The Ominous Russian Bear

A map of Russia's oil and natural gas routes in Europe and Asia Minor

 While much of the world was preoccupied with the recent Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States, another event took place that was overlooked by many people. What was that? That was an economic agreement signed between Russia and Greece.

But what's so significant about that? Trade agreements occur frequently between nations. What makes that one significant? It's the terms of the agreement that make it significant and a potential game-changer concerning the economic and political landscape of Western Europe.

According to the terms of the agreement, Greece will help Russia build new natural gas pipelines into Western Europe through Turkey. What does Greece get in exchange for helping Russia extend its energy across the European continent? From http://www.ap.org: Russia promised Greece hundreds of millions of dollars in transit payments yearly if it agreed to build the pipeline. Construction of the pipeline is expected to start next year and be completed by 2019. The money will help economically-troubled Greece that's been teetering on insolvency for years.

Nearly 30 years ago, President Ronald Reagan warned the world to never allow the Russians to extend their oil and gas pipelines into Western Europe. While Reagan issued that caveat during the Cold War, he understood that Russia was an evil empire regardless of her political identity. To allow the Russians to control Europe's energy would place many nations under the influence of the Bear.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis denied that any political strings were attached to the deal. But only a fool would believe that. There will be heavy strings attached to the deal because Greece is a member of NATO, and Putin wants to weaken that organization by coercing members such as Greece out of NATO.

After the agreement was signed, Lafazanis sounded as though he was reading from a script written by Putin: The pipeline is not against anyone in Europe or the world. It is here to serve people, peace and stability. Energy can bring people together and not feed Cold War situations.
Indeed, the pipeline extension will bring people together under the growing arm of Russia. Once the nations of Western Europe become dependent upon Russian energy, they will be forced to do what the Bear wants or Russia might cut off their energy.

Remember what Russia did to the Ukraine in 2006? The Russians shut off their gas and plunged the Ukraine into a deep freeze when the Ukrainians complained about the price they were being charged. Energy drives economic engines, and without it economies can't run. The Russians know that and they also know that energy can be used as a political weapon. Thus, the Russians will likely use energy to coerce European nations out of NATO.

Though Russia is currently experiencing a recession due to low international oil prices and economic sanctions levied against her because of her military incursion into the Ukraine, the recession isn't going to last. The Russians have become close friends with their southern neighbor China in recent years and China is a nation that's flush with cash. The two need each other because the Russians need money to revive their economy while the Chinese need energy to fuel their growing industrial base.

During an APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting last year (November 21, 2014) the two nations signed dozens of contracts that were designed to benefit both countries. The Russian energy company Rosneft also sold 10 percent of its stake in the Siberian Vankor field to China's state-controlled energy company CNPC. The sale was unprecedented because Russia has rarely allowed foreign nations to invest in her energy companies. But this was a deal of necessity for both nations. Said Putin: Normally, we are very reluctant to allow foreign partners, but for our Chinese friends, there are of course, no restrictions. https://www.wsws.org

The financial deal struck by the two nations at last year's APEC meeting followed a $400 billion deal signed by the two nations in May, 2013 when Russia's energy giant Gazprom agreed to begin supplying China with natural gas.

The increasing economic agreements forged between the two nations in recent years comes as a response to the pending Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement being orchestrated by the U.S. and 11 other nations that purposely excludes Russia and China. The TPP is designed to strengthen Pacific Rim nations such as Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Viet Nam so that they won't be coerced into economic and political alliances with either Russia or China.

The Russians not only need money to improve their sagging economy, but they need money to continue their quest to become the world's most dominant military superpower. In recent years the Russians have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade their ICBMs, anti-ballistic missile systems and their nuclear submarines.

For example, the Russians are introducing a new fleet of advanced T-14 Armata tanks to replace the aging T72/T80/T90 tanks that were introduced in the 1970s. The Armatas are designed to withstand heavy artillery bombardment and be able to navigate just about any terrain on earth.

The Russians also recently introduced their latest and greatest ICBM, dubbed the TOPOL-M that can travel up to 15,000 mph and evade sophisticated radar and anti-ballistic missile systems. The TOPOL-M can travel 6,500 miles and be launched from either land or nuclear subs, making it accessible to any destination on earth. And the missile can carry up to 10 decoys and six operational nuclear warheads.

From Tyler Rogoway of jalopnik.com: The missile and reentry vehicle's ability to dynamically maneuver outside of its ballistic track makes producing an effective kill solution, or even predicting the TOPOL-M's target problematic. All these features come together to make a missile that is probably outside of America's missile defense capabilities today, and the sheer number of them that exists makes the idea of defending against anything but a limited barrage totally invalid.

The Russians plan to spend up to $700 billion by 2020 to complete their military makeover. When it's all said and done, Putin believes that his nation will possess the most potent military on earth. Here's what he boasted recently: No one should have the illusion that they can gain military superiority over Russia or put any kind of pressure on us. We will always have an adequate answer for any such adventures. Vladimir Putin Says Russia's Military Might Has No Match - NBC News

Many people dismiss Russia's growing ascent to superpower status once again as an anomaly. They shouldn't because biblical prophecy revealed 2,600 years ago that Russia, along with China, will play major roles in end time world events.

The prophet Daniel received an allegorical vision from God concerning a powerful world government that will rise in the last days. This government was symbolized as a violent beast with 10 horns. (Daniel 7:7)  Daniel wrote that this beast was "terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot what was left."

Daniel then revealed that one of the nations that will eventually assume control over this global government will be a northern kingdom. (Daniel 11) What nation could that be? Since the Bible always places Israel at the center of its geographical map, a northern kingdom would be located north of the Jewish nation. While there are several nations located north of Israel, the most powerful northerly nation is Russia. And Russia is rising rapidly as a military and political monster in the world.

