Issued 1/20/2023

PLEASE NOTE:  All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.  The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”

   In differentiating between Yahweh of hosts [later Jesus] and Yahweh the Most High God, lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the One and Only Highest God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from God the Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars…

   …but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”  Shakespeare said a mouthful here:  Men enable whatever befalls them because they willingly rally behind people who will lead them astray—or into their graves.  From empires to democracies, whatever agendas serve individual interests at the expense of the common good have been the standard MO of the powers that be. This is one more illustration of the contempt movers and shakers in all walks of life have for the herd mentality of underlings; for in the scheme of things, the latter’s sole purpose is to provide the stage for the former to parade their objectives/accomplishments—often at the expense of the latter’s expectations or well-being.

   The US Senator Elizabeth Warren best put it with these words:  “If you don’t have a seat at the table [of those in power], you’re probably on their menu.”   As we have discussed in this series, this is the view the Bible advocates, whether in 1Samuel 8, 1Kings 21:7-10, or in Exodus regarding Pharaoh’s recalcitrance to let the Israelites go despite the hardships befalling his nation.  The more ‘Satan-infused’ the leader, the more he will be willing to drag everyone down with him if he cannot get his way—what Armageddon is all about (Revelation 20:7-10) or, in our own times, what one can expect from divisive politicians who cannot get their way.  No rocket science in any of this:  Since Satan has been given authority overt past and present kingdoms (Luke 4:5-6), we cannot expect him to pack them with Christian stalwarts—which was fine with Jesus (Matthew 20:25-28; John 6:15).

   With respect to any religious hierarchy, Jesus denounced the priesthood of his time and what is more significant rendered it obsolete (Luke 16:16).  Why?  They had failed their commission (Malachi 2:7-8); so that through the Holy Spirit Jesus would send (John 15:26, 16:13), not one of this followers would ever need guidance from mortal men (1John 2:27).  Until his crucifixion, it was OK to do what priests instructed regarding ritual observances, but never ever to look upon them as role models of godly behaviors (Matthew 23:3).  Once Jesus invalidated Mosaic rituals with his death (Galatians 3:10-15), but not the Christian underpinnings of Mosaic Law, the trustworthiness of religious leaders became debatable.

   Still, there remained the questionable legitimacy of church and state interactions, which pre-Jesus and post-Jesus—in both instances excluding God—was/remains Judeo-Christianity’s MO (Isaiah 30:1-2,12-13,15; Jeremiah 5:30-31; Hosea 8:4).  The most salient Christian example was the un-Holy Roman Empire, the symbiotic relationship between army-less papal Rome and powerful European monarchs (Daniel 8:24-25; Revelation 13:1-7, 17:13-18).  That Rome [Babylon] is the seat of Babylon the Great [Roman Church] seems clear from 1Peter 5:13 [the church he was referring to were true Christians living in that city]; from the allusion to Rome’s seven hills (Revelation 17:9); from Napoleon’s ascendancy over papal sovereignty until the former’s comeuppance (1801-1825), by which time the “mortal wound” Napoleon had inflicted had “healed” and Catholicism was back in business (Revelation 13:3-4); the correspondence between Daniel 8:25 [note: “not by human hand,” the exact opposite of the “mortal” [meaning not fatal, but human] wound inflicted by Napoleon↔ Revelation 18:2,7-9,13,23-24; and from the simple fact that all Protestant churches following the Reformation were her harlot daughters (Revelation 17:5).¹  Still all of this has sailed over most heads:  Papal Rome may not be what it once was but it is still a contender in world affairs.

   Judeo-Christians love to reinvent themselves as paragons of piety and faith; so did the priests of Jesus’ time (Matthew 23) and those at work during apostolic times (Acts 20:29-30; Galatians 2:4-6; Titus 1:16; 3John 9-10).  Of course God had called our collective bluff centuries earlier:  “For My people are foolish, they do not know Me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22).  As a rule, God does not have a high opinion of His people (Psalms 14:1,3; Isaiah 1:2-6,23; Jeremiah 2:8, 8:10; Ezekiel 22:26-30; Zephaniah 3:3-4); which is the reason why no one person alive or dead was ever deemed “good” (Romans 3:10-18)—by his own admission, even Jesus himself (Mark 10:17-18); and why amidst pandemic evil even three righteous men could not prevent divine judgments (Proverbs 16:18; Ezekiel 7:10-11, 14:13-21, 22:29-31↔vis-à-vis Genesis 18:32↔Matthew 24:12,21-22; 1Timothy 4:1↔Revelation 9:20-21).²

