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Another Coffee Break - By Regner Capener

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Preparing the Bride of Christ For His Return By Janet Van Hierdan

Preparing the Bride of Christ For His Return By Janet Van Hierdan

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com:

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com:

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Sunday, July 28, 2013

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: BABYLON IS FALLING DOWN, Part 8

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Babylon is Falling Down,  Part 8

 June 21, 2013

Howdy!  How're Y'all doin'?

Oops.  Guess I'm not back in Texas, but I was just reminiscing with folks in our fellowship this past weekend how the coffee motif came about for these articles.  Thought maybe I'd share it with you briefly before we get back into today's discussion.

The whole coffee thing goes back to my early youth.  My mother was nearly full blood Finnish (her folks emigrated from Finland) -- and everyone knows how the Finns like their coffee.  Mom used to kid me about the fact that as a four- and five-year-old I would go around the table after she had entertained guests and drink up all the coffee left in the coffee cups.  Anyway, my "appreciation" for coffee has been a standing joke.

The coffee motif really began to take hold, however, in 1983.  I was pastoring The House of Praise in Fairbanks, and heading up operations for the Christian Broadcasting Network in Alaska.  The ten-year-old (at that time) vision for a modern-day Tabernacle of David (which I've shared on several occasions throughout the years in these Coffee Breaks) seemed to really be taking hold in our fellowship, and I'd begun to think it was going to really come to fruition.

One morning a black lady from South Carolina comes walking into my office at CBN-Alaska.  "I was driving the highway and coming to Alaska for a vacation," she begins, "when the Lord speaks your name to me and tells me where to find you."  My curiosity was really piqued, to say the least.  I'd never had anything like this happen to me, and I really came to attention in my chair.

"The Lord gave me a Word that I'm supposed to deliver to you," she continues, and sets a gift-wrapped box in front of me on my desk.  I looked at the box in surprise and she says, "Open it.  That's part of the message I'm supposed to deliver to you."  OK.  This is really getting different!  To my surprise it was a coffee mug.  What made this interesting was the inscription: "For the vision is yet for an appointed time...."

The lady didn't really have to say anything more.  I knew where this was going.  Nevertheless she continued.  "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."  It was a quote from Habakkuk 2:2-3.  Without a further word, she turned and walked out of my office.  I never saw her again.

That simple prophetic message marked a major turning point in my life.  The inscribed coffee cup was constant reminder that there was an appointed time for the vision to be fulfilled.  The coffee theme has pretty much been with me through the years ever since.

OK.  Time to get back to our discussion on Babylon.

When we left off last week, we were talking about the gold that was found under the streets of Baghdad in 2003.  Let me back up 20 years before that event to a vision that Ronald Reagan had of seeing America debt free and operating for at least a generation to come without being under the heavy tax burden this nation has suffered.  It bears directly on where I'm going with this discussion.

In 1983, Reagan saw the ongoing cold war with the Soviet Union as a blight on the world, and a continuous threat to America's safety and stability.  He called on a close friend and confidante, Leo Wanta, (who was a financial whiz) to devise a plan to bring the Soviet Union to its knees.  Wanta's plan was to utilize seed money from the U.S. Treasury to begin buying up the Russian Ruble and then manipulate it in the currency markets to devalue it, thereby severely crippling the Russian (and Soviet) economy.

The plan worked.  Lots of conspiracy stories and theories abound regarding the events that transpired, but very simply over a period of several years, Wanta's endeavors created a fund of an estimated $25 Trillion.  Reagan was out of office by the time Wanta's labors were finished, but we indeed saw the breakup of the Soviet Union.  George H.W. Bush succeeded Reagan and the plan was to use Wanta's fund to pay off the national debt and create a surplus that would have eliminated virtually all federal taxes.

Wanta's efforts, however, were sabotaged and his life threatened.  The fund he created was subsequently hidden and he fled the country.  His whereabouts were discovered unfortunately and he was seized and imprisoned for some seven years before friends helped him to escape.

Fast forward now to 2002.  George W. Bush is in office.  He is aware of Reagan's plan and vision to free America from its burden of debt, and he is on board with it.  Bush, however, devises a plan that will not only help this nation get out of debt but also assist other nations in gaining some economic stability and recover (at least for the immediate future) from their financial crises.  At the same time, Bush wants Americans to individually prosper and be set on a course for prosperity for many years to come.

