Todd Strandberg and Terry James are the co-editors of the website RaptureReady.com. RR is the longest running end times website on the internet. For twenty years, RR Founder Todd has been bringing to online seekers information from the bible about end times, or eschatology. There is a wealth of stored information about the rapture, the Tribualtion, Jesus, the plan of Salvation and much more. Their goal was to have this archive ready and protected for people who clamor to know from a biblical perspective what is going on in the moments, days, and years after the rapture.
In that sense, Mr Strandberg, along with Hal Lindsey and others, have made eschatology their niche in bible study have a unique perspective because they have the long view.
I read their weekly editorial this morning and I agree with the following statement completely. In writing about the global economy and the looming economic bubble about to burst, Mr Strandberg states:
1)We are amazed that the bubble hasn’t burst; 2)We believe that the longer the crises build, the greater will be the explosion; 3) We maintain that only the staying hand of God has thus far prevented it from bursting; and 4) We are of the opinion that it will likely be the Rapture of the church that will pop that bubble.”
I agree. I look at the economy and with what rudimentary knowledge I have, even I can see that the current situation long passed sustainable, viable, or even feasible in life OR on paper, even. When you have more debt than money, you can’t function. Even I know that much. Yet for three years, especially the last few months, we have functioned. It is only God who can perform the impossible, and today’s economy is impossible.
With that, I’ve long felt also that it would be the rapture itself that would pop the bubble. I wrote in September 2010,
“Then the rapture will come. Suddenly, things will tip even more to the panic side of global turmoil. A terrorized populace will ask, scream, demand to know ‘Where did they go? Why? Who took them?’ The weakened economy perhaps will not be able to stand the vacuum created by millions of vibrant and contributing Christians. The problems will get worse.”
Imagine the sudden removal of a workforce of millions. Imagine the vacuum created by the economic loss of participating contributors to payroll, consumer spending, etc. It would be like the air let out of a balloon and crash the economy will go.
My opinion and the Rapture Ready guys’ opinion, Hal Lindsey mentioned this too, a while back, don’t amount to a hill of beans in the face of biblical truth. However we can connect some dots, make an interpretation based on long years of study (those guys, I’m just a whippersnapper) and we can truthfully say that based on what the Lord shows us in His Word compared to the world situation right now, the rapture seems closer than ever.
For the born again believer, this comes as good news. For the unaware believer, this comes as a kooky opinion. In 2 Peter 3:3, Peter wrote, “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.”
Understand that the mocking and scoffing does not come from just unbelievers, but also from Christians who deny this doctrine and scoff at fundamentalists who proclaim it. Just today I deleted two comments that vehemently denied the rapture in capital letters and a plethora of exclamation marks, but didn’t use a single bible verse to support their opinion. For many, Christians included, the rapture is going to be a huge surprise. I pray that for many of them, it is a happy surprise, and not one for whom will be left pleading with the Lord, saying-
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'” And they will hear the devastating reply from the One True God,
“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Mt 7:22b)
Not that denying the rapture is a method of detecting salvation, it isn’t, but here is the iron clad promise from the Lord:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Mt 7:21
The supernatural Hand of God seems to be temporarily staying the economic crash and the beginning of wars, among other things. I think it will be the rapture that breaks the dam. The Restrainer will be removed (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7), the economy will collapse, at least in some form before returning to capitalism depicted in Revelation 18, and sin will explode. I pray you are among those who are called by the Lord as blessed part of the Bride, and not a mocker or scoffer pleading with the Lord later for permission to enter the Kingdom. Tweethttp://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/12/raptures-likely-effect-on-economy.html
Prayer is a privilege and a responsibility for every Christian. Why? It is the way Jesus taught us to communicate with Him.
Rather than the wrathful gods of the Aztec era of human sacrifice, or the ancient Middle East where child sacrifice was demanded, or the Muslim god who is demanding but mercurial and untrustworthy, the One True God creates us to have a love relationship with Him. He wants to redeem us from our sinful state to dwell with Him in heaven. His Holy Word tells us who He is and how to love Him back, and His promises never fold.
In His book, He explains how to communicate with Him. Unlike the gods of old, all other gods as a matter of fact, we can speak with Him at any time. He has told us He listens. From Genesis to Isaiah to Philippians, we’re told to pray to God.
“And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 12:8)
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6)
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)
So what IS prayer, exactly? Why do we pray? How do we pray?
As Christian Research and Apologetics Ministry (CARM) explains, “Prayer is the practice of the presence of God. It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made. Prayer is the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God. Prayer is the needful practice of the Christian. Prayer is the exercise of faith and hope. Prayer is the privilege of touching the heart of the Father through the Son of God, Jesus our Lord.”
Why pray? “For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. If He needed to pray to remain in the Father’s will, how much more do we need to pray?”
