Based on the Third Day studies

I’ve been thinking of the BP Oil Spill In the Gulf of Mexico: this is my “take” on it from the metaphoric side of the prophetic. Actually a “riffing” on two elements the Lord showed about activity in the spirit and how it is working out in the physical. The oil rig fire and the “leak” are not the THING…the main thing is how rapidly we are accelerating toward sweeping judgments to both the church and the beast-world system.

We are drawn by events to see into what is occurring in the spirit realm, the causative realm from which unfolds all things under heaven:

Spiritually, Revelation 6:6 comes to mind:

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

This is the 3^rd seal and it speaks to a time of FAMINE, DEFLATION OF MONEY…but in the midst is a preservation…a command that certain measures not be “hurt” (the word hurt means “unjust” …we could say: “make not unjust” the oil and wine.)

The Oil

And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD -Leviticus 14:29

Oil, here, is olive oil (Strong’s 1636) —which brings to mind the two olive branches of Zechariah 4:12-  What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?

This brings up the two witnesses, and the time of their prophecy:

Revelation 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Go back to>>> Revelation 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.  12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Sackcloth comes up in connecting the images of Rev. 11:3 and 6:11-12.

sakkos
4526 - of Hebrew origin (8242); “sack”-cloth, i.e. mohair (the material or garments made of it, worn as a sign of grief):– sackcloth.

sak 8242 - from 8264; properly, a mesh (as allowing a liquid to run through), i.e. coarse loose cloth or sacking (used in mourning and for bagging); hence, a bag (for grain, etc.):–sack(-cloth, -clothes).

• “A mesh as allowing liquid to run through?”— Luke 5:37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
  
• “A bag for grain? “—” , A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny” (Rev. 6:6)

Prophetically, we begin to get a picture of this purification, of this gathering…these are the early signs of judgment impending.

shaqaq 8264  shaw-kak’ - a primitive root; to course (like a beast of prey); by implication, to seek greedily:–have appetite, justle one against another, long, range, run (to and fro).

OK—do you see the word patterns coming out? Look at  the root of sak 8242, which is the Hebrew word shaqaq:

we have beasts of prey, seeking greedily, justling against one another

justle \Jus”tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Justled; p. pr. & vb. n.

Justling.]

To push; to drive; to force by running against; to jostle.

The modern English word is jostle which is defined as “to come into contact with; to FORCE by pushing; to vie with in attaining a goal.

This streams into the final cryptic part of this root word:

“ run (to and fro)”

Isaiah 33:4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

From the glossary of metaphors, Sue Patterson’s book “The Trumpet Judgments Unveiled”:

Locusts – The locusts in the 5th trumpet are a metaphor for the 1st third of the apostate that play the role of Judas. They betray the Multitude for reward. They strip the Multitude of their possessions as locusts strip vegetation. They are an army of 4 types of locusts in Joel 1:4 and 2:25. Locusts were one of the ten plagues of Egypt (Exo. 10:14). Locusts are spoken about as a creature that spoils (removes their possessions) the people (Isa. 33:4, Nahum 3:15,17).

Nahumn 2:4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.

Nahum 2 introduces the impending judgments of the Lord that are detailed in chapter 3 which begins:

1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not

and which ends with this in verse Nahum 3:19-

“There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?”

This “bloody city” in Nahum bears striking similarities to the Babylon of Revelation 14:7- Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

The Wine

The imagery of the wine in the context of this present vision is a bit more obscure, but key verses will break it out for us, as the wine is linked to the oil—start here in:

Zechariah 9:14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 15 The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. {with…: or, the stones of the sling} {be…: or, fill both the bowls, etc} 16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.

The arrow goes forth:

Luke 17:24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

Habakuk 3: 11
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. {at the light…: or, thine arrows walked in the light} 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck.

A connective image is now seen repeating from Nahum 3:19—this image of the “deadly wound”:

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

Now compare this verse in Zechariah 4:2 - “And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:”

The Hebrew word translated as “top” here is also the word translated as head in Habakuk 3:13:

Note that the “beast” of Revelation 13 has “seven heads”, and that the lamp stand of Zechariah bears seven lamps which correspond to the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3. The prophecy of Zechariah 6:1-8 corresponds to  the four horsemen of Revelation 6:1-8—the same prophecy where we hear the utterance:

This metaphorical algorithm completes the imagery of the cycle of judgments laid into the earth from the time of Zerubabel’s temple. The arrow going forth is the commencement of judgments…the divisions of the just and the unrighteous. The battle lies in the center of these two forces—the “multitudes”, for whom in Habbakuk 3verse 13 are called “thy people…thine anointed. “ , and in Zechariah 9:15 “the corners of the altar.” This is pictured in Revelation as trumpet judgments, seals, and vials—or “bowls” (the terms are interchangeable).

This is gathering of the spoils (Isaiah 33:4) in the bloody city of Babylon/Jerusalem/Sodom/Egypt — Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Judgment is also equilibrium—a balancing of accounts in the spirit, which transfers into the realm of the physical plane:

Psalm 75:8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. 9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. {shine…: or, be enlightened; for thy light cometh}

2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Equilibrium and fulfillment :

The oil and the wine are symbols with dual streams of fulfillment..they are metaphors of judgment, gathering together and scattering…they represent ELEMENTS in the Spirit which picture God’s ongoing fulfillment of HIS will in the earth realm. Terrible, yet also part of HIS divine agape and of HIS purging and of HIS HEALING. In Luke 10, the story of the “Good Samaritian” we see this marvelous picture in the foreshadowing of the elements:

30…A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

The false healing of Babylon’s “deadly wound” is trumped by this God, who puts all things under His feet…the oil and the wine are symbolic elements of this dual edged sword…this axe now laid at the root of the tree of Babylon:

Luke 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire

To learn more about the metaphorical interpretations of prophecy, please check out the following resources:

Seals, Vials, & Trumpets-Part 2

The Third Day Study: Glossary of Metaphors

The Spiritual Overlay by Sue Patterson

The Beast of Revelation Series

The Third Day website - This is the website of the Third Day prophecy radio show. The site features audio, written articles and the books upon which the shows are based. These are the prophecies of the “144,000 and the Multitude”—the judgments coming upon the house of God—the apostate church.

1. be-

“Apocalypse Concrète”-Part 2-Prophecy Hollywood-style

Review: The focus of this series, “Apocalypse Concrète” is to critque the culture that has grown around “Bible Prophecy.” Most—if not all so-called prophecy teaching in now corrupt because the “church”, which is NOT an institution of men, but of Christ, has

apostatized from its original intent. Because it has not been “alien” to the cultures around it, but has snycretized it—just as did the original “church”, known as Israel. And because scripture was once viewed as divinely imparted and to be divinely interpreted, but is now handled by the “brute beasts” of false doctrine wed to a culture of “info-tainment.”

To, again, present the premise of this series of articles, we revisit the opening definitions, introduced in the first installment:

concrète (French)-used in conjunction with the term musique , to denote a form of art that fused disparate elements of electronic and natural sounds to create a recorded montage  presented as a conceptual musical composition. We borrow the term as a comparative for the topic of this article.

con-cret-ize -transitive verb   : to make concrete, specific, or definite  intransitive verb   : to become concrete.

