The Beast Empires

THE BEAST EMPIRES

 

A careful study of world history will disclose that there was certain nation Empires that because of their hatred toward God's chosen people Israel over the years could be called "Beast Empires". That is the term that Robert Van Kampen chose to use in his book called "The Sign". Starting with Egypt, when a new Pharaoh came to power after the former one had welcomed Jacob and his family of 70+ souls to settle in a fertile section of the country called Goshen. Their family increased so rapidly that this new King was afraid they could become more numerous than the Egyptians, so he made them slaves, and their life became hard under bondage. We know from scripture that when they cried out to their God, He sent Moses to lead them out of bondage.

 

According to Van Kampen in chapters 6 and 7 of his book he lists a total of 8 beast empires starting with Egypt and ending with the rule of Antichrist as the eighth. On page 113 he gives a very interesting diagram showing these different Empires with their leaders. Number seven is not really identified but Nazi Germany under the leadership of Adolph Hitler and his attempt to exterminate the Jews would certainly be one possibility. The fact that this WW 2 happened just prior to the Nation of Israel being established back in their own land in 1948, and the demonic reign of Hitler and the holocaust he masterminded, all would lead to him as the most likely person in my opinion. In any event there has to be a seventh who received a fatal wound but who was restored to become the final Beast, (Rev 13:1-10)!

 

This is one of the more interesting parts of the "end times scenario" that Van Kampen includes in "The Sign". The main theme of his book would be how God is going to provide for Israel, His chosen people. As we know the enemy "Lucifer/Satan" has always been the avowed enemy of God since he was cast out of heaven long ago (Is 14: 12-23) and (Ezek 28:11-19). These 2 OT passages explain the very beginning of sin and wickedness that we see in our "Fallen World", and how our Creator will deal with this problem before He creates a "New Heaven and a New Earth" as described in (Rev 21:1-10). Our God who has always had a plan for this world way before He created this time and space world out of nothing, so to speak, will be sure to finish what He started. We who have a "relationship" with Him through His Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6), have a glorious future to look forward to!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                                 30/08/14

Two Gardens

TWO GARDENS

 

The Scriptures mentions two gardens, Eden, and Gethsemane. We are told that the "Garden of Eden" was a special place prepared by God as a home for our first human and his wife, Adam and Eve. Read Genesis chapter two for the details. It seems that God's plan for His first family on earth was to have them multiply and populate the earth with humans created in the "Image of God", (Gen 1:27-28). But we know that God has had an enemy ever since the Arch Angel Lucifer had to be cast out of heaven because "the sin of pride" was found in him and he rebelled against his Creator. See (Isa 14:12-17) and (Ezek 28:11-17) for details. Lucifer chose to make his new home on our planet Earth, which is the only one created to sustain life. He goes by different names here as Satan, Devil, Destroyer, Deceiver, and Beast etc. Because he was cast out of heaven, he has been the avowed enemy of God ever since, and naturally the enemy of God's children. When he entered Eden as a "talking snake", which should have tipped off Adam and Eve, that something was wrong because normal snakes don't talk. Then he lied to them about God's instruction to not eat the fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" or else they would die. They believed his lie and disobeyed the command of God, and brought the curse of "sin and death" on all of creation. See chapter 3 of Genesis for the details of this original sin, and (Rom 5:12-21) for Paul's list of the consequences of this one sin.

 

As we know, God's plan to remedy this situation was for His only begotten Son Jesus to become a human by way of the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus through the womb of The Virgin Mary of Nazareth. She was a Jewish maiden who was especially chosen to be the natural mother of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. After his life on earth was nearly finished, we see Him praying in the "Garden of Gethsemane" (Mark 14:32-42), the night He was betrayed. Jesus was the one and only "God/Man", 100% God and 100% Man, and of course He knew what faced Him on the cross. So His humanity was crying to His Father "if it is possible take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done and not mine". Our eternal salvation all depended on that decision made that day be our Savior Jesus Christ. He suffered the unimaginable horrors of Calvary for us sinners, what are we willing to suffer for Him as His followers today?

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                                 12/09/15

The Army of God

THE ARMY OF GOD

A popular chorus back in the "charismatic renewal" days of the 60's and 70's, before some of you were born, came to mind last week and with it the following thoughts. First let me give you the words of this chorus. "God's got an army marching through the land Deliverance is their song, with healing in their hands Everlasting joy and gladness in their heart And in this army I've got a part."

 

I'm not so sure that God has ever had an army, in the true sense of the word. We could sing the songs and pretend that we were, but when it came to going into battle against the enemy forces, many people went "AWOL"(Absent Without Leave) in case you've never heard the term! Two of my brothers were involved in WW2, one in the RCAF, the other in the Merchant Marines. I was too young of course, but I heard lots of stories after the war ended with the celebrations of VE Day in 1945. I'm sure that God wants an "army" to do battle against His enemy Satan and his kingdom of darkness, but does such an army really exist? Consider what an army, or "armed forces", the more politically correct term used today, actually consist of. The methods of fighting a war have changed drastically since WW2, but the requirements for the armed forces involved has not changed much. Basic "boot camp" is still the starting point for new recruits, where they learn the difference between their old life as a civilian and their new life as a soldier. This includes, but is not limited to, learning to obey orders even if they don't make sense. Some day their life may depend on it! How many believers do you know that have learned to obey a command given by their leaders to do something that they don't understand the reason for? We live in a society that is very "independent", and accustomed to making our own decisions based on what is best for us, with no thought to how it might affect anyone else! This is definitely not allowed in an army setting. We must know our "superior officers", and obey their commands. One of the problems in the church today (who we consider to be God's army) is that they are not submitted to leadership who has been appointed by God to lead His people. We have more "self appointed" leaders today, or ones elected by a group of people, and not set in place by God. How can we consider this thing we call a church the "army of God"? How do you suppose God calls it? I expect He would use some other word, and perhaps we should too!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                              11/10/11