What
one believes has more than just personal, individual consequences. It has ramifications for the whole
world. A case in point is the modern
West. Those who embrace the Western
European breakaway sects (whether Roman Catholic or Protestant) which have
rejected union with the life-bearing Orthodox Church, will at some time or
another, despite some exceptions, manifest a form of ‘West is best’ mentality,
be it the Pax Britannica, a global
Papal monarchy, Americanism, etc.
It
is Americanism that concerns the world today.
The Dispensationalist American vision of itself as the Messiah nation and
best friend of God’s chosen people, ethnic Israel, once again has the world on
the brink of a major disastrous war. The
history of this ideology is summed up here:
. . . all of Western history leads up to the
United States of America.
The
“West” as a geopolitical phenomenon actually emerged out of the schism of the
Christian Church into Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The Catholic zone became the
basis for what has since then been known as the “West” as a concept. From this
point on, the people of the Catholic world identified themselves with all of
humanity and identified their history with world history and their civilization
with civilization in general. All remaining civilizations and traditions were
contemptuously likened to “savages” and “barbarians.” It is telling that not
only Christian nations but the entire Orthodox world, which in fact was the
zone of real, undistorted, authentic Christianity, fell into such an “inhuman”
category. In fact, the Orthodox countries – at first Byzantium and later Russia
– were Christians and were the ones to challenge the Catholics’ aggressive
hostility. Orthodoxy presented an example of a different Christianity, a
universal, open, non-sectarian, radically alternative civilizational model
which prevailed in the West prior to the time when it claimed to be the only
form of Christian statehood. It follows that the seed of the dialectical
development of civilization and geopolitical processes in the succeeding
centuries is to be sought in Catholicism’s opposition to Orthodoxy.
The
history of the West is to be accounted for only after the schism of the Church.
At that time, Catholicism became the head of purely “Western” trends. After a
certain period of time, however, certain elements of Catholic teachings
retained from the heritage of the Orthodox unity of the Church came into
contradiction with the main trajectory of the West’s development. The
Reformation appeared as a fracture. At that moment, the most “Western” trends
isolated themselves and became concentrated in the Protestant type.
Protestantism spread precisely in those countries and among those peoples who
moved in the direction dictated by the schism – estrangement from the East,
arrogant contempt for “savage peoples,” the identification of themselves and
their technological development with the peak of civilization, and the
individualistic and rationalistic trends which were no longer satisfiable
within the Catholic framework (although they, in turn, were an essential step
away from the traditional and faithful spirit of the original teachings of
Orthodoxy)
The
Protestant countries, and first and foremost England, represented the path of
“sea civilization” and gravitated to the absolutization of the liberal model
and the universalization of the “trade system.” Henceforth the English began to
play the role of the vanguard of the West, the “Far West.”
The
most extreme and radical Protestant sects of England later formed the basis of
American civilization and designed and realized the project of the United
States of America. They went to the extreme West to the “promised land” to
build a perfect society, the “ideal” and “absolute West.” The United States of
America as a state was established by the consensus of fundamentalist
Protestant sects, and the overwhelming majority of the American political class
to this day remain unchanged as the representatives of these Protestant confessions.
This, nevertheless, is quite logical. The country is still ruled by the legal,
ideological heirs of those who created, organized, and led it to material
prosperity and the rank of a planetary power.
The
Americans themselves call this “Manifest Destiny.” In other words, the
Americans see their history as a consistent upward path towards civilizational
triumph and the victory of this philosophical model upon which American
civilization is founded as the quintessence of the entire history of the West.
. . .
Do
Americans themselves recognize the theological background of their geopolitical
confrontation with Eurasia and Russia? Undoubtedly, they do, and sometimes even
more clearly than Russians.
There
exists a particular Protestant eschatological teaching known as
“Dispensationalism” (from the Latin word “despensatio” which can be translated
as “plot”, “plan,” or “design”). According to this theory, God has one “plan”
for the Anglo-Saxon Christians, another one for the Jews, and a third for all
other peoples. The Anglo-Saxons consider themselves to be the “descendants of
the ten tribes of Israel who did not return to Judea from Babylonian
captivity.” These ten tribes “recalled their origins and adopted Protestantism
as their main confession.”
According
to the adherents of Dispensationalism, the “plot” for the Protestant
Anglo-Saxons is the following: a troubling era will arrive before the end times
(the “great tribulation”). At this moment, the forces of evil and the “Evil
Empire” (when Reagan called the USSR the “Evil Empire,” he had in mind
precisely this eschatological Biblical meaning) will attack the Protestant
Anglo-Saxons (as well as other “born again” peoples), and a short period of
“the abomination of desolation” will reign. The main villain of this “troubled
epoch” (tribulation) is King Gog, and here lies a very important point: in
Dispensationalist eschatology, this character has steadily come to be
identified with Russia.
