, if you do not heed, God is going to destroy you. I have seen countless numbers of divorces just because either one or both would not listen. I've seen young people thrown in prison because they would not listen. I've seen teenagers and children suffer. Why? They thought they knew more than mom and dad, the preacher and everybody else. And they would not listen.

I want you to turn to the book of Hosea, if you would please. Right after Daniel, you have Hosea. I want you to look first of all at Hosea 7 and verse 13. Hosea 7 and verse 13. I want you to look at this verse. Hosea 7 verse 13. Look what God says.

Now remember, He's talking about Israel. Okay? Look what He says. Hosea 7 verse 13: "Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me." Now, look back at verse 1: "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria." So we're talking about Israel. So go back to verse 13. Now look. "Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them," I've brought them out of the land of Egypt, "yet they have spoken lies against me."

Let me ask you a question, folks. If God will bring destruction upon His own professing people for their rebellion against Him, how much more easily and readily and willingly will He destroy the wicked for their rebellion?

You can mark her down. There are evidences, there are manifestations, there are signs when a government, when a nation is marked for death. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hosea 4 and verse 1. Hosea 4 and verse 1: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." Wow! God has a controversy. God has a controversy not with just the civil rulers, but with the inhabitants of the land. Why? Because most of the inhabitants of this country, just like Israel of old, are just as ignorant of God and His truth as are our civil rulers.

God has a controversy. Let me tell you something. If you are not humbled and repentant and obedient and bringing your life continually and constantly in conformity to the Word of God, you're part of the problem and not the solution. God requires obedience from you. God requires that you speak the truth and show mercy and share the knowledge of God. So he says the Lord has a controversy with the children of Israel and with the inhabitants of the land because there's no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land. And I will tell you this, folks, when you speak the truth, most people do not want to hear it.

Most will despise it and reject it. But one thing you must remember, some will hear and some will heed. And no matter how few or small that number is, it's still our responsibility to declare the word. It's our responsibility to preach and teach the truth if no one ever hears and if no one ever heeds and no one ever obeys. But we must make sure that we hear, we heed, and we obey. Is our government, is our nation marked for death? Well, you just heard two of the marks. The other three will be next week, Lord willing. Unless we do, like Jeremiah said, repent and amend our ways and our doings, certain destruction will fall. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We are so thankful for Your love, for Your grace, for Your mercy, for Your goodness, Your kindness. Help us, O Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, to repent, to be humble, to submit, and Lord, once we learn the truth, to speak the truth. Lord, we pray for those on our prayer list. Lord, so many in need. And Lord, we pray for our nation, for our country.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Sovereignty Over Nations

Summary: God is the supreme judge and governor of all nations, determining their rise and fall according to His will.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 22:28, Psalm 66:7, Job 12:23, Jeremiah 10:7, Psalm 75:5-7, and Job 34:29 to establish that God controls the destiny of nations.

Rebellion Leads to National Destruction

Summary: Nations are destroyed because of their rebellion against God, as seen in the fall of historical empires and the judgment on Judah.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'from a biblical and theological standpoint, all nations dissipate, dissolve, and die due to their rebellion against God' and points to 2 Chronicles 36 as the example.

Rejection of God's Messengers as a Mark of Judgment

Summary: A nation's disdain for God's preachers is a clear sign that it is marked for destruction.

Evidence: Weaver explains that Zedekiah 'humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet' (2 Chronicles 36:12) and that 'when God's preachers are mocked, ridiculed, despised, and rejected, it is a mark of destruction.'

The Authority of God's Word Over Civil Rulers

Summary: Civil rulers are obligated to humble themselves under the Word of God, and failure to do so brings judgment.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes that Zedekiah rejected Jeremiah 'speaking from the mouth of the Lord' (2 Chronicles 36:12) and cites Isaiah 1:10, Jeremiah 17:20, and other verses commanding rulers to hear God's Word.

The Certainty of Divine Judgment

Summary: When a nation persistently rejects God's messengers and Word, wrath comes until there is no remedy, resulting in total destruction.

Evidence: Weaver reads 2 Chronicles 36:16-17: 'they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words... until the wrath of the Lord arose... till there was no remedy.'

The Responsibility of God's People to Declare Truth

Summary: Believers must proclaim God's truth regardless of the response, as part of their duty to God.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'it's still our responsibility to declare the word. It's our responsibility to preach and teach the truth if no one ever hears and if no one ever heeds.'

Key Arguments

God judges nations in time and history because they have no eternal souls.

Summary: Nations are composed of individuals but do not have souls, so they are punished in time and history rather than eternity.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Nations are made up of individuals. But nations do not have souls per se. They are not necessarily punished in eternity. So therefore they are punished in time and in history.'

Rejecting God's preachers is equivalent to rejecting God Himself.

Summary: Based on John 13:20, Weaver argues that to reject those whom Christ sends is to reject Christ and the Father.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'if you despise the preachers that God the Son sends, you despise God the Son' and cites John 13:20.

Before a nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God must be torn down.

Summary: Jeremiah's commission to root out and pull down before building (Jeremiah 1:10) illustrates that reconstruction requires destruction of humanistic systems.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'before any nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed.'

The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a direct result of rejecting Christ and His messengers.

Summary: Weaver connects the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Matthew 21:33-45) to the judgment on Jerusalem for rejecting Jesus and the prophets.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'What was the mark of destruction? They rejected the chief prophet, priest, and king, the chief preacher, the Lord Jesus, and they rejected those whom He sent. And He destroyed them.'

God's compassion is demonstrated by sending His messengers with His truth.

Summary: God's first act of compassion toward a rebellious people is to send preachers to instruct them in His Word.

Evidence: Weaver comments on 2 Chronicles 36:15: 'Whenever God is going to have compassion upon his people, what does he do? He sends them a preacher.'

Civil rulers are directly accountable to God for their actions.

