Religious fervor, ferocity to USA Collapse

“Satan, the real master of the New Age, delights in mysterious code words, symbols and numbers.” -- Texe Marrs, author of Dark Secrets of the New Age.

Headline just tonight for a video posted by a YouTuber who is a King James Bible-believing Christian: “RIP USA INC—A Masonic CORPSEoration—That’s All Folks!”

*****

After the Apostle Paul warns Timothy in II Timothy 3:1, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come,” he details the depths of the moral declension:

[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

In these last days of Paul’s life—this is the last book he wrote—he’s telling Timothy what to expect in the days ahead.

“In the prophetic program, the last days had very specific signs. There were signs in the sun, the moon, the earth, etc. that they could literally see and point to. J.C. O’Hair once said, ‘There are no signs of the times today because these are the not the times of the signs,’ ” says Richard Jordan.

“So when Paul talks about the characteristics of the last days of the dispensation of grace, he gives you these generalized moral kind of things where man is the measure of everything and when you have that, degeneration is naturally going to take place.

“When you come to verse 5 you notice that, in spite of all of the excess of human depravity, men have ‘a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.'

“Man is naturally religious; he just can’t ‘get over it’ and that’s why Romans 1, after he’s ‘changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things’ . . .  he simply takes God and reduces Him to something he can control and you have to understand there’s a WORSHIP. There’s a desire to worship and control things.

“So what they have is an external religious form of godliness. Even the Antichrist uses the Baal worship system in the Scripture to rise to power. Human depravity isn’t going to leave out religion and it will have a zeal for what it’s committed to with a religious fervor and the ferocity of religious commitment.”

*****

“Because the world has a course to it, influenced by ‘the prince the power of the air,’ the ‘father of lies,’ here’s what the world system’s going to be full of. It’s going to be full of lie after lie after lie after lie and that’s just how it is,” says Columbus, Ohio preacher David Reid.

“You watch what happens on the earth and you have, unfortunately, millions and millions of people who follow the course of the world and the reason why is, how hard is it to swim against the current of the river? That’s why Paul says in Galatians 16, ‘Be not weary of well-doing.’

“It’s a wearisome thing to swim up against the river. What Satan’s done is he’s designed this world to flow in a certain direction with a strong current, and that direction is the direction of ‘the Lie.’ That direction is directly contrary to what God would have us to do.

“And so our life is going to be weary because we’re always headed in the opposite direction. I’ve said this before, but it’s like walking up the down escalator. It’s fun to do that when you’re six or seven years old and you go to the department store and you’re trying to get all the way to the top.

“That’s what life’s like, though, and that’s why people look at saved people as if we’re weirdos. The world is going a certain direction and as long as you’re going against it, you’re going to suffer opposition and persecution."

*****

When Paul warns Timothy that "perilous times shall come," the term "perilous" is the idea of dangerous. Talking about his life, Paul writes in II Corinthians 11:26, "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren."

“All of those conditions are dangerous conditions that can kill you, can overwhelm you; they're horrendous and can overpower you,” explains Jordan. 

“In Romans 8, Paul uses the term in an interesting way. Verse 35 says, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?’

“Perilous times can have to do with you just being taken out and slaughtered. They’re dangerous times.

“When he describes them in II Timothy 3, the nature of the age under grace—it’s not going to be getting better.

“I remember in the ’80s, right after I’d come up from Alabama to Chicago, preaching a message at North Shore Church and I quoted a verse in Ecclesiastes. Afterward, I had three people come up to me and ask, ‘Where is that verse?’ I thought everybody knew the verse but I came to find out people don’t read the Book of Ecclesiastes.

“Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, ‘Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.’

“Isn’t that what Peter said about the dispensation of grace? II Peter 3 says, ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’

“Man doesn’t say, ‘Wow, I’m glad I missed the wrath! Thank you for not destroying me!’ He says, ‘Oh, He doesn’t see. I’ll go out and do some more.’

“Isaiah 26:10 says, [10] Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

“You know what the longsuffering of God demonstrates? The complete depravity of humanity. And the longer the dispensation of grace goes on, the longer you’re going to see a more and more mature depravity overtake mankind.

"De-evolution, not evolution, is man’s pattern. That’s why that image in Daniel 2 starts at the head and winds up at the feet. Man doesn’t go from the dust to glory; he goes from glory to the dust.

“Occasionally they’ll be a little burst forth of life and light as the Reformation was when it finally anchored itself in England . . .

“You know, until that last person gets into the Body of Christ, that day of grace keeps going and then it will be over. Now that’s God’s timing. I have no idea to tell you when He’s going to do it; when He activates it. That’s up to Him.

“What we do is just be faithful and consider every day to be the last day. When you look at the world around you, instead of saying, ‘Oh, woe is me, how terrible it all is,’ just say, ‘Well, it’s exactly the way God said it was going to be. Thank God for the testimony.’ "

*****

“Here’s what the fellowship of his sufferings means. If you live godly, if you walk with Christ, then as you walk in that direction, people are going to throw rocks at you. They’re going to and what happens is the Lord says during His earthly ministry, ‘Count the cost,' " says Reid.

“Here’s what we can decide, frankly. We can decide, ‘Look, I know if I walk the right way, I’m going to face opposition and obstacles and problems. And you know what? I might just choose I’m not going to do it.’

“That’s a possible choice, but that’s giving up the opportunity to walk with the Lord, which is going to give joy through the bad times. It’s going to make your life meaningful, and choosing NOT to do it, because there’s going to be some obnoxious people along the way who throw rocks at you, it’s the wrong choice.  What you’re doing is giving up that joy just because we’re going to face a little bit of problems.

“Paul says in Philippians 3:11-12, [11] If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
[12] Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

“There’s not a reference to the catching up because Paul already knew he would attain to that. Here’s what he’s saying there and just embrace this because this is just fascinating. What he’s saying there is,  ‘There’s nothing in this life that prevents me from walking exactly as I will in the next life.’

“Let me put it this way. Is there any reason that you have to sin? I realize we still have the old nature. Do we have to sin? We choose to sin. Romans 6:4 says ‘Even so we also SHOULD walk in newness of life.’ It doesn’t say we WILL, but it says we SHOULD which means we CAN.

“What Paul’s really saying in Philippians 3 is, ‘Because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me, because my flesh has been circumcised and the old man has been crucified, I now have the ability to walk in newness of life. I can walk exactly like I should in the next life.’

