The Conservative Edge

I recently found the results of a poll that was conducted by Harris Interactive between March 1 and March 8. The poll attempted to reveal how Americans view President Barack Obama. The responses break down as follows:

* 38 percent say he wants to take away Americans’ right to own guns.
* 32 percent say he is a Muslim.
* 29 percent think he wants to turn over the sovereignty of the United States to a one world government.
* 29 percent think he has done many things that are unconstitutional.
* 27 percent say he resents America’s heritage.
* 27 percent say he does what Wall Street and the bankers tell him to do.
* 25 percent say he was not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president.
* 25 percent say he is a domestic enemy that the U.S. Constitution speaks of.
* 23 percent say he is a racist.
* 23 percent say he is anti-American.
* 23 percent say he wants to use an economic collapse or terrorist attack as an excuse to take dictatorial powers.
* 20 percent say he is doing many of the things that Hitler did.

While some of those views may seem radical to many, there are some grains of truth to be found. The most obvious: he is an ardent liberal who is likely to be a proponent of gun control. I’m surprised only 38 percent of those polled could say so. The least significant response: Obama is not a natural-born citizen. It really doesn’t matter whether he was born here or not. His actions are making him unfit for office.

Here is another interesting statistic: 14 percent of Americans say President Barack Obama may be the AntiChrist. When split by political party, 24 percent of Republicans and 6 percent of Democrats viewed the nation’s leader in this way. Again, there is a grain of truth. The Biblical description of a deceiver, whether he be in our generation or not, is consistent. He must be a skilled speaker, able to move his followers with style, but no substance. Meanwhile, the real power is exerted in other subtle, unseen ways, until it’s too late for anyone to stop. Then, power is ruthlessly and decisively exerted over the people.

But the Bible speaks of a multiple of AntiChrists. It is a naive and shallow interpretation of Biblical writings that would have so many people believe that there can only be one AntiChrist to rule the world. Believers are warned that it is the appearance of “many antichrists” that might indicate the arrival of the last (end) time. Just look at the liberal side of American government. There, a whole nest of AntiChrist personalities can be found.

It just keeps getting worse. Overshadowing the historic significance of December 7, the Environmental Protection Agency has today announced that it can regulate auto emissions and greenhouse gases without any legislation being passed by Congress.

As the Reuters news organization reported, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday cleared the way for regulation of greenhouse gases without new laws passed by Congress, reflecting President Barack Obama’s commitment to act on climate change as a major summit opened in Copenhagen.” The news report also quoted Lisa Jackson, the EPA administrator, who said “This administration will not ignore science or the law any longer.”

The trouble is, the Obama administration is developing a callous disregard for any opposing views, and even the law itself. The White House has already stripped the Department of Commerce from its oversight of the upcoming 2010 Census, and has in fact been feuding with the department all year. Furthermore, the Constitution empowers Congress to make laws concerning trade and commerce. If the EPA makes good on its threats to regulate the auto industry, manufacturing plants, and utilities outside of Congressional law, the agency will violate the ideals expressed by our most fundamental document.

By regulating emissions, the EPA will surely be affecting the very industries involved in production, trade, and commerce. Enforcing auto emission standards (and I would assume truck emissions as well) will have a direct influence on the trucking, shipping, and transporting industries. Manufacturers, already hit hard by increasing unemployment compensation taxes, will be further decimated by tighter emission regulations. The only way many industries will be able to lower greenhouse gas output will be to reduce production output in proportion. This will result in decreased manufacturing activity, and will translate into more job losses in the future. The power utilities will no doubt pass higher operational costs to the consumer, which will likely result in higher utility bills. More money going to pay the electric bill will mean less money going into the economy.

The Obama administration and the congressional Democrats are running roughshod over the American people. I am reminded of a passage in the Book of Revelation, where it describes a horrible beast, and asks “Who is like the beast? And who can make war with the beast?” That is what our government is turning into—a terrible beast that becomes so powerful, it can do what it wants, and nobody can fight it. This group of vipers in Washington is cloaking its thirst for power behind a seemingly innocent ideal—that of saving the environment.

If you want an idea of what America will become, just look at the Russia of the 1990s. When Russia collapsed, industry and energy output crashed as well. Russian greenhouse gas output declined so drastically, that the carbon emissions fell well below levels permitted by law. As a result, Russia now has lots of energy credits it can sell, because it piled up those credits in the economic collapse of the 1990s.

That is where the Obama administration is taking this country. The only way to satisfy the EPA’s tighter standards will be to shrink our economic output. We will be sure to stagnate, just as Russia did just over a decade ago. Welcome to the USSA—the United Socialist States of America.

I’ve been hearing a lot about prophecy and the Antichrist lately. The History Channel, especially, has featured programs that combine mysticism with the writings of Nostradamus to predict the fate of mankind. There is also no shortage of books that claim to accurately expound the Biblical prophecies that pertain to our generation.

It is amusing to watch some of the prominent TV evangelists and prophecy experts make their assertions about the future. They give the impression that they have this Antichrist thing all worked out, especially in their descriptions of what they think the Antichrist will be like. For example, they insist that the Antichrist will be charismatic, successful, attractive, and able to sway large numbers of people by working miracles. But, if you watch the TBN network, and other televised ministries, you will find that the Antichrist description best suits the televangelists themselves. Just about all of them attempt to be charismatic, influential, successful, gather large followings, and work miracles, especially by faith healing. How ironic that the religious miracle-workers best fit their own predictions of the coming Antichrist. Maybe we should beware the televangelists the most.

Then, there are the followers of Nostradamus to deal with. Whenever a major world event takes place, they claim to have found it in the writings of Nostradamus. The trouble is, none of them seem to know enough about the “prophecies” to give any kind of warning ahead of time. There were no Nostradamus devotees, that I can remember, who shouted from the rooftops on September 10, 2001, that an attack on the World Trade Center was going to happen in the next 24 hours. It reminds me of stock traders who follow chart patterns; they can tell you what kind of pattern is developing, but only after the stock has already made its moves.

Maybe the whole idea that a single Antichrist will take control of the entire world needs some rethinking. There is actually some scripture in the Bible that says we should recognize the presence of many Antichrists; and that the existence of many Antichrists will help to identify the true end of the age. This is quite sensible. The Book of Revelation describes one beast that is dreadful in appearance, with seven heads attached to one body. So, it can be easily understood that power can manifested among several power-hungry individuals. Indeed, just look at some prominent members of the United States government, to see the beast of Revelation in action. They are attempting to devour America, and set themselves in positions of authority in this country and perhaps the world.

You won’t hear that from the televangelists and Nostradamus—until after it happens, of course.

A few days ago, I took my wife to the bureau of motor vehicles (always a treat) so she could get her driver’s license renewed. Here in Ohio, drivers are required to renew their licenses every 4 years. So, my wife’s license is now valid until the year 2013. Of course, I reminded her that she won’t have to worry about any more renewals, because the world is going to end in the year 2012.

I suppose that’s the latest religious/spiritual/mystical hot idea. I was in a local bookstore recently, and I noticed that several books about the year 2012 were given prime spaces on the shelves. I believe there were 6 different books on the top shelf, right at eye level. These books were written by people who were emphasizing the accuracy and prophetic significance of the ancient Mayan calendar. The authors also seemed to be mixing in some other forms of mysticism and mythology.

This whole notion that the world will end in December of 2012 reminds me of other religious fads.  William Miller, in the 1830s, gained many followers by his seemingly irrefutable evidence that Jesus Christ would return on a specific date. Miller was wrong—twice—and left a lot of people disappointed. Just a few years ago, the book The Prayer of Jabez had many people believing that supernatural blessings would be realized by merely reciting the prayer. I would guess that the author reaped quite a blessing. I would also suppose that millions of dollars have been made by Dan Brown for perpetuating his theory of Christ’s mortality. The authors of the Left Behind series of religious books have also done quite well for themselves.

Like someone trying to get in on a hot stock, these people flood the market with material that will fan the flame of the newest revelation. And when one idea burns out, it seems that another one is ready to take its place. As a result, many people just go chasing these crazy ideas, never finding the simple truth needed to anchor their lives.

I remember the massive build up to the Y2K crisis. Ten years ago, we were told that the world was doomed to global catastrophe, as all of our computer systems would go berserk when the date changed from 1999 to 2000. All sorts of weird scenarios were described, such as planes falling from the skies, gas pumps and ATM machines not recognizing our bank cards, and massive blackouts and power failures. Then, as now, there were books, magazines, trade shows, television programs, and Internet sites that foretold of the coming crisis, and how we should prepare for it. And on New Year’s Eve, 1999, the world held its breath, and nothing happened.

So, not only are we being brainwashed with the flawed theory of global warming, we have to hear about the world ending in 2012. I think the best way to deal with these issues is to develop a significant amount of skepticism. We should learn to identify the crises that are designed to play on our emotions. With time, it becomes easier to separate the fads from the truth. As a certain Jewish carpenter once said, “Take heed that no man deceives you.” That’s good advice.

As the Easter holiday approaches, some religious news items are being seen in the media. Our newspaper is displaying advertisements from area churches that have planned special Easter events. There are also some television programs and movie reviews that relate to the Bible and Christianity.

For example, I watched a one-hour special about the Book of Revelation that was recently shown on The History Channel. I had seen it some time ago, but as I viewed it again, some of my own ideas became clearer. Specifically, it becomes obvious why the rapture theory is accepted by so many Christian denominations. For those who may be unfamiliar with the belief, the rapture theory proposes that there is actually a two-stage appearance of Christ in the last days. The first appearing is the secret “rapture” in which Christ gathers His believers into the atmosphere, and takes them into heaven for a celebration. Then, His second appearing is when He physically returns to this earth with those raptured saints, defeats the armies of evil, and sets up His kingdom.

But the rapture theory is a relatively modern idea. It is likely a response to the failed efforts of various preachers and prognosticators who tried to predict an exact date for Christ’s return. Men like Cotton Mather in America’s colonial days, and William Miller in the 1800s, used various formulas in estimating when Christ would appear. They were quite persuasive. William Miller was so passionate in his preaching that he gained a number followers who sold all of their possessions prior to the anticipated advent date. Miller had predicted Christ to return in the early 1830s (about 1833 or 1834, I think), and when there was no appearance, Miller “adjusted” his calculations and proclaimed that Christ would return the following year. Christ didn’t show up at that date, either.

To counteract these continual disappointments, a new interpretation of scripture was needed. A fellow by the name of Darby first postulated that Christ would appear in two phases. Phase one, the rapture, is most important to Christ’s followers. This is the time that all saved persons will disappear (like you see in the transporter room in Star Trek episodes) and gather into heaven. For years, preachers have proclaimed that the rapture could take place at any moment. The rapture also has the convenience of not being subject to any timetable. As a result, any notable event like a flood or an earthquake can be labeled as a prophetic event which indicates the imminence of the rapture.

In addition to this misguided notion, we have books and movies like “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” thrust upon us. These movies are made from the writings of Dan Brown. Brown suggests that Jesus Christ was a mere human who was also married, had a child and tried to create a feminist, sexually liberated faith. Brown has become successful only by adding mystery and intrigue to Biblical ideas. This is a tactic used by many people over the ages to create a following. The more mysterious and alluring something seems, the more accepted it becomes.

That is what Darby began with his rapture theory, and is what people have done with the Book of Revelation. They make convoluted, unprovable ideas into beliefs that are too good to refuse. Some, like Brown and the “Left Behind” authors, also turn their ideas into millions of dollars. And, sadly, people keep buying the ideas as well as the products. As the old saying goes—if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of Israel, especially since its recent clash with Hamas in Gaza. It seems that with every conflict, people start counting down to Armageddon, or wondering when World War 3 will begin. Some people think that the return of Jews to the land of Israel, especially since 1948, is a sure sign that “end-time” prophecy is being fulfilled. Many televangelists predict that world war against Israel, the Mark of the Beast, the Rapture, and Christ’s second advent are all at hand.

But I want to ask, first of all, just who are the Jews, and where did that name come from? It is important to understand that name, as it may require a re-thinking of conventional prophetic interpretation.

The most significant thing to remember about the term “Jew” is that it is a short name, or nickname. “Jew” is actually a short name for “Judah”, one of Jacob’s sons. It’s the same as someone using “Mike” for “Michael”, or using “Bob” for “Robert”, as we do today. This means, of course, that we cannot always use the term “Jew” interchangeably with “Israelite”. Or, to put it another way, all “Jews” are indeed Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews. It’s the same as saying that all Ohioans are Americans, but not all Americans are from Ohio. See the difference?

So why is this distinction important? Well, it means that there are more Israelites in this world than could possibly live in the little parcel of land that the state of Israel now occupies. The origins of the nation of Israel begins with the Biblical patriarch Jacob, who had his name changed to “Israel”. This means that Israel is more about a man and his family, than about a tract of land. Only one of Israel’s sons, Judah, is the progenitor of the Jews. There are many other members that make up the beginnings of the nation of Israel, because Jacob (Israel) had 11 other sons. Where are their descendents?

It’s possible that there are as many Israelites in this world as there are any other nationality. When God promised Abraham, Jacob’s (Israel’s) grandfather, a multitude of descendents, God told Abraham to look in the sky and count the stars; to look at the sand by the sea and count the grains of sand. If Abraham could count the stars or number the grains of sand, then he could grasp just how his family would multiply. Does that sound like Israel would be forever tiny, just numbering a fraction of what other nations would be? Or does it seem as though God actually wanted “Israel” to cover the face of the earth? There are quite a few stars out there, you know!

Furthermore, that means the prophecies for Israel could involve millions of people all over the world, including many here in America. Some historians are sure that America and Britain actually descended from Joseph, a son of Israel, and I generally agree. If you remember the prophecy concerning Joseph, how he would be hated, and yet how his growth and influence could not be contained, then you could see how America could fit that description. No other nation has the influence that America does, yet it seems that America is truly hated, and now attacked by demonic murderers who would destroy every one of us if given the chance. The only other nation held in similar low regard by the world is…Israel. Surprised?