Nothing New Under The Sun

     For those of you who share my Biblical worldview, you will know why I am writing this post on this particular day.  For those who are new to this perspective, or outright reject it, then simply regard this as a history lesson.  In order to fully explore my premise, I must give you a bit of historical background.  You may wonder where I'm headed with all this, but stick it out, and I think you will connect the dots.
     I was shocked when PLW pointed me to an article on the BBC News Magazine site, titled "The Greeks Who Worship The Ancient Gods."  I urge you to read the entire article, and I hope to be able to inform you of the deeper significance of what will be happening in Greece today.
     In case you weren't aware, today, June 21st, is what is known as the Summer Solstice.  You may think that only means that it is the longest day of the year; when the tilt of the Earth's semi-axis is in the southern hemisphere and our planet is most inclined toward the sun.  But to followers of ancient religions, it is one of the most important days on their calendar.  And it just so happens that there is a segment of the population in Greece who worship the country's pre-Christian gods.
     June 21st begins the Promethia Festival, which celebrates the ancient Greek hero Prometheus.  It is also the most important annual festival for followers of The Return of the Hellenes - a movement trying to bring back the religion, values, philosophy and way of life of ancient Greece, more than 16 centuries after it was replaced by Christianity. Those with a knowledge of the Bible will recall the Hellenists, who battled both the Jews and the Christians in the arena of faith.
     For the Israelites, returning from exile in Babylon, they faced the threat of losing their identity in a new Greek empire and culture as promoted by the Hellenists.  This led to the rise of the hyper-conservative Pharisees and their added, unnecessary laws.  One of the ways Hellenism influenced Christianity was through Gnosticism.  The Gnostic Greek philosophers taught that the earth was created not by the Most High God, but by an underling, several levels below, who imbued the physical nature of his creation with imperfection. The physical was seen as evil. Only the spirit was good. These beliefs manifested in several ways. If the physical is evil, then Jesus cannot be fully man and fully God; He either only appears to be physical, or He cannot be the Son of God. Similarly, if the physical is evil, there is no resurrection from the dead. Instead, "salvation" is reuniting in spirit with the High God.  You can see how this line of thinking negates the full revelation of Jesus.
     What is being celebrated this very day in Greece is an attempted revival of this ancient belief system.  To give you the full ramifications of this movement would take too long and probably be information overload.  So I will try to show you why this seemingly innocent festival has a much deeper and dire meaning.  That's why we need to look more fully at the historical implications presented in the Bible.  Then I hope to show you how those facts play into what is happening in Greece today.

Nimrod

     If you know your Bible, you are familiar with the story of Nimrod, the ruler of Babel (ancient Babylon) as presented in Genesis 11.  Unless you have taken the time to research different interpretations of the Bible and ancient texts, you may be unaware that Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah.  (I could really blow your mind by revealing the genetic makeup of Nimrod, but for the sake of our subject today, let's just agree that he was an evil person who rebelled against God).  Josephus, the Jewish scholar, tells us that Nimrod rebelled against God because he hated God for judging mankind in Noah’s Flood.  He set himself above the plans and purposes of God.
     You most likely know the story of the Tower of Babel -- which was an attempt by Nimrod to bring all the people together under one banner, speaking the same language, and to convince them that if they could build a tower high enough, they could reach the heavens, overthrow God, and become gods themselves.
     Well, we know how that worked for them, right?  God squashed their plan, confused their language and scattered them over the earth.  Now all these different groups spoke different languages and could not understand each other, lessening the chances that they could reunite as one rebellious nation.  But perhaps what you don't know is that Babel indicates the god they worshipped; none other than Baal (also known as Bel). You might know Baal as an evil entity, but you most likely do not know that he was believed to be the son of El, the chief god.  Starting to see Satan's plan to introduce a false concept of father/son worship?  And Nimrod as the mighty king, was a true Baal worshipper, and an instrument of Satan.  He is also considered to be the prototype of a rebellious people, his name being interpreted as "he who made all the people rebellious against God".

Hercules

     After his death, Nimrod and his wife were confirmed by their priests as gods and his attributes were set forth under different pseudonyms.  He has been worshipped throughout the centuries, and because the scattered inhabitants of Babel spoke different languages, he became known by these different names throughout different cultures and down through the ages.  The ancient Greek and Roman gods, with names like Zeus/Jupiter, Hermes/Mercury, Hades/Pluto, Hercules, Apollo, Pegasus and Helios (the Sun God ... how appropriate for today!) were all manifestations of the "mighty hunter" Nimrod.
     Indeed, the "Spirit of Nimrod" has been displayed in rulers like Oden of the Vikings, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Kings of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler and Mao Tse Tung, to name a few --- they have all followed Nimrod’s path to power and bowed at his altar.  The Nimrod Spirit comes upon those who want to rule over other men, establishing tyrannical government and putting themselves above God and His purposes.  The Nimrod Spirit deceives the followers of the Tyrant through a false religion such as paganism, or a false philosophy such as communism, which legitimizes the power of the Tyrant.  For those who are not deceived, the Hunter rules through fear and terror.
    Whew!  That was a lot of information!  But it brings us right back to my original point concerning the Summer Solstice.  This group in Greece -- this group that wants to bring back the religions of ancient Greece bear a great resemblance to their ancient ancestors.  Over the course of the three-day event, there are public prayers, two marriages, and a naming ceremony, where followers choose an ancient name - like Calisto, Hermes or Orpheus - and "cleanse" themselves of their modern Christian ones.
     They make statements like "It's going back to the roots. It makes me feel the continuation through the millennia."  They offer sacrifices of flowers and fruit in simulation of the animal sacrifices made in ancient Greece.  They focus their worship on the 12 main gods of ancient Greece and consider their country under Christian occupation.  "When Christianity came in, it claimed it was unique - that there was one God, and all the other gods were false gods, and therefore had to be banished."

     They dress up in togas with wreaths in their hair and by all outward appearances are a benign group.  But it is their willingness to embrace ancient religions that makes them so susceptible to the ancient deception.  In fact, this group states that their movement "is simply an acknowledgement of the gods, in the hope that the gods will help you."  So if they are simply paying homage to their history and cultural rituals -- why would I find that disturbing?
     True, they are very likely unaware of what they are doing, but by bowing to the altars of Apollo, Zeus, etc., they are unwittingly bowing to the Satan-inspired spirit of Nimrod.  Ignorance of who you are worshipping plays right into Satan's hand.  These people have no idea of the fire they are playing with.  These gods are not just fables and fairy tales.  The worship of these entities is rooted in pagan worship of evil idols, which always leads right back to Satan's plan of deception.
     But people are so hungry to connect; to identify with any group that promises renewal and rewards and a sense of "belonging".  It can start out being hopeful.  Just look at how Hitler was able to deceive the German people.  So, yes, you might think that this group celebrating the Summer Solstice is harmless, but I really think that if you open your mind, you can see this same scenario repeated from the beginning of time.  It starts out innocently, and then ..... "In the beginning, they were making jokes, then they were ignoring us, now they are interested," says tax manager Persis Argyros, who has been involved since the start of the movement. "We became too big to ignore."  And that is what worries me!