Meeting with the economists and the leading bankers of the world who make up the International Monetary Fund a set of protocols gets created with an expected ten-year period in which to enact these plans.  The protocols get a name: Basel III.  It has come to be known as the Global Currency Reset (GCR).

Now, we come to 2003 and the events which unfold with the Iraqi war, the deposing of Saddam Hussein, the discovery of all the gold that Iraq possesses (that seemingly no one knew about), and the fact that Iraq -- until Saddam was deposed -- had the most valuable currency in the world.  With the imposition of UN sanctions and a freeze on the tradability on FOREX markets of the IQD (the designation for the Iraqi Dinar), the US-led war in Iraq opened up a whole new arena for the Bush administration, the IMF, and the Basel III Protocols.

An Iraqi national -- Dr. Sinan al Shabibi -- working with the United Nations as an economist, and famed in international monetary circles for his financial prowess, was selected to take over the Iraqi Central Bank and brought in from his post in London to oversee the repair and restructuring of the Iraqi economy, AND the Iraqi currency.  By this time the Iraqi Dinar had sunk from its high of $3.32 against the U.S. Dollar to a low of 4,000 to the USD.  A promissory note which was based on the compliance with each of the sanctions previously imposed by both the UN and the IMF was signed off by Dr. Shabibi and the then-Deputy Governor of the Central Bank.

President Bush appeared on national television that year to inform the American public that the war was fully paid for, and that the nation would incur no indebtedness as a result of the Iraq War.  He was roundly criticized and attacked by many for making that statement, but it wasn't possible at the time to explain to the world what was taking place behind the scenes.

The Bush administration then seeded Dr. Shabibi some $400 Billion in order to kick start the repair of Iraq's economy, and in exchange the U.S. Treasury received something on the order of 16 Trillion Dinars to hold towards the day when that currency would be restructured and revalued.  Without understanding some of the tenets of the Basel III Protocols, however, this would seem to have been a foolish move without any end in sight for the revaluation and restructuring of the Iraqi currency.

I don't want to get into any of the minutiae of the Basel III Protocols, but let me identify a few items of immense importance.

1. A total of some 200+ currencies exist worldwide.  198 of those currencies were selected for restructuring, revaluation, realignment with the rest of the world currencies, and/or devaluation, depending on the next part of the procedures laid out.

2. It became important to identify for each nation a list of its assets on hand, as well as future usable assets.  Prior to the U.S. Dollar going off what was left of the gold standard in 1973, currencies worldwide were generally pegged to the U.S. Dollar, which in turn was pegged fractionally to the amount of gold being held on reserve at Fort Knox.  By 2002, it was already clear that there wasn't near enough available gold in the world to back all of the world's currencies, so a new asset mix had to be developed by which the value of each nation's money supply could be backed.

3. Each nation had its own individual asset mix, and a value had to be assigned to each asset.  The U.S. Dollar had been so watered down by the continual printing of "fiat money" (what I've come to call "funny money") without any real backing that even by combining available gold supplies with silver, platinum and other precious metals, along with oil, natural gas and agricultural products, American money was going to take a hit against other currencies, and a serious one at that. (**see note following this list.)

4. Iraq was the only nation capable of fully backing its currency 100% by gold, never mind the fact that the nation is rich in silver, platinum, oil, natural gas, various minerals and water -- a huge asset in the middle east!  Once the changes had taken place in Iraq's government, a new provisional government put in place, and a path established for bringing the nation back to some kind of local, regional and world stability, the Basel III Protocols had a new asset available to them for stabilizing other major currencies.

5. A process and a timetable were put in place to activate these protocols.  Central Banks would be initially required to have no less than 10% of their outstanding currency backed by the nation's asset mix.  That ratio of 1:10 would increase correspondingly as the nation's economy revived.  2012 was established as a target to accomplish things.  The IQD (now to become the IQN) would become the pivot currency and the new reserve currency for many nations.  (That ratio of 1:10 is what was in force back in the 80's when I was in international banking.)