He has made Himself known in three Persons, God, Jesus the son, and Holy Spirit. We can pray to all three or to one or to two. He is all the same. Any or all are appropriate to pray to. However, the Triune God is the ONLY appropriate person to pray to. The first Commandment says that He is the one true God and we shall have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:2-3). We do not pray to angels. (Rev 22:8-9). We do not pray to saints such as the Catholic Church venerates. (1 Tim 2:5) We do not pray to Mary the mother of Jesus. (Luke 11:27-28). We do not pray to the dead, whose final condition is fixed. (Luke 16:19-31; Hebrews 9:27).
How, then, shall we pray? Jesus answered this exact question in Matthew 6:9-13.
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]”
It is not to say that unconscious repetition of this exact phraseology is the way to pray. Jesus pray ‘in this way‘. He began with a statement to whom He was addressing. He led with a praise. It is always proper to praise the Lord at any time but especially in prayer because it sets our heart condition rightly and reminds us of our position. His Kingdom and His will are tantamount to any Godly life and in any prayer because when we pray knowing it is His will we are appealing to and reminding ourselves He is sovereign. This reminder helps us when the prayers are answered in a way we do not expect or in a timing we are uncomfortable with.
Give us this day our bread is a statement from Jesus telling us it is all right to ask for things to sustain us while we are living on earth. (Matthew 6:32-33). But you notice the prayer doesn’t say pray in a way where you ask for surplus, He is asking for daily bread. Not weekly bread. The manna that was given to the Hebrews in the desert was given daily. Asking for daily bread helps us not become greedy hoarders, and it also is a way for the Lord to bless us daily!
Asking the Lord to forgive our sins is a way to remind us that before any prayer can be answered we need to ensure we are on the right side of God and not accumulating sins, and also that if we forgive others we are also on the right side of God. (Mt 6:14-15; Mark 11:25). Why should He bless a bitter heart? He will not. (1 John 2:9).
“Lead us not into temptation” must be understood correctly. Barnes Notes: “God tempts no man. See James 1:13. This phrase, then, must be used in the sense of “permitting.” Do not “suffer” us, or “permit” us, to be tempted to sin. In this it is implied that God has such control over the tempter as to save us from his power if we call upon him.”
So don’t mindlessly repeat Jesus’ prayer exactly but let the power behind the concepts conform your heart to your own words. Know to Whom you are praying. Praise Him. Understand you position before Him as penitent, His kingdom within you and also your external destination someday. Ask for what earthly provision you need in humility, trusting Him to answer in faith. Ask for unearthly provision such as release from temptation or protection from temptation.
“Times are tough, so many people are searching for hotels with free continental breakfasts.Problem is, some of those eating aren’t guests, says Hampton Inn manager front desk clerk Alfonso Tobenas. That’s right. Folks walk into tourist hotels and pose as guests to gain access to morning chow. Who would do such a thing? Lots of people, according to local hotel insiders. “It is what it is, bro, times are tough and they’re hungry,” Tobenas says. “They’re just trying to beat the system and save a buck. The first time you’re going to get away with it, the second and third time I’m going to ask you to leave. Tobenas says some people even regularly rotate hotels for their free breakfasts, but he recognizes their faces after a while. When he spots them, he lets them eat free-of-charge so they let their guard down. Then he confronts them and asks for their room number. At that moment, they realize they’ve been found out and generally leave without incident.”
Hey! Urban Foraging is like, so five minutes ago. Now it’s CREATIVE Urban Foraging
Woman Uses Dating Site to Get Free Meals “A New York woman is being scrutinized and praised after people learned that she used a dating website to procure $1,200 a month in free meals. According to Business Insider, 23-year-old Jessica Sporty was deep in debt. Sporty found it difficult to live on her $45,000 annual salary after spending nearly $1,500 a month in rent, paying her credit card bill, and buying food. So she signed up for Match.com and was quickly going on five dates a week. Sporty even created a spreadsheet with detailed information on each of her dates, limiting each guy to a maximum of five. Sporty was taken to high-end New York restaurants, and one of her dates even bought her a $200 bottle of champagne.”
The dishonest woman was praised? In the first article, it went on to give tips for how to better scavenge for food at some of the smaller hotels, actually giving tips on how to steal the breakfast more efficiently. In the title to the essay I put ‘survival’ in quotes because the woman had an income of $45,000/year, a roof over her head and clothes to wear. Therefore her stealing isn’t a means survival but simply a sinful way to satisfy her own desires for fancy food.
Back in the 80s it was called dumpster diving but Urban Foraging has a gentrified ring to it and that is the term being used now. But there is a difference between the 80s and 90s dumpster diving and today’s urban foraging. Back in the day, dumpster divers did so usually because they were making a behavioral statement that our consumer culture threw out too many goods that were usable, even food. They “dove” to retrieve what was good but destined for the landfill and considered themselves part of a Green Movement. Even the impoverished who dove to either supplement their home or to survive, stayed within ethical boundaries.
