July 10, 2004

I just put the finishing touches on an updated version of a commentary I wrote a while back. It is entitled Revolution or Reform: What Is Our Calling? I encourage you to give it a read.

I have been thinking about the coming election more and more lately. Media coverage indicates Kerry is going to be able to make a real run against Bush and all the bad news out there is not going to make things any easier for Bush. However, I just can’t shake the thought that the current occupants of the White House are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their address on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Reports out now show that Bush has turned capturing terrorist suspects (at home and abroad) into publicity ploys for the election campaign. It also appears he has squashed resistance in his own party towards keeping the expanded Patriot Act intact. Yet I wonder just how serious economic factors will be in the upcoming battle for votes… especially in light of projections that Bush will not get the substantial dip in oil prices he needs to generate confidence in the economy among American voters. This and the prospects that politicizing the terror war will back-fire and that the situation in Iraq (graphic language alert for the linked to article) will get worse, not better surely make it easy to see Bush as being in real trouble.

Bush has a few trump cards left to play though. For starters… he has the unwavering support of most “Christians” in the US. Although recent efforts to further incorporate churches into the campaign apparatus have met resistance, the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of “Christian leaders” and congregations throughout the country are die-hard supporters of the president. It is kind of eerie to think that Churches will be turning their membership rolls over to Republican Party agents for use in campaigning databases (as indicated in the above linked article) and it makes me exceedingly happy that I am not an attendant of any church in the US.

However, the true revelation from this should be that Bush and company are intimate enough in their relationships with church leaders to even have the moxy to try such a thing in the first place. No doubt having this sort of sway with American Christians is a major ace in the hole for Bush… (Nothing beats having dedicated shock troops). The other ace in the hole is that I believe Bush and Co. are willing to do, or allow just about anything to insure they remain in the White House. Even if that “anything” means something catastrophic for the US, I can honestly see them letting something of the sort happen... if the situation is dire enough.

Make no mistakes though, in the world of brutal reality this is not about Christianity, good versus evil, or fighting the good fight for Bush and his cronies. It is about maintaining their present system of Corporate Aristocracy, no matter what has to be done.. including turning the extermination of enemies of the state into campaign theatrics.

Corporate aristocracy is a term coined by Marjorie Kelly author of the book, The Divine Right of Capital. Kelly describes the situation as going back to the time of kings and nobles when a very few people held all the wealth and power, and that was how the world was supposed to be. Kelly puts forth that we have yet to democratize economics and instead practice a kind of “corporate aristocracy.” Her explanation is as follows:

“The hallmark of democracy is equality. The hallmark of aristocracy is privilege. Privilege comes from the root word, privus, which means private law. It benefits a few people and not everyone else. In a corporation, only those who own stock vote. This is the private law. Since the wealthiest one percent own half of all stock, they have control over corporations. The more wealthy you are, the more wealth you have. That is privilege under a financial aristocracy.

Look at the French aristocracy before the Revolution. They had income completely detached from productivity. This is what an aristocracy always aims to do: We want to get plenty of money coming in and we don’t want to work for it. Back in the Dark Ages, the lord of the manor actually earned his keep in France. He had dues and fees coming in, and in return for that he would keep order within his realm. He would hold court and settle disputes; he would feed people in time of famine. Over time the French aristocracy dropped all its functions, but it kept its dues and fees coming in. That’s very much what we have today with stockholders. Ninety-nine percent of all stock trading is purely speculative. You may think that when you invest in a company that it is actually reaching that company, but it’s not. The stock market works like a used car market. When you buy a 1999 Ford Explorer, that money doesn’t go to Ford, it goes to the previous owner of the car. It’s the same with stock. When you invest in Ford, that money goes to the previous owner of the stock. That is true 99% of the time.

The money is just trading hands from speculator to speculator. Yet corporations are still designed to maximize returns to shareholders. So you have income that is completely detached from productivity.

In this system we are the serfs… the workers… and that includes all of us who work for a living. Companies are designed to pay working people as little as possible so they can pay shareholders as much as possible. That is what I call wealth discrimination. It says if you own wealth we are going to make you as rich as we can, and if you own nothing we will pay you as little as we can.”

This lengthy passage describes a system bearing a frightening resemblance to the description of things in Revelation 6: 6:

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

This is also the system to which the Church, specifically the American Church, has pledged its undying support. In the US, to be a Christian is to be a capitalist… and more specifically, an American-style corporate capitalist. Where in God’s Word is such a thing written? Now I am not attempting to foment a revolt against the system here… I am just pointing to the scriptural fact that our called out status, as servants of Christ, should prevent us from expending our energies in defending and maintaining said system. Yet that is what the Church is doing and will continue to do. Which is of course why we at Antipas are so adamant in our pleas for you to come out of her… lest you partake of her sins… and receive of her plagues.

July 1, 2004

For starters I’d like to make a quick note that someone recently sent out an email to a few of our subscribers that presented itself from it’s title and sender tag as being from Antipas Ministries… Well, the email was not. We had nothing to do with it as closer examination hopefully revealed to you. It is our hope that the parties responsible will not try to use subterfuge at our expense to reach out to people in the future. If not… then oh well… I suppose we’ll just keep pushing along in the faith that Jesus is Lord and that He will balance out the scales… Now on to more important things.