6. Because Iraq had become such an important lynchpin in this whole process, new banking software was created for the world's banks which would allow for the variable asset backing of each currency and its shifts from time to time as the respective values of each currency's backing assets changed.  That software was named appropriately "Babylon I" (and the confusion in all the currency changes certainly rooted it in "Babel.")

7. Babylon I just didn't cut it and the IMF had to start all over again.  The new currency -- and this is the software which was implemented earlier this year and currently runs in all banks worldwide -- was renamed, "Babylon II."  There were lots of glitches still when this software was first installed, and many trials filled with error finally brought them to a solution that worked for everyone.

** Because the Iraqi currency is the only fully gold-backed currency in the world (and I am told that Iraq could support a rate of $4.40+ against the USD and still be 100% gold-backed) it became clear years ago that the United States Treasury would need to hang onto a substantial amount of the IQD/IQN in its reserves in order to provide sufficient gold-backing -- in addition to the nation's other assets -- to support the new U.S. Dollar.  Nevertheless, there was still more than an ample supply of Dinars to exchange at an agreed-upon schedule and rate in order to pay off the war debt in Iraq and Afghanistan (totaling some $5 Trillion) in accordance with Bush's promise, and still be able to move the nation forward towards debt-freedom.

Ongoing corruption within Iraq and its elected leaders delayed things until 2013.  Threats against Dr. Shabibi's life forced him to leave Iraq and operate outside the country under heavy security in order to complete the implementation of the revaluation.  That process has been completed.  The Chapter VII sanctions which have kept Iraq operating under very strict supervision financially had many parts to fulfill including a payback to Kuwait for Saddam's 1991 invasion and subsequent destruction of their oil infrastructure.

As of this writing, those requirements have been met and an agreement has been made for the lifting of the Chapter VII sanctions in a formal ceremony later this coming week.

I'm not here to promote rates for the new IQN as it is released, but suffice it to say that some 28 million Americans -- mostly conservative Christians -- have invested varying amounts of U.S. Dollars in the purchase of the currency.  Under Shabibi's guidance, the currency had gradually been brought up in value from its low of 4000:1 to (most recently) 1166:1.

The international auditing firm of Ernst & Young did an audit of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and the nation’s economy at the end of 2010 and recommended a new rate at that time of $1.30.  Investors who bought in several years ago have already seen a 300%+ increase.  Even if all they did initially in order to come out at a 1:1, folks would see a multiplication of over a thousand percent. 

That's the kind of multiplication that God does, and we have seen this coming for a very long time.  You'll recall that David wrote in Psalm 105:37-38,

"He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.  Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them."

The last great transfer of wealth into the hands of God's people occurred when the children of Israel left Egypt with the wealth of Egypt.  For many years we have known that there was going to be a repeat of this event according to the prophecy of Isaiah (see chapter 60) and it is unfolding upon the body of Christ as we speak.

I still have a lot of ground to cover with this in spite of cutting out a lot of details that I might have otherwise included, and I need to talk about this great transfer of wealth before we wrap up the fall of Babylon.  That said, let's stop here and pick this up next week.

Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133

 


 

A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

 

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.   Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

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CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Saturday, June 15, 2013

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: BABYLON IS FALLING DOWN, Part 7

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Babylon is Falling Down,  Part 7

June 14, 2013
Greetings and Blessings to all of you.

Hopefully, I'll get to the subject today of the supposed re-created city of Babylon, as well as some things that are happening politically and economically that have caused people to turn their attention towards a physical city of Babylon rather than seeing and understanding the Babylon that has been the real bane of the body of Christ.

Meanwhile, let's see how far I can get in completing the illustrations used thus far in sharing this prophetic picture.

The Bridegroom has called for a bride who will be dressed in the garments of purity – whose existence exemplifies faithfulness to him.  Let me use a verse of scripture here that I've translated from the Greek text so as to render it more faithfully to the intent of what Holy Spirit is communicating to the Bride of Christ today.

II Timothy 2:15 reads like this: "Be instantly responsive to the Lord, making yourself available to Him in the midst of the crucible, a tried and tested laborer, who has no fear of being examined -- one who, by virtue of God's testing and the time spent in the crucible with Him, knows the proven word of truth."

Three words stand out in the Greek text which clarify this command: spoudason (be instantly responsive), dokimon (approved), and parasteesai (to make oneself available for examination).  Let me explain.

