The Terrible Leaders We Deserve

Before he sentenced the notorious and utterly corrupt former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich to 14 years in a federal penitentiary for his many crimes, Judge James Zagel said this: "People ultimately get the government they deserve." Zagel's statement was clear; the people of the state of Illinois got Rod Blagojevich as their governor because they deserved him.

Without a doubt, Barack Obama will go down as one of the worst and most corrupt presidents in American history. From the endless scandals involving crony capitalism (Solyndra, Fisker, Beacon Power, Ener1 etc.) to the massive stimulus payout in 2009 that produced few private sector jobs while protecting millions of public sector union jobs to a disastrous foreign policy that has emboldened Russia and China while condemning trusted allies such as Israel, the Obama Administration has been a veritable curse upon the United States. And with Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that upheld Obamacare mainly because the Obama Administration's attorneys had to admit to SCOTUS that Obamacare was in fact a massive tax scheme after the administration had vehemently denied it, 69 million Americans who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 realized that they had been lied to.

And they have been lied to over and over and over again by the Obama Administration. But, as Judge Zagel stated; people ultimately get the government they deserve. And America deserves Barack Obama. From the millions of gallons of blood spilled by godless and greedy abortion doctors since 1973 to the advancement of the militant homosexual agenda that has invaded America's government schools to violence and murder in America's streets that have claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives, America has become a reflection of Barack Obama and Barack Obama has become a reflection of America--immoral, corrupt, mendacious, narcissistic, unholy, impure, obscene, ignorant, apathetic, nihilistic, foolish, conceited and utterly wicked.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul revealed that the last days on earth directly preceding the return of Jesus Christ would be exceedingly violent, wicked and immoral. (2Timothy 3:1-5) In his letter to the early Roman church, Paul explained why people become morally depraved--because they turn away from God and reject his laws, statutes and commands.

Here's what Paul wrote: "Furthermore since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:28-32)

Does that sound like the United States of America, circa 2012? It does. That's why the American people have gotten the corrupt government and the wicked leaders they deserve.

The Prince of Darkness

If there was an award for the worst and most despicable person on earth, George Soros would have to be considered one of the favorites. The billionaire hedge fund manager who also operates the radical, far left Tides Foundation, considers himself so morally and intellectually superior to others that he uses much of his vast ill-gotten wealth to transform the world into what he believes it should be.

Remember the word transform? That was a word that was often used by Barack Obama during his successful 2008 presidential campaign when he defeated his Republican challenger John McCain. What did George Soros have to do with Barack Obama? He literally bought the election for Obama by pumping millions of dollars into Obama's campaign directly and through various political organizations that worked to get the bumbling and inept former Illinois senator elected to the presidency. Many of Obama's signature political crusades such as socialized medicine, (Obamacare) Cap and Trade and redistribution of wealth via confiscatory taxes on those who earn at least $250,000 are Soros' crusades. Barack Obama has become little more than a puppet president controlled by the evil and megalomaniac George Soros. And through the corrupt Obama, Soros wants to destroy the United States and remake it into a socialist nation similar to many Western European nations. Through compliant, rubber-stamp politicians such as Obama, Soros believes that he can ultimately achieve that goal and eventually control the entire world.

Not surprisingly, Soros is an atheist who doesn't believe in God. As such, he believes that he is accountable to no one but himself for his actions and that his selfish ends always justify his corrupt means. As a youngster growing up in Budapest, Hungary during the Nazi occupation in the 1940s, Soros helped lead the Nazis to Jewish families that were trying to hide from Hitler's monsters. What made that especially despicable was the fact that Soros himself was Jewish, whose name was George Schwartz before his father legally changed the family name to Soros. During a December, 1998 interview with CBS's Steve Kroft, Soros claimed that he had absolutely no guilty conscience whatsoever for betraying his own people into the hands of the Nazis. After all, he told Kroft, if he didn't give up his own people, someone else would've.