Deuteronomy 12:30-31    "Take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’  You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods .... "

Are We Building The Tower of Babel Again?

     At first glance, the headlines seem outlandish; even imaginary or phony:  Harvard Professor Seeks Mother for Cloned Cave Baby .... Human Intelligence Will Be Overtaken By Technological Evolution.  You might think you were reading something out of the latest sci-fi Magazine of the Month.  Why would we want to even pay attention to these bizarre notions?
     Follow along with my thought process and see if it doesn't make some modicum of sense.  As you know, the Bible is my source for Truth.  I'm one of those who believes that it still has relevance in today's world; in fact, if you dig deep enough you will find parallels to many of our modern situations.

     First, let's look at what the crazy headlines above are really telling us.  According to The Daily Mail, Professor George Church of Harvard Medical School believes he can reconstruct Neanderthal DNA and resurrect the species which became extinct 33,000 years ago.  The obvious comparisons to Jurassic Park notwithstanding, this is really creepy because in order to complete his experiment, Professor Church needs to artificially create Neanderthal DNA based on genetic code found in fossil remains. He would then put this DNA into stem cells.   And here's the creepy part .... these would be injected into cells from a human embryo in the early stages of life, which would steer the development of the hybrid embryo along Neanderthal lines, rather than human ones.  The ‘neo-Neanderthal’ embryo would then need to be implanted in the womb of a surrogate mother.   Does anyone else think that this is messing with God's creation?
     Next, let's take a look at the Human Intelligence vs. Technological Advancements scenario.  Inventor and Futurist Ray Kurzweil has come up with a theory he calls "The Singularity".  What this means is that he predicts -- in the very near future -- that there will be a profound and disruptive transformation in human capability.  Translated into language we can all understand, he predicts that we are very close to creating a nonbiological (read "artificial") intelligence that will be one billion times more powerful than all human intelligence today.  Mr. Kurzweil was recently interviewed for a Time Magazine article, and the writer, Lew Grossman, summed up the Futurist's theory in this manner:  Once hyper-intelligent artificial intelligences arise, armed with advanced nanotechnology, they’ll really be able to wrestle with the vastly complex, systemic problems associated with aging in humans. Alternatively, by then we’ll be able to transfer our minds to sturdier vessels such as computers and robots. He and many other Singularitarians take seriously the proposition that many people who are alive today will wind up being functionally immortal.

     You read that correctly!  Technology is advancing so rapidly, that one day, robots will not only interpret our thoughts for us, but become part of us, thereby securing our immortality!  In addition, Kurzweil feels confident in his theory to make the following predictions:  (See this article on The Blaze for in-depth reporting on Singularity).

•  Our brains will extend to the cloud, which will allow us to learn new things at any age.
•  We will be able to selectively erase pieces of our memory.
•  We’ll be in augmented reality at all times.
•  By 2029, machines will be able to match the intelligence of humans, and they’ll be able to make us laugh and cry.
•  Around the 2030s, tiny “nanobots” able to repair and preserve our organs will keep us healthier and smarter.
•  3D printing will be even more common than it is today, with public 3D printing stations for people to print out clothes, toys, and anything else.
•  Within 25 years, computers will be the size of a blood cell and we’ll be able to connect it to the brain without the need for surgery.
•  Society will reach a state of “technological singularity” in 2045 where technology enables superhuman machine intelligences to emerge and people and machines become deeply integrated.
     I could write volumes on all that just these two headlines portend.  But I want you to consider that in one way, these events are not new.  We've been here before in the history of man.  Let me point you to Genesis 10:8-9:  Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth.  He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”

     If you are familiar with the story of Nimrod, you know that he is largely held responsible for being the instigator behind the Tower of Babel.   Now you might think that Nimrod is a good guy, based on these couple of verses.  But every commentary I have ever read states that the Greek to English translation of this Scripture is weak.  You have to go to the Jerusalem Targum (a Hebrew translation into the Aramaic language, which was used in Christ’s day), to grasp the full appreciation of these verses.  The Targum states, “He [Nimrod] was powerful in hunting and wickedness before the LORD, for he was a hunter of the sons of men, and he said unto them, ‘Depart from the judgment of the Lord, and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod!’ therefore it is said: ‘As Nimrod [is] the strong one, strong in hunting, and in wickedness before the Lord.’”
     The word “before” in verse 9 actually should be translated “in defiance of.” Even his name—Nimrod—means “one who rebels” or “let us rebel.” Nimrod was a Rebel!  He also was a hunter, “a mighty one in the earth,” a hero of the people. With his skills of hunting and war, he protected the people against wild animals, thus causing people to turn to him for protection instead of God.
     And we all know the rest of the story.  The ancient historian Josephus says this about Nimrod:  Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God.... He persuaded them not to ascribe anything to God, as if it were through His means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness.... He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! 
     And what did God do?  Genesis 11:6-8 tell us,  The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.  
     It seems to me that when man begins to think that he is bigger than God, or smarter than God, then he begins to think he can BE God.  God knew that Nimrod planned to replace Him among the people on the earth, so He confounded their plans and the Tower of Babel was destroyed.  Do you see the similarities with our modern-day hypotheses?   Monkeying with DNA .... messing with the human mind and trying to create immortal beings?  It looks to me like the created are trying to replace the Creator!   Furthermore, it appears as though we are getting dangerously close to assuming the arrogance of Nimrod; and we saw how that turned out for him, don't we?
     The arrogance of it all!  It astounds me that man, who was created in the image of God, would have the audacity to think they could improve on His work.  What God has created is sovereign and supreme!  But if these men knew who God was, they would not dare to challenge Him!  I shudder to think how He will destroy this rebellion against His authority.

Romans 1:20-21      " For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."
     
   

Why The Old Testament's History Speaks To Us Today

 

This week as our Home Church/Ekklesia meets, we will be diving into the Bible's Genesis, Chapter 11, which features a short exposé on Nimrod and the Tower of Babel on the plains of Shinar. We have also asked our group to read chapters 7-9 in the Book of Jasher, a book in the Apocrypha, which is a group of texts that aren't in the Canon, but have a thread related to the canonical biblical writings. Plus this ancient Book of Jasher is referenced in Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18, and 2 Timothy 3:8. 

I subscribe to the suggestion of Proverbs 25:2, which says, "It is the Glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out". Since we are called priests and kings in Revelation 5:10, it makes sense to me that God references this ancient Book so that we will search out more of what God wants us to know. Also, it fills in a lot of historical gaps in the Bible and, for me, actually helps me to better understand the lives of the Biblical characters, and see how it relates to modern man.

But the focus of this blog post is not extra-biblical and apocrypha books. It is about connecting what God is showing us at the beginning of the Bible to help us understand and see what is happening in what I believe are the rapidly approaching Last Days. I know the skeptical will say, "Why do you spend so much time delving into the Old Testament? We have a New Covenant with Jesus, and everything that happened before Him is obsolete for us." I have a different viewpoint.

