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THE BABYLON FACTOR By David Ben Yakov © 2005 David Ben Yakov / The Delusion Resistance
Now a days we here a lot of stories, especially in the political realm. It's really amazing how we are spoon fed stories by the media and expected to believe them. Now, in an election year, the bovine excrement is really being laid on with a heavy coating. The war on terrorism has taken it's toll on both political parties here in the United States as each entity tries to jockey itself into position for winning the election. Personally, I've never seen so many people flip-flop on so many issues; making promises that they would never be able to keep and lying to cover over lies. It's a sad state of affairs to say the least. But the purpose of this article isn't to shine light on the lies of the democrats nor is it to question the fidelity of President Bush's motives; but to look at the Iraq situation through spiritual eyes. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON? Have you ever heard that phrase? Nowadays we hear it at least once a day. For the sake of this article, I'll say that we ask that question about what is happening in the Middle East. Again we have to break down our question and be more specific, since there seems to be so many newsworthy items in the Middle East every day. So, let's focus on two areas that receiving increased attention by the press and the nations as of late. Let's take a look at Iraq and Turkey. I've always been a prophecy buff. The Lord used one of Hal Lindsey's books "The Late Great Planet Earth," to show Himself to me. I've always been amazed at how our Father makes Himself so easy to see through the events of human history, yet people are blind to seeing Him as the play writer for all human events. Even some of the worse atrocities, although orchestrated by Satan and his minions have been turned around by God to bring about good. Let's look at a couple of things that God has turned around in the history of mankind. First, let us look at the Dark Ages, sometimes referred to as the Medieval Age. This time of history gets its name (Dark Ages) because it was during these many years that society became stagnant. Many of the scientific advances that occurred during the times of the Greek and Roman empires were forgotten and even rejected by the religious order because they were seen to be ungodly. This was the age where the Catholic Church was at it's zenith. The Pope was the ultimate authority, the church was the ultimate religion and it's hierarchy was the ultimate police force. If a king, nobleman or anyone for that matter said anything against the Catholic religion they were excommunicated and/or tortured or killed. Countless Jews and Christians were beheaded, burned at the stake, or at the very least they were tortured until they either died or gave in and recanted their religion and accepted Catholicism under compulsion. But, if we muse about this we can see that if it were not for the atrocities of the Catholic religious faithful, there would have been no need for the Reformation. And along with the Reformation came the Renaissance and the rebirth of civilization. If it were not for religious persecution by the Catholic Church, some surmise, there would have been no impetus for Columbus to discover the New World. Later on in history the Anglican Church in England (a spin off of the mother church) persecuted believers to the point of them wanting to find a new land to live and to be able to practice their relationship with God in peace. This caused people like the Pilgrims, who came to America to find such peace, and to found a new land that would some day become The United States. For many years, up until the last fifty or so, that land had been a place for people who strived to be free; free in secular things, but also free to worship as they pleased. So, we can clearly see that God used bad situations to bring about ultimate goodness. We can also look at the Holocaust that happened during World War Two. Now we know that God didn't orchestrate the evil that happened during that time. I'm sure that it hurt Him a great deal to see so many innocent people die in such a hideous manner. Oh how His heart must have ached as He watched so many of the Apple of His Eye and also so many steadfast Christians perish at the hands of the Nazi's. But what came from all of this suffering? While we can list many things that happened as a result of the Nazi terror of Europe's Jews and Christians, we will focus on one thing. Let's look at the new nation that came into existence; namely, Israel. For the first time since the ancient days of Israel the world finally realized that the Jewish people were in peril. It realized that unless they had a homeland, a land that they could administer and defend, the holocaust could very well happen again and again. So the world, with it's blood stained hands had to capitulate to the will of God and allow the formation of the nation of Israel. I don't think that but a small fraction of people on earth even realized that they played into God's hands and that they were a part of one of the most important End Time Prophecies that there is. And the world changed forever after that one day in May of 1948. God foretold of this in Isaiah:
And what about the life of every Spirit Filled Christian who has ever lived or will live? Didn't we all turn our lives into such a mess before we were saved. And didn't it take that decayed human state to realize that only God could extricate us from that mess. Look at this next scripture, which talks about how God turns things around for good:
What Is To Come? Well, for a minute there I thought I got off the track, but I think what was written above was sent for me to write to soften what has to be said. We are heading into some very perilous times in the months and years to come. I think that the Father is giving that message to anyone who listens to the Spirit of God. As they say in North Carolina, "things ain't a lookin' good up yonder." But lately we're hearing all sort of news about two places; Iraq and Turkey. Those two places are very important and figure heavily into the End Time Prophetic Calendar. Pardon Me While Iraq My Brain: Iraq is an interesting land. It is in Iraq that the Tower of Babel was once built. The account of this can be found in Genesis, chapter eleven. There were several things wrong with building the Tower of Babel. First, in Genesis, chapter nine, God gave a command to Noah and his sons. He tells them to be "fruitful and multiply." He also tells them to go out and replenish the Earth. He wanted them to go throughout the whole earth, make children and expand civilization. But along comes Nimrod who convinces the people to just settle in the land of Shinar. Nimrod was not a godly man and he proves that by contradicting the command of God to settle the whole Earth. And let's remember that everyone spoke the same language at that time in history, so getting out the word to rebel against God was an easy chore. But one thing that interests me is that Nimrod and the people built Babel and it's Tower. Now Nimrod and some of the people made one statement that sounds like an echo of another infamous individual. They said:
First, they wanted to make a tower so high that it would reach into heaven. Could it be that they were so ignorant that they actually thought that they could reach into heaven, or could it be the same spiritual pride that Satan was guilty of when he said:
Having looked around I found another translation of the Genesis 11:4 scripture that might better shed light and present the text in a modern day vernacular:
Looking at this translation we can see that it is definitely a prideful or haughty attitude that infested the humans of the day. It also sounds a lot like our own society. So, they wanted to build a tower to reach heaven, as a monument to their own greatness and the tower would be a monument (an accomplishment) that would always remind them of the spirit of unity. But it was a unity that didn't have it's roots in God so therefore it was doomed to failure. By becoming united in pride they divorced themselves from God. God realized that since they were all willing to unite together against God and could build the city and it's tower in concord, then they could sin in even greater ways and no sin was beyond them. They were bent on destruction by their own deeds and rebellion toward God, so God had to intervene. He confused their tongues so that they couldn't understand each other. Because of this confusion they couldn't live with each other and they were therefore forced to spread over the whole Earth and became the nations of the world. It speculated by some that at this time is when God created the different families (what some call races) of people. Babylon (Babel's later metamorphosis) became powerful during the time of King Nebopolassar and later his son Nebuchadnezzar. This is the Babylon that God used to lead Judah into captivity. God used Babylon for His own means as an instrument but he also hated it for its idolatry and the harsh treatment that the Babylonians showed toward the Jewish people of that time. A good study of the book of Daniel will shed a lot of light into this subject. God goes into great depth on how he will destroy Babylon.
The scriptures above talk about a total destruction of Babylon. It states that it will not be inhabited. This has not happened yet! There is literature that states that after Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians it was inhabited by them. They did not destroy the city. Other literature states that Alexander the Great was astounded by the majesty of Babylon. He even made it his capital for a time. There is nothing in history that talks about "plagues" that visited Babylon to destroy it. Sure, the city has over the millennia disintegrated due to the ravages of time, but it was never destroyed like God says He will do sometime in the future. So, Why Are The Americans In Iraq: We have established that Iraq is where ancient Babylon once stood. We know that Babylon will someday rise again to become an important figure in future events. Many Biblical prophecies about Babylon have not been fulfilled. A lot of the city of Ancient Babylon had indeed been rebuilt.