Furthermore, the prophet Ezekiel, who lived during the 6th century B.C., revealed that a powerful nation he described as Gog would invade Israel in the end-times along with a military alliance he identified as Magog, Meshek and Tubal. (Ezekiel 38) 

Here are the words the Lord spoke to Ezekiel: "After many days, you will be called to arms. In future years, you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land." (Ezekiel 38:8-9)

Who is Gog? Gog was one of the ancient names for the tribe of Rosh that many modern Russians are descended from. Obviously, Russia's rise to prominence once again isn't an anomaly. It's the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. And Russia will continue to rise despite threats of war and economic sanctions levied against her. Though the United States is still currently the world's greatest superpower, America's days are numbered. Political, economic and military power is shifting to the east, and Russia, along with China, are poised to supplant the U.S. as the new superpowers on earth.

Consider what Russia's rise to prominence also means to the world; it means that Islam and homosexuality will eventually be eradicated because Russia tolerates neither. Putin is an Orthodox Christian who reviles homosexuality and he aims to eliminate it from his nation. And he also recognizes how dangerous Islam is and he wants that religion out of Russia as well. As Russia begins to spread her influence across the world, Islam and homosexuality will be pushed toward extinction.

In an ominous speech he gave to the Duma in February, 2013, Putin said this: In Russia, we live as Russians. Any minority from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian and respect the Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia (Islamic) Law, then we ask them to go to those places where that's the state law. Russia does not need minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell discrimination. http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/06/09/russia-vladimir-putin-orders-crackdown-on-muslims

Thus, the future of the world belongs not to America, but to Russia. And that's not good for anyone.

Satan's Comeback

The  Devil in Detroit

You can't make this up. Barring a last minute court injunction, a group that calls itself The Satanic Temple was set to unveil a statue of its spiritual leader yesterday morning (7/25/2015) in the city of Detroit of all places.

Like all greedy religious organizations that seek to profit from their message, the Temple decided to charge admission to those who wanted to view the monstrosity. From the Detroit News: The event, open to prepaid ticket holders only, is advertised as the largest public satanic ceremony in history. According to the Satanic Temple, the 1-ton, nearly 9-foot-tall bronze idol will be unveiled only in Detroit. Ultimately, the group hopes to have it placed permanently next to a sculpture of the Ten Commandments monument now in place near a state courthouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or outside Arkansas’ Statehouse in Little Rock, where a Ten Commandments monument also is planned. 

Many Detroit area churches protested the display and sought to get the ceremony banned. When they failed to block the event, some churches planned to host their own activities to counter the unveiling of the devilish sculpture. 

Jex Blackmore, Satanic Temple Detroit chapter founder, claims that unlike the Church of Satan that was founded in the 1960s by Anton Szandor LaVey, his group doesn't worship Satan but does promote individuality, compassion and views that differ from Christian and conservative beliefs. Blackmore also claims that the group has about 100 chapters across the United States. 

Blackmore's claim is akin to former President Bill Clinton's claim that he never smoked marijuana even though he held a lit dooby between his lips. Clinton's bizarre reasoning? He claims that he never inhaled the pot. 

I don't know how sincere Blackmore is, but there are plenty of ways to promote "individuality, compassion and views different from Christian and conservative beliefs" other than touting a statue of the most reviled and cursed being in all of God's creation. 

Satan represents the ultimate in rebellion against God's established authority. He's a liar and a deceiver who Jesus Christ called "a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) He's also called "the god of this age (who) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)

I don't know whether the members of the Satanic Temple believe that Satan's a real being or they merely view him as a "symbol of evil" as many people do today. A Barna Research poll conducted about six years ago (2009) revealed that only 27 percent of Americans actually believe in the existence of a real devil.

The Bible identifies Satan as a real being rather than a metaphor for rebellion. In fact, when Christ spoke about Satan, He spoke about a real diabolical being and not a symbol of evil. 

Why should that make any difference? Because those who are intentionally and unintentionally ignorant of the devil will see no danger in Satan's diabolical practices such as the occult, necromancy, witchcraft, spiritism, voodoo, shamanism, sorcery, magic and eastern mysticism. Those types of practices are not only sinful, they're also dangerous because they open spiritual doors to demonic spirits that are under Satan's authority. They can lead people to demonic oppression, possession, insanity, suicide, and ultimately eternal damnation. 

Sadly, biblical prophecy reveals that the whole world will eventually worship the devil before Christ returns. (Revelation 13) When a monstrosity such as that statue of Satan can so effortlessly be put on display in a city such as Detroit that once had a vibrant Christian population, then the end is near indeed. 

The Beautiful Mask of Evil

Margaret Sanger: The founder of Planned Parenthood

When you realize that we're living in the last days, as foretold by biblical prophecy that was recorded nearly 2,000 years ago, you can understand why so many things that were historically considered evil and satanic are now promoted as beneficial and good.

For the record, here's what the apostle Paul predicted concerning the end times in his second epistle 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, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Good--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Certainly, there's a cause and effect relationship between the ignorance of God and the rise of evil in the world. Paul revealed what happens to people when they turn away from God: "Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they 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 have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 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)

We saw yet another example of Paul's revelations fulfilled recently with two high-ranking officials of Planned Parenthood who were filmed calmly discussing the sale of body parts taken from aborted babies. 

For those who are familiar with the Holocaust and the Nazis callous disregard for human life, the rhetoric that came from the mouths of those two Planned Parenthood officials sounded eerily similar to the rhetoric of Nazi demoniacs such as Josef Mengele, Josef Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler who often discussed making lampshades and other items from the skin and body parts of Jewish corpses. 

The very title Planned Parenthood is a classic leftist misnomer. The only thing that Planned Parenthood "plans" is the mass murder of unborn babies. The term "pro-choice" and the phrase "a woman's right to choose" are leftist misnomers that are used to sanitize infanticide by cheapening murder in order to promote personal freedom.

Margaret Sanger, who founded Planned Parenthood, was an evil person and an arch-racist who wanted to exterminate certain groups such as blacks. In Woman, Morality, and Birth Control. New York: New York Publishing Company, 1922. Page 12., she said this: We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities.  The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.

And in “America Needs a Code for Babies,” 27 Mar 1934, she said this: Give dysgenic groups [people with “bad genes”] in our population their choice of segregation or [compulsory] sterilization. Those are the words of an evil person who covers up a demonic face with a beautiful mask.