Summary: All politicians and civil authorities, from local to national, will give an account to God for their decisions and the bloodshed they cause.

Evidence: Weaver declares, 'Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God.'

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 36:10-17

Context: The primary text describing the reign of Zedekiah, the rebellion of Judah, and the Babylonian destruction.

Psalm 22:28

Context: Cited to show that the kingdom belongs to the Lord and He is governor among the nations.

Psalm 66:7

Context: Used to demonstrate that God rules by His power and His eyes behold the nations.

Job 12:23

Context: Quoted to show that God increases and destroys nations.

Jeremiah 10:7

Context: Referred to as calling God the King of nations, to whom all fear is due.

Psalm 75:5-7

Context: Cited to prove that promotion comes from God alone, who puts down one and sets up another.

Job 12:13-23

Context: Read to illustrate God's absolute power over rulers, nations, and all human affairs.

Job 34:29

Context: Quoted to show that God's actions apply equally to a nation or an individual.

2 Chronicles 36:20-21

Context: Describes the 70-year captivity and desolation of the land as fulfillment of God's word.

2 Chronicles 36:12

Context: Key verse showing Zedekiah's evil and refusal to humble himself before Jeremiah.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Context: Used to explain that preachers are ambassadors for Christ, representing God.

Proverbs 16:18

Context: Cited to connect pride with destruction, explaining Zedekiah's refusal to humble himself.

John 13:20

Context: Quoted to establish that receiving or rejecting Christ's messengers is equivalent to receiving or rejecting Christ and the Father.

Jeremiah 1:5, 10

Context: Shown to demonstrate Jeremiah's divine ordination as a prophet to the nations, with authority to root out and destroy.

Isaiah 53:5

Context: Mentioned to show that Christ is still despised and rejected by men.

Matthew 21:33-45

Context: The parable of the wicked husbandmen, used to illustrate judgment on those who reject God's Son and messengers.

John 5:22-23

Context: Cited to show that all judgment is committed to the Son, and honoring the Son is required.

Jeremiah 7:25-28

Context: Read to show Israel's persistent rejection of God's prophets and the resulting judgment.

Jeremiah 26:4-15

Context: Read to illustrate the threat against Jeremiah for prophesying destruction and the call to amend ways.

Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

Context: Multiple verses commanding civil rulers to hear the word of the Lord.

Historical References

Fall of Egypt, Roman, Greek, Persian, Assyrian empires

Context: Weaver lists these as examples of once-great empires that have vanished due to rebellion against God.

Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention

Context: Franklin's call for daily prayer and acknowledgment of God's governance over nations is quoted to show the founding fathers' recognition of divine sovereignty.

Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD

Context: Weaver references the Roman destruction of Jerusalem as judgment for rejecting Christ and His messengers, connecting it to Matthew 21.

Babylonian captivity of Judah (70 years)

Context: The historical event described in 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, where Judah was taken captive and the land desolated for 70 years.

Ahab and Jezebel's rejection of Elijah

Context: Briefly mentioned as an example of rulers who refused to listen to God's prophet and faced destruction.

Important Quotes

God in His sovereignty not only marks individuals for death, but He also marks governments and nations for death as well.

Significance: Establishes the central thesis that God's judgment applies to nations just as it does to individuals.

from a biblical and theological standpoint, all nations dissipate, dissolve, and die due to their rebellion against God.

Significance: Summarizes the ultimate cause of national destruction according to Scripture.

He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again.

Significance: Direct quote from Job 12:23 used to prove God's active role in the rise and fall of nations.

When God's preachers are mocked, ridiculed, despised, and rejected, it is a mark of destruction.

Significance: Clearly states the first mark of a nation marked for death.

before any nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed.

Significance: Explains the necessary precondition for national restoration according to Jeremiah's commission.

God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His truth. By sending His Word.

Significance: Highlights that God's mercy is expressed through the provision of His messengers and Word.

they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

Significance: The key verse (2 Chronicles 36:16) showing the progression from rejection to irreversible judgment.

Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God.

Significance: Application emphasizing the personal accountability of all political leaders before God.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean for a nation to be 'marked for death' according to the biblical pattern presented in this sermon?

Context: Weaver introduces the concept that God marks nations for destruction based on their rebellion, using Judah as the primary example.

How does the rejection of God's preachers serve as a mark of national judgment, and what are modern examples of this?

Context: The first mark is detailed from 2 Chronicles 36:12 and supported by John 13:20 and other passages.

In what ways are civil rulers today failing to humble themselves under the Word of God, and what might be the consequences?

Context: The second mark is explained with references to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the example of Zedekiah.

How does the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Matthew 21:33-45) illustrate the principle that rejecting God's messengers leads to destruction?

Context: Weaver uses this parable to connect the rejection of prophets and Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

What is the relationship between God's compassion and His sending of preachers, and how should that shape our view of faithful ministry?

Context: Weaver states that God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His messengers with His truth (2 Chronicles 36:15).

How should believers respond when they see the marks of destruction in their own nation?

Context: The applications emphasize the responsibility to declare truth and the need for personal repentance and obedience.

What does Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention reveal about the founding fathers' view of God's role in government?

Context: Weaver quotes Franklin to show historical acknowledgment of divine providence in national affairs.

Why is it insufficient to simply 'reclaim' or 'restore' a nation without first tearing down humanistic systems?

Context: Weaver argues that reconstruction requires destruction of all that is contrary to God's law, based on Jeremiah 1:10.

Applications

Accountability of Civil Rulers

Summary: Recognize that all politicians and government officials are answerable to God and will give an account for their actions.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God.'

Responsibility to Declare Truth

Summary: Believers must faithfully proclaim God's Word regardless of whether it is received or rejected.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'it's still our responsibility to declare the word. It's our responsibility to preach and teach the truth if no one ever hears and if no one ever heeds.'