The concrète-ization of prophecy is, like it’s musical comparative, an effort to fuse seemingly disparate elements into a “seamless whole”. As this series will explore in subsequent installments, modern day so-called “Bible Prophecy” has been shaped into a montage of  destruction scenes, grand scale deaths by plague, supernatural apparitions, and repeated destructions of the physical Earth. It has taken on the aspects and qualities of hundreds of science fiction novels, comic books, and high dollar special effect films. Moreover, it has now morphed into a narcotic form of obsession by cult personalities who market and merchandise this vision to gullible, Biblically illiterate believers and the world-at-large. The result: deception on a grand scale and MISSING the more nuanced fulfillments that history and scripture record. It is not about “preterism” or “pre-millenialism”—or any other theological inventions—but about RIGHTLY dividing the Word of God, and understanding HOW prophecy is fulfilled before our eyes.

A heady brew of ancient mysteries, modern apparitions, and “stones and bones” science have merged into the 21st century Christian epoch in the form of “Christian UFOlogy“. Fueled by the the now famous Roswell Incident of 1947, and fanned by the need to engage large affluent “audiences” who trek into the new “seeker friendly” Evangelical theaters, an entire market has grown around preoccupation with end times expectations of the return of the Nephilim (Genesis 6).

“E.T. Barnum” and Company

High profile expositors of this new “exotica” include Evangelical teachers like Chuck Missler (The Return of the Nephilim), Michael S. Heiser, author of The Façade, Dr. Lynn Marzulli, author of The Nephilim Trilogy, Dr. I.D.E. Thomas, author of The Omega Conspiracy, Cal Thomas, LA Times Syndicate, Barbara Simpson, author of The Babe in the Bunker, Jacques Vallee, author of Messengers of Deception, Dr. Stephen Yulish, retired professor and researcher, and David Flynn, author of Cydonia: The Secret Chronicles of Mars, along with a universe of eager, gullible droogies who more resemble a Star Trek convention than followers of Christ.

In fact, these “Christian UFOlogists” now inhabit the very “sacred ground” once hallowed by geeky sci-fi adherents: Roswell, NM. Take Guy Malone, for instance,  whose abduction stories resemble those of New Age lounge lizard, Whitley Streiber (Communion). Malone, who was subsidised by his home church congregation to go to Roswell as an “outreach ministry”, now holds annual UFO Conferences, called “The Ancient of Days”, under the banner of end times prophecy, “deliverance ministry”, and the allure of battling ancient fallen angels.

Abetted by cohorts such as “excorcist”, Russ Dizdar (Black Awakening), and the above mentioned Flynn, Heiser and Marzulli; and aided by non-believer new agers in attendance, Malone has parleyed his “outreach” into a nationally advertised, well-staged event that overflows with book and video sales opportunities.

In what can only be called “branding”, these new ministers have merchandised the apocalypse with a wide range of various (and often conflicting) end times messages that make the Bible look like it was published by Marvel Comics. These end times Christian UFO cults which have emerged in the last decade are the product of ambitious imaginations, extra-Biblical literature, and an onslaught of reporting of mysterious supernatural events such as “alien abductions”, UFO close encounters, and ritual abuse. In turn, those events are closely related to the disclosures of CIA operations such as MK Ultra and the plethora of occult practices by high level government officials, agents, and scientists. It is the heady stuff of a thousand conspiracy websites!

Seeds of Error

Most Christians embracing the UFO/Nephilim/End Times scenarios do so based, NOT upon what is plainly written in the Bible, but on the Bible being “explained” by readings in the pseudepigrphical “Book of Enoch” (see Guy Malone’s “The Book of Enoch & The Theological Cover-Up of Genesis 6″ video and also the Threshing Floor article, Russ Dizdar and the Book of Enoch).  This Enoch—a highly disputed text, or series of texts—provided the foundations to begin interpolating the last days/end times scenarios which feature a returning league of fallen angels as henchmen of the “Antichrist” figure, supposedly found in the Book of Revelation. It is further propped up by misapplying  the prophecy of Jesus found in Matthew 24 and Luke 17:

“ But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.“(Matthew 24:37)

This verse—often quoted standalone—provides the uninformed with a reference point back to the flood of Noah, and the antediluvian giants, called nephilim, which had polluted the genetics of  Adams progeny; and were (theoretically) destroyed by that flood. This, in turn, triangulates, to the watchers of Daniel chapter 4 and the tales of Enoch travelling back and forth to the heavens to witness the fall of these selfsame “watchers” (1Enoch 1 – 36, called the “Book of the Watchers”).

An objective reading, though, of this prophecy of  Jesus would include the very details referenced in the preceding verses—details the LORD revealed as pertinent :

• For as in the days that were before the flood
• they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
• until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away;
• so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:38-39)

In nearly every instance, this new style weltanschauung of prophecy is a bastardized version of how, historically, prophecy was fulfilled in scripture. Take, for instance, the captivity of Israel: it was not a sudden, overnight event but a gradual process which melded the apostasy of the Israelites with the forces of the nations who surrounded them. Likewise, the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD at the hands of Titus’ Roman Armies was the culmination of decades of uprisings by Jewish zealots—ALL prophesied by Jesus, and ALL ignored or misinterpreted.

While this writer does not dispute the existence of beings who are identified as aliens or ET, nor do I dismiss the legitimate, documented cases of abduction, torture, and experimentation reported by the victims; the leap to insist that such events are correspondent to Biblical prophecy does not follow. Christian investigators are severely divided over the many points of interpretation that lead one to presume that, for instance, “alien disclosure” is the strong delusion, as just one example. That Genesis chapter 6 is the unified field  theory for all these disparate “researchers”, writers, and film producers remains the only constant in an ever-changing pastiche of the UFO Christian culture.

Driven To Fears

What has occurred over the course of a decade in these areas of crypto-Christianity is a gradual merging of ancient mythology, modern paranormal phenomena, and a highly nuanced strain of eastern mysticism which creates rich storyboards to be overlayed onto the prophetic books of the Bible. Suffice to say that a vibrant marketplace has also emerged, first in the subculture of “alternative” media epitomised by “Coast To Coast AM”and its endless clones on shortwave, satellite, internet radio and podcasts.  The marketplace which boosted writers like Tom Horn (”Nephilim: The Truth is Here (Nephilim Series Vol. 1) 1999) and Steve Quayle (Genesis 6 GIANTS-2002) from underground status to wider media acceptance, flourishes now in the more mainstream “Christian” marketplace—the same marketplace that gave birth to the “Left Behind” series.

This modern day fascination (and I do not use the word lightly) is both a spiritually driven, and market driven, wave of oddly intriguing, yet bewilderingly disparate “end times” scenarios all competing the “connect the bones” of events portrayed in scripture. That is market driven is evident by the flood of exotic book and DVD titles and even studio projects like Charles Sellier/Grizzly Adams Productions’ “Apocalypse and the End Times”—which also blends in the Nephllim/UFO tableau with the usual mishmash of bad scriptural interpretation. Clearly, people can and do make money in this genre.

