There
can be no doubt that Christianity in general has tried to highlight the
prophecies of Old Testament prophets; that is, the ones that even history
has documented have already come to pass.
.
Anyone
consulting an encyclopedia will know that Isaiah, for example, is known
for issuing very accurate advance prophecies pertaining to the kings of
his day, and to various upcoming invasions of Israel.
.
These
are the prophecies that are held out by most Christians in defense of Isaiah
being The Lord's prophet, each of which is likewise documented as factually
coming to pass by well established written history.
.
See
wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah
.
However,
some 600 years before Christ, prophets such as Isaiah, Zephaniah, and Micah
began describing the demise of a nation they consistently referred to as
Babylon, providing vivid details as to how great this nation would become,
what this nation would do, what God's attitude will be towards it, and
how and why HE will utterly destroy it by burning it off the face of the
earth.
.
As
Wiki/Isaiah cites the chapter and verse for all of Isaiah's "proven to
come true" prophecies, there is no mention at all made of his prophecies
regarding what was then referred to as "Babylon".
.
Probably
because it's obvious from both history and Scripture, that if these prophecies
were intended to be directed at the Babylon of Isaiah's day, none of them
ever came to pass.
.
...
Not one of them !
.
Moreover,
if Isaiah's prophecies regarding "Babylon" were intended for the original
Babylon (which was located in Iraq), not a single one of those ever came
to pass during the entire history of that Babylon either.
.
...
Not one of them !
..
In
their desperate effort to try to "explain the Bible away", some churches
have tried to convince their members that Isaiah was referring to Israel
when he used the term "Babylon" to refer to a nation. However, let
me call your attention to the fact that first off, Isaiah used the term
ISRAEL quite fluently, and that if he meant to say Israel, he was more
than capable of saying Israel. Secondly, I will direct your attention
to the fact that not one of Isaiah's prophecies re: "BABYLON" ever came
to pass within the history of Israel either.
.
...
Not one of them !
..
Thinking
that "they" had come up with an explanation that no one could successfully
disprove, a recent movement calling themselves "preterists" began teaching
that all Bible Prophecy had come to pass in the year 70 A.D. with the destruction
of the City of Jerusalem. However, it was the.Second
Temple that was destroyed in 70 A.D.,..NOT.the.City
of Jerusalem. As per all recorded Jewish History, the City of Jerusalem
was not destroyed until the 9th of AV, in the year 135 C.E. (A.D.).
When,
after Betar, his last fortress, fell; .Bar
Kochba's army was destroyed; and Jerusalem was literally ploughed under
by the Roman Emperor Hadrian; thereafter becoming a Roman city.
..
Moreover,
in Luke 19:41-44 Jesus makes it quite clear that He is referring to two.separate..events.
..
Please
take note that in verse 10:44 Jesus very specifically refers to the fact
that Jerusalem...(not
the Second Temple as claimed by preterists) .will
literally be "ploughed" under, just as a farmer ploughs a field.
To wit:
..
"And
shall lay thee (Jerusalem) even with the ground..."
..
Therefore,
since the very foundation of the preterist movement is that all prophecy
was fulfilled in the year 70 A.D. (CE), when the city of Jerusalem was
destroyed. (which they falsely claim was the fourth kingdom mentioned in
the Book of Daniel, and referred to Daniel as Babylon):
..
And,
since ALL Jewish History makes it clear that Jerusalem was NOT
destroyed in the year 70 A.D. (CE); but instead it was destroyed
a full sixty-five
years later, in
the year 135 CE (A.D.):
..
It's
therefore quite clear that when Jesus used the term "THIS"
generation,
He could NOT.have
been referring to the people to whom He was speaking; .since
MOST of them would be DEAD before the next one hundred and thirty five
years (135 years) passed; when Jerusalem.was
in fact destroyed and literally ploughed under
the ground so as not to exist in any of its previous form.
..
Therefore,
the entire preterist movement is not only based on nothing but lies;
..
It
is utterly satanic, and should be shunned by EVERY Christian who
cares anything at all about his Faith in ALMIGHTY GOD, and in Jesus, The
Risen Christ, His Only Begotten Son.
Other
churches who were desperate to "explain things" to their congregations
simply told them that all references in prophecy that referred to Babylon
were referring to ROME. Just one of many obvious reasons which indicates
it was not.Rome,
is that The Lord says the "smoke from the burning of Babylon will rise
up forever, and ever!
..
However,
not one of these "Rome sayers" can tell us where we can go see the pillar
of smoke from the burning of Rome! That alone disproves Rome as being
the Babylon referred to in prophecy.
"...
and its smoke rose up forever and ever." ..(Revelation
19:3)
Yet,
the prophecies mentioned in chapters thirteen, fourteen, twenty-one, thirty-nine,
forty-three, forty-seven, and forty-eight in the Book of Isaiah.ALL...pertain
to this same Babylon.
..
Here
are just as a few examples of Isaiah's prophecies regarding Babylon:
..
As
prophesied by Isaiah:
"Behold,
God
will stir up the Arabs against them;
and Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, shall be as when He overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah." (Which was utterly destroyed by fire, into literal
non-existence.) (Isaiah 13:17-19)
..
For
one thing, the residents of the Babylon of Isaiah's day, and as well the
Babylon of the prophets Jeremiah and Daniel's day a
hundred years later.(which
was the very same Babylon), were themselves Arabs, or otherwise Medes.
..
Was
God saying He was going to, "Stir up the Arabs, against the Arabs?"
I hardly think so.
..
For
another thing, notice that during Daniel's era, which was a hundred years
after
the death of Isaiah, the prophet Jeremiah
was also prophesying that not only would God destroy the nation He referred
to as Babylon, but that He has also vowed to utterly destroy both of Babylon's
.neighbors..as
well. To wit:
"As
God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and
the neighbour cities thereof, saith
The Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son
of man ever dwell therein." (Jeremiah 50:40) (Also see
Isaiah 13:19 above)
The
problem is, Daniel 5:28, which was written
a hundred years after Isaiah's death, very
clearly describes the demise of the original Babylon (the Babylon of Isaiah's
day), and it was hardly burned off the face of the earth.
.
In
fact, both Scripture and history make it clear that the original
Babylon was simply divided in half, one part given to Darius, who then
became the new king of the Medes, the other half given to Cyrus, who was
king of the Persians, at a time one hundred years AFTER THE DEATH
of the prophet Isaiah. So it's also obvious that nothing bad happened
to the original Babylon during that
hundred year period. To wit:
Thus
said The Lord: "Thy kingdom (the Babylonian Empire of King Nebuchadnezzar,
and of his son Belshazzar in particular) is divided and given to the Medes
and Persians. ...So Daniel prospered in (both) the reign of Darius
the Mede, and in the reign of Cyrus, the king of Persia" (Daniel
5:28, and 6:28 respectively)
..
So,
as for any of the Old Testament prophecies so much as implying that God
was going to burn the Babylon of Isaiah's day off the map: OR.
the Babylon of king Nebuchadnezzar's day off the map: NEITHER
event ever took place.
..
Recorded
history documents that neither ever happened.
..
Dividing
the original Babylon in half was hardly the same as burning it off the
map !
Here
is but another prophecy that Isaiah issued regarding Babylon. This
one pertaining to industry "outsourcing." (See Isaiah 57:12-13)
..
"The
Lord, will judge thy righteousness, and thy works; for
they shall not profit thee. And
when you complain He will respond, let
thy companies save thee; (Implying
that the people of this nation will worship their economy more than they
do The Lord God). But, said The Lord, the wind shall carry thy companies
to foreign soil; vanity shall take them."
It's
interesting to note, there is no mention in history of job
outsourcing regarding
the original Babylon, which, being an empire type of kingdom, the king
very rigidly controlled all of its commerce, thereby preventing any such
act on the part of commercial entities.
..
So
then, shall we declare that since none of Isaiah's prophecies regarding
Babylon ever came to pass, that Isaiah was a false prophet ?
Well,
then we have to look at Micah's prophecies from that same era. Whereas,
regarding Babylon, Micah prophesied that Babylon's officials would govern
for reward, that its priests, pastors,
preachers, and Rabbi's would consider their ministries as their employment,.and
that its prophets would prophesy for money.
.
All
of such conduct has always been vigorously condemned by Almighty God.
However, once again,.none
of these things ever came to pass with regards to the original Babylon.
.
Moreover,
Micah also prophesied the utter destruction of Babylon. However,
once again there is no record of any of this going on within the Babylon
of Isaiah's and Micah's day. Nor, did any of it ever take place
a hundred years later, during Daniel and Jeremiah's days, as residents
of that same "original" Babylon.
..
So,
was Micah also a false prophet ?
As
prophesied by Micah:
"They
(Babylon) build up Zion (their nation) with blood (wars), and Jerusalem
with iniquity (unfairness). The government officials (heads) thereof govern
for reward, the
priests teach for hire, and
the prophets thereof prophesy for money: yet they all lean on The
Lord and say, The Lord is among us, no evil can come upon US."
Ever
heard the words: "Send me $29.95 cash, check, or money order and
I'll send you my new prophecy re: blah, blah, blah."
..
Or
the words: "Send us a love gift of just $__. 95 and we'll send you
blah, blah, blah."
..
Worse
yet: Ever heard the words come out of
your tv set: "The Lord told me to tell you
to blah, blah, blah! " Then have the guy pretend he is talking
directly to YOU
!
..
How
blatantly absurd !
.
Now,
what nation is it that does that which Micah prophesied?
..
Do they
not sound like a "den of thieves" to YOU ?
"Therefore
shall Zion (Babylon, the nation), for The Lord's sake, be utterly destroyed
(plowed under like a field)" (Micah 3:10-11)
Then
there's the prophet Zephaniah who prophesied during the days of Isaiah
and Micah that the tower(s) as in plural,
that
represent Babylon's financial strength would be brought to the ground,
and that cries from two harbors (fish gates), and a great crashing would
be heard from clear out into the hills. Problem was, the Babylon
of their day only had one
tower, and it never was brought down, nor, in any way violently destroyed
as Zephaniah's prophecy declared Babylon's towers
would be. Moreover, the original Babylon had no real harbor, much
less did it have two harbors.
.
So
then, shall we likewise declare that Zephaniah's prophecies regarding Babylon
just never came to pass? ..Was
Zephaniah also a false prophet?
Approximately
a hundred years after
the death of Isaiah, Micah, and Zephania, The
Lord's prophets were STILL prophesying the doom of Babylon
just as Isaiah, Micah, Zephania, and others had done. However this
time God made it clear that His NEWEST prophet, Jeremiah, was His prophet
to ALL the nations, not just to that present day Babylon. (In which
Jeremiah happened to reside.)
.
After
which Jeremiah further elaborated on WHY The Lord would destroy Babylon,
going on to say The Lord had said the people of THIS
Babylon would all be "grievous revolters, walking with slanders...
...and that they would all be corrupters (spreading their false doctrines)."
"I
have this day set thee (Jeremiah) over the nation(s),
and over the kingdom(s),
to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build,
and to plant, said The Lord." (Jeremiah 1:10)
.
Five
hundred years later, Christ put it another way:
"Woe
unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For you (as
missionaries) traverse sea and land to
convert people, and when they are converted, you make them twice as much
the child of hell that you are yourselves (by teaching them false doctrines)."
(Matthew 23:15)
.
PLEASE
NOTE, that by the time of Christ's days on earth, there WAS
no more "original" Babylon. It had been divided up 600 years previous
!
.
NOR,
were the scribes and pharisees of Christ's day traversing land and sea
as missionaries, to make new converts !
.
Which
missionaries do you suggest CHRIST was referring to ?
After
declaring that God would send His people the Jews to "try the ways" of
this new nation
He would raise from one side of the earth (as in new continent),
The Lord instructed Jeremiah to declare to the people of this new
nation which was yet to come: "Trust
ye not in lying words that continually say, This is the temple of the LORD,
The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD (referring to its churches)."
In
which nation do you suppose most of today Jews reside ?
God
then went on to have Jeremiah declare to the people of this new
nation: "If you will thoroughly amend
your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a
man and his neighbour; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless,
and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither
walk after other gods to your own hurt: Then will I, The Lord, cause
you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for
ever and ever, but, behold you are trusting
in lying words (false
doctrines) that
cannot benefit you."
.
Secondly,
The Lord instructed Jeremiah to make a mockery of those in this new
nation who claim that once they obtain it,
they cannot forfeit their Eternal Salvation (the once saved / always saved
doctrine), saying: "Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, swear
falsely, and honor Baal the god of immorality, and walk after other gods
whom you know not; Then come and stand before me in this house, which
is called by my name, and say, We are saved
by the Blood of Christ (delivered), and are therefore free to do these
abominations?" (THE LORD'S OWN WORDS,
NOT OURS) To wit:
"Behold,
ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder,
and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and
walk after other gods whom ye know not; (10) And come and stand
before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered
to do all these abominations?" (Jeremiah 7:8-10)
Thirdly,
as His prophet to all nations, The Lord had Jeremiah ask the people of
this new nation
which He had declared He would raise up out of one side of the earth (just
as a continent is raised up out of the ocean):
.
"If
the house, which is called by His Name had become a den of robbers in their
eyes?" Referring to them bringing commerce into His churches after
He had vigorously made it clear that He would never tolerate any "church"
doing that.
.
"Behold,
said The Lord, even I have seen you doing it."
"Do
not make My Father's House a place of merchandise!" (quoting
Jesus, in John 2:16)
.
"It
is written, "My House shall be called a House
Of Prayer; But you are making it a place
of commerce."
.
"Notice
that Jesus wouldn't permit anyone to so much as CARRY
merchandise through His Father's Church." (Mark 11:15-17)
.
"Has
this house, which is called by my name, become
a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold,
even I have seen it, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 7:11)
.
"And
Jesus said unto them that sold doves, Take these things out of here;make
not my Father's house a house of merchandise."
(John
2:16)
.
"And
said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the..house
of prayer; but ye have made it a den
of thieves." (Matthew 21:13) (Mark 11:17) (Luke 19:46)
.
"My
face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret
place: For the merchants shall
enter into it and defile it." (also
see Ezekiel 7:22)
The
PASTORS
.of
most American churches have made deals with various wholesalers to come
every so often and restock their church's shelves with merchandise, which
is then sold, and the pastor gets a percent of the profit to put in his
pocket !
.
MAKING
THE LORD'S HOUSE A DEN OF THIEVES
!
GOD
SAYS DON'T EVEN PRAY FOR THESE PEOPLE
!!
After
very clearly stating all the above, The Lord Himself declared: "In
view of the fact that these people do these things:
Pray not for these people, neither lift them
up, cry for them, nor pray for them, .neither
make intercession to me on their behalf, for I will not allow myself to
hear you."
Then,
just four paragraphs later The Lord Himself declared: "Therefore
(for
this reason) thus saith the Lord; Behold,
mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and
upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the
ground; it shall burn, and
the fire shall never be quenched."
(See
Jeremiah 6:27 through 7:20)
THEN,
there's the prophet Ezekiel, who prophesied that because this fourth empire
brings its detestable things (commerce and merchandise) into The Lord's
house, He will send it a famine so severe that men will eat their own children,
and children will eat their parents.
"Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and
will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the other nations.
.
And
I will do in thee that which I have never done, and whereunto I will not
do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
.
Therefore
fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat
their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant
of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
.
Wherefore,
as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely,
because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things,.and
with thine abominations, therefore will
I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have
any pity.
.
A
third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall
they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the
sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds,
and I will draw out a sword after them." (Ezekiel 5:8-12)
Moreover,
as if the above wasn't sufficiently bad enough news, there are dozens of
well established Scriptures that declare WHEN
the above will take place.
Yes,
we know, because America is over-stuffed with pride, arrogance, and
obviously absurd false doctrines, there will be an abundance of Scripturally
uneducated people, who, thinking they know it all, with their church doctrines
in hand, under the guise that they are the "Christians", will boldly
proclaim that "God wouldn't do any of these things to THEM,
because He loves THEM".
Although,
we must say we don't see THE LORD lifting so much as one finger to rescue
America from what is obviously an entire onslaught of both social and national
problems, in a nation that is falling apart right in front of their eyes,
which by the way, the prophet Daniel prophesied 600 years ago, would
not have any allies at all in its final war with Iraq; at the time
HE, THE MOST HIGH GOD, utterly destroys it with fire.
.
And
that's IN SPITE of the fact that several million "Christian" churches are
praying for it every Sunday.