Final Choices

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Is 5:20-21)

Most of the 'heresies' of the Biblical faith are old news; they've been seen in centuries past, perhaps with different labels, and with slightly differing emphasis. They mostly stem from the original error of gnosticism, the belief that 'salvation' (or ascension, or enlightenment) comes from studying esoteric science that will transmute base ignorance into the gold of godly knowledge. (Alchemy is but an allegory for this transformation.)

Today, another curious belief seems to be gaining increased traction, due probably, to the Internet. This theory stands the story of Genesis on its head, claiming that the 'serpent' in the Garden of Eden (i.e. Satan) was really the friend of mankind, while 'God' was the mean spirit! How's that? By advising Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, state these new heretics, the serpent wanted mankind to have access to all knowledge, not just the restricted portion that this God allowed. God was cheap with his blessings, they say, and feared sharing his full knowledge with his new creatures, mankind.

I must say, when I first encountered this 'Edenic role-reversal,' I was taken aback. There is just enough odor of possibility in this view that it could, no doubt, convince those morally ambivalent people who couldn't understand the Bible anyway. Sure enough, the same theory has reappeared on other sites, and put forth as fact.

In effect, the promoters of this view are saying that 'Satan is God, and God is the real Devil.' This is the belief proclaimed by Aleister Crowley and other satanists. God, they say, is a cosmic kill-joy, who made man with wondrous faculties and then forbade him to indulge his faculties to the full. Their solution is to turn to Satan and his urging that 'everything is permissible.'

A lot of misguided souls, those raised in an environment of moral relativism or amorality, goaded on by the entertainment media that recognize no limits, are all too ready to buy this heresy. It's a heady message-- if it feels good, do it! Why not? shrugs a generation of atheists, who can't believe anything they can't see... unless of course, a 'scientist' tells them it exists.

The thing is, God does not force his ways on people; we have to make the decision ourselves which path we'll follow. Every individual must decide, during his earthly lifetime. Like a child learning to walk, we stumble and fall many times before succeeding. We learn what approach to living leads to true success-- the way of self-centeredness ('evil') or the way of other-centeredness ('good,' the Godly way). There are only these two choices, ultimately.

In these apocalyptic times approaching the end of this age, we are seeing the fruit of good and evil mature. It is exactly as Jesus foretold in his parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30). God is represented as a man who sowed good seeds in his field; Satan is the enemy (literally, too) who planted weeds among the wheat. The farmer lets both crops grow to maturity, so as not to risk harming the wheat. The harvest is the judgement at the end of the age. Jesus specifically cites 'those who practice lawlessness,' (vs 41) as being cast into the fire.

What is 'lawlessness' than calling evil good, and good evil? That's what the lawless do! They don't technically eliminate all laws; that would be anarchy, and quite obvious. No; the lawless scum of today are those who are experts at abusing the system. (I call them scum because they generally rise to the top, where they fester and pollute the body below.) They twist laws and logic to make themselves look good, and their accusers evil. They are masters of deceit; lies roll from their mouths with no trace of hesitation.

So, dear readers, here we are close to the harvest. The seeds have sprouted and matured into ripeness-- there's only 'wheat' or 'weeds;' nothing in between. We are witnessing as never before, the warped logic of the 'captains of industry' as they justify the continued pillage of the planet. We are seeing the political heads play their geo-political games of deception, always ready to justify as 'humanitarian' their next attack on some innocuous nation. The tigers/skunks are showing their stripes... for those willing to observe.

It is clearer than ever before, this dichotomy between the followers of God's way and the followers of Satan's way. Yet, how many onlookers are still swaying in the breezes of indecision; still not concerned enough to raise their heads and see the choice facing them?