The KJV translates this verse, "Study to show thyself approved....."  Somehow the KJV translators derived "study" out of spoudason.  I'm not sure how they got there, but this Greek word comes from its root, spoudé, which means "speed."  By implication, it means, "eagerness, earnestness, haste."  Spoudason, therefore, means "to use speed, to be prompt, to exert serious effort," and by extension, to "be instantly responsive."

Now we come to the word which creates the picture of the purified Bride, the Bride dressed in white, the Bride who has "made herself ready."  That is the word, dokimon.

Coined (pardon the pun) by numismatists, the word, dokimon,  comes from the use of the crucible -- the container into which raw ore containing gold (or other precious metals) is poured.  The ore is heated until the gold separates from the quartz or the rock material in which it resides.  The gold goes to the bottom, the impurities float to the top where they are scooped off and discarded.  The crucible is again subjected to intense fire and heat.  Again the precious metal begins to bubble and more impurities are floated to the top where they can be seen, scooped off, and discarded.

This process is repeated time and time again until the gold that remains in the crucible has no more impurities to yield up.  Finally, while the gold is still in its molten state, it is poured out into a mold where it cools and solidifies.  The refiner takes his stamp and places a hallmark on the ingot of gold.  That hallmark indicates that the gold is now "approved" as being 99.999% pure.

The word, dokimon, used in the context of Paul's command in his letter to Timothy, describes an assay process, a testing process by which the individual becomes a living Word, a tried Word, a tested Word, a Word which has no flaws or errors contaminating it, a Word which is a living, breathing rhema of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!

Finally, we have the word, parasteesai.  This word comes from its root, paristémi, which means, "to present, to proffer, to bring before and make available [for examination or trial], to substantiate."

Now, having seen the use of these key words in II Timothy 2:15, let's take another look at Paul's instruction: "Be instantly responsive to the Lord, making yourself available to Him in the midst of the crucible, a tried and tested laborer, who has no fear of being examined -- one who, by virtue of God's testing and the time spent in the crucible with Him, knows the proven word of truth."

I remind you of the fact that the number of the Bride of Christ is 17.  She first has the number 8 engraved in her DNA.  That's the redemptive work that Jesus did at the Cross.  That's the cutting off of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  That's the restoration of creative nature of the Lord as the foundation of our existence.  And now we come to the "rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey used to say): the number 9!

You'll recall the previous series we did on "A New Onoma" in which we talked about the character and nature of the Seven Spirits of God.  You'll remember that the very first of the Seven Spirits of God is "The Spirit of Judgment and Burning."  (See Isaiah 4:4)

"Judgment and Burning" are integral to the crucible.  This is where the work of Holy Spirit begins in our lives.  Everything that is of the flesh must be burned out.  Everything that represents the contamination of the world must be boiled out and scooped off.  Everything that creates the spots of sin with the lies of Satan must be exposed and taken away.  "Judgment" in this case is that which takes place when we "present ourselves for examination" so that the Word in us can be tried and tested, and tested again.

Let's see.....how was it that David put it?

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."  (Psalm 51:1-4)

David wasn't running from God, he was "presenting himself" before the Lord so that the impurities of sin could be cleansed and washed away thoroughly.  THAT is the character of the number 9, the number of Holy Spirit, the part of the number of the Bride in which the finishing preparations and working of the very character and nature of the Lord are so wrought in us that His purity shines out of us and through us with such transparency that the only thing the world (and our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ) sees is Jesus Christ Himself manifested!

And NOW you know why the counterfeit bride -- the spirit of Jezebel -- is so obvious.  There is nothing transparent about that spirit.  Everything it does is to subvert, to cloud over, to hide and to darken everything about "her" nature and character so that her lord, the King of Babylon, can function with anonymity and deception.

The reason why John describes the church system as “the great whore” is because the system sells God’s people into whoredoms.  These are people who are innocently enticed into adultery with the Lord by making their pastors or church leaders THE authority and voice of the Lord.

They are trapped into believing that the Bible is the Word of God instead of coming to know the Word Himself, Jesus Christ.  People get to know the Bible and can quote it backwards and forwards, but they don't know the Word!  They become faithful to doctrines, to organizations, to certain leaders, to individuals – all under the guise that “this is for the Lord!” – while Jesus Christ, the true Bridegroom, gets shuttled into a religious background.