Personal Obedience and Repentance

Summary: Individuals must examine their own lives for rebellion and bring themselves into conformity with God's Word to avoid being part of the problem.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'If you are not humbled and repentant and obedient and bringing your life continually and constantly in conformity to the Word of God, you're part of the problem and not the solution.'

Honoring God's Messengers

Summary: Show respect and humility toward faithful preachers of God's Word, recognizing their role as ambassadors of Christ.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes that rejecting God's preachers is a mark of destruction and that receiving them is receiving Christ (John 13:20).

Humbling Under God's Word

Summary: Civil rulers and all people must submit to the authority of Scripture, not treating it as optional advice.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God's word is not just simply good advice that men, government, and nations may accept or reject at their pleasure. The truth is they despise and reject His word at their peril and at their destruction.'

Prayer for National Repentance

Summary: Pray for God to grant repentance to the nation and its leaders, as modeled in the closing prayer.

Evidence: Weaver prays, 'Lord, we pray for our nation, for our country. Lord God, that you'd open our eyes, open our ears, and grant us repentance.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T22:30:28Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T22:55:25Z

Clean Transcript

Marked For Death Governmental Destruction - Part 1 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

2 Chronicles 36, verses 10 through 17. The title of the message, listen carefully, is "Marked for Death: Governmental Destruction." And this will be the first part of a two-part series. So 2 Chronicles chapter 36, look in verse 10: "And when the year was expired, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him"—that is, Jehoiachin—"to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem."
#1 | 0:14 to 1:26 | cleaned
"And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age."
#2 | 1:27 to 2:00 | cleaned
"He gave them all into his hand." So the title of the message is "Marked for Death: Governmental Destruction." Around 1990, Steven Seagal, the martial artist, made a movie which was entitled "Marked for Death." And it dealt with drugs and drug dealers, obviously, and drug running. And as I read this passage in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, the title of that old movie just simply popped in my mind: "Marked for Death." And it dawned on me that God in His sovereignty not only marks individuals for death, but He also marks governments and nations for death as well.
#3 | 2:00 to 2:51 | cleaned
The rise and fall of empires have been observed and recorded throughout history. No matter how great and how glorious some empires were, they are now gone, diminished, dissolved, and destroyed. So you could ask, what has become of mighty Egypt? The Roman and Greek empires were magnificent, and yet they're no more. The Persian and the Assyrian empires have vanished. And a few of the countries that still remain that were great in times past are now just simply mere shadows of their greatness. So have you ever wondered how empires, how governments, and how nations die? Historians will give many and varied reasons as to the death of governments and nations. However, from a biblical and theological standpoint, all nations dissipate, dissolve, and die due to their rebellion against God.
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He is the judge of all the earth. Men are not only judged in time and history, but they're also judged in eternity. Nations are made up of individuals. But nations do not have souls per se. They are not necessarily punished in eternity. So therefore they are punished in time and in history. You have to remember that God is the judge of all the earth. And governments, empires, and nations are just as accountable and answerable to God as individuals are. Let me just give you a few verses. Psalm 22 and verse 28 says this: "For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is governor among the nations." Notice God is called the governor among the nations. In Psalm 66 and verse 7 the Bible says, "He ruleth by His power forever; His eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves." So God is not only the governor of the nations, His eyes behold the nations. So God then is the sole judge in determining sickness or health concerning a nation, or determining life and death concerning a nation.
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I want you to hold 2 Chronicles 36. But I want you to look in the book of Job very quickly and hold the book of Job because there are several passages I want you to see in this book. But in Job chapter 12 and verse 23, there's a very interesting verse. Job 12, verse 23. Look what Job says. Job 12, verse 23, in talking about God, he says, "He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again." So God then is the sole judge of the earth. It is God who increases. It is God who decreases. It is God who brings them to largeness, or it's God who straightens them.
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The Bible declares in Psalm 147 in verse 6, "The Lord lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground." Now let me give you an interesting passage. Did you know that God is called the King of Nations? In Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 7, the scripture says this: "Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee." But notice what He said: "Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain." What appertains to God? Literally everything.
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Especially the life and death of a nation. Most of you can probably quote Psalm 75 verses 5 through 7. If you can't, I want you to turn there just momentarily. So hold the book of Job, but turn right over to the book of Psalms and look at Psalm 75. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Psalm 75 and verse 5. I want you to note particularly the power that is ascribed to God. And notice if you would also how that power is applied. So Psalm 75, notice verse 5. God says, "Lift not up your horn on high."
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"Speak not with a stiff neck." That is, don't be rebellious. Why? "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another." So God is the judge. God is the one that puts down one and sets up another. That is true individually. That is also true governmentally. It is also true nationally.
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Now if you'll look back in your Bibles to Job 12. Job 12 and let's begin reading now with verse 13 and read through verse 23 that I quoted earlier. Job chapter 12 and let's begin reading with verse 13. So we're talking about God. Notice if you would verse 13: "With Him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again."
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"He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With Him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are His. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools." He's done a mighty good job in that. Watch verse 18: "He looseth the bonds of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty."
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"He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again." I want you to note in the context, this is all the power of God, and it is all the doing of God. God is the one who is doing this.
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Now I want you to turn to Job 34, and look at verse 29. Job 34. And notice verse 29. Look what the Bible says concerning God. This would apply individually, governmentally, ecclesiastically, nationally, any way you want to apply it. It's the same truth. Job 34 verse 29: "When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hideth His face, who then can behold Him?"
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"Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only." So, the question is asked, when God gives quietness, who can make trouble? The answer is no one. And when God hides His face, who can behold Him? Whether it is done nationally or whether it's done individually, it does not matter. You see, our founding fathers and those individuals who established this country understood this principle. That God is in absolute control, not only of individuals, but of governments and nations as well. You remember Benjamin Franklin was the oldest man at the Constitutional Convention. I think he was 81 if I remember correctly. You know Benjamin Franklin is always called a deist. And Benjamin Franklin used to love to hear George Whitefield preach. In fact, he would walk or ride, whatever the case may be, for miles just to hear Whitefield preach. And Benjamin Franklin is held up as a deist. And a deist is someone that believes that God created the world and kind of wound it up like a clock and just sits back and never intervenes until the clock runs down.