Sad to say, many of those who are deceived regard themselves as Christian. Their pastors rant on about abortion, homosexuality, and other sexual sins, yet they cheer when the US army invades 'pre-emptively' (i.e. immorally) a sovereign nation, or uses drones to kill civilians. These putative Christians seem to see nothing amiss that their government can spend trillions of dollars on wars, while millions of children and adults in poor countries die every year for lack of simple water and basic food. Their deity is not God, but the flag!  Are these followers the ones that Jesus stated he would denounce with the words 'I never knew you'?

Maybe the end of the world will not come tomorrow. Maybe the world will have more time to make the final choice. But, for certain, the end of your world could come at any time! We don't have to wait until 'Armageddon' before making our own, personal decision. In this uncertain world, don't be like St. Augustine, who prayed, 'Change my heart, Lord... but not just yet.' The time to choose is now.

The Final Act

In these nervous early years of the 3rd Millennium, what we are experiencing is the final act of a drama that has been playing out for several thousand years. 

It is a conflict that has been raging between two forces, two ideologies, over the centuries. This drama is now in the crisis stage, where the situation is approaching criticality, and the battle-lines becoming ever sharper. Soon, everyone will have to make a choice, and decide to which ideology he/she pledges allegiance.

What two forces could possibly have been contending for thousands of years? It is the basic dichotomy between good and evil. These simple words are more than just adjectives; they capsulize opposing modes of thinking. The concept of 'good' embraces the notion that every individual person is valuable and deserving of life. Conversely, the basis of evil is selfishness, the belief that no-one else matters but the big 'I'.

While it may be purely allegorical, the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden illustrates the crux of the dilemma facing mankind. The prototypical couple are presented with two choices, represented by two trees. Genesis 2:9 states: “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God warns them that eating the fruit of the tree called 'the knowledge of good and evil,' will result in their death. A curious entity called 'the serpent' comes along and convinces the woman to eat the fruit, and the man follows suit. When questioned by God, the woman replies, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen 3:13). She acknowledged that she'd been duped by the serpent being.

Concerning the other tree, not much is written except this verse: (Gen 3:22)  And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and [lest he] live forever.” Apparently, the fruit of this tree would impart immortality... which would be very dangerous after they had eaten of the other fruit, that of knowledge.

What is this all about? It's about the two big choices facing every person, and collectively, the whole human race. The tree of knowledge represents human reason-- the idea that every individual can use his/her own ability, apart from God, to determine what's good and what's evil. At the racial level, it stands for humanity's rejection of believing in and following God for guidance in all our ways. Symbolically, this tree is the origin of gnosticism, the belief that one can obtain knowledge (gnossis, from Greek) by arcane means that are independent of God and his guidance.

The tree of life, conversely, represents what it says- life in a fulfilling sense, guided by God, and hence, resulting in only good. Had Adam and Eve passed the test, and declined to eat of the tree of knowledge, as instructed by God, they would eventually have been allowed to partake of the tree of life. Instead, because they had taken the irrevocable step, they had to be prevented from having eternal life since it would have become an everlasting nightmare.

As it is, everyone must die, which under the circumstances of the world created by 'homo sapiens' (reasoning man), is a merciful end to the woes that assail us. To those who shun the notion of God and an after-life, death becomes the final end, followed only by nothingness. To those who believe the scriptures (of most faiths) this life ends, but we will continue to exist in a new, spiritual form.

You can look at history and see that humanity has drifted away from a largely theo-centric view of reality-- i.e. where the notion of God, or of gods, is the background assumption. Today, at least in the scientific Western societies, atheism (secular humanism) is the predominant paradigm. Even nominally religious adherents behave basically in the same manner as secular society. Using human reasoning, Neitche stated that 'God is dead,' and Freud implied that man invented God, rather than vice-versa.

The 20th century was the bloodiest in our recorded annals; all while we were making unparalleled 'progress' (ostensibly) in the sciences and engineering. Every invention from the fertile mind of logical man has the potential to be used for good or evil. And, as history demonstrates, if it has the potential, it inevitably will be used for evil, every time!