The God of Genesis is the same God of the Book of Revelation. He hasn't changed, and everything about Him should be important to us. The entire Bible is meant for us to learn from; to learn His Nature and Character; to learn the strategies of the Enemy; to see how God has worked throughout history to reconcile Himself to His creation and restore us to our original purpose in Genesis -- to manage this earth as a colony of Heaven; to rule with the authority and dominion He gave us; and to make Earth look and act like Heaven. I find it extremely helpful to see the ways in which the Enemy tempted men to rebel, and then to go further and learn from the mistakes that men made out of their pride, arrogance, and lust for power and wealth. And we must not forget Jesus's warning, As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man!

From the Bible we only get the hints of what it was like in the days of Noah. But when you add the historical background that the Book of Jasher provides, you see that the lives of Noah, Nimrod, and Abraham all overlap. For instance, did you know that Abraham studied at the feet of Noah? Abraham was the eight times great-grandson of Noah, and was sent to live with Noah when his life was threatened by Nimrod, who was the tyrant of ancient Babylonia, and his reign was wicked and brutal. He was the most powerful king of the ancient world, and Abram's father, Terah, served him as "the prince of Nimrod's host [army]". On the night that Abram was born, Nimrod's wise men and conjurers saw a very large star in the East sweep across the sky and swallow up the stars of the four corners of heaven. They said to each other, "This only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multiply, and will possess the whole earth, he and his children forever; and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands" (Jasher 8:4).

Just like King Herod at the birth of Jesus, King Nimrod demands the death of the child, Abram. His father, Terah, secrets him away to live in a cave for 10 years, and then "when Abram came out from the cave, he went to live with Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and His ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem, his son, for a long time" (Jasher 9:5). That's a lot of information that explains a lot of unanswered questions in the Bible. And for me, it explains why Abram listened to the Lord when He said, "Go away from your country, and your relatives, and from your father's house to the land which I will show you" (Genesis 12:1) and verse four that says, "So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the Lord had directed him". 

Keeping in mind that in the culture of the time, "your father's house" could mean your ancestor's home (such as your eight times great-grandfather, Noah), and why Abram recognized God's voice. He was raised to know the Lord by Noah and Shem! And Abram would certainly have known of the wicked reign of Nimrod, who not only built the city of Babel, but other cities as well, and Jasher 11:4 says Nimrod "vexed the Lord, and rebelled and transgressed against Him". Verse 7 says he "continued in wickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men; and Mardon, his son, was worse than his father, and continued to add to the abominations of his father."

But it is not only the ancient books that give us additional information that supplements the Bible, but the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian who was born just a few years after Jesus's crucifixion, and who provides a treasure load of cultural significance to the history of the Bible. Of Nimrod, Josephus writes, "Now it was Nimrod who excited [the residents of Shinar] to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, who was the son of Noah -- a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded [the people] not to ascribe [their prosperity and plentiful condition] to God, as if they could believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny -- seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence upon his power" (Chapter 4, Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews). Sound familiar?

Josephus goes on to write of Nimrod's arrogance and attempt to take revenge on God for what He had done to their forefathers; by building a tower to conquer God for sending the Flood and destroying mankind. These events that took place at the Tower of Babel have had a devastating effect on mankind ever since. Nimrod was the first to attempt to establish a totalitarian world government and religious system that discredits God and ruthlessly dominates the world. It resulted in the Kingdom of God versus the Rule of Man (sponsored by the kingdom of darkness). It has been the objective of Satan since the Garden of Eden -- a one world order that governs the earth through tyrants that he places in power. From Genesis to Revelation, it is a book of rebellion against God. 

Throughout Biblical history [and the history of the world], it has been a story of man's attempt to thwart God's Sovereignty over His Creation. But, at every turn, we see the power of the Lord to stop the events that attempt to glorify mankind instead of Himself. And, so, it should not surprise us that we see it continuing in our own time here on earth. But we, who believe and trust in Jesus Christ, know how fruitless those attempts will be. We know the present plans, and all future plans, to dethrone God from the earth are futile and in vain. We know the truth of the Word and the historical testimony the Bible gives to the Divine Will of the Creator, and eventually, there will be a last rebellion of man against God, and every knee will bow and all mankind will be brought into submission to the Lord. We must pray that the growing rebellion we see across the globe will be quelled by the appearance of the Lord with His Heavenly Host! We will sing and shout praises of His Glory as we witness the defeat of Satan's influence in the earth, once and for all!

Philippians 2:9-11   For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.

Is CERN Recreating the Tower of Babel?

     Are you ready for a mind-blowing topic?  If you are reading this blog post today, then we can determine that the world has not been sucked into a dark vortex, or atomized into more than a trillion particles.  If you are wondering why I would make that astounding statement, it is because yesterday, March 15, 2015, CERN was set to restart its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for its second 3-year run.  This event would have seen the world's most powerful particle accelerator double its collisional energy.  (As of this morning, I can find no news reports or evidence that they went through with their plan.  I guess we will have to wait and see if they make some kind of big splashy announcement).  But I plan to show you how, once again, Man is trying to "become like God".  And we know what happens every time we try to break into that barrier that separates us from the throne room of God, right?

A portal, or star gate, or wormhole;
Is this what Nimrod had in mind?

     To begin with, if you are like myself, and you are not really sure what CERN is, or what it does, all we really have to go on is information that they disseminate about themselves on their own website.  In the course of describing their mission, CERN maintains that they are an organization of European physicists and engineers who are "probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles. The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature."
     The pursuit of discovering how matter is created began in 1954.  In the past 61 years, the scientists at CERN have developed many accelerators whose purposes include sending a beam through 732 kilometres of solid rock to a project in Italy; boosting negative hydrogen ions to high energies, which will become the source of proton beams for the Large Hadron Collider in 2018;  and conducting all kinds of experiments with "super colliders", which boost beams of particles to high energies before the beams are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets.  Detectors then observe and record the results of these collisions.  One has to ask him or herself, just why do we need this information?  Read on.
     Oh, yeah, one of the scientists involved with CERN -- Dr. Peter Higgs -- is responsible for discovering the "Higgs boson", a particle that gives mass to other particles, and is otherwise known as the "God particle".  And that brings me to the crux of my discussion today.  I readily admit that I am no scientist, and physics was not my favorite subject in school.  But anytime that man determines to explain away the Sovereignty of God in creating the world by dismissing it as a simple matter of "a particle that gives mass to other particles", then I have a problem, and I sense the hair on the back of my neck begin to rise.
     Furthermore, when these same men begin "colliding" these particles at extremely high energies, supposedly for the purpose of discovering how the universe works, then I also smell a rat.  In fact, CERN's own website brushes off the extremely dangerous work of these super colliders by posing these questions:  "What is the universe made of? How did it start?"  They then want us to buy into their seemingly altruistic mission by assuring us that "Physicists at CERN are seeking answers, using some of the world's most powerful particle accelerators."
     In reality, what these scientists are doing is smashing protons which are moving at 99.999999% of the speed of light into each other in order to recreate the conditions a fraction of a second after the Big Bang.  However, there are many far wiser than I who think that what these scientists are really trying to accomplish is far more sinister -- they are trying to open a wormhole.
     In case you are unaware of this term, a wormhole is a theoretical passage through space-time that could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. Wormholes are predicted by the theory of general relativity. But be wary: wormholes bring with them the dangers of sudden collapse, high radiation and dangerous contact with "exotic matter".  Our knowledge of the existence of wormholes is a result of the research of physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen, who used the theory of general relativity to propose the existence of "bridges" (which became known as "wormholes") through space-time.

