…holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3:5)
Increasingly, we see a false repentance to a false god. It is like watching the pieces of an unholy puzzle being assembled. The goddess worship of The Shack, Emergence/homosexuality (homospirituality), contemplative practices, and the 12 Steps are all joining together as the rudimentary “roots” of something even bigger. While it may also have Rome, this coming system will have neither the Biblical Christ nor His followers.
Many have difficulty recognizing Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 Step spirituality as anti-Biblical, much less as a rudimentary cog in this rising apostasy. Why? Sadly, with time and familiarity, even a wolf can masquerade as the family dog.
The 12 Steps are an integral part of our culture. For years Christians have participated in A.A. and “Christ-centered” 12 Step groups. This participation is increasing, as pastors ignore Scripture and allow A.A. meetings to be conducted in the very House of God.
These pastors hope that A.A. will serve as a tool for evangelism—and so it does. Unfortunately, it is the Christians who are being “evangelized” as they are exposed to A.A.’s inherent universalism. Christians both in A.A. and in groups such as ‘Celebrate Recovery’ are greatly influenced by 12 Step theology.
A.A.’s Christian promoters and defenders are fierce and active. They are convinced—and have convinced others—that A.A. and the 12 Steps are Biblical in origin. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Before we proceed, remember that A.A. people are mostly unsaved, and in grave need of Christ. They are hurt, desperate, sinful people. In short, they are just as we were. As we wade through the swamp of this deceptive religion, it is important to remember this. Unsaved A.A. people are doing the best they can with what they have been taught—which is that anything and everything can be worshiped as a “higher power.” In A.A., any concept of “god” is valid.
According to the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (the A.A. “bible”), “We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of the Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men. When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God.”[1] (Bold mine)
Well, that sounds very loving and reasonable. Yet Christ Himself warns us against such a thing. Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but through me. (John 14:6)
The Lord, in fact, specifically warns against the broad way. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is BROAD that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” (Matthew 7:13)
It is no coincidence that the A.A. Big Book again makes a direct reference to this spiritual Broad Highway: “If our testimony helps sweep away prejudice, enables you to think honestly, encourages you to search diligently within yourself, then, if you wish, you can join us on the Broad Highway. With this attitude you cannot fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to you.”[2] (Bold mine)
In 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, we are told to separate ourselves. In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul says that he who brings another gospel is “accursed.” The Alcoholics Anonymous theology, wherein Christ is seen as one higher power among many, is most certainly another gospel.
If Christians were to base involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous on the Word of God—Sola Scriptura—we would not be at the meetings at all.
Why, then, are so many of us part of it? Most Christians believe A.A. and the 12 Steps have a Biblical beginning. Therefore, the reasoning goes, we can either “take back” the 12 Steps (Celebrate Recovery etc.), or attend A.A with Jesus as our “higher power.”
But there is no “taking back” something that never came from Christ.
When all is said and done, the spread of this false “Christian” origin can be largely credited to Richard Burns, better known as Dick B., author of numerous books on the Biblical “roots” of A.A. and the 12 Steps. Through sheer repetition and volume, Dick B. has conjured up a Christian origin that simply did not happen.[3]
This is neither to attack nor impugn this author’s motives. Yet it is virtually impossible to address this issue without dealing with his well meaning but erroneous scholarship. His books are seemingly everywhere.
The 12 Steps are based on general spiritual principles. When A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson was first given the 12 Steps by a familiar spirit, Jesus Christ was not mentioned. There was only a generic reference to “God,” and even that was changed to “God as we understood Him.” (A.A.’s Step 3)
Nor is there any reference in the 12 Steps to sin or repentance. There are terms that are close, allowing Christians to believe this is what they are dealing with, just as many believe the “God as we understood Him” in Step 3 was originally Christ.
A.A.’s 12 Steps suggest the alcoholic deal with “shortcomings,” “moral inventory,” “defects of character,” “wrongs,” and “making amends.” Millions of unsaved people have come to believe they are right with God and man because of the Steps.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Both the Alcoholics Anonymous cofounders were heavily involved in spiritualism. This means little to people today, saturated as we are with entertainment that celebrates communication with the spirit world. Through rapidly spreading practices such as the meditative states of contemplative prayer, contact with demonic beings is now a daily event for many.
Since fully sixty percent of the Body of Christ no longer believe Satan is real, A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson’s communication with evil spirits is generally laughed off or disbelieved.
C.S. Lewis believed it. When a concerned Tony Guggenheim wrote Lewis a letter informing him of Bill and Lois Wilson’s Biblically forbidden activities, C.S. Lewis wrote back, “This is necromancy. Have nothing to do with it.”[4]
Christians too easily give C.S. Lewis a pass regarding some of his fiction. Either it lines up with the Bible, or it should not be read or viewed as “entertainment.” Still, Lewis was clearly horrified the A.A. cofounder was involved in spiritualism.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
America Is Not Babylon
The purity of Holy Scripture is a miracle of miracles. Read any passage in the Bible and then do a little research. You will find clear interpretation for that Scripture. Words that the Spirit used can never be understood properly by pulling a meaning out of the air. The word “water” when used as a type is always the Word of God. When God says “Jerusalem,” He means the chosen of God. It is either His chosen city or His chosen people.
Babylon is used in the Bible over 295 times. When the Bible says “Mystery Babylon,” He speaks of a religion that has become evil and corrupt because “Babylon” is the seat of Satan. When He says “Babylon” without a modifying adjective, He means Babylon the city, which was founded by Nimrod. To try to identify America as Babylon is utterly contrary to Biblical interpretation. Using that kind of method to study the Bible leads to all kinds of misunderstandings. Always let the Bible interpret itself.
Mystery Babylon is clearly the End Time apostasy of false Christianity. The seventeenth chapter of Revelation is the most noted example. A harlot woman is another Biblical type of corrupt Christianity. A pure woman represents the pure faith of our Lord. The harlot woman is the opposite. When you put “Mystery Babylon” with the “harlot woman,” you have a double picture of the utter false religion of the Seven Years of Tribulation. It is religion at its lowest manifestation in human history. This is the church of the Antichrist.
Revelation chapter eighteen is the city of Babylon rebuilt in the Southern part of Iraq. To try to superimpose this chapter into America is contrary to every Biblical principle. There is not one basis for such transliterating of the Holy Bible. The main reason this is often tried is because our nation has a preponderance of sins. I certainly admit that, but it is not God’s method of understanding the Word of God. What if we did that kind of twisting of all Scripture? Think of the mess it would create with our Bible.
America has got a lot of sins for which we are going to pay. This nation will be subject to all the horrid calamities of the Seven Years of Tribulation. These calamities are God’s instruments for cleansing the world of abortions, fornications, sodomy, and every unclean lifestyle. Millions will die and the wicked will learn that sin is always accountable to the Heavenly Father. Before the worst comes, the Saints will be raptured. But, if the Lord tarries, you may think that the worst has already come even before the Rapture occurs.
Babylon is the city of Babylon and it must be rebuilt to be the capital of the Antichrist Kingdom. It is fitting that His One World Religion that gives him their total worship is called Mystery Babylon. The unity of the two entities is part of the mystery of wickedness. For the early years of the Seven Years, the Antichrist and His false church will be bosom partners. They will use each other. So, calling one “Babylon” and the other one “Mystery Babylon” is perfect prophecy.
By the end of the Seven Years, the two Babylons will clash and the Antichrist will pour his fury upon Mystery Babylon and burn her with fire. “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (Revelation 17:16). This truth also destroys the idea that both chapters are talking about Rome as Mystery Babylon. How could the Antichrist from literal Babylon burn Mystery Babylon if both are the same Babylon? Again, the Bible leaves little room for misunderstanding if you let Scripture interpret Scripture.
