Mystery Babylon, Catholicism and Nimrod the Black Man

I've been pondering the possibility of Obama as Antichrist. At first thought, despite his ability to attract a worshipful following, and Oprah Winfrey's shockingly adulatory endorsement of him as "the One," and his great talent for lying through his teeth, it doesn't seem likely -- there don't seem to be any obvious connections to the usual expectations about the Antichrist. But the thought keeps growing on me.

Then it started dawning on me that the fact that he is black has interesting implications, although I don't know how to put it all together yet.

When I started studying up on the Antichrist last year because I had this sense of it all being so close, I reread a book written in the 19th century called The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, which is a revelation of the Catholic Church's legacy from ancient heathen religions. Hislop traces them all back to a religion that made a god of Nimrod, "the mighty hunter before the Lord" of Genesis 10. His study covers many cultures and religions and is quite a work of synthesis. Of course he's dismissed by scholars and especially Catholics, but that's only to be expected.

There are many different strands of connection here and how to reconcile them all isn't obvious at first, to say the least. It took me a while to accept the connection with Nimrod at all.

One connection that's obvious, though, is that the mitre worn by the Pope looks like a fishhead -- right? (A frontal view of it adorns the top of Pope Benedict XVI's coat of arms in the illustration above).

It has an obvious fishhead shape from the front and an open-mouthed fishhead shape seen from the side. Hislop says that goes back to an ancient religion about a fish-god (Babylonian god Oannes, but also see Dagon), and he shows sketches of the priests of that fish-god wearing fish costumes with that exact same fish-head headdress.* So this is one aspect of the connection between the Catholic Church and the ancient mystery religions.

Then he traces the religion of Nimrod through many religions of different cultures with different gods and a variety of different symbols, that he claims are really about this one original god under different names, ALL of them Nimrod according to him, the "mighty hunter before the Lord" and THE BUILDER OF BABEL.

(The "Virgin Mary" and the Mother and Child images so familiar in Catholic lore are also to be found in other religions, which I hadn't known at all: Hinduism, Japanese religion, Egyptian and others, and Hislop traces them all back to the religion of Nimrod too. It's fascinating.)

But the point of connection with Obama that's been going through my head the last couple of days is that Nimrod was a black man.

Mystery, Babylon the Great is the name of the Antichrist religion according to the Book of Revelation. This is interpreted by many to be the Catholic Church (which I discuss here), as the heir of the old mystery religion, which Hislop says is all about Nimrod, the first deified man, the "god" of all the heathen religions. Again, a black man.

Now note this, something I found out in my researches last year: On this current Pope's coat of arms shown at the top of this post (apparently each Pope designs or chooses the elements of his own coat of arms) there is an image that is not very often used, something called the "Moor's head" which is the head of a black man, also called Caput Aethiopum (the Ethiopian's head). It's also pertinent that the Moors are usually Muslims. In fact it's a term I've associated mostly with Spain when it was under the control of Islam, so the image of a black man on the coat of arms came as a surprise to me.

Of course there is no lack of other ways of understanding the symbolism of the Moor's head and other images on the Pope's coat of arms but after reading Hislop Nimrod just naturally comes to mind. One of the interpretations of the Moor's head given by this Wikipedia article, here called the Moor of Freising, refers to Ethiopia, so, again, it's possible an investigation into the origins of the Freising image would take us back to Nimrod through his father Cush, also known as the founder of Ethiopia.

How does all this tie together? At this point there is nothing obvious to link Obama with the Catholic Church. But here's a thought: I guess if he's the Antichrist the Last Pope could be the Prophet of the Antichrist. Or maybe it's not about Obama and there is yet to be a black Pope?

Some references:
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Genesis 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel,
and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

1 Chronicles 1:10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth.

Micah 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

Nimrod is the son of Cush. Cush is considered the father of the Ethiopians, a black-skinned people.

