January 21, 2005

Well, now it’s official. There will be four more years of GWB’s leadership in Washington. What exactly does this mean for Americans… and for the world? Bush’s language in the speech clearly sets the stage for a continuation of the “us versus them”; “we are good… they are evil” type of policies and actions seen during the first term. Yesterday Bush took the time to paint everyone opposed to what he is doing in the war on terror as someone who does not love freedom, who accepts the denial of rights to women, and one who overall is responsible for the death and carnage resultant from the war on terror. Yesterday Bush said:

“As hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well as a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power; it burns those who fight its progress. And one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.”

I wonder what type of fire he was really talking about. Was it the fire that comes from the hi-tech weapons used by Bush the Christian in his efforts to bomb and shoot the world into freedom? Or is it a fire that comes from the same source as that called for by people like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, C. Peter Wagner, Rodney Howard Brown, etc. I think both sides are equally covered here. Bush and company have plans to use the fire of their weapons and the “strange fire” of the apostate gospel to reach the darkest corners of the world in their quest for riches and power.

As for the fire of their weapons… Seymour Hersh has come under fire (sorry about that… too easy) himself for a recent New Yorker article in which he goes into great detail about upcoming US war plans for Iran and beyond. Hersh notes that what is occurring in Iraq at the moment does nothing to slow down what the US has planned for Iran. Under the cover of knocking out Iranian nuclear capabilities… the covert ops part of any coming action will begin soon and may have already begun. Not to mention that all this is open ended... in that there is nothing to prohibit such actions against other states throughout the world.

Yet war on Iran is not the only thing in mind for Bush and his Christian soldiers. In their mind… there is a civil war that still needs to be concluded. The American Church is hell-bent on imposing their apostate ways on all Americans… American Christians such as Charles Colson rally around the idea that they are the defenders of American morality and that in essence, it is their responsibility to save the US from itself. A dear friend of mine who sent the Colson article to me summed it up best when he said:

“…its as if he (Colson), Bush, Condie, and Cheney and the GOP know the Truth of God and want everyone else to acknowledge their actions and opinions are true...its is the "liberals" who have split this country apart...if we don't agree with them (the GOP etc), we have bought into some relativistic mind set etc...”

This once again goes back into what I started off speaking about in this journal entry. Bush and his religious comrades have framed the battle in such a way as to state that they are absolutely right and justified before God in all of their actions and that those who disagree or oppose them are therefore absolutely wrong and unjustifiable before God.yet, even a simple reading of the Bible shows that these men and women are no friends of the truth... much less lovers of such. This is what makes deception so bad my friends… it is not just content to lay festering where it is… but instead, masquerading as truth it works endlessly to infect the whole of the body it is exposed to.

In the Colson article the idea of civil war is alluded to and that is also a distinct possibility insofar as Iraq is concerned. Lately there have been a barrage of propaganda articles, commentaries, and even email from soldiers to friends and loved ones trumpeting how successful things are going to be in Iraq once the elections are held and once the Iraqi security force is fully up and running. I call these items pieces of disinformation and propaganda, because it is exactly what they are. In the last several days I have received numerous forwarded emails boasting all kinds of numbers purported to be true concerning how the security force is growing and how the election turnout will be significant and relevant insofar as ending the insurgency is concerned. There emails are coming from soldiers who are usually Christians and who always seek to galvanize the folks back home with embellished numbers.

My how people have short memories. These are the same types of emails that told us of the WMD’s being found when the attack on Iraq first started and they are also the same types used to trumpet the new schools being built and electricity being restored in the aftermath of the invasion along with the news of how the press was over-reporting the effectiveness of the insurgency. Newsflash to those receiving these emails... There were no WMD’s, few schools have been rebuilt and reopened, electricity is still not completely restored to prewar levels, and the insurgency is stronger today than it has ever been. The coming election will not stem the tide of rebellion against occupation in Iraq and the Iraqi security force is a joke. A more accurate account of how things are over there can be gotten from reading a recent interview with Army Medic, Patrick Resta.

I do not say these things gleefully… for goodness sakes; my brother is over there. I do not want him or anyone else to get hurt… but the simple truth is that the overwhelming, verifiable evidence points to failure on these fronts. What really makes it terrible is that the only way the US can claim any sort of success over there is to find a “justifiable” excuse to “turn the heat up” so to speak. By that I mean to escalate the level of violence in order to destroy the insurgency. This means death squads and more leveling of cities like was done in Fallujah. It probably also means attacking Iran and eventually even Syria in order to gain the kind of latitude necessary to wage total war in the region.

Obviously, none of this is Christ-like… just as parroting lies about the US’s success in bringing Christian values and democracy to Iraq through torture, bombings, death squads, and artillery fire is not of Christ.

Most Americans refuse to be swayed by the facts though. They instead choose to believe the lie. Most of their grousing is centered on their superiors not making the lie more believable… instead of doing any real questioning of the lie itself. As I have been prone to saying lately… How is that for strong delusion?

January 15, 2005

Though struggling in Iraq, the transformation of the American Republic in to the American Empire is rapidly under way. In spite off current setbacks the Pentagon is charging full speed ahead with plans to revamp the military into a force more appropriate for conquest and control of multiple nations. These plans are in line with their agenda to extend US imperial control beyond their already expansive state and to clamp down on dissent and unrest in many "colonial" outposts.