     Still with me? So exactly why would these scientists at CERN want to create a wormhole?  Could they possibly be trying to recreate the mission of a Sumerian king named Nimrod, who ruled over 4300 years ago from Babylon, and thought he could build a tower (actually a gate) to heaven?  And what did God do?  He destroyed the tower and scattered the peoples across the earth, causing them to lose their common language, and reducing them to strange tongues (babble) so they couldn't understand each other and collectively conspire against Him.
     In so doing, Nimrod became known by many different names ... Baal, Gilgamesh, Orion, Adonis, Apollo, and in Egypt as Osiris, the god of resurrection.  In fact, inside the ancient Greek god Sety’s temple at Abydos, in the Osiris Chapel, is the magnificent depiction of Osiris as a pillar or tower.  The Egyptians called this Osiris pillar the Ta-Wer or ‘bond between heaven and earth’.  This sure seems to mimic the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, doesn't it?  Think it is just coincidence or some ancient fable?
     But what does that have to do with CERN and its mysterious. and potentially dangerous, experiments?  Does it make you nervous at all that scientists are messing with the universe, and attempting to open a hole -- or portal -- to the unknown?  Is this what Nimrod was trying to do?  If you are a student of the Bible then you know that there are levels of "heaven", and the "dark forces of the spiritual world" live in the second heaven.  Remember Ephesians 6:12, in which the apostle Paul tells us, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places"?  Could these be the "exotic matter" that we have the potential to come in contact with through wormholes?
     Was Nimrod trying to gain access to that next realm and enlist the spiritual forces of evil in his quest to conquer God?  Did he think that opening a portal, or gate, to this next realm that these forces could "come through", so to speak, and strengthen his position, as well as increase his knowledge of how to overpower and become like God?
     The prophet Daniel mentions such beings as "Watchers", or holy ones, who report to God and make decrees on behalf of God.  But Watchers were also mentioned in pseudepigraphal books, such as Enoch and Jubilees, which were popular and influential in the First Century, and ranked alongside the Torah, Psalms and Isaiah in importance to Jews.  These apocryphal books were also alluded to by Peter and Jude in the New Testament, giving them at least historical credibility.  In these instances, "Watchers" were among a superior class of angels, some of whom fell from heaven, led astray by Satan.  In the 7th and 18th chapters of the Book of Enoch, some of the Watchers who fall are imprisoned in the 2nd heaven, and others are cast to earth where they take human women (Enoch 7:3, 18:4) who bear giant offspring (the Nephilim of Genesis 6).
     Again, I ask:  Was Nimrod trying to open the gate to this 2nd heaven?  And what was his goal ... to slay God and take over the throne?  If you read the historical text of the Book of Jasher, you will find this about Nimrod and the building of the Tower of Babel:  "And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in heaven."
     Or was Nimrod trying to create these "wormholes" to allow the Watchers to enter our realm, enlisting their aid in order to gain their knowledge of heaven and help him (Nimrod) attain his goal?  And zooming into the 21st Century, is it possible that these CERN Scientists have already opened portals with their discovery of the so-called "God particle"?  I could certainly entertain that concept as I witness the increasing amount of Evil present on the Earth.  They may not be using arrows to create a portal to the next heaven, as Nimrod did, but wouldn't their powerful beams of atomic matter serve the same purpose?
     In order to fully dissect all the implications of CERN and their experiments, it would take me days of singular posts.  I'm not sure I could ever adequately cover all the connections and significance to our future.  Suffice it to say, that my spirit discerns something more than just scientific advancement for the future of mankind.

     The sculpture of the ancient Hindu goddess Shiva (coming through a portal) at the entrance to the CERN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland does nothing to allay my discomfort.  Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu. Brahma is the creator of the universe while Vishnu is the preserver of it.  So that leaves Shiva as ... you guessed it ... responsible for the destruction of the world.  Still think CERN is all about scientific experiments?
     And it doesn't help to qualm my fears when I hear famed scientists such as Stephen Hawking sounding the alarm bells; it seems somehow prophetic when he warns that the "God Particle" could destroy the universe.  Other well-respected scientists warn that CERN's Super Collider is so powerful it could produce particles of dark matter, the mysterious stuff whose gravity holds the galaxies together.  They warn that there is a possibility of a cataclysmic event in which CERN creates a black hole that swallows the earth ... their words, not mine.
     I certainly am not qualified to make any kind of prophetic statement or even guess as to where this all leads.  I only know that it seems that once again, instead of worshipping the Sovereignty and Supremacy of God, Man thinks he can become equal to God, or ... heaven forbid ... become greater than the Creator of the Universe, Himself.  That only leads to inevitable judgment, devastation and God's justifiable wrath.  Have we become as arrogant and rebellious as Nimrod that we are about to repeat ancient history?  God have mercy on us!

If you are interested in reading more about CERN and its connections to the Tower of Babel, click here and here. 

Hebrews 11:3   "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."

Satan's Same Old Playbook

      

     If you have followed me for any length of time, then you will know that I am not your conventional Christian. I'm not satisfied with blindly accepting the customary position of the Church when it comes to doctrine or ideology. I do not consider myself a conformist or traditionalist, IF it's for the sake of standing approved by men. I want to see beyond man's interpretation, which has been amended so many times that I often wonder if it represents God's perspective at all. 

     I want to understand God's heart and His truth in His inspired Word, both historically and spiritually. So, sometimes what I write about may appear far-reaching and radical; and maybe even heretical to some. But please know that when presenting it, I have spent an exceptional amount of time studying my Bible, praying, and asking for discernment. This may be one of those posts. But I hope you will read it with a heart open to new revelation and a mind eager to do your own searching. So, hear we go....

     Since I am a student of the entire Bible and not just the New Testament, I understand that Jesus is on every page of the Good Book; and that from Genesis to Revelation, we have been given God's plan for His creation, relationship, and redemption of mankind. And I will tell you that you can't just read the Bible once and see "the big picture". I have read it multiple times, and I think that's how God wants it, because if He tried to download every part of His plan to me in one sitting, my mind and spirit would be overloaded and explode. So each time I have read it, I receive a new principle of His magnificence and my "picture" expands a little more. 

     And in these multiple journeys through the Bible, I am able to see not only God's plans emerge, but how the Enemy has tried to counter God at every turn. I begin to see patterns in the devil's strategy. And the one thing I know for sure is that he is not on par with our Sovereign God when it comes to creativeness. He runs the same playbook over and over. And I'd like to compare what I'm seeing in the present with some of his earliest schemes.