Here's what a Bible dictionary says about Cush:

1. Eldest son of Ham and grandson of Noah. Ge 10:6-8; 1Ch 1:8-10. His descendants are called in the A.V. Ethiopians, though the Hebrew is the same: Cush . The district also occupied by the above people, Isa 11:11, is mostly called in A.V. Ethiopia, q.v. It will be seen by the genealogy that the descendants of Cush were numerous:-

And about Nimrod:

Nim'rod
Son or descendant of Cush, the son of Ham. He was 'mighty upon the earth,' and 'a mighty hunter,' using force and craft to bring man as well as beasts under his sway. The words 'before the Lord' probably signify imperial energy and usurped authority in independence of Jehovah. "The beginning of his kingdom was Babel " with other towns in the land of Shinar . And "out of that land went forth Asshur," or 'he went out to Assyria ,' and built Nineveh and other cities. So that Nimrod and his descendants were those who founded both Babylon and Nineveh . Babylonia was also called the land of Nimrod , which shows that the descendants of Ham settled in the East as well as in Egypt in the South. Those in the East afterwards gave place in a great measure to the descendants of Shem. Ge 10:8-11; 1Ch 1:10; Mic 5:6.

And of course, "Mystery Babylon the Great" -- Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. This "mother of harlots" is considered by many to be the Catholic Church, the inheritor of the Babylonian mystery religions.

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Did you know that the Hindu god Krishna was black? Hislop of course says Krishna is one of the many versions of the original god based on Nimrod. According to the Wikipedia article on Krishna,

'The Sanskrit word kṛṣṇa has the literal meaning of "black", "dark" or "dark-blue",[5] and is used as a name to describe someone with dark skin. Krishna is often depicted in murtis (images) as black, and is generally shown in paintings with blue skin.' **

I always wondered why Krishna has blue skin in the usual depictions. So now I know: it's a way of indicating that his skin was very dark.

A couple of images of the black Krishna and a couple of the blue-skinned version:









Then notice the head-dress in the image to the left. Krishna is shown with many different kinds of head gear, but this one is reminiscent of the Pope's miter. The first black Krishna above has a head dress a bit more reminiscient of the Pope's tiara -- the shape is clearer on the tiny figure at the feet of the taller Krishna -- zoom in for a close-up.

Why would the Pope's head-dress be so similar to those of the old heathen gods?



















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* Later it occurred to me the shape is more reminiscent of a snake's head than a fish head because it narrows at the neck, and snakes are very common elements of heathen religions. But Hislop made his case for the fish-head meaning very well so I'll just put this notion on the back burner for now. Symbolism sometimes has multiple references anyway.

** A little language lesson: Krishna + Murti would apparently mean Image of Krishna? There was a famous teacher of an earlier generation known as Krishnamurti, still big in the 60s and 70s though by then only one of a dizzying array of Hindu gurus who had descended on America. So I guess the name designates him one of the god Krishna's avatars or incarnations. As I recall, Krishnamurti never seemed quite happy with his anointing by the Theosophists for the job of World Teacher (Antichrist to a Christian of course) they had in mind for him, although he did do quite a bit of spiritual teaching.

More Musings on the Election and the Antichrist

One problem with the Bible versions I think I mentioned earlier is that they make it just about impossible to find a particular verse that you don't remember perfectly. I remember something about a "little horn," usually interpreted to represent the Antichrist, pushing its way into a position of influence "by intrigue" but the word "intrigue" does not come up in Strong's. Another case of the new versions defeating God's people. Of course it would be good to know the Bible so well we wouldn't be dependent on Strong's. I'll find the quote eventually.

I'll be amazed if Obama doesn't win. It's been growing on me that Obama could indeed be "the One" as Oprah dubbed him when she endorsed him. My brother does not have revelations, it's not at all typical of him, but he says this was really something, the way he woke up with this sense of certainty a week or so ago that Obama is the Antichrist. He says he abruptly sat up in bed from the absolute certainty of it.

I didn't bite at first about Obama, and I'm still holding the idea lightly. I have other ideas about the qualifications for Antichrist, but it has been growing on me that he could be right. The Pope has excellent qualifications for instance, as I've mentioned before, including the number 666 in his Latin title, and whether the Last Pope is THE Antichrist or not, he's going to be a major player in some role or other. I also thought the Antichrist would probably have to be Jewish or part Jewish to be a convincing savior to the Jews, and there is at least one Jewish Cardinal who could become Pope, but I've realized the Jews who would be deceived don't really know their scriptures anyway and many think Obama is a savior already. He also fits the biblical portrait of the "little horn" in Daniel that just pushes its way up out of nowhere "by intrigue" to a position of influence.

I know we're in the time just before the Man of Sin is to be revealed, I've been sure of that since the beginning of 2007 that it's right around the corner. The Pope has been my working candidate for years, and the next and last Pope can't be far off considering the age of Benedict.

