Everyone who is aware of the signs Jesus gave us to watch for His return should not be surprised by the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. I predicted this ruling would happen back in May when I first heard the gay marriage issue was before the court in this blog post. Since events are accelerating toward the return of the Lord, it is getting easier to predict what is likely to happen next. The spiritually discerning are "not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief" (1 Thessalonians 5:4, NKJV).
The Supreme Court ruling was easy to predict because of the many signs indicating that the end of the Church Age is near. The most important one is the stage of maturity of Israel per the Parable of the Fig Tree in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:32-34). There is also evidence that God is increasingly removing His restraint of evil over our world so we should expect more devilish edicts from our ruling elite. Jesus told us that one of the signs of His soon return would be "as it was also in the days of Lot" (Luke 17:28). This is an obvious reference to the public acceptance of homosexuality which was rampant in Sodom when Lot lived there (Genesis 19).
Making gay marriage the law of the land by Supreme Court decree goes against the will of the people as represented by the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. DOMA was made a law because marriage had been under attack from progressives for some time. So what we now see in this Supreme Court ruling is another example of rule of man displacing rule of law. This was also seen in the other big ruling the Supreme Court made this week favoring Obama Care. The rule of law being replaced by the rule of man is exactly what we would expect to see as the spirit of Antichrist grows stronger in this world. Indeed, the Antichrist, "shall intend to change times and law" (Daniel 7:25).
The Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage is not about stopping the discrimination of gays. The secret hidden agenda of the gay lobby is to assault the religious freedoms of Christians. It is spiritual warfare manifesting itself in our physical world. You don't see progressives targeting Islamic bakers for destruction because of their convictions not to serve a gay wedding. It is the Christians who are attacked. "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us'" (Psalm 2:2-3).
Progressives love to say they are fighting for gay marriage because they don't want Christians imposing their morals on them. But that is not what is really happening. The morals that are being imposed on people is that Christians must submit to the progressive view of morality or be destroyed. A person's convictions about gay marriage has become the primary litmus test as to whether a person has properly embraced the new State Orthodoxy that defines right and wrong. The separation of Church and State no longer applies when the State establishes its own religion.
So what will happen next? There will be increasing confusion and chaos which the Enemy of God loves (1 Corinthians 14:33). The activist progressives are already salivating over the opportunity this new law of the land gives them to attack Christians. We can expect more persecution in this country and we'll see some pastors go to jail or be fined for refusing to perform gay marriages. Eventually, Churches will have to make a decision if they will embrace gay marriage or lose their tax exempt status. I think we will all be surprised by the number of them that will yield to the new State Morality; many are already well down that road. There will be Christians who engage in public disobedience and many will abandon the traditional church as we know it seeking the fellowship of informal home Bible studies... the true Church will be forced underground, kind of like it was in Rome under Nero. Religious freedom will be over in this country; Satan and his followers are already rejoicing.
Some have said this country's in-your-face-God embrace of homosexuality cry's out for God's wrath; that if this act of defiance does not bring judgment down on us then God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. But I don't think that will happen now. It looks like we are so close to the Tribulation that God is saving up His wrath for that Day. All indications are that God is done warning this country. Documented in my book, "End Times Evangelism" are several instances when we have suffered natural disasters as a direct result of coercing Israel to give up some of their security for peace. Those were warnings which this nation has failed to recognize. There have been many other instances in recent years when our actions against Israel should have triggered a swift reprimand from God but has not. God has given the United States over to an irrational, debased mind which will, during the Tribulation, compound the consequences of turning away from Him (see Romans 1:28 in context).
Once upon a time, we did not have to be too concerned with what the Federal government did in this country. Back when Constitutional rule of law governed our country it was rare that something the Federal government did effected the common man on the street. But those days are over. It seems that every day we look at the news to find out what our rulers are doing today to impose more control over our lives. While the freedoms we have long enjoyed in this country are still present, we can see how the stage has been set for them to be suddenly yanked away from us. All it will take is some crisis to give justification for this and that day will surely come.
It is hard to imagine seeing all the changes going on in this world and feel good about it. Even the progressives who are the agents of change are dissatisfied with this world and are seeking to make it into their Humanist vision of utopia. But human efforts to fix this fallen world will fail miserably as will soon become painfully obvious to all. The Tribulation will be the death knell for Humanism. Thank God He is in control and will soon take charge of ruling this world.
Seeing all that is going on should drive us to Jesus, to double down on our loving Him and loving our neighbor. "Do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light" (Romans 13: 11-12).
Monday, June 29, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
The Fullness of Technology
As an electrical engineer and the son of an electrical engineer, I've always had an affinity for technology. Consequently, I ended up working 27 years at Texas Instruments marketing digital microprocessors to the high-tech electronics industry. Our state of technology is an important indicator of where we are on God's prophetic timeline. Indeed, one of the largest chapters in my book, "End Times Evangelism" addresses the most significant technological signs of Christ's soon return. A recent article by Wilfred Hahn, one of my favorite prophecy columnists, inspired me to document some other observations about technology not addressed in my book.
In his article, Wilfred Hahn points out that we now have all the technology in place for fulfillment of Bible prophecy. He highlights the smart-phone as the last key technical achievement since it facilitates the "love of self" that will consume the average person in the time Christ returns (2 Timothy 3:2). I was surprised to learn that half of all adults on the planet now have a smart-phone with 80% saturation forecasted for the year 2020.
