A Mystery of Babylon:

The Land of Personality Cult-Worship

 

Why FOX-TV’s “American Idol” Show

Is Prophetically Relevant

 

By R.A. Coombes

"A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols."

Perhaps you were not aware of it, but FOX-TV network’s “American Idol” television show is the number one rated television show in America. Should you be surprised? Maybe you’re not surprised if you know and recognize the Biblical Prophecies surrounding “Mystery Babylon.”

 

 

 

The "Mystery Babylon” prophecies pertain to more than just the two chapters of Revelation. While chapters 17 and 18 do deal exclusively with the term “Mystery Babylon,” the textual reality is that the chapters are not really speaking of a title of “Mystery Babylon” but rather a title of “Babylon, The Megala (Great) – The MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS and the Abominations of the Earth. If you were to put this phrase into a “headline format” to rate the emphasis of the terms it would be:

BABYLON, THE MEGALA - The MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS
And
The Abominations of the Earth

Our point to this is to notice what is missing. The word “mystery” is missing.
Why? It is certainly in the original text, but it is a word that is not to be confusingly placed within the title name. Instead, it is describing Babylon and the MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS as being a mystery. Notice how the King James Version puts the verse into perspective:

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Have you noticed how the commas separate the word from the rest of the verse? The New American Standard Version provides a more accurate rendering:

And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

The idea here is that “mystery” is describing the title. The phrase written on her forehead is a mystery, not that Mystery is part of that title. The term “mystery” is not on her forehead, it is saying that what is written on her forehead is a mystery.

Now, once we understand that the prophecies are dealing with an end-time entity known as Babylon, the Megala and not “Mystery Babylon, the Megala, it will be easier to realize that God gave us much greater information on this end-time nation than merely the two chapters in the book of Revelation.

God originally communicated prophetic information about a future nation code-named Babylon through the writings of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. We also find other references from some of the Minor Prophets, such as Zechariah 5:5-11, but we digress from the purpose of our article. We merely point out that there is much more to the future Babylon, super-power prophecies than just Revelation 17 and 18.

We want to narrow our focus in this article to one particular prophetic passage dealing with one of the many character-traits described in the Biblical Prophecies about this future Babylon. Our passage to note is Jeremiah 50: 38b, which states:

“…for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols."

This phrase in particular is of interest in light of the biggest news story of the week within the “entertainment industry” in America.

We’ve noted before and it is the position of this website that America is the future Babylon of prophecy that is euphemistically referred to by most prophecy watchers as “Mystery Babylon.” We are convinced absolutely that IF we are in the Last Days of the Gentile era and the Day of Lord could commence at any time, tomorrow or next month or next year or in the near future of some sort, then America is the only possible entity capable of meeting and matching the descriptive criteria of the Biblical texts. We do not wish nor intend to argue this point in this article. We merely wish to set the stage for what is to follow next, which is an explanation of Jeremiah 50:38b as it relates to an interesting character trait in this super-nation code-named Babylon. See the above phrase again.

It is this author’s opinion that the above phrase is describing America, The Babylon down to its cultural craziness or lunacy. How so? Let’s look at the verse and then let’s look at today’s top headline from the morning papers.

Textual Analysis: (numbers are Strong’s code numbers)

The key words in the phrase are as follows with definitions based upon Strong’s lexicon, Gesenius lexicon and Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon.

#776 = eretz or erets = “land” = planet, earth, a nation, a world.

#6456 = pes-eel = “graven images” = an idol or idols in the plural, an image, carving, a quarry.

#1984 = halal – (offshoot root term sometimes used for Satan) To shine, to be clear, to be brilliant, to make a show, to boast, to clamor or be clamorous, to be foolish, to rave, to celebrate, to sing, to praise, to glorify, to give worth. It can be a form of worship by giving worth to something or someone. It can mean to give worth as if they were a god. It can mean to communally celebrate some thing or some one. It can also mean to rejoice, to cry aloud, it CONNOTES the idea of doing any of the above to the point of insanity or craziness.

The idea is to celebrate, clamor in a foolishly worshipful manner to the point of acting like an insane person or – to be insanely crazy and foolishly glorifying in a worshipful manner some one or some thing.