Murder is never a choice; it's always a moral abomination. And the claim that the lives of unborn babies must be snuffed out in order to save a pregnant woman's life is nothing but an excuse for murder. Modern medical technology has made deliveries safe. There are procedures available to safely deliver a baby and protect a woman's life when her health may be at risk.

A society that has such callous disregard for human life and refuses to defend the unborn is a society that's on the verge of self-destruction.

Thomas Jefferson, one of America's founding fathers said this: The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government. Saint Basil said this: The hairsplitting difference between formed and unformed makes no difference to us. Whoever deliberately commits abortion is subject to the penalty for homicide. And A.L. Barry, president of the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, said this: Just because something happens to be legal does not make it moral, ethical or right.  Abortion is perhaps one of the most dramatic examples of a situation where something is legal, but is very much a sin against God. 

Indeed. When people deny God's existence, they don't believe that they're morally accountable for their behavior. The rise of the abortion death industry is the direct result of the world's increasing denial of God and its rejection of His laws and commandments. That explains why Planned Parenthood officials discuss the sale of body parts from aborted babies as casually as people discuss the sale of stocks and bonds. It's disheartening and nauseating.

Nearly 2,800 years ago, the Lord spoke these words to the prophet Isaiah concerning those who promote evil as good: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20)

There's a curse on everyone who promotes and profits from the death of unborn babies. And unless they repent of the heinous sin of infanticide and stop doing abortions, their souls will burn in hell for eternity. You can count on that.

See! No Evil!

Secular intellectuals

The main difference between the Judeo-Christian worldview and the secular humanist worldview is how both groups see human nature. Those who possess a Judeo-Christian worldview see human nature as being contaminated by sin (evil), while those who possess a secular worldview see human nature as intrinsically good.

Here's what the Bible says about human nature: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23-24) And it says this: "The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately wicked; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

Secular humanists, who consist primarily of atheists and leftists, view human nature very differently. They believe that all human beings are born basically good and do bad things when they're corrupted by the world. If that's true then that presents a serious problem. Where did evil come from if all human beings are born good? That doesn't make any sense. 

But it makes perfect sense to humanists who refuse to recognize the inherent sinful nature in human beings. Whenever someone commits a heinous act, that person is often labeled as mentally ill or emotionally disturbed. And the emotional malady is usually attributed to something that person experienced in the world. Again: If human beings are born basically good, then the world should be a paradise. But it isn't. 

The latest example of the secular worldview being used to cover up evil is the recent attack by Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, the Islamist mujahid who shot up two military recruiting centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing four marines and a navy petty officer. Though Abdulazeez's religion is the reason why he attacked the two centers, America's secular media are now trying to blame his actions on "mental illness." 

From Brian Ross at ABC News: He was a man with serious mental illness, depressed and conflicted, a devout Muslim who regularly violated his faith by smoking marijuana and drinking heavily, but not anti-American or connected to ISIS. 

That is the portrait the family of 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez has painted for FBI agents trying to learn why he went on a spree of violence last week that resulted in the deaths of five uniformed members of the military in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Law enforcement officials told ABC New the family has been fully cooperating in the investigation. The FBI said it has yet to see any evidence Abdulazeez was connected to ISIS or any other terror group.

Then there was the recent massacre in Charleston, South Carolina where a white supremacist named Dylann Roof gunned down nine people in a black church. Here's what Fox News contributor Dr. Keith Ablow wrote about Roof: Dylann Roof, who allegedly shot and killed nine people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., showed all the signs of severe and worsening mental illness. We know, of course, that Roof expressed hateful white supremacist opinion. But we also know that psychiatrically ill people can channel their paranoia or depression or extreme self-loathing into bizarre beliefs that sometimes lead to the destruction of others. Those beliefs can look just like intense hatred — of a particular person or a whole race of people.

And of course, much of the secular media remain convinced that James Holmes, the man who killed 12 people in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater in 2012, is insane, despite Holmes' court-appointed psychiatrist who declared him completely sane and rational. 

Another component of the secular worldview is Charles Darwin's theory of Natural Selection, the belief that human beings are evolving toward perfection. That's difficult to believe considering the current events going on in the world. Human beings are becoming more violent and depraved, and only a fool would believe otherwise.

And why are people becoming so depraved? Because they've become ignorant of God and have rejected His laws and wisdom in the Bible. The apostle Paul revealed what happens to people who reject God: "Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they 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 have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 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)

That's the real worldview. When we acknowledge that, we fear God and respect His laws and authority. And we have law and order.

But when we ignore that for mythical worldviews that absolve human beings of their sinful nature, then evil ensues. Every time. As Solomon wrote: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7)

Politically Incorrect Motives

Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez (Insert)

After a self-styled mujahid named Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez attacked two military recruiting centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that resulted in the deaths of four Marines and a Navy petty officer, America's clueless lame-stream media went searching for a "motive."

America's gumshoe media were determined to discover why Abdulazeez went on a shooting rampage. Poverty's one of their favorite theories because many of America's urban terrorists--violent inner-city gangbangers--are often unemployed. And so, according to the timeworn leftist theory, those who resort to violence do so because they're angry at being jobless and poor.

But that narrative didn't fit Abdulazeez. He came from a well-to-do family that lives in the Colonial Shores subdivision of Hixon, an affluent suburb of Chattanooga. The Abdulazeez home may not be a mansion, but it's more than modest. In fact, it's way beyond modest.

Thus, the poverty motive doesn't fit Abdulazeez. Then what was his motive? His motive was Islam. He was motivated by his religion to kill those he deemed infidels. He was loyal to his religion and its prophet until the end when police sharpshooters finally blew him away before he could kill more infidels.

When the evidence is overwhelming that mujahids such as Abdulazeez commit violence in the name of Islam, the media resorts to damage control by labeling such folks as "lone-wolves" and "radicals" who defame the peaceful name of Islam. But anyone who understands Islam--and the majority of the western media doesn't--realizes that Islam isn't and has never been a religion of peace. And it never will be. It's a religion that's historically been spread through violence.