In a recent review of right-winger Richard Perle’s new book Micah White put forth a very relevant thought. White states:

This is ever so true and dangerously true at that… when consideration is made to the fact that this is the same way folks treat prophecy and the warnings of the Bible. S.R. Shearer posited in the Antipas Papers that:

On this point he is absolutely correct, just as White was in the “secular” sense. The events of our day more than support the idea that there are ominous things around the corner. It is not that hard to see that the Church is long down the path to destruction… and is a fully compromised vessel of this earth… as the Word said it would do. Ascertaining that there is no other true world power besides American might and that there has NEVER been a nation comparable to the USA insofar as military, and economic might is concerned. Drawing the conclusion that this great power is not being used for malevolence in the cause of spreading democracy, but is instead wielded by a rotten nation of hypocrites wrapping their sins up in the enmeshed flags of patriotism and Christianity is not that difficult… if one is willing to open his or her eyes. Deducing that the might of America is instead being used to construct an empire, strikingly familiar with the final form of world empire described in the Bible is also not too hard if one is willing to see things for what they are.

Understanding that this empire will be based in one literal nation, the above nation of which we speak… is also there for all to see. The overwhelming majority of those who read our material are very aware of this and a friend and reader, Mark Clayton recently commented:

This is just one of the many aspects of America’s makeup that scripturally identifies it as Babylon the Great. Here on the web site we have documented many more. Yet even with an understanding of what is to come… and knowledge of the real impact of the events that are happening now… most choose to do nothing.

I tell you nothing saddens us more than to see so many dear brothers and sisters take this knowledge in and then rationalize away any sort of real action based upon it. Now when I say action I am not talking about going out and voting for Kerry, Nader, or anyone like that. I’m not talking about storming the walls of Versailles… as some have recently intimated that we want to do. What I am talking about is not only recognizing that God has provided important information about what is to come… but that He has also provided us with a course of action, which is spelled out in His Word. Here at Antipas we strive to equip you to take that action, which His Word spells out.. and encourage you to take it along with us.

June 27, 2004

The Gospel of the Kingdom… It is the subject of Steve’s latest article and its fruition is the reward for those oppressed by the present kingdom of this world. It is truly good news for those who feel the boot of the American New World Order system firmly pressed upon their neck. It is a salve to those in bondage to this beast… and it should be preached as such.

For people like the poor in Venezuela, who are battling against the worst kind of treachery from the US and their own elites, it is a message of comfort and one that will open their eyes… and more importantly their hearts to salvation from the TRUE living God. For the people of Iraq it is real liberation from an occupying army along with the tortures, executions, and horrors of everyday life. For the American soldier wondering why he is there, it is a promise that a time will come when Christ Himself will right the wrongs of the world.

It gives reassurance and eternal perspective to the Pakistani Christian, who is surrounded by those violently opposed to their faith, the might of the American forces seducing them into ruin, and a rival nation armed for nuclear war on the other. For the Indian it is solace from the ravages of hundreds of years of colonialism, the neocolonialism of America’s corporate elites, and the fact they too are buttressed by a sworn enemy with nuclear capabilities.

In a world dominated by one mighty nation, which uses its power to subjugate and ravage all others, the Gospel of the Kingdom is mankind’s only true hope. As individuals we all must come to know Christ the Savior. He alone can bring us into relationship with the Father… Yet for the captives of the world, the Gospel of the Kingdom is truly the promise of a better day. It is the time when the scales of justice will be leveled and it is the time when the meek shall TRULY inherit the earth.

It is a hard message for an American, or even a Westerner to truly see. We are living in the midst of the creature comforts life in the here and now can provide. Even those in the West who truly love the Lord are not necessarily yearning for the Kingdom to come, because life in the here and now is really not all that bad. Still there are those in America and the west who long for that day as well. The empire doesn’t afford a life of ease for all within it… and as the system continues to “refine itself” (i.e. the search for cheap labor pushes more and more quality jobs from the beyond its borders, the deaths and casualties from its military actions continue to mount, and as the empire devolves more and more into a police state) the ranks of those open to a gospel proclaiming a coming era of true righteousness will expand.

It is our responsibility before the Lord to preach it as such. He knows the poor of the world yearn for this Coming Kingdom, even if as of yet, many of them do not know of its true nature or its King… Jesus Christ. Yet they do know that what represents itself, as Christianity in America is a sham and a tool of oppression used by America, as exemplified by missionary/CIA collaboration in Latin America. They know that to this point the overwhelming majority of that which shows itself as “of Christ “ is in actuality a gospel of carnality, where God is used as a hammer to beat the poor about the head so that they may be fleeced of their goods and their lives. They yearn not just for relationship with God, but for justice on earth. The Gospel of the Kingdom promises them this justice… And it is truly good news to those on the outside looking in.

June 23, 2004

** Be sure and check out the two new submissions to the
Correspondent's Corner, over on the Endtimes Network.

Maybe I'm crazy... or maybe I'm not... but things really seem to be once again lurching forward towards that terrible conclusion we all know is coming. Recent news reports that a women was arrested by federal agents for a $50 fine in Wyoming while on a cruise in Mexico seems too outrageous to be true... maybe I didn't read the news report right... huh? And the fact that people in the States can now be arrested for refusing to identify themselves to police officers (even if not suspected of a crime) surely can't be possible given all the constitutional protections against such governmental encroachment upon person or property... Yet, when you look at all the pieces of the puzzle over the past few years and realize all these things truly are happening.. then just maybe I'm not crazy and this police-state thing is truly taking hold.

