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.

Hot, Cold, and Lukewarm

It's been a little over two years since I repented from my common, go-with-the-flow uninspired habitual life, and came before God offering to serve Him in any way I could. It took witnessing the tragedy of Asia's tsunami disaster of 12/26/04 to jolt me from being asleep in the spirit. That event caused me to seek God in prayer for the first time in years, and to beg for the truth of this day to be revealed. For a disaster like that to wipe out 200,000+ people was a sign to me that we are coming up to the great day of Judgment that Christ, the apostles and prophets spoke of. I did what all who choose to follow Christ are called to do: reset my priorities and placed God first in my life. Interestingly enough, since that time I have been hated by some, rejected by others, and blessed and encouraged by still others. I took a stand on behalf of my faith, and began to build my life around that conviction. It seems that by taking a stand, I've had a polarizing effect on my little corner of the world. I stopped blending into the background, stopped going with the flow, stopped being lukewarm. And so now when I come in contact with anyone else who is lukewarm, I either heat them up, or cool them down. People are either open to receive, or quick to dismiss, it seems. And I promise that I alone could not have this effect. I'm not doing or saying anything new, just standing up and pointing out what the Bible has always said. God is the power within the truth.

In Revelation 2-3 Christ gives warnings and encouragement to seven different churches. The seventh church is told this,

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be truly wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see.Those whom I dearly and tenderly love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten. I discipline and instruct them. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame and sat down beside My Father on His throne."

In every one of the seven letters to the seven churches is a warning (mostly to issues of complacency, or unknowingly endorsing wickedness in the name of good) and in each letter is a promise to those who "overcome". The concept of an overcomer group is all throughout the scriptures. They are a righteous people, who are made perfect in the love and blood of Christ, and the grace of God. They will recognize the wickedness that deceives most in the last days, and they will be a voice of warning that pierces the silence of consent. They will be given judgment over the very angels. They will be bold, and they will see the truth. Paul wrote in one of his letters, "let love be genuine, hate what is evil, and cling to what is good." And 1 John 4:17 tells us;
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love."

Consider the ways that fear has been used openly to manipulate the will of the American people since September 11th 2001, and more subtly since pearl harbor and through the cold war. For that matter, consider the fear that Peter experienced when he was walking on the waves towards Christ, looked away and then began to sink. Consider the fear that comes when faith is required of us. Consider the fear and hatred of homosexuals, or terrorists being planted in many churches in America. How can fear and love dwell and thrive together? If one must grow in the love of Christ, one must let go of fear. We must not let our worry of provision come between us and the service of God. We must not let the fear of what other people think prevent us from proclaiming uncomfortable truths. We must not be afraid of God's willingness or ability to transform us into new creations.

In the world described in Revelation there are essentially two types of people. First, those who abandon God's ways of love and mercy to worship the Beast, which rules the kingdoms of men. We'll call these people "goats". They refuse to be transformed by God, absolutely refuse to even see the need for any kind of change in their lives. They live in denial, feeding off of a carefully constructed artificial happiness that is full of gratification, and void of God. Revelation tells us that despite the signs, the horrors and wonders, many would refuse to repent, they would remain blind to God's signs and do what men did in the days of Noah, eating, drinking, coupling off... basically remaining blind to the greater truth because of their idolatry of self. Again, Christ said candidly in John 12:25, "He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it into life eternal."

The second group in Revelation, let's call them "sheep", are those who overcome the temptations, trappings and love of this Babylonian system and go "into the wilderness", into a place where life is scarce, and the elements are harsh. These are the people who take the road less travelled. Who seek to know God with the entirety of their being, because they were created to do so. They venture through a refining fire, to come out purified on the other side, while the whole earth endures the burning wrath of great tribulation. These people are called out of Babylon. They are the ones who will receive the promises given in the seven letters previously mentioned. Though they must withstand the hatred of the world in order to reach those promises. They must endure what Christ endured. They must learn to relinquish themselves, to lay down their lives (or their need to control what they do with their mortality) for the service of God. They must overcome obstacles, odds, evil, temptation, persecution and wrongful accusations. This overcomer group is hand formed by God in the heat of daily battle.
The truth is that spiritual war is raging around us, and about us. This battle is for our devotion, for our worship. The truth is that even atheists worship something, and our worship belongs to God, who alone is good and worthy to receive it. But that worship is coveted by Satan, and he will do whatever lying wonder it takes to steal our worship, service and obedience.

