Naming the Beast

There are many ways that man can interpret the concept of "Antichrist" and the intense imagery of Biblical end-times prophecy. For thousands of years, numerous men and women have pointed their fingers at one particular political leader, spiritual authority or person of interest; always certain that they had found the "man of sin". It has been proven time and time again that men with our own dim eyes cannot fully decipher the mystery of the beast. However, it is also said that by God's design and in his timing he gives sight to the blind. In the last days we are assured that what was once sealed up and swallowed (by both Daniel and John of Patmos, respectively) will become clear, and will be made manifest, to the nourishment of the saints.

What I am about to share with you came to me in the fall of 2005, 11 months after I first read the "Bush is Antichrist" website. It hit me like a bolt of lightning, and validated the beliefs that I had come to form about the nature of the beast, and the power of God's ability to give us "eyes to see". It was at that point that my assurance was rooted in the truth of these matters. I had received a revelation.

That vision involved Daniel 7 and Revelation 12, 13. It shed light on the beasts described by revealing how they fit into the overall apocalyptic picture. I knew the stories already, but had no real grasp of their meaning before the night in question. What hit me was the presence and significance of the four sacred elements in this epic tale. Air, Water, Earth and Fire. They stood out purposeful, reflecting the nature of the Creator, as well as the nature of his impostor. When that connection dawned on me, it felt just like a key had slipped into a rusty lock, turned, and let loose the truth. For this revelation defined the nature of the unholy trinity as directly related to the holy trinity. Both God and our adversary, the red dragon are represented by Air, or Heaven. Likewise both the Holy Spirit and the unholy spirit of the world are represented by water, (for we are baptized in water and in spirit). And finally, the flesh is the dust of the earth, so both Jesus Christ and the "man of sin" will be bound together by the earth. Now to those of you who are unfamiliar with modern apocalyptic studies and interpretations, let me explain. Revelation 13 depicts two beasts, the first arises from the sea, and the second emerges from the earth. Most, if not all Christians believe that the beast from the sea is depicting the Antichrist. R Stephen Hanchett is among that number. But what I saw that night, and have come to believe since, is that the beast of the earth is the real Antichrist. And today I will set out not only to confirm that link by scripture, but also to show how George W Bush is fulfilling that prophecy these days.

But first let's return to the sacred elements. During the spiritual lightning storm that was this revelation, I wondered about how four elements could represent any trinity. At first, I expected the whole idea to fall like a house of cards because of fire, but then realized that fire is covered very well throughout the Bible. For who is God without worshipers? I am not question his completion by saying this, but like to point out that God did choose to create us, and has chosen to put up with us, because he wants us to play a part in this; likewise the devil will do whatever he can to steal us. Fire is what separates humanity; it burns and destroys all wickedness at the same time that it purifies all righteousness. The symbolic nature of fire in this relationship is summarized in Daniel 7:9-11.

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

The Holy Spirit shows us truth, which the scriptures will fully verify. I'm not saying this as a reason for you to blindly accept what I'm teaching here. This isn't preachy chicanery. I'm telling you that once the spirit opens your eyes to the truth, you will look in the scriptures and clearly see what they've always been proclaiming. Air, Water, Earth and Fire are universal elements, known intimately by all men. Each one is distinctive from the other, and each is a crucial ingredient in the makeup of creation. Also the three elements of Air, Water, and Earth represent the natural trinity of the states of matter; solid, liquid, and gas.

Going back to the prophecy, I hope you have read Revelation 12, Revelation 13, and Daniel 7 already, but we'll do a summary of them anyway. Revelation 12 describes a great red dragon and an army of soon-to-be fallen angels who are at war with Michael and his angels. This red dragon is, according to verse 9, "...that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world...". The dragon is defeated in heaven, and cast down to earth for a time to await his judgment. I have previously established by scripture the devil's obsession with God, and his desire to replace him. Being banished from heaven, the dragon sets his eyes on the earth he's been imprisoned on. Revelation 12:12 says, "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.” His plan is to replace God in the minds of men, for in our thoughts we can primarily focus on either the presence of God, or ourselves, our nation, our lover etc. Honoring God in our minds is not a matter of exclusivity as much as it is a matter of priority. Christ instructed us to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" The process of replacing God in our hearts and minds has been gradual and subtle, but consistent. God is a presence and priority in many people's belief system, but more as a backdrop than anything. The religious right is certainly as guilty of this as anyone outside the church. Their social takeover and political agenda have replaced the commands and instructions of the Bible, even though they believe that they are defending the Bible. You can't share or defend what you yourself refuse to obey!

The agenda of the religious right has become their God, and they are willing to suffer persecution on it's behalf. Spiritually, these churches have suffered greatly for this decision. Bitter and battle-ready churches breed paranoid and unloving congregations. As long as the light of God is not in the throne of our minds, the darkness of the devil is free to occupy it. While he is imprisoned on earth, the devil is working around the clock to do just that.

However, it is clearly established in scriptures that the heavenly father actually sits enthroned in heaven. "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?"~ Isaiah 66:1. "And (Jesus) said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."~ Luke 11:2. Interestingly enough, the phrase "as above, so below" is a cherished proverb for the Masonic, Illuminati elite. Heaven is the battleground of eternity, as well as the home of the seat of power so fiercely coveted by Satan. The war which was waged in heaven has spilled over into the spiritual war we are in the midst of today. The red dragon will always be a fallen creature, driven mad by the darkness he is sentenced to, suffering because he can never return to the position he was created for. And he will always yearn to be in the heaven he came from.

God, by nature, is trinity. Father, Son and Spirit. Which means that for his plan of replacing God to work, the devil will have to rise up counterfeits of all three aspects of trinity. And that brings us to the next character starting in Revelation 13:1-4. In this passage, we find a great beast rising up out of the sea, having the characteristics of a lion, a bear, and a leopard. This beast has seven heads, and ten horns with a crown on each horn. Verse 2 states that the dragon (devil) gave this beast "his power and seat and great authority", and verse 12 states that the beast of the Earth "exercises all the authority of the first beast", which ties in all three together by an unholy anointing. So does that mean this first beast from the sea is the Antichrist so many have been searching for? Most would think so, and many have taught so, mainly based on the erroneous resurrection connection between Jesus and one of the heads of this beast which "suffered a fatal wound and yet lived". Another tie-in used by the mainstream teaching is the connection between Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 13:5-7. In these passages, both the "little horn" from Daniel, and the "mouth" given to the beast of the sea are given power for three and a half years, while they spew blasphemies from their lips and wage a successful war of oppression against the saints. But what should be noted and explored is the one and only distinctive difference between the beast of the sea and the four beasts compiled together in Daniel 7. There are four beasts which rise up from the sea- one is like a lion, another like a bear, a third like a leopard with four heads, and the fourth having ten horns- which gives us a total of seven heads and ten horns in Daniel7:2-7. In the Revelation account, yet again, we have one beast which encompasses all of those characteristics. In both accounts, this description is directly followed by the rise of a malevolent leader. In Daniel, the character is a "little horn, with eyes like a man and a mouth which speaks boastfully", in Revelation it is described as a mouth given to the beast and once again as it's own separate entity called the beast of the earth. Great spiritual significance is granted to this particularly boastful and blasphemous leader who emerges to rule this final empire in the last days. His actions will cause a devastation greater than the world has ever known. His blasphemies will inspire the judgment of heaven.

The Rev. beast has ten horns altogether, but it's horns have crowns which makes them kings by inference. In the Daniel 7 account there are no crowns on the horns, but an angel does identify the horns as "kings" and the beast as a "kingdom" in verse 23. Considering that the beast of the earth is said to "exercise all the power of the first beast before him" in Rev:13:12, I submit that the 11th, "little horn" from Daniel is the same king or representative leader as the beast of the earth.