George Soros is the logical product of a godless, post-Judeo-Christian world that believes human beings are nothing more than the final product of billions of years of random evolutionary forces. Soros doesn't believe in God because he abhors the thought of being held accountable to a Creator God for his actions and deeds. And yet, as wicked as he is, he can still repent of his evil deeds and confess his sins to Jesus Christ before it's too late. Because if he dies outside of Christ, George Soros' soul and spirit will burn in hell for eternity. That's a frightening thought that Soros needs to consider. As Christ stated: "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." (John 8:23-24)   

When Moral Depravity Reigns

The true catastrophe of 150 years of Darwinian influence upon the world can be seen in the man pictured above. Absent the fear of God and the moral influence of his commandments and transcendent laws, Jerry Sandusky had no personal conviction for inflicting damage on the lives of defenseless young boys in order to satisfy his perverted sexual cravings. And he had absolutely no concern for the ramifications of his actions--only the fear of getting caught and the subsequent damage to his impeccable reputation as a longtime assistant football coach at Penn State.

What does Charles Darwin have to do with pedophiles such as Jerry Sandusky? Simply this: Darwin's atheistic theory of the appearance of life sans a creator God offered many the hope of escape from moral accountability to the laws and commandments of a Holy God. It also offered them an escape from his divine judgment. If no personal God exists to judge sin then no eternal judgment awaits anyone at the moment of death. Thus, there's no afterlife and heaven and hell are but outdated myths that were created in the minds of primitive men.

Certainly, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution didn't influence Jerry Sandusky to become a sexual predator who preyed upon adolescent boys. But then, it surely did influence the world that he grew up in and lived in. And that world told Sandusky that the end justifies the means and that your actions matter little unless you get caught. Contrast this with Solomon's admonition he wrote nearly 3,000 years ago: "The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7)

The Bible defines a fool as someone who lives to satisfy his feelings and rejects moral authority. And a fool is also someone who rejects the overwhelming evidence for a Creator God. Molecular biology reveals that a single cell in a living organism contains over 300,000 bits of digitally coded information (DNA) that are arranged in a specific order to allow that cell to survive and multiply. To rearrange that complex organization of DNA would cause the cell instant death. Only a fool would believe that the complexity of physical life came about from billions of years of random evolutionary forces. To put that possibility in perspective, the late scientist Sir Fred Hoyle calculated the odds of Darwinian evolution being true at one in 10 to the power of 40,000. A mathematician will tell you that anything beyond the power of 800 is mathematically impossible.

Had Jerry Sandusky truly feared God, he probably never would've done the vile things he did which ultimately ruined what remains of his life here on earth. He still has time to get right with God by confessing his sins to Jesus Christ and gaining the eternal pardon for those sins that Christ earned for him on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago. It's just too bad that he didn't believe that a long time ago, or understand the power of Christ to deliver him from his sexual perversion.

A Cashless Society

The Book of Revelation, recorded by the apostle John in about 90 A.D., contains a startling prophecy; that the end-time world will feature a cashless monetary system.

Specifically, John revealed that under the authority of a powerful global leader, a marking system will be implemented that will enable global citizens to buy, sell and invest without paper money, checks or credit cards. However, this marking system, that will most likely feature either a computer chip embedded in the skin or a tattooed bar code, will have an additional purpose; to keep track of everyone on earth. Here's what John wrote: "He (Antichrist) also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17)

That prophecy made little sense to the primitive world that existed nearly 2,000 years ago. However, it makes perfect sense today when we consider that the technology exists to implement such as tracking system. Furthermore, with the relentless encroachment of intrusive government into the lives of private citizens coupled with the steady erosion of freedom, it will be merely a matter of time before such a system is put in place. Once a world government is formed--and that may be only decades away--then an elite ruling class will acquire the power and authority to implement such a system. The world will be told that such a system will be beneficial by eliminating identity theft and doing away with organized crime and violent drug cartels that deal almost exclusively in cash.

But John revealed the true motive behind the implementation of a global marking system; to force people to swear allegiance to this powerful global ruler who will be the dreaded Antichrist. Those who refuse his mark will be unable to buy or sell and will have to rely on their own instincts for survival. And those who are caught aiding these rebels will likely be executed.

How close are we to such a world? Very close. With the technology now available to implement such a tracking system and with a godless world that is convinced that the only solution to global peace and prosperity is a massive global government, we may be the generation that could see the rise of the Antichrist and the subsequent return of Jesus Christ to destroy this nightmarish world government.

