Don't Play the Trump Card

I woke up this morning with this disturbing thought. What if Donald Trump were really elected president?

What is it people like about the Donald? I don't think it's his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

I think conservative Americans have a deep anxiety about our lack of leadership and feel that the executive branch is no longer protecting them. I'm not even sure we have connected all the dots.

• Our children are under assault from the corrupting influence of entertainment and technology
• Our homes are under assault from criminal gangs that operate with impunity in sanctuary cities across the nation
• Our police are under assault from a justice department that undermines their authority
• Our jobs are under assault from cheap foreign labor and automation technology, made worse by an anti-employer government bureaucracy
• Our religious liberty is under assault from anti-family organizations that have been empowered by the president and his party
• Our state governments are under assault from a Supreme Court that has assumed powers not granted by the constitution
• Our standard of living is under assault from a government addicted to deficit spending and unsustainable debt
• Our national defense is under assault from a commander-in-chief that believes our military power must be reduced, restricted and in some cases eliminated
• Our civilization is under assault from medieval savages intent on the destruction of western culture and lifestyles, both from outside and inside our borders

Against all these fears comes one who promises to solve these problems by virtue of being "the Donald". Many people embrace this man because they feel he is the only one smart enough and strong enough to overcome the entrenched powers of both parties. In a small way the Donald appeals to the same desperation that brought the Nazis to power in the failing Weimar Republic.

I am uncomfortable with someone who travels the world with his name emblazoned on his helicopter, who shoots from the lip like a nineteenth-century cowboy, and who celebrates materialism and self-indulgence with unfettered bravado. Are these not the traits of the Babylonian harlot in the Bible?

Surely among the ranks of conservatives we can find a candidate who would serve with unselfish dignity, who has proven leadership skills and the brains and personality to sell herself or himself to the general electorate. I think a few candidates fit this bill, and I will support any one of them over the Arkansas mafia couple or their socialist peers. It's time for these candidates to rise up and show how they will defend us from the assaults listed above, and it's time for us to pray that God will have mercy on us and give us the leadership we need, not the government we deserve.

One Giant Misstep for Mankind

Regarding the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, justice Anthony Kennedy was a Ronald Reagan appointee. He must surely be "rolling over in his grave" right now - just as much as this decision causes my stomach to turn. Justice David Souter, another Republican appointee from the first Bush administration, carefully timed his retirement to allow Obama to appoint another liberal justice to the court.

Did it ever occur to either of these justices that the people overwhelmingly elected a Republican president at the time and thus expressed a desire for conservative justices on the Supreme Court? Why did Souter wait for Obama and not retire under Bush? This raises my blood pressure a couple of notches when I think about it.

However, the Court can only hold back the tide of majority opinion for a short time, as the ruling today proves. Unfortunately the majority in America has turned against unchangeable truth and taken the next step on its pathway to apostasy and depravity.

First let me say that I don't judge anyone; our Supreme Judge will decide our eternal destiny - not based on our sins which may be forgiven - but based on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord.

So for the record, I regard all same-sex relationships simply as friendships whose intimate details I would prefer to remain private, and I will never endorse or render services for a ceremony that sanctifies practices the Bible clearly calls sin. Furthermore, I will do everything in my power to peacefully oppose those who would use the power of government to force me or my Christian brethren to do so. I would go to jail before giving up my right to hold and express this opinion and freely practice my faith.

The Divided Kingdoms of Satan

The final empire in Nebuchadnezzar's dream from Daniel chapter 2 is a kingdom characterized by the strength of iron, yet in its final form it is divided into "feet and toes" of iron and clay. I will relate this to a statement Jesus made regarding a kingdom divided against itself, and the meaning of the final conflict in the book of Revelation.

The statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream is symbolic of coming empires that will rule the earth. Most bible scholars equate the final empire in Daniel 2 to Rome, with various explanations of the union of vassal states comprising the toes of the statue. Many western scholars claim that the toes of this statue still rule the earth today, being mostly European states and former colonies that maintain a weak hold on power in "old earth" west of Eden.

If you have studied European history you know that the Roman Empire was divided into two empires after Constantine established Byzantium as the new "Rome". The weak successors of Constantine were unable to maintain the vast military dominion of the old Roman Empire, and gradually allowed the empire to be divided into an Eastern and Western alliance. The Byzantine or Eastern Empire was able to maintain its iron grip on the Middle East for a few hundred more years until the rise of the Islamic Caliphates overthrew their seat of power and established the Ottoman Empire in what is now called Istanbul.