But, how is this phenomena also spiritually derived, you may ask? Call it adrenaline. The endless litanies of probable end times panic, fear, social disorder, and massive confusion provide deep triggers in the human emotional core. For the same reason we will watch autopsy shows on TV or slasher flicks, the drama of potentially seeing super-intelligent, powerful giants (and, of course those little “grays”) walking about enslaving humanity under the hand of a theoretical “Antichrist” is just plain fun! Forget for a moment that NONE of this actually in the Bible…glue on the “Book of Enoch” and graft in a twist of L. Ron Hubbard (face it, the man pioneered the religion/sci-fi fusion)…voila! An instant cult which drifts back and forth between “traditional” evangelizing and this much hipper vibe that can move seamlessly about the culture-at-large with a style that makes Jesus the ultimate alien destroyer.

The Deception IS The Deception

In fairness, many of these proponents of the Nephillim/end times deception do in fact, present aspects of Biblical truth in their teachings and presentations. And that fact  is even more problematic, given that the average professing believer today has scarcely read the scriptures, if at all, certainly not without the tutelage of pastors, teachers, and other interpreters. In this writer’s experience of debating  and disputing with such people, I found more often than not I am, in fact, debating external sources  and so-called experts (4) cited as “proofs”, rather than a person who first-hand actually read and understood the Bible. In a single generation so -called “Bible believing Christians” have turned Biblically illiterate while becoming astute in the polemics of the paranormal.

The complexities of interpretation of Biblical prophecy, seen through the lens of distorted doctrine, make a fertile field for unquestioning consumption of these diverse topics and theories by the lazy, fantasy-driven, and un-inquisitive. As an example of the internal logic that is required for just one of the common base beliefs in the UFO/end times juggernaut, consider the ever-present thread of the emergence of “The Antichrist.”

The Daniel 9 Deception

Now bigger and badder than ever, this singular galvanizing figure will catapult onto the world stage in the most crucial moment in history and single-handedly defuse world wars, religious zealotry, starvation, global warming…and harness the aliens into a global cabal where he will reign terror for seven years. Aided and abetted by the False Prophet (a Pope to the fundamentalists, a “blood line elite” to the conspiracy buffs, and anyone BUT the Pope to the  pro-Catholics.)

To debunk this common myth of scripture, one needs to understand that this Antichrist guy is found in Daniel 9—according to the modern prophecy savants. But the verse cited in Daniel 9 which they purport to foretell this Antichrist are…well, they are really about the Messianic figure we call the Lord, Jesus Christ:

“And he shall confirm the with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” -Daniel 9:27

A careful, dispassionate reading of the whole of Daniel chapter 9, will clearly reveal that the person, the ONLY subject of these verses in the context of this prophecy are Christ—there is NO, I repeat, no “Antichrist” in Daniel 9. While this fact might seem problematic, remember that the mind control of this cult of Biblical impostors includes not just unstated internal logic, but “cut-and-paste” prophecy. As such, they provide the New Testament “witness” of this towering prophetic figure by inferential mention given in he second letter of Paul to the Thessalonians:

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders..”-2 Thessalonians 2:8,9

The simplest understandings of scripture are generally best. A few simple tools, such as a lexicon and cross-reference to scripture will point the discerning to a correct understanding of who this ‘Wicked’, referred to above actually is—and it is not some mythological man called “The Antichrist.”

The word “wicked”,  rendered in the King James as a proper designation with capitalized “W”, is the Greek word anomos and means “lawless one”, as it is translated variously in other versions. It does point to an entity, and that entity is easily traceable by cross-referencing the verses which address the great judgment in Revelation 19:

“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.“-Revelation 19:19-21

To really parse out this identification is a far wider study, but the simple explanation is this:

Contextual interpretation of scriptures is critical. We do not add, or take away from scripture; we do not insert didactic identifications based upon inference; nor do we attempt to “cut-and-paste” scriptures into a string of verses that give the appearance, but not the substance of an actual rendering.

Thus, the invocation of this man called “The Antichrist” is totally without merit in scripture. This being does not exist!  In the Book of Revelation we can identify two entities which are at war with the saints and Christ: the beast and the false prophet—aided and abetted by the “kings of the earth, and their armies” ,  as seen in verses 19  and 20.

Nowhere is this “Antichrist” mentioned here; and if one parses the verses carefully, it is readily apparent that this  “Wicked” or lawless, referred to in Second Thessalonians 2—the entity which is “consumed with the spirit of his mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of his coming”—are the what John records as this “remnant”, the remainder of thosepeviously enumerated in in Revelation 19:18:

“kings, capitains, mighty men, the horses and those who sat on them, and the men bond and free, great and small” (paraphrased)

The deception that there are aliens, nephillim, or demonic entities referenced are FALSE! Likewise, the insertion of  this man called “The Antichrist” is, likewise, an invention, a distortion, and total fabrication designed to suck in those who do not exert effort in studying scriptures to be DECEIVED. Thus, the very people teaching this ridiculous end times scenario—of whom are named some, in this article—are liars and false prophets.

THEY are warning you of this coming man called “The Antichrist”, and of the impending disclosure of the alien presence on planet Earth. They keep you fixated on fables, legends, and tall tales—brewed up with all the accouterments of  entertainment and suspense—to draw you away from the subtle, but  far more deadly deceptions of their own willful mishandling of the prophetic scriptures. A “watchman”, by definition, identifies accurately viable threats and discards false alarms. These, who call themselves teachers, watchmen, prophets, deliverance ministers, expositors, and shepherds are ALL a part of THE great deception which now blinds the flock of Christ.

These self-proclaimed, self anointed, “godly sounding” carnival barkers are businessmen of Satan—some to a higher degree than others. These fulfill prophecy by manifesting the warnings repeatedly given to the believers in scripture—of Paul to Timothy:

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”-2 Timothy 3:13

And of Jesus to his disciples:

“But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.” -John 10:12

This is the third installment of ”Apocalypse Concrète”. The fourth installment will summarize the previous articles and present the conclusions we draw from the phenomena we have dubbed concrèt-zed prophetic rendering.

(1)http://warchronicle.com/numbers/WWII/deaths.htmhttp://www.ufodigest.com/news/0309/christian-ufology.php

(2)http://www.ufodigest.com/news/0309/christian-ufology.php

(3) UFO Cults Are Flourishing in New Age Circles

(4) http://www.christiansymposium.com/

by Randy Maugans

Even those who subscribe to unsound doctrine do occasionally get a point right. The article below is important only because it presents a valid argument to a tenet—which we have presented on the Threshing Floor and Third Day shows for four years—that the tribulation is upon the “church” , i.e.-the believers in Messiah Yeshua.