In that time, dumpster divers used to scavenge for what was obviously thrown out. Today’s urban foragers steal. However, the shocking thing about both those articles is the response: praise and kudos for the thieves.
Isaiah 5:20 says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” As the Geneva Bible Study guide succinctly puts it, Woe to those “Who are not ashamed of sin, nor care for honesty but are grown to a desperate impiety.” They prefer their own reasons to Godly commands. For those who are lost to God by reason of their rebellion and rejection of Jesus, this behavior is to be expected, sadly. Paul wrote;
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
But hopefully the people acting this way are not Christians, because we are called to be holy and act righteously. Peter wrote,
Is the USA in end times prophecy? Perhaps the most asked question after, ‘are we in the end times now?’ I admit I go back and forth on the answer. I cannot dogmatically say one way or the other because as far as I can tell from my limited studies, the bible doesn’t say one way or the other.
For a long time I believed that the US was not a specific player in end times prophecy, any more or less than any other nation that is on the earth, except for the biblically identified nations in last times prophecy in the Middle East. After all, Iraq is home to Babylon, Israel is the navel of the world, Egypt is ancient, Damascus is 4000 years old. America as Americans know it is less than 300 years old. Why should we of all places have any part in this ancient drama?
But then there are some things that trouble me in attempting to resolve. Babylon is the focus of Revelation 17 and 18. Rev 17 Babylon is the fall of Spiritual Babylon and Rev 18 is fall of Economic Babylon. The city itself is also mentioned. Revelation 18:9b mentions it twice as a city, as does verse 16, 18, 19 and 21. It is said seven times to be a city in Revelation 18. So Babylon is not just a spiritual false religion and not just an economic system, it is an actual city, too.
Babylon in Iraq exists. It is partly abandoned but before Saddam Hussein was killed he was rebuilding it. He actually thought of himself as a modern king Nebuchadnezzar and had bricks made that one one side had the name Hussein and on the other side had the name Nebuchadnezzar imprinted. Some have speculated, including myself, that after the Iraq war ends the investments and money flowing to the city would propel it to prominence.
However there are some details that do not make sense in thinking of the Iraq Babylon as the prophesied city. In Revelation 18 there is much mention of ships seafaring cargoes and sailors and captains. Babylon Iraq is 375 miles from the Persian Gulf. Merchants are mentioned, commodities, but why sailors and seafaring cargoes? The verse says:
“For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’ (Rev 18:17-19).
So the sailors stand off at sea watching the demise of Babylon the city… The verse goes on with this title punctuating the story:
“Finality of Babylon’s Fall” “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.” (Rev 18:21).
So the finality of Babylon’s demise comes from the sea. How can this be if Babylon is the desert Babylon? Just because we can’t picture it now does not mean it won’t come to pass the way described. The Tribulation is full of devastating earthquakes and perhaps one of them cracks the land enough so that Babylon becomes waterfront property.
But another notion comes to mind. I am speculating here. Perhaps Babylon is New York City.
Revelation 18 is all about the fall of the evil economic system. The world’s current economic woes began when Lehman Brothers fell, sparking an economic panic and decline that continues to this day. Wall Street is home to the brokerage houses that caused the economic panic and global decline. The world’s reserve currency is the US Dollar, and NYC is home to all currency at one point or another. NYC drives the world’s economy.
NYC is also home to the United Nations, thought to be a progenitor of the home to the one world government prophesied to come in Revelation 13. NYC is a busy port. Within one generation, the US has been both the strongest ally to the new nation of Israel and its biggest betrayer. Islam calls us two the Great Satan and the Little Satan. Here, Patrick Heron makes a case for Babylon the city being NYC.
The first rule of biblical understanding is to take the bible literally where it is obvious it should be taken literally. Babylon was and is a city in Iraq. I’m still inclined to believe the prophecy will culminate in the literal place the bible tells us it will, but I am throwing out this a possibility to chew on.
Read for yourself in the bible, and read widely. Revelation is not the only place that the final judgment of Babylon is discussed. Jeremiah 50 & 51, and Isaiah 13 are but a few examples. The idea is to read and pray for understanding with open mind. We can’t be dogmatic about the details when the details are not given.
True believers in the church will not be on earth when the final judgments occur, and certainly not be here to witness Babylon’s fall. However, we will praise the Lord for its death! Revelation 18 shows the earthly lament for Babylon’s fall, but Revelation 19:1-6 shows the heavenly praise for the Lord’s final sweeping away of the curse that Babylon is! There is a “Fourfold Hallelujah”!!