During the time that the Byzantines ruled the Eastern Empire, the Western Empire deteriorated into the clay of feudalism and internal conflict. Though there were several attempts to reconstruct a revived Holy Roman Empire, none would ever prove to be as strong and durable as the iron kingdom that came before. The last attempt to reconstitute the Roman Empire (the so-called Third Reich) ended in the destruction of both the western and eastern empires (Germany and the Ottoman Empire) during the world wars of the twentieth century.

What we have left today are still two kingdoms divided against each other. These are border-less kingdoms which I will call the Kingdom of Greed and the Kingdom of Fear. In the book of Revelation they are known as Mystery Babylon and the Beast respectively.

The Kingdom of Greed - Babylon the Great

Mystery Babylon is a harlot, a city that sits on many waters. She is the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth.

Babylon is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth. The merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. Babylon has become rich by shipments of every kind of luxurious and splendid cargo - horses and chariots (i.e. cars, trucks, military equipment) and human lives (slavery or human trafficking). Babylon is also the merchant of arts and entertainment, of fine foods and wines and all manner of music. It uses all these things to make a sorcerer's brew by which it intoxicates and deceives its denizens.

Babylon is the love of money, the root of all kinds of evil. It is the kingdom of Mamona (wealth) which draws people away from the kingdom of God. It is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness used by sinful men to reject the Giver of life, liberty and happiness.

Babylon is the city in which most Jews were comfortable to stay and never return to the holy land of their fathers. It is the city that first intended to build a tower to heaven, from which Abram and his family left to find the land of promise.

In short, Babylon is the world, and all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. The citizens of Babylon are motivated and dominated by these worldly passions.

Babylon trusts in its wealth and military might to guard its life of splendor and luxury. Babylon knows no earthly or temporal boundaries, but today is referred to as "the west" by those who live in the kingdom of fear.

What makes Babylon a harlot is that the citizens of Babylon once knew God, but did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but became futile in their speculations and darkened in their hearts. This is the apostate people that once invoked the blessing of God on their bountiful harvests, but now seek to reject the very mention of His name.

The Kingdom of Fear - The Beast

The beast of Revelation is a seven-headed monster which rises from the sea before the coming final conflict.

The heads of the beast are seven kingdoms that have ruled the holy land since the time of Abraham. They are Egypt, Assyria, ancient Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the Islamic caliphates. The beast is also the eighth kingdom which is one of the seven, which had a fatal wound that will be healed.

This beast rules a kingdom of fear. The kingdom of fear is the fear of man, the fear of death, the fear of fear itself. It is based on laws and brutal punishments that cannot bring life, but can only bring men into bondage to other men.

The kingdom of fear is the enemy of joy and peace; it loves only warfare and violence. The kingdom of fear has utter disdain for mercy and forgiveness; it lives for bloodshed and vengeance; it seeks power only to subjugate and terrorize its subjects.

The kingdom of fear appears to be at peace when all its subjects live under the dominion of fear.

The kingdom of fear knows no earthly or temporal boundaries, but today is most dominant in totalitarian countries outside the "western realm of influence". These regimes tend to support each other, as the Axis powers did in the world wars and as China and Russia today support despotic regimes in the Middle East and Africa.

Modern technology has allowed the kingdom of fear to spread rapidly around the world. The "Net" so to speak is being used like a great fishing net to dredge the remnants of Islamic radicalism from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. While the citizens of Babylon attempt to use technology to spread the kingdom of greed, the kingdom of fear is stronger, like iron is stronger than clay. Only the mountain of the kingdom of God can crush these kingdoms of iron and clay.

It is apparent to me that the final head of the beast is likely to be an Islamic caliphate that will rule the world for the final hour. It could also be that its caliph will overcome the apostate church and take its seat in place of the pope in Rome. However this turns out, make no mistake, that final hour is near.

The Final Hour

Jesus said "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?" Indeed, in the final hour, the divided kingdoms of Satan will be arrayed against each other - the beast and his kingdom of fear against the kingdom of Babylon, and Babylon will fall. This is the meaning of this verse:

And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."

But this hour will be quickly followed by the One called Faithful and True and His armies from heaven, who will cast the beast and his false prophet alive into the lake of fire and feed his followers to the birds who fly in mid-heaven. That's a scene that would make even Alfred Hitchcock cry for mercy.

