Banksters on balcony drink champagne and mock Wall Street protesters

Did you know that thousands of people are in New York city now, protesting on Wall Street? Fox News reports, "The "Occupy Wall Street" protest is entering its second week. Demonstrators said Saturday that they are protesting bank bailouts, the mortgage crisis and Georgia's execution of Troy Davis. The Troy Davis thing was added into the protest recently, but the Occupy Wall Street movement has been planned for a while and it focuses on the people's displeasure in this nation's finances and economics. Bankster bailouts are especially at the center of the protests. People from all over the country arrived at NYC to do their part to let the Administration and the top influence makers know they were not happy. They are upset, in pain, on the verge of poverty. They want a say and they want someone to hear their pleas for change and justice.

They were greeted by fat cat bankers in tuxedoes on balconies, eating canapes and toasting them mockingly with glasses of champagne.


In case you can't watch a video, here are some stills from the protest as the crowd went by 55 Wall St.








There were a LOT of people there protesting. They were concerned, making a statement with their feet and their voice as we are still allowed to do in this great country. Yet I am ashamed for the people on the balcony. My opinion at the end, but first, the bible-

I've been talking for a while about the phenomenon called wealth gap, or wealth skew. Anyone who has visited or lived in a Third World nation knows this is not a new thing. The very rich have always lived alongside the very poor. But in America, we have had generations of a thriving middle class, and the obvious gaps between the very rich and the poverty stricken have not always been so obvious. In many other nations, too, a middle class has arisen that allowed a majority of their populations to live in relative comfort.

In addition, people seem to think that the Tribulation will be filled with 100% poor, moaning in the streets as dogs lick their sores, like the poor man Lazarus outside the rich man's house. (Luke 16:19-31). But the situation will be very much like Lazarus and the rich man, because there will be rich men living in the Tribulation too. The only difference is that there will be zero compassion. There will be the very rich during the time of Jacob's Trouble, known to the Gentiles as the Tribulation but they care nothing for the poor. They care so little the rich even fail to pay their employees, thinking nothing of it. (James 5:4) That a thriving trade in luxuries has been ongoing is evident from Revelation 18:9-14 and the kings of the earth, the rich, the mighty men, those that lived in splendor exist too. These are the people who buy the luxuries

Lament for Babylon
"And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’  “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them."

The Lord has a lot to say about greed, cheating, and squandering resources for your own gain. 1 Timothy 6:10 says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

--Just balances (scales)-"You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin; I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt." (Leviticus 19:36)
--"A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress." (Hosea 12:7)
--“Can I justify wicked scales And a bag of deceptive weights?" (Micah 6:11)

The scene at the balcony sickens. It sickens us for so many reasons. I am a capitalist and I like earning my pay through hard work. I admire people who come to America and by sweat of their brow, make it in this country and provide for their family. My great-grandfather came here from Italy in 1899 with some money in his pocket and by the 1920 census he had a wife, 6 kids, and a solid business. That business provided for three generations of his American descendants.

But the people on the balcony, or people like them, we discovered all too devastatingly at the 2008 crash, did not make their money honestly. Through false real estate deals, nepotism, bailouts, inflated bonuses, stolen pension funds, junk bond manipulation and the like, many of them cheated honest people to get where they are.

The people on the ground are marching because they are in economic pain, losing their standard of living, they know someone who is hungry...and the people on the balcony did not even have enough compassion not to mock their concerns and stay inside, never mind ponder their future and how they got to where they are. Compassion for others and honest introspection seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird.

The verses in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 are being fulfilled now and will continue. And in another place, Paul said, "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." (1 Tim 6:9). James 5:2 predicts, "Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes."

We can become angry over such displays of greed and hate such as those on the balcony exhibited, in this country I no longer even recognize, or we can have compassion on them ourselves, knowing that not only will moths and rust destroy them, but unless they repent, they will live with a worm that never dies. (Mark 9:48). Where will their champagne be then?

