by Eric Ture Muhammad
Staff Writer

With the world as his stage, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Feb. 25 appeared before a standing room only crowd of more than 4,000 at Christ Universal Temple in Chicago and thousands more around the world via satellite to warn of God�s Divine Judgment on the United States, the presence of Christ, Messiah and Mahdi (as he is called in the three major religious faiths) and justice for Blacks who have suffered under the vestiges of white supremacy.

"Nobody can deal with America but God," the Minister warned during his Saviours� Day 2001 address, calling on white Americans to repent for the suffering of Blacks in slavery and even today. To the Blacks in the audience, he said, "You are going to know that God is in the world and He is not going to be denied. I am here to pronounce a death sentence. You will be chastised. There is no preacher that�s going to make you a better people."

The 67-year-old leader of the Nation of Islam told the audience that the heart that God has given him for His people and his time among them is all but completed. "You are insane with your madness and now God is going to punish you; and when He gets through whipping you, you will be ready to bow down and clean up your act," he said.

The much anticipated appearance of Min. Farrakhan and his near two-hour message comes in between his recovery from major corrective surgery last November and an additional, yet, minor operation scheduled for later this year. His doctors and family believe the latter operation will restore his health completely.

"It is not that I am sick," he explained. "It just will take a little bit more time to get all the way back to where I want to be. But I thank God that we can praise God together."

The Minister expressed gratitude and sincere love for the clergy present and all of those that preach the word of God. He said he hoped his words would encourage clergy "to preach the word stronger."

Before going directly into his subject matter, he took a moment to express to the followers, supporters and family of Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad his sympathy over the death of the New Black Panther Party leader. "It is with deep sadness that I received the news of brother�s being in the hospital," he said. "In truth, I grieved for several days, because I never thought that I would see my brother in that state. But you know that no soul dies but by the permission of God. Death is the irrevocable will of the Eternal.

"So while we are here we should do the best that we can. Not to serve ourselves, but to serve God. In truth the only thing that remains is that which you do for Him," he said.

Quoting the Prophet Isaiah, Min. Farrakhan explained that the work of mass salvation cannot be done void of anointing. "If the spirit of God is not on you, then you will only be like tinkling cymbals and sounding brass. You will be more of an entertainer in the name of God, but you will not produce that which is necessary to claim Jesus, to claim the Messiah, to claim the presence of God," he said.

Min. Farrakhan said that too many people like to see God and His Christ in "milquetoast" terms, denying the destructive power of an angry God.

He said that Satan comes in the straight path of religion and that the ultimate aim is to confuse the righteous in their worship of God, making the coming of His servant unrecognizable, and force the people to reject God�s anointed.

He spoke of the increased appetite for filth in the world and how, in 2001, those who strove to make a way in entertainment and sports for Blacks in the early years, would turn over in their graves if they could see the antics of Black entertainers and athletes.

The Minister explained the need to place Christ "in a context of time" in order for those who preach and follow to recognize his presence through his works. Sometimes, Min. Farrakhan confided, preachers lose the humility that is necessary for God to come and actually remove the blinders so that Christ�s coming can be seen.

"The enemy is god of his world and he requires everyone in his world to bow in submission to him. Anyone who comes into his world to preach of a new world coming, he persecutes that person," he said.

Glad tidings, the Minister said, are not based in how many Blacks are appointed to office nor in the faith-based initiative overtures of the George W. Bush administration.

He also reasoned that the recent allegations and probes into Rev. Jesse Jackson�s personal life are orchestrated attacks to stop the momentum building in the Florida vote challenge, a fight that former Vice-President Al Gore conceded, but one that the Rev. Jackson took up in support of the franchise of Black, Hispanic and Jewish voters. Secondly, the attack is to prove the point that when you are no longer useful to whites, they close their doors to you, he said.

He also addressed the immaturity of white America in its inability to accept a would-be Jewish vice-president in Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), citing white America as being truly anti-Semitic.

Minister Farrakhan told the gathering that the question of who is the deliverer and how and when shall he deliver the people from their undeserved suffering are the questions to be answered.

He called upon the world to watch the weather and calamities that are consuming America with great intensity, promising the world has not seen the worst of it yet. He also issued a warning to the Arab and African nations in particular not to side with America against their Arab and African brethren. God, he said, will bring their respective countries to ruin.

The Minister assured that the Nation of Islam will never fall and asked the public to continue to support the Million Family March Economic Development Fund. "You will never see the Nation of Islam go down. We will float, while everything else dies around it. I say, Black man, come on and let�s build a mighty house."

The event opened with prayer by Sheikh Ahmed Tijani and a musical selection by Felicia Colemon Evans. Also during the program, testimony about God�s saving grace came from several people involved in life-threatening accidents. (See related story on page 3.)

Commenting on the significance of the message, Florence Cox, a Chicago educator, told The Final Call, "It was the message I expected, it was right on time. What I like most about him is that he teaches, rather than preaches, to people. More and more today, we need more understanding about the word and how we can use it in our daily lives.

"He�s always able to take the time and the issues and put the two together for the benefit of the people. He�s always on target," she said.

Min. Rahman Muhammad of Atlanta said, "It was a very serious message, it�s no longer time for us to procrastinate in getting ourselves together to push the Nation of Islam like we should. We should not let a week go by without bringing a new convert into the Nation of Islam."

"We saw a very youthful man, a very focused man," commented Min. Ishmael Muhammad of Mosque Maryam. "We can tell by the message that it was something that Allah put on his heart to share with us. I�m hoping all of us will internalize the message because the Honorable Elijah Muhammad�s program is self-reliance. We must do for self or suffer the consequences."

Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons said he appreciates the fact that the Minister will speak on subjects that other leaders avoid. "I�m proud that he tells the truth," he said, "unlike other Black leaders who don�t tell the truth like it should be told. People ask me why I�m so concerned about the Minister. It�s because he tells the truth. In order for change to take place, you have to recognize the truth."

Dr. Lenora B. Fulani of the Committee for a United Independent Party was among the 2,000 people viewing the program at Friendship Baptist Church in New York.

"I�ve always listened very closely when he is talking about the political future of our community and how both parties of white supremacy, the Democratic and Republican parties, continue to manipulate us and how we have to get smarter and more sophisticated in developing our responses to that. He is absolutely right," she said.

(Richard Muhammad, Abisayo Muhammad and James Muhammad contributed to this article.)