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Parallel Prophecies

Against Babylon-America

 

by

Jerome Gerbasi

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By cross-comparing the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, we can see that the final judgments upon latter-day Babylon arise in stages, which lead to a very sudden and catastrophic day of “destruction” and “desolation.” Both prophets give the same 3-stage sequence of events culminating in the wrath of God falling upon the nation. Being aware of the initial stages and seeing their fulfillment will allow us to better know when the actual wrath of God approaches. Let’s first look at the sequence that Isaiah gives, then compare it to the book of Jeremiah for clarification.

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10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. (Isaiah 47:10-11)

Here are the 3 stages that he gives:

1. “evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth.”
2. “mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off.”
3. “desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.”

It is reasonable to conclude that these three things come in sequence due to the fact that the last of the three, ‘sudden desolation’, is described as being so widespread that it basically destroys the nation. Therefore the “evil” and the “mischief,” which the people of Babylon are not able to do away with, would naturally precede the final stage, which is God’s wrath.

The companion prophecy of Jeremiah:

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. (Jer. 51:45-49)

Jeremiah’s 3-stage sequence:

1. “…the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour.”
2. “violence in the land, ruler against ruler.”
3. “her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.”

According to Jeremiah, first a “rumour” goes throughout the land of Babylon. It is said to come one year, then in another year it comes. This “rumour”, which slowly spreads across the nation, eventually leads to “violence in the land, ruler against ruler.” This is then followed by the final destructive judgment. If both prophets are speaking of the same sequential events, then we can directly tie these statements together and try to unlock their true meanings.

 

1st STAGE:

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“evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth.” (Isaiah 47)
“…the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour.” (Jer. 51)

The “evil” that mysteriously rises up in the nation is connected to a fearful “rumour” that spreads. Keeping in mind that the rumour is related to “ruler against ruler” or authority against authority happening in the nation, something evil rises up in the country and it causes a great division among those in positions of power.

A very troubling rumour begins to spread and an internal break-down ensues which leads to open “violence in the land.”

This is exactly what has been going on during the present Bush Administration, and more specifically, since Sept. 11, 2001.

Deep suspicion has been growing in the minds of many people as to the truth of what actually took place on 9-11. The number of people who think or suspect that government involvement and complicity took place is steadily growing, while people watch as their Constitutional freedoms are usurped and are almost totally gone. Never before in U.S. history has a president sought to centralize full governing power under the Executive office as George W. Bush has.

The term “evil” that’s used in Isaiah is Strong’s # 7451, which generally means something bad, wicked, hurtful etc. It comes from the root word Strong’s # 7489 which means:

“to spoil (literally by breaking in pieces); figuratively to make (or be) good for nothing, i.e bad.”

The Zodhiates Lexical Aid defines the term as “unethical, immoral activity against other people, whether by speech or by practice.”

These definitions are startling in light of what actions the New World Order agenda has taken against the American people under the Bush regime. In his own words, George W. Bush has said, “The constitution is just a goddamn piece of paper!” The actions of this administration clearly show that this statement is the modus operandi as it moves to bring in Martial Law and fully transform the U.S. into a police state.

Fearful “rumours” are in fact being issued by both current and former officials, military leaders, constitutional lawyers, celebrities etc. showing the divisive nature of the rulers in the United States. Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, recently issued a rumour of this very nature. The news headline reads:

"White House preparing to stage

new September 11 - Reagan official"

“WASHINGTON, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - A former Reagan official has issued a public warning that the Bush administration is preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack in the United States, transform the country into a dictatorship and launch a war with Iran within a year.” Read full article, LINK here.

Another article recently appeared in The Oregonian:

“WASHINGTON -- Oregonians called Peter DeFazio's office, worried there was a conspiracy buried in the classified portion of a White House plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack. As a member of the U.S. House on the Homeland Security Committee, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure "bubbleroom" in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents. On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED…Norm Ornstein, a legal scholar who studies government continuity at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he "cannot think of one good reason" to deny access to a member of Congress who serves on the Homeland Security Committee. “I find it inexplicable and probably reflective of the usual, knee-jerk overextension of executive power that we see from this White House,” Ornstein said.

The article concludes:

 “Maybe the people who think there's a conspiracy out there are right,” DeFazio said.” Read full article:

It seems likely that it is a “fearful rumour” of this very nature that the prophecy in Jeremiah is speaking of.

2nd STAGE:

“mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off.” (Isaiah 47)
“violence in the land, ruler against ruler.” (Jer. 51)

The term “mischief” here is Strong’s # 1942, which means:

“(in the sense of eagerly coveting and rushing upon; by impl. of falling) desire, ruin: - calamity, iniquity…”

This definitely carries the idea of a breakdown in lawfulness and a rushing upon to seize something.

The term “violence” here is Strong’s # 2555 meaning:

“violence; by impl. wrong; by meton. unjust gain: - cruel(-ty), damage, false, injustice, oppressor, unrighteous, violent (dealing).”
It comes from the root word Strong’s # 2554 which means:
“to be violent; by impl. to maltreat: - make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong, imagine wrongfully.”

This further indicates that injustice and oppression falls upon the land of Babylon in which “unjust gain” and seizure becomes standard practice, which the citizens are not able to reverse. A “ruler against ruler” situation develops.

 Here is another excerpt from the first article quoted above:

“Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, blasted Thursday a new Executive Order, released July 17, allowing the White House to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies and giving the government expanded police powers to exercise control in the country.

Roberts, who spoke on the Thom Hartmann radio program, said:

 "When Bush exercises this authority [under the new Executive Order], there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule." "The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," Roberts said.”

This is not just a talk-show host or celebrity making these statements. This is a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury issuing these dire warnings. Many people both in and out of government offices are beginning to wake up to what is actually facing America in the future, under an emergency war-power, martial law system, where constitutional rights to the people and restraints to the government are completely “shaken off” and “violated.” This indeed would be “violence in the land, ruler against ruler.”

Without going into great detail here, this injustice and oppression that sweeps the land prior to Babylon’s destruction would also coincide with the harsh persecution and imprisonment that befalls God’s people in Babylon just prior to its sudden destruction, as other prophecies in the bible indicate. (See: Isaiah 47:6, Jer. 50:33, Rev. 18:24, Rev. 19:2)

After this “mischief” and “violence in the land, ruler against ruler,” there is the third and final stage of the prophecies.

3rd STAGE:

“desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.” (Isaiah 47)
“her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.” (Jer. 51)

This sudden destruction of Babylon begins “the day of the Lord” in which God’s wrath is released. This is the “sudden destruction” that Paul speaks of which God’s true people will be spared from. (See also: Matt. 24:37-43, Luke 17:28-37, II Pet. 3:3-12)

See Also - 1 Thess. 4:15-18

Verse 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

Verse 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Verse 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Verse 18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 See also 1 Thess. 5: 1-9

Verse 1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

Verse 2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Verse 3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Veres 4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Verse 5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Verse 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

Verse 7. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

Verse 8. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Verse 9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Final Thought From The Author

Diligently seek the Lord now while he may be found and that you may be one of them. Consider the words of Jesus Christ:

“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36)