That's not something that western political elites such as David Cameron, Barack Obama and his buffoonish Secretary of State John Kerry like to acknowledge. More likely, they--like their clueless media brethren--simply know very little about Islam.

But Islam isn't difficult to learn. All you have to do is pick up a Koran or a copy of the Hadith and read them. And if you take the time to study Islam, you'll find that it's a religion that motivates people such as Abdulazeez to do what they do.

Here are some examples: "And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing...but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshiping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone." Quran (2:191-193) 

"Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things." Quran (2:244) "Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority". Quran (3:151)  "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward." Quran (4:74) 

"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement." Quran (5:33) 

"I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them." Quran (8:12)

And here are examples from the Hadith (Sayings of Muhammad): Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshiped but Allah'.  And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally." Bukhari(8:387)  "The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: 'One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihad died the death of a hypocrite.'" Muslim (20:4696)  

"The person who participates in (Holy Battles) in Allah’s cause and nothing compels him do so except belief in Allah and His Apostle, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise ( if he is killed)." Bukhari (1:35) 

Those are just some of the scriptures that motivated Abdulazeez to do what he did. Those aren't the scriptures of a peaceful religion, and anyone who claims that Islam's a peaceful religion is either lying or ignorant of that religion.

Abdulazeez wasn't a "radicalized" Muslim. He was a fundamentalist. Thankfully, the majority of the world's Muslims are cultural Muslims rather than fundamental Muslims. However, as long as Islam exists, there will be fundamentalists. And that will mean trouble. Big time.

The Prophetic Last Days

Daniel's prophetic vision

Nearly 2,600 years ago, the ancient Hebrew prophet Daniel received an allegorical vision from God concerning the last days. In the vision, Daniel witnessed a one-horned goat travel from a distant land to confront and ultimately destroy a powerful two-horned ram.

When Daniel received his vision in the 6th century B.C., the Jews were living in captivity in Persia. Their captivity began in 586 B.C. when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem, and it finally ended in 445 B.C. when Persian ruler Darius II allowed them to return to Israel.

Here's what Daniel saw and recorded: "In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great." (Daniel 8:2-4)

Daniel's vision was metaphorical. The animals represent two powerful nations that will confront each other in the end times before the goat finally destroys the ram. What nations do the goat and the ram represent? An angel appeared and interpreted the vision for the prophet: "I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power." (Daniel 8:19-22)

Many biblical scholars believe that Daniel's vision was fulfilled in 331 B.C. when Alexander the Great invaded and conquered Persia. But the prophecy couldn't have been fulfilled then because that wasn't the time of the end. In fact, Jesus Christ hadn't even appeared on earth and wouldn't do so for another three centuries.

If the prophecy concerns the end times, then it raises some serious questions. We know who Greece is. But Media and Persia? Those ancient kingdoms vanished long ago. Who was the prophet referring to? Ancient Media is now part of modern Iraq and Iran. Ancient Persia was located in what is now Iran. We know how dangerous Iran has become in recent decades.

But Greece? Modern Greece is bankrupt. Its military couldn't conquer the island of Fiji, let alone Iran. And so, how can we interpret Daniel's prophecy? Is it true? Is it a revelation from God concerning the end times on earth? Or, is it a fraud? Indeed it's a revelation from God.

Then how do we explain Greece? Very easily. Greece was the most predominant gentile nation on earth in the ancient times. In fact, the ancient Greeks were synonymous with gentiles, and the apostle Paul frequently equated Greeks with gentiles in his epistles. For example: "There is neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

Therefore, the kingdom of Greece mentioned in Daniel's prophecy isn't the literal nation of Greece, but rather is a metaphor for a powerful gentile nation. What nation could that be? Daniel revealed that the goat traveled "from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground." (Daniel 8:5) That can't be the literal nation Greece that exists just to the northwest of Iran. It has to be another nation that comes from the distant west. Note that Daniel saw this allegorical goat travel a vast distance without touching the ground. That sounds like a metaphor for a military invasion of fighter jets and possibly ICBMs.

Who then is Daniel's Greece? I believe it's the United States that still possesses the most powerful military and nuclear arsenal on earth. And I believe that America's recent nuclear agreement with Iran, a horrible deal brokered by the uber-mendacious and arch-corrupt Obama administration, brings us closer to the fulfillment of Daniel's ancient prophecy.

There's no need to recap the deal. Suffice to say, it was an agreement drawn up in hell that will fast-track Iran to a nuclear power. That's bad for Israel, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and the entire world. Iran is a Shiite nation that possesses an apocalyptic vision for the end. The Iranian Mullahs believe that the Imam Mahdi (Islamic messiah) cannot appear until Israel is destroyed; all the Jews have been removed from the earth and all the infidel nations have been conquered by Islam.

However, God isn't going to allow Iran to succeed. He's going to intervene by using the U.S. to destroy the Islamic regime before the Iranians begin launching nukes all over the planet. The U.S. certainly won't stop the Iranians on Obama's watch. That task will be fulfilled by someone else--perhaps the next president, unless America's next president is Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden or (God help us) Bernie Sanders.

Oh yes. There's more to Daniel's prophecy. After the allegorical goat destroys the ram, its "large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven." (Daniel 8:8) The large horn represents the U.S. The United States will fall from its status as a superpower after the nation destroys Iran. Why? Because of America's multiplied sins from abortion to same-sex marriage to her betrayal of Israel.

God has given America time to repent. And she refuses. And so, judgment has come upon her. Indeed, we're living in the prophetic last days.

Satan's End Time Deception

Is this what happens after death?

During his travels throughout the ancient gentile world, the apostle Paul continually warned the early churches to be wary of the devil because they were his favorite targets.

Targets for what? For deception. Paul revealed that Satan loves to deceive God's people by presenting them with counterfeits. Here's what he wrote: "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

How does Satan convince God's people that he's an angel of light? Through ignorance. The less God's people know and understand His word in the Bible, the easier it is for the devil to fool them.

For example? By religious experiences where Satan and his fallen angels are able to invade the natural realm and perform supernatural feats that defy explanation. If you're unable to determine the spiritual source of the miracle, you can be duped into embracing a deadly lie that can lead you into eternal damnation.