So how can we know who we serve? How can we know if we're on the right path? Considering the pervasiveness of deception, it's natural for everyone to assume that they are on the right path, but how can we know the truth?

Well, the first step in discerning the truth of this day is to know our enemy. That enemy is an unholy trinity of the devil, the world system and our own flesh. Within us all is a conscience, be it active or dormant. It is a part of our inheritance. It is the knowledge of good and evil. Deep down, we all know when we do evil. but we can be very quick to rationalize evil, because our flesh and our spirit are at war with each other. That's lesson number 1: there is an enemy within as well as without ourselves. And as far as determining who we are serving, remember this, Christ was very explicit when he said "You cannot serve both God and money". And though it's tempting for people in the lower-middle class (like 20-something up-and-comers climbing on the lower rungs of this wicked corporate ladder) to rationalize their materialism by claiming to be poor, I would remind you of that warning, and to make sure you know whom you serve. Be very careful not to think yourself exempt from greed. For it doesn't take much money to make money into your god.

By the world's standards, Americans are, in fact, very wealthy. If you consider that more than 1.5 billion people around the world are barely surviving on one dollar ($1.00) per day income, and you compare that to the American minimum wage, you can begin to see a discrepancy. The reason that our minimum wage isn't a "living wage" is because we are not a society that uses money solely for the utilitarian purposes of meeting the needs of food, clothing, shelter, and other such staples.

American poverty deals with the weighty issues of our rapidly devaluing currency, childcare, heathcare, insurance etc. But those are standards set to any who would like to live in the lowest rungs of modern capitolist society. Those are costs to be a part of the system.

We meet the basics human needs in our society, sure, but we are a civilization run by the feeding of our desires, our wants. Wants tend to be expensive. Entertainment, comforts, pleasures be they guilty or innocent…these are the forces that drive our society, from the highest rungs of the social ladder, to the lowest. It's just the way of the world as we Americans know it. As Zach De La Rocha sang, "there is no other pill to take, so we take the one that makes us ill". We grow fat on the delicious flesh-satisfying food that is set before us.

But there is another way that we can live our lives. A way that is outside the offerings of this world. This way is the path of repentance, the way of love. It is a path that leads to true life. Christ spoke often of this path, and how we must take it, and stand apart from the world that we are in the midst of. In John 17:14 he prayed, "(Father) I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through your truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so do I send them into the world."

So what does it mean to be "of" the world?
In Luke 12:16-21, Christ describes a "rich man" who most would consider practical, but he used to demonstrate the foolishness of worldliness. "Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” The moral of the parable was to always remember our dependence on God, and to refrain from planning for an undetermined future. Because God took the life of the rich man as soon as his new barn was built and stocked. And in death the man received a curse. So according to Christ, having wealth enough to retire on is having wealth enough to be vulnerable to the worship money.

Why would that be? I believe it has a lot to do with God's curse on Adam when he left the garden. God said that the ground would be cursed, would produce thorns plentifully, and fruit grudgingly. God said that man was cursed to work that ground by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life (which meant over 900 years of manual labor for Adam alone).

The civilized world, by it's nature, circumvents that curse which God gave to fallen men. In another post I will detail the origin of and meaning behind civilization, how much our daily dependence on God allows us to seek and to see God, and how much our dependence on the world system blinds us from our need of God. For now just see that biblical wealth does not have the same meaning as society's concept of wealth.

Of course, I'm not saying that everyone who retires, or even everyone who has money is damned… But I am saying that the love of this life with it's pleasures and comforts is sinful, is blinding, is a dangerous way to live in this present spiritual war zone. I am reminding you that Christ told us that the love of money is the root of all evil. And there is no society in the world as lovestruck with money as America is. That is a fact. So be careful, because the fires of hell are burning in the soul of this beast we are so proud to be a part of. And even though religious Republicans think that they have outsmarted the devil (also known as the prince of this world) by maneuvering their way into political power, they have not come to power by their faithful worship of God, but have ascended through compromise and conformity to worldliness.