The seven-headed beast described in Revelation 13:1-4 is 1/3rd of the unholy trinity, and it is not the flesh, but rather the spirit. The beast of the sea represents the unholy spirit of the world. It represents the spirit of empire, conquest, greed and control. It represents the kingdom of the antichrist, which is the antithesis of the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 2:12 verbalizes the reality of the unholy spirit, as it compares to the Holy Spirit, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." This unholy spirit rises up before the Antichrist just as the Holy Spirit came into the world through the prophets and John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus into his ministry, and paved the way for him to ascend to his destiny (compare that to the Supreme Court decision to grant George W Bush the presidency). The spirit spreads among men like wildfire, preparing the way by preparing their minds to receive the Christ (or the Antichrist). That is the purpose and the nature of the spirit. The spirit is the mortar which helps to build a city. The spirit is the very lifeblood of a kingdom. It keeps us all together. I have come to believe that the final world empire which shall be ruled by the antichrist is, in fact, the American empire.

R. Stephen Hanchett does an excellent job in connecting the dots on his website. His writing got my mental wheels spinning, and for that I am grateful. One of the most compelling points he made was this:

(Dan 7: 24) “the ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones. (the Antichrist)” America acquired superpower status, and gained the reach of a world-class Empire, when it acquired the nuclear bomb - at the very end of WWII. Since then there have been exactly ten “kings” or post-war presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr, and Clinton. The prophecy from Daniel says that after these ten presidents, there will appear another one, an arrogant “little horn”, which is the Antichrist, George W Bush. It says this “little horn” is unlike the other ten presidents, and this is in reference to the fact that Bush had no popular mandate, that he lost the popular vote by over a million votes, and was appointed to office when five un-elected judges on the Supreme Court stopped the counting of votes in Florida. This never happened before in American history, and it makes him different from his predecessors – that and his arrogance, dishonesty, law-breaking, and lust for world power.

And that brings us to the Beast of the earth, who we will line up side by side against Christ, to see what kind of comparisons exist. This third beast (Rev. 13:11-18) is described as,
1. coming out of the earth
2. having horns "like a lamb"
3. and the mouth of a dragon, speaking what the dragon would have him say, which reiterates the importance of Rev 13:5-8.
4. He rules the empire beast, and causes all men to worship it, which is the spirit of the devil.
5. He performs destructive "signs and wonders", and is said to deceive (and continuously lie to) the whole world.

Alternatively, Jesus Christ,
1. Is God in the flesh, which is the dust of the earth.
2. Is the Lamb of God
3. Is the Word of God, who spoke only what the Father would have him say.
4. Rules the kingdom of God, and is promised to subdue all earthly kingdoms.
5. Obviously Jesus is the master of miracles, who offers the world the truth.

Also, considering that the word "antichrist" doesn't appear once in Revelation, we should be careful in interpreting the book in order to find out who best represents that concept. The best way to do this is by searching for an M.O. which is a dark mirror image of the Christ. To conduct this search properly grounded, let's start by defining the word "Christ", which is Greek for the Hebrew word "Messiah".

c.1300, Messias, from L.L. Messias, from Gk. Messias, from Aramaic meshiha and Heb. mashiah "anointed" (of the Lord), from mashah "anoint."

This fact should lead us to ask what sort of men received anointing in the Hebrew tradition. Those men were either kings (1 Sam 16:13), High Priests (Leviticus 4:16), or prophets (1 Kings 19:16). Revelation 19 describes Jesus emerging in the day of Judgment, revealed before the world in glory. In this account, the angel proclaims to John that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of Prophecy" (vs.10), and Jesus is called the "King of Kings"(vs 16). Also, most of the book of Hebrew deals with the way that Christ is the eternal High Priest. Hebrews also starts out by establishing that Jesus was anointed "above his fellows" directly by the Holy Spirit, and not by the customary oil. He uses many prophecies to elaborate his over-all point, including Psalm 45:7

"Thou loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Consider how the church whole-heartedly embraced George W Bush during the presidential race and election after-math of 2000. Many popular preachers were telling their congregation that God appointed Bush to be the president. They cited a miracle where voter-fraud was responsible, setting the stage for the demonic deception and double-speak that was to follow. From before his inauguration, George W Bush was unlike any president before him, which is another fulfillment of Antichrist prophecy. The "image of the beast", by this new interpretation of prophecy can be seen very easily as the new Iraq, being recreated in the image of America. The "mark of the beast" can be seen as a fierce sense of patriotism inspired by Bush, either for or against him, but away from God regardless, it might also represent a microchip implant that has yet to be implemented, but will if/when Bush declares martial law. As far as causing all the world to worship the image, Bush's America has clearly threatened destruction to any nations that will not support our expanding empire or "American Interests".

Most every Christian who looks for the Antichrist in Revelation 13, is being led to the wrong beast. It would make sense, if Christ warned the last generation of great deception, that the true identity of the Antichrist would be distorted by doctrine, blinding and misguiding the church to look for an attacker to come from the world to offend and destroy the church. The truth is that the Antichrist was foretold instead to come from out of the church to offend and destroy the world, which means the established church will fully endorse him. Most people think of Antichrist as a charismatic, sensual, alluring man of obvious darkness who speaks with the flicker of a silver tongue. He has to be masterfully intelligent, because of course he will be planning to single-mindedly conquer and deceive the world, without any help from the dragon whose mouth he has, and the empire whose power he represents.

The greatest deception that we could be submitted to is a fantastic, fabled view of the world's greatest nemesis, distracting us from observing the true evil one's lies disguised as bumbling and destructive "faulty intelligence". Remember, it is a fool who dismisses a matter before considering it. Don't let the apparent foolishness of George W Bush continue to deceive you about the mark he is making on the world.

The Writing on the Wall

"What shall we use to fill the empty spaces
Where waves of hunger gnaw?
Shall we set out across this sea of faces
In search of more and more applause?
What Shall we do Now?"
~Pink Floyd/ Empty Spaces

"declare this an emergency
come on and spread a sense of urgency
and pull us through
cause this is the end
this is the end of the world
it's time we saw a miracle
come on,
it's time for something biblical
to pull us through"
~Muse/ Apocalypse Please!

"Turn it up.
Listen to the shit they pump into your head.
Filling you with apathy.
Hold your breath.
Wait until you know the time is right on time.
The end is near.
I hope they cannot see.
The limitless potential
Living inside of me.
To murder everything.
I hope they cannot see
I am the great destroyer"
~Nine Inch Nails/ The Great Destroyer

"I am so All American, I'd sell you suicide.
I am totalitarian"
~Marilyn Manson/ Irresponsible Hate Anthem

"Don't look at me like
I am a monster
Frown out your one face
But with the other
Stare like a junkie
Into the TV
Stare like a zombie
While the mother
Holds her child
Watches him die
Hands to the sky crying
Why, oh why?
'cause I need to watch things die
From a distance
Vicariously I
live while the whole world dies
You all need it too, don't lie"
~Tool/ Vicarious

"Capitalism made it this way,
Old Fashioned fascism will take it away!"
~Marilyn Manson/ the Beautiful People

"We're not scaremongering
This is really happening"
~Radiohead, Idioteque

"I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world,
but its feeling just like every other morning before,
Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone,

The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour if that,
and started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye
can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?

But I believe the world is burning to the ground
oh well I guess we're gonna find out
let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
let's see how far we've come"
~Matchbox 20/ How Far We've Come

In researching the topic of prophecy in modern music, I've found myself wondering how it would be best to label modern groups such as those I've quoted above. It didn't really seem right for me to flat-out call them prophets, but at the same time it's undeniable to me that they are delivering messages to us that come from the most high. I have concluded that the modern musician can be best described as a "herald", which is a close cousin of the prophets. The definition of a herald as a noun is: "One that indicates or announces someone or something to come" and as a verb is "To make known the presence or arrival of". Considering the global platform of these artists, the way they have used that platform (especially in the last three years or so), and the often indirect (or unacknowledged) reference to God as the source of their inspiration, they are more definitively heralds, rather than prophets. Even Sinead O'Connor with her new and beautiful album "Theology" doesn't seem to realize the full significance of what she sings. Heralds are more like vessels, whereas prophets are like servants. It should be no surprise to us that the creator of the universe is the same being called the "muse", who inspires much artistic creativity.

