Crunchy Con

Predictions for 2009

Monday December 15, 2008

Categories: Decline and fall

If Sharon Astyk's predictions for 2009 turn out to be as accurate as her predictions for 2008 did, we're not going to have much fun in the new year. What do you think's going to happen in '09? Seriously.

I wish I could think clearly enough to offer anything, even something semi-demi-hemi-baked. The only prediction I can focus on right now is my belief that there's a 50 percent chance that by this time next year, I'll be unemployed.

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Comments
Will
December 17, 2008 9:21 AM

Hysterical, Jon. Reagan's 'can-do, will-do' spirit you mention was more accurately a 'can borrow, will borrow' spirit. "Deficits don't matter" Reagan and Reaganism embodies everything that's wrong with our economy today - a childlike belief in eternal growth and a naive contempt for regulation, with a "free-market" slapped on it.

Paul Gregersen
December 17, 2008 12:36 PM
http://www.eternaltruth.net

The enemy within the christian conservative movement may be doing far more damage than the liberal media to our cause. We have learned that several million Christians failed to vote in this last election. I have also learned that the end times doomsday theology has a great influence into the mindset of many Christians today. A christian church having nearly a million members is claiming that December 14th will be the beginning of the tribulation period, and the trump will sound. I tried hard to influence a such people to vote this year! Why would they not want to vote? It was a contradiction to their religious convictions when according to them, America has already been judged by God. Why not vote?
What was their hang up? Why vote if Christian’s are caught up in a rapture to heaven, and when the anti Christ will dominate the world anyway according to prophecy? The most frightening thing coming is the popular 2012 date set for the rapture spreading anticipation like wild fire! It may draw many more Christians into a doomsday mentality, potentially hurting the next election much more so.
The conservative balance of power may be determined by such critical voters who may yet determine America's future. We need all christians to stay loyal to America, not the Rapture! What is wrong with this anti-christ beast theory? Look at Waco Texas, and David Koresh, and Jim Jones, and others. What happens when normal human beings are drawn into abnormal behavior by strong religious convictions coming from a doomsday theology! This hidden enemy exists within our conservative center, and it may already be doing far more harm than the liberal media has done to conservative causes.
Revelation 15:2 clearly states that the mark of the beast is something Christians must personally overcome to gain the victory through the blood of the lamb? This description and obvious wording in the Bible seem to identify mans fallen nature, not some computer implant which many wrongly speculate. Did Christ die for our sins, or did he die for computer implants? Is this not a ridiculous theology which millions of Christians have fallen for?.Lets list some rational truth's concerning this subject taken directly from the Bible.
The mark originated with Cain, in the Old Testament. Cain killed his brother Abel and sought to cover his sin by hiding his murderous crime. God asked Cain,where is thy brother? Cain said, I know not, am I my brothers keeper? Cain was marked after becoming the the example of satanic behavior God detests.
God then cursed the works of Cain’s hand’s, the ground he tilled no longer brought forth her strength. In other word’s, a bad economy then followed the mark. Can we not identify this mark as Gods curse upon Cain’s right handed works? Why? Cain had yielded himself to Satan’s power by failing to bring forth good fruits, breaking Gods commandments.
It was Satan who was symbolized in the Bible as being the cursed beast (the Serpent) in the Garden of Eden. A type of snake bite, a beastly mark identifying the sin nature which Satan injected into mans heart, was being depicted as the mark of sin.
Later we learn in the New Testament that people who follow Cain like nature are also called beasts. “Jude 1.
The Bible gives us an even clearer example of this mark, when Joseph’s brothers sought to kill Joseph and sell him as a slave into Egypt. The brothers hid this sin from Jacob, their father. How? By killing a wild beast and placing an animal’s blood upon Joseph’s coat of many colors. How? By using an actual beasts bloodstain as if it belong to Joseph.. The brothers then lied to Jacob, by showing Jacob Joseph’s coat with a marked bloodstain. They told Jacob that Joseph was killed by a wild beast. This false evidence convinced Jacob that his only birthright son was dead. This was the secret plan Jacob did not know. It was a mark upon Joseph’s coat which was actually "the mark of the beast” and not coming from Josephs torn body .
The mark of the beast becomes a deception which hides and removes Gods will by replacing it with Satan’s deception and plan. It was Gods will that Joseph become the birthright son. Suddenly, Joseph is removed from sight by the hidden cover up, The mark of a wild beast literally hid the lie, and removed true authority.
The brothers had sold Joseph to the Egyptians for money. Thus, buying and selling the lie behind beastly mark through deception for worldly gain. The interpretation of an anti Christ is to remove Christ’s will, and then replace it with the mark of the beast, or Satan’s power. Gods will was being sold out through the lie, coming from a secret combination.
When Nebuchadnezzar forced the world to worship his golden God in Babylon, he used the power of the state to replace Gods true authority by using a calculated and manufactured lie.