This totally destroys the thought that America is Babylon. The question is an unanswerable one when we try to put America in some cubbyhole of prophecy. Much of the world is unnamed as you study the Bible. Basically, the Bible’s prophecy picture is a Middle Eastern setting. You may call us an “Isle of the Sea” and that would put us in the Gog and Magog event. I personally believe that when the army of Russians and Islamic countries march towards Israel, we will either come to Israel’s defense or suffer great destruction in cities like New York and Washington, DC. That is still uncertain and our defense of Israel should not be done just to save our own necks.
History, not the Bible, proves that the Great Creator puts America in her wealthy position to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the world. He also ordained us to win the Second World War and be a partner in the development of the Nation of Israel. Defending Israel since 1948, providing Israel with a faithful partnership, and being her ally right down to the end is absolutely God’s will for our great nation. Anyone that would undercut that purpose needs to remember that God is still the sole owner and keeper of this Universe. He can pull down an arrogant president just like He allowed Him to be elected. I would suggest that any president or politician should watch his words and actions because God knows all things and Israel is His heartthrob.
America is not Babylon, but America is answerable to God for our grievous sins and for our responsibility to Israel.
Babylon is used in the Bible over 295 times. When the Bible says “Mystery Babylon,” He speaks of a religion that has become evil and corrupt because “Babylon” is the seat of Satan. When He says “Babylon” without a modifying adjective, He means Babylon the city, which was founded by Nimrod. To try to identify America as Babylon is utterly contrary to Biblical interpretation. Using that kind of method to study the Bible leads to all kinds of misunderstandings. Always let the Bible interpret itself.
Mystery Babylon is clearly the End Time apostasy of false Christianity. The seventeenth chapter of Revelation is the most noted example. A harlot woman is another Biblical type of corrupt Christianity. A pure woman represents the pure faith of our Lord. The harlot woman is the opposite. When you put “Mystery Babylon” with the “harlot woman,” you have a double picture of the utter false religion of the Seven Years of Tribulation. It is religion at its lowest manifestation in human history. This is the church of the Antichrist.
Revelation chapter eighteen is the city of Babylon rebuilt in the Southern part of Iraq. To try to superimpose this chapter into America is contrary to every Biblical principle. There is not one basis for such transliterating of the Holy Bible. The main reason this is often tried is because our nation has a preponderance of sins. I certainly admit that, but it is not God’s method of understanding the Word of God. What if we did that kind of twisting of all Scripture? Think of the mess it would create with our Bible.
America has got a lot of sins for which we are going to pay. This nation will be subject to all the horrid calamities of the Seven Years of Tribulation. These calamities are God’s instruments for cleansing the world of abortions, fornications, sodomy, and every unclean lifestyle. Millions will die and the wicked will learn that sin is always accountable to the Heavenly Father. Before the worst comes, the Saints will be raptured. But, if the Lord tarries, you may think that the worst has already come even before the Rapture occurs.
Babylon is the city of Babylon and it must be rebuilt to be the capital of the Antichrist Kingdom. It is fitting that His One World Religion that gives him their total worship is called Mystery Babylon. The unity of the two entities is part of the mystery of wickedness. For the early years of the Seven Years, the Antichrist and His false church will be bosom partners. They will use each other. So, calling one “Babylon” and the other one “Mystery Babylon” is perfect prophecy.
By the end of the Seven Years, the two Babylons will clash and the Antichrist will pour his fury upon Mystery Babylon and burn her with fire. “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (Revelation 17:16). This truth also destroys the idea that both chapters are talking about Rome as Mystery Babylon. How could the Antichrist from literal Babylon burn Mystery Babylon if both are the same Babylon? Again, the Bible leaves little room for misunderstanding if you let Scripture interpret Scripture.
This totally destroys the thought that America is Babylon. The question is an unanswerable one when we try to put America in some cubbyhole of prophecy. Much of the world is unnamed as you study the Bible. Basically, the Bible’s prophecy picture is a Middle Eastern setting. You may call us an “Isle of the Sea” and that would put us in the Gog and Magog event. I personally believe that when the army of Russians and Islamic countries march towards Israel, we will either come to Israel’s defense or suffer great destruction in cities like New York and Washington, DC. That is still uncertain and our defense of Israel should not be done just to save our own necks.
History, not the Bible, proves that the Great Creator puts America in her wealthy position to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the world. He also ordained us to win the Second World War and be a partner in the development of the Nation of Israel. Defending Israel since 1948, providing Israel with a faithful partnership, and being her ally right down to the end is absolutely God’s will for our great nation. Anyone that would undercut that purpose needs to remember that God is still the sole owner and keeper of this Universe. He can pull down an arrogant president just like He allowed Him to be elected. I would suggest that any president or politician should watch his words and actions because God knows all things and Israel is His heartthrob.
America is not Babylon, but America is answerable to God for our grievous sins and for our responsibility to Israel.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Christians, Conspiracies, Faith and Love
“...but the just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4.
Conspiracy theories abound and are being thrown at us from every angle. Recently I was provided with a link to a two hour video that if true would probably scare the most hardened atheist. The video begins by proclaiming that all our past presidents had been puppets clear back to, but excluding, John F. Kennedy. This recent conspiracy points to multi-billionaires, the bankers of the world, as the ones holding the puppet strings of our government leaders. It seems, according to this theory, these greedy fiends are the ones behind the push to a one world government. These theorists say there are concentration camps being built all over the US to imprison those who know the truth. They are constructed and will be utilized to keep the nonconformist silent while these evil and maniacal men and women pour out their treachery on the rest of unsuspecting mankind. Is this truth or fiction?
Conspiracy theorists have been around forever it seems, and they always appear when times get tough. Our economy is in the tank and our government leaders seem bent on replacing the US Constitution with some other form of government; no one really seems to be able to put their finger on just what form of government that’s going to be, whether it’s new designation will be that of a socialistic or communistic form of government is yet to be seen. To the theorists, the American republic we once knew and loved is all but washed up.
Certainly we can clearly see there’s a movement afoot to eliminate our US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We see them both being trampled and trashed more and more every day. Worst of all, in my mind, is what’s happening to the Christian Church in America . The signs are so painfully obvious yet biblical. Clearly, the apostasy of the Church is nigh at hand. Yes, absolutely something evil this way comes. Those who have no faith in God have no hope for anything better. But the true born again believer, those who are “in Christ” are justified and thus living in faith, right?
My brethren, do yourselves a huge favor and stop listening to men or women who have their own agendas apart from God’s. Whether they be our government leaders or conspiracy theorists, or even some of our church leaders, stop this lunacy and let’s remember what God told Habakkuk “The Just shall live by his faith”. Our faith is in Jesus Christ and also our trust. Many of these conspiracy theories seem to be in line with Bible prophecy, so where better to turn than to God and His word for the details? I’m not saying that these conspiracies can’t be true, but that we should approach each new theory through the lens of scripture always remembering in whom we’ve placed our faith and trust.
God gave us His word to study, to immerse ourselves in, and to obtain the truth. God is truth and He puts more emphases on the truth of His word than on His very name. That’s why it is so important that we live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. “...that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Deuteronomy 8:3. Even when our Lord was being tempted in the wilderness for forty days it was God’s word that He always fell back on as He rebuked the Devil.
Aren’t Christians being tempted each day? Where should we turn if not to the Lord? Will we see the times we live in worsen? Probably. If we are worrying and fretting now while we are still living in abundance, what’s going to happen to our faith and our witness as we see the US crumble around us? The Just shall live by faith. Who are the just? If you are a born again believer you are justified and you now live by faith.
The Bible is a history lesson, and it has taught us plenty about mankind’s past history, and interestingly we are also given a look at the future history of all mankind. We call the future history prophecy. Prophecy is all through the Bible; God uses prophecy to authenticate His word. Whether we are inundated with conspiracy theories or evil ungodly people pushing to realign this planet as a one world government everything has been written down for us before hand so we wouldn’t be surprised. My point is, God will not allow anything to happen in this world that doesn’t conform to His plan, His will for the future of mankind.