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Listen to what Benjamin Franklin said at the Constitutional Convention. He said, addressing George Washington and the convention, "In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence, we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity."
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"And have we forgotten that powerful friend? I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. And I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel."
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"We shall be divided by our little partial local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse? Mankind may, hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest. Listen, I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings upon our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of the city be requested to officiate in that service." And do you realize it's from this request that down through the ages, there's been prayer every day before our Congress is in session.
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Unhappily, they have left the men of God and now have Muslims and everyone else in there. But this principle was established at that particular time. Because our founding fathers understood that God does build nations. He also destroys them. When you look at our text in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, God is going to destroy the nation of Judah. He's going to destroy the southern kingdom. He's going to bring that kingdom to its knees exactly as He did the northern kingdom. Death, devastation, and destruction is going to reign over the land for 70 years because of Judah's rebellion against God. If you look in 2 Chronicles 36 verses 20 and 21, note what happens. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 20: "And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years." So for 70 years the land was desolate. There was death reigning. There was destruction reigning because people had been killed by the thousands upon thousands, and the survivors were carried into Babylon into captivity, and just a
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few, just a handful of the poorest of the people, were left in the land. Now I asked you earlier, have you ever wondered how governments, empires, and nations die? I would also ask you this. Have you ever asked or considered to ask, are there any discernible marks upon a nation that is marked for death? I could ask this another way. How can we tell when a government or a nation is in its death throes?
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You look at one of your family members that's dying. He gets weaker and weaker. And then usually a day or two before death, they get what is known as the death rattle in their throats, difficulty breathing, fluid filling up their lungs. And we know when we hear that death rattle that it's just a matter of time. Well, the answer is yes, there are marks that clearly indicate when a nation is marked for death. There are five marks given in our text. I'm only going to cover two of them today. Before I get started, I want you to remember this, that God is immutable. He does not change.
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And I might add, neither do His judgments. They're the same from generation to generation, and therefore, the marks of destruction are also the same. So when you see these marks, you may know for a certainty that that government, that nation, is marked for death.
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Now, let me give you the first mark. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 12. We're reading about King Zedekiah. Verse 11 tells you that Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years. Now watch verse 12: "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord." Here it is. The first mark of death for a government or for a nation is a failure to honor God's representatives. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet.
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Now listen carefully what I'm about to tell you. Like it or not, believe it or not, God does have His preachers and He does have His representatives. And the scripture teaches us that a true and faithful man of God represents the King of kings and he is an ambassador and a representative of God's eternal kingdom. So he is an ambassador for the highest unto which all must be judged. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said concerning himself and the preachers of his time?
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He said this in 2 Corinthians 5 in verse 20. Listen carefully.
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"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Notice what he said. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ." Yes. Diplomats. Representatives of Christ. And he said, moreover, "as though God did beseech you by us." We're here in God's stead. We're here as God's representatives. "We pray you in Christ's stead." We also represent Christ, "be ye reconciled to God." So Jeremiah then was God's representative. He was God's ambassador. He was God's prophet. So here's the first thing I want you to notice from verse 12. King Zedekiah did that which was evil and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet.
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Now you've got to remember something. In order to repent and turn from evil, one must humble himself. The opposite of humility is pride. You remember Proverbs 16 and verse 18? The Bible said, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." So why then would Zedekiah not humble himself before Jeremiah? Well, the answer is pride. You see, Zedekiah thought like this: I have the power. I have the prestige. I have the throne. And in his mind, his little puny, finite kingdom and throne and power was far greater than that of Jeremiah and far greater than that of the God that Jeremiah represented. Consequently then, Zedekiah disdained Jeremiah and paid no attention to his admonitions or to his preaching. I want you to kind of underline this in your mind.
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When God's preachers are mocked, ridiculed, despised, and rejected, it is a mark of destruction. So you're going to ask me, how is that a mark of destruction? Well, let me tell you what our Lord said in John 13. In fact, turn there, hold 2 Chronicles. I want you to see this. Look in John chapter 13 and verse 20. John 13 and verse 20. Look at what our Lord said. A very interesting verse. John 13 verse 20. Look what our Lord said. Our Lord says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." Now, what did our Lord say? He said, if you receive me, you receive him that sent me, that is the Father. And if you receive whomever I send, you receive me.
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Now, the opposite is also true. We could aptly read this, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that rejecteth whomsoever I send rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent me." Same truth. Truly a nation's attitude or a government's attitude toward the preachers of the Most High God is indicative of the state of the nation as well as being indicative of the state of the hearts of individuals. So if you'll go back to 2 Chronicles 36 and look at verse 16, notice if you would just the first phrase: "But they mocked the messengers of God." They mocked the messengers of God. If you read the book of Jeremiah, you'll find that Jeremiah was mocked, he was ridiculed, he was threatened. He was thrown into a dungeon and left to die. Yet God had sovereignly ordained Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. I want you to turn, hold 2 Chronicles, but I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 1. I want to show you two verses.