One facet of that plan, not truly remarked upon in the link above is the effort to bring back the death squads, as used by the US in Central America during the 1970's and 80's. What one would think to be a clandestine affair is being reported upon right out there in the open... as recent reports confirm analysis made earlier by many (including Antipas Ministries) that the US would soon resort to running Central American-style death squads in an effort to crush the insurgency. Sure enough, less than a year after John Negroponte becomes ambassador, news comes out of concrete evidence showing the US plans to subject the Iraqi people to the same terror, torture, and murder as Salvadorans were put through during their own "Negroponte Era."

What is really shameful is that Christians in the US do not really care about such things. There has been no real outrage at what happened at Abu Ghraib... much less Fallujah... and now there is nary a peep about what business Christianity has linking itself up to the running of death squads in conquered Iraq.

Fritz Stern would say this is because American Christianity is more fascist than anything else... and I would be hard pressed to disagree with him. Stern lived through the holocaust and has seen firsthand the transformation from "Christian nation" to fascist empire. The evidence of a transformation to fascism is evident to all who truly desire to see it. Take a look at this quote... which was provided courtesy of the blog, Reality Based Nation:

"These so-called ill-treatments and this torturing... were not, as assumed, inflicted methodically, but were excesses committed by individual leaders, subleaders, and men who laid violent hands on internees... It is obvious that there were elements among them who would ill-treat internees, but this ill-treatment was never tolerated."

The blog's purpose for offering the quote was so that people could choose whether it was a statement from Alberto Gonzales or Rudolf Hoess. Can you guess who actually said it? Though it sounds as if something offered up at a US press conference it was in fact a quote from Hoess made during his trial at Nuremberg... for his part in the holocaust of the Jews. How long before America's holocaust begins in full force?

As a side note... I find it interesting that Monsanto is suing farmers over supposed acts of "seed piracy." It seems that when one enters into an agreement with Monsanto to use their seeds... one is not allowed to use new seed produced in crop growth for replanting the following year. This cuts into their profits, since their standing agreement requires farmers to purchase new seeds every year. Without going into too much detail... let me just say that situations such as this, where agribusiness bottom line interests supercede the rights of people to grow crops, are tailor made for having a part in bringing about the famines and pestilences described in the Bible as happening during the end of days.

Another side note is the fact that stories about a pending draft just won't seem to go away. Among recent news items is the following gem from a local paper, which puts out the call for potential draft board members. Things like this just don't happen in a vacuum. Papers, even small-time "hick" papers don't publish stories like this without something being there to make them relevant.

Not too much fanfare was given to the news of the end of the hunt for WMD's in Iraq. This is just another point in the tin wheel of lies that have been offered unchallenged by the resident Christians running the US. The news itself made me feel like when I heard that OJ wasn't going to look for Nicole's killers any longer... I guess I shouldn't be surprised; and really I'm not. There is so much subterfuge being perpetrated by those in power that it can make one a little numb to it at times. Take the news about conservative pundit Armstrong Williams receiving essentially a quarter million dollars worth of payola to stump for Bush legislation on his radio show and other venues. This type of thing ought to engender at least a little surprise from me... but it really doesn't. I find it quite easy to believe that Williams, Leeden, Limbaugh, Liddy, Hannity, O'Reilly, and all the other right-wing media warriors are very much pushing an orchestrated message. This isn't so much sad as is the fact that American Christians have lapped up their regurgitated utterances when in most cases they are in direct opposition to the clear words of the Bible.

Is all of it a part of some kind of grand plan? Is everything going on in Iraq part of some kind of larger strategy or are we just witnessing the muckity muck of war? Some folks are saying Iraq's further unraveling is part of a strategy to bring about a civil war... which would take the crosshairs off of American troops and make Iraqis place them on each other. Aside from being murderous and cynical if true, it also seems to be a bit of a stretch to think that at this point the US can do anything to turn the hatred earned from what has transpired onto other parties. I am more inclined to think that at best the US is looking for an excuse or avenue to replicate what was done in Fallujah on a larger scale. When measured efforts are not successful the most common option of conquerors is to up the ante.

Upping the ante is exactly what the US is in the process of doing. If they were really interested winning hearts and minds they wouldn't be replicating the nightmare of El Salvador in Iraq. The death squads (which were by the way, supported by US evangelicals) the US used in that nation during the 80's left a hatred and resentment of the US among the populace that still exists in large measure today. As stated by Robert Parry, "By employing the 'Salvador option' in Iraq, the U.S. military would crank up the pain, especially in Sunni Muslim areas where resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq has been strongest." Cranking up the pain is not something one would normally associate with a "Christian nation"... but then again, the US is no ordinary Christian nation.

The US is instead a nation that merely uses the name of Christ as a bludgeon to beat back those who oppose it... both within and without. This may seem a harsh statement... but what else can one say when such "luminary men of God" as James Dobson give themselves over to winning the battles of this world at all costs? Dobson, who obviously wasn't satisfied with merely being apostate for mixing psychology and Christianity has now jumped into the ring as one of the Church's most powerful politicos... and in doing so has brought the name of Christ along with him. To men like Dobson morality and ethics are malleable subjects that apply in some cases but don't apply in others. His foray into the world of politics will not sully him, since he long ago passed into the realm of Nicolatia, but will instead further degrade the direction of the marriage between the US and its Christian Church.

What Dobson and his ilk are doing is transforming America into a nation of mindless fascist (there's that word again) who have adulterated the scriptures beyond recognition in an effort to justify their actions. The Bible characterizes this "adulteration" as the sending of "strong delusion."

