Matthew 27:17-22, Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

We have been conditioned in this country, to accept the idea that the majority is always right. The truth of the matter is, that the majority is nearly always wrong. They were wrong in the days of Noah. They were wrong at the Tower of Babel. They were wrong at Kadesh-Barnea, when they refused to go into the promised land. They were wrong when they built the Golden Calf in the Wilderness. They were wrong in the days of Jeremiah. They were certainly wrong when they cried out for Barrabas to be released, and Jesus to be crucified. Jesus Christ was the truth. John 14:6, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Barrabas was a criminal and a murderer. Mark 15:7, And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

In our own country, the press along with liberals, lesbians and other assorted groups have consistently beat the drums to acquit the president. They have persuaded the majority of the people to demand that he be left in office. The majority of the American people have been wrongly persuaded about the impeachment of the President. The majority of the Senate was wrong when they acquitted him this past Friday. Once again the truth was crucified and the guilty one was set free.

Of course we know that it was the will of God that Jesus was crucified. God purposed it before the foundation of the world. Rev. 13:8, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That does not mean that God was responsible for the sin of the howling mob that cried out, "Let him be crucified." God only allowed their wickedness to be used to accomplish His purpose. Jesus was crucified because of sin. Our sin caused the guilty one to go free and the truth (Jesus) to be crucified. If He had not been crucified, then we would all be lost in our sin, with no hope of salvation in this world or the world to come.

I firmly believe that it was the will of God that truth would be crucified and Bill Clinton go free. Why? Because of our sin, and the sin of this nation. God gives us the kind of rulers that we deserve. Psalm 75:6-8, 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. For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. We as a nation are reaping the harvest that results from the wholesale sowing of the sins of the flesh. I wish I did not have to say this, for I have children, grandchildren, and a great-grandson that will suffer for what has happened. The plentiful seeds of sin have been sown for a long time, and we are now reaping the harvest. I dread this for the fathers and mothers, and the children and grandchildren of the members of this Church. Christians are not innocent in all of this. We are guilty, of worldliness, sin, lack of holy living, and lack of love for God. The apathetic attitude of the majority of professing Christians is pathetic. As a whole, we are woefully lacking in separation, holiness, consecrated living, and love for God. Christians are so occupied with pleasure, selfishness, and dozens of other sins, so that the work of God holds little importance. Television, entertainment, recreation, jobs and sports all come before God. In a list from one to ten, of what is of most important to professing Christians, God might make it in the top ten. Oh, I know that many would put Him high on the list in a poll, but when it comes down to practice, He might not make it to the top five in the lives of most people.

Unless there is revival among God's people, we can expect things to get worse. Since the people have accepted lying under oath, sexual perversion in the White House, and other assorted sins, as being okay, we must be prepared for even greater judgment from God. Wickedness in rulers and in the people brought God's judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem. Those like Jeremiah who stood for holiness and truth, were ridiculed, persecuted, and imprisoned. False prophets, and wicked rulers were in a league together. Jer. 5:30-31, A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? Jesus warned of such prophets, and they are certainly with us today. Matt. 7:15, Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

One of the most appalling things about the unfortunate events in our country, is how the false prophets of the religious world have arisen to pronounce that evil is okay in the White House. Isa. 5:20, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

The End Will Be Judgment!

I am well aware of the fact that we preach an unpopular message. If we would be popular, our message would be love, psychology, and feel good about yourself. Self love is more popular than living a holy life of love for God. People do not want to hear the demands of a holy God, but they are looking for a religion that will allow them to conform to the world and still be religious. The church once turned the world upside down, but now the world is turning the church upside down. Acts 17:6, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also. Religion without the righteousness of Christ, is always a curse to the human race.

How did it all end with Judah and Jerusalem? The Bible gives the answer to that question. We quote the lengthy account from the Old Testament concerning the awful result of rulers, residents and religious leaders walking in the way of sin. This gives a more vivid account of the end result of wickedness than anything that I could possibly say.

II Chron. 36:11-21, Zedekiah (the king) was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and 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 all 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 betimes, 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 the 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. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. 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 fulfil 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 fulfil threescore and ten years.

We are not saying that God is going to send a foreign invader into our land. God has many forms of judgment in His arsenal, and He will do what He pleases. It may be that there will be an internal collapse, or some great catastrophe. It may be a terrorist attack of great proportion. We believe that rise in homosexuality, and AIDS is already the judgment of God, but that is to say that the worst is not yet to come.

God's Warning for Us

The New Testament contains many warnings concerning these days. We can do no more than quote from them. I Tim. 4:1-2, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. II Tim. 3:1-7, This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

I am glad that Barrabas was set free, and that Christ died for me. However, I would have hated to have been one that cried out for Christ to be crucified. I know that the dreadful things that are prophesied must come to pass. Well glory, Christ is coming, but I do not want to be a part of the sinning crowd when He comes. Better to be living for God in a wicked world, than to be a part of the apostasy that is increasing with every passing day. I Thess. 4:7, For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

"My heart is fixed, eternal God fixed on Thee;
And my immortal choice is made Christ for me."