We have let our industries pollute our environment, the very air we breathe and the water we drink, because our leaders think that profit is more important than quality of life. It's not simply 'quality of life' as they blather; it's life itself, survival, that's at stake. It may take a few more generations to manifest, but we are seeing today unprecedented rates of debilitating diseases that were rare, if not unknown, just a generation or so ago. Fertility rates are dropping; males producing less sperm; deformed babies being born; epidemic and chronic diseases running rampant.

The phenomenon of bee colony collapse eludes our understanding, and has the potential to drastically reduce food production. Radiation from the reckless use of depleted uranium weapons and from careless design of nuclear reactors permeates the global atmosphere, and is much worse than authorities will admit. Animal species of all kinds are disappearing under the stress of human encroachment. In America and elsewhere, the 'precautionary principle' has been tossed in the dust-bin, and companies like Monsanto have free hand to promote and sell their genetically-modified organisms in place of traditional seeds for farming.

The examples cited above are merely the most egregious ones that demonstrate our headlong rush towards what amounts to racial suicide. Sure, the optimists have this pathetic faith that, come what may, we will muddle thru... and even thrive in some yet-to-arrive utopia that will miraculously spring from the rational mind of men when all seems lost. This kind of thinking simply illustrates how deluded mankind  can become under the paradigm of the 'tree of knowledge.' This is the thinking of the adolescent mind that has always had its needs met by more mature custodians. But secular atheists don't believe in any other custodian apart from ourselves. Where does that leave them?

While the common people talk about, and long for, peace, our leaders give us the Orwellian double-speak that 'war is peace.' They spout this nonsense... and send our young people off to some distant land to kill strangers that never bothered them, and to be sacrificed on the altars of corporate profit.

Some readers may object that most humans desire, even strive for, good. It's the leaders who drag us into the endless wars, who approve of destructive industrial activities, in short, who are evil. And this view is correct, but does not absolve the rest of us from responsibility, or from having to make the choice between the way of caring for others, or the way of selfishness.

Shakespeare put it this way: “The fault is in ourselves, not in our stars, that we are underlings.” His character was referring to the belief in fate, but we could also think of it as referring to the human 'stars' who run our world. Most of us prefer to be entertained than to study, even in the mildest sense of the word. We'd rather leave the decisions to someone else than have to learn enough to make them ourselves.

What has happened in the USA is the epitome of what happens when men apply their best reasoning into designing a society. Think of it. The American constitution used to be hailed as the highest example of a governance model. The American populace regarded itself as a beacon on a hill; the New Atlantis, a present utopia, and so on. The awful reality is finally beginning to dawn on many people, both within its borders and without-- the USA has become an abominable image of what it aspired to be!

As described in the Book of Revelation, the once-luminous virgin clothed with the sun, has grown into the debauched harlot riding a scarlet beast. Now, I'm not saying that is the interpretation of the scripture; merely that the words echo what has taken place, historically, for this one nation. If the US, and its system ('democratic capitalism') is the best that human reason can devise, and in barely two centuries it has turned rotten to the core; then how much hope can anyone seriously retain that reason shall somehow lead us to earthly nirvana?

This century is showing the world's population the true, mature fruit of the tree of knowledge. Regrettably, it will have to get much worse still before the die-hard, optimistic, secular humanists finally get it-- we can't save ourselves! Human reason will lead only to death-- individual death, and collective destruction. (See proverbs 14:12).

Sure, it's true that 'religions' have equally failed to ever create utopian societies. Every religion quickly falls under the control of men guided by the way of evil. It's the lot of mankind to need organizational structures to achieve things; and as soon as structure is in place, the opportunists rush in to occupy it. The great messengers of God did not found religions; that aberration was the idea of their followers.

But, if each of us were raised to develop a personal understanding of the Creator, and individual openness to His subtle guidance, things might be different. Had our primordial ancestors avoided the allure of the tree of knowledge, we could have developed the planet into a paradise.