Big Lies and Terrible Times

                                                        Charles Darwin

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul prophesied that the end times on earth directly preceding the return of Jesus Christ would become exceedingly wicked and violent. Here's what Paul wrote in his second letter to fellow apostle Timothy: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power." (2Timothy 3:1-5)

Christ himself also talked of "the increase of wickedness" (Matthew 24:12) when he revealed what the last days on earth would look like and the ancient Hebrew prophet Daniel, who lived 2,600 years ago, also revealed that the people living on earth in the last days would become "completely wicked". (Daniel 8:23)

All signs indicate that we now are living in the times that Paul, Christ and Daniel warned of. Since the late 1940s, crime has exploded across the western world along with moral decadence. For example, in 1961, New York City had a population of nine million residents and recorded 100 homicides for that calendar year. Just 30 years later in 1991, with virtually the same population, New York City recorded 1,000 homicides. And nearly every major city throughout the United States and Europe recorded similar increases in major violent crimes during that time span.

What happened? What was the cause behind the explosion of violent crime and moral decadence during that period that began in the1940s? Two things: (1) The influence of Christianity waned throughout the western world and (2) the influence of Darwinism spread across the globe and permeated education, the media, the entertainment industry and even politics. Millions of school children were taught that life was an accident that occurred billions of years ago through natural chemical processes in some primordial mud pond. As such, if life really occurred that way then it wasn't created by an intelligent being. Rather than being created in the image of a Holy God, children were taught that they were the descendants of primates that were the descendants of lower forms of life.

Darwinism's influence throughout the world created chaos and anarchy by systemically breaking down moral order and authority. If no Holy God existed that held man morally accountable to his commandments and transcendent laws then there was no heaven, hell, sin or eternal judgment awaiting mankind at physical death. Thus, Darwin replaced God with man as the highest moral authority in the universe. Next up, how the failure of Christianity to contend for the faith (Jude 1:3) allowed Darwin's lie of evolution to metastasize like a deadly cancer across the world.

From Hell to World Leader

In his famous vision he received from God while he was in exile from Rome on the island of Patmos, the apostle John recorded an amazing prophecy that has baffled biblical experts for centuries; that the leader of an end-time world government will be someone who “once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.” (Revelation 17:8)

Just what did John mean? Or, more precisely, just what did the angel who dictated that prophecy to John mean? We know that in the historical biblical lexicon, the Abyss is a synonym for hell. Did the angel who spoke to John literally mean that the coming world ruler, who the Bible identifies as the Antichrist will be someone who will rise from the pit of hell? Yes and no. If we study John’s vision and his prophecies that are recorded in the Revelation, it becomes evident that the coming Antichrist will not be someone who literally comes up from the hell, but rather the spirit of a wicked and long-dead ruler who will be released from the Abyss and will be allowed to possess this man at some point in his life.

But when and how could such an incredible event occur? And who will be the spirit that will possess the coming world leader? John revealed that one of the leaders of the coming global government “seemed to have had a fatal wound, but that the fatal wound had been healed.” (Revelation 13:3) John didn’t say that this leader will recover from a grave, life-threatening wound; he revealed that this man will suffer a mortal wound; be declared legally dead and then he will rise from the dead. After this man returns to life, John wrote: “The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.” (Revelation 13:3) Clearly, after this man rises from the dead, the world will declare his return to life a miracle and will worship him as a deity. In fact, many biblically illiterate Christians will believe this man to be Jesus Christ when he rises from the dead, not realizing who he really is.

This world leader will probably be assassinated via a plot devised among three of the coming 10 world leaders who the Antichrist will depose from power once he returns from the dead. (Daniel 7:24) But what spirit of an ancient, wicked ruler will possess this man when he returns to life? Though the mystery deepens, we can learn that he will very likely be one of two ancient rulers; Alexander the Great, who ruled over the ancient Greek Empire from 336 to 323 B.C. or Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled over the Seleucid Dynasty from 175 to 164 B.C. What is significant about Alexander the Great? He invaded ancient Persia in 331 B.C. which opened the door to Europe and brought the influence of the Gentiles and their culture into the ancient Middle East.

But even more importantly, 666 years after Alexander’s invasion of Persia, Roman Emperor Constantine established the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. What is significant about the Council of Nicaea? It became the spiritual foundation for the Roman Catholic Church, that will, according to the Revelation, become partners with the coming world government. (Revelation 17) Under our current solar calendar that is 365 days per year (366 days every fourth or leap year) 666 years would bring us to 335 A.D. But the ancient world followed a 360 day solar calendar which subtracts 10 years. Thus the significance of the number 666 simply cannot be diminished; it represents the prophetic political-spiritual link between the rise of pagan Gentile Europe and the Roman Catholic Church. And this prophetic link will form the foundation and partnership for the coming global government.

But who was Antiochus Epiphanes? He was an extremely wicked ruler who considered himself to be a god incarnate. In fact, he declared himself “God Manifest, Bearer of Victory” on the Tetradrachm which was a silver coin minted by the ancient Greeks that was worth about four drachmas. But more importantly, Epiphanes was a violent narcissist and an egomaniac who demanded to be worshipped as a god. Epiphanes invaded Jerusalem in about 167 B.C. and ordered his soldiers to massacre as many Jews as they could without showing any mercy even to infants, children and the elderly. Estimates range from 80,000 deaths during a violent, three-day massacre to another 40,000 Jews that were taken captive and sold into slavery.

Epiphanes then took control of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and declared an end to the daily animal sacrifices mandated by the Mosaic Law. Epiphanes had the temple rededicated to the Greek god Zeus and desecrated its sanctuary by sacrificing pigs on its altar. And the wicked ruler outlawed all Jewish religious practices and executed anyone who was even suspected of observing the Mosaic Law. Furthermore, Epiphanes ordered the Jews in Jerusalem and in the surrounding territories controlled by the Seleucids to adopt Greek religious customs and worship Zeus. Those who refused were executed.

What makes Epiphanes a prime candidate for the evil spirit that will possess the Antichrist are the similarities between this ancient wicked ruler and the coming Antichrist. The ancient Hebrew prophet Daniel, who lived approximately 2,600 years ago, recorded this revelation from the arch-angel Gabriel concerning what the Antichrist will do when he signs a seven-year peace treaty with Israel and assumes control over a rebuilt Jewish Temple: “In the middle of the seven he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27)

Will Epiphanes be the wicked spirit that is allowed to come up from hell and possess the Antichrist? Biblical prophecy makes no mention of who this wicked spirit will be, but considering that this evil ruler had already been dead for a considerable length of time when John recorded the Revelation (90-100 A.D.) and considering the striking similarities between Epiphanes and Daniel’s description of the Antichrist’s desecration of the temple, the ancient Seleucid ruler seems a good possibility to be the spirit that will possess the Antichrist. The 666-year prophetic link between Alexander the Great and the Council of Nicaea certainly helps us to “calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.” (Revelation 13:18) Antiochus Epiphanes certainly fits in that description; in fact, his name also contains 18 letters that divides into three sixes or 666.

It’s important for Christians to pay close attention to biblical prophecy concerning the end times that we are now in. In conjunction with the rise of a world government will be a counterfeit religious revival that will be based upon supernatural events that will deceive multitudes. This revival, which currently seems remote and unlikely in a world where Islam and militant atheism are vying for control, is going to happen.

And when it begins, millions will be drawn into its seductive trap which will eventually lead many to the Antichrist. The apostle Paul warned: “The coming of the lawless one (Antichrist) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Don’t be drawn into this seductive trap. Pray unceasingly; study the scriptures and know God’s will. And when evil comes, you’ll be able to recognize it and resist it.

A One World Religion

Since the advent of Darwinism in the 19^th century, belief in God and the influence of religion have steadily declined in the western world. Many believe that secularism will become the prevailing belief system of the future with faith and religion being relegated to the ash heap of outdated superstition and mythology.