I would also point out that the smart-phone will make it even easier for all the world to see key events happening in Jerusalem during the Tribulation (Revelation 11:9). Until recently it would have required God's supernatural intervention for the whole world to witness some event happening in Jerusalem. But with satellite communications, the Internet and smart-phones, people can watch developments in other places wherever they are using technology that is now commonly available.
Wilfred Hahn admittedly uses some hyperbole in his claim that we have reached the end of technology. But making such a claim reinforces the idea I discuss in my book that the state of technology is now such that all is ready for the Lord to return: "when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son" (Galatians 4:4, NKJV). As the pervasiveness of the Greek language and presence of Roman roads facilitated the dissemination of the Gospel when our Lord first came, today's technology is such that most of the prophecies associated with His return may be fulfilled through natural means. And this is necessary for determined unbelievers to continue in their unbelief. While God wants everyone to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), freewill must be accommodated and "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
As a former electronics industry insider, I can also add that we have reached the end of the digital processor innovation that made smart-phones possible. That is why Texas Instruments exited the mass market digital processor business. Such processors are now a commodity product with little opportunity for differentiation from a hardware perspective. This state of technology is the direct result of Moore's Law no longer applying to CMOS integrated circuits. CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is the computer chip process used for all advanced digital microprocessors. Back in the day Moore's Law applied, semiconductor manufacturers could double transistor integration, increase processor speed, reduce power and cost every couple years by simply shrinking the chip lithography. But no more, we have reached the physical limits of CMOS capabilities.
Some scoff at the idea that we are done with microprocessor innovation citing research being done to find a replacement for CMOS. But there is nothing on the horizon that offers the same in terms of cost, performance, power and manufacturability. All the hardware innovation that is going on today is in terms of functional block integration. Most of the system innovation that is happening is on the software side. So a case can be made that we have indeed reached the end of electronics technology. We can expect no more significant (life-changing) technological advances in electronics until the Lord returns.
Humanists refuse to believe that we have reached the limits of technology. They believe that the technology we have is due to the inherent inventiveness of mankind. But all the life-changing progress we have made is a gift from God (James 1:17). Our Lord has blessed us with technology that improves the quality of life and, at the same time, makes it possible for prophecy to be fulfilled.
I do believe that mankind will enjoy more technological innovations, but not until the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal State which follows. The technological progress we have made to-date was necessary for Bible prophecies to be fulfilled. There are no more advances we can expect for this Age; all the necessary technologies are in place. So I say, come soon Lord Jesus, I am looking forward to the technology You will bless us with in the future. God made this vast universe for us to explore and I know we are getting close to the time we can begin to see it.
In his article, Wilfred Hahn points out that we now have all the technology in place for fulfillment of Bible prophecy. He highlights the smart-phone as the last key technical achievement since it facilitates the "love of self" that will consume the average person in the time Christ returns (2 Timothy 3:2). I was surprised to learn that half of all adults on the planet now have a smart-phone with 80% saturation forecasted for the year 2020.
I would also point out that the smart-phone will make it even easier for all the world to see key events happening in Jerusalem during the Tribulation (Revelation 11:9). Until recently it would have required God's supernatural intervention for the whole world to witness some event happening in Jerusalem. But with satellite communications, the Internet and smart-phones, people can watch developments in other places wherever they are using technology that is now commonly available.
Wilfred Hahn admittedly uses some hyperbole in his claim that we have reached the end of technology. But making such a claim reinforces the idea I discuss in my book that the state of technology is now such that all is ready for the Lord to return: "when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son" (Galatians 4:4, NKJV). As the pervasiveness of the Greek language and presence of Roman roads facilitated the dissemination of the Gospel when our Lord first came, today's technology is such that most of the prophecies associated with His return may be fulfilled through natural means. And this is necessary for determined unbelievers to continue in their unbelief. While God wants everyone to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), freewill must be accommodated and "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
As a former electronics industry insider, I can also add that we have reached the end of the digital processor innovation that made smart-phones possible. That is why Texas Instruments exited the mass market digital processor business. Such processors are now a commodity product with little opportunity for differentiation from a hardware perspective. This state of technology is the direct result of Moore's Law no longer applying to CMOS integrated circuits. CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is the computer chip process used for all advanced digital microprocessors. Back in the day Moore's Law applied, semiconductor manufacturers could double transistor integration, increase processor speed, reduce power and cost every couple years by simply shrinking the chip lithography. But no more, we have reached the physical limits of CMOS capabilities.
Some scoff at the idea that we are done with microprocessor innovation citing research being done to find a replacement for CMOS. But there is nothing on the horizon that offers the same in terms of cost, performance, power and manufacturability. All the hardware innovation that is going on today is in terms of functional block integration. Most of the system innovation that is happening is on the software side. So a case can be made that we have indeed reached the end of electronics technology. We can expect no more significant (life-changing) technological advances in electronics until the Lord returns.
Humanists refuse to believe that we have reached the limits of technology. They believe that the technology we have is due to the inherent inventiveness of mankind. But all the life-changing progress we have made is a gift from God (James 1:17). Our Lord has blessed us with technology that improves the quality of life and, at the same time, makes it possible for prophecy to be fulfilled.
I do believe that mankind will enjoy more technological innovations, but not until the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal State which follows. The technological progress we have made to-date was necessary for Bible prophecies to be fulfilled. There are no more advances we can expect for this Age; all the necessary technologies are in place. So I say, come soon Lord Jesus, I am looking forward to the technology You will bless us with in the future. God made this vast universe for us to explore and I know we are getting close to the time we can begin to see it.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Freedom
A recent survey has found that an increasing number of Americans are no longer claiming to be Christians. This is happening as we see the stage being set for our freedoms of religion and speech to be eroded away in the United States. There is a connection between a falling away from the Christian faith and the loss of our freedoms that are part of a trend revealing our proximity to the return of Christ.
