Old Dog V
Red Flags: The Spirit Of Deception
Bob Neumann, August 28, 1996
There are many “storms” that can be seen or horizon. On this faze specific warnings will come forward on specific are as to regard the end of this summer we shall se more of the same “storms” that we have seen in the past. But because of the funneling of our remaining time, they will seem to becoming much more frequently, and in gaining severity. Let us look at the storms that Jesus warned about, and how the world situation fits. Or should I say-comes together. These warnings stem from the gospel of Matt. 24:
Chapter 24
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
“Take heed that no man deceive you.” Deception is the key word in all things, in America today. From our marketing strategies to our political process. “promise them anything, and they will take what you give them”. “Bait and Switch.” The bigger the lie, the louder you say it, the easier for them to buy it. “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Never give a sucker an even break. Whatever happened to the fact that “You can never cheat an “honest” man.” To believe a lie, you will have to have walked away from the truth. Truth-Justice-The American Way! Yo -Clark Kent! Only I thought that truth and justice was “ American Way.” It once was. Then we turned away from God. We are about to reap the seeds that were sown over the last thirty years. Oh Lord, have mercy on us. Isaac 59:
Chapter 59
1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch cockatriceí eggs, and weave the spiderís web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.
11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seedís seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
Because of the storm of deception, all the following storms will either be more or less unanticipated, but little preparation will be made. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many. (v5) Today the most profitable infomercials are the so called Psychic 1-900 businesses. People want to know what the future holds. No more now than in the Ancient Times. Yet even in a modern technologically adapt society the desire to know what the future may hold leads us to the same sources of “information” as those God warned up against. “Consorting with the spirits” held both a strong fascination and an aerie apprehension.
Yet today the ideal of dialing a “psychic” or going to a “channeller” as entertainment. Today’s techno-sorcerer is in no way different than Balaam. Only the charge is placed on your credit card by the “telephone” people who created the 1-900 marketing strategy. In the world today are numerous “christs”. People who declare that they have the only or best answers. Some have large and extensive following, but most are small and localized. Yet their whole power base comes from their power, authority, or revelation. In most cases the only common thread is their string of deception. They provide a need in the lives of those who follow and build trust and dependence upon which all further deceptions are initiated. That is both their strength, and their danger.
“11 And” Matt 24:11
The original Greek word for false prophet is “pseudo”. Prophets of fake “anointing”, religious impostures whose power comes from other spirits. Jesus speaks of these “spirits” as either “foul”, or “unclean”. Titles less attractive than the medial would like us to either know or understand. Yet we are warned three specific times “deception.” Deception that comes “new”, verse 4. Deception that comes from false “Christs”, false religious leaders, false Messiahs, verse 5. And again, deception from “false prophets.” Men who will lead and teach from the power of spirits unholy, verse 11. Once again we need to look at John’s words, I John 4:3:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
The Greek word for Anti-Christ is simply Antichristo. To modern thinkers “anti” means against. Yet in the ancient Greek anti usually meant “ in place of.” The spirit of Anti-Christ was a counterfeit anointing meant to deceive and supplant. John simply states that his spirit was in the world and working against the Spirit of the Living God, nearly 2000 years ago. So, this spirit of false christs, false prophets has been moving and working for the same time the Spirit of the Living God has moved among man. For that reason is
Matt. 24:11 we are warned, “and because inequity shall abound, the love of many wax cold.” Inequity is an old word for lawlessness, it speaks of a time in man’s history where laws and rules will be despised and ignored. At the same time “love” will be growing colder. There will be a day when cold hearted lawlessness prevails. Modern man calls this concept, “socio paths”, and our modern educational system has been blamed for creating a generation of “socio paths.” Jesus goes on to reinforce these points in verses
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
He repeats the warning of false christ and false prophets with miraculous abilities whose sole purpose is to deceive mankind. In fact the magnitude and spectacle would deceive the “very elect”.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Verses 25 & 26 speak of a point in time where people will chase after these deceptions. While deception alone is a major key in all the warnings that Jesus gives in the prophecies in Matt. 24, specifically in North America deception is more defuse than specific. While the media often speaks of cults and mind-controlling charismatic leaders, the prevalence of large cults is more oriental than accidental. While many gurus have come to the “new world” and caught up many in their nets of deception, their numbers and strength stay in their place of origin.