So why would God be moved to use secular musicians to deliver a message that should be coming from within the church? Why would God use rock stars like Marilyn Manson, of all people, to foretell the arrival of George W Bush back in his 1996 album "Antichrist Superstar"? Haven't church leaders conducted many protests outside his concerts, blamed him for inspiring the Columbine killing spree of 1999, and shown to Christians in America that he is an agent of the devil? If this is the case, then why would Marilyn Manson sing in the Antichrist Superstar title song; "Repent, that's what I'm talking about! Whose mistake am I anyway?" and again in his late 2000 album Holywood, "I never really hated the one true God, but the God of the people I hated" There's something going on here, but what is it?

John the Baptist proclaimed this warning in the days before Christ was baptized:
Luke 3:7-9

"Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these rocks. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

I don't want to paint a picture of Marilyn Manson as someone that should be deeply revered, or worshiped. No prophet, herald, or angel should be worshiped. But he is certainly not singing an endorsement of evil, as the established church would have us believe.

In my study, I have learned that prophets do not "predict the future", so much as they proclaim promises from God about the future. Prophets are dismissed as crazy oftentimes, because they come mostly from outside the religious establishment, and people have a hard time in taking God's words and his present calling to repentance seriously. This is true in the way that many live their lives, even though a vague sense of divine fear has been used by many governments throughout the ages to keep their populations in check. What I'm saying here isn't a contradiction, so much as a distinction between the general fear used by rulers to keep people in line, and the personal fear of the Lord which recognizes that nothing any of us do can be kept secret from God, no lie can fool God, and no government is to be obeyed over the will and instructions of God. The words of prophets are simple reminders of the consequences that are always paid for our behavior, whether we do right or wrong. That is a very strong theme of modern music, and has been since the 1960s, when the Vietnam war waged strong, and the church did not stand against it, but rather endorsed it vocally, or through silent consent.

Deuteronomy 18 sets the groundwork for us to tell the difference between true and false prophets. Verse 20 spells it out for us:

If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

This verse should be heeded in a world influenced by certain high-profile people claiming to be prophets. It takes a great risk for someone to step up to the plate and claim that they bear a message from the Lord. But even still, if and when a prophet's "message from the Lord" is shown to be wrong, it should not be dismissed as human error, but understood as demonic inspiration. I am among the few who feel led to proclaim not only that we are in the end times, but also that George Bush is that "man of sin" foretold of ages. I am aware of the spiritual risk involved in my stance, but am also willing to take that risk because to the best of my understanding, I believe it to be true. In time we will all see whether it is true or not.

The distinction between true and false prophet reveals the nature of self proclaimed prophets like Pat Robertson (who has falsely predicted the battle of Armageddon would arrive not only in 1982, but again in 2007) Hal Lindsay (who has prophesied the end of days with as much boldness as inaccuracy, all throughout his lucrative and prosperous career) and many other mainstream American church leaders.

It is a grievous sin to proclaim the Lord has spoken what your own sinful heart has imagined (such as a 'pre-tribulation rapture') because that presumption diminishes people's faith in true prophecy. The predictions of false prophets always fill us with fear when we should pursue love, and they fill us with peace when we should be on our guards. God shows all who will look what the truth is by authenticating or refuting the promises of prophets. He exposes the spirit over time, every single time. Commonly in scriptures, a false prophet is said to proclaim "Peace, peace" when there is no peace. That spirit of lying comfort can be best demonstrated by the joy and reassurance of the church once George Bush was given the white house, less than a year before the greatest attack on American soil, and more-so today by the "God bless America" bumper stickers that spread like wildfire in the aftermath of 9-11-01.


Although musicians do paint their various visions of the imminent future on occasion, the main thrust of their focus is on our present state. The truth is that we can only repent presently...never off in some dark and dismal future. And as devilish as the mainstream church has painted pop and rock music as being, it's messages are oftentimes Godly. Beginning with the musical revolution of the 1960s, many popular song lyrics have been riddled with callings for repentance and reminders of righteous living. "All you need is love" was sung, after all, in a historic live television broadcast via satellite around the word in 1967. One of my favorite passages is 1 John 4:7-8, which says

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God for God is love!"

The reason for that rising of righteous proclamations from secular sources is because the mainstream church has dried up; it has lost it's anointing, direction and purpose because of greed and the self-righteous sense of spiritual exclusivity. The church has become twisted, turned around, a mockery of righteousness: apostate. This is the same spiritual state that the Jewish establishment was in during the days of Christ and John the Baptist. I am not proclaiming the whole church condemned forever to hell, and I am not saying that these musicians are perfect and holy saints. What I am saying is that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His will, his guidance, his instructions are just as true today as when they were first spoken and written. We cannot forget that God desires mercy, and not sacrifice. We cannot presume that just because a man preaches from a pulpit, that he is delivering the instructions that come from the God he claims to represent. God's words began all of existence as we know it, and his message will be delivered, even if it is through songs of anti-establishment, rebellious sentiment. What modern musicians rebel against is mainly the institution of Lucifer's New World Order.



(Both this and the previous picture come from anotherversionofthetruth.com, which is part of Year Zero's Alternate Reality Game.)

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is one of my favorite voices in modern music. His first album came out in 1989, during Bush sr's reign, and the opening song contained the lyrics, "Head like a hole, black as your soul, I'd rather die, than give you control" All of his music is peppered with religious conflict, and rebellion against the establishment. In 2007, he released an album called Year Zero that flat out states what his earlier songs hinted at. His sarcasm has a charming bite like a vampire, and one of my favorite new songs from the album is called Capital G, which I think sums things up nicely. Those with virgin ears proceed with caution:

"I pushed the button and elected elected him to office and a
He pushed the button and he dropped the bomb
You pushed the button and could watch it on the television
Those motherf*#&ers didn't last too long

I'm sick of hearing about the "have's" and "have not's"
Have some personal accountability
The biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is
The more we let you have the less that I'll be keeping for me

Well I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Trading in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G

Don't give a shit about the temperature in Guatemala
Don't really see what all the fuss is about
Ain't gonna worry about no future generations and
I'm sure somebody's gonna figure it out

Don't try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person
You haven't had enough to know what its like
You're only angry 'cause you wish you were in my position
Now nod your head because you know that I'm right... alright!

Well I used to stand for something
But forgot what that could be
There's a lot of me inside you
Maybe you're afraid to see

Well I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Trading in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G"

There is nothing which can muddle or prevent the will of God's word from reaching our ears. However, we must always be careful in discerning which spiritual inspiration we are motivated by, careful to chose humility over pride, love over grudges, forgiveness over vengeance. We are called to think for ourselves, to be vigilant against the deceptions of that angel of light who is truly a serpent. Every teaching we receive should be tested. We are called to press on in the dark, mysterious daily walk of faith instead of settling for the comfortable conclusion that whatever the church says must be the will of God. Great deception has led the church down the road of greed, self-righteousness, and spiritual blindness. No longer are it's shepherds the faithful children of Abraham. This is why rock and pop music is being used to deliver the massage that the end is near. If the shepherds of the church seek true repentance, they should find forgiveness, but the odds are stacked against them. For how can they find the answer to a question they presume to have already solved? This problem that the church faces today is the same as that which overcame the Pharisees in the days of Christ. The difficult road of righteousness that Jesus pointed to then is still the same today. And the powerful blindness of those who claim to see is still as big of a problem as it has always been.

Matt 6:22-23

"The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness."