“What he’s saying is, ‘Don’t give me the excuse that you CAN’T because you CAN!’ "

Great dragon and his crypto dragons

(still working on new article and will have tomorrow now)

The heavenly places are not just a territory up there with nothing in them; they’re organized with a governmental structure just like there is on earth. Just like God established human government, He’s established government in the heavens and that government is occupied by creatures. Just as they are on the earth, they are in the heavens, explains Richard Jordan.

Of course, the government in the heaven has been usurped; it’s presently under the control and authority of a usurper, Satan, the Adversary.

When you examine the heavenly places, you learn that there are numerous strange, mysterious creatures that abound in the heavens. In fact, “crypto- creatures” is what I call them. Crypto means secret. There are things that are just odd and mysterious.

When you look at movies, you say, "How did they come up with all those funny-looking, strange, weird, odd creatures?” and it’s like it’s demonic in the creative genius of the writers who do that.

There are a lot of different kind of creatures in the angelic world and the important thing to get is the spiritual connection—the spiritual ramifications of those mysterious creatures as it affects us, because our ministry in the future is to occupy those positions up there and our warfare now is against that spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.

Psalm 74: [12] For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
[13] Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
[14] Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

Dragons are real creatures that the Psalmist and the people he’s writing to are well aware of. I mean, it says it’s “meat” for them to eat. The Leviathan is a sea monster.

The dragon is not a myth; he’s actually a large, monstrous-gland animal that they could see. They see these creatures, like in Job 41, but they have a reality in the spirit world, where just like that thing is here, he’s up there. 

Now, the dragon in Revelation 12 is Satan and the dragons with an “s”—you’ve got THE Devil and you’ve got the little devils (sometimes we call them demons). They’re all part of the same family. You’ve got the Big Guy and then all of his minions.

Revelation 12: [3] And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
[4] And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

You learn something about how Satan and his cohorts function—their character, their characteristics, their methodology, by looking at these creatures, because what these creatures demonstrate in the physical world is the reality these creatures function with in the spirit world.

Our warfare is not against flesh and blood; it’s against spiritual wickedness. When we understand how these creatures work, we understand some of the combat in the spiritual warfare that we’re a part of.

In Job 41, Leviathan is a sea creature. If you want to know who he really is, come with me to Isaiah 27:1: [1] In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

So the dragon, Leviathan and the serpent are all the same dude. We know Leviathan is a sea monster in his identity, but when we think about who he is in his person, he’s Satan.

As you read down through Job 41 you say, “This is one weird-looking dude.” He’s so terrifying that verses 8-10 say:

[8] Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
[9] Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
[10] None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?

If he stood here in this room, it would scare you so bad you’d pass out cold onto the floor. I love verse 18: [18] By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

That word means “sneezing.” The guy breathes real hard and there’s a glow, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. That means they’re bright and shiny. You know in the evening you’ve kind of got a little doe-eyed, but in the morning you’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. His eyes light up.

Next it says: [19] Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
[20] Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
[21] His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

Years ago Down South, people would say about verse 21, “He’s smoking cigarette.” That’s not what that verse is about; that’s just a bunch of Pharisees trying to tell you you can’t smoke a cigarette and serve God.

This thing about the fire-breathing--there are creatures today . . . You ever heard of the Bombardier beetle? It’s a beetle that has a combustion chamber in its tail-end and when it gets scared . . . you know how a skunk will spray you?

Well, this dude doesn’t spray you; he’s got two chemicals his body makes that when they’re separated, they’re neutral, but when they’re put together, they explode. It will put out a stream that will burn a blister onto you.

First of all, you think about how that evolved. Every experiment that didn’t work . . . you know, now you’ve got three more million years to get back to that place by accident again.

My point is, in nature right now, there are little bugs that do what this guy does on a big scale. So, when you start saying, “That can’t be real,” don’t be so ill-informed and myopic that you don’t know what’s going on in creation around you, okay?

Numbers 23:22: [22] God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

“Uni” stands for one and “corn” has to do with a horn. It’s a creature with one horn. You’ve seen one-horned animals like the rhinoceros, but this is in reference to the spirit world. Horns in the Bible represent power.

Deuteronomy 33:17: [17] His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth:  

This dude is strong enough that he can move people around. Now, a unicorn is a real creature.

By the way, one of the great things about folks who think all these things are dinosaurs, is they go back and find these pictures. You say, “Where’d the picture come from?”

One, they’ve got bones they reconstruct and two, there are pictures in ancient literature; caves where old societies have drawn pictures —every culture on the face of the earth has pictures of these things in their history.

Now, you and I don’t think about that because our culture only goes back about 300 years as Americans. But if you go back from whence we all came, back into history, you’ll find in history these things are replete.

How could people back then who didn’t have cell phones or telegrams come up with the same kind of pictures? Well, that’s because they're what’s there. There are similar origins to all those people and they saw these things.

Creature plots

(new article tomorrow)

Did you ever go watch a Disney animated movie with your children and you, as an adult, see one thing in it and they see something else? You as an adult take away from media and entertainment something different from what kids do, says Richard Jordan.

You take The Wizard of Oz. It was first written as a religious social parody. Now, you never saw a kid get any of that out of it. But if you study it; I mean, they have college courses that study The Wizard of Oz. They study the similitude of it. Well, God did that.

There are only 33 original plots in all of drama, theatre, literature and arts and every one of them comes out of the Bible. That Book in your lap is the only scientific textbook to explain to you the symbols and the activities on this planet.

*****

Psalm 91:  [13] Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Who’s the lion, the adder, the young lion and the dragon? What do all those creatures represent? The dragon is Satan. In I Peter 5, Satan’s called “a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

In the Bible, there’s a whole counterfeit spirit world of creatures. These creatures are real, they’re potent and they hate everything God stands for.

God’s the big “G” of the little “gs,” a reference to angelic creatures. In Genesis 3, for example, they first show up “as gods knowing good and evil.”

These gods are living creatures; they know good and evil. Eve’s acquainted with them because, obviously, if she hadn’t known who they were, there would have been no temptation at all.

She sees these angelic creatures functioning on the earth; her and Adam's responsibility was to go out and have dominion in that earth—win it back from them, so she knows who they are. She knows they have knowledge and that they’re real, living creatures, not idols.

Psalm 96:5 says, “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” When it says all the gods of the nations are idols, those gods are living creatures but they inspire their followers to make representative nations to them.

****

“Hosea 13:7-8: [7] Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
[8] I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them. 

You see those four different beasts? The lion, the leopard, the bear and the wild beast. Come over to Revelation 13 where he describes the Antichrist (back in Hosea he says it’s going to be AS a lion; Hosea is full of similitudes, or comparisons using "like" or "as").