The article below is presented on behalf of the “pre-wrath tribulation” adherents, which are a subset of the rapture deception. It is still based upon the same faulty foundations of the pre-tribulation rapture, but inserts an “accordian effect”—that the (unsupported) seven year tribulation is truncated for these believers, who are “raptured” before the “Antichrist” begins the slaughter of Christians.

Prewrath rapture is an attempt to rescue the rapture doctrine from its most glaring flaws and contradictions; and was proposed, most famously, by Marvin Rosenthal, H.L. Nigro and Robert VanKampen. It is a late theory (1990) that sought to harmonize the Olivet Sermon of Christ with the Thessalonian and other letters of Paul. Examined dispassionately, it is an obvious contrivance and more of the wholesale distortions of Bible prophecy proffered by deceived theologians who fail to move entirely into the truth.

Nevertheless, we do commend the honesty of this article in perceiving something we see prophetically clear:

“Pretribs are hard-pressed to find any passage in the Bible that teaches that the Great Tribulation will be against unbelievers.”-Alan Kurschner,  prewrathrapture.com

This is a big step toward truth—IF they can only now advance to the next level of understanding about the end times!

-Randy Maugans – The Threshing Floor

The Great Tribulation is Against Believers, Not Unbelievers

A definitional tenet of the prewrath position is seeing a proper distinction between the Antichrist Great Tribulation against God’s people, and the Day of the Lord’s wrath against the ungodly. Pretribulationists conflate (or confuse) the two making God’s wrath mediated through the Antichrist against unbelievers and believers! All one needs to do is read Revelation 13 and learn that the Antichrist will be persecuting God’s people, not unbelievers.

One attempt to make the Great Tribulation a time for persecution for unbelievers is by Dr. Mike Stallard in his article, “An Analysis of the Use of Cosmic-Sign Passages by Proponents of the Pre-Wrath Rapture Theory.” He writes:

[T]he passage [Matthew 24:22] in question says that “no life” would be saved unless God shortened this time. Yet, it is clear that life continues on after the rapture in a pre-wrath scheme until the Second Coming itself. The verse does not limit itself to “Christian life” in the first part of that verse. Such an assumption is arbitrary. It is much more natural to interpret the statement of Jesus to mean that, if the tribulation lasts longer than seven years, everyone on earth would die.”

The life that Jesus is speaking of is clearly of Christian life, not “everyone on earth.”

Stallard arbitrary disconnects “life” from the qualification of what kind of life found in the second half of this verse: “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matt 24:22 NASB).

Stallard believes that the wrath of God is both against the ungodly and godly in this passage. This is untenable. The context of the Great Tribulation in that passage is the Antichrist’s (not God’s) wrath in the suffering of believer’s lives because they are perishing. Unbelievers arenowhere in view in that passage; hence the reason Stallard failed to provide any examples.

Pretribs are hard-pressed to find any passage in the Bible that teaches that the Great Tribulation will be against unbelievers.

by Randy Maugans

This article is excerpted from the Threshing Floor document, “The Church and Israel In Prophecy”, a 15 page doctrinal position paper I wrote in 2008. It is available as a free PDF document here.

“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Romans 9:13

“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”- Hebrews 12:16

The modern Evangelical Christian church embraces, consciously or subconsciously, the heretical notion of “dispensationalism”—the doctrine which states God is not finished with physical Israel, by the misreading of certain texts which seem to imply a separate work at the end of the age.

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…” -Romans 11:26

This text, used continuously by many Evangelical teachers, would appear to infer some future work of deliverance by God toward physical Israel (a dispensation), especially when grafted to other verses in both testaments that foretell the redemption of Israel. Many prophetic expectations of the end of the age tribulation describe a work God will do through a final testing, holocaust, persecution…etc. that will lead to a receiving of the Gospel by the Jewish people.

This inference is based upon numerous doctrines superimposed on the scriptures by the work of Cyrus.I.Scofield in the Oxford University-funded Scofield Reference Bible. That text, funneled through seminaries and Bible schools in the early 20th century, created the means by which scripture could be interpreted in a manner as to present this expectation of salvation to physical Israel and the Jewish people.

Even Christians who seem to understand their heritage in Christ unwittingly buy into the mechanics of dispensational thought by using the terms implied by the doctrine. When one returns back to the core teachings of Christ and Paul it will become apparent that what Paul articulates throughout Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews is NOT part of some “invisible dispensation”, but fulfilled prophecy that was to be received under the banner of the finished work of Christ on the Cross:

“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”- John 17:4

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”- Romans 1:16

We cannot ignore the principle of precedence inherent in Paul’s text here. To understand this conclusion of this thought we move down in the text to the next verses:

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,  The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. {in them: or, to them}

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that  they are without excuse:  21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

While Paul would labor endlessly to preach the Gospel to the Jews, he was convicted that they were “without excuse”. Why? The precedence of order by which God revealed Himself through His Son is clearly articulated by Christ:

“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of  Israel.”- Matthew 15:24

As a race and as the, until then chosen of God, Israel had now seen their God in the flesh as the Lord Jesus Christ—the Messiah. Jerusalem and her priests rejected Christ and uttered the very curse which removed their racial claim forever:

“Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”- Matthew 27:25

They traded Messiah for Barabbas—their birthright for a bowl of cold soup. This is the “Esau Effect” which moved the ministry of the Gospel from a racial/religious construct called Israel into a broader movement that would include all “peoples, nations, tongues, and tribes”. This was prophesied by the ancient writers:

“But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for  all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.”-Ezekiel 3:7

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”- Isaiah 11:10

The rejection of Christ before Pilate completed the course which physical Israel had taken. The blood curse would break the physical covenant and release the Gospel to the Gentiles. Salvation, which was of the Jews (John 4:22) would now pass to a broader spiritual covenant which did NOT “replace” Israel, but transferred the birthright to all who accepted the “terms and conditions” of the new covenant.

“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth..“-Revelation 17:0

Apparently, there is no bad idea that Sarah Palin does not like. It’s sad, really, as she was the ONLY likable element on the 2009 elections. Since the runaway success of her book, “Going Rogue: An American Life”, Palin’s profile has been elevated as the most visible face of conservative values in American politics.

That said, Palin seems to like being exploited (her feminist sensibilities stunted by such obvious “handicaps” as faith, motherhood, and free market economics) by any and all takers who line up with her loosely connected view of the universe. Her ill-suited pairing with John McCain aside, Palin seems to find suitors who treasure her spirit, but exploit her for obvious gains—or is it the opposite?

In what universe does Glenn Beck suddenly become a voice of opposition to the established powers that be–recasting himself as a “libertarian”, and playing footsie with Mrs. Palin in an ongoing dalliance to destabilize the Obama juggernaut? Palin, herself, lands a plumb chair as a  FOX News commentator (Roger Ailes,  always on the lookout for “fresh meat”); catapulted in the implausible role of a spokesperson for the disaffected “patriots” known as the Teabag Party (not really a party, just a small luncheon)—in exchange for a cool $100 grand; THEN disowned by the dominionists at CPAC as “profit-seeking”…does this woman ever sleep?

