And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you... (Matthew 24:3+)
Mark 13:22 adds this warning:
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if possible, even the elect.
At least one good friend here on BF has expressed concern about my frequent use of the term "Amerika" (as distinguished from the generic name for the land of my birth) to underline the distinction I make between the current so-called "democracy" and the original Republics of the several States; those once clearly governed by TWO Constitutions, their own individual, and the one by which all subsequent states were to be admitted to the union on an equal status. That latter document was NOT ratified except by the condition of a Bill of Rights, which further amounted to a list of "Thou Shalt NOTs" for the central government so created. Does that government "so conceived, so dedicated" still endure?
Since I have (and will still attempt
) avoided explicit discussion of "politics" here on BF, as opposed to issues of Law, both Biblical and secular (although the latter must ALWAYS be consistent with the former!) -- I promised to try to explain this distinction in detail.
When I did a radio show on economics, current events, and Constitutional issues a few years back, this confusion was less of a problem, even though it was a frequent topic for discussion. New listeners would sometimes call and ask questions that brought such a discussion to the forefront, but when I used the word "America", or referred to "THESE (note the plural!) united States" - the capitalization was not obvious, but my tone of voice was. When I wanted to be VERY clear about that important distinction, I had to explain the spelling and importance to those who might be in drive-time traffic!
Furthermore, the Bible, too, can be twisted, taken out of context, or just plain ignored -- somewhat like what has been done to the Constitution. I contend that many passages in the Word have been "wrested by the unlearned and untaught" (II Peter 3:16) specifically to deceive those who fail to remember that we have been warned (Jer. 17:9) that the human "heart is desperately wicked; who can know it?"
For example, Romans 13 is not a mandate to fail to "reprove" the "unfruitful works of darkness". After all, neither the Hebrew midwives who by disobedience to Pharoah's decree saved the baby Moses, nor young David, who failed to submit to King Saul's order to kill him, were criticized by God for those actions. And even Paul would be guilty of ignoring his own advice and getting thrown in jail for it, were we not to recognize what Peter meant about applying his counsel with knowledge and discernment.
So I will get to the point. I use the term "Amerika" to distinguish EXPLICITLY between a "government of men, not of Law" -- whether it is called a "democracy" (oops - sometimes that also gets spelled "Demon-ocracy" as well ) or a "public-private partnership" or a corporate state -- and that limited government of enumerated powers, strictly bound by the "chains of the Constitution", to paraphrase Jefferson.
But there is far more to it than meets the eye. MANY people have been, and are, being deceived. I used to joke, more than half seriously, that what you see now is the result of crooked lawyers having had over 200 years to subvert the protections and prohibitions of the Bill of Rights. (And I recall that our Savior did not often have too many complimentary things to say about them, either.
)
Other forum threads, such as the recent "Knowing the Season" topic, have focused specifically on some of these 'signs of the times', which may give us insight into the coming "plagues" that Revelation 18:4 warns against. Economics, I often contend, is a particularly easy one to see, because God's Word is in general so clear about what constitutes honest dealings with our neighbors. We are to honor our contracts, speak truthfully, and "do no unrighteousness" in judgment or in "weight, or in measure".
Our unconstitutional (see Article I, among others) fully fiat dollar is truly an "abomination". I realize that is a strong word in the English, but it is one that God used repeatedly to describe such fraud, and it was one that those who wrote the Supreme Law of the land knew equally well, and sought to proscribe in writing.
"'You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.
You shall just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I AM YHVH your Elohim, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt." (Lev 19:35-36)
Proverbs alone has about half a dozen explicit references to using dishonest "money", crooked scales, or a variable unit of weight* to defraud others in trade:
"A false balance [is] abomination to the LORD: but a just weight [is] His delight." (Prov. 11:1, also 16:1, 2; 20:10; 20:23; others condemn the"getting of treasures by a lying tongue", dishonest usury and rulers who countenance such.)
This is reflected in the Constitution's Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 5 [Congress shall have Power ... To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin...] and the prohibition of any State to "make any thing but gold and silver a tender in payment of debt." (Art. I, Sec. 10)
The level of chicanery required to perpetuate this fraud and the usury built upon it (which, of course, the fifty-year "reset" of the Biblical Jubilee would have utterly prevented!) has now advanced to the point where the entire world money system is built on a facade of irredeemable paper, derivative contracts, manipulated stocks, bonds, and currencies, and a legal system which "regulates" fraud by looking the other way. What does it say when even communist China and Russia demand an alternative to the "full faith and credit" of the fiat dollar?
The secular legal issues which outline this distinction between the "republican form of government" guaranteed by the Constitution and the system of "private law" by which a once-free union of those united States in America has been subverted is more than even a book-length exposition can contain. (Although I can point those interested to a number of good ones, and am working on a book of my own. ) Suffice it to say that I used to offer $100 (now, since there's "no inflation", it's $200!) to anyone who could show me ANY reference in the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or Declaration of Independence to "Democracy" in any form (demo-cratic, etc). It's not in there. (Neither, of course, is "separation of church and state", which is somehow a closely related point. )
So what happened to the Right to "freedom of assembly" in a nation where some of us have seen - years ago, in fact -- "free speech zones" behind government-erected barricades; to the Right to "keep and bear arms" in a land of over 20,000 explicit such blatantly unconstitutional "infringements"; or to the Right to be free of unlawful "search and seizure" in a land where a "warrant" is now a museum curiosity, and wiretaps and internet snooping are passe'? How can this BE?
I contend that the (vastly oversimplified, of course) answer is "private law". Some other things, like the "14th Amendment" and various emergency orders and claims, serve to further complicate the understanding of how a "Rule of Law" can be undermined in plain sight. But we still have the God-given Right to contract**, and to "choose this day Whom we will serve". Just as I can set the rules (at least for those not carrying a badge and gun, or acting under "color of law") in my own house, so does the "government of Amerika", that so-called democracy which has become the master to which most Amerikans "submit themselves to obey". If I ask those who visit me to avoid speech I find offensive, or to enter unarmed, so does this new master. They VOLUNTARILY SUBMIT, by contract(s), to give up Rights from God in exchange for privileges from that government benefactor. (Note the widespread acceptance of the phrase "civil liberties" in place of "God-given Rights" in modern media and curriculum.) Those who seek the protection and benefits offered by Caesar must agree to play by Caesar's rules, and even worship at Caesar's altar. What Caesar gives, Caesar can take away.
The "unanimous" Declaration of Independence once claimed that "we hold these Truths to be self-evident". Rights were given ("endowed") by our Creator, and the sole purpose of Lawful government was "to secure these Rights". And, most importantly, those governments so instituted were based on "the consent of the governed".
I just heard the wonderful Professor Walter Williams use a line that I just love: "If you die and then wake up in some new place, and see something that looks at all like a 'Bill of Rights', you'll KNOW you're in Hell! Why? Because it would be an affront to God - that we can't trust Him." A Bill of Rights is necessary in a fallen world, where we KNEW that those in government could NOT be TRUSTED!
But "when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object" makes it clear that "another master" has replaced our Creator as the Author of what is called "Law", some will decide, as the Founders unanimously did, to "withdraw their consent". A free people have a choice about Who they will serve, for we were "purchased [redeemed] at a price".
Our Almighty Father gave us that choice: whether to serve and obey Him, or the Adversary, who was also called the "prince" of this world. The Founders repeatedly made it clear that they understood this vital point. Our Savior repeated the lessons of prophets from Moses, to Joshua, to Elijah, when He taught that we cannot serve two masters. Do we belong to God, or to Caesar? While we are, to the extent possible, not to "give offense", and to "live peaceably with all men", there comes a time when a land can become so vile that it will ultimately "vomit out" its inhabitants. Before that time, and before the inevitable plagues are visited upon those nations which forget God, we are advised (Rev. 18:4) to "come out of her, My people...that you be NOT partakers of her plagues".
These united States of America, that Constitutional Republic created with the understanding that both rulers and free people are either subject to His Supreme Law, or they serve another master, should not be confused with an "Amerika" which does not allow Him into "schools" or courts or legislative chambers, much less one which calls His Written Word "prohibited [hate] speech".
I contend that the admonition to "come out" of "Babylon the great", -- of whom "all nations have drunk" of her abominations, and "the merchants of the earth are waxed rich" -- is true on more levels than we can readily comprehend: from the spiritual, to the economic, to finally the physical as well. But it starts with recognizing Who we choose to serve.
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?"
Choose wisely.
--------------------------
* I frequently illustrated this on radio with a visualized exercise. In short, this involved taking out a "dollar" bill, examining the "NOTE" that it claims to be, and asking the question, "What is a dollar? REALLY?" An inch, a meter, an ounce, a kilogram -- ALL of them are honest units of measure, ALL exactly and specifically defined. They are the same yesterday, today, and -- hopefully -- tomorrow. I can measure them accurately to one part in over 10,000 -- and trade honestly with my neighbors if they are standardized.
But a dollar? It is NO LONGER a fixed weight ("371.25 grains of fine silver") as once defined by law. And it certainly no longer purchases about 1/20th ounce of gold. It is a "promise to pay NOTHING" that is worth far less than it was (about 4% of a 1913 silver dollar, in fact), and which is certain to be worth less in the future.
http://www.honestmoneyreport.com/archives/2008/0304.pdf is a good reference.
** Remember movies like Damn Yankees or classic literature from Faustus to The Devil and Tom Walker? It seems clear that many understand that God will let us sell our own soul to the devil -- or to his servants, whether Pharoah, Caesar, or Belteshazzar.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you... (Matthew 24:3+)
Mark 13:22 adds this warning:
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if possible, even the elect.
At least one good friend here on BF has expressed concern about my frequent use of the term "Amerika" (as distinguished from the generic name for the land of my birth) to underline the distinction I make between the current so-called "democracy" and the original Republics of the several States; those once clearly governed by TWO Constitutions, their own individual, and the one by which all subsequent states were to be admitted to the union on an equal status. That latter document was NOT ratified except by the condition of a Bill of Rights, which further amounted to a list of "Thou Shalt NOTs" for the central government so created. Does that government "so conceived, so dedicated" still endure?
Since I have (and will still attempt
) avoided explicit discussion of "politics" here on BF, as opposed to issues of Law, both Biblical and secular (although the latter must ALWAYS be consistent with the former!) -- I promised to try to explain this distinction in detail.When I did a radio show on economics, current events, and Constitutional issues a few years back, this confusion was less of a problem, even though it was a frequent topic for discussion. New listeners would sometimes call and ask questions that brought such a discussion to the forefront, but when I used the word "America", or referred to "THESE (note the plural!) united States" - the capitalization was not obvious, but my tone of voice was. When I wanted to be VERY clear about that important distinction, I had to explain the spelling and importance to those who might be in drive-time traffic!
Furthermore, the Bible, too, can be twisted, taken out of context, or just plain ignored -- somewhat like what has been done to the Constitution. I contend that many passages in the Word have been "wrested by the unlearned and untaught" (II Peter 3:16) specifically to deceive those who fail to remember that we have been warned (Jer. 17:9) that the human "heart is desperately wicked; who can know it?"
For example, Romans 13 is not a mandate to fail to "reprove" the "unfruitful works of darkness". After all, neither the Hebrew midwives who by disobedience to Pharoah's decree saved the baby Moses, nor young David, who failed to submit to King Saul's order to kill him, were criticized by God for those actions. And even Paul would be guilty of ignoring his own advice and getting thrown in jail for it, were we not to recognize what Peter meant about applying his counsel with knowledge and discernment.
So I will get to the point. I use the term "Amerika" to distinguish EXPLICITLY between a "government of men, not of Law" -- whether it is called a "democracy" (oops - sometimes that also gets spelled "Demon-ocracy" as well
) or a "public-private partnership" or a corporate state -- and that limited government of enumerated powers, strictly bound by the "chains of the Constitution", to paraphrase Jefferson.But there is far more to it than meets the eye. MANY people have been, and are, being deceived. I used to joke, more than half seriously, that what you see now is the result of crooked lawyers having had over 200 years to subvert the protections and prohibitions of the Bill of Rights. (And I recall that our Savior did not often have too many complimentary things to say about them, either.
)Other forum threads, such as the recent "Knowing the Season" topic, have focused specifically on some of these 'signs of the times', which may give us insight into the coming "plagues" that Revelation 18:4 warns against. Economics, I often contend, is a particularly easy one to see, because God's Word is in general so clear about what constitutes honest dealings with our neighbors. We are to honor our contracts, speak truthfully, and "do no unrighteousness" in judgment or in "weight, or in measure".
Our unconstitutional (see Article I, among others) fully fiat dollar is truly an "abomination". I realize that is a strong word in the English, but it is one that God used repeatedly to describe such fraud, and it was one that those who wrote the Supreme Law of the land knew equally well, and sought to proscribe in writing.
"'You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.
You shall just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I AM YHVH your Elohim, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt." (Lev 19:35-36)
Proverbs alone has about half a dozen explicit references to using dishonest "money", crooked scales, or a variable unit of weight* to defraud others in trade:
"A false balance [is] abomination to the LORD: but a just weight [is] His delight." (Prov. 11:1, also 16:1, 2; 20:10; 20:23; others condemn the"getting of treasures by a lying tongue", dishonest usury and rulers who countenance such.)
This is reflected in the Constitution's Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 5 [Congress shall have Power ... To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin...] and the prohibition of any State to "make any thing but gold and silver a tender in payment of debt." (Art. I, Sec. 10)
The level of chicanery required to perpetuate this fraud and the usury built upon it (which, of course, the fifty-year "reset" of the Biblical Jubilee would have utterly prevented!) has now advanced to the point where the entire world money system is built on a facade of irredeemable paper, derivative contracts, manipulated stocks, bonds, and currencies, and a legal system which "regulates" fraud by looking the other way. What does it say when even communist China and Russia demand an alternative to the "full faith and credit" of the fiat dollar?
The secular legal issues which outline this distinction between the "republican form of government" guaranteed by the Constitution and the system of "private law" by which a once-free union of those united States in America has been subverted is more than even a book-length exposition can contain. (Although I can point those interested to a number of good ones, and am working on a book of my own.
) Suffice it to say that I used to offer $100 (now, since there's "no inflation", it's $200!) to anyone who could show me ANY reference in the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or Declaration of Independence to "Democracy" in any form (demo-cratic, etc). It's not in there. (Neither, of course, is "separation of church and state", which is somehow a closely related point. )So what happened to the Right to "freedom of assembly" in a nation where some of us have seen - years ago, in fact -- "free speech zones" behind government-erected barricades; to the Right to "keep and bear arms" in a land of over 20,000 explicit such blatantly unconstitutional "infringements"; or to the Right to be free of unlawful "search and seizure" in a land where a "warrant" is now a museum curiosity, and wiretaps and internet snooping are passe'? How can this BE?
I contend that the (vastly oversimplified, of course) answer is "private law". Some other things, like the "14th Amendment" and various emergency orders and claims, serve to further complicate the understanding of how a "Rule of Law" can be undermined in plain sight. But we still have the God-given Right to contract**, and to "choose this day Whom we will serve". Just as I can set the rules (at least for those not carrying a badge and gun, or acting under "color of law") in my own house, so does the "government of Amerika", that so-called democracy which has become the master to which most Amerikans "submit themselves to obey". If I ask those who visit me to avoid speech I find offensive, or to enter unarmed, so does this new master. They VOLUNTARILY SUBMIT, by contract(s), to give up Rights from God in exchange for privileges from that government benefactor. (Note the widespread acceptance of the phrase "civil liberties" in place of "God-given Rights" in modern media and curriculum.) Those who seek the protection and benefits offered by Caesar must agree to play by Caesar's rules, and even worship at Caesar's altar. What Caesar gives, Caesar can take away.
The "unanimous" Declaration of Independence once claimed that "we hold these Truths to be self-evident". Rights were given ("endowed") by our Creator, and the sole purpose of Lawful government was "to secure these Rights". And, most importantly, those governments so instituted were based on "the consent of the governed".
I just heard the wonderful Professor Walter Williams use a line that I just love: "If you die and then wake up in some new place, and see something that looks at all like a 'Bill of Rights', you'll KNOW you're in Hell! Why? Because it would be an affront to God - that we can't trust Him." A Bill of Rights is necessary in a fallen world, where we KNEW that those in government could NOT be TRUSTED!
But "when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object" makes it clear that "another master" has replaced our Creator as the Author of what is called "Law", some will decide, as the Founders unanimously did, to "withdraw their consent". A free people have a choice about Who they will serve, for we were "purchased [redeemed] at a price".
Our Almighty Father gave us that choice: whether to serve and obey Him, or the Adversary, who was also called the "prince" of this world. The Founders repeatedly made it clear that they understood this vital point. Our Savior repeated the lessons of prophets from Moses, to Joshua, to Elijah, when He taught that we cannot serve two masters. Do we belong to God, or to Caesar? While we are, to the extent possible, not to "give offense", and to "live peaceably with all men", there comes a time when a land can become so vile that it will ultimately "vomit out" its inhabitants. Before that time, and before the inevitable plagues are visited upon those nations which forget God, we are advised (Rev. 18:4) to "come out of her, My people...that you be NOT partakers of her plagues".
These united States of America, that Constitutional Republic created with the understanding that both rulers and free people are either subject to His Supreme Law, or they serve another master, should not be confused with an "Amerika" which does not allow Him into "schools" or courts or legislative chambers, much less one which calls His Written Word "prohibited [hate] speech".
I contend that the admonition to "come out" of "Babylon the great", -- of whom "all nations have drunk" of her abominations, and "the merchants of the earth are waxed rich" -- is true on more levels than we can readily comprehend: from the spiritual, to the economic, to finally the physical as well. But it starts with recognizing Who we choose to serve.
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?"
Choose wisely.
--------------------------
* I frequently illustrated this on radio with a visualized exercise. In short, this involved taking out a "dollar" bill, examining the "NOTE" that it claims to be, and asking the question, "What is a dollar? REALLY?" An inch, a meter, an ounce, a kilogram -- ALL of them are honest units of measure, ALL exactly and specifically defined. They are the same yesterday, today, and -- hopefully -- tomorrow. I can measure them accurately to one part in over 10,000 -- and trade honestly with my neighbors if they are standardized.
But a dollar? It is NO LONGER a fixed weight ("371.25 grains of fine silver") as once defined by law. And it certainly no longer purchases about 1/20th ounce of gold. It is a "promise to pay NOTHING" that is worth far less than it was (about 4% of a 1913 silver dollar, in fact), and which is certain to be worth less in the future.
http://www.honestmoneyreport.com/archives/2008/0304.pdf is a good reference.
** Remember movies like Damn Yankees or classic literature from Faustus to The Devil and Tom Walker? It seems clear that many understand that God will let us sell our own soul to the devil -- or to his servants, whether Pharoah, Caesar, or Belteshazzar.