The United States has been an exceptional place in the world because of our freedom culture. And this was only possible because the founders of this country were mostly Christians who applied biblical principles in structuring how our government should work. George Washington made it clear that human governments will fail apart from God's help when he said, "It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being" (from 1835 book titled, “Paulding’s Life of Washington”). You can't have enough laws to make a civil society, people must be self-governing or the government will fail.
Historical revisionists are hard at work trying to erase this country's Christian heritage and have made significant progress in "reinterpreting" our Constitution on many fronts. The attitude of the progressives in opposing God is reflected in Psalm 2:2-3: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.'" (Psalm 2:2-3, NKJV). The more America turns away from God, the more our God-given freedoms will evaporate. The loss of freedoms in the last bastion of liberty in the world is just one more indication that the Day of the Lord is near.
Agnostics are those who believe nothing can be known of the existence or nature of God beyond material phenomena. They are proud of being on the fence about God declaring neither faith nor disbelief in Him claiming to be open to any evidence that could cause them to change their mind. But their thoughtful-sounding position is generally a smokescreen hiding the fact that they have already made up their mind and prefer to remain uncommitted. There is plenty of evidence for the supernatural nature of Scripture in the prophecies that have been fulfilled but agnostics use all kinds of rationalizations to remain willfully ignorant of them.
There is a grave misconception among agnostics that to embrace Christ is to limit themselves. They think by remaining a spiritual free agent, they are exercising more freedom than Christians who constrain themselves by their religion. The agnostic perspective appears to be reinforced by stories of people who were once practicing Christians but have stopped believing saying they have felt liberated by their decision to leave the faith.
Claiming to be a Christian and even doing great things in the name of Jesus apart from having a personal relationship with the Savior has no eternal value (Matthew 7:21-23). Eventually the truth will become known; those falsely professing to be followers of Christ will either genuinely yield their life to Jesus, get tired of pretending and appear to fall away from the faith, or continue their charade until they are forced to acknowledge the truth at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-12).
The professing Christian who appears to leave the faith feels liberated because they think following Christ is all about earning salvation through obedience and doing good works. This perspective has more in common with all the other religions of the world than biblical Christianity. The Bible makes it clear that salvation is not a function of one's own performance but having a relationship with the Savior. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus does not constrain us as agnostics believe. He invites us: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). This is the picture of an experienced ox being teamed up with an untrained one to learn how to be successful at what we were created to do. When we are teamed up with Christ, He does all the hard work and keeps us on the right path. And His help is what makes it possible to realize the purpose and blessings God has for us. The more we experience God's help in achieving what He has called us to, the more we realize that His constraints are hardly a burden. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8).
The agnostic view of freedom is exactly opposite from reality. They think by remaining uncommitted to the Creator they are free to do whatever they feel like when in fact their willful rejection of Christ keeps them in bondage to ultimate destruction either as a soulless evolved animal as they have chosen to believe or in the lake of fire per Revelation 20:14-15. Such an attitude compels agnostics to pack all the happiness they can into life because if this mortal existence is all there is, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (1 Corinthians 15:32).
Only those who know Jesus as their Savior are truly free. "Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free... if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed'" (John 8:31-36). Christians don't fear death because we know it is not the end of our life. This takes the pressure off living and enables us to truly enjoy this life. We know we will not miss out on any good thing this world has to offer, we will have all eternity to bask in the goodness of our Creator.
The trend of professing Christians denouncing their religion is a sign we are in the season of the Lord's return. "The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). And we also know that the freedoms we currently enjoy in this country will have to go away to accommodate the coming global dictator: "All the world marveled and followed the beast... It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation" (Revelation 13:3, 7).
It is too bad that the agnostics of the world won't face the reality of this world's trends and recognize that all this was foretold by God to authenticate the Bible as really being from Him. Only God is able to declare, "the end from the beginning" (Isaiah 46:10). All we can do is pray for them and "be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). This is worth doing because some will believe for, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
The United States has been an exceptional place in the world because of our freedom culture. And this was only possible because the founders of this country were mostly Christians who applied biblical principles in structuring how our government should work. George Washington made it clear that human governments will fail apart from God's help when he said, "It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being" (from 1835 book titled, “Paulding’s Life of Washington”). You can't have enough laws to make a civil society, people must be self-governing or the government will fail.
Historical revisionists are hard at work trying to erase this country's Christian heritage and have made significant progress in "reinterpreting" our Constitution on many fronts. The attitude of the progressives in opposing God is reflected in Psalm 2:2-3: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.'" (Psalm 2:2-3, NKJV). The more America turns away from God, the more our God-given freedoms will evaporate. The loss of freedoms in the last bastion of liberty in the world is just one more indication that the Day of the Lord is near.
Agnostics are those who believe nothing can be known of the existence or nature of God beyond material phenomena. They are proud of being on the fence about God declaring neither faith nor disbelief in Him claiming to be open to any evidence that could cause them to change their mind. But their thoughtful-sounding position is generally a smokescreen hiding the fact that they have already made up their mind and prefer to remain uncommitted. There is plenty of evidence for the supernatural nature of Scripture in the prophecies that have been fulfilled but agnostics use all kinds of rationalizations to remain willfully ignorant of them.
