reflections
Look at me, look into the reflection, For I molded you with a soft hand of perfection. We look alike, I made everyone in my image So, look into the reflection Tell me what you see. Talk to me, I know your mind before you speak You don’t have much faith. Did I not give glory to the rose? I created the earth, I made the sun to warm your face, The luminous glitter of the stars, The monn to give light in the dark, It’s a showplace, the lilies of the valley, The splendor of the streams, rivers, lakes, The Oceans, Seas, Mountains, plains, I was content when finished. All this beauty I made for you When complete I was in Awe! I gave myself that you may live I gave more to you than my other creations. But, when you look into the reflection, I hear you say, “I am not like the rose.” You must believe, look at me, look closely Maybe your not like the rose, But, your eyes have the radiant color of the sky They sparkle like the stars in the darkness of night I gave your cheeks a touch of the rose. Like a rainbow Your smile emits a dazzling array of beauty Like the warm rays of the sunshine Giving warmth to those around you. I gave you wisdom to keep on learning, A conscience to know right from wrong, A heart to love and forgive. Life is my most treasured gift, Unlike the rose that sways in the wind, I gave you a soul, an identity. I love you and will never abandon you Look into the reflection, If you love me as I love you YOU WILL SEE ME IN YOUR REFLECTION!
www.originalpoetry.com
Word Study: Yom
The Hebrew word for “day” is the word “Yom.” Young earth
creationists have always argued that the word used for the days
of creation can only mean a 24-hour day. In this article, we
will examine the uses of Yom in the Old Testament, and show that
it can mean a wide variety of time periods. First, one must
understand that the Hebrew language is not nearly is diverse as
our English language. Whereas we have millions of words, the
Hebrew source for the Old Testament only consists of slightly
less than 8,700 words…and many of these could be considered
duplicates with only slight differences. Thus, words which
contain multiple meanings are common. Such is the case with the
word Yom. Hebrew Dictionaries Let’s start with the possible
meanings of Yom;
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (1980, Moody Press)
“It can denote: 1. the period of light (as contrasted with the
period of darkness), 2. the period of twenty-four hours, 3. a
general vague “time,” 4. a point of time, 5. a year (in the
plural; I Sam 27:7; Ex 13:10, etc.).”
Hebrew authorities attest to the fact that the word Yom is used
for anywhere from 12 hours up to a year, and even a vague “time
period” of unspecified length.
Other Uses of Yom
Day is not the only translation for the word Yom. Here are some
other uses.
Time
It is interesting to note that in 67 verses in the Old
Testament, the word Yom is translated into the English word
“time.” For instance, in Genesis 4:3, it says “And in process of
time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the Lord.” In this instance, Yom refers
to a growing season, probably several months. In Deuteronomy
10:10, it refers to forty days. In I Kings 11:42, it refers to
40 years.
In Isaiah 30:8, it says “Now go, write it before them in a
table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to
come for ever and ever.” In this case, Yom is equal to
“forever.”
Year
Four times in the Old Testament Yom is translated “year.” In I
Kings 1:1, “David was old and stricken in years…” In 2
Chronicles 21:19, “after the end of two years” and in the very
next verse “Thirty and two years old.” Finally, in Amos 4:4,
“…and your tithes after three years.” In each case, Yom
represents years, not days.
Other Meanings for Yom
Age meaning old age (Genesis 18:11 and 24:1; Joshua 23:1 and
23:2) Ago 1 Samuel 9:20 Always (Deuteronomy 5:29, 6:24, 14:23, 2
Chronicles 18:7) Season (Genesis 40:4, Joshua 24:7, 2 Chronicles
15:3) Chronicles (27 times) Continually (11 times).
Ever (Deuteronomy 19:9; eighteen other times. The old testament
uses “for ever” instead of the word forever. In sixteen cases of
use of the word ever, for is placed before it, indicating a
infinite period of time (Last word of Psalm 23:6) Evermore
(Deuteronomy 28:29)
Word Usage in the Old Testament
As you can see, Yom is used in a wide variety of situations
related to the concept of time. Yom is not just for days…it is
for time in general. How it is translated depends on the context
of its use with other words.
Yom in the Creation Account
Even within the creation account, Yom is used to represent four
different time periods. Genesis 1:5 “And God called the light
Day, and the darkness He called Night.” Here, Moses uses Yom to
indicate a 12-hour period
Genesis 1:14 “And God said, “Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and
let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years.” Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate 24-hour days
Genesis 2:4 “…in the day that the Lord God made the earth and
the heavens.” Here, Moses uses Yom to indicate the entire
creative week.
The fourth usage of Yom in the creation account is in the
summary for each of the six creation days, “and there was
morning and evening the first day”. Yom is used to represent a
finite, long period of time, usually either millions or billions
of years. To show support for this, consider the uses of Yom by
Moses.