“After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”
God will judge Spiritual Babylon in Revelation 17. Nimrod, Noah’s great-grandson, and his wife Semiramis, brought the first organized false religion to man. His city, Babel, was the place where the Tower was built. The tower was a monument to man and what man could do, not a monument to God and what He can do. God stopped the building of the tower but that did not stop the growing of the false religion. It still grew. Babylon is therefore forever known as by full name: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth”. (Revelation 17:5)
So where is Spiritual Babylon today? Does she still exist? Yes, she exists. Technically, Babylon the Mother of Prostitutes is the mother of all false religions, starting with Nimrod and his wife, Semiramis, who called herself Queen of Heaven. The Queen of Heaven is mentioned in Jeremiah 44:15-19. The Queen of Heaven’s counterparts in different cultures are Ishtar and Isis. All false religions that spawned from her are the harlot daughters of the original. But there is one religion that can be said not to be a daughter of the original Harlot Babylon but is still the Mother herself: The Catholic Church. Mary is the Catholic’s Queen of Heaven.
I bring Catholicism into this discussion because of the prophecy in Rev. 17:9, “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.” Rome is known as the City of Seven Hills. I do not know dogmatically that the city of 7 hills refers to Rome. I do not believe that the Harlot of False Religion is only the Catholic Church, I believe that it refers to ALL false religions in the world. The prophecy in Revelation shows us that though all false religions are tolerated by the Beast (Antichrist), in the middle of the Tribulation the Beast puts a stop to them all, and any semblance of ecumenism goes out the window. Catholicism will not be tolerated. Wicca will not be tolerated. Judaism will not be tolerated. Islam will not be tolerated. The Beast insists all worship HIM and him alone. (Revelation 13:11-18).
But…since the antichrist will emerge from the revived Roman Empire, it behooves us to look at its capital, Rome and the nation nesting inside Rome, Vatican City.
The Fuel Project Series explores the coming New World Order from a Biblical perspective. In this part, it discusses how Catholicism was created by putting a Christian facade on Mystery Babylon paganism. This Fuel Project, Know Your Enemy, Part 23 is only 16 minutes long. It gives a great overview from Constantine onward to the solidification of Catholicism, its marriage to money, and its relation to Babylon.
FUEL Project part 23 transcript, excerpt beginning at ~7:00– “Stanley’s history on page 40 says, The popes filled the vacant place of the Emperors at Rome, inheriting their power, their prestige and their titles from paganism Pope Damascus recognized the power inherent in his new title. He believed himself to be head over not just the Christian church, but also over the pagans in Rome. It meant complete authority and domination; both the secular and the sacred, under one system. So how was the Roman Church to consolidate this rule over the pagans and the Christians under one system? They needed to somehow iron out the differences between the Babylonian system and the Christian system to create a unity between all peoples… and that meant compromise. What the Catholic Church did was consistently compromise the Gospel message with pre-existing pagan beliefs and adapted it based on whatever form of Babylonian mysticism existed a culture held to.”
That melding of all the religious beliefs will find its ultimate expression in the first half of the Tribulation. This movement has already begun. It is called the Ecumenical movement
Ecumenical movement is a pursuit of a unity in and among all churches with the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church began its modern pursuit of ecumenism in 1961, but actually it has always been its stated aim, since at least 1274 if not before. The Catholic Church believes that it is the identical Church Christ founded and that all others have wandered. Ecumenism is the pursuit of the wayward churches back to the Catholic fold.
“Ecumenism takes as it starting point that Christ founded just one Church, not many churches; hence the Roman Catholic Church has as its ultimate hope and objective – that through prayer, study, and dialogue, the historically separated bodies may come again to be reunited with it. Before the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church defined ecumenism as a relations with other Christian groups in order to persuade these to return to a unity that they had broken. Pursuit of unity, thus understood, was always a principal aim of the Church.” (source)
Knowing the past will help us identify the future when it arrives, as we see the pursuit of the folding-in of all religions into one.
A missionary couple our denomination supports recently came to speak of their work. They said that the Catholic Church’s influence and embeddedness in Guatemala makes their work in bringing the truth of the Gospel very hard. The Mayans in the area are completely melded to the Catholic Church, mainly because the Catholic Church allows them to retain their Mayan rituals. Outside one local Catholic Church, he showed us a photo of a cave kind of pit, where the indigenous Indians sacrifice to the Mayan god before entering the Catholic Church to worship. The Catholic Church built the sacrificial pit as an honorary understanding that both religions could be accommodated. Therefore the Mayans sacrifice outside and then enter the Church and leave their money tithe inside.
Vatican City is the smallest nation in the world. It is not just a city, it is its own nation. “The size of a golf course, the Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. It’s basically a walled enclave inside of Rome, Italy. It’s so small that the entire country does not have a single street address.”