Before the war, Saddam Hussein spent a great deal of time and money on the rebuilding of Babylon. The picture above is of a palace in the new Babylon. Hussein was serving a purpose in the future prophetic realm by doing this amazing fete. Granted, he was doing it because he was under the assumption that he is King Nebuchadnezzar's reincarnation, but he built it none the less. But I believe that the Babylon that will be the center scene for a lot of near future prophecy will be much more glamorous. The Bible speaks of it being a major financial center; so much so, that when it is destroyed many will weep at it's destruction. Read Revelation, chapter 18 verses 1 thru 24
So we can see that when Babylon is finally finished and is thriving, it will be the center for great commerce. But it will also have itself associated with the One World religion that will be on the Earth at that time.
John says that he was so aghast at the sight that it made him wonder, perhaps in awe at the evilness of the place. The Bible isn't clear about where the center of this perverted religion will be. Some say that it will be in Rome, because farther on in the scripture John says that the lady is seated on seven hills. Some say that the hills represent other things. But the important thing is that the name of Babylon is associated with this religion. Throughout its history, Babylon has been the center of religious perversion. As we have seen above, when Nimrod was on the scene he led the people in rebellion of God. He was the founder of humanism and perfected pride and haughtiness. It was because of this that God confounded the languages and people were separated from each other. There is also speculation that the Tower of Babel was really a center for worshipping foreign gods. False religions always seek high places. Later on when Nebuchadnezzar was ruling over Babylon it was the center of all sort of false religions. As can be read in the Book of Daniel, this caused a variety of problems between the Israelites who were monotheists and the Babylonians who worshipped all sorts of impotent gods. After Babylon was conquered by the Medio-Persians and then the Greeks it continued to serve those false gods up until the time when Islam forced its way into Babylonian life. For many centuries Islam has been the shaping force in the land of Babylon. Sure, there have been Jews living there for millennia and Christians have lived there too since the time of Jesus, but both have been a minority force, not able to make much headway. Getting Down to Brass Tacks: But what do the Coalition Forces have to do with all of this? It's so simple that it can be missed really easily. But let's take a look at the geopolitical and religiopolitical themes that are the Middle East. The problem right now is that there are two forces that are vying for control in Iraq. First there is the old school, the Islamic world. The Islamic forces in Iraq are trying to expel the Coalition Forces because they (the Muslims) are trying to set up a strict Islamic state in Iraq. They had a secular dictator for many years and suffered under his control. So, it's only natural that they want to swing the pendulum fully in their direction. The other side of the coin is the population that wants a secular democratic state which will offer the freedoms of such a system and the hopes for economic prosperity. Take into account that there is only one democracy in the Middle East, and that is Israel. Israel has a thriving economy that seems to be impervious to almost any crisis that would crumble any other economy. Islam and democracy just can't seem to coexist. There is a mock attempt at democracy, that being Egypt, which holds elections and such, but Islam keeps any prosperity from happening. Pakistan holds elections but it has it's problems too, those problems being Islamists. Other countries in that region, like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and others are all kingdoms with monarchs that rule from the throne. This is the sort of world that Islam seems to be most comfortable with. This is because the religious leaders can control the royalty which in effect leaves the hard line Islamists in control. This bears a remarkable similarity to Mideval Europe, which had kings, queens and princes, but the real power was in the religious power, which was the Catholic Church. So by just looking at the nations of the Middle East one can see that Capitalism and Democracy cannot thrive nor survive in an Islamic realm. So, the coalition troops, while originally there to depose Saddam Hussein are in effect there to see that Democracy will be able to take hold in Iraq. And only when Islamic extremism is finally eradicated in that realm will the economic and political Babylon, as mentioned in prophecy be possible. Now, I like President Bush, and I happily say that I voted for him. I truly believe that he is a believer in Yeshua, but one has to wonder if he knows all of the ramifications of our little foray in Iraq. The rumors run amok about how he is really into big business and that he's just using the "born again" claim as a ruse. But until I see evidence of that I'll have to give him the benefit of the doubt that he truly is listening to God and planning things in accordance to that listening. So, while our troops are in Iraq in the guise of bringing democracy to that nation, the real reason, aside from democracy, is to resurrect Babylon. This new