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And I want you to think about this because it's very important in light of what's happening today. Look in Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 10—I'm sorry, verse 5 it is first. Jeremiah 1 verse 5. Look what God tells Jeremiah. He says, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." So God chose Jeremiah before he was ever born. Before he was ever conceived, God knew him, God chose him. He says, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee," watch, "and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Wow. Now skip down to verse 10. Look what God says to Jeremiah: "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms," now watch, "to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant."
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So Jeremiah had three times as much destructive work to do before he could begin to accomplish any of his reconstructive work or reconstruction. See, what many people do not perceive is this: before any nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed. And the problem we run into is this: those who have erected their petty kingdoms upon humanism do not wish to have their little kingdom and their little work destroyed, yet it must be done in order to accomplish and to build on a solid foundation. When you consider that we in this country, we in this nation, when you consider how far away we have traveled down the paths of rebellion, and how we have erected the kingdom of man and built our own little tower of Babel, it should not surprise us to try to comprehend the amount of work that must be done in order to restore ourselves in light of God's law and the totality of His word.
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Every one of you have heard these slogans: "Reclaim America." "Let's take America back." "Let's restore America to her greatness." Let me tell you something. You can never take America back. You can never restore her. You can never reclaim her unless you're going to tear down all of the humanistic edifices that have been built and come again and build on the solid foundation of God's law and God's word. And you've got to consider the fact that our nation right now as a whole despises God's preachers. It is also true that our nation as a whole despises God's chief preacher and prophet and king, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Do you remember in Isaiah 53 and verse 5? "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." He is still just as despised today as He was in Isaiah 53.
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Now, I want you to hold 2 Chronicles, but I do want you to turn over to Matthew chapter 21. Because I want you to see, and I want you to remember now that God has destroyed Judah and Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles. I want you to understand he had already previously destroyed the northern kingdom and put them into Assyria. Now, in Matthew 21, I want you to notice what our Lord says beginning there with verse 33. And he's speaking to the rulers in Jerusalem. Watch. Matthew 21, verse 33: "Hear another parable."
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"There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first."
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"And they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons."
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"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you," and it was, "and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
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And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. You got it, bub? The light came on. And what did he do in 70 AD? He wiped them out. What was the mark of destruction? They rejected the chief prophet, priest, and king, the chief preacher, the Lord Jesus, and they rejected those whom He sent. And He destroyed them.
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Now I want you to listen. The Father sent His Son. The Son sends His preachers. I want you to look in your Bibles to John 5. John 5 and verses 22 and 23. I know I've already told you this, but I'm telling it to you again. I want you to understand this point. Look in John 5, verse 22. The Bible says, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." Why? Why has the Son been given the authority to judge everything? Here's why: "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."
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Now let me ask you a question. If it is true that if you despise the Son, you despise the Father, because the Father sent the Son, is it not equally true that if you despise the preachers that God the Son sends, you despise God the Son? I pointed it out already in John 13 in verse 20 when our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."
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Now one may read through the Bible and notice all through the Old Testament and the New Testament, how governments and nations die when they persecute, prosecute, ignore, and disdain the preachers and the representatives of the Most High God. I want to give you two examples. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles, but look in Jeremiah 7 first. Look in Jeremiah chapter 7, and let's begin reading there with verse 25. Jeremiah 7 and verse 25. Look what God says. Jeremiah 7 verses 25 through 28. God says, "Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them."
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"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction."
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"Truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth." What did God do to them? God judged them. Why? Because they received not his prophets. They did not humble themselves before the preachers of God. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 26. Very quickly, Jeremiah 26. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 4. Jeremiah 26 and verse 4. Here it is. Jeremiah 26 verse 4: "And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them."
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"But ye have not hearkened: therefore I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears."
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"Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for a certainty, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." I want you to notice, they still did not listen to Jeremiah.
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So the very first mark that God gives us when a government or a nation is marked for death is the mark of their disdain and despising of God's preachers and God's ambassadors. I'm not talking about the hirelings now. I'm not talking about the men who are Mama called and Papa sent. I'm talking about the ones that God has ordained to preach and teach His Word. So the first mark of death is a rejection and a refusal to hear God's preachers.
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Secondly, I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 12. Here's the second thing in this verse. Watch. We're talking about King Zedekiah. "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord." So the second mark of death for a government or a nation is a failure of civil rulers to humble themselves under the word of God. Not just under the preacher of God, but under the Word of God. Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 12. They did not humble themselves before Jeremiah the prophet.
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But here is why it was such an atrocious offense. Because he was speaking from the mouth of the Lord. The words were not those of Jeremiah. The commands were not those of Jeremiah. They were the words of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. So put it down like this: God's word is not just simply good advice that men, government, and nations may accept or reject at their pleasure. The truth is they despise and reject His word at their peril and at their destruction. Let me just read some verses.
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I want you to listen. Isaiah 1 and verse 10. Listen. "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom." He's talking to Jerusalem. "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." He calls Judah and Jerusalem Sodom and Gomorrah. But he says, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." In Isaiah 28 verse 14: "Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem." What did God call the scornful men?
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But what did they do? They ruled the people in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 17 and verse 20: "And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates." Notice what he said: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah." He's talking to the civil rulers. Jeremiah 19 and verse 3: "And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem."
