From Democracy to Theocracy
Eli
http://www.pastorrandyshupe.com
The following was taken from http://www.babylonthegreatisfalling.net
>From Democracy to Theocracy
2003-06-01
How can anyone not be emotionally moved when we saw the joyous
expressions of freedom on the faces of so many people in Iraq? I'm
sure, that as they were toppling the statue of Saddam Hussein in
Baghdad, freedom loving people around the world were rejoicing. The
brutality of Saddam has come to an end. The people of Iraq can now
begin to form their own secular or religious version of democracy. As
we see in America and Saddam's Iraq, governments instituted by men are
relatively easy to understand. One does not need a doctorate in
political science to see the foundations of today's human government.
Mankind, in these last days, is given two basic choices by the unseen
rulers of this world system; democracy or dictatorship that is based
upon religious or secular foundations. Obviously, there are variations
and distinctions in each nation's government, but at the core are one
of the two. And as we have just seen in Iraq the transition from one to
the other can be very violent and bloody. Even though President Bush
has no idea who the unseen rulers are, he clearly understood these
choices when he said recently that freedom is the "universal hope" of
all mankind which includes all Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Was this
a truthful statement? Is political freedom of speech, assembly, and
religion the cure-all for the hearts of men? Is democracy best suited
for the nature of men who were created with a free will by their
Creator?
Democracy is portrayed by these unseen rulers as a system which offers
God-given freedom for the pursuit of happiness, pleasure and riches,
whereas in most dictatorships the people are kept poor, oppressed, and
only the elite friends of the dictator enjoy the riches and freedom of
this life. It seems only natural, therefore, that men would choose
democracy and political freedom, and you saw that on the faces of
ordinary Iraqi people as they were being freed by the American
military. The battle in Baghdad will now be centered on how strong
Islam's influence will be in the emerging government and whether or not
it will make peace with their arch enemy Israel. These issues could
spark much violence between some Islamic fanatics among the Iraqi
people and their American liberators. In addition, the hard-liners in
Iran and Syria will do all they can to destabilize Iraq, as we now see
happening. However, the resolve of President Bush to remake the Middle
East will outlast the hard-liners, who now have been put on notice that
interference in Iraq will bring about their own demise. Please read my
November 2001 article "The Plot to Destroy Israel", based on prophecies
in Daniel and Ezekiel that teach Syria and Iran, led by Russia, will
make unbelievable peace initiatives with Israel and the last American
President. With the powerful American army sitting in the middle of
Arab lands, the Islamic hard-liners will eventually come to the
conclusion that making peace with Israel is the only way to get the
American infidels to go home. President Bush understands this and will
keep the army in Iraq until a comprehensive Middle East peace treaty is
signed by all the Arab nations with Israel. It will be heralded as
"democracy's finest hour." As always, the timing of this prophetic,
groundbreaking peace treaty is in the hands of the God of Israel.
Before I became a Christian, I suppose I would be considered a super
patriot, a right wing militant conservative, who today would be in lock
step agreement with the President, who thought the whole world should
be free to chase the elusive American dream. Like everyone else, I had
no clue about these unseen rulers and their identity. But the day came
in my life that all the freedoms I had did not fill what seemed like a
empty bottomless hole in my heart. This spiritual condition, which the
scriptures describe as the "sin nature" exists in every human being,
whether he lives in a democracy or dictatorship. Here is the idolatrous
deception of America's democracy; the joy and pride that comes from
political freedom and the possession of earthly things is real, but
also fleeting, which then just drags one deeper into the sinful lusts
for all kinds of immoral freedoms, pleasures and riches, Romans
1:21-32. And once the pleasure and pride of having more freedoms and
things wears off, the nagging dissatisfaction, loneliness or emptiness
of heart is just that more unbearable. In this state a person's moods
and emotions swing endlessly back and forth between pride and self
pity. Even the love of family and friends cannot keep this hole filled
and free us from these feelings.
My friends, this spiritual emptiness can only be filled by the Lord
Jesus Christ, the God of Israel. When he fills our hearts we are free
from the power of these sins. Remember, he is the one who created and
loves us, but beginning with Adam and Eve, we have all sinned and
rebelled against him by having other gods, which we think can give us
love, joy and peace. The bottom line is that we have all replaced the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with "ourselves" and have become gods in
our own eyes. He indeed created us with the God-given freedom to choose
either him or the ways of his enemy, Satan, the unseen god of this
world system. We all, as sinners, chose Satan when we crucified the Son
of God two thousand years ago, but he rose from the dead and is now
offering the people of this world forgiveness and another choice of
government. And for President Bush, a professing Christian, to declare
that political freedoms of democracy are the "universal hope" of all
men is a colossal departure from the truth of the scriptures, which
teach that Jesus Christ and his return is the "blessed hope" that God
wants all men to have, Titus 2:13. A Christian has fallen back into
idolatry when he rejects the blessed hope and accepts the universal
hope of democratic freedom. A Christian has fallen into delusion when
he rejects God's offer of freedom from sin and accepts Satan's offer of
political freedom and protection from evil tyrants like Saddam. Please
read the following scriptures.