Genuine relationship with Him gets lost in the maze of prayers, scriptures, good works, tithing, and a myriad of other things.  There are many, well-meaning Christians who have a love-relationship with the Bible, with their church, with their pastor or elder – and never really get to know the Lord, spending intimate time with Him.

Yet Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, still calls a people who are stuck in Babylon.  "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.  For Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.

“How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." (Revelation 18:4-8)

Approximately twenty years ago, the Lord gave me a very unique dream.  In this dream, Della and I were in London, along with Earle and Marcia Treend.  We heard sirens blaring, and could see a column of smoke rising a short distance away.  We went to a nearby building which was very tall (it seemed to be a hotel or office complex of some kind).  Entering the building, we took an elevator to a 10th or 12th floor level, entered one of the rooms, and walked across to a balcony with a sliding glass door.

Looking out, we could plainly see smoke arising from an old, stone church cathedral.  The firemen were busily spraying the building down with water.  There were many automobiles parked on the street and in a nearby lot, and it appeared that church services were in progress.

I commented to Della, Earle and Marcia on the fact that people were not coming out of the building even though flames were rising from the roof.  The firemen continued their deluge of water over the building until it appeared that the fire was out.  Finally, they shut the water off, coiled up their hoses, returned them to their fire trucks, jumped in and drove away.

No sooner were they driving off down the street than I saw heat waves rising from the stone roof of the cathedral.  It appeared as though it was about to buckle.  As we continued to watch, the heat waves grew more intense until it became apparent that the roof was flexing because of immense pressures building up inside.

I turned again to Della, Earle and Marcia, and said, "The fire is not out.  That building is about to explode.  I don't understand why people aren't getting out of there."

Suddenly, the great front doors of the cathedral burst open, and approximately two dozen people came out on a dead run.  They had scarcely cleared the doors when the roof suddenly buckled, snapped, imploded, and caved in on the remaining people.  It appeared that perhaps anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people were still inside.

When I saw the roof collapse on the people, a sick feeling swept over me, and I said aloud, "I don't understand why the people just remained inside.  Surely they knew that the building was going to go up in flames!"

The Lord spoke to me audibly and said, "You are seeing the state of the Church today.  I have sent my apostles.  I have sent my prophets and my evangelists whom you have seen as the firemen.  Yet, they would not listen.  They chose to believe the lie that they were safe in the Church.

The few whom you have seen escape the destruction are those few who, at the last possible moment, realized that those whom I sent were speaking My Word -- that the warning to get out of the trappings of the Church and its structure, was a warning coming from Me."

I awoke from the dream realizing that the Lord has been warning those people who are in the Church System.  And even yet, today, at this last possible moment, the warning is going forth by the Spirit of the Lord.  "Come out of her, My People!  Come out of Babylon!"

There really isn't enough time or space left in this Coffee Break to get very far along in showing the fallacy of the idea that the Babylon of John's writing in Revelation is the old city re-created, but let me lay a quick foundation, and then we'll pick it up next week.

For a long time, both before and after 911, both the Clinton administration and the Bush administration were aware of Saddam Hussein's buildup of, and use of, a massive WMD program.  Though there was no solid body of evidence that would lead one to conclude that Saddam had a direct hand in the events of 911, there certainly was a body of growing evidence to support the fact that he posed a "clear and present danger" (to use the DOD's terminology) to America, and that he was actively funding terrorists whose goal and stated objective was the destruction of America.  The Bush administration made the tactical decision to go after Saddam Hussein as part of a two-pronged attack against the Al Qaeda network in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Saddam became aware of Bush's intention of going after him and his WMD program and began moving his chemical, biological and partially-developed nuclear weapons out of Iraq and -- with Bashar al Assad's cooperation -- into the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.

With Bush's "Shock and Awe" campaign, Allied troops were quickly in control of the country and soldiers began digging in and preparing for a ground war in Baghdad.  Here's where the fun began.  As the troops began cutting trenches into the streets of the city, they discovered and cut through some of the richest veins of gold known to man.  The streets of Baghdad literally were streets of gold, despite the fact that the Iraqis were completely oblivious.

It didn't take long to realize how Saddam was able to come up with so much gold to gild his palaces, and how he could undertake a campaign to rebuild sections of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.