Most Americans (and Canadians) still have too much “rugged individualism” to throw “everything” away and follow anything blindly. Again, there are many cults and sects across the world. There always has been. Selfishness and materialism have proven themselves as affective insulation to some of the moves of the spirit of deception. For that reason, deception(s) are becoming more numerous and more beguiling. And again we must look at the twin powers of media and entertainment to see what the present and future moves of the spirit of deception. At one time the media was primarily for the purpose of information/education. The founding fathers called the source of American Journalism, the “Fourth Estate.” An “unofficial branch” of the American Governmental System based on the “Freedom of the Press” to inform the populace concerning the plans and actions of their elected official. Remember the so called “System of Checks and Balance”? How does it “fare” today, 200 years since the conception of Government, of…by…for…the people? As years have changed the face of American Democracy Technology has changed the “press” to “media”, all inclusive. And in the “spirit” of capitalism the “media” responds to the call of financial rather than social responsibility.
As the concept of media was conceived, so was the ideal of market share, and corporate take over. There is no truly independent voice in today’s “media” that exists entirely for the goal to inform the public freely and without bias. Likewise the ideal of education can be defined as more propaganda and sales pitch according to that same spirit of capitalism. Editorial content today is more focused to “shape” public opinion rather than merely inform the public. The media “spins” information beyond the simple documentation and distribution of facts to the consuming public. Most media leaders have openly stated that their goal was to create the story, rather than to report the story. Here lies the root of deception in our media.
Corporate ownership of American media believes the unwashed multitudes incapable of self determination to search the goals of corporate power. The goals of the people are not the goals of power, therefore the people must be changed. Therefore deception is not merely required, but is the only method that can work. For that reason media will be always taking a liberal, one world position on most issues. There is no free press in the land of the free. There is no fourth estate to protect informed public from government intent. But let’s go beyond the media to the level of entertainment industry, and a deeper, more blatant level of deception. To do so let us divide the world of entertainment into three categories, music, television, and cinema. Music in America has evolved over the years to include every guru and form. Criticism for changes in American music is not new. In the mid 1800’s Stephen Foster and his songs were condemned because they were simple and unsophisticated, in comparison to the European styles. At the turn of the century “Ragtime” music was cheap and frivolous. Foster’s music began today’s Pop and Country style of music. Ragtime and “Gospel” berthed R&B, Jazz, and Rock. Hard to believe? Just look back over 150 years and it seems obvious.
Yet deception is not the alleviation of music. Changes in music structure and format was a product of a changing nation, deception has nearly road it’s coat tails. Spiritual Deception goes back a long way in American Music. Yes, suggestive “lyrics” seem to be prevalent, but are far from new. Don’t start pointing fingers at John Lennen or Mick Jagger or Madonna… If you want to get “critical” for the fun of it, look back to Elvis, go back to Frank Sinatra, go back to Cab Calloway, go back to Gilbert & Sullivan, go back to Oftenbach, Mozart, Pope Gregory and his Chant. Get the drift?
“Suggestive” has been with us a long, long time. That is because this battle with deception goes back to a lady called Eve, in the Garden. But today we have stepped beyond the level of “suggestive” to the level of blatant. Blatantly deceptive, no hardly. Try blatantly demonic. Grandma and Grandpa were upset by Elvis’ gyrations and The Beetles hairstyle. Deception of Lyrical content is when Tipper Gore got vocal about songs that spoke about “sex” and “violence.” Good old Tipper, where was Al and your friends Bill and Hillary when you stepped “forward for decency.”? Poor Tipper got people aroused, and counted. Then she sort of vanished, seen her lately? But Mrs. Gore, why didn’t you speak more about “Gothic” lyrics, blood rock lyrics, satanic rock lyrics. Why complain about Pop/Rock /R&B/Country that pushes adultery, alcohol, drugs… in one way or another?
“You can’t see a song unless it appeals to something that appeals to our lesser nature! Really? Not! That is deception. But if it is the guideline to those in the business of making and selling “music”. Expect it to sink to it’s lowest levels. This same level of thinking runs the television industry. If something works, run it into the ground. Phil & Oprah got ratings, flood the market with cheap, liberal talk shows. One situation comedy works, copy it. Until the public gets sick on it all. People want information, so they begin to watch “60 minutes” and “20/20”. Put solid, intelligent information on each week, and the ratings began to rise.
Suddenly a “new” format became popular and profitable after several years. Now each night you have a “news” program. Once again “media” agenda rises up and propaganda begins to flow. And so comes deception. If you can push “ideals” into the story line of comedies and dramas then maybe you can create the whole program around the “ideal” you were pushing. Deception has again become blatant.
Let’s take it one step farther. Put news format informational programs on the phenomenal and the mysterious whole special programs and series on deception, both subtle and blatant. Desensitize the people by giving an appearance of control while categorically denying credence and capability. Yet the public absorbs the massive amounts of “information” that is meant do deceive and to lull our senses. In speaking on music and television we have kept things general.