Now this:

The New Apostolic Reformation, the largest religious movement you’ve never heard of, aims to take control of communities through ‘prayer warriors.’:

NAR’s videos, according to researcher Rachel Tabachnick, “demonstrate the taking control of communities and nations through large networks of ‘prayer warriors’ whose spiritual warfare is used to expel and destroy the demons that cause societal ills. Once the territorial demons, witches, and generational curses are removed, the ‘born-again’ Christians in the videos take control of society.”

Yes—this is the face of dominionism at its highest level of spiritual distortion. Based on the principles of the Latter Rain/Kansas City/Third Wave Prophetic Movement which sprung from the revivals of William Branham in the 1950s, and at its height included: Bill Hamon, Rick Joyner, Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Mike Bickle, James Goll, John Paul Jackson, and Lou Engle. This movement was refined, and expanded into the areas of business and government by Fuller Theological Seminary professor ( “Church Growth” at the School of Intercultural Studies), C. Peter Wagner, along with the works of  the late Bill Bright (founder, Campus Crusade For Christ) and Lance Wallnau, who codified the “Seven Mountains”.

The Seven Mountains Theology

“These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”-Revelation 17:13

It is Wagner’s work in the theological topology they call the “Seven Mountains” which created a “prophetic mandate” towards building an Earthly realm of  God’s Kingdom, or the latest incarnation of Dominion Now theology:

“We all agree that the society to be transformed is not just one big conglomerate, but a unified whole that is made up of several vital pieces, each one of which must take its own path toward transformation. These segments of society should be seen as apostolic spheres.”-C. Peter Wagner, The Church in the Workplace, (Regal, 2006), p. 112.

Aberrant doctrine does not begin to describe the level of delusion being parceled out under the rubric of  this “Apostolic Reformation”, or whatever label is applied this year. The dominionist movement, which fully exploded into the Council On National Policy (CNP),  shares a deep, dark legacy of guidance and financial support from amongst the elite of dominionist-minded quasi Christians and their handlers/controllers. These linkages include ties to the the Council On Foreign Relations, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, and even the notorious corporate mercenary army, Blackwater, International (now renamed Xe).

Back to Palin

The question becomes one of motivation and expediency. Having watched the eight years of George W. Bush erode the credibility of the back-door dominionists, to whom Bush owed no small margin of favor on his behalf; and seeing the naked ambitions of  Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Obama Marxist machine rolling over the nation; the dominionist factions need a galvanizing figure to reinvigorate the dwindling “right.”

One suspects, reading Palin’s book, that she is sincere in her efforts—and has no qualms about making money in the process. Fine! But the larger issue remains as to what her unified field theory of life encompasses in spiritual matters. To wit, we must examine this even more grievous immersion into this cauldron of voodoo messianicism, which seeks to “take back the land for GOD.” Palin’s theology is formed, and informed, by her long time ties to the Wasilla, Alaska Assembly of God church, where she was  introduced to Wallnau and his “Seven Mountains” theology.  Wasilla is an outpost for itinerant prophets and apostles, which also included de-frocked “revivalist”, Todd Bentley.

Wasilla Assembly of God (Palin’s home church) senior pastor, Rev. Ed Kalnins , is  an explicit advocate of this same dominionist school of theology, expressing that: “the 9/11 attacks and subsequent Iraqi war are part of a “world war” over the Christian faith.” Speaking before her Pentecostal church, Palin, herself,  painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord.

Lou Engle-Dominionist "Apostle"

This newest foray by Palin, into the heart of the spiritual deceptions of Third Wave theology, may prove to be her most fertile ground—and her most dire predicament. Undoubtedly, the cross-pollination of the disaffected “constitutional patriots” with a form of religion that appears to offer carnal solutions to America and the global nations’, deepening crises is a heady brew.

Were that Palin is able to galvanize these disparate forces into a cohesive movement there is little doubt it could a forge strategic network capable of reaching tens of mllions of willing participants worldwide. This “if” is buffered by the fact that Palin’s high profile “poster child” status must, and will, be handled by the same controller/handlers who landed her on the GOP VP ticket—these self-same powers of the CNP and dominionist factions inside the global elite structures manage BOTH religion and politics to the ends of political expediencies.

Palin, for all her gullibilty and naiveté, does seem to possess a fair level of independent personal will. This would be a huge liability for the politico control agents, but perhaps not so for her spiritual mentors. It is unlikely, as well, that even Palin could bridge the deep gulfs that separate the political patriots from their Christian counterparts—the two camps are deeply (and rightfully) suspicious of each other.

Such an alliance would be, at best, temporary, and extremely incendiary. Worse, given Palin’s past reported separatist sympathies in Alaska, it appears that she caves when confronted with anything that hints at radical political change. This will not spare Palin from the equally duplicitous motives of the Third Wave Apostolic droogies who earnestly believe in a “dominion now” theology, headed by the false prophets and apostles centered around the doctrines of C. Peter Wagner and Co.

Make no mistake: Palin is caught on two sides by opportunists of ideological bents that seek to move the current precarious state of affairs around the globe into their locus of control. Palin, in her current role, is merely the pawn for high level deceivers who seek to exploit her sympathies to both GOD and Country.

On both sides, the political handlers and controllers have no allegiance to the God of the Bible, or correctly rendered doctrine and prophecy. Both sides use the motivations of patriotism to create a false “Zion” that is to be forged from the shambles of our present decaying systems.

The global ruling elite do seek to harness the masses of Christianity into a system of political idealism, and one need only examine the evidence presented in the research linked in this article to see that. These architects of dominionism—call them what they are: FALSE PROPHETS— all serve ONE MASTER, and it is NOT Jesus Christ.

“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”-Revelation 17:16

Read again the scripture that precedes this article. How can one NOT find a chilling, ominous spiritual signature in the doctrine of “Seven Mountains?”  A concept forged by so-called “scholars” of the Bible! What it is, in fact, is the forming symbiotic BEAST which welds false religion to a global political paradigm.

It is this fact that Sarah Palin—and ALL Chrisatians following this planetary death cult must ultimately face…as must all who continue to SERVE this system.

References:

Heads Up: Prayer Warriors and Sarah Palin Are Organizing Spiritual Warfare to Take Over America

Deception In The Church: The New Apostolic Reformation

The Seven Apostolic Spheres, Seven Mountains, Seven Gates of Society

Sourcewatch: The Council for National Policy

Sarah Palin Gets Protection From Witches

Paul and Phillip Collins: The Seduction of Sarah Palin: Eugenics, CNP, and the Pioneer Fund

Paul and Phillip Collins: The Deep Politics of God: The CNP, Dominionism, and the Ted Haggard Scandal [Part 1 of 2]

Paul and Phillip Collins: The Deep Politics of God: The CNP, Dominionism, and the Ted Haggard Scandal [Part 2 of 2]

Palin’s Church May Have Shaped Controversial Worldview

Tea Party: Everything You Know Is Wrong

Prophecy Hollywood-style

Read Part 1

Something happened on the way to the end of the world: the early church continued in the same vein as their Hebrew roots, looking to manifest prophetic expectation prematurely. The apostle, Paul, dealt with the Thessalonian church who thought they missed the second coming of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2-17), and many Jewish believers were swept up in the Roman seige of 66-70 AD that culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem—in spite of Jesus’ prophecy of these events in Luke 21:20.