Comments

  1. Are you inferring that New York is Babylon?

    ReplyDelete
  2. NO. I am not inferring NY is Babylon. What I stated is that Rev 18 shows us that during the tribulation, there will be rich people buying luxuries.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow...and I've seen videos of cops beating up protesters (who were pretty much doing nothing) and people's youtube comments cheered the cops' actions.

    Look at them! That is the attitude of most! No wonder Christ said it would be hard for a rich man to enter heaven. The heart of man cannot walk away from the pride that wealth and prosperity supply.

    I'm sorry but I also hate that the rich will get richer and that the poor will get poorer during the tribulation. Even with the coming global collapse and a completely new world order, it will just get worse. I know the end of Babylon but it is still infuriating that many of the richest who live with no regard for God will not be ruined financially till the last days of the tribulation. God knows ALL their extreme pride and even the unbelievably deplorable things some of them do behind closed doors simply because they have access to anything and everything their heart desires. YET God is unbelievably merciful, He really really is truly merciful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's aggravating to me too that they prosper, but thankfully His mercy is such that if they repent He will welcome them into HIS very, very, very rich kingdom! Oh, that they do not know the riches they could have! Eternal joy and peace among them...

    ReplyDelete
  5. There is an article that has a great deal of evidence to show that NYC is the modern day Babylon as a matter of fact one of it's Burroughs is named Babylon. Check it out at:
    http://nabiy4america.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/babylon-babylon-an-investigation-of-the-prophetic-significance-the-implications-of-this-new-york-town-positioned-at-the-gateway-to-america/

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree that there might be a good deal of evidence showing that NYC is Babylon of Revelation but that evidence doesn't come from the bible. The biblical evidence shows that Babylon of the bible as it will be known to Tribulation people is a false economic system (Rev 18), a false religious system (Rev 17) and a real city in the location of Iraq. Rev 18 depicts the actual city at times as a commercial habitation, a great city, a mighty city, a marketplace and even a burning city. This actual city is destroyed by an act of God.

    NYC is certainly indicative of the kind of corrupt cities that the Babylon of Revelation represents, but Babylon according to the bible is not NYC any more than it is London, Ankara, Hong Kong or Bangkok. Your author decided that NYC is Babylon because there is a small town near NYC and sailors dock there. Using that logic, there is a Mt Carmel in Maine, and also a Bethel but I don't believe there is a pillar erected to God at Bethel in Maine. His conclusions are flimsy at best.

    America does not figure large in prophecy because we are not the main event. We will be judged because all nations will be judged, just as Tuvalu will be judged. There is a prophecy about Damascus, a 5000 year old city, Babylon, a 4000 year old city, about Jerusalem, a 3000 year old city, but NYC, a 350 year old city? Not even close.

    The author of the piece you linked to says that his dreams are prophetic and God talks to him...additionally I surmise that some of these prophesies he gives have not come true. God does not speak thru prophets in these days, He speaks thru His son (Hebrews 1:1-2) He is a false prophet and a wolf, I'm sorry to say...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am a spirit filled christian and I know for a fact that the people marching are more anarchist than poor people, they are liberals and want to start trouble, just like the bible says in the last days would happen with lawlessness, I have no sympthy for the greedy corporations but Soros funded most of these marches that will take over the cities in America as they are now pushing for them to push out west. We are in the last days upon this earth before the time of Jacob's trouble. Be Still and know that I am God. Bless you Sister for all that you do in the encouragement that you give to your readers.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, sure, many people who are marching are liberals, anarchists, or have their own agenda that may or may not be consistent with God's agenda. It still does not excuse the egregious in your face contempt the banksters displayed. Where is the compassion? Where is the maturity? Where is the circumspect attitude? I mean, tuxedoes, champagne and taking photos of the people while mocking and laughing? Shameful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know that you rely heavily on the teachings of John MacArthur, who believes that many of the gifts have stopped with the deaths of the disciples. And I know that many people who say that God is speaking to them are crazy.

    I did not look at the link above, but I wanted to respond to your comment that God does not speak through prophesy now.

    I believe that Scripture is done, doctrine is complete, for sure. But, there are many instances of God speaking through prophesies today. To profess means to speak forth. And God does speak forth His Word prophetically, through words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and words of revelation still. God is still healing. God is still speaking. God is still moving.