I believe that much of the church (at least in the western world) has become like salt that has lost it's saltiness. It has been weighed down and drained of glory by it's rituals, traditions and the maintenance of it's placement in the power structure of the world. The temptation for power, for riches, for worldly renown has seduced the official church bit by bit, until it has become an institution filled with people that can claim to follow Christ and his teachings, while at the same time openly support an entirely unjustified war that is saturated in sadism and greed. They can turn a blind eye to genocide, profiteering, and even global warming. I know several "christians" who would go so far as to heatedly argue that global warming is a lie.

The congregations of this institutional church have created massive campaigns of bigotry and prejudice, these congregations can scream and point fingers and condemn their neighbors without worrying about the sinfulness of their own lives...and that doesn't weigh on their conscience. They are blind, yet claim that they can see. They can not distinguish between good and evil, because they refuse to address the evil within their own hearts. This is the reality existing in most of the modern church. Anyone can bear witness to it. But those still trapped within the borders of this pale and ugly imitation of the bride of Christ are blinded to their misguidance. They have not been transformed by the renewing of their minds, but instead have conformed to the patterns of this world. They still say that the emperor is clothed in Christ. And so it is as Jesus warned, that they are as salt that has lost it's saltiness.

False shepherds and prophets are everywhere. It is time for believers to turn from the pulpits that inspire fear and hatred. Seek the Lord while he may be found, and seek him through the scriptures. For if a calloused and hateful soul is the fruit produced by being fed at your local church, perhaps you should consider that you are being fed poison.

Choose love, forgiveness, mercy and hope over any spoon fed religious sounding doctrine of hatred, fear or greed. Beware of the deceptiveness of our adversary, for we know the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. Don't let holy-sounding words alone sway you. The proof is always in the pudding. Truth is in acting out what these scriptures instruct us to do. Faith without works is dead.

noisy nights divide the days
what would be fulfilling?
got off track to set the pace
running now on empty.
Join the neverending race,
lost in search of meaning.
easily distractible,
what are you forgetting?
Temporary sacrifice.
try to make a living.
Die a little every day
Who are you becoming?

Taking a Closer Look, or "2+2=5"

Was it Christian of the church to call for blood in the aftermath of 9-11? no. Was it Christian, or even responsible for our "Born-again" president to jump right into a war after 9-11? Again, no. Why, then did they choose their reactions? How could so many have been fooled into thinking that the church was truly following the cause of Christ when it supported "Operation Infinite Justice" and when it continues to support the war on terror? And More importantly, judging by his actions on that day, and his manipulation of the events ever since: was the president acting like a man with nothing to hide?

It is through our reactions in life that the most revealing traits of our character show through. Sometimes to our advantage, but mostly to our shame. And of course, when and if we are faced with our shortcomings we then face the choice to either take a lesson from the experience, and grow from it, or we can ignore that a fault exists, and continue to focus on maintaining surface appearances.

Considering the far-reaching effects of September 11th, and considering that history already shows us that the Bush administration has used the event in much the same way that Adolf Hitler used the Reichstagg fire; to consolidate power under one branch of government, and to fuel a series of preemptive wars...it is of utmost importance that we critically analyze all aspects of that horrific day, if we are to know what really happened.

While all Americans have the burning towers in New York, and smoldering wreckage at the pentagon forever engraved in their minds, we also have other recorded perspectives from that day at our disposal. We all remember seeing the smoking holes in the tops of the towers, and seeing the second plane slam into it's target sending out a huge fireball. But how many of us know of numerous secondary explosions in the basement and lower floors of the towers during that period of chaos? Certainly many eyewitnesses knew, and they were quick to report them, but those eyewitness accounts have been subtly swept under the rug, and our attention has been deliberately rested high up on those buildings, away from further questions.

It is in studying the other perspectives of that day, and the aftermath that we can piece together a more defined outlook of events. There is no denying the trauma and terrible loss that our nation suffered that day. There is nothing enjoyable in rewitnessing the horror from an analytical perspective. I beleived that Bush was the Antichrist for a full eight months before I allowed myself to even consider the possibility that he had a guilty hand in the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Why? because 9-11 was just so big. As it turns out, it was the Big Lie.