   Now nothing that is discussed here is expected to change anything.  Our objective is to follow the directives of Ezekiel 3:16-21, which are commands rather than requests; since by failing to follow them we are toast (1Corinthians 9:16).  It behooves us to review where Judeo-Christians err hoping for course corrections or, if and when disasters strike, to understand the roles we played by enabling our secular and religious leaders to unleash them upon us.  The prognosis is not good:  Understanding comes way too late (Deuteronomy 31:29; Proverbs 5:11-13; Luke 17:26-29).

Jewish Recidivists

   Israel’s 2022 elections have probably set the course for the fulfillment of Luke 21:20.  Hawkish leaders bereft of Judeo-Christian ethics [by their deeds and words we can identify them (Matthew 7:16; Luke 6:45)] are hell-bent on appropriating Palestinian lands to install Jewish settlers [one application of Isaiah 5:8 and Micah 2:1-2].  On the religious side, hard-line Zionists obsess over building a Third-Temple which would necessitate demolishing the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites. ³  Needless to say, either agenda will not find sympathizers amongst Muslim nations surrounding Israel.

   The fall of Jerusalem is traditionally the signal event heralding Judeo-Christian conflagrations.  If we add Deuteronomy 31:29 and Jeremiah 23:15-20 to the mix, we find the customary correspondence between past [shadow] and future events [substance]:  Since these prophecies are specifically referencing end-times, they span the ages from the time they were uttered to the time of fulfillment.  Thus Luke 21:20 jointly prophesied the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 CE as well as Jerusalem’s fall at end-times; for Luke 21:22, sandwiched between Luke 21:21,23-24, refers to the fulfillment of all prophecy (1Corinthians 13:8), the time when the period of grace will expire (Isaiah 49:8, 55:6; Zephaniah 2:2), giving way to the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) and the final plagues (Revelation 16).

   If human evildoing could be expressed as a formula, the variables would entail doers/rulers + enablers/minions = egregious acts.  These are the usual culprits in Scriptures like 1Kings 21:7-13; Ezekiel 22:6-7 [note references to violence against aliens and denying assistance to the needy, to this day right-wing, political priorities]; Hosea 8:4; and Zephaniah 3:3-4.  In terms of assaults against God’s envoys we have “patriots” petitioning King Zedekiah to execute Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:3-4); in the synergy among state/church/mob in Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion (Matthew 26:57-60; Mark 14:43-44, 15:11-13; Luke 23:20-24);⁴ in Paul’s persecutions (Acts 21:30-31,36,  23:12-22↔Jeremiah 37:20-21; 2Corinthians 11:24,32-33); and in the blood of the saints spilt by Rome in cahoots with European rulers (Daniel 8:24; Revelation 13:7, 17:5-6).  All of these fulfill Jesus’ warning:  “A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God” (John 16:2).  Misguided zealots will get their reality check on Judgment Day (Matthew 7:21-23).

   In 1Corinthians 4:9, it was Paul’s belief that God used apostles as “a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals,” virtual demos showing His people who and what to expect from the opposition.  In this way apostolic trials and tribulations gave future converts inklings into what would befall them, the very role Old Testament Israelites had performed with respect to Gentiles.  They provided an overview into the self-same apostate behaviors Christians of all ages would replicate; from the inability to differentiate between Yahwehs (Isaiah 44:6); to worshipping proxy God/Son while neglecting the Most High/Father (Hosea 7:13, 11:7); even paying homage to the queen of heaven via Marian cults (Jeremiah 46:16-25)—not to mention predatory malfeasance (Ezekiel 22:26-29, 34:2-3↔Acts 20:29-30).

   Despite their pious adherence to Mosaic and Rabbinic traditions, our Jewish brothers have not yet learned that the Yahweh of hosts interacting with them in antiquity became incarnate as the Jesus they rejected.  As in the past, it will be in the throes of despair that they will find God, for they will do so with all their hearts (Deuteronomy 30:2-3; 2Chronicles 15:15; Jeremiah 29:13).  Consequently, the Jewish “spectacle” is vital to Christian redemption/instruction, not only because salvation came through Jews in the person of Jesus (John 4:22), but because the entire Old Testament is Christianity’s time machine into our future. 