This
was first formulated most clearly during the Crimean War in 1855 by the
Evangelist John Cumming when he identified Russian Tsar Nikolai II with the
Biblical “Gog, the Prince of Magog” – the leader of the invasion of Israel
foretold in the Bible [41]. This line was once again unleashed with particular
force in 1917 and in the Cold War era when it became the virtually official
position of the “moral majority” of religious America.
God
has yet another “plan” for Israel according to Dispensationalist teachings. By
“Israel” they understand the literal restoration of the Jewish state before the
end times. Unlike Orthodox and all other normal Christians, Protestant
fundamentalists believe that they are related to the Jews still practicing
Judaism today and are convinced that the Biblical prophecies on the nation of
Israel’s participation in the events of the “end times” are to be understood
literally, strictly according to the Old Testament. In the end times, the Jews
are supposed to return to Israel, restore their state (this “Dispensationalist
prophecy” strangely enough was literally fulfilled in 1947) and then be
subjected to the invasion of Gog, i..e, the “Russians,” the “Eurasians.”
Then
begins the strangest part of “Dispensationalism.” It is presumed that at the
moment of the tribulation, the Anglo-Saxon Christians will be “taken up”
(“raptured”) to Heaven as if on a “space ship or saucer” and there they will
ride out the war between Gog (the Russians) and Israel. Then, the Anglo-Saxons,
together with the Protestant “Christ,” will descend to Earth again where they
will meet the Israeli victors over Gog, who will convert to Protestantism. Then
begins the “thousand-year reign” and America, together with Israel, will
dominate the stable paradise of the “open society,” the “one world.”
This
extravagant theory, if not for certain circumstances, would remain in the
domain of marginal fanatics. But…
First
of all, one such convinced “Dispensationalist”, a sincere believer in the
literal fulfillment of such an eschatological scenario, was none other than
Cyrus Scofield, famous for being the original producer of the popular English
Bible, the “Scofield Reference Bible.” which has sold many millions of copies.
In America, this book can be found in every corner, and it was Scofield who inserted
his own historical commentary and prophecies on future events authored in the
spirit of Dispensationalism into Biblical text, thus rendering it difficult for
the inexperienced reader to distinguish the actual Biblical text from its
treatment by Scofield. Christian propaganda in the Anglo-Saxon world, and
particularly in the US, thus intrinsically presents such “patriotic” American
education, Manifest Destiny, Russophobic eschatological indoctrination, and
outright Zionism. In other words, the newest form of the centuries-old ideology
that lies at the heart of the dualism of the West in opposition to the East
which we have discussed is fully embodied in Dispensationalism.
In
some contemporary Dispensationalist texts, such “plans” are connected to the
newest technological advancements, which then gives rise to a “nuclear
Dispensationalism,” i.e., the consideration of “nuclear weapons” as some kind
of apocalyptic asset. Once again, Russia (and earlier the USSR) is presented as
among the “forces of evil” of the “nuclear King Gog.”
The
person responsible for popularizing this “atomic Dispensationalism” was the
evangelist Hal Lindsey, the author of a book interpreting prophecies
titled The Late, Great Planet Earth [42] which has
sold 18 million copies (in its time, it was the second bestseller after the
Bible itself). An ardent follower of Lindsey was none other than Ronald Reagan
who regularly invited Lindsey to lecture nuclear strategists at the Pentagon
[43].
Another
“nuclear Dispensationalist” is the televangelist Jerry Falwell, who became
Regan’s closest government advisor and participated in Reagan’s private
meetings and top military consultations in which questions of nuclear security
were discussed. Thus, archaic religious, eschatological notions perfectly
coexist with secular and progressive ones in American society along with high
technology, geopolitical analysis, and brilliantly efficient systems of
political management.
In
fact, Dispensationalism itself remains inexplicable without considering the unconditional
pro-Israeli position of the US which in fact quite often directly contradicts
the geopolitical and economic interests of the United States. Protestant
fundamentalists’ solidarity with the fate of earthly Israel as restored in 1947
– which in the eyes of Protestants was a direct and impressive confirmation of
Scofield and his Bible’s interpretations – is founded on these deeply
theological and eschatological tales.
For
us, it is very important just how profound and sustained are the anti-Russian,
anti-Eastern, and anti-Eurasian principles of American thinking. These are the
depths of denial and hatred rooted in and carefully nurtured over the course of
centuries.
. . .
Source: https://www.geopolitica.ru/en/article/crusade-against-us,
opened 10 April 2018
Without
a doubt, the Dispensationalist view continues to inform the global political outlook
of many in the States. Here is one very
recent ensample:
. . .