And that's a good stopping place for today.  Next week, we'll talk about a plan to tap that wealth and create an economic Babylon spreading all over the globe.

Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
A Tale of Two Brides is now available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Brides-Relationship-ebook/dp/B00BSV6HZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363139096&sr=8-8&keywords=A+Tale+of+Two+Brides#_

All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are available at http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com.   Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.

If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.To remove yourself from the mailing list, please send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.

CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit: http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Monday, June 10, 2013

ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: BABYLON IS FALLING DOWN, Part 5

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Babylon is Falling Down,  Part 5

May 31, 2013

If you've visited our website in the last few days, you should have noticed that the Coffee Breaks are now available (with the use of a Microsoft Translator) into 91 different languages.  We've had numerous requests for the Coffee Breaks to be  available in other languages -- most notably Arabic and Spanish -- and for the first time, they now are!  Many thanks to our webmaster, Rich Hoffman, who has worked tirelessly to make http://www.RegnersMorningCoffee.com a success.

Anyway, Good Morning!  Let's pick up where we left off last week, talking about Jezebel, and more than that, the spirit of Jezebel.

Ahab and Jezebel had built for themselves a rather posh ivory palace on a promontory, jutting out from the hill, Samaria.  Just below the palace lay a vineyard belonging to Naboth, the Jezreelite.  Ahab looked out from his palace day after day, admiring Naboth's vineyard.  Finally, he went to Naboth and offered to buy it from him, or trade a larger and better(?) vineyard in exchange for Naboth's vineyard.

Naboth refused saying that this was an inheritance passed down from his father, Jezreel, and his fathers before him.  No matter how hard Ahab tried to dicker, Naboth wouldn't be bought or swayed in his decision.  Naboth felt that it would dishonor his father, Jezreel, to dispose of that which he had labored a lifetime to establish.

Ahab took Naboth's refusal as  rejection, went home, laid on his bed, refused to eat, and simply pouted.  Jezebel walked in on him, saw his despondency, and asked him what his problem was.  Ahab told her, and she responded, "No problem!  Just leave it to me.  I will personally give it to you as my gift."

Jezebel thereupon set in motion a scheme all Christians should observe, which is a classic example of the spirit of the Amorites -- and specifically, the spirit of Jezebel -- in operation.  The first thing she did (you can read this in I Kings 21) was to call a fast and instruct the elders of the city to prepare for a public meeting in which Naboth would be honored and set before the people as "Man of the Year" (or something like that!)  Look out, Naboth!  This is sucker bait!

The next thing she did was to find two men of believable reputation in the community, and get them (through bribery, or promises of certain favors) to stand up at the public meeting where Naboth was being honored and accuse him of blasphemy (isn't that interesting!) against God, and treason against the king.  It worked like clockwork. 

Because the Mosaic Law specified that an accusation had to be confirmed in the mouth of two or more witnesses, Naboth was a certain dead duck as soon as the second witness confirmed the first.

The elders of the city, like good, law abiding believers, accepted the accusations against Naboth without so much as a whimper or protest, even though he had been among them for a lifetime and they had all grown up together.  Never mind the fact that Jezebel was an outsider, a newcomer to the community, and a citizen of a nation whom God had condemned to death.  She was "the King's wife!"  She was "the Queen."  Sure enough, they took Naboth outside the city and stoned him to death.

See what the spirit of Jezebel does to those of God's people who have genuine integrity in their relationship with Him?

Jezebel promptly confiscated Naboth's vineyard, his property, and all his belongings, and then went and piously presented her gift to Ahab.

See what the spirit of Jezebel does to God's people -- how it first kills, and then robs them of their inheritance -- all under the guise and protection of the Law (whether New Testament, or Old Testament)?

Ahab, having been completely hoodwinked by Jezebel, bought into the spirit of the Amorites spirit, soul and body.  We are told (in I Kings 21:25-26) that "There was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up.  And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel." (KJV)

The Lord sent Elijah to prophesy certain coming judgment against Jezebel, promising that "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel," which she killed Naboth to obtain.

We won't get into all of the events which followed, or how that spirit in Jezebel caused the prophets in Israel (with precious few exceptions) to prophesy falsely to Ahab (their "words" from the Lord actually came from the spirit of divination instead).  It is important, however, to note that Ahab and Jezebel had a very desirable daughter, along with their sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram.