Revelation 13:2: “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

The dragon is Satan (Revelation 12). Those are exactly the same four beasts in Daniel 7 that describe the career of the Antichrist.

Notice his body is like a leopard that has feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. He’s a composite, but the basic appearance is that of a leopard. You remember in Jeremiah 13 when the Lord asks Israel, “Can a leopard change his spots?”

In Revelation 13, there is a mark of the beast. A leopard has a mark on him, doesn’t he? You know what the spot on a leopard is? It’s a black spot. You ever seen anybody come out of Mass on Ash Wednesday and look at what they’ve got on their forehead?

And if you don’t put it on your forehead, because you’re going to be on TV and don’t want people to see it, you know where you put it? In your hand. In Revelation 13, where does it say they’re going to put the mark?

By the way, when he says “kiss the calves,” you ever hear anybody talk about “the kiss of death”? That’s it. You know how Judas betrayed Jesus? With the kiss of death. That’s what this is right here.

Again, God says in Hosea: [8] I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps.

You know, if you meet a lion by the way, that’s not a good thing. If you meet a bear bereaved of her babies, that’s not a good thing.

All four of those beasts describe the Antichrist and God is telling them that He Himself is going to bring the Antichrist against the nation Israel. He says in II Thessalonians 2, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”

*****

Lucifer was a cherub. John gets caught up into the throne room and writes in  Revelation 4, "And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
[3] And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
[4] And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
[5] And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
[6] And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
[7] And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

Those four creatures have four faces and it’s important to follow those faces because those faces have an awful lot to do with the revelation of God in connection with these (demonic) characters.

The first one has a face of a lion, the next one has the face of a calf, then the face of a man and then the face of an eagle.

In Ezekiel 1:10, you’ll see this again. Ezekiel is caught up into the same throne room and sees the glory of God. “As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.”

Notice how he changed that? The calf becomes more specifically an ox. In chapter 10:14, he’ll change that one more time: “And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.”

The one that gets changed there—Satan’s an anointed cherub that covers. That throne, if you took an aerial view and looked down at it, has four creatures on the four corners.

But if you look at it like I’m looking at you, you’d see the one here and then there’s one up there that’s covering. The fifth cherub was Satan. That’s why five in the Bible, first of all, is the number of death.

The Crosswork of Christ turns that No. 5 from death into grace. So the No. 5 has two kinds of significances in the Bible.

In Genesis 3, it says the serpent who beguiled Eve is “cursed above all the cattle of the field.” People say, “Well, doesn’t the Bible know the difference between a reptile and a cattle?” Yeah, it does, but you see that serpent was really a calf because that’s who his character is. That’s his nature.

He’s an ox. You ever make your fingers into horns and put them behind somebody’s head? The symbol of an ox is horns and that’s the symbol of Baal worship in anthropology and in Bible archaeology.

You say, “Where’d all that come from?” You remember in Exodus 32, Moses goes up on the mountain and while he’s gone, Aaron builds a golden calf.

What did we see show up in Hosea over and over and over? “Hear me, thy gods of Israel who brought ye out of Egypt.” What was it? A calf. A representation, an idol inspired by Satan to represent him. That’s why Hosea 8 said, “IT is not God.”

Connecting news stories

At 11:47 a.m. Wednesday, FOX News went to a live report at the World Trade Center memorial to talk about how King Charles was visiting the 9/11 site in NYC.

“Charles laid flowers at the National 9/11 Memorial and the royal couple spoke with victims’ relatives, first responders and local dignitaries before traveling to other events midway through a four-day diplomatic trip to the U.S. to mark 250 years of American independence,” reported The Hill.

Only one day earlier former FBI Director James Comey was federally indicted for “threatening President Trump’s life “when he posted an image of seashells spelling out ‘8647’ on his Instagram account last year,” reported CNBC.

“The charges came three days after Trump was evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after an alleged assassin ran toward the ballroom where the event was being held. The Trump administration and its allies have accused Democrats of inciting the attack by spreading incendiary rhetoric about Trump.”

All of this comes one week after Trump made headlines when he read aloud before the cameras the Old Testament's 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 from behind the Resolute Desk in what was a first-time event in D.C. called “America Reads the Bible,” supposedly part of celebrating America's 250th birthday.

In that 11-verse Bible passage is this very famous verse: [14] If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The passage Trump read ends with: [19] But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
[20] Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
[21] And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
[22] And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

*****

If you type in “trump says 7/11” into YouTube’s search bar you can see videos where candidate Trump “mistakenly” says 7-Eleven instead of 9/11 in a campaign speech from April of 2016.

Trump said "New York values" like those he saw on 7-Eleven make us all love the state of New York. He did not notice his mistake and continued talking.

“On 18 April 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Buffalo, New York, and during his speech, Trump puzzled listeners by referring to the terrorist attacks against the U.S. that occurred on 11 September 2001 as ‘7/11’ instead of ‘9/11,’ ” reported one news outlet.

*****

Here is an article from last May about Comey’s “8647” seashell image and how he posted it online exactly 8,647 days after 9/11:

For three days at least I've been hearing about this "8647" seashell thing that James Comey photographed in the sand. Today on FOX News it was talked about on and off all day, including a full segment on "The Five" show this evening. Everybody was so lighthearted talking about it, asking, "What does it mean?" in facetious tones.

In an interview I saw with Comey played on FOX, he referred to the sand creation as "letters," when they are obviously numbers. Nobody corrected him.

Meanwhile, listening from my car doing errands this afternoon, the "8647" message was talked about in the exact same lighthearted manner during a full segment devoted to the subject on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show that has replaced Rush Limbaugh on this particular station. I heard Travis say repeatedly in a kidding tone, "What does it mean?" 

So, what does it mean and why are the media having so much fun with it? Here's a YouTuber's insights:

"Comey's post on May 15th was 8,647 days after September 11th, 2001. Again, I've said a thousand times, you learn about these numbers and you'll realize everything the media and the government is doing is by this numerical code which comes from Kabbalah, a spiritual belief system about how God operates and, again, the authorities are playing God over your life every day with this Kabbalistic knowledge."

At the same time of this ongoing Comey "scandal" for which they're saying he should be investigated by the FBI, Comey is releasing his new crime novel called "FDR Drive." Interestingly enough, when the Mexican Navy vessel lost power last weekend and ran into the Brooklyn Bridge, Pier 17 at FDR Drive was off to the side!