I haven't been succeeding at persuading anyone of any of my last-days thoughts, but you know, a seed planted may sprout later, in God's timing, as the meaning of the prophecies unfolds in reality.

Anyway I've voted in the early voting, against Obama more than for McCain. A weak moment perhaps. I could regret voting for McCain but had to put in a vote against the duplicitous Obama. But McCain doesn't represent much of what a Christian should support, either, and I did agree with what Alan Keyes says about how a Christian shouldn't vote for any shade of evil for any reason. Not the slightest waffling on abortion or gay marriage for instance.

I've never felt fear before in thinking about all these things, but lately I've had to work to put down the fear. Prayer, psalms, remembering God is on the throne, are the antidote. Usually it's been more disgust and sadness over the direction the country has been going, but lately there's been this tinge of fear -- this is way bigger than just another Presidential election. But we are not to be anxious over anything so I have to keep reminding myself of that. The Lord always supplies His faithful ones who trust in Him and depend upon Him. In a time such as Revelation portends we might even expect the kind of support He gave Elijah and the widow woman during the famine.

Barack Obama is more Arab than African

This statement by one Jack Wheeler has been around the internet quite a bit,and if it is true, Barack Obama is more Arab than black and not African-American in any case, but duplicity from Mr. Obama is his MO, so nothing to be surprised at there. Too bad so many people are taken in by him.

Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler

The O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, nothing but abstract empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.

He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-African Arabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya . Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively.

What he isn't, not a genetic drop of, is 'African-American,' the descendant of enslaved Africans brought to America chained in slave ships. He hasn't a single ancestor who was a slave. Instead, his Arab ancestors were slave owners. Slave-trading was the main Arab business in East Africa for centuries until the British ended it.

Let that sink in: Obama is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners. Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah.

It's something Hillary doesn't understand - how some complete neophyte came out of the blue and stole the Dem nomination from her. Obamamania is beyond politics and reason. It is a true religious cult, whose adherents reject Christianity yet still believe in Original Sin, transferring it from the evil of being human to the evil of being white.

Thus Obama has become the white liberals' Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White. There is no reason or logic behind it, no faults or flaws of his can diminish it, no arguments Hillary could make of any kind can be effective against it. The absurdity of Hypocrisy Clothed In Human Flesh being their Savior is all the more cause for liberals to worship him: Credo quia absurdum, I believe it because it is absurd.

Thank heavens that the voting majority of Americans remain Christian and are in no desperate need of a phony savior.

His candidacy is ridiculous and should not be taken seriously by any thinking American.

Then I decided to look up the name "Barak" in my Bible Dictionary, where it said it means "lightning."

So then I looked it up online and got this:

Baby Names: Barack.

The meaning of the name Barack is Blessed
The origin of the name Barack is African
Notes: Form of the Hebrew name Baruch.

How can an African name be "a form of a Hebrew name?" There is no linguistic connection, is there? No, it must have a Semitic – that is, Arab – origin. If it has become African it is through Arab influence there.

So I looked some more and found:

Wiki Answers definition.

"Barack" is a word that is shared among several languages. First, it is a word in the Semitic family of languages. As such it has a root in Hebrew (but written baruch), a version in Aramaic (berek), a version in Arabic (baraka). (See Strong's Hebrew Bible Dictionary, entries 1288-1294.) It also occurs as a loan word in non-Semitic languages that have been influenced by these Semitic languages. As often happens, cognate words are similar in pronunciation. What appears in a later-appearing language may sound like something else in the earlier language. And in English we sometimes see words that are pronounced the same and even spelled the same, but that have very different meanings.

Barack or Barak means 'lightning' in Hebrew. The name Barak is also mentioned in the Bible in the book of Judges. Barak was part of the story of the prophetess Deborah.

Baruch (or Baruwk, Baruk, Strong, 1263) and its cognates berek and baraka all mean the same. Strong, 1288, says "barak, baw-rak', a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit)." (See Strong's.)
Regardless of how one spells the name, it gives two possible and not contradictory meanings. One is "a blessing from God," and another is "a blessing from God that the individual may pass on to others as a benefit to them." (The second meaning is very clear in the Sufi tradition in which the searcher for Allah, or as Jesus would have called Him Alaha [??? Wow! Some propaganda here. Jesus knew God as Jehovah, I AM THAT I AM], receives from his or her teacher a transmission of some key to seeing what Meister Eckhard called the "divine spark" within each of us. [Yes, Sufi, NOT Christian by any stretch] )

If you pray to Allah you may choose to call your child Barak. If you pray to Alaha you may choose to call your child Berek. If you think you are praying to different gods or bestowing names with different meanings you may benefit from further study.

