The plagues of Babylon

For the last few months I’ve been working with men in the community who are suffering issues of comorbidity. In a nutshell, that word refers to the fact that there is more than one disorder or illness evident in their lives. Particularly prevalent are men with mental health issues, running parallel with illicit substance abuse, alcoholism or addictive behaviours. Comorbidity can be better understood when we use the word co-occuring in place of it.

These past months have been interesting to say the least. My biblical mindset often looks at things from a different perspective to many of those in the organisations I work with. Our government authorities and organisations are well aware of these co-occuring illnesses in our communities today, and the  reality of the profound increase thereof. In Australia, one of the big issues that many are seeking to address is the need for more resources to manage mental health -  more money, more people, more facilities, and we are clearly having trouble coping.

Words come to my mind about this scenario which are more akin to something of a biblical nature. Perhaps ” a plague upon the land” wouldn’t be too far removed from the way I see it.

As you delve into the lives of these men and look back into their individual histories, they will recount the time things began to change for them. Life was for the most part quite normal, then given a period of unusual circumstances their lives began to change significantly.

It is this brief but significant period of trauma that will forever change the future direction of their lives. It is not always this way, but often is. You cannot throw every example into the one basket, but invariably there are some significant issues that find common ground here in this brief but tumultuous period of their lives. And so often these issues are particularly relevant to a people and nation who were called to be set apart for God and His Christ.

Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! Jeremiah 9:1

These past months I have wept as never before. Great sadness overtakes me at times as I glimpse into the lives of these men. These are the children of a people who ought to have known Him and His ways. They were called to great blessing and here they stand now, lost and without understanding. They have inherited a curse, there is a plague upon the land and the people are sore confounded.

I mentioned what I would refer to as “common ground” in specific areas of the lives of many of these men at the time things began to deteriorate. Breakdown in the family unit, the death of a loved one or a difficult separation from a spouse – These simple but significant events were often the beginning of sorrows. Following on from these events come unforgiveness, bitterness, jealousies, anger – along with  these things often come addictive behaviours, a turning to drugs and alcohol – then moving ahead from these things come the mental health issues, psychotic episodes, schizophrenia, depression, Bi Polar…..and the list goes on. Sadly for a few there may then also come a kind of spiritual delusion, which I would say is probably a demonic oppression, if not possession. There are many in our Psych wards who are spiritually weird. Professing a mixture of the gospel and some convoluted spiritual understanding, along with an inability to break free of their unrighteous deeds.

I can see now why we say God hates divorce. The ramifications of a broken family are profound and lasting. And when a generation does not know how to, or the need to address issues like forgiveness and bitterness, they doubly suffer. The one who created man for relationship must be appalled at the way we belittle and mock what He says is needful and good for man. Christ came preaching forgiveness and faithfulness, and His people ought to have perceived the fulness of this commandment. Specifically unless we forgive, then our Heavenly father will not forgive us. Unless we walk according to His ways, we will bring upon ourselves a curse.

Jeremiah 4:22 “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”

The modern day western systems of man often want to address the final manifestation of these co-occuring illnesses with things such as injections, drugs, mental health management, and so on.  I don’t have difficulty with this as such but believe there needs to be a far greater emphasis on recognising the foundation of these illnesses and addressing the root cause. Primarily that we have forsaken the Lord, we do now know Him nor understand why He has given us commandments that will serve us well.

Sadly for this generation it is now a significant step in attempting to ask these men to appreciate the importance of forgiveness, faithfulness and seeking first the kingdom of heaven in their lives.

I would say that very, very few would perceive the reality of the nature of our day, these curses of Babylon, even amidst the institutional church. Yet our day is foretold with great clarity by the prophets.

I’m not really sure what I have set out to say in this post.  Perhaps it is to testify to the truth of His word and the reality of our God. The word as written in Revelation “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird”

The evidence of this fall is great, indeed many are oppressed and possessed amidst the haunt of Western Christendom. I would also suggest that what is happening in my community is now occurring in communities throughout all of the Western nations that were called forth in Christ. Who likewise have forsaken the Lord their God, who do not know Him nor walk according to His ways.

Jeremiah 50:12  Your mother shall be deeply ashamed;
She who bore you shall be ashamed.
Behold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness,
A dry land and a desert.
13  Because of the wrath of the LORD
She shall not be inhabited,
But she shall be wholly desolate.
Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified
And hiss at all her plagues.

I do at times wonder if God has compassion on these people?  I also wonder if we are perhaps in a day like Jeremiah’s where Jeremiah was asked not to pray for this people any longer. Personally, I can think of nothing more awful at this time than the thought that the Lord has closed His ears to our cry.

My hope is that He will see our affliction and have mercy once again. My hope is that He has not forsaken us, though we have forsaken Him. My hope is according to His great mercy and loving kindness, that He will forgive our iniquity and return to us, that we might return to Him.

Perhaps I am being a blind stubborn fool in continuing with this mindset. Yet I continue to hope in God. What else can I do?

Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird”

Spiritual Intoxication

I’m no longer a big drinker but I certainly remember the days in which I was. Having a beer or few is a part of the Aussie culture, it’s the right of passage to manhood for many young Australian men. Sad but true, that was me, can’t deny it, though I’m not in that place anymore thank goodness, thank God.

A strange thing happens when we consume alcohol to the point of intoxication. Strange because there is a twofold effect. Firstly a false confidence, and secondly, a diminishing of one’s ability to see as clearly and react quickly.

It’s these two effects working together that often cause the most damage. The false confidence, the bravado, the bogus assurance, working hand in hand with a diminished ability to see clearly and react quickly is like a double whammy.  Of course we know the result of this is in terms of driving a vehicle, or operating machinery. Downright dangerous! Quite delusional when you think about it. To suppose that one can drive better, fight better, do something better in any sense at all, when one has had a few drinks. But that is usually what the brain tells us at that time, this is intoxication.

Looking at the natural effects that come with alcohol intoxication, we are granted some insight into the effects of spiritual intoxication.  A false confidence working alongside a diminished sensitivity to perceive danger and react accordingly. The net result is the same, downright dangerous. It’s just that this intoxication could cost you your soul.

Spiritual intoxication may not sound like a biblical concept but we are assured that it is.  Jeremiah wrote about this intoxication in his prophecies concerning Babylon the great, as did John in Revelation ;

Jer  51:7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad.

Rev 17:2     Come I will show you the judgment of the Great Harlot,  with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

As you work your way through the many prophecies concerning Babylon the Great, this gift of hers to the world, to cause the whole earth to become intoxicated is clear.

The very problem that we are presented with in perceiving spiritual intoxication is that which presents in the natural variation. There will be a false confidence, a bravado and a bogus assurance attached to it. Which in turn causes a delusional state of mind. In like fashion the spiritually intoxicated person presumes that they will be fine, that all is ok, when in fact quite the reverse is true. The dark and profoundly dangerous reality of the situation being that the spiritually intoxicated person is blinded to the ever-present danger and in fact hindered from responding appropriately.

Interesting isn’t it! What exactly? I hear you ask. Yes the spiritual and the natural parallels, but more than that. That the Apostle Paul said that the Lord would send a strong delusion at the close of the age, to condemn all who received not a love of the truth that they might be saved. And the point being that strong delusions come to those who are spiritually intoxicated. And Babylon the Great’s gift to the world is to make the nations drunk, to intoxicate them with her idolatries.

As the prophet penned “therefore the nations have gone mad”

We also find a likeness of these last days unveiled for us in the days of the kingdom of Babylon under the reign of Belshazzar. Daniel Chapter 5 tells us that the people were feasting and drinking, using the vessels of the Lord and bowing before idols, thinking that all was well. We see parallels of intoxication, feasting and rejoicing, and the accompanying delusion of security. I imagine Belshazzar was thinking peace and safety, all is well, then sudden destruction came and Belshazzar was slain that very night. The kingdom was given to the Medes and the Persians.

So too, the end of Babylon the Great will come when many are confident, assured, even proclaiming peace, prosperity and safety. Unaware that they are drunk on the wine of the wrath of their fornication, deluded and blind to their perilous condition.

In closing this post I am mindful that we Christians need to be aware of that which brings the delusion. This is what you need to know, what causes the delusion. For if you know what causes the delusion, then you are granted a way of escape. You may well say at this very moment “I am not deceived” yet how will you know if you are deceived, for you may be deceived! Do those who have believed a lie, know they have believed a lie. Of course not, because they are deceived as a result of spiritual intoxication.

The great challenge which End-Time Christians are facing in this day is the need to discern the truth from the error. That we might not be found naked before God. And in this you need to be assured that in and of yourself you have very little ability to do this whatsoever.  Simple truth, just a fact. I trust that the most brilliant of human minds will stand confounded before God in that great day. It is only in Christ that you are granted the way of escape. And if we will do what He has asked us to do in His word, we will do well.

The primary cause of the end time delusion and snare that comes upon the whole world is idolatry. Babylon the Great seduces, lures, beguiles, draws and entices the world with her abundance and promises of peace, prosperity and security.

If you follow her, expect to become intoxicated, deluded and ensnared.

Other wise, follow Christ.  Give up, forsake, let go, abandon, deny…..just follow!

Demon’s, foul spirit’s, unclean and hated birds.

As we read the words of John concerning Babylon the great, we see a rather sad picture of a kingdom who in the days of her fall, is referred to in terms of being demonically infested.

“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! Rev 18:3

I picture in my minds eye a city overun by a plague of rats, or some other foul creature. No matter where you turn, there they are. Under tables, in the sink, atop motor vehicles, scattered across the roads. Something likened to a scene from a horror movie. However, the plague portrayed in this text is not a plague of rodents, but demons. The people of Babylon the Great have become the dwelling place, the haunt. It is they who now, as a result of their spiritual and carnal wickedness host a hoard of devils.

As the bible commentator Scofield rightly noted, this is apostate Christendom.

There are 2 questions that come to mind concerning this issue. Why has she, Babylon the Great become a place of spiritual wickedness, and furthermore from whence have these hoards of Demons come?

I only intend to address the 1st question, and will link to 2 very good posts concerning the answer to the second.

Concerning the question as to why now in these last days has she become a dwelling place of demons we need to consider the work of work of Christ. As we approach the Day of the Lord there must be a dividing of the people, a separating for the harvest.  According to John the Baptist, this is the ministry of Christ.

Mat3:12  His winnowing fan is  in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

The hour of testing Rev 3:10 which comes upon the whole earth in the last days, is a time in which men of the earth will be tested concerning their loyalty to Christ. Specifically their love and perseverance concerning the gospel.  It is an hour of testing that seeks to bring a clear division between those who are the wheat, as in the above verse, and those who are the chaff.

This process of separating the wheat from the chaff takes place on the threshing floor. Perhaps it is a good study for another day but in short. There was a farming implement used in days gone by referred to as a Tribulum. The tribulum was a large flat board with very sharp and jagged underside which was run over the harvest in order to separate the grain from the chaff. The winnowing fork would then toss the separated harvest in the air and the chaff would blow away.

This separating process is in accordance with the Lord’s final work upon the earth. It occurs during this age, not after. The peoples, tribes, nations of the kingdom of Babylon the Great become the threshing floor of the Lord. And it is from these peoples that the Lord intends to bring forth a great harvest. Jeremiah foretold of this day ;

Jeremiah 51:33  For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor When it is time to thresh her; Yet a little while And the time of her harvest will come.”

It is the Tribulum (tribulation) which causes the separation of the harvest. Lots of sharp objects running over the harvest, cutting, wounding, pressing the crop in order to break the wheat away from the chaff. And this is that day.

How then does the Lord bring this process to bare. What does His Tribulum look like. It looks like a latter day release of hoards of demons, a satanic loosing in accordance with the last days, which brings testing, trials and trouble for the people of God.

Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. Rev 12:12

Therefore in answer to the first question :  Why then in these last days has Babylon the Great become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

Because many have become as the chaff, who received not a love of the truth that they might be saved. Therefore they are given over to a deluding influence, spiritual deception, even demonic possession in order to bring a clear separation of the peoples. That the chaff may be clearly defined from the wheat.