However, biblical prophecy reveals that religion and belief in the supernatural will not only make a significant comeback in the last days, but that a one-world religion will arise that will be heavily based upon supernatural phenomena that science will not be able to explain away. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul wrote this concerning the end-times: “The coming of the lawless one (Antichrist) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.” (2Thessalonians 2:9-10)

Here’s how Jesus described the last days on earth directly preceding his return: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24) And in his first letter to fellow apostle Timothy, Paul offered this caveat concerning the end-times: “The (Holy) Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1Timothy 4:1)

With Christianity’s influence all but dead in much of Europe and in steep decline in North America, how will this new form of experiential religion emerge amidst the prevailing agnosticism and atheism that dominates the western landscape? The answer is both profound and yet simple; human beings have a deep desire to understand the unknown and fathom mysteries. Since they’re created in the image of God rather than merely the end products of random evolutionary forces, they have an innate desire to know and understand God. However, because of sin, man has become spiritually blind to God and cut off from a relationship with him. And because God’s laws are written on the hearts of all men (Romans 2:15) they are convicted and condemned by their consciences because of their sins.

God provided the antidote for sin and the path to restoration and fellowship with him through Christ’s death on Calvary’s cross and his resurrection from the dead. The apostle John wrote: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Unfortunately, much of Christendom has forgotten that salvation is a free gift from God and instead has set up a perverted system of works-righteousness that is heavily dependent upon adherence to rituals, customs, traditions and religious holidays. That perversion of God’s grace has produced confusion and doubt in the minds of Christians who have no assurance of eternal life through this manmade system that was condemned by the early apostles such as Paul as a phony gospel that promoted a phony Christ. (2Corinthians 11:4)

And so, the dead religiosity of counterfeit Christianity that the Bible warned against spread and eventually sowed the seeds of agnosticism and atheism in those who saw no meaning or purpose in lifeless and hackneyed religious rituals. The logical response to all this dead religion produced the Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that in turn encouraged Charles Darwin to pen his dubious theory in the nineteenth century of the origins of physical life sans a creator God. Darwin’s theory of evolution, which has been taught as evidential science for nearly a century, became the catalyst for the moral collapse of western civilization in the twentieth century.

And that moral collapse produced a counter-response in many through their desire to find meaning and purpose in life amidst the chaos and hopelessness that Darwinism inevitably produced. While many were turned off by dead, organized religion, a new form of “Christianity” sprang up as that counter-response in the early twentieth century in the form of experiential supernaturalism that manifested through miraculous signs and wonders. From William Seymour’s Azusa Street Revival that began in Los Angeles in the early 1900’s to William Branham’s Latter Rain Movement in the 1930’s that later became the Kansas City Revival, supernaturalism was in and organized religion with its dead liturgical customs and rituals was out.

Unfortunately, the burgeoning Signs and Wonders Movement that has used biblical Christianity as a cover for witchcraft and pagan occult practices, has become the prophetic fulfillment of Jesus’ and Paul’s warnings concerning the rise of counterfeit spirituality in the last days. How so? Because the Signs and Wonders Movement has manufactured its own gospel that bases eternal life on one’s ability to manifest a supernatural “gift” such as speaking in tongues or healing the sick. The logic of this counterfeit gospel claims that if one is endowed with the Holy Spirit, then one will perform miracles through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. Without the Spirit’s presence, there can be no miracles, and hence, according to this strange gospel, no salvation.

Despite the Bible’s prophetic warnings concerning this counterfeit spirituality that hides behind a Christian veneer, many well-meaning but biblically illiterate Christians as well as many others have embraced this demonic movement. And the Roman Catholic Church, once a bastion of dead works-righteousness religion has climbed on the bandwagon with her promotion of Marian apparitions, Eucharistic miracles and the practice of exorcisms that were once performed in strict secrecy. In fact, biblical prophecy reveals the Roman Catholic Church will play a key role in combining the growing Signs and Wonders Movement with the end-time Kingdom Revival Movement to create a worldwide religious movement that will eventually lead to the appearance of the Antichrist.

The Kingdom Revival Movement believes that Christendom will experience a great end-time global revival that will convert the world to Christianity that will result in Christ’s return. This movement believes that miraculous signs and wonders will be the catalyst that will spread a Christian revival throughout the world. Though biblical prophecy warns us that true Christianity will wane and vanish on the earth in the last days, (Matthew 24:10-11, 2Timothy 4:2-4, 2Peter 2:1-12) this movement teaches the exact opposite and has laid the foundation for a coming one-world religion that will feature a counterfeit Jesus Christ who will lead many into eternal damnation.