Pride is like a chain of enslavement

(sorry for false advertising yesterday about having a new article and will come through no matter what this evening--I'm going to report about my trip to Chicago for the Soldiers' Training conference last weekend--and be updating on a daily basis going forward. I had THE worst day at work and it took its toll on my nerves and emotions BIG time. I think possibly I am experiencing Ageism, as do several other employees at my shop who are my age and older. I hate to even write down such a thing as I have believed in the integrity of our management, as much as it has consistently changed in the four-plus years I've been with the company.)

In a recent FOX News interview posted to YouTube that's so far garnered 720,000 views, a very popular secular motivational speaker, especially among young adult men, Dr. Jordan Peterson, argued:

"When I go in a bank I want to either take my money out or put it in without any celebration of sexuality. For the churches to be flying Pride flags, it's like pride is the cardinal Christian sin! So what the he**?! What's going on with the flags exactly? What exactly are you celebrating here? 'Tolerance.' Yeah, tolerance of vice is not a virtue and pride is a vice."

Here's an outtake from a Bible study at my church on the subject of pride in general, considering all mankind regardless of sexual orientation:

In the Bible we learn the entire world is saturated with pride and we know why and we know why it hardens.

The mind becomes implacable and it's hardened in pride. It's difficult to penetrate it with light and truth and understanding; there's no means of access.

Satan is a king over all "the children of pride," says the Bible. The unsaved humanity is a mirror image of their father the devil and he is the reigning authority over all his children. Pride courses through their veins and because of that pride, there is this ungrateful response to the things of God. They're not thankful.

Satan has this proudful ambition to usurp what is rightfully God's; what belongs rightfully to the Creator, and ever since Genesis 3, unsaved humanity falls right into the lap of that prideful desire to achieve, to ascend, to make a name for one's self.

Did he not offer to Eve, "Ye shall be as gods"? He's saying to her, "You see, you don't have to be inferior, you don't have to play second fiddle; you deserve better." 

The same individuals who are lifted up in self-adoration, self-love (Paul says they are lovers of their own selves), they're boasters, a bunch of braggarts. They're haughty, and not only that, they're proud.

When you study what pride is, and surely we could go to a dictionary, pride simply is a preoccupation with self. There is this excessive desire to be the attention, to be appreciated and adored. There's this unhealthy desire to be admired by others.

When you find pride in the Bible, you find this lustful desire to be the center of attention. What often happens as a result is you will see a proudful person begin to look at others with contempt.

That haughty spirit of puffed-up arrogance will lead one to begin to look down on others. There is this false sense of conceited superiority that leads toward looking at others as being inferior.

Pride, by Bible definition, is extremely deadly, extremely dangerous, and there is this link between pride and unthankfulness.

In Romans 1, right off the bat, as the Apostle Paul indicts humanity, [21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, when they knew god they glorified him not as God.

In their attitude of unthankfulness and ingratitude they rely upon their haughty sense of professing wisdom. Notice, neither were they thankful, but they became vain in their imaginations.

They replaced that spirit of thankfulness. They displaced any gratitude that should have been expressed because of the creative power and wisdom of Almighty God, and what they did is they suppressed any attitude of thanksgiving with vain imaginations.

II Corinthians 10:5 says, [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The idea here is that humanity--they presume, they assume they know what's happening. They assume they know what's going on. They assume they know how man came into existence. They assume they know how God thinks in some ways as well.

Paul says meekness is the capacity to bring into subjection every thought to the obedience of Christ. It's not so much bringing my thoughts so that I'm always obeying Christ, but rather, just like Jesus Christ in meekness chose to obey His Father.

Meekness is not weakness. Rather, it's the ability to restrain power, ability, strength. To restrain one's prerogatives. He chose not to exercise His royal rights and prerogatives as an equal co-member of the godhead. He chose to restrict His divine abilities.

Jeremiah 49:16: [16] Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

Pride deceives and convinces you of something that just simply isn't true. It distorts reality. By the way, the idea of vain imaginations--again, Paul, when he talks about the imagination and every high thing, it's talking about prideful understanding and wisdom.

So when you think about the deception, it's all imaginary! A proudful person convinces themselves, 'I am right; you're wrong.' Pride convinces that person of things that just simply are not true.

Psalm 73:6 says, "Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment." Pride is bondage; it makes you a slave. It's like a chain of enslavement.

Proverbs 13:10: [10] Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

Proverbs 16:[5] Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

[6] By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
[7] When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
[8] Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
[9] A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Proverbs 6:16-17: [16] These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: [17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

By the way, that's No. 1 on the list. The No. 1 abomination is a proud look. When it says a proud look, it's not suggesting that somebody looks proud, or has the appearance of pride. It's talking about a pride-filled person who evaluates and sees everything or everyone as being beneath them, as being inferior; as being unworthy.

It's not a, "Look, man, he dresses proudly," or, "He looks proud," but rather it's the way he evaluates, the way he perceives. The proud look is the way he interprets his surroundings.

Again, there is that twisted sense of superiority of the one who has the proud look. He views things through the lens of that empty, vain, imaginative, haughty pride that would lift himself in exaltation against the knowledge of God; against what God is saying and against all that God is doing. 

Most powerful thing on the planet

(will be certain to have new article this evening. as I wrote yesterday, we had power outage that lasted 40 hours--makes me think of the Flood. You really do get a "reset" on how to think about your life, and be grateful, in addition to resetting clocks, TVs, etc.)

You want to see a bunch of messed-up people, look at the Corinthians. You know, you look at what’s going on out in the world today--they can’t decide what marriage is, they can’t decide what sex you are.

You need to go read I Corinthians sometime. You talk about transgenders; they were there in the church. There were homosexuals in the church at Corinth. There were crossdressers. You know how they got there? They got saved, says Richard Jordan.

They were in a pagan culture and they’d get saved and come into the local church and then say, “Well, can I still do what I used to do?” and Paul had to deal with that.

By the way, there were a bunch of folks who were home-schooled in a religious environment, separated from the world, in the same church.

Now, think about getting that crowd together. I mean, if you were in the Jewish culture, you lived in a very cloistered atmosphere. You were home-schooled. Mom teaches you, dad oversees it and there’s a patriarchal system and it was very structured.

You had people come out of that and others come out of a very pagan background. I mean, there was drunkenness, extortion . . . There was a guy who thought it was okay to be living with his daddy’s wife. You just hope she was his second wife.