Concerning the second question, specifically, from whence have these hoards of demons come, is an interesting subject. To which the scriptures have much to say. For that part I’m going to link to a couple of other sites for articles concerning a specific end time event that many are supposing will have a literal fulfillment. The Gog, Magog invasion.

Gog the invaders from the North

The Locusts are coming

Lord, save me from this stupidity?

I don’t read the newspaper very often now and to be perfectly honest I wish I’d not taken the time to read it today either.

When the mainstream Newspaper of Australia’s most populist city print articles with such a twisted and warped view of God and humanity, part of me wants to run away and hide until it all gets better. If I had been having a good day, it’s all evaporated in a short space of time as I realize the level to which much of our thinking has sunk.

If these articles represent the thoughts of those we count as wise in our culture today, God help us.

The story in point “A question of faith” serves to explore the deep need to know God that humanity so often exhibits.  The attempt is then made to package an explanation for this need into evolutionary thinking which supports an argument for the need to have developed a god gene, a god belief through the evolutionary process.

In summary, there is no God, they presume. Therefore there must be some reason that a propensity to believe in God exists amongst such a large portion of humanity, so let us seek to reason this out. Surely the belief in God must have formed as a result of the need that comes through evolutionary process. A belief in God must therefore provide an adaptive advantage to the evolving creature. Shared beliefs for example prove beneficial to the cohesiveness of a people, ultimately ensuring their survival, and so on Bla Bla Bla….

Can you not just for one moment take a deep breath people and consider that perhaps there is actually a God, and that there is truth to behold and a reality beyond that which your finite mind can understand. Why must you wise men always default to a position that removes the possibility of a creator God.

I’ll tell you why, because you have been taken captive by the devil to do his bidding, and unfortunately for you, you do not have the intelligence or wisdom to recognize this truth either.

But if you would turn from your rebellious ways, I am sure that the Lord would heal you and grant you the wisdom and understanding that you need to work this thing out without needing to concoct stories that help you to make sense of it all, according to your finite mind.

I’m sorry but that this is not a very gracious post, but at least I feel a little better now.

As my mum says, may the Good Lord bless you today.

Spiritual Cancer

World Health Organization expects global cancer rates to increase up to 50% by 2020.

I don’t know what it’s like where you live but every other week brings another story of someone in our community battling a form of cancer. According to some reports it is now Australia’s biggest killer, not so long ago it was heart disease.

But it’s not this kind of cancer that has me thinking, but rather the spiritual cancer that’s afflicting the BODY of Christ. In this vein, forgive the pun, both spiritual heart disease and spiritual cancer now afflict the body of the Christ in plague proportions.

But don’t take my word for it, read it in scripture, it’s called the apostasy, the falling away. 2 Thessalonians 2

The following words are taken directly from a womens health care page, but I’d ask you to think in spiritual terms as you read ;

The cancer disease is essentially where abnormal cells in the body multiply at an uncontrollable rate. These cancerous cells grow at such speed that the body cannot properly deal with them and a lump or tumour is formed.

To make matters worse some of the cancer cells will often detach themselves from the tumour and move via the bloodstream to other parts of the body where they begin to form further tumours.

And so it is by the process of metastasis, where the existing blood vessels innocently carry abnormal cells to other parts of the body that much damage is done.  The result often being the destruction of the organs of the body,  resulting in further tumours and possibly death.

Today I would liken this metastasis process to the airwaves of organizations like TBN or GOD TV. To whom many innocently receive as the life giving word of God but neglectfully fail to recognize that they are carrying abnormal cells determined to cause widespread tumours and sickness within the body of Christ.

This spread of this cancer is now virtually uncontrollable as a result of the rapid growth and increasing market share of these large corporate Christian media organizations. And so as a consequence much of the body of Christ is being destroyed by tumour forming doctrines of demons and all manner of worldly teaching.

I’m not sure I need to go into the full depth of these doctrines cause you only need to read your bible to find out what they are. Worldliness, carnality, love of money, lover of self, covetousness, and on it goes… You can read about it in 2 Timothy 3:2.

In order to treat literal cancer the practitioners of our day would firstly try to remove the tumour, cut it off from the body. In order to prevent it from  infecting the remaining good cells with it’s abnormal cells.

What will you do?

Come out of her My people!