Overshadowing that
time of the confirmation of the covenant and the Rapture is the invasion of
Israel by Gog of the far north, or Russia. If we think chronologically, Ezekiel
writes of that in Ezekiel 38 and 39, following his telling of God’s promise of
an everlasting covenant for Israel. Then in Ezekiel 40, he begins a detailed
description of how to build the temple.
To me, it seemed
impossible for there to be a way to get Russia, now in the Middle East, back up
to the far north, with her back turned away in disinterest in anything down
south. And then, God would turn her around, put hooks in her jaws, and drag her
back upon the mountains of Israel for that destructive war Ezekiel describes in
Ezekiel 38-39.
Then it exploded in
my mind!
God has already done
that at the end of the Cold War when the Soviet Union was dismantled and Russia
was in defeat and shame. Her back was turned on Israel. Then, Vladimir Putin
rose up with Russian pride possessing him and began to see the plunder possible
in the Middle East, and especially Israel. Gog is already down there, ready to
pounce.
The coming signs of
the times certainly involves this, the Gog-Magog war. Notice particularly
though, that Ezekiel does not mention the Rapture nor how the temple is allowed
to be rebuilt. That is all of secular doings, while he is concerned with Israel
activities. He goes directly from the promise of an everlasting covenant to the
war, then the temple’s rebuilding in Ezekiel 40.
Signs of the Times
Joel’s prophecy in
Joel 2 of a great battle “before that great and awesome day of the Lord” could
be descriptive of the Gog-Magog war except for one thing. Joel’s battle is said
to be “before” that “great and awesome day of the Lord,” while the day of the Lord
mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 results in Israel being at “peace” and
secure for Gog’s failed attempt to plunder Israel’s wealth. This fits into the
picture after that initial, introductory day of the Lord.
Joel’s prophecy seems
to indicate a more deadly, awesome time of judgment that would occur during the
last half of the tribulation period such as at the battle of Armageddon. This
period is also called the Great Tribulation, indicating a greater and more
awesome judgment, though that first half of the period is not without its share
of tribulation.
Signs of the Times
When current events
happen and are identified with Bible prophecy, it stirs up excitement in the
hearts of those who have been watching those things. The election of Donald
Trump as President of the United States has brought the destiny of the nation
of Israel front and center because of his intention of solving Israel’s
difficulties in the Middle East. He has ordered the moving of the US Embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and he has put together an envoy headed by his
Jewish son-in-law that has been busy on the renewal of peace-agreement talks
with a view of success.
Benjamin Netanyahu,
Prime Minister of Israel, has stated that Israel is not against a two-state
solution to arrive at an agreement of peace with the Palestinians; it is they
who are against it. The Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel’s existence at
all. An imposed covenant by the United Nations could be the result in the
not-too-far future.
An event explosion of
that nature would launch the Rapture and the seven years of tribulation in
which the body of Christ, the true church, will have no part here on earth.
Thus, there will be
the unfolding, like the rose by my front window, of the events of the coming of
Jesus at the sound of the trumpet!
Source: Gene Lawley, http://www.raptureready.com/2018/04/06/signs-of-the-times-unfold-gene-lawley/,
opened 10 April 2018, via olivetreeviews.org
See
also https://onenewsnow.com/church/2018/04/09/the-importance-of-americas-relationship-with-israel
The
peoples of the States, having been taught such demonic beliefs for more than
100 years, are easy prey for manipulation.
In Syria, what looks like another staged chemical attack has been launched
at the behest of the Western powers to give them cover for launching a large-scale
war against Syria and, through her, against Russia, their arch-enemy:
The
Skripal poisoning was about setting the stage for war with Russia. It was Step 1:
Lie about, demonize, and dehumanize your opponent. The chemical attack in Syria was the payoff
of this smear job, or Step 2. The
Western Powers are now getting ready for Step 3: Actual war.
All the machinery is in place:
(Both
via drudgereport.com, 10 April 2018)
Hopefully,
wiser heads will prevail. Some of Pres Trump’s
most outspoken supporters are urging him not to attack:
As
they and others say, there is no reason for the [u.] S. to be involved in
Syria. Those in the Middle East
neighborhood should figure out how best to resolve the fighting there.
Closer
to home, it is hoped that the South will figure out that being part of
Washington City’s empire is not worth it after all and will peacefully depart from
it. She has a lot of ideological detoxing
to go through (constitutionalism, Dispensationalism, etc.), but we pray she
will get there eventually and become a friend of Russia, praying earnestly for Russia’s
ongoing healing from Communism that she might lead the world once again in
spreading the Orthodox Faith:
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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