#367 = eymah = an idol, a shocking or surprising idol. A thing worshipped as a living entity. Someone you wouldn’t expect to be worshipped. An object of worship. An object of worth.

So, let’s put these terms all together into the phrase given.

“For it is a nation of surprising objects of worship or worth and they (the citizens of this nation) go insanely crazy and foolishly glorify and worship surprising personalities.”

In other words, the phrase is basically saying that this end-time nation is known for being caught up in personality cult worship of many people. This nation goes nuts over its heroes, apparently and especially its entertainer personalities.

The sense of the words gives the idea of this is surprising, shocking and in reality very terrible because it is directing worth away from God and to individuals who are not worthy of the worship given them. It is so prevalent that it is as if the entire nation is caught up in this sort of adulation.

Do we know of any nation guilty of this? There is some of this in each nation and culture of course. There is however one nation that so excels in this concept as to be far better and more profound in it than any other nation. Would you care to take a guess as to who that nation is?

Let’s be blunt. No nation does a better job of personality worship than America. Am I right? Is this notion a correct notion or have I gone out of my mind? I think not. Why? What evidence do I have?

Let’s take this morning’s top news headline, which comes from the entertainment world of Television in America. The Fox Television network broadcasts a show called “American Idol.” It is a show that features previously unknown, ordinary individuals who want to be singing entertainers. They want to be the next pop-music star, get a recording contract and sell lots of CD’s and music downloads for MP3 players and Ipods and make lots of money and garner fame and fortune. It only happens though to the winner after many shows of talent contests and audience voting for their favorite potential star. (Details on last nights show and its popularity – link)

American Idol is not a new concept. There have been many television talent shows in the history of television, including shows from the 1950’s and early 60’s like Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour. Of course, the Amateur hour featured all types of entertainers and not just singers. The Amateur Hour was however, the most popular and longest running of the shows.

There was also a show in the 1970s that was sort of farcical version of the Amateur Hour. It was called: “The Gong Show.” It was certainly strange and featured not just singers but also people who thought they were comics. You’d also occasionally see other types of entertainers but it was primarily singers and comics and I use those terms loosely.

In 2000, FOX TV introduced the old Amateur Hour concept but repackaged it into a more hip, more exciting show and raised the stakes to the level of a possible fortune and potential immense fame. Ted Mack’s show just never offered such real possibilities.

Of course, the Amateur Hour couldn’t involve nationwide voting for the performers because the technology just wasn’t there, yet. It is here today though.

The show’s final contestant round was presented over a two-night period of Tuesday night and then last night. Wednesday night featured the final vote that would produce an “Idol” of the year. It garnered 63 million votes all together. That’s more votes than for any president in the history of the United States.

Clearly, Americans went “nuts” over the show. Did you happen to notice all the publicity and chatter on the TV news channels yesterday and on the 3 major network’s morning chatter shows like “Today” or “Good Morning America?” Radio talk shows also chatted about the show, contemplating which of the final contestants might win. People are dying of major diseases around the world. People are starving to death around the world. People are dying from all sorts of violence and war. There is the specter of an impending World War between Islam and Western Society, yet you’d likely not know it by the extensive coverage granted to this TV show by TV and radio broadcasters.

It’s as if America went or is going crazy over an amateur contestant becoming an “American Idol.”

What does God say through Jeremiah about this future super-power nation that is code-named Babylon?

It is a nation that goes insanely crazy in worshipping people as idols or as if they were a god.

FOX TV’s “American Idol” show is absolute insanity. The statement of Jeremiah 50:38 speaks volumes about what happened last night and what no doubt is going on now as we write and post this article and as you read it. However, this show is not unique in personality worship in America.

Consider other “idols” of America. Name a popular singer and you’ve named an ‘idol’ in the broader, Biblical sense of the term. How about Movie and TV actors and actresses being given worship? Are they also not worshipped much like the music stars? What about sports heroes being worshipped? They too are worshipped, especially by youngsters who wish to emulate them. Even politicians are often worshipped. Just consider Bill and Hillary Clinton or Ronald Reagan as examples. It’s not just people though.