There is a grave misconception among agnostics that to embrace Christ is to limit themselves. They think by remaining a spiritual free agent, they are exercising more freedom than Christians who constrain themselves by their religion. The agnostic perspective appears to be reinforced by stories of people who were once practicing Christians but have stopped believing saying they have felt liberated by their decision to leave the faith.
Claiming to be a Christian and even doing great things in the name of Jesus apart from having a personal relationship with the Savior has no eternal value (Matthew 7:21-23). Eventually the truth will become known; those falsely professing to be followers of Christ will either genuinely yield their life to Jesus, get tired of pretending and appear to fall away from the faith, or continue their charade until they are forced to acknowledge the truth at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-12).
The professing Christian who appears to leave the faith feels liberated because they think following Christ is all about earning salvation through obedience and doing good works. This perspective has more in common with all the other religions of the world than biblical Christianity. The Bible makes it clear that salvation is not a function of one's own performance but having a relationship with the Savior. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus does not constrain us as agnostics believe. He invites us: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). This is the picture of an experienced ox being teamed up with an untrained one to learn how to be successful at what we were created to do. When we are teamed up with Christ, He does all the hard work and keeps us on the right path. And His help is what makes it possible to realize the purpose and blessings God has for us. The more we experience God's help in achieving what He has called us to, the more we realize that His constraints are hardly a burden. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8).
The agnostic view of freedom is exactly opposite from reality. They think by remaining uncommitted to the Creator they are free to do whatever they feel like when in fact their willful rejection of Christ keeps them in bondage to ultimate destruction either as a soulless evolved animal as they have chosen to believe or in the lake of fire per Revelation 20:14-15. Such an attitude compels agnostics to pack all the happiness they can into life because if this mortal existence is all there is, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (1 Corinthians 15:32).
Only those who know Jesus as their Savior are truly free. "Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free... if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed'" (John 8:31-36). Christians don't fear death because we know it is not the end of our life. This takes the pressure off living and enables us to truly enjoy this life. We know we will not miss out on any good thing this world has to offer, we will have all eternity to bask in the goodness of our Creator.
The trend of professing Christians denouncing their religion is a sign we are in the season of the Lord's return. "The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). And we also know that the freedoms we currently enjoy in this country will have to go away to accommodate the coming global dictator: "All the world marveled and followed the beast... It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation" (Revelation 13:3, 7).
It is too bad that the agnostics of the world won't face the reality of this world's trends and recognize that all this was foretold by God to authenticate the Bible as really being from Him. Only God is able to declare, "the end from the beginning" (Isaiah 46:10). All we can do is pray for them and "be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). This is worth doing because some will believe for, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
Monday, June 8, 2015
End Times Babylon
As we get closer to the return of Christ, people wonder why we don't find references to the United States in Bible prophecy. Since the U.S. is a superpower, you'd think there would be some references to it in Scripture if we are truly on the cusp of the Tribulation. Some have surmised that a great disaster must happen to the U.S. to explain why this country does not appear to be mentioned. Certainly a disaster will happen to the world during the Tribulation and the U.S. would be part of that but the Bible's silence about any country like the U.S. could give people reason to think the Tribulation must be further away than everything would otherwise indicate.
It has also been postulated that the Rapture of the Church could explain why there doesn't appear to be any country like the U.S. mentioned in the prophetic Scriptures. While there is probably a higher concentration of Christians in the U.S. than in any other country and there will be great disruption when the Lord comes for us, the impact will probably not be as great as we'd like to believe. How many true Bible-believing born-again Christians are there in this country? Surveys have indicated that about 33% of Americans claim to be born-again. But other surveys have also shown that only 1-in-3 young born again evangelicals believe Jesus is the only way to heaven which means they don't really have a biblical understanding of Christ. This means that the number of adults taken in the Rapture could be as low as 11% of the population. Such a loss would hurt any country but would hardly be something it couldn't recover from.
In light of this, it is worth taking another look at Scripture's many references to End Times Babylon. The best fit for this last days national entity is the United States. Some people like to take the Bible's references to Babylon in the last days literally thinking it is talking about the original city site in modern day Iraq. But this just doesn’t fit very well because the there is no place in Iraq that is likely to be the center of worldwide commerce anytime soon, if ever. We should certainly take Scripture literally where the plain sense makes sense but when it doesn’t we should look for a symbolic meaning.
The characteristics of Babylon in the end times are mostly given in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 along with Revelation chapters 17 and 18. Jeremiah 50:42 uses the term “Daughter of Babylon” which is a clue that it must not be referring to the original Babylon, but some other country. The book of Revelation calls End Times Babylon “Mystery Babylon” indicating symbolism applies here and it is only spiritually related to the original Babylon.
Both Jeremiah and Revelation represent End Times Babylon as having much wisdom, wealth and knowledge while thinking it is secure and invincible. In the book of Revelation, Mystery Babylon is presented as the final world government of man that rules over Jerusalem. It is at the same time a political, economic and religious system which becomes the Tribulation government of Antichrist.
Jeremiah 50:12 says this about End Times Babylon: "Your mother will be greatly ashamed, she who gave you birth will be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least (youngest) of the nations" (NIV). The U.S. best fits this description having had Great Britain as a mother nation, and is the youngest of the world's superpowers. Likewise, Jeremiah 51:13 describes End Times Babylon as, "you who dwell by many waters." This description certainly fits the U.S. which has 15 major ports on 3 oceans and 5 Great Lakes. In comparison, modern day Iraq has only two small ports on one ocean.