You look at the world we live in. Listen, the façade of Christianity that’s kind of kept our culture identifiable is gone; it’s evaporated. What is now here is exactly the kind of culture Paul dealt with.

The Book of Corinthians says, “Look, you come out of all that background. Here’s what grace does; here’s the change it makes,” and Paul deals with those kinds of things.

When you have physical pain, it tells you there’s something wrong in your body. Well, emotional pain is the same thing. It tells you there’s something wrong in your inner man.

Understanding how you function and how you operate helps you to correct that inner-man malfunction.

Paul’s talking here about you walking worthy. Where’s that walk going to come from? The Word of God working in your inner man.

Listen, the most powerful, the most influential force—the most potent force on Planet Earth in any culture is the Word of God working in the lives of Believers.

You understand that? The most powerful thing on this planet today is God’s Word working in and through people who believe His Word and allow it to work in their life—individually and collectively. That’s where the power of God works and that’s the most powerful thing that’s going to happen in life.

Rain and fire

The power went out at our house around 11 p.m. Monday due to a thunderstorm. We just got it back on late this afternoon!

When I left Chicago Monday morning it was raining and I drove through steady rain ALL the way home, dealing with many traffic slowdowns, etc. Little did I know that was just a prelude for the real fun! So I've been given a real reset as I return to reality here in southern Ohio.

I will have something new later this evening. In meantime here is an old article that received VERY high readership:

You can say “I am Rain Man” no matter what gender you are to try to pay homage to Baal so that he will bless your life with fame, money, prosperity, says a YouTuber.

It’s the same as, you know, Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. He’s the god of this world; he can give you all these riches and everything.

These people who have taken that offer—a lot of celebrities whether they’re basketball players, musicians, whatever—you’ll see them throw those signs up with their hands. The 666, the horns, the index fingers.

They’ll just sit there and flash them back to back and you’re like, “What are they doing?” I’ve literally seen like LeBron James or somebody, he’s not even looking at the camera. He’s just kind of looking up and it’s real fast, flashing the signs. He’s giving allegiance just like Christians would be praying, “God help me do this thing; speak through me.”

The more times you can actually pay homage through symbols in whatever you do or say the more it’s said that you are going to be blessed with fame and fortune. You call on Rain Man, in reference to someone who offers abundance of blessings from above.

The Rain Man found in hip-hop music is shown in videos by throwing money or having money appear to be coming down from above. Rain Man, as we’re connecting the dots, is Baphomet or the devil and they will use the words “rain,” “umbrella,” “ella” and “a.” Those are like the key terms for you invoking Rain Man.

In the years of Elijah, they were worshipping Baal and they were saying the rain came from Baal. It’s interesting to see where this comes from and what it actually means.

*****

"Fire and water must have made you their daughter," is a line from the famous 1970 tune Fire and Water. If you think about it, references to fire and water in American songs are quite common. Of course, Satan's minions, we know from the Bible, are huge fans of both.

When Jesus Christ returns at the Second Coming, Zechariah 10:11 tells us, [11] And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.

Similarly, Habakkuk 3 says, [9] Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

[10] The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
[13] Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 

“The ‘head out of the house of the wicked’ is the Antichrist,” explains Richard Jordan. “He’s the head of the satanic policy of evil and the judgment on the rivers . . . 

“The cloaking effect in the rivers, where they’re trying to hide, and the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, have places where there are openings that go down into the heart of the earth into hell—places where some of Satan’s emissaries hide in these waters. 

“When Christ comes back and judges these things, He’s not just pitching a hissy fit and being capricious; there’s a connection between the satanic program and that stuff. 

“In Zechariah 10:11, Jesus Christ is literally assaulting the demonic forces of the Adversary and there’s that army and that fight. 

“In Joel 2 we talked about that at great length. He’s come to put all of that away; He’s literally going to take the armies and artillery of the strongman and bind him and put an end to the conflict. The Second Coming of Christ settles the battle that started in Genesis 1. 

*****

In the appendix notes about Tammuz at the end of his classic book (circa 1858), The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop writes, 

"Everywhere are the Zoroastrians, or fire-worshippers, called Gabrs. Now, Genesis 10:8 proves that Nimrod was the first of the Gabrs. As Zoroaster was head of the fire-worshippers, so Tammuz was evidently the same . . . 

"1. In the first place, Tammuz and Adonis are proved to be the same divinity. Jerome, who lived in Palestine when the rites of Tammuz were observed, up to the very time when he wrote, expressly identifies Tammuz and Adonis in his commentary on Ezekiel, where the Jewish women are presented as weeping for Tammuz . . . 

"2. Now, if Tammuz was Nimrod, the examination of the meaning of the name confirms the connection of Nimrod, with the first fire-worship, there needs no argument to show that, as the Chaldeans were the first who introduced the name and power of kings, and as Nimrod was unquestionably the first of these kings, and the first consequently, that bore the title of Moloch, or king, so it was in honor of him that the 'children were made to pass through the fire to Moloch.' But the intention of that passing through the fire was undoubtedly to purify . . .

"It is evident fire itself was worshipped as Tammuz, for it is called the 'Father that perfected all things.' In one respect this represented fire as the Creative god; but in another, there can be no doubt that it had reference to the 'perfecting' of men by 'purifying' them. And especially it perfected those whom it consumed. . . And this also, no doubt, reconciled the parents who actually sacrificed their children to Moloch, to the cruel sacrifice, the belief being cherished that the fire that consumed them also 'perfected' them, and made them meet for eternal happiness."

*****

Ezekiel 8 is a passage mentioning Tammuz: “Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

[13] He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
[14] Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.”

Jordan explains, “Tammuz was the son of the goddess of the sun. In the Baal worship system there’s always a Madonna and child. Tammuz is the baby and he has two tremendous things happen in his life. One is he’s killed. Then, later on, he’s resurrected.

“He dies in the fall of the year as the ‘god of agriculture,’ as the winter approaches, and in the spring of the year he’s resurrected. These women are weeping not for their sin, or the judgment of God that’s coming. They’re weeping for Tammuz, of all things.

“Verse 15 says, ‘And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.’

“You see what these guys are doing? They’re in the temple and they’re making out like they’re worshipping Jehovah and yet they’re really just eyeball deep in Baal worship.

“Verse 17 says ‘they put the branch to their nose.’ That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? You know, four times in Old Testament the Lord Jesus is called by the title ‘the branch.’ Isaiah 4, Jeremiah 23, Zachariah 3 and 6.

“Each one of those four references is a reference to a particular characteristic of the Lord Jesus Christ that’s reflected in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It’s a fascinating portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Author of life.