     Sex and power have always been two of the devil's greatest seductive tools. From the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, we see his strategy of approaching Eve, offering her the idea that she and Adam could be "like God", knowing everything of both Good and Evil. And then in Genesis 6:1-4, we see Satan sending his Fallen Angels to have sex with earthly women, in the hopes of defeating God's plan to send the Messiah through a pure line of men. If Satan could corrupt the gene pool of mankind, then Jesus would never be born. But God brings the Flood and starts over with Noah, a man who was blameless in his evil generation and walked faithfully with Him. But once again, the devil is able to work his plan through the great-grandson of Noah. 

     The Bible refers to this descendant of Noah as Nimrod, which may not have been the actual name of this man. "Nimrod" means "The Rebel", and the name might have just epitomized someone who was rebellious against the Creator and the One True God. And sadly, we know that rebellion began soon after the Flood as civilizations emerged and expanded. This Nimrod soon established a kingdom of his own. And read what the ancient Jewish priest, scholar and historian Flavius Josephus wrote about him: "Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the [great] grandson of Ham, the son of Noah -- a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through His means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny -- seeing no other way of turning men from their fear of God, but to bring them into constant dependence upon his own power. He also said he would be avenged on God, if He should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! And that he would avenge on God for destroying their forefathers!" (Ant. 1:iv:2) 

     Simply put, this Nimrod character was committed to violent rebellion against God, and bringing tyranny against mankind. And he was able to influence the Kings of the Earth to stand with him, and convince the rulers to counsel together against YHWH and His Anointed One. This is plainly stated in Psalm 2 ... "Let us break apart their [divine] bands of restraint, and cast away their cords [of control] from us." 

     All we have to do is look around us to see that Satan has once again influenced mankind to partner with him in his evil work. We see a repetition of how he was able to seduce man in the Garden; today men give in to his seductive whisper that they don't need to obey God in order to have the desires of their heart. They use the knowledge of evil to try to overcome good and overthrow God's government here on earth. We see it in the machinations of the Illuminati and the New World Order as they manipulate protest groups like BLM and Antifa. These groups march to the orders of powerful men who think they can "become like God".

     We see a repetition of sex [as in Genesis 6] as a tool to manipulate and control mankind through the evil practice of sex trafficking. The State Department speculates that nearly 25 million people are enslaved in human trafficking worldwide [per the 2020 Trafficking In Persons Report]. We can no longer hide from the facts or turn a blind eye to this wickedness. It is being played out on the nightly news around the world, and there are many speculations as to the powerful men and women that are involved.

     Which brings me to the repetition of Satan's use of the spirit of Nimrod. That Anti-Christ spirit has convinced men that they can rebel against the rule of God; that they can displace Him, dethrone Him, and seize His power ... that they can control the world through their own power and they can become their own gods. For example, we see that in the efforts to destroy man, who is made in the image of God, and replace him with computer brains and bionic body parts, all while manipulating our divine DNA so we become a hybrid species (think Genesis 6:1-4 again). Nimrod was a "mighty hunter of men", and do not be deceived because his spirit is still at work in the world.

     So, can you see the same old playbook being played? Rebellion/Disobedience, Sex, and Power are all the tools that Satan needs to tempt vulnerable men and women. It's all laid out for us in the first 10 or 11 chapters of the Bible and then repeated over and over throughout the remaining 65 Books. But I didn't show you this to discourage you -- I am writing to reveal the first layer of the "big picture" that God has shown me. And I am writing to motivate you to stand with me and fight against those who would pervert our Almighty God's plan for us. Know that those of us who worship and serve Him with an awe-inspired fear and submissive wonder will be blessed; we will be fortunate, prosperous and favored by God as we take refuge in Him. The Bible tells us so in Psalm 2! We just need to open our spiritual eyes and see what is being revealed to those who fervently press into Him. Take heart! Facing the monster is a whole lot less scary than avoiding the truth in fear. Our God fights with us!

 Psalm 2:4, 9    "He who sits enthroned in the heavens, laughs at their rebellion; The Sovereign Lord scoffs at them, and in supreme contempt He mocks them ... You [the Lord] shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall shatter them in pieces like earthenware."

    

Another Move In The Cosmic Chess Match!

     If you are like most Americans, you may be a little confused by all the media coverage of "Brexit", and what, if anything, it has to do with us.  In case, you're not quite sure what that is, let me put it in simple terms... Brexit stands for the British exit from the European Union, and this move comes with lots of implications, both from a current worldview and from a Biblical perspective.  Follow my train of thought ...
     You may remember that, in the past, I have referred to a cosmic chess match between God and satan.  If you can, I want you to picture it like this:  On one side is the Most High God and His army of angels, led by the archangel Michael, "the great Prince".  On the other side is Lucifer, or the devil, and his army of rulers, powers, and spiritual forces of wickedness.  And they battle in the spiritual realm, resulting in consequences in this earthly realm.

     Focusing in on this cosmic chess match a little closer, and we see two armies, if you will; one led by Michael, identified as an angel (messenger), and whose name means "who is like God".  I contend that there is a good argument that the title "Michael the archangel" can be translated as "The greatest messenger who is God", or Jesus.  The other army is led by an angel once known as Lucifer, the anointed cherub who was the guardian of God's throne.  But pride, which caused him to seek to overthrow God, resulted in him being cast away from God and out of Heaven, where he is still seeking to dethrone God by working from the spiritual realm through men on earth.
     So what does this have to do with Brexit, and why should we, as Christians, find any meaning in it?  The most recognizable Scripture that embodies the premise of this cosmic chess match is found in Genesis 11, and the story of the Tower of Babel.  You will remember that at the beginning of this story, the Bible tells us that "the whole earth spoke one language and used the same words".  According to the story, a united humanity of all the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar.  There, in their arrogance and self-glorification, they agreed to build a city and a tower "tall enough to reach heaven"; seeing this, God confounded their speech so that they could no longer understand each other and scattered them around the world.
      In Hebrew and Christian tradition, Nimrod is considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar, though the Bible never actually states this.  But Nimrod's kingdom included the city of Babel in Shinar, and it was likely under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began.  But remember the part of Scripture that relates that Nimrod "began to be mighty in the earth"?  It is my belief that after God cleansed the earth with the Flood (a bold move on the cosmic chess board), satan began to plot his strategy.  The name Nimrod, in Hebrew, means "rebel", and I think satan revived his own spirit of rebellion in Nimrod, and used him to build a tower from which satanically influenced men could assault heaven itself.  God's next move was to scatter the people into separate nations, speaking different languages, so they could not form a unified coalition again.
     Throughout history, satan has attempted to infiltrate this earthly realm and influence, or revive, his rebellious spirit in men who would further his cause to defy God.  Every time satan used an Antiochus Epiphanes or a Hitler to spread his evil on the earth and separate men from God's will to reconcile with them, God would counter his move and put an end to the wickedness.
     And now, through the spiritual eyes of men much smarter than me, I am beginning to see another set of moves on the cosmic chess board.  On his website, shoebat.com, Walid Shoebat contends that the European Union was a move by satan to, once again, build a coalition to establish his earthly authority, from which he could institute a global (or one-world) government to control the earth and destroy God's people.  If he can't have Heaven, then he'll take the earth for his throne.
      By moving towards a common currency and governing body for all of Europe, satan saw his chance to thwart God's long-ago move to scatter the people at the Tower of Babel and create independent nations.  With an encroaching one-world government and global currency system, it would set up satan's future plan that no one can buy or sell without complying with his currency system, the mark of the beast.  And his move was a good one!  The nations of Europe were subject to the governing rules of the EU, and were losing their autonomy and ability to self-rule.  And perhaps satan's greatest evil intentions came through the forced acceptance of Muslim refugees among the EU countries, and the influx of jihadist ideology.