Sincerely studying the Bible will probably become the national pastime of most born again believers as we traverse these last of days on planet earth. Staying in fellowship and prayer are basics that should never be neglected. Building strong relationships with our brethren will bring huge blessings and benefits to both us and them. God wants us to come together as His children and unite in our common faith. That faith is in Jesus Christ His Son.
There are going to be many aspects of the end times that we disagree on, this is painfully evident, but those disagreements don’t need to tear us apart. Satan loves to get Christians bickering amongst ourselves. My brethren this should not be so. The just are living by faith in Christ and that fact alone becomes our uniting tie that binds us together. We are going to need that binding more and more as we watch these last days drawing to a close.
When will the Church be raptured? No one knows. The heat of persecution is already upon us though, and most believers are already feeling it. What am I speaking about? Take a look at how the ungodly have infiltrated our government and its programs. These people are now pushing their evil attitudes and agendas to replace what was once a free country with new radical socialism. The left and centrist of this country are the antagonists that will stop at nothing to eradicate Christians and our beliefs from being a part of their new enlightened society.
Our faith and our God given rights to oppose anything that is contrary to God’s laws are being systematically discouraged and even eliminated from the American scene. Oh, and of course our newly elected president has some wonderful new agendas that he’s seeing fit to push down the throats of the spiritually blind populace. Please consider that anyone who is opposed to God’s laws will be the ones ratcheting up the heat of persecution upon the Christian community. Again we turn to the book of Habakkuk for God’s response to all this evil. “The just shall live by his faith”. God makes it easy to understand, we are His and we are justified in His sight. Therefore, we shall live out our lives here on earth by faith.
Will America take her place among the trash heaps of discarded past civilizations that refused to humble themselves or to show any respect or reverence for their Creator God? Time will tell. I’ve heard it said that if God doesn’t judge America , He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah . Wow, God really let Sodom and Gomorrah have it. Just what kind of judgment might He have in store for a country that began so strong in the Christian faith and yet has now done a 180 degree turn and is currently engulfed in unholy, godless, evil, activities, so perverse that even Sodom would blush? Since God knows the future of all events, there’s no doubt His plan for America ’s judgment is already set. Christians need not fear God’s fierce wrath, many other Americans should.
My brethren, we have a wonderful Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He came into this world to save us from our sin and to give us life more abundantly. That said, why do we worry so about the future? If we believe that God is in control then whatever happens to America , or the world for that matter, is up to God. All our faithless worries are an abomination since believers are the just who shall live by faith.
First and foremost our focus in these last days, as always, should be on our Lord Jesus and secondly on the lost, not on conspiracy theories. Believers know the final outcome of all this evil that abounds, but what of those who are still living without Jesus? What must be going through their minds as they witness the systematic destruction of our once favored way of life? Some, when they hear the truth, will turn from their wicked ways, but what if no one tells them the truth? When a family member or even a friend dies the last thing any of us will want to hear ourselves saying is, “Why didn’t I tell you, before it was too late”?
Are you one of the just that shall live by his faith? I know there are many road blocks impeding our movements as we try to adhere to our Saviour’s will. By faith we don’t allow Satan to instill fear in us. By faith we won’t allow him to establish a wall of separation between us and the lost. By faith we will allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in all our endeavors. Worrying about what kind of evil reaction might follow our presentation of the Gospel will be nonexistent to those who are justified and living by faith. God will take care of the evil things of this world as long as we are presenting the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There’s a song that I really enjoy singing, and the chorus goes like this, “And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love”. How many lost people have seen your love today Christian?
Conspiracy theories abound and are being thrown at us from every angle. Recently I was provided with a link to a two hour video that if true would probably scare the most hardened atheist. The video begins by proclaiming that all our past presidents had been puppets clear back to, but excluding, John F. Kennedy. This recent conspiracy points to multi-billionaires, the bankers of the world, as the ones holding the puppet strings of our government leaders. It seems, according to this theory, these greedy fiends are the ones behind the push to a one world government. These theorists say there are concentration camps being built all over the US to imprison those who know the truth. They are constructed and will be utilized to keep the nonconformist silent while these evil and maniacal men and women pour out their treachery on the rest of unsuspecting mankind. Is this truth or fiction?
Conspiracy theorists have been around forever it seems, and they always appear when times get tough. Our economy is in the tank and our government leaders seem bent on replacing the US Constitution with some other form of government; no one really seems to be able to put their finger on just what form of government that’s going to be, whether it’s new designation will be that of a socialistic or communistic form of government is yet to be seen. To the theorists, the American republic we once knew and loved is all but washed up.
Certainly we can clearly see there’s a movement afoot to eliminate our US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We see them both being trampled and trashed more and more every day. Worst of all, in my mind, is what’s happening to the Christian Church in America . The signs are so painfully obvious yet biblical. Clearly, the apostasy of the Church is nigh at hand. Yes, absolutely something evil this way comes. Those who have no faith in God have no hope for anything better. But the true born again believer, those who are “in Christ” are justified and thus living in faith, right?
My brethren, do yourselves a huge favor and stop listening to men or women who have their own agendas apart from God’s. Whether they be our government leaders or conspiracy theorists, or even some of our church leaders, stop this lunacy and let’s remember what God told Habakkuk “The Just shall live by his faith”. Our faith is in Jesus Christ and also our trust. Many of these conspiracy theories seem to be in line with Bible prophecy, so where better to turn than to God and His word for the details? I’m not saying that these conspiracies can’t be true, but that we should approach each new theory through the lens of scripture always remembering in whom we’ve placed our faith and trust.
God gave us His word to study, to immerse ourselves in, and to obtain the truth. God is truth and He puts more emphases on the truth of His word than on His very name. That’s why it is so important that we live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. “...that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Deuteronomy 8:3. Even when our Lord was being tempted in the wilderness for forty days it was God’s word that He always fell back on as He rebuked the Devil.
Aren’t Christians being tempted each day? Where should we turn if not to the Lord? Will we see the times we live in worsen? Probably. If we are worrying and fretting now while we are still living in abundance, what’s going to happen to our faith and our witness as we see the US crumble around us? The Just shall live by faith. Who are the just? If you are a born again believer you are justified and you now live by faith.
The Bible is a history lesson, and it has taught us plenty about mankind’s past history, and interestingly we are also given a look at the future history of all mankind. We call the future history prophecy. Prophecy is all through the Bible; God uses prophecy to authenticate His word. Whether we are inundated with conspiracy theories or evil ungodly people pushing to realign this planet as a one world government everything has been written down for us before hand so we wouldn’t be surprised. My point is, God will not allow anything to happen in this world that doesn’t conform to His plan, His will for the future of mankind.
Sincerely studying the Bible will probably become the national pastime of most born again believers as we traverse these last of days on planet earth. Staying in fellowship and prayer are basics that should never be neglected. Building strong relationships with our brethren will bring huge blessings and benefits to both us and them. God wants us to come together as His children and unite in our common faith. That faith is in Jesus Christ His Son.
There are going to be many aspects of the end times that we disagree on, this is painfully evident, but those disagreements don’t need to tear us apart. Satan loves to get Christians bickering amongst ourselves. My brethren this should not be so. The just are living by faith in Christ and that fact alone becomes our uniting tie that binds us together. We are going to need that binding more and more as we watch these last days drawing to a close.
When will the Church be raptured? No one knows. The heat of persecution is already upon us though, and most believers are already feeling it. What am I speaking about? Take a look at how the ungodly have infiltrated our government and its programs. These people are now pushing their evil attitudes and agendas to replace what was once a free country with new radical socialism. The left and centrist of this country are the antagonists that will stop at nothing to eradicate Christians and our beliefs from being a part of their new enlightened society.