We also see that End Times Babylon has to be a significant military power: "How the hammer of the whole earth... has been cut off and broken!" (Jeremiah 50:23). The U.S. is certainly still the dominant superpower in the world and is the primary military hammer of both NATO and the United Nations.
End Times Babylon is described as being engaged in worldwide commerce where Jeremiah 50:26 says, "Come to her from the farthest border; open up her barns." Revelation 18:11 indicates that this Babylon will be an economic powerhouse where, "the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more." Thus End Times Babylon must be a large consumer nation importing products from far away just as China supplies a huge portion of what is purchased in the United States. This is further reinforced by Revelation 18:19 which says, "all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth." Thus End Times Babylon is a nation with great resources, is wealthy, has world-wide influence and conducts trade via the sea. These are all characteristics of the United States.
End Times Babylon has great wealth and resources. Jeremiah 50:37 declares "a sword against her treasures" and Jeremiah 51:13 refers to her as being "abundant in treasures." This nation had been blessed by God with natural resources and has leveraged it to amass great wealth that has driven the world economy: "your merchants were the great men of the earth" (Revelation 18:23). This nation has been emulated worldwide having many great merchants that reach the far corners of the earth. Our English language has become the default language of commerce, the petro-dollar is the reserve currency of the world.
End Times Babylon is has a powerful media. Jeremiah 50:2 says. "her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered"; and Jeremiah 50:38 says, "it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols." How would the prophet Isaiah describe TV, movies, or the Internet 3,000 years ago?
End Times Babylon travels in space: "though Babylon should ascend to the heavens" (Jeremiah 51:53). If this is a reference to space exploration in the celestial heavens, it certainly narrows the field of prospective countries!
End Times Babylon rejects God: "for she has become arrogant against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel" (Jeremiah 50:29). Since this nation "has become arrogant," it must have once been humble toward the Lord as could be said of the United States. This nation does not just become arrogant against God, but against Jesus Christ, "the Holy One of Israel." Every day there is more evidence that the U.S. is becoming a post-Christian nation. The Marine getting court marshaled for displaying a passage of Scripture at her work station comes to mind as a recent example. We have also flaunted our Christ-given liberties exporting pornography and our godless corrupt culture worldwide. We have taken God out of the classroom and the public square under the auspices of not wanting to offend anyone. And we have embraced multiculturalism advocating the equal validity of all religions with many paths to heaven.
End Times Babylon is a manufacturing powerhouse that has driven the culture of the world, "the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer" (Revelation 18:22). God enabled this nation to develop luxury, culture and industry allowing them to export their blessings throughout the world. But as our culture became more corrupt, this only served to facilitate the world moving further from God.
End Times Babylon is described as a harlot: "I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters" (Revelation 17:1). The United States has certainly prostituted ourselves to the world seeking to be wealthy beyond our blessings from God. As we prostituted ourselves, we have corrupted the world: "the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication" (Revelation 17:2). We have caused the world to buy into our culture of democratic capitalism apart from God as the critical enabler of the American Dream.
End Times Babylon will persecute the saints: "I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:6). During the Tribulation, it is likely that the U.S. will lead the world in embracing the Antichrist’s campaign to eliminate those perceived to be holding society back.
Some have suggested that the Mystery Babylon of Revelation refers to Rome. This comes from Revelation 17:9-10 which says, "the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come." While Rome is known as a city on seven hills; in context, the reverence to mountains in this passage is talking about historical kingdoms. The five kingdoms that had fallen at the time Revelation was written were the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks. Rome was the kingdom that “is” and the Turkish Ottoman Empire would be the seventh kingdom. The future kingdom of the Antichrist would be the eighth.
Others have proposed that the Mystery Babylon of Revelation could just be another reference to the world. But Revelation 18:17-18 says, "every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, `What is like this great city?'" Thus End Times Babylon must be at least represented by a real place. Certainly the U.S. has led the world system but no place better represents the world system than New York City, a huge hub of world commerce and home of the United Nations.
The arrogance of End Times Babylon will have consequences. Jeremiah 50:35 prophecies, "a sword against... her wise men!" This nation is very educated and has much knowledge but this intelligence does not keep them from being attacked.
The fate of End Times Babylon is to be cut down and lost in the wind: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it is time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come" (Jeremiah 51:33). This nation is made up of good grain and bad chaff. God comes for the good grain at the Rapture and the bad chaff is blown away during the Tribulation. Jeremiah 50:3 says End Times Babylon will be attacked, "a nation has come up against her out of the north," and this is re-emphasized in Jeremiah 51:48 where is says, "the destroyers will come to her from the north." An attack on the U.S. from Russia would be from over the North pole. Russia (Magog) is aligned with Iran (Persia) in the Ezekiel 38/39 invasion of Israel (probably post-Rapture but not necessarily). The U.S. could be the "coastlands" (Ezekiel 39:6) that gets attacked in the Gog invasion.
Revelation 18:17 comments on the demise of End Times Babylon by saying, "in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste." This is reinforced in Jeremiah 51:8 which says, "suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken." Isaiah 47:11 also comments on the fate of End Times Babylon saying, "destruction about which you do not know will come on you suddenly." Such sudden destruction could refer to a nuclear attack which is also supported by Jeremiah 51:62: "O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever." Nuclear weapons would so pollute the land that no one would ever live there again. It is interesting to note that Russian doctrine for nuclear weapons is to employ ground bursts which maximizes their destructive effects by producing massive amounts of fallout.