King Nebuchadnezzar also used Gold (money) to build his God, selling out the value of worshiping the true God. Again, replacing Christ’s will with Satan’s deceptive mark. Babylon today represents any government or spiritual system which rewards selfishness by removing the true God.

After Nebuchadnezzar imposed his sin of pride using his political authority, God cursed Nebuchadnezzar by transforming him into the nature of a wild beast. (Read Daniel chapter four.) Nebuchadnezzar was marked like unto Cain, removed from men, acting inhuman like a wild beast.
In other word’s, Babylon is a state of mind which destroys our humanity!
Nebuchadnezzar finally repented after going through a terrible withdrawal process for 7 years, removing him from his evil addiction for power. The 666 number in scripture clearly identifies Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue by its dimensions and exact size. The statue was gold, which represents Nebuchadnezzar himself who became the image of the golden statue, as recorded by Daniel. “Daniel 2.” King Nebuchadnezzar was literally the 600 BC man.
The entire ancient world represented his power given to one single man marking 600 B. C. in history.
His giant golden image was carefully measured and recorded by Daniel as being 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. “Daniel 3:1″. This biblical event marked the Babylonian attempt to replace God with a six hundred and three score, and six man. The 600 BC man was Nebuchadnezzar himself, being enlarged into a huge statue almost a hundred feet tall. Babylon is about a little man trying to become a great big man using earthly political means.

The world did not have the modern media in Nebuchadnezzar’s day to make him self larger than life. This huge golden image represents a man seeking to reach notoriety and Godly status by becoming larger, more visible to the world. This explains why John would instructs believers to count the number of the beast, to find the hidden man.
Is the true measure of a man not measured by his inflated image to be seen by men, revealing his beastly pride? Or, is that not the measure of the beastly side which hides his true image!
The true measure of the man is being obscured from view Nebuchadnezzar’s false image was 666. “Daniel: 3-1″.
The true man was hidden from our view by sin until he became humble. “Daniel 4" "Revelation 13:18." In other words, you can find the answer to the world’s greatest Bible mystery 666, directly recorded inside your very own family Bible. The search is now over...
God actually frees the beast of Babylon from his evil mark after Nebuchadnezzar repents. Evil men today are seeking to remove our God given freedoms by replacing “one nation under God” with state supported socialism. why? In order to make slaves of free Americans. It is not the same spirit of Babylon returning to us again today. Fallen man is still seeking to make his worldly image large in order to remove God, replacing God with a god of gold, purchased with our own money by state decree. The new god becomes mans exalted authority being granted through the state and not God.. Remember Moses and the golden calf image represented a beast God in Moses day! The golden beast was created by collecting the people’s own wealth.

Once again, they are setting up another God of gold using our money to pay for it. Why? Is it not to going to force Americans to worship this golden God of the state? Or become fired, exiled, or destroyed through the power of political correctness? No man or women will be able to buy nor sell, or hold a job, unless they contribute to this god of Babylon being forced through higher taxation, personal loyalty and sacrifice. We now witness a state, growing within a state, within our nation.
Look at the bailouts and the national debt being the taken from us to create Babylon’s God. No one is calling for legal hearings to place Kriss Dodd and Barney Frank in prison after they created this world economic crisis. Instead, They with their friends have been placed in charge of this bail out money and our economy…Every man, every women, and every child born today, including the unborn, must pay for an out of control national debt bringing America into a modern Babylonian bondage. Untold billions of our money must transfer directly into these social democrats hands transforming America into a predatory beast. The secret plan must hide their goal to change America into a new nation under their god. This god of money now becomes the new savior of America through a government bail out as our salvation. This is the true anti Christ that no one yet is looking for already happening directly in front of us..
It is another god of gold, like unto the 666 god in 600 BC! This god is now being constructed for the salvation of Americans who are being forced to worship its image, and make huge sacrifices unto it.
"All small and great, rich and poor," must sacrifice for the god of this new change… Remember Obama, declaring that all Americans must sacrifice for his image for change? The change is a lie, it is a beast which seeks to make us into its slave.! We are now changing America into the modern beast of Babylon, being robbed of our own right hand works, our own money as its sacrifice. This has been made possible through calculated lies planted within our own foreheads or our deceived minds.
What kind of evil beast has entered into over half of America’s foreheads, or intellects, causing them to vote for the institution of their own slavery? Millions of votes were cast against a free America? It was surely an evil beast which deceived their minds by calculated lies orchestrated from the politically correct media.
The mark of America's power comes directly from which votes are being marked on ballets, the peoples right handed works represent their spiritual mindset going on inside their thoughts or in their foreheads. A mark represents a goal, or end destination like a map. There are two marks from the Bibles beginning, the tree of life, and the tree of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. God’s true followers were marked with Gods name in their foreheads, and right hands, according to John. Revelation 22:4. Was Jesus ever going to use computer implants to mark his followers? The mark of God, and the mark of Satan clearly represent a spiritual identification being witnessed through the person’s spiritual mindset, and also by our outward behavior manifesting through our right handed works. Who do we serve? Babylon represents Satan’s government of slavery, and Zion represents Christ’s free form of government.