“Another unique thing about the smallest country in the world is that it has no permanent citizens. Citizenship of the Vatican City is conferred upon those who work at the Vatican, as well as their spouses and children, and is revoked when they stop working there. The Vatican City may be small, but it is very powerful. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See, or the seat of the Catholic Church, its central government, which has over 1 billion people or about 1 in 6 people on the planet as constituents. The Vatican City was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, which was signed by one of history’s most repressive dictators, Benito Mussolini and is ruled by the Pope, a non-hereditary, elected monarch who rules with absolute authority. He’s the legislative, executive and judiciary all rolled into one. Indeed, the Pope is the only absolute monarch in Europe.”
Interesting, isn’t it?
“The country’s economy is unique: it is the only non-commercial economy in the world. Instead, the Vatican City is supported financially by contributions of Catholics worldwide (called Peter’s Pence – hey, even the Pope accepts credit cards!), the sale of postage stamps and publications, and tourism.”
I had shown through scriptures in Part 1 the tie-in between money and false religion. Being wealthy is not a sin. Abram was wealthy (Genesis 13:2). It’s doing wrong things with the money and for the money that brings judgment. Remember Elisha’s greedy servant Gehazi? “But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” (2 Kings 5:15-27). He ended up a leper. Remember Ananias and Sapphira? They stole from the tithe by falsely holding back and lying to Peter? They ended up dead. (Acts 5)
Jesus reminds us that where vast wealth exists, falsity likely exists too. “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24). Jesus repeats His warning in the same verse.
“Bankers’ best guesses about the Vatican’s wealth put it at $10 billion to $15 billion. Of this wealth, Italian stockholdings alone run to $1.6 billion, 15% of the value of listed shares on the Italian market. The Vatican has big investments in banking, insurance, chemicals, steel, construction, real estate. … Unlike ordinary stockholders, the Vatican pays no taxes on this income, which led the leftist Rome weekly L’Espresso last week to call it “the biggest “the biggest tax evader in Italy.”
That was in 1965. I wonder how much more wealth the Vatican has accumulated in the ensuing nearly 50 years? If I calculated right, and I may not have, 15 billion in 1965 dollars in today’s dollars would be 105 billion. The Catholic Church is the wealthiest organization on earth. Italian author Avro Manhattan wrote,
“The Catholic church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence. She is a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state of the whole globe. The pope, as the visible ruler of this immense amassment of wealth, is consequently the richest individual of the twentieth century. No one can realistically assess how much he is worth in terms of billions of dollars.”
Babylon the False Religion will be destroyed and its partner the Babylon the false economic system will also be destroyed. The Catholic Church has a role to play, whether it is prophetically the Babylon of the city on 7 hills or whether it is a part of the general destruction of all false religions.
The Harlot is mentioned again in the destruction of Babylon the false economic system. “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Rev 18:3). It’s called prostitution because of the addition of the exchange of morals, faith, and conscience for money. It is the money exchange that makes it the harlot.
The lesson for us is to heed Jesus’ warnings that vast wealth corrupts. In Revelation 18 when the Babylon economic system is destroyed, the woes that are heard from the crying participants only for the loss of the consumer goods, not the people. It is all about them, they are crying, ‘where will be get our luxuries from, now?’ (Rev 18:11, 14, 18-19).
The Son of Man had no place to lay His head, (Mt 8:20) but the King of Vatican City has golden monstrance, gold embroidered robes, gold jewelry, velvet garments and a satin pillow to lay his head…
Fornication with false religions and fornication as a greedy consumer and hoarder of wealth will find their ultimate whorish marriage both fulfilled in the Tribulation and judged in the Tribulation.
The most intriguing name in the bible may well be Babylon. (AKA Babel). It is mentioned over 300 times, more than any other name except Jerusalem. Babylon figures prominently in Genesis and in Revelation, illustrating to us the bookend of the false system that has bracketed mankind from the beginning to the end. It was with us after the flood (Genesis 10) and it never left the earth, but it will be addressed in the future. Just because the Lord has not yet judged Babylon the harlot religious system does not mean that He won’t.
Babylon is a false religious system, or spiritual harlotry. Revelation 17 is all about the evil thing that spiritual adultery leads to, and shows us the final judgment of it. Revelation 18 shows us the false political/economic entity Babylon will become and also shows us its final judgment. There is a third meaning of Babylon in Revelation, and that is the name of an actual city. From Revelation’s intertwining of spiritual adultery and economic adultery we can surmise that where one exists, the other follows. They are closely related.
SPIRITUAL HARLOTRY Babylon’s full name is found in Revelation 17:5: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth”. Pretty strong! So what exactly does spiritual harlotry look like?
Hosea was a prophet of God whom God commanded to marry a prostitute. (Hosea 1). As Pastor Weaver exposits, “At the beginning of Hosea’s ministry, the northern kingdom was seemingly prosperous under the stable reign of Jeroboam II. But though things appeared to be calm on the surface, underneath the torrents of the kingdom’s destruction were swirling. The nation had forsaken Yahweh. Though they retained allegiance to Yahweh with their lips, their hearts were far from Him. They had began to mingle elements of the Canaanites’ fertility religion with Yahweh worship by engaging in sexual rites and drunken orgies which were thought to secure the giving of rain and the fertility of the land for their crops.”