America worships “Liberty and Freedom.” Look at the statues of America. The most prominent ones are The Statue of Liberty, which is actually the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, known also as The MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS by her Sumerian/Babylonian worshippers. She is identified by God in Revelation 17:5 as a mystery and symbol of a super-power nation, who in her own right is a religion that offers a “works” salvation program as well as a monetary system based upon fractional reserve banking. Ishtar invented money and banking.

Ishtar is not only represented as the Statue of Liberty, but also as the statue, which is atop the US Capitol Dome. The Capitol building beneath her is also referred to as her temple, according to Thomas Jefferson, who saw the building to be a Temple of Freedom/Liberty – of which Ishtar is the goddess of Freedom/Liberty. There is also the matter of giving worth or the worship of the American flag – the “Stars and Stripes” in a pledge of allegiance.

Let’s not forget the singing of the National Anthem. It too is a form of worship to the nation itself. America worships sports and sporting events like the Super Bowl and the World Series and auto racing.

America worships wealth and money. You’ll find all sorts of worshipful phrases on American money, including the phrase “In God we trust.” The question to ask though is which God does America worship? Don’t forget that other favorite phrase “Novus Ordo Seclorum” and other New World Order phrases.

What happens when a current President of the United States formally enters a gathering? Usually, there is an orchestra or band that plays the song “Hail to the Chief.” This too is another form of worship because the term worship means the idea of giving “worth” to something.

What else does America worship? Some, I suspect many American Christians worship TV ministers. It started with Billy Graham and Oral Roberts and has continued ever since with many devout followers worshipping the likes of Benny Hinn, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Schuler, Kathryn Kuhlman, Pat Robertson, TBN with the likes of Paul and Jan Crouch, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, John Hagee and many others. There are some who claim to be modern-day “prophets.” Many of these people are worshipped also.

I can recall one such “prophet,” namely Dumitru Duduman, who was worshipped by many. It turns out, of course, that Duduman, like the others were/are false prophets. Locally, many church goers worship their own local pastor, perhaps again, without realizing it.

I would be remiss if I didn’t add a caveat to this idea of worshipping ministers or ministries. This author, nor anyone else who authors articles or columns is NOT to be given worth or worth-ship as if we are gods or nearly gods. We are people, just like you. We can and do make mistakes. We’re not perfect. We’re not sinless. Frankly, you who are reading this may not be half the sinner that this author is. The fact is that we are all sinners, saved only by His grace through faith alone and not by anything we can do. We can do nothing to earn anything from God.

I am here at A-O simply to serve Him by serving what knowledge and skills He has provided me to, in turn, offer them to you for your use to grow in grace and become more mature as a believer. So, having said that, I hope no one will be tempted to put me on a pedestal and say: “My, he’s smart.” Nope, I’m not smart. I’m stupid like everyone else and maybe more stupid than anyone who visits here. I am however a conduit at times for His purpose, despite my shortcomings. Ditto goes for you. We all are a conduit for His purposes, despite our shortcomings. We just aren’t all the same kind of conduits.

We each have our calling, our assignments. Some are called as ministers. Others are called to be prayer warriors. For others, they may be workmen to repair bodies or buildings for Him. For all of us though, we are to be living witnesses by our conduct and our words. For some our assignment may involve spoken words in a one-on-one basis. For others, who may not speak well, perhaps it’s the written word. For others, it may be the gift of love and compassion.

No matter what our gifts and or assignments are, one thing we don’t do or should not do is give worship to that which ought not to be worshipped. It is something that is particularly hard to do at times when living in America, because American culture inbreeds naturally within its residents the idea of worshipping anything or anyone BUT God.

Let’s face it. America is a worshipful nation. It worships just about everything. This is why God mentions this character trait about America, The Babylon in Jeremiah 50:38. America is insane. America worships just about anything and everyone, but the real, living God. This character trait of false worship is the character trait of the end-times Babylon, a super-power nation that we today call “America, The Babylon” but those who are ignorant and fail to understand the “mystery” call “the United States of America.”