Weird propagandistic definition.

Put all that together with Obama's "slip of the tongue" when he referred to "my Muslim faith" and his strange counting of the states of the US as "57" (while, merely coincidentally of course, 57 happens to be the number of the Arab states) and the guy's credentials for Antichrist are quite impressive.

Sorting out facts from conspiracy interpretations

I'm still getting a lot out of the talks by Scott Johnson but I've got to say he makes me cringe at times. Sometimes it's because of his lack of familiarity with the people and events he's reading about so that he presents the information haltingly and mispronounces the names because of his lack of knowledge. Other times it's his so uncritically and even adamantly supporting the conspiracy thinking by the people he's quoting.

The reason I'm saying this is not just to put down Scott Johnson but really more in the hope of heading off the disgust or discouragement some people may feel at some of what he says; that is, to encourage people to take his overall objectives seriously -- even taking some with a grain of salt when necessary -- and not give up because of his ignorance. God doesn't necessarily choose articulate educated people for His work, you know, and if only half of what he's talking about turns out to be true it's something the church should know about.

Some of it's pretty far out, such as the idea of an invasion of beings from "outer space" to "teach" the human race some things as part of the creation of the New World Order that will bring all humanity into subjugation to a single evil governing power. But there's enough evidence by now that some such scenario is a possibility. And what they're going to "teach" is what the New Age is already teaching, and what some "visionary" politicians also favor. Mostly socialism which is propagandized to be loving your neighbor. The Antichrist himself won't have anything more sophisticated to bring us than that in his chosen role as savior of the world, but he'll present it in pompous hifalutin terms and persecute anyone who dissents.

Take a look at some of the teachings of A Course in Miracles for an example of the kind of hifalutin mind-twisting stuff that "doctrines of demons" can amount to. They are meditation exercises with a sort of Buddhist tinge in places and a pseudo-Christian tinge as well, that open you up to a false view of Christ while they play with your mind and most likely bring demons into your life as you practice them, so that adepts may at some point demonstrate surprising supernatural abilities that would easily deceive people. Transcendental Meditation accomplishes the same thing by having a person meditate with a "sound" in the mind that can open up occultic experience, probably by summoning demonic influence. These comments are mostly from my own experience but this is the basic arena Scott Johnson is covering. The church does need to know these things.

If the church isn't prepared for some dazzling and intimidating signs and wonders we won't have a way to recognize their source and give a pointed answer to them as well as defend ourselves from them. Some of us have made a point to keep track of the New Age teachings for years anyway, usually those who have had some occultic experience on the way to becoming a Christian, as I did, but Christians who have had no such experience may be inclined to doubt the power in such things, so that when it finally manifests they may mistake it for God's work and be deceived for a time. This is the value of an overview like Scott Johnson's, as he is trying to cover all the possible scenarios that may arise as the last days come upon us.

So yes, it's all about a huge conspiracy, one with many tentacles, designed to captivate humanity to the devil's designs just as he did in Eden, but now with an eye to a spectacular finale that is most likely just around the corner. There are no doubt some people who are in on it, who have literally consciously sold their souls to the devil, but it's really the devil's ultimate work and the people are merely pawns. There is a kind of conspiracy thinking that sometimes goes along with it that attributes much more to the human players than seems warranted by the evidence. I especially cringe at the certainty of some of the people who are most into these things that EVERYBODY who has anything whatsoever to do with a particular political or economic development MUST be consciously complicit with the goal the writer is so certain about. There's quite a bit of this kind of thinking in last weekend's talk about the economy.

He says this entire election is a fraud, for instance. BOTH sides are in on this conspiracy to destroy the nation, he says. Perhaps they even know who is the winner before it comes about. So there's no point in voting for either one because both are evil. He doesn't give specifics in this case, just asserts it. He has given talks on Obama so what's evil about him in his mind is perhaps clear enough, but as far as I'm aware nothing has been said about McCain to support the suggestion that he's part of some huge conspiracy. I could see an argument not to vote for McCain based on his own voting record in the Senate, the positions he takes on the issues, but Johnson hasn't given any reason, he just asserts that McCain is evil too. (That is, what he's READING asserts it and he makes it clear he agrees. What Johnson does is read essays and articles he's chosen off the internet.)

