Looking back over the past few months it is sometimes amazing to consider just how solid George Bush’s support still is among American Christians.  During this time Iraq has gone from bad to worse, torture allegations have surfaced and resurfaced (along with photos), the economy has continued to stagnate, fuel prices have skyrocketed, and his administration’s response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes has been severely criticized on many fronts.  Throughout the general population there has been a backlash to Bush’s presidency and his approval rating is actually lower than at any other point… but his core constituents… American Christians… are just as solidly in his camp as they’ve ever been.

How is this to be explained?  It would seem that people supposedly looking for the fruits of faith in their president would have seen the light by now, but they all seem just as blind as ever.  This is due to the fact that the American Church has rejected the true Jesus Christ.  They have instead wrapped a greedy, violent lie up in the flag… gutted the Bible to provide a religious context… and have handed over their consciences to the highest bidder.  They have done so because they live for this world… rather than the kingdom of heaven.  They have removed Christ from His position as head of the Church and replaced Him with their own leader… and a system, which justifies riches and power in the here and now… rather than the kingdom to come.

To put it simply, the President has become the focal point of American Christianity.  He is the pinnacle of the faith… so to speak.  While there are some humble voices of compassion and social conscious out there in American Christendom… the majority have rejected such sentiments in favor of the bravado, swagger, and cockiness of their commander in chief.

They have also completely pierced the veil between Church and State and have made politics and religion one in the same within the United States.  From the Church leadership on down through the laity… especially the laity… support for the State (in respect to Bush and the Right Wing’s hold on power) has become a foundational tenet of the faith.

Sadly, to Bush and his Elite, Right Wing, and Neocon allies Christianity is nothing more than a tool to be used in order to properly mold the masses.  As John Steinberg noted in a late 2004 article:

"Bush conflates religion and politics not because he wants the religious to see him as one of them. He does so because he knows that if they treat politics as a form of religion, he becomes their God. And to lose faith in God, no matter how overwhelming the evidence, is unthinkable."

Think of the utter blasphemy at work here if what Steinberg puts forth is true.  Next make a truthful examination at the blindness, greediness, love of violence, racism, and hard-heartedness of the American Church and tell me that it isn’t true. While Bush and the Elites get a lot of the blame for this present situation (and deservedly so) still much more deserves to be heaped upon the people themselves... and when I reference “the people” I am not just talking about the Charles Stanley’s, John Hagee’s, Franklin Graham’s, Paul Crouch’s, James Dobson’s, and Pat Robertson’s of the world.  While the leadership has no doubt revealed itself to be nothing more than a pack of ravenous wolves… the laity has to shoulder MOST of the blame on this one.

They are the ones who have sat silently while the beastly American State in cahoots with their own corrupt Church leadership have ran roughshod over the whole of the earth.  They have immersed themselves in their hobbies, refinanced their homes, puttered around in their Hondas, and sold themselves out to the boss man while the name of Christ has been dragged through a gutter of lies and filth.  As Charles Carlson said in his recent article, War, The American Tsunami:

"It is foolish to blame politicians, international bankers or business contractors for the immorality that is native to their professions, and should be expected of them. There is one undeniable reason America is the war bully of the world, and that we are leaving bankruptcy as a legacy to our children. It is because the fact that the Christians in churches will not stand up to protect the war victims upon whom they know in advance the bombs are about to fall. The churches, especially the Christian-Zionist churches, have put us in the mess we are in by supporting war for three generations, instead of seeking peace as Christ commanded them to do. They forgot the commandment, 'thou shall not kill.'"

The name of Christ has been blasphemed by the Church to a degree never before done in the history of the world.  Rather than serve Him they have attached His name to a system, which is the embodiment of antichrist.  Rather than obey His commandments they instead obey their bosses, their bankers, their brokers, their friends, and their families.  Rather than seeking to emulate their Savior they have taken on the image of the beast.

Now more than ever this terrible fact is of the utmost significance.  Time is short for this present world.  Across the globe there is resistance to the American New World Order System.  The world economy is shakier than it has ever been.  It is looking more and more as if world oil supplies will soon be in decline.  It should be easy to see that the wars of the moment and the wars of tomorrow are not about freedom, democracy, or the cause of Jesus Christ.  It should be more than apparent that the conquests of the US are about controlling resources and nations for the sake of money and power.

The Church refuses to see this though… instead they believe what they are told because it serves THEIR own interests as well.  The Church refuses to speak out due to fear of loss.  Even though it should now be quite plain that there is no limit to the depths of which the US will sink in its current imperial campaign.  After thousands of tons of depleted uranium have polluted entire nations, civilians have been gunned down and bombed ruthlessly, and suspected enemies have been tortured en masse… the Church says nothing and does nothing.

Christ will not remain silent however and He will not have His true saints do so either… He is calling for those who truly love Him to stand and testify against the evil being done in His name.  He is calling those who love Him to flee from the midst of Babylon (Jeremiah 51).  He is also making a way for His saints to accomplish these ends.

It has recently been reported that Venezuela is preparing its nation to accept American refugees.  These preparations are being made with expectancy that the US will soon become a TOTAL police state and that when this occurs there will be many who will then seek to flee it.  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has already moved his nation’s cash reserves out of the US and into European banks, while also establishing a growing Latin American trade system dependent upon barter of resources, goods, and services.

While these types of efforts may not provide safety until the end… they do nonetheless show that God may well be using these developments as a way for the poorest of His saints within the US to have a way to obey his commandment to flee.  You see fleeing is not about physical safety… it is about spiritual safety. It is about recognizing that the deception inherent within Babylon the Great is so all encompassing that it will capture all who remain within… making them partakers of its sins… and receivers of its judgments.

Most will remain deceived to the point that they never consider such things.  By and large the American Church will continue upon the path it is presently on and as time goes on more and more formerly sound believers will be sucked into the undertow.  It is my prayer that those who love the Lord will not get caught in this trap and that they will heed the words of the Lord.

Are people truly considering the full ramifications of all that is occurring within the US at this time?  Whether one resides within the beast or not has the reality of our present situation actually set in?  Sadly the answer for most would have to be no.  We know from the Bible that:

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

Having knowledge of this we should understand that the great mass of people throughout the world… and most especially those within the United States… are going to continue disregarding the signs of the times in order to focus on their own interests.  The cares of this present world will continue to blind men so that they will end up in fulfillment of Christ’s words in Matthew 24: 39.

How else can one explain the lack of action exhibited by so many throughout the world who profess to love the truth?  What other explanation can there be for those within the US… when the truth of what America is really all about seems to be leaping off the pages of the news directly at them?

As highlighted by S.R. Shearer in his latest article, FEARFUL SIGHTS AND GREAT SIGNS FROM HEAVEN, there is an ever-broadening transition into full-fledged police state… which is currently taking place within the US.  Already the police and military are working in conjunction to apprehend, detain, and “reeducate” suspected gang members in the Los Angeles area.  This is taking place in a manner, which shreds the US Constitution and reveals the hypocrisy inherent with Christian America’s claim to be THE beacon of hope, democracy, and freedom for the world.  Who knows how long it will be before such tactics are expanded into other American cities and who knows how long it will be before these actions are implemented against people other than suspected gang members.

If the US were truly a Christian nation, one would think there would be an uproar against such oppressive tactics.  Alas, the lack of concern for the “least of all men” reveals the true spirit at play.  Though the Church within the US has fashioned a future in which they will continue to “Christianize” America and the world… facts easily reveal a debased nation of carnal-minded creatures instead.  The evidence shows them to be a people who have given themselves over to not just their own self-absorption… but to a jaded and hardened existence, which resembles the worst aspects of Darwinism, more than anything having to do with Jesus Christ.

Within this Darwinian mindset there exists a belief that those who “have” are somehow on a basic level more completely human than those who “have not”.  In the spiritual context in which professing American Christians claim to operate this mindset manifests itself as one, which justifies “plenty” as the blessings of God… and “lack” as the cursings of sin.  It promotes those who “have their sh#t together” as being more spiritual and righteous than those who cannot or will not apparently do so.  Yet this is merely the surface… or the tip of an iceberg… which runs much, much deeper.  In fact it is the beginning stage of a pathology, which leads straight to hell.

What this is really all about is the dehumanizing and demonizing of those who in one way or another have found themselves at odds with the American New World Order System AND the Church, which has allied itself to this entity.  It is this dehumanizing and demonizing process, which enables the professing Christian population of the US to glorify war, justify torture, and revel in the violence and oppression meted out to their “enemies”.

Evidence of this revelry in destruction can be found in the fact that one can peruse the Internet and gawk at the gory aftermath of America’s “just cause” in Iraq.  They can do so in much the same way most people sneak onto one of the thousands of pornographic websites catering to the US population.  What I am alluding to here is the recent uncovering of a website exposing the “Porn of War”.  It is a site, which receives and posts battlefield photos from US soldiers depicting all the grisly details of their “encounters” with the people they were sent to liberate in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Missing heads, mutilated torsos, and corpses shredded by American guns are the fare offered to the public… along with pithy remarks from the gawkers who log in.

Only a people who are well along the path of dehumanizing and demonizing their enemies could create such an offering for the public.  Only a nation, which has given itself over to this pathology could create the circumstances for the site’s existence in the first place.  What else can explain it?

America’s leaders in both the political and religious spheres are selling the lie that God’s work is being done in Iraq.  Sadly the people have willingly swallowed this lie and in doing so have chosen to ignore the stark evidence revealing the US war machine for what it is.  Take the words of Hart Viges, formerly of the 82^nd Airborne Division in Iraq for an example and tell me how US action in Iraq is a “just cause before the Lord”:

"I don't know how many innocents I killed with my mortar rounds. I have my imagination to pick at for that one. But I clearly remember the call-out over the radio saying 'Green light on all taxi-cabs. The enemy is using them for transportation'.

One of our snipers called back on the radio saying 'Excuse me but did I hear that order correctly? Green light on all taxi cabs?' 'Roger that soldier. You'd better start buckling up.' All of a sudden the city just blew up. Didn't matter if there was an innocent in the taxi-cab - we laid a mortar round on it, snipers opened up."

Or consider how the poor have been criminalized and vilified at home.  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there were rampant reports of murders, rapings, and barbarities committed by the poor people left behind to seek shelter at the Superdome and Convention Center.  By and large these reports were treated as wholly credible by the corporate media and believed by the overwhelming majority of the US population.  I mean… after all… as one email I received in the days after the storm stated:

“Should we be surprised that the blacks in New Orleans have acted the way they (sic) way they have?  Anyone who has ever lived in the city or knows anything about it has to have known that these people were a powder keg waiting to go off.  As much as I love the food, the music, my friends, and family this is why I left many years ago.  It was being taken over by the worst kind of people.  If anything good can come out of this tragedy, it is that N.O. can rebuilt without this element.”

It was incredibly easy for most people to believe that poor blacks in New Orleans were capable of committing the worst kinds of atrocities during the dark days after the storm.  Yet, recent investigations by the New Orleans Times Picayune have revealed almost all of what was earlier reported was blatantly untrue.  Whether one attributes this misreporting to “the fog of war” type atmosphere during and after the storm or to something much more sinister… the fact remains that it was all too easy for most Americans to believe the worst of the people who were trapped in what was a living hell.

Why is this so?  Because the very act of dehumanization and demonization, which has been applied to America’s enemies abroad has also been applied to the poor (black and white) within.  The poor have to be treated this way in order to justify their exploitation.  The poor have to be painted with this brush so that they can be scapegoated at the appropriate moment.  The poor have to be characterized this way in order to “neutralize” them when necessary.  In this sense the poor in America have been turned into enemies in the same way as the peoples of the Third World.

Still… the people refuse to see or acknowledge these things.  People choose to ignore what is happening before their very eyes…. Thinking that if they somehow avoid learning the details of what the US is up to in Iraq, the persecution of the poor at home, or the complicity of the Church in it all… they will be excused from God’s judgment on that day.  In doing so they also are able to “free up” their conscious in order to more effectively partake of the spoils of empire and the fruits of domestic oppression.

None of this will wash with the Lord though… He truly knows the score… and as the Word says, He will deal with every man, “according to his deeds.” (Romans 2: 6)  Think about that for a moment… He will deal with every man “according to his deeds.”  What does this say about those within the US?  What does it say, not just about the leadership and those who have committed the atrocities we highlight on these pages, but about those who acquiesce to what their country is doing in the name of Christ?  What does it say about those who are partakers and beneficiaries of these actions?  Will the Lord not judge them on this account?

Especially consider that the deeds we speak of have been committed while claiming to operate in the name of Christ.  For that is the rubric under which the US has undertaken its quest for empire and it is on this standard that the US is to be judged.  Rather than being Christ-like in any way, the US has instead operated more like the Mafia…  terrorizing when necessary, stealing when able, murdering when appropriate.  As Charley Reese pointed out in his review of the book, Confessions Of A Hit Man:

"We did that to Mohammed Mossadegh, a democratically elected nationalist who thought Iran's oil should benefit Iranians. We painted him as a communist, and the CIA engineered a coup that replaced him with the Shah. In case you're curious, that's why so many Iranians hate us. We did it to a Guatemalan patriot, Jacobo Arbenz, when he tried to implement land reform and thus ran afoul of the United Fruit Co., which orchestrated the campaign that led to his overthrow by the U.S. Omar Torrijos, a Panamanian reformer, and Jaime Roldos, president of Ecuador who locked horns with big oil companies, both died in planes that exploded.

On the other hand, the ruthless and corrupt killers who play the game our way get rewarded with more loans and more aid. I know this sounds leftist and even, God forbid, liberal, but the more you get to know our government, the less you will think it's all sweetness and light. People fear the U.S. with good reason. We talk about spreading democracy, but what we do is extend empire and make war."

Where is the cause of Christ in this account?  Better yet, where is the voice of the true Church as a testimony against this sordid history?  Simply saying you weren’t aware that all of this has happened just will not cut it… because the evidence has always been there for even the simplest of people to see.  Saying that the time is not yet right to speak out on these things will not pass grade either… for the Lord demands that we ALWAYS have His testimony and that we ALWAYS remain “unspotted” from these terrible aspects of the world (James 1: 27).  Quite simply there is no excuse for the true Church to not have a testimony against the US and the false Church, which has whored itself and the name of Christ to the cause of empire.

Such a testimony will not yet fall upon deaf ears.  There are still people out there who are willing to listen.  As a matter of fact, over 300,000 of them assembled in Washington D.C. last week to protest the war in Iraq and the assault on the poor within the US.  Though they may not know the answer (Jesus)… at least they recognize the problem and are actively seeking a solution.  Over 370 of them were arrested during the course of the demonstrations, but most Americans know nothing about the protests or the arrests… since they choose not to know.  Most Americans care little about the evils these people were protesting because they choose not to care.  Yet, the majority of them still claim to be servants of Christ.  Many would even go so far as to say that they agree with most of the message preached here at Antipas Ministries… but this agreement has not led them to take any sort of action.

It hasn’t led them to support this ministry… it hasn’t led them to separate themselves from the US… and it hasn’t led them to take a testimony of truth to the streets.  All it has really done is provide them with a little more grist for the mill.  It has given them their own little “niche” to inhabit as they go about the business of living their lives in this present world.  It has placed them into close proximity of fulfilling these words of Christ:

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

And in this sense the same can be said for most people throughout the world.  Yet, Christ has called the Church to so much more.   He is looking for a people who will lay it all on the line for Him.  He desires a Church that will have His testimony in season and out of season… in the best of times and in the worst of times.  In S.R. Shearer’s writings on the Church Life he speaks about what the Lord is looking for, insofar as His Church is concerned:

"The Lord is looking for such to follow Him - those that will follow Him long after the "things" are gone, the crowds have left, the popularity faded; when the clothes are tattered and torn, there is no food on the table, and persecution rages all around. These are the true disciples of Jesus - with such people one can repose trust and friendship, true love is here to be found!

These are the disciples who can say with the prophet Habakkuk:

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls -

"YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD, I WILL JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

It is in this kind of love that the TRUE Church will be "revealed," "disclosed," "manifested" (Romans 8:19)! It is this kind of love which will expose the hypocrites for what they really are. It is this kind of love which will separate the wheat from the tares. And it is only in tribulation that this love is truly revealed in all of its splendor and beauty. In this, God's glory can find rest; in this the presence of God securely dwells."

In light of the days in which we live... these words are ever the more true.  There are hard decisions and sacrifices to be made.  Yet the rewards outweigh the risks infinitely.  Let us not be counted among those who have been blinded to the reality of our present day.  Let us instead be counted among those in whom the true love of Christ is to be “revealed in all of its splendor and beauty”. Let us be counted among them TODAY… and during the times, which are to come.

God’s Word is quite plain in revealing the United States is that terrible nation known as Babylon the Great.  His Word also patently reveals He has commanded His children to “come out” of Babylon.  He has commanded them to do so lest they “partake of her sins” and receive of her plagues, i.e. judgments. (Revelation 18: 4, Jeremiah 50 & 51)  The Bible makes it clear God has called His children to testify against Babylon the Great and the Harlot (the false church), which has joined itself to her cause.  This call to testify is placed upon all believers regardless of location or wherewithal.

By the time of Babylon’s destruction all who are truly believers in the Lord will have either fled from this terrible entity and/or been martyred for their testimony against it.  The significant aspect of this statement is the importance placed upon believers having a testimony for Christ and against Babylon the Great.  Whether one has already fled, is in the process of fleeing, or believes they are called to stay for now; the impetus is upon them to testify. 

There seems to be a sentiment among Christians in the US that the “time is not yet right” for them to be out there testifying “in the streets.”  People have told us that no one out there has “ears to hear” the message at this time.  They have told us that when the hour finally arrives they will have the mettle to stand boldly for the Lord… no matter if it costs them their lives or the lives of their families, and no matter if to that point they have not been out there boldly declaring God’s Word.

Yet of this type of thinking our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said:

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” (John 4: 35)

More so than anything else it appears the Lord is telling us that the time is now.  He has made it clear that the fields “are white already to harvest”.  The key thing to understand is that the Christian life is to be one spent completely in service to Him.  An important part of this service to Him is to be one who obeys His commandments.

So I guess the next big question is when does the Lord hold us accountable for obeying His commandments?  Does He lead us into understanding of something only to have us act upon it at a later date?  Or does He expect us to act upon His Word as soon as we understand and believe it?

The Bible is very consistent in showing we are to begin acting upon God’s Word when we come into knowledge of it.  Consider the parable of the Pearl of Great Price.  It gives us an indication of how we should be led to act upon a revelation of the truth.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13: 45-46)

This parable is directly speaking about Christ and salvation.  The point it makes is that when we find Christ, we should immediately forsake everything in our lives to obtain salvation in Him.  However, thematically this same instinct should direct us in our walk with Him as well.  We should be led to act upon His truths at the moment of our understanding and belief in them.  When the merchant man found this “one pearl of great price” the merchant “went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  He did not wait until some later date.  He did not hold off on purchasing until the market was more suited to engage in such a transaction and he did not tarry until the circumstances of his own life would have made it easier to purchase the pearl.  He recognized the pearl for what it is and acted upon this knowledge by expending every resource he had to purchase it.

Insofar as understanding the timing the Lord requires of us Abraham’s story is noteworthy as well.  Living in his native land, the land of the Chaldees and still known as Abram, he heard God’s call to come out from among his own people and he obeyed.

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” (Genesis 12: 1-4)

Abraham believed in God.  Yet until that point he lived his life in the midst of a people, who were to say the least, on a different page than him.  Nonetheless he lived there carrying on the details of his life just like all the others until the day the Lord instructed him to get out of his country.  Abraham didn’t wait a while and mull things over, upon finding out what God required of Him.  The Lord told him to get out and “Abram departed.”  Aside from the implications relative to getting out of Babylon in this present age… it is important to take from this the understanding that God’s people are expected to act upon His Word as soon as they understand and believe it.

In light of this we should also grasp WHEN the Lord expects us to understand, believe, and act upon His Word.  Though He is long-suffering, He still requires timeliness on our part and as such He provides us with ample warning and opportunity to take action on His commandments before it is too late.  Just as He warned Lot to get out of Sodom before He destroyed it, so to is He warning us to take action BEFORE destruction begins. 

In Revelation 11 the testimony of the Two Witnesses is shown to officially begin at the start of the Tribulation… but it is not a testimony, which comes from nowhere… anymore than David’s ability to defeat Goliath came from nowhere.  His courage to take on Goliath came from the “trying of his abilities” during earlier battles with a lion and a bear.  So too should the testimony of the Church at the end of the age come from one honed in earlier “battles” for the sake of Christ and His Word.  If David had waited until the day of Goliath to flex his muscles… chances are he would have failed.  If the Church waits until the midnight hour to head out into the streets to testify… chances are they will find themselves like the Virgins with no oil for their lamps, left to stumble around in the darkness until it is too late. (Matthew 25: 1-12)

Whether or not someone understands, believes and acts upon God’s commandments is between that person and the Lord.  We at Antipas Ministries cannot impose belief upon anyone.  We cannot make people see what the Lord is saying, nor can we force them to take action.  All we can do is testify ourselves as to what God’s Word declares.  It is up to each individual to do the same.

What appears to be happening though… is that many have chosen to obfuscate rather than earnestly and honestly seek out the truth.  An example of this would be the lingering confusion around the identity and nature of Babylon the Great.  By muddying the waters, so to speak, people are disregarding the clear meaning of God’s Word and the ample evidence present in the world.

Many have chosen to deny that Babylon is a specific nation or they have chosen to ignore the one overwhelming characteristic, which separates it from the other nations of the world.  In doing so they offer excuse for themselves to not take action in the manner, which God prescribes.  Recently a reader sent the following remark, which sums up this line of thought:

“Just curious when you all will be moving from Canada to another country in light of the fact that the neocon demons are creating the Community of North America so that Babylon will control the entire continent. Also, where is one to go when the U.S. has hundreds of military bases in about 140 countries? Babylon's reach is far-flung and worldwide already. God must be able to foresee all of this happening. Would God condemn Christians to hell because they could not physically escape the long arm of Babylon? When the Babylon/the Antichrist rules the world then where do we go? These are not disrespectful questions. I really want to know your responses." 

No matter if the US conquers or absorbs Canada, Mexico, or the whole of the world… these nations will never BE the United States (i.e. Babylon the Great) anymore than Czechoslovakia became Germany when absorbed by it during World War 2. S.R. Shearer stated this point clearly in his May 20, 2004 article I AM UTTERLY AMAZED:

“As I have said time and again, Yes! - it's true, ALL the world will eventually be absorbed by the American New World Order System, just as all of Europe was eventually conquered and absorbed by Nazi Germany; but there was still a great difference to be remarked upon insofar as Germany's conquered territories were concerned (i.e., France, Denmark, Poland, the Ukraine, Norway, Holland, Belgium, etc.) and Germany herself; and there was a GREAT DISTINCTION to be remarked upon insofar as the conduct of these different populations were concerned vis a vis the people of Germany.

The truth is, Germany's population actually PARTICIPATED in Germany's crimes; the population of Germany's "slave states" SUFFERED as a result of those crimes. There is, as I have said before, a big difference here; it is, to put it in the vernacular, the difference between the "screwer" and the "screwee;" the difference between the one who is being raped, and the one who is doing the raping; the difference between the perpetrator and the victim; the difference between MASTER and SLAVE - SO ALSO INSOFAR AS AMERICA IS CONCERNED vis a vis HER CLIENT-STATES, i.e., HER SLAVE STATES.”

In addition to this distinction pointed out by S.R. Shearer what the above quoted reader also refuses to see is that the most significant aspect of Babylon the Great… the one singling it out for a destruction unique among the nations… is the spiritual aspect.  Specifically it is the false Christianity embraced by the American people and used by its leaders to justify greed and conquest of the world.  America has attached the name of Christ to its rapacious pursuits and in doing so has set itself apart from the nations.  There is no other nation in the world whose people have embraced the type of Christianity used by the United States to create a world empire and this distinction is what makes America, Babylon the Great… more than any other thing.

The danger of remaining within the United States or failing to testify against it (from within) is to be overtaken by the same spiritual deception, which has already captured the overwhelming majority of American Christendom and caused it to forsake the commandments of Christ to serve the interests of empire… and the prince of this world instead.  This spiritual danger does not exist in Canada, Mexico, or any of the 140+ nations in which the US has military bases because the people of these nations have not been overtaken by this same spiritual deception.

Though the US will eventually conquer the whole world, those conquered people will be subjects… or slaves in a spiritual sense as well.  As such the spiritual danger of becoming complicit in the specific sins of Babylon does not exist among these conquered people… hence the SPECIFIC destruction spelled out for the nation of Babylon the Great in Revelation 18.

God is warning His people to take action at this time.  As I write this, another large hurricane is bearing down on the United States.  The nation continues to morph into the police state requisite of all empires.  Military activity by US troops on US soil in spite of US law is also on the rise.  Its armies continue their quest for empire in the heart of ancient Babylon and also have Iran firmly in their sites.  Its Church continues on in apostasy as it serves the god of greed and force in service to the American Empire.  In His warning to the Church of Laodicea (Revelation 3: 14-16) Christ informs them that because they are neither hot or cold… He will spew them out of His mouth.  Failure to take action now is to at best place one’s self in danger of this judgment… at worst it is to head down the road of complicity in the sins of Babylon the Great and receive of the judgment destined to befall it.

It has been a while and it is something, which I don’t necessarily look forward to, but we must once again discuss the C-word. Given all that is taking place at the moment, those who love the truth should now… more than ever… see the importance of the C-word relative to the Church and prophecy.  From the ravages Katrina has visited upon the Gulf Coast of the United States, the negligent response from US authorities, and the ongoing carnage in Iraq one should see quite clearly the ramifications of the C-word in today’s headlines.  Concerns related to the C-word are effecting elections in Germany, economic decisions in China, revolutionary policies in South America, and the carrying out of the blueprint for empire by the US Elites.

The C-word of which I am speaking is CLASS. Most western Christians have been conditioned to reject any discussion of this subject.  Yet the matter of class (specifically that related to oppression of the lower class by the upper class) should be near the top of any list of things discussed by the body of Christ.

The Bible shows quite clearly that class is one of the defining issues related to the “end of days.”  The words of Christ and the Apostles reveal the age-old struggle of the rich against the poor as being of preeminence insofar as the Church and prophecy are concerned.  The picture, which the Bible paints is one of the evils associated with money, the lust for money, greed, and the effects of “filthy lucre” upon not just the world… but the Church as well.  The Bible is also quite clear as to just who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are in this epic struggle.  It is the rich who are found to be the antagonists and the poor who are found to be the protagonists.

This may not be a comforting thought for everyone out there chasing the “American Dream”, but it is nonetheless what the Bible unmistakably indicates.  Jesus said about the rich:

"… Verily I say unto you, That a RICH man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 19:23)

For the sake of clarity he reiterated this point in the very next verse:

"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a RICH man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matt. 19:24)

He also states specifically His stance on both the rich and poor in light of the inheritance, which they are to receive:

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye POOR: for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)

"But woe unto you that are RICH! for ye have received your consolation.  Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep." (Luke 6:24-25)

Jesus also makes it clear that the corrupting effect of riches is one to which the Church is susceptible as well:

"He also that received seed (became a Christian) among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (Matt. 13: 22)

James builds upon these foundational words of Christ in his writings as well:

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God CHOSEN the POOR of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they (the rich) blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?" (James 2: 5-7)

"Go to now, ye RICH men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (James 5:1-3)

On the matter of class, i.e. the rich and the poor, Paul is quite clear as well.  Taking on the life of Christ is not to be a life spent pursuing upward mobility, wealth, or “the good life”.  It is not to be a life lived in service to anything other than the cause of Christ.  Commenting upon those who teach otherwise, he said they are:

"… proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, (1 Timothy 6: 4)

He said their teachings were the:

"Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness… [And he warns us] “… from such withdraw thyself.” (1 Timothy 6: 5)

Paul then explains the perspective a true believer in Christ should have as juxtaposed with the eternal danger inherent in the love of money:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” (1Timothy 6: 6-11)

Can there be any doubt class is the issue being discussed here?  Man’s history is one of the rich making war on the poor.  The Church’s history is one of the rich corrupting the truth in Christ.  The great struggle of both Israel and the Church throughout the ages has been that of turning away from the things of God in order to serve the things of this world… i.e. mammon.

Can there be any confusion over the fact that God’s Word clearly draws the line on this matter and that in doing so finds the rich in opposition to Christ and the poor as the first among His children?  It should be clear to those who love the truth that the times in which we are living testify to this fact and that they do so urgently.  It should be readily apparent to those with the Spirit of Christ that a great portion of all matters relevant to the end of days are centered on money, the brutal pursuit of the rich for more of it, and the destruction visited upon the poor in light of this pursuit.

Class as an issue of economics is the most important aspect of race relations within the US.  It is the greed of the rich, which has led them to transform the United States into a nation that is the enemy of the poor throughout the world and even within its own borders.  Though most Americans think in terms of black, brown, and white… the truth of the matter is that class is the real issue.  It is a rich versus the poor question and not exclusively one of race.

The disaster of Hurricane Katrina has revealed this fact more so than anything else.  It is the poor who were left behind.  It is the poor who were uncared for in the aftermath.  It is the poor who have been treated as refugees by their own nation.  It is the poor who have been criminalized for their inability to “pick themselves up by their bootstraps.”  And it is the poor who are going to continue to suffer the most under an American New World Order System that operates foremost as a vehicle to expedite the plunder of the world by the US Elites.

Though they are quite happy to divide and conquer the poor on matters of race, the only color, which truly matters to Elites is green… the hue of Yankee dollars.  The lives of their “fellow men” mean nothing to these people.  In fact to the Elites the poor are not really considered human at all, but more like cockroaches to be exterminated and disposed of when they can't be hidden any longer.

This contempt is so severe that the Elites, in spite of their protestations to the contrary, regularly expose how little they know or care about the plight of the poor.  It is almost as if they cannot help but reveal their lack of compassion for those “beneath them”.  In an episode hearkening back to the famous legend of Marie Antoinette saying, “let them eat cake” take note of Barbara Bush’s recent statement about those forced to take shelter in the Houston Astrodome after having their homes and livelihoods destroyed by Hurricane Katrina:

“So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working out very well for them.”

Yes, I am sure it is working out quite well for people to have their homes, jobs, and cars destroyed.  I am certain those in the Astrodome and scattered in shelters throughout the US are relishing the gravy train they have stumbled upon and have completely forgotten the lives and loved ones they have tragically lost.

Hopefully everyone realizes the true ramifications of this sort of mindset.  For it is this type of thinking, which enables the Elites to not just disregard and disenfranchise the poor at home… but to also slaughter them en masse throughout the world.

 A perfect example is what is going on in Iraq.  At least 100 thousand Iraqi civilians have been killed since the US invaded the country in March of 2003.  At least half of these casualties have been women and children.  Yet the leadership in the US considers operations in Iraq as a just cause.  They look upon the death of innocent women and children as merely being part of “the price of doing business.”  After all, we are talking about the lives of poor people here and these lives that do not have the same value as those of the people who are profiting off of the war from thousands of miles away.

It is this pathology, which enabled the US to level Fallujah, and destroy the infrastructure of the entire country, no matter the consequences for the people now forced to exist in a living hell.  It is this pathology, which is spurring the US to destroy Tal Afar, a city of 250,000 people, as I write this.  It is also this pathology, which enables the US Elites to countenance using nuclear weapons against Iran in a preemptive action meant to control its oil wealth at the expense of what could be hundreds of thousands of civilians.

To the rich of this world the poor are sub-human.  Their lives mean nothing.  Their deaths mean nothing.  Their suffering and privation means nothing.  They are chattel meant to be used and expended at the convenience of those in power.  There is no guilt associated with their extermination and there is no compassion extended toward their plight.

In and of itself the situation is bad enough… yet there is another factor involved, which makes it all the worse.  The Church has sided with the rich in their war against the poor.  Those who claim to be disciples of a man known as “the Prince of Peace” and one who said, “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Luke 6:20) are instead servants of the very people who look upon the poor as worthless sub-humans to be herded and culled as necessary.  In doing so the Church ceases to take on the likeness of Christ and has instead transformed itself into the likeness of evil.

So this is where we “are at” so to speak.  The American Empire is fully revealed for what it truly is… a ravenous beast, which is willing to destroy anything or anyone in its path.  The calamities and destruction of our day are serving to further harden the hearts of the powerful and to strengthen their grip on the reigns of power. What is also being exposed is the full nature of the apostate church and just how ingratiated it is into the beast nation, which it serves.  In this sense the terrible events of our day should serve as a warning to the Church that the time is short.  They should serve as a wake-up call to true believers that the wheat and tares are soon to be separated.  These events should compel true believers to come out from a nation doomed for judgment before they become a partaker in its sins and rally them to be a witness for Christ and the Kingdom to come.

As I noted at the beginning… class, i.e. the matter of the rich and the poor, is at the heart of it all.  The rich have completely seized control of America and they have also seized control of the Church.  Theirs is an agenda of lust, malice, oppression, violence, and deceitfulness, which spring from a heart given over to the pursuit of money.  In contrast the true Gospel is one, which serves as a blessing for the poor… and the true Church is one, which has a testimony of ministry, compassion, and love for the least of all men.

The mask is off.  The American New World Order System has been revealed in all its hideous grotesqueness.  A nation, which has been promoted by it’s people as “God’s redeemer nation”… a nation supposedly founded on the principles of Christianity… and a nation proudly revered by it’s citizens as the world’s last great hope… has been revealed for the fraud that it is.

Think about it.  The US is unique among the nations.  Its people overwhelmingly claim to be Christians.  Its political leaders claim to be servants of Christ.  Even the corporations, which dominate the politic arena and economy of the US (and the world) pay homage to the “American version” of Christianity.  Yet for all the bluster, bravado, and self-righteous rhetoric spouted from those at the top… the truth of the matter has never been that far from the surface.

It is not so hard to see that greed, covetousness, and malice are the driving forces of the American Empire.  It is not so difficult to recognize the American Church as an entity created and nurtured, not by Christ… but instead by the very forces who are enemies of the cross.  The version of Christianity constructed by the American Dream is one that uses Jesus as a hammer to beat the poor and weak into submission.  Theirs is a faith, which demonizes the least of all men for the purpose of providing justification for cutting them out of the spoils and forcing them into their proper place as lowly cogs in the machinery of empire.

Over the past few decades this empire has been growing and taking shape before our very eyes.  We have watched as the US has emerged as the most dominant religious, political, corporate, and military force upon the planet.  We have watched as the American Church has partnered herself to those seeking to dominate the whole world.  We have been spectators while the US divides the world into haves and have-nots along a model pioneered by the CIA, US corporate elites, and the American Church.  Most of us have watched and DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT.    

We have sat smugly in front of our TVs and computers and offered the occasional complaint or observation while continuing to suckle from the teat of the beast.  We have been armchair warriors for Christ and dilettantes for the most part… as the name of Jesus has been dragged through the muck by the empire builders and demagogues of “Christian America.”

Finally now… the rubber has met the road.  The times of easy faith and dual citizenship (in the US and the kingdom of heaven) have come to a close.  Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath have completely ripped the mask off of the American beast, exposing it for all the world to see.  Yet the big question is whether or not those who claim to serve Christ within the US will recognize the truth before it is too late.

Will they see the cold-heartedness involved in leaving thousands to perish in the wake of the storm?  Will they recognize the growing evidence that there may be more than ill preparedness involved here?  Will they acknowledge that when the Church claims to be a part of the state and expends its efforts towards gaining control of it that the Church is then responsible for the worst actions committed by it?

The last two weeks have been revealing indeed.  The lack of love… in fact the hatred and contempt, which America’s ruling elites have for the poor, has been exposed quite plainly.  Even stalwart conservative journalists on the Fox News Network have been forced to come to grips with the fact that those running the country appear to have callously left thousands to die in the wake of catastrophe.  Will their cries of alarm go unheeded by a nation?  Will the American Church take a hard look at the evidence or will they continue to stumble along in a sated stupor of self-serving greed?

As this catastrophe has developed we have seen armed troops preventing the poor from fleeing a sunken city.  We have seen people treated as criminals when their only crime has been to be poor in a nation ruled by the rich.  We have seen American citizens treated like insurgents and refugees within their own nation.  We have watched while the military has seized control of a major US city, implemented martial law, and suspended the Bill of Rights for those who were trapped within.  Looters have been shot on sight, people have been indiscriminately arrested and searched, and the media has been cut out of the loop as if this were all taking place in Baghdad instead of the United States.

Across the Internet many are now saying that a conspiracy is at play.  They are saying New Orleans was allowed to go under and that aide to those left behind in Louisiana and Mississippi was intentionally slow in arriving.  The talk is that the region will now be remade into some sort of corporate playground… sans the hundreds of thousands of poor who use to call the area home.

As this thing progresses it is getting harder and harder to dispute these voices.  Yet, even if they are wrong… it is crystal clear that America has revealed itself for the beast it truly is.  Those who have been evacuated to the Astrodome and other emergency camps have been treated as criminals.  Many may be prohibited from leaving.  A Florida homeowners association has blocked some from even entering… and most have been left in a state more akin to that of the Cuban and Haitian refugees who flooded the US in the 80’s and 90’s than that of American citizens.

Now comes word that the military is preparing to forcibly remove those who have refused to evacuate.  Most live in areas around New Orleans that did not flood or in areas on the Mississippi Coast that could be rebuilt soon.  Yet a government, which abandoned them during their hour of need is now telling them they have no right to stay.

Recent news has also revealed that the President has used the occasion of this tragedy to suspend prevailing wage laws on government contracts pertaining to the rebuilding of the affected areas.  What this means is that companies like Halliburton and Bechtel will not be required to pay employees involved in reconstructing the gulf coast wages, which are in line with those paid in the area for similar work.  Combine this with Bush’s earlier lifting of pollution standards on US refineries (in order to boost oil production missing since the hurricane) and one can already see this crisis has served as yet another vehicle for the rich to profit off the misery of others.

While all these things have been going on… where has the American Church been?  The leaders of American Christendom who rallied around the flag in support of going to war with Iraq have been fairly silent on all that has happened concerning Katrina, except for blaming the destruction on abortion and homosexuality.  The first to cheer dropping bombs on Arab women and children have been the last to speak out against the failure to provide for the poor, overwhelmingly black victims of Katrina.

This is so because the American Church is part of the problem… not the solution.  They have spent a lifetime serving the rich and powerful.  They have created a theology, which demonizes the poor, and have historically stood against people of color within the US.

Yet even within this Church there is supposed to be a remnant.  There is supposed to be a silver lining in this most ominous of clouds.  There are supposed to be those who are “lovers of the truth”… people who are unafraid to testify for the truth in Christ and against the darkness of the American Empire and its false faith.

Over the past year or so we at Antipas Ministries have been severely called to task for pointing people towards God’s commandment to come out of this terrible beast nation.  We have been called false prophets, liars, money-hungry, cowards, fat, blind, dumb, and stupid.  We have been railed against and denigrated from all angles.

S.R. Shearer addressed these matters in his latest article on the pathology of hate consuming the American Empire and those residing within.  He pointed out that those who would deny that God commands His people to leave the US or those who claim to be unable to leave must essentially “put their money where their mouth is.” He pointed out that the “purpose” of the Church is to produce the testimony of Christ.  He pointed out that if Christians within the US were truly involved in this endeavor they would eventually be forced to leave anyway. And he also warned that failure to have this testimony would lead to one being overcome by the pathology sweeping through the US.

In it he said:

Now, if this is the attitude of our detractors, if they, like us, are prepared to shout the message of Antipas from the rooftops; if they, like us, take an UNCOMPROMING and PUBLIC stand against the American New World Order System and the church that has partnered with it; if they, like us, count their home the heavenly kingdom of Jesus Christ; if they, like us, give themselves over to form "house-churches" in their homes PUBLICALLY, and in OPEN opposition to the "established church," then I say to them all, God bless you! - whether they call me "fat" or not. They will save themselves whether they call themselves "Antipas" or whether they choose some other name if only because they will be kicked out of the country eventually. They will be forced to flee in obedience to God's command:

"When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." (Mathew 10:23)

They will be forced out before they can imbibe the poison of HATE that is now being administered to the American public as a result of the Bush administration's ISLAMOPHOBIA, and before they can participate by their silent acquiesce in the vicious slaughter of the Muslim people - and not for the sake of Israel, but for the sake of the good things of life that are theirs in Babylon.

But, if instead what they really intend to do is to retreat into sullen isolation and continue muttering to themselves about the "failure" of Antipas, they then will be revealed to be COWARDS who don't possess the courage of their convictions - all their protestations to the contrary notwithstanding; and eventually, they will succumb by force or persuasion - no matter - to the poison of Babylon. After all, it's not what a person says, but what he does that reveals his true character.

I WARN YOU ALL

And so I warn you all: your actions will reveal who and what you are. If by staying in Babylon, you open your home up to the outcasts of this world, if you open your home up to others as an Aliya group, if you preach the message of Antipas in season and out, in your workplace, to your friends and loved ones, to your neighbors; if you FORTIFY yourself against the "course of this age" (Eph. 2:2) by gathering about yourself "saints of like-mind," if you host our "traveling teams" as they pass through your city, then you will stand!

But if you do otherwise, if you meet with others who do not CLEARLY see what you see - then you are headed like "sheep to the slaughter:" To stand with others who have partnered with George Bush's American new World Order System - directly or even indirectly - is tantamount to lining up for the destruction of your souls. When one partners with those who have made this world their home - which those who have allied themselves with today's American church plainly declare they have done by their actions if not their words - it means, whether one wants to admit it or not, that HE IS NO CHILD OF GOD.

In light of everything, which has happened since the above article was written, the message is all the more timely.  For those who refuse to leave the US or even those who are as of yet unable… there is an opportunity before you.  There is a chance to “do right by the Lord”… so to speak.  There are literally tens of thousands of homeless, displaced people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  There are nationwide efforts underway to find families throughout the US willing to take these dear souls in and offer them shelter during this… their darkest hour.  What an opportunity for so many of you!

We know from conversations, visitation, and correspondence that the overwhelming majority of you are out there are on an island, so to speak.  We know that you are experiencing little to none of the “church life.”  You are isolated from anyone with “ears to hear” the message the Lord has for these… the end of days.  Well now is the chance to be a witness for Him.  Open your homes to those in need.  Share your shelter, food and clothing with those who are facing the crisis of a lifetime.  Your willingness to show them the love of Christ in this manner will work toward opening their hearts to the gospel of Christ.  Your actions as His servant will give strength to your words.  Plus, it creates a real chance for fellowship… not the false kind that the institutional church engages in… but the real thing.

This is how we are living in Canada.  We have opened our homes to all in need.  We have placed ourselves on the “frontline” not just on the World Wide Web… but here “on the ground” as well.  Now we encourage you to do so.

If you are serious about being a servant of the Lord… If your motives are pure insofar as remaining within the US are concerned… then why wouldn’t you do this?  If ever there was a time for God’s people to die to self and live for Christ… that time is now.  Here is a link to an article with information on how to get involved:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050906/ts_alt_afp/usweatherrelief_050906175828

"While no one condones looting, on the other hand, one can understand the pent-up feelings that may result from decades of repression."

-- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, quoted by UPI, explaining why some Iraqi's resorted to looting during the Iraq war in 2003.

Yesterday, President Bush warned there would be "zero tolerance" for looters in the areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and I was recently wondering whether anyone wants to consider if that same element of pent-up feelings resulting from decades of repression can be part of the explanation for the looting and lawlessness in New Orleans.

The world is a chaotic place this very moment.  In addition to the great catastrophe Hurricane Katrina has visited upon the US Gulf Coast there are other terrible events taking place throughout the world.  From events in the US to those in Iraq and Afghanistan… I hope that all our seriously watching and acting upon the signs of the times.

Yet today, this journal is going to focus primarily on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Though there are many things to be commented upon throughout the world, the prophetic significance of what is presently occurring within the United States takes precedence on the pages of this journal… on this day.  What has occurred in the past week is most definitely a “world-changing event.”  Just as 9-11 and the War in Iraq are significant for their part in shaping the destiny of the US and the world… so too is this present catastrophe.

Throughout the world political leaders and the citizenry have found themselves stunned at all that has occurred in the US during the aftermath of the hurricane.  The thin veneer, which separates man’s effort at civilization from anarchy and chaos, has been fully swept away by the floodwaters of this storm.  On the outside looking in, many people throughout the world are shocked and appalled that the mightiest nation ever to “trod the earth” has been exposed in this way.  People are stunned at just how ill-prepared the US government has been to rescue its own citizens and a few are even beginning to wonder in some sort of “cosmic way” whether the ravages of Katrina are payback for what the US has done in Iraq.  As a Reuters Newsdesk item noted today:

“A female employee at a multinational firm in South Korea said it may have been no accident the U.S. was hit.

’Maybe it was punishment for what it did to Iraq, which has a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster,’ said the woman, who did not want to be named as she has an American manager.

’A lot of the people I work with think this way. We spoke about it just the other day,’ she said."

Though I don’t believe in the power of the “cosmos” as having any sort of part in meting out judgment upon the world… I cannot escape the irony attached to all that is happening in the aftermath of the hurricane.  I also cannot help but wonder… as others have… whether we are seeing the “chickens come home to roost”… so to speak.

The US can mount up and go half way around the world to battle “evil-doers” in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The leadership of the country can appropriate hundreds of billions of dollars for smart bombs, stealth bombers, depleted uranium munitions, and cruise missiles.  They can marshal hundreds of thousands of troops, equipment, humanitarian supplies, and medical supplies and ship them halfway across the globe into hostile territories on incredibly short notice.  Yet, as noted on Thursday by Martha Madden, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality:

"but they can't drop some food on Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, right now? It's just mind-boggling."

It is mind-boggling… and as Norman Solomon notes in his most recent commentary, “The problem is not incompetence. It's inhumanity, cruelty and greed.”

Inhumanity, cruelty, and greed are most definitely the driving forces behind the Elites who rule the US, and control its riches, leaders, and churches.  Though a more appropriate wording would be “greed and the inhumanity and cruelty, which it begets.”  Nonetheless… the point to be made is that those who rule the US and the world have no real compassion or concern for the poor in South Louisiana and Mississippi.

They have no love for those who are the least among society.  Yet these rulers are the very ones to which the US church whores itself out to on a daily basis.  These Elites are the financiers and patrons supporting the egomaniacal dreams of the Church’s fallen leadership.  These Elites are also the icons and role models for most of the Church’s laity.

It is because the Church and America as a whole have followed after their insidious ways that this present catastrophe is greater than it should have been. This is true because:

-National Guard troops are busy killing Iraqis instead of helping their own citizens during this time of crisis.

-Funding for improving the levees around New Orleans has been decreased dramatically over the past five years and an even larger percentage was shifted into the war budget after 9-11 and the start of the Iraq War… and into the pockets of companies like Halliburton in the process.

-People too poor to flee the affected areas have been blamed for staying behind when not one effort was made to provide these people with a means of evacuation BEFORE THE STORM.

-Relief efforts have been sporadic, ineffective, and uncoordinated to date while the press and governmental officials have appeared to be more concerned by looting at the hands of those left with no food, water, medicine, sanitation system, or refuge from the elements.

While these things have taken place… the people have by and large done nothing.  The Church in the US has done nothing.  At present most people are too busy “bitching” about gasoline prices and availability than clamoring for real assistance for victims and accountability for those who have placed so many people in such a tragic state.

Tempers are high and people are on edge.  Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans finally reached the breaking point last night during a live “on air” interview.  He called into question practically everything that has taken place thus far relating to federal efforts to assist New Orleans in the aftermath of the hurricane.  He pointed out that people are dying by the thousands and that four days after the disaster there had been practically no assistance from the FEMA-Homeland Security-Pentagon-Whitehouse nexus that is responsible first and foremost for securing the safety and lives of their own citizens.

Nagin also rebuked those who have claimed rescue and recovery efforts are going well and that drawbacks are related to processes required for the federal government to step in by saying:

"Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request?

You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important?

And I'll tell you, man, I'm probably going get in a whole bunch of trouble. I'm probably going to get in so much trouble it ain't even funny. You probably won't even want to deal with me after this interview is over…

… But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.

Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man."

Meanwhile thousands are scrambling to get out of the city any way they can.  They are walking, riding bikes, and yes breaking into and driving away in vehicles that are not their own.  I am not condoning theft on any level… but some of the reaction by both the press and the government to people’s efforts to survive has been incredulous.  Aside from the Governor of Louisiana’s statements about National Guardsmen fresh from Iraq with M-16’s who are ready to kill looters… the denigration of the survivors in New Orleans particularly has been almost unreal.  One picture, which sums it up for me, is the following shot with caption:

Texas game wardens watch over people who were caught using a mail truck to try to escape New Orleans. They were freed but forced to continue on foot. Reuters

I can understand authorities stopping a group of people in a US mail truck… obviously it doesn’t belong to them.  But to me, seeing these guys forced to lay spread-eagled on the scorching hot pavement and then sent WALKING to God know where… for God knows how long is the perfect summation of the kingdom, which America and its false church are creating for the world.

They are creating a world in which citizens are no longer “full-citizens” but refugees instead (understand here that the word refugee means a dispossessed OUTSIDER seeking refuge).  Rights do not exist where not convenient and for the lower-rungs of society they really do not exist at all.  They are creating a world in which the Church/State partnership feels indignant that the “liberal press” would have compassion for the plight of those suffering over having compassion for those who are charged with helping from afar.  They are also creating a world in which the weak, poor, and “wicked” are destined to be scapegoated for bringing such misery upon themselves.  They are creating a world in which the god of greed, force, and power will