Called to be Ready...For What?

There is one particular tradition held close to heart by the modern fundamentalist church that claims to be a blessing to the church, but is in fact a devious curse to those who believe it. This is the heresy of the "pre-tribulation rapture"; it strips the meaning from our faith, exchanging the ever-present spiritual struggle of our faith into a seemingly never-ending "waiting game". This fable teaches that in the last days, immediately before the great seven-year tribulation, all people living on Earth who genuinely follow Christ will be taken out of the earth, to make way for God to utterly annihilate the planet. Once this massive and miraculous exodus of the faithful takes place, the Antichrist will then rise up to power, and by the power of the devil, he will deceive people into believing that he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

Of course, according to this rapture theory, it would make sense that the people "left behind" wouldn't know the difference between a wicked war-mongering emperor and Jesus Christ. But why everyone in the world would want to follow any Jesus after the rapture, while suffering the judgment of God, and without piecing together the connection between a sudden disappearance of millions of people and the rise of the best deceiver the world would ever know...well that is another question entirely.

According to the fundamentalist fable of the end-times, the Antichrist will get shot or wounded in his head, but survive. He will have an incredible hypnotic effect on the people, submitting their free will under his influence. He will have 666 written across his forehead. While the scripture says that he will do terrible, hateful, despicable things; fundamentalists believe that people will love him, and that he will have a wonderfully wise way with words. He will also have a sort of side-kick called the "false prophet" that does his dirty work for him, performs all sorts of signs and lying wonders, while he constantly directs the worship of the world to "the beast" (or Antichrist), and not himself (the false prophet). Considering that pride was the sin of Satan, and directing worship from yourself to another is a universal sign of humility, (best represented by John the Baptist, who -when speaking of Jesus- said, "I must decrease, and he must increase") this story doesn't seem to add up. Could it be that the devil has also misdirected our understanding of the Beast, in this most crucial point of history?

The devil takes where the Lord gives. The devil lies where the Lord tells the truth. The devil boasts before all while the Lord speaks to whom he choses in a "still small voice". If Jesus taught that "You can tell a tree by it's fruit, for a bad tree cannot produce good fruit, and a good tree cannot produce bad fruit", and "Out of the mouth comes the abundance of the heart", he probably meant something by it. The devil's appearance at a glance may seem harmless, or even attractive, but his poisonous nature is quickly revealed beneath the disguise of "an angel of light". The devil is no more than a very good illusionist. And his Antichrist is nothing more than a wolf disguised as a sheep.

It is foolishness to suggest that the Antichrist will be wise. For the Bible is very emphatically clear that wisdom comes from God, and while Lucifer was "perfect in wisdom" before his fall, from the point that sin entered him, all light and wisdom that he possessed was transformed to true darkness and mere craftiness.

Satan is the ultimate con-artist; he is the master of loop-holes, foolish enough to think that he is really staying one step ahead of God, or his children. Satan knows that his time is short here on Earth, and that God has promised him judgment, but he is racing against time, furiously poisoning the well of truth with his fables and fantasies. The devil's plan is to cause all believers to fall short of the mark of God, thereby keeping God away from the Earth. His biggest threat on earth is the Bride of Christ, and so the object of his greatest campaign of deception would be the church. If the devil manages to successfully deceive the church into supporting his chosen vessel of death and destruction (The Antichrist), then God would be forced to either delay his return, or to destroy his beloved because God is just, and the fallen church would have become wicked.

How could such a campaign of deception be carried out? By planting the seed of a lie years before its fruit would be needed, then repeating that lie over and over again to give it nourishment and a sense of authenticity. The seed of "pre-trib" teaching originated in 1825, and it has grown to be one of the most divisive issues of the modern church. The best way to get a good person (or people) to do or believe something that is false, is to tell them that it is in their best interest. This was the devil's tactic when tempting Eve, it is the poisonous reasoning that has fueled this wicked War on Terrorism, and it is the heart of the "Pre-tribulation rapture" theory.

Time and time again, by the word of Christ, and throughout the letters of the New Testament, there are warnings to be ready for the return of Christ. There are numerous warnings that Christ will return "as a thief in the night". These warnings are issued to believers, both asleep and awake. Those who are awake and vigilant will see the signs of his coming, and they will be prepared for his arrival. The master will receive these servants with joy, and he will express this joy by pampering his servants (which is a concept that would make any good servant blush). Other servants will be asleep, and unprepared for his return. These servants will be rebuked, but forgiven. Still others will be wicked: they will drink the Master's liquor, beat their fellow servants, put their feet up on his furniture, and believe in their heart that the Master won't be returning in their lifetime, so they might as well live it up. These servants will be punished severely.

So the question is, when will Christ return, and what will be his motivation for coming "as a thief in the night"? According to the Pre-trib rapture version, Christ will return before any signs of judgment manifest themselves, and before the Antichrist rises to power. His motivation, then, would be to catch Christians with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar. This version of Jesus is looking for the perfect time to bust into Earth and yell "Gotcha!", laughing at the unprepared humans who have chosen to serve and follow him. Once he has scooped up his good, caring, and loving followers from the Earth, this Jesus will go back to heaven, seal the door shut behind him, and stay the heck out of the way as God pours fire and plagues on the Earth (while the Antichrist woos the people left with his wisdom, seducing their love for seven years). There will be 144,000 Jews who will see the light of God in this period, according to the rapture, but they alone will escape. The vast majority of people, Jew and Gentile alike, will be utterly consumed by the furious wrath of God, and only the saints will be safe in heaven to watch the world burn. This would be better than any block-buster action flick EVER...and it doesn't matter that any true saint would not be captivated by the spectacle, but would be sick to their stomach and in pain at the mostly meaningless suffering on Earth that is promised by this theory. To preserve the integrity of the pre-trib rapture theory, we shouldn't take note that the 12 tribes of Revelation 7 include Joseph, and exclude Dan and Ephraim (which would mean that they are not of the literal "tribes" of Israel, but a spiritual type). We should also disregard all prophetic references to the The Master returning to his house, or coming in to his wedding. Because according to the Pre-trib view, The Master will return to his house, make note of the faithful and watchful servants, take them out of the house, and then immediately set fire to his own house and watch it burn to the ground, with sleeping and wicked servants left to die in the inferno. This is not the Gospel, and not the real Jesus Christ.

If the Pre-trib view of the end times isn't true, then what are we supposed to "be ready" for?

I wonder. Could it be that the Devil is already well-advanced in his plans to deceive the Church; that he has duped the people into thinking that they don't need to put on the Armor of God, that they don't need to worry about stepping into battle? Might Jesus have been warning all those who call him "Lord Lord" that saying the right words won't be enough to save them? Could it be that our actions define our spiritual state? Is it possible that the Antichrist not only walks among us, but was strongly endorsed by the mainstream church, and has lit the fuse that will ignite the powder-keg of the 3rd World War? Have many Christians since 1825 have been lulled into a spiritual sleep because they are waiting for a pre-tribulation rapture that will never happen? Is the devil's power to deceive that extensive, that it would fool so may people, but never God?

If the "pre-trib rapture" is a lie, could God have offered us any help or assistance in waking up from a deception so massive as this? Can the events that have happened in recent years have any deep prophetic significance? Is the death of tens of thousands of people in east Asia just in this month so far a sign of the day we are now living in, or is it meaningless; without merit; certainly not a sign from God? Does God want us to be caught with our hands in the cookie jar, or does he want all to come to repentance? I wonder...

C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christians of the 20th Century, wrote this in Mere Christianity:

We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. We have all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start over again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake.

I haven't left references to scriptures in this post, because scriptures have been used on both sides of the argument. I hope, however, that this shows the spiritual fruit of the "pre-trib" doctrine. And I can assure you, that if you believe in the rapture now, and this causes even the most remote doubt to enter your mind in it's authenticity, and you begin to study the scriptures to confirm if it is a lie, you will be amazed by how many scriptures all throughout the Bible clarify the matter.