But first things first, let's look at what the major players were doing in the midst of our national emergency. It was in Michael Moore's 2004, "dont vote Bush" film Farenheight 9-11, that I first saw the videotaped reaction of George W Bush when he first heard the news that our nation was under attack. He was sitting in a Florida classroom; cool, silent, and waiting. It was chilling, to say the least. At our moment of greatest need for action and leadership, George W Bush was sitting in a classroom, thinking his thoughts. We were all shocked that day, to be sure. But for George Bush to just sit quietly like that is really bizarre...and certainly not the image I think of when I imagine a president who would keep our country safe (as the republican party so lovingly portrayed him). For all the courageous rhetoric that Bush has used since that day, it is baffling that he has never been held accountable for, or even seriously questioned about his actual response on 9-11.

Back in Washington DC, and back in time we find ourselves in a pentagon meeting, 8AM; where Donald Rumsfeld becomes more than Secretary of Defense...he becomes a prophet with these words, "...sometime in the next two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve months there will be an event that will occur in the world that will be sufficiently shocking that it will remind people again how important it is to have a strong healthy Defense Department that contributes to—that underpins peace and stability in our world.”

His prophetic sentiments eerily mirror the wishlist of Neocon think tank, "The Project For a New American Century" (which he is a member of) that introduced the term a new pearl harbor back in September of 2000. The first World Trade tower is struck less than an hour after that. But even more disturbing is the fact that Rumsfeld made another prediction, “Believe me, this isn’t over yet. There’s going to be another attack, and it could be us.” moments before the pentagon is struck!

There is also the matter of a 10-30 minute period that morning when Rumsfeld went missing in action, but of course that morning was packed with chaos, so maybe I shouldn't take the missing time to mean anything in and of itself... All of these examples could be excused if they were isolated instances. But there are numerous other examples of peculiar behavior on and around the day that changed America, and the world. (for instance, why did John Ashcroft stop flying in commercial airliners around July of 2001? Why did Condoleza Rice warn Willie Brown not to fly on 9/11? and why did the FBI confiscate video security footage from a hotel and gas station around the pentagon within fifteen minutes of the strike?)

The most condemning response to the attacks came from Dick Cheney, who himself issued the command for NORAD intercept jets to “stand down” before the pentagon was hit. The order to finally cover the skies was given around 10:00 am.

I could go on and on with these examples, but the fact is this; even though our official motto is “we will never forget”, a majority of Americans would prefer that day to rest in peace out of respect for the dead. And our media has been kind enough to accomidate that sentiment, banning images and video clips from further airplay.

On the other hand, our government has seemed more than content in using September the eleventh as a hot-button issue, a scare-tactic, or the reason why the NSA would wire-tap citizen’s phones without warrents, or the US Military would be ordered to invade any sovereign nation pre-emptively. There is no doubt that our government would prefer that we never forget. But at the same time they would also rather we not get bogged down with too many gruesome details…one might suppose also out of respect for the dead.

The Bush administration waited 411 days to form an official “investigation” of the attacks. Our armed forces had been in Afghanistan more than a year by that time...When the commission was formed, it was underfunded and bogged down with red tape, leaving many questions unaddressed or unanswered . (the 9/11 commission, for instance, offered absolutely no explanation for why Building number 7 collapsed). It is also interesting to note that although George Bush and Dick Cheney did finally agree to meet with the commission they refused to officially testify, they met only under the condition that they would both remain in the same room and be interviewed at the same time, and they did not allow a recorded transcript of their meeting to be made.

So far in this analysis, we are faced with a media blackout, and what appears at a glance to be a government coverup. September eleventh is not the yet-unsolved murder of 2998 innocents any more, it has evolved into something much greater than that. It is the fuse which started a never-ending war much like the one described in George Orwell’s 1984. The war abroad to maintain the government’s iron grip of control at home. And if you are familiar with 1984, you might be familiar with “2+2=5” The reason behind that statement is a demonstration of the government’s authority in the minds of it’s citizens. If Big Brother says 2+2=5, the masses will believe that 2+2=5. Truth is defined by those in power, and accepted by it’s fearful subjects. On 9/11 we have a demonstation of that exact equation by the number of planes hyjacked adding up to the number of destructive events. Four planes went up, it should mean that four planes came down, and four events took place. But in fact four planes did go up, but five events took place. The two towers were hit (2) the pentagon was struck (+1) a plane went down in Shanksville Pennsylvania (+1) and at 5:25pm, World Trade Center building number 7 imploded on itself in about 6 seconds (+1). In this recorded series of events the public is faced with the mostly unquestioned equation of 2+2=5.