In the future specific “Red Flags” will be hoisted at specific deceptions as they arise. Concerning deceptions in the Cinema, we shall be most specific now! Like American Music and American Television, American Movies are and have been the pattern for the world. These three juggernauts of American culture have penetrated every continent, nation, tribe, and clan in today world. So pervasive are they outside of North America that the whole world views America by these three “images” we deliver to them. From a world’s eye view the oldest and most enticing is Cinema.
The presentation of American Lifestyle, morals, political views and religious values give Third world citizens a very distorted view of “real” America. The problem lies in what is the “Real America.” Like their brethren in television, the Cinematic peers openly try to shape thinking rather than describe it. From it’s origin, Cinema was the reverse of television. Television was news, then entertainment followed. Cinema was entertainment, until the powers understood the craving of the people for entertainment. Such is/was the creation of propaganda in the 1930’s.
We blame the German people of serving the monstrous plats of Adolph Hitler. But it started in Hollywood and today is highly tuned and efficient. In an earlier message the question of prophetic content was discussed. Is the modern prophet the Stephen Kings’ and the Steven Spielburg’s of Hollywood? Maybe yes, and maybe no. Brothers King and Spielberg are truly the pinnacle of their art forms, yet are they not more. The prophet King’s work includes many allusions that border on life and cross it occasionally. His classic works The Stand the Dead Zone, Firestarter speak of government chicanery on different levels and apocalyptic results along the way. The Prophet Spielburg has created classic as well as box officer winners. Alien benevolence as espoused in ET and Encounters of the Third Kind has been marred by more recent movies. The past Shindler’s List seem to look ahead as easily as it looks back.
One amazing fact is in the combined week of Stephen Spielburg, Frances Ford George Lucas are three powerful profitable trilogies that make us look into ourselves and beyond ourselves. The Godfather Trilogy looked back to the creation of a “typical” American family taking root in the “New World”. Sounds good, until you see the family business. The famous motto of crime doesn’t was placed in serious doubt. In The Indiana Jones Trilogy Archeological treasures where the focus. Or where they? What does a Jewish Arc, a Hindu Stone, and a Christian Cup have in common? All gave “power” to the holder, or so they claimed. That leads us to the Star Wars Trilogy, where the “Force” tied all three neatly together. Good vs evil, the common struggle since the dawn of time, Hollywood style. Yet Hollywood’s style tends to show the vulnerability of good. While the prophets King, Lucas, Spielburg usually conclude with good victorious, it is at a cost. Lesser lights in the pit called Hollywood are not so generous. The line between Hero and Villain runs very thing to the point good does not survive the “battle”. The appeal of the gad guys is increased, the defenders of good are insipid and petty.
Does it give you a sense of wrongness when you catch yourself routing for the Villain to beat the hero? Do you feel relieved when the so called good guy fails or is destroyed? We Americans love the Heroic, especially if his feet are of clay. Most of our heroes were not bigger than life. They merely rare to the occasion. From Douglas Fairbanks and Tom Mix to Bruce Willis and Arnold, we routed for the good guy. From Errol Flynn to Sean Connory we esteemed equally the handsome and the daring. But today every story has a message, and every message lately has a point of deception. Sometimes very subtlety, but more often fairly blatant. And blatant seems to be the key for this summer’s crop of vacation entertainment.
“Film imitates life”. Make it from a prophetic standpoint and “film describes what life may soon be.” So far this summer we have had “Twister” both in our multiplex theaters, and throughout 17 states. “Mission Impossible” talks about treachery and ruthless actions within “our” government “police” agency.
“The Rock” is taking terrorism to a high-tech degree with American style. The government still seems to be blamed. Two movies one out today, another due out July 3rd are based upon aliens and UFO’s “The Arrival” is about those among us already ID 4 or “Independence Day” is about those coming. They do not appear to share ET’s gentle heart. ID4 appears to be the best and most hyped of all the summer moves. Also it is the most troubling to my spirit and all I have seen are small bites. Tantalizing, yet troubling.
Finally there are two obvious sources of deception. “The Craft” and “Dragonheart” show us two extremes of the spirit of deception. “The Craft” is blatantly occultism and violent. “Dragonheart” is subtle and appealing compared to “The Craft”. Yet it’s message is straight out of the pit. The dragon is not evil, evil came from man. The Garden of Eden, with a subtle twist. As this summer moves to fall look for all these themes to be played out upon the world stage. Storms from nature, and from government. Old spirits and what may look like new – but are still old. So watch as the flags are raised.
Samuel
Up Next: Red Flags: Man vs. Man