Monday, September 27, 2021

The Whore of Babylon

 

Jeremiah 1: 16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

Crush Limbraw September 10, 2021 at 1:03 PM

Another thought, bionic - last night I was reading Micah 7… 

Jesus constantly quoted the prophets - they lived from about 850BC to 400BC - Warning about the events to come. Of course, their reward was execution. 

I cannot think of anyone better than you, bionic - to put these into a narrative package.  How about it?

bionic mosquito September 10, 2021 at 2:14 PM

Crush, it's funny you say this. I have recently finished Isaiah and am now in the early chapters of Jeremiah. Every chapter could provide a narrative. Some of the verses are absolute gems.

Jeremiah prophesied at the end of the Kingdom of Judah and through the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple.  He foretold these events, God’s judgement for the worship of idols and the sacrificing of their children: (Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19: 4-6).

The list of the idols worshipped today would be never-ending. As to sacrificing children…it isn’t enough to sacrifice the unborn children, society is now willingly sacrificing live children for the sake of a non-threatening virus.

The book begins, as seen above in the first chapter, with God stating the purpose that will be fulfilled through Jeremiah: God will utter His judgements.  Big deal, one will say; sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me…. Let God “utter” all He wants….

Yet we know, in the first chapter of Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth merely by His utterances: “And God said…”.  God’s words are action.  His words, create; His words destroy.  Jesus, by His words, calmed the storm and brought Lazarus out of the grave.  God’s words bring order out of chaos; this should cause fear in those who create chaos.

We are living in times of significant chaos…. At times like this, God brings some order.

In chapter 2, God, through Jeremiah, offers that those who have strayed have no one to blame but themselves:

Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. …Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?

Also in chapter 4:

Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

We have procured these by doing things our way.  Let’s call it reason without God – also known as the false god of the Enlightenment.  And such actions have consequences – one cannot stray from the truth for long without it being so:

Jeremiah 3: 5 (a) Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end?

What was the wickedness of the people?  Chapters 6 & 7 point to the issue: they did not hearken unto God’s words; they did not obey His voice; they did not receive correction.  They are cut off from truth.  They did not live according to God’s law, which God describes in a very specific way, in chapter 8:

Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.

Each created being is made with a purpose and is expected to live according to that purpose.  Storks, turtles or cranes live according to their purpose – so must man.  The non-human animals, however, are not blessed (and cursed) with reason.  Hence, they can only live according to their purpose. 

Man, however, has been given a gift that can be used to fulfill his purpose or to stray from it.  Apply reason toward the purpose for which man was created, and God’s order remains; apply reason divorced from God’s purpose, and chaos ensues.  When this happens, God (or natural law, if you prefer) will provide correction.

Reason is used to commit abomination.  Yet this does not bring shame:

Jeremiah 6: 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

We are living at the end of just such a time.  Some, myself included, who recognize this truth point to the fallacies in the Enlightenment, when reason and the individual were divorced from the God who created both.  I have been reviewing the work by John Strickland who argues that the cake was baked with the Great Schism, one-thousand years ago.

Wherever in this timeline one wishes to start, it is clear that World War One marked the inevitable culmination of this epoch.  At the same moment when man, through his reason, reached his pinnacle, he crushed it into the mud of Europe.

Since then we have come to the point described by CS Lewis in The Abolition of Man: when we say man is conquering nature, what we mean to say is that some men are using nature to conquer other men: “Each new power won by man is a power over man as well.”  The last thing in nature left to be conquered is man himself.  He will no longer be man, but something else entirely.

The mental and emotional part of this conquering happened decades ago – with the death of God, with the stripping of man’s dignity, with the debasement of his cultural tradition.  We now describe as “pretty” the waterfall that more properly should be described as “sublime.”  This can be most visibly seen manifest today thanks to the social justice curriculum developed by critical theory. 

It is the fruit of the work of Antonio Gramsci, and, following him, the Frankfurt School: the long march through the institutions has accomplished its task.  Yet, even in this, one has a means to provide defense: educating one’s self, educating one’s children.  Yes, a difficult task when the world’s ideology is set against you, but no doubt possible. 

Today, however, they are moving to conquer man’s physical body.  Get the jab to work; get the jab to eat; get the jab to travel; get the jab to shop; get the jab to see family; get the jab to leave your home.  Never mind the side effects, including an early death; just get the jab.  In the face of this evil, will and determination are necessary.

And it is for those demanding your compliance to this evil that Jeremiah speaks.  God’s judgement is not limited to the historical times recorded in Scripture.  It is consistent, eternal.

But be careful: those closest to you will also be your enemy.  In chapter 9, Jeremiah offers that you cannot trust your neighbor, your brother.  They will speak lies; they will commit iniquity.  We live in a habitation surrounded by deceit.

So, now we come to the Whore of Babylon. 

Jeremiah 9: 9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

There are, and have been, “nations such as these” throughout history.  Jeremiah is speaking God’s words to each of these; each one, I believe, is this whore.  There is no doubt that the ways and the means of God’s judgements and punishments in the past will continue; God is unchanging, and abominations are abominations.  One cannot violate God’s laws (call it natural law or objective ethics, if you prefer) without consequence.

Revelation 17: 1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

I do not interpret this to mean that such events will happen (or have happened) once and only once.  Many empires over the last two thousand years have fit this description of the whore – and have come to judgement.  These two verses can describe many empires that have come and gone since the time the Apostle John wrote them.  These very much describe the United States today.

More specifically, one sees, through the United States, the exercise of empire by those who both are and are not citizens of the country.  The United States is a tool for those who wish to practice empire.  And this empire is the current manifestation of the empire against which Jeremiah (and John) speaks.

One need not go all Hal-Lindsey to see the description is one of an empire (sitting upon many waters) that has caused all kings of the earth to commit fornication with her (think of every meaningful Western institution, stretching from NATO to the Fed to the WHO), and that have gotten drunk from her wine (wealth earned by promoting evil).

The results are seen in chapter 18: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”

All nations have drunk her wine, the merchants of the earth have grown rich through her.  Her plagues will come, and with these death and famine.  Once again, as has happened through history, Babylon the great will fall.  It is most unfortunate because, when compared to all previous Babylons, no other had been so blessed from birth.

Conclusion

Neither wisdom, strength, or wealth will protect you; returning to Jeremiah:

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

Only one thing will, from Revelation 18:

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

But we know that there is no place to flee – no physical place.  How do we “come out”?  what can God mean by this?  We only have one means to save ourselves, again from Jeremiah:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

Just remember: Jesus also said we should buy a sword….

15 comments:

  1. "Get the jab to work; get the jab to eat; get the jab to travel; get the jab to shop; get the jab to see family; get the jab to leave your home."

    And once the precedent is set, they won't let it go until it is pried from their cold dead fingers. There will be new pandemics and new vaccines and hundreds of millions will dutifully line up for their next dose of medical tyranny each time. The vaccine passport will turn into the medical passport, which will detail a schedule of all sorts of other mandated vaccines and pharmaceuticals. The medical passport will turn into the health passport, which will restrict our diets (bye bye steak) and require physical exercise at approved institutions. The health passport will turn into the social passport, which will include all sorts of ridiculous things - like gay and trans acceptance training, glorification and climate related nonsense. Or something along these lines.

    "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

    Secede, nullify, or opt-out in every way imaginable.

    First, separate yourself from your belief in their narratives, which most of us here have done already I imagine. As Tolkien said, don't "worship any of the hydra's heads."

    Second, separate yourself from their poisonous propaganda. Turn off the TV. Get news and entertainment from sources not bent on destroying your way of life. It's okay to watch occasionally, but don't make it a habit or a ritual.

    Third, find real community locally - community in terms of economics and in terms of defense. Brandon Smith has great insights into this at Alt-Market.us. Joining or reaffirming your relationship with a church should be a no brainer. If you are capable, join a local militia or neighborhood defense club. The decentralized German 'freikorps' or free regiments successfully prevented the communist take-over of the Weimar Republic after WWI. Some of these men later became Nazis I believe, so be careful of these sorts within the ranks (Of course, in our day, these sorts will most likely be FBI)

    Fourth, forget national elections and spend all your 'political interest time and money' researching and supporting local candidates who you believe can be counted on to stand up to the hierarchies above them in order to preserve freedom and dignity under their domains.

    Fifth, support any state secession efforts.

    I am mostly failing to accomplish all these myself on top of my normal responsibilities as head of household with a full time job, so don't anyone feel bad for not having done all these. I'm more and more convinced these and perhaps many others steps are what's going to be necessary in the coming years.

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    1. That's a great practical list ATL. The article and your comment feels like a sermon where Bionic delivered the doctrine and you covered the application.

      I will say that I am good on 1-2. On 3 I am very involved in my church, have people I trust within it (not all), and am looking into LP and LP Mises Caucus opportunities. I really like the idea of local militias. I think we need more of that anyway. That can help number 5, but also better policing/neighborhood security.

      I still will vote in national elections. It isn't that much effort and could be the difference between being locked in your home or not. But I agree with the sentiment.

      Number 5 is very very important. Jeff Deist wrote about soft secession or nullification being an option too. Anything to strengthen states' autonomy from the Federal beast.

      https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/

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    2. Thanks! I'm sure the list needs work, but I am not the expert capable of further refining it. I'll probably still vote in national elections too so long as their seems to be a meaningful difference between the candidates. I voted for Trump in this past election because he was somewhat less hawkish than the prior presidents, he made war with the Ministry of Newspeak, and he was clearly the anti-lockdown candidate.

      What is screaming out for nullification right now is this vaccine mandate for companies over 100 people. Zero Hedge ran an article this morning about how the penalties from OSHA for noncompliance are going to get a lot higher if the Dems get their way, up to 700K for one offense. Texas and other conservative controlled states need to declare themselves a sancturary from this flagrantly unconstitutional law.

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    3. I agree on the nullifying the vaccine mandate, but I don't have faith Abbott will do it. Unless DeSantis does it first and it works out, Abbott is going to follow his liberal buddies.

      Looking into Texas state politics for the first time ever, it looks like Ds/Progressives have infiltrated the R party.

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    4. Yeah Texas is full of political poison as well, and poisonous characters often do well in politics. But what else would we expect from a state with 1/3 of the top 15 biggest cities in the US? Texas' saving grace is our massive rural population and number of rural counties.

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  2. Excellent—thank you!
    Another summary of the evolution of current events beginning in the Middle Ages and Enlightenment, from Fr. Seraphim Rose (begins with lecture 2): http://orthodoxaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/course.pdf

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  3. Excellent! Amen Bionic! I will only add that what ATL shares is the Mission of the true Church. Our churches in America have much to account for. We are like the crowd in the stands watching, cheering, jeering -- but we don't even get in the game. Our churches must wake up to our failure! Judgment begins at the house of God. The churches and pastors of America are to blame for this whole mess. And I am a pastor. Come out of her quickly. The time is growing close.

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    1. Right. I should have added religion and specifically Christianity to my number 3. Christian community is the irreplaceable key to weathering the coming storm. Being a lone and good Christian may save your own soul, but if this model were made universal, among all Christians, it condemns our whole world to hell. None of us should have any pretentions of being able to save the whole world, but saving or building a community? That is well within the reach of one man or woman.

      The Church and especially the Catholic Church has failed in its purpose to defend the faith and to admonish sinners and the actions and institutions which promote sin.

      We Christians have confused loving our neighbor with not upsetting him or hurting his feelings. But which is the real love: telling someone an uncomfortable truth which may save their everlasting soul or condoning someone's sinful actions in order to make them feel good?

      I would say that the answer is clear. The latter comes as a result of a selfish desire for things to go smoothly, or comfortably, or without argument. It is probably often a fear or distaste of confrontation. But often in life, doing the right thing involves confrontation.

      “The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.” - G.K. Chesterton

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    2. Yes, Jesus rocked the boat everyday, especially on the Sabbath! Pastors today don't rock the boat very often. Why? Because the system is our livelihood. It's a conflict of interest.

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    3. Excellent point. Churches today rely on their tax exempt status for their current pay structures and operations. Churches have to begin looking forward to when they will have to speak out and most likely lose their tax exempt status.

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    4. When a church (which should be tax immune) solicits tax-exempt status and even permission to exist from the State, you can be certain that it will do whatever its master requires. When the State can dictate to a church whether it can exist, what it can preach, or when it must close its doors, then the only legal religion is State worship. Everything else will be driven underground or out of business.

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    5. Let's add to the list: "get the jab or lose your 501 (c)3 status..."

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    6. AB,
      Exactly! Come out of that great whore of Babylon, RELIGION! Religion was the problem in Jeremiah's day and it is the same today. Do not re-bind yourself to the Law or a works mentality.

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  4. One of the best studies of Jeremiah and his times. https://www.amazon.com/Studies-Prophecy-Jeremiah-Campbell-Morgan/dp/0800702980/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=A+study+in+Jeremiah&qid=1632888796&s=books&sr=1-11 Not only is the Lord known by the Judgement He executes, but for the Love He demonstrated at the cross of Calvary.

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    1. I see that G. Campbell Morgan also wrote an interpretation of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. I wonder how he comes down on Romans 13? Have you by chance read it?

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