“This idolatrous system here has taken that title and developed their own idolatrous source of life. God is love, therefore love is God, and the highest act a man can perform is to create life. That’s why the tremendous sexual abominations that were involved in this—in fact, the word used there is the word used for 'phallus.' The Greek phalex that later on shows up.

“You know, we say you’re ‘thumbing your nose at God.’ That’s the modern-day derivative of this term here. The Italians have a vulgar, vile gesture that they use that’s a similar kind of a thing. They just show the earthy, abominable nature and that’s what’s going on there.”

 

Underlying Paul's stories

(I am staying this evening near the lakefront on Chicago's Northside with two dear old friends who are a married couple. We will go to an old-school Italian restaurant for dinner--possibly even Gene & Georgetti if I have my way and they are willing to deal with the parking. As a result, I won't have internet access again until tomorrow evening and will post a new article then.)

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was dealing with a Greek culture that placed a tremendous emphasis on the human wisdom of its philosophers—Socrates, Plato, etc.

An epistle is not just a letter. In the 1^st century in the Greek world, when an epistle was written it started with the name of the teacher, the topic and the subject and it was a formal communication from a teacher to his students. There’s this form in which they come, explains Richard Jordan.

People say about Paul’s writings, “Well, these were just letters he wrote.” These are letters, but they’re really letters from an authoritative teacher to communicate information and doctrine.

When you’re dealing with Paul’s ministry and the other epistles really, you’re dealing not just with stories that represent the doctrine but the doctrine that underlies the stories.

In Paul’s epistles there’s a fascinating thing. They’re not just syllogistic dissertations of doctrine. He takes the doctrine and wraps it in the experiences of the people he writes to, or his own experience. So, there’s this doctrine being communicated, but it isn’t like point A, B, C; 1, 2, 3.

Some people get frustrated and say, “Well, why does a book of theology look so different than these books of doctrine?” It’s because Paul doesn’t take the information out of the context of real life.

He’ll communicate the teachings in ways that always permeate the lives of the people he’s talking about—and mainly his own life.

I’ve said to you that II Corinthians is the most personal of Paul’s epistles. You can see into him the most, and he tells you something key about himself in verse 5 of the first chapter: [5] For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

He’s saying, “Just like the sufferings of Christ, the things that come upon me when I suffer things because of the work of Christ, if I suffer then there’s a consolation that comes to me. There’s a comfort that I receive from God in those sufferings.”

[6] And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
[7] And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

You see how Paul recognized that he was made “an ensample” of what God wants us to understand about suffering? When he suffered, it was to be an example to you about how to handle that. And when he was comforted, it was an example for you about how God comforts the saints.

Paul’s Christian life was lived in an exemplary manner for us; it was lived out for our benefit as a pattern. So, when I read Philippians, he’s not laying out his testimony about his life just to tell you about him. He’s laying it out as a pattern for us.

Philippians 3:10: [10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

I want to know Him, and again, it’s not just come to know Him initially. I want to know Him more intimately, more fully. The greatness, the infiniteness of God.

You’re going to spend eternity getting to know more and more and more and more about Him because you can never come to the place where you say you know Him fully, completely, and there’s nothing more to discover.

Upheld by His righteous omnipotent hand

I was reading the testimony of a cancer survivor and liked this quote from him:

"Life is like a sailboat. You can only focus on the things you have control over, like your boat, sails and rudder. You have to let go of the things you don't have control over, like the water, wind and current. What I had the control over was the decision to fight for my life."

Today at the Bible conference we sang a hymn that has become a top favorite of mine for its lyrics. What most aren’t aware of are these older lyrics to this song dating back to 1787--one in which no one really knows who its author is:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word.
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand shall thy faith ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid,
I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow,
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply,
The flame shall not hurt thee: I only design,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love,
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
As lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus Hath leaned for repose,
I will not - I will not Desert to its foes,
That soul, though all hell Should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, No, never forsake!

*****

From one website: How Firm a Foundation first reached the public when John Rippon – an influential English minister who pastored Carter Lane Baptist Church in London – published A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors in 1787. This collection featured a variety of hymns that Rippon found to be especially powerful, which turned out to be true as the collection quickly rose in popularity. In fact, the collection was so popular that eleven different editions were released between the time of original release and Rippon’s death in 1836. One such edition made its way to America, and specifically to Baptist Churches in Philadelphia. As popular as the collection was in England, it was perhaps more-so in America, and even became known as the "unofficial hymnbook for Baptist Churches."

*****

From writer Luke Powell:

“Well, there's a mystery behind the song because the name of the writer has never really been found. It was 1787 when a Baptist minister, Doctor John Rippon in London, published a book of hymns, including this great song, and where the author's name normally goes, was just an initial K, and nobody can say for sure who this mysterious K is.

"There are some theories, and the first is that it was probably a man named Robert Keen, who was the musician at Doctor Rippon's church in those days. Apparently, Mr. Keen was later dismissed from this church on a charge of drunkenness, believe it or not, but it seems as if he may have been the author, and in fact later hymnals actually cite him as the author. If you see some hymnals in the 1800s, they have got Robert Keen as the author.

"As I've been going through the Canaan Melodies hymnal and recording it, I found the song. It was number 24, I think, and the author was cited as George Keith, and I didn't think much of it. When I released the song, I put George Keith as the author.

"But looking it up this week, I wondered if he was the mysterious K. It seems as if this theory about Keith being the author only came up later. In fact, it was a man named Daniel Sedgwick who owned some bookshops in London and was quite a hymn person himself.

"He liked to compile hymnals, and it seems as if he helped Charles Spurgeon with the publication of his hymnals. This man said that George Keith was the author of this hymn, and it seemed as if Keith was a member of Doctor Rippon's church as well in the late 1700s, but research shows that he was part of a group that split and didn't like Rippon, so they left the church. This makes it unlikely that he was part of the publication of this hymnal.

"There are other theories. One theory is that a man named Kirkham, who was a contemporary of the Wesleys in the 1700s, wrote it. But the truth is, nobody can say for sure. But somebody obviously sat down and put these words together.

"It's a beautiful piece of writing. It's very unusual in that it takes Scripture and paraphrases it, but so slightly that you can tell that it's Scripture. You can recognize a lot of the words, but it paraphrases it so that it seems as if God is the one speaking. This is quite a comforting thing to hear and to sing. So thank you to K, whoever you were. We're just blessed to have these words. Let me take you through the words that this mysterious man wrote.”

