America Divided Split Cut:

Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Mark 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

Luke 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The US Government has become politically divided and is in discord and disunity. The political division affecting and splitting America is a direct result of its efforts to ‘divide Jerusalem’ via the ‘Deal of the Century’ or the regional covenant of peace and security in the Middle East. Throughout scripture, God has made it abundantly clear that Jerusalem is the ‘apple of his eye’ and has his stamp of ownership on it … above all other cities on earth. God makes it adequately clear in Zechariah 12:3 that any nation that attempts to cut or divide up Jerusalem, will themselves be cut up or divided. As such, the US is cut or divided politically because of its leadership role in attempting to split God’s Holy City of earthly Jerusalem. Plain and simple.

OK. So it’s clear about the accelerating implosion of political unity in the US. Political discord will get worse and become angrier, antagonistic, confrontational, and hateful with little to no compromise, concession, agreement or unity. Contempt and distrust rules the day. Some would say this is already the case not only between Democrats and Republicans, but also within each party. Whether you believe the US being extremely divided is a result of God’s wrath for its role in dividing Jerusalem or not, it doesn’t matter. The fact remains that the US is becoming bitterly more and more divided. This division has also taken place in culture (LGBTQP+ social inclusiveness agenda), economics (income inequality), etc. The list can go on. America is divided on so many levels, not just politically.

American Divided, Split, Cut or Fractured: Coronavirus pandemic exposes rather than heals America’s divisions

By Anthony Zurcher – North America reporter BBC•April 23, 2020

Take a devastating global pandemic. Add an economic crisis featuring unemployment and negative growth on a par with Great Depression. And have it all unfold during a US presidential election year, at a time when divisions within American society and politics are particularly acute.

It’s a recipe for partisan accusations, animosity and feuding – exacerbated by competing authorities at the national, state and local level, all vying to find solutions and avoid blame for the growing death toll and financial wreckage wrought by the pandemic.

Here’s a closer look at the ugly way that’s playing out.

Bailout or bankruptcy?

The latest example of political friction broke out after Congress passed its third coronavirus stimulus bill. The $484bn (£391bn) measure injected $310bn into a small-business aid programme that had already burned through the $349bn allocated for it in the second stimulus bill. The rest of the funds went to hospitals, coronavirus testing and more small-business grants.

So far, so good. Republicans had groused a bit about Democratic delays in approving the measure, but all sides agreed the money was necessary.

It’s what came next that had New York Governor Andrew Cuomo using words like “stupid,” “irresponsible” and “reckless”.

And Republican Congressman Peter King – also of New York – referring to his own party’s Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, as a beheaded French monarch with a reputation for callousness toward the downtrodden.

Missing from that latest stimulus bill was any money for cash-strapped states, localities and Indian tribes that Democrats sought. And on Wednesday Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that more money for the states may not be forthcoming – and Democratic governors like New York’s Cuomo had themselves to blame.

“My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now,” he said in a radio interview. “That’s not something I’m going to be in favour of.”

Up until now, Republicans had seemed unconcerned with the trillions of dollars of additional spending Congress has authorised to address the coronavirus outbreak, leaving some Democrats angry that budgetary concerns were being cited as a reason not to help them cover their financial shortfalls.

Even more infuriating for them was McConnell’s suggestion that states might be allowed to go bankrupt as an alternative to further federal aid.

“McConnell’s dismissive remark that states devastated by Coronavirus should go bankrupt rather than get the federal assistance they need and deserve is shameful and indefensible,” said Congressman King, a moderate Republican who is retiring at the end of this year.

“To say that it is ‘free money’ to provide funds for cops, firefighters and healthcare workers makes McConnell the Marie Antoinette of the Senate.”

When is it safe to reopen?

Financial aid is just part of the growing dispute between the federal government and states, as well as among individual states. When, and how, to begin to lift the sweeping shelter-in-place orders that have blanketed the US have also become a contentious topic.

For nearly a month Donald Trump has said the time for an economic reboot is near. He suggested Easter, in mid-April, as a possible date, criticised states for moving too slowly to respond to the outbreak, released reopening guidelines for the states to follow, and then tweeted about “liberating” Democratic-controlled states whose shutdown orders he has criticised as going “too far”.

The president has expressed support for the growing number of right-wing-organised protests in states against the government-ordered shut-downs.

This all comes after Democratic-controlled states, such as California and Illinois, moved more quickly to institute shelter-in-place orders, while Republican-run Texas and Florida waited – and have expressed a willingness to reopen more quickly.

The harsh political reality for the president is he faces a re-election contest in just over six months, and the longer the lockdown drags on, the less time the economy will have to recover before voters head to the ballot box.

Current polling suggests he is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden nationally and in key battleground states, and while the race is likely to tighten and the president has abundant resources to run a robust campaign, Trump appears destined for an uphill fight.

The president also faces a flip-side risk of being seen as supporting re-opening too quickly and shouldering the blame if there is a subsequent spike in cases. That could explain why, just days after calling for states to begin reopening process, he criticised the Republican governor of Georgia for lifting restrictions on places like hair salons, bars and tattoo parlours, where social distancing guidelines would be difficult to follow.

For the moment, surveys indicate majorities of both Republicans and Democrats view the existing stay-at-home measures as effective. As the economic consequences of the lockdown sharpen their bite, however, those opinions could change for those who are unable to work remotely or rely on consumer spending for their livelihood.

It’s a difficult line for any politician to walk, and in the days ahead the stakes will be at their highest.

When the pandemic meets the culture wars

The political confrontations that have arisen, or been exacerbated, by the coronavirus pandemic are not limited to debates over the details and scope of the immediate response, either. As the president’s Wednesday order suspending some forms of immigration into the US demonstrates, the crisis will very easily consume just about every other existing political and policy debate with relative ease.

The president’s critics have been quick to accuse him of using the outbreak to justify draconian immigration cuts that he has backed from the beginning of his administration.

Abortion rights groups have lashed out at conservative states for similar opportunism after they have used lockdown orders to shutter medical facilities that provide the procedure. Meanwhile pro-gun advocates have suggested that liberal states have violated their constitutional rights by shuttering firearm vendors.

A battle between the Biden and Trump campaigns is also brewing over which candidate has the cosiest relationship with China – which many Americans view as responsible for the global spread of the virus that originated in Wuhan.

In competing advertisements, both sides suggested their opponent is too soft to stand up to the Chinese government.

The exchange is just a taste of the fury that is sure to come, as close presidential contests between campaigns that rely heavily on turning out their respective political bases tend to become very nasty, very quickly.

With control of both chambers of Congress, numerous state legislatures and governorships in play, any sense of togetherness and unity of purpose will be difficult to maintain. Add in a voting population fearful for their health and economic security, and it makes for a politically unstable brew.

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).

. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).

. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).

. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).

. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).

True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:

 Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.