One Jewish man, who I won't identify, claims that he met Jesus Christ many years ago after he died from a drug overdose. The man claims that he traveled down a long tunnel toward a brilliant light where he met a spirit being who then took him into a room with a group of people sitting around a large table.

The man claims that he recognized his deceased grandfather--an Orthodox rabbi--sitting at the table, and his grandfather proceeded to introduce him to "Jesus Christ." According to this man, Christ asked him why he believed he deserved a second chance after doing himself in with drugs. After some back and forth conversation, "Christ" gave the man another chance and he was returned to his body that had been taken to a morgue. The man claims he woke up on a gurney and scared the daylights out of the attendants. 

Did this man really see Jesus Christ? That's unlikely because the Christ he claims he encountered is a nonjudgmental, universal Christ who's not the Son of God. That's not the Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible. The real Jesus Christ said this: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the (Heavenly) Father except through me." (John 14:6) 

With that statement, Christ invalidated all other religious paths that claim to lead to God. This man promotes a false Christ who can be found in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Santeria, Voodoo etc. The biblical Christ can never be found in the pagan religions of the world.

And so, who or what did this man really see? He saw demonic spirits that impersonated Christ and his grandfather. This man's experience wasn't unlike the experiences of those who claim to have been kidnapped by space aliens and taken aboard UFOs. While that sounds ridiculous, there are a number of people throughout the world who've described those experiences. And their testimonies are eerily similar.

Why would Satan choose to deceive an unbelieving Jewish man with a religious experience? Because he wants to promote a false view of the spiritual realm where no judgment exists after death. If the devil can lead people to a false Christ who's nonjudgmental, then he can convince them that they don't have to repent of their sins and be born again into eternal life by faith in the real Jesus Christ. If there's no judgment after death and no fiery hell awaiting the ungodly, then what's there to worry about?

Well, there's plenty to worry about. If you die in your sins, no universal, New Age Christ is going to save you. You'll end up in hell where you'll remain until Judgment Day. And then, you'll face the proverbial music.

The Bible reveals that spiritual deception such as the Jewish man's experience is going to increase in the end times. While spiritual deception has always existed, it's indeed becoming more prevalent as we get closer to Christ's return. Paul issued this caveat: "The (Holy) Spirit says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1) 

How can we avoid being deceived by Satan? By knowing God's word in the Bible and applying that word by faith. To that, Paul wrote this: "Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in doing so have wandered from the faith." (1 Timothy 6:20-21) That's how you avoid spiritual deception.

Kook, Racist or Sage?

Donald Trump

Donald Trump isn't going to be nominated as the GOP's candidate for president. Donald Trump isn't going to be elected as America's next president, even if he runs as an independent. And Donald Trump isn't going to end up as the running mate for the eventual GOP nominee.

However, Trump's managed to accomplish something that no one else in American politics has been able to do for a long time. He's called attention to a very serious problem rather than sugarcoat it with innocuous pablum designed to downplay its threat to the nation.

For those late to the game, Trump scolded Washington do-nothing career hack politicians and the Mexican government for allowing a tidal wave of illegal immigrants to flood into the United States over the past 30 years. Some of those illegals, such as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez,  Loribeth Martinez, John Mendoza Jr., Kristopher Sanchez and Benjamin Hernandez have murdered American citizens while others have raped, robbed, assaulted and beaten other Americans who had the misfortune to encounter these folks.

Had the United States secured its borders and enforced its existing immigration laws, people such as Kathryn Steinle, Traci Lynn Lemley and Jeremy Carrico would still be alive today. But they aren't because of porous borders that allow murderous criminals to stroll into the United States unimpeded.

Here's what Trump said in regards to the growing menace of illegals who are causing havoc throughout the nation: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. They're not sending you, they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting." 

Naturally, Trump's statement was taken completely out of context by leftists, political hacks and open borders activists who accused the billionaire businessman of labeling all Mexicans as thugs, criminals, drug dealers and rapists. He did nothing of the sort. Rather, he accused Mexico of sending its worst citizens to the U.S., similar to what Cuban dictator Fidel Castro did in 1980 with the Mariel boatlift when he sent his worst to the U.S. after he emptied his prisons.

Since leftists control America's popular culture and media, they've painted Trump as an angry white racist and a xenophobe who wants to expel all immigrants and restore Jim Crow in America. That's to be expected from leftists who are some of the most amoral people on earth. 

To them, truth is like a deadly form of cancer that's to be avoided at all costs. Their constituency consists mainly of folks with room temperature IQs and below. And America has a lot of those people. If you doubt that, then go back and look at the 2012 presidential election results. That's why leftists are so successful at destroying the reputations of people such as Trump who they abhor. Because there are a lot of people in America who'll believe whatever the left tells them.

But not everyone. Trump's currently pulling strong numbers in the race for the GOP nomination. And that's because he's not afraid to say what others won't say. Trump can't be bullied into silence with the loss of endorsements and TV shows. His economic health doesn't depend on that. He's able to thrive despite the ad hominem attacks. And a lot of people love him because he's honest, blunt and brash. Those are qualities that haven't been seen in presidential candidates in a long, long time. 

Nevertheless, Trump's not going to become America's 45th president. Why not? Because as powerful and popular as he is, there are people more powerful than him who dwell in the shadows and control America's culture and politics. People such as George Soros, David Rockefeller, Bill Gates and Larry Page whose combined resources dwarf Trump's. And these people want a new world order with a central government that will possess absolute authority over every person on earth.

And in order to accomplish that, they need a president who'll help them dismantle the United States as a superpower and move the world closer to a one-world government. It matters not whether that man is a Democrat or a Republican. All that matters is he does whatever he's told to do. Such as Barack Obama. Donald Trump can't and won't be bought, compromised or manipulated. That's why he has no chance. 

Nearly 2,600 years ago, the prophet Daniel was given a vision from God concerning a powerful world government that would rise in the last days. (Daniel 7) Six centuries later, the apostle John received a similar vision. (Revelation 13, Revelation 17) And now, we're seeing the beginning of the fulfillment of those prophecies. Indeed, we're living in prophetic times.

The Persecution Has Arrived

Christians: Persecuted in America

By now, many folks are familiar with Aaron and Melissa Klein, the Christian couple who operated a popular bakery in Gresham, Oregon for several years until they ran afoul of the state of Oregon and its LGBT community in 2013 when they declined to bake a cake for a lesbian couple engaged to be married.

The Kleins refused the order because of their biblical worldview that condemns the homosexual lifestyle. Though the gay couple had to go elsewhere to find their cake, they decided to teach the Kleins a lesson for turning them down.

The couple filed a complaint with Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), and the agency subsequently dropped the hammer on the Kleins. Big time. And when word of the snub spread through Oregon's LGBT community, the gay brownshirts descended on their bakery and began threatening people who did business with them.

The hammer that BOLI slammed the Kleins with was a $135,000 judgment awarded to the gay couple for "emotional suffering stemming directly from unlawful discrimination. The amounts are damages related to the harm suffered by the Complainants, not fines or civil penalties which are punitive in nature." 

How BOLI calculated that financial sum is a mystery. How do you put a price-tag on "emotional suffering"? Evidently, BOLI knows how to do that. More likely, the "award" was a message sent to other Christian business owners in Oregon and elsewhere in America that if they walk the talk outside their churches, they'll pay a heavy price. And so, think of that $135,000 as hush money.

Interestingly, on BOLI's website, people with religious worldviews who operate businesses or are employed in the state of Oregon are protected from religious discrimination. Except, evidently, when they refuse to service gays. Then their first amendment rights don't apply. One wonders whether the Kleins would've been prosecuted by BOLI had they been Muslims. When gay push comes to Muslim shove, the lesbian couple seeking that wedding cake would've likely been shoved on to another bakery without a whimper.

Make no mistake about it: The Kleins were persecuted rather than prosecuted by the state of Oregon because they openly practiced their faith, not because they discriminated against anyone. Did the lesbian couple intentionally target the Kleins' because they're Christians? It's possible, although no one can prove that. But you can be sure that the gay community in America would never try to pull that on a Muslim-owned business. Because you know what would happen if they did.

The persecution of Christians in America such as the Kleins is tragic, and yet prophetic. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ warned His followers that they would face intense persecution throughout the world in the last days preceding His return. And while we've seen that persecution elsewhere in the world, it stayed away from the United States. But now it's here.

Here's what Christ said concerning the last days: "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." (Matthew 24:9) And He said this: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:18-19)

The apostle Paul weighed in on the subject with this: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:12-13) 

And the apostle Peter added this: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." (1 Peter 4:12-14)

The persecution of the Kleins isn't an isolated incident. Earlier this year, the owners of a pizzeria located in Walkerton, Indiana were bullied by gay enforcers into shutting down their business for a few days after word spread that they had declined to cater a gay wedding. Last year, (2014) the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop (Lakewood, Colorado) discriminated against a gay couple when he refused to bake them a cake for their wedding.

While none of those examples rises to the level of the type of persecution Christians are experiencing in the Middle East and Northern Africa (rapes, beheadings, torture, church burnings etc.), it's only the beginning. And once it begins, it starts accelerating like a freight train.

Liberty Institute founder Kelly Shackelford states that the growing hostility against Christians in America is alarming: There are children being prohibited from writing Merry Christmas to the soldiers, senior citizens being banned from praying over their meals in the Senior Center, the VA banning the mention of God in military funerals, numerous attempts to have veterans memorials torn down if they have any religious symbols such as a cross, and I could go on and on.

Indeed, the persecution has arrived. And it's only going to get worse. It's yet another prophetic sign that we're living in the last days.

False Messiahs Big and Small

Charles Manson

According to Jesus Christ, one of the prophetic signs of the end times will be the appearance of false messiahs throughout the world. (Matthew 24:24) Some will be big and some will be small, and some will even possess demonic power that will enable them to perform supernatural feats.

Many people find it impossible to consider Charles Manson a messianic figure, even though he is. To them, Manson was just a lowlife and a con artist and a career criminal who avoided righteousness like the plague. He became incorrigible in his early childhood; a troublemaker from the beginning who couldn't and wouldn't obey the law and respect authority.

But to others, Manson was and remains a messianic figure; a man with a charismatic personality and a genius mind who was sent to earth to prepare the world for a new age of peace and tranquility. He spoke in a language of apocalyptic gibberish that combined reality with fantasy and delusional thoughts. 

Anyone with a solid moral foundation who listened to Manson's ramblings quickly dismissed him as an uneducated kook. But to those who were gullible and weak-minded, Manson told them exactly what they wanted to hear after he sized them up. He became their savior; a knight in brilliant armor who would lead them out of their empty life of material opulence into a new life where the flowers blossomed and the birds sang and the sun always shined and brilliant rainbows dazzled the skies.

That's what false messiahs do. They promise you a plate of caviar and then deliver a bucket of bovine manure. That's what Manson did, and he was very good at it, and he's still very good at it with certain folks. One of those people has written a book that portrays Manson as an innocent victim who was betrayed by the very people he was only trying to help. If the book is being sold as fiction, then that's fine. But it's being sold as fact, and that's bad. I won't name the book because it's undeserving of publicity.  

For those of you who weren't around 46 years ago, Manson was the guy who ordered his cult of mostly young women and a few men to murder eight people in Los Angeles, California during the summer of 1969. 

Why? Ostensibly because Manson, a white supremacist, wanted to start a race war and because he was spurned by a record producer named Terry Melcher.

Manson, you see, considered himself an aspiring musician who was destined to score a big contract with a record company. When Melcher turned him down after an audition, Manson became incensed. Ironically, Melcher was spared while eight other people, including actress Sharon Tate and coffee heiress Abigail Folger, were brutally tortured and murdered.

Certainly, there have been numerous false messiahs throughout the centuries, going back even before the time of Christ. But indeed, we've seen an increasing number of them in recent decades from David Koresh to Jim Jones to Sun Myung Moon to Menachem Schneerson to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and to Manson.