The Kingdom of God

God's people are called to come out of Babylon to escape her sins and the judgments that are coming upon her. There is another kingdom that knows no earthly boundaries for the people of God, called the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, Mount Zion or the heavenly Jerusalem. The citizens of this kingdom are motivated by love and loyalty to their King, and follow Him day and night.

For those living in the kingdom of fear, God has provided a way out. He made a part of Himself to appear in human flesh, and through His own death has rendered the devil powerless over you. If you choose to become His disciple (just as you may now be following another so-called prophet), you can come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the glorious light. God calls this man His Son, and His son (whom we know as Jesus) calls us His brethren if we choose to follow Him and be called by His name. Yes, our God is One God, but he chose to reveal Himself to mankind in the body of Jesus, and promises to save those who call on His name. This man, whom some in the kingdom of fear know as Isa, is more than a prophet, and more than just a man. He is our Savior and our High Priest and our King, if you choose to be part of His kingdom. Just ask Him to deliver you from your sins, accept you into His kingdom and fill you with His Holy Spirit of life-giving power!

Seven Shofars and a Shout

In the last few days I learned something about shofars (trumpets made from ram's horns).  In the Bible they are used to lead people into battle.  Sometimes these are spiritual battles, as when the priests blew the shofars to gather the people for fasting and prayer.

In one particular battle, priests blew their shofars once a day for six days to warn the enemy of the coming judgment of God.  The city under siege was Jericho, and the commander of the invading army was Joshua.  On the seventh day, the army marched around Jericho seven times, then blew their shofars seven times, and then when the people shouted God brought down the walls of Jericho by the power of His word.

So it is in the end of time, that the blast of the angel's shofars will pronounce doom on the city of Babylon, which is the dominion of Satan.  Six times the shofars will sound the solemn warnings, and after the seventh blast, with the shout of a great multitude of believers and angels, the Lord will bring down the walls of Satan's kingdom by a great earthquake and by the power of His word.

Indeed, our entry into the eternal kingdom must be preceded by this great battle, in which the promised land is cleansed from all the powers of sin and darkness.  It was an inspiration to me to see this prototyped in the battle of Jericho, to demonstrate the power of God when His people enter the promised land.  Get ready to shout, people of God, and watch the gates of Hell come down!

Balaam's Error

I have been wandering around the Bible lately studying prophecy.

[Actually I'm surfing around the Biblos Bible Hub web site, which I'm convinced is God's special gift to mankind for these last days.  When else in the history of mankind could a lay person like myself have the best concordances, multiple translations, commentaries, Greek and Hebrew text and dictionary references and more, all available for no charge, only a mouse click away?  History has not always been so kind to Christians seeking the truth.  Roman Catholics authorized by King Henry IV of England burned people at the stake for publishing or translating the Bible.  Thankfully, and owing a huge debt to those who laid down their lives for this privilege, there is a greater opportunity today than ever before for the body of Christ to "rightly divide the word of truth."]

A Canaanite in the House 

So, one verse caught my attention recently:

Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
Zechariah 14:21 NASB

That thing about the Canaanite no longer being in the house of the LORD just didn't quite click.  To be sure, God was totally opposed to the Canaanites from the day Ham walked in on Noah's hangover.  That's another whole topic.

However, Jesus didn't reject the Canaanites.  After all, the disciple Simon the Zealot was also called a Canaanite (Kananaios) in Matthew 10 and Mark 13.  In Matthew 15 a Canaanite woman had such great faith that Jesus healed her daughter.  So, why won't there be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD?

I had two thoughts (maybe equally valid and possibly both true).  First, is the antichrist a Canaanite?  This could be a prophecy about the day when the antichrist no longer stands in the temple and proclaims himself to be God.

The other thought is a bit deeper and less speculative.  The word for Canaanite here is also the Hebrew word for merchant or trader.  I suppose that because they settled on the Mediterranean coast, the Canaanites became traders and thus their name became synonymous with trade.  Some translations read more like "And there will no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day."

That sheds a whole new light on this verse (and illustrates why you need more than one translation of the Bible when you study deeply).  During the Millennial reign of Christ everything is holy, from the animals to the cooking pots to the people.  There won't be any demand for merchants to sell holy animals and vessels to the people like they were doing when Jesus cleansed the temple.  Merchandising in the temple of God was one thing that made Jesus very, very angry.  Which brings me back to my original topic.