Moses Other Uses of Yom
Moses, the author of the first five books of the Bible, and of
Psalm 90, used Yom in many different ways.
Genesis 4:3 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain
brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.”
In this instance, Yom refers to a growing season, probably
several months. Genesis 43:9 “…then let me bear the blame for
ever.” Here, Moses uses Yom to represent eternity Genesis 44:32
“…then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.” Again,
Moses uses Yom to represent eternity
Deuteronomy 4:40 “…that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the
earth, which the Lord thy God giveth the, for ever.” Here Yom
represents a physical lifetime
Deuteronomy 10:10, “Now I stayed on the mountain forty days and
nights, as I did the first time,…”
Here, Yom is a “time” equal to forty days.
Deuteronomy 18:5 “…to stand to minister in the name of the
Lord, him and his sons for ever.”
Again, Yom is translated as eternity
Deuteronomy 19:9 “…to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever
in His ways…” Here, Yom represents a lifetime. As long as we
live we are to walk in his ways
As you can see, Moses used the word Yom to represent 12-hours,
24 hours, the creative week, forty days, several months, a
lifetime, and eternity.
Common Young Earth Arguments
To get around the obvious conclusion that Yom in Genesis 1 can
mean millions of years, young earth theorists have come up with
several arguments, none of which is supported by common Hebrew
grammatical rules according to Hebrew experts. These rules were
created by Hebrew language experts who are young earth
creationists, thus their viewpoint is obviously biased. They
have a specific agenda they are trying to prove, and thus cannot
be objective.
Ordinals/Cardinals
Whenever Yom is used with an ordinal or cardinal number (1st,
2nd, 1,2, etc) that it always represents a 24 hour day. However,
this is not true. In Zechariah 14:7-9, the “one day” refers to a
period of time when the Lord shall be king over the earth. In
other places, some say that Isaiah and Hosea have numbers with
the word day which are figurative (External Link). 1 Hebrew
scholars do not recognize this fabricated rule.2
What is important in the Hebrew language is the intentions of
the author. We should not create rules that support our own
agendas, but should strive to understand the author’s intended
meaning outside of rules.
Evening/Morning Construction
In Genesis 1 Moses says “and there was evening and morning the
xx day”. Does the use of evening and morning indicate a sunrise
and sunset for each creative day? First, let’s look at what
evening and morning are not. They are not actual evening and
mornings, as this requires a sunrise and sunset. According to
young earth theory, the Sun was not created until Day Four, thus
there could be no sunrise or sunset for the first three days of
creation. However, God uses the terms evening and morning for
those first three days. Therefore, they cannot be actual
evenings and mornings.
We are left with only one option. The words for Evening and
Morning can only represent the beginning and ending of the
creative period, and not actual sunrise and sunsets. Scripture
itself sets this pattern for us. Morning and evening are used
figuratively in Psalm 30:5, Psalm 49:14,15, Psalm 90:6. Thus,
the evening and morning of creation can mean the start and end
of the creative process that is attributed to that creation
period.
Literal/Figurative Argument
This argument says that you cannot use a word figuratively until
after you have used it literally. Is this rule valid? I see no
reason to suppose that it is. You have to be careful with young
earth claims about biblical interpretation methods. Again, they
will invent rules that support their cause, when there is no
basis for their rule in Hebrew.
In this case, it makes no difference which order the word Yom
appears in, i.e. literal before figurative or vice versa. Yes,
these are the first words of the Bible, but they are not the
first words of mankind. All the time from Adam to Moses, men
were speaking in their own languages, thus the literal
interpretation via spoken language would already have been
established. There was no need to suppose a literal/figurative
structure.
If God’s Creation Was Billions of Years Old…
If God’s creation was billions of years old, how would He have
written the creation account in Genesis? One thing is
certain…God is good at telling us exactly what we need to know.
When God refers to a large number, He uses picture stories, such
as Abraham’s descendants being as numerous as the sand. Why does
He do this? If God had said, “You will have millions of
descendants,” Abraham would have asked, “What is a million?”
When considering the creation, if we broke it down into days,
that would be 5,000,500,000,000 days, or roughly 13.7 billion
years. Do we need an account for each day of creation…of
course not. God in His infinite wisdom, saw fit to tell us the
creation story by breaking it down into creative segments, each
of which was attributed to a specific creative act or acts. We
need to give the early Hebrews of Genesis a break…they didn’t
have calculators like we do!
One must also consider that time with God has no meaning. To
Him, 10 billion years is like a day. Thus, it is no problem for
God to put billions of years into one of His days. Dr. Hugh Ross
puts it best in his determination that the frame of reference
for creation is the surface of the earth. Genesis 1:2 puts the
witness of creation on the surface. But who is witnessing these
events? It is God himself. During the first 5.99 days of
creation, God is the only one present. Thus, human time does not
matter…no humans were there to witness the passage of time.
What matters is how God sees time! Thus, a billion year day is
only a passing moment in God’s eyes.
The creation account is written in such a manner for all people
to understand it. The issue is not how long creation took…the
issue is that God did it, and that’s all that matters in the end.
Conclusion
With such a wide usage of the word Yom for many different time
periods, it cannot be claimed that Yom in the Old Testament only
represents a 24-hour period. During the creation account alone,
Yom represents four different time periods. Rules of Hebrew,
created by young earth Hebrew scholars, are invalid. Because of
their biased position, they are trying to prove their own agenda.
Since humans did not witness creation, our own concept of a
24-hour day does not apply. The only thing that matters is God’s
concept of time. Thus, the only evidence we have to accurately
assess the age of creation is the creation itself. Since the
rocks and stars say we are billions of years old, that must be
the truth. This fits perfectly with a literal interpretation of
Genesis, and an inerrant Bible, and does not impact any other
Biblical doctrines.
1
y.htm 2 Television Show and Transcript, “Are the Genesis
Creation Days 24 Hours or Long Periods of Time,” The John
Ankerberg Show, 2005.
This article comes from the Answers In Creation website (
n.org). The source article is located at
ww.answersincreation.org/word_study_yom.htm.
How to Receive God’s Abundance
When you purchase a new suit or jacket, the pockets are usually sewed up and must be clipped in order to get into them. Without a proper philosophy of money and wealth, you won’t attract anything into your pockets because they’ll still be sewed shut. A proper view of finances will open your pockets to receive the abundance of life that God wants you to have.
A Lesson from the Future
In the television series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” 23rd century human beings have eliminated the need and desire for money. This has helped them transcend their roots in the Earth and take wing to the stars and other planets. However, even though humans have overcome the need and desire for money, there exists an alien race of mercenary merchants whose sole purpose for existence is to amass interstellar currency and whose sole measure of personal worth is the amount of their personal wealth.
Gene Roddenbury, the creator of Star Trek, was an astute analyst of the human civilization of the 20th century. In his futuristic alien race obsessed with and blinded by money, he saw a present-day parallel in societies all across planet Earth. These beings serve to teach the lesson that money is not a sound or solid basis for human endeavor or relationship. When money is the primary end that is sought through the energies of life, it soon becomes the means for measuring the value of those energies and of life itself. When this happens, life actually becomes impoverished because it no longer is seen to have dimension or possibilities or worth beyond the “bottom line.” Life is viewed as the ability, or inability, to accumulate wealth in order to secure worth. The absurdity and poverty of such an understanding of life is well summarized in the words of a bumper sticker I saw recently: “The one who dies with the most stuff wins.” I wonder what the prize could be.
Side Bar: Long ago it was realized that money could obscure a person’s self-worth and value to humanity. One day a rich man of a miserly disposition visited a wise sage, who took him by the hand and led him to a window.
“Look out there,” he said. “What do you see?”
“I see men and women and little children,” the man replied.
Then the sage took him to a mirror. “What do you see now?”
“I see myself,” was the answer.
“Behold, in the window there is glass and the mirror is glass also. But the glass of the mirror is covered with silver. No sooner is silver added than you cease to see others and see only yourself.”
Roddenbury appears to be asking the question, “what would civilized life be like without money?” Would it be some cosmic communist collective devoted to “share and share alike?” Where would the resources come from to support and sustain every human life? How would such resources be fairly allocated and distributed so that the ones with the greatest need would receive the greatest share? Would these resources be of sufficient quality to enable people to grow and expand their personal attributes and natural abilities? Would there be enough to go around?
Roddenbury answers these questions by introducing a machine called the “replicator,” a ubiquitous device that creates whatever one desires literally out of thin air. All required resources for living and growing could be summoned at the moment they were needed or desired in the necessary quantities with no waste or want. Of course this is pure fantasy. However, there is more to this story.
With the replicator, Roddenbury was able to divorce resource development, acquisition and distribution from all work activities. Twenty-third century human beings didn’t have to work in order to obtain the resources necessary to sustain and develop life. These celestial citizens worked for the pleasure of self-expression and to apply their talents and energies to making ever-increasing contributions to the greater good of human civilization. Work was an end in itself and not a means to obtain money in order to secure resources necessary for survival and development. By separating work and money, work became wealth because it no longer needed to be performed for money. Wealth and money were severed from each other for good. Instead of money, what one did to contribute to the greater good and to the accomplishment of the collective mission was the measure of personal wealth and worth.
I think we 21st century beings can learn a valuable lesson from the Star Trek generation of the future when it comes to how best to manage money and the resources it buys. If we could learn to view work as an end in itself and not merely as a means to obtain money, then the experiences of our work would become the wealth we acquire regardless of the amount of money it produces. The issue here is that work builds character, good work builds good character and good character is true wealth. Work, then, becomes the means for wealth not by what we get for it (money) but by what we become by it (character).
Good character produces a wealth of happiness, healthfulness and personal fulfillment that money cannot buy. There are many things money can buy and just as many it can’t. Money can buy a house but not a home, a bed but not a good night’s sleep. Those things it cannot buy must be attracted into one’s life by good character. Otherwise, they will remain elusive and, without them, life becomes impoverished even in the midst of monetary wealth.
Now that we’ve established a proper view of work, money and wealth, we need to examine the means of “fleshing out” such a philosophy. What does it take to actually practice building a “wealthy character?” In a word, it takes discipline.
Discipline and Regret
Aside from physical pain, there are really only two other types of pain that human beings experience. Both are more psychic than physical, although, in both cases, there can be unpleasant physical manifestations. One is the pain of discipline; the other is the pain of regret. The latter occurs as a consequence of the absence of the former.
Pain of Discipline
Author and columnist, Erma Bombeck, commented that the trouble with life is that it’s so “daily.” Likewise, discipline is a daily decision. As anyone who resolves to “lose some weight” or “get into shape” soon discovers, getting from “deciding to do” to “actually doing” can involve a tremendous amount of agonizing effort.
Once the implementation of the resolution occurs, the changed behavior results in pain because new behaviors must replace the old ones. Neurological research has indicated that when a person changes a fundamental belief or opinion which, in turn, determines behavior, the brain undergoes a series of nervous sensations equivalent to distressing torture. It is when this distress is fully felt that the attempts at changing behavior often fade into forgetfulness. Our natural desire is for comfort and predictability, not challenge and change. Aristotle recognized the courage and difficulty of self-discipline when he said: “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.”
Discipline can also be painful in that it is a process that involves giving up in order to go up. It is disconcerting to give up something of immediate desire in order to obtain something of value later. After all, there is always the risk that you won’t actually get the things for which you’ve sacrificed. But sacrifice is a required element of the equation that opens the pockets and attracts the wealth of life into them.
Pain of Regret
As both a businessman and a pastor, I’ve heard countless people remorsefully utter the following phrases: “If only I had . . .;” “I wish I had . . . ;” “I should have . . . .” These are words that express deep, soulful pain. When spoken, they proclaim the stark realization that life could have been better than it is now. They are blatant admissions that life is the way it is because of personal choices made and actions done or left undone. This pain of regret can endure throughout a lifetime and often causes the rest of one’s life to descend into bitterness and despair.
Hersell Wilson, an early 20th century social commentator, said: “The things you do that you don’t have to will always determine who you are when it’s too late to do anything about it.” None of us have to exercise discipline in any aspect of our lives. We are certainly free to choose to do nothing to make something of our lives - to wind up being a nobody by not helping anybody, including ourselves. Self-discipline is voluntary. But there is a heavy price to pay when discipline is not chosen in the area of finances. When it’s too late to earn the necessary money to pay the bills, the bills will arrive. When it’s too late to save enough for retirement, retirement cannot be taken.
The pain of regret is enormous in comparison to the pain of self-discipline. If your pockets are bare, check to see if the way you view money, wealth and work is actually keeping them sewed shut. If you determine that they are, indeed, sewed shut, what can you do to open them up in order to receive the abundance God has in store for you?
Side Bar: If your character is not attracting wealth into your life, ask yourself, “What’s really getting in the way of that happening?”
“An enemy I had, whose face I stoutly strove to know,
For hard he dogged my steps unseen wherever I did go.
My plans he balked, my aims he foiled, he blocked my onward way;
When for some lofty goal I toiled, he grimly said me, “Nay!”
One night I seized and held him fast, from him the veil did draw. I gazed upon his face at last and, lo, myself I saw.”
Steps to Receiving God’s Abundance
We are creatures fashioned in the image of God. To accurately reflect God in our lives, we need to yield to His desire for us. Whenever we submit ourselves to God’s desire for our lives, we broaden and deepen our character as spiritual beings and thereby become capable of receiving spiritual abundance, which includes all wealth.
The act of submission is in choosing to do what God does in relation to creation. What God does in relation to creation is to give Himself. We develop a good character by giving ourselves to others. It is this good character, developed in spiritual obedience to God’s desire for us, that attracts all manner of wealth into our lives so that we might be optimally equipped to serve others.
What do you need to do to broaden and deepen your spiritual character so as to attract more of the abundance of God’s wealth into your life? There are just two steps to take.
Step One:
Tell God that you submit to His desire for you. Do this every day. This is the primary act of giving yourself first to God so that God can give Himself again to creation through you. From this moment on you will receive God’s abundance so that you can give to others. Whatever you give to others is a sacrifice of praise to the presence of God’s abundant life within you.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he immediately replied, ” . . . you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31). It is fascinating that Jesus added a second commandment. He was linking love of God with love of others (a neighbor is anyone within “loving distance”). What must be kept in mind, however, is that there is an order presented here. The first commandment is to love God with all that one is (and not, incidentally, with all that one has); the second flows from the first. How often do we attempt to serve others without first 1) knowing if they can benefit from our service, 2) if we have what is necessary to help and not hinder them, and 3) establishing that God has led us to serve them above all others. After all, our personal resources of time, energy and money are limited. The point is that only when we first give ourselves wholly to God can God show us to whom we can most effectively give ourselves.
Never forget the divine irony: you can’t give unless you receive; but, in order to receive you must give. Our understanding of this seeming paradox is this:
You can’t give to others unless you receive from God; in order to receive from God you must give yourself to God.
Step Two:
The discipline that will keep attracting God’s abundance into your life is to daily give yourself to those to whom God leads you without regard for return or reward. Remember the words of Albert Schweitzer: “Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid.”
When you take these two simple steps on a daily basis, you’ll find your pockets full of God’s richness. You’ll also discover that your true wealth is a good character that not only thrives in this life but also is filled with the abundance of God’s eternal life.
Ken Wallace, M. Div., CSL has been in the organizational development field since 1973. He is a seasoned consultant, speaker and executive coach with extensive business experience in multiple industries who provides practical organizational direction and support for business leaders. A professional member of the National Speakers Association since 1989, he is also a member of the International Federation for Professional Speaking and holds the Certified Seminar Leader (CSL) professional designation awarded by the American Seminar Leaders Association.
Ken is one of only eight certified Business Systems Coaches worldwide for General Motors.
His topics include ethics, leadership, change, communication & his unique Optimal Process Design® program.
Tel:(800)235-5690 Claim your free eBook, “How to Do Better Than Your Best in Anything You Do” by visiting the Better Than Your Best website.
The Rise And Fall Of Babylon
According to the Book of Revelations, the city of Babylon has to be rebuilt once again. This is another key event for everyone to really keep an eye on. Prophecy scholars are divided in their opinion as to whether or not the city of Babylon will literally be rebuilt again. After studying the verses mentioned below - I believe that the Bible is using literal interpretation and it is meaning exactly what it is saying. If this is correct - then the city of Babylon will once more be rebuilt so God can literally wipe this unholy city off the face of this earth!
The city of Babylon is in the country of Iraq. Back in the early 70’s, Saddam Hussein started to try to rebuild the city once again. He probably got about half of it rebuilt before we took him out in our war with Iraq. It remains to be seen if Iraq will continue to rebuild this city once a new government has been put into place and things start to settle down.
God the Father has a SERIOUS PROBLEM with the city of Babylon. I personally feel that He is going to allow it to be rebuilt once again so that He can personally DESTROY IT HIMSELF. Here are the reasons why.
Back in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis, the city of Babylon was the first city where man began to worship himself in organized rebellion against God Himself. It was where Satan officially set up his initial “headquarters.” The first official world ruler was Nimrod and he ruled from the city of Babylon.
Most, if not all of the false religions of this world, can be traced back to the city of Babylon. As you will see in the following verses, Babylon is called a harlot - because from out of her came all the other false religions that have set themselves up against the one and only true God of the Bible.
From these other false religions have come massive persecution of God’s people throughout the ages. Satan and his demons have obviously been behind all of these other false religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Hinduism, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.
It is a well known fact that many Muslims hate Christians, and there is horrible persecution going on even right now with Muslims slaughtering Christians in Sudan and parts of Indonesia. Satan and his demons rule behind these other false religions and he is the one causing all of this hatred toward Christians.
As we get into the 7 year Tribulation, God arranges for this city to be rebuilt again, and then He will “arrange” for the city to be destroyed by the Antichrist and his 10 nation confederacy in one day! The Antichrist will have no idea that he is being used as a “pawn” by God the Father when he sets out to destroy this city.
I have a feeling Satan may be able to read what I believe will be a very heavy sign from God as to why this city is being raised up again - just so God can personally destroy it Himself. I believe God is saying with the destruction of Babylon, that He is in the process of getting ready to “clean up the earth”, and that all the false religions of this world are going to be taken out when Jesus returns back to our earth to set up His Millennium Kingdom.
God will first destroy the city of Babylon and everything that it stands for and represents. And then He will eventually come after Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, all of Satan’s demons and all the other unsaved people of this earth when Jesus comes back for His second coming.
When the Millennium Kingdom is set up for the 1000 years, all the bad and unsaved people and Satan and all of his demons will be totally taken out so that we can have true peace on this earth during the 1000 years that Jesus will rule for.
As you will see in the following verses, Babylon is once again going to be rebuilt, and it appears to become a major governmental and commercial place in the world. The Bible says that the “harlot” will initially rule in tandem with the Antichrist. When the city is destroyed, the Bible says that a lot of the merchants, traders and seamen will mourn because they are no longer going to be able to trade and make money with her. The Bible says the kings of the earth were living luxuriously with her when she is destroyed, and they are all mourning because of the loss of wealth that will occur to them as a result of her destruction.
The Scripture Verses
1. This first verse tells us that the beast, who is the Antichrist, and his 10 nation confederacy will be the ones who will destroy this city. However, this verse then goes on to tell us that God Himself is the one who will “put it into the hearts” of the beast and his 10 nation confederacy to destroy Babylon. Here is the verse:
“And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, they will hate the harlot, make her desolate and burn her
with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give the kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that GREAT CITY which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (Revelations 17:16-18)
2. This next verse goes further into the actual destruction of Babylon. Apparently the city is literally destroyed in one hour! Here is the verse that wraps up what God has to say about destroying this unholy place.
“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird.’For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury … In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart,’ I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow’.
Therefore her plagues will come in one day - death and mourning and famine. And she will literally be burned with fire, for strong is the Lord who judges her.
And the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, this great city Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore … Rejoice over her, O heaven, and your holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her.”
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found … and the light of your lamp shall not shine anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.” (Revelations 18:1-24)
3. Here is another verse that says her destruction will come in one hour.
“For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.” (Revelations 18:17)
Conclusion
1. Babylon probably has to be rebuilt sometime before the 7 year Tribulation starts. If it is going to be a
flourishing city by the time the Antichrist sets out to destroy it, it has to be rebuilt sometime before the Antichrist really comes to power in order to properly set the stage for it to be a “flourishing and wealthy” city again.
Prophecy students feel that its destruction by the Antichrist will probably come somewhere around the midpoint of the Tribulation or shortly thereafter. Remember, the Antichrist will rise to power more on peace and diplomacy during the first three and half years. It is in the last three and half years of the Tribulation that the Antichrist basically goes nuts and starts the mass persecution of the Jews and all who will not accept his mark. My guess is that Babylon is included in the last three and half years of his mass destruction of both people and countries.
2. You’ll also notice that Babylon is destroyed in one hour by fire. The first verse above says that the beast will burn her with fire. I have to believe that the Antichrist will probably launch some type of nuclear missile or bomb on Babylon to completely destroy it by fire in one hour.
3. The Bible says our God is a jealous God. The first of the Ten Commandments is “You shall have no other Gods before Me.”
The second commandment says:
“You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God …”
All of the other false religions that have come onto this earth all have their origin with the ancient city of Babylon - and they all involve some form of idol worship.
With our God the Father being the one and only true God of the entire universe, He calls all of these other false religions originating out of Babylon harlots! That is because they are not the one and only true faith involving the God of the Bible. I’ve already done an article titled the “The Basics of Salvation Through Jesus Christ“. The Bible makes it very clear that there is only one faith, one God, one religion and one Savior - Jesus Christ. God the Father will not honor in any way, shape or form any of these other false religious systems. All of these other religions are an abomination in His sight and they all have their origin with Satan himself. And the city of ancient Babylon was really the official starting point from where Satan really started to develop and work in all of the other false religions of the world today into each of the other countries around the world.
Once you understand and see the “big picture” as how God sees it, you can understand why He would want to resurrect the city of Babylon again, just so that He can set it up for its final destruction at the end of times.
The above verses also says this destruction is set up by God in order to avenge all of His people who have been martyred throughout history by all of these other false religions.
4. If you want to read more on Babylon and its final destruction, go to chapters 17 and 18 in Revelations. Those two chapters were too long for me to type out everything in this article. The above verses are highlighting the basics on this subject for you.
Note Revelations 17:3 where it says:
“And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”
The woman is the city of Babylon and the beast she is sitting on is the Antichrist. This verse tells you that initially Babylon will be riding on and working with the Antichrist and probably helping him set up his agenda.
There are also predictions that out of Babylon, will come a lot more of the New Age Movement, along with a heavy increase in sorcery, magic and the occult. Demons and their supernatural powers will be at their peak during the end times, and the city of Babylon will also have a lot of occultic activity surrounding it which will help draw a lot of people from all over the world to visit there. This would probably explain why it is going to become so popular and wealthy again once it is resurrected.
All of the above is just another powerful “puzzle piece” given by God in the Bible to let us know when we really are starting to approach the end of times and the return of His Son to our earth to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom.
About the Author
Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministries. Their website is a resource of Bible commentary and teaching.
If you do not want to wait for the next article,
you can go to our end times section.
Copyright © 2005 by Michael Bradley. All Rights Reserved.
TALK SHOW CHRISTIANITY - . . . . Distorting the Gospel of Christ
TALK SHOW CHRISTIANITY. . . . Distorting the Gospel of Christ
Dear Friends: I know you were all expecting another “monster
blog” on the HIDDEN TREASURESBabylon’s pursuit thereof. Well,
that will be coming . . . but first, let’s zero in on another
bizarre only-in-Babylonia America phenomenon.
Last week Frank Reilly of 11th Hour Ministries (one of our
affiliates on thetribnet) shared a side of the “Prosperity
Gospel” that bestirred his spirit to outrage. (See below my
response and Frank’s initial comments.)
I turned on one of our local Sacramento stations the same day,
and picked up an interesting exchange between an older brother
in the Lord (apparently in the real estate business) and a
Christian talk show host (I have no idea who the host was . . .
only to say that there is a growing number of such shows dealing
with “Christian finances”therein lies the rub.).
Now, it’s not that believers do not need such “counseling” on
such “earthly matters” . . . however, the focus is so skewed
from the “riches of Christ” that simultaneously while Frank was
undergoing his revulsion, I too was repulsed in my spirit
concerning the headlong rush into the “gospel of green” taken by
American Christianity. Quite frankly, the deception of such
claptrap passing for Christian edification is so abhorrent and
even destructive to the human spirit, that to partake of its
alleged “spiritual value” is like stuffing yourself full of Big
Macs month in “blessed anticipation” of a major coronary . . .
Please, don’t Super Size Me!
If we are to be called “the prisoners of hope” (Zech. 9:11), it
will certainly not be through this decrepit diet of deficiency,
for it has NOTHING to do with the nourishment found in Christ
alone nor can the sound of this “Jabez Jazz” play a tune to the
“Unsearchable Riches of Christ!”
(Note: My initial response to Frank’s comments has been a bit
enhanced, however, the overall “flavor,” is the same.)
Dear Frank:
Today, I too turned on a Christian station (770 AM here in
Sacramento) and heard an exchange between what sounded like an
older Christian man and a Christian radio talk show host. The
elderly gentleman told the host that the greatest joy in his
life was the day he recently came to his pastor and discovered
that the 30-something pastor, and his little family, did not own
their own home (This all happened two years ago.).
Well, this older brother is in the real estate business. So, he
set up the pastor by fixing up a new home purchase for him;
redecorating it for the pastor, while he was at it.
The cost of the first home purchase by his pastor was $150K.
Well, this older guy was now rejoicing because that same pastor,
two years later, turned his initial home purchase around for
$379,000 and “made a killing.”
They were sharing this as a total demonstration of the blessed
Christian life and how much “Jesus Christ was in this.” The
older brother said that “escrow had just closed” and the
pastor’s equity was in the bank. The Christian involved in real
estate said that what he did for the pastor paralleled what
someone years ago had done for him, and now he was returning the
favorhe felt so good about it that he just had to share the
story with everyone.
Well, increasingly, this is the claptrap that fills the airwaves
in the “Church of Laodicea.” I am not saying that this was not a
help to this pastor; however, what I am saying: “High profile”
stories like this of alleged “blessing” are preposterous and
bespeak not of Him Whom the Scriptures say: “Foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man
has nowhere to lay His head!”
So, where’s the blessing? When we are content with NOTHING, but
rejoice in Christ, Who is our all, then we are blessed indeed
and in truth!
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for
Christ. Yet indeed I also count ALL THINGS LOSS for the
excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own
righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith”
(Philippians 3:7-9). (My emphasis)
I do not find the emphasis in the New Testament upon such
financial gain as “blessing” but, to the contrary, the “RICH ARE
PIERCED THROUGH WITH MANY SORROWS!” (I Timothy 6:10). By any
standard, American Christians represent the wealthiest of all
God’s people on the face of the earth (materially); however, the
depraved Church in Laodicea is told that their boast: “I am
rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” . . .
belies the FACT that they are “wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). That’s the “wretched
truth” of the matter.
The prosperity gospel has now hit the talk shows; and the people
are eating it like candy . . . entire programs on “wealth
management” (and there are scores of such “Christian talk radio
‘money shows’”) extolling the virtues of “Responsible Christian
Financial Management” known as prosperity hype, as far as I am
concerned. This is nothing more than an “other gospel”
(Galatians 1:9).
Alas! What a sad ….
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Sinister plot to immortalize Arafat’s teachings and leadership, or sentimental goodbye among those w
“People on this night are going to be on several different
levels. No doubt we are on the lowest level, so we are hoping in
this night to attain the honor and illumination granted in it.
When we reach a higher level and as it is a holy night in the
heavens as well, we will begin to sense something [of the great
power being manifested] on this night. Whoever is at the highest
spiritual level must be present for this night in the Divine
Presence of the Lord.”
http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/laylat_al_qadr.htm
“Sources in the defense establishment believe tomorrow will be
the day on which the Palestinians will ask to disconnect Arafat
from life support and announce his death. Tomorrow night marks
Lailat al-Kader, the night Muslims believe God revealed the
Koran to the prophet Mohammed. The death of the Palestinian
leader on that day will, therefore, be symbolic.”
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/498629.html
“The bill specifically forbids Arafat from being buried anywhere
in Israel. “Because of his disease,” the bill reads, “the State
of Israel allowed Arafat to leave for the sake of medical
treatment. This bill requests a ban on his return to Israel or
to the Palestinian Authority areas, whether to stay or to pass
through. The bill also wishes to prevent his burial in these
areas, lest the site turn into a pilgrimage attraction, a
symbol, and a source of inspiration for the war against Israel’s
existence.”" Arutz-7 news: Tuesday Nov 9, 2004
“”We chose Ramallah because it is close to Jerusalem, where we
are hoping to bury him in the near future,” said Hassan
Khraisheh, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council
and member of a special committee entrusted with overlooking the
funeral arrangements. Palestinians said that after Arafat would
be buried there, a mosque and monument would be built inside the
compound.”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/P
rinter&cid=1099973628375&p=1078113566627
“Sha’ath said there is no talk of removing Arafat from life
support. “We are not really believers in euthanasia. The man is
not suffering; he is in a coma … It’s out of the question that
anybody is thinking of taking any such decisions,” he said.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/09/arafat/index.html
Waiting till the Night of Power to pull the plug on Arafat’s
life support would have effectively placed him on the “highest
spiritual level” quoted above, and therefore, “in the divine
presence of” allah. However, as the PA officals didn’t remove
his life support, even his burial in Ramallah, complete with a
mosque and monument to boot, will do one of two things in the
minds and hearts of Muslims worldwide who revered Arafat in this
life.
1) Arafat will be elevated to prophet status, and his teachings,
sayings, decrees, etc, spread throughout the Islamic world, and
be followed even more devoutly than in his lifetime. Thus
ensuring PA leadership, that their goals to wipe out the Jews
and Christians wherever they may be found, will be carried out
in even greater numbers, dedication, and determination than in
the past.
In this situation, pulling the plug on Lailat al-Kader would
have been a ploy to ensure that policies, goals, ideology, and
commitment to Arafat’s cause is further entrenched and carried
out. Such a ploy would have taken advantage of Muslim thought
and desire on this day, and basically forcing what many call
“the new Islam” down everyone’s throat, as refusal to honor a
prophet brings harsh discipline.
Burial complete with mosque and monument will very likely do the
same thing in the minds of the moslem people, as not only will
they come to mourn, but also come to worship.
2) Arafat will receive the burial fitting for a prophet, and
many will come merely to mourn his passing, but no elevation to
prophet status will occur.
This is less likely to happen, as in order to have his death be
symbolic on the night of Lailat al-Kader, moslems would have to
admit that Arafat was spoken to by allah himself, and that his
death is a sign that his words are to be whole-heartedly honored
and obeyed.
It’s bad enough that the IDF is bracing for riots and increased
violence in PA-controlled areas following the news of Arafat’s
death. But to have millions of moslems suddenly claim Arafat as
a prophet will make matters worse for Jews, and Christians
around the world. It’s already bad enough that a BBC reporter
cried over his release to a Paris hospital. The added sympathy,
honor, mourning, and allegiance to his teachings will only
congeal supporters world-wide as well.
I see therefore, a potential polarization of East versus West,
of People of the Book versus Islam in the coming days. Saudi
Arabia is already treating the war in Iraq as a holy war.
PA-bred terrorists are already in Iraq killing Americans and
other national groups the same way they’ve been killing Jews in
Israel for years.
Arafat is not another Louie
Riel(http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Pa
rams=J1ARTJ0006837), to be decried, then enshrined, then
decried, then a statue built, repeatedly going from hero to
villain and back again. Arafat, plain and simple, is a villain
on a massive scale. He will be a hero to the strain of Islam he
revived and its sympathizers, and a villain to those who don’t
adhere or sympathize with his ways and teachings.
I say be watchful in coming days. Whether intended by the PA
leadership or not, Islam may have just turned a corner. Jews and
Christians beware.