Except for Manson, all of the others are dead. Manson's locked up in a federal prison in Corcoran, California where he'll remain until he dies. At 81, he's in the winter of his life, so he doesn't have many years left to ply his magic on young, innocent minds. But he still retains his ability to charm fools, from the man who defended him with his book to a young lady who was recently engaged to marry him until Manson broke it off.

Sadly, until the Lord comes back, they'll be more false messiahs. Some will be big like the Antichrist who'll fool the entire world. Others will be small like Manson who'll fool those who can't distinguish their left hand from their right hand. But they'll continue to fool people.

And they'll continue to disappoint people, as well. False messiahs always do that. They inevitably fail to deliver on their promises. Still, that doesn't stop some people from giving up on them. As the book of Proverbs says: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12) 

Greece: The Ghost of America's Future

Bad times for a once mighty nation

For those who need further proof that the Greece mentioned by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 8) in a revelation he received from God 2,600 years ago concerning the end times, isn't the literal nation of Greece today, then all they have to do is look at what modern Greece has become. It's become a basket case.

Daniel's ancient vision used Greece as a metaphor for a powerful western nation that will destroy Iran in the last days preceding the return of Jesus Christ. How do we know that the prophet wasn't speaking of the literal nation of Greece?

Because Greece is in no position militarily to confront Iran that--thanks to the Obama Administration--has become a threshold nuclear power. And unless Iran is stopped, the Islamic nation will likely use nuclear weapons against Israel and the western world.

But why did Daniel mention that Greece will be the nation that will take down Iran? Because Greece was synonymous with the gentile nations during the ancient times. In fact, the apostle Paul occasionally referred to gentiles as Greeks in his epistles.

For example, in his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul wrote this: "There is neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:28-29)

What nation will confront and crush Iran? It will be the United States. Daniel symbolized ancient Persia (Iran) as a Ram while he symbolized "Greece" (United States) as a shaggy goat. Here's what he wrote: "Suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power." (Daniel 8:5-7)

We know that Daniel's prophecy is being fulfilled because Iran has become a nemesis that threatens the entire world. And we know that the United States is a nation that's fully capable of destroying Iran's nuclear facilities. While that scenario seems remote under the pacifist Obama Administration, it's going to happen, if not on Obama's watch, then on another president's watch.

But Daniel's vision also contains something else that's an omen for the U.S. Daniel revealed that after the powerful western nation crushes the Persian kingdom, it will fall from its status as a superpower. (Daniel 8:8) 

Why? Certainly, there are several reasons. But the main reasons are America's increasing hostility towards Israel; her multiplied sins (abortion, same-sex marriage) and her financial debt that has grown to an astronomical $18 trillion. Unless the United States gets its financial house in order--and soon--that debt is going to destroy the nation.

And unless America gets that debt under control, she will become what Greece is today. Once a beautiful nation, Greece has become insolvent because, for too many years, she's spent more money than she takes in. That's because of Greece's liberal entitlement system that allows its government employees to work short hours and retire at 58 with a pension plan that guarantees them 14 annual checks. That's right; 14 annual checks for every 12 months. That's a fantastic deal as long as the money's there to pay it. But for Greece, the money's gone.

Adding to Greece's woes is a shrinking and overburdened work population that must increasingly pay higher taxes in order to support its burgeoning population of retirees. That's caused an increasing number of working age people to flee Greece for nations that offer better economic conditions. For young people today, Greece has become a very difficult place to live. And without young people who will marry and have families and work and pay taxes and invest in their country, a nation has no future.

Greece has become yet another example of the utter catastrophe of Marxist economic theory. Wherever Marxism has been tried, it has failed and miserably. And yet the clueless Obama Administration is convinced that Marxism can and will work in America.

It only works until the money's gone. And when nations such as China and Japan decide to stop loaning America money, the money will indeed be gone. And then America will become Greece.

America: Love Her or Leave Her

America: Still the greatest nation in the world

If you're an American citizen, you'd either have to be extremely dumb or apathetic--or both--not to realize that the United States is in very serious trouble these days.

Though America has always faced external threats from abroad since she officially became a nation on July 4, 1776, at no time in her history has she faced such internal threats as she does today from enemies who seek to eliminate the freedoms that the Declaration of Independence established for her citizens 239 years ago.

From greedy, corrupt politicians to Marxist media hacks to leftist entertainment celebrities and godless educators, America's values and ideals are under attack. These folks, who despise America, tell us that the United States is a nation that was founded by white European racists who oppress minorities, rip off the poor and force America's values down the throats of weaker nations. They tell us that those racists stole and occupied land that rightfully belonged to the Native American Indians.  

Does that sound familiar? It's the same propaganda method that leftists use against Israel. Despite the complete lack of historical evidence, they accuse the Jewish nation of stealing and occupying land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians. Since America was largely founded by Christians (although not all of them were Christians), she gets the same treatment from leftists as Israel. Welcome to anti-Christianity and anti-Semitism.

Certainly, America has her blemishes. All nations do, and some have a lot more than others. Still, there's no better nation on earth to live than the United States when it comes to freedom and opportunity. That's what's encouraged millions of immigrants to leave their ancestral homelands and come to America. Those immigrants were able to realize the dream of freedom and financial success in America that they never could've experienced where they came from.

Now though, the American dream is being threatened within her own borders by communists and socialists who want to destroy America's free market economy and replace it with a centrally-planned Marxist economy. They want to take away the freedoms that made America that special place and replace those freedoms with selective "rights" dispensed by a fascist, leviathan Orwellian government. And they want to destroy the Christian church in America by shutting the mouths of those who still believe in God and embrace a biblical worldview.

Who are "they"? They are utterly contemptible people such as Bill Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn; corpulent filmmaker Michael Moore, actress Barbra Streisand, The Revs. Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright, David Axelrod, Alec Baldwin, Sidney and Max Blumenthal, David Brock, George Soros, Arianna Huffington, Paul Begala, Bill Maher, Bernie Sanders, Bill de Blasio, and of course, Barack Obama. Those are just a few of the many sewer rats and serpents who want to "transform" America from the land of the free and home of the brave into just another third world Marxist outhouse.