Funny thing is the folks who are bringing you this American New World Order are just getting started. If the so called Christians who are pushing this agenda truly had their way... the draconian laws we are cringing about today would seem like a veritable libertarian's dream compared to the reality these men (and women) want to bring to the world.

Not so funny however, is just how bad things are in Iraq. The action-reaction spiral is running its course while the hatred and bloodshed on both sides continues to escalate. Meanwhile, GW is busy running the country by fiat... like some kind of emperor, rather than a democratically elected leader. What other assumption can you make about someone who takes on the power to have others tortured, murdered, and worse at his own whim? If the American people are anything like Fox's Bill O'Reilly, they really won't care about the ramifications of this, but will instead cheer that the process of destroying "our enemies" is being expedited in such a manner. Where is the love of Christ in all this?

The reality is that war is hell and their is nothing Christian about it. The reality is also that, protestations to the side, in order for the US continue with its plans for empire, there has to be a draft to supply the military with the requisite number of troops. The only other alternative is for patriotic youths to begin volunteering en masse. Yet when you read the following soldier's account of just what is occurring over there, it is hard to see how anyone would ever willingly volunteer for such a thing.

June 15, 2004

Be sure and check out S.R. Shearer's latest, Closing the Trap: The Draft...

It seems that reports of a recovering economy are beginning to trickle in over the past few weeks. These reports are no doubt a welcome site for Bush supporters to further take eyes away from the prisoner abuse scandal and the troubles of the occupation. However, most “new jobs” that are being created are of the “Wal-Mart” variety… and that is really no good thing for the average American. This is all part of a larger “Walmartification” of the US… as more people are pushed into low income retail jobs, which are seeing their already low wages and benefits plummet further due to the downward pressure the behemoth places upon living standards.

Speaking of Moore… it seems the Republican are working overtime to prevent his new film from ever seeing the light of day. The film paints an extremely terrible portrait of Bush, his dealing with the Bin Laden family, his real reasons for war in Iraq, and the terrible effect the war is having on Iraqis and US soldiers. Not exactly the type of content a president wants playing at the local multiplex before an election…

However, most Americans are either too brainwashed or too scared to react in any meaningful way to matters like censorship, torture, or even the transformation of the country into a police state. That is too harsh you say? Well, my response is, how can you not call it a police state when you have the military unabashedly spying upon and subverting the activities of those within the nation who have not broken any laws… but are merely opposed to where the current administration is taking the country?

If you don’t like police state, then how about theocracy… because that is surely where all this is headed… and it is also surely the picture the Bible paints of the end of days. A time where the most powerful nation is also a religious nation… and more specifically a (false) Christian nation. It is with that religious zeal that much of the evil occurring within the US is taking place at this present time. It will only get worse, and if people wait to late to take action on this matter they will become trapped and swept up in the tide of terrible events to come. We at Antipas Ministries have taken action… and are continuing to take action. We have come out of Babylon the Great and encourage you to do the same. We are reaching out to those Christ commanded we preach this Gospel to and we are helping others to come out and preach this message with us as well. Those who would counsel "finding your niche" or riding out the storm within such a terrible beast system may be giving you counsel that leads to your ruin. Those who would say each person must listen to what God is telling them are giving all of the story... because will not tell them anything, which is not already spelled out in His Word. Go to the Word yourself and examine if the things we say are true... and if you deem so... act accordingly.

June 8, 2004

The man who in some folk's eyes started it all died Saturday, June 5, 2004. Ronald Reagan, a.k.a. the Great Communicator passed on recently. Conservatives credit Reagan as being the man who single handedly rescued the nation from post Vietnam malaise, sure defeat at the hands of the evil Soviet Empire, and liberalism run amok. He is also revered among conservative Christians as the first modern president to openly bring God fearing principles and a love of Christ to the Oval Office. Sadly, most of what Reagan produced was completely at odds with the dictates of Jesus Christ and instead served the goals and aspirations of Elites in the military-industrial complex.

David Corn, of The Nation, recently reposted an old article (dated 1998) that touches upon most of the sordid issues of the Reagan presidency. From Iran-Contra, to the thousands butchered by South American dictators loyal to Reagan’s worldview and to Reagan himself, the blood of many innocents rests firmly on his head. Reagan’s friends and benefactors bilked the nation for billions in the S&L scandals, while setting a precedent of deregulation leading to Enron and our current times of corporate malfeasance. He also completely gutted funding for social programs in order to expand military spending to never before seen heights. Reagan gave lip service to Christian causes, but never effected any legislation toward such aims nor ever did anything other than push a kind of "American Civil Religion". He played upon right-wing evangelical heartstrings perfectly, winning them over enmasse to the ideology and economics of the Elite’s vision of conservatism and to this day most Christians in the US are decidedly conservative on not just moral issues, but those of defense and economics as well. It is in the sense of making the propaganda of the rich palatable to Middle America that Reagan was truly, “the Great Communicator”.