What!?!  Yup!  You've got it!  Here we go again.  Same song, third verse.

We have noted that there was a break in Judah for one generation -- that of Jehoshaphat -- in which the spirit of the Amorites was not in power, and was unable to influence the throne of Judah.  Know why?  Jehoshaphat was the first king since the time of Rehoboam to reappoint the worshippers, the descendants of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, to minister before the Lord twenty-four hours per day.

In fact, it was Jahaziel, a fifth generation descendant of Asaph, who stood before Jehoshaphat when Moab and Ammon assembled an army against Judah, and prophesied the deliverance of the Lord.  Jahaziel's prophecy tweaked Jehoshaphat's memory so that he sent the singers, the worshippers and musicians out before the armies of Judah -- a move which resulted in a stunning victory for Judah as the Lord caused Moab and Ammon to fight among themselves and decimate one another's armies.

Jehoshaphat sat on the throne of Judah for twenty-five years.  His son, Jehoram, came to the throne following his death.  As unbelievable as it seems, and in spite of seeing the great victories the Lord gave to his father in the midst of the praise and worship, "[Jehoram] walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab (and Jezebel) [Athaliah] to wife: and he wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord."   (II Chronicles 21:6)

Well, the spirit of Jezebel isn't about to allow any contestants for her throne, and wouldn't you know it, Jehoram set about to kill all of his brothers -- anyone who might conceivably be in line to take the throne in the event of his untimely death.

Can you believe this?  Ahab has been killed in battle.  Ahab and Jezebel's son, Ahaziah, now takes the throne of Israel.  Jezebel is very much alive, and the power behind the throne of Israel as "Queen Mother."  Her daughter, Athaliah, marries Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, when he takes the throne of Judah.  Now the spirit of Jezebel is in control of all Israel and Judah!

Ahaziah, Ahab and Jezebel's son, only survived on the throne of Israel for two years before being killed.  Ahaziah had not had time to have any children who could succeed him to the throne of Israel, so Jezebel fixed things right smartly.  Now Jehoram, her other son, took the throne in the place of his brother, and Mama Jezebel stayed in control of things.

Over in Judah, Jehoshaphat's son, also named Jehoram, lasted on the throne for eight years and died after "the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease."  No problem for Jezebel...er, make that Athaliah.  Oh well, same difference.  So Jehoram and Athaliah's son, Ahaziah, now takes the throne.

(Would you believe that this  family has a problem with names.  They seem to be stuck in a rut!  Jehoram!  Ahaziah!  Israel, or Judah -- it makes no difference.  The spirit of Jezebel always makes its identity known.)

This Ahaziah only lasts on the throne of Judah for one year.  He met the judgment of the Lord in the person of Jehu, the captain of the armies of Israel, who was executing God's word against the household of Ahab and Jezebel.

Well, the spirit of Jezebel isn't going to take that lying down.  Nosiree!  We'll fix that!  No more of these weakling men on the throne!  I'll just take the throne myself!  So Athaliah, the daughter of Jezebel, the wife of the late King Jehoram, and the mother of the late King Ahaziah, how takes the throne of Judah herself.  She decides to take things one step farther than her erstwhile husband by destroying all of the seed of the lineage of David who might step forward to contest her claim on the throne of Judah.

It would have worked, too, had it not been for the spiritual awareness of the high priest in Jerusalem, Jehoiada by name.  He realized that he'd better act quickly.  His wife, Jehoshabeath, who was Jehoshaphat's daughter, hid Joash in her nursery as one of her own children.  Jehoiada and his wife raised Joash as one of their own children.

In the mean time, Athaliah sat on the throne of Judah for six years.

When Joash turned seven years of age, Jehoiada made preparation for his coronation.  In a stunning move, the captains of the armies of Judah went throughout the land gathering together the priests, the Levites, and the elders of all the cities in Judah.  These were quietly brought into the temple on the Sabbath, as though it were a normal gathering.

Swords were passed around, and the announcement was given.  As the coronation began with fanfare, praise and worship, Athaliah came in to see what all the commotion was about.  The priests stopped her at the gate and put her to death.  So much for the daughter of Jezebel.......but not for the spirit of  Jezebel which remained in hiding -- for thirty-nine years.