At each turn, prophecy—improperly interpreted, or just plain ignored—was a snare for those who did not seek out the will of the Lord and the times of His purpose. The modern culture, deeply influenced by entertainment, science, and a renewed infiltration of ancient occult practices, has seized upon the scriptures—specifically the Book of Revelation—as a handy pre-written script for drawing all manner of horror scenes directly from the pages of the Bible.

Naturally, Hollywood twists these scenes to fit the consumption needs of an unbelieving public. Starting in the 1970s, with films like “The Exorcist”, “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Omen”, Hollywood began to filter Biblical prophecies through the gauzy lens of their own satanic culture by tapping into the human lust for horror. These films stylized aspects of the Bible and wove into the stories very dark occult themes that omitted the deity of Jesus Christ. In a generation Hollywood moved from Cecil B. DeMilles’  majestic “King of Kings (1927)” and William Wyler’s classic “Ben Hur (1959)” to the perverse, distorted visage of  Roman Polanski’s incarnate baby Satan.

What is more incredible than Hollywood’s brutal assault on prophecy is that so-called “Christian” presentations followed the same strategy: selectively choosing elements of the Apocalypse that appealed to the basest sensibility of a barely literate viewer. This dumbed down, visceral, concrètized view of the Revelation stripped away the mystery, the nuanced symbology, and sweep of this Revelation of Jesus Christ. No better—or worse—example of this mangling of scripture comes to mind than the “Left Behind” movie, based on the Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins mega-selling book series, which damaged both the majesty AND credibility of the Bible in favor of brute force evangelism—and its complete manipulation of prophecy to promote a “pre-tribulation rapture”. Fortunately, the films were relatively commercial failures in spite of the hefty book sales.

Nevertheless, the film severely discredited the ability of Evangelical (so-called) Christians to advance a coherent view of what the Book of Revelation truly presents as the consummation of the present age. Its Frankenstein-like plot resembled more the popular “disaster” flicks of the 1970s—films such as “Airport” or “The Poseidon Adventure”—concertized, two-dimensional, fear based contrivances that were designed to invoke carnal fear. Adding insult to injury was the pallid script, bad acting, and muted message of the film which only invited the deserved scorn of the more professional Hollywood industry!

The brooding images of destruction, death, and judgment portrayed in the Bible continue to provide much imaginative grist for the entertainment industry. The late 1990’s TV series, “Millenium” had, at the center of most of its story line, the end of the world; as its protagonist, Frank Black, joined and then opposed a group of radical Christian black ops called the Millenium Group, who worked actively to bring on the “apocalypse.” The work of Chris Carter of the “X Files”, this series actually veered closer to Biblical truth than nearly any “Christian” film productions in this era, as it showed the dark side of the dominant political/religious structures.

Another highly successful run at “apocalypse Hollywood style” was the four seasons of  “The 4400″ on USA Network, which feaured a “reverse rapture”, a charismatic Christ/Antichrist figure, miracles and healings, a “deadly wound” killing of the “Antichrist”  (Jordan Collier, played by Billy Campbell), his “resurrection” and return—all cast against the sensibilities of post-9-11 America. Even the current popular TV series, “Fringe”, weaves veiled references to Biblical prophecy into its dark view of  covert psy-ops and exotice science.

This same pattern of  a “cinematic/dramatic” portrayal of Biblical prophecy continues to this day in the spirit of modern prophecy teachers who diagram time lines, interpret symbolic images by free-association, and string together endless destruction scenarios via “cut-and-paste” techniques that would be the envy of  the Soviet montagist, Sergei Einstein (“A Dialectic Approach to Film Form”). Yes—this is a Soviet technique!

What is presented today in both the secular and religious cultures as a vision of the prophetic works does violence to both the written text and to the revealed spiritual thrust of the inspired writings. Because what is presented and perceived as “Christianity” is fractured by belief systems as diverse as preterism, historicism, and futurism—to name just a few—there is no singular structure by which the Christian prophetic view can be gleaned.

Like that of the Hebrews of 30 AD,  these views are restricted to the expediencies of a material, literal manifestation of the prophetic writ. As was then, what we are today presented with is absent any Spirit-breathed understanding, and bereft of any due diligence to study, discern, and pray. From these factions have arisen an army of “prophecy teachers” confusing and confounding both the believer and unbeliever with a plethora of comic book prophecy scenarios that are now marketed as “teachings” and “prophecy”. As we shall see in the next part of the series, there is no shortage of “junk food” for the ADD afflicted,  ”pseudo-science junkies” who now gobble up eschatology peddled by tinfoil hat  high priests.

Next installment:

Apocalypse Concrète-Part 3: “E.T. Barnum” & Co.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.“-1 John 2:16

Vision: January 23. 2010-I don’t often go to malls…you know, those odd banal suburban outposts of commerce and social conditioning. I don’t like them, and inevitably wind up tense and disgusted by these monuments to materialism. A few weeks ago I did take my sons out for a movie to a mall where the multiplex theater offers $2 matinee  films.

After the movie, we decided to walk through this mall, as I was curious as to what was actually in it—like I said, it has been years since I last ventured through. It would be sufficient for any “alien” watchers to understand the culture we live in simply by observing the items we consume (or covet), and what attracts the attention of people in such a venue.

As we walked through this mall I began to “see” a curious phenomena: people would walk past the windows and doors of the various vendors and as they paused a “thread” or “tentacle” (the only terms I have for this) of light-like material would connect to them until I saw them “glow”. Some would wander away…others would move in closer—almost unawares—toward the item or storefront in an almost hypnotic trance.

As we walked through this half mile expanse of shops I saw this occur numerous times. I also noticed that, at times, people would be compelled to turn, or move in a fashion much like that of a person being “lured”…almost in the manner of a dog who hears a “silent” whistle. They seemed to be “programmed”…or “triggered” by stimuli, be it visuals, sounds, or even smells. Their movements, seeming to become a dance rhythm, were punctuated by the lines of wandering souls…couples, teens, young and old— all races…swirling and converging; breaking off into streams that flowed into yet another line…time speeding up…arrays of these “tentacles” swirled as they moved ever forward…yet nowhere.

The lust of the flesh

I was shown in this “flash vision”, and in several subsequent understandings, that our hearts and minds are under a steady assault of psychotronic/subliminal waves. These waves are both physically triggered, by electrical impulses, and  also spiritually generated—to minds receptive to more base stimuli and emotions. I noticed, for example, powerful attractive fields near  stores like “Victoria’s Secret”, which transmitted a strong lust impulse. Cell phone kiosks also displayed a very steady resonance of attraction.