Revelation 19: 11-16, (11)And I saw heaven opened and, behold, a white
horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness he doth judge and make war. (12)His eyes were like a
flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name
written, that no man knew, but he himself. (13)And he was clothed with
a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called the Word of God.
(14)And the armies that were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in white linen, white and clean. (15)And out of his mouth goeth
a sharp sword, that with it he shall smite the nations; and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (16)And he hath on his thigh a
name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
I discovered that not only can Jesus cleanse and satisfy my heart, but
as John states in the Revelation, he offers another government, a
righteous theocracy, where he is the sovereign ruler. Today, by being
born again through repentance and faith in his shed blood, he offers
freedom from sin that we are all born with. In the scripture above we
see clearly that he is also coming to bring his government to this
Earth. Please my friends, don't dismiss these scriptures as colorful,
uninspired poetry. You do so at your own eternal peril. Those in
Christendom today who have truly been born again, look and long for the
coming of Jesus to establish his theocracy on the Earth. For those of
us who now see him spirit to spirit, long for the day when we shall
behold him face to face. His government and kingdom is where the
nations shall learn war no more, Isaiah 2:4, 9:6-7. No longer will
crazed religious fanatics crash planes full of terrified people into
buildings. No longer will nations have to react with armies to avenge
such evil deeds, and thereby deceive themselves into thinking they are
good and the fanatics are evil. No longer will people chase after
ungodly pleasures and riches to satisfy their hearts, when the Son of
God will be on the Earth providing all that is necessary for the body.
Peoples hearts will be so full of Jesus and his love for others that
the thought of having more things than their neighbor will no longer be
the rule of the day.
As I said before I was emotionally moved upon seeing the excitement and
thankfulness in the Iraqi people. I believe that God is not pleased
with ruthless dictators. And he allows unsaved governments to punish
evildoers like Saddam. But does this mean then that God is pleased with
democracies just because he uses them and they provide freedoms for the
people? Most certainly not, for this grievous error that Christendom
has embraced, that America's constitutional democracy established in
1776 represents some kind of covenant with God, must be exposed for the
lie that it is. Never forget that only the nation and land of Israel
has a covenant with God. The fulfillment of this covenant goes through
the Lord Jesus Christ, which in the New Testament age is first
spiritual, with no land and boundaries, and at the end of the age then
becomes a Kingdom on this Earth, centered in Jerusalem, not Washington,
1 Peter 2:9. The promise of God to the land and people of Israel is not
removed and given to the Gentiles of Christendom. The Jewish people who
follow Jesus will be center stage in the coming Kingdom of Jesus
Christ. As a matter of fact, there is coming soon a great awakening
among the Jewish people toward the Lord Jesus Christ. They will reject
the lukewarm harlot that is today's Christendom and joyously embrace
their returning Messiah. There will be multitudes of Gentiles brought
into the coming Kingdom as a result of this Jewish awakening,
Revelation 7:1-9. Incidentally, can you imagine the Great Harlot's
indignation and outrage against Israel when "Jewish" men begin calling
the President and Pope imposters who are following the wrong Jesus?
They will turn on Israel and this betrayal will make Judas look like a
boy scout in comparison. These Jewish Messianic prophets will stir much
dissension among other Jews as well, who think the peacemaker President
is their long awaited Messiah.
Satan, who is the god and creator of this world system until Jesus
returns to physically dethrone him, has cleverly seduced many in
Christendom into thinking that America's militant democracy is the
vehicle God will use for "them" to subdue the world, especially the
insane madness of Islamic fanatics. To them the war in Iraq is but one
victory in Christendom's "just" war of liberation that began in 1776.
They think that Iraq is now free to choose to follow their version of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think about this for a moment. What will
eventually happen to the freedoms of those who refuse to ride along on
their bandwagon, especially as Christendom's power and authority grows?
The obvious answer is ominous, is it not? These deceivers have this
lofty, arrogant attitude that Jesus is just waiting for them to take
dominion over the nations and then at some point he will return to
officially make them the Kings of this Earth. Some in Christendom
extend this time out for one thousand years, keeping Jesus in Heaven
while they rule on the Earth. There is one thing these folks should
remember; Satan offered all the kingdoms and nations with their
governments to Jesus if he would only follow and worship his ways, Luke
4; 5-8. Jesus knew that Satan has temporary power over all the nations,
including America's democracy, and rebuked the devil's temptation. So
then, why should we Christians accept Satan's offer that Jesus refused?
This is a grave error and I plead, no beg, with all my heart for
Christendom to turn from the seductive, alluring eyes of Satan, and
look and long for Jesus and his coming Kingdom.