Many sign seekers are facing the year 2000 with great trepidation and fear. They are sure that some great earth shaking event will fall on that date. Some think that it will be the rapture and the beginning of the tribulation. Others think it will be the middle of the tribulation, or the end of the tribulation. Some think that Christ will come back to earth on that date. Some people want to start a war in Israel, so that Christ will have to come back. It is certain that this kind of wild speculation will continue until the year 2000 comes. Please notice the following item from the news.

FBI Director Freeh Warns of Millennium Violence. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Louis Freeh warned Thursday that right-wing extremists, religious cults or apocalyptic groups could turn to violence to fulfill their prophecies of Armageddon as the year 2000 approaches. At a congressional hearing on counter-terrorism, Freeh cited "rogue terrorists" such as Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden -- blamed by Washington for the bombing of two American embassies in East Africa last year -- as probably the most urgent risk to U.S. interests. But he said the domestic threat could not be ignored, especially as the millennium approached . . . "With the coming of the next millennium, some religious/apocalyptic groups or individuals may turn to violence as they seek to achieve dramatic effects to fulfill their prophecies." He said . . . "Many of those who believe in this credo are engaged in survivalist and paramilitary training, storing food stuffs and supplies and caching weapons and ammunition . . . "
In recent weeks, part of a Denver-based cult, who are predicting the Second Coming of Christ, have surfaced in Israel. The Israeli government arrested them, because they believed that they were in Israel to commit a terrorist attack in the year 2000, so that a civil war would break out, and Christ would have to come back to earth to settle this. (Talk about kooks, we are seeing a plentiful supply of them in these days). When it is time for Christ to come back, there will be no need of man doing something that will hasten His coming.

It may come as a surprise to many, that the year 2000 A.D. has already past, and that we are living in about the year 2005 already. That is counting 365 days in the year, but if we go by the 360-day calendar it is much later than that. How do I know this? Consider the following account of the time of Christ's birth.
We do not know the month, day or even the year of His birth. It is generally supposed that Christ was born in the year 1, but this is not the case, even though we reckon our calendar A.D., and all dates before his birth as B.C. Our calendars have been adopted from the Roman Julian calendar. However the Roman calendar began with the year 1, as the year that Rome was founded, which was thought to be about 754 years before the birth of Christ. Christ could have been born no later than 4 B.C., and perhaps even earlier. For your information, we are going to quote one explanation of why our calendar is off at least 4 years.
About "five centuries later, a Roman monk, Dionysius, suggested that the calendar should be based on the birth of Christ since most of the world was converted to Christianity. Dionysius found that a man named Clement of Alexandria, who lived in the second century, had said that Christ was born in the 28th year of the reign of Augustus Caesar. Augustus began his reign in 726 A.U.C. (meaning the founding of Rome), so Dionysius added 28 years. He was four years off the mark because he didn't know that Augustus had reigned for four years under his name Octavius. By Dionysius' reckoning, Christ was born in 4 B.C.. There was no year zero."
Caution: This does not prove that Jesus was born in 4 B.C. According to Matthew 2, Herod the Great was king when the wise men came to visit Christ. Jesus may have been up to two-years-old when they arrived. (See Matt. 2:8 and 16). Herod died in 4 B.C. This seems to be a well established historical date. Therefore, Jesus must have been born between 4 B.C. and 7 B.C. The exact date of His birth is not really important for us to know, or God would have revealed it clearly to us.
Note on Luke 2:2: There is some dispute over when Cyrenius was Governor. Some say A.D. 6. There is good evidence that he was governor before this. Some say 10-7 B.C., while others say 4 B.C. to A.D. 1. In any case we know that the Biblical record is correct. Christ could not have been born later than 4 B.C., but more than likely it was in 5 or 6 B.C.
While we do not pretend to know the exact time of the birth of Christ, it is certain that He was not born in 1 A.D. I know of no reputable Bible scholar that believes he was born in 1 A.D. All will not agree with the above calculations, but I believe they will all agree that the year 2000 A.D. is already in the past. If the calendar had been set up correctly, we would already be living in at least 2004 to 2006 A.D.

The result of all the furor that is developing, over the worry about the year 2000, will be used to discredit Bible Prophecy and all who preach it. It is time for sober minded Bible believers to denounce and separate from those who engage in wild theories. They are doing much damage to the cause of Christ, and we should have no part of that.
We know that this will not be convincing to the fear mongers, sensationalists, and false prophets of today. They will rely on a faulty calendar constructed by a heretic, rather than to believe the truth.