The first indicator of spiritual harlotry is unseen. It is a heart condition that God sees. Everything looks all right on the surface because people speak and act in ways that seem consistent with God. But everything is not all right. The second indicator of spiritual harlotry is when religious people incrementally meld pagan rituals and ideas and doctrines with the Truth as revealed from God. Today this can be seen when churches bring the world into the pulpit, such as promoting the latest popular book, following a worldly fad, or singing secular songs.
This is a process Paul described as gangrene. (2 Timothy 2:17). If not stopped immediately, the false practices and doctrines continue to infect the body.
Pastor Weaver continues, “The book of Hosea is not primarily about Hosea and his marriage, it is ultimately about God and His relationship to His covenant people, Israel. Hosea was commanded to marry a prostitute because that is the kind of wife which Israel had become to Yahweh. By combining elements of Baal worship with the elements of Yahweh worship commanded in the Law, Israel was engaging in spiritual adultery – a religious syncretism which by combining true Yahweh worship with idolatry resulted in a perversion which God Himself viewed as spiritual adultery.”
Though the excerpt above characterizes idolatry as spiritual adultery, I prefer to use the term used in Revelation, prostitute, whore or harlot. While adultery to me is a setting aside of morals, prostitution has the additional component of money changing hands. We will see from scriptures below that money is always a large component to spiritual falsity.
The Tribulation’s Spiritual Babylon is the end result of man’s failure and inability to eradicate false religion from the flesh and the mind. Finally, they all just quit trying. The Holy Spirit’s ministry of restraining of sin and illuminating the Truth has slowed this gangrenous creep for the last 2000 years, but when the Restrainer is removed, (2 Thessalonians 2:6), Babylon as spiritual harlot will explode all over the earth. Almost everyone will be infected by it. The final result will be that the world worships satan. The exhortations to the Tribulation believers in Matthew 24:13 and Mark 13:12 show us how hard it will be to remain faithful in a fallen and perverted world.
ECONOMIC HARLOTRY So Revelation 17 dealt with the harlot Babylon in religion and Revelation 18 deals with harlot Babylon as false economic system. To me, this illustrates how the two are closely related. Once the mind begins to allow the world in, then money follows. By reverse logic, the old adage to “follow the money” shows that when we follow money to the root, the person will be evil at root also. 1 Timothy 6:10 states that “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” That verse shows us that the love of money and false religious systems are intertwined.
Look at the cross references to the 1 Timothy 6 verse warning us about the evils of replacing God with the idol of money: Joshua 7:21, Psalm 62:10, Proverbs 15:27, Ecclesiastes 2:19, Matthew 6:19, Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:19, Colossians 3:5, 1 Timothy 3:3, 1 Timothy 6:9, 2 Timothy 3:2, James 5:19. NOT following the money is a huge theme in the bible, and the final end of such waywardness is shown to us in Revelation 18 when the Economic Babylon is destroyed.
Titus 1:11 warns us against false teachers who always do what they do for “filthy lucre’s sake”. Peter repeats this warning in 1 Peter 5:2: “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;” (KJV). So it is no wonder that Babylon the Spiritual Whore is joined to Babylon the Economic Whore.
I was born again on December 3, 2003. I was raised in an atheist family in a Godless part of the country. I had no spiritual upbringing and no religious education. Yet Romans 1:20 lived in my heart:
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
In a back recess of my mind and in a small corner of my heart, I understood that there had to be God. God must exist. Nothing made sense without His presence. I understood this because He plants eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Romans 2:14-15 reminds us that we have the law written on our hearts and that our consciences as His moral barometer prick us. (2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:11). From birth, we all know He exists. How we respond to what is in us determines our destiny.
I remember being completely astounded by something that happened to me when I was in my twenties. I came across a bookmark that had the “Footprints” poem on it. Amazingly, I picked it up and actually read it. Usually I just skipped over anything that had Jesus name on it.
Footprints in the Sand Mary Stevenson, 1936 One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
When I got to the last line I burst out crying. I was amazed first because I was even reading something that Had Jesus’ name on it, and secondly because I was so overcome by the beauty of the sentiment. Though I was not saved at that time, and I had no knowledge of who Jesus is, my spirit was responding to the simple truth written in my heart. The bible says “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Though my sinful mind could not accept Jesus, the law written on my heart cried out for Him. And in His power and omniscience, He heard they cry of my heart. In His timing, twenty years later, I was saved. I called out to Him, fully believing, and I was born again.
Here are a few random news nuggets that belie the danger to the lost and nearness of the time of Jesus’ judgments.