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"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle." But notice he's talking of civil rulers. In Jeremiah 21 verse 11: "And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord." Wow. Do you realize that God not only expects, God demands and commands civil rulers to listen to him. He ordained government. He established rulers. They are obligated to listen to Him. They're answerable to Him.
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They are accountable to Him. Now I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles 36. I want you to see how these two things work together. Look if you would please in verse 15, 2 Chronicles 36 in verse 15. Help me out now. Watch. "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." Now stop there. Whenever God is going to have compassion upon his people, what does he do?
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He sends them a preacher. He sends them His messengers. He's going to instruct them. He's going to teach them. So you have to put it down very pointedly in your mind and in your heart. God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His truth. By sending His Word. Okay?
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Now I want you to notice what happened. Look in verse 16: "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." Now watch. There was no remedy. "Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand." Now I want you to go back to verse 16. See this tied together. Now watch. "But they mocked the messengers of God"—note messengers is plural. Skip down and notice "and misused his prophets." Prophets is plural. Now go back. Watch this. "But they mocked the messengers," plural, "of God, and despised his," that is singular, God's, "words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." Do you see that in verse 12? What did Zedekiah do?
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He refused to humble himself before Jeremiah, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. He not only despised Jeremiah, he despised the Word of God. It is not the preacher's words, it is God's words. And the Bible says, they despised his preachers and mocked his messengers and despised his words till there was no remedy. Therefore, he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, or old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hands. What did He do? He wiped them out.
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Whenever you have a civil government, whenever you have a nation, that refuses to honor God's preachers, and refuses to humble themselves before the Word of God, put it down, here are two marks for certain destruction. Ahab wouldn't listen to Elijah. What happened to Ahab and Jezebel? What happened to Israel? Over and over in the Bible, this is true. Governments, nations are marked for death when they refuse to honor the men of God and humble themselves at the Word of God. The result in Judah and Jerusalem here was total destruction for rebelling against God. And it all began with the despising of their preachers and refusal to hear and obey the Word of God.
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Now let me make some applications. I want you to listen carefully. First of all, you should know this. I've already said it. But underline it in your heart. Atlanta, Georgia, the capital of the state of Georgia, is responsible to and accountable and answerable to God. And they will give an account. Those politicians. Washington, D.C. is answerable and accountable to God, and they will give an answer.
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You're going to see some more marks next week. And how big of an account many of our so-called politicians are going to give. Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God. He's answerable. He's accountable. He's responsible. And I will tell you this, you just stop and think of the millions of men and women and children that have been killed in wars that were useless and worthless except for the benefit of the military industrial complex and the oil companies. Are you talking about blood on politicians' hands? They will answer.
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The second application is this. It is our responsibility to declare the truth. It is their responsibility to hear and heed the truth. One thing that is really a frustration for any true preacher is this. I can tell you the truth, but I cannot make you obey the truth. I cannot obey for you. I cannot do right for you. If you do not obey, if you do not hear, if you do not heed, God is going to destroy you. I have seen countless numbers of divorces just because either one or both would not listen. I've seen young people thrown in prison because they would not listen. I've seen teenagers and children suffer. Why? They thought they knew more than mom and dad, the preacher and everybody else. And they would not listen.
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I want you to turn to the book of Hosea, if you would please. Right after Daniel, you have Hosea. I want you to look first of all at Hosea 7 and verse 13. Hosea 7 and verse 13. I want you to look at this verse. Hosea 7 verse 13. Look what God says.
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Now remember, He's talking about Israel. Okay? Look what He says. Hosea 7 verse 13: "Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me." Now, look back at verse 1: "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria." So we're talking about Israel. So go back to verse 13. Now look. "Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them," I've brought them out of the land of Egypt, "yet they have spoken lies against me."
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Let me ask you a question, folks. If God will bring destruction upon His own professing people for their rebellion against Him, how much more easily and readily and willingly will He destroy the wicked for their rebellion?
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You can mark her down. There are evidences, there are manifestations, there are signs when a government, when a nation is marked for death. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hosea 4 and verse 1. Hosea 4 and verse 1: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." Wow! God has a controversy. God has a controversy not with just the civil rulers, but with the inhabitants of the land. Why? Because most of the inhabitants of this country, just like Israel of old, are just as ignorant of God and His truth as are our civil rulers.
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God has a controversy. Let me tell you something. If you are not humbled and repentant and obedient and bringing your life continually and constantly in conformity to the Word of God, you're part of the problem and not the solution. God requires obedience from you. God requires that you speak the truth and show mercy and share the knowledge of God. So he says the Lord has a controversy with the children of Israel and with the inhabitants of the land because there's no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land. And I will tell you this, folks, when you speak the truth, most people do not want to hear it.
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Most will despise it and reject it. But one thing you must remember, some will hear and some will heed. And no matter how few or small that number is, it's still our responsibility to declare the word. It's our responsibility to preach and teach the truth if no one ever hears and if no one ever heeds and no one ever obeys. But we must make sure that we hear, we heed, and we obey.
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Is our government, is our nation marked for death? Well, you just heard two of the marks. The other three will be next week, Lord willing. Unless we do, like Jeremiah said, repent and amend our ways and our doings, certain destruction will fall. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We are so thankful for Your love, for Your grace, for Your mercy, for Your goodness, Your kindness. Help us, O Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, to repent, to be humble, to submit, and Lord, once we learn the truth, to speak the truth. Lord, we pray for those on our prayer list. Lord, so many in need. And Lord, we pray for our nation, for our country.
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Lord God, that you'd open our eyes, open our ears, and grant us repentance. And as David said, "Turn us, O God, and we shall be turned. Turn us, O God, and cause Thy face to smile upon us, and we shall be saved." Give us grace, Lord, to honor Thee in all that we say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T22:30:28Z