Antichrist becomes 'a law unto himself'

(just arrived late this afternoon to Chicago for my church's weekend Bible conference and will have a new article tomorrow)

Revelation 13:4: [4] And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

This issue of power and worship, that's exactly what the devil sought to do with the Lord Jesus Christ, explains Alex Kurz in a study.

When the devil gives to this Antichrist--all that power, governmental authority--guess who worships who? Satan now receives all the worship. This is a repeat of a scenario of an event that did happen over 2,000 years ago. Satan possesses these kingdoms.

Verses 5-7: [5] And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

[6] And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
[7] And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

"Wasn't that the promise the devil made to the Lord Jesus? He said, 'I'll give it to you if . . ' Conditional, right? Makes you wonder about that deal that was offered. I can't help but think about the similarity between the two.

Revelation 13:12: [12] And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

"What we begin to see in Revelation 13 for the first time is this power that is given to this individual, but not only that, look at Revelation 13:8: [8] And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

"Prior to this, there's nothing said about anybody worshipping. Listen, whoever this man of sin is, he's a great charismatic, intelligent individual. He's able to thwart three of those kings and the remaining seven capitulate. We saw that perhaps he defeats the first three and by threat of long-range weaponry, the remaining seven say, 'Listen, we're not going to get stamped out,' so they capitulate to this guy.

"The worship part of this man does not begin until the middle of the week. Hence, as we just read in verse 8, they're going to begin to worship.

Verse 15: [15] And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Revelation 14:7: [7] Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

"For the first time, there's this issue of who is worshipping who. That man of sin has to be taken out of the way and he's going to be cut down, and now power is going to be given to the resurrected guy. Now the world does something for the first time. Adoration and worship is being given.

Revelation 13:3: [3] And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

"That word 'wonder' means they 'admire' this guy. This is, by the way, willful adoration, willful wonderment.

"This isn't out of compulsion. He's the Superstar. How do we know that? The world asks, 'Who is like unto the beast?' Someobody else asks that question. Exodus 15:11: [11] Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

"The son of perdition is going to portray himself as being the epitome of holiness. The world is going to fall in love.

"Sometime we think of the second stage of the career of the Antichrist as him being some sort of a monster; a kind of Hitler-type tyrant and dictator. Far from it. He's going to be a benevolent dictator.

"Listen, he EARNS the love, worship and adoration of the masses. Do you love a tyrant? If there is a dictator who cruelly oppresses you, do you worship that guy? In your heart? These people say, 'Who's like this guy?!' He's a wonderment. 

"Here's something E.W. Bullinger wrote regarding the second half of the week and the career and activities of the Antichrist:

'It's clear from this that everthing is combined in this man to make him not only acceptable to the world but to call forth their wonder, admiration and praise. He's not in any way a terror to men, but full of attractions, allurements and activities which will be all put forth in the interest of human greatness and happiness.'

"You know what this guy's doing? He wants to create his own Garden of Eden. Satan wants his own uptopia with HIS man. Everything Satan's doing is an exact duplicate; it's a counterfeit of what God Almighty is doing.

"God creates man from a pile of dust and the devil, within a few seconds of time, crushes what He thought God was seeking to do. You see, Satan's man would never do what God's man Adam did, right?

"Satan's got HIS man and this man will, for the first time, achieve what mankind was not able to achieve--that great societal development. This societal utopia. His man is a Superman and all the world, they love him for that.

"It's real easy to think he's some of kind of monster everybody hates, but it's the Tree of the Knowledge of GOOD and Evil. Not evil in the sense of rape, burn, pillage, but evil in the sense of defying what God's doing and carrying out the policy and strategy of Satan, because Satan wants to be the most high God and wants people to willingly worship him because of his benevolence to humanity.

"Bullinger writes: 'It will be Satan's brief Millennium in which mankind will, by every art and artifice, be made happy.' 

"We'll see in Daniel 11 this guy is filthy, filthy rich but he's also generous, only the generosity extended by this guy is sort of like a politician who seeks to win your vote. In light of this, it will be a time of peace and progress. The Bible says peace is his mantra."

“Imagine being a member of that remnant and here’s this character out providing to humanity all they ever really wanted in ‘utopia,’ and you as the little flock say, ‘But he’s not the Christ.’

“Can you imagine how the world and the religious system is going to crush this ragtag team of heretics telling them, ‘Get out of there; don’t participate!’ You see why the hatred and the policy of extermination that’s being launched?

“This guy makes WAR with the saints because the saints are opposed to what this fraud is doing, trying to establish his Garden of Eden.

“It will be a time of peace and progress for the world. Great secrets of nature will be discovered. Evil angels will be the teachers and deceiving demons the guides of mankind.

“Keep that in mind when you go back to Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel whose top may reach unto what? They were trying to call down these evil angels to serve as spirit guides.

“Great inventions and discoveries will be made. Who needs God if man functions as their own gods, right? Philanthropy will be the governing principal of the world: ‘Man can take care of man.’

“In the Book of Daniel you see this guy’s going to change laws and times. Which laws and times do you think he’s seeking to change? The laws of Scripture.

“Remember, the Book of Revelation is like a daily newspaper. It’s like the Metra schedule; you know exactly when the next train is coming. There are specific times and events that are predicted in Revelation. This guy is going to seek to change times.

“You have members of the little flock saying, ‘Listen, this is Antichrist because the Scriptures provide a timeline and he who sits in the temple being worshipped as God—he’s going to change the times to confuse the blind.’

“Oh, he’s a genius. Corrupted, satanically empowered genius. Satan doing it through him as long as Satan is being what? Worshipped.

“I love what E.W. Bullinger says: ‘He becomes a law unto himself. Men will delight in him and regard him as the greatest benefactor the world has ever seen. Kings will gladly owe him, and behind all will be Satan himself, swaying the tongues, hearts and energies of thousands of willing agents.’

“You see in Genesis the satanic attempt to be the mastermind behind civilization, agriculture, the fine arts. Why is Satan interested in the fine arts? You would think all he cares about is pushing the drugs and all that. No, that’s not what Satan’s interested in because your flesh is pretty capable of doing that anyway.

“Revelation 18 deals with commercial Babylon. The kings of the earth, when it comes to the destruction of commercial Babylon, they cry. The greatness, the economic system and the system of commerce that’s established by this wicked genius comes to an end by Almighty God and the response by humanity is just horrible.

Revelation 18: [2] And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
[3] For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

"Something is going to happen to that literal city of Babylon and it’s fallen.