Of all the nations that recently endured an era of devastating hyperinflation, Zimbabwe is that nation. For a picture of what hyperinflation actually does to a nation, read this from Wikipedia, “Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998, to an official estimated high of 11,200,000% in August 2008 according to the country’s Central Statistical Office. This represented a state of hyperinflation, and the central bank introduced a new 100 billion dollar note. As of November 2008, unofficial figures put Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate at 516 quintillion per cent, with prices doubling every 1.3 days.”
In other words, they should know the signs of hyperinflation. They now see it happening in America, and they warn to get out of the Dollar standard and switch to the Chinese yuan for the reserve currency. This is from CNBC:
Zimbabwe Bashes Bernanke—On Inflation! “The central banker of the country most famous for hyperinflation, Zimbabwe, is warning that the US may be on the wrong path and urging his country to adopt the Chinese yuan as its currency. Gono says Zimbabwe should in fact be looking to the Chinese yuan as its main currency, while urgently seeking to restore its own currency which was abandoned in 2009 after a dramatic loss of its value.”
BBC:Katla volcanic eruption imminent, could have global impact “Hundreds of metres under one of Iceland’s largest glaciers there are signs of a looming volcanic eruption that could be one of the most powerful the country has seen in almost a century. Mighty Katla, with its 10km (6.2 mile) crater, has the potential to cause catastrophic flooding as it melts the frozen surface of its caldera and sends billions of gallons of water surging through Iceland’s east coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. “There has been a great deal of seismic activity,” says Ford Cochran, the National Geographic’s expert on Iceland.”
Iranian and North Korean rocket experts hold Damascus meetings “Dozens of officials from North Korea and Iran have conducted meetings with representatives of the Syrian government in Damascus to help president Bashar al-Assad obtain weapons following the implementation of sanctions by members of the Arab League and other countries.”
So now that the Arab League has sanctioned Syria, other rogue states will help Syria get weapons of mass destruction. Not good.
Ultraconservative Islamists make gains in Egypt “Egypt’s ultraconservative Islamist party said Friday it plans to push for a stricter religious code in Egypt after claiming surprisingly strong gains in this week’s initial round of voting for parliament, the first elections since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.”
Ultraconservative and Islam … also not a good combination.
From the natural disasters happening, to the economic failures, to the military buildup, it is all coming together. Two gentlemen write piercingly heartfelt essays this week, of which I’d like to share some excerpts. They said it all so well:
Ron Graham “What mankind is witnessing today is only the “birth pangs” associated with the nearness of Christ’s return; certainly we’re not feeling the full on effects of what Jesus tells us is coming in the last days. Jesus’ return is close, and every Christian should reel with anticipation and excitement every time something out of the ordinary or unexplainable happens. But today’s Christians seem to be apathetic concerning the coming of their Lord; a lull between events allows apathy to creep into the Christian’s life lessening the anticipation of future events. Although many may read about the catastrophic occurrences around the world which have led to mass amounts of human death and suffering, there seems to be a sort of disconnect as people simply dismiss any possibility of such devastation occurring near them, or in their lifetime. Today most followers of Jesus Christ are unaware of the unimaginable magnitude of catastrophic events that are coming. Jesus warns the last remaining generation prior to His return that they will be overwhelmed by three specific ever recurring events, which are earthquakes, pestilence, and famines. Interestingly we’re all witnesses to the fact that all three are increasing in frequency and intensity just like birth pangs.”
John McTernan “I have been warning for a long time for believers to be serious with God because huge trials were coming that were going to test our faith. It now appears that two huge trials are converging at the same time. The European economic meltdown along with war in the Middle East which are going to shake the entire world. Both converging at the same time are like a 10.0 earthquake. The effect is going to be enormous. The European Union meltdown is now heading into high gear as all the warning signs are now flashing of an imminent meltdown. There is not enough money in the world to bail out Europe along with all the debt that the US is creating. The debt monster is now loose and out of control. The collapse of Europe will send the world economy into uncharted waters. Look what happened in the Fall of 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed. Just imagine what is going to happen with the Euro along with multiple European nations collapse!
“There are all sorts of unconfirmed reports that Israeli Jericho missiles are being moved into firing positions in the West Bank. The Jericho is Israel’s long range missile which can reach Iran. This missile can be armed with nuclear weapons. [There are also unconfirmed reports that China is moving missiles into position, also.) Syria is degenerating in chaos and Assad said he will attack Israel if war breaks out. Israel said it will totally destroy Syria in the next war, so Syria can never again attack Israel! Lebanon said its army will back Hezbollah and Israel said it will destroy Lebanon in the next war! All the elements are now coming together for the all-out war that is described in Psalm 83, Obadiah and Isaiah 17.”