Marked For Death Governmental Destruction - Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines 2 Chronicles 36:10-17 to identify biblical marks indicating when a nation is under God's judgment and destined for destruction. He argues that God, as the sovereign judge of all nations, brings down governments and empires for their rebellion. The first mark is a failure to honor God's representatives—mocking and rejecting His preachers. The second is a failure of civil rulers to humble themselves under the Word of God. These two marks were evident in Judah before the Babylonian captivity and serve as warnings for any nation today.

Introduction: God Judges Nations

Weaver introduces the topic by reading 2 Chronicles 36:10-17 and explains that God marks governments and nations for death due to rebellion, just as He does individuals.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:10-17

"And when the year was expired, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him"

—that is, Jehoiachin—

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:10-17

"to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem." "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up at times and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age." "He gave them all into his hand."

The Rise and Fall of Empires

Historical examples of fallen empires (Egypt, Rome, Greece, Persia, Assyria) are given to show that all nations die because of rebellion against God, who is the governor and judge of all nations.

God's Sovereignty Over Nations

Scripture Reading — Job 12:23

The Bible declares in Psalm 147 in verse 6, "The Lord lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground." Now let me give you an interesting passage. Did you know that God is called the King of Nations? In Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 7, the scripture says this: "Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee." But notice what He said: "Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? For to Thee doth it appertain." What appertains to God? Literally everything. Especially the life and death of a nation. Most of you can probably quote Psalm 75 verses 5 through 7. If you can't, I want you to turn there just momentarily. So hold the book of Job, but turn right over to the book of Psalms and look at Psalm 75. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Psalm 75 and verse 5. I want you to note particularly the power that is ascribed to God. And notice if you would also how that power is applied. So Psalm 75, notice verse 5. God says, "Lift not up your horn on high."

Scripture Reading — Job 12:13-23

"With Him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. Behold, He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again." "He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With Him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are His. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools."

He's done a mighty good job in that. Watch verse 18:

Scripture Reading — Job 12:13-23

"He looseth the bonds of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty." "He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again."

Historical Acknowledgment: Benjamin Franklin's Testimony

Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention is cited to show that the founding fathers recognized God's governance over nations and the necessity of prayer and divine aid.

Judah's Destruction as a Case Study

The destruction of Judah and the 70-year captivity (2 Chronicles 36:20-21) are presented as the direct result of rebellion, setting the stage for identifying the marks of a nation marked for death.

Mark 1: Failure to Honor God's Representatives

The first mark is despising and rejecting God's preachers. Zedekiah did not humble himself before Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36:12). Rejecting God's messengers is rejecting God Himself (John 13:20).

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:12

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord."

Here it is. The first mark of death for a government or for a nation is a failure to honor God's representatives. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet.

Now you've got to remember something. In order to repent and turn from evil, one must humble himself. The opposite of humility is pride. You remember Proverbs 16 and verse 18? The Bible said,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:18

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:5, 10

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee."

So God chose Jeremiah before he was ever born. Before he was ever conceived, God knew him, God chose him. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:5, 10

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,"

watch,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 1:5, 10

"and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

Why? Why has the Son been given the authority to judge everything? Here's why:

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:25-28

"Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction." "Truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:25-28

"And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 26:4-15

"But ye have not hearkened: therefore I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears." "Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for a certainty, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears."

I want you to notice, they still did not listen to Jeremiah.

Mark 2: Failure of Civil Rulers to Humble Themselves Under God's Word

I want you to listen. Isaiah 1 and verse 10. Listen.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom."

He's talking to Jerusalem.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

He calls Judah and Jerusalem Sodom and Gomorrah. But he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

In Isaiah 28 verse 14:

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11

"Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem."

What did God call the scornful men?

Consequences and Applications

Marked For Death Governmental Destruction - Part 1 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	TDM5mgVAe8o
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Power, Nations, and Constitutional Order: War in the Gates
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-12-31
Dictation Name
Book	Book 016: Marked for Death - Governmental Destruction — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	66

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: God Judges Nations: Weaver introduces the topic by reading 2 Chronicles 36:10-17 and explains that God marks governments and nations for death due to rebellion, just as He does individuals.
The Rise and Fall of Empires: Historical examples of fallen empires (Egypt, Rome, Greece, Persia, Assyria) are given to show that all nations die because of rebellion against God, who is the governor and judge of all nations.
God's Sovereignty Over Nations: Scriptural evidence (Psalm 22:28, Psalm 66:7, Job 12:23, Jeremiah 10:7, Psalm 75:5-7, Job 12:13-23, Job 34:29) demonstrates that God increases and destroys nations, sets up and puts down rulers, and governs all affairs.
Historical Acknowledgment: Benjamin Franklin's Testimony: Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention is cited to show that the founding fathers recognized God's governance over nations and the necessity of prayer and divine aid.
Judah's Destruction as a Case Study: The destruction of Judah and the 70-year captivity (2 Chronicles 36:20-21) are presented as the direct result of rebellion, setting the stage for identifying the marks of a nation marked for death.
Mark 1: Failure to Honor God's Representatives: The first mark is despising and rejecting God's preachers. Zedekiah did not humble himself before Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36:12). Rejecting God's messengers is rejecting God Himself (John 13:20).
Mark 2: Failure of Civil Rulers to Humble Themselves Under God's Word: The second mark is civil rulers refusing to submit to God's Word. Zedekiah rejected Jeremiah's message because it was from the mouth of the Lord (2 Chronicles 36:12). Despising God's words leads to destruction.
Consequences and Applications: When a nation mocks God's messengers and despises His words, wrath comes until there is no remedy (2 Chronicles 36:16-17). Applications include the accountability of all civil rulers to God and the responsibility of believers to declare truth regardless of response.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God judges nations in time and history because they have no eternal souls.

Nations are composed of individuals but do not have souls, so they are punished in time and history rather than eternity.

Weaver says, 'Nations are made up of individuals. But nations do not have souls per se. They are not necessarily punished in eternity. So therefore they are punished in time and in history.'

Rejecting God's preachers is equivalent to rejecting God Himself.

Based on John 13:20, Weaver argues that to reject those whom Christ sends is to reject Christ and the Father.

Weaver explains, 'if you despise the preachers that God the Son sends, you despise God the Son' and cites John 13:20.

Before a nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God must be torn down.

Jeremiah's commission to root out and pull down before building (Jeremiah 1:10) illustrates that reconstruction requires destruction of humanistic systems.

Weaver states, 'before any nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed.'

The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a direct result of rejecting Christ and His messengers.

Weaver connects the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Matthew 21:33-45) to the judgment on Jerusalem for rejecting Jesus and the prophets.

Weaver says, 'What was the mark of destruction? They rejected the chief prophet, priest, and king, the chief preacher, the Lord Jesus, and they rejected those whom He sent. And He destroyed them.'

God's compassion is demonstrated by sending His messengers with His truth.