    BUT we need to be very discerning. "Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21. We need to test what someone speaks, and when they are wrong we need to recognize that they speak falsely.

    God is still using men and women to profess His Word, and His heart, and even His will and the future to us. The gifts are still available.

    And more than ever, they are necessary.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello Anonymous,

    I do not "rely heavily on the teachings of John MacArthur". I rely heavily on the teachings of the bible. I read the bible myself and appeal to the Holy Spirit for understanding. I listen to MacArthur as I do Steve Hadley and Phil Johnson and RC Sproul and read Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I QUOTE MacArthur heavily because he has 43 years of sermons online in written form that I can look up by scripture and present here. I do this not only because of his wealth of available biblical material but because that material has been exegetically preached. BTW, I also quote Matthew Henry a lot.

    I also want to call your attention to the fact that you misrepresented what I said and built an entire construct around the misrepresentation. I did NOT say that 'God does not speak through prophecy now.' I said that "God does not speak thru prophets in these days, He speaks thru His son (Hebrews 1:1-2)..."

    In addition, you misrepresent what MacArthur preached on the subject of gifts. He does not "believe that many of the gifts have stopped with the deaths of the disciples." He shows through biblical exegesis that the miracle gifts have ceased because the bible says they were for a sign, and that the new prophesies have stopped because the bible has now completely revealed what God has chosen to reveal.

    That is why I'm can make the comment with confidence that some guy on a blog who says he has had special things revealed to him in dreams is a false guy. Not because John MacArthur says so, but because the bible says so.

    I do not mind difference of opinion, but I do mind comments that are shared based on something I didn't say. This is straw man argumentation.

    "A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position".

    Now that you know what straw man is, please be careful not to engage in it next time. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What is sad to me about the video you linked to is that in the eyes of the rest of the world, we Americans are the "bankers and fat cats". In reality, this is true in so many ways. The average poor person in the United States would be considered rich in many parts of the world. We who live a comfortable lower middle or central middle class lifestyles are rich beyond belief to much of the world.

    I am not excusing these men and women in the video at all. (I would, however, be interested in hearing their side of what was going on.) No, they will be held accountable if they have been greedy, selfish or have turned a blind eye to those in need. And SO WILL WE who are not so rich! Even the poor will be held accountable for how they did or did not spend what resources they do have.

    I am so thankful for the wealthy who tithe, the wealthy who give generously above and beyond their 10%, the wealthy who provide jobs for millions of people around the world.

    I fear that in our current world society, some of the rich are going to get blamed for things they have not caused or done, while all the poor will have a blind eye turned toward their own failed responsibilities.

    I currently live in a society where the rich are rich due to exploitation of those weaker than they. Rich due to selling other humans into slavery, prostitution, drug addiction and more. Rich due to all the evil you see on tv or read about in books or the news. That is the kind of society in which I now live (not the US) - blantant all around me. Some even become rich through religious manipulation of people instead of 'crime' (also very true in the US).

    But God does give some of His people the ability to make money almost effortlessly. For those people, I am very thankful.

    I am not any where near being rich - don't think this comment comes from that! But I have been blessed in a number of ways over the years by those within the church who ARE rich and obedient to their Savior and I am glad God has given some of His chosen people the ability to make money. I am concerned that some of your readers will not understand this and lump all of the rich into one group. As the poor are neither all "good" or "bad", neither are the rich.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Okay, thank you for correcting me. So you believe the Bible teaches that the miracle gifts have stopped.

    You believe that God does not speak to us in dreams. What about all the hundreds of Muslims that are converting to Christianity without ever hearing the gospel, because Jesus is appearing to them in a dream?

    What about in India, how God is appearing to the lost in dreams and telling them who to go to to hear the gospel message and get saved? They literally pick out the missionary in the crowd, because God spoke to them what the missionary looked like in a dream. Then they get saved.

    This is happening all the time in the 10/40 window. And of course dreams and prophesy can be used by the enemy or they can be a result of your natural mind.