Babylon will figure into the last days just as prophecy dictated and it will be a center for commerce and religion during the last 7 years of human government. So, What's Really Going To Happen? We've mentioned above that Babylon is going to be a financial capital of sorts and that it also will be the Mother of Every Abomination. We've also seen that as long as Islam is in effect anywhere in the Middle East there can be no financial center because Islam abhors anything resembling capitalism. Islam would also be a hindering factor to Babylon being the Mother of All Abominations. Granted, Islam is a perversion of religion, judging it by Biblical standards, but it does live by some very strict laws and regulations. Sexual corruption is fiercely frowned upon and in some Muslim states it is punishable by the harshest manners. Now, we must take into account that as of present there are more than a billion Muslims on Earth. They present a formidable force to be reckoned with. You just can't tell that many people to submit to a world system and think that they will comply. Also take into account that the people in mention will not want to tolerate the one world government, especially since it will be of a secular nature, and any religion related to it will be one of an ecumenical nature; taking what it considers the best from each religion to make its own system of belief. After all, the religion during that time will be called a mystery and a whore. In the same way that a whore sleeps with many men for gratification, so Babylon's religion will take on the religious ideas of many religions. So, Islam has to be reduced down to a force that can be easily controlled. That means that all of Islam's mighty men, hooligans and terrorists have to be eliminated. How do you do this, you ask? Well, if they can be gathered to one place so that they all can be eliminated a at one time it makes the deed much easier. How do you gather them to one place at one time? You make them move against someone that they all hate with a passion. You cause them to make a move against Israel. But the Muslims can't really do that on their own because Israel has nuclear weapons and he also has a good ally in the United States. So, one has to scratch one's head to figure out how to get a strong ally for the Islamic force that is going to move against Israel. That force is Russia, which lies directly to the far north of Israel. The Russians have made it no secret that they don't like Jews. They've murdered Jews as long as there have been Jewish people in their land. They've always sucked the knowledge and money from the Jews and then tried to eliminate them. So, we have a motive, but sometimes motives are not enough; one needs an excuse to exercise the actions of their motive. Russia will have to use some sort of reason to make herself look righteous in the eyes of most of the world. Now we've heard the term "weapons of mass destruction," quite a bit over the last few years. That term is used to designate any weapon that can kill or seriously maim any large number of people. One of the reasons used to send American troops into Iraq was that Saddam Hussein had WMD's and that he was prepared to use them. There were not only rumors of his having biological and chemical weapons, but also the rumor that he was nearing capability of making nuclear weapons. It was just not an acceptable idea that such an unstable person be allowed to possess such items. So, with the approval of some allies and the disdain of others, American forces, along with some of those willing allies, seized Iraq in just a few short days. You know, when that all came down, the Lord impressed on my heart that the same excuse would someday be used to start what God prophesied in Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. It's been mentioned a couple of times on the news and some of the Islamic nations have brought Israel's nukes into question, but the idea is only in it's infancy now, but look for it to come to fruition in days to come. These nations will go into Israel to take away her nuclear weapons, which the Muslims will claim to WMD's. There is also the Palestinian question. Actually, before Jews started immigrating to what would someday become Israel, it was a barren wasteland. It was visited by Mark Twain in the mid 1860's and he described it as: "a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds ... a silent mournful expanse ... a desolation." He said that where population was concerned he just observed a few nomads and basically that was all he saw. It was in the late 19th and early 20th century, when the Jews started moving in and fixing up the place that it took on any character. The people who would someday claim to be Palestinians came to the land at the beginning of the Jewish population. They worked as farmers for the Jewish land owners. When the Arabs saw that gainful employment was available they started to increase immigration and the whole Palestinian problem started. By the time that the 1940's came around and the question of Israeli statehood came into play the Arab population exceeded the Jewish one and the Arabs started to lay claim to the land. In many ways this story parallels the one of the illegal immigrants who have infiltrated into California and the American Southwest. I have no doubt that someday in the near future this same scenario will play out here in America. Anyway, the "Palestinian Problem" will be just another excuse for Russian and Islamic intervention. It's sad that if a Jewish family is killed by a homicide Palestinian bomber it barely makes the news, but if one hair gets ruffled when the Israeli's try to stop a terrorist, it makes international headlines and Israel gets condemned. It just go to show how deep and widespread hatred for Jews really is. Now, let's look at part of that prophecy and see what nations are going to join Russia in the invasion:
Now before we go on, let's look at the last verse. Although the Russian masses will be in the land of Israel, it appears that their main purpose will be to protect the forces that are attacking God's People. Who would they need to be protected from? The obvious choice would be the Americans. The thing is that with Russian troops on Israeli soil, America will have to think real hard about helping Israel in a military way. If Americans should harm Russian soldiers it would cause a war between both parties, which we will see later on, will happen. Now something interesting is missing in God's description of the attacking nations. You guessed it, Iraq (Babylon) is not mentioned. God knew Babylon well and even used her as an instrument of correction to a rebellious Jewish nation in days long ago. So why would God leave Babylon out of the equation? Well, there are two things that come to mind right away. The war with the coalition decimated the Iraqi war machine. If the United States were to pull out of Iraq tomorrow it would be a defenseless nation. Right across the border sits Iran (Persia) who would just love to get it's hands on Iraq. Most of the fighters who are giving American troops grief have infiltrated into Iraq from Iran and they get military and monetary support from Iran too. Just this week Iran came out with a warning that if they think that American troops are a danger they reserve the right at any time to fight them in Iraq. In a way I can understand Iran's nervousness about all that is going on. America is Iran's enemy. Iran is run by strict Ayatollah's who are devout Muslims who have a strong distain toward the west. In recent years there has been a movement in Iran, a push toward democratic reforms and Iran blames Americans for supporting the protestors. And this nation that Iran hates has now located its troops in both of her borders. I don't condone Iran's actions, but I can understand why she is nervous. So, it is possible that in the not too distant future Iran could attack Iraq and take it over. The second scenario I see as more plausible. America has spread its forces too thin. We have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and also in Europe, Korea and Japan, but the military has been reduced so much that it can't fight a full blown war on two fronts. But we have to take into account that we are fighting the war on terrorism at home too. If the terrorists can turn up the heat so much in America it would cause the American government to call home a lot of the troops, leaving places like Iraq and Afghanistan a military vacuum that would invite malevolent forces. Or it is possible that the Islamic nations would work in conjunction with other places like North Korea or even the Philippines so that it would be impossible to help in all areas. This would perplex the US military machine and could lead to its collapse. If such events did occur places like Iraq would fall way back in the priority line. In effect, places like Iran wouldn't even have to attack Iraq, but could cause so much instability in that nation that they would be in civil unrest for years and the nation never would heal. The final scenario is the most realistic. There is a scripture below that causes me great alarm because I think it is one of the only places where America is mentioned in the Bible. It's found at Ezekiel 39:6 and states:
It's pretty well established that Magog mentioned in the scripture is referring to Russia. Many fine studies have come to that conclusion and a lot of them can be found on the internet. Just type in Magog in any search engine and you can read for days about the subject. The middle part of the scripture talks about those who, "dwell carelessly in the isles." I did a Hebrew word study of the word "carelessly," and it is the word that is transliterated from the Hebrew word "Betah." It means: "with confidence," "with a confident mind," "security or securely," and sometimes is used in context to describe those who live in too great a security, causing them live without caution." Being an American, I know that we live carelessly. We go about our daily business without the thought that something bad will happen to us Americans. We live with the "it will happen to someone else," mentality and we truly live without caution. Even after the attacks on September 11, 2001 we fall into complacency without regard to what tomorrow might bring. It seems clear to me that the fire that will be rained down on both Russia and The United States will be a nuclear exchange between the to nations. America has always been Israel's ally and will be to the bitter end. When America gets wind of the pending Russian and Islamic attack on Israel it will protest and probably even make overtures to Israel promising protection for Him. The Russians will know that the US forces are spread too thin to help, but Russia knows that America has technology and that America's Air Force as well as ICBM capabilities aren't hampered