"Revelation 18:4: [4] And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

“Paul says ‘the love of money is the root of all evil.’ The greed is the motivating force that causes man to bend their knee in worship to this guy who is operational control of it all because all power is given to him by that seven-headed dragon.

“Verses 7-9: [7] How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
[8] Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
[9] And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

“They mourn over her: ‘My business is bankrupt!’ He’s not some tyrant who brings humanity under this slavish fear. He’s benevolent and he’s participating. He wants all men to live happily and prosperously.

“Why? Did not God say, ‘If you worship me and obey my commandments I will bless you with overabounding fruitfulness and wealth.’ You see what the fake king of kings is seeking to do in his phony Millennium, his phony Garden of Eden?

“He’s doing the thing that God says: ‘I will do, worship me.’ Satan says, ‘Worship me, I’ll bless you,’ and you know what that apostate nation of Israel is going to do? They’re going to crack open Deuteronomy and confront the members of the little flock and say, ‘Try and argue against Deuteronomy 28.’

“Because he’s doing it! He’s doing Deuteronomy 28! 'Who is like this guy?!' You see why members of the little flock are getting their heads cut off? You understand the tremendous pressure?

“Imagine being a member of the little flock who’s trying to convince someone who’s using Scripture and here’s this guy feeding it.

“That’s why Revelation 13:10 says, [10] He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

“The Lord wasn’t playing around when He said, ‘They that endure.’ Hebrews isn’t playing around when it says, ‘Hold fast; don’t let go of that hope.’ Like Paul says in II Thessalonians, ‘Strong delusion.’ Wow, this guy is EARNING worship because he’s practicing what Jehovah God said He would do based upon that covenant and program.” 

Modeling Solomon

As part of the first-ever “America Reads the Bible,” a weeklong scripture-reading event in Washington, D.C. featuring more than 500 participants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Sen. Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump recited II Chronicles 7:11-22.

“And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice,” read Trump, seated behind the Resolute Desk and in front of the camera. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Anyone familiar with Freemasonry knows Solomon is highly revered and seen as a model for their own pursuits.

“Masons consider King Solomon as a role model for their own endeavors, which is why numerous lodges and chapters are named after him,” informs freemasonry.wiki. “ In Masonic ritual, he is often referred to as the ‘Grand Master’ and is regarded as a representation of the principles that Masons strive to exemplify.”

Here is a post on everything Solomon:

Imagine God grants you more wisdom than anybody else on the face of the earth and, by the end of your incredibly successful career as third king of Israel, you wind up a marrying a bunch of heathen women and adopting their pagan-occultist ways and, in the process, become a type of the Antichrist in the Bible.

This is the sorted story of Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, who began his 40-year reign in 967 BC (while David was still alive) and enjoyed an unparalleled era of security, prosperity, and international political and economic importance in a domain that stretched from Tipshah on the Euphrates to Gaza on the border of Egypt.

It’s absolutely fascinating how Solomon’s life—the good and the bad—is laid out in such explicit, unusual detail in the Old Testament. Through his own writings in the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is more of a personal diary or journal, we are made privy to Solomon’s deepest insights at the time of his downward spiral.

*****

From I Kings 3, we know God first came to Solomon in a nighttime dream and asked him what he wanted as king. When Solomon humbly answered, “I’d like wisdom to rule over this people,” God was so pleased by the reply He made Solomon the smartest man alive, granting him untold riches and honor in the process.

I Kings 4:29 reports, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
[30] And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
[31] For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.
[32] And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.”
[33] And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
[34] And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.”

“He was wiser than all men; I mean, he was the wisest man on the planet. He spake three thousand proverbs. He codified his wisdom. He took that wisdom and put it into codes and instructions that people could learn by," explains Richard Jordan.

*****

King Solomon lived in such over-the-top opulence even the cup he used to rinse his teeth out at night after brushing was made of gold. Just look at this passage from I Kings:

“And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
[22] For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
[23] So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
[24] And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
[25] And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
[26] And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
[27] And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
[28] And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
[29] And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

“Can you imagine cedars as plentiful as just old scrub brush? Ever been in a cedar forest? You ever smelled a cedar chest? You know how fresh it makes everything smell? The environment around this guy was perfumed with the fragrance of a prosperous creation. . .

“Year by year, he was given horses and chariots. Everybody knew how wise this guy was so they’d bring him presents; they’d bless him in order to get the benefit of his wisdom and benefit of his counsel. It was just everywhere—the wealth, the grandeur.”

*****

Of course, it was in the midst of this unparalleled blessing Solomon got it in his head to go after “outlandish women,” as Nehemiah defines them, and “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” (I Kings 11:3)

I Kings 11 explains, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
 [5] For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
[6] And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
[7] Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
[8] And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”

The primary distinction between Solomon and his father, as verse 4 clearly tells, is Solomon’s “heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” 

“David was an adulterer, a philanderer, a murderer. He’s a guy who would have been a good senator from Massachusetts. He commits adultery, covers it up with murder and destroys the integrity of his own army and commanding staff by doing  so. He makes them complicit with it and brings judgment on his nation.

“He’s a lousy father. He raised some of the biggest brats you’ll ever want to know who destroyed his nation, his kingdom. One of his boys raped his own sister. I mean this is not a happy home and yet King David is a great man in the Bible; a sainted man—the man God made a covenant with and said, ‘I’m going to bless him.’

“God had said of David, ‘He’s a man after my own heart.’ David got caught up in a lot of the sins of the flesh but his heart never left the Lord; he never went out and worshipped idols. Solomon did, and in doing so, he forsook the wisdom of God and sought after the wisdom of man.”

*****

In a classic macro code tucked into the Old Testament, pointing to Solomon as a type of the Antichrist, I Kings 10 lists the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year as “six hundred threescore and six talents of gold.” That’s 666!

I Kings 10:16-19 further reveals, “And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
[17] And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
[18] Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
[19] The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two.” 

“You notice in Solomon’s life from this point on there becomes a fixation; a downward spiraling fixation with sixes. In verse 18, he’s got six steps, six lions, six steps. He does that in the architecture. Now do you think when he sought wisdom from God, God divided the architecture like that? No! He did that from human viewpoint, and as you go on in Solomon’s ministry life, you see Solomon just slowly drifting, falling down and it’s at this point in his life somewhere along in here that Ecclesiastes is written. 

“It’s in these books (Job through Song of Solomon), by the way, that there’s demonstration to Israel for when they’re in exactly the same situation; when there’s the temptation and the draw to be pulled into the 666 system.”