I would like to point out that there are thousands upon thousands of people all around the world who have drawn that untrue equation into question, people who have “awakened” from an apathetic slumber (or the American dream) and have taken the matter of investigation into their own hands…but even still, regardless of what is at stake, most Americans are simply not willing to accept the idea that our government had a hand in the 911 attacks. Why? Again, because it was such a massive and horrifying act of unquestionable evil. Hollywood and other sources of propaganda have portrayed America as the heros in a neverending struggle against evil men like Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. We beat the nazis, we won the cold war, we fight the bad guys, and we are a Christian Nation (God Bless America!). Examining the mountain of evidence that condemns the rotten history of our CIA, or the unconstitutional, ruthless philosophies and methods of our current Neocon government (especially in regards to 9-11) is the path of greatest resistance. Because that path resists all that we have been raised to believe about ourselves.

In the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes.

~Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

The Big Lie in this case is not merely that 19 Hijackers with boxcutters were solely responsible for the events of 9-11, but more-so that George W Bush is the rough-and-tumble cowboy savior of the western world. The Big Lie is that Bush is a leader brave enough to face an enemy that would stop at nothing to destroy us, regardless of the cost. Because the fact remains that George W Bush and Tony Blair have done more to destroy the foundations of western freedom than any outside enemy ever could.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not about liberation, they are about domination. The enemy of the people is not foreign, it is undoubtably domestic. And George W Bush is not a Christian soldier, he is not a savior of life. He is a remorseless, cold-blooded killer. A false savior. an Antichrist.

The Father of Lies

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist."
-the Usual Suspects


"The Devil" is one of the most controversial and fascinating subjects of Biblical lore. Some people believe not only that he does exist but that he also has red skin, horns and a pointed tail. While another group would say that he appears as an angel of light to trick us into veering from that narrow road of righteousness. There are still others who believe that the devil is a figment of the irresponsible human imagination; they consider it foolishness to say, "The Devil made me do it", no matter what the circumstance is. These skeptics laugh at demon worship, and enjoy movies such as The Omen, The Evil Dead, or The Exorcist.

There is no doubt that we have sin within our own flesh, I agree that it's a cop-out to blame the devil for personal failure But it is dangerous to ignore his existance altogether. The devil is in fact the head of an unholy trinity of sin, which consists of the devil, the world and the flesh.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

He is known as the accuser of the bretheren. He is also the "father of lies". The Devil is the enemy of God: a being driven mad by his upcoming judgement. He is the ultimate living expression of deception, damnation, temptation, illusion and rebellion. But he wasn't always an enemy. And in order to understand who he is now, it is needful for us to examine his previous state of being.

when God created the angel Lucifer, He was beautiful and brilliant: "the morning star", adorned in precious stones! He had great freedom to come and go as he pleased. He was apparently given great authority, he was brought into creation at the very peak of his perfection. There was no room for improvement or maturity in this creature.
This is how Ezekial describes him:

Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God every precious stone was thy covering...Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub

In all of creation there was only One more beautiful, more brilliant, more perfect that this creature, and that One is the King of All. Imagine that! What would it be like in that position?

imagine being born fully matured, truly perfect, "sealing up the sum" of creation, adorned with jewels, having the universe laid out at your feet, as you stand on the mountain of God himself. Imagine light radiating from your very body, as you wander through creation, dancing among planets, comets and suns. Imagine that your job is to conceal the glory of God. To cover up God's Holiness. Your job is to be a filter over the only perfection that is greater than yours. A perfection so pure that it cannot be directly seen. Imagine serving this creator in a universe without sin, a universe that has been weighed in the balance, and leveled out perfectly. All is well in all creation...



Now imagine your gaze drifting to the throne of your creator. Imagine your mind as it wanders from the known and set routine of your heavenly duties to a whole new line of exotic thinking. Imagine yourself begin to dream of doing the one thing that is forbidden of you to do. Quietly dreaming of being not even equal to, but actually better than your master: dreaming about taking the very throne of God. There is no one you can talk these thoughts through with, because you have no peers, only the lesser angels beneath you, and the object of your forbidden fantasies above. Alone in your tortured state.