JFK warns nation of the danger of Secret Societies

The above video is, to me, one of the most compelling examples of who John Kennedy fought against in his nearly three years in office. It exposes who his enemies were, even though by nature they hide in the shadows. The video below paints the case against the CIA, Skull & Bones, and most specifically, George H W Bush in the assassination of Kennedy. Thankfully we have the vantage point of time to clearly see the lies of the past for what they are. Our responsibility is to use our advantage before it's taken from us in the coming police-state.

Analyzing the Evangelical Legacy

Here we are, on the brink of George Bush's seventh complete year in office, a country very different than the one we knew when Bill Clinton passed on the crown of leadership. It may be that to some extent we are too close to the changes as they now exist to fully see the nature of them. By examining our recent past, we may see what is likely to come in the last year of Bush's presidency.

In order to assess the legacy of George Bush, we should include an examination of his base, the religious right.

Both the president and his evangelical voter block claim proudly that they hold themselves accountable to the Christian God alone, and so it would be wise for us to judge them the way that Jesus taught when he said, "You can judge a tree by the fruit it produces; for a bad tree cannot produce good fruit, and a good tree cannot produce bad fruit." and also "From out of our mouths comes the abundance of our hearts".

We have all heard, time and time again, from Bush and the religious right that they see themselves as sanctified, and doing the work of Christ. They see opposition to them and their ideology as the cross that they must endure for the sake of their righteousness. It's really quite a sad and delusional self image, which is re-enforced by teachings from 1 Peter 4:12-14.

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified."

It's a great passage to explain and pacify the natural sense of guilt that comes with abandoning and ignoring the very poor you are supposed to defend, and knowingly misrepresenting the callings and standards of the faith you claim to believe in. It helps you sleep at night when you have a 28% approval rating that's daily threatening to drop. However, it is a message taken out of context. The truth is that no passage can reverse the command to love one another, and to be forgiving and kind to your neighbor. The true path to life is not an easy one to follow, but it is worth it. It takes work, requires sacrifice, teaches patience through testing patience, and depends on a foundation of love. Rest assured, no substitute will be mistaken for the real thing on judgment day.

Christians have been warned that the devil comes to deceive, disguised as an angel of light, and that we are living in a day and age where false teachers are everywhere, twisting the truth to serve their own vain imaginations. But despite the various warnings given by scripture, many flocks of the American Evangelical movement have been led astray by their silver-tongued shepherds, settling down for a comfortable and clean perch of self-righteous judgment against the world; interpreting the disdain they have earned from their neighbors as suffering for the sake of Christ.

In fact, people resist the religious right agenda because it's bigoted, invasive, and ultimately selfish; not because it's the agenda that Jesus Christ would pursue, or bless. There is nothing of love in most of their works. For anyone to be persecuted for meddling is seen as just in the eyes of the Lord, and carries with it no special reward. It is simply the law of cause and effect. A tree with sour fruit will inspire only revulsion. In fact, that point is made directly after the passage these people use to excuse themselves. 1 Peter 4:15

"But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters."

Christ wasn't a meddler, he was a revolutionary. He transformed the world by his life, and by teaching that Love is the highest aspiration we can have. We must love God and love each other. Whenever a faith creates walls to separate us from our calling to love, it is like salt that has lost it's saltiness, or like a light that has been hidden under a Bush.

This brings us back to January 20th, 2001. Although it was a rainy day in Washington D.C., the city's streets were packed with protesters who pelted eggs at the motorcade of "president-elect" Bush. I watched a portion of CNN's coverage of the event a while back, and was impressed by various protesters they filmed. It seems more and more these days that the various doomsday scenarios predicted in the wake of 2000's curve-ball election by protesters and many Democratic voters have been coming true. At the time I found it easier to believe that the warnings were a bunch of hot air. But over a relatively short period of time, we have all witnessed the strength and integrity of our established system of government suffer ongoing attacks. The election fiasco wasn't the worst of it, but rather the beginning of a deeply disturbing trend. And the masses have become numb to it. 9-11 had the effect of hypnotizing the nation , and in it's wake was released the U.S.A. Patriot act, which rendered many civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights void. When the issue of it's renewal was in question, and Bush felt under attack, he lost his temper and called the constitution, "just a goddamned piece of paper!" That slip of the tongue should concern us greatly, because "out of the mouth, comes the abundance of the heart".

Our government has been systematically transforming into the very dictatorship George W Bush joked about in December 2000, quipping to reporters, "A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier...just so long as I'm the dictator!"

Although, for the millions who had opposed Bush, inauguration day was a day of mourning; to the religious right and the rich and powerful Illuminati elite (those whom Al Gore had called the "wealthiest 1%"), it was a day of great victory. Unfortunately, to the rest of America, it was just another Saturday. The Pastor-in-Chief swore in with a flowery and inspirational speech that could have only been one of two things. Either it was his heart-felt, true intentions for leadership, or a string of lies, mocking the intelligence, beliefs and aspirations of a nation sideswiped by his rise to power. Now that we have the advantage of time, we can measure the truth of all those promises he made during campaigns and debates. A while back, John Stewart and "The Daily Show" did a fantastic job of exposing the lying nature of Bush's campaign rhetoric.



It's clear, upon review, to see that George W Bush is a systematic liar; from promising to find and capture Osama Bin Laden at any cost, to promising immediate and generous relief to the victims of hurricane Katrina. However, Bush doesn't only lie about issues that the public demands that he address. On the contrary, he goes out of his way to speak as a saint, while faithfully playing the villain with his every action. His smirk has a habit of popping up when it seems least appropriate. Perhaps in those moments he is delighting in how little we seem to pay attention. His own supporters are, after all, hiding behind the very book which gives account of all the signs and lying wonders that have been defining his reign. They are completely blind to his true nature, because they are unwilling to honestly examine their own souls. And they are so assured at their salvation, that they do not take it upon themselves to study the scriptures. Their preachers and prophets proclaim unto them, "peace, peace", when there is no peace! By their spiritual laziness they have let themselves be transformed into an enemy of Christ, just as the scribes and the pharisees had been when Jesus ministered to Israel.

George W Bush speaks in broad, sometimes fumbled, yet undeniably boastful terms. He speaks of great things easily, as though he possessed the authority to rid the world of evil. By now, most people don't bother listening to him because they know he speaks of things he never intends to do (like helping people), and against things he secretly condones (like torturing people). This boastfulness is a strong characteristic of Daniel's view of the antichrist, or "little horn". For instance, during his 2004 campaign for re-election, he told a group of potential Amish voters that God speaks through him. That's serious business. If Bill Clinton would have said that, he would have been crucified. It is the church's responsibility to look for, and to expose the final antichrist. Yet, instead of reconsidering their support, the church is still trying to pass off prickly pear Bush as if he were the apple of God's eye. By now they are only fooling themselves, but they do so to the defamation of the gospel, and to their own disgrace. George W Bush is a wolf in sheep's clothing, the child of lies, the man of sin, the antichrist. He has been fulfilling signs concerning this role throughout his life and presidency. Bush has confessed in his autobiography that he remains a member of the devil worshiping Skull and Bones society! Christians have no excuse for being surprised when destruction from his hand reveals his demonic nature to the whole world during his final year, even while people rejoice in his upcoming replacement. The 2008 election has filled many with hope and a sense of peace that is in all likely-hood misplaced. George W Bush is an addict who will not easily give up his fix. For the past seven years, his fix has been power. He will fight to keep it, though even his puppet masters might plan to take it from him. He's always been a cowboy kind of president, and rest assured, Bush is ready for a showdown.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-8

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Infected

I feel like a train that flew off track
like a wedding procession in funeral black
or a gyroscope that's spun out of control
unbalanced by the things that make me whole


In a world where nothing makes a bit of sense
I'm certain only that I want to have no part in this
out of the ashes of war is born the phoenix
wings afire, now signaling the birth of empire


Our future isn't in our hands
we have to know our enemy to understand
They are like clouds that give no rain
who promise compassion, but bring on the pain



we see them leaving their trail, devoured their way
right into the heart they writhe, clever in their compromise
we gave them an inch and they took us for all we're worth
our souls afire, to join or to stand against the empire.