The lust of the eyes

Furthermore, I observed, in this short sweep, dozens of iconic embeds— recurrent images that featured variations of  symbols such as stylized demons, ancient occult death runes and the ubiquitous “ETs”— notably in stores catering to teens, the heavy metal, hip hop and skateboard cultures. These icons are being pumped into the culture as the means of mainstreaming acceptance of themes which now dominate Hollywood films, popular TV shows, and current pop music trends—a process both modern and yet very ancient. In the vision I saw these icons “glow” with arrays of tentacles that radiated outward triggering strong emotional responses—and the impulses to BUY!

The pride of life

We should not be surprised that these embeds and icons are tied to commerce. The western culture of money and power has spread throughout the Earth as the full-blown gestalt of the Biblically predicted system of antichrist. The confluence of technology, media, and global monetary control were long ago predicted in the Bible:

” And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Revelation 13:16-17)

The modern shopping mall  is, in fact, a temple of commerce…a conveyance of vanity and pride, where all the stylish goods are arrayed in a tightly controlled environment  with all the amenities. These food courts, social commons, fountains and statuary are celebrated in films such as “Mallrats (1995)”, “Mannequin (1987)”, and numerous teen exploit slasher movies. These are the temples where the god of money is raised up for honor. The humans who inhabit these places are very conformed to the system of the beast and go there to confer worship and power through the instruments of money.

Warning!

What the Spirit was showing me in this vision was a powerful view of “soul hijacking” on a grand scale. This process, well understood by the social scientists, has been imparted to us even as small children by the media and culture of consumerism. As our senses are engaged by this highly charged commercial atmosphere, we exhibit small, but discernible changes in metabolic rate, excitement of  the cerebral cortical responses, pupil dilation and heightened states of emotions ranging from stimulation and agitation to ennui. Critical judgement is suspended and we enter a state of suggestibility that has, as its target, the unrestrained desire to consume. What better evidence than the modern phenomena of  ”compulsive shopper syndrome”, the racking up of high interest credit card debt, and the high incidences of shop lifting found in these “temples.”

The vision I saw was a spiritually animated process that occurs millions of times daily around the planet. It is not limited to the malls, department stores, and retail shopping outlets, but has found a new, significant venue on the internet. In fact, these same elements of subliminal/psychotronic mind control detailed here applies the web in spades (one need only TRY to avoid exposure to online pornography to get the extreme view of this fact.) It is the same paradigm used so successfully in TV, animated cartoons (Disney being a prime provider), movies, print publications, and sound productions: what we experience, in actuality—or simulated in the  imagination—becomes a “magnet” for our souls. Advanced technology coupled with psychological conditioning becomes the means by which we are attached to our present physical state.

” Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”-Romans 6:12

con-cret-ize -transitive verb   : to make concrete, specific, or definite  intransitive verb   : to become concrete.

“And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.“-Revelation 11:13

The concrète-ization of prophecy is, like it’s musical comparative, an effort to fuse seemingly disparate elements into a “seamless whole”. As this series will explore in subsequent installments, modern day so-called “Bible Prophecy” has been shaped into a montage of  destruction scenes, grand scale deaths by plague, supernatural apparitions, and repeated destructions of the physical Earth. It has taken on the aspects and qualities of hundreds of science fiction novels, comic books, and high dollar special effect films. Moreover, it has now morphed into a narcotic form of obsession by cult personalities who market and merchandise this vision to gullible, Biblically illiterate believers and the world-at-large. The result: deception on a grand scale and MISSING the more nuanced fulfillments that history and scripture record. It is not about “preterism” or “pre-millenialism”—or any other theological inventions—but about RIGHTLY dividing the Word of God, and understanding HOW prophecy is fulfilled before our eyes.

“… the streets of Haiti’s “flattened” capital, where a government official said the death toll from Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake may exceed 100000.“-CNN Headline, Jan. 13, 2010

How does one correlate the descriptions of ‘apocalypse’ in the Bible with “real time/real world” events? The Book of Revelation is full of dire predictions of unimaginable disasters, including: oceans turned to blood and one third of the creatures dying (Rev. 8:8-9, 16:4), a sun which is ‘darkened’ and black (Rev. 9:2, 6:12), a mountain (comet or “Planet X“?) cast into the sea (Rev. 8:9).

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004…The earthquake was caused by subduction and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing nearly 230,000 people in fourteen countries…Wikipedia

The same book, also records this ‘great earthquake’ which kills 7,000 men. But look at the numbers for recent disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsumani or the mounting toll in Haiti, and we simply cannot sustain a literal, physical record of future disasters. If one part of the book seems incredulous or another appears to extoll a magnitude now barely of record, then HOW do we interpret this writing which appears to document the end of the world? Indeed, over 76 million people died in World War II(1). 76 MILLION people! Can we use the Bible, and its numbers, to predict Earthly disasters?  Is the scriptural account of the “end of the world” to be taken literally—or are these accounts to be held with some skepticism…indeed, to hold ALL of the Bible to be discredited as untrustworthy? Seven thousand people perishing in an earthquake seems small when we look at the numbers of  dead in modern terms—even the 79 AD destruction of Pompei by the volcano Vesuvius may have run to upwards of 20,000 people.

A Book of Dual Meanings

Based on a decade of research and study, I came to the conclusion some years ago that the Bible is BOTH literal and figurative. Emerging, as such, from multiple cultures, languages, and historical periods the scriptures are preserved in a remarkably consistent matrix of stories, laws, prophecies, and poetic work unrivaled in record. It is both didactic truth and mystical visions; historical record and future seer; mythological in scope, yet often mundane in details.In other words it is a paradoxical work that does not contradict itself (though some have attempted to assert just that.)

Prophecy, specifically in the Bible, is a bit more complex in that this is a book that revels in those who missed the prophecies in the book. Repeatedly, warnings are issued and ignored, and the details of those failed warnings recorded. The high priests of Israel completely misread the prophecies of Messiah and not only missed Him when HE appeared—but actually became the instruments of the Lord’s death—they, themselves, lived the very prophecies they missed—as vessels of dishonor!

The expectations held by the Jews in 30 AD of a Messiah who would come to rule (to throw off the Romans) was a stumbling block to them, in stark contrast to the suffering Savior they met. They “missed it” because they were caught in a religious system which no longer had the Spirit of God to give them discernment as Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus in John chapter 3

:

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit…Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (John 3: 8,10)

The concept of the conquering king was true…but it came in the Spirit. The Jewish priests, with a few exceptions, did not know that He came first to suffer even though the ancient prophetic writers and oracles had so stated. They were caught up in a religious system which had lost the gift of prophecy, and they lived in times of oppression which made them so hardened in their thought that they no longer pursued mystical/spiritual values. They wanted political liberation, they wanted to throw off bondage and have a physical kingdom like Solomon’s restored.This, in spite of Messiah’s warning that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36.) These were the forebears of modern day dominionism—and those who also fell to the very forces they railed against!

Next installment:

“Apocalypse Concrète-Part 2: Prophecy Hollywood-style”

A friend and listener sent us this recent ad (back cover of “John Hagee Ministries” magazine) for the annual Christians United For Israel Summit in Washington, D.C.—truly these are the people of the obelsik!