Our faith and our God given rights to oppose anything that is contrary to God’s laws are being systematically discouraged and even eliminated from the American scene. Oh, and of course our newly elected president has some wonderful new agendas that he’s seeing fit to push down the throats of the spiritually blind populace. Please consider that anyone who is opposed to God’s laws will be the ones ratcheting up the heat of persecution upon the Christian community. Again we turn to the book of Habakkuk for God’s response to all this evil. “The just shall live by his faith”. God makes it easy to understand, we are His and we are justified in His sight. Therefore, we shall live out our lives here on earth by faith.
Will America take her place among the trash heaps of discarded past civilizations that refused to humble themselves or to show any respect or reverence for their Creator God? Time will tell. I’ve heard it said that if God doesn’t judge America , He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah . Wow, God really let Sodom and Gomorrah have it. Just what kind of judgment might He have in store for a country that began so strong in the Christian faith and yet has now done a 180 degree turn and is currently engulfed in unholy, godless, evil, activities, so perverse that even Sodom would blush? Since God knows the future of all events, there’s no doubt His plan for America ’s judgment is already set. Christians need not fear God’s fierce wrath, many other Americans should.
My brethren, we have a wonderful Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He came into this world to save us from our sin and to give us life more abundantly. That said, why do we worry so about the future? If we believe that God is in control then whatever happens to America , or the world for that matter, is up to God. All our faithless worries are an abomination since believers are the just who shall live by faith.
First and foremost our focus in these last days, as always, should be on our Lord Jesus and secondly on the lost, not on conspiracy theories. Believers know the final outcome of all this evil that abounds, but what of those who are still living without Jesus? What must be going through their minds as they witness the systematic destruction of our once favored way of life? Some, when they hear the truth, will turn from their wicked ways, but what if no one tells them the truth? When a family member or even a friend dies the last thing any of us will want to hear ourselves saying is, “Why didn’t I tell you, before it was too late”?
Are you one of the just that shall live by his faith? I know there are many road blocks impeding our movements as we try to adhere to our Saviour’s will. By faith we don’t allow Satan to instill fear in us. By faith we won’t allow him to establish a wall of separation between us and the lost. By faith we will allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in all our endeavors. Worrying about what kind of evil reaction might follow our presentation of the Gospel will be nonexistent to those who are justified and living by faith. God will take care of the evil things of this world as long as we are presenting the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There’s a song that I really enjoy singing, and the chorus goes like this, “And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love”. How many lost people have seen your love today Christian?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Zephaniah Speaks Again, Part 1
Zephaniah wrote his three chapter prophecy during the time of King Josiah, who reigned over the Southern Kingdom (Judah) from 640-609 BC. Josiah was only 8 years old when he inherited the throne following the assassination of his father, the evil King Amon. Amon's father King Manasseh had been even worse and between the two of them Judah had suffered through 57 years of apostate leadership. Needless to say, Judah was not in favor with God when Josiah ascended to the throne.
Zephaniah was also very young, probably in his 20's when called to the office of Prophet. And as the great, great grand son of King Hezekiah, he was also of the House of David, a cousin of Josiah's. In fact it might have been Zephaniah's prophecies that inspired Josiah to institute the reforms necessary to bring Judah back into its covenant relationship with God in 621 BC.
But the revival was short lived. After Josiah's death in 609, Judah soon fell into idolatry again. Judgment began soon after with the first siege of Nebuchadnezzar in 605, and by the end of his 3rd siege, in 586, Judah had followed the Northern Kingdom into captivity. Zephaniah's prophecies had come true.
As we'll see, his prophecies were of a much broader scope than was fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity. It's clear that he really had the Day of the Lord in mind.
In fact there are so many references to the Day of the Lord that it's almost like he was writing to us. Like is with the world today, the people of Judah had abandoned God in favor of their idols. Like ours have, their leaders had led them astray and were adamant in their denial of a coming judgment.
Zephaniah warned both the people of Judah in his time and the people of the world in ours that judgment is coming and that it will be personal and intrusive, taking them from complacency to chaos. Because like He did in the days of Zephaniah, God will again intervene catastrophically to judge man's acceptance of and indifference toward sin, which are the last stages of rebellion. As it was then, His purpose now will be to restore the world to the conditions of blessing He's always intended for us. But since man never learns from history, it will once again take a period of devastating judgment before God can bring His marvelous restoration.
Zephaniah 1. Warning of Coming Destruction
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. "I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. (Zeph. 1:1-3)
Zephaniah's opening statement clearly concerns the whole world. The phrase “heaps of rubble” carries a sense of huge obstacles that will prevent the wicked from accomplishing anything. We can see the beginning of this trend as we look at the condition of the world today. Who is naive enough to believe that any man can solve the problems confronting our world today?
Against Judah
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests- those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him. (Zeph. 1:4-6).
Three groups of non-believers are represented here, and they're all still around today. Those who worship the starry host can be compared to people who study astrology and consult their horoscopes before acting. Molech was a god of fire. He demanded that extreme sacrifices be made to him in times of need. Often a live child was required. Today some associate the practice of abortion with Molech. Unwanted pre-born children are put to death to maintain the lifestyle of the parents. The third group consists of those who act as if God doesn't exist. This is by far the biggest one of the three. They think they are in control and have no need of a higher authority.
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. On the day of the LORD's sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. (Zeph 1:7-9)
In this passage, the people are the sacrifice and God's enemies are the invited guests. Rev. 19:17-18 explains it this way.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
Leaders who have deceived the people, and those who've sought a righteousness of their own will be punished. Foreign clothing stands for a counterfeit righteousness that doesn't come from God. Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” All other spiritual covering is counterfeit.
During the time when Antiochus Epiphanes ruled over Israel, many of those who counseled appeasement with the Greeks took to wearing Greek style clothing and shaved their faces. Some even tried to surgically reverse their circumcisions. The adoption of foreign clothing and appearance was a sign that they were rejecting their covenant relationship with God. Today our official rejection of Christian customs and traditions while bending over backwards to avoid offending others sends Him the same message.
We think of stepping over rather than on a threshold as a harmless superstition. But it originated during the time when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. They put it in the temple of their god Dagon. When they came back in the morning they found the statue of Dagon on its face before the ark. They put the idol back in its place, but the next morning it was prostate again and this time its head and arms were broken off and were lying on the threshold of the temple. From that day on they never stepped on the threshold of their temple again, lest they offend their god. (1 Samuel 5:1-5) Other strange and painful things kept happening to them until they finally returned the Ark to Israel.
"On that day," declares the LORD, "a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be ruined. (Zephaniah 1:10-11)
Here's another prophecy that looks as if it's ripped from the headlines. Businesses will fail and banks will close. Almost every Biblical mention of the Fish Gate involves either corruption, or its aftermath. The name stems from the fact that fishermen sold their catches there, often on the Sabbath. More and more it appears that the world's financial problems are the aftermath of corruption in the highest levels of business and government.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.'
Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not drink the wine.(Zeph. 1:12-13)
The complacent, who think that God can't or won't intervene, will be like wine that hasn't been strained and becomes unfit to drink. They'll be of no use to the Lord. And here's another sign we've seen recently. The world's wealth has been plundered. Half of it has disappeared in the last 18 months. Record numbers of people have lost their homes. Many have already been reduced to the status of working solely for the benefit of others, their personal wealth gone. But they're just the first. Millions more will follow.
The Great Day Of The Lord
"The great day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. (Zeph 1:14-16)
Those who think the Tribulation has already begun don't have a clue. This is something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Men whose wealth is currently envied by all will soon wonder where their next meal is coming from. And according to James, they shouldn't expect any sympathy from the Lord.
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. (James 5:1-6)
I spent my last few years of employment managing the sales department of a large domestic auto dealership. Naively I thought I could change the culture of corruption, at least on the local level. I soon learned that the factory stole from the dealer, the dealer stole from his employees and the employees stole from their customers. Everyone lied to everyone else. I'm neither surprised nor saddened by the impending demise of the US auto industry. It's an abomination to the Lord.