As validation of the maligned scriptures, the present state of the world reflects exactly what was written so long ago. As the book opened with a symbolic pair of fruit trees in the middle of a garden, so this chapter of human history is drawing to a close with the ripened fruit of the prohibited tree of knowledge. In the past, we thought we had options; but today, there's no middle ground as the bounds of the dichotomy are delineated. There are only two choices facing mankind-- life or death. (See Deuteronomy 30:18-20 as a similar choice facing the ancient Israelites.)

The arc of destiny is approaching completion. The forbidden fruit has brought death to every person ever born, and is now bringing destruction to the whole race as we come to the end of the Age of Reason. Sadly, there is no avoiding the calamities that will soon assail the world; what has been prophesied will come to pass. But there is still time for everyone who reads these words to make the awesome choice for themselves. Forget about the swollen heads who scoff at the notion of God-- let them suffer the consequences of their arrogance! Listen, instead, to the 'still, small voice' within your heart that speaks life to your soul.

Revelations on Bible Prophecy

We are living in the Apocalypse-- the Revelatory Age, if you will. That means that things formerly hidden are being brought to light. It's like turning over a big rock, and finding a mess of disgusting creepy-crawley creatures scurrying in all directions, trying to avoid the glare of daylight. It should be a time of rapid maturing;

the unmasking of deception should make everyone start to see the world as it really is, not as the old facades pretend it is.

But that is not, typically, what is happening among the majority of people.

To begin with, the Christian commentators who expound on the prophecies of the Bible-- especially of the Revelation-- all seem to make serious, fundamental errors of interpretation that ensure their conclusions are mistaken. What they seem to do is to make some 'logical' (as humans think) assumptions on the future based on their political/economic/sociological (biased) understanding of current events. Then they go sifting thru the scriptures, pulling out whatever verses can be proposed as proving their presumed conclusions. Of course, this process is often unconscious, and they may believe that they are not relying on preconceptions, but the results don't support this view.

The biggest mistake Christian pundits make is to take the book of Revelation literally. They reason that 'if God said it, then it must be exactly so!' In fact, Revelation starts with the assertion that its words 'signify' (Rev 1:1, literal), that is, symbolically describe, 'what is to come.' So, if one accepts that scripture is the divine expression, then why not heed the warning that the words are figurative? Indeed, with its bizarre mix of horsemen, trumpets, bowls, monstrous locusts, etc., it must be obvious that the text is not to be taken literally!
Nonetheless, the pundits invariably decide to accept some passages as allegorical, and others as literal... almost arbitrarily. Let me provide a prime example. The majority of commentators, over several centuries, have decided that 'the beast' of chapter 13 (that recovered from the deadly wound) is the Vatican (the Papacy), or others, that it's the European Union. Then they find a matrix of verses that they can force into 'supporting' this conclusion. If they would let the text define itself, using sound 'hermeneutics' (systematic protocols of interpretation) they would come to an entirely different conclusion!

To begin with, the meaning of a text depends more on context than on pretext! Instead of collecting verses from all over the Bible-- Old Testament as well as New-- you have to examine the whole passage within which a verse appears. Then, it's reasonable to go looking for passages that demonstrate typical meanings of specific words.

In the case of Revelation, one has to consider 'meta-factors' such as the writing style of John, the author. Notably, in many places, John takes recognizable passages from the OT, and applies them in a new context and manner. The recycled text is meant to evoke the general atmosphere of the original situation, while describing the future symbolically. The original words relate to specific, physical events long before the time of Christ; as adopted by John, those words now pertain to universal, spiritual realities that would eventuate in 'the last days.'

Thus, when John writes of Babylon, altho he echoes the OT prophets, he is clearly describing an apostate religious system, not the 'golden kingdom' of yore. If Babylon is not literal-- as virtually all pundits agree-- then why should 'Israel' be taken literally as the modern nation/state occupying Palestine? Yet millions have committed their minds and wallets to this belief as if it's unassailable!