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2 Thessalonians 2:11

The delusion is here my friends. One can see it everyday within America and its Church. No doubt the world too has been infected by this virulent force... but its roots are firmly entrenched in the "destroying mountain" spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah.

January 3, 2005

Every now and then we get questions and comments about our thoughts on the various conspiracy theories dealing with the end of days. Lately there have been a few more than usual and it seems appropriate at this time to weigh in anew on this matter. Up front I’ll say that there is probably not a book or website that someone could direct us to, which purports to prove the existence and relevance of the Illuminati, the Masonic conspiracy, etc. that we as a ministry have not checked out. So please do not flood us with evidence you think we may have missed over the years, which would show us these are secretly involved in the process of ushering in the reign of the antichrist. Most importantly, all matters relevant to the end times must make sense and be confirmed by the clear meaning of God’s Word. It is upon this basis that our beliefs on these matters are founded.

Secret Societies, Skull and Bones, the Masonic Lodge and other things of that nature aren't really the focus of Antipas. We have dealt with these matters in our writings and we have done a lot of research on the subject(s). These things are for the most part a ruse... at least insofar as their having a substantial (or even peripheral) part in the events and deception of the end times. Christians, in most cases, are drawn to looking for "boogie men" in areas such as this because they refuse to plainly see that RANK AND FILE Christians have been caught up in the deception of following after their own lusts. People seem to somehow think that if it weren't for the evil perpetrated by the NWO, the Illuminati, Skull & Bones, the Trilateralist, etc. then America and its Christian populace would still be on the right course.

This kind of thinking is unfounded and dangerous. The elites who call the shots in the US are not driven to attain power out of some Luciferic conspiracy... they are driven towards this end by the fact that their love of mammon has caused them to hate the TRUE things of God. The Bible says that no man can serve two masters... that in doing so you will love the one and HATE the other.

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other..."

Christ then clarifies what he means by this when immediately afterward He says:

"Ye cannot serve God and mammon. " Matthew 6: 24

The Bible also says "the love of money is the root of ALL evil."

"For the love of money is the root of all evil:" 1 Timothy 6: 10

It doesn't say some evil... and it also doesn't say that money is one of many contributing factors in bringing evil into the world. Once again it says, "the love of money is the root of ALL evil."

Men of power are not working in concert to bring about Luferic worship and they are not even consciously working to bring about the kingdom of the Antichrist. They are merely being ruthless and without conscious in their efforts to attain as much wealth as possible. That is their unifying goal... not some cabalist agenda. What Christians are doing... in chasing after such conspiracies is trying to find a way to absolve THEMSELVES of their responsibility for the terrible shape that the world is in today. Steve wrote an article a while back entitled Making Men Cogs in a Machine. The article was about the role that everyone plays in supporting and furthering the goals of the Antichrist system insofar as US bankruptcy laws are concerned. It also touches on how this is especially true for those within the US, which is after all... the belly of the beast.

Think about it for a second and look at the horrific way in which this pyramid has been constructed... If you work for an oil company, an oil service company, a utility company, or a shipping/transportation company then all the blood being spilled to secure the oil that keeps your profits up and operating costs down is on your hands. If you work for Wal-Mart, then you are part of a system the exploits the labor of slaves and prisoners throughout the world. If you work for any of the other retail outlets you are also culpable in that sense. If you work for General Motors, Ford, etc... it is more of the same. Plus, if you work for GM, GE, Northrup Gruman, Brown & Root, Halliburton, etc. then not only are you culpable for the use of slave labor, but you are also responsible for the deaths of the untold thousands upon thousands that die from the weapons of war these companies. If you work in Finance then you are culpable for the fleecing of pensions, retirements, 401k funds, and the day-to-day wages of the average working man, not just in the US but also in all the countries that the US Finance sector does business. If you work in agriculture or food services then you are responsible for all the ramifications of genetically modified foods and the starvation and destitution that agribusiness and corporate food services have brought to the world. If you work in any other service industry (anything from communication, to construction to accounting) you rely upon these big companies and their subsidiaries to survive, since they (and their employees) are your customers.

It is all like one big huge pyramid. At the top are the CEO's and Directors of the "big boys," along with the old money families that still call the shots in finance and the oil industry. Next are the mid level and regional players, most of whom are billionaires themselves... or multimillionaires several times over. After that the pyramid keeps spreading out until it eventually encompasses everyone. This is the system of Satan. It is not the system of God. It is Satan's and since he is at this moment the present "world-ruler” it is the system the world embraces.

The problem starts when Christians become enmeshed in the system, and this is what is so terrible about the US. Those big money guys I mentioned earlier are also the same men who bankroll much of what passes for the Church in the US. The foundations and trusts set up by the super-elite have planted most of the seed money behind the major works of the mainline denominations in the US. The people that sit on the boards of these denominations and those that sit in the pews of the churches are also the self-same ones who are the "cogs in the machine..." as Steve put it in the past article I mentioned above. Instead of recognizing and rejecting the origins of this system... and its exploitation of the many for the enrichment of the few... they have instead choses to JUSTIFY it with the power and authority of the Christian Church. The Church, which is supposed to be made up of those who have been "called out of the world”, has instead manipulated the words of the Bible to legitimize this system. In doing so they provide a covering (a very false one though) for all who are the "cogs" in said machine. In doing this they make it not just OK, but in a very real sense your Christian responsibility to defend a system that is of satanic origin.