I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth." (Zeph. 1:17-18)
Even those who survive the Great Tribulation with out seeking the Lord's forgiveness will find they've gained nothing. They'll be denied entrance into the Kingdom and ushered off the planet to the outer darkness. At that time the very richest among them would gladly agree to change places with the poorest, sickest, believing beggar. But they won't be given the chance. They'll find that the free gift they will have refused cannot be purchased with all the wealth of the world.
I think you can already see that Zephanian doesn't mince words. He's especially harsh on the leadership. Having lived among them he had a clear insight into their corruption and manipulation.
Earlier, the Lord had pronounced the same kind of condemnation on them through Micah.
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.
Therefore, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.' "
Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot. (Micah 2:1-5)
In effect the Lord is saying, “You lie awake at night dreaming up schemes to defraud your fellow man, so I'm lying awake dreaming up ways to punish you. You robbed my people of their inheritance, now I'm going to make sure you don't have anything to leave either.”
You don't have to be a prophet to tell what's ahead for the world, and before Zephaniah is finished any lingering doubt you may have had about the coming judgment will be long gone. But remember, God's purpose for the world is restoration, and Zephaniah will be unmistakably clear about that as well. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
Zephaniah was also very young, probably in his 20's when called to the office of Prophet. And as the great, great grand son of King Hezekiah, he was also of the House of David, a cousin of Josiah's. In fact it might have been Zephaniah's prophecies that inspired Josiah to institute the reforms necessary to bring Judah back into its covenant relationship with God in 621 BC.
But the revival was short lived. After Josiah's death in 609, Judah soon fell into idolatry again. Judgment began soon after with the first siege of Nebuchadnezzar in 605, and by the end of his 3rd siege, in 586, Judah had followed the Northern Kingdom into captivity. Zephaniah's prophecies had come true.
As we'll see, his prophecies were of a much broader scope than was fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity. It's clear that he really had the Day of the Lord in mind.
In fact there are so many references to the Day of the Lord that it's almost like he was writing to us. Like is with the world today, the people of Judah had abandoned God in favor of their idols. Like ours have, their leaders had led them astray and were adamant in their denial of a coming judgment.
Zephaniah warned both the people of Judah in his time and the people of the world in ours that judgment is coming and that it will be personal and intrusive, taking them from complacency to chaos. Because like He did in the days of Zephaniah, God will again intervene catastrophically to judge man's acceptance of and indifference toward sin, which are the last stages of rebellion. As it was then, His purpose now will be to restore the world to the conditions of blessing He's always intended for us. But since man never learns from history, it will once again take a period of devastating judgment before God can bring His marvelous restoration.
Zephaniah 1. Warning of Coming Destruction
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. "I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. (Zeph. 1:1-3)
Zephaniah's opening statement clearly concerns the whole world. The phrase “heaps of rubble” carries a sense of huge obstacles that will prevent the wicked from accomplishing anything. We can see the beginning of this trend as we look at the condition of the world today. Who is naive enough to believe that any man can solve the problems confronting our world today?
Against Judah
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests- those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him. (Zeph. 1:4-6).
Three groups of non-believers are represented here, and they're all still around today. Those who worship the starry host can be compared to people who study astrology and consult their horoscopes before acting. Molech was a god of fire. He demanded that extreme sacrifices be made to him in times of need. Often a live child was required. Today some associate the practice of abortion with Molech. Unwanted pre-born children are put to death to maintain the lifestyle of the parents. The third group consists of those who act as if God doesn't exist. This is by far the biggest one of the three. They think they are in control and have no need of a higher authority.
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. On the day of the LORD's sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. (Zeph 1:7-9)
In this passage, the people are the sacrifice and God's enemies are the invited guests. Rev. 19:17-18 explains it this way.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
Leaders who have deceived the people, and those who've sought a righteousness of their own will be punished. Foreign clothing stands for a counterfeit righteousness that doesn't come from God. Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” All other spiritual covering is counterfeit.
During the time when Antiochus Epiphanes ruled over Israel, many of those who counseled appeasement with the Greeks took to wearing Greek style clothing and shaved their faces. Some even tried to surgically reverse their circumcisions. The adoption of foreign clothing and appearance was a sign that they were rejecting their covenant relationship with God. Today our official rejection of Christian customs and traditions while bending over backwards to avoid offending others sends Him the same message.
We think of stepping over rather than on a threshold as a harmless superstition. But it originated during the time when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. They put it in the temple of their god Dagon. When they came back in the morning they found the statue of Dagon on its face before the ark. They put the idol back in its place, but the next morning it was prostate again and this time its head and arms were broken off and were lying on the threshold of the temple. From that day on they never stepped on the threshold of their temple again, lest they offend their god. (1 Samuel 5:1-5) Other strange and painful things kept happening to them until they finally returned the Ark to Israel.
"On that day," declares the LORD, "a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be ruined. (Zephaniah 1:10-11)
Here's another prophecy that looks as if it's ripped from the headlines. Businesses will fail and banks will close. Almost every Biblical mention of the Fish Gate involves either corruption, or its aftermath. The name stems from the fact that fishermen sold their catches there, often on the Sabbath. More and more it appears that the world's financial problems are the aftermath of corruption in the highest levels of business and government.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.'
Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not drink the wine.(Zeph. 1:12-13)
The complacent, who think that God can't or won't intervene, will be like wine that hasn't been strained and becomes unfit to drink. They'll be of no use to the Lord. And here's another sign we've seen recently. The world's wealth has been plundered. Half of it has disappeared in the last 18 months. Record numbers of people have lost their homes. Many have already been reduced to the status of working solely for the benefit of others, their personal wealth gone. But they're just the first. Millions more will follow.
The Great Day Of The Lord
"The great day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. (Zeph 1:14-16)
Those who think the Tribulation has already begun don't have a clue. This is something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Men whose wealth is currently envied by all will soon wonder where their next meal is coming from. And according to James, they shouldn't expect any sympathy from the Lord.
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. (James 5:1-6)
I spent my last few years of employment managing the sales department of a large domestic auto dealership. Naively I thought I could change the culture of corruption, at least on the local level. I soon learned that the factory stole from the dealer, the dealer stole from his employees and the employees stole from their customers. Everyone lied to everyone else. I'm neither surprised nor saddened by the impending demise of the US auto industry. It's an abomination to the Lord.
I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth." (Zeph. 1:17-18)
Even those who survive the Great Tribulation with out seeking the Lord's forgiveness will find they've gained nothing. They'll be denied entrance into the Kingdom and ushered off the planet to the outer darkness. At that time the very richest among them would gladly agree to change places with the poorest, sickest, believing beggar. But they won't be given the chance. They'll find that the free gift they will have refused cannot be purchased with all the wealth of the world.
I think you can already see that Zephanian doesn't mince words. He's especially harsh on the leadership. Having lived among them he had a clear insight into their corruption and manipulation.
Earlier, the Lord had pronounced the same kind of condemnation on them through Micah.
Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.
Therefore, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.' "
Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot. (Micah 2:1-5)
In effect the Lord is saying, “You lie awake at night dreaming up schemes to defraud your fellow man, so I'm lying awake dreaming up ways to punish you. You robbed my people of their inheritance, now I'm going to make sure you don't have anything to leave either.”
You don't have to be a prophet to tell what's ahead for the world, and before Zephaniah is finished any lingering doubt you may have had about the coming judgment will be long gone. But remember, God's purpose for the world is restoration, and Zephaniah will be unmistakably clear about that as well. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Antichrist: Where Is He?
The most frequently asked question at prophecy conferences and in Bible prophecy classes–at least in my experience—is: “Is America in Bible prophecy?” The second most asked is: “Do you think Antichrist is alive on earth today?”