He talks about President Bush as if he were evil personified. I'm sorry, I find it AWFULLY hard to see G W Bush as evil personified. I lost faith in Bush a long time ago, when he declared Islam a "religion of peace" and continued the "Road Map to Peace" policy which is such an unfair policy toward Israel, but I see that as political mistakes, not nefarious evil plotting to take over the world. Conspiracy thinkers don't seem to take into account that sometimes people make mistakes, that intentions go awry. You'd think they were all omniscient. It seems that if some decisions help to further an evil outcome of some sort -- at least an outcome they think is evil -- then there is no doubt in their mind that that outcome was intended in the decision itself. This is foolish thinking and I wish Johnson didn't indulge in it. He becomes untrustworthy in these areas.

I wanted to do some more research before getting into all this but something has to be said at this point and maybe I can research it later. For instance, at some site that Johnson quotes from there is a list of the supposedly bad spiritual fruit of George W. Bush that supposedly proves he's evil. I read it months ago and can't find it now but I remember thinking it was ridiculous. It's a list of bad decisions and mistakes at worst -- and some of that is a judgment call, it not being at all clear whether they even were bad decisions. You can't assume that because something has a certain result or means something in particular to you that it means the same thing to someone else, but this false kind of thinking is about all that list amounted to. I hope I find my way back to that page some time so I can be more accurate in my response to it.

One thing I do remember is that so much is made about the "cornuto" sign, the pointing of the index and little fingers. It's both a satanic sign indicating the devil's horns, and, much more commonly, the deaf sign word for "I love you." When there's a picture of George and Laura Bush making that sign, as there is at that link, it's absolutely ridiculous to suggest that they are consciously giving a satanic sign. It may be that for some people in SOME cases, but you CANNOT just assume it, you'd have to PROVE it; and in the case of the Bushes it is utterly ridiculous. Bush is not my favorite President by a long shot, and I do believe he and his father have been leading us into the One World Order, but I can only think of that as bad judgment, bad politics; I CANNOT think of him as a satanist. Good grief. I can't even think of his belonging to the infamous "Skull and Bones Society" as having any special significance in his case though the conspiracy thinkers imply all sorts of evil connected with that.

And since these conspiracy writers offer no evidence whatever it amounts to slander. The mere fact of the hand gesture, the mere fact of belonging to a society, the mere fact of sending troops to Iraq or whatever it is -- that's ALL they have for evidence of their own overwrought imputation of evil motivation to people.

Frankly, this is STUPID, and it doesn't help us sort out what is really going on in these last days.

Did Jesus call Pilate evil? He called Herod "that fox" but his strongest denunciations were never for the unbelieving world but for the religious leaders of his day. Paul always addressed the Roman authorities with respect.

Sure, it IS interesting to know the satanic meaning of the cornuto sign, because no doubt the devil is up to his eyeballs in its use even when people aren't using it consciously with his meanings.

It's also interesting to see that there does appear to be a Masonic layout to the city of Washington D.C., something I learned from a previous teaching of Johnson's, which certainly implies that SOMEBODY had a Masonic objective in mind in designing it, but isn't it possible that most of this stuff goes on without anybody's being the wiser, probably even most Masons? In any case, merely pointing out that the symbolism exists does NOT prove understanding of its full demonic meaning. George Washington was a pretty high level Mason they say, but can you tell from that that he had satanic motivations? And the Masonic symbols on the dollar bill. It really is interesting to recognize that and think about it. Very surprising how much Masonic influence there is in our national symbolism. But can you prove from those mere facts that the human beings who designed such things were really consciously complicit in their satanic meanings, or isn't it possible that most of them didn't really grasp the ultimate meanings of Masonry? Simply pointing out the symbolism doesn't in itself warrant such a conclusion. but this is ALL the evidence they seem to think they need. No, this can amount to slander, and the Lord will not overlook it. Such things are certainly suggestive that SOMETHING is going on that it would be good to know about, certainly some level of demonic influence, but conscious human complicity? That's going too far without more evidence than is typically given.