“How much longer can this war be held back? If it does not start by the end of this year, can an entire year go by without it starting? I doubt it. It appears that the time has now arrived for the war that will start the direct countdown to all the end-time prophecy, the Day of the LORD and battle of Armageddon which will usher in the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with His church! All the warning signs are now flashing. The sirens are blasting full power that God’s judgments on this world are about to begin as time is running out.” Tweethttp://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/12/sobering-news-today-and-sobering-future.html
North Miami Beach police employees in hot water over alleged Santeria birdseed plot Two North Miami Beach police department employees allegedly tried to cast a spell over the city manager’s office. A note to prospective municipal employees: If you’re looking for a way to help out beleaguered colleagues, casting a spell on your boss is probably not the way to go. Two North Miami Beach employees — one a police officer, the other a department office manager — are in hot water after trying to enlist some supernatural aid in the form of what they believed to be a Santeria practice.”
It all began over budget cuts. The city manager proposed them, the union opposed them, and two employees planned to dispose of him.
Miami is home to a large Cuban and African population, where Santeria flourishes as a mystical, cult voodoo religion that uses dead chickens, animal sacrifice, and black magic. Wikipedia describes Santeria as “Santería is a system of beliefs that merges the Yoruba religion (which was brought to the New World by slaves imported to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations) with Roman Catholic and Native Indian traditions. These slaves carried with them various religious customs, including a trance for communicating with their ancestors and deities, animal sacrifice and sacred drumming.”
The article goes on, “While Santeria practitioners have argued that their practice constitutes a legitimate religion and bristle at depictions of the practice as black magic or witchcraft, they acknowledge that public displays of their traditions can spook non-believers. And both adherents and experts say that the Afro-Cuban religion, itself an amalgamation of Catholicism and African spiritual traditions, does not count malice — such as casting harmful spells — as one of its principles.”
I enjoy a good laugh as much as anyone. I love fun, a good time, being with friends, and yukking it up. However, I do not believe those things are appropriate for church, for bible study, for ecclesiastical conferences, or for prayer meetings. The call to dignity is both overt and inferred in the scriptures.
In the first essay I wrote about my concerns with Beth Moore’s teaching, I wrote that one of the issues is that she is not dignified on stage. I am not speaking of a personal preference, though I do have biases in this area. The scriptures in that piece speak to how we must act when in the position of teacher or elder. She uses signs, tricks, volunteers, personal anecdotes, jokes, innuendo, and more. When she teaches the bible, she is not dignified.
Mark Driscoll is pastor of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington. He is well known for his casual approach to preaching the Sunday Services, in demeanor and in apparel. He readily admits that his sermon delivery is influenced by stand-up comedians like Chris Rock. I saw the first and only clip of Mr Driscoll a week or so ago. He was speaking of the Twilight novels and movie release in culture and how it is affecting the young girls of today, like his own daughter. I posted the 10 minute video on my blog here, and I fully admit that it is hilarious. He strode about the stage in tennis shoes, jeans, and untucked flannel shirt, making funny remarks and it was a good ten minutes of punchline delivery that Chris Rock would envy.
I believe that demeanor is important when one is delivering a teaching on the greatest information ever imparted to Man. I am not a fuddy duddy, but the clear call to present the Gospel of Jesus and Him crucified means deliver it with dignity.
How many pastors today forgo a jacket and tie on Sundays anymore? How many over-rely on media such as video, loud music, dancing, casual attire, and any and all things that actually distract from the bible as the central focus?
“YOU ARE STANDING ON HOLY GROUND” “Today if there is ever a time when a man is on “holy ground” it is when he is preaching Christ and Him crucified. Qualifications are specified. The inspired writer says, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). Peter demanded, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet 4:11). Preaching and teaching the word of God is a serious matter. The pulpit is no place for frivolity and merrymaking. Theatrics and foolishness are as out of place in the pulpit as a cowbell in a musical concert, and beneath the dignity of a faithful representative of the crucified Christ. No man has a right to profane the pulpit while representing the Saviour of the world. Cuteness and slang may provoke a laugh from the less spiritual, but the more serious disciple of Jesus demands sincerity and evidence that Christ lives in us (Gal 2:20).”
Do you demand sincerity and evidence that Christ lives in us from your church, your pastor, your services? I hope so. Dignity is an old fashioned word these days, much maligned. But while there is a place for frivolity and fun, guffaws and jokes, there is also a place for dignity. The two places are not the same.
The lowering of standards of pulpit behavior is indicative of the lowering of the place of Jesus in the heart of one who is treating Him so casually. It belies an internal attitude that Jesus is lower than He is, which is consistent with the attitude of many of today’s pastors who preach man higher than he is. The lowering and heightening will eventually meet as level after the rapture. It will soon after that find its ultimate culmination in the Man of Sin. Finally, satan (for a little while) will live on earth as the king of earth where Jesus is below man. But not for long.
When the time is fulfilled and the transgression is finished, (Dan 9:24) Jesus will appear as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14)
There is none higher and all the enemies of Him are under Him at the footstool. “A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)
