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The danger in Babylon's collapse

Scripture speaks of the collapse of Mystery Babylon and its beast systems of government, law, economics and religion, but it says less about how God will cause it to collapse.

Perhaps God did not want to tip off the rulers of Babylon ahead of time. Daniel 2:35 tells us that God was to cut a “stone” from a mountain and cast it upon the feet of Babylon, grinding the whole “image” to powder. But how does that actually work out in historical events?

Well, we know that in the ultimate sense, Jesus Christ was the Stone cut out of the mountain (nation) of Judah. His death and resurrection established the victory over Babylon and over all sin and death, ensuring the full victory by the end of time. The stone, however, is more than just Jesus Christ. It is His Kingdom in the broader sense. It is the Kingdom that replaces the four beast kingdoms represented on the image portrayed in Daniel 2. Of course, it goes without saying that the kings will also be replaced by King Jesus.

Ezekiel describes the fall of the world kingdoms in terms of being cast into the sea. This metaphor is taken from the manner in which Tyre was overthrown. So also, Revelation 18:21 prophesies that Babylon will be cast into the sea. But how does that work out in history?

Revelation 16:18 and 21 shows how a great earthquake and huge hailstones will destroy Babylon. The hail is referred to as a “plague,” which seems to refer to the overthrow of Egypt in the time of Moses. Earthquakes have the power to overthrow cities, but ancient Babylon was not overthrown by an earthquake. So there is no precedent for that. Besides, in today’s world, Babylon is much bigger than a mere city, so it would probably take more than a single earthquake to overthrow the Babylonian system of government.

No doubt all of these biblical metaphors will be fulfilled at the fall of Babylon. So these are the things we should be aware of as we come to the time of Babylon’s collapse in our time. We are living in the time of the end of Babylon, for the beast systems have reached the end of their “seven times” (7 x 360 years) of world domination since the fall of Jerusalem in 604 B.C.

On the positive side, however, we have been seeing the simultaneous rise of the Kingdom of God, which is to be ruled by Christ and His body of overcomers (at the top of the authority ladder). God is not bringing about the collapse of the old Babylonian order without something to replace it. If God were to wait until the fall of Babylon to train Kingdom government people to replace it, there would be a long time of chaos ahead. But chaos will be limited.

The Transfer of Authority

On October 12, 2014, at our Tabernacles conference, we proclaimed the transfer of authority in the divine court as per Daniel 7:26, 27,

²⁶ But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.

This was proclaimed in 2014, because the dominion mandate had been transferred from King Zedekiah of Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 607 B.C., three years before Jerusalem capitulated. It was by this God-given authority that Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem. The year 2014 was 2,620 years from 607 B.C., but the beast systems had ruled for just 2,520 years. The third beast system (Grecian empire) had lost Jerusalem for a century from 163-63 B.C. Hence, the mandate given to the beast systems did not end until 2014.

Understanding this, we proclaimed the transfer of authority on October 12, 2014, but made it applicable on October 16, 2014, the eighth day of the feast of Tabernacles. I then explained to everyone that we would have to wait for another three years to see more tangible results of this transfer of authority. Why? Because the beginning points were 607-604 B.C., so the end points fell on 2014-2017.

Well, here we are now at the feast of Tabernacles in 2017. What is actually happening? We are being empowered to step out and begin using the authority of the dominion mandate to cleanse the land/earth and to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom throughout the earth. For sure, it is a small beginning, but it will grow, and it will not be limited to our tiny group of people. We are just happy to be a part of what God is doing in the earth today.

Our Tabernacles conference is scheduled for October 13-15, which is sandwiched between the 2014 dates of October 12 and 16.

The Present Danger

I have noticed an increase in spiritual attacks in the past month as we prepare for the work ahead. This was not unexpected, of course, but we have not been overly concerned. We have already won the battles ahead of time, and so far every road block has just opened up a better avenue.

On the political level, the enemy is trying desperately to start World War III in order to maintain its power. The rhetoric with North Korean leaders is increasing to prewar levels. There seems to be a very dangerous window of war-opportunity from October 10-21. If we can get past this time, I think we will be alright.

A war with North Korea could impact our trip to the Philippines and Cambodia. Our plane goes to Manila via Tokyo, which is being threatened by Korea. Likewise, Apostle David is presently in Seoul, South Korea and is scheduled to fly to the Philippines the day before we arrive. He is the one organizing the pastors conference in Davao City and my teaching sessions as well. A war with North Korea would almost certainly put the entire city of Seoul in danger of destruction.

But it appears that the war plans in the US government have been compromised. It is being reported that North Koreans hacked into top secret US government files and stole the plans for a war against North Korea.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/10/north-korea-hackers-reportedly-stole-us-south-korea-war-plans.html

That may be enough to stop a war, or at least to postpone it for awhile. Our government has been picking a fight with other countries for a very long time in hopes that someone will hit back, giving us an excuse to say, “they started it.” This strategy did not work when they poked Putin in the eye, but it has largely succeeded with Kim Jung Un of North Korea, who lets his personal pride get in the way of wisdom.

It seems that the warmongers in the US government have decided that North Korea is the best option for a war. But if the North Koreans have the attack strategy in hand, this could be a serious deterrence to the war plans.

As a presidential candidate, Trump criticized the war policies of Obama and Hillary Clinton. He seemed to know that Russia wanted to be our friend, not our enemy, and that our own government was the one being unfriendly. But now that he is president, he has changed his tune and goes along with the military’s determination to make enemies out of all our competitors for world domination. I realize that no president is “the most powerful man on earth,” as is commonly believed. But I thought that Trump might be able to change the minds of the military generals, instead of the other way around. Apparently, that is not the case.

Nonetheless, God is still on the throne, and He will not allow His work to be hindered, unless the timing is not yet ripe. He always uses His enemies to slow things down to the appointed time. But it is my belief that we are nearing the appointed time, so I do not think that we will go to war. War seems to be the plan of the Babylonians, not God’s plan. Therefore, we will continue to plan our trip to Asia as if no war is imminent.

Even if war were to break out during our trip, you would not need to worry about us. God is never taken by surprise, and He always uses such circumstances to further His Kingdom.

Even so, realize that the Babylonians know that their time is short, and they will be desperate to hang on to power. They are ruthless and are willing to destroy the world before giving up power. But, like we see with Pharaoh, God has hardened their hearts in order to bring about their total destruction. While the danger is very real, our God is greater and has not given up a single portion of His sovereignty. The earth will be set free and given a thousand-year Sabbath rest.

Those of us who believe and understand the divine plan can rest assured that all is well and there is no panic in heaven as in earth. Chaos is for Babylonians; rest and quietness is our strength.