    I am not trying to argue with you. I think you are very centered in the Word of God. But you said, "That is why I'm can make the comment with confidence that some guy on a blog who says he has had special things revealed to him in dreams is a false guy. Not because John MacArthur says so, but because the bible says so."

    Where does the Bible say that if we say we have dreams from God, we are false guys?

    I think it would be better to say that we need to look at the message to find out if it lines up with the Word of God to see if they are false.

    Acts 2 talks about in the last days God will pour out His Spirit and we will dream dreams and give prophesy. The last days began at the beginning of the church age and will end with the end of the church age. And the verse that is quoted in Acts which is from Joel, lends itself to the fact that it will extend to the time of Jacobs trouble because it describes those days with cosmic signs. "I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD."

    These signs did not happen at all during the time of the disciples. So the revelation given by the Holy Spirit in these verses is not just referring to the times of the apostles.

    In fact miracles were never just given to the apostles to begin with. They were given all through the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament.

    God has given dreams to people in the Bible from beginning to end, as He wills. And since the Bible says that God does not change, I can't imagine that He would change that unless there is a verse that specifically says that He will stop giving personal revelation and dreams.

    The ONLY verse that people use to say that the miraculous gifts have left us, is 1 Cor. 13:10. "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away" (1Cr 13:10). Chuck Smith, of the Calvary Chapel movement, who focuses on teaching the Bible word for word not on Holy Ghost goosbumps says of this verse something really interesting. But it is kind of long so I will post it in a separate comment box. I hope you don't mind, but I think it really adds to this conversation. Thank you for taking the time to answer me on this.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Here is the commentary info on 1 Cor. 13:10:

    Now what is it referring to "that which is perfect"? It is interesting to me that every Bible commentator prior to the twentieth century always understood it to mean the coming again of Jesus Christ. This is the historic traditional view of the church of every Bible commentator up until this twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, 1906, there began a modern charismatic movement called, in those days, a Pentecostal movement, with a renewing of interest in the gifts of the Spirit. And with this modern Pentecostal movement beginning in 1906, those fundamentalist preachers who wanted to discount this movement of the Holy Spirit in these last days, they turned to I Corinthians 13, and they brought out a new interpretation. And suddenly, "that which is perfect is come" was no longer the coming again of Jesus Christ. But now, according to their interpretation, it was the full revelation of the Word of God. When we receive the whole cannon of scriptures, then they did not need the supernatural gifts of prophecy, tongues, and word of knowledge to teach the people any longer. We now have the Word of God, that which is perfect has come, and therefore, all of the gifts of the Spirit ceased with the apostles, and the end of the apostolic age. That brought an end to the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit. And in order to, of course, prove from a scriptural basis their premise, they had to change the meaning of "that which is perfect" and twist it around to mean the Word of God, rather than the coming again of Jesus Christ.

    In the more later commentaries you will find "that which is perfect" often being referred to as the Word of God, but that is not so prior to this century, before all of the Bible teachers understood it to mean the coming again of Jesus Christ. I agree with G. Campbell Morgan, who I believe to be a very honest commentator. I agree with him when he declared that it is obvious from the context that he has to be referring to the coming again of Jesus Christ. For he goes on to say that we are going to see Him face to face, "Now we see Him through the glass darkly, but then face to face." "Now we know in part, we prophesy in part, but then we are going to know even as we are known." When? When we see Him or meet Him face to face. Rather than this thirteenth chapter here being a proof against the exercise the gifts of prophecy or tongues or word of knowledge today, in reality, it is a support, because these are given to us until the coming again of Jesus Christ, until that which is perfect is come.

    ***I will continue this in a new window. But please let me, because I really want to see what you think of this.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The last part of the commentary info on 1 Cor. 13:10, thank you:

    If you will turn mentally with me to the second chapter of Acts, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church and they were all speaking in other tongues, and the devout men from all over the world who had gathered for the feast of Passover heard the noise, gathered to the room where the disciples were meeting. They were filled with wonderment and amazement, and they said, "Are not all of these that are here Galileans? How is it that they are speaking in our own languages from the nations from whence we have come? For we hear them speaking in the language of the Medes and the Parthians, and those from Mesopotamia, and they are glorifying and praising God. What does this mean?"