Beware! Unless your church teaches that faith in Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross for your sins and his subsequent resurrection from the dead brings you eternal life, then your church is promoting a false gospel. If your church bases eternal life on anything other than that biblical message, then get out of there and find a church that’s biblically grounded. Faith must be firmly established upon Christ and his finished work on the Cross rather than upon supernatural phenomena. God’s miracles come as the result of one’s true faith in Christ rather than the opposite. Any faith established upon supernatural events that either fails or refuses to test the spiritual source behind those events is a counterfeit faith that opens the door to demonic deception, eternal damnation and paves the way to a one-world occult religion.

America's Prophetic Future

According to biblical prophecy, after America destroys Iran's nuclear facilities, the U.S.A. will soon fade from prominence as a world superpower. According to the ancient Hebrew prophet Daniel, who lived about 2,600 years ago, a prominent western power he described allegorically as large horn on the head of a shaggy goat (Daniel 8:21) will be "broken off" and replaced by "four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power." (Daniel 8:22)

If Daniel indeed described the United States in his ancient prophecy, then why will America be broken off and who will be the nations that will replace her as world powers? America will be removed by God from the world scene as a superpower because of her betrayal of Israel, her closest and most trusted ally in the Middle East. Though America has become a wicked and immoral nation that has exported that wickedness (abortion, sexual perversion, nihilism, immorality etc.) throughout the world, her betrayal of the tiny Jewish nation has brought God's judgment upon her. The Obama Administration (as well as the previous Bush Administration) has continually warned Israel to either stop building settlements for Jews in Jerusalem or face economic and political repercussions. Recently, when the Israelis had a secret military plan they were about to execute to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, the Obama Administration leaked that plan to the world media which not only betrayed Israel but endangered that nation as well.

As any biblical scholar who knows and understands the true God of the universe and his eternal love for the nation of Israel despite her chronic rebellion against Him, those who mess with Israel have written their own epitaphs. In August 2005, God issued a stern warning to America just days after the Bush Administration coerced Israel into surrendering the Gaza Strip to her sworn enemies, the Palestinians. That land was given to Israel by God and to no one else. When the U.S. forced the Jewish nation into giving away her own land to an archenemy, Hurricane Katrina rolled into New Orleans and nearly destroyed the entire city. What judgment will come against America now that she has put Israel in danger by leaking a top secret military plan?

Who will be the four nations that succeed the U.S. after she falls from power? Most likely they will be Russia, China, India and perhaps Brazil or South Korea. They are all on the rise economically and militarily and even more importantly, they all abhor Islam and will not tolerate Islamic expansionism within their borders. Truly, the end is close at hand.

Is the USA Mentioned in Prophecy?

Does biblical prophecy speak of God's judgment against America? Some self-styled prophecy experts believe that they've uncovered several passages in the Book of Isaiah that reveal God's divine wrath against the USA.

One particular passage is Isaiah 9:10 and this is what it says: "The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars." A rabbi named Jonathan Cain has written a book titled; "The Harbinger" where he attempts to make the case that the ancient Jewish prophet, who lived over 700 years before Christ, revealed God's judgment against America for her evil and wickedness in the end times, and for exporting that wickedness throughout the world. And according to Cain, Isaiah 9:10 refers to al Qaeda's attack on the World Trade Center in New York that occurred on 9/11/2001.

In fact, Isaiah's ancient prophecies refer to God's judgment against Israel rather than the USA. The Lord expressed his anger at the Jewish nation for her chronic rebellion against him by perverting his laws and worshipping pagan idols, and he warned the Jews that he was going to bring judgment against Israel unless the Jews repented of their wickedness. And that's what happened in 586 B.C. when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and ransacked that city, taking thousands of Jews into captivity.

The only hint of America in ancient prophecy can be found in Daniel 8 rather than in any verse in Isaiah. Daniel 8 refers metaphorically to a "shaggy, one-horned goat" that represents a powerful western nation that in the end times, destroys a powerful two-horned Ram that symbolizes the kingdoms of Media and Persia. The ancient kingdoms of Media and Persia existed in what is now Iran. I believe that the symbolic goat is the U.S. that is about to destroy Iran's nuclear program before the Iranians can develop a nuclear bomb. Daniel revealed this 2,600 years ago. But what comes next is even more fascinating. Stay tuned.