These questions are for the most part posed by people in the audiences or classes in general. However, more and more frequently I find these questions being asked by journalists, both print and broadcast. It is interesting to me that I rarely hear a skeptical or scoffing tone in the voices of the media representatives who interview me. There seems a sense, even among secular journalists, that perhaps there’s something to this Bible prophecy stuff after all.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not sensing a sudden turning to God, or to His Word. However, there is a halting uncertainty there. Like, “Well, maybe I had better be just a bit more serious about the subject, since there is such angst over these strange economic conditions.”
Economic Conditions
There is a sense that strange, unexplainable things are happening, and even secular newshounds seem to viscerally understand that Bible prophecy has something to do with the increasingly troubling issues and events of our time. U.S. leaders–I use that term loosely—have seemingly thrown caution to the wind. It’s like, as I heard one Bible prophecy broadcaster say the other day—those who are supposed to be trying to fix the melting financial structure of America have placed the whole shebang on 17 black, and have given the roulette wheel a hope-filled turn. Actually, it is more like they have written trillions in IOUs and put them on 17 black, and have given the wheel a turn.
If the little ball ends up on any number other than 17 black, what then? That is the crux of the crucial nature of this insanity surrounding the American economy as the end of the age approaches. Craziness rules--like when the Federal Reserve reached in its right pocket and transferred more than a trillion dollars IOU to its left pocket to keep the American financial system afloat.
“Just last Wednesday the Fed said it would flood the teetering financial system with an additional $1.2 trillion. The money will be used, the Fed said, to buy government bonds and mortgage-related securities in hopes of lowering the borrowing costs for home mortgages and other types of loans, thereby stimulating economic activity. In other words, the central bank will print more money to pay for the purchases. What the Fed does not explain publicly is how those kinds of infusions of money out of thin air, with nothing to back it, reduce the purchasing power and assets of all Americans by devaluing the dollar.
The $1.2 trillion is in addition to hundreds of billions already added to the system since the beginning of the year and dwarfs even the biggest government
bailouts to date…” (“Fed's secrecy policy 3 years old,” WorldNetDaily MoneyNetDaily, 3/22/09).
Keep in mind that the Federal Reserve is a non-government agency. Congress designated this monetary governing body to control the nation's money supply. The
Fed’s actions directly impact the value of the dollar. This body, manned by the non-elected financial elite, holds sway over every investment held by Americans.
Actions like those taken by the Federal Reserve in the case of creating out of nothingness the trillion-plus dollars, then putting that massive IOU into the system with a blind faith that that unbacked infusion will beat the odds of failure, will, if nothing else is done, put not only America’s economy, but the economies of the nation-states of the world into the final stages of collapse.
The following excerpt tells of just how surreptitious are the actions against the taxpayers and their offspring, who are expected to shoulder the burden of funding the globalists elite’s grandiose plans to build their new world order.
“WASHINGTON – As America's economy continues in freefall, tomorrow marks an auspicious three-year anniversary – the day the Federal Reserve announced, with little fanfare, its decision to stop reporting to the public the M3 money supply, the broadest measure of three standards of measurement…Since 2006, Americans have seen their investments plummet in value and witnessed the shrinking buying power of their earnings. Why did the Fed make that decision three years ago? What was its rationale? The justification for the secrecy by the organization that prints money was cost. By not producing those numbers for the public, the Fed would save about $1.5 million annually…” (ibid.).
The Craziness Proliferates!
It should be astonishing to think that the media, so obsessed with nefarious financial dealings by civilian monetary elite–e.g., the AIG executive bonuses, would let civilians with the power of the Fed go without being punished for perpetrating such surreptitiousness on American taxpayers. There seems to be, however, not the slightest notice.
The $1.5 million savings by the Fed in not reporting to the public the M3 money supply amounted to 0.00000699 percent of its annual net income of last year. This savings was highlighted as sufficient reason to keep vital information from the public. Just to point out the deceptive nature of this piddling savings being reported in order to justify keeping taxpayers in the dark, remember that the same media went all out in diverting the publics’ attention from the enormous bailouts by focusing on–by contrast to the prodigious bail-out dollar amount— the infinitesimal bonuses paid to AIG executives. Remember, too,
that the bonuses were given to the AIG executives through contractually mandated arrangements.
The sleight of hand by the Fed in transferring the massive IOU from one pocket to the other to keep the country’s economic ship afloat was done under the knowing eyes of the Obama administration and Congress. An uninformed American public was, and is for the most part, kept in ignorance by news media not fully disclosing the scope of the thievery of the economic well-being of this and future generations.
What About Antichrist?
This essay’s title is “Antichrist: Where Is He?” So, where, if anywhere in this present hour, is this future evil Bible character in all of the foregoing? Can he be on the scene today?
Jesus forewarned that false christs will come on the scene in the latter times. The definition of antichrist is most often given as the one who will present himself in place of (imitate) Jesus Christ, and will at the same time oppose Jesus Christ. The “beast” is prophesied to be the world’s worst tyrant of human history. The prophet Daniel was given the following about this person who is called “son of perdition,” “man of sin,” and many other names.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy
the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and
by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand “ (Dan. 8:24-25).
We will examine this man who is of legendary proportions, yet who transcends by far any legend. He is not an imaginary monster such as Dracula in the Stoker novel, or Darth Vader as in Lucas' fictional wars among the stars. Antichrist, when he is revealed, will be a real monster, and a most treacherous one, because he will through supernatural deceit appear as a geopolitical and socioeconomic savior of mankind. Be sure, the beast of Revelation 13 is about to step into the spotlight of history’s final act.
The question “Where is Antichrist?” is appropriate for this “time of the signs,” as my friend Chuck Missler has phrased his description of these strange days. So many signals are on today’s prophetic horizon that one must ask, if he or she knows much about Bible prophecy, “Is Antichrist alive today?”
Those who have looked at the world’s issues and events through the prism of God’s prophetic Word throughout preceding decades of America’s history have heard questions about the leaders of the times. Are presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or non-presidents like Henry Kissinger and others the Antichrist? Now the question is pointed at President Barack Hussein Obama: “Is he the Antichrist?”
This hour is more prolific with end-times signs than any in history. Obama’s watch as president marks one particular characteristic that adds, peripherally, to the more substantial signals pervading the news at present. I refer to conditions like Israel’s being back in its land and the center of world attention, the Roman Empire seeming to revive in the form of the European Union (EU), and the Gog-Magog coalition of Ezekiel 38-39 forming right before our eyes.
The peripheral matter of concern in this case is the deceit with which this administration is trying to steer the American ship of state. Mr. Obama’s campaign claim was that he would have “transparency” in all of his dealing with the business of the American people. Yet his administration, with the continuing ramrod tactics of his political party, has gone against the will of the American public and is in the process of running up trillions of dollars in debt, an action that even the most “progressive” economists have declared to be beyond any semblance of fiscal sanity.
One such expert comes across as almost fearful of Obama’s plan as put forward by his controversial secretary of treasury, Timothy Geithner.
“HONG KONG (Reuters) The U.S. government plan to rid banks of toxic assets will rob American taxpayers by exposing them to too much risk and is unlikely to work as long as the economy remains weak, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Tuesday… U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plan to wipe up to US $1 trillion in bad debt off banks' balance sheets, unveiled on Monday, offered ‘perverse incentives,’ Stiglitz said.
The U.S. government is basically using the taxpayer to guarantee against downside risk on the value of these assets, while giving the upside, or potential profits, to private investors, he said…” (“Geithner plan will rob American taxpayers,” Susan Fenton and Deborah Kan, Reuters, 3/24/09).
The economic expert expressed his concern.
"Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don't think it's going to work because I think there'll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer" (ibid.).
