Heaven Bound

In my last post, Echoes of Paradise Lost, I shared with you, what may have been a warning regarding the future of the Hawaiian Islands. In this post, I would like to explore the possibility of why. But, before we do that, I will reiterate once again, that I am not a prophet, I have no idea, when this may take place, if at all. I do believe that America, because of her sins, without repentance, is due for judgment, which could, of course, include the Hawaiian Islands.

A History Lesson

Hawaii became the fiftieth state of the Union on August 21, 1959. The only state in the Union composed entirely of islands. Born out of the sea and forged by fire each island is volcanic in origin. And, situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it is the most remote island chain in the world, 3000 miles from the closest continental land mass and 2,000 miles from the nearest island.

It has been determined that the first people to arrive in the islands were Polynesians, who arrived by canoe from the Marquesas somewhere around 300-500 AD. Expert seamen, who used their knowledge of the stars and sea for navigation, they made the incredible 2,500 mile journey to these islands bringing with them pigs, dogs, edible plants and their native religion; a polytheistic, animist religion that among other things, included human sacrifice. 

The Hawaiian religious system demanded death for the breaking of a kapu. If men and women ate together, the penalty was death. If a woman ate pork or certain fish or bananas the penalty was death. If the shadow of a commoner fell on an alii or chief the penalty was death. The Hawaiian gods were hard taskmasters demanding all manner of sacrifice and offerings. The Kapu system was enforced by the alii who gave authority to the high chiefs and the high chiefs gave power to their various sub‑chiefs and at the bottom of the system was the commoner Hawaiian.  All of the commoners were slaves to the chiefs and the chiefs were slaves to the alii.  Nothing was ever owned by the people,  it could only be used by the permission of the chief or Alii for his purposes.   http://hawaii-inns.com/history/index.htm

Enslaved by a brutal religious system that favored the Ali’i or Chiefs over the common people, God heard their cry and the first Christian missionaries arrived in the islands aboard the sailing ship Thaddeus on the 30th of March, 1820. The name Thaddeus, which, means,“heart or courageous heart” – a more than fitting name, I would say, for the vessel that carried these first brave souls from the comforts of  their New England homes to one of the farthest corners of the earth; all for the express purpose of bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the people’s of Hawaii. 

And, from the journal of the Thaddeus on the date of their arrival, one can see that there was great hope that God had made ready the hearts of the people of Hawaii for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and, in fact, he had, for in the year just prior to their arrival, the old religious system was already being abandoned and the Kapu system abolished leaving a great spiritual vacuum in its wake.  http://missionhouses.blogspot.com/2010/04/march-30-1820.html

In 1823, Queen Keopuolani, was the first Hawaiian to be baptized in to the Christian faith followed by Queen Ka’ahumanu, who was baptized on December 5, 1825  and she strongly encouraged her subjects to do the same. From Wikipedia:

In April 1824, Kaʻahumanu publicly acknowledged her embrace of Protestant Christianity and encouraged her subjects to be baptized into the faith.^{[citation needed]} That same year, she presented Hawaiʻi with its first codified body of laws modeled after Christian ethics and values and the Ten Commandments. Kaʻahumanu was baptized on December 5, 1825 at the site where Kawaiahaʻo Church stands today. She took the name “Elizabeth”.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%CA%BBahumanu

The early conversion of Hawaiian royalty became central to the work that God would do among these islands. And, one of the most dramatic demonstrations of faith came when, high chiefess Kapiolani challenged the ancient goddess Pele by descending 500 feet into the active volcano Kilauea, without first offering the traditional Hawaiian sacrifices, offering up instead, a simple Christian prayer, later to emerge (to the amazement of those watching) from the depths of the volcano, completely unscathed.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiefess_Kapiolani

Without a doubt, it was the advent of these early missionaries that changed life in these Hawaiian islands from one of brutality and enslavement to one of education and freedom. And, in 1840, the Hawaiian government entered in to a covenant with God, which, remains binding to this day, in spite, of its being breached.