    When Peter stood up to explain unto them what it meant, he first of all gave to them a scriptural basis, "You men of Israel, hearken unto me. First of all, your premise is wrong. These are not drunken as you suppose. It is only 9:00 in the morning. But you are asking, 'What meaneth this?' This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, when he said, 'In the last days saith the Lord, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams, and upon my servants and handmaidens will I pour out of my Spirit in that day, saith the Lord.'" This prophecy goes right into the Tribulation period, "and there shall be blood, fire and vapor of smoke and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the sun into darkness, before the great and notable day of the Lord come." So the prophecy of Joel was a prophecy of the last days, carrying you right into the Tribulation and right into the coming of the Lord. "For it shall come to pass in those days, saith the Lord, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." From a scriptural basis, it is forcing the interpretation to say that, "that which is perfect" refers to the scriptures rather than to the coming again of Jesus Christ.

    I think that those who have taken that position have only taken that position because of the previous position that they have taken that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today. And because they have taken that position, then they are forced to interpret this. But it is a forced interpretation of the text. I do believe that the correct interpretation is to interpret "that which is perfect" is the coming again of Jesus Christ. It is balanced through the scriptures, other scriptures.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've been thinking about Daniel's prophecy regarding iron and clay. I think these two represents the two economic systems that we see in the world today: capitalism and socialism. While both have merits to them, they are susceptible to human corruption and are bound to fail in the long run. Iron represents dictatorship, and countries under this category are North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Clay is fickle and has no particular form. It changes with time. What used to be morally unacceptable twenty years ago is now widely advocated by many people today such as homosexuality, illegal drugs, prostitution, etc. God is showing us that apart from Him, no political ideology or economic system can ever prosper. And we're seeing that a great deal now with economic crashes, ecological imbalance, and terrorism. In a sense, God wants us to understand that the only system that works is His system. It is the stone strikes the statue and establishes a kingdom that a kingdom that never ends.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous you asked, "What about all the hundreds of Muslims that are converting to Christianity without ever hearing the gospel, because Jesus is appearing to them in a dream?"

    Proof, please. So until verified information arrives I ask, What about all the cults that were begun because an angel or Jesus appeared to them in a dream? Mormons, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist all started through revelatory dreams from someone or something claiming to be from glory and all were extra biblical revelations.

    That leaves us with a dilemma. What is the standard by which we determine if these are legitimate? The bible. And the bible says that in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son. Once again I quote Heb 1:1-2. If the bible is not the standard then we have a problem on our hands trying to sift whose dreams are true and whose are false.

    I think I've been clear that the bible is the only arbiter of truth. You asked where in the bible it says that dreams from supernatural sources means we are receiving false information? In addition to Hebrews which I have quoted thrice now, also Rev 22:19 'And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." As Barnes Notes explains-

    And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy - If he shall reject the book altogether; if he shall, in transcribing it, designedly strike any part of it out."

    ANd also Gal 1:8.

    You can read this essay in full here, but below are some excerpts. http://bible-truth.org/VISIONS.html
    "We must ask by what Biblical standard, principle or criteria are we to determine that what was experienced was a revelation from God? In seeking the answer, we must go to the Bible determine what, "Thus saith the Lord." The only standard that God has given to us that does not change and is totally reliable is His written word."

    2 Timothy 3:16-17 explains that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

    "This passage plainly tells us the word of God is sufficient for meeting all our needs for instruction from God. ANd John 1:14-6 also, "...And of his *fullness* have all we received, and grace for grace." Jesus Christ is the word and you cannot separate the Lord Jesus from His word and Hebrews 1:1 is telling us that today God is speaking through the Bible, which is His word."

    You said, " I think it would be better to say that we need to look at the message to find out if it lines up with the Word of God to see if they are false." Again, I had stated that the prophecy guy referred to had dreams that did not come true. I think it is obvious that when people receive information from extra biblical sources and it fails it is not from God. You overlooked my statement i making your comment. Please read my comments carefully before repeating what I have said. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you for the Corinthians commentaries. I am not going to respond at this time. But thank you

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment