Global Economy: The Snare of Babylon


Greetings,

As I was recently shopping at the local supermarket, I heard the sound of "oldies" music from my generation playing in the background. I especially noticed the song "What the World Needs Now is Love" sung by Dionne Warwick. Then I began to reflect on the season most in Christendom call Christmas, a time when many try to wipe the dismay of the world´s woes away from their lives, just as Israel witnessed their Gentile neighbors doing ages ago, Jeremiah 10. This year, as the falling global economy has raised the fears and troubles of people world-wide, the Christmas season will be used by many to wash away their troubles as they gather together with family and friends. Whether or not the Savior was born on December 25th is not important to most who celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. For them it is a time to love one´s family and friends. The beautiful words sung by Dionne are, or should be, the desire of every Christian. Will the words in her song come to pass where the whole world sees and feels nothing but love?

This letter is not meant to re-ignite the legitimate annual debate over when our Lord was born or whether he asked his followers to celebrate his birthday or not. Rather than dwelling on "when" he was born we should all be reflecting on "why", don´t you think? If that´s true then the following more detailed question needs to be answered. Read it carefully. If you are a Christian who understands from the scriptures that our sin nature is filled with things like the pride of this life, the love and lust for money and self, hatred, envy, and deceitfulness, all of which mankind has inherited from birth, how do we explain the desires for love and family reflected in the Christmas season and the words of Dionne Warwick? Can this paradox be explained? If so, will that also unravel the mystery of the political-religious-economic chaos that fills the nations today?

Correct me if you think I am wrong, but as I understand all of this, it appears that when God first created Adam and Eve with a nature that was filled "only" with the love, goodness, and grace of God, and while they might have known from God about the earlier fall and rebellion of Lucifer, they never experienced in their pure hearts the evil and treachery of Satan and his fallen angels. When Satan/Lucifer seduced them in the Garden of Eden into believing his subtle lies about God´s words spoken to them, and they acted upon these things, their entire tri-part being of body, soul, and spirit became polluted and they found themselves unable to free themselves from its power and grip. It affected everything they thought, said, and did from that moment on in their lives. Does this in any way explain the paradox of good and evil coming from the hearts and mouths of people around the world, even in Christendom?

The crashing economy of this world is reaching into the homes of Americans with the "fears" of imminent poverty, destruction, even death that marked the dark depressing days of the 1930´s which ultimately led to the fighting of World War II. Will things become that bad or worse in America and other nations? I don´t know for sure, but it seems all the world is being brought to the brink of an economic-military-political disaster which is instinctively forcing every religious leader to decide what they really believe about God and prophecy. Just look at how Rick Warren and President-elect Obama are responding together on Inauguration Day. Do they have it right? Has Warren decided, as a religious leader of multitudes of Christians, that God and prophecy demands that he join with Obama as they inaugurate four more years of attempting to usher in the Kingdom of Peace so long promised by God?

This is D-Day, a day of decision, for those who claim to be Christians, who say with their lips that Jesus rose bodily from the dead. If you really believe that he is alive and well, is he coming back or not? Furthermore, as Christians we are to remember that our Kingdom or nation is not of this world which consists of various competing and conflicting political-economic systems such as democracy, communism, capitalism, socialism, all created and used by Satan to further his evil purposes, John 18:36, Revelation 12:3,9, 20:1-3. Jesus said that, and then showed John in the Revelation that Satan wore the "crowns" of political power over all seven Gentile kingdoms spoken of by the prophets of Israel. Isn´t that enough for you to decide? Rick Warren and the "Emerging Church" leaders have forgotten or have never known this fundamental truth.

If you are a fellow Vietnam veteran who became a follower of Jesus, we are supposed to know that our fight is "not now" against men who walk in the darkness and militant deception of their sin nature as we once did, Ephesians 2:1-10, 6:11-20. We are to pick up our cross and call our enemies to the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the washing away of their sin nature until the day when our Lord returns for us. When he comes to take us back to Heaven, while this unbelieving world is prepared for divine judgment, our mortal and corruptible bodies will be glorified into resurrected bodies of perfected flesh and bone that will be free from the stain of sin, just as our hearts or spirits are now by the power of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, Philippians 3:17-21.

We who follow the Lord are to consider ourselves to be in the Army of Heaven waiting for the bodily return of Jesus Christ to establish his millennial Kingdom when he first "makes war" on all the armies of the nations sold out to the fallen angels. The deceived soldiers of these armies, at this point in time, have already taken the "mark of the beast" of Revelation 13 that has sealed their condemnation. The one-sided carnage and slaughter by the sword of Jesus at this Battle of Armageddon will see the blood flowing as a river in the land of Israel, Revelation 14:14-20, 19:11-21, 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. This is the only war we veterans who know Jesus should anticipate, and until then we walk on this earth as Jesus did, pleading with all men and women to repent and seek the removal of their stained and polluted sin nature which brought the curse upon this world.