     But does the exit of Britain signal God's next chess move?  Could He be setting the stage for a break-up of the European Union, and the re-establishment of His independent and sovereign nations that He began at the Tower of Babel?  Certainly, Britain's exit has stirred similar thoughts among the governments of Scotland, France, and Spain.
     Walid Shoebat, in his article, takes it a step further, stating:  We are beginning to see the signs of a future split in Europe, even states within states, separating between sheep and goat nations where France, parts of Italy, Spain and Portugal will be destined as sheep nations, while Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the Baltic states or major parts of these will remain liberal and anti-God; to be destined as goat nations. Austria could go sheep or goat, we do not know.  
     Interesting concept, isn't it?  Please take the time to read his entire article, it is fascinating and not without Scriptural support.  Is it accurate?  Only God knows.  But I am certain that Brexit is an indication of a major shift in the cosmic war in the spiritual realm.  In the coming days, you will hear the media discuss the worldly implications -- effects on the world economy, global trade, immigration, etc. -- but I am more interested in the spiritual ramifications.  How will it affect the spiritual foundations of the nations, and on whose side will they align themselves?  Will there be a renewed interest in seeking God, or will secularism and jihadism continue their march across the globe?  
     A case can be made for Shoebat's assertion that Brexit is the beginning of a move by God.  Consider his statement: "If a one world government is to take place or a European Union is to control the entire continent, how then will God “divide the nations”? How then will “nation war against nation, kingdom against kingdom” and how will God “divide the nations” “sheep from goats”?  Whether this is just an isolated set of circumstances, or we see the entire dismantlement of the EU, and nations sliding toward the end-times prophecies remains to be seen.  But of this, I am certain:  the cosmic chess match will continue; with God countering every move that satan makes until His complete plan for His reconciliation with man is accomplished.  Then it will be checkmate with the return of Jesus!  For now, all I need to know is that there is a battle plan in the spiritual realm to rule the earth, and I know which side I'm on.

1 John 3:8        "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
   

Evil Is On the March

    As I write this, it is the afternoon of June 12th, 2014 and I am experiencing an overwhelming sense of futility and sadness as I reflect on the news coming out of Iraq.  The Daily Mail out of Britain has an in-depth article on the collapse of the city of Mosul. Combine that with the more recent fall of Tikrit, and the imminent assault on Baghdad, and it is quite clear that the war in Iraq is not over. While the photos show the heartbreak of families fleeing the brutal insurgency of a new terrorist group, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), I cannot help but think about the tremendous cost in lives and treasure.
     Reuters has reported that the U.S. war in Iraq has cost $1.7 trillion with an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans; these are expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest.  But worth more than these overwhelming figures is the cost in human lives.  A total of 4,486 U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2012.  University researchers in the U.S., Canada and Baghdad, along with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, have estimated that nearly half a million people in the country of Iraq have died since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.  These figures cover not only violent deaths, but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.
     So what happens now?  As trite as it sounds, only the Lord knows.  ISIS is not a name I was familiar with, but preliminary research has shown that they are so brutal, that even Al-Queda shuns them.  One headline announced the depth of their evil cruelty .... Marauding ISIS Militia Beheading Their Way to Baghdad.  What makes this group so frightening (and why Al-Queda has distanced themselves) is that these beheadings, crucifixions, and assassinations have been carried out against rival jihadist groups.  This all comes as the leader of this brutal group continues to attract hardline Islamic fighters from around the world.  Reports say that ISIS has in excess of 10,000 fighting men in its ranks. Many of its fighters are thought to be radicalized Western Muslims who have poured in from Europe and North America to join the fighting in Syria and elsewhere in the middle East.

     ISIS is being led by a shadowy figure known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.  You can imagine my alarm when I heard retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters compare Osama bin Laden to John the Baptist, as the forerunner to this al-Baghdadi.  Are we looking at the emergence of an archetype of the Islamic Savior known as the Mahdi? Will he be able to unite the jihadists around the world and bring on another holocaust of God's people?  He has certainly manifested himself as a brutal power in a very rapid manner, and one cannot help but look back at history at the other representatives of Evil who appeared in similar circumstances.
     The news agencies spell out the danger that threatens to engulf the entire globe.  Reuters says, "Sunni rebels from an al Qaeda splinter group overran the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday and closed in on the biggest oil refinery in the country, making further gains in their rapid military advance against the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad."  Over half a million people fled the city of Mosul in the wake of that conquest.  And for those of us who see the headlines from a biblical perspective, we cannot dismiss the words of a police captain who fled the city of Tikrit, "We are fighting devils and not ordinary people".
     But I have to tell you that I think there is even more Biblical significance to what is happening.  The Christian Science Monitor reports that "It's well known that Mosul has been a target for ISIS... the city is the capital of northern Nineveh Province."  Now where have we heard that name Nineveh before?  Genesis 10:11 records that none other than Nimrod built the city of Nineveh.  And if you don't know who Nimrod is, well just suffice it to say that the root meaning of Nimrod in the Hebrew language is "the rebel".   And it is very possible that “Nimrod” may not be the name of an actual man, but is more likely a derisive term of a type, or a representative, of a system that is epitomized in rebellion against the Creator, the one true God.  We can identify his "type" throughout history in the personages of Antiochus Epiphanes, Gengis Khan, Stalin, and Hitler, amongst many others.
     It is also important that the city of Nineveh and the city of Babylon are closely tied together as Nimrod's power bases.  And would it surprise you to know that the ruins of ancient Babylon sit just 53 miles south of modern-day Baghdad?  There are those who will scoff at my implications, but the fact that the conquest of Iraq is happening so quickly in the wake of the more than $14 billion we spent in training Iraqi forces to defend themselves, cannot be easily dismissed.  I cannot disregard the ancient prophecy in Jeremiah 51:7-8:  "Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken...".  This corresponds with the End Times prophecy in Revelation 18:10 that foretells the fall of Babylon in one hour.  For the skeptics that will tell me Baghdad is not Babylon, I would say, the spirit of ancient prophecies rest upon this land, as well as future pronouncements regarding the End Times.  We would do well to pray for our deliverance from the consequences.
     And to those of you who do not see these world events through the lens of the Bible, I must tell you that I cannot see them otherwise.  It is my hope that the urgency of what is being reported would cause you to check out my assumptions; to examine the Bible yourself to see if it bears witness to what I suggest.  These events could have immediate effect upon all our lives through the takeover of strategic oil fields in Iraq, along with the possibility that any number of the North America jihadists lining up with ISIS might hold U.S. passports.  At the very least your comfortable American life might be headed for some serious and far-reaching changes.  But at the heart of my post is the hope that you will recognize that, most importantly, it is your eternal life that is in jeopardy.  Evil is obviously sweeping the Middle East, and why would it stop its campaign for world dominance at the borders of Iraq?  Now is the time to make preparations for your soul.

