God’s Point of No Return

Terry Cooper’s Presentation

Terry Cooper: Let me just start by saying a question. Is there a point of no return with God? I mean, who wants to tackle that one? Can a person reach a point in their rebellion against God that He lets them go to their own destruction, abandoning them to an eternity in hell? We’re not going to focus on opinions tonight. Everybody’s got one of those. It’s pretty common that I’ll stand in front of the church at Ninevah and say something like this. “I believe that what I hold in my hand,” that’s Genesis to Revelation, “I believe what I hold in my hand is the only physical source of absolute truth on this earth.”

So, tonight, we’re not seeking opinions. We’re seeking the answer to a question. Is there a point of no return with God? We’re not looking for opinions. Everybody’s got an opinion. We’re going to trust the Bible to answer the question. Is there a point of no return? Let me make it visual. Is there a point where there are no more exits on the road that you have chosen to walk upon? No more off-ramps, no way to get off of the road your own. You can’t turn around, get on the other road. There are no off ramps. You passed the last one.

Let’s begin in the Old Testament with the nation of Judah around 600 years before Christ. I hope the scripture’s going to be on the screen. You can follow along with me. We’re going to start in Ezekiel 14:12: Then this message came to me from the Lord. “Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against Me, and I lifted My fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves,” says the sovereign Lord.

We have three things in this text. First, we’re dealing with a nation. We’re dealing with a country. “Suppose a nation were to sin against Me.” But you have to also understand, what is a nation? A nation is just an assembly of people. That country, that nation has sinned against God so much that in this scene, God has raised His fist to crush them. And crush them means, “I’m going to destroy them. I’m going to bring destruction.” God told Ezekiel, “I’m going to bring destruction upon people and animals alike.”

Secondly, God reveals the power of intercessors. God brought it up to Ezekiel, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job, normally these men could ask God, and God would listen. But in this case, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were to ask, He would say no. What if these three holy men asked God to turn back His wrath at this point? And He begins to answer the question, is there a point of no return in this scene? Even with Noah there, even with Daniel there, even with Job there asking to relent, “Please stay your judgment, stay your wrath,” the answer to the question is obviously yes, there is a point of no return. Even with holy men interceding for the nation, there is a red line that could be crossed.

And here’s the third point. The holy men would be saved. The holy men. Individuals will be saved, but only them. There is a point of no return for the rest that had joined in the simple rebellion against God. Now, listen, that was the first example that God gave the prophet Ezekiel about a future judgment that He was planning for Jerusalem. That judgment, which definitely had a point of no return, was cutting off the food supply and bringing a famine upon the land, the nation, that would eventually destroy the people, including the animals.

But there are three more examples and I’m going to read them to you, and all three of these examples also have a point of no return even with holy men interceding. This is the same context. In fact, it’s the very next verse, verse 15. “Or suppose I were to send wild animals,” now, His first claim to Ezekiel was, “I’m going to bring a famine.” Now, He’s upped it to another level. “Suppose I bring wild animals to invade the country, kill the people, make the land too desolate and dangerous to pass through. As surely as I live, says the sovereign Lord, even if those three men,” Noah, Daniel, and Job, “Even if those three men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons and daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be made desolate.”

Now He ups it another level. Here comes number three. “Or suppose I were to bring war.” At first it was famine, then it’s wild beast. “Suppose I were to bring war against the land, and I sent enemy armies to destroy both people and animals. As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved. Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic.” We can insert the word pandemic, it has more relativity today. “Suppose I were to pour out My fury by sending a pandemic,” this is in addition to a famine or beast or war, “And the disease killed people and animals alike. As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved by their righteousness.”

Now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says. He’s talking to Ezekiel. “How terrible it will be when I send all four of these dreadful punishments, when they fall upon Jerusalem.” God even got to the point with Jeremiah, that He told Jeremiah to stop praying for the nation. Can you imagine being Jeremiah, and God comes to you and say, “Stop praying for Judah. Stop. They have reached a point of no return.” Let me read it to you, Jeremiah 7:16. “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them and don’t beg Me to help them, for I will not listen to you. Don’t you see what they’re doing throughout the towns of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem? No wonder,” this is God speaking to Jeremiah. “No wonder I’m so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven.”

Many might not understand who the Queen of Heaven is. Jonathan Cahn refers to her as the seducer, Ishtar, Asherah. They’re making sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple to the Queen of Heaven. “See how angry I am? And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods! Am I the one they are hurting?” asks the Lord. “Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.” There is a point of no return with God. Do not intercede with prayer. Do not weep for them anymore. It’s recorded again in chapter 11, verse 14. “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to Me in distress.”