Satan fully understands that Jesus is coming to establish a theocracy
on the Earth. In the past he created a counterfeit theocracy which in
these last days will reappear and even now the stage is being set for
this to happen. The ancient Roman Empire was known for its Emperor
worship and later the exaltation of the Papal and Queen of Heaven
worship that was disguised in Christian sheepskins. Both the Emperor
and the Papacy were dictatorships in the form of religious theocracies.
Revelation 13 details and describes the final rise of Emperor worship
in the American Presidency, supported by the Papacy of Rome, all with
the blessing of Mary, the Queen of Heaven. For it is very likely that a
"public appearance" of the Queen of Heaven, calling on all men and
religions to make peace would have a great unifying affect, even upon
the madness of most of Islam. Don't be fooled, for this and all
previous apparitions are not really Mary, but a demonic familiar spirit
disguised as an "angel of light." Today's democracies will give way to
the worship of one man and his government, Revelation 13:16-18, 17:17.
This worship will be voluntary at first when the whole world is dazzled
by the apparent defeat of death by the American Emperor. But as the
days of God's judgment progress on the Earth, and the voices of the
Jewish prophets get louder, people will be forced to bow the knee and
take the mark of the Presidency or be executed. Believe me, these
sensational events will be "breaking news" on CNN and Fox News.
I recently told a longtime friend of mine, who stubbornly remains a
militant patriot, that until he realizes that America's government has
the lead role in Satan's final kingdom, he will never understand the
prophecies of the Bible. Incredibly, he said he didn't really care one
way or another, for he would be raptured when Jesus returns. I begged
him to consider that by his militancy he is rejecting Jesus and his
teachings, that he has become ashamed of Jesus and his words, and is in
danger of being rejected for his lukewarm heart when Jesus returns to
take his followers to Heaven, Luke 9:22-26, Revelation 3:16. He became
somewhat flustered and defended his indifference to prophecy by saying,
"I know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified." I was startled by
that and said to him that he has even lost the meaning of the
crucifixion. For the blood of the cross is the only way to escape from
the power of darkness of these earthly kingdoms, into the Kingdom of
God, Colossians 1:13. It is heartbreaking to hear militant, patriotic
Christians talk about the cross and return of Jesus Christ, and yet
when they are persecuted or threatened by Osamma and Saddam, join
America's armies to kill their enemies. In my last article, "Honor the
King", I wrote of God's authorizing of unsaved, unregenerate
governments to take up the sword as a restraint and deterrence of
evildoers. But those who profess to be Christians can have no part in
these governmental actions. My longtime friend is like most in
Christendom who have joined themselves to democracy's idolatrous
deceptions. In the same sermon on a Sunday morning, you can hear the
preacher talk eloquently of how Jesus willingly gave his life for all
his enemies, that he is our example, and that he is coming back some
day; and in the very next breath proclaim the just cause of America's
war against Islamic fanatics, and encourage Christian men to go off to
war. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. I say this with no malice or anger,
for I have looked long into the mirror and know the sins of my flesh
that at times wear me down. I feel nothing but brokenness and
compassion for people trapped in the web of Satan's deceptions. I have
been there.
It is the people from the Gentile kingdoms of this world and apostate
Israel that condemned and crucified the Son of God, who came down from
Heaven to save his us from sin and Satan. And demonic forces worked
overtime tempting Jesus to sin, to defend himself through hate, pride
and fear, but he overcame them all, thereby ending Satan's spiritual
power over us if we give our hearts to Jesus. His sinless, spotless
blood is now in Heaven as complete payment for every sin committed by
men. I confess that I was ignorantly part of Satan's plot to tempt and
then kill the only one who truly loved me. My sins were the nails that
struck deep into the hands and feet of Jesus. I'm the one who shouted,
"crucify him, give me Barabbas." I'm the disciple who took up arms and
chopped off the ear of one who came to take Jesus away, only to hear
him say "put away thy sword," and then supernaturally healed his
enemy's ear. I'm the one cowered in fear and shame who denied him
before men three times before the cock crowed. I'm the Roman soldier
who mocked him and forced a crown of thorns deep into his scalp. I'm
the one who stood weeping at the cross with Mary and others, everyone
filled with horror, remorse and self pity in that he was dying, all of
us in ignorance that the blood flowing from his body was washing our
sins away, and not one of us remembered that he said he would rise on
the third day.
Finally, I was also there to hear him say, "Father forgive them for
they know not what they do." Listen carefully, Jesus wants you to know
what you did to him. Where were you when Jesus was killed my friends?
Trust me, you will have to answer that question. There is no other way.
If you say that wasn't me, I had no part in that, then you will find
yourself the target of the wrath of God at the return of Jesus Christ.
You will be locked up with the God- hating demons in Hell forever. Or
you can come to the foot of the bloody cross with me and cry out to a
battered Savior for mercy and forgiveness. Until we do this we are lost
in the darkness of this world's kingdoms, be it democracy, dictatorship
or a false theocracy. You can partake of the coming theocracy now, or
walk away from the cross and be lost forever. It's your choice. You are
free to decide your own destiny.