I Thessalonians 5:3    While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.


     
   
   

The Truth Behind Those May Day Clashes

   

     This last weekend, we witnessed the annual public homage to anarchy as expressed in May Day riots and protests.  Flares, bricks and Molotov cocktails were thrown at police in Seattle in an effort to communicate hatred for anti-capitalism, and passion for workers and immigrants.  Demonstrations were held across the country, from Los Angeles and San Francisco to New York, and towns and college campuses in between.
     But did you know that May Day protests and rallies were held world-wide?  France, Turkey, Russia, Great Britain, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Brazil all saw groups gather to protest everything from low wages, to the lack of jobs, to immigration problems, to failing government policies.  But the over-riding sentiment was a call for disorder due to the nonrecognition of authority.  I think one of the underlying themes of these current May Day demonstrations could best be summed up by a sign carried by one of the protestors:  "We Are Ungovernable."
     Before I tell you what I think is at the root of that belief, I'd like to share some of the interesting history behind the modern May Day observances.  There are some websites, like Jacobin, (whose theme is "Reason in Revolt") who pay tribute to their namesake.  The Jacobins were the most radical and ruthless of the political groups formed in the wake of the French Revolution.  Although they called themselves "Friends of Freedom and Equality", they colluded with the French politician, Robespierre, in what became known as the Reign of Terror in 1793-94.
     An article in Jacobin will tell you that "the first May Day was celebrated in 1886, with a general strike of 300,000 workers at 13,000 businesses across the United States. It was a tremendous show of force for the American labor movement, which was among the most militant in the world."  Here, we see the foundation of the various protests and clashes with police this past weekend.  But let me continue with some of their other views of May Day.  They urge modern protestors to rally "under the banners of anarchist and socialist organizations" ... and they believe that "when workers act together, they exercise tremendous power over their employers and over society as a whole. Working-class radicals [understand] the unique power of collective action, fighting to ensure that the aggression of employers is often met by a groundswell of workers’ resistance."
     Today, they advocate for May Day to be recognized as a day of solidarity with undocumented immigrants — a fitting reminder of May Day’s origins in the late 19th Century when successive waves of immigration brought millions of immigrants to the United States, and high unemployment and dehumanizing working conditions spawned a movement that saw native-born and immigrant workers standing together to defend their common interests.
     All that is the history behind what we saw this past Sunday.  But did you know that the significance of May 1st is much broader than what it means to the work force?  And that it is much older?  The website InfoPlease tells us that it's a celebration of Spring. It's a day of political protests. It's a neopagan festival, a saint's feast day, and a day for organized labor. In many countries, it is a national holiday.
     They go on to give us a white-washed version of some of these celebrations, such as May 1st as Beltane, a pagan Celtic feast full of rituals.  One of these traditions centered around Beltane cakes, which would be broken into several pieces, one of which was blackened. They would be drawn by celebrants at random; the person getting the unlucky blackened piece would face a mock execution.

     Then there is Walpurgisnacht, creatively portrayed in the Walt Disney movie Fantasia, during the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment, and to which I have devoted a post.  InfoPlease wants you to believe that this holiday is just a legend; one in which witches were said to meet with the Devil on the eve of May 1, on the Brocken peak. The night of April 30th became known as "Walpurgisnacht," and the annual meeting was dramatized by Goethe in Faust.  It's just a legend, they say; like a fairy tale .... albeit a terrifying one!
     And how can we forget that idyllic symbol of May Day, the Maypole?  The pretext of modern celebrations of May Day is that it honors ancient festivals of Spring and Fertility, in which a pole would be hung with greenery and ribbons, brightly painted, and decorated.  Dancers would then begin to braid the ribbons by weaving in and out among each other.  All in all, it is presented as an innocent celebration of Spring.
     I don't mean to burst your bubble, but from the picture of pagan festivals, and celebrations of Spring, down to workforce protests, there is a far more sinister element to this first day of May.  To begin with, that innocent vision of the Maypole?  It is actually an ancient symbol of fertility and also the Egyptian God and King Osiris' phallus.  (And don't forget that Osiris is simply another name for the spirit of Nimrod, who was the original man who resisted God's authority and led a rebellion at the Tower of Babel).

     The Maypole is a modern-day portable ancient phallic symbol that is meant to represent the male generative powers in the phallus, which is really just an idol or image of an erect penis. They have been worshiped for thousands of years as a reminder of the sacred act of sex and also represent the phallus of the kings who rule the world.  If you really want to take this piece of information to its full conclusion, then click here.
     What I really want you to see is the spiritual forces that are behind these festivals and movements.  And the modern slogan of "We Are Ungovernable" should tell you exactly who is at the head of these forces, and how he has managed to maintain that spirit of rebellion and anarchy throughout the centuries.  It is my strong belief that "legends" don't persist if there is not some truth to them,  or some force behind them, perpetuating and encouraging an underlying power to continue indefinitely.
     I find it rather interesting that this one day at the beginning of May has become synonymous down through the ages with mock sacrifice; with homage to the power of men; and with resistance and opposition to Authority.  Who does that remind you of?  The spirit of Nimrod might be at work to compel mankind to overthrow any governance over his life, but we must not lose sight of the fact that  Lucifer was the power behind Nimrod -- Lucifer, whom God called "the anointed Cherub"; the one whose position was to guard the very throne of God. His position was that of protecting the holiness of God. Satan had the highest of all positions, a position which he despised and lost.
     So it has been his mission ever since to convince men that we, too, should rebel against God.   He whispered in Nimrod's ear his own vow: "I will take over heaven, I will be God." That is Lucifer/Satan's sin and that was Nimrod's sin in erecting the Tower of Babel.  And now that spirit of rebellion is present in everyone who listens to that lie -- and there is even a day Satan has made one of his holy days --- May 1st. He does not want to be God's servant. He does not want to do what he was created to do. He wants to be served and there are millions who have chosen to do just that; serve him and worship him through the various festivals and protests. They have listened to his lies and chosen to follow him.  They may think they are "ungovernable", but one day soon, the One who will come to rule and reign will show them just how deceptive that lie is.

1 John 3:8    "The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil."

Will CERN Open The Portal to "The Bottomless Pit"?