Failure of the Church on 911

On the morning of October 2nd, 2006 Charles Carl Roberts IV entered into a one room Amish schoolhouse, guns in hand. He held ten girls hostage, between the ages of 7 and 13, for a little less than one hour. Within that time he began to open fire. Five of the girls died from their gunshot wounds, while the remaining five survived, though they sustained serious injuries before Roberts turned the gun on himself. The motive of this shooting is something the killer brought with him to his grave, but what I would like to focus on is how the surviving, Amish families of those girls reacted to that horrific and tragic act.

The events of that day were an assault on innocence. None of the people associated with that school, and certainly none of the children themselves had wronged Charles Carl Roberts in any way. It would have been entirely natural for the parents and relatives of those little girls to cry out for justice, to voice their grief and rage, at least on the day of the murders. Our country would have understood and encouraged their desire to seek fierce retaliation for the suffering that they endured. But to our surprise, we witnessed a very different reaction than expected. Instead they did quite the opposite. CNN reported a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls said of the killer on the day of the murder: "We must not think evil of this man."

What would cause them to overcome the natural desire for vengeance so completely? Nothing but a sincere and complete yearning for the ways of God to be manifest in their lives. For Romans 12:19 tells us this,

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God's wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

It's sad to realize that relinquishing our natural thirst for vengeance is the only properly Christian course of action we can take. It's humbling to acknowledge that the concept is foreign to most of us. One of the main differences between the Amish community and the rest of the Christian west has been in the application of scriptural teachings. The Amish take verses such as James 4:4 seriously as well, forsaking all friendship with the world, for the sake of their eternal treasures. We ridicule their "backwards" ways, we see this as a sort of squandering of Christian potential, condemning their society for closing their doors to the world, and hiding their particular light under a bushel, and perhaps there is a certain amount of validity to that argument. No one is without fault, after all. But rather than remove the mote of strict legalism from the eye of the Amish, let us remember for now that the body of Christ is composed of many members, all of which serve a purpose. I believe that those who choose to refrain from all worldliness for the sake of Christ are blessed, as are those who would use the tool of the internet in order to spread the gospel of Christ.

However this example of forgiveness is undeniably the hand of God at work, giving us a contrast, and allowing the Amish to convict the religious right of their sin in the wake of 9-11.
In response to all "God Bless America" decals, and all presumptions made about our nation being the world's representative of Christianity, I will share Matthew 5:43-45

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.' But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong."

In the aftermath of those infamous attacks on America in 2001, arising from the ashes of our buildings, and out of our shattered sense of security, we as a nation faced a choice. We were the victims of a first strike, and it was up to us exactly how we would respond to tragedy. There were many roads of reaction in front of us, even though our war-hungry media and lying government would have us believe we only had one option, War. It was during that suspiciously short span of time between 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan, while we were still in collective shock, that Americans went to their churches for comfort and guidance.

The American church failed it's people. Their response in that narrow window of possibilty is part of what will seal God's judgement upon it's wealthy and influencial leaders in the day of judgement. Not one mainstream preacher to my understanding spoke of forgiveness, or of the opportunity that our loss opened up to us, so that we might show the world Christ's love in a way that it could not deny. What greater opportunity to love our enemies could we have even asked for?

Our nation didn't crumble from their blow. We are too wealthy, armed, fortified and much too stubburn to allow such a thing. That much was clear even a week after the event. We could have overcome their evil so easily (and inexpensively) with good! That would have dispelled the call for jihad so much quicker than this never-ending war on terrorism. $40 billion a year would end world hunger, and the support of our enemies would have evaporated. Right after 9/11 we had a period where the entirety of the civilized world stood alongside us aghast to the atrocity we endured. they would have supported any decision we made. Ponder for a moment the world that could have been, if we had chosen love as our response, instead of visceral retaliation. Our nation has been herded down a path of darkness, and we don't want to admit or acknowledge the ugliness of it.

If you could allow me to recount a personal story from September of 2001, just for some perspective: I used to attend a south Florida televangelist mega-church, and one week after the attacks our regularly scheduled evening service was replaced with a televised time of prayer. At first I just sat in silent observation. Members of the congregation took turns in line to speak their hearts, and I witnessed a total lack of forgiveness in their prayers. They prayed for the families of the victims, they prayed for Justice (with a disquieting fury), they prayed that God be with Goerge Bush in this time of difficult decisions etc... After several prayers for "The crushing hand of God's wrath to fall on the responsible!", I got up and stood in line. As I awaited my turn I was hoping that someone, anyone else would go ahead and voice that need of true forgiveness.

When my turn came up, I was awash with uncertainty, and shaking. I just wanted to sit down more than anything at that point, and my voice was trembling. There was nothing holy about me, I was a sinner: timid, weak-willed, and driven mainly by the urges of my flesh. Yet my spirit cried out against that blood lust. Just like the Amish relatives of this past month, I was an example of 1 Cor 1:26-29

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

A taste of what is still to come...and this is what I prayed,

"Father, we have been struck by our enemies, and have suffered a great loss, but even that loss of thousands is nothing in comparison to the sacrifice of your only son. Give us the strength to rise above the understandable urge to retaliate. Remind us that we are never to repay evil with evil, but to over come evil with good. Allow your Holy Spirit of forgiveness to overcome us, and allow us to show the truth of your love to the whole world. I pray that we would stop and just consider what Jesus would do if he was in our shoes. May we seek first your kingdom, and not the blood of the guilty, no matter what they are guilty of. May we always look to you for guidance."

Forgiveness should have been the first and strongest cry from the church in the aftermath of 911. Yet even five years later, forgiveness is not an option for the established church. That should be the biggest alarm bell of all that the church is not within the will of God.

Spiritual Failure of the State on 911

It’s time to hold our president accountable for how he took the fools way out, and betrayed the name and character of Jesus Christ in his militaristic response to the attacks on 9-11. Considering how he has taken our country headfirst into a spiritual quest to
"rid the world of evildoers", I see it as perfectly fair to judge his actions by spiritual means. Think back for a moment to that traumatic time. Millions of Americans were looking not only to our churches, but also to our “christian” President for spiritual guidance in the wake of our national tragedy, and so the responsibility for non-christian reaction rests squarly on his shoulders as well. But even five years later, the church refuses to admit that he made any mistake in his response to 911. Granted, Bush’s responsibility is not solely spiritual, but his job as president is to serve and protect the American people. As commander in chief, The final decision to respond with force or diplomacy was his, as was the degree of that response (through the permission of congress). If the administration had treated the event of 9-11 as the crime it was, rather than an act of war, many lives would have been saved. All the Afghanistan government asked of America in exchange for Bin laden was proof of his involvement in the attacks...we would not give it. 'Why?' is a great question in and of itself, and one I would rather not get into now. Because evidence pointing to the fabrification of the "official story" of 911 has filled thousands of web pages, and would bring this argument to a whole new, terribly ugly depth.
For now at least, let's focus on the fact that Bush did not respond to 9-11 as a christian should, or even as a public servant with the best interest of the American people in mind. He played to the crowd, stoked the fire and fed our understandable hunger for blood. We were rushed into war quicker than you can say "Caspian Sea pipeline". However, while we the people might have craved vengeance for the attacks, our immediate desires were likewise not in our best interest. 9-11 was a crime against humanity, not an act of war. As much as the government would hate to admit, there's a distinction between "war" and "terrorism". The best interest of the nation would have been criminal prosecution of any surviving members of the responsible conspiracy, as well as a severly heightened border security plan, but of course that isn't what happened.