Jehoiada lived to the ripe old age of 130 years.  Joash reigned well, so long as Jehoiada lived.  He had been contaminated by the spirit of Jezebel, however.  He was, after all, her great-grandson.  So long as praise and worship went forth in Judah (and it did for thirty-nine years), that spirit was subdued.

When Jehoiada died, Joash was beset by self-seeking politicians currying his favor.  The first thing to go was the praise and worship.

Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, who had been raised with Joash as his brother, came to reprove Joash with the word of the Lord.  Naturally, the spirit of Jezebel couldn't tolerate reproof and rebuke.  Joash, if you can believe this, arose in anger and put his erstwhile brother, Zechariah -- the prophet of the Lord -- to death.  Less than a year later, Joash's servants assassinated him.

113 years passed before another king, Hezekiah, came to the throne of Judah who had any real concept of relationship with the Lord.  Even so, in spite of the blessings of the Lord, and a "world-class" military victory over Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, Hezekiah became insensitive to that which the Lord had accomplished on his behalf.

Judah had been a third, or even fourth-rate power during the years of Hezekiah's predecessors, being continually invaded, having their cities destroyed, and their wealth carried away by the armies of the Edomites, the Philistines, the Egyptians and the Assyrians.  With the astounding victory by Hezekiah over Sennacherib, who had been one of the most feared kings and battle strategists of that era, Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent his son, Merodach-Baladan and several ambassadors to check out this Hezekiah and see what sort of king he might be -- whether they should also fear him, or whether this was just a fluke.

Hezekiah was flattered by the attention -- especially by the king of Babylon.  By this time, Babylon had become a major military and political power to be reckoned with.  To receive an ambassage from Babylon was quite an honor.  It meant that they regarded    Hezekiah as their equal!  (Oh yeah!?!)  Hezekiah took the same bait that Naboth fell for, not realizing that he was being set up for conquest by Babylon.

Naturally, he showed the prince of Babylon and his ambassadors the fruit of his great victory, along with the treasures in his house, and the treasures in the house of the Lord.  The Lord sent Isaiah to pay a visit to Hezekiah.  "What said these men, and from whence came they unto thee?" Isaiah asked.  Hezekiah told him that they had come from Babylon, and that "there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them."

Dummy!  You fell for the trap of Jezebel!  (Isaiah 39:5-6)  Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, "Hear the Word of the Lord of Hosts: behold the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left," saith the Lord.  "And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." (KJV)

See how the spirit of Jezebel operates?  It sets people up by making them believe that they are being honored, only to make them talk about themselves and display all of their weaknesses.  Ahhh, but wait!  There was nothing said about Jezebel in this instance!

Right!  Now you're beginning to get the picture.  It was the King of Babylon, and he was utilizing exactly the same ruse that Jezebel used on Naboth.  Get it?  Jezebel was subservient to the King of Babylon.  He was her true husband.  Whatever he desired, she carried out.

It all had one end, and one end only: captivity!  Captivity for all those whom Jezebel was able to snare.  They all wound up -- in Babylon!  Eighty-seven years after Hezekiah's death, his great-grandson was carried off into Egypt by Pharaoh Necho.  Less than 12 years later, Nebuchadnezzar came against Pharaoh Necho and carried off Hezekiah's great grandsons -- including Jehoahaz, who had been taken into Egypt -- turned them into eunuchs, and kept them in the palace at Babylon to be his prisoners.  All Judah fell prey to Babylon, and was taken into captivity.  One hundred thirty-four years earlier, the king of Israel -- along with the ten tribes in his kingdom -- were taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar's grandfather.

The spirit of Jezebel had done its work, faithfully carrying out the wishes of the king -- the master spirit -- of Babylon, Lucifer himself.  Jezebel, the spirit of the Amorites incarnate, had seduced the kings of Israel and the people of God, and in the process, blasphemed, defamed, and killed multiplied thousands of God's people, and especially His prophets and messengers who could expose her and contest her claim.

That's it for today.  Next week we'll start linking all of this to Babylon, the driving spirit that is Babylon, and the direct connection to John's Revelation of "Mystery Babylon."
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener                                                            
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133



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