The Tribulation will be characterized by mass death: "Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). And Revelation 9:18 says, "by these three plagues a third of mankind was killed-- by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths." Now this could be supernatural but it is more likely that this devastation will be by natural means which reinforces the idea that nuclear weapons will be used.
We are so used to being blessed by God in the United States that it hardly occurs to anyone that we could build up so much of God's wrath that He'd allow us to be utterly destroyed. But, "for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48). We have stopped using our blessings to advance the cause of Christ in the world; we promote secular humanism as the savior of mankind exporting our corrupt culture worldwide. The U. S. has become an idol for human achievement apart from God that must be broken during the Tribulation.
The likely fate of the U.S. should drive us to Christ. As we may be in the world but not of it per John 17:11 and 16, we may be in Mystery Babylon but not of it. "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues'" (Revelation 18:4). We should not allow ourselves to get caught up in the destructive ideology of the world. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). We should also do what we can to help others see that they should put their hope in Christ as all citizens of heaven do and not in any worldly kingdom.
It has also been postulated that the Rapture of the Church could explain why there doesn't appear to be any country like the U.S. mentioned in the prophetic Scriptures. While there is probably a higher concentration of Christians in the U.S. than in any other country and there will be great disruption when the Lord comes for us, the impact will probably not be as great as we'd like to believe. How many true Bible-believing born-again Christians are there in this country? Surveys have indicated that about 33% of Americans claim to be born-again. But other surveys have also shown that only 1-in-3 young born again evangelicals believe Jesus is the only way to heaven which means they don't really have a biblical understanding of Christ. This means that the number of adults taken in the Rapture could be as low as 11% of the population. Such a loss would hurt any country but would hardly be something it couldn't recover from.
In light of this, it is worth taking another look at Scripture's many references to End Times Babylon. The best fit for this last days national entity is the United States. Some people like to take the Bible's references to Babylon in the last days literally thinking it is talking about the original city site in modern day Iraq. But this just doesn’t fit very well because the there is no place in Iraq that is likely to be the center of worldwide commerce anytime soon, if ever. We should certainly take Scripture literally where the plain sense makes sense but when it doesn’t we should look for a symbolic meaning.
The characteristics of Babylon in the end times are mostly given in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 along with Revelation chapters 17 and 18. Jeremiah 50:42 uses the term “Daughter of Babylon” which is a clue that it must not be referring to the original Babylon, but some other country. The book of Revelation calls End Times Babylon “Mystery Babylon” indicating symbolism applies here and it is only spiritually related to the original Babylon.
Both Jeremiah and Revelation represent End Times Babylon as having much wisdom, wealth and knowledge while thinking it is secure and invincible. In the book of Revelation, Mystery Babylon is presented as the final world government of man that rules over Jerusalem. It is at the same time a political, economic and religious system which becomes the Tribulation government of Antichrist.
Jeremiah 50:12 says this about End Times Babylon: "Your mother will be greatly ashamed, she who gave you birth will be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least (youngest) of the nations" (NIV). The U.S. best fits this description having had Great Britain as a mother nation, and is the youngest of the world's superpowers. Likewise, Jeremiah 51:13 describes End Times Babylon as, "you who dwell by many waters." This description certainly fits the U.S. which has 15 major ports on 3 oceans and 5 Great Lakes. In comparison, modern day Iraq has only two small ports on one ocean.
We also see that End Times Babylon has to be a significant military power: "How the hammer of the whole earth... has been cut off and broken!" (Jeremiah 50:23). The U.S. is certainly still the dominant superpower in the world and is the primary military hammer of both NATO and the United Nations.
End Times Babylon is described as being engaged in worldwide commerce where Jeremiah 50:26 says, "Come to her from the farthest border; open up her barns." Revelation 18:11 indicates that this Babylon will be an economic powerhouse where, "the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more." Thus End Times Babylon must be a large consumer nation importing products from far away just as China supplies a huge portion of what is purchased in the United States. This is further reinforced by Revelation 18:19 which says, "all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth." Thus End Times Babylon is a nation with great resources, is wealthy, has world-wide influence and conducts trade via the sea. These are all characteristics of the United States.
End Times Babylon has great wealth and resources. Jeremiah 50:37 declares "a sword against her treasures" and Jeremiah 51:13 refers to her as being "abundant in treasures." This nation had been blessed by God with natural resources and has leveraged it to amass great wealth that has driven the world economy: "your merchants were the great men of the earth" (Revelation 18:23). This nation has been emulated worldwide having many great merchants that reach the far corners of the earth. Our English language has become the default language of commerce, the petro-dollar is the reserve currency of the world.
End Times Babylon is has a powerful media. Jeremiah 50:2 says. "her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered"; and Jeremiah 50:38 says, "it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols." How would the prophet Isaiah describe TV, movies, or the Internet 3,000 years ago?
End Times Babylon travels in space: "though Babylon should ascend to the heavens" (Jeremiah 51:53). If this is a reference to space exploration in the celestial heavens, it certainly narrows the field of prospective countries!
End Times Babylon rejects God: "for she has become arrogant against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel" (Jeremiah 50:29). Since this nation "has become arrogant," it must have once been humble toward the Lord as could be said of the United States. This nation does not just become arrogant against God, but against Jesus Christ, "the Holy One of Israel." Every day there is more evidence that the U.S. is becoming a post-Christian nation. The Marine getting court marshaled for displaying a passage of Scripture at her work station comes to mind as a recent example. We have also flaunted our Christ-given liberties exporting pornography and our godless corrupt culture worldwide. We have taken God out of the classroom and the public square under the auspices of not wanting to offend anyone. And we have embraced multiculturalism advocating the equal validity of all religions with many paths to heaven.