Of course, these people--though they don't deserve the dignity of being called human beings--don't want Marxism for themselves. Although they rail against capitalism, they've done very well for themselves in an economic system they demonize. And they plan to keep all of their money while the government they're trying to build will take all of yours. After all, the elites must be exempt from the rules they create because they're very special people. If you don't believe that, then just ask them.

And so, here's a proposal to all those people who want to "transform" America. If you don't like America, then go somewhere else. Get out of here. We don't want you and we don't need you. You can go somewhere such as Bolivia or Cuba or Venezuela where you can live like kings on all that money you made in the nation you utterly despise. And you don't even have to transform those nations because they already have the type of political and economic systems you favor.

You can take Obama with you and you can buy the government of whatever nation you choose, and you can install Obama as your president for life. He'll win every election because the unwashed masses will believe everything he tells them. Every time. Just like in America. You can even build Obama a golf course outside his presidential palace so he can do what he does best.

Happy Independence Day America. And don't ever forget what this day means to you and to everyone who came here and fought and shed their blood for this nation to keep it free. Even for those who don't appreciate that.

Shame on the UCC

During his three-year ministry in ancient Israel, Jesus Christ often used agricultural examples to explain spiritual principles. For example? When he taught this parable of the wheat and the tares.

Here's what He said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared." (Matthew 13:24-26)

What did Christ mean? He meant that throughout history, Satan has opposed God by counterfeiting the Lord's works in order to deceive God's people. In the ancient times, the devil encouraged the Jews to create their own religious system and reject God's covenant He established with Israel through Moses. That system perverted many of the laws and commandments mandated by the Mosaic Covenant, and it added many additional laws written by the rabbis that violated the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:2).

That's the religion that many Jews continue to follow today. It's a sham system that orders its adherents to bow down to the rabbis and obey their teachings. And it's a system that's designed to steer its followers away from Calvary into a works-system that can't save anyone.

Satan also has his own church. Soon after Christ established His church 2,000 years ago via His crucifixion on the cross for all sin and His resurrection from the dead, the devil established a counterfeit that offered a perverted gospel that added and subtracted to its tenets. In the early days, some churches taught such heresies as arianism and docetism. Later, the Roman Catholic Church appeared and denied the biblical gospel of salvation by faith alone in Christ (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-12, Ephesians 2:8-9) and replaced it with an unbiblical gospel of works.

Today, many churches promote an unbiblical, ecumenical gospel that legitimizes all religious paths while denying what Christ stated: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the (Heavenly) Father except through me." (John 14:6) Though Christ clearly taught that He alone is the only way to eternal life, many churches now deny that. And by doing so, they've called the One who they claim to represent a liar.

One example of that is the United Church of Christ that claims to be a Christian denomination and yet promotes a very anti-Christian gospel and agenda. If you read the UCC's statement of faith, you'll not find a single reference to the biblical gospel that mandates faith alone in the crucified and resurrected Christ as the only path to eternal life.

Rather, you'll find this: The UCC has no rigid formulation of doctrine or attachment to creeds or structures. Its overarching creed is love. UCC pastors and teachers are known for their commitment to excellence in theological preparation, interpretation of the scripture and justice advocacy. Even so, love and unity in the midst of our diversity are our greatest assets. www.ucc.org

And, you'll find this: We believe that God calls us to be servants in the service of others and to be good stewards of the earth's resources. 'To believe is to care; to care is to do.' And this: We believe in the power of peace, and work for nonviolent solutions to local, national, and international problems.

While those statements may sound commendable to many people, they promote a false, universal gospel rather than the genuine biblical gospel. A church's most vital mission is to call sinners out of the world into salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. All other objectives are secondary to that mission. If a church either denies that mission or makes it secondary to some social cause--no matter how noble that cause may seem--then it's defied the Great Commission of Christ (Matthew 28:16-20) and failed its responsibility to preach the gospel.

And the UCC not only doesn't preach a biblical gospel, it's also become an organization that increasingly opposes Israel and sides with the enemies of the Jewish state. Recently, the UCC's General Synod voted overwhelming (508-124) to divest economically from companies that do business with Israel because the UCC claims that Israel unlawfully occupies land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians.

The Rev. Mitri Raheb, a "Christian Palestinian" who lives in Jordan, applauded the UCC's decision and said this: "For Palestinians living under occupation or facing systematic discrimination as citizens of Israel, enduring the destruction of their homes and businesses, the theft of their land for settlements, and living under blockade and siege in Gaza, this action sends a strong signal that they are not alone, and that there are churches who still dare to speak truth to power and stand with the oppressed."  

For the record, there was no Palestine when Christ walked the dusty roads of ancient Israel. Palestine was created by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 130 A.D. when he voided Israel after he quashed the Bar Kochba rebellion that sought to win Israel's independence from Rome.

Prior to Hadrian's edict, Palestine (Philistine) had existed as an ancient maritime kingdom located along the southwest coast of the Great Sea until about the 2nd century B.C. Those who claim to be Palestinians today are not the descendants of the ancient Philistines.

Rather, they are a mixture of Turks, Bedouins, Persians, Arabs, Egyptians and Assyrians who migrated to that land over the 1,800 years between Hadrian's edict and 1948 when the United Nations voted to declare Israel a sovereign nation once again. Thus, the modern "Palestinians" have absolutely no right to claim that land for themselves. It doesn't belong to them. And it never did.

As a Christian denomination, the UCC ought to know that. The UCC ought to know that the modern Palestinians were given their own homeland by the UN. And that homeland is Jordan. But instead, the UCC has chosen to oppose Israel and side with the enemies of God. By doing so, and by rejecting the biblical gospel to preach a worthless ecumenical one, the United Church of Christ has joined with Satan. No sincere Christian should ever belong to such a wretched organization as this one.

Sadly, the existence of such corrupt churches as the UCC fulfills biblical prophecy concerning the great apostasy (falling away) of many denominations in the last days. Christ said this: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:10-11) And the apostle Paul wrote this: "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Shame on the United Church of Christ. And shame on any church that misuses the Lord's name (Exodus 20:7) to promote a false gospel that denigrates Israel and sends people into eternal damnation.