Listen to:

Refugees with Zeph Daniel

The Threshing Floor Radio Show-January 26, 2010-Randy Maugans with Zeph Daniel

“Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.  Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.”

-Acts 7:43-44

” But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.”-Amos 6:26-27

by Randy Maugans

Download article as PDF-The Mystery of The Sons of God

A listener wrote, asking  about the terms “sons of God” (ben Elohim) in Genesis 6:2 and Romans 8:14 (the email is copied below). As the email indicates, there is no small amount of confusion regarding the nature and identities of these “sons (daughters)”, especially when the term “nephilim” is brought into view. I was led to put down my present understanding on the matters of this mystical subject, and to blunt some of the “junk” history and theology being promoted by ambitious book authors such as Steve Quayle, Tom Horn, and a slew of others who draw theology from the pseudipigraphical “Book of Enoch” rather than the plain words of scripture.

This is not, by any means, exhaustive; but is based on the ongoing independent research The Threshing Floor has conducted over the last several years. It is timely, as we move deeper into the period chronicled in the Book of Revelation, where it is clear that the great wars between two kingdoms moves into the Earth realm to play out the final scenes.

Terms:
A little background into the words referred to as “sons” in scripture:

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”-Genesis 6:1-2

sons- ben- a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc; child, colt, daughter, of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance-Hebrew Lexicon)

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”-1John 3:2

sons-teknon-from the base of timoria; a child (as produced):–child, daughter, son.
root word: timoria-vindication, i.e. (by implication) a penalty:–punishment.
timoreo-to protect one’s honor, i.e. to avenge (inflict a penalty):–punish.
time-a value, i.e. money paid, or (concretely and collectively) valuables; by analogy, esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself:–honour, precious, price, some.

In the Greek of the KJV, son is also rendered from:

huios-apparently a primary word; a “son” (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship:–child, foal, son. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance-Greek Lexicon)

A related term worth bearing in mind for this study is huiothesia- the placing as a son, i.e. adoption (figuratively, Christian sonship in respect to God):–adoption (of children, of sons)(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance-Greek Lexicon) ,this word translated as “adoption” in the King James Bible, and used only by Paul in Romans,Galatians , and Ephesians.

The terms “sons of God” in both Hebrew and Greek can be viewed as roughly equivalent in definition for our purposes. But, it is noted that the more prevalent Greek word is huios, and upon more careful scrutiny of the usage of these two Greek words, both rendered as son/sons in English, there seems to be a distinction that is best termed “spiritual”  or redeemed sonship—and it is one that clearly divides the sons of God between old and new testaments. A study of usage of these three words in the New Testament reveals a distinction in the condition of these beings. The distinction is profound, it is spiritual, and it has to do with the New Birth. This distinction is found in:

Revelation 12:4- And his (the dragon’s) tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child (teknon) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child (teknon) as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child (huios), who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child (teknos) was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Language usage in scripture is never accidental, and many times we glean new understandings from digging into etymology. Revelation 12 clearly renders a distinction between the (man)child being stalked by Satan and the actual child who is delivered–the teknon vs. the huios. Where Satan expects a human child under the bonds (condition) of sin and wrath, instead this child is a huios, or child of YAHWEH.  Vine’s Expository Dictionary better elaborates this:

teknon “a child” (akin to tikto, “to beget, bear”), is used in both the natural and the figurative senses. In contrast to huios, “son” ), it gives prominence to the fact of birth, whereas huios stresses the dignity and character of the relationship.

This understanding should inform the study that follows, and open up additional inquiries into these two, distinctive, renderings of “sons”. It also demonstrates the concept of a spiritual (new) birth versus the state of  human (carnal) child birth.

YAHWEH’s “Replacement Program”

God is into “replacement theology”, spiritually. The “sons of God” in Genesis and Job were clearly another creation separate from man—were they angelic creations? Scripture does not really tell us…but I tend to think they were not for reasons I will briefly note in this article. That aside, I think it is clear these creatures were at some point separated from YAHWEH’s purposes.

It is clear that the Father intended for the “other” creature—humans—which descended from Adam to become something more than this present estate…he was a creation with a unique destiny, which was prophesied in Genesis 3:15- And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Notice how this “seed” concept comes up early in Genesis? It is the same thread which I explored in the second part of the “Spirit of Adoption” study.The bottom line is: there are TWO seeds, two creatures competing for dominance in the creation. Only one wins—the other becomes extinct. Likewise in the angelic realm there is a warfare that comes into play in the physical realm (the creatures made “a litle lower than angels”) —it is a spiritual  overlay: the angelic wars in the heavenlies (see Revelation 12) and the wars between the beings created by one of the two seeds: Christ’s or Satan’s. Only ONE is to BECOME the “sons of God”.

One can be born again, of either Jesus or Satan. Jesus chooses his own…Satan isn’t fussy, he wants ALL humanity! I have  talked about this in shows I did the last six months or so, in the context of  the “generations” which all flow into ONE generation/bloodline: that of Christ’s. All other “bloodlines” are scheduled for extinction when we move out into the universe/heaven.

Orders  of Beings

There are also distinctions between the orders of created beings that need to be observed in understanding this subject. The angelic realm of archangels/angels; powers/princes/rulers (both fallen, and the angels who are servants of God), the demonic realm (disembodied spirits—likely the vanquished Old Testament sons, now under the control of Lucifer), and the human realm which is comprised of the two bloodlines, or generations—spiritually. It is a state of transition in this life, spiritually, as humans choose life in Christ, or become hybrid demonic beings—the second death:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.“-Revelation 2:11

” Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.“-Revelation 20:6

I think as we learn more about the “pre-creation”, through research of people like Paul Sandhu and John Ackerman (and some other scripturally-based researchers), we see a picture of the created beings that is richer, more complex, and incisive than the straight line views offered by X-tianity (the mainstream “organized”, churches). Humans are a separate creation from the angelic—but there is warfare in both realms and it appears to converge upon the Earth in the Book of Revelation.

While many popular writers equate the Genesis 6 sons of God to fallen angels, scripture (and increasingly, historical and mythological research) do not seem to make the case. If we equate the nephilim with the fallen sons of God, then I do not believe the nephilim were angels—nor do I think they were “human”, but a separate, earlier creation. Men and angels are very distinct creations which Paul tells us in:

Hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Paul, here, breaks down the order of angels and men—-and the Godhead—as very distinct. Peter, as well, points out the distinctions between humans and angels:

“Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.” -2Peter 2:11

I think it is expressly the will of the Father for us to understand all this as it appears we, the remnant, will even war with these fallen angels, the demonic spirit realm, AND the hybrid humans who are entering into the “second death”, and have authority and power to deal with them!

As the listener points out: it is very much an issue of the “Condition or Quality”  of the being. Specifically, it is the spiritual state which divides the vanquished ben Elohim of Genesis from the humans who are the elect, or adopted huios. Satan and his demonic hordes have no authority over huios, or the redeemed sons/daughters of the Most High—those born and bought by the sacrifice of the Lord, Jesus Christ:

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”-1John 5:1-7

The listener email question:

Tue, Dec 29, 2009 :