Praying for Wicked Leaders

A pastor I knew many years ago once told me that a wicked nation chooses wicked leaders after its own heart. How then, when we consider the biblical exhortation to pray for and submit to our leaders, (Hebrews 13:17, Titus 3, 1Peter 2:13-17) can we support political leaders today who promote sexual perversion, abortion, sexual immorality and euthansia?

The answer is simple: Even politicians are human beings in need of redemption from sin through God's grace that manifested in Jesus Christ's death on Calvary's cross for all sin and his resurrection from the dead. Certainly, some politicians such as Barack Obama claim to be Christians, but their actions speak louder than their words. Or, as Christ stated: "By their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:20)

Barack Obama fails the test of a true Christian by his actions. Yes, he is arrogant and condescending toward bible-believing Christians who he has often mocked throughout his political life. And yet Obama is no worse a sinner than anyone else who has ever walked on this earth. It was Richard Wurmbrand, perhaps the greatest Christian missionary of the 20th century who admitted that he trembled at the thought of the eternal destiny of unbelievers, whether they were pagans, agnostics, arrogant politicians, atheists or false Christians.

If we truly understand the horror of hell, then we'll tremble at the thought of Barack Obama's eternal destiny. And rather than criticize or curse him, we need to pray for him that God's ultimate truth in Christ's crucifixion for his sins on the cross will penetrate his heart and save his soul.

Doorways to the Devil

During the 1960s, a powerful hallucinogenic drug called LSD introduced a generation of young people to a spiritual realm that they had previously dismissed as a myth. Disillusioned by materialism and turned off by dead, corporate religion, many young people believed that heaven and hell, God, the devil, angels and demons were the products of superstitious and ignorant minds.

But then came LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs along with a renewed interest in Eastern religions such as Hindusim and Buddhism and their mystical practices. Suddenly, a whole new world emerged full of strange deities, psychedelic colors, powerful sounds and new sensations that many people had never experienced before. The heaven that young people had relegated to religious fantasy was now a reality--only with different and exciting new features. This new heaven could be accessed immediately via a drug trip or through transcendental meditation. No longer did one have to wait until death to visit eternity; it was available right now to those who wanted it. And in this strange new heaven, no judgmental God existed who condemned sin--instead there were several "gods" to guide one on life's journey toward the next phase in evolutionary consciousness. In fact, in this strange new heaven, "spirit-guides" and "gods" existed to expunge minds of old and decrepit religious ideas that taught of sin and its eternal consequences in a horrible place called hell.

However, this exciting new spiritual realm with its universal heaven populated with non-judgmental gods was just a demonic sham created by Satan for the purpose of deceiving those who confronted him through drugs, Eastern mysticism and occultism. With only a rudimentary knowledge at best of the bible and its warnings regarding the existence of a dark spiritual realm populated by Satan and his fallen angels, many were indoctrinated into the devil's lies through their encounter with a forbidden spiritual realm and many became Satan's dupes in spreading those lies to a world that was biblically ignorant and spiritually bankrupt.

The result of all this is a growing segment of the world that has not only been exposed directly to Satan and his demons but also refuses to believe in a personal Holy God who hates sin and sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world 2,000 years ago to die for all sin on Calvary's Cross. This Holy God purposely forbade any unauthorized contact with the spiritual realm because the devil and his demons exist there to spread their lies. Among those lies are these: (1) God is an impersonal force rather a personal being; (2) everyone possesses a divine inner nature; (3) good and evil are the same; (4) there is no hell; (5) Jesus Christ wasn't God but merely a self-realized man; (6) there is no death; (7) everyone and everything is divine; (8) we can be reincarnated into plants, animals, insects or new human beings after death and (9) human beings are at the next stage in their evolutionary development where those who are deemed unfit for evolution will be eliminated from the earth.

These lies are nothing new. As Solomon once stated, nothing new exists under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) And nothing new comes from the spiritual realm either. And tragically, the oldest lies in human history continue to be embraced by millions as new revelations from heaven.