Balaam's Error

But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
Jude 1:11-13 NASB

Balaam was a merchant in the house of the Lord.  In other words, he offered his prophetic gifts for money.  Worse, he offered to help the enemies of the Lord and curse God's chosen people for money.  Of course, God wouldn't let him do that.  It didn't help Balaam much to be in direct communication with God because he also consulted demons.  Balaam is on Satan's all-star team because he thought he could profit from being a prophet.  In fact, he was blaspheming the Holy Spirit and bringing a curse on himself.

Notice the term "wandering stars" in the verses above.  The Greek is "asteres planetai".  Asteres is the Greek word for star, from which we get the word "asterisk".  The English word planet comes from the Greek word for "wandering".  Astronomers at the time couldn't figure out why planets didn't stay in the same constellations as the other stars, so they called them "wanderers."

The "error of Balaam" in Greek is "plane".  Basically it is the same Greek root, implying that the error of Balaam was to wander away from his gift and into error.  How many of those gifted by God have gone astray into using their gift for obscene financial rewards - and then because of the love of money have introduced error into their message to maintain or magnify their gains?  Like planets, we will drift slowly away into darkness if we are not under the control of the light of truth.

According to John in the book of Revelation, when Balaam could not pronounce a curse on Israel, he taught the Canaanite king Balak how to weaken Israel by enticing them into idolatry and fornication.

The love of money is indeed the root of all kinds of evil, but when the love of money is mixed in the temple of God, Balaam's error is born.  We must be particularly careful to avoid the many snares that are laid for us by those that follow the error of Balaam.

Babylon and The New Jerusalem

Previously I posted a quote from Revelation about leaving Babylon. The book of Revelation is really a tale of two cities - Babylon, the city on many waters, and the new Jerusalem, the city on a hill being prepared for the bride of Christ.

Note that from the time of Revelation until now, neither city has been seen. One city, Babylon, was destroyed by the Persians centuries before Christ. The other has yet to be seen on Earth. So both cities have special symbolic meaning.

Babylon represents the world system of power and wealth, the great harlot who sits on many waters, by which the merchants of the world were made rich by the wealth of her trade. It is a worldwide kingdom that spans across time and enslaves its citizens with the deceitfulness of riches. Its ruler is the prince of Babylon, the ruler of this age.

The New Jerusalem is the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. It is a city not built by human hands, whose center is the Throne of God, from which flow the streams of living water that make glad the city of God. It is built on a foundation of precious stones, the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Jesus Christ the Lord.

Ancient Babylon was used by God to separate and purify His people. The Jews who returned from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem left established businesses and perhaps family to restore the temple of God. The ones who stayed in Babylon chose a more worldly Kingdom and lost their godly identity.

This is the choice we as Christians are now presented, to choose which master we will serve, God or Mammon (money). I had for most of my life focused my time and energy on the latter, but I sense God calling me back to focus on Him. The time is short for the kingdom of Babylon, and I feel the need to get oil for my lamp while there is still light. I have more to write on this subject, which I will do as time permits.

U-Turn Weekend

Imagine (if you will) you are riding a swift black horse down a winding mountain road.  It's been a wonderful ride, and the setting sun is still illumining the golden edges of the canyon beneath you.

At some point you realize that the horse is out of control.  You want to turn around, so you pull hard on the reins. The horse does not turn but only accelerates down the road.  You are now careening blindly down the road at full gallop when a barrier appears and you see that the end of the road is a steep cliff.  You try frantically to turn the horse but it refuses to waiver from its path of destruction.

Almost in slow-motion the horse leaps the barrier and sails into the black void ahead.  At this point any more attempts to influence the horse are worthless.  Your destiny is sealed.

This is the point we find ourselves.  Like the HMS Titanic slipping slowly, then suddenly into the cold dark abyss, this system that supported us is sinking.  Whether or not there is time to save it is a moot point for me; my time is too short to waste.

So this weekend I am taking a U-turn of sorts.  The Incredible Shrinking Wallet will continue shrinking, but I'm going to focus mostly on the even more incredible Kingdom of God.  I would rather focus on preparing for the now-certain future than vainly trying to fix what has already failed.

I don't really know what lies ahead for me, but I have decided to get out of Babylon and return to my Father's kingdom.  Thank God, it's a long way, but I think the door is still open!

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues..." (Rev 18:4)