Another prominent characteristic of the book of Revelation is that it is 'cyclical' rather than linear. The western-educated reader has the presumption that a story progresses from 'now' until 'later,' in straight-line fashion. Revelation, instead, retells the same outline of history in several successive passes... without saying so, of course. By studying the text, one can discern this repetition, and appreciate how it provides alternative details of end-time events.

It's nothing short of astounding that so many people can all claim to read the same document, yet like an army of lawyers, all come to different, and errant conclusions as to what it means. Strangely, this ambiguity is deliberate! By this opaqueness, God is able to frustrate the efforts of any agency that would like to twist the scriptures to their own, nefarious ends; and, at the same time, to demonstrate the validity of the holy books and of His custodianship.

This is not to say that the prophecies are useless because they can't be interpreted-- as is the case, incidentally, with the famous 'quatrains' of Nostradamus. Not at all. Under the unction of the Holy Spirit, and maintaining a mind free (as much as possible) from pre-judgements, it is possible to discern the true predictions of prophecy-- and to be amazed by them. I refer readers to some of the essays on this website, for example, 'The Beast of Revelation Is Is...', Revelation Revisited (New Study, and Part 2).

A classic case of how not to interpret Biblical prophecy is supplied by a book written in the 1970s by the 'pop-evangelist' Hal Lindsay. Given the melodramatic title 'The Late Great Planet Earth,' his scenario embraced detailed accounts of geo-political moves by the big, world powers, with fanciful descriptions of fearsome technologies and weaponry, all of it centered around the state of Israel, complete with time-lines. And all of it was totally 'out to lunch' as far as being accurate prophecy. But many nominal Christians have short memories, and Lindsay's forecasts were soon replaced by a new wave of future-hysteria focussed now on the so-called 'secret Rapture,' that will prove to be another unfounded prophetic boondoggle. 

I opened this essay by saying that revealing truth ought to raise the consciousness of humanity, by stripping away the false world created by satanic deception. Jesus said that the truth shall set us free... because operating in falsehood always limits our options, and leads to false conclusions. Sadly, most people are so attached to their fabricated, artificial reality that they just can't handle truth, or the freedom it unavoidably entails. More on this topic in a later treatise.

The Bible and the EU

All the noise in the media has rendered many people utterly weary of the whole Euro-currency tragi-comedy that has been unfolding, laboriously, over about two years now.

First, it was Ireland; then it was... who? Portugal; perhaps, Spain? The pundits invented the term PIIGS as some kind of clever anagrammatic reference to the weaker of the European member states. Finally, after interminable weeks of 'will-they, won't-they,' the stronger economic partners, essentially Germany, bailed out the struggling Greece... with the installation of their designated technocrat as a new Prime Minister. Hardly had the new, unelected leader taken office when Italy got the same treatment, and the once-immovable Berlusconi suddenly resigned as if pulled by a vaudeville hook, stage left.

While the European Union situation may be mildly irritating to many onlookers (as to when these clowns will get their act together) you have to admit that it's been a true, 'roller-coaster' drama. To those who look beyond the surface, (read 'mainstream media') version of events, the whole chain of chaos is being deliberately orchestrated towards a predictable outcome. That outcome, desired by the global banking elite, is to force the hodge-podge of member nations into a closer fiscal and political union, creating a 'United States of Europe' under one, autocratic management structure.

So, the question must be on the minds of many-- will they succeed in this grand scheme to unite Europe under one government? To many observers, this goal must appear inevitable. After all, the manipulators have managed, time and again, to circumvent the democratic process, and to push through their constitution, regardless of popular opinion in the individual states. The latest financial chaos seems destined to result in a new 'order' on the European continent.

But-- is a 'united Europe' inevitable? Will the member nations coalesce into the desired monolith? The answer is NO! How do I know? Because it's written in the book! That book being the one so often maligned by modern scholars-- the Bible. This is a fairly straightforward lesson; so even if you're a neophyte or a skeptic, let's hold fire, please, and follow this 'exegesis' (technical term for analysis).