Part 2

So, let me ask you a question. Logically speaking, you know what we would think? What if they fasted? The holy men didn’t work, Noah, Daniel, and Job. Jeremiah stopped praying. But what if the people fasted? Would that change God’s point of no return? Jeremiah 14:11, no opinions. We’re not seeking opinions tonight, we’re seeking God’s Word. In Jeremiah 14:11: Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore. And when they fast, I will pay no attention. And when they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.”

Now, tonight, I would like for you to do something. I would like you to put yourself in the shoes of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, just reviewing what they have just experienced in the presence of God. And I want to ask you a question. How would you respond? You see, Ezekiel and Jeremiah are real people just like us who have encountered the anger of God. He has reached a point of no return. How would you respond to this anger of God that has revealed the end of His patience, that the nation has reached a point of no return? How will Jeremiah respond? How would you respond? Think about it for a moment.

Can you negotiate? Here’s Jeremiah’s response, verse 13. “And then I said, ‘O sovereign Lord, their prophets,” and let me insert a word for us to have understanding, their preachers. “O sovereign Lord,” their preachers, “Their prophets are telling us all is well. No war, no famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.” And then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.”

So, I want you to stop in the story for a moment and ask the question, because it’s at this stage in the story that everybody asked the question, where’s the mercy of God? Where’s the love and mercy of God for His chosen people? This is Judah, this is Jerusalem. It’s the next verse, and I want everybody here tonight to hear it clearly, asking the question, where is the mercy? But before I read it to you, I want to make this point. We must do something. We must put the mercy of God alongside the absolute holiness of God, for He is both.

Everyone loves the idea of the mercy of God. Yes, of course we do. But He is also absolute holiness and we must put both side by side. Here is the mercy of God revealed in verse 17. “Now, Jeremiah, say this to them.” This is God talking to Jeremiah. Listen. “Night and day, my eyes overflow with tears.” This is how God sees the scene. “Night and day, my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping.” God says this? “I cannot stop weeping for my virgin daughter, my precious people.”

He doesn’t want them to die! He doesn’t want them to perish! “The prophets and priests continue with their work, but they don’t know what they’re doing.” They have religion without reality. Sound familiar? In that statement, we see the heart of God. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to tell you, I am moved. When God would say to Jeremiah or God would say to us tonight, “Night and day, my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping for my virgin daughter.” He doesn’t want them to perish.

Is God not the God of mercy? Is God not the God of justice, righteousness, and absolute holiness? Is God not the God that forgives? Is God not the God who restores? But on the other side, is God not the God that brings judgment for those who rebel against Him? But what about the covenant? You know, Jeremiah’s going to eventually ask, “But what about the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Is everything lost?”

And this is Jeremiah’s response to God. Next verse, verse 19: Lord, have you completely rejected Judah? Do you really hate Jerusalem? Why have you wounded us past all hope of healing? We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror. Lord, we confess our wickedness, and that of our ancestors, too. We all have sinned against you. And for the sake of your reputation, Lord, do not abandon us.

Now, listen up. Here’s the turning point in the story. It’s at this point in the story that many of you will think, if you haven’t studied this text, you’re going to think that God will relent and reveal that He really didn’t have a point of no return at all. When Jeremiah brings up the covenant and when Jeremiah cries out to God, you’re going to think, “Okay, God’s going to say, ‘One more chance. One more chance!'” And you’d be wrong. If you think He’s running a big bluff, you’d be wrong.

You see, God is not a man. He doesn’t think or reason like men do. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. And if you think He’s running a big bluff with idle threats against Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the nation of Judah, you’d be dead wrong. And to the church tonight, let me say the same thing. God does not bluff. This is how God responded to Jeremiah’s humble and desperate plea.

And you know, what moved me is when Jeremiah says to God, “Remember the covenant you made. Remember the promise.” Jeremiah doesn’t have anything else left, and he says, “Just remember the covenant, and for the sake of your own reputation, please relent from the wrath you have announced upon Judah.”

This is God’s response. Verse one, chapter 15. And then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel,'” now He’s introducing two more names, two more holy men. “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!” And if they say to you, “But where can we go,” tell them this is what the Lord says, “Those who are destined for death.” As I read this tonight, I want you to see a road that has no exits. It has no more off-ramps, no place to go down at the end of the ramp and turn around and get on the other road going the other way. “‘Those who are destined for death, to death, those who are destined for war, to war, those who are destined for famine, to famine, those who are destined for captivity, to captivity. I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left. Because of the wickedness,” listen carefully, church. “Because of the wicked things Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people,” Judah, “An object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.”

They were trapped. Judah lies trapped on a road with no exits, no off-ramps, no place to go and turn around. Those destined for death were going to experience death. Those destined for war were going to have war. Those destined, the word destined is, your destination has now been determined. Those destined for famine, to famine, destined for captivity, to captivity. And here I ask a question.