Like you, I love the American people and remember the years of military service to this nation. This natural human love and emotion makes it extremely hard to believe America is "not" God´s covenant nation and the last best hope for mankind as I was taught by Christians when I was young, let alone to write these things in this letter and other past articles. But didn´t Jesus say to us that we must love him and his Kingdom more than our own brother, sister, mother, and father (including our country) or we are not worthy of him, Matthew 10:24-42?

I have included below an exchange I had with a new Christian friend from the internet. It deals with one simple question she had about today´s economy and America´s place in the events of "the last days" which seem to be on the near horizon. I hope this is a blessing to you and I invite your comments, questions, even criticisms. Moreover, I hope it compels you to seek the truth through prayer and a diligent study of the scriptures that always refreshes our faith and renews our minds when confusing and conflicting things trouble us. You will find in the scriptures exactly how this planet will someday see and feel the love so desired in the song of Dionne Warwick.

This letter will be posted on our website, along with "Responses: The Manchus of Charlie Company", "Prophecy: A New American President", "A Thankful Man", "Vietnam Veterans: A Sad Story", all written since October and sent out to our mailing list. As I always request, please visit our website and sign the "guestbook" or send an email. Thank you for reading this and I hope to hear from you soon. I hope you will consider reading the articles "Then Comes the Fire", “The Judgment Chronicles” and “The Fundamentalist" posted on our web site. For details concerning my military background during the Vietnam era, please read the articles "Vietnam: The Manchus of Charlie Company", "Pacifist, Patriot, or Pilgrim" and “Moved with Compassion”. Just click on the web site link below and click on “Articles”. The radio interviews I have been part of can be heard to by clicking on this link: http://www.thebyteshow.com/JackHook.html

Sincerely,
Jack D. Hook

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From: Joni
To: Jack D. Hook
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Subject: Babylon

Hi Jack,

Jack, you said on your website (Timeline), "America will remain the greatest, richest nation on Earth during this judgment period known as Daniel´s 70th Week."

But now we are seeing the American economy sink. What do you think now???

I do believe that America is indeed Babylon the Great. But the scenario´s are rapidly changing with how this will all play out. I´m very curious as to how you think this will occur now that America has begun her fall.

God bless you!
Joni

Hi Joni,

Thanks for responding. What a great question! It helps me to remember that prophecies of specific events to take place during the 70th Week of Daniel are set in stone and will be fulfilled to the letter. However, political-religious-economic-military events of the generation leading up to this coming seven year period of time can run the gamut, with roller-coaster ups and downs that can make heads spin, so to speak. As I look at today´s economic mess it is interesting to note that even though America´s net worth is down other nations are in far worse shape. It is indeed a global economy, part and parcel of the "New World Order" led by the United States and its allies from Europe.

It appears this massive global economic "chaos" is all orchestrated by the fallen angels (allowed by God as he begins to remove his restraining hand against men and nations who reject the real Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings) to bring the power of money into the hands of fewer people, mostly American and European hands at that. This means to me that when Babylon´s world economy does its turn upward, and it will, America will have even more power and leverage over all other nations. This is their whole strategy. The loyalty and patriotic "mark of the beast" is their final 70th Week destination, which they will view much differently than those men who know their God, the two Jewish prophets from Jerusalem, Revelation 7 and 11.

This angelic manipulation of the world economy that will eventually bring "order out of chaos" is the "snare" that Jesus alluded to in Luke 21:34-36, 1 Timothy 6:9-10. If our God allows, and this is the end of the last generation before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the bait is soon to be set in the snare that will be so alluring and seductive no man will be able to escape it´s hypnotic attraction, unless they are filled with the Spirit of God. Remember this, during the depression of the 30´s America was as much Babylon then as now. It has been rising to power since 1776. Look at what happened and how America came out of the economic chaos of the 30´s to virtually rule the world by the end of World War II.

I hope my online book and articles help you even more in understanding the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ, his shed blood for our sins, and his glorious resurrection. There is coming a day when the Lord will return in judgment and then imprison the fallen angels who are temporarily allowed by God to rule the nations because of the Adamic sin nature of all men. Until that day of judgment we are to call all men to repentance, to love and offer forgiveness to the worst of our enemies, even those who wish us dead. Keep in touch and add me to your mailing list.

Your new eternal friend,
Jack D. Hook