 

It has been five-and-a-half years since I wrote a blog post about the Large Hadron Collider (or "Super Collider") in Geneva, Switzerland. The Collider is the creation of CERN, established as the foremost world-class fundamental physics research organization in Europe. CERN [whose acronym comes from the French translation for European Organization for Nuclear Research], maintains that it is conducting research for purely scientific reasons; developing accelerators in order to "collide" fundamental particles of matter at extremely high energies, supposedly for the purpose of discovering the "God Particle" and how the universe works. These experiments produce antimatter, purportedly trying to prove how an invisible, universe-wide field gave mass to all matter right after the Big Bang. A simple definition of antimatter is this: "molecules formed by atoms consisting of antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons. Stable antimatter does not appear to exist in our universe (Oxford Dictionary)." That alone, should tell you that the scientists and physicists at CERN are creating something that is not of this world, and certainly not from God. The next experiment to blast a beam into deep outer space is set for October 22nd, this week.

Why should this concern us? Well, for starters, since the first particle collisions were achieved in 2010, the scientists have upgraded the energy "beams" they have produced, going from 3.5 teraelectronvolts (TeV) per beam [which was four times the previous world record] to 6.5 TeV in 2013. There have been reported malfunctions with the super collider, most notably in 2015, and now repairs have been made to the machine and they are reportedly going to take it to new power levels never achieved before. Just think about that ... Scientists contend they are simply smashing particles together to unlock the secrets of the universe. But a growing number of people around the world have posited theories that the real aim of CERN is to blast open a portal to admit demons from Second Heaven!

That should be enough to get your attention! And it doesn't help to calm fears when one considers  famed scientists such as the late Stephen Hawking sounded the alarm bells; it seems somehow prophetic when he warned that the "God Particle" could destroy the universe.  Other well-respected scientists warn that CERN's Super Collider is so powerful it could produce particles of dark antimatter, the mysterious stuff whose gravity holds the galaxies together.  They warn that there is a possibility of a cataclysmic event in which CERN creates a black hole that swallows the earth ... their words, not mine. And if you want to see a vivid depiction of what this might look like, watch the 2009 movie, Angels and Demons, based on the Dan Brown novel of the same name.

So, while scientists express concern that these generated black holes could cause the decay of the universe, Christians wonder why CERN is so committed to investigating extra dimensions and parallel universes? Could it have anything to do with the presence of a statue of the Hindu goddess Shiva (shown coming through a portal) at the entrance to the facility? Shiva is known as the "goddess of destruction". Or could it be because CERN is located in a place that was once called “Appolliacum” during Roman occupation, and which was believed to be a portal to the underworld? Also,  the Greek translation is “Apollyon” and it, too, means “destruction”. 

In 2015, before the machine failed, CERN researchers boasted that they were confident they could make contact with parallel universes by producing "mini black holes". And since that failure, the level of energy they will be blasting out into our universe is exponentially more than has ever been attempted in the past; all with the hopes of opening 12 black holes/portals into other dimensions! Considering that scientists refer to black holes as "bottomless pits" of gravity, my spirit is shouting, "Revelation 9:1-3"! This prophetic passage reads like this: And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. In that prophetic Word, did you notice that the star (angel) "fell from heaven to earth"? Can you now see why it might be beneficial to not open up portals [or black holes] from that dimension to ours?

It is not too difficult to discern that we live in spiritually dark times. I will tell you that, through our Inner Healing Ministry, Mark and I are finding that people are more forthcoming about the demonic attacks they are suffering. And we have heard testimonies from the Millennial generation of the dark entities they are encountering through astral travel, witchcraft and other occult practices. So, isn't it logical that we should be suspect of scientists that are all too eager to mess with the universe and attempt to open a portal to the unknown? As I wrote in 2015 ... Is this what Nimrod was trying to do?  If you are a student of the Bible then you know that there are levels of "heaven", and the "dark forces of the spiritual world" live in the Second Heaven.  Remember Ephesians 6:12, in which the apostle Paul tells us, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places"?  Could these be the "exotic matter" the scientists are in search of, and that we have the potential to come in contact with through these created black holes or portals?

 Could man once again be the catalyst for another incursion of evil fallen angels that are mentioned in the Bible and ancient historical writings? The prophet Daniel mentions that there are beings called "Watchers", or holy ones, who report to God and make decrees on behalf of God.  But Watchers were also mentioned in pseudepigraphal books, such as Enoch and Jubilees, which were popular and influential in the First Century, and ranked alongside the Torah, Psalms and Isaiah in importance to Jews.  These apocryphal books were also alluded to by Peter and Jude in the New Testament, giving them at least historical credibility.  In these instances, "Watchers" were among a superior class of angels, some of whom fell from heaven, led astray by Satan.  In the 7th and 18th chapters of the Book of Enoch, some of the Watchers who fall are imprisoned in the Second Heaven, and others are cast to earth where they take human women (Enoch 7:3, 18:4) who bear giant offspring (the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6). Why in the world would we want to open a portal to give those imprisoned in the Second Heaven a way to gain access to the earth?

And the Bible makes it clear that Nimrod's goal in casting arrows towards Heaven was to gain access to that dimensional realm and overthrow God. Was he trying to open a portal with those arrows? The scientists at CERN may not be using arrows to create a portal to the next heaven, as Nimrod did, but wouldn't their powerful beams of atomic matter serve the same purpose? And is it possible that these CERN scientists have already opened portals with their previous attempts and are simply hoping to expand the gateways for demonic entrance into this First Heaven? It isn't hard for me to consider that possibility as I witness the increasing violence and evil that is present on the earth. It certainly has increased in the years since CERN began their experiments.

And if this isn't enough to take you to your knees in fervent prayer, The Times of Israel is reporting that "China is also joining the quest and building its own particle smasher five times more powerful than CERN’s Hadron Collider.  And as Europe and China both race in search of the "God Particle", it may not be long before the world finds out who is at the end of that quest—the Creator, or the destroyer of the universe." That is sobering, indeed!

In the end, I will admit that the science part of this story is over my head. I don't understand how the Collider works, and neither do I comprehend the mechanics of it. And all this might sound like an overrated conspiracy theory by a crazy Christian, but what is apparent to me is the obvious incorrect estimation of the Supremacy of God. What is apparent to me is the arrogance and pride of men in the 21st Century, who not unlike Satan, his Watchers, Nimrod, and countless of evil men who have followed in their footsteps, they think that they can overthrow Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe. They are trying to out-God the Most High God. It will only lead to their judgment, devastation, and God's justifiable wrath. Unfortunately, the Bible prophecies that portals will be opened and Evil will be unleashed upon the earth -- until God has had enough and sends Jesus to destroy Evil once and for all. 

How I pray that October 22nd doesn't set these prophecies in motion. I'm pretty sure that these scientists, who proclaim they are searching for the God particle, are doing so to prove that God doesn't exist and that man can control the universe.  It is mankind's selfish compulsion to rip open the veil separating this world from other worlds or dimensions, and you get the ridiculous statement by CERN's former Director General and Director of Research, Rolf Heuer:  "…When we open the door, something might come through it into our reality! Or, we might send something through it into their reality!" The question is, "What is the something that might come through from their side... and who is the they of their reality"? Pray that God will shut this down once again! 

Proverbs 8:1-5    Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.