These were harmless thoughts and at first, perhaps, but as Lucifer's mind continued to dwell, the power and pull of the dream grew stronger. Think about the silent struggle that took place in the mind of Lucifer: between his innate sense of obedience, and this brand new hunger. You can almost see him make his decision, see his eyes fill up with the first ever glint of that all consuming fire which we call greed...

What happened after that decision was made? What happened when Lucifer tried to take the judgement seat, the throne of the Father? Jesus told his followers plainly, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven". The prophet Isaiah also witnessed the judgement of Lucifer, and spoke forth this message for our edification:

How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit

There is talk of death, yet Lucifer still lives. What's going on here? Just which "death" is the prophet Isaiah referring to? Is he describing the devil being bound up and caste in to the lake of fire, as he soon shall be? Did Isaiah see a picture of the "second death" which is reserved for the devil, the beast and the false prophet, as well as all the unrepentent? I'm not sure. Perhaps he saw a type of that final judgement, but I think Isaiah was shown the death of the sin which is separation from God. Just as Adam didn't literally die the day he ate of the forbidden fruit, but was cursed and no longer allowed to walk with God after his sin, so was Lucifer cursed when sin entered into him. All of sin is basically a blindness to the wonderful enriching nature of God's will. The narrow road that leads to life is one which is taken by the will of God. But lost to the truth, and in our sinful state, we think we know how to best spend our lives. By staying self-centered and stubborn in our ways, we are enslaved to sin, and we can never reach the fullness of our potential. It is when the dead look back upon their lives and see what they missed by refusing to do the will of God, it is then that they begin to weep and gnash their teeth. There are no exceptions to this truth. By doing whatever we want to do, making decisions based on our very limited perspective of the greater reality; by not trusting in or waiting on the Lord...we sin. And as we know, the wages of sin is death!

However, angels are beings of pure spirit, and are not imprisoned in flesh, so death does not affect them because they were not created out of clay as Adam was. There is no angelic grave, but there is imprisonment. It is the earth itself which holds the devil and his angels until the day of the Lord. In Genesis, God numbers the days of man to no more than 120 years. However Lucifer, the fallen one, lives on earth right now awaiting his judgement. Think about that, Satan has been on earth for thousands of years, since being cursed at Eden. The lake of fire which awaits the wicked on judgement day was reserved for Satan and his angels, according to the Christ. So what gives? Why are angels granted lifespans which glide through millenia with no problem? For instance, the angel Gabriel helped interpret Daniel's vision in Babylon, yet hundreds of years later who should deliver the news of John the Baptist's birth but the angel Gabriel? Just how long do these angels live, anyway? Do they just pop in and out of existance as needed? as spirit beings are they created once to live forever?


There are many paintings that depict angels as being infants with wings: so cute and adorable and holy and precious, yet that image could not conflict more with the scriptures. Not once in scripture is an angel described as being a child. They are described as either appearing like men, or like creatures with human and animal parts, covered by many sets of wings and many many eyes!! Children are simply underdeveloped adults. They represent the spring bud of human life, and their innocence and potential is strictly a human feature.

The point is this: neither Lucifer nor the other fallen angels have that redemptive trait which humanity has been given. They cannot learn from their mistakes. They cannot repent. Which is one reason why they hate humanity so very much. They do not die, as human's do, but they also cannot be redeemed as we can, under the blood of Christ. Why is that? Because they knew better. Lucifer at least personally met, saw and interacted with God. He was brought into existance at the peak of his perfection. Therefore, he had no room to grow or mature. We human beings don't know how to appreciate the miraculous nature of our personal path of growth, redemption and maturity. We don't know what a precious gift we have been given in the random state of being called mortal life. Angels simply cannot "grow up". They do not evolve on a personal level, they exist solely to serve their designed purpose under heaven. But Lucifer and his angels have fallen from grace, they have abandoned their posts, and even now await the final verdict of their judgement. I suggest you Read Revelation 12 to get a better idea of what sort of enemy we are up against. All humanity is hated by Lucifer and his angels for several reasons:

1. we have room for improvement
2. we have been blessed with the chance for redemption
3. God created us in his own image

So in closing, be careful, be watchful and be vigilant. Because the devil does exist, and if you let him he will devour you. But he has been defeated by the blood of Christ. And even now is being ushered into the arena to receive his judgement.

Revelation 12:12

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 he has a short time.