Part 3

This is so important for us in America today. What was the sin that brought the nation of Judah to the point of no return with God? Does it matter? What was it? What did Manasseh do? God brings up King Manasseh to Jeremiah in the midst of this horrible scene. What did Manasseh do and what did he lead others to do that brought the nation of Judah to the point of no return with God? What could King Manasseh have done that brought God to tell Jeremiah, “Get them out of my sight! Away with them!”

This is Judah, this is Jerusalem, the chosen people of the covenant! King Manasseh built pagan altars inside the temple of the Lord and he sacrificed his son to a false god. Idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood. Listen carefully. Do you think we serve a different God? Idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood. America, does it sound familiar today? Idolatry. When America started pushing God out of the public square, out of school, out of government, out of academia, out, out, out, it wasn’t the idea that it would be empty. It would just make room for false gods to fill the vacuum of the one true God. It’s called idolatry, when something, someone, takes the place of the one true God.

And what about the shedding of innocent blood? Abortion plagues our land today. King Manasseh sacrificed his own son on the altar. Child sacrifice, it’s abortion. The God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in this scene, let there be no doubt, it is not open for debate, had reached the point of no return. “Don’t pray for them anymore, Jeremiah. Even if Noah, Job, and Daniel prayed, it wouldn’t stop it. Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!” This is God speaking.

And at the time of His divine choosing, God did everything He said He would do to Judah and to Jerusalem. Idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood, which is child sacrifice, brought the nation of Judah to a total abandonment and destruction. Now, here’s the point I want to make clear, here. Not only did King Manasseh do it in his own family, he promoted it as the government to the people. The government was promoting idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood. The king is the government in this system of Judah and the government was promoting idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood from the top down to the people, and it brought the nation to a point of no return.

I’m going to repeat Jeremiah 15:3-4: “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “And I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what’s left. Because,” why, why? “Because of the wicked things Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did In Jerusalem, I will make my people,” did you hear the word, “My people?” He acknowledges these are the chosen seed of Abraham. “I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Conclusion

So, let’s go back to the original question. Does God have a point of no return? Yes, He does. Yes, there is a point of no return, and I want to say something very clearly tonight. We don’t know where that line’s at. I can’t, excuse me, it can be different for a nation than it is for a person. Let me make it clear. Jeremiah survived the siege of Jerusalem. So the individual, Jeremiah, survived. The nation of Judah fell. So, there was a point of no return for the nation of Judah, including Jerusalem. They fell, Jeremiah lived. You see, it’s not for us to determine that line for individuals, the point of no return.

In other words, we can’t look at someone and say, “They’ve crossed the line, the line of point of no return.” We can’t look at any individual and say that. Only God can make that determination. We do not determine that line or place of no return. We leave that determination and judgment to God and God alone, and that’s for individuals. And for the nation, right now, America, we’re a nation in freefall. That’s the topic.

Tim Moore: Terry’s message does not tickle the ears. Some are offended by his assertion that America is at (or past) the point of no return. I’m reminded of the responses Elijah and Jeremiah and other prophets of God received when they spoke the Word of the Lord. Elijah was resented as a “troubler” and Jeremiah was cast into a pit. But the warning they sounded was accurate and true.

Nathan Jones: We believe that it’s important to speak truth to power and to the masses of people who are risking the wrath of God through their behavior. And, we also believe that it is critical that the church be stirred from its lethargy.

Tim Moore: In the coming weeks, we’re going to bring you portions of the other messages offered at our 2024 Bible conference. All of them are prophetic in nature, since they forthtell God’s Word and foretell what is coming if our nation in freefall does not repent and turn back to God.

Next week, we’ll share excerpts from Mike Huckabee’s wonderful presentation. He’ll have you laughing and crying as he shares from his experiences as the former Governor of Arkansas and lifelong follower of Jesus Christ. In the following weeks, we’ll share from our other speakers, including Nathan Shackelford, Tommy Nelson, Dave Reagan, Dave Bowen, Nathan Jones, and me.

Before we go, it is imperative that you understand one thing. As long as you have breath, you have not passed the point of no return. You still have hope. No matter who you are or what you have done, Jesus Christ offers forgiveness for sin and everlasting life. Just confess your sinfulness to Him, ask Him to forgive you, and believe upon Him for your eternal salvation. If you do that, He IS faithful and true and will forgive you and guarantee you everlasting life.

Nathan Jones: So, do not wait. None of us knows how long we will remain in this life. Once you die, you’ll have passed the point of no return.

Tim Moore: Nathan and I have prayed today that each of you watching this program will come to Jesus and be saved. When He comes for those who are His, soon and very soon, we pray that you are ready and waiting.

If He tarries, we’ll be back next week with another episode of “Christ in Prophecy”. Until then, in the name of Him who was crucified, dead and buried, and was raised from the dead and ascended into Heaven, until He returns…

Godspeed!

End of Program