End Times Babylon is a manufacturing powerhouse that has driven the culture of the world, "the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer" (Revelation 18:22). God enabled this nation to develop luxury, culture and industry allowing them to export their blessings throughout the world. But as our culture became more corrupt, this only served to facilitate the world moving further from God.
End Times Babylon is described as a harlot: "I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters" (Revelation 17:1). The United States has certainly prostituted ourselves to the world seeking to be wealthy beyond our blessings from God. As we prostituted ourselves, we have corrupted the world: "the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication" (Revelation 17:2). We have caused the world to buy into our culture of democratic capitalism apart from God as the critical enabler of the American Dream.
End Times Babylon will persecute the saints: "I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:6). During the Tribulation, it is likely that the U.S. will lead the world in embracing the Antichrist’s campaign to eliminate those perceived to be holding society back.
Some have suggested that the Mystery Babylon of Revelation refers to Rome. This comes from Revelation 17:9-10 which says, "the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come." While Rome is known as a city on seven hills; in context, the reverence to mountains in this passage is talking about historical kingdoms. The five kingdoms that had fallen at the time Revelation was written were the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks. Rome was the kingdom that “is” and the Turkish Ottoman Empire would be the seventh kingdom. The future kingdom of the Antichrist would be the eighth.
Others have proposed that the Mystery Babylon of Revelation could just be another reference to the world. But Revelation 18:17-18 says, "every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, `What is like this great city?'" Thus End Times Babylon must be at least represented by a real place. Certainly the U.S. has led the world system but no place better represents the world system than New York City, a huge hub of world commerce and home of the United Nations.
The arrogance of End Times Babylon will have consequences. Jeremiah 50:35 prophecies, "a sword against... her wise men!" This nation is very educated and has much knowledge but this intelligence does not keep them from being attacked.
The fate of End Times Babylon is to be cut down and lost in the wind: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it is time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come" (Jeremiah 51:33). This nation is made up of good grain and bad chaff. God comes for the good grain at the Rapture and the bad chaff is blown away during the Tribulation. Jeremiah 50:3 says End Times Babylon will be attacked, "a nation has come up against her out of the north," and this is re-emphasized in Jeremiah 51:48 where is says, "the destroyers will come to her from the north." An attack on the U.S. from Russia would be from over the North pole. Russia (Magog) is aligned with Iran (Persia) in the Ezekiel 38/39 invasion of Israel (probably post-Rapture but not necessarily). The U.S. could be the "coastlands" (Ezekiel 39:6) that gets attacked in the Gog invasion.
Revelation 18:17 comments on the demise of End Times Babylon by saying, "in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste." This is reinforced in Jeremiah 51:8 which says, "suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken." Isaiah 47:11 also comments on the fate of End Times Babylon saying, "destruction about which you do not know will come on you suddenly." Such sudden destruction could refer to a nuclear attack which is also supported by Jeremiah 51:62: "O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever." Nuclear weapons would so pollute the land that no one would ever live there again. It is interesting to note that Russian doctrine for nuclear weapons is to employ ground bursts which maximizes their destructive effects by producing massive amounts of fallout.
The Tribulation will be characterized by mass death: "Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). And Revelation 9:18 says, "by these three plagues a third of mankind was killed-- by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths." Now this could be supernatural but it is more likely that this devastation will be by natural means which reinforces the idea that nuclear weapons will be used.
We are so used to being blessed by God in the United States that it hardly occurs to anyone that we could build up so much of God's wrath that He'd allow us to be utterly destroyed. But, "for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48). We have stopped using our blessings to advance the cause of Christ in the world; we promote secular humanism as the savior of mankind exporting our corrupt culture worldwide. The U. S. has become an idol for human achievement apart from God that must be broken during the Tribulation.
The likely fate of the U.S. should drive us to Christ. As we may be in the world but not of it per John 17:11 and 16, we may be in Mystery Babylon but not of it. "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues'" (Revelation 18:4). We should not allow ourselves to get caught up in the destructive ideology of the world. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). We should also do what we can to help others see that they should put their hope in Christ as all citizens of heaven do and not in any worldly kingdom.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Baltimore
We are now seeing what happens when city police are attacked by the media and politicians with trumped-up charges of racism. The police in Baltimore have become afraid to do their jobs. The result is out of control lawlessness. Homicides have spiked in May with 36 to date which is directly correlated to police becoming more reactive rather than proactive in dealing with crime.
The pain the people of Baltimore are feeling has been fabricated by the progressive narrative that police officers generally oppress black people. Liberal activists cite arrest and incarceration statistics to support their claims. While it is not politically correct to point this out, statistics also show that crime is directly correlated to the break down of the traditional family. The progressive ideology that "It Takes a Village" to properly raise children perpetrates the idea that a traditional family is not necessary. Our government social programs have only made worse the break-down of the traditional family by taking away incentives to work and making it easier for a single parent to raise kids. These social programs have done more harm than help to the poor getting them hooked on the government "safety net" so that they remain a permanent dependant underclass. We are beginning to see the fruit of these failed programs in Baltimore.