Which of the mindsets are we being marked into, becomes the final question?
We must awaken Christians to this lie about computer implants being spread by Left behind books. Why? These popular books focus Christians on doomsday instead of helping God unite his servants to labor the final harvest. We can now understand why the harvest is great, but the workers are few!There is a spiritual distraction going on about a the rapture. There is a reason Christ never wanted us to know the day, nor the hour of his coming. Look at Waco Texas and David Koresh? Look at our last two elections when 4 to 5 million Christians stayed home. Look at the bad fruits coming from the teachings being spread from the most popular Christian book sold today called "Left behind! " The left behind books teach that the ancient city of rebuilt Babylon located in Iraq, must become the future seat of the anti christ!
In otherwords, our troops really not fighting for anyones freedom, but are being sacrificed to provide the anti christs with his future home located in Soddam's restored Babylon. The left behind books also teach that the U.N. will be located in Babylon next to Baghdad. Christians are left with no choice but to beleive than Obama's anti war views are more rightious than both Sarah Palin, or George Bush because Obama apposes the Iraq war and therefore apposes anti christ! These teachings help Satan by neutralizing Christian’s spiritual resolve! This self inflicted distraction is causing more damage than anything the liberal media has yet accomplished.
I need your help to challenge this doomsday theology before it becomes a bigger monster in 2012. In the next four years this anticipation about the end of the world may destroy our conservative and Christian unity. People blindly follow an out of context interpretation not coming from God nor the Bible.

Please help us get a new biblical understanding to as many Christians as possible. Why? Millions have become deceived by thousands of money grabbing preachers who have downloaded the wrong understanding of the mark of the beast into their foreheads! These deceived Christians are still waiting for a computer chip implant to bring in the rapture. This is happening when the mark of slavery is already coming upon them.
It is always important to provide another alternative view for people in order to challenge something like this, rather than let it just run wild. We need every christian to vote in future elections, and not allow such apocolyptic distractions to dominate their hearts in 2012. Watch the online video from start to finish, and understand the basis behind Babylon’s mark for today.. Click
http://www.eternaltruth.net

Jon
December 17, 2008 6:10 PM

Re: Reagan and Reaganism embodies everything that's wrong with our economy today - a childlike belief in eternal growth and a naive contempt for regulation, with a "free-market" slapped on it.

The 70s were grossly overregulated, and grossly overtaxed. that's not the problem we have today (for the most part) and I would agree that Reagan's specific solutions from 1980 would be decidedly wrong for our times.
My point was not that Reagan was some sort of timeless sage, but that he faced the challenges of his day with an attitude of determination and yet also optimism-- and that I admire and would urge on our day. Farther back in time, you find the same attitude in FDR, and going really far back, in the Founding Fathers, despite the fact that they were going up against the world's mightiest empire with no more than 1/3 of of a fairly small population at their back.
Wringing one hands while intoning "We're all doomed" is indeed a quick route to doom. Everything fails that passes unattempted. Shall I quote Mr. Roosevelt about the only thing we have to fear?

Will
December 18, 2008 4:10 PM

There's no hand-wringing or going on here, Jon. It's easy to have Reagan's optimism when it's based on unrestricted government borrowing. And no one's advocating inaction either. It's all about the economic policy. If the solution proposed for our economic crisis is more "growth," then we should be suspicious. Perpetual growth got us where we are today.

And just because the boomer retirement iceberg is not that close, that doesn't mean we can't start now to navigate that $75 trillion dollar iceberg.

Jon
December 18, 2008 7:27 PM

Re: And just because the boomer retirement iceberg is not that close, that doesn't mean we can't start now to navigate that $75 trillion dollar iceberg.

I agree we should be making plans for that now. However I am skpetical about the "75 trillion" figure that gets thrown out like a boogeyman in a fright wig when the topic comes up. First off, it's not the cost of the Boomer retirement, unless technology comes along to extend their lives far beyond what is now the norm. Nor is it the cost of Social Security, rather it's the cost of all entitlements over the entire century. That works out to less than 1 trillion per year, which sounds scary too, except it's only a minor fraction of the total economy in any given year.
Secondly, there's growth and then there's growth. Growth the proceeds from technological upgrades is "good" growth" it involves doing more with less, which is a win-win, or should be. We have had a serious problem with too much of our productivity growth of the last generation or so being captured by too few people; hence the problem of asset bubbles due to too much money chasing the phantom of investment growth. A broad-based productivity led growth, as we've had in some other eras, is what we need to aim for.

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About Crunchy Con

Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.

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