God's first act of compassion toward a rebellious people is to send preachers to instruct them in His Word.

Weaver comments on 2 Chronicles 36:15: 'Whenever God is going to have compassion upon his people, what does he do? He sends them a preacher.'

Civil rulers are directly accountable to God for their actions.

All politicians and civil authorities, from local to national, will give an account to God for their decisions and the bloodshed they cause.

Weaver declares, 'Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God.'

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 36:10-17: The primary text describing the reign of Zedekiah, the rebellion of Judah, and the Babylonian destruction.
Psalm 22:28: Cited to show that the kingdom belongs to the Lord and He is governor among the nations.
Psalm 66:7: Used to demonstrate that God rules by His power and His eyes behold the nations.
Job 12:23: Quoted to show that God increases and destroys nations.
Jeremiah 10:7: Referred to as calling God the King of nations, to whom all fear is due.
Psalm 75:5-7: Cited to prove that promotion comes from God alone, who puts down one and sets up another.
Job 12:13-23: Read to illustrate God's absolute power over rulers, nations, and all human affairs.
Job 34:29: Quoted to show that God's actions apply equally to a nation or an individual.
2 Chronicles 36:20-21: Describes the 70-year captivity and desolation of the land as fulfillment of God's word.
2 Chronicles 36:12: Key verse showing Zedekiah's evil and refusal to humble himself before Jeremiah.
2 Corinthians 5:20: Used to explain that preachers are ambassadors for Christ, representing God.
Proverbs 16:18: Cited to connect pride with destruction, explaining Zedekiah's refusal to humble himself.
John 13:20: Quoted to establish that receiving or rejecting Christ's messengers is equivalent to receiving or rejecting Christ and the Father.
Jeremiah 1:5, 10: Shown to demonstrate Jeremiah's divine ordination as a prophet to the nations, with authority to root out and destroy.
Isaiah 53:5: Mentioned to show that Christ is still despised and rejected by men.
Matthew 21:33-45: The parable of the wicked husbandmen, used to illustrate judgment on those who reject God's Son and messengers.
John 5:22-23: Cited to show that all judgment is committed to the Son, and honoring the Son is required.
Jeremiah 7:25-28: Read to show Israel's persistent rejection of God's prophets and the resulting judgment.
Jeremiah 26:4-15: Read to illustrate the threat against Jeremiah for prophesying destruction and the call to amend ways.
Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:14; Jeremiah 17:20; Jeremiah 19:3; Jeremiah 21:11: Multiple verses commanding civil rulers to hear the word of the Lord.

Historical References

Fall of Egypt, Roman, Greek, Persian, Assyrian empires: Weaver lists these as examples of once-great empires that have vanished due to rebellion against God.
Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention: Franklin's call for daily prayer and acknowledgment of God's governance over nations is quoted to show the founding fathers' recognition of divine sovereignty.
Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD: Weaver references the Roman destruction of Jerusalem as judgment for rejecting Christ and His messengers, connecting it to Matthew 21.
Babylonian captivity of Judah (70 years): The historical event described in 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, where Judah was taken captive and the land desolated for 70 years.
Ahab and Jezebel's rejection of Elijah: Briefly mentioned as an example of rulers who refused to listen to God's prophet and faced destruction.

Important Quotes

God in His sovereignty not only marks individuals for death, but He also marks governments and nations for death as well.

Establishes the central thesis that God's judgment applies to nations just as it does to individuals.

from a biblical and theological standpoint, all nations dissipate, dissolve, and die due to their rebellion against God.

Summarizes the ultimate cause of national destruction according to Scripture.

He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straighteneth them again.

Direct quote from Job 12:23 used to prove God's active role in the rise and fall of nations.

When God's preachers are mocked, ridiculed, despised, and rejected, it is a mark of destruction.

Clearly states the first mark of a nation marked for death.

before any nation can be rebuilt, all that is contrary to God and His law must be pulled down and destroyed.

Explains the necessary precondition for national restoration according to Jeremiah's commission.

God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His truth. By sending His Word.

Highlights that God's mercy is expressed through the provision of His messengers and Word.

they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

The key verse (2 Chronicles 36:16) showing the progression from rejection to irreversible judgment.

Any civil ruler, I do not care how great, I do not care how small, will give an account to God.

Application emphasizing the personal accountability of all political leaders before God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean for a nation to be 'marked for death' according to the biblical pattern presented in this sermon?

[Context]

Weaver introduces the concept that God marks nations for destruction based on their rebellion, using Judah as the primary example.

[Question]

How does the rejection of God's preachers serve as a mark of national judgment, and what are modern examples of this?

[Context]

The first mark is detailed from 2 Chronicles 36:12 and supported by John 13:20 and other passages.

[Question]

In what ways are civil rulers today failing to humble themselves under the Word of God, and what might be the consequences?

[Context]

The second mark is explained with references to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the example of Zedekiah.

[Question]

How does the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Matthew 21:33-45) illustrate the principle that rejecting God's messengers leads to destruction?

[Context]

Weaver uses this parable to connect the rejection of prophets and Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

[Question]

What is the relationship between God's compassion and His sending of preachers, and how should that shape our view of faithful ministry?

[Context]

Weaver states that God's compassions are first demonstrated by sending His messengers with His truth (2 Chronicles 36:15).

[Question]

How should believers respond when they see the marks of destruction in their own nation?

[Context]

The applications emphasize the responsibility to declare truth and the need for personal repentance and obedience.

[Question]

What does Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention reveal about the founding fathers' view of God's role in government?

[Context]

Weaver quotes Franklin to show historical acknowledgment of divine providence in national affairs.

[Question]

Why is it insufficient to simply 'reclaim' or 'restore' a nation without first tearing down humanistic systems?

[Context]

Weaver argues that reconstruction requires destruction of all that is contrary to God's law, based on Jeremiah 1:10.

Applications

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