Prophecy Update: Socialism is not Biblical 9/13/19

Prophecy includes many subjects coming together at the same time. That is what makes it so fascinating to be alive at this time. You can bundle all of the subjects of prophecy under one heading: a rejection of God and His plan. Second Timothy gives us an overview in 3:1-5, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

Israel is the biggest reason I believe that we are in the last days. The Bible also talks about the fall of morals and rise of false teachers who will invade the church. Notice that in our passage how the pursuit of pleasure dominates the last days. America is a nation that suffers from the sins of ‘lovers of self and money.’ I want to attack the love of socialism in this paper because it is a lie of Satan and the church is buying into the lie. This lie is gaining ground among Christians because the sin of coveting has become okay in the church.

The Christian Post had an article about this problem several years ago. “5 Reasons Socialism Is Not Christian.” (2016) According to a recent Reason-Rupe survey, 53% of Americans under 30 view socialism favorably, compared to less than a third of Americans over 30. Similarly, Gallup found that 69% of those under 30 said they would be willing to vote for a socialist presidential candidate.” The Democratic Party is dominated by socialist and communist candidates with a consistent message: Government can give you everything. Here is what is wrong with socialism: 1. Socialism is Based on a Materialistic Worldview. 2. Socialism Punishes Virtue. 3. Socialism Endorses Stealing. 4. Socialism Encourages Envy and Class Warfare. 5. Socialism Seeks to Destroy Marriage & Family.
I want to start my critique of socialism with 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Socialism teaches that there is an inequality of wealth and the wealthy are evil and the poor are good. The poor have a right to take from the rich whatever they want. This is the Marxist/Leninist worldview that life is materialistic and meaning of life comes from your stuff. The Christian worldview is opposite: God says that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience not the other way around. According to socialists like Bernie Sanders, the greatest problem in the world is the unequal distribution of wealth. He is wrong: The greatest problem is sin! “Socialists don’t believe in private property. and, some Christian socialists actually assert that the Bible doesn’t either. That’s preposterous. Both the Old Testament and New Testament unequivocally affirm private property. We can’t even obey the eighth commandment to not steal, unless we accept the notion of private ownership. Nor, can we steward our money as the Bible commands if the state owns our money, not us. So, for an economic and political system to be Christian, it must protect private ownership and allow individuals freedom to allocate their resources according to their conscience.”

Socialism, Communism, and Fascism advocate state control of property and money, they are all alike in that way. Germany under the Nazi’s presented themselves as a fascist state and they called it a socialist state. Nazi stands for National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Proverbs 14:31 says, “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for his maker . . .” These socialists today attack the rich in ways that the Bible never does. God blesses people to make money, thank God. Wealth does not make a person a sinner, being a sinner makes people misuse wealth. God blessed so many people in the Bible with wealth!

Bernie Sanders once posted to his Facebook Page: “Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.” He advocates war with people who have more money and this is the work of Satan, always fostering division and hatred. The rich are not causing all the problems in American society. “People like Bill Gates are not acquiring wealth by stealing from the masses. They’re creating great products, which produce wealth, and actually provide jobs for many people. But, even if they were exploiting the poor, nowhere does Scripture support the have-nots demanding money from the haves. Instead, it teaches that we should not covet (Exodus 20:17) and should be content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11-13).”

A little known fact about socialism is that, from its beginning, it has sought to destroy marriage and family. Grove City Professor Paul Kengor explains this in detail in his book, Takedown: From Communists to Progressives, How the Left Has Sabotaged Marriage and Family. Essentially, what socialism seeks is for the state to replace the family. That way, it can indoctrinate children in its Leftist way of thinking, and remove from them any notions of God and religion.

A popular quote from Scottish historian Alexander Fraser Tytler: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse [financial benefits] from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses.” But the Bible never advocates state-run welfare programs. According to biblical principles, compulsory and confiscatory taxation to “redistribute” wealth from income earners to those who are not earning, with an unfair “graduated” income tax and other methods, is legalized stealing! It is no wonder that Israel was transformed from a socialist country (1948-1967) into a capitalist country. (1967-today)

The convergence of prophetic events in the world makes socialism the preferred method of government leading up to the reign of the antichrist. When people want to give up their freedom for government control of all things, then people will be ready for total control of the evil one. On Tuesday of this week I was floored by the announcement coming out of Israel.

“NETANYAHU VOWS TO ANNEX ALL SETTLEMENTS, STARTING WITH JORDAN VALLEY,” was the headline. This corresponds to the prophecy of Ezekiel 36 when God says He will give back the mountains of Israel to His covenant people. The argument from the opponents of this move were two fold. First, those running against Netanyahu in the Israeli election are saying it is a right wing promise. Secondly, the world reacted as expected; it is illegal to annex land that is not yours. Let me deal with the second one first.

The European Union warned Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s pledge to annex the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area if he wins next week’s election undermines chances for peace in the region. “The policy of settlement construction and expansion… is illegal under international law and its continuation, and actions taken in this context, undermine the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement to AFP. The United Nations, however, warned Israel that such a move would be in violation of international law and would have no “international legal effect”.
Ezekiel 36:7-8 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘I have sworn that surely the nations which are around you will themselves endure their insults. ‘But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come.” The Palestinian lie is that a state once stood on Israeli ground for Arabs who call themselves Palestinians. They claim that Israel stole their land. It is not true and God will give the land to His people in fulfillment of His promises. This move by the Prime Minister will be the start of that process just as they did with the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. As I have taught in the past, the ancient cities of Israel need to go back to Israel. Here is the announcement about Jericho:
Netanyahu Vows to Re-Conquer Jericho: the ‘Door to Greater Israel, 3rd Temple’
Many polls are putting the opposition led by the Blue and White Party ahead of Likud and is appears that Netanyahu is responding by becoming even more right-wing. This was seen on live television when he referred to the Jordan Valley as “Israel’s eastern border.” The largest city in the Jordan Valley is Jericho and though it is currently occupied by some 18,000 Arabs, it is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. “In the Bible, we see that Jericho is the key to all of Israel, Rabbi Sudri told Breaking Israel News. “If you have the key in your hand, only then can you enter but after you do the entire land will be open in front of you. “Contrary to what Netanyahu did, Yitzchak Rabin’s downfall began when he gave Jericho to the Arabs,” Rabbi Sudri said. “Though it may seem like an insignificant city on the edge of Israel, it is like the door to the house which does not seem to be part of the house but if you give the key to an enemy, the entire house falls.” There is no doubt that Jericho’s Biblical significance is clear to the Prime Minister and his campaign took a distinctly Biblical turn last week when he became the first sitting prime minister to speak in Hebron. Netanyahu referred to the Biblical significance of Hebron when he said, “We all remember the victory call of Caleb son of Jephunneh who was loyal to Hebron – Let us, by all means, go up!” “Since the Oslo Accords (1993), redemption has made a U-turn and the nations now recognize Jerusalem as the heart of the Jewish People,” Rabbi Glick said. “Now is the beginning when the world can recognize our sovereignty over all of the land of Israel, especially the places that the Bible took place. This has to be true of Jericho which is specifically described as the first place we conquered after the Exodus as the entrance into the land.” Things are moving fast. Pray and watch with me this week!