Irony of ironies is that the vision of Reagan, if fulfilled unchecked, meant and still does mean bondage to the average American… a future of lowering income, a reduced safety net, titanic military budgets, and the concomitant use of military force as the hammer to pound a world empire into shape. Yet those in the Church choose not to see those things for what they clearly are. They choose instead to relish Reagan’s willingness to battle the “evil empire” though Christ commanded them to turn the other cheek. They choose to get all misty over trickle-down economics, though it is the very policy that began the quantum leap in income inequity between the top 5% and the rest of the US populace and is a policy at odds with Christ’s declaration of woe to them that seek after riches (especially at the expense of the poor). They also choose to consider the man, “one of them” though he never set foot in one of their Churches; was open friends with murders, torturers, and drug kingpins; and allowed his wife to gallivant around with astrologers and such in the Whitehouse.

Where Reagan’s soul will rest for eternity, I know not… since it is not given to me to know where his heart was at… yet of his fruits I can surely judge his actions… and they are sorely lacking… insofar as the Kingdom of Christ and His commandments are concerned. What then is the observation we should make regarding American Christendom’s blind reverence for the man? It is that he was the first to have the chutzpah to take a message of greed, entitlement, justification for oppression, and us against them self-righteousness; and cloak it in a shield of “Christian consciousness”.

He made Americans feel good about fulfilling the lusts of their hearts. He enable them to squelch whatever guilt they held about oppressing the Southern Hemisphere for profits by cloaking US sponsored death squad activity in the battle against “godless communism”. It was Reagan who ushered in the era of free trade that we have today… A time where most every US manufacturing firm has moved their operations over seas. It was Reagan who began breaking the unions with his firing of striking air traffic controllers in 1981. It was Reagan who declared war on drugs, war on crime, and in effect war on the poor; as he filled American prisons to the rafters.

Sadly, most Christians cheer these acts and countless others of the Reagan years, yet in doing so me thinks they reveal just where their true loyalties lie… and they are not towards the man who identified himself as follows:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” LUKE 4: 18-19.

In this current day, when the Church is now far along the course Reagan set them upon over two decades ago, it bodes well that we remember his legacy and that we learn well the lessons that got us here. For the times are going to get more perilous and the sledding much tougher for those opposed to the agenda of the powers that be. Of those with a heart for the truth now… there are still more who will be swept up in the tide of the events to come. It is hard to stand in opposition to the movement of one’s time… and it is even harder to stand against taking easy alternatives and watered down solutions. Poison is still poison at its root… whether you dilute it or not… and in due time even watered down poison will dull the senses and stop the heart of those who partake in such things.

So let those who love the truth use this time of remembrance to accurately reflect upon what has led us to this point in history, and let us all be unafraid to stand firmly opposed to the words and deeds of those who use the name of the Savior to justify their ambitions. Let us also be aware that God’s Word is very specific about where all of this is headed and that He is very specific about what we, as believers in Him are to do. Let us be unafraid to do as such and let us give no quarter to those who would soften the counsel of the Lord’s own words.

May 20, 2004

In a big picture sense, what is happening in Iraq (while terrible in its own right) is part of a series of events that will ultimately plunge the world into a war of civilizations... A world war, if you will, between the West and Islam... or more specifically between the USA (Babylon the Great) along with its allies (Israel and the few Western nations willing to tag along) and the people of the Islamic world. In order to maintain its current level of operations and increase operational capacity, relative to what will be required to wage and win a world war, as well as occupy ever increasing areas of foreign soil... the US military is not far removed from requiring a draft to provide the cannon fodder needed to "man the garrisons". Recently to dear Antipas members in North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, sent me scanned pages of a US Congressional information web site. The site is affiliated with Democratic causes, but nonetheless, is very much privy to legislative matters, including pending legislation. Recently the site had very alarming info concerning the upcoming military draft, which it subsequently pulled from the Internet. Thankfully we were able to get scanned copies of these pages, which I have uploaded and made available to everyone here.

As the Iraqi prisoner scandal continues to unfold, are we at all surprised by any news coming from this front? Even news that religious-right, holy warrior, General Boykin had a prominent hand in the tortures that took place? Of significance is that if true, not only is the Church in acquiescence with what is going on in Iraq... but that prominent men within in it are setting the tone for the deeds committed there. What should one expect though, from a Church and an administration that have gone out of their way to drag the name of Jesus Christ through the mud in their quest for riches and empire? There is no doubt that not only is the Church on board with Bush's agenda, but that they are actually setting the tone... and a theocratic tone at that. Groups like the Apostolic Congress, are brazen in their lust for holding the reigns of secular power and replacing it with governance of a theocratic bent. Is this not a fulfillment of the prophecy of the woman riding the beast? This is what we at Antipas are speaking of when we state that the Church and the State, within the US have become so intertwined that it is nigh-well impossible to discern where the one ends and the other begins. These are the people, who in thinking they are doing God's service, are actually bringing about next world war and the advent of antichrist.

Lately there has been rampant speculation that Bush may well lose to Kerry in November. I am no prognosticator, but I just don't see this happening. Among other things, I feel they control the voting process enough to prevent Kerry from being officially acknowledged as having enough votes to win. By this I mean the electronic voting process is so corrupt and slanted in favor of the the Republicans, due to the right-wing proclivities of the companies supplying and administering the machines and software. Bev Harris, of the Blackbox Voting web site has been highlighting these issues for quite some time now... and now it seems the feds are stepping up their attacks to unconstitutionally silence her voice and track down those who visit her web site. The implications of this are quite ominous for those remaining in the US. What it means is that even visiting web sites pushing a message the government finds hostile can land you a list for God knows what end.

Subverting the election process may be Bush's best chance at reelection, since in addition to growing discord of Iraq, folks are still suffering economically. Last April Bush visited an Ohio factory to tout his tax cuts and proclaimed they would stimulate more jobs like those at the factory. Well, fast forward one year later and the factor has just shut its doors, adding another 1,300 jobs lost to the over 200,000 already vaporized during Bush's "Elites-first" presidency.

As the war rages in Iraq, casualties continue to escalate on both sides. 40 Iraqi civilians were recently killed while attending a wedding party in the western part of the country. This tragedy mimics a similar "collateral damage" incident in Afghanistan from a couple of years ago... and highlights why waging war and serving Christ are not compatible actions. Also of note is that the first instances of illness related to depleted uranium shells is being reported within the ranks of US soldiers. Antipas examined and reported on the issue of depleted uranium several years ago and over the course of this journal I have commented several times on the pending sorrows use of the weapons would produce within the Iraqi population and America's soldiers. It seems the chickens have begun coming home to roost, so to speak... sadly this matter will only get worse.

May 16, 2004

There are many things for one to consider, what with all the news of the goings on in Iraq. As we at Antipas said not too long ago... Ample evidence is now beginning to surface that what was taking place at Abu Ghraib was not some isolated incident of low ranking soldiers doing bad things to detainees, but is instead part of a larger precise plan to extract relevant intelligence out of Iraqi prisoners. For people to think that things like this can and do occur in a vacuum out of sight of the prying eyes of those in charge is ludicrous. What the press, for the most part, still won't fess up to is the fact that this kind of treatment of prisoners is par for the coarse, insofar as the American New World Order is concerned... and that it has been taught and perfected as a tool for intelligence gathering and repression by the United States for many, many years. Circumstances in Iraq have made it impossible for the US to do these deeds by proxy, as is usually the case throughout the world (like with Operation Pheonix in Vietnam), and have instead forced US soldiers, intelligence operatives, and contract employees to do the actual dirty work.

The methodology being used in Iraq is the same as that perfected with the Pheonix program and the very one which utterly destroyed Central and South American people's movements in the 1970's and 80's. During those times the US was able to install and maintain ferocious dictatorships that served the exclusive interests of US elites against the needs of their indigenous populations through these programs of terror. During that time literally hundreds of thousands of peasants, were slaughtered and tortured in El Salvador, Nicaraugua, Bolivia, Guetemala, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruagay, Peru, Columbia, and additionally throughout Asia and Africa and the whole wide world. These deaths were overseen directly by US personnel, in service of US corporate interests. Sadly, the American Church has been active participants in these actions, both with support from home and logistical assistance by missionaries in the field.

This time, as I stated above, things are a little different, because without a indigenous force on the ground, with which to do the dirty work, the Elites have had to use US personnel to do the heinous deeds necessary to keep the empire in place in Iraq... And once again, even in this new paradigm... the most ardent supporters of "doing whatever is necessary" to ensure victory in Iraq has been the American Church. They have allowed themselves to be bamboozled into thinking they can somhow defeat evil here on Earth before it kills them... that what God has set aside for Himself (the execution of judgment upon evil doers) has now been passed on to them... For this and a litany of other sins, God is giving America up to its own lusts... it is truly fulfilling its role as Babylon the Great... and for those with "eyes to see" the speed with which the ffinal touches of the transformation are taking place is breath-taking.

It seems the web is aflame with news of the conspiracy behind Nick Berg's videotaped murder. Many are speculating the deed was the work of a US backed death squad or that the US was at least complicit in Ber's capture and execution. Those pushing this theory say the US is intentionally trying to ratchet up the level of the conflict in Iraq so that they may fully execute the kind of war necessary to eliminate not just opposition and insurgency in Iraq, but throughout the Mid East. Even Berg's own father is now coming out against the war and is accusing the US of being culpable for his son's death.

What is important for Christians to focus on here is not necessarily who killed Nick Berg, but that this whole affair whether view under the microscope or with a broad lens, just reinforces the fact that those who truly love the Lord must flee from the US. A nation willing to go to the lengths necessary to bring about and execute a war destined to annihilate an entire civilization is no place for those who love the Lord. The Bible is explicit in describing that it is not posible to hunker down within the belly of the beast and "ride out the storm"... Those who remain will be changed... and conformed to this image of the beast. This is a beast willing to encourage and partake in the slaughter of millions, willing to sadistically torture and humiliate its enemies, willing to stage the execution of its own citizens (if the speculations in the Berg affair are true) if necessary to further the cause of dominion, and willing to do literally whatever is necessary to maintain its grip on world power. Once again... Christians who remain within this beast nation will be changed to its image. Martrydom would be a fortunate plight, but most will never get to that point and will instead fulfill the Words of Revelation 18: 4 and become "partakers of her sins" and "receive of her 'judgments'".

May 12, 2004 (P.M.)

What a day yesterday ended up being. I was pretty much out of the news loop yesterday afternoon, when I was putting together a journal to be released today I had no idea of the firestorm that was brewing with the news of yesterday evening. So what I have done is release the original journal below this entry here.

With the horrible videotaped beheading of American civilian Nick Berg and the continued escalation of the prisoner abuse scandal, these are most assuredly volatile times in which we live. What happened to Nick Berg is terrible and to see the footage displayed on the broadcast networks is horrowing and deeply disturbing. These events are all part of a terrible situation of escalated violence known as the "action reaction spiral". This a phrase coined by Samuel Huntington and while not being proponents of Huntington's worldview, we at Antipas Ministries do fully recognize that his description of the process leading to a civilization war is very much on the mark. S.R. Shearer has gone over this issue extensively in his article entitled, CULTURE WARS CIVILIZATION CONFLICT. In the article, Steve goes over Huntington's assertion that as two rival cultures/civilizations begin the process of conflict the populations of the two sides will continue to be radicalized and therefore increase the barbarity with which they attack the other side. In response to one sides visciousness, the other will see more of its people resolved to defeat their enemy and be willing to do so by more and more terrible means. this of course brings about an identical reaction from the other side as the process continues to spiral.

In this case, the combatants are the Arabic/Muslim world and the Western world (specifically the US). Ironically, the fundamentalist Islam that is fueling the resistance to Western rule over the Mid East and Muslim world is a creation incubated and financed by the US government as a way to combat the communist and socialist face most indigenous movements in that part of the world had taken on by the 50's and 60's. Chalmers Johnson predicted their would be consequences to such actions by US oil elites in subverting economies, peopels, and nations in the Mid East and throughout the world. He described the consequences as blowback... and not to diminish what happened to Nick Berg, but there can be no doubt his gruesome death is part of the blowback from GW Bush's war of conquest in Iraq and to the atrocities that Iraqi prisoners have been subjected to in Abu Ghraib and other military prison installations.

Back shortly after 9-11, I sent out a commentary dealing with the events of that day... and the decisions that Christians faced concerning these things. What I said then, is just as tru now. What is occurring is that events like yesterday's are serving only to further radicalize the US and American Christians insofar as winning this war is concerned. It matters not that in truth this war is being fought so US Elites can control Mid East oil, nor that there were never any weapons of mass destruction. Neither also does it matter, that as this thing escalates it will lead the world (and the Church) squarely to the conflict the Bible describes as the Gog Magog War. The Elites are fully aware that they could bring about a "world" war, i.e. a civilization war, which could mean the loss of millions of lives... but they believe (and are correct) that they have the military ability to win such a war and are not concerned in any real way with the deaths of young men like Nick Berg, the torture of detainees and prisoners, or of the multitudes more to be slaughtered as events carry on to their natural conclusion.

What concerns them is riches and power... which securing and directly controlling Mid East oil would insure them for generations. Most Americans refuse to see this or act upon it if they do. They choose instead to become further enraged at their "animalistic" evil enemies and are already beginning to color anyone looking Middle Eastern as one of "the bad guys." After what happened to Nick Berg, I would imagine most Americans will not be nearly so angry about the torture occurring in Iraqi prisons, nor about the thousands and thousands of lives snuffed out in the war. Rather than questioning the motives and actions of the "Christian men" who led the US into this endeavor, they are instead strengthened in their resolve to support their President's pledge to "rid the world of these evil-doers."

May 12, 2004 (A.M.)

Whether at home or abroad, the US Elites with the complicity of the government are willing to go to any lengths to destroy any and all opposition to their dreams of neverending wealth and power. To that end S.R, Shearer's latest article touches upon just how committed the organs of US governmental power are to the cause of the Elites at home. When considering things such as this it should come as no suprise that a nation as warlike and ferocious as the US is willing to commit any crime in service of wealth and empire. Regretfully, it also comes as no suprise that American Christianity has so tied itself up in the web of the Elite power-structure that it is not just supportive, but at the forfront of beating back all opposition to US imperial ambition.

War and the pursuit of war are simply not consistent in any way with the teachings or commandments of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As the hostilities in Iraq have born out over the past year; brutality, ruthlessness, cold-bloodedness, and the ability to inflict mortal damage to all perceived enemies are paramount to the successful waging of war. Also of great importance... especially when combating an insurgency as US troops in Iraq are now contending with... is the ability to collect the necessary intelligence to root out, round up, and eliminate potential insurgents. The ways and means for collecting this information is a dirty business, yet one at which the US military and its proxy armies (under US dirction) have become exceedingly adept in conducting.

What the US has been doing for quite some time in the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad and in other locations throughout Iraq is not an aberration, but instead par for the course... insofar as the breaking down of prisoners for the purpose of extracting military intelligence is concerned.

Antipas Ministries' own S.R. Shearer... a former military intelligence officer himself is very aware of this modus operandi and recently commenting upon the naivete of US citizens by saying, "how do they think the US get its information from prisoners? By offering them donuts and coffee? Or maybe a back rub every now and then?"

What is happening in Iraq is no different than what US trained dictatorships have been doing for decades in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaurauga, Columbia, Argentina, Chile, and of course Vietnam. In the latter country on this list South Vietnamese forces carried out the tortures and executions so that US officers could "keep their hands clean" but make no mistake... the pain, suffering, and death they inflicted was directed by their American bosses.

In Iraq, the US doesn't have a friendly indigenous force "in country" and therefore has to do the dirty work themselves or hire contractors to do their bidding. What's going to happen is that a few heads will roll for the images in Abu Ghraib being leaked to the press... but business will carry on as usual, because without such sordid events taking place US forces in the field will suffer even greater casualties than they already are, due to the lack of proper intelligence on the situation in the field.

Do I approve of this? No... of course not. More importantly do the Words of our Savior approve of this? Absolutely not. Christ was very explicit in His admonitions to return good for evil, turn the other cheek, and to love our enemies as well as those we consider our friends. This is why warfare in general is anethema to our Savior. This is why George Bush and other self-proclaiming Christian men heap eternal judgment upon themselves when they dare to state they have sought the counsel of God before bringing about such atrocious deeds and when they have the vanity to profess it to be their mandate to "rid the world of evil-doers." My Bible states their is One who will execute judgment upon the world and it is He who sits at the right hand of the Father at this time. To take upon this task, which the Father has designated as His... is tantamount to blasphemy in the worst sense of the word.

The toll in human lives has been horrendous thus far... insofar as Iraq is concerned, with April 2004 by far being the bloodiest month since hostilities began. It has been almost a year since GW declared combat operations to be over... but things remain far from settled... and there is regretably much more sorrow to come.

Sadly, rather than speaking out overwhelmingly against what is occurring in Iraq the Church for the most part, has either remained silent... or has tried to deflect scrutiny away from the basic assumptions that should be drawn from issues such as war, torture, and "Christian ethics". Typical of this mindset is the response of prominent right-wing Christian, Gary Bauer, who is more concerned with, "the 'media and political frenzy' (which) has 'spiral[led] out of control' … because there are a whole lot of opportunists, as well as outright enemies of the U.S., who want to exploit the problem and harm our nation or use it to serve their own narrow political purposes."

You see, the message Bauer and others like him are pushing is that, while the torture was surely a bad thing (since they got caught), what is just as bad is that there are those considered enemies (Muslims and Liberals) who are attempting to use this issue to their advantage. Ironically, when Bush used the 9-11 disaster to silence his critics in politics and the press, as well as ram his imperial dictates through Congress and the UN... this approach was OK. Yet for Bauer, it seems the great concern is not how a supposed Christian nation got itself into such a bloody disgraceful mess (while dragging Christ's name through the mud by association) but instea how those opposed to US imperial aggression and right-wing economic and political policy might use this to unseat the powers that be in Washington. Well... I can tell you this... I really can't stand those WWJD shirts and bracelets, but in this case I know for sure what Jesus would not do... and that is place politcal and diplomatic opportunism on the same par as torture, degradation, rape, and murder.

The moral of the story in all this is that when the Church embroils itself in such horrific things as warfare and subsequent torture... she will do anything to justify her wrong deeds rather than repent before the Lord... and this is where America and her Church are at... and syptomatic of why America is Babylon the Great (the Beast of Revelation) and why the American Church is that very woman of adultery and blasphemy that so whorishly rides the beast.

It is because of this... and God's commandment that His saints flee from this woman and the beast she rides... that we a Antipas Ministries have relocated outside of the US.

On the home front, we are really beginning to make things happen here in BC. We have gotten lots of work done on the property... and though there is still much left to do, we hope to be ready begin accepting multiple visitors very soon. Andy Ross, whose testimony you can read by clicking here, has diligently been assisting us with our building needs. We have all been working to shore things up overall and we have several big projects to complete while the weather is warm this year. We want to install 4 to 8 "pads" for RV's and travel trailers, with hook-ups and shower/toilet facilities. We also want to turn the new barn on the property into a residential structure that will house the students planning to come in the near future. This structure can be easily converted to such, but it will require a lot of labor and a fair amount in material costs... however it is our least expensive option, insofar as providing accomodations for more than a handful of people is concerned. We ask that you assist us in this endeavor by supporting the ministry financially (which can be done by clicking here) and that any and all who are willing and able to donate tools, time, and or expertise do so.

We will be hosting our own server in less than two months now... and in the interim we have gotten the service provider to install cable internet access for us. This means I can increase the frequency of the ISRP journal and be more responsive to emails. It also means we can more frequently update the site in general. Once we begin running from our own server, we will start offering some multimedia presentations as well as other new indepth pieces on the subjects we are concerned with here at Antipas. Keep us in your prayers concerning these things and once again support us as much as possible. Lastly, we once again implore all true believers within the US to recognize things for what they are and begin the process of Aliyah now. The Bible is very specific about what awaits those who fail to heed God's warning and it is our desire that none would perish.

May 3, 2004

News from the Iraqi front is not good by any means. Fighting between US forces and insurgent groups has escalated to terrible levels in Fallujah and in other areas of the country. Of particular note is the bloodshed occurring in Fallujah, where both Iraqi insurgents and US Marines have incurred tremendous casualties.

With news of the fighting there are also reports surfacing (along with images and video) of the torture, humiliation, and abuse to which US forces are subjecting Iraqi POW’s (many of them civilians). These reports coupled with the escalation of the insurgency suggest to some that the US may be headed towards a terrible fall in Iraq. Pundits and armchair politicos are speculating that Fallujah may be the Tet of GW’s Iraqi adventure, and that before too long US leaders will be forced to find a way to withdraw from Iraq that will allow them to “save face” in the process.

Would that this were so… yet what I see coming down the pike is much more ominous and much more in line with what the Bible portrays as the Gog Magog conflagration. The only thing prohibiting the US from successfully eliminating Iraqi opposition is that there is still a resistance among US leaders to utterly annihilate the population of the nation. Do not kid yourself either, because the US is more than capable militarily of turning every Iraqi population center into a pile of rubble suitable only for scorpions and cockroaches.

For whatever reason, at present the US and more specifically President Bush is not prepared to go to those lengths just yet. Just as President Nixon, for all his sins, was unwilling to blow the Red River dikes in Vietnam (When ironically evangelical superstar, Billy Graham was urging him to do so.) However, I believe, there will come a point where the US will decide to figuratively “blow the dikes” insofar as Iraq is concerned. Chances are it won’t happen until after the November elections, but I feel somewhat confident in saying that US troops will not ever be completely pulled out of Iraq and at no point before Christ Himself returns will there ever be any sort of real state for Iraqis that is not completely under the military, diplomatic, and economic dominion of the United States.

As pointed out in SR Shearer’s latest article, what we are seeing now is the “birth pangs” leading up to the Gog Magog War. The situation now, while in many ways similar to Vietnam, is not so on the most important points (insofar as whether America will be willing to go to any length to crush opposition within is concerned). Those points include:

The Elites are much more firmly in control of the US than they were during the Vietnam Era. During that time, one could still find basically uncensored accounts and commentary of what was truly going on with US war efforts and additionally people had much more freedom and much less fear in taking to the streets to express their antiwar sentiments. At present, the US media apparatus as owned and controlled by the same corporate elites who stand to benefit the most from imperialistic wars like that in Iraq and other such actions/policies that are an affront to the true Gospel of Christ, but serve instead to enrich the wealthy in the US.

The general population of the US is much more unsettled economically and are more concerned about their own economic well being than they are about people thousands of miles away from them. Additionally, the people of America are by and large much more politically conservative than those of a generation ago. This is reflected by the Republican’s practically unprecedented control of both the House and Senate along with their man being in the Whitehouse. Plus, one must also consider that in a real sense, the Democratic Party is just as plugged into the elites plans as their main allies in the conservative ranks. John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and most all of the prominent Democratic leaders are pro-NAFTA, pro-WTO, pro-imperial expansion (see Clinton’s militaristic actions in Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, and Serbia for examples) and very much against expanding substantive social programs at the expense of big business or the wealthy. These are all DLC men (Democratic Leadership Council) who are in actuality more like Rockefeller Republicans than anything resembling the classic “liberal”.

Yet that is still not enough… so the people, when it comes down to it have cast their lot with the Republicans… and this is significant because it brings me to my next point.

Unlike the Vietnam Era, American Christians in the 21st Century have chosen their side in the political battles of this day and age. They are overwhelmingly sided in the conservative camp. Point of fact is that they are the standard-bearers for the conservative camp. It is in a very real sense, from the pulpit that George Bush governs. His most ardent supporters and the most ardent supporters among rank-and-file conservatives are overwhelmingly Christian.

This all adds up to a unique situation for America and the world. While many are predicting America will fail in Iraq and while some are even looking for America to lose its place as sole Superpower, as true Christians we need to look at the facts in light of what God’s Word plainly says. The Bible foresees a time when there will be one nation that straddles the globe as a Colossus. The nation will have in its possession an empire that will have dominion over the whole of the globe. This nation will possess the most powerful military force the world has ever seen. This nation will also rule the world through commerce and it will be unparalleled in its economic might. The other nations of the world will be totally dependent upon the economy and consumption of this nation and its people for their own survival. (Isaiah 13 and 14; Jeremiah 50 and 51; Ezek. 27:1-3, 12; 28:2, 5,16, 18; and in the Book of Revelation as well as many other passages of Scripture.)

The Bible also predicts this final world empire will be a religious nation and specifically a Christian nation (at least insofar as it considers itself and not particularly how God considers it). It will however be a nation consumed by religious zeal that is fallen in nature. It will be an apostate or false form of Christianity. Yet it is this false form of Christianity that is so deceptive in its entrapment of the believers within that will make it all the more powerful. The Bible describes this aspect of the empire as a woman riding a beast and predicts that due to this damnable faith wedded to the empire’s overwhelming power that great sorrow, tumult, and tribulation will befall the entire world. (Rev. 17:1-8)

The Bible also foresees this nation as being the one, which produces the man of sin (i.e. the antichrist) and foresees him as being a purported friend of the empire’s fallen form of Christianity and in a very real sense the standard bearer for its causes. In reality this man has no such care for any sort of faith (even the fallen kind) and is instead concerned with wealth, power, and dominion over the entire world. (Isaiah 14:4-9, Dan. 7:7-8; 20-24; Rev. 17:9-11)

This nation is also described as presenting itself as a staunch ally and friend of Israel. It will at some point even solidify this friendship with a treaty that the Bible describes (in light of Israel’s participation) as a “covenant with death” and an “agreement with hell.” (Isaiah 28: 15)

Looking at these prophecies from the Bible and examining the situation in the world today how can we be led to any conclusion other than that the United States of America and it’s new world order system is surely this final world empire? How can there be any doubt as to the fact the America fits the bill on all accounts? Is there another nation that can “make war with (this) beast?” Is there another nation that can reasonably exist outside of America’s military, economic, cultural, and political dominance? Of course there is not… and to quote SR Shearer, those who entertain thoughts of the EU, China, or the UN being the final beast empire surely reveal themselves as naïfs and simpletons for speaking or even thinking such things.

The simple fact of the matter is that so much has the American Empire foisted itself upon the world and injected its tentacles into the lives of all six billion plus inhabitants of this planet, that without the US the world would totally collapse upon itself. God knows as much and depicts a scene where the kings and merchants of the Earth moan and wail at their loss when this final beast nation, this Babylon the Great is finally destroyed. (Revelation 18.)

So h