The break-down of the family is a symptom of a serious spiritual problem. When people ignore God to pursue their selfish interests, they suffer consequences. Collectively, society suffers when godlessness saturates the culture snowballing the consequences to harm even more people. The humanist progressives do not even consider the spiritual component to these issues, they just see these problems as an opportunity to double down on their failed programs. They don't realize that they are the useful idiots of powerful malevolent spiritual forces seeking to control and destroy what God has created.
The progressive ideologues will not face the true source of the increasing lawlessness in Baltimore because they are not really interested in fixing the problem. Their charges of racism and systematic abuse by the police only serves to create a crisis that will give them an excuse to make reforms. As former Attorney General Eric Holder said that we should, "never let a good crisis go to waste," it is even better if you can create a crisis to make the changes you want.
The claim that police departments are systematically oppressing black people is a derivative of the larger narrative that the American system is unfair to minorities and needs to be fundamentally changed. This is lie that will give the ruling elite a reason to impose more centralized control over everyone in this country. It is amazing that leftists are able to give voice to the lie that racism is an endemic problem in the United States. Our country is still the destination of choice for most people in the world who want to escape their oppressive governments.
Meanwhile, racism is growing in the world. A good example is South Africa which you'd think is one country that should have grown beyond it's colonial racist past. Racism is so bad there that South Africa's minority colonial descendants are appealing for the right to return to Europe. Progressives no doubt think these colonial descendants are only getting what they deserve suffering for the sins of their fathers.
If local police departments are systematically abusing minorities then the only solution is to put them under the authority of the federal government. This is consistent with President Obama's vision for a national police force. Baltimore is not the only city that is now blessed with federal government oversight of their police department. In the past five years, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has opened over 20 investigations into police departments, more than twice as many investigations than were opened in the previous five years. Is this because we have a racist police problem, or because we have a ruling elite who wants us to think we do? It is real hard to trust the ruling elite when it is so obvious to anyone who is not blinded by their leftist ideology that they lie to the public with impunity in order to advance their cause.
The spirit of Antichrist is growing stronger every day. It is increasingly more clear that God is removing His restraint of evil in this world and giving us over to rulers with a debased mind (Romans 1:28). Among the birth pangs Jesus gave us to watch for in Matthew 24 were increasing racism, wars, lawlessness, and wickedness which are all seen in the Baltimore crisis. As birth pangs, we can expect these problems in society to get worse until Jesus returns. Come soon Lord Jesus, this suffering world sorely needs You!
The pain the people of Baltimore are feeling has been fabricated by the progressive narrative that police officers generally oppress black people. Liberal activists cite arrest and incarceration statistics to support their claims. While it is not politically correct to point this out, statistics also show that crime is directly correlated to the break down of the traditional family. The progressive ideology that "It Takes a Village" to properly raise children perpetrates the idea that a traditional family is not necessary. Our government social programs have only made worse the break-down of the traditional family by taking away incentives to work and making it easier for a single parent to raise kids. These social programs have done more harm than help to the poor getting them hooked on the government "safety net" so that they remain a permanent dependant underclass. We are beginning to see the fruit of these failed programs in Baltimore.
The break-down of the family is a symptom of a serious spiritual problem. When people ignore God to pursue their selfish interests, they suffer consequences. Collectively, society suffers when godlessness saturates the culture snowballing the consequences to harm even more people. The humanist progressives do not even consider the spiritual component to these issues, they just see these problems as an opportunity to double down on their failed programs. They don't realize that they are the useful idiots of powerful malevolent spiritual forces seeking to control and destroy what God has created.
The progressive ideologues will not face the true source of the increasing lawlessness in Baltimore because they are not really interested in fixing the problem. Their charges of racism and systematic abuse by the police only serves to create a crisis that will give them an excuse to make reforms. As former Attorney General Eric Holder said that we should, "never let a good crisis go to waste," it is even better if you can create a crisis to make the changes you want.
The claim that police departments are systematically oppressing black people is a derivative of the larger narrative that the American system is unfair to minorities and needs to be fundamentally changed. This is lie that will give the ruling elite a reason to impose more centralized control over everyone in this country. It is amazing that leftists are able to give voice to the lie that racism is an endemic problem in the United States. Our country is still the destination of choice for most people in the world who want to escape their oppressive governments.
Meanwhile, racism is growing in the world. A good example is South Africa which you'd think is one country that should have grown beyond it's colonial racist past. Racism is so bad there that South Africa's minority colonial descendants are appealing for the right to return to Europe. Progressives no doubt think these colonial descendants are only getting what they deserve suffering for the sins of their fathers.
If local police departments are systematically abusing minorities then the only solution is to put them under the authority of the federal government. This is consistent with President Obama's vision for a national police force. Baltimore is not the only city that is now blessed with federal government oversight of their police department. In the past five years, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has opened over 20 investigations into police departments, more than twice as many investigations than were opened in the previous five years. Is this because we have a racist police problem, or because we have a ruling elite who wants us to think we do? It is real hard to trust the ruling elite when it is so obvious to anyone who is not blinded by their leftist ideology that they lie to the public with impunity in order to advance their cause.
The spirit of Antichrist is growing stronger every day. It is increasingly more clear that God is removing His restraint of evil in this world and giving us over to rulers with a debased mind (Romans 1:28). Among the birth pangs Jesus gave us to watch for in Matthew 24 were increasing racism, wars, lawlessness, and wickedness which are all seen in the Baltimore crisis. As birth pangs, we can expect these problems in society to get worse until Jesus returns. Come soon Lord Jesus, this suffering world sorely needs You!
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