The idea that war is always for money is something else he also says in this talk about the economic collapse. He flatly states that everyone in power who sends men to war has money motivation. Oh really? That just sounds like the Leftist accusation, which is also a conspiracy theory. There is no proof that going to Iraq had any economic motivation. If it did, why are we suffering from high prices on oil? Why wouldn't we just take over their oil production for our own use? Such accusations are unwarranted. Did we go to Vietnam because of money interests? Korea? Second World War? I'm sure there are some who profit from war but sorry, overall this is just slander again. If there's one thing that makes America different from all history and the rest of the world it's that we DON'T go to war for purposes of conquest. I'm sure there are exceptions, possibly the Mexican-American War for instance (and that one may be bringing us God's judgment in the form of being flooded with illegal Latino immigrants), but the exception proves the rule as they say.

He even called Bush a madman, which almost made me laugh. The idea here is that we're being set up to be a police state as the US becomes part of the One World Order and since Bush has supposedly been plotting this throughout his term in office, he wouldn't like to have to give it up just at the very moment it looks like it's about to become reality, which the economic meltdown portends. So, since in a time of such dire national crisis a sitting President continues in office he wants to be sure he's the one presiding over the next developments in his plot and will do anything to make sure that neither Obama nor McCain take office. I don't care how wrong Bush has been about all kinds of things, I can't see the man as plotting the nefarious plots that Johnson is picking up from his sources. There has to be some room for simple character judgment. To call Bush a madman means the simple ability to read character has been warped. I think it's sin to say such things against a man that you can't prove, and he has NOT proved it. Sure, it's possible to misread character, but in Bush's case it's absurd to think what Johnson is saying. Now, Obama, that's another matter. I wouldn't put anything past him.

Isn't it possible for people to make mistakes? Certainly people can be complicit with the plans of the devil without being aware of it. The last days scenario is going to unfold as prophesied whether any human being has a conscious part in it or not. At this point there is, I hope, still time for many to be saved who are still under delusion.

Caveat: This post is just off the top of my head, based on my not-so-hot memory, so I may be misremembering things I'll need to correct later. I just felt something had to be said about this tendency to impute motivations without good evidence.

The Antichrist. Revelation 13

Re 13:1
¶ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Re 13:2
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Re 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.
Re 13:4
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Re 13:5
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Re 13:6
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Re 13:7
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Re 13:8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Re 13:9
If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Re 13:10
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Re 13:11
¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Re 13:12
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Re 13:13
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Re 13:14
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Re 13:15
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Re 13:16
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:
Re 13:17
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.
Re 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Obama, Antichrist, Marxism, Fascism, Capitalism

There is an article at this site headlined Is Obama the Antichrist? Unfortunately you have to subscribe to read that article, but he outlines some of Obama's qualifications while not giving his own conclusion. There are other articles you can read without subscribing that are also interesting.

Also, I got this from a friend this morning about why a Christian can't vote for Obama. The guy is already being harassed and threatened.

A friend posted on her blog that on Larry King a conservative called the Left Marxist and King shot back, if the Left is Marxist then is the Right Fascist?

That's a common line the Left likes to shoot at the Right, but it's false.

No, Fascism is government tyranny over the people. Marxism is ALSO Fascism. The thuggery being shown by some of Obama's supporters is fascist in spirit. If Obama were ordering it, that would make it Fascism on the level of Hitler.

If Obama is elected, Antichrist or not, the nation will soon be a police state.

Although the government's buying up debts is socialism, as some are complaining, it is also fascism. The first link above to Cutting Edge is where this article comes from, but I got it from one of Scott Johnson's PDF files:

Capitalism is that type of economy in which private individuals own the Means of Production, i.e., the factories and the mines. The companies founded by these private individuals then compete openly with one another in the Marketplace. No one tells the owners what to produce, or how much to produce, or how much to charge. Competition is the primary determinant of prices, and careful attention to the needs and wants of the people within this type of economy determines how much is produced. Capitalism may have its faults, but it has produced the highest standard of living in history for her citizens.

The key words underpinning Capitalism are: Free Market, Minimal Government Regulation, Business Ownership Solely By Private Interests.

Fascism is the economic system of Nazi Germany, National Socialist Italy, and Imperial Japan. Today, only Japan retains this system. In Fascism, private individuals retain control over the Means of Production, thereby ensuring that the key element which makes Capitalism work so well is kept in place.