Time and time again in this fledgling administration, Obama’s regime demonstrates a level of non-transparency that borders on treachery, in my view. To strap an entire nation’s citizenry with debt they don’t want, going against their will, expressed through legitimate polling methods, is beyond taxation without representation. This administration is taking liberty from Americans in a way that does so by deception and force by fiat, not constitutional vote. Such tyranny will enslave citizens and their offspring for generations–possibly into perpetuity—and is among the most despicable forms of deception and deceit.
Does all of this criticism mean I view President Obama as a prime candidate for the one who will be Antichrist? No. In no way do I mean to express that Mr. Obama is the biblically prophesied man of sin. However, the way things are being done in Washington D.C. during these strange times should make the observer of issues and events from a biblically prophetic perspective sit up and take notice. They should know from their observations that this generation is seeing governmental razzle-dazzle not unlike the machinations that will mark the ultimate deceiver’s regime. Antichrist’s most tyrannical dictatorship will be one of ultimate enslavement to the 666 marks and numbers system of Revelation 13:16-18.
There is a peaceful revolution going on, about which most of us have at least heard–the neo-Tea Party to protest the forcing of trillions of dollars of debt on American taxpayers, their offspring, and their progeny yet unborn. People are putting tea bags in envelopes and mailing them to the appropriate address in Washington, D.C. At least, the White House kitchen help should, through all of the submitted tea bags, be able to–through having copious amounts of tea on hand, sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. by irate citizens—save a few of the dollars that are coming off the presses like toilet paper off the roll. (Be aware, you Tea Partiers, however. Word is that the envelopes containing the bags--a powdery substance--are being summarily disposed of because of possible harmful substances they might contained. Best, I’m told, just to send the tags with the attached strings.)
Something Rotten in Denmark–And Everywhere Else
The smell permeates almost every corner of America and the world. It is an odor of things to come.
Beyond the political exigencies of this troubling hour is the spiritual atmosphere that has the stench of Antichrist and his father, the devil. The scent was prevalent 2,000 years ago, and the Bible prophet John forewarned about its cankering, corrosive qualities, as well as defined it:
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time… Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 1:18, 4:1-3).
Denial of Jesus Christ and God’s prescription for living godly lives on Planet Earth saturate this generation. The antithesis of Christ’s words is not only carried out in the sinful lives of earth-dwellers; the opposition to the Lord is set in the hardened rebellion of manmade law.
The denial that Christ came to teach God’s standards for living on the planet He created is almost imperceptible. Most–even leaders of every conceivable religious sort--often agree that Jesus was a great teacher of good. But when Jesus is held up as the only Way to God the Father (John 14:6), the shrieks emanating from the spirit of Antichrist come from every dark direction of this fallen sphere.
During the present hour, there are even claims that Jesus taught that it is the mother’s right to choose whether her baby lives or dies. It is held among a growing number of clergy that Jesus himself gave blessing to those who chose homosexuality over heterosexuality. Most worrisome of all, the world is more and more embracing the lie that Jesus only represented the Christ spirit during His time on earth. He didn’t die for the sin of man. He didn’t resurrect from the dead because He didn’t really die at the crucifixion, but feigned death on the cross. He didn’t ascend to on high to sit at the right hand of God. He is, therefore, not coming back to rule and reign.
Jesus, the majority of the world–including many in our government as it is presently constituted, deny that Jesus is God–the second Person of the Godhead, the Trinity.
Just a cursory examination of the earliest phase of the new presidential administration tells the story of this time of the growing Antichrist spirit. The first months following the inauguration have brought changes by presidential edict that are diametrically opposite God’s will as given in His Word, the Bible. For example, the president ordered that money of the American taxpayers now be used to help with abortion practices in foreign nations, reversing former President George W. Bush’s presidential order that no such use of taxpayer money be made. This Obama did, despite the protestation of more than half of the American public.
The United States is being channeled and forced into a mold that looks like the biblically foretold one world order that will be ruled with a deadly iron fist by the one who is called “the beast.” With the stage of history’s last act set, for all practical purposes, it is perhaps not far-fetched to suspect that Antichrist is among us even now. He is here in spirit, for sure.
These questions are for the most part posed by people in the audiences or classes in general. However, more and more frequently I find these questions being asked by journalists, both print and broadcast. It is interesting to me that I rarely hear a skeptical or scoffing tone in the voices of the media representatives who interview me. There seems a sense, even among secular journalists, that perhaps there’s something to this Bible prophecy stuff after all.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not sensing a sudden turning to God, or to His Word. However, there is a halting uncertainty there. Like, “Well, maybe I had better be just a bit more serious about the subject, since there is such angst over these strange economic conditions.”
Economic Conditions
There is a sense that strange, unexplainable things are happening, and even secular newshounds seem to viscerally understand that Bible prophecy has something to do with the increasingly troubling issues and events of our time. U.S. leaders–I use that term loosely—have seemingly thrown caution to the wind. It’s like, as I heard one Bible prophecy broadcaster say the other day—those who are supposed to be trying to fix the melting financial structure of America have placed the whole shebang on 17 black, and have given the roulette wheel a hope-filled turn. Actually, it is more like they have written trillions in IOUs and put them on 17 black, and have given the wheel a turn.
If the little ball ends up on any number other than 17 black, what then? That is the crux of the crucial nature of this insanity surrounding the American economy as the end of the age approaches. Craziness rules--like when the Federal Reserve reached in its right pocket and transferred more than a trillion dollars IOU to its left pocket to keep the American financial system afloat.
“Just last Wednesday the Fed said it would flood the teetering financial system with an additional $1.2 trillion. The money will be used, the Fed said, to buy government bonds and mortgage-related securities in hopes of lowering the borrowing costs for home mortgages and other types of loans, thereby stimulating economic activity. In other words, the central bank will print more money to pay for the purchases. What the Fed does not explain publicly is how those kinds of infusions of money out of thin air, with nothing to back it, reduce the purchasing power and assets of all Americans by devaluing the dollar.
The $1.2 trillion is in addition to hundreds of billions already added to the system since the beginning of the year and dwarfs even the biggest government
bailouts to date…” (“Fed's secrecy policy 3 years old,” WorldNetDaily MoneyNetDaily, 3/22/09).
Keep in mind that the Federal Reserve is a non-government agency. Congress designated this monetary governing body to control the nation's money supply. The
Fed’s actions directly impact the value of the dollar. This body, manned by the non-elected financial elite, holds sway over every investment held by Americans.
Actions like those taken by the Federal Reserve in the case of creating out of nothingness the trillion-plus dollars, then putting that massive IOU into the system with a blind faith that that unbacked infusion will beat the odds of failure, will, if nothing else is done, put not only America’s economy, but the economies of the nation-states of the world into the final stages of collapse.
The following excerpt tells of just how surreptitious are the actions against the taxpayers and their offspring, who are expected to shoulder the burden of funding the globalists elite’s grandiose plans to build their new world order.
“WASHINGTON – As America's economy continues in freefall, tomorrow marks an auspicious three-year anniversary – the day the Federal Reserve announced, with little fanfare, its decision to stop reporting to the public the M3 money supply, the broadest measure of three standards of measurement…Since 2006, Americans have seen their investments plummet in value and witnessed the shrinking buying power of their earnings. Why did the Fed make that decision three years ago? What was its rationale? The justification for the secrecy by the organization that prints money was cost. By not producing those numbers for the public, the Fed would save about $1.5 million annually…” (ibid.).
The Craziness Proliferates!
It should be astonishing to think that the media, so obsessed with nefarious financial dealings by civilian monetary elite–e.g., the AIG executive bonuses, would let civilians with the power of the Fed go without being punished for perpetrating such surreptitiousness on American taxpayers. There seems to be, however, not the slightest notice.
The $1.5 million savings by the Fed in not reporting to the public the M3 money supply amounted to 0.00000699 percent of its annual net income of last year. This savings was highlighted as sufficient reason to keep vital information from the public. Just to point out the deceptive nature of this piddling savings being reported in order to justify keeping taxpayers in the dark, remember that the same media went all out in diverting the publics’ attention from the enormous bailouts by focusing on–by contrast to the prodigious bail-out dollar amount— the infinitesimal bonuses paid to AIG executives. Remember, too,
that the bonuses were given to the AIG executives through contractually mandated arrangements.