*Through its Declaration of Rights in 1839 and its Constitution in 1840, the Kingdom of Hawaii established as its paramount principle: “That no law shall be enacted which is at variance [contradiction] with the word of the Lord Jehovah, or at variance with the general spirit of His word. All laws of the Islands shall be in consistency with the general spirit of God’s law.”  

The Lord’s Vineyard

In the following years, it was not only churches that were established, but, schools and businesses and the islands began to flourish with new-found wealth from the very lucrative development of sugar and pineapple plantations. Workers from around the globe began to arrive en masse to meet the growing needs of Hawaii’s newest industry. In an effort to avoid the costly tariff’s for the exportation of these products, (primarily, to the United States) a conspiracy was developed among plantation owners, to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy, so that the Hawaiian Islands might be annexed to the United States, thus avoiding the costly tariffs that were cutting into profits. And, on January 17, 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was deposed at gunpoint and a provisional government was established under wealthy plantation owner, and, son of Protestant missionaries, Sanford B. Dole.

A Queen’s Plea

In 1893, Queen Lili’uokalani made the following heartfelt plea to the Christian people of the United States on behalf of the Hawaiian monarchy.

“Oh, honest Americans, as Christians hear me for my downtrodden people! Their form of government is as dear to them as yours is precious to you. Quite as warmly as you love your country, so they love theirs. Do not covet the little vineyards of Naboth’s so far from your shores, lest the punishment of Ahab fall upon you, if not in your day, in that of your children, for “be not deceived, God is not mocked.” The people to whom your fathers told of the living God, and taught to call “Father,” and whom the sons now seek to despoil and destroy, are crying aloud to Him in their time of trouble; and He will keep His promise, and will listen to the voices of His Hawaiian children lamenting for their homes.”

Citing from 1 Kings, chapter 21, the Queen likens the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the annexation of the Hawaiian islands by the United States to that of Naboth’s vineyard, which was coveted and seized by Ahab and Jezebel after first having Naboth murdered. And, while God pronounced judgment on Ahab and Jezebel for their terrible deeds, judgment, (at least in Ahab’s case) was postponed from Ahab himself, when, he repented, but, was not rescinded, but, was rather passed to that of his descendants; the very point the Queen was making.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself, I will not bring disaster in his day, but, I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”  1 Kings 21:28-30.

In Summary –

1 – It is my humble opinion that these islands were illegally seized by the United States; an act for which, they and/or their descendants may still be held responsible. God may have deferred his judgment for a time, but, until there is repentance and restitution, the penalty remains outstanding and may yet be forthcoming.  

2 – As part of the United States, Hawaii shares in the collective sins of the nation and, will share in whatever judgment, she is due.

3 – More than a few believe, there is a cover-up and falsification of facts by Hawaiian officials regarding the birth certificate of President Obama – allowing a man to remain in office, who may not have the legal right to do so.  A man, who has proven himself to be an enemy, rather, than a friend  to Israel – which, by default means that we, by virtue of electing him in to office have chosen to curse Israel rather than bless her.  And, Hawaii voted overwhelmingly for Obama, in the last election. 

If God should allow destruction to come to these islands, as these dreams suggest, (God forbid), the United States would lose not only the benefits of this lucrative little vineyard, but, more importantly, key military installations essential to the Western United States and the Pacific rim from a strategic point of view would be lost as well.

I love these islands and care deeply about their future. Pray with me that the hard work began by those early missionaries, so many years ago, will continue to bear good fruit. Pray with me, also, that the people of Hawaii will courageously stand for righteousness, as their forbears did, and as their state motto suggests:

“Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ‘Aina i ka Pono”  – The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.

And, as always,

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6

Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

***   For an excellent summary on Hawaiian sovereignty from a Christian perspective, click below: (and, please, refrain from any debate in the comments section regarding the issue of  Hawaiian sovereignty; all information presented here is for your thoughtful and prayerful consideration only).  Mahalo!  Cindy

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/HAWAII/leonsiu/Biblical%20View%20Text.htm