   Remember Ecclesiastes 1:9-11:  While external things may vary through the ages, men’s moral condition does not (Genesis 6:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29, 8:11, 9:3), neither the consequences of their un-Christian choices.  It is that correspondence/synergy between the evil in men’s hearts and satanic objectives which makes living the hellish loop it is; for if we follow the Biblical narrative, although following death no mortal soul can intervene in the affairs of the living (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6), Satan and his angelic minions continue to influence world events until Armageddon (Jude 1:6; 2Peter 2:4; Revelation 20:10,14).  History does not “repeat” itself:  The only repetition is due to perennial, human immorality unchecked by past mistakes (Ecclesiastes 1:11)

   Modern Israel will continue pushing the envelope while confident of its military might and allied support—the recidivist mindset that did not work in the past (Isaiah 28:15,18-22, 30:1-3,15-16).  What is still missing is the tipping event:  Westerns nations so beset with internal conflicts that they will not be able to come to Israel’s aid; wherein Muslim armies will move in for the kill.  And such a scenario is what Luke 21:26 portends, not unthinkable in view of historical upheavals aided by climactic factors affecting food supplies and water resources.  When these are impacted, civilizations collapse, social mayhem becomes the norm, and nations go to war with each other over dwindling resources.

   Enter…

Natural Catastrophes

   One of the final plagues involves the Sun (Revelation 16:8-9↔Isaiah 8:21-22), suggesting that our planet’s temperature will not increase as conservatively estimated but abruptly plunge us into unprecedented, natural catastrophes (Matthew 24:21).  In 1859 our planet experienced The Carrington Event, a geomagnetic storm caused by plasma ejection from the Sun, causing widespread communication disruptions.  If such an event were to happen today, predictions range from loss of electrical grids/communications to failure of most modern technologies.  Planes would be grounded; hospitals left in the dark; no operational traffic control in cities; card-based transactions and on-line banking services would cease; refrigeration would fail (Revelation 16:9?); and supply chains would crumble.  World economies would be turned back hundreds of years; and if power grids were not taken off-line before the event, it is estimated that it would take many years to recover.

   Now, this solar “plague” is not a natural event per se:  It involves angelic intervention (Revelation 16:8), which suggests unpredictability outside the norm.  Likewise, Revelation 16:18↔Isaiah 13:13 talks about an earthquake affecting the entire planet, as does the hail plague [Revelation 16:20-21↔Psalms 18:12-15; hail stashed somewhere ‘up there’ and thus far undetected by the James Webb Space Telescope (Job 38:22-23)].  Whether these events are what Luke 21:25-26 is talking about is anybody’s guess; but Jesus left no doubt that the Great Tribulation was unprecedented in world history and severe enough to strain the resolve of the elect (Matthew 24:13,22)—which means that it is going to get really bad while mankind is dealt with one way or another.

   Unfortunately for us, divine warnings do not come immediately before disasters.  Noah was 500 years old when he engendered his sons (Genesis 5:32), and 600 years old when the Flood started (Genesis 7:6); in the interim, his sons grew up; the Ark was built;  and according to Peter, Noah preached the Gospel to a generation focused on worldly pursuits (2Peter 2:5↔Luke 17:26-27).  Jesus warned of some future time when God’s work could no longer be done (John 9:4), hinting at the suppression of Christian doctrine (Amos 8:12; Revelation 13:15-17)—to enforce some political agenda in dire times?  And needless to say, he would come like a thief in the night:  Unannounced and when least expected (Matthew 24:42-44; 2Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3, 16:15).

Gentile Contributions

   It was Paul who added a significant fact:  “For when they are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape” (1Thessalonians 5:2-3).  So it seems there may come a time when no matter how dangerous world events get to be, some unexpected, temporary reversal will take place.  Not that this may be it, but always taking into account that the Biblical focus is on Western nations and not Eastern ones (North Korea, China), let us use the war on Ukraine as an example.  Much has been said about possible nuclear conflicts, but do not fear:  Destruction comes directly from God via heavenly fire (Genesis 19:24-25; Jeremiah 49:18; Luke 17:28-29; 2Peter 2:5: Revelation 20:9), not from atomic bombs.  Suppose that war’s promoter is put out of contention, so that a more moderate leader proclaims a cease fire and a semblance of peace is restored.  This would fit with Paul’s prediction, though Paul in no wise discounted the Great Tribulation Jesus emphatically said would come.  Thus we have “peace and safety” with war’s end, but sudden, inescapable destruction following in its heels.