Sadly, Christians by and large overwhelmingly do so. They will fight for the system because it provides their way of life. They will fight for the system because to stand against it means that you can lose everything... including your life. Yet in doing so they reveal their lack of love for the Savior because He essentially told His Church that unless they were prepared to lose everything (including their lives) that they were not worthy of the Father.

"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Matthew 10: 38-39

Rather than placing themselves at odds with the system Christians instead have merged their faith in Christ with it and in doing so have clearly shown their refusal to "take up their cross and follow after Him.". In that sense it is similar to how the Roman Catholic Church merged itself with elements of the paganism that it conquered in the former Roman Empire. Just as the result was disastrous for the Church in Rome... so too is it disastrous for the Church today.

So you see, if Christians cannot admit that the very system in its totality is evil... and that their jobs, their culture, their families, and their churches have been infected by it; then they have to go digging around in the shadows to find where the evil in this world emanates from. That is where the conspiracy theories come in. Saying that Skull and Bones, or the Illuminati are responsible for directing the world towards the kingdom of Antichrist gives Christians who have been compromised by the system a pass. [Once again the definition, in this sense, of being compromised by the system is one who defends their place within the status quo with the Bible and/or their Christian faith.] In reality, the world is headed towards the kingdom of Antichrist because 280 million Americans are pushing it that way... as are probably 95% of the world's 6 billion people. Think about it... Hitler and Goering alone didn't murder 6 million Jews in the ovens. It took the complicity of 70 million Germans to accomplish that terrible feat.

This is why we are so persistent in our call to American believers to flee from the US; because sooner or later, everyone who remains within that beast WILL compromise their faith to survive within the system. The difference between America and the rest of the world is that ONLY in America will you find the system defended, supported, and enmeshed so completely with the Church... and it is also within America that the system worldwide is ruled over. Once more, the Bible says, "the love of money is the root of ALL evil." It is this love of money (and also the fear of losing it), which causes people to compromise their faith in Christ to the dictates of the system. Overwhelmingly, everyone who has backed out of coming to join us in Canada has done so for financial reasons. Plus, everyone who speaks out against what we are saying insofar as coming out of Babylon is concerned has an issue of money at the root of their reasons for rejecting God's commandment to "come out of her."

In doing so such people reveal that they are falling (or have fallen) prey to the snare that Christ warned of insofar as "serving two masters" is concerned... and just as men have done for time immemorial, they cloak their love of the things of this world in the language of faith and religiosity. That is the hallmark of Babylon and its religion. It is also why people who do such things are ripe for the picking insofar as becoming, "partakers in her sins" are concerned. Now some will protest and say that they do not love "the things of this world" and that they are only doing their best to be responsible before God, or that they do them out of a genuine conviction (i.e. fear) of not being able to take care of their families. Once again though this does not exhibit anything in the way of wisdom or responsibility insofar as the things of the Lord are concerned. He has not called us to always take the safe and responsible route in the way that the world deems such things. Nor has He called us to always make sure we have covered our earthly debts before we go on with Him. Nothing supercedes our calling to be about "His business" and to that end, if we are truly "about His business" then He will provide the way and the means for the meeting of our earthly needs and demands.

Rather than have this kind of faith though, most Christians hedge their bets and only serve the Lord once the things of this world have been properly dealt with. In this environment people have to construct conspiracy theories because they refuse to see that they are responsible for bringing about the kingdom of Antichrist and that they are willing participants. It is because of this, and the empirical evidence that such contrivances are not true that we at Antipas reject the notion of the Illuminati, Skull and Bones, the Free Masons, or any other such entity as having a "behind the scenes" role in working to bring the people of the world under rule of Lucifer and his Antichrist kingdom. There is no need for such subterfuge, since the lust for money in the hearts of all men is already leading them there.

"He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks" Proverbs 7: 22

December 31, 2004

[What was going to be a brief recap of the year 2004 has instead turned into something of a substantial (for me at least) commentary concerning the significance of recent events on matters of prophecy and of what God is trying to show us and lead us to do in respect to them.]

The Beginning of Sorrows

The “beginning of sorrows”… That phrase has an incredibly ominous sound to it. The Bible uses the term to describe the time period leading up to the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, i.e. the last seven years, i.e. the tribulation. It is Christ, Himself, who uses the phrase in His description of the events preceding the tribulation period.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24: 4-8

And also in the Book of Mark:

“And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.” Mark 13: 5-8

While the term “beginning of sorrows” isn’t used, Luke’s Gospel also includes Christ’s description of the events to precede the tribulation period:

“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” Luke 21: 8-11

As I touched upon in my last journal, it is becoming readily apparent that we are entering into that “dreadful period of time.” How else can one explain the terrible catastrophe that has devastated the entire coastal region of the Indian Ocean? India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia have been decimated with reports indicating the death toll could exceed 400,000 with property damage in the untold billions. Literally hundreds of communities, towns, and cities have been ravaged in multiple countries and the problems for that area are really just beginning. Disease and famine will be very hard to suppress for these areas as debris, the dead, and floodwaters have contaminated most sources of drinking water. Indigenous fishing economies, which are the backbone of many of these coastal areas have been wiped out and with them a substantial part of the food supply. Tourism areas such as Thailand’s barrier islands have suffered terrible losses with entire islands destroyed. This means the loss of thousand upon thousands of jobs in these areas and millions of tourist dollars lost.