However, the Government intervenes to control how much is produced of any item, how many competitors can be making the same item, and how much they can charge. Therefore, the potential for the most profit lies within the Fascist economy! The experiment with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan proved that Fascism does work. We have seen that the proper coordination between Government and Capitalism does work.

The key words underpinning Fascism are: Severe Government Regulation, Government Control and Partial Ownership of Businesses Armed with this definition, you are now able to understand the importance of the events of this day.

Remember the key elements of Fascism as we examine these news articles: Government Control, Severe Regulation and Government Partial Ownership of Businesses.

The end result of this new global Fascist economy is the global economy foretold in Revelation 13:16-18!

More on Daniel Wallace Essay (5)

I'm not going to continue copying out everything in Wallace's essay so here's the link again: http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=663 What I'm leaving out is a discussion of the different approaches to translation and some on his criteria for choosing a translation. Now he's going to recommend what he considers to be the best translations.

But before we look at these translations, I'd like to make three general comments. First, you might think there is no hope of ever knowing what the Word of God really says. There are so many translations that read so differently! How can anyone who does not know Greek or Hebrew really know what the Bible says?

Well, yes, this is exactly the effect of having so many different translations. The very fact of so many choices naturally raises the question, Which is the true Bible. At least Wallace acknowledges the effect, whereas James White didn't, but blamed the King-James-Only arguments for fostering mistrust of God's word. But then Wallace raises it only to dispense with it:

I am personally convinced that the Holy Spirit is sovereign over even the worst translations. Even in extremely biased or sectarian translations, all the major doctrines can be found. And if you know which translations are best, then you will be much better off! . . .

The KJV translators also affirmed that even inferior translations are God's word, and that their work was only to make better what was already good, but they had far better cause for that position than the modern versions apologists have. There is no doubt that God makes use of the new versions for the salvation and guidance of many of His people, but that doesn't justify them.

Yes, it is much the same argument that since the major doctrines can be found in the new versions overall, the fact that those doctrines are nevertheless left out in many verses shouldn't be regarded as a problem. It's a spurious argument. What matters is whether the verses WERE left out, or conversely, added into the textual tradition on which the KJV is based. What matters, that is, is the TRUTH, keeping in mind that either subtracting or adding to God's word is a serious offense that is punishable by being cut out of the Book of Life.

So to make so much of the fact that the omnipotent and merciful God, who can speak to people through a burning bush or the mouth of a donkey or an unbeliever, can make use of a flawed translation as well, evades the question that matters: how is there any justification at all for so many translations, for the burden on the body of Christ to discriminate among them, even to play textual critics, and for the irreverence such human interference in God's work demonstrates?

Third, to the question "Which translation is best?", there can be no singular answer. I suggest that every Christian who is serious about studying the Bible own at least two translations. He should have at least one dynamic equivalence translation (or phrase-for-phrase) and one formal equivalence translation (that is, word-for-word translation). In fact, it would be good to have two dynamic equivalence translations--because in this type of translation, the translator is also the interpreter. If his interpretation is correct, it can only clarify the meaning of the text; if it is incorrect, then it only clarifies the interpretation of the translator!

This is pretty standard advice these days and I took it for granted myself until I began to see the problems with the modern versions. Now it strikes me as symptomatic of those problems. It really only makes sense if you accept the whole system of thought that supports the new versions. If you step back from it you have to wonder if it can be a good thing for the average Christian to be given the responsibility of choosing Bibles at all. For what purpose was the church given pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists and so on except to take on certain tasks everyone in the body of Christ isn't gifted or called by God to pursue, such as ideally to provide a Spirit-inspired church-authorized Bible, done in the fear of God, for the whole body?

The unnecessary and distracting burden on the flock is one thing, but the very fact of many translations does erode trust in God's word, does place His word on a human footing which depreciates it in the public mind, however unconsciously, even encouraging in some the "liberal" attitude of putting their own judgment above God's word when they should submit to its judgment instead. There is really no excuse for the church's having accepted so many translations, or, of course, the original unauthorized revision in the first place.

Now, for the translations.

King James Version

The King James Bible has with good reason been termed, "the noblest monument of English prose" (RSV preface). Above all its rivals, the King James Version has had the greatest impact in shaping the English language. It is a literary masterpiece.

First of all, it is misleading to put the King James on a list with the new versions as merely one of the many "translations," because that implies they are all translations of the same Greek and Hebrew text and obscures the fact that not only is the English different among the various Bibles even when the source text is identical, but the Greek and Hebrew texts themselves are different, and NOT merely minimally so.

The King James is not simply one of the "versions," it is a completely different Bible based on a completely different set of Greek texts.

I also have to comment that to recognize that the King James had this enormous impact on the language, which it did, is to contradict that other claim Dr. Wallace made: that it needs to be changed to be accessible to the average person. No, obviously people adapted to the King James as the language did. The language grew in elegance and the people grew with it, and a good argument can be made that had it never been subjected to the tender ministrations of Westcott and Hort, the language, the culture and the church would continue to benefit.

There was probably reason even in 1881 to desire some revision for the sake of updating. Some will strenuously argue, not without some justification that should be taken seriously, that any updating at all was unnecessary and still is, but in any case there was no need at all for the extensive revision that was done instead. That revision amounts to a mutilation of the English, that very noble English prose that everyone always feels obliged to laud even while celebrating its eclipse by outrageously inferior substitutes. Someone who does that most likely has no genuine sense of the literary beauty of the King James anyway, but is only parroting the familiar testimony.

But, lest anyone wishes to revere it because it was "good enough for St. Paul," or some such nonsense, we must remember that the King James Bible of today is not the King James of 1611. It has undergone three revisions, incorporating more than 100,000 changes! Further, there are over 300 words in the King James that no longer mean what they meant in 1611. If one wishes to use a Bible that follows the same Greek and Hebrew texts as the King James, I recommend the New King James Version.2

This is a common argument I've seen answered dozens of times though the mistake persists. It really holds no water.

There is a discussion of it at Way of Life. org but the link became obsolete after I quoted this:

It is true that there were revisions. The first was in 1629 by Samuel Ward and John Bois, who had worked on the original translation. The second was in 1638 by the Cambridge University Press. The third was in 1762 by Dr. Thomas Paris of Trinity College, Cambridge. The fourth was in 1769 by Dr. Benjamin Blayney.

The changes, though, were of a very minor nature. They were largely a correction of printing errors, an updating of italics, spelling, and punctuation, and modernizing of some obsolete words. The changes also involved the addition of a large number of new marginal notes and cross-references.

[Quoting Dr. Donald Waite] "There were ONLY 136 SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES that were different words. The others were only 285 MINOR CHANGES OF FORM ONLY. Of these 285 MINOR CHANGES, there are 214 VERY MINOR CHANGES such as 'towards' for 'toward'; 'burnt' for 'burned'; 'amongst' for 'among'; 'lift' for 'lifted'; and 'you' for 'ye.' These kinds of changes represent 214 out of the 285 minor changes of form only."

And The New King James is far from merely an updated King James. I myself used the New King James for years because it's represented as merely an updated King James, but it turned out it isn't a mere updating. It has been altered in many places to conform it to the revised Greek texts:

The instances in which the NKJV breaks with the original KJV by substituting wording identical to that of corrupted modern Bible versions are too numerous to be considered coincidence. And, since Nelson tells us that the NKJV scholars spent "months of prayer, research, and discussion over the handling of a single word," we must conclude that these changes were neither coincidental nor accidental.

A long but not exhaustive list of such differences follows the above quote at the now-obsolete link, but it should be searchable at the site.

Dr. Cloud has other discussions of the problems with the NKJV at his site but links I post to specific pages on his site are always becoming obsolete. Just go to Way of Life dot org and search for the material which I'm sure is still there.

And here's a general answer to another essay by Dr. Wallace on the subject of the King James, Brandon Staggs' answer to Daniel Wallace: http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/staggs-wallace.html

Wallace goes on to say that "300 words found in the KJV no longer bear the same meaning." While this is generally accurate, it is dishonest of Wallace to use this as a point of debate when his desire is to replace the KJV with a text based on entirely different manuscripts, not just to update thelanguage. Even the so-called New King James Version discards readings from the KJV and replaces them with different readings where no language updates are "needed." The "need" for an update is debatable, but is a different debate. So far, no suitable updates exist, because all of them change meanings of the text while claiming to merely update the words. Rather than tampering with the text, as no modern scholar seems able to do anything without changing the text, we'd be better off improving the vocabulary of Bible readers by a mere 300 words instead of shoveling them dozens of conflicting Bible versions and creating doubt in the process.