Furthermore, no matter who you may believe was behind the attacks, the fact remains that our military industrial complex used that crime as it’s long-desired excuse for a full-blown invasion of the middle eastern region. War is profit, and war is control…no doubt about that. Yet the wicked nature of our imperialist response was disguised by the quickly dropped term “crusade”. Fanned like a wildfire, and used just long enough to suggest that war was a response that God would condone, hence the emphatic “God Bless America” rhetoric in the face of our quest for vengeance. If that deception is not “antichrist” in spirit, I don’t know what is.

George W Bush was supposedly a "compassionate conservative", a "born again" president, who was still getting used to his office in September of 2001. He was a man who won over the hearts of his conservative base by projecting upon them the image of a dust-ridden maverick, who promised them that all the big-government and corruption in Washington DC would be cleaned out (although history shows us that never has corruption been more rampant in American government than under the watch of George W Bush, and never have we had so much power in the hands of the federal Government). That wholesome and "down to earth" image was carefully crafted, and presented before the American people. Many bright and glimmering hopes for the 21^st century filled the conservative base when we ushered in our 43rd president. George Bush, after all, was also supposed to be a Godly man, a man of integrity; A man who stood up for the poor and the oppressed. But over time he has proven to be not at all christian, but rather a theocrat. And the god Bush truly worships has been proven to be not Christ, but rather Mammon, or the god-money. Recently the former Deputy-Director of the office of Faith Based Initiatives, David Kuo has published a book entitled “Tempting Faith”, which gives an insider’s perspective of our supposed Christian leader's heart.

How did this deception get the better of us? Why do around 30% of Americans still believe Bush is a "Godly man"? Why is there no accountability for this double-talking, political wolf in sheep's clothing? To answer that, let us consider what the office of Faith-based initiatives implies. It is the joining of church and state. A state-influenced church is the most corruptable of entities because it joins two things that can never be one: the bride of Christ and the kingdoms of this world. It is written that a time will come when a new kingdom shall arise on the face of this earth. A kingdom built upon the un-cut rock foundation which is Christ himself, but it is that foundation rock that will demolish the kingdoms of man forever. That kingdom of God cannot and will not be superimposed over any other worldly kingdom. (Daniel 2:32-45) Remember also, Christ told Pilot plainly, "My kingdom is not of this world". Therefore any attempt to join church and state under any circumstances other than establishing a new state on the foundation of Christ is a manifestation of the Whore of Babylon riding on the Beast in Revelation 17.

The best representation of the deception of this theocracy rests in it's origin: the inaugeration of 2001, which was riddled with protests from both Democrats and Anarchists... in that scene of hostility the Christian base did not witness someone stealing the office he should not have received...the Christians did not sense any treachery in their man. Instead they saw the protests as a sort of persecution which the holy are warned they would endure. That perversion of logic has blanketed all accountability for Bush ever since. The 33% of Americans who have never stopped supporting Bush see him as a martyr, crucified by the "liberal media", and they support him like they think they would support Jesus, even though the neocon group has abandoned everything that Christ taught.

They have blinded themselves to the truth. They have embraced foolishness in exchange for the wisdom which God gives his faithful followers, through scripture. Eagerly choosing to be fed from the pulpet, rather than searching the word for themselves. They have upheld this mortal country while thoughtlessly trampling on the kingdom of God. They have been deceived by an antichrist and are blind to his lies, why? Because they are children of lies. Their selfrighteous, condemning, unforgiving, unrelenting religion has damned them to blindness. This 1/3rd of Amercans do not know Christ, because they still believes that George W Bush is of Christ. They have been misled, and seduced by the devil and false shepherds.

I only pray that God shows these blind people a greater mercy than they have ever known, or shown to others for that matter. And I rest assured that God is perfectly willing to do so for some of them who still cling to darkness, for it is God who first loved all of us, and it is God who reached through the chasm of sin in order to draw man unto Him. The Lord reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.

Modern Idolatry

The argument has been made that modern idolatry is manifested in the western world by our worship of money, entertainment, and personal comfort. This is true, but not entirely. Idolatry can be as simple as prioritizing anything before God, and as elaborate as performing a sacrifice ritual before an actual idol. Both forms of idolatry are in fact alive and well in our modern, western world. Tonight, at the Bohemian Grove (Sonoma county, California), the elite of our culture will gather together to perform their annual mock human sacrifice before a 40 foot tall, stone faced owl idol that represents Molech, an ancient demon god mentioned several times in the old testement. Bill Richardson has attended these rituals, George W Bush, and his father have attended the rituals, Bill Clinton and even Al Gore have attended these rituals. This tradition has been going on since 1872, and every single Republican president since 1923 has been a member of the Bohemian Grove.

Seven years ago today, Alex Jones snuck into the Grove, and recorded their elaborate ritual. He has two documentaries concerning the Grove, the first is called "Dark Secrets" which follows his infiltration and shows the actual ritual, while the second is called "The Order of Death" and was made five years afterwards. "Order of Death" does a fantastic job in defining the "Mystery Babylon" mentioned in Revelation, and it includes footage taken from an employee of the Bohemian Grove. It also delves a bit into the Skull and Bones society, and other occult obsessions shared by our establishment leaders. The truth is being revealed, the darkness now exposed, and Christ is coming soon to save the world again.

Ripe for the Harvest

More than two years ago, a series of tsunamis struck the shore of the Indian Ocean, and claimed 200,000+ lives in one day. In other posts I refer to this event, because it acted as a sort of catalyst in my life. The day it happened, I went to work and heard the news from my coworkers, who were completely unaffected. They expressed no greif or remorse for the dead, and were uniformly concerned with going about their business. I felt shaken to my very core with the weight of that news. And thought how strange the detachment of those around me was. I remembered September 11th 2001, and how devistating the news of that day was for me. As it happened, those I was with at school were appropriately frozen in their horror, paying complete attention to the events as they unfolded on live television. There was a solemn weight that fell upon my classmates and I during that time. But a few hours later, business as usual started to set back in. People began to put it out of their minds, they began to detach from the suffering, and even make a nervous joke or two. In my afternoon class, someone was even celebrating a birthday. I sat in silence in the corner, and when someone came over and asked me why I looked so sad, at 1:15pm, on September 11th 2001, I got up and left school for the day.

It's not natural for people to be as detached from the suffering of others as most of us are. Jesus said that in the last days the love of many will have grown cold. Apathy is the numbing sensation that comes before the death of a soul. And don't get me wrong, Christians are just as guilty of apathy as any heathen could be. We are called to love one another. We are called to uplift one another. We are called to make peace, to overcome the world as Christ did before us, and to be willing to sacrifice our very lives for the sake of Christ.

That is a very courageous, kinetic and responsible calling for us to claim as Christians, and yet there are millions of Christians who think that they are called to sit back, wait and watch while the world goes to hell because they've got a first-class ticket to heaven before the real fireworks begin.

The seed that has produced that bad fruit of apathy within the church is called "Pre-tribulation rapture", which says that God's people will not have to suffer through the great tribulation, but will instead be whisked away, alive and well, into the clouds with Christ, free from harm and trial.

Let's take a look at what scripture has to say about that:

Revelation 6:9-11

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

That passage takes place in Revelation

• after all four horsemen of the apocalypse have ridden out,
  
• well into the tribulation period,
  
• and is concerning the dead in Christ (not the living)

Also, even then the dead in Christ are told to wait a little longer before judgment!! Why?
we'll get to that in a moment.