   Prophecies give us an inkling of future events, but they are never so detailed, or so chronologically outlined, that we get an exact roadmap.  Something like Revelation 13:11-13 suggests two superpowers acting in tandem to prop up Roman Catholicism as a universal religion, at least in the West, just as Constantine did centuries ago.⁵  Note that this beast is two-horned [each horn indicative of a superpower↔Daniel 8:21-22] and they share a common body, suggesting a common provenance/heritage (Daniel 8:20).  If our focus is on Western nations, one of the horns has got to be the West’s greatest superpower.  Why could not the other horn symbolize the second, most obvious Western superpower?

   But this is conjecture; as Sherlock Holmes put it, it is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of data, so let us get back to facts.  No ruler past or present could accomplish anything without the help of lackeys, enablers, and abettors, be it secular conflicts or religious wars.  In this sense an entire nation is culpable of the misdeeds of her rulers:  They set the tone while underlings either do the dirty work or look the other way.  This is why in Scripture national culpability begins with the powers that be, but equally attaches to citizens enabling or dismissive of their agendas (Jeremiah 5:30-31; Zephaniah 3:3-4).

   The culpability is collective because leaders do not have to be obeyed when their agendas run contrary to God’s, or at least, that is the onus He lays on us (Acts 5:29).  This is not an endorsement for acts of violence against the state:  Christian doctrine is very clear and specific that such actions should never be undertaken (Romans 13:1-2; 1Peter 2:13).  Even Jesus himself, having had the opportunity of striking back at his aggressors, chose the option God required of him (Matthew 26:52-54; John 18:11, 19:11):  To suffer for his convictions.  As He expects from each and every one of us:  “If when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God.  For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps” (1Peter 2:20-21).  If the righteous are persecuted, it is because they refuse to toe the line or stand in opposition to leaders’ agendas, as Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:4) and Jesus did (John 11:49-52).  The bad news, for us, is that such commitment carries personal consequences (Psalms 50:5; Matthew 16:25; Hebrews 12:4-8; Revelation 12:11) plus intended ones:  The unavoidable soul purification referred to in the Bible as the baptism by fire (Isaiah 48:10; Zechariah 13:9; Matthew 3:11; 1Peter 1:6-7).

   Recent events in world politics continue to show Satan’s ascendancy over all nations.  Power-driven political figures are vectors for Satan (Isaiah 14:13-14; Luke 4:6; John 14:30, 2Corinthians 4:4; 1John 5:19):  Count on them to sweep away civil rights/Constitutional guarantees/Christian objectives whenever partisan-expedient or agenda-opposing.  They do not hold themselves accountable to anyone (Isaiah 29:15), which is why they hate public scrutiny (John 3:20).  Despite virtuous claims of fiscal transparency, one-way mirrors firewall their private records.  In authoritarian nations and dying democracies, the media is subject to government control or disparaged in an effort to keep people in the dark.  It goes without saying that all would-be dictators have their propagandists/apologists/spinners spewing out misinformation through non-stop reporting.  It is up to us ‘underlings’ to do the fact-checking.

   Daniel 4:17 tells us that the Most High allows Satan to set “the lowliest of men” over earthly kingdoms; and in this context “lowliest” may mean either low-born, as David was, or bereft of Christian morality as many historical rulers have been/continue to be—especially as we approach end-times (Matthew 24:12,22; 2Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 9:20-21).  To generate votes, political campaigners wrap their candidates in claims of divine endorsement; but the Devil is in these tales, not Jesus and certainly not God.  Jesus preached a kingdom of peace in another world, one that required disposing of creation as we now experience it (Isaiah 51:6, 65:17; Micah 1:3-4; Matthew 24:35; 2Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 6:13-14, 16:18-21↔Job 38:22-23; Isaiah 13:13, 24:19)—meaning he had no purpose for or investment in this order of things.

   Which in turn means that politicians’ promises of national greatness, world peace and optimistic outcomes are the true opium of the masses:  They ain’t happening!  Surely we have been told that world peace is not in God’s plans this time around (Jeremiah 12:12); neither is an end to poverty (Matthew 26:11); nor will wars, diseases and hunger stop unless the horsemen of Revelation are reined in and put out to pasture.  Jesus’ forecasts for our world were the stuff of nightmares, not the blinding future that spellbinds motivational speakers.  From human vectors at large we can expect nothing but dire consequences:  Through them Satan can unleash the unthinkable when least expected.

   Underlings take their cues from higher ups:  “Just as iron sharpens iron, so people learn from one another” (Proverbs 27:17).  “When a ruler is listening to lies, all of his officials tend to become wicked” (Proverbs 29:12).  And what about these pearls of wisdom so applicable to contemporary American politics?  “As for my people, children [ever younger politicians] are their oppressors, and women [places of worship] rule over them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths” (Isaiah 3:12).  “He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind” (Proverbs 11:29↔Matthew 12:25↔Titus 3:10).  “The words of a fool are self-destructive.  The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness” (Ecclesiastes 10:12-13).  Need we mention names?

The Christian Standard

   Let us cut to the chase.  Just as there can be no fellowship between light and darkness (2Corinthians 6:14), Paul advised us not to become mired in the shenanigans of Jesus’ opponents.  If Luke 4:6 is true—given the fact that Luke wrote as inspired by the Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:20-21) tasked with teaching us the lowdown (Deuteronomy 29:29; John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:10,12), we must be wary of people holding/aspiring to the sort of position/office Jesus spurned (Matthew 20:25-27; John 6:15).

   Jesus and Satan have nothing in common (John 14:30); for which reason Jesus, unlike Satan (Isaiah 14:13-14), was never into power-grabbing but always into power-abdication.  He gave up his appointed Godship in Heaven to become powerless in order to save his nation (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 10:5-7); he endorsed the notion of equality rather than claiming sovereignty over others as the powers that be did (Matthew 20:25-28); and unlike leaders past and present, he bit the bullet first in order to have the moral stature to demand the same of his followers.

   Nevertheless these are the very things that fail to resonate with us:  Like our Jewish brothers, that other branch of Yahweh’s family (Ezekiel 37:21-22), we want to believe pleasantries rather than confront stark realities (Isaiah 30:10)—like Ahab counting on assurances that were not forthcoming (1Kings 22:1-40).⁶  No matter the effects of climate change now taking place globally, we ignore warnings to swallow assurances that this is nature as usual.  No matter conservative agendas in clear and distinct opposition to Christian norms, evangelicals rally behind them.  No matter protestations against idolatry, heavenly queen cults, shrines on hilltops where Baal—in association with Asherah—was worshipped (Judges 6:28; 2Kings 21:3), professed Christians either engage in these forbidden practices or do pilgrimages to ‘holy’ high places like flies to honey.

   And this brings us to the notion of “hardness of heart” (Lamentations 3:65).  In a nutshell, this means that God has remanded the recalcitrant to Satan, to the extent that they are unable to distinguish what is in their best interests.  A heart is hardened when the moral condition of any individual renders him/her incapable of acting righteously.  Once a human heart—or mind—has been hardened, the person is open to every satanic ploy maximizing the demise of his/her soul (2Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 2:1-3); so that whatever sinful agenda ensnares him seals the collective fate of leader and follower (Romans 6:16; 2Peter 2:19).

   Whereas Exodus 13:15 tells us Pharaoh of his own volition refused to free the Israelites, Exodus 4:21 tells us that it was Yahweh Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart; which must mean that Yahweh allowed Satan to harden Pharaoh’s heart, for God Himself does not force anyone to do anything (James 1:13).  Pharaoh’s decision sealed the fate of his people:  He was always forewarned about what would befall him and his nation should he refuse to play ball.  He would not budge; thus becoming the poster-child for future, unyielding leaders. 

   In the sense that He made “humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes” (Ecclesiastes 7:29), sinful behavior is a man-made choice (James 1:14), just as the choice to do what is right is an individual one (Ezekiel 3:18-21).  It is that choice which differentiates the wheat from the chaff.  We like to blame God form or complain about His absence when disasters strike, which is like complaining to a property owner when we neglected contractual terms and the roof caved in.  We must pay attention to what Paul said in Romans 11:22:  God is equal parts good and severe towards complies and non-compliers; and given the proviso that He will look favorably on the contrite soul who trembles at His word (Isaiah 66:2), He is Someone not to be tested (Luke 4:12), taken for granted (1Samuel 2:30; Ezra 8:22), or messed around with.  In order to understand whatever of Him may be understood, let this be our guiding principle:  “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, which then leads to the understanding of the Holy One” (Proverbs 9:10).  God will subject the human race to whatever He has purposed to do (Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5-7).

Christian Recidivism

   OK, so let us excuse non-Christians in their implanted blindness towards God (1Corinthians 2:14; 2Corinthians 4:4).  Can anyone straighten what He has made crooked (Ecclesiastes 7:13)?  YES, but only through faith:  Incredulity must be relinquished (Romans 10:23) in order for the Holy Spirit to permeate the human soul.  So there is always a way out for the unbeliever as long as life persists, which is the objective behind Matthew 13:29 and 2Peter 3:9.  The possible conversion of a transgressor remains operational until the period of grace expires.

    But what about us, self-professed Christians?  Why must we continuously comply with, believe in, partake of, lust after, forfeit the freedom Jesus gave us to follow the ways of the world?  Why become leaders’ slaves by rallying behind them?  What role-modeling can we import from self-absorbed, ego-tripping, body-validating celebrities hooked on temporal delights?  Why must we care so much about their problems when ours are irrelevant to them?  Overweening pride is certainly no Christian virtue, but can we exhibit a modicum of self-pride rather than kowtowing to, fawning before, and groveling at the feet of the “winners” of this world?

   This is what makes Jesus unique and preeminent above mortals:  His joy of being put through the grinder, having forfeited rank, honors, family, material goods and life, for our sake; which earned him the right to be exalted to the degree no other human or angelic being could ever hope to achieve (Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 12:2; Revelation 5:1-10).  He, God’s inheritor (Psalms 2:8), suffered hardships, ridicule and crucifixion, to show us how we could share his inheritance (Romans 8:17); to always keep us by his side (John 14:3); and to rejoice with us (Isaiah 25:6; Luke 12:37).  How unlike royalty, politicians and celebrities who bask in their admirers’ worship, parading extravagant lifestyles while the latter wallow in drudgery, and whose priorities do not extend beyond family, friends, lovers, and cronies. 

   There is some cause for the contempt Satan feels towards men; granted, he is no bleeding heart, but judging by the adulation lavished on his conscripts in all the halls of power, is there no limit to underlings’ gluttony for being taken for a ride?  No matter failed promises; bankrupt visions; unsustainable regimes; failed treaties and resultant wars; mass genocides; worldwide exploitation of resources; environmental pollution; biological warfare, men keep marching like Hamelin’s rats to the tune of their destroyers.  And Satan is more than happy to be the über pied-piper of world minions:  Since he is going down, he will drag all of them into the fires of oblivion (Revelation 20:7-10).

   When push comes to shove, family may not necessarily be a reliable refuge (Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Micah 7:5; Matthew 10:21,35-36); neither will apostate congregations (Hebrews 13:13; Revelation 18:4); nor un-Christian institutions of whatever stripe.  We are left with the Yahwehs, however unrecognized and unsung as Father and Son are amongst Judeo-Christians; yet patient with us (Isaiah 46:4, 49:15); willing to forgive and to let bygones remain so with the objective of giving us everlasting solace (Isaiah 43:25, 65:17; Jeremiah 29:11; Revelation 21:4).

   That being said, it all boils down to a question of power.  Can God be bested?  No (Isaiah 14:27, 43:13; Daniel 4:35; 1Corinthians 10:22).  Satan and his angelic host gambled on it and were booted out of Heaven (Revelation 12:7-8); Satan and his human minions will try again only to be reduced to ashes (Revelation 20:7-10).  If Satan, a being exponentially more powerful than mortals cannot prevail against God, what are men’s chances of succeeding?  Or what is the logic of even trying to resist?—the argument, by the way, that Jesus flung at Paul (Acts 26:14).

   Our only option, therefore, is what Paul called opportune help in times of need (Hebrews 4:16), the split second when no matter how hopeless and lost we all believe ourselves to be, God saves us by the skin of our teeth.  And that is no perk benefit:  It must be earned by walking in Jesus’ steps. 

   It hardly bears discussing on which side our and our loved ones’ best interests lie.  For it is possible, if we find grace in God’s eyes, that with our compliance we may save their souls as well (1Corinthians 7:16; Hebrews 11:7,32↔Joshua 2:12; 1Timothy 4:16).

¹ Could Protestantism in general be the false prophet of Revelation 16:13?  Note that the “dragon” symbolizes Satan (Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2); and his “body” feeds all the heads of the Revelation 13:1-2 beast, as well as propping up the Roman Church (Revelation 17:13).  Given Jesus’ characterization in Revelation 2:13, Babylon Rome must be the site of Satan’s headquarters (Revelation 18:2).  See also the correspondence between Jeremiah 51:44 and Revelation 16:13-14.

² Note that God’s judgments begin with the cleansing of His own house (Ezekiel 9:4-6↔1Peter 4:17↔Revelation 7:1-4; Daniel 8:14).

³ Contrary to Zionist beliefs, Ezekiel Chapters 40-47:1-12 are not prophecies regarding a Third Temple on Mount Moriah; but in typical Scriptural fashion they admix protocols to be observed in the Second Temple rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah and insights into norms at the Heavenly Jerusalem on earth.  The “prince” in Ezekiel 44:3 is undoubtedly Jesus (see Jeremiah 30:21) in his eternal role as High Priest once he returns power to his God, the Most High (1Corinthians 15:24-28; Hebrews 7:17; Revelation 3:12).  Also Ezekiel 47:12 refers to no natural geography, but the river and trees alluded to are those of Revelation 22:1-2, “trees of life” found in Paradise whose fruits Jesus will feed to the redeemed (Revelation 2:7).  And lest we miss the connection, the “shining crystal” in Ezekiel 1:22 is that of Revelation 4:6, both symbolic of the “river of the water of life” flowing from God’s and Jesus’ thrones (Revelation 22:1).

   Since it is categorically stated that there will be no temple in the Heavenly City (Revelation 21:22), the “temple” Jesus talks about in Revelation 3:12 is his mystical body, the Church.  It follows that if the Divinity dwells bodily in Jesus (Colossians 2:9), and if we are part of Jesus’ body (Ephesians 5:30), then by extension God will inhabit each one of us (Ephesians 4:6).  It is in this context that John 2:19-21 and 1Corinthians 6:19 are to be understood.

   It is also the gist of the perennially twisted Matthew 16:18, which is not an endorsement of Roman Catholicism or proof of Peter’s papacy.  As Jesus, repository of the Holy Spirit, was the foundation stone (Acts 4:11↔Isaiah 28:16), so Peter, being the first Christian to be imparted with the Spirit’s secret wisdom (Matthew 16:17↔John 15:26, 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:10), became another stone in God’s human-bricked Church.  Henceforth every true Judeo-Christian would be an additional stone added to the edifice [not man-made↔Acts 7:48] being “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:20-22).

   Hence Peter’s notion of converts as “living stones” (1Peter 2:5); and Paul’s further clarification that only in Jesus, legitimate Son and heir of the Most High God, every faithful Judeo-Christian physically made up God’s house (Hebrews 3:6).
 

⁴ The pious priests wanted Pilate and his soldiers to kill Jesus.  Mosaic Law forbade them to shed the blood of one of their own (John 18:3).  Of course by plotting to eliminate Jesus, these priests had violated the letter of Leviticus 19:16—which did not preclude giving it the spin of doing so in the interest of national security (John 11:49-52).

⁵ The gist of Ecclesiastes 1:9-10.  But also a stratagem to contain social chaos through enforced piety—up to the point where Judeo-Christianity itself, no longer useful, will be done away with (Psalms 2:1-3, 74:8; Revelation 17:17)?

⁶ Like all rulers who will never listen, Ahab had been given over to what the Bible calls “the hardness of heart” (Lamentations 3:65), which means that Satan had been empowered to render Ahab’s mindset impervious to divine appeals (1Samuel 22:30-22↔2Corinthians 4:4).  We saw the same methodology at work with respect to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:3-4↔Romans 9:17-24).