American Babylon: 2015 Edition

American Babylon

By Bill Underwood

Copyright (c) by Bill Underwood

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references are from The New International Version.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Mushroom Clouds and Super Signs

Chapter 2: Mystery Babylon

Chapter 3: The Four Isms of the Apocalypse

Chapter 4: American Conservatism and Its Heretical Roots

Chapter 5: I'm a Prepper. Be a Prepper Too.

Chapter 6: Truthiness - and its Inevitable Consequences

Chapter 7: The Seven Year Tribulation - A Timeline

Chapter 8: Apocalypse Unexpected

Chapter 9: The Root of All Evil

Chapter 10: American Idols

Chapter 11: Israel, Oh Israel

Chapter 12: The Fairness Doctrine

Chapter 13: Race Matters

Chapter 14: America’s Military Messiah

Chapter 15: A New Paradigm

Chapter 16: Parting Thoughts on the Apocalypse

Conclusion: Magnificent Ruins

About the Author

For Hal

Introduction

We all feel it, because it's in the air - like a storm cloud rolling slowly over the horizon - headed straight in our direction. Some feel it so strongly they are stocking up on food, water and ammunition to prepare for its arrival, while others simply shove all thoughts of it to the back of their minds, choosing instead to hope (and plan) for the best.

What we feel is a growing sense of dread - an uneasy suspicion that something very bad is about to happen to this world; something so horrific that we dare not dwell on it. Yet, despite this denial our fears have nonetheless bubbled to the surface: finding their expression through popular films and television shows like World War Z, The Walking Dead and Hunger Games. Cloaked in metaphor and science fiction, our angst thus becomes bearable - even entertaining; but this book will step outside the comforting world of Hollywood fantasy to explore the possibility (however preposterous it may sound to some) that the approaching storm we all sense is, in fact, that great epochal saga foretold by desert-dwelling prophets thousands of years ago – a series of cataclysmic events popularly known as Armageddon. The Apocalypse. The End of the Age.

You don't have to be religious to grasp the concept, for it has thoroughly infiltrated the collective consciousness - influencing popular culture to the extent that virtually everyone gets the broad strokes. From the Mayan Calendar theory that the world would end on December 21, 2012 (Thank God they got that wrong) to those delightfully gruesome YouTube speculations on how to survive a zombie apocalypse, the common thread remains the same: there's trouble ahead - and we had best prepare for it.

This book will explore Old and New Testament Bible prophesies regarding man's final saga here on earth, but unlike most prophecy best sellers we will expand our scope to include ideas - political, social, economic - sure to be unpopular with many conservative evangelicals; the very group that, ironically, has been at the forefront of apocalyptic preaching and teaching. Furthermore, this book will make the argument that - when it comes to assessing America's much bemoaned moral decay - the so-called religious right often gets it wrong.

Most importantly, this book will examine America's role in Bible prophecy - a role theologians have long regarded as shrouded in mystery. Doubtless, some of the theories explored here will offend the patriotic sensibilities of conservatives - and perhaps a few liberals, as well - but the lateness of the hour has taken us beyond such petty concerns. We can no longer afford the luxury of sentimental nationalism - however sincerely felt. Nations, after all, are temporal man-made constructs. God, on the other hand, is eternal - and His laws (and love) supersede geo-political boundaries.

It is not an easy thing to present an argument that challenges accepted orthodoxy within the field of prophecy studies, but it is my hope and prayer that those brave enough to read this book will, at the very least, open their minds to an alternative narrative to the one many prophecy writers present as gospel - that The U.S. is a nation set apart from others, destined to fulfill some divinely ordained purpose, and will thus be spared many of the horrors soon to befall humankind.

Furthermore, this book also will serve as a handy prophecy primer for non-believers - especially those put off by the more unseemly aspects of evangelical Christian culture. And while we will examine prophetic teachings, I will resist the temptation to engage in detailed speculation on future events. Plenty of good work has already been done in that area by other researchers. Instead, we will attempt to explore the why of it all - for that has always been the larger, more relevant, question.

I do not consider myself a prophet, nor even a Bible scholar. I will not preface points with the words After prayerful consideration, God has revealed to me etc... This book is simply one person's opinion - an educated guess, if you will. Certainly I have sought God's guidance in the writing - but I claim no divine revelation. If God chooses to speak to you through these pages then I pray the Holy Spirit will bear witness to this in your heart.

These are perilous times we live in, and the stakes have never been higher. To weather the storm that is about to engulf us we must be more focused than ever before on God's word, while - at the same time - open to fresh interpretations. It is to that end this book is dedicated.

More than anything, this book should be regarded as a cry for redemption - both individual and collective; a call to save the soul of this beleaguered republic of ours - while there is yet time to do so. For, make no mistake, the clock is ticking - and the storm clouds are getting closer by the hour.

Chapter 1

Mushroom Clouds and Super Signs

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door (Mathew 24:32-33).

Death Becomes You

Before this discussion begins, we must first dispense with that most common objection regarding end-times prophecy. The argument goes something like this: Many times throughout recorded history large portions of the human population have become convinced that the end of the world was just around the corner - yet, invariably, history proved them wrong. Long after these doomsayers were laid in their graves, the human race is still around - still kicking, still stumbling, still clawing its way up the evolutionary ladder. As such, why should any rational individual place credence in this end-times doomsday nonsense?

It is a fair question, and one that deserves a straightforward response.

There are many reasons why our age is unique in the annals of human history, but if we were to examine just one of these so called super signs of the end times it should be enough to convince the most hard-headed skeptic. That sign occurred on July 16, 1945 - the day physicist Robert J Oppenheimer and his team of Manhattan Project researchers detonated the first atomic bomb at the White Sands Missile Range near Alamogordo, New Mexico. This detonation was dubbed The Trinity Test.

As Oppenheimer gazed upon the massive mushroom cloud that billowed up into the night sky that fateful morning, he was moved to quote a passage from Hindu scripture (the Bhagavad-Gita): Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

Less than one month later, two Japanese cities laid in charred ruins - many of its residents (men, women and children) incinerated in the flash of an instant; and many more poisoned by radio-active fallout from the explosions. Some would die soon - others much later from cancer and other post-blast complications.

Japan had been defeated and World War II was over - but at a terrible price. America had thrust mankind into the atomic age, and our world would never be the same again.

Even if you refuse to accept the best possible evidence regarding bible prophecy, you cannot (with any degree of intellectual integrity) argue we are not living in apocalyptic times. We are, in fact, the first generation in human history to possess the means of destroying the entire planet. If this alone does not brand our age as potentially apocalyptic I don't know what else would.

If you remain unconvinced, consider that - since that first fateful day in the New Mexico desert - nine countries now possess nuclear arsenals: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. According to the Federation of American Scientist's most recent World Nuclear Stockpile Report there are no less than 19,000 nuclear bombs in existence. That's more than enough firepower to destroy the planet many times over - or, as some darkly joke, to make the rubble bounce.

It is by God's good grace that ever since the decimations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki no further human populations have been targeted with nuclear weapons. But how much longer can this good fortune last? The short, but inarguable, answer is: not forever.

Within the past 70 years there have been several incidents where the world came perilously close to nuclear annihilation. The first was during the Cuban Missile crisis of October 1962, when - for 13 gut-wrenching days - the United States played a dangerous game of nuclear brinksmanship with a heavily armed Soviet Union. Were it not for the admirable restraint and keen diplomatic skills of the Kennedy administration, we would surely have seen our worst nightmares become a reality. At one point during the crisis, a Soviet submarine captain in the waters off Cuba was literally moments away from launching a nuclear missile at the United States (after his sub was crippled by a US Navy depth charge) but relented when a junior officer convinced him to wait until they received further instructions from Moscow.

Again, in 1983, a Soviet Colonel bucked his nation's defense protocols by refusing to launch a nuclear counter attack against the United States when their early warning system picked up 5 incoming missiles. It was later discovered that the alleged missile launches were nothing more than sun rays bouncing off high altitude clouds.

Until now, many have credited the absence of worldwide nuclear conflagration to the MAD theory of nuclear deterrence - MAD being the cynically appropriate acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction. MAD theory argues that no nuclear power would dare attack another (or one of its allies) for fear that nation would massively retaliate - assuring the total destruction of both countries. Of course, this assumes that the world's insanely huge stockpile of nuclear weapons remains safely under the control of nation states. Should any of these weapons fall into the hands of non-state actors (such as global