This fundamentalist rapture doctrine has been capitalized on by many, most recently by Tim Lehey in his "Left Behind" series. Christians love the rapture, because it's the easy way out. It persuades believers to hold on to their church, forget about being the light of the world, basically to abandon their posts as Christian soldiers. It soothes and assures them that they will not taste of death, It encourages the sheep to settle for condemning and decrying the failures of this world from a safe and comfortable distance, on a perch of self-righteousness. For they believe the Lord himself will swoop them up and out of this world free from harm, giving them front row seats upon a cloud, so they may bear witness to his wrath being poured upon a wicked planet...that's just selfish, wishful thinking. Christ gave his life and spilled his blood for us, so we belong to God now, and He has a different plan for us. A better plan:

Matt 13:23-30, 36-43

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. But while people were asleep, his enemy planted weeds in the wheat field and went away. When the wheat came up and formed kernels, weeds appeared. "The owner's workers came to him and asked, 'Sir, didn't you plant good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?' "He told them, 'An enemy did this.' "His workers asked him, 'Do you want us to pull out the weeds?' "He replied, 'No. If you pull out the weeds, you may pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. When the grain is cut, I will tell the workers to gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned. But I'll have them bring the wheat into my barn.

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Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

What does that parable tell us?

1. The wicked will be gathered out first
2. after they are "taken" the righteous will be left to "shine as the sun"
   
3. We cannot draw ourselves out from the world by our own power, and we cannot root out the evil from this world. To attempt that would be a sin. (Sorry, pro-war christians)
   
4. God, who is Love, hears us as we cry out to Him, and is very much aware of our pain, the oppression of our spirits; the way that we are entangled with and choked by the roots of these weeds.
5. But he has not proclaimed the day of judgement yet because we are not yet ripe

So....what does it mean to be "ripe"? Should we drop what we are doing and begin shouting from the rooftops a decree of condemnation? Perhaps begin by preaching on the street corner "Repent! The Kingdom of God is at Hand!" If we act as if we were ripe, would that make us ripe? Or should we simply drop out of society, lock ourselves in a closet, our rooms, or in a church and pray fervently for the swift return of an avenging Christ?

Though this world is dark and wicked we must have faith that God can and will use the circumstances of our place in life to shed his light, further his glory, and to refine and perfect us in the image of Christ. There is no escape from the tribulation of this planet. There will be no easy way out of this world. No rapture for us, no escape from the fire. To get through the narrow road of Glory, we must pass through the fire. we must be eager to do good, and to suffer on behalf of righteousness. We must also be faithful in that which is least, so that we can be entrusted with more. We must not quickly seat ourselves in the place of honor among our peers, but rather be ready to humble ourselves, so that we then may be honored. Only then shall we "shine as the sun"

(1 Peter)

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler....For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Our time on this planet, then, is an opportunity to invest of our selves. Every choice, every moment we can choose to act in love, and therefore aspire to become proper representatives of Christ, growing closer to his likeness, and faithfully building the foundation of our renewed lives on the amazing grace that we have received. My friends, the one and only hope we have is in truly believing that God knows all have sinned and fallen short of his standard, but yet despite our shortcomings he loves us. "For God demonstrates his own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" What tremendous Love! God knows us better than we know ourselves. He is not fooled by our failures, or shortcomings. He knows we are incapable of reaching the purity that is required of us without help. But he has given us his help already. It takes humility to acknowledge our imperfections; courage to work towards the transformation we are offered; faith to believe that it is possible for us to journey from this present darkness, to the light of God's love and truth. But by taking these steps, any one of us will realize the real power of the blood of Christ. Conversely, by hiding under grace as if it were an insurance policy that covers personal recklessness, willfulness, rebellion to righteousness and lack of repentance, we fool only ourselves into believing that we have faith. True faith always leaves a significant impact in the life of the believer. You can't love Jesus without obeying his commands.

By understanding the wickedness of our own innate selves, and God's love and forgiveness for us, we should gratefully and willingly offer forgiveness to others as well. (See the parable of the Unforgiving Servant) We shouldn't be quick to tear down your brothers, sisters and neighbors for breaking the law (as all people have done, do, and will continue to). We should uplift one another, and rebuke to correct, not to condemn. The law is the condemnation of all, but the spirit is the source of all life and liberty. We are saved by spirit, so if we condemn by law, our salvation is nullified. For, "If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker....Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law."

That means out with the old, and in with the new! "Do not conform to the patterns of this world" (which include fear, personal ambition, pride, instant gratification, self-preservation, rebellion against authority, and an aversion to appearing foolish) "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind!!"

The sooner we realize that all goodness within us is by the grace of God, the brighter and more consistently we will shine, and the quicker we will ripen. Spiritual elitism is the antithesis of holiness. Do not be like the fundamentalists who are afraid to stain their own robes of self-proclaimed righteousness, those who are not willing to "associate with sinners", who abstain from most outside interaction, and wall themselves off from this "wicked world" as though it were habitated by lepors. The truth is that we are all diseased and damned by the judgement of God's law. A.W. Tozier said that even the holiest of apostles is still an unprofitable servant, saved and sustained by the grace of God. Some people think that if they can somehow stay untouched by the dirt of our shared human condition that they will be seen as worthy of God's grace. But Grace is a gift offered to all those who believe they can receive it freely. It is always a testement to God's love, never to our worth. For "there are none worthy, no not one" and to consider that we could be good enough to hold claim to grace is to dismiss the power and the price of Christ's own blood. We can never overcome sin by our own effort, and we can never conqour sin by hiding from this sin-infested world.

In the early days of the church a fierce debate ensued between Jewish and Gentile believers. Jewish believers had a sense of superiority and entitlement to God's grace (being his chosen people), and they were put off by the idea that "unclean" people could also share in the blessing of redemption bought with the blood of Christ. The jews had been entrusted with the law, and even though they were no longer under law when they became baptised in Christ, they still felt compelled to uphold the traditions of that law, at least in part. The apostle Paul actually rebuked Peter for that behavior (Galations 2:11-21)

...we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified

Nowadays we have many examples of the same exact "in the world but not associated with it" mindset that the Jewish believers had. For instance, the abundance of private christian schools and Universities, segregating children of good Christian Americans from the rest of our nation's children. It is true that churches across the nation have regular times of fellowship, amongst themselves (which is necessary). However, where can the unbeliever bear witness to members of this vast network of "christians" stepping out into the every-day world and uplifting Christ by the example of their transformed lives?

What we do bear witness to is a massive political mobilization within the church for high-profile causes like keeping the ten commandments in American courthouses, boycotting Disney for their support of gays and lesbians, working adamantly in many ways at increasing morality into the realm of American law. Last year we had an explosive campaign of Christians mobilized to intervene on behalf of Terri Shaivo, and yet I am willing to bet money that less than ten percent of the protestors who showed up for that event ever visit the sick, go to nursing homes or orphanages to give of their time; to care and give warmth to some of the many many people who are able to accept and respond to love and human contact. It is by our Love for Christ, and for our neighbors that we will be known. It is in learning and clinging on to that Love that we will be "transformed by the renewing of our minds". And it is that distinction of heart, that will determine our allegiance on the day of judgement.

Remember, no one knows the day or the hour of judgement. Not even the Son, only the Father. And so we should live each day as though it were the last, and strive daily to venture further into the grace and wonder of our wonderful new identity in Christ. Let your light shine. Not the light of your knowledge, or the burning heat of condemnation, but let the light of your Love in Christ. Let it shine, shine, shine! For the light of truth and the grace that covers us is needed now more than ever. We are living in a significant time, surrounded by false prophecy and an intolerant, unloving portrayal of Christ (Jim Phelp's "God Hates America" campaign, for instance, and his advice that it's "too late to pray").

God will judge us all according to our actions. Rest assured of that. All those who say "Lord Lord" but do not obey God's commands will be turned away at the gate. And they will weep, gnash their teeth, and suffer for eternity. But as for you, fellow travellor, for anyone who has ears to hear this, I implore you: Love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself.