Zwarte Piet, the Beatles and the Antichrist

Huh? Do Zwarte Piet, the Beatles and the Antichrist have anything to do with each other? Not directly of course, but there are some bizarre things going on in society that as far as I can see have to do with the time on God's clock. Judge for yourself.

Complex

There are all sorts of things going on, which are probably all related and sending the world in a certain direction. In the end it turns out that the Antichrist,'the man of lawlessness', will be revealed and will rule as dictator (eg 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 1 John 2:18). The world must soon be insanely chaotic if it accepts the lawless one as savior. So complex that people can't figure it out on their own.

Of course there has always been complexity, but I suspect that what is emerging now is no longer normal. What do you think of

• The curtailment of freedom of expression
• Removing Zwarte Piet from Dutch society and historic statues in America
• The role of SJW (Social Justice Warriors) and of the so-called 'millennials'
• The increasing contradictions in society, leading to extreme violence
• The Migration Crisis and the Role of Islam
• Global uncertainty about what is or is not real news (fake news) and the role of government and media in this
• The phenomenon of so-called 'gender neutrality'.

They are things that each of us can perceive. But they are also things that you cannot reach with your normal mind. Things that you can't reason logically and that make you wonder how on earth it is possible for people to think or act this way in a certain matter. I will not give an in-depth analysis of all this complexity[1].

Conclusion – provisional

But I do think that all of these things are related, even if I can't sort out all this complexity in an orderly manner. I'll give you the conclusion I'll come to soon. It is my 'serious suspicion' that the cause of these developments lies in the fact that people worldwide consciously reject God's revealed truth and actually and directlythe father of lies' (John 8:44) be inspired to 'to deceive and be deceived' (2 Timothy 3:13). All of this to such an extent and intensity that the world will fall into utter chaos. It is the perfect scenario for the antichrist to appear on the world stage and establish his dictatorship.

Bill C-16

Late last year my attention was drawn to what was going on in Canada regarding "gender neutrality" and the law (called Bill C-16) that should regulate that[2]. Bill C-16 states that no one may discriminate against transgender people and that violation can lead to criminal prosecution. The whole discussion is rather complicated and I won't try to explain it completely. But there were a few things that stood out to me.

• Jordan B. Peterson[3], a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, strongly opposes Bill C-16 and warns of its consequences. You can find a Dutch report of an interview with him here.
• From Peterson I understand
  • In addition to the words 'he/she' for man/woman, Canada will require people to use new gender-neutral pronouns ('xe' and 'xer'). This negates the objective reality and people create their own, new and subjective reality.
  • In this way people are forced to use a language that does not correspond to objective reality and according to Peterson this is the beginning of a road that ends in dictatorship. He has historical examples for this such as the Nazi regime and the communist regime.
• Striking is the disrespectful and hostile behavior of Peterson's opponents (see for example here).

Gender neutrality

Peterson argues that m/f characteristics are seen and recognized in all branches of science. That is no surprise to me. After all, that's how God made us humans:And God created man in His image; in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27). This is our basic identity as a human being: male or female.

But man shakes off this 'yoke'. Nowadays you can be anything (LGBTQIA) and on top of that it can vary from day to day. Today man, tomorrow woman and who knows what next.

What is behind this is that the identity of a person is no longer what is objectively observable, such as, for example, the sexual characteristics, but is determined by what one feels internally. I think this is crucial: the present man is what he feels. The questions here are a) where does this come from? and b) does this have consequences for human behavior? We'll come back to that later.

Man wrestles himself from God's reality and in this way tries to create his own world in which nothing of God's truth or reality can be found anymore. He creates a reality based on subjectivity, on feeling[4].

Freedom of speech

The freedom of expression[5] is seen as the cornerstone of our democratic society. A great asset that we must carefully preserve. But nowadays you are allowed to say less and less things out loud.

Why can't black pete be black? That's because there are people who are black or dark and feel hurt by this. It feels to them that they are less than other people (especially whites) every time they are confronted with Zwarte Piet.

That is why in Canada you will soon no longer be able to address a transgender as a man or woman (but as 'xe' or 'xer'). And in the Netherlands we are welcomed as 'best people' in public transport [6]. The reason is that everyone belongs and we don't want anyone to feel at home with us. That's why we avoid anything that could hurt people. After all, everyone belongs and no one is less than another, right?

Not only that. It is becoming mandatory not to use certain expressions because they can hurt others. Coincidentally, I came across a list from the University of California, which contains all the expressions you should not use (see here). It's just a coincidental example.

They are 'words that hurt'. If you do use those words, it can easily be seen as 'sowing hatred' (the so-called 'hate speech').

You are not allowed to say anything about the Koran, because that is of course offensive to Muslims. What really is in the Quran should not be given attention. What is true cannot be said. If you do, it is called hate speech.

Truth, objective reality, should no longer be mentioned.

Symbols

Zwarte Piet can also be seen as a symbol of oppression by (white) Dutch people and slavery. For that reason, that symbol must also be removed from society. After all, it hurts people every time.

You see the same thing in America right now. The iconoclasm that is going on there stems from the same feelings. Someone who wants to leave those statues standing is then called a 'racist'. It will not be long before we will see this phenomenon develop further in the Netherlands. All symbols, street names and words that could possibly hurt people and that hurt them deep inside must be banned. Then arises a state where everyone is equal and everyone can be themselves.

‘Millenials’

What we cannot ignore is the term 'Millenial'. This refers to people born between 1980 and 2000. It is the generation between the ages of 17 and 37 that grew up with postmodernity. They know no absolute truth that gives them stability and direction in their lives. They are driven by their feelings, what they are deep inside.

In the video below ("Two big reasons why my generation hates free speech"), someone from this generation explains this themselves (from about 3').

The speaker speaks rather quickly and not everything is equally relevant as far as I am concerned. I take a few things out of it and put them in my own words.

• Millennials know no objectivity. The reason is that they grew up with postmodernity. Postmodernity influences the way people see and experience reality. They don't know objectivity. They replace everything with their own subjectivity and think that their subjective version of reality is equivalent to objective reality.
• Postmodernism constantly questions reality (doubts the reality of reality), but gets no answers. Postmodern man then ends up in an existential crisis. All he is left with is his own subjective feeling and his own identity that depends on it. Ultimately, his identity is what he feels.
• If you don't agree with a postmodern millennial, there is no discussion of objective reality. The millennial perceives a change of opinion or criticism as an attack or rejection of his innermost identity and will defend it at all costs. Violence is therefore not shunned. After all, he is very hurt, so is a victim and is allowed to defend himself.

In line with this is what is nowadays called 'Social Justice Warriors' (SJW). I will not go into this further, but it is recognizable among the activists of, for example, the Zwarte Piet discussion, the gender debate, the statue issue and so on.

A minority forces society

The views and actions of a relatively small group of people can force major changes in society. In most cases, even the masses of the population will not agree, but they will accept it. The changes are often facilitated by a (left-social) government[7].

It is not politically correct to say that the root of Islamic violence lies in the Quran. They can take you to court (see Wilders). While a very large part of the population agrees. It is not for nothing that the PVV was the second largest party in the last elections[8].

A small group of people find it hurtful to be confronted with Zwarte Piet. That is why Zwarte Piet has to get out of the world and politics is also getting involved, even in the UN (Nota bene).see here). Note: Zwarte Piet is not racist but for some feels it's racist and that's why action is being taken against it.

You see the same thing in the gender world. A small group that manages to enforce changes in society, while the masses (shaking their heads and often angry) watch.

Why on earth do the toilet signs need to be changed? And why is 'Ladies and gentlemen' no longer good? An orderly conversation about this is hardly possible, because you are quickly dismissed as "transphobic" and then it's over and done with.

That, by the way, is another typical feature of the event. Anyone who disagrees with them is labeled as 'homophobic', 'Islamophobic', 'transphobic', 'racist' or 'Nazi'. With that, the discussion is closed.

Violence and terror

The amount of terror is increasing and the threat is there every day. We've been dealing with it since 9/11 and we never get used to it. The government is looking away from the cause of this violence. That is politically correct and that way they try to 'keep things together'.

But in addition to the terror, you see an increase in far-left and far-right violence. What about the events in Hamburg and Charlottesville? You must have read or seen something about it.

Heavy violence is not shunned and it will probably only increase. People can no longer talk rationally about topics when they disagree. That is why they fight each other with violence.

News and fake news

What about the whole thing about news and fake news? One thing is clear in this world and that is that the real reality can no longer be heard. And if everything you hear has to ask yourself whether it is really the case, what certainty do you have in life?

This point touches upon the existence of man. What is true and what is not? When you can't be sure of anything, all you have left is your own self. Your own identity. But we already talked about that above.

The antichrist

What I have stated above is simply from secular reporting and analysis. Jordan Peterson does provide a valuable hint when he says that curtailing free speech leads to dictatorship. For me that was reason to think about the coming of the antichrist and what precedes it according to the Bible.

2 Thessalonicenzen 2:3-12

2 Timothy 3:1-4, 13; 4:3-5

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless first the waste came, and the man of iniquity, the son of perdition, is manifested, the adversary, who exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, that he may sit as God in the temple of God and God appears. (…) Because it mystery of lawlessness is already working. Only there's someone who's holding him back now, until he's gone from the middle. And then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord will consume him by the spirit of his mouth, and destroy him by the appearing at his coming; him, whose coming according to the working of satan with every power, with signs and lying wonders, and with every deception of iniquity in those who perish, because they love the truth have not received to be saved. And therefore God will send them strong delusion, so that they lie believe, that they may all be condemned who truth believed not, but had pleasure in iniquity“.

“Know this that hard times will come in the last days. For the people will be lovers of themselvesgreedy, boastful, proud, slanderers, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without natural love, irreconcilable, slanderers, intemperate, cruel, without love of what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of sensual pleasures more than lovers of God. (…)   But wicked men and impostors will from bad to worse go: they deceive and are deceived. (…) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but that they will seek what pleases the ear, and gather for themselves teachers according to their own desires. They will keep their hearing of the truth turn away and turn to fabrications. But you, be sober in everything. Suffer afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry to the full”

A powerful delusion

This expression occurs in 2 Thessalonians 2:11. Paul encourages believers not to be misled by some who claim that the day of Christ has already arrived (vv 1-3). He describes that the apostasy must first come (vs 3) and the lawless one must be revealed (vs 3.8) and then concludes in verse 11 with

“(…) and therefore God will give them a mighty[10] send delusion, that they may believe a lie . . . .”

The Coming of the Antichrist

Paul explains that "the day of Christ', that is the time period when Christ will reign and which will begin to judge, will not come after the antichrist will first come and tempt the people to follow and serve him. Then also comesthe waste' (verse 3) of what calls itself 'the Christian church'.

We must bear in mind that these kinds of events never happen overnight, but often have a lead-in period. Also at this moment 'the Apostasy' (with a capital letter) has not yet come, but we do see the run-up towards it, in which more and more of Christendom ends up in idolatry and thus becomes 'apostate'. Because whenever the Bible speaks of apostasy or apostasy (both in the Old and New Testaments), it is directly related to idolatry. Moreover, the word in the Bible is always applied to the people of God. In the OT on the nation of Israel and in the NT and today on Christendom, those who confess that they are Christ's.

Truth and lie

From verse 9 Paul describes that the coming of the antichrist is a work of Satan and is accompanied by 'all kinds of power, signs and lying wonders' (verse 9). The people who commit themselves to the antichrist are lost and condemned”because they have not received the love of the truth in order to be saved (and…) have not believed the truth” (verses 10 and 12). So it is a misleading, lying work of the antichrist and satan, of unprecedented magnitude and it concerns all people, Christian or not.

All people are deceived because they do not want to hear and accept the truth. It is the work of satan and his demons[11], but at the same time it is true that Goda powerful error' sends[12]. It will be – as with 'the apostasy' – that this powerful error will develop over a period of time to its culmination when the antichrist will be revealed.

The question, of course, is how all this is possible and I believe the key lies in the fact that Satan has invited all people from the beginning to come into contact with the (his) invisible world. If we take that into account, we get the picture below. I don't necessarily say it is (I can't 'prove' it), but I'll take it for granted and give it to you for consideration.

Direct demonic influence

The Beatles opened the door to large-scale direct demonic influence in the Western world from 1960-1970[13]. They introduced a deadly cocktail of music, drugs and meditation to the West.

The music was so different from all previous music styles that it took hold of the youth culture of that time (see for example here). They also experimented with all kinds of drugs and many of their songs came about under their influence. The entire history of their drug use is even documented.

Finally, they were apprenticed to the  Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the Transcendental Meditation and have become promoters of meditation.

This combination is eminently suitable for letting people go 'out of their mind'. In other words, to let them experience 'the higher consciousness'. In other words, the experience of the higher reality. This puts people under direct demonic influence.

A timeline

In the image below I have incorporated some of the above elements. Then it turns out that after WWII we entered a special period.

The development of the postmodernism and the influence of youth culture have had a great influence on people's thinking and acting. Whether the one is the cause of the other or vice versa, I don't care.

The post-war generation of young people (the baby boomers) have entered this stream and for them drugs, pop music and the transcendent have become part of their lives. The 'experiencing of the higher' – even though they may not call it that – is just part of it. These are the people who are now roughly 55-65+ years old and who are “at the controls” in many positions in society.

In addition, we now have the group of millennials who know nothing at all other than relativity and subjectivity and the supernatural in yourself.

The consequences

When it comes to the question of what the result is if a person exposes himself (long-term) to the supernatural, the bible has something to say about this.

We find a few important things in 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2.

“But the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith and turn to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons, by hypocrisy of liars, who are have seared their own consciences as with a branding iron.”

These texts Paul writes to Timothy about things that would later occur in Christendom and apply to people who call themselves Christians. That is what the text is primarily about, but that does not alter the fact that there is also something to learn from it in a general sense.

Views

Your views change. Opinions can no longer be rationally substantiated. They are views that demons have instilled during the experience of 'the higher reality' and which, because of the deep experience, are also deep in the feeling and are connected to your feelings. Paul calls them "teachings of demons" and they are views that are not consistent with God's revealed reality (in creation and Scripture). Because they come from 'deceiving spirits'.

In my view, this also means that the objectivity disappears and everything is based on the feeling. Something that we have already seen above with the millennials and that can be traced back to the experience of 'the higher reality'.

Good and evil

the normal, God-given conscience, no longer functions when people surrender to 'the higher'. In a state of normal consciousness, a man's conscience functions and knows the difference between good and evil. This ability is impaired or possibly even completely destroyed when a person becomes accustomed to 'the transcendent life'. Then the distinction between good and evil disappears. At least when it comes to their own behavior.

How often do you hear people say that they 'don't judge anymore' these days. That also means that they no longer want judge what is happening around them whether it is good or not. They don't see that it's dangerous. They do not discern "the hypocrisy of liars" (4:2).

Irreconcilable and cruel

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, Paul continues:

“And know this that in the last days perilous times will come. Because the people will to be lovers of themselves, greedy, boastful, haughty, slanderers, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without natural love, irreconcilable, slanderers, intemperate, cruel, without love of good, traitors, reckless, conceited, more sensual pleasure lovers than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4)

This characteristic is not something that could always be said of mankind in a general sense (except perhaps before the Flood). But it applies to our time. The things mentioned here can be seen by each of us around. The list starts with 'lovers of themselves' and ends with 'more lovers of sensual pleasure than lovers of God'. Singing pleasure can also indicate enjoying the 'oneness with god' and then refers not only to sexual union, but also to spiritual union. People love themselves and strive for the 'spiritual highest'. In between is the whole palette of human behavior that you can observe in these last times.

The lie reigns

How far are we on God's calendar? When I wondered how I was going to finish this story, the following occurred to me. Two important questions[14] you can ask about Europe today are:

• Is Muslim immigration a problem?
• Do we live in a democracy in Europe?

It is remarkable that the governments in Europe (let's say the people in charge) answer the first question with no and the second with yes. Both at country level (most countries, not all) and at European level they think so and act accordingly. But in all countries there is also a lot of resistance and there are many who answer these questions exactly the other way around. But the conversation about that is not going on. In the MSM (mainstream media) you mainly hear the government noise and the others have their own media mainly on the internet, where they are increasingly troubled to announce their views.

I will not elaborate further, but I think that Islam is out for domination and that the world will experience even more violence than it already is. Furthermore, I believe that our countries (including Europe) are no longer democracies, but show features of domination and oppression of opinion. So in that sense they already have characteristics of dictatorship.

My conclusion is that the lie already reigns. Not one hundred percent yet, but it's starting to increase and we've come a long way.

The recording

That development is quickly completed when the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, all born again children of God, is collected by the Lord Jesus Himself.

“And you know what restrains him now, that he may be revealed in his own time.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only there's someone who's holding him back now, until he's gone from the middle. And then the lawless one will be revealed.” (2 Thessalonicenzen 2:6-8)

We don't know what's to come before that, but God has called us”to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” as Paul paints in the next section.

“But we must always thank God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, that God hath chosen you from the beginning unto salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit, and faith in the truth. To this he has called you by our gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm then, brethren, and hold fast to the traditions in which you have been taught by our word or by our letter.
And may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and work.” (2 Thessalonicenzen 2:13-17)

That is why we continue to hold fast to our calling, look to the future, and continue to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to people.

“May the Lord of peace Himself continually give you peace in every way. The Lord be with you all. . . . The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (2 Thessalonicenzen 3:16,18)

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[1] I leave aside the advance of Islam and the immigration problem. These are also developments that have a major impact and play a role in the whole picture.

[2] This law has now been passed by the House of Commons and Senate in Canada and is almost ready to be introduced.

[3] Just for the record: As far as I can tell from his statements, Peterson is not a (born-again) Christian, even though he lectures on the Bible.

[4] Where that 'feeling' comes from will be discussed later.

[5] See e.g. Wikipedia, https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrijheid_van_meningsuiting

[6] http://www.hetgoedeleven.com/2017/08/22/genderdebat-groeit-uit-tot-ideologie/

[7] I will say nothing about the role of the government/governments and the mainstream media.

[8] No, I don't do politics and I don't vote. But I do keep an eye on what's going on.

[9] Such as events in/around Israel and the Middle East, the European Union, the United States.

[10] A better translation is "an operation of error." It is the same word operation as in "an operation of Satan" in 2:9.

[11] "Deceptive" (spirits, 1 Timothy 4:1) and "error" (2 Thessalonians 2:11) come from the same original word. Error, then, comes from deceiving minds.

[12] Remember that there are three actors at the same time: a) man who is held responsible for his own choices and activities, b) Satan who deceives and wants to realize his goals and c) God who is above all and achieves His purpose in all things. We see that clearly in the census that David conducts (and for which he is held responsible), in which Satan is also an actor, but God is also active (2 Samuel 24:1ff; 2 Chronicles 21:1)

[13] Of course there were more music groups, but I'll take the Beatles because they are the most famous and seen as the most influential. It was also the time of Flower Power.

[14] There are more questions to ask, but I'll limit myself to these two here.