The sleight of hand by the Fed in transferring the massive IOU from one pocket to the other to keep the country’s economic ship afloat was done under the knowing eyes of the Obama administration and Congress. An uninformed American public was, and is for the most part, kept in ignorance by news media not fully disclosing the scope of the thievery of the economic well-being of this and future generations.
What About Antichrist?
This essay’s title is “Antichrist: Where Is He?” So, where, if anywhere in this present hour, is this future evil Bible character in all of the foregoing? Can he be on the scene today?
Jesus forewarned that false christs will come on the scene in the latter times. The definition of antichrist is most often given as the one who will present himself in place of (imitate) Jesus Christ, and will at the same time oppose Jesus Christ. The “beast” is prophesied to be the world’s worst tyrant of human history. The prophet Daniel was given the following about this person who is called “son of perdition,” “man of sin,” and many other names.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy
the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and
by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand “ (Dan. 8:24-25).
We will examine this man who is of legendary proportions, yet who transcends by far any legend. He is not an imaginary monster such as Dracula in the Stoker novel, or Darth Vader as in Lucas' fictional wars among the stars. Antichrist, when he is revealed, will be a real monster, and a most treacherous one, because he will through supernatural deceit appear as a geopolitical and socioeconomic savior of mankind. Be sure, the beast of Revelation 13 is about to step into the spotlight of history’s final act.
The question “Where is Antichrist?” is appropriate for this “time of the signs,” as my friend Chuck Missler has phrased his description of these strange days. So many signals are on today’s prophetic horizon that one must ask, if he or she knows much about Bible prophecy, “Is Antichrist alive today?”
Those who have looked at the world’s issues and events through the prism of God’s prophetic Word throughout preceding decades of America’s history have heard questions about the leaders of the times. Are presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or non-presidents like Henry Kissinger and others the Antichrist? Now the question is pointed at President Barack Hussein Obama: “Is he the Antichrist?”
This hour is more prolific with end-times signs than any in history. Obama’s watch as president marks one particular characteristic that adds, peripherally, to the more substantial signals pervading the news at present. I refer to conditions like Israel’s being back in its land and the center of world attention, the Roman Empire seeming to revive in the form of the European Union (EU), and the Gog-Magog coalition of Ezekiel 38-39 forming right before our eyes.
The peripheral matter of concern in this case is the deceit with which this administration is trying to steer the American ship of state. Mr. Obama’s campaign claim was that he would have “transparency” in all of his dealing with the business of the American people. Yet his administration, with the continuing ramrod tactics of his political party, has gone against the will of the American public and is in the process of running up trillions of dollars in debt, an action that even the most “progressive” economists have declared to be beyond any semblance of fiscal sanity.
One such expert comes across as almost fearful of Obama’s plan as put forward by his controversial secretary of treasury, Timothy Geithner.
“HONG KONG (Reuters) The U.S. government plan to rid banks of toxic assets will rob American taxpayers by exposing them to too much risk and is unlikely to work as long as the economy remains weak, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Tuesday… U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plan to wipe up to US $1 trillion in bad debt off banks' balance sheets, unveiled on Monday, offered ‘perverse incentives,’ Stiglitz said.
The U.S. government is basically using the taxpayer to guarantee against downside risk on the value of these assets, while giving the upside, or potential profits, to private investors, he said…” (“Geithner plan will rob American taxpayers,” Susan Fenton and Deborah Kan, Reuters, 3/24/09).
The economic expert expressed his concern.
"Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don't think it's going to work because I think there'll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer" (ibid.).
Time and time again in this fledgling administration, Obama’s regime demonstrates a level of non-transparency that borders on treachery, in my view. To strap an entire nation’s citizenry with debt they don’t want, going against their will, expressed through legitimate polling methods, is beyond taxation without representation. This administration is taking liberty from Americans in a way that does so by deception and force by fiat, not constitutional vote. Such tyranny will enslave citizens and their offspring for generations–possibly into perpetuity—and is among the most despicable forms of deception and deceit.
Does all of this criticism mean I view President Obama as a prime candidate for the one who will be Antichrist? No. In no way do I mean to express that Mr. Obama is the biblically prophesied man of sin. However, the way things are being done in Washington D.C. during these strange times should make the observer of issues and events from a biblically prophetic perspective sit up and take notice. They should know from their observations that this generation is seeing governmental razzle-dazzle not unlike the machinations that will mark the ultimate deceiver’s regime. Antichrist’s most tyrannical dictatorship will be one of ultimate enslavement to the 666 marks and numbers system of Revelation 13:16-18.
There is a peaceful revolution going on, about which most of us have at least heard–the neo-Tea Party to protest the forcing of trillions of dollars of debt on American taxpayers, their offspring, and their progeny yet unborn. People are putting tea bags in envelopes and mailing them to the appropriate address in Washington, D.C. At least, the White House kitchen help should, through all of the submitted tea bags, be able to–through having copious amounts of tea on hand, sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. by irate citizens—save a few of the dollars that are coming off the presses like toilet paper off the roll. (Be aware, you Tea Partiers, however. Word is that the envelopes containing the bags--a powdery substance--are being summarily disposed of because of possible harmful substances they might contained. Best, I’m told, just to send the tags with the attached strings.)
Something Rotten in Denmark–And Everywhere Else
The smell permeates almost every corner of America and the world. It is an odor of things to come.
Beyond the political exigencies of this troubling hour is the spiritual atmosphere that has the stench of Antichrist and his father, the devil. The scent was prevalent 2,000 years ago, and the Bible prophet John forewarned about its cankering, corrosive qualities, as well as defined it:
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time… Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 1:18, 4:1-3).
Denial of Jesus Christ and God’s prescription for living godly lives on Planet Earth saturate this generation. The antithesis of Christ’s words is not only carried out in the sinful lives of earth-dwellers; the opposition to the Lord is set in the hardened rebellion of manmade law.
The denial that Christ came to teach God’s standards for living on the planet He created is almost imperceptible. Most–even leaders of every conceivable religious sort--often agree that Jesus was a great teacher of good. But when Jesus is held up as the only Way to God the Father (John 14:6), the shrieks emanating from the spirit of Antichrist come from every dark direction of this fallen sphere.
During the present hour, there are even claims that Jesus taught that it is the mother’s right to choose whether her baby lives or dies. It is held among a growing number of clergy that Jesus himself gave blessing to those who chose homosexuality over heterosexuality. Most worrisome of all, the world is more and more embracing the lie that Jesus only represented the Christ spirit during His time on earth. He didn’t die for the sin of man. He didn’t resurrect from the dead because He didn’t really die at the crucifixion, but feigned death on the cross. He didn’t ascend to on high to sit at the right hand of God. He is, therefore, not coming back to rule and reign.
Jesus, the majority of the world–including many in our government as it is presently constituted, deny that Jesus is God–the second Person of the Godhead, the Trinity.
Just a cursory examination of the earliest phase of the new presidential administration tells the story of this time of the growing Antichrist spirit. The first months following the inauguration have brought changes by presidential edict that are diametrically opposite God’s will as given in His Word, the Bible. For example, the president ordered that money of the American taxpayers now be used to help with abortion practices in foreign nations, reversing former President George W. Bush’s presidential order that no such use of taxpayer money be made. This Obama did, despite the protestation of more than half of the American public.
The United States is being channeled and forced into a mold that looks like the biblically foretold one world order that will be ruled with a deadly iron fist by the one who is called “the beast.” With the stage of history’s last act set, for all practical purposes, it is perhaps not far-fetched to suspect that Antichrist is among us even now. He is here in spirit, for sure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
