Biblical Reason No 1
God’s Full Cup
Principle
This principle tells
us each person and nation, as well as
the world, has a “cup of
iniquity.” This principle is a
policy that God, who is a God of
love, consistently uses to manage
groups of people.
The full cup is based
on the idea that God measures
the actions of mankind. Every time we
do wrong, we add a sin to our cup of
grace. When all of God’s grace
has been displaced by willful sin,
our cup becomes full of bitterness
and we have to drink the consequences
of our actions. When God forces
people to reap what they have sown,
He is returning to them what they
deserve. (Galatians 6:7) The Golden
rule is an iron-clad rule. It says:
As we do unto others, the same will
be done to us. (Matthew 7:12; Obadiah
1:15) Because God acts on this
principle, He is said to have
vengeance. (Romans 12:19; Revelation
2:23)
In a similar way, God measures
the actions of nations. When the cup
of transgression is nearly full, God
breaks His silence by sending a
warning through His selected
messengers. If the warning does not
work, He then uses one or more of His
four methods of judgment (sword,
famine, plagues and wild beasts)
– Ezekiel 14:21; If the
situation is redeemable, His
judgments are redemptive. If the
situation goes beyond redemption, His
judgments are totally destructive.
Here is the consistent
pattern God has followed for dealing
with mankind:
- When people or
nations become corrupt, God
first sends a warning with
His servants, the prophets.
- People and
nations typically reject the
messenger and the message.
- God then
responds by sending a
destroyer….then when the
dust settles…
- God begins a
process of restoration.
- God then
brings destruction upon the
destroyer because of his
pride and arrogance.
- But,
God’s ultimate purpose
is to bring about everlasting
life and an earth made new.
The destruction of
Jerusalem is an example. Jesus
explained the full cup principle in a
discourse with the Pharisees. After
pronouncing seven curses on the
Jewish leaders for their religious
bigotry and hypocrisy, Jesus said,
“Fill up, then the measure of
the sin of your forefathers…How
will you escape being condemned to
hell? O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who
kill the prophets and stone those
sent to you… Look, your house is
left to you desolate.” (Matthew
23) “When you see Jerusalem
being surrounded by armies, you will
know that it’s desolation is
near… For this is the time of
punishment in fulfillment of all that
has been written… And Jerusalem
will be trampled by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled.” (Luke 21:20-22,25)
God extends His mercy
and grace until there is not longer
hope for redemption. You can see this
pattern in Noah’s day, the
Amorites (Genesis 15), Belshazzar
(Daniel 5:26-28), Sodom (Genesis
18:20,21), Jerusalem (Jeremiah
25:7-17), and Israel (Ezekiel 7:2-8)
God never changes.
This pattern will continue to the
end. Therefore, Before Jesus returns
we will experience the redemptive
judgments of Revelation 8. (Read the
complete Full-Cup Principle in our
September Newsletter)
How can God bless
America when corporately speaking,
it’s national behavior is an
insult? We are in a state of moral
and financial decline. The
nation’s leaders (both political
and religious) are corrupt. Love for
money and pleasure has displaced God
and His Word. Integrity has
disappeared. Honesty and transparency
in business and government has faded.
Sexual immorality is rampant. Clergy
have become multimillionaires and
priest have sexually abused thousands
of children. This nation no longer
exalts our Creator with our actions.
Christians are entertained with
sinful behavior that is constantly
glamorized on television and in the
movies. Our printing presses produce
more filth than the populations can
digest. Radio stations spew hate talk
and music that glorifies drugs,
sexual immorality, and violence. The
US has offended and lost its
international friends, squandered its
wealth on selfish indulgence, and the
country will fall, just like all of
the 21 great former nations have
fallen in history.
Does it seem to you
that the “cup of iniquity”
for America and the other nations of
the world is almost full or even
overflowing? Like no other time in
Earth’s history, those He
[Jesus] has created have gone their
own way, putting aside His Law of
Love for their own gain and pleasure.
This has resulted in a world full of
chaos and misery. How much longer do
you think God is going to be silent?
Reason number 1
leaves us with Conclusion
number 1:
The cup of iniquity
for the United States as well as the
rest of the world is full, running
over with evil. God’s pattern
shows us when this happens He sends
his redemptive judgments.