The future of Europe is described in a few pithy verses found in the second chapter of the book of Daniel. Even lapsed Christians often remember the story of the Hebrew prophet Daniel-- who was among a group of prisoners taken from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, about 600 years before the time of Jesus. The Babylonian emperor (Nabucco) had a dream (or vision) which so troubled him that he demanded his court magicians to first, tell him what he dreamed, then to interpret it! Of course, they couldn't possibly do this, so he decreed that they would all be executed. (See ch. 2, verses 4-12).

Daniel, the exiled Israelite, was told of the king's demand, went to see him, and obtained an extension of the deadline. That night, with his companions forming a prayer group, God gave Daniel both the king's dream and it's interpretation. Next day, Daniel went to Nebuchadnezzar and laid out the details, (ch. 2:19-29) which were an outline of 'what will take place in the future' (vs 29).

Here is how Daniel described the king's dream (from the New American Standard Bible):
[31] “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. [32] The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, [33] its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. [34] You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. [35] Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Next, Daniel gets right into revealing the dream's meaning. And, lest any reader assume that I am imposing my own interpretations on the text, I will include the headings inserted by the NASB editors, to demonstrate that these ideas are well known and widely accepted.

“The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom [per NASB]”
[36] “This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. [37] You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; [38] and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.” [i.e. The gold head represents the Babylonian empire.]

“Medo-Persia and Greece
[39] After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.”

Notes:
As silver is inferior to gold, the next empire was that of Medo-Persia, which did not achieve the glory of Bablyon. It was, notice, represented by 'two arms' of silver, the two branches of the Medes and the Persians who united for a while. After them came the Greek hegemony under Alexander, later under his four generals, who each ruled a section of the empire. (The Greeks were noted as artisans in bronze).

About the forth kingdom-- the legs and feet of the statue-- Daniel writes:
“Rome [per NASB]
[40] Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. [41] In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. [42] As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. [43] And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.”

That's it-- the last piece of the prophetic puzzle. Even centuries ago, Bible scholars realized that the legs of iron represented the iron rule of mighty Rome. And recall that the Roman empire did, in fact, split into Eastern and Western entities ('legs'), with capitals at Constantinople and Rome, respectively. Thus, it's not much of a leap to decode the feet and toes as representative of the various members of the present 'European Union' as it calls itself ever so hopefully. (Sure, some pundits abandoned this notion after the membership exceeded ten; but, they fail to understand that it's the toes AND feet, and the exact count is unimportant-- it's the concept that matters!)

Daniel's interpretation is startlingly specific in important details. He states that some (parts) of the kingdom will be strong and parts of it will be brittle. Are we not seeing that description unfold before our very eyes? While the German economy, and presumably that of France and Britain, are 'strong' in relative terms, the economies of the 'PIIGS' is notoriously 'brittle!' What a brilliant prediction!

The prophet of God goes on to specify that the disparate parts “will combine with one another in the seed of men,” referring to the practice among the European royalty to intermarry across national borders. (Even in our day, Queen Elizabeth married Phillip, of Greek nobility). How much more accurate can it get?

That same verse, (43) gives us the answer I proclaimed at the start of this essay: 'they will NOT adhere to one another...” Few prophecies in any cultural tradition are more clear and apparent than this classic phrase supplied in the book of Daniel. So clear is this chapter that it becomes the virtual key to unlocking most of the Bible's eschatological ('end-times') texts, including the book of Revelation.

(The essay/study on 'The Beast of Revelation- Revealed At Last' made use of this pivotal portion of scripture in interpreting chapters 13 and 17 of that enigmatic book.)

In conclusion, I feel confident that, notwithstanding the engineered chaos in the current European kerfuffle, the nations of Europe will NOT unite under a single, autocratic government. It's not my opinion; it's God's revelation recorded in a book that stands the test of time. You can bet the bank on it!