by the thin troop deployment. Russia will try to take out American command centers and possibly the missiles and military bases on US soil so that America can't fight for Israel. Of course America's weapons are located all over the Earth so America will be able to retaliate for the sneak attack. Meanwhile, Russian troops will be ensconced all around Israel with it's Islamic allies. The fate of the troops that attack Israel is truly amazing. They are utterly destroyed with hailstones of fire and brimstone. It will take many fully employed men seven months to clean up the carcass's, bones and other body parts. The Jewish people will burn the weapons and use them for fuel for seven years. Read the passage to get a better idea of all that is involved. Now, to get back to Babylon. With very few or no American troops in Iraq it will be easy for the Persians and Armenians to pass through there on their way to invade Israel. You know, I've always wondered why Armenia would play into this charade. I've met quite a few Armenians who have recently moved to America. They're basically a nice people who are down to earth and are for the most part moral. They boast about being the first Christian nation too. But there is something that I noticed through my talks with a lot of them. When I meet anyone from a foreign country I will eventually get around to asking about the Jewish population in that country and if they are treated well. I do this because I like to see how well a nation is doing compared to how they treat their Jewish population. It's just a little hobby that I have. Anyway, in almost every instance, when I've asked an Armenian about Jews in Armenia, I am almost assaulted with the answer. They seem to go on the offense as they categorically deny that there are any Jews in Armenia. One fellow, named Martin got so emotional that he mistakenly spit on me as he tried to emphasize that Armenia had no Jews. This sort of saddened me, that people, who have never met a Jew can go off so easily by my attempt to just casually talk about the subject. So now when I wonder why Armenia would be numbered in the nations who attack Israel, I know that it's an unbridled hatred for Jews that most of them seem to possess. Let's Talk Turkey: We have the comfort of knowing that we can watch certain news events and judge them by what is in Bible Prophecy. It's also exciting to watch prophecies being fulfilled before our very eyes and ears. As mentioned above, one of the attacking nations, named Gomer, is located in what we now know as Turkey. Now, you’re probably aware of the fact that since the end of World War II that Turkey, although it’s a Muslim nation, has had basically a secular government that has allied itself with the Western nations of the world. Turkey since the end of World War II has been a member of NATO. But that is now radically changing. Not to long ago, a radical Muslim party in Turkey won by election control of the government of the capital city of the nation of Turkey, and when they won that election they publicly stated, "Our next goal is to gain control of the national government of Turkey." One of the spokesmen for that radical Muslim party said, "When we do that, we’re going to change our relationship with NATO. We’re going to establish an Islamic NATO and an Islamic common market." And it looks very much as if Turkey, in the not too distant future, is going to come under complete domination by a radical Muslim element and then it, too, will turn against the nation of Israel and want to see it annihilated from the face of planet earth. So I emphasize that everyone keep an eye on Turkey. It's on its way to becoming an Islamic state, and once it does then the stage is set for the invasion of Israel. In Closing: We've covered a lot of things in this short article. While it might appear by the words above that the future seems bleak we must remember several things. First, the events above are just a short series of events in history. Second, God is in control and the ultimate end is a good one. The people on earth will be allowed to sink to the lowest possible denominator in order to show them their sad spiritual situation. All we hear is how men want freedom. They want freedom from religion, freedom from dictators and despots, freedom from laws that constrain their sinful and wanton desires; and ultimately freedom from God, who they see as a heavy handed master. Well, God is going to give them their freedom. However, things will not go well. Giving mankind this freedom is akin to giving a classroom full of first graders freedom from adult supervision. Mankind will decay and become what everything is like without God; corruption and decadence. The important thing is where you, the reader are heading. Are you going with those who will be led to destruction? Are you one who goes with the crowd, like a group of lemmings that will plunge off the cliff into the ocean of death and destruction? Or, are you craving to live a full life; a life that although it might be hard here on earth, will someday be rewarded by the Creator of Life. The decision is yours and as you use your own free will to make that choice, I pray that you make the right choice. If you are wondering how to make the right choice, I invite you to click here to see how you can be saved from yourself, from sin and from an eternal separation from God. God bless you all.
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