This is a calamity the likes of which has hardly been seen in the world’s history. Simultaneous to this we have a brutal war of occupation and insurgency going on in Mesopotamia. One where the world’s most powerful and most Christian nation is battling to establish iron-clad control of the world’s second largest oil reserves under the ruse of establishing democracy. The strategic importance of this conquest insofar as empire building is also blatantly obvious. Controlling Iraq and having a substantial American military presence in the center of the Middle East gives the US the ability to rain tremendous violence down upon an arch of nations including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey (at this time still an “ally”) Egypt, Libya, and the Sudan. These are nations that have a direct role in the coming Gog Magog War.

Speaking of the Sudan, let us not discount the roughly two million deaths in that country’s decade of internal violence and strife. In what can only be termed as genocide, the Muslim north has invaded, slaughtered, and sold into slavery the people of the Christian south in this North African nation. This all comes on the heels of a similar tragedy in Rwanda that saw over one million die in the mid-1990’s.

To get back on the subject of Iraq and empire, one cannot discount the importance of what the US is doing in Iraq insofar as reference to the “beginning of sorrows” is concerned. Since the beginning of US hostilities with Iraq in 1991 until today, well over one million Iraqis (mostly women and children) have been killed. These deaths include those of over a half million people (mostly children) occurring because of the sanctions and air war of the Clinton presidency.

Also of note is the necessity of the nation, which is Babylon the Great, to physically rule over the geographic area known anciently as Babylon. Many have mistakenly said that the Antichrist and his nation are to be specifically from that region, or that an existing empire will “relocate” to the ancient land; but this does not fit with what the Bible tells us. The Book of Daniel reveals the fact that the final form of gentile world power will have absolute control over ancient Babylon, but it also shows that its empire will not be ruled from Babylon. To see this one has to look at the specific scripture involved from Daniel 2:

“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” Daniel 2: 31-44

To one degree or another, most who study Bible prophecy are familiar with these passages. It is Daniel’s interpretation of Nebudchadnezzar’s dream that forms the basis of understanding for much of the prophecy dealing with the kingdom of the Antichrist. Later passages in the Book of Daniel and the Book of the Revelation build upon the foundation of understanding that begins with these passages.

The picture Daniel 2 paints is of a succession of world empires beginning with Nebudchadnezzar and ending with the Antichrist and Babylon the Great. S.R. Shearer, in his book The Antipas Papers goes to great lengths to shed light on the meaning of these passages and in doing so to reveal the identity of the nation known as Babylon the Great. Shearer writes:

“The first prophetic outline of the course of this period - the ‘Times of the Gentiles’ - is given in Daniel 2, where, through the medium of the "great image," the successive empires that would exercise Gentile dominion over Jerusalem are outlined. [The term ‘empire’ as used here is better understood as ‘civilization;’ the English word ‘empire’ implies mere political or military unity, while Daniel has in mind a unity of far greater dimensions than what the word ‘empire’ denotes - a unity which embraces a common culture, law, science, social structure, religion, etc., and is best expressed in the English language by the word "civilization."]”

The conclusion drawn is that Western power has held sway over the world since the time of Rome and that at this late date it has reached its pinnacle in the power and authority of the United States as the dominant nation in the world. In its dominance the US has truly built a world empire such as never seen before and to go back to our original point, that empire now includes quite literally the lands of ancient Babylon.

This is crucial insofar as Daniel 2 is concerned because all of the empires referenced in Daniel’s dream ruled over the land of ancient Babylon (in addition to Jerusalem) as well. Nebudchadnezzar as king of Babylon, obviously ruled over the land; but so too did the Medo-Persians (the chest and arms of silver, ibid Daniel 2: 39), the Greeks (the belly and thighs of brass, ibid Daniel 2: 39), and the Romans (the legs of iron, ibid Daniel 2: 40). All of these successive world empires ruled over the geographic area known as Babylon. Yet only Nebudchadnezzar actually ruled FROM Babylon. The Persians ruled from Persepolis, the Greeks from Macedonia, and the Romans of course from Rome. It will be no different for that final form of the “Roman Empire,” i.e. the “feet part of iron and part of clay.” This final form of empire, which is also known as “Babylon the Great,” now rules over the land of ancient Babylon, yet it rules from Washington D.C.

So here we are at the eleventh hour, so to speak. Calamities and natural disasters occurring on an epic scale and Babylon the Great ensconced in the land of Nebudchadnezzar’s ancient kingdom. Yet no one in the Church is talking about these things. Instead the Church in America is concerned with winning the War in Iraq, consolidating their power at home, and with the making money. Even throughout the world not many seem to grasp the prophetic significance of all that has taken place in 2004. As S.R. Shearer said to me recently, “never underestimate the ability of human beings to adapt to ever worsening situations.”

By that he meant that 9-11 occurred and everyone was up in arms, but then they adapted and went on with their lives (i.e. the pursuit of the things of this world). Next came the war in Iraq and people adapted and went on with their lives. As the death toll has escalated in the war so too has the ability of people to adapt to the new environment and go on with their lives. Even now with the devastation of the tsunami still not fully known people are adapting and finding a way to go on with their lives. In doing so the are blinding their own eyes to the prophetic significance of these events. In times past I would look at the following passage of scripture and wonder how it could be so:

“But as the days of (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (Noah) entered into the ark,

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: 37-39

I always wondered how men and women could give themselves over to the rote pleasantries of life when all the catastrophic events of the end of the age were unfolding around them. Now I understand how. People choose to be blinded in order to avoid dealing with the reality of the times. I have seen it first hand and have seen nothing to suggest that the Church or the world will become more perceptive as time passes.

Yet it doesn’t mean that all will fail to take notice of what is happening around them and it is to those that Christ has called us to minister and offer His message of hope. I made mention of this fact in a recent email to a friend and brother in India and also noted the importance of our testimony at this time. An excerpt is below:

“There will be more events of this nature to come. We have to be strong in Christ to have His testimony during these times. The simple truth of the matter is that most people in the world do not want to hear the truth unless they are in some sort of a state of crisis. For some it is personal or emotional crisis... and for others it is tragedy like the world has witnessed over the past few days. This doesn't mean we as believers relish in the pain of others for the opportunity it offers us to preach Christ to them... but it does mean that at times like this more than ever; our testimony of Him offers true hope. [In fact it offers the only hope]

The hope comes, as you know, in the fact that our kingdom is not of this world... it is instead a heavenly kingdom. If ever there was a time for men and women to realize the frailty of life and the fact that there is nothing in the world that can be built, which cannot be destroyed... that time is now…”

“…Once again, I truly believe we are now in the time called the ‘Beginning of the Sorrows,’ and over the years to come I do not believe there is a corner of the world that will be spared from calamities like this. It bodes well for you, I, and everyone else who truly loves the Lord to be about His business... because it is only in Christ that we can have peace... and it is only in Him that our burden can be light and our ‘yoke’ easy.”

It also bodes well for those Christians living within Babylon the Great to realize the impetus upon them to flee. Whereas the world at large will undergo terrible upheaval and tragedy in the times to come, those within Babylon will also fall prey to the “leavening effect” of “partaking in the sins” of that “proud and haughty nation.”

Many have told you and will tell you that there is no reason to leave. They will tell you it is too hard or that there is no need to flee because Christ will protect you wherever you are at, but to put it bluntly that is a lie. God has offered protection to His children through His call for them to flee! Just as He sent the angel to warn Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt with the infant Jesus and just as He sent His angels to warn Lott to flee from Sodom, so too has He warned His children in Babylon to flee. Whereas angels did the job in those cases, He has provided a much more excellent warning to us this time. That is the testimony of His Word.

Yet it is up to believers to listen to that Word. There will be no parting of the Red Sea to provide exodus to the Church in America and there will be no blood on the doorway to provide protection to your house from the leavening effect guaranteed to those remaining within. God’s sign for American Christians to flee Babylon is the same sign of Jonah that He offered to the people of Nineveh.

“A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet (Jonah). And he left them, and departed.” Matthew 16: 4

The sign of Jonah mentioned there was his preaching of God’s warning! There was nothing supernatural about it. Yet the people of Nineveh responded and God spared them. As 2004 draws to a close I wonder how many within America will respond to the sign of Jonah being offered to them today. Acting upon the preaching of God’s message to them to flee Babylon is their only hope.

Additionally, as we wrap this year up I pray that everyone reading this take seriously the signs offered to them via the events transpiring around the world. If these are truly “the beginning of sorrows” then it is imperative for people to act accordingly. God has called His Church to be a witness in these final days and on that point He is not negotiable. I pray that everyone take appropriate action based upon God’s Word and the days in which we are living.

God Bless Until 2005,

Sean Mayfield
Antipas Ministries

December 27, 2004

There was terrible news over the holiday weekend, as the largest earthquake in the last 40 years struck off the coast of Indonesia and the resultant tidal wave killed over 20 thousand people and destroyed property in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia. One account of what went on said, “It seemed like a scene from the Bible.” Though the reporter making the statement probably made no real connection between Biblical prophecy and the events of this weekend, those versed in the prophetic scripture cannot easily discount the significance of events such as these.

Among other places, Matthew 24 makes specific mention of calamities such as this in its description of the events preceding the return of Christ:

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Mat 24:7-8

Yet events such as these do not give us a “specific time frame” as to where we are on the prophetic timeline… In their frequency and their occurrence in the context of the “greater body of Scripture,” they do however; let us know that we are close to the end of the age.

Another facet of today’s world that leads us to that conclusion is the ever-clenching grip of surveillance technology upon the lives of average people. A recent article by SR Shearer focuses on GPS technology usage in cell phones for the purpose of tracking people and a recent LA Times article reinforces the already ample evidence. Americans (and even Canadians) are living in a world where it is increasingly becoming evident that their every move can be tracked. In and of itself, technology is no bad thing… and most of these advances (GPS technology, smart cards, etc) in the right environment would be beneficial to folks. Yet this present world is not the right environment. It is a world that is fallen in its nature… one that is ruled by its present cosmo-crater (i.e. world ruler) Satan. In such a world, technology such as this always ends up being used by the powerful to oppress the weak… even to the point of death. If you think I am over sensationalizing things then just look back at history for an example. Tracking people and monitoring their identity and whereabouts has in more cases than not turned out to be catastrophic for those being tracked and monitored. One example of this would be the Nazi Party’s use of IBM “punch card technology” to identify, catalogue, track, and eventually enslave and exterminate the Jews. So to say the least, the matter of surveillance technology and its use by the powers of a police state is no laughing matter.

Every police state needs its dictator and the US most definitely has the groundwork firmly laid with George W Bush at the helm. Yet some grassroots Fundamentalists and liberal church Christians are uttering the “A” word concerning him. The “A” word is antichrist… and there are some making a case that GWB is “the man of sin.” A new Seattle Weekly article examines this matter and within the article some interesting information can be found. Of the information offered the most interesting by far comes from comments made by the Rev. Rich Lang of Seattle's Trinity United Methodist Church. Lang puts forth the supposition that while identifying Bush as the Antichrist may be incorrect, one cannot ignore (when comparing the Bush administration’s words and actions against the teachings of Christ and the Apostles) the blatant “spirit of Antichrist” apparent in his administration. To put it succinctly Lang says:

“He (Bush) has the spirit of the Antichrist. Literally, break the word apart. It is a spirituality that is anti-Christ.”

The writer of the Seattle Weekly article Tim Appelo, in an interaction with Lang’s comments, also provides the following nugget, which cuts straight to the chase:

“Bush policy is based on what he told his Harvard Business School professor— "Poor people are poor because they're lazy." Responds Lang, ‘Again, anti-Christ. It's just the opposite [of Christ's teaching]. The thrust of right-wing Christianity—their solution to poverty is to discipline the poor.’”

Here at Antipas Ministries we have often commented that the rich have seized control of the Church, and that sentiments such as deducing that the poor are poor because they are lazy come not from the mouth of Christ, but instead from men like Rockefeller, Morgan, Chase, Mellon, Bradley, etc. The extent to which the philosophy of the rich has corrupted the message of Christ is apparent by the acceptability of it by the very poor people sure to endure greater suffering when men of such thought are in power.

Within the Seattle Weekly article there is also a link to Lang’s own commentary on these matters, which is entitled The Rise of Christian Fascism. Insofar as recognizing the problem is concerned, Lang is for the most part right on target. The idea that for Bush leadership is not about representing the people but instead means, “transcending the will of the people” is dead on target.

Bush feels no obligation, within the constructs of democracy to be accountable to the people or to cater to the “will of the governed.” Instead Bush claims to answer to a “higher calling” that people may not always understand (or even agree with), but one that is divine and must not be questioned. If that doesn’t seem like a fertile ground for planting the seeds of an “antichrist-type dictatorship” then I do not know what does. Additionally the commentary provides some very informative quotes from Bush and Cheney, which more than show their bent towards draping the actions of the his presidency, his administration, and the US in a cloak of divinity:

“History has called America to action. … The great hope of our time, and
the great hope of every time, now depends on us." ….

“We must also remember our calling as a blessed nation to make the world
better … and confound the designs of evil men.”

“Our nation has been chosen by God and commissioned by history, to be a
model of justice before the world.”

*** According to Vice-President Cheney: America “has the duty to act with
force to construct a world in the image of the United States.”

Sadly, more Americans than not buy off on this type of rhetoric and in doing so fall prey to the deception of the end of days… one that paints America as God’s redeemer nation and places a call upon every American to take action in its fight against “the forces of evil” (as they and not the Bible define them). The world is very far along the path of seeing Babylon the Great revealed in all its false-glory… while George Bush and his Christian legions are at the forefront of the effort. How is that for deception?

In actuality Bush and company care nothing for God, His Kingdom, or even for the subjects of this present kingdom. The exploitation of America’s soldiers during the present conflict more than proves this point. From equipment shortages to stop loss orders and from the cutting of benefits for soldiers to lying about death and casualty rates Bush and company have proven they think of America’s soldiers as nothing but grist for the mill. Things have gotten so bad that even some conservatives (among them Trent Lott and Chuck Hagel) have begun calling for changes in the way things are being handled in Iraq. Yet moral imperatives offered from men who have displayed only selective morality at best are farcical to the extreme. The same guys calling for Rumsfeld’s head now are the self same ones who want us to totally ignore their own efforts towards and their fanatical support of Bush’s push to war in the first place. Butler Shaffer puts it best when he says:

“That Lott and Hagel – who voted ‘guilty’ in Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial for lying about his relations with Monica Lewinsky – could don moral blinders for the more sinister lies of George Bush, reflects the cravenness of people who take a stand on ‘principle’ only when it is safe to do so. Such people are akin to the ‘animal rights’ advocates who berate Beverly Hills matrons for wearing fur coats, instead of confronting ‘Hells Angels’ motorcyclists for wearing leather jackets.”

As I said above these types of men care nothing for God, His Kingdom or even for the subjects of this present kingdom, but they are the very ones who have hijacked the Church in service to the elite.

Lest we think they are happy with clamping down on Americans or waging war in Iraq, we also must consider what they are up to in the Ukraine. As SR Shearer put forth in his latest piece, the subterfuge and duplicity involved in bringing about the “Orange Revolution” has American fingerprints all over it…. With the second election now over and Washington’s man, Yushchenko ahead of former labor leader Yanukovich things still may not be resolved. Yushchenko has claimed victory and reported but disputed totals back his claim… but Yanukovich and his party have declared that they will not concede “amid ominous murmurs of a blue-and-white ‘revolution’ of (their) own.”

Can you blame them for not giving up the fight? American money, influence, and intelligence have been behind the defeat of Yanukovich from day one. Their man Yushchenko has long standing ties with the Neocons and even his own wife has been a part of the effort to bring the Ukraine into the US orbit. A recent Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal piece committed to singing her praises instead reveals the basis for what this is all about:

“In the late 1980s and early 1990s she worked in the human rights office of the U.S. State Department. She also worked for the first President Bush in the Treasury Department. But her dream was always to help Ukraine become independent. So after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 she moved to Kiev. Her business degree from the University of Chicago helped her land a job with KPMG, the U.S. international auditing company, and she prospered training the country's economists in Western practices. She met Viktor Yushchenko when he was part of a delegation of central bankers she brought to Chicago. "He understood free markets, had a firm faith in God and knew what the right path for the country should be," she told me. The two married in 1998, and they now have three children.”

The significance of her business degree from the University of Chicago cannot be overlooked. It is from there that Leo Strauss, the grandfather of the Neocon movement, had his seat of power and it is from the "Chicago School" of economics that the ideas behind the WTO, NAFTA, and Free Trade were birthed. It is also from there that men like Wolfowitz, Shulsky, Cambone, and other Defense Department luminaries along with right-wing pundits like William Kristol have emanated. When coupled with her service with these types of people in the US government and in a company like KPMG one can easily see the direction her husband Yushchenko has planned for the Ukraine. It is a direction, which will impoverish and enslave the Ukrainian people in service of the American elites, just as has been done previously all throughout the third world.

Yet to Christians in the US, as long as one professes to support free markets and claims to have a “firm faith in God” along with knowing the “right path” for their country (i.e. a path which places it under vassalage to the US) then it matters not what the truth may be.

So here we are… the most powerful nation in the history of the world embraces an “antichrist’ form of religion and is ruled by men promoting the same. This nation is not content to let history make itself, but instead is aggressively pursuing its goal of dominion with both the machine of war along with trickery and subterfuge. It does all this under the mantle of “Christianity” and in doing so accuses all who stand against it as “evil-doers”. Meanwhile it restricts the freedom of its own citizens and relentlessly pursues methods to track and control them in all facets of their lives. Meanwhile the earth is experiencing cataclysmic earthquakes, tidal waves, wars and rumors of wars. Taking all this into account it bodes well for true believers in Christ to act now and take appropriate action to distance themselves from this beast and its religion of death and violence. The consequences for inaction are grave… and as such we at Antipas Ministries once again warn all Christians residing within this beast nation to “come out of her” lest you partake of her sins and receive of her plagues.

December 21, 2004

I want to start off by saying how sad it is that Gary Webb died and that he died the way he did. For those not aware, Gary Webb was the former San Jose Mercury reporter who broke the story that linked the CIA to the importation of crack cocaine into Los Angeles during the 1980’s. According Webb’s Dark Alliance articles, which have since been corroborated, the reason behind the CIA’s involvement in selling illegal drugs to its own citizens was a part of a US government conspiracy to use the crack cocaine trade to deliberately harm the African-American community and also raise money for illegal arms purchases to benefit the Contras in their US-backed civil war against Nicaragua’s communist (albeit fairly elected) government. Webb’s series of articles caused a firestorm of media activity and initially the Mercury stood behind him. Yet the issue was just too volatile and Webb had uncovered much too much truth to suit America’s wealthy elites, who were behind the CIA’s activities in Central America. Pressure from the top caused the Mercury to pull its support of Webb’s work and the entire media establishment, which is after all owned and operated by the elites, treated him as a pariah.

All of this occurred nearly a decade ago and in the following years Webb found himself a shunned man. He had been cut-off from his life’s calling (as an investigative journalist). During this time Webb briefly worked for the State of California and spent a short time as a writer for the now defunct web site Narconews.com. Most recently Webb was writing for the Sacramento News and Review, a local alternative press publication known more for music and restaurant reviews than for hard-hitting news. Webb had gone from internationally renowned journalist with the “story of a lifetime” to washed-up reporter for a local rag in just a few short years.

One would think that the elites who worked to have him blackballed and forever removed from the ranks of “big-time journalists” would be satisfied with their results… yet there was one more lesson to be learned. Last week Webb was found dead in his home. The death was determined by authorities to have been an apparent suicide. Yet a cursory examination of the facts leads one to the conclusion that Webb was not alone responsible for his death. He died of two gunshots to the head from a .38 caliber handgun. I am no handgun expert, but the idea that someone could shoot themselves in the head twice with such a cumbersome handgun that does not automatically or semi automatically “refire” is somewhat preposterous.

If Webb didn’t shoot himself then who did? Also, why would they do such a thing? Simply put, Webb’s death was final payback from the elites for his uncovering of their illegal activities in Central America and South Central Los Angeles. There are certain lines you do not cross with these people… and just as JFK, RFK, and MLK had done in times past… Webb had crossed those lines and the final priced had to be paid. Why you ask? As a warning!

People must understand the lengths to which the elites will go to maintain their control over the populace and they must also understand that Webb’s notoriety bought him no protection insofar as the elites were concerned. All that was required was to break him and bury him in obscurity so that at a later date, when the eyes of the world were not watching, he could be properly dealt with for the sins he had committed.

How does this relate to Christianity, the Church, prophecy, and the other matters we discuss here on this website? It relates to them because there is a lesson to be learned by believers, especially those within the US. It is imperative that people realize the manner of the beast they are dealing with here. It is absolutely necessary for Christians who state that they are opposed to the “system” to understand the lengths the masters of the system will go to in maintaining it.

Many people entertain ideas of holding clandestine meetings in secret chambers in order to keep the true Church alive in Babylon during the end of days. Yet what these people need to realize is that the system is all encompassing and that it will find you out… sooner, rather than later. Our own Steve Shearer, formerly a military intelligence officer with the 515th Army Intelligence Unit has provided ample evidence of the ability the elites have to infiltrate, subvert, and silence groups standing in the way of the American New World Order. In a past article, We Are All Being Played For Suckers, Steve offers the following evidence: